Exposition of Ezekiel 1-5, Commentary on Ezechiel · Chapter 3 · Verse 21 – Verse 22
VER. 21.
Nevertheleſſe, if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous ſin not, &c.
THe words need little opening: He ſhall ſurely live, in living he ſhall live; he ſhall have his life for a prey in time of danger, or he ſhall live comfortably that perſiſts in this righteouſneſſe, he ſhall be ſecure for feare of death.
Obſerv. 1. A Miniſter or Prophets care muſt extend to all ſorts of people; before he had ſaid, the wicked muſt be warn'd; here he ſaith, the righteous alſo muſt be warned, good and bad fall under admonition and circumſpection of the Prophets, both are committed to their charge, and they muſt warn them, give account of them, and if they fail of their duty, die for it; the beſt and worſt they muſt tell of their ſins.
2. The Miniſtery of the Word is very needfull; wicked, righteous muſt be warn'd, that they may not ſin, return when they have ſinn'd, eſcape death and be ſaved: the warnings of the Prophets are ſalutarie remedia adverſus mortem animarum; not only the miniſtery of the Word in generall, but admonitions and reproofes are means through God to prevent the death of ſouls; Prov. 15.31. it's call'd the reproof of life; there is life in reproofes, as death in ſin; increpationes ſunt ſalutares, & vivificatrices, they teach the way to live, and lead to eternall life; hence you have ſuch expreſſions, as that hee hates reproof is brutiſh, Prov. 12.1.Prov. 15.10. he is void of underſtanding, a ſenſuall brutiſh creature; he regardeth it, ſhall be honoured, Pro. 13.18. honoured with comfort, ſafety, life. Noah was warn'd of God, and made an Ark to the ſalvation of himſelf and his houſe; Heb. 11.7. And when ſinners take warning, it's life, ſalvation to them; Ezek. 33.5. hee takes warning, delivers his ſoul; how needfull then is warning? how profitable, if ſouls be ſaved by it? 2 Tim. 3.16. All Scripture is given by inſpiration, and is profitable for inſtruction, for reproof, &c. It is ſo profitable that the ſalvation of ſouls depends upon it. When David was reproved by Nathan of his ſinne, it reduced him from the errour of his way, and was ſalvation to him. Let us bleſſe God for his Word, and reproofes tendred to us out of it, and ſubject unto them as tending to our preſent and eternall good. Bee not offended with the reprovers, but affected with the reproofs.
VER. 22.
And the hand of the Lord was there upon me, and he ſaid unto me, Ariſe, goe forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.
23. Then I aroſe, and went forth into the plain, and behold the glory of the Lord ſtood there, as the glory which I ſaw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face.
24. Then the Spirit entred into me, and ſet me upon my feet, and ſpake with me, and ſaid unto me, Goe ſhut thy ſelfe within thine houſe.
IN theſe and the following verſes to the end, you have directions for the Prophet, and events that fell out.
The hand of the Lord comming upon him, hee is directed to goe to the plaine, where the Lord Chriſt promiſed to ſpeak with him; and he going thither, the firſt event was, he ſaw the glory of the Lord ſtanding there, verſ. 23.
2. He is amazed and falls down at it, which is implied in the 24. verſe.
3. He hath the Spirit entring into him, and is ſtrengthened by it, ſet upon his feet, which is expreſſed in that 24. verſe.
Then here is a further direction, that he ſhould go and ſhut up himſelfe. verſ. 24. And here his ſilence is declared,
1. By this incluſion of himſelfe in his houſe.
2. By the bands impoſed upon him, verſ. 25. They ſhall put bands upon thee.
3. By the impediments Chriſt himſelfe inferres, verſe 26. I will make thy tongue to cleave to the roofe of thy mouth, and thou ſhalt bee dumb.
Laſtly, the time of his propheſyings mentioned, verſ. 27. which is, when Chriſt ſhould ſpeak unto him.
I come to open the words:
The hand of the Lord was there upon me.
In the 14th verſe of this Chapter, and in the third verſe of the firſt Chapter you have had theſe words opened already. This hand of the Lord, was the Spirit of the Lord, which acted the Prophet, and ſhewed him and others, that he was not moved in an humane way, or by inconſiderate motions, but divinely; the power and efficacie of the Spirit.
There.
