서론
無標題
英文原文
We have here proper instructions given us (very proper to close the canon of the Old Testament with), I. Concerning the state of recompence and retribution that is before us, the misery of the wicked and the happiness of the righteous in that state, Mal 4:1-3. And this is represented to us under a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the unbelieving Jews with it, and of the comforts and triumphs of those among them that received the gospel. II. Concerning the state of trial and preparation we are now in, in which we are directed to have an eye to divine revelation, and to follow that; they then must keep to the law of Moses (Mal 4:4) and expect a further discovery of God's will by Elijah the prophet, that is, by John Baptist, the harbinger of the Messiah, Mal 4:5,6. The last chapter of the New Testament is much to the same purport, setting before us heaven and hell in the other world, and obliging us to adhere to the word of God in this world.
1-3
Evangelical Predictions (400 BC)
福音的預言（主前400年）
¹ 萬軍之耶和華說：那日臨近，勢必如燒著的火爐；凡驕傲的和行惡的必如碎秸；那日臨近，必將他們燒盡，連根帶枝一無存留。
² 但向你們敬畏我名的人必有公義的日頭出現，其光線有醫治之能。你們必出來跳躍如圈裏的肥犢。
³ 你們必踐踏惡人；因在我所定的日子，他們必如灰塵在你們腳掌之下。這是萬軍之耶和華說的。
此處預言了耶和華大而可畏的日子。這日子如同火柱雲柱，要向那些與神為敵的埃及人轉出黑暗的一面，向那些跟隨他的忠心以色列人轉出光明的一面：*那日臨近，*就是說，主臨近了，耶和華的日子臨近了；它既指基督第一次降臨，也指第二次降臨；兩個日子的時候都是固定的，都要與此處所給的特徵相符。
I. 在兩次降臨中，基督對那些背叛他的人都是烈火。他降臨的日子必如燒著的火爐；那必是忿怒的日子，是烈怒的日子。論到彌賽亞曾有此預言（詩 21:9）：你的手必搜出你的一切仇敵，並在你的怒氣中使他們如燒著的火爐。那將是恐怖和毀滅的日子，如同城市被焚，或更確切地說如同樹林被焚——其中的樹木枯萎乾燥——因為比喻似乎正是指此，如賽 10:17-18：以色列的光必如火，他的聖者必如火焰，必燒盡他的樹林和肥田的榮耀。請注意此處：1. 誰要作這火的燃料——一切心裏驕傲的人，他們的言語對神狂妄，頸項僵硬、不肯順服他誡命的軛（一切面帶驕傲、不尋求神的人，不服耶穌基督的恩典和治理的人——一切驕傲地說不要基督作他們王的人），以及一切在情感和行為上行惡的人——那些故意堅持犯罪、藐視並違背神律法的人；他們是違背聖約的人，如另一位先知不久前所表達的（但 11:32）。神對每個人的品格有完全的認識，知道誰是驕傲的；對每個人的行為也有完全的認識，知道誰是行惡的；他們要作這火的碎秸；他們要被它吞滅——輕易被吞滅，徹底被吞滅；而他們如此被吞滅完全是咎由自取，因為他們使自己成為碎秸——即可燃之物。他們若不是碎秸，火就不會燒他們；因為這火要照各人和他的行為如何臨到各人；他們若是木、草、碎秸，就必被燒毀；但他們若是金、銀、寶石，就必經得起火而被煉淨（林前 3:13-15）。那些因不信反對基督的人，由此將自己擺在吞噬的烈火前如同荊棘蒺藜（賽 27:4-5）。2. 這火的力量和果效如何：那日臨近必將他們燒盡——既使他們驚恐又使他們敗亡，連根帶枝一無存留——既不存留子孫（迦勒底意譯本如此說）；他們和他們的後裔都不蒙寬恕，他們必被徹底根除、剪除。誰曉得神怒氣的權能？驕傲的人和行惡的人不懼怕它，卻必被迫感受它。那些從前稱驕傲的人為有福的人如今在哪裏呢？當他們被如此徹底地置於悲慘之中——當他們幸福的枝子毫無存留可以享受，也沒有根可以重新發芽時？這事如今應驗了：（1）當基督在他的教訓中向驕傲的法利賽人和其他行惡的猶太人宣告恐怖和定罪時，當他將火丟在地上——燒盡了長老遺傳和對神律法敗壞註釋的糠秕時。（2）當耶路撒冷被羅馬人毀滅、猶太民族作為一個民族從天之下被抹除，連根帶枝都沒有存留時。這似乎是此處主要的意思；我們的救主說那將是報應的日子，一切寫到這事上的話都要應驗（路 21:22）。那時不信的猶太人如同碎秸，被神審判吞噬的烈火吞滅——那火如鷹聚集到屍體那裏。（3）這話確實適用於審判的日子——適用於死時的個別審判（一些猶太學者將之歸於惡人靈魂離開身體後立即臨到的刑罰），但特別適用於末了的大審判，那時基督要在火焰中顯現，對驕傲的和一切行惡的施行審判。全世界那時必*如燒著的火爐，*一切屬這世界的人——那些將心放在世上、選擇以世為業的人——必與之一同敗亡，那時點燃的火必永不熄滅。
II. 在兩次降臨中，基督對那些忠心事奉他的人——那些敬畏他的名、將當得的榮耀歸給他的人（瑪 4:2）——都是喜樂的光，他們敬畏惡人所褻瀆和踐踏的那名。此處為一切敬畏耶和華、思想他名的人存留了憐憫和安慰。請注意，
1. 這憐憫和安慰要從何處流向他們：向你們敬畏我名的人必有公義的日頭出現，其光線有醫治之能。那要來的日子，對惡人將是風暴之日——神要在他們身上降火與硫磺和可怖的暴風，如同在所多瑪一樣（詩 11:6），是幽暗黑暗之日（摩 5:18、20）；但對敬畏神的人，那將是晴朗明亮的日子——如同日出使大地復甦。值得注意的是，當瑣珥被從被火吞滅的平原諸城中蒙憐憫分別出來時，日頭也特別記載為剛剛升起（創 19:23）。照樣對敬畏神的人說了安慰。當別人的心因懼怕而消失時，讓他們挺身昂首，因為他們的救贖近了（路 21:28）。但此處的公義的日頭我們確實當理解為耶穌基督——他要在猶太人普遍毀滅的日子裏保護信靠的餘民免與其餘的人一同傾覆，並在他們痛苦困惑的日子以他的安慰安慰他們；他指示那些在猶太的人逃到山上（太 24:16），他們如此行了，在庇拉全部安然無恙。但這話更當普遍應用：（1）論到基督道成肉身來尋找拯救失喪的人；那時公義的日頭在這黑暗的世界升起。基督是世界的光，是真光——那使白晝出現並管轄白晝的大光（約 8:12），如同太陽。他是人的光（約 1:4），對人的靈魂如同太陽對可見的世界——沒有太陽，世界就是一個地牢；照樣沒有神榮耀的光顯在耶穌基督的面上，人類本身就是黑暗。基督是有光在自身之中的日頭，是光的源頭（詩 19:4-6）；他是公義的日頭，因為他自己是公義的救主。公義既是這日頭的光，也是它的熱；他公義的道如此——引導、教訓、使人活；他所帶來的永遠的義也如此。他被神使我們成為公義；他是耶和華我們的義，因此被稱為公義的日頭實為恰當。藉著他我們被稱義、成聖，如此得以看見光。這公義的日頭在日期滿足時在世界上升起，隨他光來到世間（約 3:19）——一個大光（太 4:16）。在他裏面高天的晨光拜訪了我們，要照亮坐在黑暗中的人（路 1:78-79）。公義有時意味著憐憫或恩慈，正是在基督裏我們神的慈悲拜訪了我們。（2）這話適用於聖靈的恩典和安慰，被帶進人的靈魂中。格羅提烏斯將之理解為基督將聖靈賜給屬他的人——要在他們心中照耀、作他們的安慰者，作他們的日頭和盾牌。那些被聖潔的敬畏——對神的敬畏和他威嚴的敬重——所佔有和管理的人，也必有他的愛澆灌在他們心裏——是藉著聖靈；於是日頭可以說在那裏升起，帶來了愉快的白晝和豐盛的春天。（3）基督第二次降臨對一切敬畏他名的人將是榮耀而受歡迎的日出；那將是復活的清晨——那時正直人要掌權（詩 49:14）。那對惡人如燒著火爐的日子，對義人將明亮如晨；這正是他們所等候的——比那些等候晨光的人更加如此。
