[4.] Fourthly, Give me leave to inquire. Whether you loere friends or enemies to God's house, 2 Tim. i. 20 ; Num. xii. 7 ; Joshua i. 2. Now God's house is his church, and his church is his house : Heb. iii. 5, 6, ' And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant ; but Christ as a Son over his own house ; whose house are we ; ' 1 Pet. ii. 5, ' Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ ; ' so 1 Tim. iii. 15, ' That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the
ISA. XLII. 24, 25.] THE LATE FIERY DISPENSATION. 221
living God, the pillar and ground of the truth ; ' Prov. ix. 1, ' Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars.' Wis- dom— /T)DDn, chakmoth, the Hebrew word is plural, wisdoms: wisdoms hath built her a house. By wisdoms some understand the trinity of persons ; but most conclude that by wisdoms is meant our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, Col. ii. 3. The word is plural for honour's sake. As princes write, JVe command, the Lord Jesus Christ is said to be wisdoms in the plural number, to note that he is the sovereign and supreme wisdom, and that he is instead of all wisdoms, and comprehends all wisdoms in himself, all the world being fools in comparison of him. Wisdoms hath built her a house — (1.) Some take this house to be the human nature of Christ, but that was not then built ; (2.) Others understand it of the work of grace in man's soul, but this the Spirit commonly works in this house by the ministry of the word, Gal. v. 22, 23 ; (3.) Others by this house understand heaven, that upper house, that house of state in which Christ saith there are many mansions, but this cannot [be it], because the house in the text is such a house to which wisdom doth immediately invite and call all her guests ; but (4.) and lastly, Others by house understand the church of Christ on earth, for the church militant is a house built up of many lively stones, 1 Pet. ii. 5 ; and with these I close. Xow by these scriptures it is very plain that God's house is his church, and his church his house. Now if you were enemies to God's house, if you hated his house, and designed and endeavoured to pull down his house, no wonder that the Lord has laid your houses desolate. Mat. xxiii. 37, 38 ; Zech. xii. 2, 3, 6, 9. Such who cry out concerning his house, Kaze it, raze it even to the founda- tion thereof, Ps. cxxxvii. 7, may one day want a house to live in.
It is observable that in private houses Christ his apostles, and par- ticular churches, and primitive Christians, frequently used to meet when the times were dangerous : John xx. 19, ' Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus, and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you ; ' ver. 26, ' And after eight days, again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said. Peace be unto you,' Luke xxiv. 33. This was the usual manner of salutation among the Jews, whereby they wished one another all happiness and prosperity. The dooi'S of the room where they were together were shut for the more secrecy and security, to avoid danger from the Jews, saith Dr Hammond on the words : i Acts i. 13, 14, ' And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplica- tion, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren : ' Acts xx. 7,^ ' And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them,
' See the Dutch Annotations.
^ See the Dutch Anuotutions and DioJati on Acts xx. 7-12.
222 London's lamentations on [Isa. XLII. 24, 25.