The
threatenings of the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for their sins, which
we had in the former part of this book, were not so terrible, but the
promises of their restoration and deliverance for the glory of God, which we
have here in the latter part of the book, are as comfortable; and as those
were illustrated with many visions and similitudes, for the awakening of a
holy fear, so are these, for the encouraging of a humble faith. God had
assured them, in the foregoing chapter, that he would gather the house of
Israel, even all of it, and would bring them out of their captivity, and
return them to their own land; but there were two things that rendered this
very unlikely:-- I. That they were so dispersed among their enemies, so
destitute of all helps and advantages which might favour or further their
return, and so dispirited likewise in their own minds; upon all these
accounts they are here, in vision, compared to a valley full of the dry
bones of dead men, which should be brought together and raised to life. The
vision of this we have (ver. 1-10) and the explication of it, with its
application to the present case, ver. 11-14. II. That they were so divided
among themselves, too much of the old enmity between Judah and Ephraim
remaining even in their captivity. But, as to this, by a sign of two sticks
made one in the hand of the prophet is foreshown the happy coalition that
should be, at their return, between the two nations of Israel and Judah,
ver. 15-22. In this there was a type of the uniting of Jews and Gentiles,
Jews and Samaritans, in Christ and his church. And so the prophet slides
into a prediction of the kingdom of Christ, which should be set up in the
world with God's tabernacle in it, and of the glories and graces of that
kingdom, ver. 23-28.
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The
Vision of the Dry Bones.
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B.
C. 586.
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1 The hand of the LORD
was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of
bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold,
there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were
very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones
live? And I answered, O Lord GOD,
thou knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these
bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD
unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye
shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up
flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall
live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a
noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his
bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up
upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath
in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind,
prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they
may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath
came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding
great army. 11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are
the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our
hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 12 Therefore
prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out
of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ye
shall know that I am the LORD,
when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your
graves, 14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live,
and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD
have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
Here is, I. The vision of a resurrection from death to life, and it is a
glorious resurrection. This is a thing so utterly unknown to nature, and so
contrary to its principles (a privatione ad habitum non datur regressus--from
privation to possession there is no return), that we could have no
thought of it but by the word of the Lord; and that it is certain by
that word that there shall be a general resurrection of the dead some have
urged from this vision, "For" (say they) "otherwise it would
not properly be made a sign for the confirming of their faith in the promise
of their deliverance out of Babylon, as the coming of the Messiah is
mentioned for the confirming of their faith touching a former
deliverance," Isa. vii. 14. But,
1. Whether it be a confirmation or no, it is without doubt a most lively
representation of a threefold resurrection, besides that which it is
primarily intended to be the sign of. (1.) The resurrection of souls from
the death of sin to the life or righteousness, to a holy, heavenly,
spiritual, and divine life, by the power of divine grace going along with
the word of Christ, John v. 24, 25. (2.) The resurrection of the gospel
church, or any part of it, from an afflicted persecuted state, especially
under the yoke of the New-Testament Babylon, to liberty and peace. (3.) The
resurrection of the body at the great day, especially the bodies of
believers that shall rise to life eternal.
