Ezekiel 27:33-36

Ezekiel 27:33-36. When thy wares, &c. When thy wares or manufactures were transported through the seas to every part, thou filledst many people Didst supply the wants, or minister to the luxuries and pleasures, of many nations. Time was when thy wares, those of thy own making, and those that passed through thy hands, were exported to all parts of the world; then thou filledst many people, and didst enrich the kings of the earth and their kingdoms. But in the time when thou shalt be broken As a ship that is wrecked at sea; thy merchandise and all thy company shall fall They that used to be enriched by thee, shall be ruined with thee, as is usual in trade. All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished Wondering greatly that ever such a change should be effected, that Tyre should fall. And their kings shall be sore afraid Sensible how much less able they are to resist the conqueror and defend themselves than thou wast, and not knowing whom he will next attack. They shall be troubled in their countenance They shall not be able to conceal the discomposure of their minds, but will show it evidently in their countenances. The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee By way of insult and derision; as men are apt to despise those in adversity, whom they courted and respected in prosperity. The Chaldee Paraphrase renders it, They shall be astonished; and this sense agrees better with the lamentations of the seafaring men, mentioned in the foregoing verses.

The following reflections by Bishop Newton, on the fall of Tyre, are peculiarly worthy of the reader’s attention: “Such hath been the fate of this city, once the most famous in the world for trade and commerce. But trade is a fluctuating thing: it passed from Tyre to Alexandria, from Alexandria to Venice, from Venice to Antwerp, from Antwerp to Amsterdam and London, the English rivalling the Dutch, as the French are now rivalling both. It behooves those who are in possession of it, to take the greatest care that they do not lose it. Liberty is a friend to that, as that is a friend to liberty. But the greatest enemy to both is licentiousness, which tramples upon all law and lawful authority, encourages riots and tumults, promotes drunkenness and debauchery, sticks at nothing to supply its extravagance, practises every art of illicit gain, ruins credit, ruins trade, and will in the end ruin liberty itself. Neither kingdoms nor commonwealths, neither public companies nor private persons, can long carry on a beneficial, flourishing trade without virtue, and what virtue teacheth, sobriety, industry, frugality, modesty, honesty, punctuality, humanity, charity, the love of our country, and the fear of God. The prophets will inform us how the Tyrians lost it; and the like causes will always produce the like effects.”