4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.   5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.   6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.   7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

      We have here an answer of peace to the prayers of returning Israel. They seek God's face, and they shall not seek in vain. God will be sure to meet those in a way of mercy who return to him in a way of duty. If we speak to God in good prayers, God will speak to us in good promises, as he answered the angel with good words and comfortable words, Zech. i. 13. If we take with us the foregoing words in our coming to God, we may take home with us these following words for our faith to feast upon; and see how these answer those.

      I. Do they dread and deprecate God's displeasure, and therefore return to him? He assures them that, upon their submission, his anger is turned away from them. This is laid as the ground of all the other favours here promised. I will do so and so, for my anger is turned away, and thereby a door is opened for all good to flow to them, Isa. xii. 1. Note, Though God is justly and greatly angry with sinners, yet he is not implacable in his anger; it may be turned away; it shall be turned away, from those that turn away from their iniquity. God will be reconciled to those that are reconciled to him and to his whole will.

      II. Do they pray for the taking away of iniquity? He assures them that he will heal their backslidings; so he promised, Jer. iii. 22. Note, Though backslidings from God are the dangerous diseases and wounds of the soul, yet they are not incurable, for God has graciously promised that if backsliding sinners will apply to him as their physician, and comply with his methods, he will heal their backslidings. He will heal the guilt of their backslidings by pardoning mercy and their bent to backslide by renewing grace. Their iniquity shall not be their ruin.

      III. Do they pray that God will receive them graciously? In answer to that, behold, it is promised, I will love them freely. God had hated them while they went on sin (ch. ix. 15); but now that they return and repent he loves them, not only ceases to be angry with them, but takes complacency in them and designs their good. He loves them freely, with an absolute entire love (so some), so that there are no remains of his former displeasure, with a liberal bountiful love (so others); he will be open-handed in his love to them, and will think nothing too much to bestow upon them or to do for them. Or with a cheerful willing love; he will love them without reluctancy or renitency. He will not say in the day of thy repentance, How shall I receive thee again? as he said in the day of thy apostasy, How shall I give thee up? Or with an unmerited preventing love. Whom God loves he loves freely, not because they deserve it, but of his own good pleasure. He loves because he will love, Deut. vii. 7, 8.

      IV. Do they pray that God will give good, will make them good? In answer to that, behold, it is promised, I will be as the dew unto Israel, v. 5. Observe,

      1. What shall be the favour God will bestow upon them. It is the blessing of their father Jacob, God give thee the dew of heaven, Gen. xxvii. 28. Nay, what they need God will not only give them, but he will himself be that to them, all that which they need: I will be as the dew unto Israel. This ensures spiritual blessings in heavenly things; and it follows upon the healing of their backslidings, for pardoning mercy is always accompanied with renewing grace. Note, To Israelites indeed God himself will be as the dew. He will instruct them; his doctrine shall drop upon them as the dew, Deut. xxxii. 2. They shall know more and more of him, for he will come to them as the rain, Hos. vi. 3. He will refresh them with his comforts, so that their souls shall be as a watered garden, Isa. lviii. 11. He will be to true penitents as the dew to Israel when they were in the wilderness, dew that had manna in it, Exod. xvi. 14; Num. xi. 9. The graces of the Spirit are the hidden manna, hidden in the dew; God will give them bread from heaven, as he did to Israel in the dew in abundance, John i. 16.

      2. What shall be the fruit of that favour which shall be produced in them. The grace thus freely bestowed on them shall not be in vain. Those souls, those Israelites, to whom God is as the dew, on whom his grace distils,

      (1.) Shall be growing. The bad being by the grace of God made good, they shall by the same grace be made better; for grace, wherever it is true, is growing. [1.] They shall grow upwards, and be more flourishing, shall grow as the lily, or (as some read it) shall blossom as the rose. The growth of the lily, as that of all bulbous roots, is very quick and speedy. The root of the lily seems lost in the ground all winter, but, when it is refreshed with the dews of the spring, it starts up in a little time; so the grace of God improves young converts sometimes very fast. The lily, when it has come to its height, is a lovely flower (Matt. vi. 29), so grace is the comeliness of the soul, Ezek. xvi. 14. It is the beauty of holiness that is produced by the dew of the morning, Ps. cx. 3. [2.] They shall grow downwards, and be more firm. The lily indeed grows fast, and grows fine, but it soon fades and is easily plucked up; and therefore it is here promised to Israel that with the flower of the lily he shall have the root of the cedar: He shall cast forth his roots as Lebanon, as the trees of Lebanon, which, having taken deep root, cannot be plucked up, Amos ix. 15. Note, Spiritual growth consists most in the growth of the root, which is out of sight. The more we depend upon Christ and draw sap and virtue from him, the more we act in religion from a principle and the more steadfast and resolved we are in it, the more we cast forth our roots. [3.] They shall grow round about (v. 6): His branches shall spread on all sides. And (v. 7) he shall grow as the vine, whose branches extend furthest of any tree. Joseph was to be a fruitful bough, Gen. xlix. 22. When many are added to the church from without, when a hopeful generation rises up, then Israel's branches spread. When particular believers abound in good works, and increase in the knowledge of God and in every good gift, then their branches may be said to spread. The inward man is renewed day by day.

