Jesus was the source of showers of blessing

JESUS WAS THE SOURCE OF SHOWERS OF BLESSING
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Ezekiel 34:26 New International Version(NIV)
26 I will make them and the places surroundingmy
hill a blessing.[a]I will send down showers in season;
there will be showers of blessing.
The Church of Christ
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon Jun 3, 1855
Scripture: Ezekiel34:26
Sermon No. 28
From: New Park StreetPulpit Volume 1
"And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing;and I
will cause the showerto come down in his season;there shall be showers of
blessing."—Ezekiel34:26

The chapter (Ezek. 34) that I read at the commencementof the service is a
prophetical one; and, I take it, it has relation, not to the condition of the Jews
during the captivity and their subsequent happiness when they should return
to their land, but to a state into which they should they should fall after they
had been restoredto their country under Nehemiah and Ezra, and in which
state they still continue to the presentday. The prophet tells us that the
shepherds then, instead of feeding the flock, fed themselves;they trod the
grass, insteadof allowing the sheep to eat it, and they fouled the waters with
their feet. That is an exactdescription of the state of Judea after the captivity;
for then there arose the Scribes and Pharisees,who took the key of knowledge,
and would not enter themselves, nor allow others to enter; who laid heavy
burdens on men's shoulders, and would not touch them with one of their
fingers; who made religion to consistentirely in sacrificesand ceremonies,
and imposed such a burden on the people, that they cried out, "What a
weariness it is!" That same evil has continued with the poor Jews to the
present day; and should you read the nonsense of the Talmud and the
Gemara, and see the burdens they laid upon them you would say, "Verily they
have idle shepherds;" they give the sheep no food; they trouble them with
fanciful superstitions and silly views, and insteadof telling them that the
Messiahis already come, they delude them with the idea that there is a
Messiahyet to come, who shall restore Judea, and raise it to its glory. The
Lord pronounces a curse upon these Phariseesand Rabbis, these who "thrust
with side and with shoulder," those evil shepherds who will not suffer the
sheepto lie down, neither will feed them with goodpasture. But, after having
describedthis state, he prophesies better times for the poor Jew. The day is
coming when the careless shepherds shallbe as naught; when the power of the
Rabbis shall cease, whenthe traditions of the Mishna and the Talmud shall be
castaside. The hour is approaching, when the tribes shall go up to their own
country; when Judea, so long a howling wilderness, shallonce more blossom
like the rose;when, if the temple itself be not restored, yet on Zion's hill shall
be raised some Christian building, where the chants of solemn praise shall be
heard as erstof old the Psalms of David were sung in the tabernacle. Notlong
shall it be ere they shall come—shallcome from distant lands wher'er they
rest or roam; and she who has been the offscouring of all things, whose name
has been a proverb and a byword, shall become the glory of all lands.

DejectedZion shall raise her head, shaking herselffrom dust, and darkness,
and the dead. Then shall the Lord feed his people, and make them and the
places round about his hill a blessing. I think we do not attachsufficient
importance to the restorationof the Jews. We do not think enough of it. But
certainly, if there is anything promised in the Bible, it is this. I imagine that
you cannotread the Bible without seeing clearlythat there is to be an actual
restorationof the children of Israel. "Thither they shall go up; they shall come
with weeping unto Zion, and with supplications unto Jerusalem." Maythat
happy day sooncome! Forwhen the Jews are restored, then the fulness of the
Gentiles shall be gathered in; and as soonas they return, then Jesus will come
upon Mount Zion to reign with his ancients gloriously, and the halcyon days
of the Millennium shall then dawn; we shall then know every man to be a
brother and a friend; Christ shall rule, with universal sway.
This, then, is the meaning of the text; that God would make Jerusalemand
the places round about his hill a blessing. I shall not, however, use it so this
morning, but I shall use it in a more confined sense—or, perhaps, in a more
enlargedsense—asit applies to the church of Jesus Christ, and to this
particular church with which you and I stand connected. "I will make them
and the places round about my hill a blessing;and I will cause the showerto
come down in his season;there shall be showers of blessing."
There are two things here spokenof. First, Christ's church is to be a
blessing;secondly, Christ's church is to be blessed. These two things you will
find in the different sentencesofthe text.
I. First, CHRIST'S CHURCH IS TO BE A BLESSING. "Iwill make them
and the places round about my hill a blessing." The objectof God, in choosing
a people before all worlds, was not only to save that people, but through them
to confer essentialbenefits upon the whole human race. Whenhe chose
Abraham, he did not electhim simply to be God's friend, and the recipient of
peculiar privileges; but he chose him to make him, as it were, the conservator
of truth. He was to be the ark in which the truth should be hidden. He was to
be the keeperof the covenant in behalf of the whole world; and when God
choosesany men by his sovereign, electing grace, andmakes them Christ's, he
does it not only for their own sake, thatthey may be saved, but for the world's

sake. For, know ye not that "ye are the light of the world;"—"A city setupon
a hill, which cannotbe hid?" "Ye are the salt of the earth;" and when God
makes you salt, it is not only that ye may have salt in yourselves, but that like
salt ye may preserve the whole mass. If he makes you leaven, it is that, like the
little leaven, you may leaventhe whole lump. Salvationis not a selfish thing;
God does not give it for us to keepto ourselves, but that we may thereby be
made the means of blessing to others;and the greatday shall declare that
there is not a man living on the surface of the earth but has receiveda blessing
in some way or other through God's gift of the gospel. The very keeping of the
wickedin life, and granting of the reprieve, was purchasedwith the death of
Jesus;and through his sufferings and death, the temporal blessings which
both we and they enjoy are bestowedon us. The gospelwas sent that it might
first bless those that embrace it, and then expand, so as to make them a
blessing to the whole human race.
In thus speaking ofthe church as a blessing, we shall notice three things.
First, here is divinity—"I will make them a blessing;" secondly, here is
personality of religion—"Iwill make them a blessing;" and thirdly, here is the
development of religion"—"andthe places round about my hill."
1. First, with regardto this blessing which God will cause his church to be,
here is divinity. It is God the everlasting Jehovahspeaking:he says, "I will
make them a blessing." None of us can bless others unless God has first
blessedus. We need divine workmanship. "I will make them a blessing by
helping them, and by constraining them." God makes his people a blessing by
helping them. What can we do without God's help? I stand and preach to
thousands, or it may be hundreds; what have I done, unless a greaterthan
man has been in the pulpit with me? I work in the Sabbath Schools;what can
I do, unless the Masteris there, teaching the children with me? We want
God's aid in every position; and once give us that assistance, andthere is no
telling with how little labor we may become a blessing. Ah! a few words
sometimes will be more of a blessing than a whole sermon. You take some
little prattler on your knee; and some few words that you say to him he
remembers, and makes use of in after tears. I knew a gray-headedold man,
who was in the habit of doing this. He once took a boy to a certain tree, and
said, "Now, John, you kneeldown at that tree, and I will kneel down with

you." He knelt down and prayed, and askedGodto convert him and save his
soul. "Now,"saidhe, "perhaps you will come to this tree again; and if you are
not converted, you will remember that I askedunder this tree that God would
save your soul." That young man went away, and forgotthe old man's prayer;
but it chancedas God would have it that he walkeddown that field again, and
saw a tree. It seemedas if the old man's name was cut in the bark. He
recollectedwhathe prayed for, and that the prayer was not fulfilled; but he
dare not pass the tree without kneeling down to pray himself; and there was
his spiritual birthplace. The simplest observationof the Christian shall be
made a blessing, if God help him. "His leaf also shall not wither"—the
simplest word he speaksshallbe treasuredup; "and whatsoeverhe doeth
shall prosper."
But there is constraint here. "I will make them a blessing." I will give them
to be a blessing;I will constrain them to be a blessing. I can saymyself, that I
never did anything which was a blessing to my fellow-creatures,without
feeling compelledto do it. I thought of going to a Sabbath Schoolto teach. On
a certain day, some one called—askedme—beggedme—prayedme to take his
class. I could not refuse to go; and there I was held, hand and foot, by the
superintendent, and was compelled to go on. I was askedto address the
children; I thought I could not, but no one else was there to do it, so I stoodup
and stumbled out a few words. And I recollectthe first occasiononwhich I
attempted to preachto the people—I am sure I had no wish to do it—but
there was no one else in the place, and the congregationmust go awaywithout
a single word of warning or address. How could I suffer it? I felt forced to
address them. And so it has been with whateverI have laid my hand to. I have
always felt a kind of impulse which I could not resist;but, moreover, felt
placed by Providence in such a position, that I had no wish to avoid the duty,
and if I had desiredit, could not have helped myself. And so it is with God's
people. If they will go through their lives, whereverthey have been made a
blessing, they will find that God seems to have thrust them into the vineyard.
Such-and-such a man was once rich. What good was he in the world? He did
but loll in his carriage;he did but little good, and was of little service to his
fellow-creatures.Says God, "I will make him a blessing;" so he strips awayhis
riches, and brings him into low circumstances.He is then brought into

associationwith the poor, and his superior education and intellect make him a
blessing to them. God makes him a blessing. Another man was naturally very
timid; he would not pray at the prayer-meeting, he would hardly like to join
the church; soonhe gets into a position in which he cannot help himself. "I
will make him a blessing." And as sure as ever you are a servant of God, he
will make you a blessing. He will have none of his gold in the lump; he will
hammer it out, and make it a blessing. I verily believe there are some in my
congregationto whom God has given powerto preachhis name; they do not
know it, perhaps, but God will make it known by-and-by. I would have every
man look and see, whetherGod is making him do a certain thing; and when
once he feels the impulse, let him by no means ever check it. I am somewhatof
a believer in the doctrine of the Quakers, as to the impulses of the Spirit, and I
fear lestI should check one of them. If a thought crossesmy mind, "Go to
such a person's house," I always like to do it, because I do not know but what
it may be from the Spirit. I understand this verse to mean something like that.
"I will make them a blessing." I will force them to do good. If I cannotmake a
sweetscentcome from them in any other way, I will pound them in the
mortar of affliction. If they have seed, and the seedcannotbe scatteredin any
other way, I will send a rough wind to blow the downy seedeverywhere. "I
will make them a blessing." If you have never been made a blessing to any
one, depend upon it you are not a child of God; for Jehovahsays, "I will make
them a blessing."
2. But notice, next, the personality of the blessing. "I will make them a
blessing." "Iwill make eachmember of the church a blessing." Manypeople
come up to the house of prayer, where the church assembles;and you say,
"Well, what are you doing at such-and-such a place where you attend?"
"Well, we are doing so-and-so." "How do you spell we?" "It is a plain
monosyllable," sayyou. "Yes, but do you put Iin 'we?'" "No." There are a
greatmany people who could easilyspell "we" without an I in it; for though
they say, "We have been doing so-and-so,"they do not say, "How much have
I done? Did I do anything in it? Yes; this chapel has been enlarged; what did I
subscribe? Twopence!" Ofcourse it is done. Those who paid the money have
done it. "We preachthe gospel." Do we, indeed? "Yes, we sit in our pew and
listen a little, and do not pray for a blessing. We have got such a large Sunday