2. 這憐憫和安慰要帶給他們什麼：他出現之光線有醫治之能——在他光芒或光線中，如同太陽的翅膀。基督作為日頭而來，不僅要將光帶給黑暗的世界，更要將健康帶給患病失調的世界。猶太人（波科克博士說）有句俗語：太陽升起，疾病減退；整夜萎靡不振的花朵在清晨復甦。基督來到世上要作偉大的醫生——不，更是偉大的良藥——既是基列的乳香，也是那裏的醫生。當他在世上時，他如同太陽在其軌道上運行，周遊四方行這善事；他治好了一切疾病和各樣的病症；他如太陽一般大批地醫治。他出現之衣襟有醫治之能；有人如此讀，並將之應用於那婦人摸他衣裳繸子而痊愈、他又覺得有能力從他身上出去的故事（可 5:28-30）。但他醫治身體的疾病，不過是他來到世上要醫治人的靈魂疾病、使之恢復健康——使他們可以事奉和享受神和自己——這一大計的樣本。
3. 這要在他們身上產生什麼好效果。（1）要使他們自身強壯振奮：「你們必出來，」如同痊愈的人出門回到自己的崗位。靈魂在死時要從身體出來，身體在復活時要從墳墓出來——如同囚犯從牢獄中出來——兩者都要看見光、得著釋放。「你們必出來，如同植物從地裏長出，當春天太陽歸回時。」有人將此理解為基督徒從耶路撒冷出來，以及他們由此逃脫了那城的毀滅。如此公義日頭所升起的靈魂要從世界中出來，從巴比倫出來——如同那些實實在在得了自由的人。「你們也必成長；既恢復了健康和自由，就必在知識、恩典和屬靈力量上增長。」公義日頭升起的靈魂正朝著完全的人成長；那些因神的恩典成為智慧和善良的人，也因同樣的恩典變得更加智慧和善良；他們的道路如同升起的太陽，越照越明，直到日午（箴 4:18）。他們的成長被比作圈裏的肥犢的成長——迅速、強壯、有用的成長。「你們必成長，不是如同田間的花，纖細、脆弱、無用、長成不久就枯萎，而是如同圈裏的肥犢」——如一位拉比所解釋的，在肉和脂肪上肥壯，既充實神的祭壇，又充實人的餐桌；因此聖徒的成長——公義日頭在他們身上升起——既尊榮神，也尊榮人。有人不讀作你們必成長，而讀作你們必歡躍，或歡喜跳躍，如同圈裏的肥犢被放到開闊的田野時歡喜跳躍；這指的是聖徒的喜樂——他們在基督耶穌裏歡喜；他們甚至要因喜樂跳躍；他們常被引導得勝。
（2）要使他們勝過仇敵（瑪 4:3）：你們必踐踏惡人。從前是惡人踐踏他們，對他們說：「俯伏在地，讓我們過去」；但日子將到，他們必踐踏惡人。惡人既作了基督的腳凳，也就作了他們的腳凳（詩 110:1），並來在教會腳前下拜（啟 3:9）。大的要服事小的。當信徒憑信心勝過世界，當他們壓制自己敗壞的私慾和情感，當賜平安的神將撒但踐踏在他們腳下時，他們就踐踏了惡人。當輪到基督徒勝過那些曾凌辱他們的猶太人時，這應許就應驗了：他們必如灰塵在你們腳掌之下；他們不但被踐踏，更被踏成泥土。當那要來的日子將他們燒盡之後，他們要在他們身上踐踏如灰。當義人復活得永生時，惡人要復活得永遠的羞辱；雖然義人不因他們誇勝，卻要在毀滅他們之事上因彰顯神公義的神誇勝。榮耀中的聖徒被說是得了權柄管轄列國，用鐵杖轄管他們（啟 2:26-27）。這你們必做，在我所定的日子。請注意，聖徒的勝利全賴神的得勝；不是他們做的，而是神為他們做的——那位說：「來將腳踏在這些王的頸項上」的神。有人讀作：「在我所造的日子」——那大日，我使之為人矚目的日子——你們要以喜樂之心說：這是耶和華所定的日子。耶路撒冷毀滅的日子被稱為主大而明顯的日子（徒 2:20）；我們的救主在預言那毀滅時所用的話語，也可以應用於世界的末了和*末日的審判；*因為那是從天上啟示神烈怒的如此可怖的事件，又在地上造成了如此恐怖的場面，足以作為那榮耀大事的預表——那事是時日的出口、永日的入口。藉著這些預言在猶太民族覆亡中的應驗，我們當在基督關於萬物廢止的保證上堅定我們的信心。*我必快來；*基督——萬軍之耶和華——天上地下所有的權柄都交在他手中——如此說。
英文原文
Evangelical Predictions (400 BC)
¹ 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.
The great and terrible day of the Lord is here prophesied of. This, like the pillar of cloud and fire, shall have a dark side turned towards the Egyptians that fight against God, and a bright side towards the faithful Israelites that follow him: The day cometh, that is, the Lord cometh, the day of the Lord; and it has reference both to the first and to the second coming of Jesus Christ; the day of both was fixed, and should answer the character here given of it.
I. In both Christ is a consuming fire to those that rebel against him. The day of his coming shall burn as an oven; it shall be a day of wrath, of fiery indignation. This was foretold concerning the Messiah, Ps 21:9, Thy hand shall find out all thy enemies, and shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of thy anger. It will be a day of terror and destruction like the burning of a city, or rather of a wood, the trees whereof are withered and dried, for to that the allusion seems to be, as Isa 10:17,18, The light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame, and it shall consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field. Now observe here, 1. Who shall be fuel to this fire—all the proud in heart, whose words have been stout against God, and their necks stiff and unapt to yield to the yoke of his commandments (all those that in the pride of their