[The wall measured.]
And he measured the city, the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. In that he saith, he measured the wall also, it is to show us that all things now are according to the rule of the Word: the inhabitants are according to the Word, the entrance is according to the Word, yea, and so is the safety of it also, even a fence to fence them from their enemies; even a fence on every side, that they may be at ease and rest, and be no more a tossing to and fro. 'O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest,' saith he, 'and not comforted, [I will do many good things for thee]—In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee' (Isa 44:11-14).
Touching the wall, what it is, I have spoken already; therefore here I speak only to the measure of it, which measure is only the fulfilling all those promises and engagements of God that are made to New Jerusalem, for her safety and continual defence; and that not only in her own eyes, but in the eyes of all her beholders. Then shall that saying be with gladness in the mouths of all the inhabitants of this Jerusalem, 'We were bondmen, yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem' (Ezra 9:9). Which wall, I say, shall be so conspicuous to all the adversaries of this holy and beloved city, that the greatest of them shall not once dare to peep or mutter[12] against her any more. 'God is known in her palaces for a refuge. For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together, they saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail' (Psa 48:1-6). As it is said of the building of the wall after the captivity: when the enemies and all the heathen saw it was finished, 'they were much cast down in their own eyes' (Neh 6:15,16).
The regulating of this city by this golden reed, and the measuring the gates and wall by this word, when finished, will then cause all that have skill in singing the Lord's songs, and of lifting up the praises of God in this city, to gather themselves together to sing, and to praise, and to say, Bless ye the name of the Lord, for his mercies endure for ever: for then will they purify the people, this city, with the gates and wall thereof (Neh 12:27-47).
Wherefore in the mean time, between this and the building of this city, let Jerusalem come into your mind, and walk about her, 'go round about her,' inquire by the Word what God hath said of her state, strength, safety, ease, peace, and blessed tranquillity in the latter days, 'tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generations following' (Psa 48:12,13).
[The form and measure of the city.]
Ver. 16. 'And the city lieth four square, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs, the length, and the breadth, and height of it are equal.'
'And the city lieth four square.' These words do open unto you the matter yet more, to wit, that now both the city, gates, and wall were exactly in their visibility according to the Word, lying even every way with that golden reed: for by four square you are to understand perfection, or an answering the figures that of old did figure to us the completeness and perfection of the New Testament order.
For if you search the Scriptures, you will find that especially the great and principal instruments of God's worship in and under the law, their perfection was what here you read to be the perfection of this city, even a four square. As for instance, The breastplate of judgment, on which were engraved the names of the children of Israel, its exact point of perfection was to be a right four square. The ten bases also, that were to be for bearers to the lavers in the temple, they were to be four square: the altar of burnt-offerings likewise, with the altar of incense, their perfect pattern was that they should be four square. The inward court, and outward court, with the posts of the temple, and tables on which they were to slay the sacrifices, they were all four square. Yea, the city in the type, in the vision of Ezekiel, was seen to be of the same frame and fashion every way, having just twelve gates, and on each of the four sides three gates. Wherefore, when he saith the city lieth four square, it is as if he had said she lieth even with the pattern or golden reed of the Word; even, I say, both in her members, doctrine, worship, and manners: for the things afore hinted unto you do hold forth all these particulars (Exo 28:15,16; 39:8,9; 27:1; 38:1; 37:1; 1 Kings 7:27,28; Eze 43:1318; 40; 41:21; 48:30-34).
'And the length is as large as the breadth.' This explaineth the matter yet more fully and distinctly; for as to the things that I made mention of before, though they were to be made four square, and that their perfection lay exactly in that form, yet these squares did not lie in their height and depth, but in their length and breadth, just as you read here of the square of this city. As to instance: The altars, though they were five cubits long, and five cubits broad, yet but three high (Exo 27:1; 33:1; 1 Kings 7). So the bases, they were a cubit and an half broad, and a cubit and an half long, yet but half a cubit high; the tables also on which they slew the sacrifices, they were a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, yet but one cubit high (Eze 40:42). Which things being thus, you see the reason of his saying 'the length is as large as the breadth.'