      (2.) They shall be graceful and acceptable both to God and man. Grace is the amiable thing, and makes those that have it truly amiable. They are here compared to such trees as are pleasant, [1.] To the sight: His beauty shall be as the olive-tree, which is always green. The Lord called thy name a green olive-tree, Jer. xi. 16. Ordinances are the beauty of the church, and in them it is, and shall be, ever green. Holiness is the beauty of a soul; when those that believe with the heart make profession with the mouth, and justify and adorn that profession with an agreeable conversation, then their beauty is as the olive-tree, Ps. lii. 8. It is a promise to the trees of righteousness that their leaf shall not wither. [2.] To the smell: His smell shall be as Lebanon (v. 6) and his scent as the wine of Lebanon, v. 7. This was the praise of their father Jacob, The smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed, Gen. xxvii. 27. The church is compared to a garden of spices (Cant. iv. 12, 14), which all her garments smell of. True believers are acceptable to God and approved of men. God smells a sweet savour from their spiritual sacrifices (Gen. viii. 21), and they are accepted of the multitude of the brethren. Grace is the perfume of the soul, the perfume of the name, makes it like a precious ointment, Eccl. vii. 1. The memorial thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon (so the margin reads it), not only their reviving comforts now, but their surviving honours when they are gone, shall be as the wine of Lebanon, that has a delicate flavour. Flourishing churches have their faith spoken of throughout the world (Rom. i. 8) and leave their name to be remembered (Ps. xlv. 17); and the memory of flourishing saints is blessed, and shall be so, as theirs who by faith obtained a good report.

      (3.) They shall be fruitful and useful. The church is compared here to the vine and the olive, which brings forth useful fruits, to the honour of God and man. Nay, the very shadow of the church shall be agreeable (v. 7): Those that dwell under his shadow shall return--under God's shadow (so some), under the shadow of the Messias, so the Chaldee. Believers dwell under God's shadow (Ps. xci. 1), and there they are and may be safe and easy. But it is rather under the shadow of Israel, under the shadow of the church. Note, God's promises pertain to those, and those only, that dwell under the church's shadow, that attend on God's ordinances and adhere to his people, not those that flee to that shadow only for shelter in a hot gleam, but those that dwell under it. Ps. xxvii. 4. We may apply it to particular believers; when a man is effectually brought home to God all that dwell under his shadow--children, servants, subjects, friends. This day has salvation come to this house. Those that dwell under the shadow of the church shall return; their drooping spirits shall return, and they shall be refreshed and comforted. He restores my soul, Ps. xxiii. 3. They shall revive as the corn, which, when it is sown, dies first, and then revives, and brings forth much fruit, John xii. 24. It is promised that God's people shall be blessings to the world, as corn and wine are. And a very great and valuable mercy it is to be serviceable to our generation. Comfort and honour attend it.

      7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.   8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.   9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.   10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:   11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:   12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:   13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.   14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities.   15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

      Glorious things are here spoken of the remnant of Jacob, that remnant which was raised of her that halted (ch. iv. 7), and it seems to be that remnant which the Lord our God shall call (Joel ii. 32), on whom the Spirit shall be poured out, the remnant that shall be saved, Rom. ix. 27. Note, God's people are but a remnant, a small number in comparison with the many that are left to perish, a little flock; but they are the remnant of Jacob, a people in covenant with God, and in his favour. Now concerning this remnant it is here promised,

      I. That they shall be as a dew in the midst of the nations, v. 7. God's church is dispersed all the world over; it is in the midst of many people, as gold in the ore, wheat in the heap. Israel according to the flesh dwelt alone, and was not numbered among the nations; but the spiritual Israel lies scattered in the midst of many people, as the salt of the earth, or as seed sown in the ground, here a grain and there a grain, Hos. ii. 23. Now this remnant shall be as dew from the Lord. 1. They shall be of a heavenly extraction; as dew from the Lord, who is the Father of the rain, and has begotten the drops of the dew, Job xxxviii. 28. They are born from above, and are not of the earth, savouring the things of the earth. 2. They shall be numerous as the drops of dew in a summer's morning. Ps. cx. 3, Thou hast the dew of thy youth. 3. They shall be pure and clear, not muddy and corrupt, but crystal drops, as the water of life. 4. They shall be produced silently and without noise, as the dew that distils insensibly, we know not how; such is the way of the Spirit. 5. They shall live in a continual dependence upon God, and be still deriving from him, as the dew, which tarries not for man, not waits for the sons of men; they shall not rely upon human aids and powers, but on divine grace, for they are, and own that they are, no more than what the free grace of God makes them every day. 6. They shall be great blessings to those among whom they live, as the dew and the showers are to the grass, to make it grow without the help of man, or the sons of men. Their doctrine, example, and prayers, shall make them as dew, to soften and moisten others, and make them fruitful. Their speech shall distil as the dew (Deut. xxxii. 2), and all about them shall wait for them as for the rain, Job xxix. 23. The people among whom they live shall be as the grass, which flourishes only by the blessing of God, and not by the art and care of man; they shall be beneficial to those about them by drawing down God's blessings on them, as Jacob on Laban's house, and by cooling and mitigating God's wrath, which otherwise would burn them up, as the dew preserves the grass from being scorched by the sun; so Dr. Pocock; they shall be mild and gentle in their behaviour, like their Master, who comes down like rain upon the new-mown grass, Ps. lxxii. 6.

