Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 34:26

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 34:26. The shower to come down — The Holy Spirit's influence.

There shall be showers of blessing. — Light, life, joy, peace, and power shall be manifest in all the assemblies of Christ's people.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Rulers past and future (34:1-31)

The leaders of Israel, whether of the northern kingdom or the southern, were supposed to be shepherds, but instead of caring for the people they exploited them. Their sole concern was for themselves (34:1-4). Because of their neglect of the flock, the sheep were attacked and scattered. Because of the corruption of its leaders, Israel was destroyed by hostile nations and its people taken captive into foreign countries (5-6).
God will therefore punish the shepherds, but he will rescue the scattered sheep and bring them back to their home (7-10). God himself will be their new shepherd. He will feed them and care for them (11-15). While being sympathetic to those who are afflicted, he will act with strict justice against those who are oppressive (16).
Having taken the flock under his control and care, the true shepherd will remove from it those who, in their greed and selfishness, spoiled the pastures and dirtied the water for others. God will punish those who made themselves rich and powerful by trampling on the rights of their fellow citizens (17-19). When God has removed those who oppressed others for their own advantage, he will set up his Messiah to rule over his people in love and righteousness. The ideal that David wished for but never experienced will then be a reality (20-24).
Ezekiel speaks of the new relationship between God and his people as a covenant of peace. A bond of harmony exists between the good shepherd and his sheep. As the shepherd protects his flock from wild animals and gives his sheep good pastures, so God will protect his people from their enemies and give them agricultural prosperity (25-29). His people will respond with true loyalty. They will be his people, and he will be their God (30-31).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beasts of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up unto them a plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more. And they shall know that I, Jehovah their God, and they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord Jehovah. And ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord Jehovah.”

THE COVENANT OF PEACE

“They shall dwell securely in the wilderness” Throughout the Bible, the wilderness wanderings of Israel are interpreted as typical of the church in the wilderness of her probation in this dispensation. This is another indication that the New Covenant is in view here.

All of the wonderful blessings of this paragraph are here prophesied to come to pass when that “covenant of peace” becomes effective. And what is that covenant of peace? It can be nothing else except the New Covenant prophesied by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-35). Plumptre discerned this; “The same thought underlies both that passage and this.”E. H. Plumptre in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 207. “`The covenant of peace’; the new age is to be marked by a new covenant.”J. B. Thompson, p. 223.

The covenant of peace came from Jesus Christ. He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful” (John 14:27). There is nothing to compare with this in the Old Testament.

How about all of those blessings, enumerated here in terminology that would have been appreciated and helpful to the generation which received this prophecy? Of course, the racial Israel did no doubt enjoy many physical and temporal blessings upon their return to Palestine; but most of the wonderful things God promised them never happened, due to their unbelief and disobedience (See Jeremiah 18:7-10). Nevertheless, the material and physical benefits here recounted most certainly must be interpreted as symbolical of spiritual blessing in Christ.

And I will raise up unto them a plantation of renown” This, of course, is a glimpse of the world-wide renown and glory of Jesus Christ the Messiah and his followers. Oh yes, there are many divisions, aberrations, animosities, and all kinds of other differences to be seen and deplored among those who seek to love and honor the Great Servant David, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ; but over and beyond all of that disfiguration of Jesus’ spiritual body, accomplished through the devices of the evil one, there still shines the eternal glory of the Bright and Morning Star, the Sun of Righteousness who is risen with healing in His wings!

More great and beautiful buildings have been constructed in his name and to his honor in the last twenty years than were erected in all of the past history of mankind to all of the kings and tyrants who ever lived on earth. Every Lord’s Day throughout the world, people of all races, tongues, and nations gather in millions of places to sing songs unto Him who is the Author and Finisher of our faith, the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, who is forever and ever Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Yahweh having promised to be a Ruler of His people, the administration of the divine kingdom is now described, as carried on by One King, the representative of David, whose dominion should fulfill all the promises originally made to the man after God’s own heart. Ezekiel does not so much add to, as explain and develope, the original promise; and as the complete fulfillment of the spiritual blessings, which the prophets were guided to proclaim, was manifestly never realized in any temporal prosperity of the Jews, and never could and never can be realized in any earthly kingdom, we recognize throughout the Sacred Volume the one subject of all prophecy - the Righteous King, the Anointed Prince, the Son and the Lord of David.

Ezekiel 34:23

One shepherd - One, as ruling over an undivided people, the distinction between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah having been done away.

My servant David - David was a fit type of the True King because he was a true and faithful servant of Yahweh. That which David was partially and imperfectly, Christ is in full perfection (compare Matthew 12:18; John 5:30; Hebrews 10:7.)

Ezekiel 34:26

The blessings here foretold are especially those of the old covenant. The wilderness (or, pasture-country) and the woods, the places most exposed to beasts and birds of prey, become places of security. Under the new covenant Sion and the hills around are representative of God’s Church; and temporal blessings are typical of the blessings showered down upon Christ’s Church by Him who has vanquished the powers of evil.

Ezekiel 34:29

A plant - Equivalent to the “Branch,” under which name Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesy of the Messiah. The contrast in this verse to hunger seems to favor the idea that the “plant” was for food, i. e., spiritual food, and in this sense also, applicable to the Messiah (compare John 6:35.)

The shame of the pagan - The shameful reproaches with which the pagan assail them.

Ezekiel 34:31

Translate “Ye are my flock, the flock of my pasture (compare Jeremiah 23:1); ye are men, and I am your God.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 34

Now in chapter 34, God speaks out against those faithless shepherds of Israel. Those men that were the spiritual leaders, those men to whom the people looked for spiritual guidance, who had left the real concept of the ministry. The Lord said to His disciples, "The heathen or the Gentiles do love to exercise lordship over each other, but it shall not be so among you. For whosoever would be chief among you, let him become the servant of all" ( Mark 10:42-44 ). You remember how when Jesus took a towel and washed His disciples' feet and then He said unto them, "You see what I have done. Now if I being your Lord am a servant, then you also should be servants." And Christ taught the servanthood of the ministry, and that's actually what the word minister means-a servant. And God intends that those who are the ministers are really the servants to the body of Christ, not lords over the body of Christ. But the servants to the body of Christ. But it is easy to get an attitude of lordship or superiority and start abusing your position and seek to exercise lordship over the people rather than to continue in that attitude of servant. Now whenever you do turn and get this lording attitude, and you begin to look at the... you begin to get greedy, really, for gain, for fancy homes and cars, and things of this nature. Then you begin to misuse that position that God has placed you in.

So the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel ( Ezekiel 34:1-2 )

Now whenever God says, "Woe," look out, because you're in trouble.

Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should they not be feeding the flock of God? ( Ezekiel 34:2 )

Men who are using the ministry for their own gain, rather than using the place of a minister to bring gain to the people. It is sad, but it is true that there are many men in the ministry today who are only fulfilling a psychological need in their own lives. They're not really called of God, and do not really have the true aspect of the ministry at heart. Woe unto those shepherds who use the ministry as a means of just feeding themselves, enriching themselves. "Should you not be feeding the flock?"

You eat the fat, you clothe yourself with wool, you kill them that are fed: but you feed not the flock ( Ezekiel 34:3 ).

Jesus said to Peter, "Feed My flock" ( John 21:15 ). Peter later writing to the elders in the church said, "Feed the flock of God which is among you" ( 1 Peter 5:2 ). The most important need in the church today is that the people be fed. "Feed the flock of God"-the commission of Jesus unto Peter.

Now the shepherds are further indicted by God because they...

The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought again that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty you've ruled over them ( Ezekiel 34:4 ).

They were lording over the flock of God. They weren't caring for those that were weak or sick or broken or lost. But they had misused the position, and as the result,

[The sheep have been] scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became a prey to all of the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; As I live, saith the Lord GOD ( Ezekiel 34:5-8 ),

And, again, when God begins to speak like this, you know that it's powerful. "As I live," more or less swearing by Himself because He can swear no higher. "As I live, saith the Lord God,"

surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them ( Ezekiel 34:8-10 ).

The whole religious system, the priesthood and all, was to be abolished. It's interesting, it has been abolished. And abolished because they were feeding themselves rather than the flock of God. Of course, in their history we find how it happened the sons of Eli, you remember, these evil boys. How that when people would bring their offering to the Lord, they'd take their meat hooks in and grab the best part of the meat. Anybody would object, they'd beat them up. Causing people to resent their worship of God by the greedy attitude of these men who were supposed to be God's representatives. Priests standing before God for the people, and yet, so misrepresenting God when they were standing before the people for God. And so God speaks about putting away this whole corrupted system. "They're not gonna feed off My flock anymore. My flock won't be meat to them any longer."

For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and I will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all of the places that they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day ( Ezekiel 34:11-12 ).

Here God says, "I will take up the job of the shepherd. I will seek out these sheep that are lost and scattered." Aren't you glad that the Lord is our shepherd? And that He has sought us out, scattered and bruised He found us, and He drew us into His fold, and He put His arms around us and said, "Hey, I love you. You're My sheep; you're My people." Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. I lay down My life for the sheep" ( John 10:11 ). The sheep know the shepherd's voice and they do follow him. And you who have heard the call of the Lord, you're part of His flock. You're following Jesus Christ. It's beautiful.

And I will bring them out from the people, I will gather them from the countries, I will bring them into their own land ( Ezekiel 34:13 ),

And, of course, this is a prophecy concerning the nation Israel, but it does have also personal application, as far as that relationship of God to His people, Christ to His church. But this basically is a prophecy of Israel, the prophecy of the scattering of Israel. The scattering of Israel was precipitated by their crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which was the result of the conspiracy of the spiritual leaders of that day. Those spiritual leaders had rejected Jesus as the Messiah, and they had conspired to put Him to death, because all of the common people were hearing Him gladly. And they said, "What are we going to do? If all of the people turn to Him then we're going to lose our jobs. We're going to lose all of this loot that we've been making off the people. The Romans may even come and take away our position. We've got to put Him to death." And the high priest said, "Don't you realize it's expedient that one man should die for the whole nation?" How little did he know what he was saying.

Now, because of these shepherds, false shepherds, who were guilty of greed, who scattered the flock, Jesus speaks of His gathering together that flock. And this we get into, of course, the prophecy and we see it being fulfilled today as God is drawing the Jews back into the land and is preparing to do a work among them there.

I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, I will bring them into their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all of the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: and there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture and they shall feed upon the mountains of Israel. And I will feed my flock ( Ezekiel 34:13-15 ),

Remember that beautiful prophecy concerning Jesus, "He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the young in His arms," and so forth, "and carry them in His bosom. And gently lead those that are with young" ( Isaiah 40:11 ). Beautiful prophecy. "I will feed my flock."

I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and I will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; and I will feed them with judgment. And as for you, O my flock, saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? And to have drunk of the deep waters, but you have to foul up the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which you have fouled with your feet. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with the side and with the shoulder, and you've pushed all the diseased with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad ( Ezekiel 34:15-21 );

The way that the rich oppressed the poor. Of course, the religious leaders had become the wealthy and they pushed and scattered the flock.

But I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it ( Ezekiel 34:23-24 ).

Now this, of course, is not a reference to king David being resurrected and becoming king again, but even as Jesus promised to David that there should never cease one from him ruling over the people, that prophecy to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. So it is a reference to that righteous branch that shall come out of David, even Jesus. And in Jeremiah 23:0 you have Jeremiah giving the same prophecy in Jerusalem to the inhabitants there and he speaks about how the righteous branch out of David shall come and reign as king over them. As he indicts the false shepherds there and speaks of the glorious true Shepherd that shall come.

In Isaiah we read, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. And the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, to order it, and to establish it in righteousness and in judgment from henceforth even forever. For the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this" ( Isaiah 9:6-7 ). So Christ, as Paul said in Romans 1 , "Of the seed of David according to the flesh, but declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit," will come and sit upon the throne of David, and as David again shepherding over the people, or ruling over the people with a shepherd's heart.

Now people wonder, how could God say, "Well, David was a man after My own heart"? When David committed adultery with Bathsheba and David was a very violent man in many situations, and he had Uriah put to death. And yet, God says that David was a man after My own heart. How can that be? And that was because David had the heart of a shepherd. And when David ruled the people, he ruled them with a shepherd's heart. And that's what God desires. That those who rule have the heart of a shepherd where their concern and their care is for the sheep, not for themselves. But they are thinking of the sheep. And David had the shepherd's heart, and he ruled with the heart of a shepherd. Saul was lifted up in pride when God put him upon the throne, and that's why Saul was brought down and his family did not follow in the throne. But David, a man after God's own heart.

And so the prophecy concerning Christ and His coming and shepherding.

And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land ( Ezekiel 34:25 ):

The Kingdom Age, the beasts will be tame. The lion will lie down with the lamb, and a little child will lead them. I've always thought what a tremendous pet a lion could make. Wouldn't that be exciting for a kid to have a lion for a pet? Man, to jump on its back, grab hold of the mane and just take off. The Kingdom Age when God restores, then there will be peace, the covenant of peace among the animal kingdom, among men. Beautiful Kingdom Age, the evil beasts will cease out of the land.

and they will dwell safely in the wilderness, and they'll sleep in the woods ( Ezekiel 34:25 ).

There will be no fear.

And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; and there shall be showers of blessing ( Ezekiel 34:26 ).

Now we sing that in the church, but actually we're only borrowing from what God is declaring is going to happen when Israel is restored.

