will with great exaltation triumph in the doing of it And this their valour their gallant success victory and triumph is called Gods Highness 1. because it was by God their Commander in chief that they should so gallantly demean themselves and attain so great glory by subduing and triumphing over the pride of Babylon And 2ly because the infinite eminency of Gods Power and Holiness and Justice as likewise of his Mercy and Faithfulness was gloriously discovered by the just vengeance that he brought upon that wicked and mighty City Babylon and the great deliverance which thereby he effected for his own people Ver. 4. The noise of a multitude c. The Prophet speaks this in such a manner as if he would report that he heard that actually doing which in the foregoing verse the Lord said he had commanded to be done As a Watchman set upon a Watch-Tower is wont first to relate what he hears and afterwards when he discovers what that noise was then to make known that too so doth the Prophet here The noise saith he of a multitude in the Mountains as of a great people as if he should have said Methinks I hear a confused noise upon the Mountains as is wont to be in a place where a great multitude of people are gathered together And then he tells what this noise was and that God was amongst them a tumultuous noise of the Kingdoms of Nations gathered together that is of people of several Nations and Kingdoms which is said because the army gathered against Babylon was to consist of many Nations according to that of the Prophet Jeremy Chap. 50.9 I will raise and cause to come against Babylon an assembly of great Nations from the North-Country And so again Chap. 51.27 28. The Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battel as if he had said And where this King of Nations is Commander in chief it is no marvel though such a numberless multitude come in to him upon the setting up of his standard as was said before ver 2. even a mighty army fit to vanquish such a mighty City As for the mountains here mentioned thereby may be meant either the mountains of Media and Persia where this huge Army was to be first gathered and mustered or else the mountains over which the Army was to march that they might break into Chaldea yet some think the mountains are particularly mentioned because Armies are wont to seize upon them as places of greatest strength and security and from thence their none is most easily heard far abroad according to that Joel 2.5 Like the noise of Chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap Ver. 5. They come from a far Country c. To wit from Media and Persia Countrys far distant from Babylon See the Notes Chap. 1.7 and 5.26 from the end of heaven see the Note Neh. 1.9 even the Lord and the weapons of his indignation that is the armies together with all their warlike Provision wherewith the Lord intends to fight in his wrath against Babylon to destroy the whole Land to wit not only the City but also the whole Country of Babylon Ver. 6. Howl ye c. As if he had said You O Babylonians that are now in so great jollity shall shortly howl for the extream miseries that are coming upon you for the day of the Lord that is the day wherein the Lord hath determined to take vengeance on Babylon See the Notes Job 24.1 and Psal 37.13 is aâ— hand which is spoken as with reference to what the Prophet had said before wherein he had spoken of those that were to execute this vengeance upon Babylon as if they had been already upon their way going thither It is true indeed that Jerusalem's destruction was nearer at hand than Babylon's for it was about two hundred years ere Babylon was destroyed and therefore there might seem to be greater cause to call upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem to howl than the inhabitants of Babylon But for this we must know that the drift of the Prophet here was to comfort the Jews against they came to be Captives in Babylon by letting them know how confidently they might expect that Destruction that is here threatned to Babylon And notwithstanding it was so long ere Babylon was to be destroyed yet 1. with reference to God to whom so long a time was but as a day And 2ly with reference to the security of the Babylonians who were so confident in the strength of their City and Empire it might well be said That this day of the Lord was at hand it being nearer indeed than any of them would have expected and see the Notes on the last verse of this Chapter it shall come as a Destruction from the Almighty that is it shall be inevitable and irreparable so grievous and horrid that every one shall plainly see that it was the work and from the wrath of an Almighty God Ver. 7. Therefore shall all hands be faint and every mans heart shall melt See the Notes 2 Sam. 4.1 Josh 7.5 and Psal 22.14 The Prophet doth here covertly deride the proud confidence of the Babylonians for when God should thus bereave them of all courage and strength what good alas would all their Wealth do them and all the strong Fortifications of their seeming invincible City Ver. 8. And they shall be afraid c. That is extream fear shall surprize them And this is mentioned as the cause of that feebleness and faintness threatred in the foregoing verse Pangs and sorrows shall take hold-on them they shall be in pain as a woman that travelleth that is they shall be inwardly tortured with grievous vexation and anguish of Spirit that shall suddenly seize upon them by reason of their terrors they shall be amazed one at another that is they shall stand silent gazing upon one another as men astonished to wit either as wondring mutually at their fear and faint-heartedness that they that had wont to be so renowned for courage and valour should now be so heartless and cowardly suffering themselves to be enslaved by the Medes and other Nations that had been formerly in subjection to them or else out of desperate perplexity of Spirit as being at their wits end not knowing what to think or what to say or which way to turn themselves though they were able enough to resist their enemies yet they should have no heart to do any thing that might tend thereto but as men overwhelmed with despair they should stand staring one upon another unable to encourage or counsel one another or so much as to express their minds or sorrows their faces shall be as flames that is red like fire say some as blushing for shame at the consideration of their strange distraction dismayedness and base fears according to that Ezek. 7.18 shame shall be upon all faces or as others think as being inflamed with anger and fury which indeed will usually make the blood to come into mens
foresee nor to prevent the ruin that was coming upon them And 3. That being unable to do any thing that might procure Gods favour which only could tend to true happiness their wisdom in all other regards was no better than folly How say ye unto Pharaoh I am the son of the wise the son of ancient Kings This the Prophet speaks to the Princes and Counsellors of the King of Egypt and some would restrain it to Sithon a foolish King who they say was invaded by the Assyrian in the days of Hezekiah and others to Psammiâ—iâ—hus under whose tyranny much of the calamities here threatned came upon Egypt But it is better I think to understand it of their Kings in general However either it may be taken as an expression of the way how they flattered their King labouring thereby to puff him up with a vain conceit of his own eminent wisdom and of the antiquity of his stock drawn down by a continued line through many generations How say ye unto Pharaoh I am the son of the wise the son of ancient Kings That is why do ye prescribe this form of glorying to him Why do ye perswade him to say thus of himself as if because of this he must needs be well instructed or as if Wisdom together with his Regal Power were his by inheritance and that therefore there was no cause why he should fear any foreign Power Or else it may be taken as spoken to their King by way of vaunting of their own great Wisdom thereby commending themselves to him that they might procure the greater respect to their counsel How say ye unto Pharaoh That is with what face can you that are Pharaoh's Princes and Counsellors say every one of you to him in a boasting way I am the son of the wise the son of ancient Kings That is I have been the Scholar of wise men as those that were trained up in the Schools of the Prophets were called the sons of the Prophets see the Note 1 Kings 20.35 or literally I am descended from wise men and ancient Kings because the Egyptians boasted much of their great Learning as if all Nations had received the knowledg they had in all Arts and Sciences from them and likewise of the antiquity of their Nation and Kingdom that they were many thousand years before any other People which they grounded upon this pretence that Egypt where there was no rain was not drowned as the rest of the world was in the general deluge and because the ancient Kings of