School." Didyou ever teachin it? "We have gota very good working society."
Did you ever go to work in it? That is not the way so spell "we." It is, "I will
make them a blessing." When Jerusalemwas built, every man begannearest
his ownhouse. That is where you must begin to build or do something. Do not
let us tell a lie about it. If we do not have some share in the building, if we
neither handle the trowelnor the spear, let us not talk about our church; for
the text says, "I will make them a blessing," everyone of them.
"But, sir, what can I do? I am nothing but a father at home; I am so full of
business, I canonly see my children a little."
But in your business, do you ever have any servants?
"No;I am a servant myself."
You have fellow-servants?
"No;I work alone."
Do you work alone, then, and live alone, like a monk in a cell? I don't
believe that. But you have fellow-servants atwork;cannot you saya word to
their conscience?
"I don't like to intrude religioninto business."
Quite right, too; so say I; when I am at business, let it be business;when
you are at religion, let it be religion. But do you never have an opportunity?
Why, you cannot go into an omnibus, or a railway carriage, but what you can
say something for Jesus Christ. I have found it so, and I don't believe I am
different from other people. Cannotdo anything? Cannot you put a tract in
your hat, and drop it where you go? Cannot you speak a word to a child?
Where does this man come from, that cannot do anything? There is a spider
on the wall; but he taketh hold on kings'palaces, and spinneth his web to rid
the world of noxious flies. There is a nettle in the corner of the churchyard;
but the physician tells me it has its virtues. There is a tiny starin the sky; but
that is noted in the chart, and the mariner looks at it. There is an insect under
water; but it builds a rock. Godmade all these things for something; but here
is a man that God made, and gave him nothing at all to do! I do not believe it.

God never makes useless things;he has no superfluous workmanship. I care
not what you are; you have somewhatto do. And oh! may God show you what
it is, and then make you do it, by the wondrous compulsion of his providence
and his grace.
3. But we have to notice, in the third place, the development of gospel
blessing. " I will make them a blessing;" but it does not end there. "And the
places round about my hill." Religion is an expansive thing. When it begins in
the heart, at first it is like a tiny grain of mustard seed;but it gradually
increases,and becomes a greattree, so that the birds of the air lodge in the
branches thereof. A man cannotbe religious to himself. "No man liveth to
himself, and no man dieth to himself." You have heard a score oftimes, that if
you do but drop a pebble in a brook, it causes a small ring at first, then
another outside of that, and then another, and then another, till the influence
of the pebble is perceptible over the entire bosom of the water. So it is when
God makes his people a blessing. "I will make a minister a blessing to one or
two; I will then make him a blessing to a hundred; I will then make him a
blessing to thousands; and then I will make those thousands a blessing. I will
make eachone individually a blessing, and when I have done that, I will make
all the places round about a blessing." "I will make them a blessing." I hope
we shall never be satisfied, as members of Park Street, until we are a blessing,
not only to ourselves, but to all the places round about our hill. What are the
places round about our hill? I think they are, first, our agencies;secondly, our
neighborhood; thirdly, the churches adjacentto us.
First, there are our agencies. There is our Sabbath School;how near that is
to our hill. I speak a great dealabout this, because I want it to be brought into
notice. I intend to preacha practical sermonthis morning, to move some of
you to come and teachin the Sabbath School;for there we require some
suitable men, to "come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord
againstthe mighty." Therefore I mention the Sabbath Schoolas a place very
near to the hill; it ought to be just at the very foot of it; yea, it ought to be so
near the hill that very many may pass from it to the church. Then there is our
Visiting and Christian Instruction Society, which we have for the visiting of
this neighborhood. I trust that has been made a blessing. Godhas sent among
us a man who labors zealouslyand earnestlyin visiting the sick. I have, as the

superintendent of my beloved brother, the missionary, a regular accountof
his labors;his report has most highly gratified me, and I am able to bear
testimony to the fact, that he is very sufficiently laboring around us. I want
that societyto have all you sympathy and strength. I considerhim as a
Joshua, with whom you are to go forth by hundreds to those who live in the
neighborhood. Do you know what dark places there are? Walk down a street
a little to the right. See the shops open on a Sunday. Some, thank God, that
used to open them, now come and worship with us. We shall have more yet;
for "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof," and why should not we
have it? My brethren, as you visit the sick, or distribute tracts from door to
door, make this your prayer—that his society, being one of the places round
about our hill, may be made a blessing!Let me not forgetany agency
connectedwith this church. There are severalmore which are places round
about our hill; and the Lord has just put it into my heart to fashion other
societies, whichshall be made a blessing to this hill, and in a little while you
shall hear thereof. We have severalbrethren in this congregationto whom
God has given a mouth of utterance;these are about to form themselves into a
societyfor proclaiming the Word of God. Where God has so blessedhis
church, and made us to be so noted and named amongstthe people, why
should we not keepon? We have been brought up to a greatpitch of fervency
and love; now is the time for doing something. While the iron is hot, why not
strike and fashion it? I believe we have the materials, not only for making a
church here that shall be the glory of the Baptist Churches in London, but for
making churches everywhere throughout the metropolis; and we have more
schemes onhand, which, matured by soberjudgment, and backedby
prudence, shall yet make this metropolis more honored that it has been by the
sound of the pure gospeland the proclamation of the pure Word of God. May
God make all our agencies—the places round about our hill—a blessing.
But next, there is the neighborhood. I am paralyzed sometimes, when I
think that we are of so little service to the neighborhood, though this is a green
oasis in the midst of a great spiritual desert. Just at the back of us we could
find you hundreds of Roman Catholics and men of the very worstcharacter;
and it is sad to think that we cannot make this place a blessing to them. It is
made a greatblessing to you, my hearers, but you do not come from this

district; you come from anywhere and nowhere, some of you, I suppose.
People say, "There is something doing in that chapel; look at the crowd; but
we cannot get in!" This one thing I ask—nevercome here to gratify your
curiosity. You that are members of other congregations, justconsiderit you
duty to stay at home. There are many stray sheepabout. I would rather have
them than you. Keep your own place. I do not want to rob other minister. Do
not come here from charity. We are much obligedto you for your kindly
intentions; but we would rather have your room than your company, if ye are
members of other churches. We want sinners to come—sinners ofevery sort;
but do not let us have that sort of men whose ears are everlastinglyitching for
some new preacher;who are saying, "I want something else, I want something
else." Oh! do, I beseechyou, for God's sake, be of some good;and if you are
running about from one place to another, you can never expectto be. Do ye
know what is said of rolling stones? Ah! ye have heard of that. They "gather
no moss." Now, don't be rolling stones, but keepat home. God, however, so
help us, as to make us a blessing to the neighborhood! I long to see something
done for the people around. We must open our arms to them; we must go out
into the open air to them; we must and will preachGod's gospelto them. Let,
then, the people around listen to the word of the gospel;and may it be said,
"Thatplace is the cathedral of Southwark!" So it is now. Out of it goes a
blessing;God is pouring out a blessing upon it.
What else do we mean by the places round about our hill? We mean, the
churches adjacent. I cannot but rejoice in the prosperity of many churches
around us; but as our beloved brother, Mr. Sherman, said, last Thursday
morning, "It is not invidious to say, that there are very few churches that are
in a prosperous state, and that, taking the churches at large, they are in a
deplorable condition. It is only here and there," said he, "that God is pouring
out his Spirit; but most of the churches are lying, like barges atBlackfriar's
Bridge when the tide is down—right in the mud; and all the king's horses and
all the king's men cannot pull them off, till the tide comes and sets them
afloat." Who can tell, then, what goodmay be done by this church? If there is
a light in this candlestick, letothers come and light their candles by it. If there
is a flame here, let the flame spread, until all the neighboring churches shall
be lit up with the glory. Then, indeed, shall we be made the rejoicing of the

earth; for there is never a revival in one spot, but it shall affect others. Who
shall tell, then, where it shall end?
"Fly abroad, thou mighty gospel;
Win and conquer, never cease."
And it never will cease,whenGod once makes the places round about his
hill a blessing.
II. The secondpoint is, that God's people are not only to be a blessing, but
THEY ARE TO BE BLESSED. Forreadthe secondpart of the verse. "And I
will cause the showerto come down in his season;there shall be showers of
blessing." It is somewhat singular, as a prognosticationofthe showers of
blessings we hope to receive here, that God sent us showers on the first day of
opening. If I were a believer in omens, I should pray, that as it rained the first
day, so may it rain every day since. When it stops, may the chapel be shut up;
for we only want it open so long as showers ofgrace continue to descend.
First, here is sovereignmercy. Listen to these words; "I will give them the
showerin its season."Is it not sovereign, divine mercy; for who can say, "I
will give them showers,"exceptGod? Canthe false prophet who walks
amongstthe benighted Hottentots? He says he is a rain-maker, and can give
them showers;but can he do it? Is there an imperial monarch, or the most
learned man on earth, who can say, "I will give them the showers in their
season?" No;there is only one fist wherein all the clouds are held; there in
only one hand in which all the channels of the mighty oceanabove the
firmament are contained; there is only one voice that can speak to the clouds,
and bid them begetthe rain. "Out of whose womb came the ice? and the
hoary frost of heaven, who hath genderedit?" "Who sendeth down the rain
upon the earth? who scattereththe showers upon the greenherb? Do not I,
the Lord?" Who else could do it? Is not rain in God's power? and who could
send it, excepthim? We know that Catholics pretend that they can getgrace
without getting it form God directly; for they believe that Godputs all his
grace into the pope, and then that runs down into smaller pipes, called
cardinals and bishops, through which it runs into the priests;and, by turning
the tap with a shilling, you can get as much grace as you like. But it is not so