And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and they shall know that I am the LORD when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that serve themselves of them ( Ezekiel 34:27 ).

And so as God brings His people back again they will know that He is the Lord, when He establishes His reign.

And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen ( Ezekiel 34:28 ),

Look at how the Jews have been persecuted among the nations, wherever they have gone. They've been a persecuted people. They've been a curse and a byword. Anti-Semitism, and it is rising again throughout the world. You read of bombings of Jewish synagogues in Europe. There's again rising in Germany strong sentiment against the Jews, and even here in the United States we're beginning to see more and more anti-Semitism. The unfortunate things that are happening up in the Hollywood area even against the Jewish community. But, "They'll be no more a prey to the heathen."

neither shall the beast of the land devour them ( Ezekiel 34:28 );

The animals will be all docile.

but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown ( Ezekiel 34:28-29 ),

That plant of renown, of course, is none other than Jesus Christ.

and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more ( Ezekiel 34:29 ).

They won't be cursed or bear that shame among the heathen.

We were talking with our Jewish guide who grew up in Argentina. And we were seeking to witness to him about Christianity, and he said, "Do you want to know what my first impression of Christians were?" And we said, "Sure." He said, "Well, every day going home from school I would have to run as fast as I could or else those boys who said they were Christians would beat me up and call me a Jesus killer." And he said, "They would throw rocks at me and they would beat me up every chance they got, calling me a Jesus killer." And he said, "That was my first impression of Christians." And no wonder it's hard to witness to them if that's what has been represented by Christianity to them. And it is indeed sad and tragic that much of the anti-Semitism has had its origins in the church. But we as Christians owe a great debt to Israel, to the Jews. After all, they gave us our Messiah.

Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. And ye are my flock, the flock of my pasture, and you are men, [ye the flock the flock of my pasture are men] and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD ( Ezekiel 34:30-31 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The covenant of peace 34:25-31

"The themes of regathering as sheep and of covenant merge in Ezekiel 34:25-31." [Note: Merrill, p. 377.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Second, God would make His people and the places around His hill (Mount Zion, Jerusalem) a blessing to others (Genesis 12:3). God’s seasonal blessings on Israel, both people and land, would be like the rain, and He would send His blessings down in showers (cf. Acts 3:19-20). The gospel song "There Shall Be Showers of Blessing" comes from this expression. Fruit trees would bear abundantly, and fruits and vegetables and flowers would proliferate in the land (cf. Hosea 2:22; Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13-14; Zechariah 8:12). Even the plants would be secure.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And I will make them, and the places round about my hill, a blessing,.... Alluding either to the city of Jerusalem, and the places adjacent; or to the temple, and the houses about it. So the Targum,

"I will cause them to dwell round about the house of my sanctuary;''

and so Kimchi interprets it of the temple. Some Christian interpreters, by the "hill" or mountain, understand Christ; and not amiss; who may be compared to one for height; he being higher than the kings of the earth, or than the heavens and angels there, as man and Mediator; as well as is God over all, blessed for ever; and for fruitfulness, from whom the saints have all theirs, either in grace or good works; and for shade, he being the shadow of a great rock in a weary land; which yields delight and refreshment, and is a protection from the heat of a fiery law, flaming justice, the wrath of God and man, and the fiery darts of Satan; and for shelter and security, there being salvation in him, when none in other hills and mountains; and for duration and immovableness, being the same today, yesterday, and for ever: and now the persons about him are such who are made nigh by his blood; brought to him by his powerful and efficacious grace; are worshippers about the throne where he sits; such as cleave to him, and follow him wherever he goes, and shall be with him to all eternity; these he makes a blessing, or most blessed. So the Targum renders it,

"and they shall be blessed;''

they are blessed in Christ their head; they are blessed through him as their Redeemer and Saviour, who was made a curse for them; they are blessed through being in him, and by the imputation of blessings to them from him, and through the application of them by his Spirit; their persons are blessed, and so are the places or habitations where they dwell: or rather this may be understood of the church of God, often compared to a hill for its height and eminence; for its fertility and fruitfulness; for its stability and firmness; and in allusion to the hill of Zion for its holiness, and being the place of the divine residence; see Psalms 15:1 now, the persons about this hill are those who are come to Mount Zion the church of God; being brought there by the Lord himself, and who take up their abode there; who lie about this hill, as flocks of sheep, in their several folds or congregated churches; see Jeremiah 23:3 and these the Lord makes a blessing to one another, by their spiritual conversation, prayers, and services of love; and to the world, to kingdoms and states, to cities, towns, and neighbourhoods, and to particular families, where they are placed; and even to the world in general; for they are the light, stay, and stability of it; and without which it would be in darkness, corrupt and putrefy, and not continue long:

and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; which, in the spiritual sense, may design the Gospel; which, like a shower of rain, comes from God; descends from heaven; is a gift of God; which falls according to divine direction; refreshes, revives, and makes fruitful; brings a plenty of divine blessings with it; and comes in season, at its proper time; and is a word in season to weary souls:

there shall be showers of blessings; which the Gospel brings with it; spiritual blessings, blessings of grace; such as peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life: these, like showers, come from God; are free grace gifts of his, of which there is a large abundance; and which descend on Mount Zion the church of God; which is another Gerizim, on which the blessings are pronounced, Psalms 133:3.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.   18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?   19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.   20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.   21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;   22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.   23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.   24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.   25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.   26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.   27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.   28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.   29 And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.   30 Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD.   31 And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.

      The prophet has no more to say to the shepherds, but he has now a message to deliver to the flock. God had ordered him to speak tenderly to them, and to assure them of the mercy he had in store for them. But here he is ordered to make a difference between some and others of them, to separate between the precious and the vile and then to give them a promise of the Messiah, by whom this distinction should be effectually made, partly at his first coming (for for judgment he came into this world,John 9:39, to fill the hungry with good things and to send the rich empty away,Luke 1:53), but completely at his second coming, when he shall, as it is here said, judge between cattle and cattle, as a shepherd divides between the sheep and the goats, and shall set the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left (Matthew 25:32; Matthew 25:33), which seems to have reference to this. We have here,

