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英文原文
We have done with Mount Seir, and left it desolate, and likely to continue so, and must now turn ourselves, with the prophet, to the mountains of Israel, which we find desolate too, but hope before we have done with the chapter to leave in better plight. Here are two distinct prophecies in this chapter:—I. Here is one that seems chiefly to relate to the temporal estate of the Jews, wherein their present deplorable condition is described and the triumphs of their neighbours in it; but it is promised that their grievances shall be all redressed and that in due time they shall be settled again in their own land, in the midst of peace and plenty, Eze 36:1-15. II. Here is another that seems chiefly to concern their spiritual estate, wherein they are reminded of their former sins and God's judgments upon them, to humble them for their sins and under God's mighty hand, Eze 36:16-20. But it is promised, 1. That God would glorify himself in showing mercy to them, Eze 36:21-24. 2. That he would sanctify them, by giving them his grace and fitting them for his service; and this for his own name's sake and in answer to their prayers, Eze 36:25-38.
1-15
God's Compassion for Israel (587 BC)
神对以色列的怜悯（主前587年）
¹「人子啊，你要向以色列山发预言，说：以色列山哪，要听主耶和华的话。
² 主耶和华如此说：因仇敌说：『阿哈！那永久的山冈都归我们为业了！』
³ 所以你要预言说：主耶和华如此说：因为仇敌使你四围荒凉，将你吞灭，使你成为余剩的外邦人的分；你又被嘴上多言的人提起，成了百姓的辱骂。
⁴ 故此，以色列山哪，要听主耶和华的话。主耶和华对大山、小冈、水沟、山谷、荒废之地、被弃之城——就是被四围其余的外邦人所掠夺、所讥诮的——如此说：
⁵ 主耶和华如此说：我真地在我妒火的烈怒中起誓，对四围其余的外邦人，并对以东全地——他们满怀欢乐地、心存恶念，将我的地划为业，据为掠物。
⁶ 所以你要指着以色列地预言，对大山、小冈、水沟、山谷说：主耶和华如此说：我曾在嫉妒和烈怒中发言，因为你们担当了外邦人的羞辱。
⁷ 主耶和华如此说：我已经举手起誓：你们四围的外邦人，必担当自己的羞辱。
⁸ 「以色列山哪，你必发枝条，为我民以色列结果子，因为他们快要来到。
⁹ 看哪，我是为你们，必转向你们，使你们得以耕种撒种。
¹⁰ 我必使以色列全家的人都在你们上面增多，全部的人数；城邑有人居住，荒场重新建造。
¹¹ 我必使人和牲畜在你上面增多；他们必生养众多，结果子。我必使你照你先前的景况居住，又使你比起初的景况更好；你们就知道我是耶和华。
¹² 我必使人——就是我的民以色列——在你上面行走；他们必得你为业，你也必作他们的产业，你也不再使他们丧子。
¹³ 主耶和华如此说：因为人对你说：『你是吞吃人的地，又叫你的国民丧子』；
¹⁴ 所以主耶和华说：你必不再吞吃人，也不再使你的国民丧子。
¹⁵ 我必使你不再听见外邦人的羞辱，你也不再担当百姓的辱骂，不再叫你的国民绊跌——主耶和华如此说。」
先知曾奉命「面向以色列山」「向其预言」（结6:2）。那时神正出来与他的百姓相争；如今神以怜悯归回，他就要向这些山说好话和安慰的话（结36:1、4）。「以色列山哪，要听耶和华的话」；他对山所说的话，他也对「小冈、水沟、山谷」——乡野的「荒废之地」和「被弃之城」说（结36:4、6）。百姓已散去，或东或西；所剩可对其说话的，只有这些地方，这些山谷；迦勒底人不能把它们掳走。「地却永远长存。」如今，为要表明神为百姓所存留的怜悯，先知要论到神对这地存有一种蛰伏的慈爱——主若定意永远弃绝这地，就不会呼召它「听耶和华的话」，也不会「在此时向它显明这样的事」。这里：
一、神以怜悯留意以色列地现今可悲的光景。它已成了四围外邦人的「掠物」和「讥诮」（结36:4）。1. 它成了他们的掠物；他们都因这地的劫掠而富足。迦勒底人既征服了他们，他们一切的邻邦便如奔赴海难现场一般扑向财物，各人以为自己手所能及的都属自己（结36:3）：「他们使你四围荒凉，将你吞灭，使你成为外邦人的分」，就是那些自己也几乎遭过同样荒凉之「余剩」的人。无人认为剥下一个以色列人是什么罪过。「罗马的暴民总是趋炎附势——捧高位的，踩跌倒的。」人倒下时的常言便是：「打倒他。」2. 它成了他们的讥诮。他们把以色列人的一切都抢了去，抢完之后还嗤笑他们。「仇敌说：『阿哈！那永久的山冈都归我们为业了』」（结36:2）。以色列地的古远、尊贵、圣洁、坚垒，都不能保障它，我们却已作了这一切的主人。那地所得的尊荣越多，在列国中所占的地位越显赫，他们在劫掠这地时所生的骄傲与快乐就越大——这正是卑劣下流之心的例证；因为越荣耀、越昌盛，其灾祸就越可怜。神在此把这事记下，作为以色列现今灾祸的加重：「你在嘴上多言的人口中提起，成了百姓的辱骂」（结36:3）。乡间所谈论的无非是犹太国的倾覆；凡谈论这事的人，都要加上一两句尖酸刻薄的影射。他们是「安逸人的讥诮、骄傲人的藐视」（诗123:4）。有些人口舌出名，对谁都有话说，却无心说谁一句好话；神的百姓在这样的人中间，当冠冕从他们头上坠落时，必成为辱骂的对象。基督教在受苦之日也正是这样，「各处都被人毁谤」。
二、神对那些以以色列地的荒凉为乐的人表示公义的不悦——它的许多邻邦正是如此，甚至连弟兄之余的人，尤其是以东。请看，1. 他们是怎样对待神的以色列人的。他们从以色列的地，从神的地里为自己割出大片产业；因为那实在是神的地：「他们将我的地划为业」（结36:5），这样不但侵犯了邻舍的产业，也侵犯了神的特权。他们以亵渎圣物之手所染指的，是圣地。他们不承认自己是倚靠那位为那地之神的，也不承认以色列在其中尚有任何利益，却「据为掠物」，如同在合法的战争中所赢得的一样。他们这样做，毫无对神与其审判的畏惧，也毫无对以色列与其灾祸的怜悯，倒是「满怀欢乐」（因自己从中获利），并向那因此受损的以色列人「心存恶念」。以不正之道增添财富，便是世俗之心的全部喜乐；而神百姓的灾祸，便是心怀恶念之人的全部喜乐。那些无机会掠夺神百姓的人，便以毁谤他们为乐；以致他们成了「外邦人的羞辱」（结36:6）。人人都嘲笑他们、戏弄他们；而事实是，他们因自己的罪已使自己卑贱——所以神在此事上为义，人却是不义，且非常残暴。2. 神要怎样对待那些在言语和行为上如此虐待他百姓的人。神已「发言攻击外邦人」；他已对他们判定了；他已决意为此与他们算账，并且是「在我妒火的烈怒」中——既为他自己的荣耀，也为他百姓的荣耀（结36:5）。他既对二者怀有「如死之坚强」的「爱」，也对他们怀有「如阴间之残忍」的「嫉妒」。他们既在恶意中说话攻击神的百姓，他也要在嫉妒中说话攻击他们；哪个说话更有能力，不言而喻。神要「在嫉妒和烈怒中发言」（结36:6）。神里面没有烈怒；但他要对他们施展他的权能，如同人在烈怒中一样严厉地对待他们。他要「在他的怒中对他们说话，在他的烈怒中惊吓他们」。他所说的他必坚持，因为这话有誓言为后盾。他「举手」凭自己起誓，已经起誓并不反悔。那么，以如此热烈、又以如此深思熟虑所说的是什么呢？就是这话（结36:7）：「你们四围的外邦人，必担当自己的羞辱。」注意：那报应属乎的公义的神，必以羞辱还羞辱。那些把藐视和辱骂加在神百姓身上的人，或迟或早，这羞辱必「烙在自己身上」——也许在今世（他们的愚妄或灾祸，他们的失策或不幸，要成为他们的辱骂），最迟也要到那一日，那时一切不悔改的人都要「醒起受羞辱、永远被憎恶」。
三、神对以色列施恩的应许，以及他为他们所存大怜悯的保证。神藉仇敌的暴行与狂妄，越发显明自己对他们更加关切、更加乐于赐福——正如大卫指望神因示每的咒诅反倒赐福给他。「他们咒诅，惟愿你赐福」。仇敌这样待神的百姓，反倒因他们所加的伤害——虽出于违心、出乎意外——而真正服事了他百姓。倘若人越发无情，神却越发有恩——倘若他越是以他的道和灵亲切地对我们说话，他也在他的护理中越亲切地为我们行事，我们便无可抱怨。先知要这样对「以色列山」说——就是那现今「荒凉、被人藐视」的山——神「是为你们的」，要「转向你们」（结36:9）。正如神的咒诅因人的缘故临到地土，他的祝福也是如此。这里所应许的是：1. 他们合法的主人必归回，重新得业：「我民以色列快要来到」（结36:8）。虽然他们离本国甚远，虽然他们分散在许多国家，虽然他们被仇敌的权势所拘留，他们却必「再回到自己的境界」（耶31:17）。归回的时间近了。虽然七十年中尚有四十多年（也许五十年）未尽，这事却说是临近了，因为这是确实的，他们中间必有人活着看见。「千年在神眼中如一日」。以色列山如今荒凉；但神必再「使人——就是他的民以色列——在你上面行走」，不是作过路旅客，而是作居民——不是作租户，而是作自由持有人：「他们必得你为业」，不是终身享用，而是为他们自己和他们的后嗣；「你也必作他们的产业」。这是天上迦南的预表——神一切儿女都是那地的后嗣，每一个真正的以色列人都是，他们不久都要从现今所散居的各国一同被领进去。2. 那地在主人归回时，必为他们提供丰足、舒坦的供养。当地「享受了安息」这么多年之后，必更为多结果子，正如我们休息之后、尤其是安息日休息之后更为舒畅：「你们必得以耕种撒种」（结36:9），并「为我民以色列结果子」（结36:8）。注意：地能为人所用，尤其为善人所用——善人要在地所供给的美物中喜乐地事奉神——这乃是地的福分。3. 以色列民不但要在本国得着舒坦的供应，也要得着舒坦的定居：「城邑必有人居住；荒场必被建造」（结36:10）。「我必使你们照先前的景况居住」（结36:11）。是他们自己的罪使他们不得安居，如今神的恩典要使他们重新安居。当浪子成为悔改的人，他就照着先前的景况在父家重新安置。「把那上好的袍子快拿出来给他穿」。不但如此，「我如今必比起初的景况待你们更好」。那被领回的羊所带来的喜乐，比它若从未走迷所带来的喜乐更大。神有时按着「他所降罚他们的日子」的比例，加倍增添他百姓的安慰。神就这样使约伯的晚年比早年更蒙福，把他一切所有的都加倍赐给他。4. 百姓归回之后必「结果子、增多、遍满那地」，使那地不仅再有人居住，而且人口稠密、人丁旺盛，与从前一样。神必使「以色列全家，全部」归回（请看结36:10对此有何等强调）——「凡神激动他心的人」都必归回；唯有这些人才算为「以色列家」的人，其余的已自行与之断绝；又或者，起初归回的人数虽少，其后在不同的时日却都归回了；那时（神说）「我必使这些人在上面增多」（结36:10），「使人和牲畜增多；他们必生养众多」（结36:11）。注意：神在世上的国是增长的国；他的教会虽暂时衰微，却必复原，并且再次充满。5. 恶探从前对以色列地所投的、近来又被翻起的毁谤——说它是「那吞吃居民之地」（因饥荒、瘟疫和刀剑）——必完全滚开，再无任何缘由。迦南已得了恶名。它从前曾「吐出」居民（利18:28）——就是当地的原住民——这本可作另一番解释，却被那些不应当的人拿来作它的辱骂（民13:32）。近来它又吞吃了以色列人，也把他们吐出；以致人常论到这地说：这地不仅不能养活其上所住的邦族，反倒使他们丧子，使他们倾覆，使他们跌倒；它是「一栋害尽一切租户的房产」。这是它在邻邦中所得的恶名；但神如今应许，必不再如此：「你不再使他们丧子」（结36:12），「不再吞吃人」（结36:14）。居民必享高寿，年岁不至中途被截。可将这事与那应许相比照（亚8:4）。注意：神要除去他百姓的羞辱，必先除去那成为羞辱之因的。当这国在平安、丰盛、权能中昌盛，他们就「不再听见外邦人的羞辱」（结36:15）；尤其当他们已归正——当罪——任何百姓、特别是神宣信之百姓的羞辱——被除掉时，他们就「不再听见百姓的辱骂」。注意：当神以怜悯归向那以本分归向他的百姓，他们一切的委屈必速得昭雪，他们的尊荣也必恢复。
