Exposition of Ezekiel 14-19, Commentary on Ezechiel · Chapter 16 · Verse 14
VERS 14.
And thy renowne went forth among the Heathen for thy beautie: for it was perfect through my comelines, which I had put upon thee ſaith the Lord God.
THis Verſe holds out the laſt benefit which here the Lord tels this Iſraelitiſh eſtate he had beſtowed upon her, and that was great fame, concerning which you have,
1. The Extent of it went forth.
2. Ground of it.
1. Beautie.
2. Perfection of it.
3. The cauſe of all, the comelines God put upon her.
Thy renowne.
Hebrew is, foreign thy name, its put in Scripture for renown and fame, Gen. 11.4. Let us build a Citie and Tower, whoſe top may reach unto Heaven, and let us make us a name: let us thereby get renowne and fame in the world: ſo in the 12. Chap. 2. I will make thy name great, that is, thou ſhalt be renowned, in the world.
Ezek. 34.27. Chriſt is cald A plant of renowne foreign a plant for a name.
Went forth
Hebrew is, foreign egreſſum eſt. Sep: foreign. Caſt. propagatum foret. Jun. Adeo ut prodiret tibi fama, that is, Thy fame ſpread, and was knowne among Heathens. There were ſundrie things which made this ſtate renowned.
1. The Temple; when Solomon went about the building of it, he ſent to Hiram King of Tyre, for Cedars to build it, 1 King 5. and the letters which Solomon writ to that Heathen King, were ſo greatly eſteemed, that they were preſerved by the Tyrians, till the time of Flavius Joſephus, as himſelf affirmes in his firſt book againſt Apio the Grammarian.
There were 153300. men emploied about the work of the Temple, 1 King 6.15.15. the glorie and ſtatelines of i… you may reade in the ſixth Chapter. In the Sancto ſanctorum the Lord did ſhew himſelfe in a ſpeciall manner unto the high Prieſt once in the yeare. This Temple was exceeding famous, it was cald the Houſe of God, Eccleſ. 5.1.
The Temple of the Lord, Jer. 7.4.
The Place where Gods name ſhould be, 1 Kings 8.29.
The Holy and beautifull Houſe, Iſai. 64.11.
Gods reſting place, 2 Chron. 6.41.
The mountaine of the Lord, Iſai. 2.3.
The deſire of their eyes, Ezek. 24.21. David had told Solomon the Houſe he builded for the Lord, muſt be exceeding magnificall of fame and of glorie, through all Countries, 1 Chron. 22.5.
It was knowne farre and neare, Hence it was propheſied, Pſal. 68.29. Becauſe of thy Temple at Jeruſalem, ſhall Kings bring preſents unto thee.
2. Solomons wiſedome, houſe, and juſtice were ſuch, as caus'd the name of this ſtate, to goe out among the Heathens, 1 Kings 4.29. God gave Solomon much wiſedom and underſtanding, and Solomons wiſedome excelled the wiſdome of all the Children of the Eaſt Countrie, and all the wiſedome of Aegypt, for he was wiſer then all men, and his fame was in all Nations round about, and verſ. 34. There came of all people to heare the wiſedome of Solomon from all Kings of the earth, which had heard of his wiſedome. Among others came the Queene of Shebah, to prove him with hard Queſtions, which he ſatisfied her in, and when ſhe had ſeene his wiſedome, his houſe and the order of it, ſhe ſaid to the King, It was a true report, which I had heard in mine owne Land, of thy acts and of thy wiſedome. Howbeit I believed not the words untill I came, and mine eyes had ſeene it: and behold the halfe was not told me, thy wiſedome and proſperitie exceedeth the fame which I heard, 1 King 10.1, 3, 4, 6, 7. His juſtice was foretold, Pſal. 72.4. He ſhall judge the poore of the people, he ſhall ſave the Children of the needie, and breake in pieces the Oppreſſors.
3. Their battailes and victories; they had many choice warriors, and fighting men among them, Joſhua, Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Barack, Gideon, Jephtah, Sampſon, David, &c. Aſa had an Armie of 580000, and he ruin'd Zerah's Armie of a thouſand thouſand, 2 Chron. 14.8, 9.12.13. ſo Jehoſhaphat vanquiſhed the Armie of the Ammonites, Moabites, and thoſe of Mount Seir, 2 Chron. 20. the Lord of Hoſts was with them, and fought their Battailes for them, which fil'd the Nations with the fame and feare of them.
4. The Prophets and the miraculous things they did, caus'd the fame of this Iſraelitiſh eſtate to goe forth: Elijah opened and ſhut Heaven, James 5.17.18. he raiſed the Widdow of Zarephaths Sonne, 1 Kings 17. he ſacrificed the Prophets of Baal and of the groves, Chap. 18. ſo Eliſha, what great things did he? he multiplyed the Widdowes Oyle, 2 Kings 4. He gave a Son to the good Shunamite, which went childles, and reſtor'd him to life when he was dead, ibid, his fame ſpread into Syria, whereupon Naman came to him, to bee cured of his Leproſie, 2 Kings 5. He diſclos'd the ſecrets of the King of Syriah's Counſell, Chap. 6.