      I. Conviction spoken to those of the flock that were fat and strong, the rams and the he-goats (Ezekiel 34:17; Ezekiel 34:17), those that, though they had not power, as shepherds and rulers, to oppress with, yet, being rich and wealthy, made use of the opportunity which this gave them to bear hard upon their poor neighbours. Those that have much would have more, and, if they set to it, will have more, so many ways have they of encroaching upon their poor neighbours, and forcing from them the one ewe-lamb, 2 Samuel 12:4. Do not the rich oppress the poor merely with the help of their riches, and draw them before the judgment-seats?James 2:6. Poor servants and tenants are hardly used by their rich lords and masters. The rams and the he-goats not only kept all the good pasture to themselves, ate the fat and drank the sweet, but they would not let the poor of the flock have any comfortable enjoyment of the little that was left them; they trod down the residue of the pastures and fouled the residue of the waters, so that the flock was obliged to eat that which they had trodden into the dirt, and drink that which they had muddied, Ezekiel 34:18; Ezekiel 34:19. This intimates that the great men not only by extortion and oppression made and kept their neighbours poor, and scarcely left them enough to subsist on, but were so vexatious to them that what little coarse fare they had was embittered to them. And this seemed a small thing to them; they thought there was no harm in it, as if it were the privilege of their quality to be injurious to all their neighbours. Note, Many that live in pomp and at ease themselves care not what straits those about them are reduced to, so they may but have every thing to their mind. Those that are at ease, and the proud, grudge that any body should live by them with any comfort. But this as not all; they not only robbed the poor, to make them poorer, but were troublesome to the sick and weak of the flock (Ezekiel 34:21; Ezekiel 34:21): They thrust with side and shoulder those that were feeble (for the weakest goes to the wall) and pushed the diseased with their horns, because they knew they could be too hard for them, when they durst not meddle with their match. It has been observed concerning sheep that if one of the flock be sick and faint the rest will secure it as well as they can, and shelter it from the scorching heat of the sun; but these, on the contrary, were most injurious to the diseased. Those that they could not serve themselves of they did what they could to rid the country of, and so scattered them abroad, as if the poor, whom, Christ says, we must have always with us, were public nuisances, not to be relieved, but sent far away from us. Note, It is a barbarous thing to add affliction to the afflicted. Perhaps these rams and he-goats are designed to represent the scribes and Pharisees, for they are such troublers of the church as Christ himself must come to deliver it from, Ezekiel 34:23; Ezekiel 34:23. They devoured widows' houses, took away the key of knowledge, corrupted the pure water of divine truths, and oppressed the consciences of men with the traditions of the elders, besides that they were continually vexatious and injurious to the poor of the flock that waited on the Lord,Zechariah 11:11. Note, It is no new thing for the flock of God to receive a great deal of damage and mischief from those that are themselves of the flock, and in eminent stations in it, Acts 20:30.

      II. Comfort spoken to those of the flock that are poor and feeble, and that wait for the consolation of Israel (Ezekiel 34:22; Ezekiel 34:22): "I will save my flock, and they shall no more be spoiled as they have been by the beasts of prey, by their own shepherds or by the rams and he-goats among themselves." Upon this occasion, as is usual in the prophets, comes in a prediction of the coming of the Messiah, and the setting up of his kingdom, and the exceedingly great and precious benefits which the church should enjoy under the protection and influence of that kingdom. Observe what is here foretold,

      1. Concerning the Messiah himself. (1.) He shall have his commission from God himself: I will set him up (Ezekiel 34:23; Ezekiel 34:23); I will raise him up,Ezekiel 34:29; Ezekiel 34:29. He sanctified and sealed him, appointed and anointed him. (2.) He shall be the great Shepherd of the sheep, who shall do that for his flock which no one else could do. He is the one Shepherd, under whom Jews and Gentiles should be one fold. (3.) He is God's servant, employed by him and for him, and doing all in obedience to his will, with an eye to his glory--his servant, to re-establish his kingdom among men and advance the interests of that kingdom. (4.) He is David, one after God's own heart, set as his King upon the holy hill of Zion, made the head of the corner, with whom the covenant of royalty is made, and to whom God would give the throne of his father David. He is both the root and offspring of David. (5.) He is the plant of renown, because a righteous branch (Jeremiah 23:5), a branch of the Lord, that is beautiful and glorious,Isaiah 4:2. He has a name above every name, a throne above every throne, and may therefore well be called a branch of renown. Some understand it of the church, the planting of the Lord,Isaiah 61:3. Its name shall be remembered (Psalms 45:17) and Christ's in it.

      2. Concerning the great charter by which the kingdom of the Messiah should be incorporated, and upon which it should be founded (Ezekiel 34:25; Ezekiel 34:25): I will make with them a covenant of peace. The covenant of grace is a covenant of peace. In it God is at peace with us, speaks peace to us, and assures us of peace, of all good, all the good we need to make us happy. The tenour of this covenant is: "I the Lord will be their God, a God all-sufficient to them (Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 34:24), will own them and will be owned by them; in order to this my servant David shall be a prince among them, to reduce them to their allegiance, to receive their homage, and to reign over them, in them, and for them." Note, Those, and those only, that have the Lord Jesus for their prince have the Lord Jehovah for their God. And then they, even the house of Israel, shall be my people. If we take God to be our God, he will take us to be his people. From this covenant between God and Israel there results communion: "I the Lord their God am with them, to converse with them; and they shall know it, and have the comfort of it."

      3. Concerning the privileges of those that are the faithful subjects of this kingdom of the Messiah and interested in the covenant of peace. These are here set forth figuratively, as the blessings of the flock. But we have a key to it, Ezekiel 34:31; Ezekiel 34:31. Those that belong to this flock, though they are spoken of as sheep, are really men, men that have the Lord for their God, and are in covenant with him. Now to them it is promised,

      (1.) That they shall enjoy a holy security under the divine protection. Christ, our good Shepherd, has caused the evil beasts to cease out of the land (Ezekiel 34:25; Ezekiel 34:25), having vanquished all our spiritual enemies, broken their power, and triumphed over them; the roaring lion is not a roaring devouring lion to them; they shall no more be a prey to the heathen nor the heathen a terror to them, neither shall the beasts of the land devour them. Sin and Satan, death and hell, are conquered. And then they shall dwell safely, not only in the folds, but in the fields, in the wilderness, in the woods, where the beasts of prey are; they shall not only dwell there, but they shall sleep there, which denotes not only that the beasts being made to cease there shall be no danger, but, their consciences being purified and pacified, they shall be in no apprehension of danger; not only safe from evil, but quiet from the fear of evil. Note, Those may lay down and sleep securely, sleep at ease, that have Christ for their prince; for he will be their protector, and make them to dwell in safety. None shall hurt them, nay, none shall make them afraid. If God be for us, who can be against us? Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed. Through Christ, God delivers his people not only from the things they have reason to fear, but from their fear even of death itself, from all that fear that has torment. This safety from evil is promised (Ezekiel 34:27; Ezekiel 34:27): They shall be safe in their land, in no danger of being invaded and enslaved, though their great plenty be a temptation to their neighbours to desire their land; and that which shall make them think themselves safe is their confidence in the wisdom, power, and goodness of God: They shall know that I am the Lord. All our disquieting fears arise from our ignorance of God and mistakes concerning him. Their experience of his particular care concerning them encourages their confidence in him: "I have broken the bands of their yoke, with which they have been brought and held down under oppression, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them, whence they shall argue, He that has delivered does and will, therefore will we dwell safely." This is explained, and applied to our gospel-state, Luke 1:74. That we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, as those may do that serve him in faith.