those Eastern Countries were men of eminent Wisdom and Learning and had left many Monuments thereof behind them and that especially for Magick and Divination and so others in after-times professed themselves their Scholars or that they were of their Families therefore the Prophet derides them for their vain boastings How say ye unto Pharaoh I am the son of the wise c. as if he should have said Why do ye brag thus as if you were sure to defend the Kingdom by your Wisdom whereas the event will indeed be that you will destroy it by your foolish counsels Ver. 12. Where are they c. This the Prophet speaks to the King of Egypt by way of insulting over him Where are they That is they that boasted themselves to be the Sons of the wise and of ancient Kings Ver. 11. Where are thy wise men That is thy wise Counsellors thy Wizzards and Diviners that pretend to so much skill in foretelling future things What is become of these men now Why do they not appear in this time of thy great danger And let them tell thee now that is As becomes wise and faithful Counsellors let them advise thee of the evil that is coming upon thee and what thou shouldst do to prevent it And let them know what the Lord of Hosts hath purposed upon Egypt that is let them see if they can find out and so tell thee what God hath determined to do unto Egypt Ver. 13. The Princes of Zoan are become fools and the Princes of Noph are deceived c. See the Note before ver 11. This Noph was another of Egypts Chief and Royal Cities the same that is elsewhere called in the Hebrew Moph Hos 9.6 Where by our Translators it is rendered Memphis as it is commonly called by profane Writers near unto which the Pyramids were built according to that of the Poet Barbara pyramidum sileat miracula Memphis And it is thought to be the same that at this time is called Grand-Cairo Now having said that the Princes of this City were deceived to wit by the proud and high conceit which they had of themselves or by the just Judgment of God upon them he adds They have also seduced Egypt that is the people of Egypt by their Flatteries and foolish Counsels and false Predictions of peace and prosperity yea by their not foretelling the calamities that were coming upon them Even they that are the stay of the Tribes thereof that is of the several Provinces or Precincts of Egypt for the Prophet in calling them Tribes speaks only after the language and custom of his own Country It is in the Hebrew Even the corners of the tribes thereof that is say some all Egypt from one end to the other Or rather the Princes thereof And that which is intended seems to be that the Princes of Zoan and Noph that were by their place to have been the support and glory of Egypt as the corner-stones are the supports and beauty of a building were the men that had deceived and destroyed the land See the Notes Psal 118.22 and Job 38.6 Ver. 14. The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof c. It is in the Hebrew a spirit of perversities that is an erring foolish giddy mind or spirit carrying them away into crooked and cross counsels and courses and putting them upon doing things contrary to all reason and to what they intended tending to the ruin of their State which they thought to advance In the Phrase here used The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit there seems to be an Allusion to the mingling preparing or giving to men a cup of Wine or strong Liquor see the Notes Chap. 5.22 and Prov. 9.2 whereinto something is put that makes men giddy-headed or outrageous and mad And indeed the Judgments of God upon wicked men are often compared hereto in the Scripture see the Notes Job 21.20 Psal 60.3 and 75.8 And thence it followeth here And they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof That is to mistake and act foolishly in every thing they do as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit that is as a man that staggereth that is so extremely drunk that he goes up and down vomiting as he goeth or as a man tumbles about in his vomit As the more such a man rowls himself in his vomit the more he is defiled so the more busling they shall make the worse and
of the great streights whereinto this City was brought within a short time after by Salmanasser and Sennacherib the Kings of Assyria which seems not to me so probable at least that this was not all that was here intended because the Prophet speaks here expresly of this City's being laid waste whereas the utmost that any History reports concerning the Assyrians attempts against Tyre is That they blocked it up for five years and some add too That the Assyrians were at last overcome in a Sea-fight wherewith the Tyrians were exceedingly puffed up Again others under the calamity wherewith Tyrus is here threatned do comprehend the taking sacking and destroying of Tyre by Alexander the great of whom indeed it is reported by several Historians that after a long and hard siege he at length filled up that branch of the Sea that was betwixt the continent and Tyre that so his Army might approach her walls and by this means took it and utterly ruined it But it is not I conceive very probable that this is intended neither and that because ver 15. of this Chapter there followeth a promise That seventy years after the ruine here threatned the Tyrians should recover their liberty again which we do not find was ever done after Alexander had destroyed it And therefore in the last place the most of Expositors do understand it of the desolation that was brought upon this City by Nabuchadnezzar which indeed seems most probable 1. Because in Ezekiel's Prophecy against Tyre which agreeth in many passages with this it is expresly said Behold I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon c. Because the seventy years of the Syrians Captivity do sute so well with the seventy years of the Jews Captivity in Babylon And observable it is that elsewhere two sins are particularly mentioned as the principal cause of the ruine that God here threatens to bring upon this City to wit her excessive Pride in her riches and great strength And 2ly her insulting over Jerusalem when she was before destroyed by the same King see Ezek. 26.2 and 28.2 and Joel 3.4 c. Howl ye ships of Tarshish c. Figuratively this may be spoken to the ships themselves but rather it is meant of those in the ships Howl ye ships of Tarshish that is mourn and lament bitterly O ye Seamen and Merchants that are still passing in your ships by way of trading between Tyre and Tarshish and other foreign parts and indeed Tarshish is expresly mentioned amongst those that traded with Tyre Ezek. 27.12 but for the ships of Tarshish see the Notes 1 King 10.22 and Psal 48.7 for it is laid waste to wit Tyre and the Island wherein it stood and therefore all the Merchandise you left therein is utterly lost and the rich trading you had wont to have with that famous City is now at an end so that there is no house no entring in that is No house to entertain you no going in or coming out by way of trading from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them that is They of the land of Chittim who being nearer to Tyrus did first hear of it revealed it to those of Tarshish And who are meant by those of the land of Chittim See Numb 24.24 Other Expositions I know are given of that last clause but according to our Translation that which I have given seems the clearest Ver. 2. Be still ye inhabitants of the Isle c. Some hold that Isle is here collectively put for Islands and accordingly that it is the inhabitants of the Islands of the Midland-Sea that are here advised to be still that is to rest quietly in their several places and not to think of making any more voyages to Tyre that was utterly destroyed or to sit down silent mourning with her and for her But they are rather the Inhabitants of Tyre that are here spoken to which was an Isle till Alexander the Great as Histories report joyned it to the continent see the foregoing Notes Be still ye inhabitants of the Isle that is Boast not so proudly O ye Tyrians as you had wont to do in your great riches and the invincible strength of your City make not your City to ring with your revelling and rioting as you have used to do but rather let the astonishment horror and grief that is befallen you stop your mouths and make you sit down in silence as mourners use to do See the Note Job 2.13 Or thuâ— Be still ye inhabitants of the Isle as if he had said There shall not be that tumult and noise amongst you which there hath been by reason of the multitude of shipping and trading you had formerly there because your City being laid desolate there will be nothing but still silence there thou whom the Merchants of Zidon that pass over the Seas have replenished that is Who art filled with Merchants and all kind of Merchandise from beyond the Sea And Zidon is particularly named because being a haven-Town and near to Tyre and joyned in strict League and Confederacy with Tyre whence it is that in the