countenances will not seek after God, nor submit to the grace and government of Jesus Christ—all that proudly say they will not have Christ to reign over them), and all those that do wickedly in their affections and conversations, that wilfully persist in sin, in contempt of and contradiction to the law of God; they are such as do wickedly against the covenant, as another prophet had lately expressed it, Da 11:32. God, that has perfect knowledge of every one's character, knows who are the proud, and of every one's actions, knows who they are that do wickedly; and they shall be as stubble to this fire; they shall be consumed by it, easily consumed, utterly consumed, and it is wholly owing to themselves that they shall be so, for they make themselves stubble, that is, combustible matter, to this fire. If they were not stubble, it would not burn them; for the fire will be to every man according as he and his works are found; if they be wood, hay, and stubble, they will be consumed; but if they be gold, silver, and precious stones, they will abide the fire and be purified by it, 1Co 3:13-15. Those that by their unbelief oppose Christ thereby set themselves as briers and thorns before a devouring fire, Isa 27:4,5. 2. What shall be the force and what the fruit of this fire: The day that cometh shall burn them up, shall both terrify and ruin them, and shall leave them neither root nor branch, neither son nor nephew (so the Chaldee paraphrase): neither they nor their posterity shall be spared; they shall be wholly extirpated and cut off. Who knows the power of God's anger? The proud and those that do wickedly will not fear it, but they shall be made to feel it. Where are those now that called the proud happy, when thus they are made completely miserable, when there remains no branch of their happiness to be enjoyed for the present, nor any root of it out of which it might again spring up? Now this was fulfilled, (1.) When Christ, in his doctrine, spoke terror and condemnation to the proud Pharisees and the other Jews that did wickedly, when he sent that fire on the earth which burnt up the chaff of the traditions of the elders and the corrupt glosses they had put upon the law of God. (2.) When Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, and the nation of the Jews, as a nation, quite blotted out from under heaven, and neither root nor branch left them. This seems to be principally intended here; our Saviour says that those should be the days of vengeance, when all the things that were written to that purport should be fulfilled, Lu 21:22. Then the unbelieving Jews were as stubble to the devouring fire of God's judgments, which gathered together to them as the eagles to the carcase. (3.) It is certainly applicable, and is to be applied, to the day of judgment, to the particular judgment at death (some of the Jewish doctors refer it the punishment that seizes on the souls of the wicked immediately after they go out of the body), but especially to the general judgment, at the end of time, when Christ shall be revealed in flaming fire, to execute judgment on the proud, and all that do wickedly. The whole world shall then burn as an oven, and all the children of this world, that set their hearts upon it and choose their portion in it, shall take their ruin with it, and the fire then kindled shall never be quenched.
