And I will restore thy judges as at the first
This refers not to the times after the Babylonish, captivity,
when the Jews had judges and rulers, such as Zerubbabel and
Nehemiah, as they had in the times of Moses, Joshua, and the
judges, or as in the times of David and Solomon; but it refers,
as Kimchi observes, to the times of the Messiah; and is true of
the apostles of Christ, who were set on twelve thrones, had power
and authority from Christ to preach his Gospel, and to judge the
twelve tribes of Israel in a doctrinal way, ( Matthew
19:28 ) for which they were abundantly qualified, having the
spirit of counsel and of judgment resting upon them, as the
prophets of old; and will be again verified in the ministers of
the Gospel, at the time of the Jews' conversion, when the
watchmen shall see eye to eye, have a clear discerning and
judgment of things as at the first, ( Isaiah 52:8 ) and
thy counsellors as at the beginning;
which is to be understood of the same persons; the apostles at
Jerusalem gave advice and counsel in matters of difficulty, and
were consulted on special occasions, of which there is an
instance in ( Acts
15:1-41 ) and ordinary ministers of the word are qualified,
and especially will be in the latter day, to give advice both to
sensible sinners, inquiring the way of salvation, and to saints
when under desertion, and have lost their beloved, or have any
matters of difficulty upon them, whether with respect to faith or
practice. Afterward thou shall be called the city of
righteousness:
when many shall be converted through the hand of the Lord turned
upon them, and become incorporated into a church state, and
having the apostles and other ministers of the Gospel among them,
with proper officers over them, as the first Christian church at
Jerusalem had; and the members of it were righteous persons, such
as were justified by the righteousness of Christ, and lived
righteously, walking in the ordinances of the Lord, and as became
the Gospel of Christ, and will be the case of the churches of
Christ in the latter day: the faithful city;
to Christ, his Gospel, ordinances, and one another, as the first
Christians at Jerusalem were; see ( Acts 2:12 ) ( Acts 4:32 Acts 4:33 ) . A true
church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, who keep the
ordinances as they were delivered; stand first in the faith of
the Gospel; take care that the laws of Christ's house are put in
execution; and do not suffer sin upon one another, nor bear them
that are evil, whether in doctrine or practice; and which in the
latter day will be the case of the churches of Christ in a
remarkable manner, when they will justly bear this character.