And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
Ver. 4. And the Lord.] That great Imperator, General.
Go through the midst.] Discriminate; make a difference; "take out the precious from the vile." God will sever his saints from others in common calamities, and deliver them, if not from the common destruction, yet from the common distraction.
And set a mark upon the foreheads.] Vulgate, Et signa Thau. Whatever this mark was, it was signum salutare. The letter Tau some think it was, as part of the word Tichieh - i.e., Thou shalt live; according to that, "The just shall live by his faith." Or as part of the word Torah - i.e., The law, to show that these had the law of God written in their hearts, and this made them mourn to see it so little set by. Howsoever, it is not the sign of the cross, as Papists would have it, but rather the blood of the cross, wherewith, when believers are sprinkled from an evil conscience, as the houses of the Israelites in Goshen were with the blood of the paschal lamb, they are sure of safety here and salvation hereafter. The election of God is sure, and hath this seal, "The Lord knoweth who are his," 2Ti 2:19 and it shall appear by them. Psa 91:1-16 Tau is the basis of the Hebrew alphabet, saith one, and marking by Christ is the basis of all true comfort and sound profession. Tau endeth and closeth up the alphabet, saith another; so he who persevereth to the end shall be saved. The mark here mentioned was not corporal but spiritual, even the merit and spirit of Christ, the value and virtue of his death and sufferings.
Of the men that sigh and cry.] That sigh deeply and cry out bitterly for their own and other men's sins and miseries, and this out of piety and pity. These are not many, yet some such are found in all ages. Rev 11:3 Inter vepres rosa nascitur, et inter feras nonnullae mitescunt. a Let us mourn in time of sinning: so shall we be marked in times of punishing.
a Ammian.