they have imagined to do 7. Go to let us m i. e. The blessed Trinity See Gen. 1. 26. go down and there confound their Language n By making them forget their former Language and by putting into their minds several Languages not a distinct Language into each person but into each Family or rather into each Nation that they may not †Heb. hear understand one anothers speech o And thereby be disenabled from that mutual commerce which was altogether necessary for the carrying on of that work 8. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the Earth p Thus they brought upon themselves the very thing they seared and that more speedily and more mischievously to themselves For now they were not only divided in place but in Language too and so were unfitted for those Consederacies and Correspondencies which they mainly designed and for the mutual Comfort and Help of one another which otherwise they might in good measure have enjoyed And they left off to build the City 9. Therefore is the Name of it called ‖ That is confusion Babel because the LORD did there confound the Language of all the Earth and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the Earth 10. * Chap. 10. 32. 1 Chron. 1. 17. These are the Generations of Shem q Not all of them as appears both from the next verse and from the former Chapter but of those who were the seminary of the Church and the Progenitors of Christ. Shem was an hundred years old and begat Arphaxad two years after the Flood 11. And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years r So that he lived almost all the time of Abraham which was a singular blessing both to himself who hereby saw his Children of the tenth Generation and to the Church of God which by this means enjoyed the Counsel and Conduct of so great a Patriarch and begat Sons and Daughters 12. And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years and begat Salah 13. And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years and begat Sons and Daughters 14. And Salah lived thirty years and begat Eber. 15. And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years and begat Sons and Daughters 16. * 1 Chro. 1. 19. And Eber lived four and thirty years and begat * called Luk. 3. 35. Phalec Peleg 17. And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years s So that he was the longest liv'd of all the Patriarchs which were born after the Flood and begat Sons and Daughters 18. And Peleg lived thirty years and begat Reu. 19. And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years and begat Sons and Daughters 20. And Reu lived two and thirty years and begat * Luk 3. 35. Saruch Serug 21. And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years and begat Sons and Daughters 22. And Serug lived thirty years and begat Nahor 23. And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years and begat Sons and Daughters 24. And Nahor t The first Patriarch who fell to Idolatry lived nine and twenty years and begat * Luk. 3. 34. Thara Terah 25. And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years and begat Sons and Daughters 26. And Terah lived seventy years and * Josh. 24. 2. 1 Chro. 1. 26. begat u i. e. Began to beget as Gen. 5. 32 Abram x Who is first named in order of Dignity for which cause Shem is put before Ham and Iapheth and Moses before Aaron not in order of time which seems to be this Haran probably was the eldest because Nahor married his Daughters Nahor the second and Abram certainly was the youngest because Terah Abrams Father lived two hundred and five years ver 32. and Abram after his Fathers Death Acts 7. 4. went out of Haran when he was seventy five years old Gen. 12. 4 5. therefore he was not begotten in Terahs seventieth year when Terah began to beget his Sons as here is said but in his one hundred and thirtieth year and so there remains seventy five years precisely to Abrams departure And Sarai Harans Daughter was but ten years younger than Abram Gen. 17. 17. and therefore Haran was Abrams Elder Brother Nahor and Haran 27. Now these are the Generations of Terah Terah begat Abram Nahor and Haran And Haran begat Lot 28. And Haran died before his Father Terah y i. e. In the presence and during the Life of his Father in the Land of his Nativity in Ur of the Caldees 29. And Abram and Nahor took them Wives The Name of Abrams Wife was Sarai and the Name of Nahors Wife Milcah the Daughter of Haran z Such Marriages of Uncles and Nieces being permitted then Exod. 6. 20. as in the beginning of the World the Marriages of Brethren and Sisters were though afterwards the Church being very much enlarged they were severely forbidden Levit 18. 12 14. the Father of Milcah and the Father of Iscah a Who is either Sarai as the Jews and many others think or rather another person For 1. Why should Moses express Sarai thus darkly and doubtfully Had he meant her he would have added after Iscah this is Sarai according to his manner in like cases Gen. 14. 2 7. and 35. 6. He elsewhere calleth her the Daughter not of his Brother as he should have done had she been Iscah but of his Father by another Mother 30. But Sarai was barren she had no child b See Gen. 16. 1 2. and 18. 11 12. 31. And Terah took Abram his Son c See Ios. 24. 2. Nehem. 9. 7. 1 Chron. 1. 26. Being informed by his Son of the command of God he did not despise it because it came to him by the hands of his inferiour but chearfully obeyeth it and therefore he is so honourably mentioned as the Head and Governour of the Action and Lot the Son of Haran his sons son and Sarai his daughter in law his Son Abrams wife and they went forth with them †i. e. Terab and Abram went with Lot and Sarâ—…i as their Heads and Guides from * Neh. 9. 7. Act. 7. 4. Ur of the Caldees to go into the Land of Canaan and they came unto Haran d Called Charran Act. 7. 4. and by the Romans Carrae a place in Mesopotamia strictly so called in the way to Canaan and near to it well known by Crassus his defeat there See Gen. 24. 10. and 28. 10. and 29. 4. and dwelt e Or rested or abode being detained there for a season peradventure by Terab's disease which begun there for the next verse tells us of his death there 32. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years and Terah died in Haran CHAP. XII 1.
fire f Whereby was fitly represented Gods Majesty and purity and power but of the midst of a bush and he looked and behold the bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed g Which doubtless represented the condition of the Church and people of Israel who were now in the fire of affliction yet so as that God was present with them and that they should not be consumed in it whereof this vision was a pledge 3 And Moses said I will now turn aside and see this great sight why the bush is not burnt 4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see God called unto him * Deut. 33. 16. out of the midst of the bush and said Moses Moses h He doubles the name partly to shew kindness and familiarity and principally to make Moses more attentive to the business before him and he said Here am I. 5 And he said Draw not nigh hither i Keep thy distance whereby he checks his curiosity and forwardness and works him to the greater reverence and humility Compare Exod. 19. 12 21. Ios. 5. 15. * Act. 7. 33. put off thy shoes from off thy feet k This he requires as an act and token 1. of his reverence to the divine Majesty then and there eminently present 2. of his humiliation for his sins whereby he was unfit and unworthy to appear before God for this was a posture of humiliation 2 Sam. 15. 30. Isa. 20. 2 4. Ezek. 24. 17 23. 3. of purification from the filth of his feet or ways or conversation that he might be more fit to approach to God See Ioh. 13. 10. Heb. 10. 22. 4. of his submission and readiness to obâ—… Gods will for which reason slaves used to be barefooted for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground l With a relative holiness at this time because of my special presence in it 6 Moreover he said * Mat. 22. 32. Act. 7. 32. I am the God of thy father the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob m The God ingaged to them by covenant or promise which I am now come to perform And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God n As other excellent servants of God have been through the sence of their own meanness and sinfulness and of Gods Majesty and holiness See Gen. 16. 13. and 17. 3. 1 King 19. 13. Isa. 6. 2 5. c. 7 And the LORD said I have surely seen o Heb. In seeing I have seen i. e I have seen and observed it diligently accurately and certainly for so much the doubling of the verb signifies the affliction of my people which are in Egypt and * chap. 2. 23. have heard their cry by reason of their task-masters for I know their sorrows 8 And I am come down p This word notes Gods manifestation of himself and his favour and giving help from heaven See Gen. 18. 21. to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large q So it was not onely comparatively to Goshen where they now dwelt and to the number of the Israelites at that time but absolutely if you take the land of promise according to its true and first and antient bounds of it as you have them described Gen. 15. 18. Deut. 1. 7. and 11. 24. and not according to those narrow limits to which they were afterwards confined for their unbelief floth cowardize and impiety unto a land flowing with milk and honey r i. e Abounding with the choicest fruits both for necessity and for delight The excellency and singular fruitfulness of this land howsoever denied or disputed by some ill minded persons is sufficiently evident 1. from express testimony not onely of Moses Deut. 8. 7 8 9. but also of the spies who were sent to view it and though prejudic'd against it yet acknowledged it Numb 13. 27. and of the holy Prophets that lived long in it as David Psal. 106. 24. Ioel chap. 2. 3. and Ezekiel who calls it the glory of all lands Ezek. 20. 15. Which if it had not been true it is ridiculous to think that they durst have said and writ so when the people with whom they contested and thousands of other persons there and then living were able to confute them After them Iosephus and St. Hierom and others since who lived long in that land have highly commended it And whereas Strabo speaks of the barrenness of the soâ—…l about Ierusalem that is true but by himself it is limited to the compass of 60 furlongs from Ierusalem And if at this day the land be now grown barren in a great measure it is not strange considering both the great neglect and sloth of the people as to the improvement of it and the great wickedness of its inhabitants for which God hath threatned to turn a fruitful land into barrenâ—… Psal. 107. 34. unto the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites s These people are diversâ—…y numbred there are ten sorts reckoned Gen. 15. 19 20 21. and seven Deut. 7. 1. and here but six because some of them were either destroyed or driven out of their land by others or dâ—…d by choice and design remove to some other place as many in those times did though it be not mentioned in Scripture or by cohabitation and marriages with some of the other people did make a coalition and were incorporated with them and so their name was swallowed up in the other or because the names of some of these people as particularly the Câ—…ites and the Amorites were used sometimes more strictly and sometimes more largely so as to comprehend under them the other people as the Girgashites c. whence it comes to pass that all the rest go under the names of the Caâ—…ites Gen. 13. 7. and of the Amorites in some places of Scripture as hath been shewed 9 Now therefore behold the cry * Either in prayer or rather forced by their oppressions as the next clause explains it of the children of Israel is come unto me and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them 10 Come now therefore and I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt 11 And Moses said unto God * See Isa. 6. 5. Ier. 1. 6. Who am I t What a mean inconsiderable person am I how unworthy and unfit for that employment He was more forward in the work 40 years ago by reason of the servours of his youth his inexperience in affairs the advantage of his power and interest in the Court by which he thought he could and should procure their deliverance But now age had made him cool and considerate the