Scripture they are still joyned together as if they had been but one it â—e though they had indeed several Kings Jer. 27.2 the Zidonian Merchants were still in greatest number there The drift of these last words is to imply that notwithstanding her great state and riches she should be laid waste and desolate But observable withal it is that Ezek. 26.2 Tyrus is brought in insulting over Jerusalem when she was destroyed with these very words I shall be replenished now she is laid waste Ver. 3. And by great waters the seed of Sihor the harvest of the river is her revenue c. Sihor is usually taken to be a small river that divided Egypt from Palestina Numb 34.5 and Josh 13.3 And accordingly some hold that by the seed of Sihor here is meant the seed of Egypt which is here called Sihor because this river Sihor was its utmost bounds But now because it seems no way probable that Egypt should be called Sihor only because of a small brook of that name that went through the skirts of that Country and for several other reasons that they give for it many learned men do with much confidence affirm that it is Nilus that is here called Sihor it may be with respect to a small branch of it that ran out to the borders of Canaan that was there called Sihor and that by the seed of Sihor here is meant the several fruits which the seed sown in Egypt by the river Nilus yieldeth to them as all kind of Corn Flax and such like And so the meaning of the words seems to be plainly this That the Wheat and other grain and fruit that either grew abundantly in Egypt by the great waters of Nilus the water-courses that were drawn from thence called therefore the harvest of the river Or that were transported by the great waters of the Ocean-Sea was the Revenue of
have been far above what any Idol-gods have been able to do and concerning my love to and care over my peculiar people Ver. 21. Produce your cause saith the Lord c. Here God by the Prophet returns to his Plea with the Heathen idolatrous Nations begun ver 1. and having hitherto pleaded his own cause against them and shewn what he had done and would do for his people here now he challengeth the Idol-gods say some that they should plead their cause and prove themselves Gods or the Idolatrous Nations that they should say what they could for their Idols Produce your cause that is Propound your cause that it may be fairly tried bring forth your strong reasons as if he should have said You that are wont to deride the simplicity of my people for their confidence in an invisible God let us now hear your strong unanswerable Arguments and Demonstrations which is spoken in a way of derision to prove the Deity of your Idol-gods All which is still spoken not only to forewarn Gods own people to beware of such Idolatry but also to shew them that they had no cause to fear that either the Babylonians or their Idol-gods could hinder their promised return into their own Country And this he concludes with an express asserting that this was spoken by the King of Israel bring forth your strong reasons saith the King of Jacob partly for the greater comfort of his people and partly by way of deriding their Idol-gods that could not as Kings defend the people that worshipped them as he the God of Israel did Ver. 22. Let them bring them forth c. That is Let the Nations bring forth their Idol-gods that we may hear what they can say for themselves or rather let the Idol-gods bring forth their strong reasons of which mention was made in the foregoing verse to prove themselves Gods And accordingly in the next words there is one particular way propounded whereby they are required to prove this namely by foretelling future things as God had often done for the good of his people Let them bring forth and shew as what shall happen As for the next words let them shew the former things what they be c. There is much difference amongst Expositors concerning the meaning and drift of them Some think that by former things is meant as the words plainly seem to import things past and that the telling of this is required of their Idol-gods because poor dead and dumb things they were not able to do that The whole period seems to intend as much as if it had been said Let them if they will be gods prove themselves Omniscient as the true God is such as know all things both things past and things to come of the first things past the words immediately following are meant let them shew the former things that is Things that have formerly been done that we may consider them and know the latter end of them that is That we may improve the knowledg of these fore-past things by considering seriously of them and of the event that followed thereupon and then he repeats that of foretelling future things or declare us things for to come that being indeed incommunicably proper to God Again others hold that by former things are meant the things which the Idol-gods had formerly foretold let them shew the former things what they be that is Let them tell us what those things are which they have formerly foretold that we may consider them and know the latter end of them that is That we may duely weigh them and that we may know whether they came to pass exactly as they were foretold and so may judge of the question in hand whether they be gods or no or else let them at present tell us what things are to come to pass hereafter And lastly others by the former things understand the first of future things which I judge to be the true meaning of the words Let them bring them forth and shew us what shall happen let them shew the former things what they be that is The former of future events those things that are immediately to come to pass that we may consider them and know the latter end of them that is That considering seriously of them we may be able to judge what is like to be the end and event of such things in after times that so we may accordingly prepare to avoid the evil or fit ourselves for the good which we judge those things are like to produce It may be taken to be all one in effect as if it had been ironically said Let the Idol-gods foretel those things that are forthwith to come to pass and we will by discourse and reason judge hereby of what is like to follow afterward or else let the Idol-gods foretel all things that are to be the former and the later from the beginning to the end But may some say How can the foretelling of future things be mentioned thus as that whereby they were to prove themselves gods seeing it is evident that the Idol-gods amongst the Heathens or rather the Devil by them did often in their Oracles foretel future things I answer It is undoubtedly God alone that can foretel all future things infallibly of himself and this the Idols nor the Devil in them never did nor could do Their predictions were but either natural or politick Conjectures which by reason of their great Knowledge they were the better able to make and therefore their Oracles were usually so ambiguous that whatever the event was they might seem to have foretold the truth or else they foretold them by some discovery they had made of those things from the Scriptures or from some command they had received from God concerning some thing they were to do And all this likewise God suffered to be done that they might in a way of punishment for sin be the more blinded and carried away by the delusions of Satan Ver. 23. Shew the things that are to come hereafter that we may know that ye are Gods c. See the foregoing Note This is again ironically spoken yea do good or do evil that is Reward them that faithfully serve you and punish your enemies as before I have shown that I have done for my people the Posterity of Abraham which is also propounded as the sole work of God there being none but he that can absolutely at his own pleasure both save and destroy James 4.12 that we may be dismayed and behold it together that is That we may be astonished at the great things you will do a sharp taunt and may joyntly observe and consider of it and so be convinced that ye are Gods Ver. 24. Behold c. Here God by the Prophet gives over reasoning with the Idol-gods and passeth sentence against them Behold ye are of nothing that is So far ye are from being able to foretel or do any thing good or evil that indeed ye are nothing