with God's grace. He says, "I will give them showers." Graceis the gift of
God, and is not to be createdby man.
Notice, next, it is needed grace. "Iwill give them showers."Whatwould the
ground do without showers? Youmay break the clods, you may sow your
seeds;but what can you do without the rain? Ah! you may prepare your barn,
and sharpen your sickles;but your sickles will be rusted before you have any
wheat, unless there are showers. Theyare needed. So is the divine blessing.
"In vain Apollos sow the seed,
And Paul may plant in vain;
In vain you come here, in vain you labor, in vain you give you money.
"Till God the plenteous showerbestows,
And sends salvationdown."
Then, next, it is plenteous grace. "I will send them showers." It does not
say, "I will send them drops," but "I will send them showers.""Itseldom
rains but it pours." So it is with grace. If God gives a blessing, he usually gives
it in such a measure that there is not room enough to receive it. Where are we
going to hold God's blessing that we have obtained already? I told the people
on Thursday that God had promised us, that if we brought the tithes into the
storehouse, he would send us such a blessing that we would not have room to
hold it. We have tried it, and the promise has been fulfilled, as it always will
be as long as we rely upon it. Plenteous grace!Ah! we shall want plenteous
grace, my friends; plenteous grace to keepus humble, plenteous grace to
make us prayerful, plenteous grace to make us holy, plenteous grace to make
us zealous, plenteous grace to make us truthful, plenteous grace to preserve us
through this life, and at last to land us in heaven. We cannot do without
showers ofgrace. How many are there here that have been dry in a showerof
grace? Why, there is a showerof grace here;but how is it that it does not fall
on some of the people? It is because they put up the umbrella of their
prejudice; and though they sit here, even as God's people sit, even when it
rains, they have such a prejudice of God's Word, they do not want to hear it,

they do not want to love it, and it runs off again. Nevertheless,the showers are
there; and we will thank godfor them where they do fall.
Again, it is seasonable grace. "Iwill give them the showerin its season."
There is nothing like seasonable grace. There are fruits, you know, that are
best in their season, andthey are not goodat any other time; and there are
graces thatare goodin their season, but we do not always require them. A
person vexes and irritates me; I want grace just at that moment to be patient;
I have not got it, and I getangry; ten minutes after I am ever so patient; but I
have not had grace in its season. The promise is, "I will give them the shower
in its season." Ah! poor waiting soul, what is thy seasonthis morning? Is it the
seasonofdrought? Then that is the seasonfor showers. Is it a seasonof great
heaviness and black clouds? Then that is the seasonforshowers. Whatis your
seasonthis morning, business man? Lostmoney all the week, have you? Now
is the seasonto ask for showers. Itis night-time; now the dew falls. The dew
does not fall in the day—it falls in the night; the night of affliction, trial, and
trouble. There stands the promise; only go and plead it. "I will give them the
showerin its season."
We have one thought more, and then we have done. Here is a
variedblessing. "I will give thee showers ofblessing." The word is in the
plural. All kinds of blessings Godwill send. The rain is all of one kind when it
comes;but grace is not all of one kind, or it does not produce the same effect.
When God sends rain upon the church, he "sends showers ofblessing." There
are some ministers who think, that if there is a showeron their church, God
will send a showerof work. Yes, but if he does, he will send a showerof
comfort. Others think that God will send a showerof gospeltruth. Yes, but if
he sends that, he will send a showerof gospelholiness. Forall God's blessings
go together. They are like the sweetsistergracesthat danced hand in hand.
God sends showers ofblessings. If he gives comforting grace, he will also give
converting grace;if he makes the trumpet blow for the bankrupt sinner, he
will also make it sound a shout of joy for the sinner that is pardoned and
forgiven. He will send "showers ofblessing."
Now, then, there is a promise in that Bible. We have tried to explain and
enlarge upon it. What shall we do with it?

"In that book there hidden lies
A pearl of price unknown."
Well, we have examined this rich promise; we as a church are looking at it;
we are saying, "Is that ours?" I think most of the members will say, "It is; for
God has poured out upon us showers of blessing in their season." Well, then,
if the promise is ours, the precept is ours, as much as the promise. Ought we
not to ask Godto continue to make us a blessing? Some sayI did so-and-so
when I was a young man; but supposing you are fifty, you are not an old man
now. Is there not something you can do? It is all very well to talk about what
you have done; but what are you doing now? I know what it is with some of
you; you shined brightly once, but your candle has not been snuffed lately,
and so it does not shine so well. May God take awaysome of the worldly cares,
and snuff the candles a little! You know there were snuffers and snuffer-trays
provided in the temple for all the candles, but no extinguishers;and if there
should be a poor candle here this morning, with a terrific snuff, that has not
given a light for a long while, you will have no extinguisher from me, but I
hope you will always have a snuffing. I thought the first time when I came to
the lamps this morning it would be to snuff them. That has been the intention
of my sermon—to snuff you a little—to setyou to work for Jesus Christ. O
Zion, shake thyself from the dust! O Christian, raise thyself from thy
slumbers! Warrior, put on thy armor! Soldier, graspthy sword! The captain
sounds the alarm of war. O sluggard!why sleepestthou? O heir of heaven,
has not Jesus done so much for thee, that thou shouldst live to him? O beloved
brethren, purchased with redeeming mercies, girt about with loving-kindness
and with tenderness,
"Now for a shout of sacredjoy."
and after that, to the battle! The little seedhas grown to this; who knoweth
what it shall be? Only let us togetherstrive, without variance. Let us labor for
Jesus. Neverdid men have so fair an opportunity, for the last hundred years.
"There is a tide that, takenat the flood, leads on to fortune." Shall you take it
at the flood? Over the bar, at the harbor's mouth! O ship of heaven, let thy
sails be out; let not thy canvas be furled; and the wind will blow us across the

seas ofdifficulty that lie before us. O! that the latter day might have its
dawning even in this despisedhabitation! O my God! from this place cause the
first wave to spring, which shall move another, and then another, till the last
greatwave shall sweepover the sands of time, and dash againstthe rocks of
eternity, echoing as it falls, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! the Lord God
Omnipotent reigneth!"
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Promise Of Blessing
Ezekiel34:26
J.R. Thomson
By generalconsentthis promise is referred to the time of the new covenant, to
the coming of Christ for man's salvation, and the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit upon the Church.
I. FERTILIZING SHOWERS OF BLESSING. As the rain waters the earth,
and turns barrenness into fruitfulness, so the provision of Divine grace
transforms this humanity from a wilderness of sin into a Paradise of God.
1. The need of such blessing is apparent from the spiritual barrenness which
prevails where it is not bestowed.
2. The source of such blessing is implied in this language;for as the showers
come from the clouds of the sky, so the Spirit descends from the presence, the
heaven of God.

3. The time of such blessing is indicated as appointed by supreme wisdom; the
showercomes "in its season,"andthe promise of the Fatherwas given in the
Father's goodtime.
4. The abundance of such blessing. God's spiritual favors come to his people,
not in drops, but in showers, suchas are fitted to refreshthe parched and
thirsty land.
5. The effects of such blessing are life and fertility. The wilderness and the
solitary place are made glad, and the desertrejoices and blossoms as the rose.
Spiritual growth and fruit are the blessedresult of showers ofDivine mercy.
II. ABIDING SCENESOF BENEDICTION. Bythe "hill" of God must be
understood the Church of God, which he ever visits, refreshes, andvivifies by
the dews and showers of his pity and loving-kindness. The Church, because
the objectof Divine favor and the depository of Divine truth and power,
becomes and remains the agent of untold benefits to the world around. It
receives blessing from heaven; it communicates blessing to earth. The heaven
above is never as brass intercepting and restraining blessing;it is as the clouds
distilling and diffusing blessing. And the rills are never dry which convey the
blessing of God from the Church to fertilize a thirsty and barren world. - T.
Biblical Illustrator
I will make with them a covenantof peace.
Ezekiel34:25, 26
God's covenant with His people
J. Irons.
I. THE KING'S CHARTER. Observe, the text does not say, "We will make a
covenantwith one another," God and man; it says, "I will make them a
covenant";originating in the electing love of God.

II. THE EXERCISE OF THE ROYAL PREROGATIVE — "I will cause the
evil beasts to cease outof the land." Satancares not how many churches or
chapels are built, provided the things of the King's charter are never talked
of. But, says Jehovah, "I will cause the evil beasts to cease outof the land."
Hell's powers are vanquished. Who is He that said, "He spoiled principalities
and powers, and made a show of them openly"? Who is He that is saidto have
"destroyeddeath, and him that bad the powerof death, that is, the devil, and
thereby delivered them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime
subject to bondage"? Who is he of whom it was predicted, that He should
"bruise the serpent's head"? Even the secondPersonin the glorious Trinity,
who in this covenantof peace became Himself the peace of the Church.
III. THE POSITION, WHICH THIS KING'S DOMINION OCCUPIES IN
HIS WORLD IN "THE WILDERNESS." Whatis "the wilderness"?A place
haunted by every description of evil beast; a place uncultivated, trackless,and
dangerous. If you can picture to yourselves, for a moment, what that
wilderness was to the tribes of Israelliterally, you may draw the inference,
and a very fair one, that just such the world through which we pass is to a
believer spiritually. It is a wilderness;but God has a Church in it, and that is
the mercy. Of Christ it is said, that He was "with His Church in the
wilderness." He had, then, His Church in the wilderness, His spiritual family;
and so He has now, — a Church, a little flock, an encampedland, a chosen
family, brought out of Egypt by miracles of grace, and travelling towards
Canaan, the constantobject of His love. Such is the portion of the Church —
in the wilderness.
IV. THE PRECIOUS PROMISE OF TRANQUILLITY. Though the Church
may occupy a position so frightful, so fearful, so alarming as that I have
described, the text says, "they shall dwell safely." What protection! And they
shall "sleeptoo";that is, they shall rest. Mark these two things
1. In these woods, solemnas they are, — and really they are more affecting
than any language candescribe, — they are encompassedwith Deity — with
all the attributes of Deity — encompassedwith angelic guardians —
encompassed, as we read in the Psalms, by the Angel of the Lord. Jesus

