9 Ye e looked f tor much, and log zt came to little 5; and when ye brought 77 home, I did || blow 7 upon it : why ? ſaith the LORD of hoſts : Becauſe of mine houſe that zs waſte &, and ye run / every man to his own houſe m. |
e O Fews, you toiled, and were at great coſt, as ver. 6. f Ex- peRted, hoped, promiſed your ſelves a great increaſe, a plentiful Har- veſt. g Burt you ſaw, diſcerned, and were ſenſible that it anſwered not expettation. þ All dwindled into a very little, you were Loſers by all, went backward ſtill. } Had your little been as the righteous Man's little, you might have lived on it, and rejoyced in it,but it had nor ſuch a Bleffing upon it; it was blaſted, and ſo was weak, and empty, and heartleſs, it profited little. þ All this Curſe on your Eſtate and Labour was for your ungodly neglett of my Houſe, leayi ng it waſte, / Did with eagerneſs carry on your own particular Build- ings, ſpared not Care or Coſt for them, you ſtir not a foot about my Houſe, you run with greateſt earneſineſs about your own m Dome- ſtick Afffairs and Concerns, in w...co nut one or two, or ſome fey, but every one 1s culpable, ſcarce any free from this Fault.
_—_ x 10 Therefore 7 * the heaven o over you is ſtay- , ©
- p from dew, and the earth is ſtayed from her Tult.
n For your great intolerable negle& of God, his Houſe and Wor- ſhip. « Ab. Heavens. p Shut up, ſealed, prohibited ; God, whoſe they are, hath forbidden them, they drop not one Pearl of Dew, and the Earth muſt be barren, when dry, without the frutifying Influ- ences of Heaven,
11 And *[ g called 7 for a drought upon the land s. and upon the mountains z, and upon the corn, and upon the .new wine, and upon the oil; and upon zhat which the ground bringeth forth , and upon men ,
hands y.
This Verſe is a particular Narrative of what was more generally expreſſed in the former Verſe, and all things mentioned herein arc very plain. q Your God whom you negle&ed. r Commanded or willed, which 1s Call powerful enough ro bring together any of his armed Souldiers,to puniſh rebellious and contumacious Sinners, s Ej- ther the whole Land, or in diſtin&ion ro Mountains, the lower
and rich in Vines and Olives, and Corn; all which for want of Rain, dried up, and withered, languiſhed and came to nothing ; ſo the Condition of theſe People was very deſolate; a juſt Puniſhment for a Temple deſolate by their Negligence* x The very Blood, Hu- mours and Conſtitutions of Men were ſtrangely changed hereby, and many Diſcaſes afflifted them. x Murrain, Leanneſs, and Death, among the brute Beaſts, y Whatever Man's Induſtry planted, as Trees and Plants, were under this Curſe, and languiſh'd, died and were hurnt up.
12 & Then « Zerubbatel the ſon of Shealtiel þ, and Joſhua the ſon of Joſedech c the high prieſt d with all e the remnant of the people f, obeyed the voice of the LORD # their God þ, and the words 7 of Haggai the propher, (as the LORD their God
had ſent & him ) and the people did fear before the LORD 7.
a So ſoon 75s they heard this convincing and 'awakening Sermon. 6b Whois called Selathiel, 1 Chron. 3. 17. Matth. i: 12. cVid.ch. 1. v. 1.let. k,l. d The twenty fourth from Aaron, as ſome reckon, 4/- fled, Chbron/ but the firſt aftcr th= Captivity, e Either none were dear to the Lord's Reproof and Counfe], or elſe none durſt appear fo, whert the chief Rulers in State and Church were ſo forward in obying the Prophet. f The common People, the meaner ſort, g Acknowledged that 'twas the Sovereign Lord who ſpake, who ought ro be obeyed, becauſe he is tneLord. þ And therefore they ought to do his Will, that they might receive the Blcflings, which he, as their God, had promiſed torhemz as God made this an Argument to Obedience, ſo do theſe now ; We are thy People, thou art our God. i This inter- prets the former, the Voice of the Lord was the words of Hzggat, he added.nothing of his own to them. þ According to ail for which
| the Lord had ſent and commiſſioned him, or particularly ia all char
concerned the ſpeedy building of the Temple. / This ſpeaks the right religious Frame of Keart in this People at this time, «
:3 Then a»: ſpake Haggai the LORD's meſlenger zz the LORD's meflage o unto the people p, ſaying. | 4 with you g, faith rhe LORD -7.
m When the People ſhewed their Obedience,and the willingneſs of their Minds, then God encourageth them by his Prophet. = Legatc or Envoy, the Hebreiv word fignifieth alſo an Angel; but this is nor ſufficient to prove their Opinion, who dream that Hz7gai was not a Man, but an Angel inthe form of a Man, the word here uſed (arifirg from a word that fignifieth to ſend, and paraphraſed by a word tha: primarily fſignifieth to ſens . OT are ſent) doth ſpeak 4a An-
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Chap. I.
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gel, from his Office and Work as he miniſtreth before the Lord, and it ſpeaketh not the Nature or Eflence
runneth ſwiftly on his Errand 3 1 : of Angels, as they are Spirits. The French Verſion ( which I ule, printed at Rochel, 1516.) reads it, like ours, Ambaſſador. So Haggat '
was God's Meſſenger or Ambaſſador to his People, no Angel. 9 As becommerh an Amyaſſador in the words of his Maſter, fo Haggaz de- livered the Lord's Meſſage.. p Not. excluding the Governors, bur the People are only mentioned, for that the Prophet ſpake to the whole Afffembly, or becauſe the Lord would encourage them moſt, who moſt needed Encouragement. 9 A great Promiſe, and which contains all rhey can need or defire, it enſureth God's Preſence al- wavs with them, and his Affiſtance always to them, and his Bleſſiag al- ways upon them. He will be always for, as well as always with them, and then Tatnai, Shethar, Boſnai, Sanba!lat, and all other Con- ſpirators with them, ſhall not prevail to hinder the Work; ſuch a Promiſe as this, vid. Exod. 3. 12, and 4. 1, 12, 13. Matth. 28. 20. Rom. ®. 31. 2 Cor-12. 9, # This ſolemn Acteſtarion addeth weight to the Promiſe.