impostures and the real miracles wrought by Moses and Aaron as appears from the next verse and from chap. 8. 18. and from other passages And this is a great evidence of the truth of Scripture-story and that it was not written by fiction and design For if Moses had written these books to deceive the world and to advance his own reputation as some have impudently said it is ridiculous to think that he would have put in this and many other passages which might seem so much to eclipse his honour and the glory of his works with their inchantments 12 For they cast down every man his rod and they became serpents l Either 1. in appearance For the Scripture oft speaks of things otherwise then they are because they seem to be so And therefore as the Devil appearing to Saul in the likeness of Samuel is called Samuel so may these rods upon the same account be called Serpents because through Diabolical illusion they seemed to be so Or 2. really in manner expressed ver 11. but Aarons rod swallowed up their rods m By which it was evident either that Aarons rod was turned into a real serpent because it had the real properties and effects of a serpent viz. to devour or at least that the God of Israel was infinitely more powerful then the Egyptian Idols or Devils 13 And he †The Lord to whom this act of hardening is frequently ascribed both in this book and elsewhere hardened Pharaohs heart that he hearkened not unto them * chap. 4. 21. as the LORD had said 14 And the LORD said unto Moses * chap. 8. 15. 〈◊〉 1 20 27. Pharaohs heart is hardened n Is obstinate and resolved in his way so as neither my word nor works can make any impression upon him he refuseth to let the people go 15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning lo he goeth out unto the water o i. e. Nilus whither he went at that time either for his recreation or to pay his morning-worship to that river which the Egyptians had in great veneration as Plutarch testifies and thou shalt stand by the rivers brink against he come and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take into thine hand 16 And thou shalt say unto him The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee saying Let my people go * chap. 3. 12 18. 5. 1 3. that they may serve me in the wilderness and behold hitherto thou wouldest not hear 17 Thus saith the LORD In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD p Because thâ—… saidst 〈◊〉 is the Lord and I know not the lord chap. 5. 2. thou 〈◊〉 know him experimentally and to thy cost * chap. 4. 9. behold I will smite q viz. by Aarons hand who shall do it by my command and direction Thus Pilate is said to give Christs body to Ioseph Mark 15. 45. because he commanded it to be delivered by others to him The same action is ascribed to the principal and instrumental cause with the rod that is in my hand upon the waters which are in the river r Nilus which was one of their principal Gods and therefore it was inexcusable in them that they would not renounce those â—…eeble Gods which were unable to help not onely their worshippers but even themselves nor embrace the service and commands of that God whose almighty power they saw and felt and they shall be turned * Rev. 16. 6. to blood s Which was a very grievous Plague to them both because it was an eternal dishonour to their Religion and because from hence they had both their drink Deut. 11. 10 11. Ier. 2. 18. and their meat Numb 11. 5. for greater and lesser cattel they would not eat Exod. 8. 26. And it was a very proper punishment for them who had made that river an instrument for the execution of their bloody design against the Israelitish infants Exod. 1. 22. 18 And the fish that is in the river shall die and the river shall stink and the Egyptians t Therefore the Israelites were free from this plague and those branches of Nilus which they used were uncorrupted when all others were turned into bloud shall loath u Or shall weary themselves in running hither and thither in hopes of finding water in some parts or branches of the river to drink of the water of the river 19 And the LORD spake unto Moses Say unto Aaron Take thy rod and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt upon their streams upon their rivers and upon their ponds and upon all their †Heb. gathering of their waters pooles of water x Not that he was to go to every pool to use this ceremony there but he stretched his hand and rod over some of them in the name of all the rest which he might signifie either by his words or by the various motions of his rod several ways that they may become blood and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone 20 And Moses and Aaron did so as the LORD commanded and he * chap. 17. 5. lift up the rod and smote the waters that were in the river in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants and all the * Psal. â—…8 44. and 105. 29. waters that were in the river were turned to blood 21 And the fish that was in the river died and the river stunk and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt 22 * Wisd. 17. â—… And the Magicians of Egypt did so with their inchantments y It was not difficult for the Devil to convey bloud speedily and unperceivably and that in great quantity which might suffice to infect with a bloody colour those small parcels of water which were left for them to shew their art in Qu. Whence could they have water when all their waters were turned into blood Ans. 1. It might be had either 1. by rain which at that time God was pleased to send down either for this purpose or to mitigate the extremity of the plague or for other reasons known to him though not to us For that rain sometimes falls in Egypt though not much nor often is affirmed by antient writers and late travellers Or 2. from Goshen which was not far from the Court or from some houses of the Israelites who dwelt amongst the Egyptians as appears from many places of this history and who were free from these Plagues See Exod. 8. 22. and 9. 26. and 10. 23. and 12. 13. c. Or 3. from the pits which they digged ver 24. Or 4. from some branch of Nilus or some vessels in their houses whose waters were not yet changed For this change might be wrought not suddenly
which is not affirmed in this relation but by degrees which God might so order for this very end that the Magicians might have matter for the trial of their experiment and Pharaohs heart was hardened neither did he hearken unto them as the LORD had said 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house neither did he set his heart to this z He did not seriously consider it nor the causes or cure of this plague and was not much affected with it because he saw this fact exceeded not the power of his Magitians also 24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink ‖ It is not much material to us whether they lost their labour and found onely blood there as Iosephus affirms or whether they succeeded and found water there which seems more probable because these come not within the compass of Moses his commission ver 17 19 20. or whether they found the water something purified and less bloody though mixed with blood But it is observable that though the Devil could do something which might increase the plague or imitate it yet he could do nothing to remove it for they could not drink of the water of the river 25 And seven dayes were fulfilled †Ere all the waters of Egypt were perfectly free from this infection Quest. How could the Egyptians subsist so long without water Ans. 1. Philo tells us that many of them died of this plague 2. As the plague might come on so it might go off by degrees and so the water though mixed with blood might give them some relief 3. The juyces of herbs and other liquors which were untouched with this plague might refresh them 4. They might have some water either from their pits or by rain from heaven as was said before or from Goshen for though it be said that the blood was in all their vessels ver 19. yet it is not said that all that should afterwards be put into them should be turned into blood after that the LORD had smitten the river CHAP. VIII 1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses Go unto Pharaoh and say unto him Thus saith the LORD let my people go that they may serve me 2 And if thou refuse to let them go behold I will smite all thy borders a All thy land which is within thy borders A Synecdoche so that word is used also Exod. 10. 14 19. 1 King 1. 3. Psal. 147. 14. Ier. 15. 13. So the gate and the wall are put for the city to which they belong Gen. 22. 17. Amos 1. 7 10 14. with * Rev. 16. 13. frogs 3 And the river b Under which are comprehended all other rivers streams and ponds as appears from ver 5. But the river Nilus is mentioned because God would make that an instrument of their misery in which they most gloried Ezek. 29. 3. and to which they gave divine honours and which was the instrument of their cruelty against the Israelites chap. 1. 22. shall bring forth frogs abundantly which shall go up and come into thine house and into thy bed chamber c Either because God made the doors and windows to flie open which it is easie to believe concerning God seeing this hath been many times done by evil Angels or because whensoever men entred into any house or any room of their house which their occasions would oft force them to do the frogs being always at their heels in great numbers would go in with them This plague was worse than the former because it was more constant and more general for the former was onely in the waters and did onely molest them when they went to drink or use the water but this infected all liquors and all places and at all times and annoyed all their sences with their filthy substance and shape and noise and stink and mingled themselves with their meats and â—…auces and drinks and crawling into their bedâ—… made them restless And many of them probably were of a more ugly shape and infectious nature than ordinary and upon thy bed and into the house of thy servants and upon thy people and into thine ovens and into thy ‖ Or dough kneading-troughs 4 And the frogs shall come up both on thee and upon thy people d Not upon the Israelites whom he hereby exempts from the number of Pharaohs people and subjects and owns them for his peculiar people The frogs did not onely invade their houses but assault their persons which is not strange considering that they were armed with a divine commission and power and upon all thy servants 5 And the LORD spake unto Moses e By inward instinct or suggestion to his mind for he was now in the Kings presence Say unto Aaron Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams over the rivers and over the ponds and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt 6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt and * Psal. 78. 4â—… and 105. 30. the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt 7 * Wisd. 1â—… â—… And the Magicians did so with their inchantments f Nor was it hard for the Devil to produce them out of their own spawn and the slime of the river and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt 8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said Intreat the LORD that he may take away the frogs from me and from my people and I will let the people go that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD 9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh ‖ Or have this honour over 〈◊〉 Glory over me g As I have gloried over thee in laying first my commands and then my plagues upon thee so now lay thy commands upon me for the time of my praying and if I do not what thou requirest I am content thou shouldest insult over me and punish me Or Glory or boast thy self of or concerning me as one that by Gods power can do that for thee which all thy Magitians cannot of whom therefore thou now seest thou canst not glory nor boast as thou hast hitherto done * Or against when When shall I intreat for thee h Appoint me what time thou pleasest Hereby he knew that the hand and glory of God would be more conspicuous in it And this was no presumption in Moses because he had a large Commission chap. 7. 1. and also had particular direction from God in all that he said or did in these matters and for thy servants and for thy people to †Heb. to â—…ut 〈◊〉 destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses that they may remain in the river only 10 And he said ‖ Or against to morrow To morrow i Why not presently Ans. 1. Because he hoped ere that time they might be removed either by natural causes or by chance and so he should not need the favour of
or commandements to wit the ten commandements so called by way of eminency for these onely were written by God upon the stony tables as appears by Exod. 34. 28. the rest were written onely by Moses in a book above ver 4. which I have written that thou mayest teach them 13 And Moses rose up and his minister Joshua g Who did not go up with Moses to the top of the mount as is sufficiently implyed both here and above ver 1 2. but abode in some lower place waiting for Moses his return as appears from Exod. 32. 17. And there Ioshua abode 40 dayes not fasting all the while but having as the rest had Manna for his meat and for his drink water out of the brook that discended out of the mount as we read Deut. 9. 21. and Moses went up into the mount of God 14 And he said unto the elders Tarry ye here for us h i. e. For me and Ioshua and here i. e. in the camp where he was when he spake these words for it was where not onely Aaron and Hur but the people might come as it here follows and therefore not upon the mount untill we come again unto you and behold Aaron and Hur i Whom Moses had made joint-commissioners to determine hard causes which were brought to them from the Elders according to the order Exod. 18. 22. Some make Aaron the Ecclesiastical head and Hur the civil head But Aaron was not authorized for Ecclesiastical matters till chap. 28. are with you if any man have any matters to do let him come unto them 15 And Moses went up into the mount and a cloud covered the mount 16 And * Num. 14. 10. the glory of the LORD k i. e. The tokens of his glorious presence in the fire ver 17. Deut. 4. 36. abode upon mount Sinai and the cloud covered l From the eyes of the people it six dayes and the seventh day m So long God made Moses wait either to exercise his humility devotion and dependance upon God Or to prepare him by degrees for so great a work Or because this was the Sabbath day called therefore the seventh with an emphatical article And God might chuse that day for the beginning of that glorious work to put the greater honour upon it and oblige the people to a stricter observance of it So it was upon a Lords Day that St. Iohn had his Revelation delivered to him Rev. 1. 10. he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud 17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like * Deut. 4. 36. devouring fire n He saith like it for it was not devouring fire as appears by Moses his long abode in it Note here whatsoever the Elders of Israel saw before the people saw no similitude of God as Moses observes Deut. 4. 15. on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel 18 And Moses went up into the midst of the cloud o The God that called him enabling him to enter and abide there whereas when he was left to himself he could not enter into the Tabernacle Exod. 40. 35. and gat him up into the mount and Moses was in the mount forty dayes and forty nights p In which he did neither eat nor drink Exod. 34. 28. Deut. 9. 