2. Let us observe the particulars of this vision.
(1.) The deplorable condition of these dead bones. The prophet was made,
[1.] to take an exact view of them. By a prophetic impulse and a divine
power he was, in vision, carried out and set in the midst of a valley,
probably that plain spoken of ch. iii. 22, where God then talked
with him; and it was full of bones, of dead men's bones, not
piled up on a heap, as in a charnel-house, but scattered upon the face of
the ground, as if some bloody battle had been fought here, and the slain
left unburied till all the flesh was devoured or putrefied, and nothing left
but the bones, and those disjointed from one another and dispersed. He passed
by them round about, and he observed not only that they were very many
(for there are multitudes gone to the congregation of the dead), but that, lo,
they were very dry, having been long exposed to the sun and wind. The
bones that have been moistened with marrow (Job xxi. 24), when they
have been any while dead, lose all their moisture, and are dry as dust. The
body is now fenced with bones (Job x. 11), but then they will themselves be
defenceless. The Jews in Babylon were like those dead and dry bones,
unlikely ever to come together, to be so much as a skeleton, less likely to
be formed into a body, and least of all to be a living body. However, they
lay unburied in the open valley, which encouraged the hopes of
their resurrection, as of the two witnesses, Rev. xi. 8, 9. The bones of Gog
and Magog shall be buried (ch. xxxix. 12, 15), for their destruction
is final; but the bones of Israel are in the open valley, under the
eye of Heaven, for there is hope in their end. [2.] He was made to
own their case deplorable, and not to be helped by any power less than that
of God himself (v. 3): "Son of man, can these bones live?
Is it a thing likely? Cast thou devise how it should be done? Can thy
philosophy reach to put life into dry bones, or thy politics to restore a
captive nation?" "No," says the prophet, "I know not how
it should be done, but thou knowest." He does not say,
"They cannot live," lest he should seem to limit the Holy One of
Israel; but, "Lord, thou knowest whether they can and whether they
shall; if thou dost not put life into them, it is certain that they cannot
life." Note, God is perfectly acquainted with his own power and his own
purposes, and will have us to refer all to them, and to see and own that his
wondrous works are such as could not be effected by any counsel or power but
his own.
(2.) The means used for the bringing of these dispersed bones together and
these dead and dry bones to life. It must be done by prophecy. Ezekiel is
ordered to prophesy upon these bones (v. 4 and again v.
9), to prophesy to the wind. So he prophesied as he was commanded,
v. 7, 10. [1.] He must preach, and he did so; and the dead bones
lived by a power that went along with the word of God which he preached.
[2.] He must pray, and he did so; and the dead bones were made to live in
answer to prayer; for a spirit of life entered into them. See the
efficacy of the word and prayer, and the necessity of both, for the raising
of dead souls. God bids his ministers prophesy upon the dry bones.
Say unto them, Live; yea, say unto them, Live; and they do as
they are commanded, calling to them again and again, O you dry bones!
hear the word of the Lord. But we call in vain, still they are dead,
still they are very dry; we must therefore be earnest with God in prayer for
the working of the Spirit with the word: Come, O breath! and breathe
upon them. God's grace can save souls without our preaching, but our
preaching cannot save them without God's grace, and that grace must be
sought by prayer. Note, Ministers must faithfully and diligently use the
means of grace, even with those that there seems little probability of
gaining upon. To prophesy upon dry bones seems as great a penance as to
water a dry stick; and yet, whether they will hear or forbear, we must
discharge our trust, must prophesy as we are commanded, in the name
of him who raises the dead and is the fountain of life.
(3.) The wonderful effect of these means. Those that do as they are
commanded, as they are commissioned, in the face of the greatest
discouragements, need not doubt of success, for God will own and enrich his
own appointments. [1.] Ezekiel looked down and prophesied upon the bones in
the valley, and they became human bodies. First, That which he had to
say to them was that God would infallibly raise them to life: Thus
saith the Lord God unto these bones, You shall live, v. 5 and
again v. 6. And he that speaks the word will thereby do the work; he
that says, They shall live, will make them alive: He will clothe
them with skin and flesh (v. 6), as he did at first, Job x. 11.