II. In both Christ is a rejoicing light to those who serve him faithfully, to those who fear his name and give him the glory due to it (Mal 4:2), who stand in awe of that name of his which the wicked profane and trample upon. Here are mercy and comfort kept in store for all those who fear the Lord and think on his name. Observe,
1. Whence this mercy and comfort shall flow to them: To you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, with healing in his wings. The day that comes, as it will be a stormy day to the wicked, a day in which God will rain upon them fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest, as he did on Sodom (Ps 11:6), a day of clouds and thick darkness (Am 5:18,20), so it will be a fair and bright day to those who fear God, and reviving as the rising sun is to the earth; and particular notice is taken of the rising of the sun upon Zoar when that was mercifully distinguished from the cities of the plain, which the fire consumed; see Ge 19:23. So to those that fear God is comfort spoken. When the hearts of others fail for fear let them lift up their heads for joy, for their redemption draws nigh, Lu 21:28. But by the Sun of righteousness here we are certainly to understand Jesus Christ, who would undertake to secure the believing remnant, in the day of the general destruction of the Jews, from falling with the rest, and to comfort them in that day of distress and perplexity with his consolations; he directed those that were in Judea to flee to the mountains (Mt 24:16), and they did so, and were all safe and easy in Pella. But it is to be applied more generally, (1.) To the coming of Christ in the flesh to seek and save those that were lost; then the Sun of righteousness arose upon this dark world. Christ is the light of the world, the true light, the great light that makes day and rules the day (Joh 8:12), as the sun. He is the light of men (Joh 1:4), is to men's souls as the sun is to the visible world, which without the sun would be a dungeon; so would mankind be darkness itself without the light of the glory of God shining in the face of Christ. Christ is the Sun that has light in himself, and is the fountain of light (Ps 19:4-6); he is the Sun of righteousness, for he is himself a righteous Saviour. Righteousness is both the light and the heat of this Sun; the word of his righteousness is so; it guides, instructs, and quickens; so is the everlasting righteousness he has brought in. He is made of God to us righteousness; he is the Lord our righteousness, and therefore is fitly called the Sun of righteousness. Through him we are justified and sanctified, and so are brought to see light. This Sun of righteousness, in the fulness of time, arose upon the world, and with him light came into the world (Joh 3:19), a great light, Mt 4:16. In him the day-spring from on high visited us, to give light to those that sit in darkness, Lu 1:78,79. Righteousness sometimes signifies mercy or benignity, and it was in Christ that the tender mercy of our God visited us. (2.) It is applicable to the graces and comforts of the Holy Spirit, brought into the souls of men. Grotius understands it of Christ's giving the Spirit to those that are his, to shine in their hearts, and to be a comforter to them, a sun and a shield. Those that are possessed and governed by a holy fear of God and a dread of his majesty shall have his love also shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost; and then the sun may be said to arise there, and to bring both a delightful day and a fruitful spring along with it. (3.) Christ's second coming will be a glorious and welcome sun-rising to all that fear his name; it will be that morning of the resurrection in which the upright shall have dominion, Ps 49:14. That day which to the wicked will burn as an oven will to the righteous be bright as the morning; and it is what they wait for, more than those that wait for the morning.
2. What this mercy and comfort shall bring to them: He shall arise with healing under his wings, or in his rays or beams, which are as the wings of the sun. Christ came, as the sun, to bring not only light to a dark world, but health to a diseased distempered world. The Jews (says Dr. Pocock) have a proverbial saying, As the sun riseth, infirmities decrease; the flowers which drooped and languished all night revive in the morning. Christ came into the world to be the great physician, yea, and the great medicine too, both the balm in Gilead and the physician there. When he was upon earth, he went about as the sun in his circuit, doing this good; he healed all manner of sicknesses and diseases among the people; he healed by wholesale, as the sun does. He shall arise with healing in his skirts; so some read it, and they apply it to the story of the woman's touching the hem of his garment, and being thereby made whole, and his finding that virtue went out of him, Mk 5:28-30. But his healing bodily diseases was a specimen of his great design in coming into the world to heal the diseases of men's souls, and to put them into a good state of health, that they may serve and enjoy both God and themselves.
3. What good effect it shall have upon them. (1.) It shall make them vigorous in themselves: "You shall go forth, as those that are healed go abroad and return to their business." The souls shall go forth out of their bodies at death, and the bodies out of their graves at the resurrection, as prisoners out of their dungeons, and both to see the light and be set at liberty. "You shall go forth as plants out of the earth, when in the spring the sun returns." Some make it to mean the going forth of the Christians from Jerusalem, and the escape they thereby made from its destruction. And thus the souls on whom the Sun of righteousness arises go forth out of the world, go forth out of Babylon, as those that are made free indeed. "You shall likewise grow up; being restored to health and liberty, you shall increase in knowledge, and grace, and spiritual strength." The souls on which the Sun of righteousness arises are growing up towards the perfect man; those that by the grace of God are made wise and good are by the same grace made wiser and better; and their path, like that of the rising sun, shines more and more to the perfect day, Pr 4:18. Their growth is compared to that of the calves of the stall, which is a quick, strong, and useful growth. "You shall grow up, not as the flower of the field, which is slender, and weak, and of little use, and withers soon after it has grown up, but as the calves of the stall," that, as one of the rabbin expounds it, grow great in flesh and fatness, with which both God's altars and men's tables are replenished; so the growth of the saints, on whom the Sun of righteousness arises, honours both God and man. Some read it, instead of You shall grow up, You shall move yourselves, or leap for joy, shall be as frolicsome as calves of the stall, when they are let loose in the open field; it denotes the joy of the saints, who rejoice in Christ Jesus; they shall even leap for joy; they are always caused to triumph.