9 18. whereby it seems most probable the six days mentioned ver 16. were a part of these 40 days because Moses being in perpetual expectation of Gods call seems not to have had leasure for eating and drinking nor provision neither Besides he is not said to be in the midst of the cloud so long but onely in the mount where he was those six days ver 15 16. CHAP. XXV 1 AND the LORD spake a Having delivered the Moral and Judicial Laws he now comes to the Ceremonial Law wherein he sets down all things very minutely and particularly whereas in the other Laws he was content to lay down general rules and leaveth many other things to be by analogy deduced from them The reason of the difference seems to be this That the light of reason implanted in all men gives him greater help in the discovery of Moral and Judicial things then in Ceremonial matters or in the external way and manner of Gods Worship which is a thing depending wholly upon Gods institution and not left to mans invention which is a very incompetent Judge of those things as appears from hence because the wittiest men destitute of Gods revelation have been guilty of most foolery in their devices of Gods Worship unto Moses saying 2 Speak unto the children of Israel that they †Heb. take for me bring me an ‖ Or. heave offering offering * chap. 35. 5. of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering 3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them gold and silver and brass 4 And blue b Or Skie-coloured But here you must not understand the meer colours which could not be offered but some materials proper for the work and of the colours here mentioned to wit Wool or Threds or some such like things as appears from Heb. 9. 19. and from the testimony of the Jews and purple and scarlet and fine †Or silk linnen c Which was of great esteem in antient times and used by Priests and great Officers of state See Gen. 41. 42. Rev. 19. 8 14. and goats hair d Heb. Goats But that their hair is understood is apparent from the nature of the thing and from the use of the word in that sense in other places 5 And rams skins died red and badgers skins and Shittim-wood e A kind of Wood growing in Egypt and the Deserts of Arabia very durable and pretious See Exod. 35. 24. Numb 33. 49. Esa. 41. 19. Ioel 3. 18. 6 * chap 27. 20. Oyl for the light f For the Lamps or Candlesticks ver 〈◊〉 * chap. 30. 23 Spices for anointing oyl g Wherewith the Priests and the Tabernacle and the 〈◊〉 thereof were to be anointed and for * chap. 30. 3â—… sweet incense h Heb. Incense of Spices or Sweet-odors So called to distinguish it from the incense of the fat of Sacrifices which was burnt upon the Altar 7 Onyx-stones i Or Sardonyx-stones Note that the signification of the Hebrew Names of the several stones are not agreed upon by the Jews at this day and much more may we safely be ignorant of them the religious use of them being now abolished and stones to be set k Stones of fulness or filling or perfecting stones so called either because they did perfect and adorn the Ephod or because they filled up the ouches or the hollow places which were left vacant for this purpose in the * chap. 28. 4. Ephod and in the * chap. 28. 15. breast-plate l
into the land of their enemies i. e. that they are not come into these calamities by chance nor by the misfortune of war but by my just judgment upon them All which confession is no more than Pharaoh made in his distresses and than hypocrites in their affliction use to make And therefore he addes if then their uncircumcised i. e. impure carnal profane and impenitent hearts be humbled i. e. subdued purged reformed if to this confession they adde sincere humiliation and reformation I will do what follows their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers with their trespass which they trespassed against me and that also they have walked contrary unto me 41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them and have brought them into the land of their enemies if then their * Jer. 6. 10. Rom. 2. 29. Col. 2. 11. uncircumcised hearts be humbled and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity x The Hebrew word avon commonly signifies iniquity but it is oft used for the punishment of iniquity as here and 1 Sam. 28. 10. Psal. 31. 10. Isa. 53. 6 11. The meaning is if they sincerely acknowledge the righteousness of God and their own wickedness and patiently submit to his correcting hand and would rather be in their present suffering condition than in their former sinful though prosperous estate if with David they are ready to say it is good for them that they are afflicted that they may learn Gods statutes and obedience to them for the future which is a good evidence of true repentance 42 Then will I remember my covenant y To wit so as to perform it and make good all that I have promised in it For words of knowledge or remembrance in Scripture do most commonly connote affection and kindness of which there are many instances some given before and more hereafter with Jacob and also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember and I will remember the land z Which now seems to be forgotten and neglected and despised as if I had never chosen it to be the peculiar place of my presence and blessing 43 The land also shall be left of them and shall enjoy her sabbaths while she lieth desolate without them and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity because even because they despised my judgments and because their soul abhorred my statutes 44 And yet for all that when they be in the land of their enemies * Deut. 4. 31. Rom. 11. 26. I will not cast them away neither will I abhorre them to destroy them utterly and to break my covenant with them for I am the LORD their God †Neither the desperateness of their condition nor the greatness of their sins shall make me wholly make void my covenant with them and their ancestours but I will in due time remember them for good and for my covenants sake return to them in mercy From this place the Iews take great comfort and assure themselves of deliverance out of their present servitude and misery And from this and such other places St. Paul concludes that the Israelitish nation though then rejected and ruined should be gathered again and restored 45 But I will for their sakes ‖ Or rather to or for them i. e. for their good or benefit for surely if one considers what is said before concerning the wickedness of this people he cannot say this deliverance was given them for their sakes but must rather say with the Prophet Ezek. 36. 22 32. not for your sake O house of Israel c. remember the covenant of their ancestors whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen that I might be their God I am the LORD 46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses CHAP. XXVII 1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying 2 Speak unto the children and say unto them When a man shall make a singular vow a Or an eminent or hard or wonderful vow not concerning things which was not strange but customary but concerning persons as it here follows which he vowed or by vow devoted unto the Lord which indeed was unusual and difficult yet there want not instances of such vows and of persons which devoted either themselves or their children to the service of God and that either more strictly and particularly as the Nazarites and the Levites 1 Sam. 1. 11. and for these there was no redemption admitted but they were in person to perform the service to which they were devoted or more largely and generally as some who were not Levites nor intended themselves or their children should be Nazarites might yet through zeal to God and his service or to obtain Gods help in giving them some mercy which they wanted and desired or in freeing them from some evil felt or feared devoted themselves or their children to the service of God and of the Sanctuary though not in such a way as the Levites which they were forbidden to do yet in some kind of subserviency to them And because there might be too great a number of persons thus dedicated which might be burdensome and chargeable to the Sanctuary therefore an exchange is allowed and the Priests are directed to impose and require a tax for their redemption the persons shall be for the LORD b i. e. Dedicated to the Lord and consequently to the Priest by thy estimation c By whose estimation Ans. Either 1. thine O Priest to whom the valuation of things belonged and here is ascribed ver 12. Or rather 2. thine O man that vowest as appears from ver 8. where his estimation is opposed to the Priests valuation Nor was there any fear of his partiality in his own cause for the price is particularly limited But where the price is undetermined there to avoid that inconvenience the Priest is to value it as ver 8 12. 3 And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old d Which is the best time for strength and service and therefore is prized at the highest rate even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver after the shekel of the sanctuary 4 And if it be a female then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels e Less than the mans price because she is inferiour to him both in strength and serviceableness 5 And if it be from five years old f At what age they might be vowed by their parents as appears from 1 Sam. 1. though not by themselves and the children were obliged by their parents vow which is not strange considering the parents power and right to dispose of their children so far as is not contrary to the mind of God even unto twenty years old then thy estimation shall be of
that the Israelites beyond Iordan were Circumcised at the same time at the * Or Gibeah â—…aaraloth hill of the foreskins 4 And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise all the people that came out of Egypt m This is to be restrained to such as were then above 20 years old and such as were guilty of that rebellion Numb 14. as it is expressed below v. 6. that were males even all the men of war died in the wilderness by the way after they came out of Egypt 5 Now all the people that came out were circumcised but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt them they n Either their Parents or the Rulers of Israel whose omission hereof was not through neglect for then God who had ordered the neglecter of Circumcision to be cut off Gen. 17. 14. would not have left so gross a fault unpunished but by Divine Permission and Indulgence partly because they were now in a Journey in which case the Passover also might be neglected Numb 9. 10 13. and in that Journey the Passover was but once observed and partly because there was not so great a necessity of this note of Circumcision to distinguish them from other Nations whilest they dwelt alone and unmixed in the Wilderness as there was afterwards had not circumcised 6 For the Children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness till all the people o The Hebrew word commonly signifies the Gentiles so he calls them to note that they were unworthy of the name and priviledges of Israelites that were men of war which came out of Egypt were consumed because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD unto whom the LORD sware * Numb 14. 23. that he would not shew them p i. e. Not give them so much as a fight of it which he granted to Moses much less the possession and enjoyment of it Or shewing is put for giving as it is Psal. 4. 6. and 60. 3. Eccles. 2. 24. the land which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us a land that floweth with milk and honey 7 And their children whom he raised up in their stead them Joshua circumcised q Which God would have now done 1. as a Testimony of Gods reconciliation to the people of which circumcision was a sign and that God would not further impute their Parents Rebellions to them 2. Because the great impediment of Circumcision was now removed to wit their continued Travels and frequent and uncertain removal 3. To prepare them for the approaching Passover 4. To distinguish them from the Canaanites into whose land they were now come 5. To ratify the Covenant between God and them whereof Circumcision was a Sign and Seal to assure them that God would now make good his Covenant in giving them this Land and to oblige them to perform all the Duties and Services to which that Covenant bound them of which Circumcision was the beginning and foundation all which they were expresly enjoined to do as soon as ever they came into Canaan Exod. 12. 25. Levit. 23. 10. Numb 15. 2. for they were uncircumcised because they had not circumcised them by the way 8 And it came to pass * Heb. When all the people had made an end to be Circumcised when they had done circumcising all the people that they abode in their places in the camp till they * Heb. lived were whole r. q Free from that pain and sore which Circumcision caused Gen. 34. 25. It was indeed an act of great Faith to expose themselves to so much pain and danger too in this place where they were hemmed in by Iordan and their Enemies but yet they had many considerations to support their Faith and suppress their Fears the fresh experience of Gods power and readiness to work Miracles for their preservation the great consternation of all their Enemies which they might observe and rationally presume the considerable number of the people who were above 40 years old and therefore circumcised before this time their great General being one of this number the time it would require for their Enemies to bring together a force sufficient to oppose them 9 And the LORD said unto Joshua This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt s i. e. Uncircumcision which was both in Truth and in the opinion of the Iews a matter of great reproach Gen. 34. 14. 1 Sam. 14. 6. and 17. 26. And although this was a reproach common to most Nations of the World yet it is particularly called the reproach of Egypt either 1. because the other neighbouring Nations being the children of Abraham by the Concubines are supposed to have been Circumcised which the Egyptians at this time were not as may be gathered from Exod. 2. 6. where they knew the Child to be an Hebrew by this mark Or 2. because they came out of Egypt and were esteemed to be a sort of Egyptians Numb 22. 5. which they justly thought a great reproach but by their Circumcision they were now distinguished from them and manifested to be another kind of people Or 3. Because many of them lay under this reproach in Egypt having wickedly neglected this Duty there for worldly reasons and others of them continued in the same shameful condition for many years in the Wilderness from off you wherefore the name of the place is called * That is râ—…lling Gilgal unto this day 10 And the children of Israel incamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover t Which was their third Passover the first was in Egypt Exod. 12. the second at Mount Sinai Numb 9. the third here for in their Wilderness-Travels these and all other Sacrifices were neglected Amos 5. 25. on the * Exod. 12. 6. fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho 11 And they did eat of the old corn u The Corn of the last year which the Inhabitants of those parts had doubtless left in their Barns being doubtless fled for fear of the Israelites into their strong Cities or other remoter and safer parts of the land on the morrow after the Passover x i. e. On the sixteenth day for the Passover was killed between the two Evenings of the fourteenth day and was eaten in that evening or night which according to the Iewish computation whereby they begin their days at the evening was a part of the fifteenth day all which was the feast of the Passover and so the morrow of the sixteenth day was the morrow after the Passover when they were obliged to offer unto God the first sheaf and then were allowed to eat of the rest unleavened cakes and parched corn y Of that years Corn which was most proper and customary for that use in the self-same day z Having an eager desire to enjoy the Fruits of the Land 12 And the
