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, Ver. 1. _The hand of the Lord,_] _i.e., _ The force and impulse of the Holy Spirit, fitly called "the hand of the Lord"; _a_ because holy men of old... [ Continue Reading ]
_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._ Ver. 2. _And, lo, they were very dry._] _Ex vetustare et carie._ This added to the miracle.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Ver. 3. _Can these bones live?_] In the resurrection at the last day he knew they should, for among the Jews that was generally believed; Joh 11:24 but whether in this world, and at this time, that was... [ Continue Reading ]
Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Ver. 4. _Prophesy upon these bones._] Be thou the interpreter of my will, who by mine all-powerful word do quicken the dead, and call things that are not as if they were. Rom 4:17 _ And... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: Ver. 5. _Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you,_] _i.e., _ Into each number of you that belong to each body. Neither need the resurrection of the dead be held a thing incredible, Act... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 6. _And cover you with skin._] _Superindam; _ that the flesh may not look ghastly. The word rendered _cover_ is Chaldee,... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 7. _So I prophesied._] He might have said, Why should I speak to these bones? will it be to any purpose? But God's commands are not to be disputed, b... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 8. _Lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them._] The body is the soul's sheath, Dan 7:15 the soul's suit. The upper garment is the skin, the inner the fle... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 9. _And say to the wind._] To the reasonable soul, that "breath of God"; Gen 2:7 _divinae part... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 10. _And the breath came into them._] _De foras,_ from without: as at first they were infused by God, so they are still. This Augustine sometime and for som... [ Continue Reading ]
_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._ Ver. 11. _These bones are._] That is, they signify and betoken. And here we have the accommodation or application of the precedin... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 12. _Behold, O my people._] God owneth them still, though they had little deserved it. "Shall men's u... [ Continue Reading ]
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, Ver. 13. _And ye shall know that I am the Lord._] Ye shall experiment it. The Reformed Churches have done so abundantly. _Gloria Deo in excelsis._ When I have opened your gra... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 14. _And shall put my Spirit in you._] Even my "spirit of adoption," that soul of the soul: this was more than all... [ Continue Reading ]
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Ver. 15. _And the word of the Lord._] See Ezekiel 18:1 .... [ Continue Reading ]
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: Ver. 16. _Take thee one stick._] A cleft stick... [ Continue Reading ]
And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. Ver. 17. _And join them one to another into one stick._] See on Ezekiel 37:16. Man and wife are as these two branches in the prophet's hand, enclosed in one bark; and so closing together that they make but one bra... [ Continue Reading ]
And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou [meanest] by these? Ver. 18. _Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these?_] People, though they should not be question sick, as some in St Paul's time were, 1Ti 6:4 yet they should be inquisitiv... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 19. _And make them... [ Continue Reading ]
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. Ver. 20. _Shall be in thine hand before their eyes._] That by this vision publicly acted they may be the better affected.... [ Continue Reading ]
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: Ver. 21. _Behold, I will take the children of Israel,_] This was fulfilled when the Jews, and... [ Continue Reading ]
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: Ver. 22. _And I will make them one nation._] Who were before at deadly feud, and... [ Continue Reading ]
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 dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. Ver. 23... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 24. _And David my servant,_] _i.e., _ Christ, who came to do the will of his Father in the shape of a servant. Php 2:7 Isa 42:1 _ A... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 25. _And they shall dwell in... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 26. _Moreover, &c._] See Ezekiel 34:25 . _ And it shall be an everlasting covenant with the... [ Continue Reading ]
My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Ver. 27. _My tabernacle also,_] _i.e., _ Mine ordinances, those testimonies of my spedal presence. See Revelation 21:3 .... [ Continue Reading ]
And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. Ver. 28. _Do sanctify Israel,_] _i.e., _ Do set them apart for mine use, and will see to their safety. _ When my sanctuary._] Wherehence they shall have continual both direc... [ Continue Reading ]