child as if the Prophet had said Before the child that is now newly born or is shortly to be born shall grow up to years of discretion both these Kings that have now combined against thee shall be destroyed Now to prove that these words the child may be understood indefinitely of any child they alledg another place Chap. 3.5 where the Prophet useth the like indefinite expression The child shall be have himself proudly against the ancient And because it may justly seem strange that the Prophet having spoken in the foregoing verses of the conception and birth and education of Christ and of the last with the very words here used that he should eat butter and honey that he may know to refuse the evil and chuse the good and yet should now presently speak of any child in general now newly born or shortly to be born and that under the same expression For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and chuse the good the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her Kings To this they answer that having in the foregoing verses grounded the hope of their promised deliverance from Rezin and Pekah upon a promise of the supernatural conception and birth and education of their Messiah that was to spring from that Royal family of David which these Kings sought to destroy he now sheweth the time when they should be delivered to wit very shortly before the child now newly born should grow up to have any use of his reason and understanding Again others yea indeed the most of our late and best Expositors understand this not of any child in general but of some particular child there present or whose mother was present and the most pitch upon Shear-jashab mentioned before ver 3. And so they say that whereas in the foregoing verses the Prophet had spoken of the conception and birth of the Lord Christ the Messiah here now he adds that sign which was before tendered to Ahaz to assure them of their present deliverance from the Invasion of Rezin or Pekah Because say they Ahaz might think that they might haply be all destroyed before the birth of this Immanuel which was now given them as a sign of their approaching deliverance To prevent this objection of his the Prophet assures him that they should be so far from preventing the birth of this their Messiah the Saviour of his Church long after to be bore by cutting off the house and family of David the stock from whence he was to spring that before the child that was now newly born suppose Shear-jashab that was there before him or any other should attain to any years of discretion both these Kings that were now combined to cut off the House of David should be destroyed to wit within three or four years Which indeed came to pass accordingly for Rezin was slain by the Assyrians that came to help Ahaz 2 King 16.9 and Pekah was slain not long after by Hoshea as is evident because Pekah began his reign the two and fiftieth the last year of Uzziah or Azariah and reigned but twenty years 2 King 15.27 and considering that sixteen of these twenty years he reigned together with Jotham the Son of Uzziah it must needs be that he was slain about the fourth year of Ahaz the Son of Jotham So that if Shear-jashab were at this time one or two years old it must needs be that Rezin and Pekah were slain before he attained any great ability of discerning between good and evil And the same may be said of any other new-born child or shortly to be born that should be here particularly intended But indeed 1. Because it may well be thought that if the Prophet had spoken this of Shear-jashab or any other particular child he would have said Before this child shall know to refuse the evil and chuse the good c. And 2ly because the words do so clearly seem to have respect to that child already spoken of in the two foregoing verses and more especially to that v. 16. Butter and honey shall he eat that he may know to refuse the evil and chuse the good I cannot but think that this also is to be understood of the Lord Christ the Son of the Virgin as well as the two foregoing verses The great objection against this is how the Prophet could intend this to comfort Ahaz against his fears concerning Rezin and Pekah if his meaning had been that before Christ that was to be conceived and born so many hundred years after should be able to discern between good and evil the land which he abhorred should be forsaken of both her Kings But to this three answers are given first which indeed seems to me of all most improbable that the Prophet doth not speak this of the death of Rezin and Pekah but of the death of one Obodas King of Damascus and of Herod King of Samaria which was not long after the birth of Christ Secondly that the drift of the Prophet is not to shew how suddenly but how certainly Rezin and Pekah should be destroyed As fully resolved as they were to destroy the House of David from whence the promised Messiah the true Immanuel was to spring before this his miraculous conception and birth and education both these Kings should be destroyed And thirdly That the meaning is only this that within as short a space of time as should be between the birth of this Immanuel the child Jesus and his being grown up to the usual years of discretion both these Kings that were now preparing to make war against Ahaz should be cut off and destroyed This I find mentioned by the Dutch Annotations and it seems to me the most satisfying answer Ver. 17. The Lord shall bring upon thee and upon thy people c. See the Notes Exod. 32.7 And upon thy fathers house that is the Royal family of David and especially his own posterity days that have not come from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah that is such sad and evil times as never befell the Kingdom of Judah since the first revolt of the Ten Tribes from them in the days of Rehoboam which is mentioned here as the saddest blow that ever was given to the Kingdom of Judah as being indeed a most deadly wound to that people and that which was the original cause of all their following wars and miseries Even the King of Assyria as if he should have said And these evil days shall come upon you by the King of Assyria by whom thou hopest to defend thy self against these two Kings that are combined against thee which I conceive is meant of the successive Invasions of the Kings of Assyria first Tiglath-pileser who sorely distressed Ahaz 2 Chron. 28.20 2ly Sennacherib who invaded the land of Judah in the days of Hezekiah and brought them into great straits 2 King 19.3 3ly Ezar-haddon whose Captains took Manasseh and carried him away into captivity 2 Chron. 33.11 But
Rabshakeh had said See the Notes Gen. 37.29 and 2 King 18.37 and covered himself with sackcloth See the Note Psal 30.11 and went into the house of the Lord to wit the Temple that he might there pour forth his soul in Prayer before the Lord. But see the Notes for this Chapter 2 King 19. Ver. 2. And he sent Eliakim c. To wit because they had been ear-witnesses of the Blasphemies of Rabshakeh and the Elders of the Priests covered with sackcloth who were joyned with the other the better to represent the weightiness of the business they were come about and the sad condition of all the Servants of God that were in the City unto Isaiah the Prophet the Son of Amos See the Note Chap. 1.1 namely both to engage him to joyn with Hezekiah and the people in praying to God for help and likewise that he might from him be informed of what God would be pleased to reveal to them concerning the great streights they were in and therefore there is express mention made here of his prophetical Office he sent unto Isaiah the Prophet for though this Prophet had formerly given them several promises from God that Jerusalem should be delivered see the Notes Chap. 33.17 yet Hezekiah being conscious to himself of the weakness of his faith and the overbearing power of his fears was desirous further to be confirmed herein Ver. 3. And they said unto him c. To wit delivering the message which Hezekiah had given them in charge Thus saith Hezekiah where some observe that they do not say Thus saith King Hezekiah as being desirous without minding any thing of State to express themselves in the humblest manner suitable to the sad condition whereinto they were fallen This day is a day of trouble and of rebuke and of blasphemy for the children are come to the birth and there is no strength to bring forth that is say some Expositors into so sad a plight the whole land is that Women with child fall into travel for fear before their time and dye because when the child comes to the birth they have not strength to bring forth But for this whole verse see the Notes 2 King 19.3 Ver. 4. It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh c. and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard c. Those words the Lord thy God which are twice here repeated were doubtless used in relation to that special interest which Isaiah had in God as he was a Prophet and that special respect which upon that account the Lord had to him and to his prayers wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left that is Cry aloud unto God for them whereto agrees that which is said 2 Chron. 