CHAP. XLVI. V. 1-3. The prophet had before
observed, that ‘‘ the way of the gate of the-outward sanc-
‘“< tvary, which looketh toward the east,—was shut ;” and
CHAPTER XLVI.
B.C. 574.
3: Likewise *the people of the land §& Lote}. to Heb, shall worship at the door of this gate ~ before ‘the Lorp, in the sabbaths, and in the new-moons. |
A And ‘the burnt-offering that the®x'.,17 Nom. prince shall offer unto the Lorn, in the sabbath day, shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.
‘5 And ‘the imeat-offering shall be anit, 1% av. ephah for a ram, and the meat-offering ™ for the lambs *as he shall be able to * #4 e#t°f . give, and an hin of oil to an ephah. vie ou.” Deut
6 And in the day of the néw moon it “”™ shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish. -
7 And he shall prepare a meat-offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as ”
his hand shall attain unto, and an hin of
oil to an ephah.
had been informed, that it must not be opened, but for the prince. (Note, xliv. 1—3.) But ‘ the gate of the ‘¢ inne: court’? on the east is here spoken of. This was to be shut on other days, but to be opened on the sabbaths and new moons, until the evening.
According to this, it seems, that none were at any time to come into the sanctuary by the east .gate of the outward court, except the prince: and that the priests and Levites must go into the inner court by the north or south gates, except on the sabbaths and new moons: when, entering the outward court by the north or south gates, perhaps they might pass into the inner court by the east-gate: or they must open it, that the prince might enter, and that the people might. worship before it, with the altar and sacrifices full in view. —‘ The prince only shall enter by the way of that gate; ‘ and when he is to-enter, shall stand at the post of that ‘ gate, until the priest have prepared his burnt-offering ‘ and peace-offering ; and—when they have made this safe ‘ way for him, he shall come in, having first bowed down, | ‘ and worshipped at the threshold of the gate..
Likewise ‘ the people—shall worship at the door of this gate, but ‘ they shall not presume to-enter by it.’ (Bp. Hall.) This seems to denote the constant, reverential, and exemplary attendance of kings on the pure evangelical ordinances of religion, in the approaching flourishing days of tlie church.
But some interpret it of Christ’s meeting his assembled people on their solemn festivals, ‘especially or his own day, to apply to them the benefits of his atonement and prevailing mediation.—The gate on the sabbaths and new moons was not to be shut till evening ; which implied, that those days should be wholly employed in re-
| ligious exercises : whereas on other days*men might attend
as they had leisure, and then return: to their ordinary employments. (12.)
V.4—7. (Marg. Ref.) * This was a new ordinance ; ‘ —the number of the beasts, and the proportions of the 15 E 9 ;
B. C. 574.
~8 And when the prince shall enter, ke uv. 1-3Ehe shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof. 3 Q But when the people of the: land 1 Ex. xxiii. 4— shall ‘come before the Lorp in the solemn Dew o','® feasts, "he that entereth in by the way mit, 14. Heb, Of the north-gate to worship, shall go out 2,31, by the way of the south-gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south-gate, shall go forth by the way of the north-gate; he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it. fe rebyxxx. 10 And “the prince in the midst of vi. 4. vi. them, when they go in, shall go in; and xxix. a so when they go forth, shall go forth. Nei. vii's, 2, 12 And °in the feasts'and in the so- 1—+. Matt. xii. ernities, ° the meat-offering shall be an
Heb. iii. 6. iv. ephah toa bullock, and an ephah toa
14—16. Kev, ii. o Lev. xxiii. Num.ram, and to the lambs as he is able to Seat ui, give, and an hin of oil to an ephah. 12 Now when the prince shall prepare Ve Nana @ VOluntary burnt-offering, or peace- | ‘. 1 che. xx, offerings voluntarily unto the Lorp, one vi, +7. xxix Shall then "open him the gate that look-svi. 17. xom-€th toward the east, and he shall prepare ri, .é.aiv.s, his burnt-offering and his peace-ofterings,
oe *as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth, and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.
n2Sam. Vi. 14
" Ps. xiii. 4. xxii,
“ meat and drink offerings, and different from those pre- “ scribed by the law.’ (Lozwth.) :
Able, &c. ‘* According to the gift of his hand ;’’ that is, what he shall think sufficient.
