were raised upward, the wheels were accordingly raised; for the same Spirit, that moved the Angels, did also move those wheels to concur with them; God, by his Angels, transfusing into these earthly creatures the power of their governance and motion. So also verse 21.

I. 22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.

And the colour of the firmament, which was spread over the heads of these four Angels, was as the colour of a glorious crystal, which had in it a kind of majestical brightness.

I. 23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. And under this shining firmament were the wings of these four Angels reached straight forth, one toward another; which, as was formerly said, being four to each, two of them served to be stretched forth for the meeting of the wings of their fellows, and the other two covered their own bodies.

I. 24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of a host.

And when they moved, I heard the noise of their wings, in their motion, very loud and strong, as of gushing waters or of thunder; and the noise of that voice, which was heard over them, was as the shouting of a host. So also verse 25.

1. 26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

And, to shew that all these motions, both of the Angels and the inferior creatures, proceed from the infinite wisdom and power of God, above the firmament, that was over their heads, there was the likeness of the glorious throne of the Almighty, bright and shining of a celestial colour; and upon that throne was there the likeness of a man sitting, even that God, who would afterwards take upon him the shape of man, for man's redemption.

I. 27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. And I saw the resemblance of a glorious amber-coloured brightness, and as of a perfectly inflamed and ardently red fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins upward; and for the other part, which was from the appearance of the loins downward, the resemblance of a bright fire, but less digested; to shew, that the Son of God, though all glorious, yet, in that part, which concerns his creatures, and wherein he reveals himself to men, he remits of that fiery and incomprehensible Majesty, and descends graciously to our capacity and apprehension.

II. 2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. And the Spirit of God entered into me, and put courage into my heart, together with the outward sound of his word; and raised me up from my grovelling, and set me on my feet.

II. 5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

And they, whether they will hear, or will not hear (as they are more like; for they are a stubborn people,) shall yet be convinced of their rebellion by thy prophecy; and shall, by the event, feel and find, that they have had a prophet amongst them, whereby their sins are either reformed, or shall be more deeply punished.

II. 6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, &c.. Though this people shall be to thee as briers and thorns, which shail prick and wound thy soul; and thou must dwell among scorpions, which shall sting thee unto death; yet be not afraid, &c. II. 8 Open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

Open thy mouth, and, in signification and assurance that thon dost obediently receive these messages which I deliver unto thee, and wilt be ready to utter them to my people, eat that which I shall give unto thee.

III. 1, 2 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

Moreover he said unto me, in this vision of mine, Son of man, eat that which I now offer thee. See chap. ii. verse 8.

III. 3 Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for

sweetness.

Then, methought, I did eat up that roll; and, though it were written within and without with lamentations, yet, in my mouth, as I was chewing it, it seemed to be sweet as honey; so pleasing a contentment there is, in a holy obedience to the commands of God.

III. 8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

Behold, I have given thee boldness and courage, to bear up against their strong oppositions; so as thou shalt not be daunted with their outfacings.

III. 9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead.

Yea, I have put an invincible courage into thee, so as no force of theirs shall be able to prevail against thee.

III. 12 Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place. Blessed be the name, and praised be the glory of the Son of God, who sits upon this throne of Majesty.

III. 13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.

And I heard the noise of the wings of those Angels, which I saw, and the noise of those wheels, which were moved by them, in an applause or acclamation to that praise and celebration of the name of Christ, as that wherein all creatures conspire.

III. 14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.

So the Spirit of God lifted me up from the ground, on which I lay; and removed me from that place, separating me also, for the time, from the common society of men: and I went away very heavy and pensive, and much troubled in my spirit, for the sad purport of this vision; but the power of God's Spirit was forcible and prevalent with me, so as I was not too much dejected, either with that fearful apparition or that grievous errand.

III. 20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righte ousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die: &c.

Again, when a man, that carries himself as righteous and is in his whole course inoffensive, doth turn away from that his holy profession and give himself over to a trade of wickedness, and I meet with him in that sinful course and surprise him with my judgments, he shall die, &c. Those good actions, which he hath formerly done, and his forepast holy carriage, shall not be so respected, as to keep him from just condemnation; &c.