22.20 for this cause Hezekiah the King and the Prophet Isaiah the Son of Amos prayed and cried to Heaven Ver. 5. So the Servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah That is Thus as is before related they went and delivered their message to Isaiah And this is again here inserted to make way to the following answer which the Prophet returned to their Message Ver. 6. And Isaiah said unto them Thus shall you say unto your Master c. As if he should have said Thus shall you say to our King who sent you his servants with this message to me Thus saith the Lord Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard wherewith the servants of the King of Assyria have blasphemed as if he had said Alas they are but words he shall not be able to do what he threatens to do And as for the blasphemies they have belched out against me fear not I will take care to be in due time avenged on them for that Ver. 7. Behold I will send a blast upon him c. That is He shall be struck with a pannick fear yet I see not why it might not be meant of the terrible tempest which some think God brought upon the Assyrian Army when it was destroyed See the Note Chap. 30.30 But of this and that which follows and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land See the Note 2 King 19.7 and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land that is He that now makes such havock with the sword amongst foreign Nations shall ere long be slain with the sword amongst his Subjects in his own Country yea by the hand of his own Sons as is related in the close of this Chapter Ver. 8. So Rabshakeh returned and found the King of Assyria warring against Libnah c. If this Libnah bordered upon Egypt as some say it did it is likely that Sennacherib left Lachish when perhaps he had taken it and sate down before Libnah that he might the better keep off any auxiliary forces which the Egyptians might bring to the aid of Judea or particularly that he might the better oppose Tirhakah the Ethiopian of whose coming against him he had heard Or if it lay nearer to Jerusalem than Lachish it is then probable that his design was only to draw up the residue of his Army still nearer to Jerusalem for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish from whence Rabshakeh was at first sent against Jerusalem But see the Note 2 King 19.8 Ver. 9. And he heard say concerning Tirhakah King of Ethiopia He is come forth to make war with thee and when he heard it he sent messengers to Hezekiah c. See the Note 2 King 19.9 It is not expressed whether this was a true or a false report yet it is most probable that it was so because we find that God foretold by Isaiah that the King of Assyria should vanquish the Ethiopians with the Egyptians and so deprive the Jews of that aid which they expected from them See the Notes Chap. 20.1 3 4.5 And this in likelihood he did not long after he had again sent Messengers with a second summons for the delivering up of Jerusalem to him Ver. 14. And Hezekiah received the Letter from the hand of the messengers and read it c. For though God had promised to destroy Sennacherib yet Hezekiah would not therefore carry himself the more insolently nor neglect to accept of any fair treaty with his enemy and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord that is In the Temple But see the Note 2 King 19.14 Ver. 15. And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord. Here again observable it is that though God had already assured him that Sennacherib should be destroyed and Jerusalem delivered yet he would not give over using the means of praying to God for mercy and that especially that he might withal shew himself sensible of the horrible reproaches which the proud enemy had cast upon his great name Ver. 16. O Lord of Hosts c. See the Note Gen. 2.1 God of Israel that dwellest between the Cherubims as if he had said Manifest
body as the ground and as the street to them that went over The meaning is That in their Bondage in Babylon their great Lords should trample upon them proudly and contemptuously and without any Compassion and use them just as they pleased themselves they not daring in the least to mutter against them And the like may be said too concerning their sad condition when they were vanquished by the Romans CHAP. LII VERSE 1. AWake awake c. See the Note Chap. 51.17 This is still to chear up the Jewish Church with hope of deliverance from that poor and miserable condition whereinto they were to be brought and it is thus often repeated partly because of the delight the Prophet took in imparting these glad tydings to the People and partly because the People were so hardly wone to embrace the promise in regard that they looked upon their Estate as desperate and past all hope of recovery Awake awake put on thy Strength O Zion that is pluck up a good courage be courageous and strong in the confidence of Gods favour and protection which is indeed properly thy strength put on thy beautiful Garments O Jerusalem the holy City as if he had said Put off thy poor and sad attire wherewith thou wert clad in thy low and captived Estate when thou wert wont to embrace the Dunghill and put on that brave attire again which thou wert accustomed to wear on thy Festivals and other times of Joy and Gladness As for the following words wherein there is a reason given why Gods People are stirred up to be so courageous and joyful for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean though some understand it of the great Reformation that should be made amongst them that no wicked ones should harbour amongst them or of the great holiness of the Church in the days of the Gospel which should be perfected in Heavenly Glory See the Note Chap. 35.8 Yet certainly it is rather meant of their being freed from the Cruelty and Tyranny of their Enemies But how then was this promise ever made good to the Church of the Jews from henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean I answer As this was spoken with respect to their deliverance out of Babylon the meaning cannot be that they should never more be invaded vexed and oppressed by any of the uncircumcised Heathens For it is well known that after that they were sorely afflicted and oppressed by Antioches Epiphanes and others and that at last the Romans did worse to them than ever the Chaldeans had done And therefore if we take this as a promise made to the Jews when they were delivered from their Captivity in Babylon it must be limited to the Babylonians to wit that they should no more be invaded as they had often formerly been nor tyrannized over by that Nation that had then so long held them in Bondage and he tearms them the uncircumcised and the unclean because in their Bondage this did most vex and afflict them that they Gods peculiar People should be made drudges to such a base heathenish uncircumcised People But now if we extend this to the Church of the Jews after they were ruined and destroyed by the Romans namely those that were together with the Gentiles the Church of Christs redeemed ones I see no other way that it can be understood but that their wicked Enemies should never be able to ruine them as the Jewish Church was by the Romans And this is that which Christ said Matth. 16.18 that his Church should stand in the midst of all opposition till she be taken up into Heaven where her Enemies shall trouble and afflict her no more Ver. 2. Shake thy self from the dust c. This seems to be thus expressed with reference to that which had been said in the foregoing Chapter ver 23. See the Note there of their lying on the ground whilst their proud Lords trampled upon them arise and sit down or arise and sit up as it is well rendered in our great Annotations Lie no longer on the ground but sit in a quiet and comfortable condition as formerly As Babylon was commanded to come down and sit in the dust Chap. 47.1 So Jerusalem is here called upon to arise and sit up from the dust loose thy self from the bands of thy neck O captive Daughter of Zion That is cast off thy Yoke But still we must know that the intent of this is to shew that this should shortly be done and that under this type there is also a promise couched of the Spiritual Redemption of the Church of God by Christ See the Note Chap. 42.7 Ver. 3. For thus saith the Lord ye have sold your selves for nought and ye shall be redeemed without Money See the Notes Chap. 45.13 and 50.1 and Psal 44.12 Because the Jews might think it impossible that they should be delivered from their Captivity in Babylon where they had been kept in bondage so long under such a mighty People therefore God tells them here that though they had sold themselves by their Sins that is though he had delivered them up to the Babylonians by way of punishing them for their Sins yet he their Lord and Soveraign had never sold away his interest in them by receiving any price of the Babylonians for them they did not so much as give him thanks for them and that therefore they could alledge no just Title to them but that it was free for him when he pleased to challenge his own just interest in them and to recover them out of their hands again By all which it appeared that there would be no difficulty in the work of their deliverance If God would challenge his just interest in them and deliver them from those that did unjustly keep them in bondage who could hinder him As they were sold for nought so they should be redeemed for nought As they were subdued by the Sword so by the Sword they should be delivered out of their Power And indeed in this too some Expositors endeavour to shew how the deliverance out of Babylon had some shadow in it of our Redemption by Christ Ver. 4. For thus saith the Lord God c. By former examples of the Lords delivering his People from the oppression of their Enemies he sheweth them what good reason they had to believe and wait for that deliverance out of Babylon which he had now promised them my People went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there as if he should have said And ye know how the Egyptians oppressed them there and how he plagued the Egyptians for it and delivered his People out of that their bondage and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause as if he had said and so likewise Sennacherib the Assyrian and some would have all the rest of the Assyrian Kings included that invaded Gods People did mightily afflict them causelesly when my People had
