visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still; but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

CHAPTER XII.

THE burden of the word of the

LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and ou the left and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusa lem, do not magnify themselves against Judah.

8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against

Jerusalem.

10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his

his unnumbered mercies; but insultingly offered him a mean and insincere service which they knew be would not accept.-Ver. 17. Jer. xxiii. 1; Ezek. xxxiv. 2.

Ver. 2. Jerusalem, the true and spiritual Jerusalem, that is, the Church of God, of which the earthly Jerusalem was the type and image, is the real burden of this sublime prophecy. Let the kings of the earth take counsel together, and weigh well the word of the Lord thus spoken.-Ver. 3. Matth. xxi. 44.-Ver. 8. Joel, iii. 10.-Ver. 10. Jer. 1. 4; Joel, ii. 28; John, xix.

only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.

11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;

14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

CHAPTER XIII.

[N that day there shall be a foun

tain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for unclean

ness.

2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.

4 And it shal! come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:

5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends,

7 Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn mine hand upon the little

ones.

8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear

34-37; Rev. i. 7. — Ver. 11. 2 Kings, xxiii. 29; 2 Chron. xxxv. 24. Ver. 12. Matth. xxiv. 30; Rev. i. 7. Every family apart: that is, every house shall have its real portion of grief to support: private sorrow and anguish shall not be lost in the feeling of national affliction.

Ver. 1. How clear a promise this of the Redeemer, with his cleansing blood, and purifying Spirit!-Ver. 3. Deut. xiii. 8. Ver. 5. Amos, vii. 14.-Ver. 7. Matth. xxvi. 31. -Ver. 8. Rom. xi. 5. Ver. 9. 1 Pet. i. 6-7.

them: I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

CHAPTER XIV.

BEHOLD, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

2 For I will gather all nations. against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

3 Then shall the LORD go forth. and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east: and the niount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, je shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening-time it shall be light.

8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name

one.

10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem; and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her

Ver. 1. Acts, ii. 20. This chapter combines with the awful view of Jerusalem, besieged by the Romans in the day appointed for its destruction, the view of the same city spiritualized, and defended by the Lord of hosts, who, coming forth from his sanctuary against the Gentiles, will pursue its enemies with a mighty and universal destruction. Ver. 2. The part not cut off, is that remnant against the safety of which no power of the adversary can prevail. Ver. 5. Rev. xxi. 23; xxii. 5; Isai. xxxiii. 26; lx. 19. Azal: the name of a distant district; and the meaning of the prophet appears to be, that there shall be no obstruction to the fugitives from the mountains which before opposed their flight; for that the Lord will have levelled all high places by the strength of his arm. Respecting the earthquake see Amos, i. 1; Isai. vi. 1. Ver. 7. The light shall not be, &c.: that is, in the first period of God's new dispensation there shall be but a doubtful a small, glimmering, light; but as the latter end ap proaches, the light shall increase, and make all around clear and visible.-Ver. 8. See Ezek. xlvii, 1;

place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner-gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.

11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and

Joel, iii. 18; Rev. xxii. 1. - Ver. 20. See Isai. xxiii. 18. Ver. 21.

his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of

Isai. xxxv. 8; Joel, iii. 17; Rev. xxi. 27; xxii. 15.

hosts, even upon them shall be no

rain.

18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain, there shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD's house shall be like the bowls before the altar,

21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts; and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

MALACHI.

CHAPTER I.

THE burden of the word of the

LORD to Israel by Malachi.

2 I have loved you, saith the LORD: yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob.

3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return. and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.

5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.

6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein bave we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.

8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.

10 Who is there even among you

Ver. 2. Rom. ix. 18; Jer. xlix. 18; Ezek. xxxv. 7-9; Obad. 10. Ver. 6. Luke, vi. 46. Ver. 8. Levit. xxii. 22; Deut. xv. 21.

that would shut the doors for nought neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.

11 For from the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.

12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.

13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.

14 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the LORD a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

CHAPTER II.

AND now, o ye priests, this

commandment is for you.

2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon

Ver. 11. Ps. cxiii. 8; Isai. lix. 19; John, iv, 21; 1 Tim. ii. 8; Rev. viii. 3; Isai. Ixvi. Ver. 12. We learn from this, that the Jews had not only been infamously guilty in offering sacrifices that were not fit for the altar of the Lord, but that they made this very circumstance, the result of their own sin, a reason for speaking of it with contempt.

Ver. 2. How awful is this passage: but tremendous as is the

you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye did not lay it to heart.

3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.

4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.

6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.

7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts:

9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.

10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us ?/why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is com

threat of the Lord, men every day dare to provoke it, and the blessings they possess are turned into a curse. -Ver. 5. Numb. xxv. 12; Deut. xxxiii. 8-10.-Ver. 7. Deut. xvii. 9; xxiv. 8.-Ver. 8. 1 Sam. ii. 17; Jer. xviii. 15. Ver. 10. An unanswerable argument this against harshness, injustice, and tyranny.

mitted in Israel and in Jerusalem: for Judah hath profaned the holi ness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.

12 The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.

13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping. and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good-will at your hand.

14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy

covenant.

15 And did not he make one? Yet had be the residue of the Spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts; therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words: yet ye say. Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

CHAPTER III.

BEHOLD, I will send my mes

senger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

2 But who may abide the day of his coming and who shall stand when he appeareth for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap:

that

-Ver. 13. With tears, &c. is, with the tears of those whom ye have injured, and who have fled to me for help against your oppression. - Ver. 15. Make one: that is, unite them, so that they two should be one. Ver. 17. Isai. xliii. 24.

Ver. 1. This prophecy is clear and distinct; and the voice of Malachi is like that of a watchman looking from the top of a mountain into the far distance, and beholding the approach of long expected messengers of peace-the ministers of a delivering monarch.-Ver. 6. Numb. 474

3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness,

4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

7

Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

10 Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me. now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

12 And all nations shall call you blessed for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?

14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mourufully before the LORD of hosts?

15 And now we call the proud happy, yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another:

xxiii. 19; Rom. xi. 29; James, i. 17.-Ver. 7. Return unto me, &c. How full of mercy are the last words of prophecy and the law, shining, as they here do, under the dawning

FOR, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up

as calves of the stall.

3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet, in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judg

ments.

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

light of the gospel!-Ver. 16. See Ps. xvi. 16; Ivi. 8. A beautiful characteristic this of a regenerated people. Ver. 17. Who feels not the exquisite force of this beautiful image? And who would not strive to be one of the jewels of the Lord Almighty of him who gave existence to all the glory that exists either on earth or in heaven?

Ver. 1. See 2 Pet. iii. 7; Obad. 18; Amos, ii. 9. Ver. 2. Happy are they who, believing and loving, and looking forward to the end, can lay these words as a precious unction to their souls! Ver. 5. See Matth. xi. 14; xvii. 12; Mark, ix. 11; Luke, i. 17. Ver. 6. Thus the last word of prophecy describes the effects of the gospel in its power and fulness: those who receive it, it shall bless and save; to the world which rejects it, it shall prove but the great foundation of the throne of judgment.