15. 29. and more fully 2 King 17. 6. because they have made their groves h For the Worship of their Idols Exod. 34. 13. Deut. 16. 21. God having before condemned the making and worshipping of the Calves by which they designed or pretended to Worship the True God he now takes notice that they were not contented with the Calves but as it is the nature of Idolatry and all sin to proceed from evil to worse were many of them fallen into another and a worse kind of Idolatry even their worship of the Heathenish Baals which they commonly exercised in Groves See on 1 King 18. 19. provoking the LORD to anger 16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam who did sin and who made Israel to sin i To wit by his invention and making of the occasion of their sin the Calves by his example by encouraging those and onely those that worshipped the Calves and by his Authority requiring and compelling them to do it This is mentioned as a monstrous aggravation of his wickedness that he was not content with his own sin but was the great Author and chief cause of drawing others into sin and of corrupting and undoing the whole Kingdom which therefore God would never forgive him nor forget him but upon all occasions mentions him with this Eternal brand of infamy upon him 17 ¶ And Jeroboams wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah k An Ancient and Royal City Ios. 12. 24. in a pleasant place Cant. 6. 4. where the Kings of Israel had a Palace chap. 15. 33. and 16. 6 8 23 24. whither Ieroboam was now removed from Shechem either for his pleasure or for his Sons recovery by the healthfulness of the place and when she came to the threshold of the door l To wit of the Kings House which probably was upon or by the Wall of the City and near the Gate which was the place of Judicature See v. 12. the child died 18 And they buried him and all Israel mourned for him according to the word of the LORD which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet 19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam how he warred and how he reigned behold they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel m Heb. in the book of the words or things of the days c. By which you are not to understand that Canonical Book of the Chronicles for that was written long after this Book but a Book of Civil Records the Annals wherein all remarkable passages were Recorded by the Kings command from day to day out of which the Sacred Penman by the direction of Gods Spirit took out those passages which were most considerable and useful for Gods Honour and Mens Edification 20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years So he lived till Asa's second year chap. 15. 25. and he ‡ Heb. lay down slept with his fathers o Either First He was Buried with his Ancestors But their Sepulchre seems to be too mean and improper for a great King and Kings use to be Buried in peculiar Sepulchres Or Secondly He died as his Fathers did and Nadab his son reigned in his stead 21 ¶ And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah 2 Chr. 12. 13. Rehoboam was forty and one years old p Therefore he was born a year before Solomon was King as appears from 1 King 11. 42. This is noted as an aggravation of Rehoboam's folly that he was old enough to have been wiser when he began to reign and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem the city which the LORD did chuse out of all the tribes of Israel to put his Name there and his mothers name was Naamah an Ammonitess q A People Cursed by God and shut out of the Congregation of his People for ever Deut. 23. 3. Neh. 13. 1. This is observed as one cause both of Gods displeasure in punishing Solomon with such a Son and of Rehoboam's Apostacy after his three first years 2 Chron. 11. 17. 22 And Judah did evil r After a little time 2 Chron. 11. 17. in the sight of the LORD and they provoked him to jealousie with their sins which they had committed above all that their fathers had done 23 For they also s They followed the example of the Israelites although they were better instructed and had the Temple in their Kingdom and liberty of access to it which was denied to the Israelites and the priviledge of Worshipping God in his own way and the Counsels and Sermons and Examples of the Priests and Levites to teach and stablish them and the dreadful example of Israel's horrid Apostacy to caution and terrify them built them high places t Which was unlawful and now especially when the Temple was Built and ready to receive them unnecessary and therefore expressed a greater contempt of God and his express Command to the contrary and ‖ Or standing images or statues images and groves u Not only after the manner of the Heathens and Israelites but against a direct and particular prohibition on every high hill and under every green tree x The People were universally corrupted which is a prodigious all things considered and is a clear evidence of the greatness and depth of the Original corruption of Mans nature which without Gods Grace is ready to break forth into all sorts of wickedness 24 And there were also Sodomites y i. e. Males who prostitured their Bodies to the filthy Lusts of others of whom see on Deut. 23. 17. who also did this in the worship and to the honour of their Idols as also the Women did Numb 25. 1 2. And this might be one occasion of so great a spreading of Idolatry among the Lustful Israelites And on the other side God doth frequently punish Idolatry with Corporal uncleanness Rom. 1. 21 28. See 1 King 15. 12. and 22. 46. 2 King 23. 7. in the land and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel 25 ¶ And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam z Presently after his and his Peoples Apostacy which was not till his fourth year when the Apostatical Israelites enjoyed Peace and some kind of Prosperity at first for many Years together of which difference two reasons may be given First That Iudah's sins were committed against clearer Light and more powerful means and remedies of all sorts and therefore deserved more severe and speedy Judgments Secondly That God discovered more Love to Iudah in chastizing them speedily that so they might be humbled and reformed and so graciously preserved as it happened and more anger against Israel that he spared them and by their impunity hardned and ripened them to that total destruction which he intended to bring upon
Prisoners and either used as Slaves or sold them for such 22 For there fell down many slain because the war was of God r God put them upon it and mightily assisted them in it And they s i. e. That Party of these Tribes which went out to this War being 44760 men or part of them by the consent of the rest dwelt in their steads until the captivity t Of which 2 Kings 15. 29. and 17. 6. 23 And the children of the half-tribe of Manasseh u Having discoursed of the Reubenites v. 3 c. and next of the Gadites v. 11 c. he now comes to the Manassites dwelt in the land x i. e. In their Land to wit in the Northern part of the land beyond Iordan they increased from Bashan unto Baal-hermon and Senir and unto mount Hermon 24 And these were the heads of the house of their fathers even Epher and Ishi and Eliel and Azriel and Jeremiah and Hodaviah and Jahdiel mighty men of valour †Heb. as 〈◊〉 famous men and heads of the house of their fathers 25 And they transgressed against the God of their fathers and went a * 〈…〉 whoring after the gods of the people of the land whom God destroyed before them 26 And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit y He so governed his Counsels and Affections that he should bring his Forces against this People rather than others of * 〈…〉 Pul king of Assyria and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria and he carried them away even the Reubenite and the Gadite and the half-tribe of Manasseh and brought them unto * 〈…〉 Halah and Habor and Hara and to the river Gozan z Of which places see 2 King 15. 17. unto this day CHAP. VI. 1 THe sons of Levi * 〈…〉 ‖ 〈…〉 Gershon Kohath and Merari 2 And the sons of Kohath Amram Izhar a Called also Amminadab v. 22. compare Exod. 6. 21. and Hebron and Uzziel 3 And the children of Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam The sons also of Aaron * 〈…〉 Nadab and Abihu Eleazar and Ithamar 4 Eleazar begat Phinehas and Phinehas begat Abishua 5 And Abishua begat Bukki and Bukki begat Uzzi b In whose days it is supposed that the High-Priesthood was translated from Eleazars Family to Ithamars for some Cause now unknown in whose Line it continued for some Successions 6 And Uzzi begat Zerahiah and Zerahiah begat Merajoth 7 Merajoth begat Amariah and Amariah begat Ahitub 8 And * 2 Sam. â—… 1â—… Ahitub begat Zadok and * 2 Sam. 1â—… 〈◊〉 Zadok begat Ahimaaz 9 And Ahimaaz begat Azariah and Azariah begat Johanan 10 And Johanan begat Azariah * 〈…〉 he it is that executed the priests office c So did all the rest but it is implied that he did it worthily he filled his place and valiantly discharged his Office in Uzziahs time of which see 2 Chron. 26. 17 c. Or this he may relate to Iohanan otherwise called Iehojadaâ—… who is so highly commended for the good Service which he did to the House of God and of the King of whom see 2 Kings 11. †Heb. iâ—… the house in the * 〈…〉 temple that Solomon built d In Solomons Temple so called to distinguish it from the second Temple which was built or in building when these Books were written in Jerusalem 11 And * 〈…〉 Azariah begat Amariah and Amariah begat Ahitub 12 And Ahitub begat Zadok and Zadok begat ‖ 〈…〉 Shallum 13 And Shallum begat Hilkiah and Hilkiah begat Azariah 14 And Azariah begat * 〈…〉 Serajah e Who was slain by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah 2 Kings 25. 18 21. and Serajah begat Jehozadak 15 And Jehozadak went into captivity * 〈…〉 when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar 16 The sons of Levi * 〈◊〉 6. 16. ‖ 〈…〉 Gershom Kohath and Merari f This he repeats as the Foundation of the following Genealogy of those Levites who were not Priests 17 And these be the names of the sons of Gershon Libni and Shimei 18 And the sons of Kohath were Amram and Izkar and Hebron and Uzziel 19 The sons of Merari Mahli and Mushi And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers g Who are distinguished and named from their Fathers And the following Catalogue is thought to contain the successive Heads or Chiefs of their several Families until the Times of David by whom they were distributed into several Ranks or Courses 20 Of Gershom Libni his son Jahath his son * 〈…〉 Zimmah his son h i. e. His Grandson by his Son Shimei as appears from v. 42 43. the Names of Father and Son being oft used in Scripture of more remote Progenitors or Successors 21 ‖ 〈…〉 Joah his son ‖ 〈…〉 Iddo his son Zerah his son Jeaterai his son 22 The sons of Kohath ‖ 〈…〉 Amminadab his son Korah his son Assir his son 23 Elkanah his son and Ebiasaph his son and Affiâ—… his son 24 Tahath his son ‖ 〈…〉 Uriel i Called also Zephaniah v. 36. where also Uzziah here following is called Azariah his son ‖ Uzziah his son and ‖ 〈…〉 Shaul his son 25 And the sons of Elkanah k The Son of that Korah mentioned above v. 22. as is manifest by v. 35 36 37. and by Exod. 6. 23 24. * See 〈◊〉 35 1 Amasai and Abimoth 26 As for Elkanah l This was another Elkanah Son or Grandson of the former Elkanah and either the Son or Brother of Ahimoth last mentioned or of Amasai the sons of Elkanah ‖ 〈…〉 Zophai his son and Nahath m Called also Toah v. 34. and Tohu 1 Sam. 1. 1. his son 27 * 〈…〉 Eliab his son Jeroham his son Elkanali n The Father of the Prophet Samuel 1 Sam. 1. 1. who therefore follows here his son 28 And the sons of Samuel the first-born ‖ 〈◊〉 also 〈◊〉 ver 33. â—…am 8. 2. Vashni and Abiah 29 The sons of Merari Mahly Libni his son Shimei his son Uzza his son 30 Shimea his son Haggiah his son Asajah his son 31 And these o Whose Names here follow are they whom David set over the ‖ Heb. 〈◊〉 service p Heb. the Hands Hand put for 〈◊〉 or Service which is commonly performed by the Hand Thus God is frequently said to speak or command things by the Hand i. e. the Ministery of Moses Compare 2 Chron. 29. 27. of song in the house of the LORD after that the 〈◊〉 16. 1. ark had rest q Which was in Davids Time 2 Sam. 6. 17. 32 And they ministred before the dwelling-place of the tabernacle r Or the Tabernacle of the Tent as the same Hebrew words are translated Exod. 39. 32. 40 2
