Serpent could speak and what the Woman conceived of his speech and why she was not affrighted but continued the discourse with it There be two satisfactory answers may be given to these questions 1. The Woman knew that there were spirits and did freely and frequently converse with Spirits or Angels who also did appear in some visible shape to her which seems very credible because in the following Ages not onely the Angels but even the blessed God himself did in that manner converse with men And as they afterwards used to appear in the shape of men why might not one of them now appear to her and converse with her in the shape of a beautiful Serpent And why might she not freely and securely discourse with this which she thought to be one of those good Angels to whose care and tuition both she and her Husband were committed For I suppose the fall of the Angels was yet unknown to her and she thought this to be a good Spirit otherwise she would have declined all conversation with an Apostate Spirit 2. A late ingenious and learned Writer represents the matter thus in which there is nothing absurd or incredible The Serpent makes his address to the Woman with a short speech and salutes her as the Empress of the World c. She is not affrighted because there was as yet no cause of fear no sin and therefore no danger but wonders and enquires what this meant and whether he was not a brute Creature and how he came to have speech and understanding The Serpent replies that he was no better than a brute and did indeed want both these gifts but by eating of a certain fruit in this Garden he got both She asked what Fruit and Tree that was Which when he shewed her she replied this no doubt is an excellent fruit and likely to make the eater of it wise but God hath forbidden us this Fruit To which the Serpent replies as it here follows in the Text. It is true 〈◊〉 discourse is not in the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…ewish and other Expositors that these words Yea hath God said c. Are a short and abrupt sentence and that they were but the close of a foregoing discourse which might well enough be either this now mentioned or some other of a like nature And that expression which follows verse 6. When the Woman saw i. e. understood that it was a Tree to be desired to make one wise may seem to imply both that the Serpent told her and that she believed that the speech and understanding of the Serpent was the effect of the eating of that Fruit and therefore that if it raised him from a brute-Beast to the degree of a reasonable Creature it would elevate her from the humane to a kind of divine nature or condition unto the Woman d Who had upon some occasion retired from her Husband for a season an advantage which the crafty Serpent quickly espieth and greedily embraceth and assaulteth her when she wanteth the help of her Husband †Heb. Yea because c. yea e Or Why or Is it so or indeed or of a truth hath God said f It is scarce credible that God who is so bountiful and the soveraign good and so abhorring from all parsimony and envy should forbid you the enjoyment of any part of those provisions which he hath made for your use and comfort ye shall not eat of every g Or of any for the word is ambiguouâ—… which therefore the cunning adversary useth to hide the snare which he was laying for her Tree of the Garden 2. And the Woman said unto the Serpent we may eat of the Fruit of the Trees of the Garden 3. But of the Fruit of the Tree which is in the midst of the Garden God hath said ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye touch it h To wit in order to the eating of it Or the touch might be simply forbidden or she might reasonably understand it to be forbidden in and by the prohibition of eating because it was an occasion of sin and therefore to be avoided For it is not probable that the Woman being not yet corrupted should knowingly add to God's Word or malitiously insinuate the harshness of the precept lest ye dye i Others lest peradventure ye dye as if she doubted of the truth of the threatning Which seems not probable the Woman yet continuing in the state of 〈◊〉 and such doubting being evidently sinful and the Hebrew particle Pen doth not always imply a doubt as appeares from Psal â—… 12. Isa. 27. 3. and 3â—… 18. compared with 2 King 18. 3. 4. * 2 Cor. 11. 3 1 Tim. 2. 