no way injured them for though Hezekiah had at first revolted from him yet he afterward submitted himself to him and by mutual agreement made him satisfaction and ye know how God destroyed him and his mighty Army and delivered his People from their Rage and Fury Thus I conceive is the meaning and drift of this Verse There is a hint here given the Jews of two former deliverances that God had wrought for his People and then in the following Verse he shews what might be inferred from hence concerning the sadder condition of his People in Babylon I know indeed that several Expositors do judge otherwise concerning the second clause and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause For some think that by the Assyrian there Pharaoh King of Egypt is meant and so they would have the meaning of the whole Verse to be this That the Israelites going down into Egypt only to sojourn there the King of that Country did without cause sorely oppress them But this opinion is built upon meer groundless and improbable conjectures as namely that that Pharaoh that knew not Joseph Exod. 1.8 was a Stranger even an Assyrian or else that all Tyrants were in those days by a Proverbial way of speaking called Assurs Others therefore say that by the Assyrian the Babylonian is meant and that he is here called the Assyrian because the Kingdom of Babylon was always formerly a branch of the Assyrian Empire and all Assyria was at present under the Dominion of the King of Babylon yea the rather too because the Assyrians frequent invading Judea in former times did open a Door to that absolute Conquest which the Babylonians did afterward make of that People and their carrying them away Captives into Babylon And so accordingly they make the Sense of the whole Verse to be this That the Egyptians did of old wrongfully oppress the Israelites when they sojourned amongst them and that the Babylonians had now done the like But the former Exposition is far the clearest to wit that there are here two Instances given of Gods pleading the Cause of his oppressed People formerly and that God argues from hence by an Argument taken from the greater to the less that if God punished the Egyptians for dealing so hardly and inhumanly with his People that went down into that Country voluntarily of their own accord that they might sojourn there though the King of Egypt had some pretence for what he did because they were in his Dominions and under his Jurisdiction And so again if God destroyed the Assyrians that only invaded and wasted the Land of Judea and afflicted them there in their own Country much more will he punish the Babylonians who without cause invaded their Country and carryed them away Captives into a strange Land Ver. 5. Now therefore what have I here saith the Lord that my People is taken away for nought c. The first words are very concise in the original and therefore may be understood several ways As 1. With reference to that which was said before ver 3. Now that my People hath been forcibly carried away into Babylon without any price paid to me for them what have I here that is what gain and advantage do I get by their being here in bondage As if he should have said Surely nothing at all it was not a bargain of my making neither do I get any thing by it and therefore why do I delay the rescuing of my People from this their Captivity Or 2. With respect to the foregoing Verse Seeing I could not endure the Egyptians and Assyrians that oppressed my People but punished them what have I here in Babylon that should move me to spare them that have carried them away Captive into a strange Country which the other did not Or what have I here to do but to destroy Babylon and to hasten the deliverance of my People from their greater oppression here Or 3. As bewaling the desolations of Judea having no People left me here in Judea what do I here Why do I not go away to Babylon and fetch my People from thence Or 4. With respect to their Bondage in Babylon what have I here in Babylon that I should be as it were as a Captive here amongst my People and not carry them back again to my Temple at Jerusalem And lastly some take it as spoken with respect to the state of the Jews when Christ their promised Messiah was sent unto them why do I stay any longer amongst this People sold over for nought and not remove from them and gather to my self another People Or what do I speak of what my People suffer here in Babylon seeing they lye under a far greater oppression of their Spiritual Enemies Why do I not hasten to deliver them from that bondage All these several ways these first words are understood by Expositors not without some ground of probability But the first I conceive doth best suit with our Translation However according to what is said in this first branch of this Verse we must understand the following words they that rule over them make them to howl saith the Lord to wit because of their cruel oppressing them both outwardly and in their Consciences also and my name continually every day is blasphemed to wit by the wicked Enemies of my People who continually insult as if I were not able to deliver my People out of their hands Indeed the Apostle affirms that this might be applyed to the Enemies blaspheming Gods name because of the wickedness of those that profess themselves his People Rom. 2.24 But doubtless the Prophet intended here the Heathens blaspheming the God of Israel by their boasting that he was not able to protect or deliver his People according to what we find also in Ezek. 36.20 And when they entered unto the Heathen whither they went they profaned my holy name when they said to them these are the People of the Lord and are gone forth out of his Land Ver. 6. Therefore c. That is Because my People have been thus carried away for nought and have been thus cruelly oppressed and especially because their Enemies have thus blasphemed my Name my People shall know my Name that is they shall experimentally know that I am the Lord Jehovah the only true God of Infinite Power and faithful to make good all my promises according to that which followeth therefore they shall know in that day to wit when my People shall be delivered out of Babylon as I have promised and when all things shall be accomplished by Christ that were foretold of him by the Prophets that I am he that doth speak behold it is I that is that it is I the Lord God that do now foretell these things by my Prophets in that I will exactly then accomplish what I now foretell Ver. 7. How beautiful upon the Mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tydings c. That is How welcome delightful and acceptable shall
advancing this their deliverance above 〈◊〉 of their deliverance out of Aegypt that being effected with much â—â—â—ugling and striving but this without any Labour on their parts Cyrus of his own accord giving them liberty to be gone And 2. Of the mighty and sudden encrease of the Church by the Conversion of the Gentiles for which see the Notes Chap. 49.18 21. and 60.4 before her pain came she was delivered of a manchild that is a great and mighty People And besides as this is intended concerning the encrease of the Church of Christ it may imply that the Believers in those days added to the Church should be strong in Faith manly and stout and couragious for the Truth and likewise what exceeding joy there should be for that great encrease of the Church as when a Child especially a man-child is born Ver. 8. Who hath heard such a thing Who hath seen such things c. To wit as that mentioned in the foregoing Verse see the Note Chap. 64.4 Shall the Earth be made to bring forth in one day That is the Fruits which are usually a long time sprouting out and growing till they come to ripeness and perfection Or as some would have it shall all the Women in a Country or in the whole Earth be made to bring forth together in one day Or shall a Nation be born at once That is is it possible for one Woman to bring a Nation at one Birth Or for several Women to bring forth a Nation together at one time for as soon as