I now come to the longest and most entire Prophecy in the whole Bible, concerning the future Restoration of both Judah and Ifrael, which is contained in the 36, 37th, 38th, and 39th chapters of Ezekiel, and treats of that fubject only, without the intervention of any thing foreign to it; which is not the cafe of many others that are much fhorter than this.

XLI.

EZEK. Xxxvi. 1. Alfo thou fon of man, prophefie unto the mountains of Ifrael, and fay, Ye mountains of Ifrael, hear the word of the Lord. 2 Thus faith the Lord God, Because the

enemy had faid against you, Aha, even the ancient high places 3 are ours in poffeffion: Therefore prophefie, and fay, Thus faith the Lord God, Because they have made you defolate, and fwallowed you up on every fide, that ye might be a poffeffion unto the refidue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of 4 talkers, and are an infamy of the people: Therefore, ye mountains of Ifrael, hear the word of the Lord God, Thus faith the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, to the defolate waftes, and to the cities that are forfaken, which became a prey and derifion to the refidue of the heathen that are round about: 5 Therefore thus faith the Lord God, Surely in the fire of my jealoufie have I fpoken against the refidue of the heathen, and againft all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their poffeffion, with the joy of all their heart, with defpiteful minds to 6 caft it out for a prey. Prophefie therefore concerning the land of Ifrael, and fay unto the mountains

E 3

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and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, thus faith the Lord God, Behold I have spoken in my jealoufie, and in my fury, because ye have born the shame of the heathen. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their 8 fhame. But ye, O mountains of Ifrael, ye fhall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to 9 my people Ifrael, for they are at hand to come. For

behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, 10 and ye fhall be tilled and fown. And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Ifrael, even all of it, and the cities fhall be inhabited, and the I waftes fhall be builded. And I will multiply upon you man and beaft, and they fhall increase, and bring fruit, and I will fettle you after your old eftates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings, and ye fhall know that I am the Lord. 12 Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Ifrael, and they fhall poffefs thee, and thou fhalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more 13 henceforth bereave them of men. Thus faith the Lord God, Because they say unto you, thou land devoureft 14 up men, and haft bereaved thy nations, Therefore

thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy 15 nations any more, faith the Lord God. Neither will I caufe men to hear in thee the fhame of the heathen any more, neither fhalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither fhalt thou caufe thy nations to fall any more*, faith the Lord God.

That this part of the Prophecy is not to be understood allegorically, and applied to the Gen

*Nor caft out thyne owne people any more. TINDALE.

tile

tile churches, is plain, from the very expreffions ufed. For the mountains, bills, rivers, and valleys of Ifrael, the defolate waftes, and the cities that are forfaken; which became a prey and derifion to the refidue of the heathen that are round about, chap. xxxxvi. 4. can never be fuppofed to be a defcription of the Gentile churches; there not being the leaft propriety of expreffion in fuch allegory, if thus applied but the defcription is exactly true of the land of Ifrael, taken in the literal fenfe. If then it must be taken in a literal fenfe, the next enquiry is, whether it be already fulfilled, or is yet future. That the Prophecy was not fulfilled by the return from Babylon, is evident from ver. 10. And I will multiply men upon you (the mountains of Ifrael) all the house of Ifrael, even all of it. Now, allowing that a part of Ifrael returned with the children of Judah from the Babylonish captivity, yet this Prophecy will not be fulfilled, which, agreeably to many others (fome of which I fhall presently mention) afferts, that all the house of Ifrael, even all of it, fhall return. Add to this, ver. 11. I will fettle you after your old eftates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings *. When was this fulfilled? At the deftruction of Jerufalem by the Romans? or in any time fince that period? No, furely. No one can pretend that this is yet fulfilled to the house of Ifrael, and

* Shew you more kindness than ever you had before.

confequently it must be yet future. This is ftill further confirmed by the 12th, 14th, and 15th verfes, thou shalt no more bereave them of men ; and, thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, &c. all which will appear to the reader in a still stronger light in the sequel of this Prophecy, to which I now return.

16 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, 17 faying, Son of man, when the house of Ifrael

dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way, and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleannefs of a removed woman, 18 Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the

blood that they had fhed upon the land, and for 19 their idols wherewith they had polluted it. And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way, and according to their doings I judged them. 20 And when they entered unto the heathen-they [the beathen] profaned my holy name, when they faid to them, Thefe are the people of the Lord, and 21 are gone forth out of his land *. But I had pity for my holy name, which the house of Ifrael had profaned [or caused to be profaned] among the heathen 22 whither they went t. Therefore fay unto the house

of

*They, in this verfe, means the heathen (and not the Ifraelites, as fome fuppofe) who profaned the Lord's name by faying jeeringly or ironically, Thefe are the people of the Lord (his favourites, &c.) and yet, they are gone forth out of his land, i. e. as much as to fay, He (the Lord) is not able to keep them in their own land.

+ Some may think, from this verfe, that it was Ifrael

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of Ifrael, thus faith the Lord God, I do not this for your fakes, O house of Ifrael, but for mine holy name's fake, which ye have profaned [or caufed to be profaned among the heathen whither ye went. And I will fanctifie my great name which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned [or caufed to be profaned] in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, faith the Lord God, when I fhall be fanctified in you, 24 before their eyes. For I will take you from among

the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, 25 and will bring you into your own land. Then will

I fprinkle clean water upon you, and ye fhall be clean from all your filthiness, and from all your 26 idols will I cleanse you. A new heart alfo will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the ftony heart out of your 27 flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye fhall keep my judgments, and 28 do them. And ye fhall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ye fhall be my people, and I will be your God. I will alfo fave you from all your uncleanness, and I will call for the corn, and 30 will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye fhall receive no more reproach 31 of famine among the heathen. Then fhall member your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loath yourselves in your own fight, for your iniquities, and for your abomi

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ye re

that was meant by they in the preceding verfe, who profaned, &c. But it is plain, that the profanation there mentioned was the fpeech made to, not by, the Ifraelites.

nations.