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and all thine army, horses, and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts [of armour, even] a great company [with] buck5 lers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Lybia with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: [and] many people 7 with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them; I know thou wilt make the best preparation thou canst, which yet I despise and deride thee for.

After many days thou shalt be visited, that is, punished: in the latter years, toward the end of the world, after the thous and years are expired, (Rev. xx. 8.) thou shalt come into the land [that is] brought back from the sword, that is, delivered from their long dispersion, [and is] gathered out of many people, against, or rather, unto the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste; or long desolate, since the time of the Romans: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them; or rather, they have for a time • dwelt safely. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, 10 and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, [that] at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: 11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates; the Jews shall not fortify their towns, but shall trust ta 19 divine protection; To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places [that are now] inhabited, and upon the people [that are] gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in 13 the midst of the land. Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions there, of, tyrannical princes and oppressive merchants, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? they shall come to your camp as to a market, to purchase the plunder of the Jews.

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Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know [it,] and take advantage of it? yet thou shalt know to thy cost, that they dwell safely, 15 though thou thinkest they dwell more exposed. And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great compar VOL. VI.

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16 ny, and a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O 17 Gog, before their eyes. Thus saith the Lord God; [Art] thou he, or rather, Art thou not he, of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophe sied in those days [many] years that I would bring thee against them? there are many prophecies that foretell the destruction of the future enemies of Israel; the prophets all har18 monize in this, as they all spake by the same spirit. And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GoD, [that] my fury shall 19 come up in my face. For in my jealousy [and] in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a 20 great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that [are] upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground; 21 there shall be universal terror and confusion. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God; every man's sword shall be against his bro22 ther; their enemies shall slay one another. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that [are] with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone, like Sodom. So it is said, Rev. xx. 9. fire from 23 heaven devoured them. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I [am] the LORD; this destruction shall contribute to the spread of the gospel.

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REFLECTIONS.

YOD knows the evil thoughts which his enemies think a mies that are yet to be born. He foresees what they will think, and how they will act, and has foredetermined what he will do with them. When ambitious, revengeful, malicious thoughts come into men's minds, God sees them; he knows all their designs afar off. This should afford encouragement to his people, viz. that he knows what their enemies are contriving, and is able to defeat it; and should be a caution to us all to hate vein thoughts, and keep our hearts with all diligence.

2. Observe the influence of God over the human mind, and how it is expressed. He is said to bring up these enemies: not that he stirs up evil thoughts in men, but permits them to indulge and pursue them; he does not restrain them, as it is their own act and fault to indulge them; and the permission he gives them, is only to make their destruction, and the salvation of his people, the more remarkable.

3. The design of God in all such events is, his own glory; that is, the display of his perfections and the advancement of his interest, see v. 23. He magnifies and sanctifies himself; he causes the wrath of man to praise him; and thus he is known among the nations; his knowledge, fear, and service, are promoted among them. This great end is carrying on by means which to us may seem least likely to effect it; yea, by means that seem even to oppose it. This should encourage our hearts amidst scenes of confusion and desolation; and lead us to pray that his name may be hallowed and magnified through all the earth,

CHAP. XXXIX.

The prophet goes on to denounce the judgments of God against the formidable enemies of his church and people. He particularly describes Israel's victory, Gog's fall and burial, and the feast of the fowls,

THEREFORE, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,

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against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: -2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, or, strike thee with six plagues, and will cause thee, or rather, after I have caused thee, to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee, or, have brought thee, upon the 3 mountains of Israel: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that [is] with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and [to] the beasts of 5 the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: 6 for I have spoken [it,] saith the Lord GOD. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly, or, confidently, in the isles: and they shall know that I [am] the 7 LORD. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel, they shall know more of my power, goodness, and faithfulness, than they ever did before, and I will not [let

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them] pollute my holy name any more; I will preserve them from those sins, by which they formerly polluted my name : and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this [is] the day whereof I have spoken: a remarkable phrase ; the prophet speaks of it as come and done, though many thous➡ and years were to elapse before it was to happen. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand staves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years, or make use of 10 them for fuel for a long time, so many shall they be. So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down [any] out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the [noses] of the passengers; or, the passengers shall stop their noses to avoid the stench; and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude and they shall call [it,] The valley of Hamon12 gog, that is, the multitude of Gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse 13 the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury [them ;] and it shall be to them a renown in the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord Gon; it shall be an honour to them, though a mean and disagreeable business, because they were enemies of God's Israel, and they did it out of concern for the purity 14 of the land. And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passen gers, with their help and assistance, those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months 15 shall they search. And the passengers [that] pass through the land, when [any] seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog; if they cannot stay to do it themselves, they shall leave 16 some mark that men may not touch it and be defiled. And also the name of the city in that valley, [shall be] Hamonah, or, Multitude,in memory of this destruction. Thus shall they cleanse the land.

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And, thou, son of man, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, [even] a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, 18 and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and

drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, persons of all ranks and degrees, all 19 of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be

full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which 20 I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with the riders on and in them, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.*

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And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my 22 hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall

know that I [am] the LORD their God from that day and for23 ward, to the end of the world. And the heathen shall know that I was not overpowered by other deities, but that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they 24 all by the sword. According to their uncleanness, and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.

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Therefore, or rather, notwithstanding I have thus punished them for their sins, thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; 26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made [them] afraid. 27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in 28 them in the sight of many nations; Then shall they know that I [am] the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more 29 there, that is, in captivity, all shall return. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD; they shall never apostatize any more, but my spirit shall be plentifully communicated, and I will preserve them from falling. This is a plain proof that it cannot refer to their return from Babylon, or to any other circumstance that hath yet happened to the Jewish people.

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It is with peculiar art and propriety that the prophet delays the summoning of all the birds and beasts of prey in nature, to feast on the slain, (in allusion to the custom of feasting on the remainder of the sacrifices) till after the greater multitudes are buried; to intimate that even the remainder, and, as it were, the stragglers from such mighty hosts, would be more than enough to satisfy their utmost rapacity. Dr. Smith.

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