Malachi 4:3

And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do [this], saith the LORD of hosts.

Ver. 3. And ye shall tread down the wicked] Christ, the champion of his Church, hath already won the field, and will shortly set his people's feet upon the necks of all their enemies. The broken horns of Satan himself shall be the trumpets of their triumph and the cornets of their joy, Romans 16:20. See what honour all the saints have in this respect, Psalms 149:7,9; see what comfort, John 16:33; see what conquests, Romans 8:37. How much more at the last day, when the thrones shall be set, &c., Matthew 19:28. Rabbi David Kimchi understands this text to be temporal victories only. And no wonder, as being a Jew, and minding earthly things, he ascends no higher. Such grasshoppers, if at any time they leap above the earth, they soon fall down to it again; and as they are of the earth, so they speak of the earth, and the earth hears them. Petrus a Figniero writing upon those words in the former chapter, Malachi 3:12 "For ye shall be a delightsome land," Nota modum loquendi, saith he: mark that expression, He saith not your land shall be a delightsome land, but "ye shall be," &c. Forte enim tacite Iudaeos percellit terrain eos vocando. It may be the Lord hereby, closely meets with them for their earthly mindedness; as those that by promise of earthly blessings were soonest prevailed with to serve God, when as these should have been but as steps or stirrups to mount their hearts up to a desire of the things above. Victory in their sense is doubtless a special mercy; and is so promised to the obedient, Deuteronomy 28:13 "The Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and not beneath," &c. Hence the Israelites, delivered from the Egyptians at the Red Sea, sang, "The Lord is a man of war," Exodus 15:3; the Chaldee there hath it, The Lord and victor of wars. The Grecians delivered from the Persians (vanquished and driven out by Themistocles), called their Jupiter thereupon, Eλευθεριος, the deliverer. It was the thankful acknowledgment of generals, captains, and soldiers at Edge Hill fight, that the Lord was seen in the mount, never less of man in such a business, never more of God. But what shall it profit a man to conquer countries, and yet be vanquished of vices? to tread upon his enemies, and yet be taken captive by the devil at his pleasure? 2 Timothy 2:26, to command the whole world, as those Persian kings, and yet were commanded by their concubines, so by their base lusts, by yielding whereunto they give place unto the very devil, and receive them into their very bosoms, Ephesians 4:27, who there hence leads them away naked and barefoot, as the Assyrians did the Egyptians, Isaiah 20:2. How much better Valentinian the emperor, who said upon his death-bed that among all his victories over his enemies this one only comforted him, viz. that by the grace and power of Christ Jesus he that got the better of his corruptions, and was now more than a conqueror, even a triumpher.

For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet] Even the ashes of that stubble burnt in Christ's oven, Malachi 4:1. This shows their utter and ignominious destruction. And the like is foretold of mystical Babylon, Revelation 18:17,19. Tota eris in cineres quasi nunquam Roma fuisses, sang Sibylla of old. Fiat, Fiat. Our corruptions also shall one day be incinerated (they are already buried, Romans 6:4 Col 2:12), the fiery spirit of Christ will do with the body of sin, as the King of Moab did with the King of Edom, Amos 2:1, burn its bones into lime.

In the day that I shall do this] sc. Partly here, but perfectly at the last day. Meanwhile sin may rebel in God's people, but it cannot reign. Satan may nibble at their heel, but he cannot come at their head; the world may kill them, but cannot hurt them. "Be of good cheer," saith Christ, "I have overcome the world," John 16:33. All evils and enemies shall co-operate for their good, Romans 8:28 .

Saith the Lord of hosts] Who hath also said, "Heaven and earth shall pass, but not one jot or tittle of my word," &c.