14. And the Serpent said unto the Woman ye shall not surely die k It is not so certain as you imagine that you shall die God did say so indeed for your terrour and to keep you in awe or he had some mystical meaning in those words but do not entertain such hard and unworthy thoughts of that God who is infinitely kind and gracious that he will for such a triâ—…le as the eating of a little Fruit undo you and all your Posterity and so suddenly destroy the most excellent work of his own hands 5. For God doth know l If you would have the whole truth of the matter and God's design in that Prohibition it is only this that in the day ye â—…at thereof then your eyes shall be opened m He knoweth that you shall be so far from dying that ye shall certainly be entred into a new and more noble kind of Life and the eyes of your minds which are now shut as to the knowledge of a World of things shall then be opened and see things more fully and distinctly and ye shall be as Gods n Or as God like unto God himself in the largeness of your knowledge knowing Good and Evil o As the very name that God hath put upon the Tree may teach you But this is a priviledge of which for divers causes best known to himself some of which your own reason will easily guess at he would not have you partake of 6. And when the Woman saw p By curious and accurate observation and gazing upon it or perceiving it by the Serpents discourse as was observed on ver 3. that the Tree was good for Food and that it was †Heb. a desire pleasant to the Eyes * To wit in an eminent degree for otherwise so were all the rest and a Tree to be desired to make one Wise q Which she might know by the Serpents information See the Notes on ver 1. she took of the Fruit thereof * 1 Tim. 2. 14. and did eat and gave also unto her Husband r Who by this time was returned to her with her s i. e. Who now was with her or that he might eaâ—… with her and
Interpreters Aquila and Theodotion render it And this suits exactly with the Hebrew words whereas in the other Translation the Noun and Verb governed by it are of divers Numbers which though somtimes it be allowed yet is not to be supposed without necessity But this I submit to the learned and judicious but among the * Ch. 21. 10. righteous y Who are so far from making a mock of sin or excusing it that they do not allow themselves to commit it there is favour z They find favour both with God and men as this very word thus generally expressed is used Prov. 11. 27. because they make conscience of ordering their lives so that they offend neither God nor men or if they offend either they heartily repent of it so far are they from excusâ—…ng it or pleasing themselves with it Or there is good will as the word properly and usually is taken they have a real love and are ready to do all Offices of kindness one to another and therefore neither sin against others nor rejoice in the sins of others 10 The heart knoweth †Heb. the â—…itterness of his Soul his own bitterness a The sense of the Verse is this The inward griefs and joys of mens Hearts though somtimes they may be guessed at by outward signs yet are not certainly known to any but a mans sâ—…lf Compare 1 Cor. 2. 11. The scope of the Parable may be to keep men from murmuring under their own troubles or envying other mens happiness and a stranger b Any other Person without or beside a Mans self doth not intermeddle with his joy c Doth not partake of it nor understand it 11 The house d Their dwelling and family of the wicked shall be overthrown but the tabernacle e Which is a weak and poor and unstable thing soon reared up and soon taken down and is here opposed to the large and strong and magnificent House of wicked men of the upright shall prosper 12 * Ch. 16. 25. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man f There are some evil actions or courses which men may think to be lawful and good either through gross and affected ignorance or through partiality or self-flattery or through want of necessary diligence in examining them by the rule of God's will or word all which are culpable causes of the mistake and therefore do not excuse the error but the end thereof is the ways of death g The event sheweth that they were sinful and destructive 13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful and * Chap. 5. 4. the end of that mirth is heaviness h The outward signs of joy are commonly mixed with or end in real and hearty sorrow The design of the Proverb is to declare the vanity of all worldly joys and comforts and to teach men moderation in them and to persuade us to seek for more solid and durable joys 14 * Psa. 44. 18 The backslider in heart i He who departeth from God and from the way of his Precepts with all his Heart which implies the doing it upon deliberation with free choice and full purpose and customary practice as ungodly men commonly do and is opposed to the â—…lips of humane frailty for otherwise every sin is a revolt from God shall be * Ch. 1. 31. 12. 