英文原文
God's Compassion for Israel (587 BC)
¹ Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:
² Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:
³ Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:
⁴ Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;
⁵ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.
⁶ Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:
⁷ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.
⁸ But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.
⁹ For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:
¹⁰ And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
¹¹ And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
¹² Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men.
¹³ Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations;
¹⁴ Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord GOD.
¹⁵ Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD.
The prophet had been ordered to set his face towards the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them, Eze 6:2. Then God was coming forth to contend with his people; but now that God is returning in mercy to them he must speak good words and comfortable words to these mountains, Eze 36:1,4. You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord; and what he says to them he says to the hills, to the rivers, to the valleys, to the desolate wastes in the country, and to the cities that are forsaken, Eze 36:4,6. The people were gone, some one way and some another; nothing remained there to be spoken to but the places, the mountains and valleys; these the Chaldeans could not carry away with them. The earth abides for ever. Now, to show the mercy God had in reserve for the people, he is to speak of him as having a dormant kindness for the place, which, if the Lord had been pleased for ever to abandon, he would not have called upon to hear the word of the Lord, nor would he as at this time have shown it such things as these. Here is,
I. The compassionate notice God takes of the present deplorable condition of the land of Israel. It has become both a prey and a derision to the heathen that are round about, Eze 36:4. 1. It has become a prey to them; and they are all enriched with the plunder of it. When the Chaldeans had conquered them all their neighbours flew to the spoil as to a shipwreck, every one thinking all his own that he could lay his hands on (Eze 36:3): They have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that you might be a possession to the heathen, to the residue of them, even such as had themselves narrowly escaped the like desolation. No one thought it any crime to strip an Israelite. Turba Romæ sequitur fortunam ut semper—The mob of Rome still praise the elevated and despise the fallen. It is the common dry, when a man is down, Down with him. 2. It has become a derision to them. They took all they had and laughed at them when they had done. The enemy said, "Aha! even the ancient high places are ours in possession, Eze 36:2. Neither the antiquity, nor the dignity, neither the sanctity nor the fortifications, of the land of Israel, are its security, but we have become masters of it all." The more honours that land had been adorned with, and the greater figure it had made among the nations, the more pride and pleasure did they take in making a spoil of it, which is an instance of a base and sordid spirit; for the more glorious and prosperity was the more piteous is the adversity. God takes notice of it here as an aggravation of the present calamity of Israel: You are taken up in the lips of talkers and are an infamy of the people, Eze 36:3. All the talk of the country about was concerning the overthrow of the Jewish nation; and every one that spoke of it had some peevish ill-natured reflection or other upon them. They were the scorning of those that were at ease and the contempt of the proud, Ps 123:4. There are some that are noted for talkers, that have something to say of every body, but cannot find in their hearts to speak well of any body; God's people, among such people, were sure to be a reproach when the crown had fallen from their head. Thus it was the lot of Christianity, in its suffering days, to be every where spoken against.
