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Ezekiel 34:16
And I will seek that which was lost
As all men are in Adam, and through his fall, and by their
own actual transgressions; and so the elect of God among the rest; who are lost
not with respect to God's knowledge of them, love to them, and care for them;
but with respect to their knowledge of him, affection for him, and regard to
his will, service, and glory; they are lost to themselves, they know not where
they are, what is their state and condition, and how to get out of it; they
cannot help themselves, nor can any other creature help them; and they see
themselves to be in this lost and undone condition, when they are enlightened
by the Spirit of God: but they are not irretrievably lost, for they are
preserved in Christ Jesus; and he has been sent to seek and to save them; which
he has done by redeeming them from sin, Satan, and the law; and, in the
effectual calling, he goes after them, he sends his Gospel to them, and his
Spirit unto them, and returns them to himself, the Shepherd and Bishop of
souls; and whereas after this they go astray like lost sheep, he seeks and
looks them up, and restores their souls, ( Psalms 119:176 ) ( 23:3 ) ( Luke
19:10 ) ( Luke 15:3 Luke 15:4 ) : and bring again that which was driven away;
through the power and prevalence of unbelief, from holding
fast to the head Christ, departing at least partially from the living God; from
dealing by faith with his precious person, blood, and righteousness; and from
the precious promises, as not belonging to them, and refusing to be comforted
by them; but the Lord brings back such again, and causes them to believe:
Thomas is a notorious instance of this, ( John 20:24-28 ) , such also who are
driven away through the force of Satan's temptations from the throne of grace;
from the word and ordinances; and from private conversation with the saints,
being hypocrites, as he suggests unto them; these the Lord brings back, by
rebuking the tempter, and delivering out of his temptations: likewise such as
are driven out of the right way of truth, and carried away with the error of
the wicked, through the influence of bad pastors or false teachers, ( Jeremiah
23:1 Jeremiah 23:2 ) ( 50:6 ) , these will he restore again; for it is
impossible the elect of God should be finally deceived: moreover, such as are
driven away by the force of persecution, and scattered abroad, in God's due
time have rest, and return to their folds again; see ( Jeremiah 50:17 ) ( Acts
8:1 Acts 8:2 ) ( 9:31 ) : and will bind up that which was broken;
such who have broken hearts, broken with a sense of sin;
made truly contrite by the Spirit and grace of God, through the word; which is
a hammer to them, that breaks the rocky heart in pieces; to these the Lord has
respect; their broken hearts are acceptable to him; he dwells with them, to
revive them; he speaks and restores comforts to them; pours in oil and wine
into their wounds, like the good Samaritan, and binds them up; see ( Psalms
147:3 ) ( 51:17 ) ( Isaiah 61:1 ) and such who have broken bones, who have
fallen into sin to the breaking of their bones, to the destroying of their
peace, joy, and comfort, as David, Peter, and others have done; he sets their
broken bones, and restores the joys of his salvation; and causes the bones
which were broken to rejoice; at the discoveries of his pardoning grace and
mercy, ( Psalms 51:8 Psalms 51:12 ) : and will strengthen that which was sick;
sick through sin, as all men are; sick of sin, as sensible
sinners be; sickly and weak, and ready to die, as fallen professors,
backsliders, are; sick of love, through want of the discoveries of it; long
after them; cannot be easy without them, as Christ's spouse sometimes is; and
sick for want of food, faint and languid for want of spiritual refreshment; as
the persons were Christ had compassion on, being as sheep without a shepherd, (
Matthew 9:36 ) ( 9:12 ) ( 1 Corinthians 11:30 ) ( Song of Solomon 2:5 ) ( 5:8 )
each of these the Lord strengthens with the discoveries and applications of
pardoning grace; with the flagons of his love, and apples of his promises; with
the food of the Gospel, which strengthens men's hearts; and with grace out of
his fulness, whereby they are strengthened against sin, snares, and temptations,
and to exercise grace, and do the will of God: but I will destroy the fat and
the strong;
that are full of themselves, lifted up with pride, conceited
with their riches or righteousness, and despise others, whom they thrust with
side and shoulder, and push with their horns, ( Ezekiel 34:21 ) . So the Targum
interprets it of wicked men,