      II. That they shall be as a lion among the beasts of the forest, that treads down and tears in pieces, v. 8. As they shall be silent, and gentle, and communicative of all good, to those that receive the truth in the love of it, so they shall be bold as a lion in witnessing against the corruptions of the times and places they live in, and strong as a lion, in the strength of God, to resist and overcome their spiritual enemies. The weapons of their warfare are mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strongholds, 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. They shall have courage which all their adversaries shall not be able to resist (Luke xxi. 15), as when the lion tears none can deliver. When infidelity is silenced, and all iniquity made to stop her mouth, when sinners are convinced and converted by the power of the gospel, in the doctrine of its ministers and the conversation of its professors, then the remnant of Jacob is like a lion. This is explained, v. 9, Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thy adversaries; the church shall have the upper hand at last of all that oppose her. Her enemies shall be cut off; they shall cease to be enemies; their enmity shall be cut off. Christ's arrows of conviction shall be sharp in their hearts, so that they shall fall under him; they shall yield themselves subjects to him (Ps. xlv. 5) and be happily conquered and subdued, Ps. cx. 2.

      III. That they shall be brought off from all carnal confidences, which they have relied on, that by the providence of God they shall enjoy such a security that they shall not need them, and by the grace of God they shall be brought to see the folly of them and come off from them. It was the sin of Israel that they furnished themselves extravagantly with horses and chariots, and were soothsayers and idolaters; see Isa. ii. 6-8. But here it is promised that they shall not regard them any more. The tranquillity of the kingdom of Christ is intended in that promise, which explains this, Zech. ix. 10, I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. Note, It is a great mercy to be deprived of those things in which we have reposed a confidence in competition with God, which we have made our arm, and after which we have gone a whoring from God. Let us observe the particulars:-- 1. They had trusted in chariots and horses, and multiplied them (Ps. xx. 7); but now God will cut off their horses, and destroy their chariots (v. 10), as David houghed the chariot-horses, 2 Sam. viii. 4. They shall not have them, lest they should be tempted to trust in them. 2. They depended upon their strongholds, and fortified cities, for their security; but God will take care that they be demolished (v. 11): I will cut off the cities of thy land; I will throw down thy strongholds. They shall have them for habitations, but not for garrisons, for God will be their only place of defence, their high tower, and their deliverer. 3. Many of them depended much upon the conduct and advice of their conjurors, diviners, and fortune-tellers; and those God will cut off, not only as weak things, and insufficient to relieve them, but as wicked things, and sufficient to ruin them (v. 12): "I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy hand, that thou shalt no more take hold of them, and stay thyself upon them, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers, for thou shalt be convinced that all their pretensions are a cheat." The justice of the nation shall cut them off according to law, Lev. xx. 27. The preaching of the gospel brought men off from using curious arts, Acts xix. 19. 4. Many of them had said to the work of their hands, You are our gods; but now idolatry shall be abolished and abandoned (v. 13): "Thy graven images will I cut off, and thy standing images, both those that were movable and those that were fixed; they shall be destroyed by the power of the law of Moses and deserted by the power of the gospel of Christ, so that thou shalt no more worship the work of thy hands, but be ashamed that ever thou hast been so deluded. Among other monuments of idolatry, I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee," v. 14. These were planted and preserved in honour of their idols, and used in the worship of them; these they were ordered to burn (Deut. xii. 2, 3), and, if they do not, God will, so that they shall not have them to trust to. And so will I destroy their cities, meaning the cities that were dedicated to the idols, to some dunghill-deity or other, which they confided in for their protection.

      IV. That those who stand it out against the gospel of Christ, and continue in league with their idolatries and witchcrafts, shall fall under the wrath of God, and be consumed by it (v. 15): I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen (that is, upon heathenism), such as they have not heard; idolatries shall be done away, and idolaters put to shame. I will execute vengeance upon the heathen who have not heard (so some read it), or who would not hear and receive the doctrine of Christ. God will give his Son either the hearts or the necks of his enemies, and make them either his friends or his footstool.