Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_700.lzh/6_733.TXT

Text File | 1994-11-26 | 7KB | 127 lines

Christ takes of his flock, both in guiding and directing
them, and in protecting and defending them from their
enemies: he fed his people in his own person when
here on earth, with his staff Beauty, or clemency; he was
tent, and came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,
and had great compassion on them, as being like sheep
without a shepherd; their present shepherds, or who
bore that name, being such as are before described:
and his tenderness and gentleness towards them ap-
peared in his calling sinners to repentance; in his
gracious invitations to come unto him; by his kind
reception of them; his aft'able and courteous deport-
ment towards them; the gentle reproofs and suitable
instructions he gave them, and the comfbrtable truths
of the Gospel he delivered to them; and, during his
personal ministry, he suffered his disciples to go no-
where else with his Gospel; and, at his resurrection
from the dead, ordered them to begin preaching at
Jerusalem, and to continue preaching to the Jews first
everywhere, as they did, until they rejected the Gos-
pel; and then Christ broke both his staves, or re-
moved the Gospel, and the ordinances of it, which I
think are meant by these staves: for these staves are
not only ensigns of the shepherd, as instrutnents of
guiding, directing, and protecting the flock; but em-
blematical, as their names shew; and emblems they
might be of the stay a, nd staff of food, of the whole
stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, Isa. iii. 1.
and we lind that Christ's rod and stall, in a mystical
sense, are of use to feed, refresh, and comfort, as well
as to guide and direct, Psal. xxiii. 4. by the stall
Beauty we are to understand the Gospel, which was
preached to the Jews before the destruction of Jeru-
salem, which is beautiful and pleasant in itsell'; the
doctrines el' it are so, such as those of peace, pardon,
righteousness, and salvation by Christ; and such are
the promises of it, being absolute and unconditional,
sure and suitable to the cases of God's people, and
likewise its ministers, Isa. lii. 7. and the ordinances of
it comely and lovely; and besides, it sets forth the
beauty of C[n-ist, and represents the saints' beautiful-
ness in him; and it is like the shepherd's staff; of great
use in feeding the flock, not only by supplying with
food, being food itself, milk for babes, and meat for
strong men; and by directing to Christ, his covenant
and church, where it is to be had; but by setting
right such who are going in wrong pastures; pushing
forward such as are backward to duty; fetching back
suchas are driven away, or backslidden, and preserving
the whole from wolves and bears: and by the other
staff, Bands, the ordinttnces of the Gospel are designed,
which are of use to keep the saints together, and to
direct them to proper food; particularly the ordinance
of the Lord's supper, which, as it is a feeding ordi-
nance, hnd sets forth Christ, as food for faith, his flesh
which is meat indeed, and his blood which is drink
indeed; so it is a knitting and uniting Ordinance, and
is fitiy expressed by bands; is not 0nly a means of
knitting the affections to Christ, whose love is so fully
expressed in it; but of uniting the hearts of believers
to one another, who herein become one bread, and one
body, and feed together; and have communion with
each other, and maintain their church-state in a com-
fortable manner; and keep the unity of the spirit in
the bond of peace; and the ordinances of the Gospel,
th9ugh they are such bonds as are disagreeable to
graceless persons, who are for breaking them asunder;
yet they are a-yoke that is easy, and a burden light t,
the people of God, Psal. ii. 3. Matt. xi. 30. It may
be observed, that the word for bands is rendered pilots,
Ezek. xxvii. 8, 29. and masters or governors of ships,
Yon. i. 6. and is so rendered here {}; and as churches
may be compared to ships, Rev.. viii 9. so may
ministers of the word to those who have the govern-.
meat and direction of them; and whose business lies
in the ministration of the word, and the administration
of ordinances, and taking care of tbe discipline of the
Gospel: this seems to be the evangelic sense of these
words; and they express the manner in which Christ'
fed his own dear people in Judea, partly by his own
ministry, and partly by the mini.stry of his apostles,
whilst he had an interest there, until the sins of that
nation brought utter ruin upon them..It is a most
ridiculous ai3plication made of these two staves by
Antoninus, archbishop of Florence a, that Zechariah,
being of the Dominican order, took to him in the person
of God two staves; the one he called Beauty, which is
the order of the preaching Friars; and the other Bands,
which is the order. of the Minors: and l fed theflock;
with the said staves, as he had determined; which
includes the doing of the whole office of a shepherd;
taking an exact account of his sheep, that none be lost;
going betbre them, and setting them an example in the
exercise of grace and discharge of duty; leading them
to the still waters of his Father's love; to the fountains
and fulness of his own grace; to the rich provisions
of his house, and the green pastures of Gospel or-
dinances; feeding them himself, and with .himself,
the bread of lifts, the hidden and heavenly manna;
appointing shepherds under him, whom he qualities to
be pastors, gives them to his churches as sudh, and
who receive from him the doctrines of the Gospel t6 feed
them with; and protecting them from all their enemies,
the roaring lion, Satan, wolves in-sbeep's clothing,
false teachers, and the wotld's goats, who thrust with
side and shoulder, and push with their horns of power;
as well as by seeking that which is lost; bringing back
that which is driven, or drawn away; binding up that
which is broken; strengthening the weak; healing
the sick; andwatching over the whole flock night and
day, lest any hurt them.
Ver. 8. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month,
&c.] Not Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, as is suggested
in the Talmud {}; nor'David, Adonijah, and Joab, who
died in the space of a month; nor the three kings,
Jehoash, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah, who died by the
hand of their enemies in a very little time; which is
the sense of some, as Abendana observes; nor the
three last prophets, .Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi,
according to Aben Ezra; nor the three Maccabees,
Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, as Abarbin.el; rather
the three sects among the Jews, the Pharisees, Sad-

{c} Nautae, vel gubernatores, Cocceius.
{d} Apud Quistorpium in loc.
{e} T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 9. 1.