II. The expressions of God's just displeasure against those who triumphed in the desolations of the land of Israel, as many of its neighbours did, even the residue of the brethren, and Idumea particularly. Let us see, 1. How they dealt with the Israel of God. They carved out large possessions to themselves out of their land, out of God's land; for so indeed it was: "They have appointed my land into their possession (Eze 36:5), and so not only invaded their neighbour's property, but intrenched upon God's prerogative." It was the holy land which they laid their sacrilegious hands upon. They did not own any dependence upon God, as the God of that land, nor acknowledge any remaining interest that Israel had in it, but cast it out for a prey, as if they had won it in a lawful war. And this they did without any dread of God and his judgments and without any compassion for Israel and their calamities, but with the joy of all their hearts, because they got by it, and with despiteful minds to Israel that lost by it. Increasing wealth, by right or wrong, is all the joy of a worldly heart; and the calamities of God's people are all the joy of a despiteful mind. And those that had not an opportunity of making a prey of God's people made a reproach of them; so that they were the shame of the heathen, Eze 36:6. Every body ridiculed them and made a jest of them; and the truth is they had by their own sin made themselves vile; so that God was righteous herein, but men were unrighteous and very barbarous. 2. How God would deal with those who were thus in word and deed abusive to his people. He has spoken against the heathen; he has passed sentence upon them; he has determined to reckon with them for it, and this in the fire of his jealousy, both for his own honour and for the honour of his people, Eze 36:5. Having a love for both as strong as death, he has a jealousy for both as cruel as the grave. They spoke in their malice against God's people, and he will speak in his jealousy against them; and it is easy to say which will speak most powerfully. God will speak in his jealousy and in his fury, Eze 36:6. Fury is not in God; but he will exert his power against them and handle them as severely as men do when they are in a fury. He will so speak to them in his wrath as to vex them in his sore displeasure. What he says he will stand to, for it is backed with an oath. He has lifted up his hand and sworn by himself, has sworn and will not repent. And what is it that is said with so much heat, and yet with so much deliberation? It is this (Eze 36:7), Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. Note, The righteous God, to whom vengeance belongs, will render shame for shame. Those that put contempt and reproach upon God's people will, sooner or later, have it burned upon themselves, perhaps in this world (either their follies or their calamities, their miscarriages or their mischances, shall be their reproach), at furthest in that day when all the impenitent shall rise to shame and everlasting contempt.
III. The promises of God's favour to his Israel and assurances given of great mercy God had in store for them. God takes occasion from the outrage and insolence of their enemies to show himself so much the more concerned for them and ready to do them good, as David hoped that God would recompense him good for Shimei's cursing him. Let them curse, but bless thou. In this way, as well as others, the enemies of God's people do them real service, even by the injuries they do them, against their will and beyond their intention. We shall have no reason to complain if, the more unkind men are, the more kind God is—if, the more kindly he speaks to us by his word and Spirit, the more kindly he acts for us in his providence. The prophet must say so to the mountains of Israel, which were now desolate and despised, that God is for them and will burn to them, Eze 36:9. As the curse of God reaches the ground for man's sake, so does the blessing. Now that which is promised is, 1. That their rightful owners should return to the possession of them: My people Israel are at hand to come, Eze 36:8. Though they are at a great distance from their own country, though they are dispersed in many countries, and though they are detained by the power of their enemies, yet they shall come again to their own border, Jer 31:17. The time is at hand for their return. Though there were above forty years of the seventy (perhaps fifty) yet remaining, it is spoken of as near, because it is sure, and there were some among them that should live to see it. A thousand years are with God but as one day. The mountains of Israel are now desolate; but God will cause men to walk upon them again, even his people Israel, not as travellers passing over them, but as inhabitants—not tenants, but freeholders: They shall possess thee, not for term of life, but for themselves and their heirs; thou shalt be their inheritance. It was a type of the heavenly Canaan, to which all God's children are heirs, every Israelite indeed, and into which they shall shortly be all brought together, out of the countries where they are now scattered. 2. That they should afford a plentiful comfortable maintenance for their owners at their return. When the land had enjoyed her sabbaths for so many years, it should be so much the more fruitful afterwards, as we should be after rest, especially a sabbath rest: You shall be tilled and sown (Eze 36:9) and shall yield your fruit to my people Israel, Eze 36:8. Note, It is a blessing to the earth to be made serviceable to men, especially to good men, that will serve God with cheerfulness in the use of those good things which the earth serves up to them. 3. That the people of Israel should have not only a comfortable sustenance, but a comfortable settlement, in their own land: The cities shall be inhabited; the wastes shall be builded, Eze 36:10. And I will settle you after your old estates, Eze 36:11. Their own sin had unsettled them, but now God's favour shall resettle them. When the prodigal son has become a penitent he is settled again in his father's house, according to his former estate. Bring hither the first robe, and put it on him. Nay, I will do better unto you now than at your beginnings. There is more joy for the sheep that is brought back than there would have been if it had never gone astray. And God sometimes multiplies his people's comforts in proportion to the time that he has afflicted them. Thus God blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning, and doubled to him all he had. 4. That the people, after their return, should be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the land, so that it should not only be inhabited again, but as thickly inhabited, and as well peopled, as ever. God will bring back to it all the house of Israel, even all of it (observe what an emphasis is laid upon that, Eze 36:10), all whose spirits God stirred up to return; and those only were reckoned of the house of Israel, the rest had cut themselves off from it; or, though but few, in comparison, returned at first, yet afterwards, at divers times, they all returned; and then (says God) I will multiply these men (Eze 36:10), multiply man and beast; and they shall increase, Eze 36:11. Note, God's kingdom in the world is a growing kingdom; and his church, though for a time it may be diminished, shall recover itself and be again replenished. 5. That the reproach long since cast up on the land of Israel by the evil spies, and of late revived, that it was a land that ate up the inhabitants of it by famine, sickness, and the sword, should be quite rolled away, and there should never be any more occasion for it. Canaan had got into a bad name. It had of old spued out the inhabitants (Le 18:28), the natives, the aborigines, which was turned to its reproach by those that should have put another construction upon it, Nu 13:32. It had of late devoured the Israelites, and spued them out too; so that it was commonly said of it, It is a land which, instead of supporting its nations or tribes that inhabit it, bereaves them, overthrows them, and causes them to fall; it is a tenement which breaks all the tenants that come upon it. This character it had got among the neighbours; but God now promises that it shall be so no more: Thou shalt no more bereave them of men (Eze 36:12), shalt devour men no more, Eze 36:14. But the inhabitants shall live to a good old age, and not have the number of their months cut off in the midst. Compare this with that promise, Zec 8:4. Note, God will take away the reproach of his people by taking away that which was the occasion of it. When the nation is made to flourish in peace, plenty, and power, then they hear no more the shame of the heathen (Eze 36:15), especially when it is reformed; when sin, which is the reproach of any people, particularly of God's professing people, is taken away, then they hear no more the reproach of the people. Note, When God returns in mercy to a people that return to him in duty, all their grievances will be soon redressed and their honour retrieved.