V. 8, 9. None but the prince could enter the sanc--
duary from the east, and there was no entrance from the west ; so that all the people must enter frem the north, or from the south. But they who entered from the north
- were to go out by the south; and they, that entered by the
South, to go out by the north. This may signify, that every thing should be regulated, in respect of divine worship, in that way, which may most effectually prevent disorder and interruption: buat it is generally supposed to intimate that men should go forward, and make progress in religion, and go through with it; and not be superficial, hypocritical, or apostate. —‘ There being no—thoroughtare ‘ out of the temple westward ; if the people had entered “ by the east gate, they must have returned back the same
» © way they came in ; which would have been turning their
* back upon God and his residence.’ (Lowth.)—But as the prince was to return by the east-gate, this reason is scarcely conclusive, .
V.10. Though the prince was to enter and return by a way of his own; yet he might enter the sanctuary at the same.time, and continué as long there as the people ; and
9
EZEKIEL
B. C. 894. 13 Thou shalt ' daily prepare a burnt-t®:. ==. ss
42: Num. xaviii. offering unto the Lorp of a lamb *° of 37% 1 van the first year without blemish: thou shalt 7/33 ast prepare it tevery morning. o Hes, a son of
14 And thou shalt prepare a meat- 5, "iev. siie: offering for it every morning, “the sixth t Heb. moming 5’ ng. be part of an ephab, and the third part of xis is.L4. an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour ; a meat-offering continually, by a perpetual ordinance unto the Lorn.
15 Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meat-offering, and the oil, vie every morning for *a continual burnt~* Be vi. 9 tse offering.
16 & Thus saith the Lord Gon ; 7 If? 2th ku? $ the prince give a gift unto any of his Matt. mA. 34 sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his Joba vil 99,36 sons’, it shall be their possession by ‘in- }7.©-s Ga, heritance.
17 But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his *to the year of liberty; after, it” mat Xavi shall return to the prince: but his inhe- s, 26. Gale ritance shall be his sons’ for them. ~ 2
18 Moreover *the ‘prince shall not 2,922 take of the people’s, inheritance by op- xiii, ese pression, to "thrust them out of theirvxsie.t mop possession ; fut he shall give his sons’ 4,6 i. 3,”
c°: Be 7 ° . P le : inheritance out of his own possession : Joba x. "88.
that “my people be not scattered every ¢=.2—« s. man from his possession.
a testify his fellowship with them in the worship of od.
V. 12. § When the service is performéd, he shall “go ‘ back the same way ; (8;) and the porter shall shut the ‘ gate after him; because it may not stan open on ordi- ‘ nary days.’ (Low?b.)
V.13—15. (Marg. Ref.) It is observable, that nothing is here said about the evening-sacrifice; or the additional lamb, morning and evening on the sabbath-days. Many suppose the evening-sacrifice to be included: but as the morning is repeated in a remarkable manner, and the evening is not once mentioned ; it seems rather to be an intimation of that change in the externals of religion, which. the coming of Christ would introduce. :
V. 16—18. This may signify that princes in those days would not waste their revenues, in enriching fa-vourites and dependents: the prince might settle a per~ petual inheritance on his son; but the grant made to any servant would expire at the year of jubilee.—Some think, that this signifies, that Christ our Prince gives his children, or true believers, their inheritance unalienably: but they whom he only endues with gifts and talents, and employs in some part of his service, whilst they remain unregenerate, will be deprived of all, when true christians receive the full-possession of their inheritance. And in this case,
B. C. 574.
opr ete ate” 19 F After he brought methrough ‘the 3 entry, which was at the side of the gate, intothe holy chambersof the priests, which laokedtoward the north; and, behold, there
was a place on the two sides westward: 20 Then said he unto me, This is the f sliv. ¢9.'1 8am. place where the priests shall ‘ boil the tres- _™xr.1% _ pass-offering and the sin-offering, where 6 iar 4" they shall £ bake the meat-offering ; that | - they bear them not out ‘into the outer
b See on aliv. 19° Court, "to sanctify the people. |
| 21 ‘Then he brought me forth into. the outer court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, bethe eighteenth verse may be considered as descriptive of the character, and government, of our Prince of Peace. (Marg.
Ref.) . ~V. 19—24. ‘£ The flesh of the sacrifices, which were “to be eaten, was to be boiled, except the flesh of the « passover.—There was a place in the inner court for boil- ‘ ing the trespass and sin-offerings, (19, 20,) and boiling ‘ places,—for the peace-offerings, which perhaps were “ dressed by the Levites ; whereas the former were boiled “ by the priests in the court belonging to them.’—*‘ The ‘ Hebrew word Keturoh, translated joined, is rendered in ‘ the margin, made with chimneys, which well agrees with * the description.’ (Low/h.)—-* About the walls of these ¢ little courts, which were as kitchens, were little cham- ‘ bers for the cuoks.’—The most holy things, of which none but the priests might eat, were to be prepared in the inner court: the peace-offerings, of which the people partook, were to be boiled in these little courts, at the corners of the outward court.