      (2.) That they shall enjoy a spiritual plenty of all good things, the best things, for their comfort and happiness: They shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land,Ezekiel 34:29; Ezekiel 34:29. Famine and scarcity, when Israel was punished with that judgment, turned as much to their reproach among the heathen as any other, because the fruitfulness of Canaan was so much talked of. But now they shall not bear that shame of the heathen any more For the showers shall come down in their season, even showers of blessing,Ezekiel 34:26; Ezekiel 34:26. Christ is a Shepherd that will feed his people; and they shall go in and out, and find pasture. [1.] They shall not be consumed with hunger; for they shall not be put off with the world for a portion, which is not bread, which satisfies not, and which leaves those that are put off with it to be consumed with hunger. The ordinances of the ceremonial law are called beggarly elements, for there was little in them, compared with the Christian institutes, wherewith the mower fills his hand and he that binds sheaves his bosom. Those that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall not be consumed with that hunger, for they shall be filled. And he that drinks of the water that Christ gives him, the still waters by which he leads his sheep, shall never thirst. [2.] Showers of blessings shall come upon them, Ezekiel 34:26; Ezekiel 34:27. The heavens shall yield their dews; the trees of the field also shall yield their fruit. The seat of this plenty is God's hill, his holy hill of Zion, for on that mountain, in the gospel church, it is, that God has made to all nations a feast; to that those must join themselves who would partake of gospel benefits. The cause of this plenty is the showers that come down in their season, that descend upon the mountains of Zion, the graces of Christ, his doctrine that drops as the dew, the graces of Christ, and the fruits and comforts of his Spirit, by which we are made fruitful in the fruits of righteousness. The instances of this plenty are the blessings of heaven poured down upon us and the productions of grace brought forth by us, our comfort in God's favour and God's glory in our fruit-bearing. The extent of this plenty is very large, to all the places round about my hill; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, shall go forth light to a dark world, and the river that shall water a dry and desert world; all that are in the neighbourhood of Zion shall fare the better for it; and the nearer the church the nearer its God. And, lastly, The effect of this plenty is, I will make them a blessing, eminently and exemplarily blessed, patterns of happiness, Isaiah 19:24. Or, They shall be blessings to all about them, diffusively useful. Note, Those that are the blessed of the Lord must study to make themselves blessings to the world. He that is good, let him do good; he that has received the gift, the grace, let him minister the same.

      Now this promise of the Messiah and his kingdom spoke much comfort to those to whom it was then made, for they might be sure that God would not utterly destroy their nation, how low soever it might be brought, as long as that blessing was in the womb of it,Isaiah 65:8. But it speaks much more comfort to us, to whom it is fulfilled, who are the sheep of this good Shepherd, are fed in his pastures, and blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things by him.

Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible

The Church of Christ

A Sermon

(No. 28)

Delivered on Sabbath Morning, June 3, 1855, by the

REV. C. H. Spurgeon

At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.

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"And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing." Ezekiel 34:26 .

THE chapter (Ezekiel 34:0 ) that I read at the commencement of the service is a prophetical one; and, I take it, it has relation, not to the condition of the Jews during the captivity and their subsequent happiness when they should return to their land, but to a state into which they should they should fall after they had been restored to their country under Nehemiah and Ezra, and in which state they still continue to the present day. The prophet tells us that the shepherds then, instead of feeding the flock, fed themselves; they trod the grass, instead of allowing the sheep to eat it, and they fouled the waters with their feet. That is an exact description of the state of Judea after the captivity; for then there arose the Scribes and Pharisees, who took the key of knowledge, and would not enter themselves, nor allow others to enter; who laid heavy burdens on men's shoulders, and would not touch them with one of their fingers; who made religion to consist entirely in sacrifices and ceremonies, and imposed such a burden on the people, that they cried out, "What a weariness it is!" That same evil has continued with the poor Jews to the present day; and should you read the nonsense of the Talmud and the Gemara, and see the burdens they laid upon them you would say, "Verily they have idle shepherds;" they give the sheep no food; they trouble them with fanciful superstitions and silly views, and instead of telling them that the Messiah is already come, they delude them with the idea that there is a Messiah yet to come, who shall restore Judea, and raise it to its glory. The Lord pronounces a curse upon these Pharisees and Rabbis, these who "thrust with side and with shoulder," those evil shepherds who will not suffer the sheep to lie down, neither will feed them with good pasture. But, after having described this state, he prophesies better times for the poor Jew. The day is coming when the careless shepherds shall be as naught; when the power of the Rabbis shall cease, when the traditions of the Mishna and the Talmud shall be cast aside. The hour is approaching, when the tribes shall go up to their own country; when Judea, so long a howling wilderness, shall once more blossom like the rose; when, if the temple itself be not restored, yet on Zion's hill shall be raised some Christian building, where the chants of solemn praise shall be heard as erst of old the Psalms of David were sung in the tabernacle. Not long shall it be ere they shall come shall come from distant lands wher'er they rest or roam; and she who has been the offscouring of all things, whose name has been a proverb and a byword, shall become the glory of all lands. Dejected Zion shall raise her head, shaking herself from dust, and darkness, and the dead. Then shall the Lord feed his people, and make them and the places round about his hill a blessing. I think we do not attach sufficient importance to the restoration of the Jews. We do not think enough of it. But certainly, if there is anything promised in the Bible, it is this. I imagine that you cannot read the Bible without seeing clearly that there is to be an actual restoration of the children of Israel. "Thither they shall go up; they shall come with weeping unto Zion, and with supplications unto Jerusalem." May that happy day soon come! For when the Jews are restored, then the fulness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in; and as soon as they return, then Jesus will come upon Mount Zion to reign with his ancients gloriously, and the halcyon days of the Millennium shall then dawn; we shall then know every man to be a brother and a friend; Christ shall rule, with universal sway.

This, then, is the meaning of the text; that God would make Jerusalem and the places round about his hill a blessing. I shall not, however, use it so this morning, but I shall use it in a more confined sense or, perhaps, in a more enlarged sense as it applies to the church of Jesus Christ, and to this particular church with which you and I stand connected. "I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing."

There are two things here spoken of. First, Christ's church is to be a blessing; secondly, Christ's church is to be blessed. These two things you will find in the different sentences of the text.

