Ezekiel 1:24

24 And when they went, the sound of their wings was like the sound of great waters to my ears, like the voice of the Ruler of all, a sound like the rushing of an army: when they came to rest they let down their wings.

Ezekiel 1:24 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 1:24

And when they went
In their ministrations, preaching the Gospel, and administering ordinances: I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters:
so the voice of Christ, which is no other than his Gospel preached by his ministers, is said to be as the sound of many waters, ( Revelation 1:15 ) ; which is heard a great way off, as the Gospel ministry is, even to the ends of the earth; thither the sound of the apostles' words reached, ( Romans 10:18 ) ; and which, as they move with great force, yield a pleasant sound of and may denote both the energy of the word, and the delightfulness of it: as the voice of the Almighty;
the Gospel being the word of God, and not of man; which is quick and powerful, and full of majesty, and works effectually in them that believe: the voice of speech;
an articulate voice, a human one, pronounced by men, whom God employs to deliver out his mind and will: as the noise of an host;
the church being militant, to whom they minister; so that their voice, in their ministry, is sometimes reproving, convincing, confuting, contending, and disputing, as well as teaching and instructing. The Targum is,

``and the voice of their words, when they confess and bless the Lord, the living everlasting King, is as the voice of the host of angels on high:''

when they stood, they let down their wings;
those two with which they flew, and with them covered their faces, or some part of their bodies, as ashamed of their own unworthiness and imperfections; or this may denote their having done their work, and finished their course.

Ezekiel 1:24 In-Context

22 And over the heads of the living beings there was the form of an arch, looking like ice, stretched out over their heads on high.

23 Under the arch their wings were straight, one stretched out to another: every one had two wings covering their bodies on this side and two covering their bodies on that side.

24 And when they went, the sound of their wings was like the sound of great waters to my ears, like the voice of the Ruler of all, a sound like the rushing of an army: when they came to rest they let down their wings.

25 And there was a voice from the top of the arch which was over their heads: when they came to rest they let down their wings.

26 And on the top of the arch which was over their heads was the form of a king's seat, like a sapphire stone; and on the form of the seat was the form of a man seated on it on high.