The Holy City, Commentary · Chapter 21 · Verse 19,20
Vers. 19, 20.
And the Foundations of the Wall were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first Foundation was a Jasper, the second a Saphir, the third a Chalcedony, the fourth an Emerald, the fifth a Sardonix, the sixth a Sardius, the seventh a Chrysolite, the eighth Beryl, the ninth Topaz, the tenth Chrysoprasus, the eleventh a Jacinct, the twelfth an Amethyst.
Thus having shewed us the Glory of the Wall, and of the City, he now comes to shew us the glory of the Foundations.The glory of the Foundations. The Foundations you know, I told you before, they are the twelve Apostles in their Doctrine, or the (primitive) Doctrine of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
Now the great business in this place will be to shew you the garnishing of these Foundations, and also the mystery and order of the lying of the Foundations, for their glory lyeth in both.
As for the garnishing of these Foundations, it is, and will be at the day ofThe Glory of the Foundations twofold. New Jerusalem, twofold; and the first is with beautiful Gifts and Grace: Thus was the Apostles of old adorned, and thus shall their Doctrine again be garnished. I know that the Doctrine of the twelve hath been alwayes accompanied with goodly Gifts and Grace, from the first Churches quite down, that is, according to the measure of light they appeared in, and according to the dispensations of God in the times of Antichrist. But yet the glory that this Doctrine had in these latter dayes, I mean since the Apostacy, it was nothing in comparison of the glory and splendor that will be in them in the day when this City is builded and compleat; Wherefore you find, that though all-along in Antichrist's reign, the Gospel of Grace hath shone, and given light to the Saints and People of God in all their travels and afflictions; yet the shining of it at that day was muchThe Gospel darkned by the smoak of Antichrist. opposed and eclipsed by the smoak of the bottomless-pit: as he saith, There arose a smoak out of the pit, as the smoak of a great furnace, and the Sun and the Air was darkened by reason of the smoak of the pit, Rev. 9. 2. In which dayes, I say, abundance of the light, heat, and operation of the Gospel, was diminished and taken off, so that but little of the power or glory of it, hath been either felt, or seen from that time to this very day. This is that God spake of by the Prophet Amos, saying, I will cause the Sun to go down at noon, and will darken the Earth in the clear day; and I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. (All which he explaineth in the next words, for) Behold the dayes come, saith the Lord, that I will send a Famine in the Land, not a Famine of Bread, or of thirst for Water, but of hearing the Words of the Lord; and they shall wander from Sea to Sea, and from the Amos 9. 10, 11, 12.North even to the East; they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord, and shall not find it. In those dayes Eli's sons1 Sam. 2. 12, 13, 14, 15. were become Varlots. Indeed there was here and there a little child, like Samuel in his minority, that now and then would speak most goodly things. But the Word of the Lord was precious in those & 3. 1.dayes, there was no open Vision. This is that which David in the Spirit of ProphecyPsal. 82. 5. complaineth of, saying, They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the Foundations of the Earth are out of course. Thus in the days of the eclipsing of the glory of these Foundations: But now, behold, they recover their light, and put on, as of old, their former glory, & are again garnished as in the former dayes. Now will all the Doctrines of the Gospel spangle and sparkle; out of every Text will the Ministers of God make to issue exceedingly most precious and heavenly Fire; for these Stones are indeed the Stones of Fire, Ezek. 28. 14, 16.and in them is contained that which would set the whole World on a flame with love and delight in the things of God and another World, had but men the Spirit of Wisdom, and the Authority of God in their Ministry, as the Apostles and the primitive Christians had. Well, this Doctrine of the Twelve shall be again adorned with Gifts and Grace as in the days of old: by which it shall also be made to shine, and to cast forth its Golden Rayes before the Nations, to their Salvation. Behold, saith God, I Isa 54. … 11.will lay thy Stones with fair Colours, that is, thy Apostolical Doctrines shall again be garnished, as at the first; Truth shall appear in its old and mature colours, and (as such) shall be imbraced, and lived and delighted in, both by Jews and Gentiles, as I have shewed.
