8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.



Ver. 8. And follow me] See here how by degrees (and not all at once) God oftentimes sendeth forth his prisoners (his afflicted ones) out of the pit wherein is no water, Zec_9:11. He is a "God of judgment," and waits a fit time to deal forth his favours, Isa_30:18; he crumbles his mercies, as the cloud dissolves drops rain upon the earth; we have his blessings by retail, to maintain commerce and communion between him and us. Have patience, therefore, and wait for full deliverance. We know not what we lose by making haste, and not holding up our hands, as Moses did, to the going down of the sun. If God have begun to enlarge us, he will in due time do it to the full. If we should not be in straits sometimes, God should have "no tribute from us;" as those malignants suggested against those returned captives, Ezr_4:13.