Wesley Corpus

The hinder sea - Or western sea. In summer and in winter - Perpetually, without intermission, these waters shall never dry away, or lose their healing virtue. In that day - All men shall agree in worshipping one God, in one way of spiritual worship, and hearty obedience. All the land - The whole land of Judea, a type of the whole earth, shall be filled with the knowledge of God. As a plain - All high, uneven places, all rocky and barren grounds, shall be changed into fruitful vineyards. So the church of Christ shall be fruitful, humble and lovely. Geba - The north boundary of the land. Rimmon - The south boundary of Judea. Jerusalem - Which taken mystically, is the church of Christ, and by the repair of all to this Jerusalem, is shadowed out of the compleat building of the church on all sides, north, south, west and east. Lifted up - Raised out of the dust. Benjamin's gate - Benjamin's gate north - east, corner - gate north - west; Hananiel's tower south, wine - presses north; that is in brief, compleatly around the city. And men - Many for number, eminent for worth. Utter destruction - There may be afflictions but no utter wasting of Jerusalem; the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. A great tumult - Confusion. Shall rise up - From murmurs one against another they shall at last run into civil wars, and so destroy themselves, and revenge Jerusalem. Judah - The Jews, and possibly Judas Maccabeus might be intended. The horse - Those creatures which the enemy in the wars made use of, shall by the hand of God be suddenly and strangely destroyed. That is left - That escapes the stroke. To worship - By a ceremonial usage which shadowed out a better worship, the prophet foretells the constant zeal of the converted Gentiles to worship the Lord. The feast of tabernacles - One solemn festival is by a figure, put for all the days consecrated to God for holy worship. Shall there be - Written as it were on every common thing. Holiness unto the Lord - Their persons shall bear the dedicating inscription of holiness to the Lord, and by their study of holiness they shall make good their motto.