But secondly, The Twelve Foundations that here you read of, they are the †If you compare the stones you will find them (some of them) to differ in name, but know it is usual for one stone to go under 2 names; and besides, the Greek doth give many things other names than doth the Hebrew text.same with those twelve Stones that long before were set in the Brestplate of Judgment, in which were engraven the Names of the twelve Tribes of the children of Israel, the names of which Tribes did comprehend the whole body of the house of their fathers, Exod. 28. 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 29. Exod. 39. 14. Now then, seeing these Twelve are the same with those on the Breastplate of Judgement; and seeing also, that those on the Breastplate did comprehend the whole of the twelve Tribes: I conclude that for these Foundations to be garnished with all manner of precious Stones, it is as much as to say, they shall be garnished with abundance of Converts; Multitudes, and that of all sorts both of Jews and Gentiles, Moors, Tartars, Turks, and those in the utmost parts of the World, shall now be entangled with the Light and Truth, with the Glory and Goodness of the DoctrineConverts the garnishing of the foundations. of the Twelve. And I the rather take it thus, 1. Because, as the Foundations themselves are said to be precious Stones: so also the Saints in general, they go under the same names too. As Jeremiah Lam. 4. 1, 2, 3.saith, The precious Stones of the Sanctuary, are the precious Sons of Zion: As Peter also saith, in alluding to the precious1 Pet. 2. 5. Stones of the Temple: The Saints, are lively, or living precious stones, built up a spiritual house, &c. and the foundations 1 Chron. 29. 2.of the Wall were garnished with all manner of precious stones; That is, the Doctrine of the Twelve was garnished with all manner of precious souls; that is, converted by it, by which they become a glory and a garnishing to it.
2dly. I take it to be the conversion of the Precious Ones of God; because, that, thus to understand it, is most like the phrase of the Apostle Paul himself, saying,1 Thess. 2. 19, 20. What is our Hope, or Joy, or Crown of rejoycing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? Ye are our Glory and Joy. Mark; in the text he saith, The Foundations were garnished with all manner of precious Stones, and here those precious Stones, Paul accounts to be those that are converted by the Word: for, what is our hope, or joy, or crown? are not even ye that have been converted by us? Ye are our Joy, ye are our Crown, ye are our Glory; It is with you that we shall be crowned, adorned, and garnished in the presence of our Lord Jesus. Mark, John saith, They are garnished, Paul saith, they are crowned. John saith, they are garnished wth precious stones and Paul saith, they are crowned with the conversion of sinners. Thus therfore as God will lay these Stones with fair colours,Isa. 54. 11. so also he will lay these Foundations with Saphirs: that is, as he will beautifie the Doctrine of the Twelve with its former Glory, Sweetness and Authority: so he will crown and garnish it with the conversion of many sinners. The Elect are the Jewels of God, and this is the day ofMalac. 3. 14, 15, 16, 17. his binding them up, even then when the Antichrist falls, and the Gospel breaks out in its primitive glory.
And the Foundations of the Wall were garnished with all manner of precious stones.
In these words, there is yet two things considerable:
First, That all who go to the adorning of these Foundations, they must be precious Stones, not a common stone shall here be owned: And indeed what should Pebbles do among the Pearls and theJob 28. 3 Diamonds of New-Jerusalem; or the stones of blackness and emptiness, among the Saints of Light! I tel you, that those which God doth reckon the adorningstones, they are all, and every one, precious stones; they must be all lively, glistring, 1 Pet. 21 5.and curious stones, though stones of divers 1 Chron. 29. 2.colours. Antichrist counts any thing sufficient enough to garnish her Apostles with, even the empty stones of confusion, theIsa. 34. 11. sinners that have no more grace in their souls than there is sap in a post that hath been this twenty years without either sap or water: But God will not count such for the beauty of his Word, nor for the garnishing and beautifying of the Doctrine of the Twelve: they are garnished with PRECIOUS STONES.
Secondly, As he saith the Foundations are garnished with precious stones only; so he saith it is with ALL MANNER of Precious Stones: by which he would have us understand that all Saints have not the same degree either of precious grace, or gifts and vertue in them; there are some that excel, and differ from the rest, even as one Star differeth from 1 Cor. 14. 12.another in glory. Some Saints, as they have both more grace, and also gifts thanProv. 31. 29. others; so too they are more laborious and painful in the work of God than their1 Cor. 15 10. 41. fellows, and therefore he saith, ALL MANNER of Precious Stones.