And now also the axe is laid
These words may be rendered, "for now also", and contain in them
a reason why they might expect future wrath; why they should
bring forth good fruit; and why they should not trust to nor
plead their descent from Abraham, because "the axe is now laid":
by which is meant, not the Gospel which now began to be preached
by John; though this was like an axe laid to the root of, and
which cut down, their pride and vanity, their self-confidence and
glorying in their righteousness, holiness, carnal wisdom, and
fleshly privileges: but rather; the axe of God's judgment and
vengeance is here designed, which, because of the certainty and
near approach of it, is said to be "now laid"; and that not to
some of the branches only, to lop them off, to take away from the
Jews some particular privileges, but "to the root" of all their
privileges, civil and ecclesiastical; even the covenant which God
had made with that people as a nation, who was now about to write
"Lo Ammi" upon them; so that henceforward they would have nothing
to expect from their being the seed of Abraham, Israelites, or
circumcised persons. The time was just at hand, when the Lord
would take his "staff Beauty and cut it asunder, that he might
break the covenant he had made with all the people", ( Zechariah
11:10 ) in a short time their civil polity and church state
would be both at an end. The Romans, who were already among them
and over them, would very quickly come upon them, and cut them
off root and branch; and utterly destroy their temple, city, and
nation: and this ruin and destruction was levelled not at a
single tree, a single person, or family only, as Jesse's, or any
others, but at the root
of the trees:
of all the trees of the whole body of the people; for the
covenant which was made with them all being broke, and which was
their hedge and fence, they were all exposed to the wild boar of
the forest.
Therefore every tree,
every individual person, though one of Abraham's children, and
made never such a fair show in the
flesh, which bringeth not forth good fruit;
does not perform good works from a right principle, to a right
end, such as are meet for repentance; particularly, does not
believe in the Messiah now ready to be revealed, which is the
main and principal work; and does not continue so doing, and thus
believing,
is hewn down and cast into the fire.
Temporal ruin and destruction shall come upon him; he shall not
escape divine vengeance here, and shall be cast into everlasting
burnings hereafter; which is quite contrary to a notion of
theirs, that (Mhrbad
ytwkzb) "by the merits of Abraham", the Israelites shall
be delivered from the fire of hell {d}.