encircles His Church with His own perfections and attributes. He guarantees
her security in the wilderness;and this accounts for her dwelling safely.
2. Mark one thing more; they were "to see the salvationof God." If you get a
fair sight of it you will "standstill." Faith's telescope will not bear much
shaking about; and if you have a fair view of the salvationof God you will
"stand still." He works bestwhen we do nothing; He displays His glory most
when we most feelour need of it. He shines abroad, and even "rides upon
heaven for help" when we cannot crawlon earth to ask for it.
(J. Irons.)
Peace possible under all circumstances
A. Maclaren.
If you have Christ in your heart, then life is possible, peace is possible, joy is
possible, under all circumstances and in all places. Everything which the soul
can desire it possesses.You will be like men that live in a beleagueredcastle,
and in the courtyard a sparkling spring, fed from some source high up in the
mountains, and finding its way in there by underground channels which no
besiegers canevertouch.
(A. Maclaren.)
I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing
God's gracious engagements with His Church
J. Burns, D. D.
I. THE DESCRIPTIONGIVEN OF GOD'S CHURCH. "My hill."
1. The term denotes —(1)Elevation. World is sunk, fallen, degraded. The
Church is raisedout of it, exalted, etc.(2)Firmness and stability. Not an
erectionupon sand, endangeredby every storm, etc., but upon the towering
hill that has withstood the blasts of centuries.(3)Visibility. It is a hill to be

visible to all in every direction, its top pointing towards the skies.(4)
Healthfulness and purity. The mountain air pure, balmy, bracing the system,
etc. Here souls are matured for the healthy regions of the celestialparadise.
2. But this is described as God's hill.
(1)The Lord founded it.
(2)The place of His Divine residence.
(3)The scene ofHis glories (Psalm27:4).
(4)The objectof His especiallove.
II. THE PROMISES MADE TO IT. "I will cause the showerto come down,"
etc.
1. The promise is general. Protection, provision, comfort, and prosperity, all
included.
2. The promise includes abundance. "Showers ofblessings."Bounty of God
infinite (2 Kings 4:1; Malachi3:10).
3. The blessings are to be seasonable. "Showerin his season."Notbefore
necessary, not when it is too late; but at the crisis of need, etc. (Psalm 107.)
4. The blessings are to promote a happy influence on all around. The Church
is to spread the savourof grace through the whole earth.Application —
1. Do we dwell in the Lord's holy hill? (See Psalm15.)
2. Congratulate the children of Zion. Let them be joyful, etc.
3. Invite sinners all around to come and join themselves to the people of the
Lord, etc.
(J. Burns, D. D.)
The hill of Zion

E. Temple.
I. AN INTERESTING PLACE. The most interesting in the whole universe,
and connectedwith the most pleasing, delightful, affecting associations.
Considerwherein the Church resembles Mount Zion.
1. In point of elevation and grandeur. Believers are raised up togetherwith
Christ, and made to sit togetherwith Him in heavenly places. Theyfollow out
sublime designs far above this world; and they are animated by lofty
aspirations.
2. A mountain is an objectof visibility and attraction. So is the Church; it
stands not in a valley, but on a hill, visible, and calculatedto excite attention.
It is also an object of attraction. It occupies a conspicuous place, andmillions
have been attractedby it and drawn. It points upward to the skies.
3. A mountain is a place of strength and stability. So is the Church. It is not
founded upon the sand. Century after century has passedaway;empires have
arisenand fallen in close succession;but this Hill of Zion remains in all its
strength and glory.
II. AN ENCOURAGING PROMISE.
1. Its nature. "A blessing." In this everything is included. It is not nominal,
but real, solid, and substantial. The blessing God gives is suitable, sweet,
sufficient, free, and lasting. It includes protectionfrom evil, enjoyment of
good, peace, prosperity.
2. Its abundance. "Showersofblessings." This is like the GreatMaster. Ask as
a sinner, He gives like God; — not a scantyportion, not drops, but showers
(Deuteronomy 32:2; Psalm72:6; Malachi 3:10; Romans 10:12). Think of the
infinitude of God, and of the infinity of His love — and think of His power! —
He is able to do exceedinglyabundantly.
3. Its seasonableness. "And I will cause the showerto come down in his
season."We do not know the time when deliverance will come; — often out in
our judgment of things, and imagine that all things are againstus. Providence

is like a piece of machinery, the wheels of which are to our view perplexing,
and which we cannotunderstand.
4. Its extent. "I will make them," etc. Oh! to be made a blessing! What an
honour! — to be a blessing to the Church, to the cause of God, and to the
generationin which we live.
(E. Temple.)
I. CHRIST'S CHURCH IS TO BE A BLESSING. The objectof God, in
choosing a people before all worlds, was not only to save that people, but
through them to confer essentialbenefits upon the whole human race. The
Gospelwas sentthat it might first bless those that embrace it, and then
expand, so as to make them a blessing to the whole human race.
1. Here is divinity. It is God the everlasting Jehovahspeaking:He says, "I will
make them a blessing."(1)Godmakes His people a blessing by helping them.
What can we do without God's help? We want God's aid in every position;
and once give us that assistance,and there is no telling with how little labour
we may become a blessing.(2)But there is constrainthere. "I will make them
a blessing." I will give them to be a blessing;I will constrainthem to be a
blessing.
2. The personality of the blessing. "I will make them a blessing." "I will make
eachmember of the Church a blessing." Godnever makes uselessthings; He
has no superfluous workmanship. I care not what you are; you have
somewhatto do. And oh! may God show you what it is, and then make you do
it, by the wondrous compulsion of His providence and His grace.
3. The development of Gospelblessing. "I will make them a blessing";but it
does not end there. "And the places round about My hill." Religion is an
expansive thing. When it begins in the heart, at first it is like a tiny grain of
mustard seed, but it gradually increases, and becomes a greattree, so that the
birds of the air lodge in the branches thereof. A man cannot be religious to

himself. What are the places round about our hill? I think they are, first, our
agencies;secondly, our neighbourhood; thirdly, the churches adjacentto us.
II. God's people are not only to be a blessing, BUT THEY ARE TO BE
BLESSED.
1. Is it not sovereign, Divine mercy, for who cansay "I will give them
showers" exceptGod?
2. It is needed grace. Whatwould the ground do without showers? Youmay
break the clods, you may sow your seeds, but what canyou do without the
rain! Ah! you may prepare your barn, and sharpen your sickles;but your
sickles willbe rusted before you have any wheat, unless there are showers.
They are needed. So is the Divine blessing.
3. It is plenteous grace. It does not say, "I will send them drops," but
"showers." "Itseldom rains, but it pours." So it is with grace. If God gives a
blessing, He usually gives it in such a measure that there is not room enough
to receive it.
4. It is seasonable grace. "Iwill give them the showerin its season."There is
nothing like seasonable grace. There are fruits, you know, that are best in
their season, andthey are not goodat any other time; and there are graces
that are goodin their season, but we do not always require them. A person
vexes and irritates me; I want grace just at that time to be patient. I have not
got it, and I get angry; ten minutes after I am ever so patient; but I have not
had grace in its season.
5. Here is a varied blessing. "I will give thee showers ofblessing." The word is
in the plural. All kinds of blessings Godwill send. The rain is all of one kind
when it comes;but grace is not all of one kind, or it does not produce the same
effect. God sends showers ofblessings. If He gives comforting grace, He will
also give converting grace;if He makes the trumpet blow for the bankrupt
sinner, He will also make it sound a shout of joy for the sinner that is
pardoned and forgiven.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)

There shall be showers ofblessing.
Showers ofblessing
J. Stalker, D. D.
The word "blessing" belongs strictlyto the vocabulary of religion. In prayer
there is no petition which a Christian man so naturally offers for himself as
that God should bless him, and when he is thinking affectionatelyofothers, he
naturally asks Godto bless them. Even as he takes his daily bread, he invokes
on it a blessing. What does it mean? Take the simplest case ofall — that to
which I have just alluded. Why, when we are about to partake of food, do we
ask a blessing on it? It is an acknowledgmentthat, in addition to the natural
property of food to sustainthe bodily strength, there is needed a certain
superintendence and favour of heaven to maintain the health of the body, and
that Divine wisdom and strength are necessaryto make a gooduse of health
when we have it. In the same way when, in the morning, we ask God to bless
the work of our hands during the day, as in Scripture He often promises to do
to those who ask Him, it is an acknowledgmentthat, along with our skilful
planning, and our conscientious performance, there is necessarya something
else which we cannotdefine but which we refer to God, to give us good
success. Menof the world callit goodluck, but men of God and the Word of
God call it God's blessing. Even in temporal things there is a large element of
unspeakable value for which there is no true and reverent name except the
blessing of God. But it is in the spiritual domain that this word has its true
scope. If in religion there is any reality at all, then it is the grandestof
realities. It is not only an essencewhichcan sweetenand enhance all the
elements of life, but it is in itself so valuable that he who possessesit is rich
though he be stripped of all the other possessions whichare the accepted
badges of happiness. It is the pearl of great price, which a man may wellsell
all he has to buy. It is the blessing of God, and we have only in silent and lowly
awe to take it when it comes.
I. THE COPIOUSNESS OF GOD'S BLESSING. "Thereshallbe showers of
blessing." If the blessing of God is so essentialto human welfare, it may be

askedwhy so few are possessors ofa thing so precious? It is not because it is
difficult to get at. If the will and love of God could have free course there
would be showers ofblessing. The obstacle which hinders is in ourselves. Have
you never, when enjoying any of the simple pleasures of nature, reflectedwith
surprise on how little they are takenadvantage of? There is not in nature a
sublimer sight than the rising of the sun. There is no other which can suffuse
the mind with deeperpeace, yet multitudes live and die without ever seeing
this greatsight once;and the average man does not see it a score of times in a
lifetime. The blessing of God is like this. It is so near, and yet it is so far on
accountof our negligence.Whata peace, for example, is bred, and what a
cool, firm grasp on life is given by the practice of spending a short time with
God in prayer, and in the study of His Word, before beginning the work of the
day. Yet how few cultivate this source of blessing. We are not straitenedin
God: we are straitened in our own hearts.
II. ITS TIMELINESS. "Iwill cause the showerto come down in his season."
This refers to the well-knownfact that in Palestine rain fell only at certain
seasonsofthe year. It was of the utmost consequencethat at these seasonsit
should not fail. If it did not come, the drought meant loss or even ruin to the
husbandman; but if it came copiously, it causedthe fields to rejoice with
abundant crops and made glad the heart of the husbandman. No doubt our
text refers, in the first place, to this temporal blessing, but it has also a wider
scope;blessing of every kind may be said to come in its season. Godis not,
indeed, bound to times and seasons, andsometimes His blessings come when
they are leastexpected, resembling, in this respect, the sudden showers of rain
to which we are accustomedin our own variable climate. But, as a rule, the
blessing comes in the time of need, when the hearts of men are sighing and
crying for it. Are you expecting a blessing today? Is your heart longing for it?
Then this is a promise for you: "I will cause the showerto come down in his
season."Youmay be very near a greatblessing which would change your
spiritual existence from an invalid, backsliding condition into a life of joy, of
power, and unfaltering progress. I once askeda friend why a mutual friend of
ours, though a man of many accomplishments, did not succeedin the pulpit.
"Well," saidhe, giving a slight crack offinger and thumb, "he just wants
that." Yes, that was exactly it. It is this something extra, this little more, that