16-24
God's Compassion for Israel (587 BC)
神对以色列的怜悯（公元前587年）
¹⁶ 耶和华的话又临到我说：
¹⁷ 人子啊，以色列家住在本地的时候，他们以自己的行为和作为玷污了那地。他们的行为在我面前，就像妇人在污秽之中所有的污秽一样。
¹⁸ 所以我因他们在那地上所流人的血，又因他们用偶像玷污那地，就把我的忿怒倾倒在他们身上。
¹⁹ 我将他们分散在列国中，四散在列邦；我又照他们的行为和作为审判他们。
²⁰ 他们到了所去的列国，就使我的圣名被亵渎；因为人谈论他们说：这是耶和华的民，是从他的地出来的。
²¹ 我却顾惜我的圣名，就是以色列家在他们所去的列国中所亵渎的。
²² 所以你要对以色列家说：主耶和华如此说：以色列家啊，我做这事不是为你们的缘故，乃是为我的圣名，就是你们在所去的列国中所亵渎的。
²³ 我必使我的大名显为圣；这名在列国中已被亵渎，就是你们在他们中间所亵渎的。我在你们眼前、在他们眼前显为圣的时候，列国人就知道我是主耶和华。这是主耶和华说的。
²⁴ 我必从列国中收取你们，从列邦聚集你们，领你们归回本地。
当神应许那些可怜的被掳之民在适当的时候荣耀地归回本地时，他们的指望却有一个极大的拦阻：他们不配，全然不配得这样的恩惠；所以，为要挪去这拦阻，神在此向他们表明，他之所以要为他们成就这事，纯粹是为他名的缘故——好叫他在他们身上、借他们得荣耀，好叫他彰显并高举他的怜悯与善良，就是那在一切属性中最使他得荣耀的属性。那民的复兴原是基督救赎我们的预表，所以这里更进一步要表明：在我们蒙拯救的事上所定意的终极目的——拯救的每一步骤都是为服事这目的而安排的——就是神的荣耀。为这个目的，基督在那简短的祷告中指引了他所作的一切：父啊，愿你荣耀你的名；而神在那祷告即时所得的回应中，借从天上来的声音宣告，这也是他在一切作为中所定意的目的：我已经荣耀了我的名，还要再荣耀（约 12:28）。现在请在此留意：
一、神的名如何因以色列的罪和灾祸而受了亏损；这比他们自招的一切忧伤更令人惋惜；因为神的荣耀比任何自身的利益更贴近好人的心。1. 以色列在自己之地时，神的荣耀因他们的罪受了损伤（结 36:17）。那是好地、圣地，是神的眼目所看顾的地。但他们以自己的道玷污了那地，就是他们邪恶的道路；那是我们自己的道路，是我们自己选择的道；我们也必须承担这道的责备和羞辱。一个民族的罪玷污他们的地，使地在神眼中可憎，在他们自己心中也不舒畅；以致他们既不能与他有圣洁的相交，也不能彼此相交。凡不洁净的都不可使用。我们若滥用神恩典所赐的礼物，就丧失了使用它们的权利；并且心思和良心既被罪咎玷污，便不容我们享有什么安慰，在我们什么都不洁净。他们的道在神眼中如同妇人在月经污秽之日子中的污秽，这使她被拒于圣所之外，并使她所摸的一切在礼仪上成为不洁（利 15:19）。罪就是耶和华所恨恶的那可憎之物，是他所不能忍受观看的。他们流人的血并敬拜偶像（结 36:18），就玷污了那地。为此神把忿怒倾倒在他们身上，将他们分散在列国中。他们自己的地厌倦了他们，他们就被遣到别国去。在这事上神是公义的，他所作的显为正；没有人能说他亏待了他们，不，他乃是向自己的荣耀尽了公义，因为他是照他们的行为和作为审判他们（结 36:19）。然而，这事既未被正确理解，他并未在其中得荣耀；因为仇敌们倒说，正如摩西曾申辩说，埃及人若见神在旷野灭了他们，便会如此议论——说他为祸把他们领出来。他们的邻邦把他们看作圣民，而不是罪民，所以反倒从他们所遭遇的灾祸中取了借口，不但没有理当荣耀神，反倒非议他、轻慢他；神的名就被欺压他们的人终日不断地亵渎（赛 52:5）。2. 当他们进入外邦列国之地的地时，神也没有从他们得荣耀；反倒相反，他的圣名被亵渎（结 36:20）。（一）因以色列的罪，他的名被亵渎；他们无论到哪里，对所信奉的都毫无光彩，反倒成为它的羞辱。神的名和他圣洁的宗教因他们被亵渎（罗 2:24）。当那些自称与神有关系、与他立约相交的人，被发现道德败坏、作自己食欲和情欲的奴仆、交易不诚实、言语虚假、辜负所托之时，主的仇敌便大得亵渎的机会，尤其是当他们因受责罚而向自己的神发怨言时，再没有比这更可耻的了。（二）因以色列的苦难，他的名被亵渎；因为神的仇敌借此取了借口非议神，说他无力保护自己的敬拜者，不能兑现他自己的赐予。他们讥诮地说：「这些是那地的民，这些恶民（你们看，他既不能使他们顺服他的诫命），这些可怜的民——你们看，他也不能使他们继续享受他的恩惠。这些是从耶和华之地出来的人，他们正是列国中的渣滓。这些就是那律例如此公义、生活却如此不义的人吗？这就是那被大大称赞为有智慧、有聪明的民，那被称为神与他们相近的民吗？这些属于那勇敢、那圣洁的国吗？他们在此却显得如此卑劣、如此可怜！」如此神卖了他的百姓，却并不因他们的价值增添财富（诗 44:12）。他们所受的羞辱也就牵连到他。
二、现在让我们看神要如何借在他们身上行一场大改革、然后为他们行一场大拯救，来恢复、确保并提升他的尊荣。他本来把他们分散在列国中，若非怕仇敌惹动（申 32:26,27）。他们虽不配得他的怜悯，他却为自己的圣名怜悯，这名竟被践踏、被滥用，实在令人扼腕。他以怜悯的眼光看待他自己的尊荣——那尊荣正在列国中流血，那珠宝正被践入尘土，就是以色列家在被掳之地所亵渎的（结 36:21）。因怜悯这名，神把他们从列国中领出来，因为他们的罪在别国比在自己之地更可耻。「所以我必从列国中收取你们，领你们归回本地（结 36:24）。不是为你们的缘故，因为你们配得这样的恩惠——你们最不配——乃是为我圣名的缘故（结 36:22），使我的大名显为圣」（结 36:23）。顺便留意，神的圣名就是他的大名。他的圣洁就是他的伟大；他自己也是如此算。使人真正伟大的，无非是真正为善，并有分于神的圣洁。神要尊大他的名为圣名，因为他要使它显为圣：我必使我所被亵渎的名显为圣。当神成就他指着自己的圣洁所起誓的事，他就是使他的名显为圣。这事的结果必十分美好：我必在你们眼前、在他们眼前在你们里面显为圣的时候，列国人就知道我是主耶和华。当神证实了他自己的圣名，他的圣徒又赞美这名时，他便在他们里面显为圣，这也有助于他知识的传扬。请留意：1. 神施怜悯的理由全是从他自己里面取来的；他要领他的百姓出巴比伦，不是为他们的缘故，乃是为他名的缘故，因为他要得荣耀。2. 神的良善借人的恶行更显为辉煌；所以他要借赦免罪恶使他的名显为圣，正是因为这名已被犯罪的实行所亵渎。
英文原文
God's Compassion for Israel (587 BC)
¹⁶ Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
¹⁷ Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.
¹⁸ Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:
¹⁹ And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.
²⁰ And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.