5. Their being in Covenant with God, and walking according to his lawes, rules and commands, made them renowned, Hoſ. 11.12. Ephraim compaſſeth me about with lyes, and the Houſe of Iſrael with deceit, they went out from God, to falſe & Idolatrous worſhip, they brake the Covenant, the law, clave to their own inventions, but Judah yet ruleth with God, he goeth along with God in his wayes, and is faithfull with the Saints, he keepes Covenant and touch with the Lord, and this is his wiſedome, glorie, renowne, Deut. 4.6. Keepe Gods Statutes and doe them, for this is your wiſedom and underſtanding in the ſight of the Nations, which ſhall heare all theſe Statutes and ſay, ſurely this great Nation, is a wiſe and underſtanding people, their obedience to Gods Lawes was that made them honourable abroad, and to be counted wiſe and underſtanding: ſo Deut. 26.18, 19. The Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, and that thou ſhouldeſt keepe all his commandements, & to make thee high above al Nations which he hath made, in praiſe, in name, and in honour, the way to be exalted in all theſe, is to walk in the wayes of the Lord, its Righteouſneſſe exalts a Nation, but ſinne is a reproach to any people, Prov. 14.34.
For thy beauty.
I have ſpoken of this womans beautie before in the 13. verſe, beautie conſiſts in the Symmetrie or due proportion of all the parts well coloured, here it was ſo, there was a Symmetrie between Church and State, an idoneous proportion betweene Princes, Prophets, Prieſts, and the people, and they were all well-coloured with temporals and ſpirituals.
It was perfect.
The Hebrew word foreign ſignifies, intire, perfect, you muſt not take perfect, for that which wants nothing abſolutely, but for that which is compleat or perfect in its kind, its joyned to peace, Iſai. 26.3. to love, 1 John 4.18. to faith, Jam. 2.22. it notes the muchnes or intirenes of them.
My comelines.
Hebrew is, foreign in decore meo foreign notes all honourable comelines and adorning decencie, Pſal. 5.8. Thou haſt crowned him with glorie, Vehador with honour, comelines, Septu: foreign in comelines in beautie, Jun. majeſtate mea. Caſtal. ob meum decus, what ever this Kingdome and People had which was excellent, majeſticall, honourable, beautifull, glorious, that is comprehended in this word comelines.
Obſer. 1.
That whatever comelines any Kingdomes, States, or perſons have, it is not from themſelves but from the Lord. Through my comelines which I put upon thee, this Jewiſh eſtate was without beautie, glorie, honour, ſhe lay in her blood, filth, was naked and loathſome, but God ſpread his skirt over her, covered her nakedneſſe, waſh'd away her blood, annointed her with Oyle, cloath'd her with broidered worke, ſhod her with skins of Tachaſh, girded her with fine linnen, covered her with ſilke, deckt her with ornaments. Whatever externall or internall comelines is in any, the Lord hath put it upon them. Is a ſtate deckt with Cities, people, trading, with mountaines, woods, rivers, flocks of Cattle, &c? hath it good Laws, good Magiſtrats, juſtice duely executed, the righteous countenanced, the wickedawed? its the Lords doing. Have any ſpiritual mercies? the word, other Ordinances, 1 Cor. 4.7. Who makes thee differ? or what haſt thou thou didſt not receive? if you receive any thing, you receive it from God. The Spouſe was comelie, Cant. 1.5. her countenance was comelie, Chap. 2.14. her ſpeech was comelie, Chap. 4.3. this comlines the Lord put upon her.
2. That we have is the Lords, Through my comelines: God had beſtowed many ornaments and excellencies upon this woman, which made her comelie, and here he cals all his comelineſſe, 1 Kings 20.3. Benhadad ſaid to Ahab, Thy ſilver and thy gold is mine, thy wives and thy Children, even the goodlieſt are mine; he challenged all injuriouſly, but God moſt juſtly, Hoſ. 2.9. My corn, my wine, my wooll, my flax; this woman was the Lords, verſ. 8. Thou becameſt mine, and ſo all ſhe had was his.
3. That renowne and fame is a choice merciemercy, which God gives to his, Thy renowne went forth from among the Heathen, God made her beautiful, & caus'd her renown to go abroad, and reckons it up amongſt the mercies, he beſtow'd upon her, Prov. 22.1. A good name is rather to be choſen then great riches: if, man might have mountains of gold the wealth of the Indies its nothing to a good name, Eccl. 7.1. A good name is better than pretious oyntment, it pleaſes, refreſheth, is profitable, Prov. 15.30. A good report makes the bones fat. God gives this name, 1 Chron. 17.8. ſpeaking of David, I have made thee a name like the name of great men, that are in the earth. Verſ. 21. What one Nation in the earth is like thy people Iſrael, whom God went to redeem to be his owne people, to make thee a name of greatneſſe and of terribleneſſe. While they clave to the Lord, as a girdle to the loynes, they were to the Lord for a name, for a praiſe, for a glorie, Jer. 13. but when they degenerated from God and his wayes, they became baſe, Prov. 10.7. The memorie of the juſt is bleſſed, but the name of the wicked ſhall rot, Iſa. 65.15. Ye ſhall leave your name for a curſe unto my choſen, Iſa. 62.7. Give him no reſt, till he ſhall make Jeruſalem a praiſe in the earth.