Zion travelled c. as if he had said yet so it is here as soon as Zion travelled she brought forth her Children that is as soon as the time of her Travel came she brought forth multitudes as it were a whole Nation at once or in one day for which see the foregoing Note Ver. 9. Shall I bring to the Birth and not cause to bring forth saith the Lord c. Some read it as it is in the Margin Shall I bring to the birth and not beget And so reading it the meaning must needs be shall I that cause other Women to conceive and bring their Conceptions to the birth continue Childness my self and not beget me Children of my Zion But reading it as it is in our Bibles the meaning seems rather to be this Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth that is shall I bring my People to the throes and pangs of a Child-bearing Woman and shall I not withall afford her deliverance see the Notes 2 Kings 19.3 Or shall I undertake to bring forth my People out of Captivity and not fully accomplish it Shall I set upon a work and not go through with it And to the same purpose is the following Clause Shall I cause to bring forth and shut the womb saith thy God That is shall I confer upon Mankind the power of propagation and shall I withold this blessing from my Zion Or having begotten Children upon my Zion shall I shut up her Womb that she cannot bring them forth Ver. 10. Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad with her all ye that love her c. It is the Well-willers and Friends of Jerusalem after the return of her People from Babylon and consequently also of the Church of Christ after her mighty encrease by the Conversion of the Gentiles that are here invited to rejoyce with her to wit as Friends are wont to rejoice with Women after they are safely delivered especially if it have been of a man-child as was before figuratively said of the Church ver 7. rejoice for joy with her all ye that mourn for her that is that did mourn for her when she was in an afflicted and distressed estate Ver. 11. That ye may suck c. That is say some in that ye shall suck and be satisfied c. for they take this to be added as the cause of the joy whereto they were exhorted in the foregoing Verse But considering that it was the Faithful that were there exhorted to rejoice in the prosperity of the Church I conceive this may be added as the end of their rejoicing with the Church even that ye may suck and be satisfied with the Breasts of her Consolations that ye may suck your fill see the Note Psal 22.26 that is that you may partake with her in her Salvation Prosperity and Glory that as a Mother she may with full Breasts plentifully feed and nourish you up that you may be nursed up in Knowledge and Grace here till ye come to be sharers with her in the Glory of Heaven hereafter With respect to that which was before said ver 7. concerning the Churches bringing forth Children the Prophet doth here likewise speak of her as of a Mother giving suck that ye may suck and be satisfied with the Breasts of her Consolations to wit those Gospel-Consolations wherewith she shall be comforted of God and wherewith she shall comfort her Children the sincere Milk of the Word 1 Pet. 2.2 refreshing as Milk for poor troubled Consciences Yea because there is mention made in the close of the foregoing Verse of those that mourned for Jerusalem some think that in these words that ye may suck c. there is an allusion to Mothers giving their Children suck to still them when they cry As for the next Clause that ye may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her Glory that is the Churches Glory see the Notes Chap. 60.1 2 3. Ver. 12. For thus saith the Lord Behold I will extend Peace to her like a River c. See the Note Chap. 48.18 and the Glory of the Gentiles as a flowing stream see the Note Chap. 61.6 then shall ye suck ye shall be born upon her sides and dandled upon her knees see the Notes Chap. 49.22 23. and 60.4 Ver. 13. As one whom his Mother comforteth so will I comfort you c. As if he had said You shall not only be comforted by the Church your Mother but I also will be to you as a tender Mother herein For as an affectionate Mother is wont by kind speeches and by hugging and embracing her Child and by all possible expressions of her love to labour to quiet and still it and chear it up again when it cries and weeps because of some hurt it had taken or because she had formerly chid it or beaten it so will I comfort you my People after I had for a time corrected you and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem that is though Jerusalem hath lain so long in such a desolate condition yet shall her prosperous and flourishing Estate be matter of great comfort and rejoicing to you Ver. 14. And when ye see this c. This is thus expressed to imply the undoubted certainty of it with their Eyes they should see it accomplished your heart shall rejoice that is you shall rejoice heartily and your bones shall flourish like an herb that is your Strength and
Ahaziah or Joram his Son See the Notes 2 King 1.1 and 35. Therefore it is thought the Moabites are here advised to pay their wonted Tribute again to the King of Judah Send ye the Lamb that is the Tribute which you formerly paid of Lambs and other cattel to the Ruler of the Land that is to the King of Judah to whom of right you are Vassals ever since David subdued you From Sela some chief City in the South-borders of the Land of Moab which was afterwards taken by Amaziah King of Judah and called Joktheel See the Note 2 King 14.7 To the wilderness that is the wilderness of Jordan in the North-border Unto the mount of the daughter of Zion that is to Jerusalem See the Note Chap. 1.8 Which is all one therefore as if he had said Let all the people all the Land over gather up this Tribute and send it But indeed many Expositors understand this as spoken in a way of derision as if the Prophet had said You had best to prevent the ruin that from Judah will be brought upon you to send the old Tribute again you had wont to pay to Hezekiah the Ruler of the land and it is like in your straits you will think of doing so but alas it will do no good that will not then keep off the destruction which will certainly come upon you Ver. 2. For it shall be that as a wandring bird cast out of the nest or as a nest forsaken so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon A river in the utmost borders of the land of Moab Numb 21.13 The meaning therefore seems to be that as a wandring bird driven out of her nest or as a brood of young birds forsaken of their damme or cast out of their nest do fly up and down not having any body to protect them not knowing whither to go or where to take up their rest so the daughters of Moab that is the Inhabitants of the Towns of Moab or the Moabitish women see Chap. 3.16 17. and Luk. 13.34 even they as well as the men shall flee away out of their Country and wander up and down in desart places not knowing where to settle themselves Or they shall be carried away captives into Assyria over the River Arnon But now we must know that this may be taken as spoken only conditionally to wit that thus it should be with the Moabites if they did not hearken to the advice given them in the foregoing verse But others that understand that which is said in the foregoing verse as spoken Ironically do accordingly understand this as added to shew why there would be no thinking to send a Lamb either by way of pacifying God's anger by Sacrifices or by way of procuring their Peace by paying their former Tribute because instead of that they should flee in great dread from the Sword of the Enemy or should be carried away by the Enemy into Captivity as easily as a bird is driven out of her nest Ver. 3. Take counsel c. That is say some Expositors Consult together how you may escape the destruction that is coming upon you And they that do understand these first words thus do accordingly hold that in the next words the Prophet tells them what would be the best course they could take if they desired to prevent their approaching ruin namely to be courteous and kind to the out-casts of God's people in their distress Execute Judgment make thy shadow as the night c. But I rather conceive that these first words do intend the same thing with those that follow after Take counsel that is Consider with your selves and consult together to wit how you may any way protect and relieve and procure the good of my people in their affliction and distress Execute judgment that is Do that for them which in all Justice and Equity you ought to do be not injurious to my people in their distresses as you have formerly been but shew them that compassion which is due to a people in such misery Make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noon-day that is when my people are driven out of their Country and flee to you to shelter them from their enemies let them be concealed and hidden by you that even at Noon-day they may be as if they were covered with the darkness or shadow of the night when no body can see them or find them out or rather let the harbour and entertainment they find amongst you be as a safe and sweet refuge and refreshment against the noon-day heat of the Assyrians breaking in upon them even as the pillar of the cloud to which haply this Expression doth allude was a covert to the Israelites against the heat of the Sun as they travelled through the VVilderness to Canaan hide the out-casts bewray not him that wandereth that is Hide those that being driven out of their own Land wander up and down amongst you to seek for some place of shelter and do not deliver them up into the hands of their enemies But now all this is understood by many as spoken Ironically Take counsel execute Judgment c. as if he had said Now when the enemy is broken in upon you it may be you will wish you had done what it was indeed your duty to have done to Gods poor people when they were persecuted and pursued by their enemies But alas it is now too late you had wont to reject them and to deal cruelly with them at such times and now you will meet with the same hard measure Ver. 4. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee Moab c. That is those of my people that are driven out of the land which I had given them and that I own still as my people though I have at present in just displeasure against them cast them out for their sins Be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler as if he should have said As at the first bringing of my people out of Egypt you did discover your spleen against them See the Notes Deut. 23.4 so you have done ever since being still ready to side with their enemies that have prevailed against them and to deal hardly with them in their distress but beware do not so still but rather let them have a hiding-place amongst you to shelter them from the rage of their enemies to wit the Assyrians as most Expositors do here conceive But now the drift of all this is only to shew what in all reason the Moabites ought to have done and as some think to insult over their destruction because they had not done so for the Extortioner is at an end the spoiler ceaseth the oppressors are consumed out of the land that is the Land of Judea shall be quite freed from the enemy that came to spoil and oppress her which I say most Expositors understand of the quick dispatch that God made of Sennacherib and his army
2 King 19.35 so that the drift of this passage seems to be this that considering the calamity that was to come upon Gods people was not like to last long but that they should be speedily setled again peaceably in their own Land the Moabites had no cause to reject the Jews when they fled to them for shelter as fearing lest the Assyrians should be enraged against them for it but rather might do well therein to gratifie the Jews thereby to make them their friends for the time to come And all this we must know is spoken by way of insulting over the Moabites in their destruction because they had not done that which in all reason and equity they should have done Ver. 5. And in mercy shall the throne he established c. Or prepared That is However the Throne of Judah shall be dangerously shaken by the invasion of the Assyrian which shall cause the Jews to flee to thee O Moab yet it shall not be utterly overthrown and ruined but through the mercy and free grace of God it shall be established and setled again in great strength and power for him to whom it belongs Some I know understand those words in mercy of the mercy of the King of Judah whereby his Throne should be established for him and for his Successors But I question not but that it is meant of Gods mercy to the Kingdom of Judah And thereupon it follows and he shall sit upon it in truth c. which words must be understood both of Christ and of Hezekiah as he was a type of Christ Understanding it of Hezekiah the meaning is That he should sit upon the Throne of Judah in truth i. e. certainly or surely firmly and constantly or that he should govern the people sincerely and uprightly in the Tabernacle of David that is in the house and palace of David judging and seeking Judgment and hastning Righteousness that is being careful to execute Judgment and Justice amongst them without partiality and without delay But understanding it of Christ who is indeed principally here intended the meaning then is That God would raise him up out of the Posterity of David and that he should sit upon the Throne of David for ever See the Note Chap. 9.7 protecting his people and executing Judgment upon his and their enemies see the Note Chap. 11.5 And accordingly the drift of this passage seems to be first more particularly that in regard the Assyrian should be destroyed and Hezekiah setled in the Throne of Judah it would be better for the Moabites to side with the Jews than with the Assyrians And 2ly more generally that it was meer solly in the Moabites and others to expect the ruine of the Throne and Kingdom of Judah upon every prevailing of their enemies against them there being a King to arise in the posterity of David who should sit on that Throne and should justly govern and prosperously defend Gods people for ever Ver. 6. We have heard of the pride of Moab c. Some Expositors hold that God speaks here of himself in the Plural Number as in Gen. 1.26 for which see the Note there And others suppose that this is spoken in the name of other people alledging the pride of the Moabites as a reason why it was no wonder to them to hear of their Destruction But more generally it is thought by Expositors that in this word We the Prophet doth include the Lord God himself the Jews and all the neighbour Nations and that it is all one in effect as if he had said That the Pride of Moab was on all sides well known We have heard of the Pride of Moab he is very proud even of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath that is the wrath which out of his great pride and haughtiness he hath discovered against the Jews The full scope of this whole passage may be thus expressed These things-whereto the Moabites have been here advised verse 1 3 4. they ought in all reason to have done but alas they are too proud to do any such thing we have heard of their proud boastings and threats Because they are a great and wealthy people and their Country and Cities are very strong therefore they fear nothing and instead of carrying themselves to the people of God according to the counsel before given them they on the contrary do in their pride deal despitefully and injuriously with them But this their pride shall not secure them but shall rather prove their ruine which is implied in the following words but his lies shall not be so that is their vain confidence their proud boastings and threatnings shall prove but lies that which they vainly and proudly conceit and boast and threaten shall not come to pass Ver. 7. Therefore c. That is because of their horrid pride Moab shall howl for Moab that is say some the living Moabites shall howl for the dead or rather they shall mutually howl one to another or one for another so that as it follows every one shall howl that is there shall be a general howling all the Land over for the foundations of Kir-hareseth See the Note Chap. 15.1 shall ye mourn that is not for the plundring or defacing of it but for the utter subverting of it and razing the very foundations of it and the rather haply because ye thought them invinsible This indeed may be read as it is in the Margin of our Bibles for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall ye mutter And they that read it so conceive the meaning to be That they should mutter within themselves that seeing that Town had formerly stood out against the siege of three Kings for which see the Note 2 King 3.25 and was now in as good strength as ever therefore they should be well enough able to defend it and accordingly they hold that in the following words surely they are stricken the vanity of these their hopes is discovered in that notwithstanding this their muttering the foundations of this their strong Town were stricken that is overthrown or destroyed or they that flattered themselves thus were stricken that is wounded or slain But I conceive the former Translation to be far the best and that in the last words the reason is given why they should mourn for the foundations of Kir-hareseth namely because they should surely be stricken that is razed and ruined Ver. 8. For the fields of Heshbon languish c. That is they lye waste and desert see the Note Chap. 15.4 and the vine of Sibmah a City formerly taken from the Amorites by the Children of Israel Numb 32.38 but now in the possession of the Moabites both were places it seems of great note for their Vineyards so that the mention of these imports that the most pleasant and fruitful of the Land should be destroyed The Lords of the Heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof that is the Princes and Commanders of the armies invading the Land of