The direction, ‘* not to ‘¢ bear the most holy things out into the outer court,’ to “* sanctify the people,” may intimate, that the peculiar privileges of believers must not’ be granted or left open to unconverted persons ; and that they should not promiscuous)y be admitted to partake of the Lord’s supper: as this tends to induce in them an opinion, that they are holy persons, and need not conversion ; and thus occasions much Superstition and delusion.
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. V. 1—14.
Im
We should worship and commune with God every day, in our closets’ and families, and in publick as we have time and opportunity. On six days of the week indeed, we are called to serve him in our temporal employments ; and we must not neglect’ those duties, even for the sake of spending all our time in the more immediate worship of the Lord. But on hisown day we must occupy ourselves wholly in his sacred service: and, laying aside all other employments and avocations, as much as may be, and shaking off sloth and inactivity, we must learn to delight in the succession of one religious exercise to another, as the proper business of the whole day: and it may be right occasionally to appropriate a day from the other six, to be spent.in a similar manner.—It behoves those in authority
XN;
CHAPTER XLVI. |
B.C. 574., €°- ae hold, “in every corner of the court there® He. «_ court in was acourt, court; and a 22 In. the four corners of the court “4°
court in a corner
101N] Pret Or, made with there were courts t joining, of forty cubits Or naa ae
long and forty broad : these four ? corners * He. cored. were of one measure. : 23 And there was a row of building
round about in them, round about them - four, and it was made with boiling-places under the rows round about. |. 2A Then said he unto me, These are the places of them that boil, ‘where the! %. Mats. xiv.
ministers of the house shall boil the sacri- —'7-! Pet: ¥-% fice of the people.
to use their influence and example, in promoting a general regard to the worship of God, and their wealth in preparing every thing for it: they should frequent his holy ordinances with reverence and attention, and without betraying any symptoms of weariness: for, however they may be distinguished in other matters from their subjects, they are in the sight of God entirely upon a level with them; and every distinction admissible respecting his worship, between them and others, must be confined merely to external circumstances.
Join with us, in attending on the lively ordinances, in which Christ is set forth as evidently crucified among us; he, our Prince of Peace, will surely manifest his presence amidst us: and especially when we spend his holy day with his assembled saints, and feed by humble faith on the sacrifice, which he hath prepared and offered for us.
In expectation and assurances of his glorious and gracious presence, we should worship with reverence in his courts ; abound in spiritual sacrifices; consecrate our talents and substance to him, according to our ability ; and take care that every thing be done decently and in order. We should recollect, that Press forward is the christian’s motto: we must still depart further and further from our sins, and sinful pursuits and connections ; and get further into the knowledge, practice, and experience of the gospel; and we should dread a hypocritical profession and worship,
which generally terminate in a man’s returning into his:
old course of sin and death.—The Lord hath prescribed us many duties, as of indispensable obligation: but he hath also graciously left many things to our voluntary choice; especially as to the proportion of our time and substance, to be appropriated to his immediate worship and service ; that they, who greatly delight in his commandments, may abound in them to his glory, the edification of their brethren, and their own benefit ; without entangling their own con. sciences, or prescribing rules that mjght be inexpedient to others ; or inducing them to formal services, for which they have no heart, and in which God could have no pleasure. But we must never omit our daily worship, or to apply the sacrifice of the Lamb of God ‘to our souls, for pardon, peace, and salvation. . V. 16—24. Our King of peace and righteousness will enrich all his
But whether rulers will or will not.
~
~ ‘ 4
EZEKIEL. - B.C. 574.
2 Then he brought me out of the way of the gate ° northward, and led mes*""** about the way without unto the outer gate, by the way that looketh eastward ; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. :
3 And when “the man that had the*?® 3.7d ': line in his hand went forth eastward, “'* he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters ; ° the waters * were to the ancles. |
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; f the f Acts xix. 1o™ waters were to the knees. Again he “'"* measured a thousand, and brought me through ; the waters were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand ; and it was a river that I could not pass... , over: for the waters were risen, ° waters” Fab. dat tto swim in, a river that could not be $i9-4husx« passed over. ae
B.C. 874.