He that made us so fearfully and wonderfully, and curiously wrought us, can
in like manner new-make us, for his arm is not shortened. Secondly,
That which was immediately done for them was that they were moulded anew
into shape. We may well suppose it was with great liveliness and vigour that
the prophet prophesied, especially when he found what he said begin to take
effect. Note, The opening, sealing, and applying of the promises, are the
ordinary means of our participation of a new and divine nature. As Ezekiel
prophesied in this vision there was a noise, a word of command, from
heaven, seconding what he said; or it signified the motion of the angels
that were to be employed as the ministers of the divine Providence in the
deliverance of the Jews, and we read of the noise of their wings
(Ezek. i. 24) and the sound of their going, 2 Sam. v. 24. And,
behold, a shaking, or commotion, among the bones. Even dead and dry
bones begin to move when they are called to hear the word of the Lord. This
was fulfilled when, upon Cyrus's proclamation of liberty, those whose
spirits God had stirred up began to think of making use of that liberty, and
getting ready to be gone. When there was a noise, behold, a shaking;
when David heard the sound of the going on the tops of the mulberry-trees
then he bestirred himself; then there was a shaking. When Paul
heard the voice saying, Why persecutest thou me? behold, a shaking of
the dry bones; he trembled and was astonished. But this was
not all: The bones came together bone to his bone, under a divine
direction; and, though there is in man a multitude of bones, yet of all the
bones of those numerous slain not one was missing, not one missed its way,
not one missed its place, but, as it were by instinct, each knew and found
its fellow. The dispersed bones came together and the displaced bones were
knit together, the divine power supplying that to these dry bones which in a
living body every joint supplies. Thus shall it be in the
resurrection of the dead; the scattered atoms shall be ranged and marshalled
in their proper place and order, and every bone come to his bone, by
the same wisdom and power by which the bones were first formed in the
womb of her that is with child. Thus it was in the return of the Jews;
those that were scattered in several parts of the province of Babylon came
to their respective families, and all as it were by consent to the general
rendezvous, in order to their return. By degrees sinews and flesh
came upon these bones, and the skin covered them, v. 8. This
was fulfilled when the captives got their effects about them, and the men
of their place helped them with silver, and gold, and
whatever they needed for their remove, Ezra i. 4. But still there was no
breath in them; they wanted spirit and courage for such a difficult and
hazardous enterprise as this was of returning to their own land. [2.]
Ezekiel then looked up and prophesied to the wind, or breath,
or spirit, and said, Come, O breath! and breathe upon these slain.
As good have been still dry bones as dead bodies: but as for God his work
is perfect; he is not the God of the dead, but of the living; therefore breathe
upon them that they may live. In answer to this request, the breath
immediately came into them, v. 10. Note, the spirit of life is
from God; he at first in the creation breathed into man the breath of life,
and so he will at last in the resurrection. The dispirited despairing
captives were wonderfully animated with resolution to break through all the
discouragements that lay in the way of their return and applied themselves
to it with all imaginable vigour. And then they stood upon their feet, an
exceedingly great army; not only living men, but effective men, fit for
service in the wars and formidable to all that gave them any opposition.
Note, With God nothing is impossible. He can out of stones raise up
children unto Abraham and out of dead and dry bones levy an exceedingly
great army to fight his battles and plead his cause.
II. The application of this vision to the present calamitous condition of
the Jews in captivity: These bones are the whole house of Israel,
both the ten tribes and the two. See in this what they are and what they
shall be.
1. The depth of despair to which they are now reduced, v. 11. They
all give up themselves for lost and gone; they say, "Our bones are
dried, our strength is exhausted, our spirits are gone, our hope is
all lost; every thing we looked for succour and relief from fails us,
and we are cut off for our parts. Let who will cherish some hope, we
see no ground for any." Note, When troubles continue long, hopes have
been often frustrated, and all creature-confidences fail, it is not strange
if the spirits sink; and nothing but an active faith in the power, promise,
and providence of God will keep them from quite dying away. 2. The height of
prosperity to which, notwithstanding this, they shall be advanced: "therefore,
because things have come thus to the last extremity, prophesy to them,
and tell them, now is God's time to appear for them. Jehovah-jireh--in
the mount of the Lord it shall be seen, v. 12-14. Tell
them," (1.) "That they shall be brought out of the land of their
enemies, where they are as it were buried alive: I will open your graves."
