Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/4_000_t.lzh/4_084.TXT

Text File | 1994-09-06 | 7KB | 127 lines

of grace, in their spirituality, liveliness, and zeal, and
in their walk and conversation in the church and world;
yet they shall abide and persevere to the end; and
though the church may be like the moon in the wane,
be declining as to numbers, gifts, and graces, yet it
shall continue and be established; it is sometimes in-
deed in a fluctuating state, and is not always in the
same place, but is removed from one country to an-
other.; yet it always is somewhere, even though in
the wilderness, andere long will be established on the
top of the mountains, and be no more a tabernacle that
shall be taken down; see Psal. xlviii. 8. and lxxxvii.
5. and as a faithful witness in heaven. ,Sdah : or in the
sky or cloud {b}; some understand this of the moon,
others of both sun and moon; but it seems best to in-
terpret it of something distinct from either, even of
the rainbow, which though it does not always appear
in the clouds, yet it has appeared at times, and does
and will unto the end of the world; and be a faithful
and an everlasting token and witness of the covenant
of God made with all creatures, that he will no more
destroy the world! by a flood, Gen. ix. 12, 13, 16, 17.
and is an emblem of the covenant of grace, and of the
continuance, perpetuity, and iramutability of it; see
Isa. !iv. 9, 10.
Ver. 38. But thou hast cast off, &c.] Here begin
objections to what is before said, and swore to; even
to the everlasting love of God, to Christ, and to his
seed, to the unchangeablehess and unalterablehess of
the covenant, and to the continuance and-perpetuity
of the kingdom and church of Christ, taken from the
dealings of the Lord with the MesSiah and his people;
which were made either by the psalmist, under a spirit
of prophecy, foreseeing what would come to pass; or
by the apostles and church of Christ, ,about the time
of his sufferings and death, and after; when he seemed
to be east off, and rejected by the Lord, particularly
when he forsook him, and hid his face from him,
Matt. xxvii. 46. as when' he hides his face from his
people, it is interpreted by them a casting them
off; see Psal. xliv. 22, 23, 24. and viii. 14. and ab-
horred; not that he abhorred the person of Christ,
who was his own Son, his beloved Son; nor his
afflictions and sufferings, which were a sacrifice of
a sweet-smelling savour to him; see Psal. xxii. 24.
though these might be interpreted by others as if
the Lord abhorred or rejected him; because he suf-
fered him to be used in the manner he was, arid par-
ticularly to be abhorred by the Jews, even by the
nation in general, Isa. xlix. 7. Zech. xi. 8. though the
sins of his people, which he had upon him, and for
which he suffered, were an abhorring to the Lord;
and when he was made sin, he was made a curse': thou
hast been wroth with thine Anointed; with thy Messiah;
not Rehoboam, from whom the ten tribes Were rent;
nor Josiah, who was killed by Pharaoh-necho; nor Ze-
dekiah, carried captive into Babylon; but the true
Messiah, the son of David, before said to be found by
the Lord, and. anointed with his holy oil, vet. 20.
which is to be understood of him, not as his own son,
who was always the object of his love, but as the sin-
ner's surety, bearing the sins of his people, and all
the wrath and punishment due unto them; and so is
reconcileable to the promise, that loving-kindness
should not be taken from him, yet. 3,$. and is no ob-
jection to it, though made one.
Vet. 39. Thou hast made void the covenant of thy ser-
vant, &c.] His servant David the Messiah, ver. 3, 20.
meaning not the covenant of circumcision, nor the co-
venant at Sinai, which were really made void at the
death of Christ; but the covenant of grace and re-
demption made with Christ, which it was promised
should stand fast, and never be broken, ver. 3, 28, 34.
but was thought to be null and void when the Re-
deemer was in the grave, and all hopes of redemption
by him were gone, Luke xxiv. 21. but so far was it
from being so, that it was confirmed by the sufferings
and death of Christ; and every blessing and promise
of it were ratified by his blood, hence called the blood
of the everlasting covenant, Heb. xiii. 20. thou hast
pro. faned his crown by casting it to the ground: by suf-
fering it to be cast to the ground, and used contemp-
tibly; as when Jesus was crowned with thorns, and
saluted in a mock-manner; when an if was put upon
his being the King of Israel, Matt. xxvii. 29, 42. and
which seemed very inconsistent with the promise,
yet. 27- that he should be made higher than the kings
of the earth; and yet so it was, and is; he is highly
exalted, made Lord and Christ, crowned with glory
and henour, and is set far above all principality and
power, and every name that is named in this world
or that to come, notwithstanding all the above usage
of him.
Ver. 40. Thou hast broken down all his hedges, &c.]
Round about his vine, the church; see Psal. ixxx. 12.
A famous church was raised at Jerusalem, quickly
after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ,
which seemed to be well filled, fenced, and protected;
but on a sudden a violent persecution arose, and the
members of it were made havoc of, and the ministers
of the word were scattered abroad, and which was the
breaking down of the hedges; and what was done to
the church was taken by Christ as done to himself, as
it is here spoken of him; see Acts viii. 1--4. and ix. 5.
and this might seem contrary to the word and oath of
God, that his seed should endure for ever, and his
throne as the days of heaven, vet. 29, 36. when the first
Christian church was used in this manner; but that
providence was overruled, for the spread of the Gos-
pel, and the interest of Christ, in other parts; see
Acts viii. 4. and xi. 19, 20, 21. and so no objection to
what is before said: thou hast brought his strong holds
to ruin; the same as before, the church of Christ,
which seemed to be so well built and fortitled; see Isa.
xxvi. 1.
Ver. 41. A1l that pass by the way spoil him, &c.] His
· church, his members, which are himself, when made
havoc of by their persecutors, and they took joyfully
the spoilingof their goods, Heb. x. 34. see Psai. lxxx. 12.
so the church of Christ may be spoiled, however, at-
tempted to be spoiled, by false teachers, who are the
foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines; crafty se-
ducers, who spoil Christians of their peace and com-
fort, through philosophy and vain deceit, Cant. ii. 15.

{b} \^qxvb\^ in aethere, Montanus, Tigurine version, Vatablus; in superiore nube, Junius & Tremellius; in nubibus, Gejerus.