²¹ But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
²² Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
²³ And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
²⁴ For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
When God promised the poor captives a glorious return, in due time, to their own land, it was a great discouragement to their hopes that they were unworthy, utterly unworthy, of such a favour; therefore, to remove that discouragement, God here shows them that he would do it for them purely for his own name's sake, that he might be glorified in them and by them, that he might manifest and magnify his mercy and goodness, that attribute which of all others is most his glory. And, the restoration of that people being typical of our redemption by Christ, this is intended further to show that the ultimate end aimed at in our salvation, to which all the steps of it were made subservient, was the glory of God. To this end Christ directed all he did in that short prayer, Father, glorify thy name; and God declared it was his end in all he did in the immediate answer given to that prayer, by a voice from heaven: I have glorified it, and I will glorify it yet again, Joh 12:28. Now observe here,
I. How God's name had suffered both by the sins and by the miseries of Israel; and this was more to be regretted than all their sorrow, which they had brought upon themselves; for the honour of God lies nearer the hearts of good men than any interests of their own. 1. God's glory had been injured by the sin of Israel when they were in their own land, Eze 36:17. It was a good land, a holy land, a land that had the eye of God upon it. But they defiled it by their own way, their wicked way; that is our own way, the way of our own choice; and we ourselves must bear the blame and shame of it. The sin of a people defiles their land, renders it abominable to God and uncomfortable to themselves; so that they cannot have any holy communion with him nor with one another. What was unclean might not be made use of. By the abuse of the gifts of God's bounty to us we forfeit the use of them; and, the mind and conscience being defiled with guilt, no comfort is allowed us, nothing is pure to us. Their way in the eye of God was like the pollution of a woman during the days of her separation, which shut her out from the sanctuary and made very things she touched ceremonially unclean, Le 15:19. Sin is that abominable thing which the Lord hates, and which he cannot endure to look upon. They shed blood and worshipped idols (Eze 36:18) and with those sins defiled the land. For this God poured out his fury upon them, scattered them among the heathen. Their own land was sick of them, and they were sent into other lands. Herein God was righteous, and was justified in what he did; none could say that he did them any wrong, nay, he did justice to his own honour, for he judged them according to their way and according to their doings, Eze 36:19. And yet, the matter being not rightly understood, he was not glorified in it; for the enemies did say, as Moses pleaded the Egyptians would say if he had destroyed them in the wilderness, that for mischief he brought them forth. Their neighbours considered them rather as a holy people than as a sinful people, and therefore took occasion from the calamities they were in, instead of glorifying God, as they might justly have done, to reproach him and put contempt upon him; and God's name was continually every day blasphemed by their oppressors, Isa 52:5. 2. When they entered into the land of the heathen God had no glory by them there; but, on the contrary, his holy name was profaned, Eze 36:20. (1.) It was profaned by the sins of Israel; they were no credit to their profession wherever they went, but, on the contrary, a reproach to it. The name of God and his holy religion was blasphemed through them, Ro 2:24. When those that pretended to be in relation to God, in covenant and communion with him, were found corrupt in their morals, slaves to their appetites and passions, dishonest in their dealings, and false to their words and the trust reposed in them, the enemies of the Lord had thereby great occasion given them to blaspheme, especially when they quarrelled with their God for correcting them, than which nothing could be more scandalous. (2.) It was profaned by the sufferings of Israel; for from them the enemies of God took occasion to reproach God, as unable to protect his own worshippers and to make good his own grants. They said, in scorn, "These are the people of the land, these wicked people (you see he could not keep them in their obedience to his precepts), these miserable people—you see he could not keep them in the enjoyment of his favours. These are the people that came out of Jehovah's land, they are the very scum of the nations. Are these those that had statues so righteous whose lives are so unrighteous? Is this the nation that is so much celebrated for a wise and understanding people, and that is said to have God so nigh unto them? Do these belong to that brave, that holy nation, who appear here so vile, so abject?" Thus God sold his people and did not increase his wealth by their price, Ps 44:12. The reproach they were under reflected upon him.
II. Let us now see how God would retrieve his honour, secure it, and advance it, by working a great reformation upon them and then working a great salvation for them. He would have scattered them among the heathen, were it not that he feared the wrath of the enemy, De 32:26,27. But, though they were unworthy of his compassion, yet he had pity for his own holy name, and a thousand pities it was that that should be trampled upon and abused. He looked with compassion on his own honour, which lay bleeding among the heathen, on that jewel which was trodden into the dirt, which the house of Israel, even in the land of their captivity, had profaned, Eze 36:21. In pity to that God brought them out from the heathen, because their sins were more scandalous there than they had been in their own land. "Therefore I will gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land, Eze 36:24. Not for your sake, because you are worthy of such a favour, for you are most unworthy, but for my holy name's sake (Eze 36:22), that I may sanctify my great name," Eze 36:23. Observe, by the way, God's holy name is his great name. His holiness is his greatness; so he reckons it himself. Nor does any thing make a man truly great but being truly good, and partaking of God's holiness. God will magnify his name as a holy name, for he will sanctify it: I will sanctify my name which you have profaned. When God performs that which he has sworn by his holiness, then he sanctifies his name. The effect of this shall be very happy: The heathen shall know that I am the Lord when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes and yours. When God proves his own holy name, and his saints praise it, then he is sanctified in them, and this contributes to the propagating of the knowledge of him. Observe, 1. God's reasons of mercy are all fetched from within himself; he will bring his people out of Babylon, not for their sakes, but for his own name's sake, because he will be glorified. 