casting off of allegiance to him, and a trampling upon
and despising his legislative power and authority;
wherefore rebels and transgressors of his law are put
together; the one being explinative of the other. The
people of the Jews were always more or less a rebel-
lious people; so they were in the times of Moses, and
all the while that he was with them, and were noto-
riously so in the times of Ezekiel; and therefore are
often so described in this book; but they were not all
so;such as were, the Lord here declares that he
would single them out, as goats from among his sheep
he brought under the rod, and purge them. as chaff
from the wheat; that sinners in Zion should be no
more in the congregation of the righteous: I will bring
them forth out of the countr!! where they sojourn; or
countries; wherever they have been pilgrims and so-
journers, as they now are; wherever they are; it looks
as if, a little before or when the remnant of God, ac-
cording to the election of his grace, shall be converted,
that the rest shall be !collected together into some one
place, and -be tlestroyed as rebels: and the!/shall not
enter into the land of Israel; when .the converted Jews
shall;-an .emblem of carnal Israelites, wicked pro-
fessors, being not admitted into the New Jerusalem,
and being excluded the kingdom of heaven: and ye
shall know that I am the Lord; that kuows all things,
can do all things, and will faithfully and punctually
perform all that is promised, threatened, or predicted.
Vet. 39. Ais for you, 0 house of Israel, &c.] The
then present house of Israel, and the elders of it, who
were upon the spot with the prophet: go ye, serve ye
every one his idols; or dunghil-gods; since they liked
not to ser-ve the true God: this is not giving them
leave 'to serve idols, or approving their idolatrous prac-
tices ; but is said ironically, as Kimchi and Ben Melech
observe, who compare it with Eccl. xi. 9: and here-
after also, if ye will not hear/ten unto me; not only
sorve them now, but for the future; seeing ye choose
not to hearken to my voice, to obey my laws, and to
worship me, and me only; for it suggests, that it
was better to attend to the service of the one, or of the
other, and not halt between two opinions; but either,
ff the God of Israel was the true God, then serve him,
and him0nly; but if Baal, or any other Heathen deity,
was so, then serve them, and keep serving them: but
pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts and
with your idols; to worship him along with them, and
them along with him; to pretend they worsh,ipped
him in them, and offered their gifts and sacrifices to
him through them; and so made use of his name as a
cover to their idolatrous practices: this was a polluting
his name, and was abominable to him.
Ver. 40. For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain
of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, &c.] Al-
luding to Mount Zion, or Moriah, on which the temple
was built, on the highest part of the land of Israel, as
Kimchi and Ben Melech observe; here the Gospel
church is meant, colnparable to a mountain for its
firmness and durablehess; said to be a holy one, be-
cause consisting of holy persons, performing holy
worship to a holy God; and represented as high,
being established, as it will be in the latter day, upon
the top of the mountains, and be very visible and glo-
rious: .there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in
the land, serve me: when all Israel shall be saved, or
converted; ahd, the rebels an{t transgressors being
purged away from them, they shall join themselves to
the Gospel church, and in it serve the Lord, according
to the rules of the Gospel, and the ordinances of it;
even all of them that shall enter into their own land
and dwell in it; the rest being not admitted to it:
there will I accept them; their persons, and their
crifices of prayer and praise, being loffered up, in the
name and faith of Christ, that altar which sanctities
every git't; see lsa. lvi. 7: and there will I require
your offerings, and the first-fruits of your oblations,
with all your holy things; meaning the offering up of
their persons: bodies, and souls,. as a living, holy, and
acceptable sacrifice, which he would require of them
as their reasonable service; together with all holy
duties of prayer, praise, and beneficence; sacrifices
with which God is well-pleased through Christ and his
sacrifice; and which are the only sacrifices he now re-
quires under the Gospel dispensation; for ceremonial
ones he does not require, seek after, enjoin, or accept;
these are done away and made void by the sacrifice of
his son; only it may be observed, as in other places
and prophecies of Gospel times, that New Testament
worship is expressed by the phrases, forms, and usages
suited to the Old Testameht; see Psal. xl. 6.
Ver. 41. I wig accept you with your sweet sayour,
&c.] Their sins being expiated by the sacrifice of
Christ, which is unto God for a sweet-smelling sayour;
and their persons being, clothed with the robe of his
righteousness, and the garments of his salvation, all
whose garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia; the
Gospel being the sayour of life unto life unto'ttaem; and
the sayour of the knowledge of Christ being communi-
cated to them by it; and also the sayour of his good
ointments, the graces of the spirit, being imparted to
thean: when 1 bring you out of the people, and gather
you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered;
which will not only be locally and literally true cf
them, when the Jews are converted, that they shall be
collected together out of all nations where they now
are dispersed, and return to their land; but spiritually
also, they being effectually called out-from among the,
men of the world, and to leave their former company,
customs, and lusts: and I will be sanctified in you
fore the Heathen; the Gentiles, Christian men; who will
take notice of the power, and grace, and goodness of
God, in the conversion and restoration of them, and
praise and glorify him on account of it; and when he
will be visibly feared, served, and worshipped, in the
midst of them.
Ver. 4o.. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, &c.]
The one only Jehovah, that keeps covenant; performs
promises; is faithful to his word; is kind, gracious,
and mercifui, as well as mightyand powerful; and all this
they shall experimentally know, and publicly own and
acknowledge: when I shah bring,you into the land of
israel; which will be the Lord's doing; his hand and
his power will be signally seen in it; this is one of the
places in prophecy, which clearly asserts that the
Jews, when converted, shall be brought into their own
land again: into the country for the which I lifted up
mine hand, to give it to your fathers ; that is, which he
swore he would give unto them.