captain for the twelfth month was ‖ Or Heled Ch. 11. 30. Heldai the Netophathite of Othniel and in his course were twenty and four thousand 16 Furthermore over the children of Israel q i. e. These were the Princes of the Tribes as they are called below v. 22. who were the most ancient and constant Rulers of the Tribes at all times whether of War or Peace who seem to have had a Superiour Power to these 24 Captains and therefore are named before them ch 28. 1. being probably the Kings Chief Counsellours and Assistants in the great Affairs of his Kingdom the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri of the Simeonites Shephatiah the son of Maacha 17 Of the Levites * Ch. 26. 30. Hashabiah the son of Kemuel †Heb. Aaron of the Aaronites Zadok 18 Of Judah Elihu r Called also Eliaâ—… 1 Sam. 16. 6. one of the brethren of David of Issachar Omri the son of Michael 19 Of Zebulun Ishmajah the son of Obadiah of Naphtali Jerimoth the son of Azriel 20 Of the children of Ephraim Hashea the son of Azaziah of the half-tribe of Manasseh Joel the son of Pedajah 21 Of the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead Iddo the son of Zechariah of Benjamin Jaâ—…siel the son of Abner 22 Of Dan Azareel the son of Jeroham These were the princes of the Tribes s Of the most of the Tribes not of all for Gâ—…d is omitted probably because that Tribe was joyned with tho Reubenites under one Prince and Asher for some such reason or for some other Causes now unknown and not worth our Enquiry of Israel 23 But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under t The meaning is David when he desired to number the people he designed to number onely those who were from twâ—…nty years old and upward or which is the same thing thosâ—… that drew sword 1 Chron. 21. 5. and not those who were from 20 years old and under because * Gen. 15. 5. the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens u And therefore to number them all both above and under twenty years old had been both an infinite trouble and a tempting of God or a questioning of the Truth of his Promises And possibly this Circumstance might in part deceive or quiet Davidâ—… Conscience that his desire of knowing the number of his People did not proceed from distrust of Gods Promise or Providence but from a prudent Care to know the true State and Strength of his Kingdom 24 Joab the son of Zerujah began to number x To wit All from 20 years old and upward as David commanded him but he finished not y For Levi and Benjamin he counted not 1 Chron. 21. 6. because * 2 Sam. 24. 15. Ch. 21. â—… there fell wrath for it against Israel z Whilst he was doing the Work which was one reason which made him to cease Heb. And there fell c. Though David numbred them with Caution and Limitation as was noted before yet this did not hinder Gods Wrath from falling upon Israel for this Sin neither †Heb. asâ—…ended was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David a The sence is either 1. That the full number was not registred because Levi and Benjamin were not counted by Joab Or rather 2. That David being sensible of and smarting for his Sin would not have the number brought in by Joab to him put into the publick Register though God would have it recorded in Scripture for the instruction of succeeding Ages For he speaks not here of the Account given in to the King which was done and was Joabs Act but of the putting of the Account into the publick Records which was not done and which could not be done but by Davids Command or Permission 25 And over the kings treasures b Of Gold or Silver or other things of great price which for greater security were kept in Jerusalem and in the Kings Palace and thither the Tribute-money also was sent and committed to his Care was Azmaveth the son of Adiel and over the storehouses c Of the Fruits of the Earth or that share of them which belonged to the King which were laid up in the Fields or Cities or Villages or Castles as there was conveniency and occasion in the fields in the cities and in the villages and in the castles was Jehonathan the son of Uzziah 26 And over them that did the work of the field d Over the Kings Husbandry for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub 27 And over the vineyards e i. e. Over the Workmen and Labourers in the Vineyards as the next Officer is over the Fruit of the Vineyards In like manner one man was over the Labourers in the Fields v. 26. and another over the Fruits of the Fields put into Stores after the manner v 25. was Shimei the Ramathite †Heb. over that which was of the Vineyards over the increase of the vineyards for the wine-cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite 28 And over the olive-trees and the sycamore-trees that were in the low plains was Baal-hanan the Gederite and over the cellars of oil was Joash 29 And over the herds that fed in Sharon f A place Famous for its Fruitfulness See Isa. 33. 9. 35. 2. was Shitrai the Sharonite and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai 30 Over the camels also was Obil the Ishmeelite g So called either because he was born of that People or had lived among them or from some notable Exploit which he did against them and over the asses was Jehdeja the Meronothite 31 And over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagerite All these were the rulers of the substance which was king Davids 32 Also Jonathan Davids uncle was a counseller a wise man and a ‖ Or Secretary scribe h Either one learned in the Laws of God which were also the Laws of the Land by which all their Counsels were to be ruled Or the Kings Secretary and Jehiel the ‖ Or Hachmoniâ—…e son of Hachmoni was with the kings sons i As their Tutor or Governour 33 And * 2 Sam â—…5 12. Ahithophel was the kings counseller k The Person whose Counsel in matters of State the King most prized and followed and * 2 Sam 〈◊〉 Hushai the Archite was the kings companion l Or his Friend as he is called a Sam. 15. 37. The Person whom he most trusted with all his Secrets and whose Conversation was most pleasant and acceptable to him 34 And after Ahithophel m i. e. After his death these were his Chief Counsellers was Jâ—…hojada the son of Benajah and Abiathar and the general of the kings army was * Ch. 11 â—… Joab CHAP.
after that Sin of his mentioned ch 16. 2 c. 2 And he placed forces in all the senced cities of Judah and set garisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim which Asa his father had taken 3 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the first ways of his ‖ Oâ—… of his father David father David b Which David walked in before he fell into those horrid Sins of Murder and Adultery Or in the ways of David and his Fathers first ways For the beginning of Asa's Reign was Laudable as we have seen though he declined at last For it seems more probable that this Passage is a Refâ—…ection upon Asa whose last ways were much his worst and of whose Repentance we have no Evidence than upon David who though he fell dreadfully in the Matter of Uriah yet did manifestly repent of it and return to his first and holy course of Life in which also he continued until death having this Character given him by the Holy Ghost after his death that he did right in all things saving that of Uriah 1 King 15. 5. and sought not unto Baalim 4 But sought to the LORD God of his father and walked in his commandments and not after the doings of Israel c i. e. Their Worship of the Calves or other Idols 5 Thereâ—…ore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand and all Judah †Heb. 〈◊〉 brought to Jehoshaphat presents d As Subjects in those times and Places used to do to their Kings as a Token of their Respect and Subjection to them See 1 Sam. 10. 27 28. 1 King 10. 25. 2 Chron. 32. 23. and he had riches and honour in abundance 6 And his heart ‖ That is 〈◊〉 encouraged was lift up e Above all discouragements and difficulties and fears by which mens Hearts use to be cast down He was Valiant and Resolute for God and his Ways in the ways of the LORD moreover * Ch. 19. â—… he took away the high places and groves f To wit such onely wherein Idols were worshipped as appears by comparing this with ch 20. 33. And though Asa had done this before yet either he did not do it thoroughly or the Jews who were many of them mad upon their Idols had secretly made new Ones in the latter part of his Reign when he grew more infirm in Body and more remiss in Gods cause out of Judah 7 Also in the third year of his reign he ‖ Or 〈◊〉 princes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sent to his princes even to Ben-hail and to Obadiah and to Zechariah and to Nethaneel and to Michajah to teach g To inform the People of their Duty and of the Kings Pleasure As Judges or Justices of Peace teach or instruct the People in the Laws of the Land when they deliver their Charges upon the Bench so did these Princes in the Kings Name admonish and require the People to observe and obey the Laws of God which were the Municipal Laws of that Land The particular Explication and Inforcement whereof they left to the Levites and Priests here following who were sent for this End and accordingly taught the People v. 9. in the cities of Judah 8 And with them he sent Levites even Shemajah and Nethaniah and Zebadiah and Asahel and Shemiramoth and Jehonathan and Adonijah and Tobijah and Tob-adonijah Levites and with them Elishama and Jehoram priests 9 And they taught in Judah and had the book of the law of the LORD with them and went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people 10 And * Gen. â—…5 5. the fear of the LORD †Heb. 〈◊〉 fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah h Justly concluding from this singular Piety that God would eminently appear for him and against all those who had Ill Wâ—…ll to him which was their Case For even the Heathens could not but observe that the Kings of Judah were either Prosperous or Unhappy accordingly as they served God or forsook him so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat 11 Also some of the Philistins i Who had been Subjects to this Kingdom ever since Davids Time but it seems had neglected this Duty in the Times of his Predecessors but now were moved by their own Fears to perform it brought Jehoshaphat presents and tribute-silver and the Arabians k Either because he had upon some just occasion waged War against them and subdued them though the Particulars of it â—…e not described in Scripture Or because they voluntarily put themselves under his Protection in Recompence whereof they sent him those Presents Or onely as a free Acknowledgment of their Respects to him brought him flocks seven thousand and seven hundred rams and seven thousand and seven hundred he-goats 12 And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly and he built in Judah ‖ Or 〈◊〉 castles and cities of store 13 And he had much business in the cities of Judah l Partly to repair and fortifie them and furnish them with all necessary Provisions and partly to purge out all the Reliques and Seeds of Idolatry and Injustice which were more secretly and subtilly managed in the Cities than in the Country and which were first and most in the Cities and thence spread their Infection into the Country about them See Ier. 2. 28. and the men of war mighty men of valour were in Jerusalem 14 And these are the number of them according to the house of their fathers Of Judah the captains of thousands Adnah the chief and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand 15 And †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 next to him m Either 1. After his death as his Successor in the same Command And the like is supposed concerning Jehozabad v. 18. Or rather 2. Next to him in Place and Authority or at least in Power and the Numbers of his Host. was Jehohanan the captain and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand 16 And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri who willingly offered himself n As Voluntiers and Auxiliaries to be ready upon Occasion as the Service of God and the King should require Possibly these or most of them were the Strangers which had come out of Israel into the Kingdom of Judah in Asa's days and probably since that in his Time unto the LORD and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour 17 And of Benjamin Eliada a mighty man of valour and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand 18 And next him was Jehozabad and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war 19 These waited on the king o These above mentioned were the Trained Bands or Auxiliaries whose Chief Officers waited upon the King to receive his Commands and to raise and bring in all or part of their Forces to the Service of the King and Kingdom