2. God's goodness takes occasion from man's badness to appear so much the more illustrious; therefore he will sanctify his name by the pardon of sin, because it has been profaned by the commission of sin.
25-38
The Promise of a New Heart; The Promise of Sanctifying Grace; Promised Blessings Must Be Prayed for (587 BC)
赐新心的应许；成圣之恩的应许；应许之福必须借祈祷求得（主前587年）
²⁵ 我必用清水洒在你们身上，你们就洁净了。我要洁净你们，使你们脱离一切的污秽，弃掉一切的偶像。
²⁶ 我也要赐给你们一个新心，将新灵放在你们里面。又从你们的肉体中除掉石心，赐给你们肉心。
²⁷ 我必将我的灵放在你们里面，使你们顺从我的律例，谨守遵行我的典章。
²⁸ 你们必住在我赐给你们列祖之地。你们要作我的子民，我要作你们的神。
²⁹ 我必救你们脱离一切的污秽。我也必呼唤五谷，使它丰足，不叫饥荒临到你们。
³⁰ 我必使树木的果子增多，使田间的出产丰盛，使你们在列国中不再受饥荒的讥诮。
³¹ 那时，你们必追想你们邪恶的行为和不善的作为，就因你们的罪孽和可憎的事厌恶自己。
³² 主耶和华说：你们要知道，我作这事不是为你们。以色列家啊，当为自己的作为抱愧蒙羞。
³³ 主耶和华如此说：我洁净你们，使你们脱离一切罪孽的日子，必使你们住在城邑中，荒场必然重建。
³⁴ 从前荒凉之地必被人耕种，虽在所有过路人眼前看来如荒凉之地。
³⁵ 他们必说：『这先前荒凉之地，现在竟如伊甸园；这些荒废、荒凉、被毁的城邑，现在都有坚固的城墙，有人居住。』
³⁶ 那时，你们四围所剩下的列国人必知道，我耶和华是重建毁坏之处、栽种荒凉之地的。我耶和华说过，也必成就。
³⁷ 主耶和华如此说：我还要为这事被以色列家求问，使他们的人数如羊群一样增多。
³⁸ 如圣洁的羊群，如耶路撒冷在节期所献的羊群；荒凉的城邑必被人群充满；他们就知道我是耶和华。」
神的百姓可能会因感到自己不仅不配得这样的恩惠（这在结36:1-24已有回答：神行这事是顾念他自己的荣耀，而不是顾念他们的功劳），而且不配受这样的恩惠——因他们仍腐败有罪——而对归回的盼望感到灰心；这在这些经文里得到了回答：神应许要借他的恩典预备他们、使他们配受这怜悯，然后再赐给他们。这在一定程度上应验于巴比伦被掳对那里的犹太人所产生的奇妙效果——它有效地医治了他们拜偶像的倾向。但这进一步的用意，是作为恩典之约的草图，作为我们在这约里所蒙属灵属天之福的样本。正如（结34:1-31）在归回的应许之后，预言不知不觉地转入对大牧者基督降临的应许，这里也不知不觉地转入对圣灵及其恩典的感动和作为的应许；我们成圣之需要圣灵，正如我们称义之需要基督的功劳一样迫切。
一、神在此应许，他要在他们里面动善工，使他们配得他为他们所要成就的善工（结36:25-27）。我们已有同样意义的应许（结11:18-20）。1. 神要洁净他们脱离罪的污秽（结36:25）：「我必用清水洒在你们身上」——这既表明基督的血洒在良心上，使之得洁净，除去罪疚之感（正如那些被除污水所洒的人，因此从礼仪上的不洁中得释放），也表明圣灵的恩典洒在全人之上，使之脱离一切败坏的倾向和性情而得洁净，正如乃缦在约旦河里沐浴，他的大麻风便得洁净。基督自己是洁净的，否则他的血就不能洁净我们；使我们成圣的乃是圣灵：「我要洁净你们，使你们脱离一切的污秽，弃掉一切的偶像。」又说（结36:29）：「我必救你们脱离一切的污秽。」罪是污秽人的，拜偶像尤其如此；它使罪人在神眼中可憎，在自己身上成为重担。当罪疚蒙赦免，败坏的本性得成圣，那时我们才得脱离污秽，此外别无他法。神在此将这应许赐给他的百姓，为要在他们中间显为圣（结36:23）。我们若非神使我们的心成圣，就不能使神的名成圣；若非靠他的恩典，就不能为他而活。2. 神要赐给他们「新心」——一种心志的性情，本身就卓越，且与从前大不相同。神要作成内在的改变，以带来全面的改变。注意，凡在新约中有分、在新耶路撒冷有份的人，都有新心和新灵；这是「行事为人有新生的样式」所必需的。这就是信徒借着应许有分的「神的性情」（彼后1:4）。3. 神要赐给他们「肉心」，取代那麻木刚硬、不能受感动、不能归回虔诚情感的「石心」——这肉心柔软、敏感，属灵的感官已经习练通达，能觉察属灵的痛苦与喜乐，凡事顺服神的旨意。注意，更新之恩在灵魂里所作的改变，正如将死的石头变为活的肉一般巨大。4. 既然我们除了倾向犯罪之外，还苦于无力尽本分，神就「使他们顺从他的律例」——不仅在他们面前指示他律例的道路，更要使他们倾向遵行，并充分装备他们，使他们有智慧和意志，有活泼的能力，去作各样的善工。为这目的，他必将「他的灵放在他们里面」，作他们的教师、引导者和使人成圣的。注意，神并不是借外面的强力「强迫」人行他的律例，而是借内在的原则「使」他们「顺从」他的律例。还要注意我们当如何使用所应许、所赐给我们的这恩典的能力和原则：「你们必谨守我的典章。」神若要按应许尽他的本分，我们就必须按诫命尽我们的本分。注意，神赐恩典使我们能尽本分的应许，当吸引并激发我们常常留心、殷勤努力尽自己的本分。神的应许必须把我们引向他的诫命作为准则，然后他的诫命又必把我们送回他的应许去得力量；因为没有他的恩典，我们就不能作什么。
二、神在此应许，他要使他们与他立约。恩典之约的纲要就在这里（结36:28）：「你们要作我的子民，我要作你们的神。」这话不是说：「你们若作我的子民，我就作你们的神」（虽然我们若不作他的子民，就不能指望神作我们的神，这却是真的），而是他先拣选了我们、爱了我们，不是我们先爱他；所以这条件是出于恩典，是凭应许，正如奖赏一样；不是出于功劳，不是出于行为：「你们要作我的子民；我必使你们如此；我必赐给你们我子民的性情和灵，然后『我要作你们的神。』」这是一个信徒福乐的根基和顶石；这就是天堂本身（启21:3,7）。
三、他应许，他要为他们成就一切他们的光景所需要的好处。他们既预备好了领受怜悯，1. 那时就必归回他们的产业，重新在其上定居（结36:28）：「你们必住在我赐给你们列祖之地。」神领他们回来时，不顾念他们的功劳，只顾念对列祖的应许；因为他起先将那地赐给他们，也是如此（申7:7-8）。「所以」他施恩，是因为他曾说他要施恩。这福分必随着神在他们中间所要作的蒙福改革而来（结36:33）：「『我洁净你们，使你们脱离一切罪孽的日子』，使你们配受那产业，『我必使你们住在城邑中』，使你们得着那产业为业。」这真是神施怜悯的方法——先把人从他们的罪中分开，然后才把他们恢复到他们的安慰之中。2. 那时就必享受各样美物的丰盛。他们既从「污秽」中——从那些拦阻美物临到他们的罪中——被救「出来」，那时「我必呼唤五谷，使它丰足」（结36:29）。丰盛是神一呼唤就来的；他所呼唤的丰盛必继续加增；他一发言，树上的果和田间的出产都必增多。居民增多，出产也必增多以供养他们；因为赐口的主也必赐食。饥荒是他们曾受过的刑罚之一，这对他们也是一种羞辱，因为在以肥沃著称之地竟有人挨饿。但如今「我必不使饥荒临到你们」；没有人能在这杖之下，除非是他亲手加上的。那时他们「必不再受饥荒的讥诮」，再不会被这事责备；也永不会有人说，神是一位只给仆人少许口粮的主人。不但如此，他们不仅必脱离饥荒的羞辱，还必因丰盛而得尊荣。那长久「在所有过路人眼中」荒凉——有人以轻蔑相看，有人以怜悯相看——的地，必再被「耕种」（结36:34）；既长久休耕，如今必更加肥沃。请注意，神要「呼唤五谷」，但他们仍须为它「耕地」。注意，连应许的怜悯也必须劳力得着；因为应许不是要取代，而是要激发、鼓励我们的殷勤和努力。神必在「殷勤人的手」上赐福，使一切过路的人都惊奇地留意（结36:35）。他们必说：「看哪，这里有何等蒙福的改变，这先前『荒凉之地』如今『竟如伊甸园』，荒漠又变回乐园了。」注意，神为他的百姓保留了尊荣，足以与如今他们所背负的藐视相抵消；在他百姓身上，他也要得着尊荣。百姓人数和地的出产这两方面的奇妙加增，被比作（结36:38）在某个庄严节期被牵到耶路撒冷献祭的成群牛羊。如今荒凉的城邑必充满「人群」，不是像牧场上「覆盖」着的牛群（诗65:13），而是像被牵到耶和华殿院中的圣群。注意，「那时」一个民族人数的增加才是真正荣耀可慰的，因为他们都如圣群那样献给神，作为「活祭」。神殿中的人群是美丽的景象。
四、他指出这蒙福改变的「美好效果」是什么。1. 它对神的百姓自己要有美好的效果，因它必领他们为罪真诚悔改（结36:31）：「那时你们必追想你们邪恶的行为，并厌恶自己。」请看罪是什么；它是「可憎之事」，是可厌之物，是主所恨恶的那可憎之物。请看悔改的第一步是什么；就是「追想我们自己的恶行」——认真反思我们所犯的罪，逐一细数。我们必须为自己省察的，不仅是明显的重大过犯，即「我们邪恶的行为」，也包括我们的亏欠和软弱，即「我们不善的作为」——不如应当的那样善；不仅是直接违犯律法的事，也包括未达到律法的事。请看真正悔改的常伴是什么，那就是厌恶自己，那是圣洁的羞愧和脸上的羞惭：「你们必『在自己眼中厌恶自己』，因看见自己使自己在神眼中何等可憎。」爱己是罪的根源，看见其荒谬我们不能不脸红；但我们与自己相争，是为了在美好的根基上与自己复和。最后，请看那最有力的、引人作福音性悔改的动因是什么，那就是体认神的怜悯；当神使他们安然住在丰盛之中，那时他们就「因自己的罪孽厌恶自己」。注意，神的恩慈当胜过我们的邪恶，「领我们悔改」（罗2:4）。我们越看见神乐意在我们悔改时收纳我们，就越有理由羞愧自己竟得罪如此大爱。那不因此融化的人，实在是硬心了。2. 这对他们的邻舍也要有美好的效果，因它必使他们更清楚地认识神（结36:36）：「『那时你们四围所剩下的列国人』，就是那些对神无知妄言的人（因为凡说神坏话的人都是如此）——他们看见以色列地荒凉时——必开始知道得更好，对神讲论得更明达；既看见他有能力重建最荒凉的城，重新栽种最荒凉的国，并且看见他虽一时拦阻了对百姓的施恩，那恩却永不断绝。」他们必因看出神对以色列所说的话与他为他们所作的工完全相符，而被带来认识神圣言的真实：「我耶和华说过，也必成就。」在我们，说与作是两件事；在神却不然。
五、他将这些事摆在百姓面前，不是作为他们功劳的「报答」，而是作为他们祷告的「回应」。
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不要让他们以为自己配得：「『我作这事不是为你们』，你们要知道」（结36:22,32）；不，「你们当为自己的作为抱愧蒙羞」。神「正在作这事」——他所应许的这一切；这事必成，犹如已经成了；如今所发生的事正朝这方向而去。但那时，（1）他们必须弃绝自己善行的功劳，承认这事不是为他们作的；神当初领以色列人进迦南时，也曾对这种想法明文加以排除（申9:4-6）：「不是因你的义。」不是因他们有任何好品质或好行为，不是因神有什么需要他们，或指望从他们得益。不是的；他施怜悯是凭着主权——不是为了我们的功劳，而是为了他自己的尊荣。请看这话是何等郑重：「你们要知道，『不是为你们』」；这暗示我们很容易对自己的功劳存有高见，且不易被说服放弃这种信靠。但神必用这种或那种方法，使他所喜悦的人都知道并承认，使他们如此的，是他的恩典，不是他们的善良；是他的怜悯，不是他们的功劳；所以一切荣耀都当归给他，不是归给我们，不是归给我们，而是归给他。（2）他们必须为自己恶行的罪悔改。他们当承认，他们从神所领受的怜悯不但未因功劳而得，反而千百次地被亏负；所以他们远远不可夸自己的善行，反当为自己邪恶的道路羞愧蒙羞——那时他们才是为怜悯作了最好的预备。
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然而要让他们知道，他们必须切慕并期待这事（结36:37）：「我还要为这事被以色列家求问。」神既说了，必成就；他也必为此被人寻求。他要求他的百姓「寻求他」；当他在怜悯的路上向他们走来时，他也必使他们有心这样行。（1）他们必须为此祷告，因为神是借着祷告被人寻求、被人求问的。神应许的事，必须是我们祷告的事。我们借着为所应许的怜悯祈求，就归荣耀给赐恩者，表明我们看重这恩赐，承认我们的倚靠，并尊荣神所尊荣的祷告。基督自己也必须求问，然后神才「将列国赐他为基业」；他必须「求父」，然后父才「赐下保惠师」；何况我们，更必须求问才能得着。（2）他们必须查考神的圣言，这样神也被人寻求、被人求问。这怜悯不可仅仅是护理之工，更必须是一个「应许之子」；所以必须仰望那应许，并凭信心的眼睛紧盯着应许来为此祷告——这应许既是我们期待的引导，也是我们期待的根基。这两条路，我们都看见但以理代表以色列家在神即将为他们作大事时寻求神：他查考神的圣言，因为他「从书上」——耶利米先知的书——「得知」所当期待的，以及何时期待；然后他「面向神，恳求祷告」（但9:2-3）。注意，在神对我们的一切护理之工中，我们与神的相交必须借着圣道和祷告来维持；在这两方面，我们都必须求问他。