I. First, CHRIST'S CHURCH IS TO BE A BLESSING. "I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing." The object of God, in choosing a people before all worlds, was not only to save that people, but through them to confer essential benefits upon the whole human race. When he chose Abraham, he did not elect him simply to be God's friend, and the recipient of peculiar privileges; but he chose him to make him, as it were, the conservator of truth. He was to be the ark in which the truth should be hidden. He was to be the keeper of the covenant in behalf of the whole world; and when God chooses any men by his sovereign, electing grace, and makes them Christ's, he does it not only for their own sake, that they may be saved, but for the world's sake. For, know ye not that "ye are the light of the world;" "A city set upon a hill, which cannot be hid?" "Ye are the salt of the earth;" and when God makes you salt, it is not only that ye may have salt in yourselves, but that like salt ye may preserve the whole mass. If he makes you leaven, it is that, like the little leaven, you may leaven the whole lump. Salvation is not a selfish thing; God does not give it for us to keep to ourselves, but that we may thereby be made the means of blessing to others; and the great day shall declare that there is not a man living on the surface of the earth but has received a blessing in some way or other through God's gift of the gospel. The very keeping of the wicked in life, and granting of the reprieve, was purchased with the death of Jesus; and through his sufferings and death, the temporal blessings which both we and they enjoy are bestowed on us. The gospel was sent that it might first bless those that embrace it, and then expand, so as to make them a blessing to the whole human race.

In thus speaking of the church as a blessing, we shall notice three things. First, here is divinity "I will make them a blessing;" secondly, here is personality of religion "I will make them a blessing;" and thirdly, here is the development of religion" "and the places round about my hill."

1. First, with regard to this blessing which God will cause his church to be, here is divinity. It is God the everlasting Jehovah speaking: he says, "I will make them a blessing." None of us can bless others unless God has first blessed us. We need divine workmanship. "I will make them a blessing by helping them, and by constraining them." God makes his people a blessing by helping them. What can we do without God's help? I stand and preach to thousands, or it may be hundreds; what have I done, unless a greater than man has been in the pulpit with me? I work in the Sabbath Schools; what can I do, unless the Master is there, teaching the children with me? We want God's aid in every position; and once give us that assistance, and there is no telling with how little labor we may become a blessing. Ah! a few words sometimes will be more of a blessing than a whole sermon. You take some little prattler on your knee; and some few words that you say to him he remembers, and makes use of in after tears. I knew a gray-headed old man, who was in the habit of doing this. He once took a boy to a certain tree, and said, "Now, John, you kneel down at that tree, and I will kneel down with you." He knelt down and prayed, and asked God to convert him and save his soul. "Now," said he, "perhaps you will come to this tree again; and if you are not converted, you will remember that I asked under this tree that God would save your soul." That young man went away, and forgot the old man's prayer; but it chanced as God would have it that he walked down that field again, and saw a tree. It seemed as if the old man's name was cut in the bark. He recollected what he prayed for, and that the prayer was not fulfilled; but he dare not pass the tree without kneeling down to pray himself; and there was his spiritual birthplace. The simplest observation of the Christian shall be made a blessing, if God help him. "His leaf also shall not wither" the simplest word he speaks shall be treasured up; "and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

But there is constraint here. "I will make them a blessing." I will give them to be a blessing; I will constrain them to be a blessing. I can say myself, that I never did anything which was a blessing to my fellow-creatures, without feeling compelled to do it. I thought of going to a Sabbath School to teach. On a certain day, some one called asked me begged me prayed me to take his class. I could not refuse to go; and there I was held, hand and foot, by the superintendent, and was compelled to go on. I was asked to address the children; I thought I could not, but no one else was there to do it, so I stood up and stumbled out a few words. And I recollect the first occasion on which I attempted to preach to the people I am sure I had no wish to do it but there was no one else in the place, and the congregation must go away without a single word of warning or address. How could I suffer it? I felt forced to address them. And so it has been with whatever I have laid my hand to. I have always felt a kind of impulse which I could not resist; but, moreover, felt placed by Providence in such a position, that I had no wish to avoid the duty, and if I had desired it, could not have helped myself. And so it is with God's people. If they will go through their lives, wherever they have been made a blessing, they will find that God seems to have thrust them into the vineyard. Such-and-such a man was once rich. What good was he in the world? He did but loll in his carriage; he did but little good, and was of little service to his fellow-creatures. Says God, "I will make him a blessing;" so he strips away his riches, and brings him into low circumstances. He is then brought into association with the poor, and his superior education and intellect make him a blessing to them. God makes him a blessing. Another man was naturally very timid; he would not pray at the prayer-meeting, he would hardly like to join the church; soon he gets into a position in which he cannot help himself. "I will make him a blessing." And as sure as ever you are a servant of God, he will make you a blessing. He will have none of his gold in the lump; he will hammer it out, and make it a blessing. I verily believe there are some in my congregation to whom God has given power to preach his name; they do not know it, perhaps, but God will make it known by-and-by. I would have every man look and see, whether God is making him do a certain thing; and when once he feels the impulse, let him by no means ever check it. I am somewhat of a believer in the doctrine of the Quakers, as to the impulses of the Spirit, and I fear lest I should check one of them. If a thought crosses my mind, "Go to such a person's house," I always like to do it, because I do not know but what it may be from the Spirit. I understand this verse to mean something like that. "I will make them a blessing." I will force them to do good. If I cannot make a sweet scent come from them in any other way, I will pound them in the mortar of affliction. If they have seed, and the seed cannot be scattered in any other way, I will send a rough wind to blow the downy seed everywhere. "I will make them a blessing." If you have never been made a blessing to any one, depend upon it you are not a child of God; for Jehovah says, "I will make them a blessing."

2. But notice, next, the personality of the blessing. "I will make them a blessing." "I will make each member of the church a blessing." Many people come up to the house of prayer, where the church assembles; and you say, "Well, what are you doing at such-and-such a place where you attend?" "Well, we are doing so-and-so." "How do you spell we?" "It is a plain monosyllable," say you. "Yes, but do you put I in 'we?'" "No." There are a great many people who could easily spell "we" without an I in it; for though they say, "We have been doing so-and-so," they do not say, "How much have I done? Did I do anything in it? Yes; this chapel has been enlarged; what did I subscribe? Twopence!" Of course it is done. Those who paid the money have done it. "We preach the gospel." Do we, indeed? "Yes, we sit in our pew and listen a little, and do not pray for a blessing. We have got such a large Sunday School." Did you ever teach in it? "We have got a very good working society." Did you ever go to work in it? That is not the way so spell "we." It is, "I will make them a blessing." When Jerusalem was built, every man began nearest his own house. That is where you must begin to build or do something. Do not let us tell a lie about it. If we do not have some share in the building, if we neither handle the trowel nor the spear, let us not talk about our church; for the text says, "I will make them a blessing," every one of them.

