25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean ; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols . 26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh . 27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes , and you will be careful to observe My ordinances . 28 "You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers ; so you will be My people , and I will be your God . 29 "Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness ; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you. 30 "I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field , so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations . 31 "Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good , and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations . 32 "I am not doing this for your sake ," declares the Lord GOD , "let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways , O house of Israel !" 33 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities , I will cause the cities to be inhabited , and the waste places will be rebuilt . 34 "The desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. 35 "They will say , 'This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden ; and the waste , desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited .' 36 "Then the nations that are left round about you will know that I, the Lord , have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate ; I, the Lord , have spoken and will do it." 37 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "This also I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their men like a flock . 38 "Like the flock for sacrifices , like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts , so will the waste cities be filled with flocks of men . Then they will know that I am the Lord .""'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 36:25-38
Commentary on Ezekiel 36:25-38
(Read Ezekiel 36:25-38)
Water is an emblem of the cleansing our polluted souls from sin. But no water can do more than take away the filth of the flesh. Water seems in general the sacramental sign of the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost; yet this is always connected with the atoning blood of Christ. When the latter is applied by faith to the conscience, to cleanse it from evil works, the former is always applied to the powers of the soul, to purify it from the pollution of sin. All that have an interest in the new covenant, have a new heart and a new spirit, in order to their walking in newness of life. God would give a heart of flesh, a soft and tender heart, complying with his holy will. Renewing grace works as great a change in the soul, as the turning a dead stone into living flesh. God will put his Spirit within, as a Teacher, Guide, and Sanctifier. The promise of God's grace to fit us for our duty, should quicken our constant care and endeavour to do our duty. These are promises to be pleaded by, and will be fulfilled to, all true believers in every age.