Eze 34:23-24, 37:24-25 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 23. I will set up one Shepherd-my servant David ] DAVID, king of Israel, had been dead upwards of four hundred years ; and from that time till now there never was a ruler of any kind, either in the Jewish Church or state , of the name of David . This, then, must be some typical person ; and from the texts marked in the margin we understand that Jesus Christ alone is meant, as both Old and New TESTAMENTS agree in this. And from this one Shepherd all Christian ministers must derive their authority to teach, and their grace to teach effectually. By the kind providence of God it appears that he has not permitted any apostolic succession to be preserved, lest the members of his Church should seek that in an uninterrupted succession which must be found in the HEAD alone . The papists or Roman Catholics , who boast of an uninterrupted succession , which is a mere fable that never was and never can be proved, have raised up another head , the POPE. And I appeal to themselves, in the fear of God, whether they do not in heart and in speech trace up all their authority to him , and only compliment Christ as having appointed Peter to be the first bishop of Rome, (which is an utter falsity , for he was never appointed to such an office there, nor ever held such an office in that city, nor, in their sense, any where else ;) and they hold also that the popes of Rome are not so much Peter's successors as God's vicars ; and thus both God and Peter are nearly lost sight of in their papal enumerations . With them the authority of the Church is all in all; the authority of Christ is seldom mentioned.

‏ Ezekiel 34:23-24

Verse 23. I will set up one Shepherd-my servant David] DAVID, king of Israel, had been dead upwards of four hundred years; and from that time till now there never was a ruler of any kind, either in the Jewish Church or state, of the name of David. This, then, must be some typical person; and from the texts marked in the margin we understand that Jesus Christ alone is meant, as both Old and New TESTAMENTS agree in this. And from this one Shepherd all Christian ministers must derive their authority to teach, and their grace to teach effectually.

By the kind providence of God it appears that he has not permitted any apostolic succession to be preserved, lest the members of his Church should seek that in an uninterrupted succession which must be found in the HEAD alone. The papists or Roman Catholics, who boast of an uninterrupted succession, which is a mere fable that never was and never can be proved, have raised up another head, the POPE. And I appeal to themselves, in the fear of God, whether they do not in heart and in speech trace up all their authority to him, and only compliment Christ as having appointed Peter to be the first bishop of Rome, (which is an utter falsity, for he was never appointed to such an office there, nor ever held such an office in that city, nor, in their sense, any where else;) and they hold also that the popes of Rome are not so much Peter's successors as God's vicars; and thus both God and Peter are nearly lost sight of in their papal enumerations. With them the authority of the Church is all in all; the authority of Christ is seldom mentioned.

Verse 24. I the Lord will be their God, and my Servant David a Prince] Here we find God and his Christ are all in all in his Church, and Jesus is still PRINCE among them; and to him the call and qualifications of all genuine pastors belong, and from him they must be derived. And he has blotted out what is called uninterrupted succession, that every Christian minister may seek and receive credentials from himself. Here is the grand reason why the uninterrupted succession cannot be made out. And here is the proof also that the Church that pretends to it, and builds upon it, must be a false Church; for it is founded on a falsity; an uninterrupted succession which does not exist either in history or in fact.

‏ Ezekiel 37:24-25

Verse 24. And David my servant shall be King] That this refers to Jesus Christ, see proved, Eze 34:23.

Verse 25. The land that I have given unto Jacob my servant] Jacob means here the twelve tribes; and the land given to them was the whole land of Palestine; consequently, the promise states that, when they return, they are to possess the whole of the Promised Land.