it and kept in it In like manner the meat-offering and drink-offering are said to be cut off from the house of the Lord Joel 1. 9. And it is very improbable that they should deface and cut in pieces these magnificent Vessels which they could so easily transport whole to Babylon Although if some of the larger of them had been cut into two or more parts yet the parts of them might be delivered to the Jews who could without great difficulty restore them to their former Unity and Form and had put them in the house of his gods 8 Even those did Cyrus king to Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer and numbered them n i. e. He caused them to be delivered to the Jews by number unto * See Ch. 5. 14. Sheshbazzar o i. e. Zorobabel as appears by comparing ch 3. 8. with 5. 16. to whom the Persians or rather the Chaldeans had given this name of Sheshbazzar as they gave other names to Daniel and his companions Dan. 1. 7. the prince of Judah p And the Captain and Governour of these returning Jews chap. 2. 2. So the Scepter is not yet departed from Iudah 9 And this is the number of them thirty chargers of gold a thousand chargers of silver nine and twenty knives q Large Knives used in the killing of the Sacrifices which are here mentioned because the Hafts of them were made of or covered with Gold or Silver 10 Thirty basons of gold silver basons of a second sort r The first or chief were of Gold and these of Silver are called the second or next to them for worth and use four hundred and ten and other vessels a thousand s He speaks of vessels of a middle size for great and small were 5400 as it follows here Or as some render it other vessels by thousands they were not distinctly numbred according to their various forms and uses but were promiscuously put together by thousands 11 All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of †Heb. the transportation the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem CHAP. II. 1 NOw * Neh. 7. 6. c. these are the children of the province a i. e. The Israelites called the children of the province either 1. Of Babylon of which Province we oft read as ch 7. 16. Dan. 2 48. 3. 1 12 30. called the Province by way of eminency of which they are called children because of their Birth and Habitation in it for a long time it being usual to call the Inhabitants of any City or place its Children Or rather 2. Of Iudaea called a Province ch 5. 8. And he calls it thus emphatically to mind himself and his Brethren of that sad change which their sins had made among them that from an illustrious independent and sormidable Kingdom were faln to be an obscure servile and contemptible Province first under the chaldeans and now under the Persians that went up out of the captivity of those which had been carried away whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah every one unto his city b Either unto those Cities or Towns which belonged to their several Ancestors Or rather to those which were now allotted to them and from this time possessed by them For their former Cities were either demolished or possessed by other persons which they were not now in a capacity of disturbing 2 Which came with Zerubbabel c As for this Catalogue it differs in some names and numbers from that Neh. 7. which might be from divers causes partly because several names given to one and the same person and partly because of the many changes which might happen in the same families between the time of the first making of this Catalogue by Ezra and the making of it anew so many years as that Catalogue Nehem. 7. was made after the former Jeshua Nehemia ‖ Or Azaria Neh. 7. 7. Serajah Reelajah Mordecai Bilshan Mispar Bigvai Rehum Baanah the number of the men of the people of Israel 3 The children d i. e. The Posterity as that word is for the most part if not constantly taken in this Catalogue of Parosh e That descended either from Parosh or from that Family whereof Parosh was the chief And so for the rest two thousand an hundred seventy and two 4 The children of Shephaliah three hundred seventy and two 5 The children of Arah seven hundred seventy and five f In Nehem. 7. 10. they were only 652. It seems 775 marched out of Babylon or gave in their names that they would go but some of them died others changed their Minds others were hindred by the sickness or other casualties happening to themselves or near Relations and so there came only 652 to Ierusalem And the like is to be said in the like differences which it suffâ—…es to hint once for all 6 The children of * Neh. 7. 11 Pahath-moab of the children of Jeshuah and Joab g Or of Ieshuah-Ioab as the former was Pahath-moab two thousand eight hundred and twelve 7 The children of Elam a thousand two hundred fifty and four 8 The children of Zattu nine hundred forty and five 9 The children of Zaccai seven hundred and threescore 10 The children of ‖ Or Bani Neh. 7. 15. Bani six hundred fourty and two 11 The children of Bebai six hundred twenty and three 12 The children of Azgad a thousand two hundred twenty and two 13 The children of Adonikam six hundred sixty and six 14 The children of Bigvai two thousand and fifty and six 15 The children of Adin four hundred fifty and four 16 The children of Ater of Hezekiah k ninety and eight h Of Ater the son of Hezekiah not the King but another famous person so called 17 The children of Bezai three hundred twenty and three 18 The children of ‖ Or Heâ—… Neh. 7. 24 Jorah an hundred and twelve 19 The children of Hashum two hundred twenty and three 20 The children of ‖ Or 〈◊〉 Neh. 7. 2â—… Gibbar ninety and five 21 The children of Beth-lehem i Either of a Man called Bethlehem or the Bethlehemite by way of eminency Or of the place so called And so these were the remainders of the Inhabitants of that City And the like may be said of the two following names Netophah and Anathoth or others of the like Nature an hundred twenty and three 22 The men of Netophah fifty and six 23 The men of Anathoth an hundred twenty and eight 24 The children of ‖ Or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Neh. 7. 2â—… Azmaveth forty and two 25 The children of Kirjath-arim k Or Kiriath-jearim as it is Neh. 7. 29. Chephirah and Beeroth seven hundred and forty and three 26 The children of Ramah and
rather by those known and usual Expressions from East to West or from the rising of the Sun to the going down thereof which Phrase he useth Psal. 50. 1. and 113. 3. Or rather 2. The successive Courses of the Morning and Evening Or of the Sun and Moon which go forth at those times thereby making the Morning and Evening both which are said to Rejoyce poetically because they give Men occasion of Rejoycing which the Sun or the Morning doth because it gives them Opportunity for the dispatch of Business and for the Enjoyment of manâ—…fold Recreations and Delights and the Moon or Evening doth so because it invites Men to that rest and sleep which is both refreshing and necessary for them Thus this whole Verse speaks of the natural Works of God the former Clause of such as are extraordinary and Terrible the latter of such as are ordinary and delightful ‖ Or to sing to rejoyce 9. Thou visitest d To wit in Mercy or with thy Favour as this Word is oft used the earth e The whole Earth which is full of thy Bounty So he continues to declare the general Providence of God to all Men and People Or rather the Land or this Land for here is an Emphatical Article And so he comes from God's general Providence over all Pieces and Nations to his particular and special Providence over his People in the Land of 〈◊〉 whereof he gives one Eminent and Considerable instance to wit his giving them Rain and fruitful Seasons that after a time of drought and scareity to which it is not improbably supposed but this Psalm relates And this may be the particular occasion for which the Psalmist said that Praise 〈◊〉 for God in Zion v. 1. and ‖ Or after 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 made it to desire Raâ—…n or thoâ—… 〈◊〉 it * Psal. 68. 9 10. waterest it f This is added to determine and explain the former general Word or to shew how or wherein God visited it thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God g Either 1. With the Rivers which God hath made in the several parts of the Earth to make it moist and fruitful Although the fertility of the greatest part of the Earth doth not depend so much upon the Rivers below as upon the Rains from above Or 2. With the River Iordan which sometimes overflowed its Banks But that overflow reached onely to a small part of the Land Or rather 3. With showers of Rain which he very significantly calls a River for their plenty and the River of God i. e. Of God's immediate making and providing when he sees fit which is opposed both to those little Rivolets or Channels which Husbandmen or Gardiners cut for the watering of their Grounds and to those greater Rivers which run with a constant Course and by their little Channels derived from them or by their overflows do Water and inrich the Earth as Nâ—…lus did Egypt to which these Words may seem to have a special Reference especially if they be Compared with Deut. 11. 10 11 12 c. which is full of water thou preparest h By this means thou preparest the Earth for bringing forth Corn and Ripenest the Corn in the Earth them i For them To wit the Inhabitants of the Earth or Land here mentioned for their use and Benefit corn when thou hast so provided for it k Or disposed or ordered or prepared it to wit the Earth which without this would be hard and Barren 10 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly ‖ Or thou causest Rain to descend into the sâ—…rrows thereof thou settlest l To wit in that Condition which is fit for Fruit. Or thou bringest down for the Rain dissolves the high and hard Clods of Earth the furrows thereof †Heb thou dissolvâ—…st it thou makest it soft with showers thou blessest the springing thereof m When all is done the Fruitfulness of the Earth must not be ascribed to the Rain or Sun or any second Causes but to thy Blessing alone 11. Thou crownest †Heb. the year of thy Goodness the year with thy goodness n Thou by thy powerful Goodness dost inrich and adorn all the Seasons of the Year with their proper Fruits and Blessings and thy paths o The Clouds upon which God is frequently said to Walk or Ride as Iob 36. 28. and 38. 26 27. Psal. 104. 3. Nah. 1. 3. Which Sence is favoured by the next Verse where these Paths are said to drop c. drop fatness p Make the Earth Fat and Fruitful 12 They q God's paths drop upon the pastures of the wilderness r Which though neglected by Men are furnished by God with Food for wild Beasts which being his Creatures he careth for by this means and the little hills s The Hills of Canaan which for the generality of them were but small if Compared with the great and high Mountains in divers parts of the World He mentions the Hills because these being most dry and parched with the Sun most need and are most refreshed with the Rain †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with Ioâ—… rejoyce on every side t As being moistened and satisfied with Rain in all parts and sides of them 13 The pastures are clothed with flocks the valleys also are covered over with corn u This is added as the Effect of these Comfortable Rains that they fill the Pastures with Grass for Cattel and the Valleys which he mentions as the most Fruitful places though he doth not exclude the rest with Corn for the use of Man they shout for joy they also sing x i. e. They are abundantly satisfied with thy Goodness and in their manner sing forth the Praises and declare the Goodness of their Creator and Benefactor Compare Psal 147. 8 such Passions or Actions as these are oft figuratively ascribed to Life-less Creatures both in Sacred and prosane Poetical Writings which are said to Rejoyce or Mourn c. when their Condition is such as calls for Rejoycing or Mourning and would cause them to do so if they were Capable of such Actions PSAL. LXVI To the chief musician a Song or Psalm The Author and time of the Composing of this Psalm are uncertain This is manifest and sufficient for our understanding of it that it was made upon the occasion of some great and glorious Deliverance afforded to the Israelites after and out of some grievous and general Calamity and as some not improbably conceive that out of Babylon 1 MAke a joyful noise unto God †Heb. all the 〈◊〉 all ye lands a Ye people of all Nations who have seen the wonderful Power and Wisdom and fidelity and goodness of God in our Deliverance it becomes you to acknowledge it with Admiration and Rejoycing Or all the Land or this Land But the former Sence is more probable from v. 4. where this Word is so used And
men have theirs but from all Eternity Or thou art or wast O God 3 Thou turnest man to destruction f But as for man his case is far otherwise his time is short and though he was made by thee an happy Creature and should have been immortal yet upon and for his sin thou didst make him mortal and miserable and sayest g Or didst say i. e. pronounce that sad sentence here following Return O men to the dust out of which you were taken Gen. 3. 19. Psal. 146. 4. Eccles. 12. 7. Return ye children of men 4 * 2 Pet. 3. 8. For a thousand years h If we should now live so long as some of our Progenitors well-nigh did As he compared mans duration with Gods in respect of its beginning v. 2. so here he compareth them in respect of the end or continuance in thy sight i In thy account and therefore in truth which is opposed to the partial and false judgment of men who think time long because they do not understand Eternity Or in comparison of thy endless duration are but as yesterday ‖ Or when he hath passed them when it is past k Which is emphatically added because time seems long when it is to come but when it is past and men look backward upon it it seems very short and contemptible and men value one hour to come more than a thousand years which are past and as a watch l Which lasted but for three or four hours for the night was antiently divided into three or four Watches See Iudg. 7. 19. Mark 6. 48. and 13. 35. Luk. 12. 38. in the night m Which also hath its weight for the silence and slumbers of the night makes time seem shorter than it doth in the day 5 Thou carriest them n i. e. Mankind of whom he spake v. 3. away as with a floud o Unexpectedly violently and irresistibly universally without exception or distinction * Psal. 73. 20. they are as a sleep p Short and vain as sleep is and not minded till it be past Or like a Dream when a man sleepeth wherein there may be some real pleasure but never any satisfaction or some real trouble but very inconsiderable and seldom or never pernicious Even such an idle and insignificant thing is humane life considered in it self without respect to a future state in which there is but a meer shadow or dream of felicity onely the calamities attending upon it are more real and weighty in the morning * Psal. 103. 15. they are like grass which ‖ Or is changed groweth up q Heb. which is changed either first for the worse which passeth away as some render the word Which having generally affirmed here he may seem more particularly to explain in the next Verse Or rather secondly for the better as this word is sometimes used as Iob 14. 7. Isa. 40. 