That is, at Tel-abib, in the 15th verſe; he came thither, and ſate down there ſeven dayes. And being in his habitation, ſad, and backward unto the work he was call'd unto, the Word of the Lord came to him, verſe 16. and the Hand of the Lord was there upon him. Hee thought, being ſhut up in his houſe, that the buſineſſe would fall, and that hee ſhould be excuſed from propheticall ſervice; but he was miſtaken, Gods Hand finds him out, and hee is bidden to go forth into the plain, not to ſtay any longer within his dores, but to go into the plain, or valley;foreign ſo the word in Hebrew ſignifies, being from a word which is to cut, divide, break. This plain or valley, was divided from the mountains, and a ſolitary place, free from company and diſturbances, delightfull, fit to refreſh and quiet the ſpirits of men.
Obſ. 1. The Spirit is the great agent in divine things, it's the hand of the Lord that doth all; it beautifies with gifts and graces, calls to office, directs whither to go, what to do; it aſſiſts and inables to all divine operations. Chriſt had the chiefeſt work to do that concern'd the Church, and the hand of the Lord was upon him: Iſa. 61.1. The Spirit of the Lord is upon mee; and Iſa. 11.2. it's a Spirit of might, and inabled him to do mighty things, Luke 24.19. And ſo Stephen, Acts 6.10. They were not able to reſiſt the Spirit by which he ſpake; it's the Spirit doth the great things in Religion, ſanctification and mortification are the works of this hand of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. 6.11. Acts 13.2. Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto, &.
2. The ſervants of Chriſt have daily need of new influences of the Spirit to encourage them to, and ſtrengthen them in their work: Ezekiel was full of feares, had many diſcouragements, ſate in a doubtfull condition what to doe, and the hand of the Lord was upon him; he had formerly felt divine vertue, ſeen Chriſt, and heard him: yet all this doth not ſuffice, the hand muſt worke again and help him, elſe nothing will be done. The Apoſtles had been much with Chriſt, ſeen his miracles, heard his doctrine, and yet they muſt ſtay at Jeruſalem till the Spirit fall upon them, Acts 1.4. Paul ſaith of himſelfe and others, Wee are not ſufficient of our ſelves to think any thing of our ſelves, but our ſufficiencie is of God, 2 Cor. 3.5. That is, all our ſtrength and help lies in him, wee daily finde a want in our ſelves, and God as it pleaſes him, lets out from his ſufficiencie unto us, now a little, and then a little, and we are ever receiving from him, and enabled by his grace and Spirit, to doe what is done;foreign. in the 1. Phil. 19. is mentioned the ſupply of the Spirit, it's the adminiſtration, ſubminiſtration, under-ſupplying, underpropping of the Spirit; all which words note the Saints infirmities, and need of the Spirit. Thoſe things befell Paul, would not turne to his good, without the Philippians prayers, and further ſupply of the Spirit: as a weak houſe muſt bee under-propped, a ſickly man have daily help, an Army conſtant ſupply; ſo muſt the ſervants of God be under-propped, helped, ſupplied by the Spirit: Therefore we ſhould daily pray, as it is in Pſalme 68.28. Strengthen, O God, that which thou haſt wrought for us, and that which thou haſt wrought in us.
3. No place can keep off the hand of God from comming upon us: There at Telabib, ſhut up in his houſe, divine vertue ſeiſed upon him, he thought now to heare no more of propheſying, and doing publick ſervice of that nature to the Jewes, but the Spirit of God found him out, that cannot be excluded from any place, or limited to any time: It's like the winde that blowes where and when it liſteth: When the Apoſtles were ſhut up in a roome, Acts 2.2, 3. there was a ruſhing mighty winde, that filled all the houſe, and the Spirit with it, that filled all them. So when Cornelius and his company heard Peter preach in a private room, the holy Ghoſt fell on them all, Acts 10.44. As no place can include the Spirit of God, ſo can none exclude it. There were Saints in Neroes Court, and this hand of God had been working there; it's not a dungeon, any priſon can keep out the Spirit of God from comming to, and comforting of his ſervants: Glover found the truth of it when he ſaid, O Auſtin, he is come!
4. The more ſeparate from the world, the more fit for communion with God: Ezekiel muſt goe into the plain, and there the Lord would talk with him, hee could have converſed with him at Telabib, among the people in his own habitation; but the Lord declines that, intimating, that while we are converſant with worldly and wicked men, wee are incapable of divine myſteries; but when we are remote from them, ſolitary and ſedate, we are fitter to heare God ſpeake: When the Church was allured into the Wilderneſſe, Hoſea 2.14. then God would ſpeak, and that comfortably unto her. It was by the river Cbebar he had his former viſions, when he was abſent from popular noyſe, domeſtick troubles, his minde ſerene and contemplative, then the Lord opened himſelfe unto him. Chriſt oft left the multitude, and when he was gotten aſide into the mount, then was his transfiguration, and the voyce, This is my beloved Sonne in whom I am well pleaſed, heare him, Matth. 17.