Depart ye, depart ye
Not from Jerusalem, as some, for that is now said to be redeemed,
and its waste places made joyful; but Babylon, even mystical
Babylon. The Targum is, "be ye separated, be ye separated": and
so the apostle, ( 2
Corinthians 6:17 ) . It denotes a separation from the
idolatrous church of Rome; and the exhortation is repeated, to
hasten the thing, to urge the necessity of it, and point at the
danger of delaying it; and it may be it may respect a two fold
separation, one that has been already at the time of the
Reformation, and another that will be just before the destruction
of Babylon, ( Revelation
18:4 ) : go ye out from thence:
not only protest against the false doctrines, idolatries, and
superstitions of that apostate church, but entirely relinquish
her communion: touch no unclean thing;
have no fellowship with her in any of her unclean and idolatrous
actions, and bring none of her abominations along with you. It
was the fault of the first reformers from Popery, that they
brought so many of the impurities of the church of Rome along
with them, which are retained to this day; in this last
separation, care is to be taken, and will be taken, that those
that come out keep clear of all her defilements; see ( Revelation
14:4 Revelation
14:5 ) : go ye out of the midst of her;
which signifies much the same as before, and is repeated again
and again, to show the importance of it: be ye clean that
bear the vessels of the Lord;
not the vessels of the Lord's sanctuary, as the Targum, restored
by Cyrus to the Jews, at their return from the Babylonish
captivity, ( Ezra 1:7 Ezra 1:8 ) , and so Jarchi
interprets it of the priests and Levites that bore the vessels of
the Lord in the wilderness; but Kimchi of the mercies and
kindnesses of the Lord; Aben Ezra of the law: but it may much
better be understood of the ministers of the Gospel, and of the
treasure of the Gospel which they have in their earthen vessels;
or the name of the Lord, which they are chosen vessels to bear
and carry in the world; who ought to be pure from false doctrine,
superstitious worship, and an evil conversation: though it may be
applied to every Christian, since all true believers are priests
under the Gospel dispensation; and as they bear the whole armour
of God, and it is their duty to attend all the ordinances of the
Gospel, they ought to have their conversation as becomes it. In
Zohar {p}, these vessels are interpreted of the righteous,
brought as a gift to the King Messiah.
F16 In Exod. fol. 87. 4.