14. filled with his own ways k With the fruit of his ways or doings the punishment of his sins and a good man shall be satisfied from himself l i. e. From his ways as appears by the opposition from the pious temper of his own Heart which cleaveth to the Lord when the hearts of sinners forsake him and from the holy and righteous course of his life from which he shall receive unspeakable comfort and satisfaction both here and hereafter to all Eternity 15 The simple m Either the harmless Man or rather a foolish Man because he is opposed to the prudent believeth every word n Is easily deceived with the smooth words and fair pretences of false and deceitful men but the prudent man looketh well to his going o Either 1. to his own going as this is generally understood he ordereth his conversation and dealings in the World with due circumspection not considering so much what other men say as what he ought to do Or 2. to the going of the deceiver whose the word in the former clause is suppos'd to be So the sense is he judgeth of mens words and professions by their conversations which is a good rule 16 * Ch 22. 3. A wise man feareth p Trembleth at God's judgments when they are either inflicted or threatned and departeth from evil q From sin which is the procuring cause of all calamities but the fool rageth r Fretteth against God or is enraged against his Messengers who bring the threatning or disquieteth himself in vain Or transgresseth as this Verb in its simple form and first conjugation commonly signifies or goeth on in sin constantly and resolutely according to the Emphasis which this conjugation commonly adds to the simple Verb. And this is most fitly opposed to departing from evil as being confident is opposed to fearing and is confident s Secure and insensible of his danger till God's judgments overtake him 17 He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly t His passion hurries him into many rash and foolish speeches and actions and a man of wicked devices u One who suppresseth his passion but designeth and meditateth revenge watching for the fittest methods and opportunities of executing it is hated x Both by God and men as being most deeply malicious and like the Devil and most dangerous and pernicious to humane Society whereas men that are soon angry give a Man warning and are quickly pacified and therefore pitied and pardoned 18 The simple inherit folly y They possess it as their Inheritance or portion holding it fast improving it delighting and glorying in it In like manner David took God's Testimonies for his Heritage Psal. 119. 111. where the word is the same Withal he may imply that folly is Natural and Hereditary to them but the prudent are crowned with knowledg z They place their honour and happiness in a sound and practical and saving knowledge of God and of their own duty and therefore earnestly pursue after it and Heartily embrace it 19 The evil bow before the good a Giving honour to them and supplicating their favour and help either for supply of their wants as being brought low for their sins or for counsel or comfort or for their prayers to God for them and the wicked at the gates b As Clients and Petitioners and Beggers use to wait at the Doors and Houses of Great and Potent men The sense is Good men shall have the preeminency over the wicked oft-times in this life when God sees
Shall I ‡ Heb. live Chap. 1. 2. recover of this disease 10 And Elisha said unto him Go say unto him Thou mayest certainly recover howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die p Here is no contradiction for the first words contain an answer to Benhadad's question ver 8. Shall I recover this disease To which the answer is thâ—…u mayest or shalt recover i. e. notwithstanding thy Disease which is not morâ—…l and shall not take away thy life The later words contain the Prophets explication of or addition to that answer which is that he should die not by the power of his Disease but by some other cause But it is observable that in the Hebrew Text it is lo the Adverb which signifies not which though most affirm to be put for lo the Pronoun signifying to him yet others take it as it lies and Translate the words thus Say thou shalt not recover for the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die Or according to the former reading the first words may be taken Interrogatively say unto him Shalt thou indeed recover as thou dost flatter thy self no which negation is implied in the very question and gathered from the following words for the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die 11 And he setled his countenance ‡ Heb. and â—…et it stedfastly q The Prophet fixed his eyes upon Hazael until he was ashamed r Either till the Prophet was ashamed to look any longer upon him or till Hazael was ashamed as apprehending that the Prophet suspected or discerned something extraordinary and of an evil and shameful nature in him The Hebrew words are ambiguous and may indifferently â—…e referred to either of them but they seem more properly to belong to Hazael because it follows by way of distinction the man of God wept and the man of God wept 12 And Hazael said Why weepeth my lord And he answered Because I know * Chap. 10. 32. and 13. 3. Amos 1. 