y Now is the Caſe applied. x As common things touch'd by holy 'things are not ſanRified, and as polluted Perſons, t-uching whac is clean, pollute it; as holy things did not by touch and bodily Appli- cation make him legally holy, who was common but a polluted Per- ſon made all he touch'd and handled unclean: fo unſan@ified and pol- luted Fews polluted God's Ordinances, while the outward performing of legal and ceremonial Duties, ſuch as bringing, offering, earing, dragging abour their legal Sacrifices, left them as unholy in them- ſelves, and as unacceptable tn God as they were before; ſomewhat more then is to be done, The Soul is ficſt to be purified, rhat they and we may offer up a pure Offering. 4 The Body of the Fews, or the moſt part of them. 6 This ingeminateth rhe ſame thing, to intimate to us how God reſenteth it, and how we ſhould be affeRed with it. c In God's Account, or in his Sightz who ſeeth indeed what Men are, and what their A@ions are. 4 Whatever they do in Sacred or Civil Matters, they make a ſhift to pollute all by pol- lured Hands, by leprous touches. e What they do bring to the Al- tar with impure Hearts and Hands, is more polluted by them than ſanftified by the Altar. f Rea!ly impure, though it ſeem externally clean and holy, 'tis unſutable to the Purity of a holy God. In fan- ified Afftions all is ſpoiled by unſan&ified Hearts. Thence 'tis that Uncleanneſs is derived on their beſt Works, and conſecrated Rites do nor, cannot ſanifie prophane Spirits,
15 And now g; 1 pray þ you, conſider from this day z and upward #, trom betore a 1tone / was laid upon a ſtone 2 in the temple x of the LORD »o.
2 Furthermore confider. þ He affe&ionately intreats them to ob- ſerve. 7i This twenty fourth Day of the ninth Month, er. 10. þ Through paſt Years, trace Year after Year, and your Succeſſes and Diſappointments in them. / Obſerve all Years paſt before you would ſer upon the re-building of the Temple after you had intermitted ir, ſome Years paſt, 1o, or 15, or 20, or 40 ( or more ſay ſome ) be- tween your ſurceaſing from the Work, and beginning to re-build. m The Prophet meaneth either before they began to lay one Stone upon another in the Foundation laid in Cyrus his time,ar before they began to lay the Foundation of the Walls of the Courts and outward Edifices. n Either ſtritly taken for the Houſe of God, or more largely for the reſt of the Buildings about the Houſe; this tacitly reproves their Sloth; 'twas the Temple they negle&ed, which they did long for in Babylon. o So much the greater their Sin, for that *rwas the Lord's Temple was ſlighted,
heap r of twenty meaſures, there were but ten s : when one came to the preſs-fat for to draw out fifty veſſels out of the preſs, there were but twenty.
p All that while the. Temple lay negle&ed, and you were conten- ted with maimed, and half Worſhip. q Men were diſappointed half in half. r Which, he expe&ed would prove twenty Meaſures, E- phahs, or Buſhels, or what other Meaſure you pleaſe. s It proved bur halt your Hopes: Thus your Corn failed, but your Oil much more failed, and you found but two where you expeRecd five : this Barrenneſs you cannot be ignorant of.
dew y, and with hail 2,in*all the labours « of your
t My Hand was viſible in your Loſſes, Scarcity and Diſppoint- ments, m The Perſons put for cheir Labours, their Corn, Vines and Olives. x Burning and ſcorching Winds that blaſted all. y Which with too much clammy Moiſture, that like Glew cleaves to Fruits, and turns toa corrupting of them. x Which in theſe colder Countries many times by .ts violence deſtroys Corn, Fruits and Trees, but in thoſe Countries doth it oftner. Now here was in theſe ſomewhat
vous, fo more viſible, a In your plowing and ſowing tor Harveſt, in planting of Olives and Vines for a Vintage. b You did not fee my. Hand, tho' you felt it, you did not repent of your ſinful negle& of me, my Worſhip and Temple, nor thought of building my Houſe, c This atteſted with God's own Hand for witneſs hereto.
18 Confider now from this day, and upward d from the four and twentieth day of the ninth 2wonrh, ever from the day that the foundation of the LORD's tem-
ple was laid e, conſider zt f.
d Secver. 15.let. 7. b. e See ver. 15. let. m. Make your Obſerya- tion from the Day when you began to build on the old Foundation laid many Years agon in the time of Cyras. f Let that be the preciſe Day from which you begin your reckoning 3 by this the Pro het ex- cites them to believe, and wait, ſince he doth in the Name of the Lord ſo cxprefly promiſe a Bleffing, and tells them when it ſhall begin to come unto chem, and would have then obſerve how truly he ſpeaks. .
19 Is the ſeed yet in the baing* yea, as yet the
fome among the People. who did by the Propher's perſwaſion go and Propoſe the Caſe, and they recerved the Anſwer as here in the Nega- | uve, tor neither mediate, nor yet unmediate Touch of holy Thinge, | could make common things, or uaholy Perſons holy,
vine,and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, ad the olive tree hath not brought þ forth : iroma this day 7; will !
| bleſs your f,
Chap. II,
16 Since thoſe days p were, * when one came q to an .
17 | * | imotez you z with blaſting x, and with tnil- * Deut. 32.
hands, yer ye 7#rned bnot to me, ſaith the LORD c, !King8-
more of the Hand of God, and ſo the Puniſhment was as more grie-
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WEHSECAL Chap. 1
LD Zoo 2s ſown, | 5 This ſeems an explaining of the forther, and a confirming it too,
” Your Seed for the next |! _— = OPT «6p | Tho' the Gentiles of many Kingdoms, united inall their Strength, ſer
- 0 0nc can make wart, a 604d r it ſhall be blaſted and little : | to hinder this Work, this ſhall tucceed fo contrary to their expeRa-