(2.) It shall make them victorious over their enemies (Mal 4:3): You shall tread down the wicked. Time was when the wicked trod them down, said to their souls, Bow down, that we may go over; but the day will come when they shall tread down the wicked. The wicked, being made Christ's footstool, are made theirs also (Ps 110:1), and come and worship before the feet of the church, Re 3:9. The elder shall serve the younger. When believers by faith overcome the world, when they suppress their own corrupt appetites and passions, when the God of peace bruises Satan under their feet, then they tread down the wicked. When it came to the turn of the Christians to triumph over the Jews that had insulted over them, then this promise was fulfilled: They shall be ashes under the soles of your feet; they shall not only be trodden down, but trodden to dirt. When the day that comes shall have burnt them up, they shall trample upon them as ashes. When the righteous shall rise to everlasting life, the wicked shall rise to everlasting contempt; and, though they shall not triumph over them, they shall triumph in that God whose justice is glorified in their destruction. The saints in glory are said to have power given them over the nations, to rule them with a rod of iron, Re 2:26,27. This you shall do, in the day that I shall do this. Note, The saints' triumphs are all owing to God's victories; it is not they that do this, but God that does it for them, that says, Come set your feet on the necks of these kings. Some read it, "In the day that I make, or shall make, the great day that I shall make remarkable, of which you will say with joy, This is the day which the Lord has made." The day of the destruction of Jerusalem is called the great and notable day of the Lord (Ac 2:20), and our Saviour in foretelling that destruction made use of such expressions as, like these, might be applied likewise to the end of the world and the last judgment; for it was such a terrible revelation of the wrath of God from heaven, and caused such a scene of horror upon this earth, that it might fitly serve for a type of that glorious transaction which will be an outlet to the days of time and an inlet to the days of eternity. By the accomplishment of these prophecies in the ruin of the Jewish nation, we should have our faith confirmed in the assurances Christ has given us concerning the dissolution of all things. Surely I come quickly; so says Christ, the Lord of hosts, to whom all power in heaven and earth is committed.
4-6
Evangelical Predictions (400 BC)
福音的預言（主前400年）
⁴ 你們當記念我僕人摩西的律法，就是我在何烈山為以色列眾人所吩咐他的律例典章。
⁵ 看哪，耶和華大而可畏之日未到以前，我必差遣先知以利亞到你們那裏去。
⁶ 他必使父親的心轉向兒女，兒女的心轉向父親，免得我來咒詛遍地。
這無疑是作為一個莊嚴的結論——不僅是這卷預言書的結論，更是整個舊約正典的結論。這是一個明確的信息：他們不可再期望有任何藉默示而說的話或寫成的文字，不可再有任何預言之靈的指示，直到彌賽亞福音的起頭——這就將次經排除在聖經之外，因此猶太人從不接受次經。
如今預言既要止息、即將封閉，當時神的百姓有兩件事是當盡的本分：