makes everything exceptionaland excellent. And many of us are just needing
this to make us holy, happy, creditable Christians. Why should you not be
baptized with power?
III. THE DIFFUSIVENESS OF GOD'S BLESSING. "Iwill make them and
the places round about My hill a blessing." The happiness of some people is
rather to be pitied than envied, because theyare made happy by such
questionable things. But blessednessis derived from a pure as well as an
inexhaustible source. Yetthis is not the best result of the blessing of God —
that those on whom it falls are themselves blessed. It is a far nobler thing
which is promised in our text, "I will make them a blessing" — they shall be
the means of making others blessed. Fromof old this has been the noble
prerogative of the people of God. In Christianity this element has come to the
very front. What is it to be a Christian? Is it to be blessed? is it to be filled
with the peace, the joy, the life, the powerof God? No, it is to be so filled with
these that the vesselruns over, and all that are round about getthe benefit.
This is a text to try our Christianity by. Has the sound of the Gospelnot only
reachedus, but sounded out from us, as a testimony which has arrestedand
awakenedothers? It is a severe test. But some can stand it. There are
Christian souls which move through the world surrounded with a halo of
blessing. There are Christian homes which radiate happiness. There are
Christian congregationswhich you cannot enter without feeling that the
powerof God is there, and streams of blessing flow out from them over the
city, the country, and the world.
(J. Stalker, D. D.)
Showers ofblessing
J. Parsons, M. A.
I. THIS COMMUNICATION IS NEEDED BYTHE WORLD.
1. Contemplate the vastportion of the world, which is still destitute of the
presence and the power of true religion.

2. Contemplate the tardiness with which true religion is now advancing
among men.
II. THIS COMMUNICATION IS PROMISED BYGOD.
1. The promise of God defines the nature of this communication. It consists in
the influences of the Holy Spirit, made to affect the hearts and the consciences
of men by the truth, which the Gospelembodies and displays.
2. The promise of God has also defined its extent. There are to be "showers"
— impartations commensurate with the existing need, and designed
absolutely and entirely to extinguish and terminate that need.
3. The purpose of God has also defined its results. "There shallbe showers of
blessing."
III. THIS COMMUNICATION, WHICH IS NEEDED BY THE WORLD,
AND WHICH IS PROMISEDBY GOD, MUST BE SOUGHT BY THE
CHURCH.
1. The Church must seek for this communication by the removal of worldly
confortuity.
2. The Church must seek for this communication by the cultivation of union
and fraternal love.
3. The Church must seek this communication by the employment of vigorous
and zealous exertions, in the practicaldistribution of the truth, which has
been affirmed to be the instrument, through which the Spirit of God is to
descendin blessing upon the world.
4. The Church must seek for this communication by the offering of fervent
and importunate prayer.
(J. Parsons, M. A.)
Showers ofblessing
J. B. Esenwein.

This blessedpromise may be claimed by —
I. THE BELIEVER.
1. In the joy of the morning. "Songs in the night," but blessings for the
morning. A blessing is added strength.
2. In the heatof the noonday. As a reminder of Providence, and a
remembrancer of the God who promised that the "sun shall not smite thee by
day," these cooling showers shallcome.
3. In the wearyevening. Do doubts assail, do fears annoy? Do sorrows gather,
do tempests rise? There shall be showers of blessing, and "dewy eve" will be a
time of surcease fromgrief and labour, turmoil and care, and He will give
"His beloved sleep."
4. In the desolate night. After all friends have gone, aftereven friendly
twilight has withdrawn herself, in that "dark and lonely hour," they shall fall
upon him to seasonhis meditations or perchance to lull to repose his wearied
and inflamed orbs.
5. Ever, there shall be showers ofblessing for the believer.
II. THE BACKSLIDER.
1. In the hour of thoughtfulness. When he considers his relations to God, and
how strained they are.
2. In the hour of remembrance. The blessed"Remembrancer," the good
Spirit of Truth, will bring forsakenjoys, discardeddelights, and vanished
experiences to his memory.
3. In the hour of penitence. Is it not recordedthat "Godresisteththe proud
but giveth grace to the humble"? and humility is twin sisterto penitence.
4. In the hour of return. When the prodigal son returned, the tears which
bedewedthe cheeks ofreconciledfather and repentant sonwere indeed
showers ofblessing.
III. THE SINNER. Blessedshowerswill come when —

1. He feels his need.
2. Loathes himself.
3. Cries to God.
4. Trusts in the Saviour.
(J. B. Esenwein.)
Showers ofblessing
F. W. Brown.
I. ALL TEMPORALAND SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS,LIKE SHOWERS,
DESCENDFROM ABOVE.
1. "Showers" amabundant. The greatCreatordoes not give the rain stingily,
but opens the windows of heaven, and pears down His blessings upon the dry
and thirsty land. So spiritual blessings come upon the thirsty and longing
hearts of men.
2. "Showers" are repeatedand continued; for seasonafterseasondescendthe
early and the latter rain, and by repeated showers the earth brings forth and
buds, and gives seedto the sowerand bread to the eater. So in the history of
the Church, and of every individual believing soul, there has been given grace
for grace, thatthere might be progress from strength to strength in the
journey Zionward.
3. "Showers" are gratuitous;they come down freely from the clouds, without
money and without price. We could not purchase them, for the silver and the
gold belong to God, as wellas the cattle upon a thousand hills. So all spiritual
blessings are free; indeed, they are priceless, as wellas peerless.
4. "Showers" are suitable;as they fall upon the earth they make it soft, and
drop fatness into the soil, and become the occasionofbeauty and
bountifulness. So the blessings that crown our lives are suitable to our needs

and adapted to minister to our well-being and joy. Especiallyis this true of
spiritual blessings.
5. "Showers" are gentle. How softly, as a rule, they fall, feeding the roots of
the mightiest trees, and yet not wounding the leaves orblossoms of the tiniest
flowers. How gently our temporal blessings come to us, how softly the light
streams over the earth to gladden our eyes, and how gently the tide of health
flows into our system, to make us strong and fit for our ever-recurring toils of
life. And the blessings that refreshour spirits and revive our faith, they fall
gently upon us while we pray and praise, and nestle upon our hearts while we
engage in Christian work and worship.
II. TEMPORALAND SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS,LIKE SHOWERS,
REQUIRE THE COOPERATIONOF MAN; OR THE DESIGN WITH
WHICH THEY DESCENDFROM ABOVE WILL BE FRUSTRATED. We
must cooperate withProvidence in the temporal blessings sent us, or they will
not answerthe end designed. The human and the Divine must work hand in
hand. This is equally true of the Church and of individual souls. God sends
down "showers ofblessing," but there must be preparation for them and
cooperationwith them; then the wilderness and solitary place shall be glad,
and the desert shall rejoice and blossomas the rose. Showers come whenthe
land is thirsty, and when the vapours from the earth have ascendedand
formed themselves into thick clouds; and "showers ofblessing" will come
upon us when our hearts are thirsty, and cry out for the living God; when our
prayer-like clouds of incense have ascendedto Heaven for the downcoming of
the Holy Ghost.
(F. W. Brown.)
Showers ofblessing
1. Here is sovereignmercy — "I will give them the showerin its season."
2. Is it not sovereign, Divine mercy? — for who cansay, "I will give them
showers,"exceptGod? There is only one voice which can speak to the clouds,

and bid them begetthe rain. "Who sendeth down the rain upon the earth? Do
not I, the Lord?" So, grace is the gift of God, and is not to be createdby man.
3. It is also neededgrace. What would the ground do without showers?You
may break the clods, you may sow your seeds, but what canyou do without
the rain? As absolutely needful is the Divine blessing. In vain you labour, until
God the plenteous showerbestows, andsends salvation down.
4. Then it is plenteous grace. "There shallbe showers." It does not say, "I will
send them drops," but "showers."So it is with grace. If God gives a blessing,
He usually gives it in such a measure that there is not room enoughto receive
it. Plenteous grace!Ah! we want plenteous grace to keepus humble, to make
us prayerful, to make us holy; plenteous grace to make us zealous, to preserve
us through this fife, and at last to land us in heaven. We cannotdo without
saturating showers ofgrace.
5. Again, it is seasonable grace. "Iwill cause the showerto come down in his
season."Whatis thy seasonthis morning? Is it the seasonofdrought? Then
that is the seasonfor showers. Is it a seasonofgreatheaviness and black
clouds? Then that is the seasonfor showers. "As thy days, so shall thy
strength be."
6. And here is a varied blessing. "I will give thee showers ofblessing." The
word is in the plural. All kinds of blessings Godwill send. All God's blessings
go together, like links in a golden chain. If He gives converting grace, He will
also give comforting grace. He will send "showersofblessing." Look up today,
O parched plant, and open thy leaves and flowers for a heavenly watering!
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
Showers ofblessing sent from God
A. Thomson, D. D.
I. The blessings bestowedonthe peculiar people of God are blessings OF
UNSPEAKABLE VALUE.

1. Their origin, and the glory and the grace oftheir author (James 1:17;
Ephesians 1:3).
2. The price paid for their purchase (1 Peter1:18, 19; 2 Corinthians 8:9).
3. Our indispensable need of them (Revelation3:17).
4. The peculiar and transcendent happiness which the possessionofthem
ensures (Revelation3:18; Psalm4:7; Philippians 4:7; 1 Corinthians 2:9).
II. The precious blessings bestowedon the people of God are
INCALCULABLY NUMEROUS.
1. Can you calculate the number of showers that fall to refresh, to fructify,
and to bless the earth, in the course of the revolving seasons?nay, I will ask
further, can you calculate the number of drops of which eachshoweris
composed? Thenmay you calculate the number of blessings bestowedon the
people of God.
2. Can you tell how numerous, or, rather, innumerable, the wants of God's
people are?
III. The blessings peculiarto God's people are all MOST OPPORTUNELY
BESTOWED. "Iwill cause the showerto come down in his season."To the
young, to the middle-aged, and to the old, they come just as their various and
peculiar circumstances rendernecessary. To the poor, to the afflicted, to the
tempted, and to the dying, how seasonable are the supplies of all those
blessings especiallyrequisite for them! The promise in eachindividual case is
fully and happily realised(Deuteronomy33:25).
IV. The blessings bestowedon God's people are all THE RESULT OF
DIVINE AGENCY.
1. Who but the blessedGod could have devised that wondrous plan of grace,
by which the blessings of the everlasting covenantare securedto His people?
(Romans 3:24-26;Romans 11:33.)
2. Who but a Divine person could have paid the price by which these blessings
have been purchased? (Romans 8:3, 34;John 1:1, compared with verse 14.)