Those shall be restored, not only whose bones are scattered at the
grave's mouth (Ps. cxli. 7), but who are buried in the grave; though the
power of the enemy is like the bars of the pit, which one would think
it impossible to break through, strong as death and cruel as the grave, yet
it shall be conquered. God can bring his people up from the depths
of the earth, Ps. lxxi. 20. (2.) "That they shall be brought into
their own land, where they shall live in prosperity: I will bring you
into the land of Israel (v. 12) and place you there (v.
14), and will put my spirit in you and then you shall live."
Note, Then God puts spirit in us to good purpose, and so that we
shall indeed live, when he puts his Spirit in us. And (lastly) in all
this God will be glorified: You shall know that I am the Lord (v.
13), and that I have spoken it and performed it, v. 14. Note,
God's quickening the dead redounds more than any thing to his honour, and to
the honour of his word, which he has magnified above all his name, and will
magnify more and more by the punctual accomplishment of every tittle of it.
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Cheering
Promises.
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B.
C. 586.
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15 The word of the LORD
came again unto me, saying, 16 Moreover, thou son of man, take
thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel
his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the
stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his
companions: 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and
they shall become one in thine hand. 18 And when the children of
thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest
by these? 19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of
Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even
with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in
mine hand. 20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in
thine hand before their eyes. 21 And say unto them, Thus saith
the Lord GOD;
Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither
they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their
own land: 22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon
the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they
shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two
kingdoms any more at all: 23 Neither shall they defile
themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor
with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their
dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall
they be my people, and I will be their God. 24 And David my
servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one
shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and
do them. 25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given
unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell
therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children
for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an
everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them,
and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27
My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD
do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for
evermore.
Here are more exceedingly great and precious promises made of the happy
state of the Jews after their return to their own land; but they have a
further reference to the kingdom of the Messiah and the glories of
gospel-times.
I. It is here promised that Ephraim and Judah shall be happily united in
brotherly love and mutual serviceableness; so that whereas, ever since the
desertion of the ten tribes from the house of David under Jeroboam, there
had been continual feuds and animosities between the two kingdoms of Israel
and Judah, and it is to be feared there had been some clashings between them
even in the land of their captivity (Ephraim upon all occasions envying
Judah and Judah vexing Ephraim), now it should be no longer, but there
should be a coalition between them, and, notwithstanding the old differences
that had been between them, they should agree to love one another and to do
one another all good offices. This is here illustrated by a sign. The
prophet was to take two sticks, and write upon one, For Judah
(including Benjamin, those of the children of Israel that were his
companions), upon the other, For Joseph, including the rest of
the tribes, v. 16. These two sticks must be so framed as to fall into
one in his hand, v. 17. The people took notice of this, and
desired him to tell them the meaning of it, for they knew he did not
play with sticks for his diversion, as children do. Those that would know
the meaning should ask the meaning of the word of God which they read and
hear, and of the instituted signs by which spiritual and divine things are
represented to us; the ministers' lips should keep the knowledge
hereof and the people should ask it at their mouth, Mal. ii. 7. It is
a necessary question for grown people, as well as children, to ask, What
mean you by this service, by this sign? Exod. xii. 26. The meaning was
that Judah and Israel should become one in the hand of God, v.
19. 1. They shall be one, one nation, v. 22. They shall have no
separate interests, and, consequently, no divided affections. There shall be
no mutual jealousies and animosities, no remembrance, no remains, of their
former discord. But there shall be a perfect harmony between them, a good
understanding one of another, a good disposition one to another, and a
readiness to all good offices and services for one another's credit and
comfort. They had been two sticks crossing and thwarting one another, nay,
beating and bruising one another; but now they shall become one, supporting
and strengthening one another. Vix unita fortior--Force added to force is
proportionally more efficient. Behold, how good and how pleasant a thing it
is to see Judah and Israel, that had long been at variance, now dwelling
together in unity. Then they shall become acceptable to their God,
amiable to their friends, and formidable to their enemies, Isa. xi. 13, 14.
