Ezek. 34 A reproof of the shepherds of Israel, Ezek. 34:1–6. God’s judgment against them, Ezek. 34:7–10. His providence over his flock, Ezek. 34:11–19. The blessings of Christ’s kingdom, Ezek. 34:20–31.

The shepherds; the rulers of the people, both political, as kings, magicians, and princes, and also ecclesiastical, priests and prophets. Israel; the two tribes, and the few that out of the ten did adhere to the house of David.

The fat; rather the milk, which insatiably and without measure you devour; you exhaust their purses and weaken their estates by tributes, exacted by extortions: so the temporal rulers and the spiritual rulers had their methods and arts to milk them dry, these lived on the sins of the people.

The weak and languishing, ( such there are in the church and state,) with your hand, countenance, and counsel; so these metaphorical shepherds should as the other strengthen their sheep, with carrying them into good and quiet pastures.

They, my neglected sheep, were scattered, by the inroads and invasions of their enemies, that broke in like devouring beasts. No shepherd; no vigilant, faithful, good shepherd that loved the flock, and of love studied its welfare.

My sheep: these shepherds forgot the flock was not their property, but God will not lose his property in them, nor shall shepherds find at last they were more than God’s stewards, and accountable.

Ye shepherds; the rulers, king of Israel, princes priest and priests, and pretended prophets, hear ye. God speaks in the style and manner of one greatly incensed.

See Ezek. 34:2–3, Ezek. 34:5–6. My shepherds: government governors are by God’s appointment, and here he owns the careless, worst of rulers as his shepherds.

I am against; they have provoked me to displeasure to be their enemy, and I will appear and act so. They are enemies to my sheep, yet pretended to be shepherds, I will be an open enemy to them. The shepherds; to Zedekiah, his princes, the priests, and prophets, all the ruling part in Jerusalem.

I, even I: the construction is emphatical in the Hebrew and well expressed here; I, the Owner, the Lover, the Maker, the great Shepherd, even I, who committed them to your care, never submitted them to your rapine and cruelty, am as angry with you for devouring them as I am zealous for their…

As a shepherd doth gently gather them together, counteth them, brings them to the fold, views what they have suffered, whether lame or torn, and binds up, and healeth; if any are wanting, he looks till he findeth them, and brings them back; so will I, saith the Lord.

When Cyrus’s proclamation came forth that the Jews might return, this prophecy was literally fulfilled, God did incline the minds of the Jews to retire from the people amidst whom they had dwelt seventy years: see Ezra 1:5–6, Ezra 7:13.

In a good pasture; in fat, sweet, plentiful pastures. Their fold be; to rest in there for safety; they shall settle their habitations upon their return: or there my flock, my people, my church shall dwell and rest, where idolaters once had their high places; thus spiritually.

In the former part of the 16th verse, God promiseth to his people that he will do all the offices of a good, watchful, tender, and faithful shepherd, which those shepherds did neglect. See also Ezek. 34:4.

I judge between cattle and cattle; make a different estimate and judgment between men and men, between the smaller and weaker that need more tenderness, and the greater and stronger whose violence is to be restrained; and as becomes me, and their different state requires, I will do.

God awakens them by this interrogatory to think first, and then speak what this is. When you are full fed, and others hungry and ready to starve, who might live on that you leave if you did not spoil it, do you think such killing is no crime? Is it not a very great cruelty, and a most barbarous…

I, even I: see Ezek. 34:11, Ezek. 34:17. I am judge by office and I will vindicate and right the poor by judgment. The fat cattle; the rich, voluptuous, and wanton ones.

In the 21st verse these metaphors and allusions do express the unmercifulness, injustice, pride, cruelty, and wanton tyranny of the rulers in church and state against the meaner people, that as you see the greater cattle run against the lesser, and overturning, or laming, some way or other hurting…

I will set; advance, establish, and make great; thus I will appoint and set up. One shepherd: formerly their many shepherds destroyed, as Jer. 12:10; now this one shall save.

The Lord; the glorious, gracious, eternal One. Will be their God; I so put them into Christ’s hand, that still I am and will be their God; yea, I will, through this my servant David, be their God. My servant; Christ was in this great work his Father’s servant, Isa. 42:1, Isa. 52:13, Ezek. 37:24–25.

Will make; renew and confirm to them. A covenant of peace; a covenant of promises, which contain and shall bring peace; in the Hebrew dialect, all good.

I will make them, my returned captives, who were looked upon as cursed, reproached, and hated. The places round about; all the country. My hill; Jerusalem, or the temple, Zion, which is called holy hill, Ps. 2:6.

The tree of the field; either those that are planted by man’s industry in the field, or those that grow wild in the field, and yield fruit, as the oak, pine, &c. The earth, tilled by man. Her increase; great increase, as formerly, when I blessed it. Safe: see Ezek. 34:25, Ezek. 28:26.

See Ezek. 34:5, Ezek. 34:10, Ezek. 34:25, Ezek. 28:26. None shall make them afraid; neither beasts nor men, for these shall be restrained if they would, those be destroyed and cease that they cannot, endanger them.

Raise; establish and settle. A plant; or plantation, so the word, so the Chaldee paraphrast, and so it best suits new planters as they now were; however, as we read it, it is a promise of honour and fame to their posterity, as in the Maccabees’ time, and, which is more, it is a promise of the…

Thus, by these many and great blessings I give them, shall they know, the very heathen shall be convinced. The Lord, who can do what I promise and my people expect. Their God, by covenant from their forefathers. With them; present with them, and reconciled to them, and do bless them.

Now, that neither you nor any else mistake the allegory, note, saith God, this flock of my pasture are not sheep literally, but they are men expressed by this emblem, and these men are those I am a God to, and will be so for ever.