Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_100.lzh/6_148.TXT

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idolatry. committed. This may be 'applied to the
places of religious worship among the Papists, their
churches; which, instead of being adorned, are' de-.
filed With their images and image-worship, and Other
acts of superstition and will-worship: by the iniqity
of thy traffic; as by bringing in ill-gotten goods into
the sacred places of Tyre, as they were accounted,
so byselling pardons; praying souls out of purgatory
for money; by simony, or buying and selling eccle-
siastical benefices; and suchdike spiritual merchandise
in ROman churches: therefore will I bring forth afire
from the midst of thee, .it shall devour thse ; sin, and
the punishment of it, as Kimchi; which, for sin com-
mitted in the midst of them, should consume as fire;
or some from among themselves, that should stir up and
cause intestine divisions, which should issue in their
ruin; as the unclean spirit that shall go out of the
mouth of the beast, dragon, anar/d false pr6phet, to ga-
ther the antichristian kings to battle, will end in their
ruin, Rev. xvi. 14, 16. The Targum is, "I willbring
"neot>le who are stropg as fire, because of the sins of
"thy'pride they shall destroy thee." Alexander,
when he took Tyre, ordered all the inhabitants to be
slain, excepting those that fled to the temples, and
the houses to be set on fire {u}; which literally fulfilled
this prophecy; and Which may also have respect to
the destruction of ROme by fire, because of the sins
committed in it, Rev. 'xviii. '8: and I will bring thee to
ashes upon the earth, in the sight of all them that behold
thee; the kings and merchants of the earth, who shall
stand and 'lookOn thecity as it is burning, and when
reduced to ashes; which denotes the utter destruction
ofit, Rev. xviii. 9, 10, 11, 18. TheTargum is," I will
"give thee' as ashes on the earth," 4'c. and shall be no
more accounted of.
Ver. 19. All they that know thee among the people
shall be astonished at thee, &c.]  At thy fall ; that suc
a mighty city, and powerful prince, should be de-
stroyed at once; that, from such a height ofprosperity,
they should be brought to so low an estate of adver-
sity; this will be the astonishment of kings, merchants,
and others, that knew the riches, power, and flou-
rishing estate of Rome, as before observed: thou shall
be a terror; to the said persons, who will be afraid to
Come nigh for fear of the same torments and punish-
.meat, Rev. xviii. 10, 15. or, though thou hast been a
terror; or terrors; exceedingterrible'to others in time
,p, ast, yet noW, as .t. he Targum," I will give thee (or
make thee) as ff thou wast not :" and never shalt
thou be any more; as thou hast been, or after thy last
destruction; so myStical Tyre or Babylon shall be no
more, When once destroyed, Rev. xviii. 21.
Vet. 20. Again, the word of the Lord came unto
&c.] After the prophecy of the destruction of the
prince and king of Tyre, concerning a neighboUring
city: saying .' as follows:
Ver...21. Son of man, set thy .face against Zidon,
&c.] An ancient city, nea,r to Tyre, and in confede-
racy with it, greatly given to idolatry and superstition;
and may design all the antichristian states in the com-
munion of the church of 'Rome: and prophesy against
it; the prophet is bid to hook towards this place with
a stern countenance, as before against Tyre; threaten-
!rig it with ruin, and prophesylag of it, in the follow-
ing manner.
Ver. 22 And say, thus. $aith the Lord God, &c.]
The eternal Jehovah, the only true God, the Maker of
heaven and earth; this is said by way of preface to
the prophecy, and to assure of the fulfilment of it, as
well as in opposition to the gods of the Zidonians: be-
hold, I am against thee, 0 Zidon; angry with thee,
and will come out against thee in my wrath, because
of thine idolatries and irapieties. The Targum iS,
"behold, I send my fury upon thee, 0 Zidon:" I
will be glorified in the midst of thee; not by the con-
version of them; nor by acts of religious worship truly
performed by them: by prayer, Confession of sin, or.
thanksgiving; but by his judgments executed in the
midst of them; by pouring out the vials of his wrath
on them, as it follows: and they shah know that I am.
the Lord, when I shah have executed judgments in her;
for the Lord is known, by the judgments he executes,
to be that pure, holy, just, and sin-avenging God he is,
as well as omniscient and omnipotent; and this even
Heathens and antichristian persons are obliged to ac-
knowledge, Psal. ix. 15, 16: and shall be sanctified in
her; that is, shall appear, be declared and owned, to
be a God, just and holy, .in all his Ways and works.
Ver. 23. And I will send into her pestilence, and
blood into her streets, &c.] The plague and the sword,
which are two of God's sore judgments, and often go
together; the pestilence slays them that are within,
and the sword those the enemy meets with in the
streets: and the wounded shall be judged; that is, pu-
nished ; or shall fall ", die and perish: in the midst of
her by the 'sword upon her on every side ;.  this was lite-
rally fulfilled in Zidon, either by Nebuchadnezzar and
the' Chaldean army, which besieged it on every side;
or by ArtsxerXes Ochus the Persian, who took it, and
destroyed it; and will have itSaccomplishment on the
.ichristian states, eastern and western, when the
vials shall be poured out upon them, Rev. xvi.: and
they shall know that I am the Lord God; who am able
to foretel things to come, and to accomplish them.
Ver. 24. And there shall be no more a pricking brier
to .the house'of Israel, &c.] To the church of God,
Jews or Gentiles, particularly to the Jews, who will
now be converted; all the enemies of Christ and his
people 'will now be destroyed, who have been very
grievous and distressing to them by their furious perse-
cutions; the pope and Turk will be no more, nor any
of the antichristian powers; the beast and false pro-
phet'will be taken and cast into the lake of fire; and
there will benone to hurt and destroy in all the'holy
mountain, Rev. xix. 20. Isa. xi. 9: nor any grieving
thorn of all that are round about them that despised
them; the same thing in other words as before; wicked
men, especially tyrannical princes, furious persecu-
tors of the saints, are like thorns and briers, not only
unfruitful, useless, and unprofitable, but pricking,
grieving, and hurtful to good men, by their persecu-
tions, revilings, and reproaches, and whose end is tO be

{u} Curtius, Hist. I. 4. c. 4. p. 75.
{w} \^llpn\^ \~pesountai\~, Sept.; eorruent, Pagninus, Vatablus; cadet,
Montanus; so Kimchi and Ben Melech; and which is approved of by
Gussetius.