31. which sprouteth out of the Earth and groweth more apparent and green and flourishing And this interpretation is confirmed from the next Verse where this same word is used in this sence where also the morning is again mentioned and that as the time not of its decay but of its flourishing 6 In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up in the evening it is cut down and withereth r The whole space of mans life is compared to one day and his prosperity is confined to a part of that day and ended in the close of it 7 For we s Either 1. we men or rather 2. we Israelites in this wilderness are consumed t Either naturally by the frame of our bodies or violently by extraordinary judgments Thou dost not suffer us to live so long as we might by the course of nature by thine anger u Caused by our sinful state and lives and by thy wrath are we troubled 8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee x Thou dost not now cover or blot out or pass by our sins as thou hast usually done to thy people but thou dost diligently search them out and accurately observe them as a severe but righteous Judge and art now calling us to an account for them our secret sins y Thou dost not onely punish us for our notorious and scandalous sins which thine honour may seem to oblige thee to do but even for our secret lusts the murmuring and unbelief and Apostasie and Idolatry of our hearts which though hid from the eyes of men thou hast set before thine eyes and brought them to light by thy judgments †Heb. at the luminary of thy countenance in the light of thy countenance 9 For all our days are †Heb. turned away passed away z Or turn away themselves or their face from us They do not continue with us but quickly turn their backs upon us and leave us in thy wrath we spend our years ‖ Or as a meditation as a tale that is told a Which may a little affect us for the present but is quickly ended and gone out of mind Or as a word as Iob 37. 2. which in an instant is gone and that irrevocably Or as a thought or a sigh or a breath All which come to one sence 10 †Heb. as for the days of our years in them are seventy years The days of our years b Either 1. of the Israelites in the desart who being twenty years old and some thirty some forty some fifty years old when they came out of Egypt and dying in the Wilderness as all of that age did Numb 14. 29. a great number of them doubtless died in their seventieth or eightieth year as is here implyed Or rather 2. of the generality of mankind and the Israelites no less than others in that and all following Ages some few persons excepted amongst whom were Moses and Caleb and Ioshua who lived an hundred and twenty years which is therefore noted of them as a thing singular and extraordinary This sence suits best with the following words and with the scope of Moses which was to represent the vain and transitory condition of men in this life and how much mankind was now sunk below their Ancestors who commonly lived many hundreds of years and that the Israelites though Gods peculiar people and endowed with many priviledges yet in this were no better than other men All which may be considered either as an argument to move God to pity and spare them or as a motive to awaken and quicken the Israelites to serious preparations for death by comparing this with v. 12. are threescore years and ten c Which time the antient Heathen Writers also fixed as the usual space of mens lives and if by reason of strength d i. e. By the strength of their natural constitution which is the true and common cause of longer life they be fourscore years yet is their strength e Their
earth c The people of the Earth by comparing this clause with the former †〈◊〉 â—…gger be moved d To wit with fear and trembling as in the former clause 2 The LORD is great in Zion e In the Hebrew Text the words lie in this order The Lord in Zion i. e. which dwelleth in Zion as is said Psal. 9. 11. Isa. 8. 18. Ioel 3. 21. is great and he is high above all people f Above all the people of the Earth of whom he spake v. 1. who shall exalt themselves against him 3 Let them g To wit all people last mentioned praise thy great and terrible name for it is holy h For it is not onely great but holy and therefore most praise-worthy 4 * Psal. 98. 6. The kings strength also loveth judgment n Though his Dominion be absolute and uncontroulable and his power irresistible yet he doth not abuse it to tyranny and oppression as the Princes of the World commonly do but tempers and manageth it with righteousness and not onely doth judge justly but which is more loves to do so The Kings strength is by a known Hebraism put for the strong or powerful King thou dost establish equity o To wit in all thy proceedings Equity is thy constant and stable course thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob p Amongst thine own people whom when they do amiss he punisheth no less than other people as he notes below v. 8. whereby he sheweth that he is no respecter of persons but a righteous and impartial Judge to all sorts of men 5 Exalt ye the LORD our God and worship at his foot-stool q Before the Ark which is so called 1 Chron. 28. 2. Psal. 132. 7. for ‖ Or it is holy he is holy r Or rather for it to wit the Ark is holy it is consecrated to be a pledge of Gods presence and the onely place of Gods publick worship 6 Moses and Aaron among his priests and Samuel s He presseth them to perform the duty of praising and worshipping God by the examples of three eminent persons who practised this duty and that with happy success He reckoneth Moses among the Priests not without cause partly because before the institution of the Priesthood he executed that office Exod. 24. 6. Numb 7. and partly because he oft interceded to God for the people which was a very considerable part of the Priests work See Numb 6. 23 c. Ioel 2. 17. among them that call upon his name t Who used frequently and solemnly to intercede with God on the behalf of the people So the general expression is here used synecdochically for this particular kind of prayer such Synecdoche's being very frequent in Scripture they called upon the LORD and he answered them u Moses Exod. 32. and elsewhere Aaron Numb 16. Samuel 1 Sam. 7. 19. and 12. 19. Compare Ier. 15. 1. 7 He spake unto them x i. e. To some of them for the expression is only indefinite and therefore doth not necessarily reach to all of them to Moses frequently to Aaron Exod. 19. 24. and 33. 9 10 11. Numb 12. 5. And for Samuel he answered him if not by words yet really and by his actions thundering against the Philistins 1 Sam. 7. 9 c. which supposeth a Cloud if not a Cloudy Pillar in the cloudy pillar they kept his testimonies and the ordinance that he gave them y This is added not onely for their commendation but for the instruction of the Israelites to teach them that God will not hear the Prayers of them who do not keep his Commandments 8 Thou answerdest them z The intercessours beforementioned Either 1. Moses and Aaron who did sin and whose sins God did pardon yet so as that he did punish them with exclusion from the land of Canaan of which see Numb 20. 12. Deut. 32. 50 51. Or rather 2. the people for whom they prayed which though not expressed may be easily understood from the following words and from the Histories to which these words relate For this forgiving was evidently the effect of Gods answering the Prayers of the persons above mentioned And therefore as their Prayers recorded in Scripture were not for the pardon of their own sins but for the pardon of the peoples sins so this forgiveness granted was for the sins of the people And whereas the people are not here mentioned it must be remembred that in Scripture the relative is frequently put without the antecedent as it is Numb 7. 89. and 114. 2. Prov. 14. 26. O LORD our God thou wast a God that forgavest them a though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions b This clause limits and explains the former Thou didst forgive the sins of the people not absolutely and universally for thou didst punish them severely but so far as not to inflict that total and final destruction upon them which they deserved and thou hadst threatned See Exod. 32. 10 14 34. 9 Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy hill c Either in Zion or in his Church typified by it and oft called Zion for the LORD our God is holy PSAL. C. A Psalm of ‖ Or thansgiving praise This Psalm seems to have been composed for the use of the Israelites in their thank-offerings or upon other solemn occasions of praising God as the title speaks but withal it hath a further prospect even to the days of the Messiah as some of the Hebrew Doctors acknowledge and to the calling of the Gentiles whom he invites to join with them in the praises of God their Lord and Maker 1 MAke a joyful noise a Partly with Voices and Songs of rejoicing and thanksgiving and partly with musical instruments as the manner then was unto the LORD †Heb. all the earth all ye lands b All the Inhabitants of the Earth Or all the land i. e. all the people of Israel dwelling in this land Although his invitation seems to be more general extending also to the Gentiles of whom many even in those days joined themselves to the Church of God 2 Serve the LORD with gladness come before his presence with singing 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God it is he that hath made us c Both by Creation and by adoption and Regeneration whereby he made us his people which also is called a creation or making as Deut. 32. 6. Isa. 29. 23. and 43. 7. Eph. 2. 10. Therefore we owe him homage and service and him onely and not other gods who made us not ‖ Or and his we are and not we our selves d * Psal. 95. 7. Ezek 34. 30 31. we are his people and the sheep of his pasture 4 Enter into his gates d The gates of his Courts for the people might enter no further and the Courts had Walls and Gates as well as
their Destruction is wholly from themselves Compare Hos. 13. 9. evil unto themselves 10 Say ye f God hath said it and doth now by me say it and you O ye Priests and Levites say it in your Sermons to the People to the righteous That it shall be well with him for they shall eat of the fruit of their doings g Let not them fear for God will be their Safeguard and Portion in the common Calamity 11 Wo unto the wicked h These heavy Judgments are designed against them and shall certainly find them out though here they be mixed with the Righteous it shall be ill with him for the reward of his hand shall be †Heb. done to him given him 12 ¶ As for my people * Ver. 4. children are their oppressours and women i Either 1. properly so called by their Favour and Power with the Rulers or 2. weak and effeminate Rulers such being called Women both in Sacred and Profane Writings rule over them O my people * Chap. 9. 16. ‖ Or they which call thee blessed they which lead thee k Thy Rulers Civil and Ecclesiastical whose Duty it is to shew thee thâ—… right way Or as others They that bless thee i. e. thy false Prophets which flatter thee and speak Peace to thee cause thee to erre and †Heb. swallow up destroy the way of thy paths l Keep thee from the Knowledge or Practice of that Way which leads to thy Salvation and mislead thee into evil Courses by their wicked Counsels or Examples 13 The LORD standeth up m He will shortly and certainly stand up as a Judge to enquire into the Cause and to give Sentence to plead and standeth to judge the people n i. e. To defâ—…nd and deliver them or to judge for them as this Phrase is oft used 14 The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients o The Princes or Rulers as it is explained in the next Clause who are oft called Elders because such were commonly and fitly chosen out of those who were ripe in years of his People and the Princes thereof for ye have ‖ Or burâ—…t up eaten up p Destroyed in stead of preserving and dressing it as you should have done the vineyard q The Church and Commonwealth of Israel which is oft called Gods Vineyard as Psal. 80. 8 14 15. Isa. 5. 1. Ier. 2. 21. c. and here the vineyard by way of eminency or the vineyard which was committed to your care to keep the spoil of the poor r The Goods which you have violently taken away from the Poor is in your houses 15 What mean ye s What Warrant have ye for it How durst you presume to do it that ye beat my people to pieces and grind t Or batâ—…er as the Word is used Exod. 32. 20. Smite them cruelly See Chap. 58. 4. the faces of the poor saith the Lord GOD of hosts 16 ¶ Moreover the LORD saith Because the daughters of Zion u The Women as hitherto he reproved the Men. are haughty and walk with stretched-forth necks x Affecting Stateliness Psal. 75. 5. and to seem tall and †Heb. deceiving with their eyes wanton eyes y Or as others twinkling with their eyes in a lascivious manner walking and ‖ Or tripping nicely mincing as they go z After the manner of loose and wanton Persons and making a tinkling with their feet a By some Ornaments which they wore upon their Shoes 17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head b Will by sending Scabs or by other ways take off the Hair of their Head which is a Womans Glory 1 Cor. 11. 15 and which doubtless ministred to their Pride and Wantonness Others render it He will make bald c. of the daughters of Zion and the LORD will †Heb. make naked discover their secret parts c By giving her into the power of those Enemies that shall either strip her of all her Raiments not leaving her sufficient to cover her Nakedness or otherwise abuse her by such immodest and contemptuous Actions Compare Isa. 47. 3 Ezek. 16. 37. 23 10 26 18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet and their ‖ Or net-works cauls d As for this and the other Hebrew words here following I judge it unnecessary and improper to trouble the English Reader with the differing Interpretations given of them by Learned Men which the Curious may find in my Latin Synopsis It is agreed by all that they were Ornaments used by that People in those Times and made Fewel to their Lusts. And it is of no concernment to the Direction either of our Faith or Manners exactly to understand the Nature and Differences of them And therefore I shall take them as they are in our Translation and their round tires like the moon e There were in ancient Times and at this day there are some Jewels or other Ornaments worn which carry a manifest resemblance to the Moon or Half-moon Compare Iudg. 8. 21 26. 19 The ‖ Or sweet balls chains and the bracelets and the ‖ Or spangled ornaments mufflers 20 The bonnets f These were Ornaments to cover the Head common both to Men as Exod. 39. 28. and to Women as here and the ornaments of the legs and the head-bands and the †Heb. houses of the soul. tablets g Heb. the houses of the soul or of lâ—…fe or of breath Whereby he seems to mean Boxes of excellent Perfumes which are of great efficacy to revive our drooping Spirits and to that end are oft applied to such as are ready to saint away and the ear-rings 21 The rings and the nose-jewels h Which were fastned to the Head and hung down upon the Forehead to the beginning of the Nose Of which see Gen. 24. 22 47. Iudg. 8. 24. c. 22 The changeable suits of apparel and the mantles and the wimples and the crisping-pins i Of Silver or Gold either used to curl the Hair or rather fastned and worn in the Hair which Custom is not altogether disused at this day 23 The glasses k The Looking-glasses as we call them though in truth they were not made of Glass but of bright and burniâ—…ed Bâ—…ass and the fine linen and the hoods and the vails 24 And it shall come to pass that in stead of sweet smell l Those Perfumes mentioned v. 20. there shall be stink m From their scabs mentioned v. 17. or from other ill usages of their Enemies and in stead of a girdle n Which were fine and costly and useful to gird their Garments about them a rent o Either the rending of their Garments for grief or torn and tattered Garments not sufficient to cover their Bodies