英文原文
The Promise of a New Heart; The Promise of Sanctifying Grace; Promised Blessings Must Be Prayed for (587 BC)
²⁵ Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
²⁶ A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
²⁷ And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
²⁸ And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
²⁹ I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.
³⁰ And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.
³¹ Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.
³² Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.
³³ Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.
³⁴ And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.
³⁵ And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.
³⁶ Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.
³⁷ Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.
³⁸ As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
The people of God might be discouraged in their hopes of a restoration by the sense not only of their unworthiness of such a favour (which was answered, in the Eze 36:1-24, with this, that God, in doing it, would have an eye to his own glory, not to their worthiness), but of their unfitness for such a favour, being still corrupt and sinful; and that is answered in these verses, with a promise that God would by his grace prepare and qualify them for the mercy and then bestow it on them. And this was in part fulfilled in that wonderful effect which the captivity in Babylon had upon the Jews there, that it effectually cured them of their inclination to idolatry. But it is further intended as a draught of the covenant of grace, and a specimen of those spiritual blessings with which we are blessed in heavenly things by that covenant. As (Eze 34:1-31) after a promise of their return the prophecy insensibly slid into a promise of the coming of Christ, the great Shepherd, so here it insensibly slides into a promise of the Spirit, and his gracious influences and operations, which we have as much need of for our sanctification as we have of Christ's merit for our justification.
I. God here promises that he will work a good work in them, to qualify them for the good work he intended to bring about for them, Eze 36:25-27. We had promises to the same purport, Eze 11:18-20. 1. That God would cleanse them from the pollutions of sin (Eze 36:25): I will sprinkle clean water upon you, which signifies both the book of Christ sprinkled upon the conscience to purify that and to take away the sense of guilt (as those that were sprinkled with the water of purification were thereby discharged from their ceremonial uncleanness) and the grace of the Spirit sprinkled on the whole soul to purify it from all corrupt inclinations and dispositions, as Naaman was cleansed from his leprosy by dipping in Jordan. Christ was himself clean, else his blood could not have been cleansing to us; and it is a Holy Spirit that makes us holy: From all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. And (Eze 36:29) I will save you from all your uncleannesses. Sin is defiling, idolatry particularly is so; it renders sinners odious to God and burdensome to themselves. When guilt is pardoned, and the corrupt nature sanctified, then we are cleansed from our filthiness, and there is no other way of being saved from it. This God promises his people here, in order to his being sanctified in them, Eze 36:23. We cannot sanctify God's name unless he sanctify our hearts, nor live to his glory, but by his grace. 2. That God would give them a new heart, a disposition of mind excellent in itself and vastly different from what it was before. God will work an inward change in order to a universal change. Note, All that have an interest in the new covenant, and a title to the new Jerusalem, have a new heart and a new spirit, and these are necessary in order to their walking in newness of life. This is that divine nature which believers are by the promises made partakers of. 3. That, instead of a heart of stone, insensible and inflexible, unapt to receive any divine impressions and to return any devout affections, God would give a heart of flesh, a soft and tender heart, that has spiritual senses exercised, conscious to itself of spiritual pains and pleasures, and complying in every thing with the will of God. Note, Renewing grace works as great a change in the soul as the turning of a dead stone into living flesh. 4. That since, besides our inclination to sin, we complain of an inability to do our duty, God will cause them to walk in his statutes, will not only show them the way of his statutes before them, but incline them to walk in it, and thoroughly furnish them with wisdom and will, and active powers, for every good work. In order to this he will put his Spirit within them, as a teacher, guide, and sanctifier. Note, God does not force men to walk in his statutes by external violence, but causes them to walk in his statutes by an internal principle. And observe what use we ought to make of this gracious power and principle promised us, and put within us: You shall keep my judgments. If God will do his part according to the promise, we must do ours according to the precept. Note, The promise of God's grace to enable us for our duty should engage and quicken our constant care and endeavour to do our duty. God's promises must drive us to his precepts as our rule, and then his precepts must send us back to his promises for strength, for without his grace we can do nothing.
II. God here promises that he will take them into covenant with himself. The sum of the covenant of grace we have, Eze 36:28. You shall be my people, and I will be your God. It is not, "If you will be my people, I will be your God" (though it is very true that we cannot expect to have God to be to us a God unless we be to him a people), but he has chosen us, and loved us, first, not we him; therefore the condition is of grace, is by promise, as well as the reward; not of merit, not of works: "You shall be my people; I will make you so; I will give you the nature and spirit of my people, and then I will be your God." And this is the foundation and top-stone of a believer's happiness; it is heaven itself, Re 21:3,7.