I. 他們當保持對摩西律法的順服敬畏（瑪 4:4）：記念我僕人摩西的律法，並遵照而行——就是我在何烈山所吩咐他的那律法，那如火般熾烈的律法，是為以色列眾人所賜的，連同律例和典章——不僅是十誡的律法，更是當時在那裏所賜的一切其他條例，無論是禮儀的還是司法的。請注意此處：1. 對摩西——舊約的首位作者——在瑪拉基——最後一位作者——中所作的可敬的記念。神藉著他稱他為我僕人摩西；因為義人必永遠被記念。請看聖經的作者們，雖然生活在彼此相隔甚遠的不同時代（從摩西到瑪拉基超過一千二百年），卻都在同一件事上同心合意，彼此印證——因為他們都被同一位聖靈所感動和引導。2. 對摩西的律法所作的可敬的記念；那是神親自所吩咐的；他承認它為他的律法，又為以色列眾人吩咐它——作為他們國家的根本大法。如此神要高舉他的律法，使它尊大。請注意，我們當遵守律法，因為神已吩咐了它，而且是為我們所吩咐的——因為我們是屬靈的以色列人；我們若期望領受與以色列立約的益處（來 8:10），就當遵守賜給以色列的誡命——那些在其中定意為永遠義務的。3. 我們與律法相關的本分的概括。我們當記念它。忘記律法是我們一切違犯的根源；我們若正確地記念它，就不能不遵從它。我們當在有機會使用它時記念它——記念誡命本身，也記念藉以執行的制裁。良心的職責就是吩咐我們記念律法。但這吩咐記念摩西律法的話在此處如何引入呢？（1）這位先知曾責備他們在敬拜和品行上許多嚴重的敗壞和不規之處，如今為了改正和修正所不當的，他只吩咐他們記念摩西的律法：「持守那標準，你們就會做到一切所當做的。」他不將別的擔子放在他們身上，只放他們已經領受的；你們要持守（啟 2:24-25）。請注意，背道的教會要藉成文之道來改革，要被帶回律法和見證的標準而歸於秩序（林前 11:23）。（2）教會長久享受先知——神非同尋常的使者——的益處，如今他們有了先知預言的彙集成書，且已完整成篇；但他們不可因此以為摩西的律法已被取代，如同過時的曆書一般——以為他們如今已升入更高的學府，可以忘記它了。不；先知不過印證和應用律法，並敦促遵守它；所以仍當記念律法。請注意，即使我們在知識上已有相當的進步，我們仍當持守實踐信仰的起初原則，並決心遵行它們。那些研讀先知書和啟示錄的人，仍當記念摩西的律法和四福音。（3）預言如今要在教會中沉寂一些時代，預言之靈直到福音的起頭才要歸回；如今他們被告知要記念摩西的律法——要照那律法的規則生活，並仰賴那律法的應許。請注意，只要我們有成文的話語——完整的聖經正典——作我們的指引，我們就不必因缺乏異象和啟示而抱怨；因為那是最確切的預言之道，是我們用以試驗諸靈的試金石。我們雖沒有先知，但只要有聖經，我們就能保持與神的相交，並行在他的道中。（4）他們要等候彌賽亞的來到、他福音的傳講和他國度的建立；在這等候中，他們必須記念摩西的律法——在順服中遵行它；如此他們就可以期望彌賽亞帶給甘心樂意和順從之人的安慰。讓他們遵守摩西的律法，照它所賜的光亮而行，他們就可以期望領受基督福音的益處——因為凡有的，又善用他所有的，還要加給他，他就豐足有餘。
II. 他們當保持對基督福音的信靠期望，並要盼望它在以利亞先知的顯現中起頭（瑪 4:5-6）：「看哪，我差遣先知以利亞到你們那裏去。」預言之靈雖要沉寂一時，你們只有律法可以查考，但它要在一位以利亞的心志和能力中差遣來的人身上復甦（路 1:17）。律法和先知到約翰為止（路 16:16）；它們一直是教會僅有的光，直到那晨星出現。請注意，神在世上*從未沒有為自己留下見證，*在教會中也是如此；而是按需要將神聖啟示的光照帶得更遠、直到完全的日子。他們如今有摩西和先知，可以聽從他們；但神還要更進一步：他差遣以利亞。請注意，
1. 這位要差來的先知是誰；是以利亞。猶太學者中有人堅持這就是那在亞哈日子在以色列說預言的同一位以利亞——他要再來作彌賽亞的先鋒；然而他們中另一些人說不是同一人，而是有同樣心志的另一位。看來他們有不同看法，所以問約翰：「你是以利亞嗎？還是那當負其名的先知？」（約 1:19-21）。但我們基督徒清楚知道施洗約翰就是那將要來的以利亞（太 17:10-13）；而且明確地（太 11:14）：*這就是那將要來的以利亞；以及（瑪 3:1）看哪，我差遣我的使者——那所指的同一人。以利亞是一個極其嚴厲和克己的人，為神熱心，勇敢地責備罪惡，積極地使背道的百姓歸向神和他們的本分；施洗約翰被同樣的心志和能力所激勵，傳講悔改和歸正，正如以利亞從前所做的；眾人都認他為先知——正如他們在以利亞的日子認以利亞為先知一樣——並承認他的洗禮從天上來，不是從人來。*請注意，當神有從前所要做的那樣的工作時，他能興起從前所興起的那樣的人去做，並能將以利亞的心志賜給施洗約翰。
2. 他何時被差來——在彌賽亞顯現之前；因為那日子是這世界的審判，並引進猶太教會和民族的覆亡，所以此處被稱為耶和華大而可畏之日的來到。施洗約翰就此給了他們明確的警告——當他告訴他們將來的忿怒（那正 hastening upon 他們的極大的忿怒）並為他們指出一條逃脫之路時，又當他告訴他們基督手中的簸箕——基督要用它揚淨他的場時；見太 3:7、10、12。基督第一次來的那日子，如同他再來的日子一樣——對那些接受他的人是大而喜樂的日子，對那些反對他的人卻是*大而可畏的日子。*施洗約翰被差遣在這日子來到之前，是要通知百姓，使他們可以預備好迎見它，出去迎接它。
3. 他帶著什麼使命被差來：他必使父親的心轉向兒女，兒女的心轉向父親；就是說，「他要從事這工作；他要嘗試；他的教訓和洗禮要有直接的方向，而且在許多人身上要成功：他要在神手中作器皿，使多人歸義，歸向主他們的神，並為他預備合用的百姓」（路 1:16-17）。請注意，使靈魂歸向神和他們的本分，是為他們預備迎見耶和華大而可畏之日最好的方法。論到約翰，應許了：（1）他要使事情轉向，要在所發現的如同洪流般沖刷一切的罪惡和不敬虔面前勇敢站住。這被稱為他來要恢復萬物（太 17:11）——使之歸於正軌，使它們可以再次在正確的軌道中運行。（2）他要傳講一門直達人心的教訓，並對他們產生影響、在其中作成改變。神的話在他口中要活潑而有功效，辨明心中的思念和主意。許多人因他的服侍而良心甦醒——雖然未徹底受感化——如此的能力在其中。（3）他要使父親的心與兒女一同——以及兒女的心與父親一同（有人如此讀）——轉向神和他們的本分。他要呼召老少悔改，也不徒然勞苦，因為許多將要離去的父親和許多正在成長的兒女都要因他的服侍受感化。（4）如此他要作器皿，復興和堅固親屬之間的愛和合一，使他們更親近、更牢固地彼此結連——藉著帶領和使他們全都歸向他們的神。他要為那使一切忠心子民同心合意（徒 4:32）的天國預備道路——那國是愛的國，要殺滅一切仇恨。
4. 他帶著這使命被差來有什麼目的：免得我來咒詛遍地——就是以色列地、猶太民族的主體（那些屬地的屬地之人）。他們因不敬虔和不悔改而使自己暴露在神的咒詛之下——那咒詛就是與一切邪惡的分離。神已預備好用那咒詛擊打他們——將徹底的毀滅傾覆他們——以咒詛重重擊打、擊斃；但他還要再試他們一次，看他們是否願意悔改歸回而防止它；所以他差遣施洗約翰向他們傳講悔改，使他們的歸正可以防止他們的混亂——如此神不願任何人滅亡，如此樂意使他的怒氣轉消。他們若普遍地悔改和歸正，他們的悔改就會產生這所願的效果；但他們既普遍地棄絕神在約翰洗禮中的旨意，這旨意就歸到他們自己頭上（路 7:30），他們的地也被咒詛擊打——直到今日他們和他們的地仍伏在咒詛之下。請注意，那些不歸向擊打他們的主（賽 9:13）的人，必期望被劍、被咒詛擊打。如今*斧子已經放在樹根上，施洗約翰說，預備被擊打——以咒詛被砍下；所以要結出果子來，與悔改的心相稱。*有人注意到舊約的最後一個詞是咒詛——對地的威脅（亞 5:3），我們必須被使我們認識自己當受的咒詛，好叫我們歡迎那帶著祝福而來的基督；而新約是以祝福——以最上好的祝福——結束的；讓我們以這祝福抵擋那咒詛——更確切地說，讓神以這祝福為我們抵擋那咒詛。願我們主耶穌基督的恩常與我們眾人同在。阿們。
英文原文
Evangelical Predictions (400 BC)
⁴ Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
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.
