BEhold a man with a measuring line in his hand; It was said before ch. 1. 16. A * 1.1 measuring line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem, now therefore one is seen with a line in his hand going to measure the length and breadth of that City, it being hereby intimated that it should be built again, as it was indeed in the time of Artaxerxes by Nehemiah, and it was expresly promised, chap. 1. 17.
Tell this young man, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as a Town without wals, for the multitude of men and cattle: This is not a prosecution of the same, but a new reve∣lation * 1.2 touching the spiritual Jerusalem which is the Church under the Gospel. And therefore it is to be noted, that he saith, v. 3. The Angel that talked with me * 1.3 went forth and another Angel went out to meet him, and he said, Tell, &c. The man with the measuring line had told him before of the building of Jerusalem pro∣perly understood, but now another cometh forth from God and bids the An∣gel assigned before to talke with him, to tell him that the Church of Christ spiritually called Jerusalem should be so populous that no wals should be able to contein the number that should be thereof, as other Prophets also, especially Isaiah often foretold.
And about this, he saith, The Lord will be a wall of fire round about, and a glory within, so that the Church under the Gospel was more safe from the danger * 1.4 of enemies, then Jerusalem of old so well fenced with wals and gates, for that was destroyed by the Romans, but against this the gates of hell neither could nor ever shall prevail, as it is impossible for any to prevail against God, who is as a consuming fire ready to burn and devour all enemies that come near him or the place which he takes into his protection, and much lesse to extinguish the light and glory thereof, which he is to his Church, although the Kings who were the glory of the materiall Jerusalem, might be, and were divers times taken away. Some make no distinction betwixt this and that which was shewed, v. 1, 2, 3. but expound all of the spirituall Jerusalem taking the man with the measuring line to be Christ in this vision shewing himself in the humane nature which he afterwards took, who is the builder of this Jerusa∣lem his Church. But if it were so, where were the present comfort in respect * 1.5 of any materiall building, or by what vision shewed? And if none, Zechary came short of his office, of whom it is said together with Haggai, of whom it is said Ezra 5. they prophesied to the Jews and then they rose up to build: And if