For the seed [shall be] prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these [things].
Ver. 12. For the seed shall be prosperous] Or, full and perfect, as the Chaldee hath it; it shall be fruitful and yield a plentiful crop, such as shall every way answer the desire of the husbandman. Instead of your recent scarcity (whereof see Haggai 1:9, with the notes) you shall abound with plenty of all things, feeding of the fat, and drinking of the sweet, and having your heart filled with food and gladness, Acts 14:17. More particularly:
The vine shall give her fruit] So that ye shall swim in wine.
And the ground shall give her increase] Her full burden of the best; so that your floors shall swell, and your tables sweat with sweetest varieties.
And the heavens shall give their dew] That womb of the morning wherein the fruits are conceived.
And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things] Whereas people are apt to attribute too much to means and second causes of plenty and prosperity, God assumes the honour of all to himself. Rain and fruitful seasons are his gift, Acts 14:17. And, Hosea 2:22, he resolveth the genealogy of grain and wine into himself: I will hear the heaven, and the heaven shall hear the earth, &c. And, both here and elsewhere he giveth us to know that the reward of religion is abundance of outward blessings; which yet are not always entailed to godliness (whatever Jesuits tell us of the Church's prosperity and plenty, fetching her mark from the market), to the end that it may he admired for itself, and not for these transitory trappings.