Thou shalt bring them in
Into the land of Canaan, which is often ascribed to the Lord, as
well as his bringing them out of the land of Egypt, see (
Deuteronomy 8:8 ) ,
and plant them in the mountain of thine
inheritance;
in the country which he chose for the inheritance of his people
and himself; one part of which was very mountainous, called the
hill country of Judea, and especially Jerusalem, round about
which mountains were; and particular respect may be had to Mount
Moriah and Zion, on which the temple afterwards stood, and which
was called the mountain of the Lord's house, and seems to be
pointed at in the following account: here Israel is compared to a
vine as elsewhere, which the Lord took out of Egypt and planted
in the land of Canaan, where it took root and was settled, see (
Psalms 80:8
Psalms 80:9 )
in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to
dwell in;
that is, which he had appointed for his habitation; for as yet
neither the tabernacle nor temple were built, in which he
afterwards dwelt: in this sense the word "made" is used in (
Proverbs
16:4 ) ( Mark 3:14 ) in the
sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established;
that is, which he intended to establish, and would, and did
establish; meaning, more especially, the temple, and the holy of
holies in it, which he directed Solomon to build, and was a
settled dwelling place for him, ( 1 Kings 8:13
) , now all this may be considered as typical of the church of
Christ, and of his bringing and planting his people there, which
is a "mountain", and often signified by Mount Zion; is visible
and immovable, the true members of it being interested in the
love of God, on the sure foundation of electing grace, secured in
the everlasting covenant, and built on the rock Christ Jesus; and
is the Lord's "inheritance", chosen by him to be so, given to
Christ, and possessed by him as such, and as dear to him, and
more so, than a man's inheritance is to him: this is a "place" he
has appointed, prepared, and made for himself to dwell in, and is
the habitation of Father, Son, and Spirit; and is a "sanctuary"
or holy place, consisting of holy persons established in Christ,
as particular believers are, and the church in general is; and
though now sometimes in an unsettled state as to outward things,
yet ere long will be established on the top of the mountains: and
hither the Lord brings his purchased people, as sheep into his
fold, as children to his house, fitted up for them, as guests to
partake of his entertainments; and this is an act of his powerful
grace upon them, and of his distinguished goodness to them: and
here he also plants them, for the church is a plantation, a
garden, an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; and
such as are planted here are transplanted out of the world, and
are first planted in Christ, and receive the ingrafted word; and
though ministers may be instruments in planting, the Lord is the
efficient; and those that are planted by him are choice pleasant
plants, fruitful ones, and shall never be plucked up: but as this
follows the passage of the Lord's people over Jordan into Canaan
land, it may rather be considered as an emblem of the heavenly
state, and of the Lord's bringing and planting his people there;
which, like a mountain, is an immovable and unalterable state, an
inheritance incorruptible and eternal, the dwellingplace of
Jehovah, a sanctuary or holy place, which his hand prepared from
the foundation of the world; and which he has established as
everlasting habitations for his people, where he brings their
souls at death, and both souls and bodies in the resurrection
morn to dwell with him for ever; and which is a paradise, an Eden
of pleasure, where he plants them as trees of righteousness, next
to Christ the tree of life, and where they are always green,
fruitful, flourishing, and shall never be hurt by any scorching
heat or blasting wind, or be trodden under foot or plucked up.