3. The actual application of these blessings, too, is all of God (Philippians
2:13). Who gives the new heart? (Ezekiel36:26.)Who gives pardon? (Isaiah
43:25.)Who sanctifies them? (Exodus 31:13;1 Thessalonians 5:23.)Who
completes the work of their redemption? (Philippians 1:6; Revelation
3:21.)Application —
1. It is no presumption to expectgreat and manifold blessings from the great
and manifold grace ofGod (Revelation3:21).
2. What a happy people must the people of God be! (Deuteronomy 33:29.)
3. To God alone we should ascribe the glory and praise of all our blessings
(Psalm 115:1).
4. We should be encouraged, from the receiptof common mercies, to expect
specialblessings from God.
5. The wickedestofmen may yet be blessedof God (Isaiah55:1-3).
(A. Thomson, D. D.)
Conditions necessaryfor showers
An Irish gentlemanremarked in my hearing that he had always noticed that
when it rained there were clouds about, and so all the air was in right order
for the descentof rain. We have noticed the same, and it so happens that the
clouds and generalconstitution of the atmosphere have much to do with the
value of moisture for the herbs. It is no goodwatering them in the sun, the
circumstances do not benefit them. So with revivals. Certain things done
under certain circumstances become abundantly useful, but if you have not
similar circumstances,you may use the same machinery, but mischief instead
of goodwill follow. Beginyourself with the Master, and then go outward to
His service, but plans of action must be secondary.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)

COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(26) Bound about my hill.—“My hill” is Zion. (Comp. the similar figurative
language in Isaiah31:4.) The centre of the old theocracyis always spokenof in
Scripture as also the centre from which goes forth the new covenant of
salvation, and this was historically fulfilled in the coming of Christ and the
cradling of His Church in the JewishChurch. The continuity of the Church
was preservedquite as fully through the Christian era as through the
Babylonian captivity, quite as large a number of the Jews having embraced
Christianity as ever returned from the exile in Chaldea.
BensonCommentary
Ezekiel34:26-28. Iwill make them and the places round about my hill a
blessing — I will there give remarkable instances ofmy favour, and of the
happiness which flows from it. God’s hill is the same with his holy mountain,
mentioned Ezekiel20:40, where see the note. There shall be showers of
blessings — Blessingsin greatabundance, and of all sorts, temporal and
spiritual, earthly and heavenly. The tree of the field shall yield her fruit —
There shall be greatfertility and plenty in every part of the land. The spiritual
blessings ofthe gospelare often described under the emblems of fruitfulness
and abundance. And they shall be safe in their land — In no dangerof being
invaded and enslaved, though their greatplenty might be supposedto be a
temptation to their neighbours to desire their land. And they shall know that I
am the Lord — They shall indeed know that I, and I only, am the living and
true God, and their God and Saviour; when I have broken the bands of their
yoke — Those bands by which they had been brought down, and long held
under oppression;had been made slaves, and used as such. The same
expressionis used of the deliverance of Israelout of Egypt, (Leviticus 26:13;
Jeremiah2:20,) their final restorationbeing representedas the greater

deliverance of the two. And none shall make them afraid — The experience of
my particular care over them, shall inspire them with that confidence in me
which shall preserve them from all disquieting fears and anxieties.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
34:17-31 The whole nation seemedto be the Lord's flock, yet they were very
different characters;but he knew how to distinguish betweenthem. By good
pastures and deep waters, are meant the pure word of God and the dispensing
of justice. The latter verses, 23-31, prophesyof Christ, and of the most
glorious times of his church on earth. Under Him, as the goodShepherd, the
church would be a blessing to all around. Christ, though excellent in himself,
was as a tender plant out of a dry ground. Being the Tree of life, bearing all
the fruits of salvation, he yields spiritual food to the souls of his people. Our
constantdesire and prayer should be, that there may be showers ofblessings
in every place where the truth of Christ is preached;and that all who profess
the gospelmay be filled with fruits of righteousness.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
The blessings here foretold are especiallythose of the old covenant. The
wilderness (or, pasture-country) and the woods, the places most exposedto
beasts and birds of prey, become places of security. Under the new covenant
Sion and the hills around are representative of God's Church; and temporal
blessings are typical of the blessings showereddownupon Christ's Church by
Him who has vanquished the powers of evil.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
26. them and the places round about my hill—The Jews, andZion, God's hill
(Ps 2:6), are to be sources ofblessing, not merely to themselves, but to the
surrounding heathen (Isa 19:24;56:6, 7; 60:3; Mic 5:7; Zec 8:13). The literal
fulfilment is, however, the primary one, though the spiritual also is designed.
In correspondence withthe settled reign of righteousness internally, all is to
be prosperity externally, fertilizing showers (according to the promise of the
ancient covenant, Le 26:4; Ps 68:9; Mal 3:10), and productive trees and lands

(Eze 34:27). Thus shall they realize the image of Eze 34:14;namely, a flock
richly pastured by God Himself.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
I will make them, my returned captives, who were lookedupon as cursed,
reproached, and hated.
The places round about; all the country.
My hill; Jerusalem, or the temple, Zion, which is calledholy hill, Psalm2:6.
A blessing;very prosperous, that men shall report them to be in a blessed
condition, or a blessing to others among whom they dwell, or a pattern of
blessing others, whom we shall wish like to them, whom we wish greatestgood
to.
I will cause the shower to come down in his season;their land shall be most
fruitful in the products of it, corn, wine, oil, &c., and all these blessedto them;
whereas formerly their blessings were so cursedthat they were no blessings,
now they shall be blessed, and so be double blessings to them.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And I will make them, and the places round about my hill, a blessing,....
Alluding either to the city of Jerusalem, and the places adjacent;or to the
temple, and the houses about it. So the Targum,
"I will cause them to dwell round about the house of my sanctuary;''
and so Kimchi interprets it of the temple. Some Christian interpreters, by the
"hill" or mountain, understand Christ; and not amiss;who may be compared
to one for height; he being higher than the kings of the earth, or than the

heavens and angels there, as man and Mediator; as well as is God over all,
blessedfor ever; and for fruitfulness, from whom the saints have all theirs,
either in grace orgoodworks;and for shade, he being the shadow of a great
rock in a weary land; which yields delight and refreshment, and is a
protection from the heat of a fiery law, flaming justice, the wrath of God and
man, and the fiery darts of Satan; and for shelter and security, there being
salvationin him, when none in other hills and mountains; and for duration
and immovableness, being the same today, yesterday, and for ever: and now
the persons about him are such who are made nigh by his blood; brought to
him by his powerful and efficacious grace;are worshippers about the throne
where he sits; such as cleave to him, and follow him whereverhe goes, and
shall be with him to all eternity; these he makes a blessing, or most blessed. So
the Targum renders it,
"and they shall be blessed;''
they are blessedin Christ their head; they are blessedthrough him as their
Redeemerand Saviour, who was made a curse for them; they are blessed
through being in him, and by the imputation of blessings to them from him,
and through the application of them by his Spirit; their persons are blessed,
and so are the places or habitations where they dwell: or rather this may be
understood of the church of God, often compared to a hill for its height and
eminence; for its fertility and fruitfulness; for its stability and firmness; and
in allusion to the hill of Zion for its holiness, and being the place of the divine
residence;see Psalm15:1 now, the persons about this hill are those who are
come to Mount Zion the church of God; being brought there by the Lord
himself, and who take up their abode there; who lie about this hill, as flocks of
sheep, in their severalfolds or congregatedchurches;see Jeremiah23:3 and
these the Lord makes a blessing to one another, by their spiritual
conversation, prayers, and services oflove; and to the world, to kingdoms and
states, to cities, towns, and neighbourhoods, and to particular families, where
they are placed; and even to the world in general;for they are the light, stay,
and stability of it; and without which it would be in darkness, corruptand
putrefy, and not continue long:

and I will cause the showerto come down in his season;which, in the spiritual
sense, may designthe Gospel;which, like a showerofrain, comes from God;
descends from heaven; is a gift of God; which falls according to divine
direction; refreshes, revives, and makes fruitful; brings a plenty of divine
blessings with it; and comes in season, atits proper time; and is a word in
seasonto wearysouls:
there shall be showers ofblessings;which the Gospel brings with it; spiritual
blessings, blessings ofgrace;such as peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal
life: these, like showers, come from God; are free grace gifts of his, of which
there is a large abundance; and which descendon Mount Zion the church of
God; which is another Gerizim, on which the blessings are pronounced, Psalm
133:3.
Geneva Study Bible
And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing;and I will
cause the showerto come down in his season;there shall be showers of
blessing.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
26. make them … a blessing]i.e. altogetherblessed, Genesis 12:2;Isaiah
19:24, as the lastwords of the verse imply. Cf. constructionEzekiel16:38,
Ezekiel27:36, Ezekiel28:19, Ezekiel33:28. The language ofthe clause is not
very natural; LXX. reads:and I will setthem round about my hill (the word
“blessing” wanting).
showers ofblessing]i.e. bringing blessing, not, composedof blessing, Ezekiel
34:27, Joel2:23-27;Leviticus 26:4.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 26. - Round about my hill. Ezekiel's thoughts, like those of Micah 4:1
and Isaiah2:2, cluster round the hill of Zion, the mountain of Jehovah, as the

centerof the restoredIsrael. In that land, as the prophet saw it here, and still
more in the closing vision of his book (Ezekiel47:12), there were, outwardly as
well as spiritually, to be showers ofblessing (the phrase is peculiar to Ezekiel),
and the land should yield its fruits.
Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament
Preaching of Repentance afterthe Fall of Jerusalem
The first word of God, which Ezekielreceivedafter the arrival of the fugitive
with the intelligence of the destruction of Jerusalem, was not of a consolatory,
but of a rebuking nature, and directed againstthose who, while boasting in an
impenitent state of mind of the promise given to the patriarchs of the
everlasting possessionof the Holy Land, fancied that they could still remain in
possessionofthe promised land even after the destruction of Jerusalemand of
the kingdom of Judah. This delusion the prophet overthrows by the
announcement that the unrighteous are to have no share in the possessionof
the land of Israel, but are to perish miserably, and that the land is to be
utterly waste and without inhabitants (Ezekiel33:23-29). The Lord then
shows him that his countrymen will indeed come to him and listen to his
words, but will only do that which is pleasantto themselves;that they will still
seek aftergain, and not do his words;and that it will not be till after his words
have been fulfilled that they will come to the knowledge ofthe fact that he
really was a prophet (Ezekiel33:30-33). We perceive from these last verses
that the threat uttered in Ezekiel33:24-29 was to form the basis for Ezekiel's
further prophecies, so that the whole of this word of Godhas only the force of
an introduction to his further labours. But however the two halves of this
word of God may appear to differ, so far as their contents are concerned, they
are nevertheless closelyconnected. The state of heart disclosedin the first
half, with reference to the judgment that has already fallen upon the land and
kingdom, is to preclude the illusion, that the fact of the people's coming to the
prophet to hear his words is a sign of penitential humiliation under the
punishing hand of God, and to bring out the truth, that the salvation which he
is about to foretellto the people is only to be enjoyed by those who turn with
sincerity to the Lord.