III. He promises that he will bring about all that good for them which the exigence of their case calls for. When they are thus prepared for mercy, 1. Then they shall return to their possessions and be settled again in them (Eze 36:28): You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. God will, in bringing them back to it, have an eye not to any merit of theirs, but to the promise made to the fathers; for therefore he gave it to them at first, De 7:7,8. Therefore he is gracious, because he has said that he will be so. This shall follow upon the blessed reformation God would work among them (Eze 36:33): "In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, and so shall have made you meet for the inheritance, I will cause you to dwell in the cities, and so put you in possession of the inheritance." This is God's method of mercy indeed, first to part men from their sins, and then to restore them to their comforts. 2. Then they shall enjoy a plenty of all good things. When they are saved from their uncleanness, from their sins which kept good things from them, then I will call for the corn and will increase it, Eze 36:29. Plenty comes at God's call, and the plenty he calls for shall be still growing; and when he speaks the word the fruit both of the tree and of the field shall multiply. As the inhabitants multiply the productions shall multiply for their maintenance; for he that sends mouths will send meat. Famine was one of the judgments which they had laboured under, and it had been as much as any a reproach to them, that they should be starved in a land so famed for fruitfulness. But now I will lay no famine upon you; and none are under that rod without having it laid on by him. Then they shall receive no more reproach of famine, shall never be again upbraided with that, nor shall it ever be said that God is a Master that keeps his servants to short allowance. Nay, they shall not only be cleared from the reproach of famine, but they shall have the credit of abundance. The land that had long lain desolate in the sight of all that passed by, that looked upon it, some with contempt and some with compassion, shall again be tilled (Eze 36:34), and, having long lain fallow, it will now be the more fruitful. Observe, God will call for the corn and yet they must till the ground for it. Note, Even promised mercies must be laboured for; for the promise is not to supersede, but to quicken and encourage our industry and endeavour. And such a blessing will God command on the hand of the diligent that all who pass by shall take notice of it, with wonder, Eze 36:35. They shall say, "See what a blessed change here is, how this land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, the desert turned again into a paradise," Note, God has honours in reserve for his people to be crowned with sufficient to counterbalance the contempt they are now loaded with, and in them he will be honoured. This wonderful increase both of the people of the land and of its products is compared (Eze 36:38) to the large flocks of cattle that are brought to Jerusalem, to be sacrificed at one of the solemn feasts. Even the cities that now lie waste shall be filled with flocks of men, not like the flocks with which the pastures are covered over (Ps 65:13), but like the holy flock which is brought to the courts of the Lord's house. Note, Then the increase of the numbers of a people is honourable and comfortable indeed when they are all dedicated to God as a holy flock, to be presented to him for living sacrifices. Crowds are a lovely sight in God's temple.
IV. He shows what shall be the happy effects of this blessed change. 1. It shall have a happy effect upon the people of God themselves, for it shall bring them to an ingenuous repentance for their sins (Eze 36:31): Then shall you remember your own evil ways and shall loathe yourselves. See here what sin is; it is an abomination, a loathsome thing, that abominable thing which the Lord hates. See what is the first step towards repentance; it is remembering our own evil ways, reflecting seriously upon the sins we have committed and being particular in recapitulating them. We must remember against ourselves not only our gross enormities, our own evil ways, but our defects and infirmities, our doings that were not good, not so good as they should have been; not only our direct violations of the law, but our coming short of it. See what is evermore a companion of true repentance, and that is self-loathing, a holy shame and confusion of face: "You shall loathe yourselves in your own sight, seeing how loathsome you have made yourselves in the sight of God." Self-love is at the bottom of sin, which we cannot but blush to see the absurdity of; but our quarrelling with ourselves is in order to our being, upon good grounds, reconciled to ourselves. And, lastly, see what is the most powerful inducement to an evangelical repentance, and that is a sense of the mercy of God; when God settles them in the midst of plenty, then they shall loathe themselves for their iniquities. Note, The goodness of God should overcome our badness and lead us to repentance. The more we see of God's readiness to receive us into favour upon our repentance the more reason we shall see to be ashamed of ourselves that we could ever sin against so much love. That heart is hard indeed that will not be thus melted. 2. It shall have a happy effect upon their neighbours, for it shall bring them to a more clear knowledge of God (Eze 36:36): "Then the heathen that are left round about you, that spoke ignorantly of God (for so all those do that speak ill of him) when they saw the land of Israel desolate, shall begin to know better, and to speak more intelligently of God, being convinced that he is able to rebuild the most desolate cities and to replant the most desolate countries, and that, though the course of his favours to his people may be obstructed for a time, they shall not be cut off for ever." They shall be made to know the truth of divine revelation by the exact agreement which they shall discern between God's word which he has spoken to Israel and his works which he has done for them: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. With us saying and doing are two things, but they are not so with God.
V. He proposes these things to them, not as the recompence of their merits, but as the return of their prayers.
1. Let them not think that they have deserved it: Not for your sakes do I this, be it known to you (Eze 36:22,32); no, be you ashamed and confounded for your own ways. God is doing this, all this which he has promised; it is as sure to be done as if it were done already, and present events have a tendency towards it. But then, (1.) They must renounce the merit of their own good works, and be brought to acknowledge that it is not for their sakes that it is done; so, when God brought Israel into Canaan the first time, an express caveat was entered against this thought. De 9:4-6, It is not for thy righteousness. It is not for the sake of any of their good qualities or good deeds, not because God had any need of them, or expected any benefit by them. No, in showing mercy he acts by prerogative, not for our deserts, but for his own honour. See how emphatically this is expressed: Be it known to you, it is not for your sakes, which intimates that we are apt to entertain a high conceit of our own merits and are with difficulty persuaded to disclaim a confidence in them. But, one way or other, God will make all his favourites to know and own that it is his grace, and not their goodness, his mercy, and not their merit, that made them so; and that therefore not unto them, not unto them, but unto him, is all the glory due. (2.) They must repent of the sin of their own evil ways. They must own that the mercies they receive from God are not only not merited, but that they are a thousand times forfeited; and therefore they must be so far from boasting of their good works that they must be ashamed and confounded for their evil ways, and then they are best prepared for mercy.
2. Yet let them know that they must desire and expect it (Eze 36:37): I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel. God has spoken, and he will do it, and he will be sought unto for it. He requires that his people should seek unto him, and he will incline their hearts to do it, when he is coming towards them in ways of mercy. (1.) They must pray for it, for by prayer God is sought unto, and enquired after. What is the matter of God's promises must be the matter of our prayers. By asking for the mercy promised we must give glory to the donor, express a value for the gift, own our dependence, and put honour upon prayer which God has put honour upon. Christ himself must ask, and then God will give him the heathen for his inheritance, must pray the Father, and then he will send the Comforter; much more must we ask that we may receive. (2.) They must consult the oracles of God, and thus also God is sought unto and enquired after. The mercy must be, not an act of providence only, but a child of promise; and therefore the promise must be looked at, and prayer made for it with an eye of faith fastened upon the promise, which must be both the guide and the ground of our expectations. Both these ways we find God enquired of by Daniel, in the name of the house of Israel, when he was about to do those great things for them; he consulted the oracles of God, for he understood by books, the book of the prophet Jeremiah, both what was to be expected and when; and then he set his face to seek God by prayer, Da 9:2,3. Note, Our communion with God must be kept up by the word and prayer in all the operations of his providence concerning us and in both he must be enquired of.
我们已经讲完了西珥山，看它荒凉，并且可能继续如此；现在我们必须随先知转向以色列山，我们发现它也荒凉，但我们希望在讲完本章之前，能看见它的光景有所好转。本章包含两段不同的预言：一、一段似乎主要论及犹太人属世的景况，其中描述了他们当前可悲的处境，以及邻舍在其中如何夸胜；但应许他们的冤屈必全都得伸，并将在适当的时候重新安居在自己的土地上，处于平安丰盛之中（结36:1-15）。二、另一段似乎主要关乎他们属灵的景况，其中提醒他们从前的罪以及神降在他们身上的审判，好叫他们为自己的罪、在神大能的手下自卑（结36:16-20）。但应许了：1. 神要借着向他们施怜悯而荣耀他自己（结36:21-24）；2. 神要使他们成圣，将他的恩典赐给他们，使他们配事奉他；这是为他自己名的缘故，也是应允他们的祷告（结36:25-38）。