"But, sir, what can I do? I am nothing but a father at home; I am so full of business, I can only see my children a little." But in your business, do you ever have any servants? "No; I am a servant myself." You have fellow-servants? "No; I work alone." Do you work alone, then, and live alone, like a monk in a cell? I don't believe that. But you have fellow-servants at work; cannot you say a word to their conscience? "I don't like to intrude religion into business." Quite right, too; so say I; when I am at business, let it be business; when you are at religion, let it be religion. But do you never have an opportunity? Why, you cannot go into an omnibus, or a railway carriage, but what you can say something for Jesus Christ. I have found it so, and I don't believe I am different from other people. Cannot do anything? Cannot you put a tract in your hat, and drop it where you go? Cannot you speak a word to a child? Where does this man come from, that cannot do anything? There is a spider on the wall; but he taketh hold on kings' palaces, and spinneth his web to rid the world of noxious flies. There is a nettle in the corner of the churchyard; but the physician tells me it has its virtues. There is a tiny star in the sky; but that is noted in the chart, and the mariner looks at it. There is an insect under water; but it builds a rock. God made all these things for something; but here is a man that God made, and gave him nothing at all to do! I do not believe it. God never makes useless things; he has no superfluous workmanship. I care not what you are; you have somewhat to do. And oh! may God show you what it is, and then make you do it, by the wondrous compulsion of his providence and his grace.

3. But we have to notice, in the third place, the development of gospel blessing. " I will make them a blessing;" but it does not end there. "And the places round about my hill." Religion is an expansive thing. When it begins in the heart, at first it is like a tiny grain of mustard seed; but it gradually increases, and becomes a great tree, so that the birds of the air lodge in the branches thereof. A man cannot be religious to himself. "No man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself." You have heard a score of times, that if you do but drop a pebble in a brook, it causes a small ring at first, then another outside of that, and then another, and then another, till the influence of the pebble is perceptible over the entire bosom of the water. So it is when God makes his people a blessing. "I will make a minister a blessing to one or two; I will then make him a blessing to a hundred; I will then make him a blessing to thousands; and then I will make those thousands a blessing. I will make each one individually a blessing, and when I have done that, I will make all the places round about a blessing." "I will make them a blessing." I hope we shall never be satisfied, as members of Park Street, until we are a blessing, not only to ourselves, but to all the places round about our hill. What are the places round about our hill? I think they are, first, our agencies; secondly, our neighborhood; thirdly, the churches adjacent to us.

First, there are our agencies. There is our Sabbath School; how near that is to our hill. I speak a great deal about this, because I want it to be brought into notice. I intend to preach a practical sermon this morning, to move some of you to come and teach in the Sabbath School; for there we require some suitable men, to "come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty." Therefore I mention the Sabbath School as a place very near to the hill; it ought to be just at the very foot of it; yea, it ought to be so near the hill that very many may pass from it to the church. Then there is our Visiting and Christian Instruction Society, which we have for the visiting of this neighborhood. I trust that has been made a blessing. God has sent among us a man who labors zealously and earnestly in visiting the sick. I have, as the superintendent of my beloved brother, the missionary, a regular account of his labors; his report has most highly gratified me, and I am able to bear testimony to the fact, that he is very sufficiently laboring around us. I want that society to have all you sympathy and strength. I consider him as a Joshua, with whom you are to go forth by hundreds to those who live in the neighborhood. Do you know what dark places there are? Walk down a street a little to the right. See the shops open on a Sunday. Some, thank God, that used to open them, now come and worship with us. We shall have more yet; for "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof," and why should not we have it? My brethren, as you visit the sick, or distribute tracts from door to door, make this your prayer that his society, being one of the places round about our hill, may be made a blessing! Let me not forget any agency connected with this church. There are several more which are places round about our hill; and the Lord has just put it into my heart to fashion other societies, which shall be made a blessing to this hill, and in a little while you shall hear thereof. We have several brethren in this congregation to whom God has given a mouth of utterance; these are about to form themselves into a society for proclaiming the Word of God. Where God has so blessed his church, and made us to be so noted and named amongst the people, why should we not keep on? We have been brought up to a great pitch of fervency and love; now is the time for doing something. While the iron is hot, why not strike and fashion it? I believe we have the materials, not only for making a church here that shall be the glory of the Baptist Churches in London, but for making churches everywhere throughout the metropolis; and we have more schemes on hand, which, matured by sober judgment, and backed by prudence, shall yet make this metropolis more honored that it has been by the sound of the pure gospel and the proclamation of the pure Word of God. May God make all our agencies the places round about our hill a blessing.

But next, there is the neighborhood. I am paralyzed sometimes, when I think that we are of so little service to the neighborhood, though this is a green oasis in the midst of a great spiritual desert. Just at the back of us we could find you hundreds of Roman Catholics and men of the very worst character; and it is sad to think that we cannot make this place a blessing to them. It is made a great blessing to you, my hearers, but you do not come from this district; you come from anywhere and nowhere, some of you, I suppose. People say, "There is something doing in that chapel; look at the crowd; but we cannot get in!" This one thing I ask never come here to gratify your curiosity. You that are members of other congregations, just consider it you duty to stay at home. There are many stray sheep about. I would rather have them than you. Keep your own place. I do not want to rob other minister. Do not come here from charity. We are much obliged to you for your kindly intentions; but we would rather have your room than your company, if ye are members of other churches. We want sinners to come sinners of every sort; but do not let us have that sort of men whose ears are everlastingly itching for some new preacher; who are saying, "I want something else, I want something else." Oh! do, I beseech you, for God's sake, be of some good; and if you are running about from one place to another, you can never expect to be. Do ye know what is said of rolling stones? Ah! ye have heard of that. They "gather no moss." Now, don't be rolling stones, but keep at home. God, however, so help us, as to make us a blessing to the neighborhood! I long to see something done for the people around. We must open our arms to them; we must go out into the open air to them; we must and will preach God's gospel to them. Let, then, the people around listen to the word of the gospel; and may it be said, "That place is the cathedral of Southwark!" So it is now. Out of it goes a blessing; God is pouring out a blessing upon it.

What else do we mean by the places round about our hill? We mean, the churches adjacent. I cannot but rejoice in the prosperity of many churches around us; but as our beloved brother, Mr. Sherman, said, last Thursday morning, "It is not invidious to say, that there are very few churches that are in a prosperous state, and that, taking the churches at large, they are in a deplorable condition. It is only here and there," said he, "that God is pouring out his Spirit; but most of the churches are lying, like barges at Blackfriar's Bridge when the tide is down right in the mud; and all the king's horses and all the king's men cannot pull them off, till the tide comes and sets them afloat." Who can tell, then, what good may be done by this church? If there is a light in this candlestick, let others come and light their candles by it. If there is a flame here, let the flame spread, until all the neighboring churches shall be lit up with the glory. Then, indeed, shall we be made the rejoicing of the earth; for there is never a revival in one spot, but it shall affect others. Who shall tell, then, where it shall end?

"Fly abroad, thou mighty gospel;

Win and conquer, never cease."

And it never will cease, when God once makes the places round about his hill a blessing.

II. The second point is, that God's people are not only to be a blessing, but THEY ARE TO BE BLESSED. For read the second part of the verse. "And I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing." It is somewhat singular, as a prognostication of the showers of blessings we hope to receive here, that God sent us showers on the first day of opening. If I were a believer in omens, I should pray, that as it rained the first day, so may it rain every day since. When it stops, may the chapel be shut up; for we only want it open so long as showers of grace continue to descend.