Ezekiel33:23-29
False reliance upon God's Promises
Ezekiel33:23. And the word of Jehovahcame to me, saying, Ezekiel33:24.
Son of man, the inhabitants of these ruins in the land of Israelspeak thus:
Abraham was one, and receivedthe land for a possession;but we are many,
the land is given to us for a possession. Ezekiel33:25. Therefore sayto them,
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Ye eat upon the blood, and lift up your eyes to
your idols, and shed blood, and would ye possessthe land? Ezekiel33:26. Ye
rely upon your sword, do abomination, and one defileth another's wife, and
would ye possessthe land? Ezekiel33:27. Speak thus to them, Thus saith the
Lord Jehovah, By my life, those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword,
and whoeveris in the open field him do I give to the beasts to devour, and
those who are in the fortresses and caves shalldie of the pestilence. Ezekiel
33:28. And I make the land devastationand waste, and its proud might shall
have an end, and the mountains of Israelshall be waste, so that no one passeth
through. Ezekiel33:29. And they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I make
the land devastationand waste because ofall the abominations which they
have done. - This threat is directed againstthe people who remained behind in
the land of Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem. ‫יבׁשי‬ are the Israelites
who dwelt amidst the ruins of the Holy Land, the remnant of the people left
behind in the land. For it is so evident as to need no proof that Kliefoth is
wrong in asserting that by ‫ׁשוברחה‬ we are to understand the district bordering
on the Chaboras, which was not properly cultivated; and by the inhabitants
thereof, the exiles who surrounded Ezekiel. It is only by confounding ‫רמר‬ and
‫רּבר‬ that Kliefoth is able to setaside the more precise definition of the
inhabitants of these ruins containedin the words ‫יאררע‬ ‫רימב‬ ‫,לע‬ and to
connect‫רי‬ ‫ללע‬ ‫יא‬ with ‫,םירמר‬ "they speak concerning the land of Israel;" and
in Ezekiel33:27 it is only in a forcedmanner that he can generalize ‫בוׁשרחה‬
and take it as referring to the waste places both in the Holy Land and on the
Chaboras. The fact, moreover, that Ezekiel33:30-33 treatof the Israelites by
the Chaboras, is no proof whatever that they must also be referred to in
Ezekiel33:24-29. Forthe relation in which the two halves of this word of God
stand to one another is not that "Eze 33:30-33 depictthe impression made
upon the hearers by the words containedin Ezekiel33:24-29,"so that "the

persons alluded to in Ezekiel33:30-33 must necessarilybe the hearers of
Ezekiel33:24-29."Ezekiel33:30-33treatin quite a generalmanner of the
attitude which the prophet's countrymen would assume towards his words -
that is to say, not merely to his threats, but also to his predictions of salvation;
they would only attend to that which had a pleasantsound to them, but they
would not do his words (Ezekiel33:31, Ezekiel33:32). It is quite in harmony
with this, that in Ezekiel33:23-29 these people should be told of the state of
heart of those who had remained behind on the ruins of the Holy Land, and
that it should be announced to them that the fixed belief in the permanent
possessionofthe Holy Land, on which those who remained behind in the land
relied, was a delusion, and that those who were victims of this delusion should
be destroyed by sword and pestilence. Justas in the first part of this book
Ezekieluttered the threatened prophecies concerning the destruction of
Jerusalemand Judah in the presence ofhis countrymen by the Chaboras, and
addressedthem to these, because they stoodin the same internal relation to
the Lord as their brethren in Jerusalemand Judah; so here does he hold up
this delusion before them as a warning, in order that he may disclose to them
the worthlessness ofsuchvain hope, and preachrepentance and conversionas
the only way to lie.
The meaning of the words spokenby these people, "Abraham was one," etc.,
is, that if Abraham, as one solitary individual, receivedthe land of Canaanor
a possessionby the promise of God, the same God could not take this
possessionawayfrom them, the many sons of Abraham. The antithesis of the
"one" and the "many" derived its significance, in relation to their argument,
from the descentof the many from the one, which is takenfor granted, and
also from the fact, which is assumed to be well know from the book of Genesis,
that the land was not promised and given to the patriarch for his own
possession, but for his seedor descendants to possess.Theyrelied, like the
Jews ofthe time of Christ (John 8:33, John 8:39), upon their corporeal
descentfrom Abraham (compare the similar words in Ezekiel11:15). Ezekiel,
on the other hand, simply reminds them of their own sinful conduct (Ezekiel
33:25, Ezekiel33:26), for the purpose of showing them that they have thereby
incurred the loss of this possession. Eating upon the blood, is eating flesh in
which the blood is still lying, which has not been cleansedfrom blood, as in

Leviticus 19:26 and 1 Samuel 14:32-33;an actthe prohibition of which was
first addressedto Noah(Genesis 9:4), and is repeatedly urged in the law (cf.
Leviticus 7:26-27). This is also the case with the prohibition of idolatry, lifting
up the eyes to idols (cf. Ezekiel18:6), and the shedding of blood (cf. Ezekiel
18:10;Ezekiel22:3, etc.). ‫,למי‬ to support oneself, or rely (‫,למי‬ used as in
Ezekiel31:14)upon the sword, i.e., to put confidence in violence and
bloodshed. In this connectionwe are not to think of the use of the sword in
war. To work abomination, as in Ezekiel 18:12. ‫ןלאיב‬is not a feminine, "ye
women," but ‫ן‬ is written in the place of ‫מ‬ on accountof the ‫ב‬ which follows,
after the analogyof ‫ןייון‬ for ‫ןייום‬ (Hitzig). On the defiling of a neighbour's
wife, see the comm. on Ezekiel18:6. Such daring sinners the Lord would
destroy whereverthey might be. In v. 37 the punishment is individualized (cf.
Ezekiel14:21). Those in the ‫בוׁשרח‬ shall fall by the ‫ׁשרח‬ (the play upon the word
is very obvious); those in the open country shall perish by wild beasts
(compare 2 Kings 17:25; Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 26:22);those who are in
mountain fastnessesand caves, where they are safe from the swordand
ravenous beasts, shallperish by plague and pestilence. This threat is not to be
restrictedto the acts of the Chaldeans in the land after the destruction of
Jerusalem, but applies to all succeeding times. Even the devastationand utter
depopulation of the land, threatened in Ezekiel33:28, are not to be taken as
referring merely to the time of the Babylonian captivity, but embrace the
devastationwhich accompaniedand followedthe destruction of Jerusalemby
the Romans. For‫ל‬ ‫,ערון‬ see the comm. on Ezekiel7:24. ForEzekiel33:29,
compare Ezekiel6:14.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
PentwaterBible Church The Book of
Ezekiel MessageSeventy-Four THE MESSIAH IS

PROMISED March 5, 2017 Daniel E. Woodhead
Ezekiel34:23-31
23And I will setup one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my
servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24And I,
Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I,
Jehovah, have spokenit. 25And I will make with them a covenantof peace,
and will cause evilbeasts to cease outof the land; and they shall dwell securely
in the wilderness, and sleepin the woods. 26And I will make them and the
places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the showerto come
down in its season;there shall be showers ofblessing. 27And the tree of the
field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, andthey shall be
secure in their land; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have
broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of
those that made bondmen of them. 28And they shall no more be a prey to the
nations, neither shall the beasts ofthe earth devour them; but they shall dwell
securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29And I will raise up unto them a
plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the
land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more. 30And they shall know
that I, Jehovah, their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel,
are my people, saith the Lord Jehovah. 31And ye my sheep, the sheepof my
pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord Jehovah(ASV, 1901).
THE GOOD SHEPHERD WILL COME
Ezekiel34:23-24
23And I will setup one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my
servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd, 24And I,
Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I,
Jehovah, have spokenit. (ASV, 1901).

With all the condemnation of the wickedleaders in Israel and Judah The
Lord now says that He will establishone Shepherd over the sheep(people).
This establishment of the coming GoodShepherd would be through His
servant David. King David recognizedthat one greaterthan him would be
coming on the earth to establisha new Kingdom. He wrote of Jesus coming on
the earth.
Psalm110:1 1Jehovahsaithunto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I
make thine enemies thy footstool(ASV, 1901).
2
This is a heavenly discourse betweenGod the Father, called Jehovahto God
the SonJesus calledin Hebrew Adonai or Messiah, who was David’s Lord.
David clearly understood who was speaking to whom and what they were
saying. God the Fatheris saying something here that David is privileged to
hear. In Biblical Hebrew the specialword used here for the verb say is neoom.
This word references specialGodbreathed oracles orrevelation. The Father
is saying to God the Son that He (the son) must sit at my right hand (Mark
16:19;Romans 8:34; Acts 7:55-56;Ephesians 1:20 etc.)until the right time
when He will hand His enemies over to Him. The right hand of God the
Father is where Jesus is now waiting for the consummation of the ages to
return as the conquering King to finish the campaignof Armageddon and
establishHis earthly Kingdom. All His enemies will be vanquished at that
time through the Great Tribulation and then finishing with the sheep and goat
judgment in the valley of Jehoshaphat. Therefore allentering the thousand
year Messianic Kingdom will be transformed believers. The footstoolis an
illustration of complete subjugation or rule overan enemy. With His scepter
first spokenof in Genesis 49:10 He will rule with a rod of iron over the world.
Jesus realizing this conversationHe had with God the Father questioned the
Pharisees aboutit so as to affirm His Messiahship.