This is doubtless intended for a solemn conclusion, not only of this prophecy, but of the canon of the Old Testament, and is a plain information that they were not to expect any more sayings nor writing by divine inspiration, any more of the dictates of the Spirit of prophecy, till the beginning of the gospel of the Messiah, which sets aside the Apocrypha as no part of holy writ, and which therefore the Jews never received.
Now that prophecy ceases, and is about to be sealed up, there are two things required of the people of God, that lived then:—
I. They must keep up an obedient veneration for the law of Moses (Mal 4:4): Remember the law of Moses my servant, and observe to do according to it, even that law which I commanded unto him in Horeb, that fiery law which was intended for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments, not only the law of the ten commandments, but all the other appointments, ceremonial and judicial, then and there given. Observe here, 1. The honourable mention that is made of Moses, the first writer of the Old Testament, in Malachi, the last writer. God by him calls him Moses my servant; for the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance. See how the penmen of scripture, though they lived in several ages at a great distance from each other (it was above 1200 years from Moses to Malachi), all concurred in the same thing, and supported one another, being all actuated and guided by one and the same Spirit. 2. The honourable mention that is made of the law of Moses; it was what God himself commanded; he owns it for his law, and he commanded it for all Israel, as the municipal law of their kingdom. Thus will God magnify his law and make it honourable. Note, We are concerned to keep the law because God has commanded it and commanded it for us, for we are the spiritual Israel; and, if we expect the benefit of the covenant with Israel (Heb 8:10), we must observe the commands given to Israel, those of them that were intended to be of perpetual obligation. 3. The summary of our duty, with reference to the law. We must remember it. Forgetfulness of the law is at the bottom of all our transgressions of it; if we would rightly remember it, we could not but conform to it. We should remember it when we have occasion to use it, remember both the commands themselves and the sanctions wherewith they are enforced. The office of conscience is to bid us remember the law. But how does this charge to remember the law of Moses come in here? (1.) This prophet had reproved them for many gross corruptions and irregularities both in worship and conversation, and now, for the reforming and amending of what was amiss, he only charges them to remember the law of Moses: "Keep to that rule, and you will do all you should do." He will lay upon them no other burden than what they have received; hold that fast, Re 2:24,25. Note, Corrupt churches are to be reformed by the written word, and reduced into order by being reduced to the standard of the law and the testimony, see 1Co 11:23. (2.) The church had long enjoyed the benefit of prophets, extraordinary messengers from God, and now they had a whole book of their prophecies put together, and it was a finished piece; but they must not think that hereby the law of Moses was superseded, and had become as an almanac out of date, as if now they were advanced to a higher form and might forget that. No; the prophets do but confirm and apply the law, and press the observance of that; and therefore still Remember the law. Note, Even when we have made considerable advances in knowledge we must still retain the first principles of practical religion and resolve to abide by them. Those that study the writings of the prophets, and the apocalypse, must still remember the law of Moses and the four gospels. (3.) Prophecy was now to cease in the church for some ages, and the Spirit of prophecy not to return till the beginning of the gospel, and now they are told to remember the law of Moses; let them live by the rules of that, and live upon the promises of that. Note, We need not complain for want of visions and revelations as long as we have the written word, and the canon of scripture complete, to be our guide; for that is the most sure word of prophecy, and the touchstone by which we are to try the spirits. Though we have not prophets, yet, as long as we have Bibles, we may keep our communion with God, and keep ourselves in his way. (4.) They were to expect the coming of the Messiah, the preaching of his gospel, and the setting up of his kingdom, and in that expectation they must remember the law of Moses, and live in obedience to that, and then they might expect the comforts that the Messiah would bring to the willing and obedient. Let them observe the law of Moses, and live up to the light which that gave them, and then they might expect the benefit of the gospel of Christ, for to him that has, and uses what he has well, more shall be given, and he shall have abundance.