3. the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel s So here was a double cause of his Grief and Tears the evil of sin in Hazael and the evil of suffering upon Israel their strong holds wilt thou set on fire and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword and wilt * Chap. 15. 16. Hos. 13. 16. Amos 1. 13. dash their children and rip up their women with child 13 And Hazael said But what is thy servant a dog t Either so vile and unworthy as this expression is used 2 Sam. 3. 8. and 9. 8. or so impudent for which Dogs are noted or so fierce and barbarous and inhumane Compare Psal. 22. 16 20. and 59. 6. that he should do this great thing And Elisha answered The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria u And when thou shalt have power in thy hand thou wiltst discover that bloody disposition and that hatred against Gods People which now lies hid from others and possibly from thy self and therefore with the Kingdom thou wiltst inherit their cruel â—…ons 14 So he departed from Elisha and came to his master who said to him What said Elisha to thee And he answered He told me that thou shouldest surely recover x He represents the Prophets answer by halves that by his Masters security he might have the fitter opportunity to execute his Treasonable design 15 And it came to pass on the morrow that he took a thick cloth and dipt it in water and spread it on his face y Pretending it may be to cool his immoderate heat with it but applying it so closely that he choaked him therewith by which Artifice his Death seemed to be Natural there being no signs of a violent Death upon his Body And this he the more boldly attempted because the Prophets Prediction made him confident of the success so that he died and Hazael reigned in his stead z Having the favour of the People and of the Men of War 16 ¶ And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah * 2 Chr. 21. 4. Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah ‡ Heb. reigned began to reign a Iehoram was first made King or Vice-Roy by his Father divers Years before this time to wit at his expedition to Ramoth-Gilead as was noted before which Dominion of his ended at his Fathers return But now Iehoshaphat being not far from his Death and having divers Sons and fearing some competition and dissention among them makes Iehoram King the second time as David did Solomon upon the like occasion 1 Chron. 29. 22. which is the thing here related But of this see more in the Notes on 2 King 1. 17. and 3. 1. 17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign and he reigned eight years b Part with his Father and part by himself alone in Jerusalem 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel c After his Fathers Death as did the house of Ahab for * Ver. 26. the daughter of Ahab d Athaliah ver 26. This unequal Marriage though Iehoshaphat possibly designed it as a mean of Uniting the two Kingdoms under one Head and in the True Religion is here and elsewhere noted as the cause both of the great wickedness of his Posterity and of those sore Calamities which befel them was his wife and he did evil in the sight of the LORD 19 Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servants sake * 2 Sam. 7. 13. as he promised him to give him alway e Heb. all days until the coming of the Messiah as it is elsewhere limited and explained for so long and not longer this Succession might seem necessary for the making good of Gods Promise and Covenant made with David But when the Messiah was once come there was no more need of any Succession and the Scepter might and did without any inconvenience depart from Iudah and from all the succeeding Branches of David's Family because the Messiah was to hold the Kingdom for ever in his own Person though not in so gross a way as the carnal Iews imagined but in a Spiritual manner a ‡ Heb. candle or lamp light f i. e. A Son and Successor Of this Phrase see on 1 King 11. 36. and to his children 20 ¶ In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Iudah g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they had been from David's time 2 Sam. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—… King 22. 47. and made a king over themselves 21 So Joram went over to Zair and all the chariots with him and he rose by night and smote the Edomites which compassed him about and the captains of the chariots and the people h i. e. The common Soldiers of the Edomites herein following the example of their Captains fled into