First, here is sovereign mercy. Listen to these words; "I will give them the shower in its season." Is it not sovereign, divine mercy; for who can say, "I will give them showers," except God? Can the false prophet who walks amongst the benighted Hottentots? He says he is a rain-maker, and can give them showers; but can he do it? Is there an imperial monarch, or the most learned man on earth, who can say, "I will give them the showers in their season?" No; there is only one fist wherein all the clouds are held; there in only one hand in which all the channels of the mighty ocean above the firmament are contained; there is only one voice that can speak to the clouds, and bid them beget the rain. "Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?" "Who sendeth down the rain upon the earth? who scattereth the showers upon the green herb? Do not I, the Lord?" Who else could do it? Is not rain in God's power? and who could send it, except him? We know that Catholics pretend that they can get grace without getting it form God directly; for they believe that God puts all his grace into the pope, and then that runs down into smaller pipes, called cardinals and bishops, through which it runs into the priests; and, by turning the tap with a shilling, you can get as much grace as you like. But it is not so with God's grace. He says, "I will give them showers." Grace is the gift of God, and is not to be created by man.

Notice, next, it is needed grace. "I will give them showers." What would the ground do without showers? You may break the clods, you may sow your seeds; but what can you do without the rain? Ah! you may prepare your barn, and sharpen your sickles; but your sickles will be rusted before you have any wheat, unless there are showers. They are needed. So is the divine blessing.

"In vain Apollos sow the seed,

And Paul may plant in vain;

In vain you come here, in vain you labor, in vain you give you money.

"Till God the plenteous shower bestows,

And sends salvation down."

Then, next, it is plenteous grace. "I will send them showers." It does not say, "I will send them drops," but "I will send them showers." "It seldom rains but it pours." So it is with grace. If God gives a blessing, he usually gives it in such a measure that there is not room enough to receive it. Where are we going to hold God's blessing that we have obtained already? I told the people on Thursday that God had promised us, that if we brought the tithes into the storehouse, he would send us such a blessing that we would not have room to hold it. We have tried it, and the promise has been fulfilled, as it always will be as long as we rely upon it. Plenteous grace! Ah! we shall want plenteous grace, my friends; plenteous grace to keep us humble, plenteous grace to make us prayerful, plenteous grace to make us holy, plenteous grace to make us zealous, plenteous grace to make us truthful, plenteous grace to preserve us through this life, and at last to land us in heaven. We cannot do without showers of grace. How many are there here that have been dry in a shower of grace? Why, there is a shower of grace here; but how is it that it does not fall on some of the people? It is because they put up the umbrella of their prejudice; and though they sit here, even as God's people sit, even when it rains, they have such a prejudice of God's Word, they do not want to hear it, they do not want to love it, and it runs off again. Nevertheless, the showers are there; and we will thank god for them where they do fall.

Again, it is seasonable grace. "I will give them the shower in its season." There is nothing like seasonable grace. There are fruits, you know, that are best in their season, and they are not good at any other time; and there are graces that are good in their season, but we do not always require them. A person vexes and irritates me; I want grace just at that moment to be patient; I have not got it, and I get angry; ten minutes after I am ever so patient; but I have not had grace in its season. The promise is, "I will give them the shower in its season." Ah! poor waiting soul, what is thy season this morning? Is it the season of drought? Then that is the season for showers. Is it a season of great heaviness and black clouds? Then that is the season for showers. What is your season this morning, business man? Lost money all the week, have you? Now is the season to ask for showers. It is night-time; now the dew falls. The dew does not fall in the day it falls in the night; the night of affliction, trial, and trouble. There stands the promise; only go and plead it. "I will give them the shower in its season."

We have one thought more, and then we have done. Here is a varied blessing. "I will give thee showers of blessing." The word is in the plural. All kinds of blessings God will send. The rain is all of one kind when it comes; but grace is not all of one kind, or it does not produce the same effect. When God sends rain upon the church, he "sends showers of blessing." There are some ministers who think, that if there is a shower on their church, God will send a shower of work. Yes, but if he does, he will send a shower of comfort. Others think that God will send a shower of gospel truth. Yes, but if he sends that, he will send a shower of gospel holiness. For all God's blessings go together. They are like the sweet sister graces that danced hand in hand. God sends showers of blessings. If he gives comforting grace, he will also give converting grace; if he makes the trumpet blow for the bankrupt sinner, he will also make it sound a shout of joy for the sinner that is pardoned and forgiven. He will send "showers of blessing."

Now, then, there is a promise in that Bible. We have tried to explain and enlarge upon it. What shall we do with it?

"In that book there hidden lies

A pearl of price unknown."

Well, we have examined this rich promise; we as a church are looking at it; we are saying, "Is that ours?" I think most of the members will say, "It is; for God has poured out upon us showers of blessing in their season." Well, then, if the promise is ours, the precept is ours, as much as the promise. Ought we not to ask God to continue to make us a blessing? Some say I did so-and-so when I was a young man; but supposing you are fifty, you are not an old man now. Is there not something you can do? It is all very well to talk about what you have done; but what are you doing now? I know what it is with some of you; you shined brightly once, but your candle has not been snuffed lately, and so it does not shine so well. May God take away some of the worldly cares, and snuff the candles a little! You know there were snuffers and snuffer-trays provided in the temple for all the candles, but no extinguishers; and if there should be a poor candle here this morning, with a terrific snuff, that has not given a light for a long while, you will have no extinguisher from me, but I hope you will always have a snuffing. I thought the first time when I came to the lamps this morning it would be to snuff them. That has been the intention of my sermon to snuff you a little to set you to work for Jesus Christ. O Zion, shake thyself from the dust! O Christian, raise thyself from thy slumbers! Warrior, put on thy armor! Soldier, grasp thy sword! The captain sounds the alarm of war. O sluggard! why sleepest thou? O heir of heaven, has not Jesus done so much for thee, that thou shouldst live to him? O beloved brethren, purchased with redeeming mercies, girt about with loving-kindness and with tenderness,

"Now for a shout of sacred joy."

and after that, to the battle! The little seed has grown to this; who knoweth what it shall be? Only let us together strive, without variance. Let us labor for Jesus. Never did men have so fair an opportunity, for the last hundred years. "There is a tide that, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." Shall you take it at the flood? Over the bar, at the harbor's mouth! O ship of heaven, let thy sails be out; let not thy canvas be furled; and the wind will blow us across the seas of difficulty that lie before us. O! that the latter day might have its dawning even in this despised habitation! O my God! from this place cause the first wave to spring, which shall move another, and then another, till the last great wave shall sweep over the sands of time, and dash against the rocks of eternity, echoing as it falls, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!"