229. EZE 34:26. GOD’S GRACIOUS ENGAGEMENTS WITH HIS CHURCH
Eze_34:26. God’s Gracious Engagements with His Church
"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."’97Eze_34:26.
Let us consider,
I. The Description given of God’s Church.
"My hill."
It is often thus described, no doubt, in reference to the temple being built on the hill of Zion. "Who shall ascend my holy hill," &c.
The term denotes,
1. Elevation.
World is sunk, fallen, degraded. The church is raised out of it, exalted, &c.
2. Firmness and stability.
Not an erection upon sand, endangered by every storm, &c., but upon the towering hill that has withstood the blasts of centuries. The mountain of the Lord cannot be moved.
It denotes, also,
3. Visibility.
It is a hill to be visible to all in every direction its top pointing towards the skies.
4. Healthfulness and purity.
Fogs, &c., occasionally overcast the tops of hills, but they generally settle in the valleys, and lower parts of the earth. The mountain air pure, balmy, bracing the system, &c. Here souls are matured for the healthy regions of the celestial paradise.
But this is described as God’s hill.
"My hill."
Observe,
1. The Lord founded it.
He laid its foundations. For the Lord hath founded Zion.
2. It is the place of his divine residence.
His heart and his eyes are there perpetually;
"He makes his churches his abode,
His most delightful seat."
This is my rest, &c.
3. The scene of his glories.
Here he manifests himself, &c. Here his beauty is beheld, &c. Psa_27:4.
4. It is the object of his especial love.
His portion, treasure, delight, engraven on his hands, &c. Gates continually before him.
Consider,
II. The Promise made to it.
"I will cause the shower to come down." &c.
1. The promise is general.
He engages to bless it. Perfection, provision, comfort, and prosperity, all included 2. The promise includes abundance.
"Showers of blessing." Bounty of God infinite. Can easily fill our vessel to overflowing. See 2Ki_4:1, &c. Mal_3:10.
3. The blessings are to be seasonable.
"Shower in his season." Not before necessary; not when it is too late; but a the crisis of need, &c. Psalms 107.
4. The blessings are to promote a happy influence on all around.
"And the places round about my hill," &c. The church is to spread the savor of grace through the whole earth. To be an eternal excellency, the joy of many generations.
Application
1. Do we dwell in the Lord’s holy hill? see Psa. xv.
2. Congratulate the children of Zion. Let them be joyful, &c.
3. Invite sinners all around to come and join themselves to the people of the Lord &c.
Autor: JABEZ BURNS