do thou vindicate me and Confute them and raise me up that I may requite them t Or and I will requite them i. e. Punish them for their malicious and perfidious and wicked Practises which being now a Magistrate he was obliged to Revenge Rom. 13. 4. although when he was a private Person he was so far from revenging Evil that he rendred good for it as we see Psal. 35. 12 13. and elsewhere 11. By this I know that thou favourest me u Bearest a good Will to me and art resolved to make good thy Promises to me and wilst plead mâ—… righteous Cause against them because mine enemy doth not triumph over me x Because hitherto thou hast helped and supported me and prolonged my days to the disappointment of their Hopes and designed Triumphs This Merey I thankfully receive as a Token of further Mercy Compare 1 Sam. 17. 37. 2 Cor. 1. 9 10. 12. And as for me thou upholdest me in mine integrity y As I have kept my Integrity so thou hast kept me in and with it Or for mine Integrity because thou hast seen my Innocency notwithstanding all the Calumâ—…ies of mine Enemies and thou hast promised and usest to afford thy Protection to the innocent and upright and settesteme before thy face for ever z Or hast Confirmed or Established me in thy Presence i. e. Either under thine Eye and special Care Or to Minister unto thee not onely in thy Temple but as a King over thy People or in that Land where thou art peculiarly present for ever Either 1. Properly And so this was done to David Either in his own Person Partly here and Partly in the next Life Or in regard of his Posterity in whom the Kingdom was Established for ever Or 2. For my whole Life or for a long time as that Phrase is commonly used 13. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting and to everlasting ‖ Or from Age to Age as long as the World lasts and to all Eternity Amen and amen †Amen signifies an hearty Assent and Approbation and withal an earnest Desire and Confidence of the thing to which it is annexed And as the Psalms are divided into five Books so each of them is closed with this Word the first here The second Psal. 72. the third Psal. 89. the fourth Psal. 106. the last in the end of Psal. 150. the doubling of theâ—… word shews the Fervency of his Spirit in this Work of praising God PSAL. XLII The ARGUMENT The Pen-man of this Psalm is uncertain as not being named in the Title It was Composed Either 1. By David when he was banished from the house of God either by Saul's Tyranny or by Absalom's Rebellion Or 2. By the Sons of Korah in the time of the Captivity of Babylon Whence some read the Words of the Title of this Psalm Maschil of the Sons of Korah But this is not usual in this Book to name the Author of a Psalm so obscurely and indefinitely For the sons of Korah were a numerous Company and it is not likely that either all or divers of them did joyn in the Enditing of this and the following Psalms so called Nor is there any one Psalm where the Author is named but he is one certain and single Person And therefore it seems more probable that David Penned this as it is Confessed he did some other Psalms which have not his Name in the Title To the chief musician ‖ Or a Psalm giving instruction of the Son c. Sâ—…e 1 Chr. 25. Maschil for the sons of Korah a Who where an Eminent order of Singers in the House of God Of whom see 1 Chron. 6. 33. and 9. 19. and 26. 1. 1. AS the hart †Heb. brayeth panteth after the water-brooks b The Hart is naturally Hot and Thirsty And this Thirst is increased Partly by its dwelling in Desert and dry places to which it retireth for fear of Men and Wild beasts and Partly by its long and violent Running when it is pursued by the Hunters And some add by eating of Serpents so panteth my Soul after thee c After the enjoyment of thee in thy Sanctuary as it appears from v. 4. O God 2. * Psal 63. 1. 84. 2. My soul thirsteth d Thirst is more Vehement than Hunger and more impatient of Dis-satisfacton for God for the living God e This he mentions as a just Cause of his Thirst. He did not Thirst after vain useless Idols but after the onely true and living God who was his Life and the length of his Days as is said Deut. 30. 20. and without whose Presence and Favour David accounted himself for a Dead and lost Man Psal. 143. 7. when shall I come and appear before God f In the place of his special Presence and publick Worship See Exod. 23 15. and 25. 30. What is called before the Lord 1 Chron. 13. 10. is before or with the Ark 2 Sam. 6. 7. 3. * Psal. 80. 5. 102. 9. My tears have been my meat g Which notes both the great abundance and constant Course of his Tears and the secret Satisfaction and Ease which he found in giving vent to his Passion this way Possibly his Tears and Grief took away his Appetite and so were to him instead of Food day and night while they * Psal. 79. 10. 115. 2. continually say unto me Where is thy God h Of whom thou hast so often boasted as of one so able and ready to help all that trust in him and call upon him and particularly as one ingaged to thee by many great and special Promises He is gone and departed from thee and no where to be found of thee He is either unable or unwilling to help thee or regardless of thee 4. When I remember these things i Either 1. Which follow to wit my former Freedom Or rather 2. Last mentioned my Banishment from God's Presence and mine Enemies scoffs and Triumphs upon that Occasion I pour out my soul k This Phrase notes Either 1. His fervent Prayer as it is taken 1 Sam. 1. 