2. They shall be one in God's hand; by his power they shall be
united, and, being by his hand brought together, his hand shall keep them
together, so that they shall not fly off, to be separated again. They shall
be one in his hand, for his glory shall be the centre of their unity and his
grace the cement of it. In him, in a regard to him and in his service and
worship, they shall unite, and so shall become one. Both sides shall agree
to put themselves into his hand, and so they shall be one. Qui conveniunt
in aliquo tertio inter se conveniunt--Those who agree in a third agree with
each other. Note, Those are best united that are one in God's hand,
whose union with each other results from their union with Christ and their
communion with God through him, Eph. i. 10. One in us, John xvii. 21.
3. They shall be one in their return out of captivity (v. 21): I
will take them from among the heathen, and gather them on every side,
and bring them together incorporated into one body to their own
land. They shall be one in their separation from the heathen with whom
they had mingled themselves: they shall both agree to part from them, and
take their affections off from them, and no longer to comply with their
usages, and then they will soon agree to join together in walking according
to the rule of God's word. Their having been joint-sufferers will contribute
to this blessed comprehension, when they begin to come to themselves and to
consider things. Put many pieces of metal together into the furnace, and,
when they are melted, they will run all together. It was time for them to
strengthen one another when their oppressors were so busy to weaken and ruin
them all. Likewise their being joint-sharers in the favour of God, and the
great and common deliverance wrought out for them all, should help to unite
them. God's loving them all was a good reason why they should love one
another. Times of common joy, as well as times of common suffering, should
be healing loving times. 4. They shall all be the subjects of one king, and
so they shall become one. The Jews, after their return, were under one
government, and not divided as formerly. But this certainly looks further,
to the kingdom of Christ; he is that one King in allegiance to whom all
God's spiritual Israel shall cheerfully unite, and under whose protection
they shall all be gathered. All believers unite in one Lord, one faith,
and one baptism. And the uniting of Jews and Gentiles in the gospel
church, their becoming one fold under Christ the one great Shepherd, is
doubtless the union that is chiefly looked at in this prophecy. By Christ
and partition-wall between them was taken down, and the enmity slain, and of
them twain was made one new man, Eph. ii. 14, 15.
II. It is here promised that the Jews shall by their captivity be cured of
their inclination to idolatry; this shall be the happy fruit of that
affliction, even the taking away of their sin (v. 23): Neither
shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, those detestable
defiling things, no, nor with any of their former transgressions.
Note, When one sin is sincerely parted with all sin is abandoned too, for he
that hates sin, as sin, will hate all sin. And those that are cured of their
spiritual idolatry, their inordinate affection to the world and the flesh,
that no longer make a god of their money or their belly, have a happy blow
given to the root of all their transgressions. Two ways God will take to
cure them of their idolatry:-- 1. By bringing them out of the way of
temptation to it: "I will save them out of all their dwelling-places
wherein they have sinned, because there they met with the occasion of
sin and allurements to it." Note, It is our wisdom to avoid the places
where we have been overcome by temptations to sin, not to remain in them, or
return to them, but to save ourselves out of them, as we would out of
infected places; see Zech. ii. 7; Rev. xviii. 4. And it is a great mercy
when God, in his providence, saves us out of the dwelling-places where we
have sinned, and keeps us from harm by keeping us out of harm's way, in
answer to our prayer, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. 2. By changing the disposition of their mind: "I will
cleanse them (v. 28); that is, I will sanctify them, will work in
them an aversion to the pollutions of sin and a complacency in the pleasures
of holiness, and then you may be sure they will not defile themselves any
more with their idols." Those whom God has cleansed he will keep clean.