then of the churl in this Verse he deviseth wicked devices y He useth all his Wit and Art to do Injury to others without any inconvenience to himself to destroy the poor with lying words z With false and unrighteous Decrees even ‖ Or when he speaketh against the poor in judgment when the needy speaketh right a When their Cause is just and good 8. But the liberal deviseth liberal things and by liberal things shall he ‖ Or be established stand b He who is truely Liberal and Vertuous will shew it by designing and practising liberal or vertuous Actions And he who doth so will not destroy himself thereby as wicked Men falsly suppose but establish and advance himself But this Verse also as well as the former is and may be otherwise rendred And repeat he shall be called as before liberal who deviseth liberal things and persisteth or continueth in liberal things If it be thought strange That so many Verses should be spent in Affirming that which in effect was said ver 5. it must be considered that these Verses do not onely contain an Affirmation that they should be called vile persons or churles or liberal that were so but also a Description of their Qualities and Practices which was useful for their Conviction and for the Instruction of others 9. Rise up c Bestir and prepare your selves to hear as it follows and shake off Sloth and Carelessness ye women that are at ease d That indulge your selves in Idleness and Luxury hear my voice ye careless daughters e Heb. confident or secure who are insensible of yoâ—… sin and danger give ear unto my speech f The same before called women Whom he here reproveth and threatneth for their Sins as he did the Men before for seeking to Egypt for Help and divers other Sins whereof the Men were most Guilty 10. †Heb. days above a year Many days and years f Heb. Days above a year i. e. a year and some days Which notes Either 1. the time from this Prophecy to the beginning of this Judgment Or rather 2. the time of the continuance of it that it should last for above one Year as indeed this did and no longer For Hezekiah Reigned in all but twenty nine Years 2 Kings 18. 2. and Sennacherib came in his fourteenth Year and after his defeat and departure God promised and added to him fifteen Years more 2 Kings 20. 6. shall ye be troubled ye careless women for the vintage shall fail g During the time of the Assyrian Invasion And this Commination is here added to qualify the foregoing Promise and to warn them that although God would give them so good a King and there should be some Reformation of their former abuses under the Government of Ahaz yet as there were many Sins among them yet not repented of so they should be severely chastised for them the gathering h To wit of the other Fruits of the Earth as that Feast which was observed after the gathering of all the Fruits was called the feast of in-gathering Exod. 23. 16. shall not come 11. Tremble ye women that are at ease be troubled ye careless ones strip ye and make ye bare i Put off your Ornaments as God commanded upon a like occasion Exod. 33. 5. that you may put on Sackcloth instead of them as Mourners and Penitents used to do and gird sackcloth upon your loyns 12. They shall lament for the teats k Either 1. properly because through Famine your Teats are destitute of Milk for the nourishment of your poor Children Or rather 2. Metaphorically as the following Words explain it for the pleasant and fruitful Fields which like Teats yielded you plentiful and excellent Nourishment for which the Land was said to flow with milk Ezek. 20. 6. And the Earth being compared to the Womb that bare us Iob. 1. 21. it is not strange if its fruitful Fields be compared to the Breasts which nourish us for †Heb. the fields of desire the pleasant fields for the fruitful vine 13. * Chap. 34. 13. Hos. 9. 6. Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers l If any of you think thâ—…e is no great cause for such Trembling and Lamentation which shall last but for a year and some days know that this Calamity by the Assyrians is but an earnest of further and sorer judgments For the time is coming when this Land shall be laid desolate and instead of Vines and other Fruits it shall yield nothing but Briers and Thorns of which see on Isa. 7. 23 24. ‖ Or burning upon c. yea upon all the houses of joy m Upon that Ground where now your Houses stand in which you delight and take your fill of mirth and pleasure in the joyous city 14. Because the palaces n Heb. the palace the King's House and other magnificent buildings in the City shall be forsaken the multitude of the city shall be left o Or rather shall be forsaken to wit of God and given up into their Enemies hands And the Verb in the foregoing Clause may be rendred shall be left the ‖ Or clifts and watch-towers forts and towers shall be for dens for ever a joy of wild asses p Desolate places in which wild Asses delight to be Iob. 39. 5. Ier. 2. 24. a pasture of flocks 15. Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high q And this Calamity and Desolation shall in a manner continue until the time come in which God will pour or as the Hebrew Word properly signifies reveal i. e. evidently and plentifully pour out his spirit from Heaven upon His people Which was done in some sort upon the return of the People from Babylon when God by his Spirit stirred up the Spirit both of Cyrus to give them liberty of returning to Ierusalem and of the people to return and build the City and People But was far more clearly and fully accomplished in the days of the Messiah And indeed the promises contained in these and the following Words and Verses were not fulfilled upon their coming out of Babylon after which time they had but a little reviving in their bondage as is said Ezra 9. 8. and continued in servitude and distress under the Peâ—…sian Emperours Nehem. 9. 36 37. and afterward suffered many and grievous Calamities from the Kings of Syria and Egypt and from the Romans which suits very ill with that glorious Promise here following ver 18. And therefore these promises concern the times of the Gospel when God's Spirit was in a most evident and glorious Manner poured forth upon the Apostles and other believing Iews to the Astonishment of their very Adversaries and when the following Promises were in a good Measure fulfilled and are more fully to be accomplished in God's due time and * Chap. 29. 17. 35. 2. 37.
where there is something in the Text or Context which determineth it to some other Person or People And this very crime of stoutness or hardness of heart is most justly and most frequently charged upon the Iews by their own Prophets every where because of their gross contempt of and incorrigibleness under all Gods Words and Works And the Prophet speaks this either to the Iews of his Generation Or rather to that generation which was carried Captive to Babylon whose stout-heartedness is particularly noted and reproved Zech. 7. 11 12. Compare Mal. 3. 13 14 15. that are far from Righteousness e That are not onely voyd of but enemies to Righteousness and true holiness that give up your selves to wickedness that despise my counsels and promises and threatnings 13. I bring near my righteousness f Though you are most unrighteous persons and have given me just cause to make you to know my breach of Promise as I threatned in the like case Numb 14. 34. Yet I will shew my self to be a Righteous and Faithful God making good my promise of delivering you out of Babylon after seventy years and though you think the time long and are apt to distrust the thing it self yet it shall come and that speedily I will bring it near or cause it to approach or come unto you and as it follows it shall not tarry beyond the appointed time it shall not be far off g My work of saving you from the Babylonish Captivity and my salvation shall not tarry and I will place salvation in Zion h I will bring my People from Babylon to Zion and there I will save them from all their enemies for Israel my glory i In whom I will once again glory as my People and the illustrious monuments of my glorious Wisdom and Power and Truth and Goodness whom I will make a great and glorious People though now they are mean and contemptible and in whom I will once more settle my glorious Presence and Ordinances CHAP. XLVII 1. COme down a From thy Throne as it follows and sit in the dust b Either necessarily because thou shalt have no higher seat Or voluntarily as mourners do bewailing thine approaching calamities O virgin daughter of Babylon c So called either 1. because she had not yâ—…t been humbled and conquered Or rather 2. Because she was tender and delicate as the next clause informeth us sit on the ground there is no throne d To wit for thee The empire is taken away from thee and translated to the Persians O daughter of the Caldeans for thou shalt no more be called e Either be reputed so Or rather be so for to be called is frequently put for to be as hath been divers times noted Thou shalt be reduced to great hardships and miseries tender and delicate 2. Take the Milstones f Betake thy self to the Milstones as we commonly say take thy bed or betake thy self to thy bed The meaning is Thou shalt be brought down to the basest kind of slavery which grinding at the Mill was esteemed of which see on Exod. 11. 5. Iudg. 16. 21. Iob. 31 10. Lament 5. 13. For this work was not performed by horses as now it is but by the labour of Slaves and Captives and grind meal g Grind bread-corn into meal for thy Masters use Such metonymical expressions we find Isa. 28. 28. Hose 8. 7. and elsewhere uncover thy locks h Or thine hair Take off the Ornaments wherewith such women as were free and of good quality used to cover and dress their heads This and the following passages though delivered in the form of a Command are onely Predictions of what they should be forted to do or suffer as appears from the next verse make bare the leg uncover the thigh i Gird up thy garments close and short about thee that thou mayest be fit for service and for travelling on foot and as it follows for passing over those Rivers through which thou wilt be constrained to wade in the way to the Land of thy Captivity pass over the Rivers 3. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered k Either 1. for want of raiment to cover it Or rather 2. by thine enemies in way of scorn and contumely by comparing this place with Ezek. 16. 37. 23. 29. yea thy shame shall be seen l Upon thee for thy many and great injuries done to my people I will take vengeance m As a man meets his enemy in the field to contend with thee and I will not meet thee as a man n With moderation and gentleness as those men who have not quite put off Humanity use to do but like a Lyon tearing thee to pieces to which God in such case compareth himself as Hose 5. 14. 13. 7 8. Compare Hose 11. 4. 4. As for our redeemer the LORD of hosts is his Name the Holy one of Israel o According to this version the Prophet inserteth this passage in the midst of this Prophecy against Babylon as Iacob inserteth a like passage in the midst of his Bledings and Prophecies concerning his Children Gen. 49. 18. And this may be here interposed either 1. As the reason why the Judgment here denounced should be certainly inflicted because he who had undertaken it was the Lord of hosts and therefore able to effect it and the Holy One and the Redeemer of Israel whom the Babylonians had cruelly oppressed whose quarrel God would avenge upon them and whom he had determined and promised to deliver out of their hands Or 2. As a pathetical exclamation or acclamation of Gods People for this wonderful work of breaking the staff of their oppressors which they here ascribe to God as he is their God and Redeemer whom here they make their boast of and whom they celebrate for this glorious deliverance But because these words as for are not in the Hebrew Text and therefore another word may be as conveniently supplied this verse may be and is by some learned Interpreters otherwise rendred and joyned with the foregoing words thus I will take vengeance and I will not meet thee as a man saith our Redeemer whose Name is the Lord of Hosts the Holy One of Israel For the word saith or saying is frequently understood and therefore supplied by Translators as 1 King 20. 34. Psal. 27. 8. 105. 15. and in this very Prophecy as Isa. 5. 9. 45. 14. and elsewhere 5. Sit thou silent p Through grief and shame and as mourners use to do Iob. 2. 13. Cease thy vaunting and insolent speeches thou canst say nothing for thine own justification and get thee into darkness q Thou shalt go into an obscure disconsolate and calamitous condition O daughter of the Caldeans for thou shalt no more be called the Lady of Kingdoms r The chief and glory of all Kingdomes as Isa. 13. 19. the most large