II. They must keep up a believing expectation of the gospel of Christ, and must look for the beginning of it in the appearing of Elijah the prophet (Mal 4:5,6): "Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet. Though the Spirit of prophecy cease for a time, and you will have only the law to consult, yet it shall revive again in one that shall be sent in the spirit and power of Elias," Lu 1:17. The law and the prophets were until John (Lu 16:16); they continued to be the only lights of the church till that morning-star appeared. Note, As God never left himself without witness in the world, so neither in the church, but, as there was occasion, carried the light of divine revelation further and further to the perfect day. They had now Moses and the prophets, and might hear them; but God will go further: he will send them Elijah. Observe,
1. Who this prophet is that shall be sent; it is Elijah. The Jewish doctors will have it to be the same Elijah that prophesied in Israel in the days of Ahab—that he shall come again to be the forerunner of the Messiah; yet others of them say not the same person, but another of the same spirit. It should seem, those different sentiments they had when they asked John, "Art thou Elias, or that prophet that should bear his name?" Joh 1:19-21. But we Christians know very well that John Baptist was the Elias that was to come, Mt 17:10-13; and very expressly, Mt 11:14, This is Elias that was to come; and Mal 4:10, the same of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger, Mal 3:1. Elijah was a man of great austerity and mortification, zealous for God, bold in reproving sin, and active to reduce an apostate people to God and their duty; John Baptist was animated by the same spirit and power, and preached repentance and reformation, as Elias had done; and all held him for a prophet, as they did Elijah in his day, and that his baptism was from heaven, and not of men. Note, When God has such work to do as was formerly to be done he can raise up such men to do it as he formerly raised up, and can put into a John Baptist the spirit of an Elias.
2. When he shall be sent—before the appearing of the Messiah, which, because it was the judgment of this world, and introduced the ruin of the Jewish church and nation, is here called the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. John Baptist gave them fair warning of this when he told them of the wrath to come (that wrath to the uttermost which was hastening upon them) and put them into a way of escape from it, and when he told them of the fan in Christ's hand, with which Christ would thoroughly purge his floor; see Mt 3:7,10,12. That day of Christ, when he came first, was as that day will be when he comes again—though a great and joyful day to those that embrace him, yet a great and dreadful day to those that oppose him. John Baptist was sent before the coming of this day, to give people notice of it, that they might get ready for it, and go forth to meet it.
3. On what errand he shall be sent: He shall turn the heart of the fathers to their children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; that is, "he shall be employed in this work; he shall attempt it; his doctrine and baptism shall have a direct tendency to it, and with many shall be successful: he shall be an instrument in God's hand of turning many to righteousness, to the Lord their God, and so making ready a people prepared for him," Lu 1:16,17. Note, The turning of souls to God and their duty is the best preparation of them for the great and dreadful day of the Lord. It is promised concerning John, (1.) That he shall give a turn to things, shall make a bold stand against the strong torrent of sin and impiety which he found in full force among the children of his people, and beating down all before it. This is called his coming to restore all things (Mt 17:11), to set them to rights, that they may again go in the right channel. (2.) That he shall preach a doctrine that shall reach men's hearts, and have an influence upon them, and work a change in them. God's word, in his mouth, shall be quick and powerful, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Many had their consciences awakened by his ministry who yet were not thoroughly wrought upon, such a spirit and power was there in it. (3.) That he shall turn the hearts of the fathers with the children, and of the children with the fathers (for so some read it), to God and to their duty. He shall call upon young and old to repent, and shall not labour in vain, for many of the fathers that are going off, and many of the children that are growing up, shall be wrought upon by his ministry. (4.) That thus he shall be an instrument to revive and confirm love and unity among relations, and shall bring them closer and bind them faster to each other, by bringing and binding them all to their God. He shall prepare the way for that kingdom of heaven which will make all its faithful subjects of one heart and one soul (Ac 4:32), which will be a kingdom of love, and will slay all enmities.
4. With what view he shall be sent on this errand: Lest I come and smite the earth, that is, the land of Israel, the body of the Jewish nation (that were of the earth earthy), with a curse. They by their impiety and impenitence in it had laid themselves open to the curse of God, which is a separation to all evil. God was ready to smite them with that curse, to bring utter ruin upon them, to strike home, to strike dead, with the curse; but he will yet once more try them, whether they will repent and return, and so prevent it; and therefore he sends John Baptist to preach repentance to them, that their conversion might prevent their confusion; so unwilling is God that any should perish, so willing to have his anger turned away. Had they universally repented and reformed, their repentance would have had this desired effect; but, they generally rejecting the counsel of God in John's baptism, it proved against themselves (Lu 7:30) and their land was smitten with the curse which both it and they lie under to this day. Note, Those must expect to be smitten with a sword, with a curse, who turn not to him that smites them with a rod, with a cross, Isa 9:13. Now the axe is laid to the root of the tree, says John Baptist, and it is ready to be smitten, to be cut down, with a curse; therefore bring forth fruit meet for repentance. Some observe that the last word of the Old Testament is a curse, which threatens the earth (Zec 5:3), our desert of which we must be made sensible of, that we may bid Christ welcome, who comes with a blessing; and it is with a blessing, with the choicest of blessings, that the New Testament ends, and with it let us arm ourselves, or rather let God arm us, against this curse. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen.
此處給了我們合宜的教訓（用以結束舊約正典甚為恰當）：I. 關於擺在我們面前的賞罰與報應的境界——惡人在那境界的悲慘和義人的福樂（瑪 4:1-3）。這是在耶路撒冷及其中不信的猶太人將被毀滅的預言下向我們呈現的，也是在他們當中那些領受福音之人的安慰和得勝中呈現的。II. 關於我們如今所在的試煉與預備的境界——在此我們被指引要仰望神的啟示並跟從它；那時他們當持守摩西的律法（瑪 4:4），並期待藉著先知以利亞——即彌賽亞的先鋒施洗約翰——進一步顯明神的旨意（瑪 4:5-6）。新約最後一章的內容大致相同，向我們展示來世的天堂和地獄，並要求我們在今世持守神的道。