Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_200.lzh/6_228.TXT

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Father, and of Ci}rist; and their being baptized in the
name of the three divine Persons; and their being built
on Christ the foundation, a habitation for God through
the Spi rit: but had not pillars as the pills rs of the courts;
those which supported the porticos and galleries in
the courts of the temple, not pillars so thick and strong
as they: so the churcbes represented by these cham-
bers, though they have Gospel ministers, which'are as
pillars, and valuable members, which are as such, that
shall not go ottt; yet they have not those external sup-
ports from great and rich men,, but consist generally
of the poor of this world, as churches on a civil esta-
blishment have, who are supported by the state: there-
fore the building was straitened more than the lowest
and the middlemost from the ground; the upper' part of
it, or the uppermost chambers, were more straitened,
and had less room in them, than the middlemost, and
the middlemost than the lowest; suggesting, that the
more heavenly and spiritual men are, the farther they
depart from the men of the world and their conver-
sation, from the sentiments and practices of natural
men, the more they are exposed to their scorn and
contempt, and are the more afflicted and straitened by
them.
Ver, 7- And the wall that was without over-against
the chambers, &c.] This wall separated and distin-
guished the chambers from the outward court, as well
as was a protection of them; and signifies the grace
and power of God, which separates his true churches
from the world, and is the security of them; see the
note on ch. xi. 5. this was towards the 'utter c.urt, on the
fore part of the chambers; or front of them, which
seems to be to the north of them; since their doors
were towards the north, ver. 4. though Cocceius makes
it to be to the west, which better agrees with what
follows: the length thereof wasfifty cubits; which an-
swers to the breadth of the chambers, ver. 2. and what
is called length here, with respect to the wall, is called
the breadth with respect'to the chambers. The wall
of divine protection is equal to the length and breadth,
and even the whole compass, of the churches of Christ.
Ver. 8. For the length of the chambers. that were in
the utter court was fifty cubits, &c.] Which was the
reason why the wall was of the same length, that it
might be answerable to them; here length is put for
breadth; see vet. 2. this measure was from the north
to south, as Lipman {x} observes: and, io, before the tem-
ple were an hundred cubits; as the breadth of the wall
and chambers was fifty, so in length, as they were
over-against the temple, they were an hundred cubits,
as in ver. 2. unless the account is to be taken thus; that
the row of chambers towards the north were fifty
cubits long, and the row towards the south over-against
the other was fifty cubits, and so both made a hun-
dred; to which sense is the Septuagint version, "for
· ' the length of the tifftubers that look to the outward
" court was fifty cubits, and those (that is, those that
"looked to the temple, or were before that) answered
" to them, the whole a hundred cubits ;" that is,
both rows made a hundred cubits; but rather, as
Lipman r says, the chambers contained from east to
west a hundred cubits.
Ver. 9. And from under these chambers, &c.] Or,
from the 1ower part of these chambers {}; or, from the
lowest of them there was a space, as may be supplied,
and as is by Cocceius and Starchins; and as there was
a wall to the west of them, so there was a void space
to the east; and as follows: the entry on the east side:
or, he rhat brought me from the east {}, as the Keri; and
coming eastward to these chambers, one must needs
go through this space: as one goeth into them from the
utter court; if a man went eastward into those cham-
bers from the outward court. he must go through this
space, which lay to the east of the lowest chambers:
or the sense is, that from under the north chambers to
the south was an entry on the east side, which led from
one to the other.
Vet. 10. The chambers were in' the thickness of the
wall o.f the court toward the east, &c.] As there were
chambers in the northern part of the outward court,
some which looked to the north, and others to the
south, so likewise some to the east; and these were
built on the breadth, as it may be rendered, of the court-
wall to the east; signifying there will be churches
raised in all the northern parts of the world: over-
against the separate place, and over-against the building;
as the other chambers were; see the note on vet. 1.
Ver. 11. And the way before them was like the ap-
pearance of the chambers which were toward the north,
&c.] The way before these eastern chambers was
exactly like to that of the northern chambers; which
was either the way of one cubit into them, or the walk
of ten cubits before them, or both; signifying that
the way into Gospel churches is the same everywhere,
and the walk and conversation of the saints the same
in all places: as long as they, and as broad as they;
which seems to confirm that both the way and the
walk are meant, which were the same in those eastern
chambers as in the northern; the way being as long, of
one cubit, and the walk as broad, often cubits: and
all their goings out were both according to theirJhshions,
and according to their' doors; the tbrm and fashion of
them were alike; they were built three stories high,
were as long, and as broad, and the upper shorter than
the middlemost and lowest; the way of going into
them, and coming out of them, were just the same;
their doors were in the same position: in Gospel
churches there are the same ordinances of baptism and
the Lord's supper; the same laws and rules; the same
privileges and immunities; the same graces in the
members of them, like-precious faith, hope, and love;
whatever difference there may be in temporal things,
there is none in spiritual ones; be they rich or poor,
their communion is equal, their benefits the same.
Vet. 12. And according to the doors of the chambers
that were toward the south, &c.] That is, the doors
of these eastern chambers were exactly like to the
doors of the southern chambers, as well as to the
northern ones: was a door in the head of the way; or
beginning of the wav; the door opened into the way

{x} Tzurath Beth Hamikdash, sect. 71.
{y} Ibid.
{z} \^halh twkvlh txtymw\^ & ab ima, parte axedrarum, Vatablus;
& infra calles has fuisse spatium, Cocceius, Starckius.
{a} \^aybmh Mydqhm\^ is qui deducebat me ab oriente, Junius & Tre-
mellius; quumque is qui introduxerat me ab orientes, Piscator.