III. 23 And, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar.

And, behold, there it pleased God to give me a representation of his glorious presence, as before when I was by the river Chebar.

III. 24 Then the spirit entered into me, &c. See verse 14.

III. 25 They shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them.

Their wickedness shall tie up thy tongue, and cause thee to keep close from them.

III. 26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover.

I will impose silence upon thee for a judgment to them, so as thou shalt not reprove their misdeeds any more.

III. 27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear.

But when I renew my commission to thee and bid thee to speak, I will then give thee a freedom of speech unto them, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord whether they hear thee or hear thee not, it is all one to thee; do thou thy duty, and it sufficeth.

IV. 1 Take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem.

Make thee upon a tile, a model or draught or the city Jerusalem. IV. 2 And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and

cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set batter ing rams against it round about.

And then make the model of a siege laid against that so-pourtrayed city; in all the representations of those hostile actions, that are wont to be done against a city that is beleaguered.

IV. 3 Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

And, to signify the strength and invincibleness of that siege, set a pot of iron between thee and that city; and then do thou set thy face against it, as if thou wert the besieger of it; and this shall be a sign to all the people of Israel, what they shall really expect to be performed against them.

IV. 4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.

Lie thou also upon thy left side, and, by thy quiet and still lying thereon, represent unto the house of Israel, the Ten Tribes, how long I have lain patiently under the many provocations, which J have had from those rebellious Israelites: according to the number of the days, wherein thou shalt, in vision, lie upon that side, thou shalt represent my patience under the iniquity of the house of .Israel.

IV. 5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

So many days as thou shalt, in the appointment of this vision, lie upon that left side, for this purpose; so many have been the years, that I have quietly forborne to revenge the iniquities of Israel, that is, three hundred and ninety years, answerable to so many days, since their defection under Jeroboam.

IV. 6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.

And when thou hast done this, in a figure of what I have done for Israel, then lie another while, upon thy right side, to represent my bearing with the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days are, in thy vision, appointed for this posture, in figure of forty years, that I have been provoked by the sins of Judah.

IV. 7 Thine arm shall be uncovered.

Thine arm shall be uncovered; to signify the vehemence and readiness of execution, which shall be in the besiegers of Jerusalem.

IV. 8 And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.

And, to shew the immutable certainty of that my decree for the besieging of Jerusalem, I will lay bands upon thee, in this vision, that thou mayest not change sides, till the days of that fore-appointed siege be fulfilled.

IV. 9 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.

And, as thou shalt thus represent the siege, so also, in the sequel, thou shalt represent the famine, which shall fall upon Jerusalem; take thee, therefore, all kinds of grain, wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and fitches, and put thein all together, and make bread of this mesline, and eat thereof for the space of three hundred and ninety days; to signify, that, in that strait siege, there shall be such scarcity, as that they shall be glad of the

coarsest sustenance.

IV. 10 And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day from time to time shalt thou eat it.

And thy meat, which thou shalt eat, shall be stinted unto thee, according to five ounces, the day.

IV. 11 Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.

Neither shalt thou have full scope to drink how much water thou pleasest, but shalt have it allowed thee by measure, about a pint a day; and so shalt continue.

IV. 12, 13 And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight, &c.

And thou shalt make it up in the form of barley cakes, and shalt bake it, instead of coals, with man's dung, in the sight of the peo→ ple; to signify that extreme pollution, whereto God will give over his people, among the Gentiles.

IV. 14 Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.

Then said I, Ah Lord God, behold, as I have been consecrated to thy service in the priesthood, so I have carefully kept myself from all legal pollutions from my youth: I have not eaten ought, that is forbidden by thy law, but have avoided all those offensive meats, of what kind soever; and now, thou knowest that this excremen titious fire, which thou enjoinest, is, besides the loathsomeness, unclean by thy law.

IV. 16 I will break the staff of bread. See Leviticus xxvi,

verse 26.

V. 1 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. To fore-signify that variety of miserable desolation which shall come upon Jerusalem, take thee a sharp knife, even a barber's razor, and therewith cause all the hair of thy head and beard to be shaven off: the hairs of thy head and beard represent the numerous inhabitants of Jerusalem: all they shall be cut, by several