III. It is here promised that they shall be the people of God, as their
God, and the subjects and sheep of Christ their King and Shepherd. These
promises we had before, and they are here repeated (v. 23, 24) for
the encouragement of the faith of Israel: They shall be my people, to
serve me, and I will be their God, to save them and to make them
happy. David, my servant, shall be king over them, to fight their
battles, to protect them from injury, and to rule them, and overrule all
things that concern them for their good. He shall be their shepherd,
to guide them and provide for them. Christ is this David, Israel's King of
old; and those whom he subdues to himself, and makes willing in the day of
his power, he makes to walk in his judgments and to keep his statutes.
IV. It is here promised that they shall dwell comfortably, v. 25, 26.
They shall dwell in the land of Israel; for where else should Israelites
dwell? And many things will concur to make their dwelling agreeable. 1. They
shall have it by covenant; they shall come in again upon their old title, by
virtue of the grant made unto Jacob, God's servant. As Christ
was David, God's servant, so the church is Jacob, his servant too; and the
members of the church shall come in for a share, as born in God's house. He
will make a covenant of peace with them (v. 26), and in
pursuance of that covenant he will place them, and multiply them.
Note, Temporal mercies are doubly sweet when they come from the promise of
the covenant, and not merely from common providence. 2. They shall come to
it by prescription: "It is the land wherein your fathers have dwelt,
and for that reason you cannot but have a special kindness for it, which God
will graciously gratify." It was the inheritance of their ancestors,
and therefore shall be theirs. They are beloved for their fathers' sakes.
3. They shall have it entailed upon them and the heirs of their body, and
shall have their families built up, so that it shall not be lost for want of
heirs. They shall dwell therein all their time, and never be turned
out of possession, and they shall leave it for an inheritance to their
children and their children's children for ever, who shall enjoy it when
they are gone, the prospect of which will be a satisfaction to them. 4. They
shall live under a good government, which will contribute very much to the
comfort of their lives: My servant David shall be their prince for ever.
This can be no other than Christ, of whom it was said, when he was brought
into the world, He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, Luke
i. 33. Note, It is the unspeakable comfort of all Christ's faithful subjects
that, as his kingdom is everlasting, so he is an everlasting
King, he lives to reign for ever; and, as sure and as long as he lives
and reigns, they shall live and reign also. 5. The charter by which they
hold all their privileges is indefeasible. God's covenant with them shall be
an everlasting covenant; so the covenant of grace is, for it secures
to us an everlasting happiness.
V. It is here promised that God will dwell among them; and this will make
them dwell comfortably indeed: I will set my sanctuary in the midst of
them for evermore; my tabernacle also shall be with them, v. 26,
27. 1. They shall have the tokens of God's special presence with them and
his gracious residence among them. God will in very deed dwell with them
upon the earth, for where his sanctuary is he is; when they profaned his
sanctuary he took it from them (Isa. lxiv. 11), but now that they are
purified God will dwell with them again. 2. They shall have opportunity of
conversing with God, of hearing from him, speaking to him, and so keeping up
communion with him, which will be the comfort of their lives. 3. They shall
have the means of grace. By the oracles of God in his tabernacle they shall
be made wiser and better, and all their children shall be taught of the
Lord. 4. Thus their covenant relation to God shall be improved and the bond
of it strengthened: "I will be their God and they shall be my
people, and they shall know it by having my sanctuary among them, and
shall have the comfort of it."
VI. Both God and Israel shall have the honour of this among the heathen, v.
26. "Now the heathen observe how Israel have profaned their own crown
by their sins, and God has profaned it by his judgments; but then, when
Israel is reformed and God has returned in mercy to them, the very heathen
shall be made to know that the Lord sanctifies Israel, has a title to
them and an interest in them more than other people, because his sanctuary
is, and shall be, in the midst of them." Note, God designs the
sanctification of those among whom he sets up his sanctuary. And blessed and
holy are those who, enjoying the privileges of the sanctuary, give such
proofs and evidences of their sanctification that the heathen may know it is
no less than the almighty grace of God that sanctifies them. Such have God's
sanctuary in the midst of them, the kingdom of God within them, in the
principles of the spiritual life, and shall have it so for evermore in the
enjoyments of an eternal life.