Matthew 22:41-46
41 While the Pharisees were gatheredtogether, Jesus askedthem, 42 saying,
What think ye of Christ? whose sonis he? They say unto him, The Son of
David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit callhim Lord,
saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I
make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he
his son? 46 And no man was able to answerhim a word, neither durst any
man from that day forth ask him any more questions (KJV).
Jesus questioning the Pharisees who would not acknowledgeHis Messiahship
askedthem a question directly from Psalm110 regarding the heavenly
conversationthat David was privileged to hear. He askedthem, “What think
ye of Christ? whose sonis he?” They knew the Psalmand replied, “The Son of
David.” As many of the religious rulers of Jesus day thought the Messiah
would simply be a human son of David’s lineage. Jesus thenfollowed with
another question that confusedthem. He asked, “If David then call him Lord,
how is he his son?” In Psalm110 David does refer to the Messiahas Lord or
Adonai in Hebrew. The Pharisees were notready to admit to the deity of the
Son of David and therefore Jesus Himself. He was born, in a human sense as a
direct descendentof David was proving to them that He is the God Man
Messiah.
PEACE IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF MESSIAH’S REIGN
Ezekiel34:25
25And I will make with them a covenant of peace, andwill cause evil beasts to
ceaseout of the land; and they shall dwell securelyin the wilderness, and sleep
in the woods (ASV, 1901).

Becauseofthe coming GoodShepherd the nation will be establishedin the
inauguration of the New Covenant which will bring in peace upon the earth.
The New Covenantwas first announced by God through the prophet
Jeremiah.
3
Jeremiah31:33-34
31Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32notaccording to the
covenantthat I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenantthey brake,
although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah. 33Butthis is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israelafter those days, saith Jehovah:I will
put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will
be their God, and they shall be my people. 34And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah;
for they shall all know me, from the leastof them unto the greatestofthem,
saith Jehovah:for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember
no more (ASV, 1901).
The land will enjoy a peace that has not been on the earth since the Garden of
Eden before the Fall. God told us through the prophet Isaiah that He will
cause evil beasts to ceaseoutof the land. This is a direct fulfillment of God’s
promises to Israel in the Mosaic Law if they would be obedient to Him.
BecauseallIsrael will be saved(Romans 11:26) at that time their obedience
will provide for God to enactone of His promises to them.
Leviticus 26:6

6And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make
you afraid: and I will cause evil beasts to cease outof the land, neither shall
the swordgo through your land (ASV, 1901).
Many characteristics ofthe Messianic Kingdom will be discussedin chapters
40-48 while Ezekielreceives the elaborate plans and description of the
Millennial Temple which will be built in Jerusalem. The peace will extend to
even the animal kingdom as they become docile and lose their competitiveness
betweenspecies andpeace will come upon them with human interaction. They
will lose their carnivorous hunger and once againas in Eden subsiston
vegetables.
Isaiah11:6-8
6And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with
the kid; and the calfand the young lion and the fatling together;and a little
child shall lead them. 7And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones
shall lie down together;and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8And the
sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weanedchild shall put
his hand on the adder’s den (ASV, 1901).
The fact that the Messiahwill be reigning on the earth will bring peace,
because He is the Prince of Peace. This will enable all to be able to rest
anywhere without fear even in the wilderness or in the woods as Godtold us
this through the prophet Isaiah.

4
Isaiah9:6-7
6Forunto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall
be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7Ofthe increase ofhis
government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and
upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with
righteousness from hencefortheven for ever. The zeal of Jehovahof hosts will
perform this (ASV, 1901).
FORMER AND LATTER RAINS RESTORED
Ezekiel34:26-27
26And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing;and I
will cause the showerto come down in its season;there shall be showers of
blessing. 27And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall
yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know
that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have
delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them (ASV,
1901).
These rains are viewed as spiritual blessings and actual rain that will enable
the abundance of crops to be reaped in the Messianic Kingdom. Rains or
showers are often also referred to as a refreshing of the Spirit (Isaiah44:3).
The rainy seasonis normally from Octoberto May. It is helpful to divide it
into three segments the former, the winter, and the latter rains. The “former
rains” are the showers ofOctoberand the first part of November. They
enable the winter grain to be sown before the heavy continuous rains setin to
nourish the seeds. The main bulk of the rain falls in the months of December,
January and February. The “latterrains” of April provide for the ripening of

the fruit before the drought of summer. They are considereda specialblessing
for example:
Hosea 6:3
3And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah:his going forth is sure as
the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that
watereththe earth (ASV,1901).
Job 29:23
23And they waited for me as for the rain; And they opened their mouth wide
as for the latter rain (ASV, 1901).
Jeremiah5:24
24Neithersaythey in their heart, Let us now fearJehovah our God, that
giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in its season;that preservethunto
us the appointed weeks ofthe harvest(ASV, 1901).
5
In the Messianic Kingdom there will be an abundance of rain in its seasonto
enable a huge production of crops.
In the Millennium God will bring the Jews back one by one to the boundaries,
which He gave to Abraham. As Ezekiel34:27 says there will be an increased
productivity of the land/crops, which He will allow the Land to enjoy.
Isaiah30: 23-26 And he will give the rain for thy seed, wherewiththou shalt
sow the ground; and bread of the increase ofthe ground, and it shall be fat
and plenteous. In that day shall thy cattle feedin large pastures;the oxen

likewise and the young assesthat till the ground shall eatsavory provender,
which hath been winnowed with the shoveland with the fork. And there shall
be upon every lofty mountain, and upon every high hill, brooks and streams of
waters, in the day of the greatslaughter, when the towers fall. Moreoverthe
light of the moon shall be us the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall
be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Jehovahbindeth up the
hurt of his people, and healeththe stroke of their wound (KJV).
The Land will be well watered, produce abundant food accompaniedby a
sevenfold increase in the speedof light. All physical infirmities will be healed.
Since the speedof light has been significantly fastercloserto the creationthan
it is now it is apparent that it will increase during this MessianicKingdom.
This along with the rain will be factors attributed to food production increase
and the longevity of life in the Millennium as Godsays through Isaiah.
Isaiah65: 20
There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not
filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being
a hundred years old shall be accursed(ASV).
The safetythat the Jews willrealize during the Messianic Kingdom will also
be because Godhas rid the earth of the wickedshepherds and Satanthat led
them as they subjugated the nation Israel for many years. Satan will be bound
for a thousand years (Revelation20:2) enabling the earth be free from his evil
influence. As God says He will have broken the bars of their yoke, and have
delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them.
FREEDOMFOR ISRAELFROM EVIL FORCES
Ezekiel34:28-31

28And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beasts of
the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make
them afraid. 29And I will raise up unto them a plantation for renown, and
they shall be no more consumedwith famine in the land, neither bear the
shame of the nations any more. 30And they shall know that I, Jehovah, their
God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the
Lord Jehovah. 31And ye my sheep, the sheepof my pasture, are men, and I
am your God, saith the Lord Jehovah(ASV, 1901).
6
After Israelis regeneratedthrough the persecutionof the Antichrist in the
Tribulation coupled with a national confession(Hosea 6:1-3;Isaiah53:1-9;
Zechariah 12:10-13:1)she will be brought back to the land in belief in her
Messiah. Israelwill then possessthe Land in security. This security will be
coupled with the increasedproductivity of the produce of the land. Since there
will no longer be any threat of wild (carnivores)beasts in the Land, Israelwill
be living in total security. The former and latter rains will come in their
proper time and in proper amounts. In complete conformity to God’s Law
Israelwill be rightly related to Him and will be His specialpossession, His
sheep.
ALBERT BARNES
Ezekiel34:26
The blessings here foretold are especiallythose of the old covenant. The
wilderness (or, pasture-country) and the woods, the places most exposedto
beasts and birds of prey, become places of security. Under the new covenant

Sion and the hills around are representative of God‘s Church; and temporal
blessings are typical of the blessings showereddownupon Christ‘s Church by
Him who has vanquished the powers of evil.
BRIAN BELL
(26)Blessing!3.20. SovereignPromise - I will…there shall be – only God can
promise this. 3.21. SovereignRain - I will cause showersto come down– only
one voice canspeak to the clouds & bid them…rain! 3.22. PerfectTiming – in
their season–If yours is the seasonofdrought? Congratulations!…that is the
seasonforshowers!If yours is the seasonofgreatheaviness & black clouds?
That is the seasonfor showers![Deut 33:25 As your days, so shall your
strength be.] 3.23. Plentiful Grace – shower(s) – It does not say, “I will send
them drops” but “showers.”3.23.1. All God’s blessings go togetherlike links
in a golden chain. 3.23.2. If He gives converting grace He will also give
comforting grace. 3.23.3. “Look up today parched plant, & open your leaves
flowers, for a heavenly watering!” (Spurgeon) 3.24. Note:He will make “us”
the blessing(26athem)
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 26-27
Second, Godwould make His people and the places around His hill (Mount
Zion, Jerusalem)a blessing to others ( Genesis 12:3). God"s seasonalblessings
on Israel, both people and land, would be like the rain, and He would send His

blessings down in showers (cf. Acts 3:19-20). The gospelsong "There Shall Be
Showers ofBlessing" comes fromthis expression. Fruit trees would bear
abundantly, and fruits and vegetables and flowers would proliferate in the
land (cf. Hosea 2:22; Joel3:18; Amos 9:13-14;Zechariah8:12). Even the
plants would be secure.
The Visions And Oracles OfThe Prophet Ezekiel
by Dr. David L. Cooper
(Installment 30)
The Flock OfJehovah And Its Shepherd
IN THE LAST installment of this series we studied the first sixteenverses of
Ezekiel, chapter34. Here we saw that the leaders of Israel, both political and
religious, are representedby shepherds who, not being interestedin their
flocks but more concernedabout living in luxury, in ease, andin pleasure, use
their high offices for their own specialbenefits.
But in verses 11-16 the Lord foretold that He himself would come and become
the Shepherd of Israel to gatherher who is scatteredin the dark and cloudy
day and to restore her to her own land and to fellowshipwith Himself. In
verses 17-24 the prophet continues the same figure of representing Israeland
its leaders, by the figure of a shepherd and his flock.

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