Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_100_p.lzh/5_190.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-09 | 7KB | 128 lines

this shall be heard of far and near, who. shall applaud
the mighty work, and give God the glory of it, Rev.
xix. 1, 2 : and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might;
even his omnipotence, which will be seen, observed, and
owfied by multudes, who will say, Allelujah, for the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth, Rey. xix. 6. there will
be some that will be nigh, that shall stand afar off,
lamenting her .case, and will not own the hand. of
God in it, Rey. xviii. 9, 10, 15. but others will.
Ver. 14. The sinners in Zion are afraid, and fear-
fulhess hath surprised the hypocrites, &c.3 Meaning
not persons of..such a character that dwelt in Jeru-
salem, who had the guise and form of religion, and not
the power Of it, and were for fleeing to Egypt, and
trusting in Pharaoh, and not in the Lord; who were
seized with dread and terror, when the Assyrian army
besieged them, or when it was so awfully destroyed
by the angel in the night; when, observing the. visible
and immediate hand of God in it,. they might fear the
like judgment would fall upon,them for their irreli-
gion and hypocrisy; but rather formal professors, and
hypocritical persons, in the reformed churches, Or Pro-
testants having only a form of godliness, without the
power of it, are meant; who, observing God's judg-
ments upon antichrist, shall be seized with a panic,
lest the like should c9me down upon them for their
hypocrisy and deceit; unless it should be rather
thought that antichrist, and his followers themselves,
are designed, who himself is said to sit in the temple
of God, and who claim to themselves the name of the
church of God, and pretend to be Christians, though
they are not; when they shall see the city of Rome
in flames, and the Vials of God's wrath poured 0n the
antichristian states, shall dread the vengeance of eter-
nal fire, which they express in the following words:
who among. us shall dwell with the devouring .fire.?
who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnlags ? that
is, the wrath of God in hell, which is the fire that feeds
upon and devours  Christless sinners; which shall
never be quenched, and is called everlasting fire, in
which the followers of antichrist will be to. rmented for
ever; and the smoke of which will ascend for ever
and ever, and  will be intolerable; none will be able
to abide and endure it; see Rev. xiv. 9, 10, 11. So
the Targum ihterprets it of the place where the un-
godly are to be judged and delivered ifito hell, an ever-
lasting burning.                           '
Ver. 15. He that walketh righteously, &c.3' These
are the words of the prophet, in .answer to those of
the hypocrites. So the Targum, , the prophet said,
·  the righteous shall dwell in it ;,r not in the devour-
ing fire and everlasting bursings, but in Zion, in Jeru-
salem, on high, in the munition of rocks, safe from
those burnlags; for these words are to be con-
nected not with the preceding, but with the fol-
lowing verse,. thus, he that walketh righteously, &c. he
shall dwell on high, &c.; and such an one is he that
walks by faith on Christ as his righteousness; that
walks after the spirit, and not after the flesh; that
walks uprightl.y, according to the rule of the Gospel,
and as becomes it; that walks in the ways of judgment
and righteousness, in which Christ leads his people,
and lives soberly rightsourly, and godly': and speaketh
uprightly; or uprightnesses b; upright things, what is.
in his heart, what ts agreeable to the word of God, the
standard of truth; who makes mention continually of
the righteousness of Christ, and that only as Iris justi-
fying one: and whose tongue talks of judgment, just
and righteous things, anti not what is corrupt, pro-
fane, impure, and impious: he that despiseth
gain ofoppressiont ; that which is got by oppression..
and rapine; the mammon of iniquity, as the Targum
calls it; but reckons the gain of wisdom, and of god-.
liness, ,exceeding preferable to it: that shaketh his hand
from holding of bribes; that won't receive any, but
when they are put into his hands shakes them out, and
will not retain them; expressing his abhorrence of
such practices, and declaring that he is not to be in-
fluenced by such methods from speaking truth, and
doing justice: that 'stoppeth his ears from hearing of
blood ; or bloods {s}; from hearing those that shed inno-
cent blood, as the Targum; who Will not hearken to
any solicitations to shed blood; will not converse with
men about it, or enter into schemes in order to it,
much less join them in shedding it: and s_hutteth his
eyes from seeing evil; done by others; he abhors it in
himself, and dislikes it in others; turns his eyes from
beholding it, so far from taking pleasure in it, and in
those that do it: all this is opposed to the hypocrisy,
impiety, profanehess, rapine, bribery, murders, and
wickedness of the church of Rome; see Rev. ix.
Ver. 16. He shah dwell on high, &c.] And so in
safety: this is opposed to the fears of hypocrites, the
grovelling life of a worldling, and the low lifeof many
professors, and is expressive of the security of good
men. It may respect the state of the saints on earth,
who dwell by faith on God, as their covenant-God, on
his everlasting love and unchangeable grace; on Christ,
as their Redeemer and Saviour; and in their thoughts
and contemplations on heavenly things, where Christ
is'; and particularly in the spiritual reign of Christ,
after the destruction of antichrist, when such shall
dwell quietly and safely in God's holy hill, the church,
which shall be established upon the top of the moun-
tains: and it may also respect .the state of the saints
in heaven, which is a dwelling' on high, and where
they wi.11 be safe from everlasting burnings, and out of
the reach of all enemies: his place of defence shall be
the munitions of rocks; Christ is the place of defencs to.
his people, against avenging justice, the curse and con-
detonation of the law, the wrath of God, sin and all
its dreadful consequences, Satan and all enemies:
and he is the munitions of rocks; he is a Rock himself,
for them to build upon, and shelter in; and like
.fortresses made out of rocks, which can n. ever be under-
mined,' blown up, or broke through: bread shall be
given him: not only shall he be in safety,-but shall
enjoy the greatest plenty of blessings, particularly
spiritual ones; above all, Christ, the bread of God from
heaven, thee true bread, the bread $f life, which gives
and supports life, and secures an eternal one; as also
the word and ordinances, which are the provisions of

{b} \^Myrvym rbd\^ qui loquitur recta, Piscator; loquens recta,
Cocceius; loquens aequitates, Montanus.
{c} \^Mymd emvm\^ ab audiendo sanquines, Montanus; ne audiat
sanquines, Cocceius.