15. Psal. 62. 8. Or 2. His bitter Sorrows whereby his very Heart was almost melted or dissolved and his Spirits spent and he was ready to saint away as it is used Iob 30. 16. Lam. 2. 12. Comp. Psal. 22. 14. Or rather 3. Both together that he breathed out his Sorrows and sad Complaints unto God by fervent Prayers in me l i. e. Within my own Breast between God and my own Soul not openly lest mine Enemies should turn it into matter of rejoycing and insulting over me for I had gone m To wit in the way to Ierusalem And my sorrow was increased by the Remembrance of my former Enjoyments Comp. â—…am 1. 7. with the multitude n According to the Custome and in the Company of Israelites who went thither in
enemies but to their children who yet by the Law of God were not to suffer for their parents sins Deut. 24. 16. 1. HOld not thy peace a Do not neglect me but take notice of my extreme danger and misery and deliver me which thou canst do by the speaking of one word O God of my praise b The Author and matter of all my praises who hast given me continual occasion to praise thee whom I have used to praise and will praise whilst I live do not therefore now give me occasion to turn my praises into lamentations 2. For the mouth of the wicked and the †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 mouth of the deceitful c Of those who add hypocrisie and perfidiousness to their malice †〈◊〉 have oâ—… themâ—… are opened d They speak freely boldly and publickly without any fear or shame against me they have spoken against me e Or to or with me as this particle commonly signifies with a lying tongue f Either 1. with calumnies or false and malicious reports Or 2. with deep dissimulation and professions of friendship and kindness 3. They compassed me about also with words of hatred g Which though covered with specious pretences proceeded from deep malice and hatred and were designed to work my destruction and fought against me * 〈◊〉 69. 4. without a cause h Without any just provocation given them by me 4. For my love they are my adversaries i They require my love and good will with enmity and mischief as it is explained v. 5. but I give my self unto prayer k Heb. but I prayer i. e. I am a man of prayer or I betake my self to prayer Thus I peace is put for I am for peace as we render it Psal. 120. 7. and thy bread for the men of thy bread or that eat thy bread Obad. v. 7. The sence is whilst they reproach and curse me I pray either 1. for them as he did Psal. 35. 13. or 2. for my self I did not render unto them evil for evil but quietly committed my self and my cause to God by prayer desiring him to plead my cause against them and I had no other refuge 5. And * 〈◊〉 35. 12. 〈◊〉 20. they have rewarded me evil for good and hatred for my love 6. Set thou a wicked man l Heb. the wicked Which may be understood either 1. of some wicked Tyrant which may rule him with rigour and cruelty Or 2. of Satan who is mentioned in the next clause Let him be delivered over to Satan to be acted and ruled by him at his pleasure over him m Either 1. all mine enemies for the Singular number is sometimes used in like manner Or rather 2. one particular enemy who was worse than any of the rest more implacable and inexcusable whom he thought not fit to express by name nor was it in the least necessary to do so because he was speaking to God who knew his thoughts and whom he meant and let * 〈◊〉 3. 1. ‖ 〈◊〉 adver Satan stand at his right hand n Either 1. to molest and vex him and hinder him in all his affairs for the right hand is the great instrument of action Or rather 2. to accuse him for this was the place and posture of accusers in the Jewish Courts And as for his condemnation which is the consequence of this accusation that follows in the next verse 7. When he shall be judged o When he shall be called to an account and his cause examined before thy Tribunal let him †Heb. go out guilty or wicked be condemned and * Prov. 28. 9. let his prayer become sin p i. e. Be turned into sin or be imputed to him as his sin or be as unavailable with God for his relief as his sins When he makes supplication to his Judge as Iob speaks Iob 9. 15. for pity and pardon let him be the more provoked and enraged by it 8. Let his days q The days of his life Let him die an untimely death be few and * Act. 1. 20. let another take his ‖ Or charge office r Made void by his death He also implies that his enemy was a man of power and reputation 9. Let his children be fatherless s Whilst they are but children and so unable to provide for themselves and his wife a widow t Either made a widow by his death or constantly a widow all persons abhorring her who was related to so vile a miscreant 10. Let his children be continually vagabonds u Having no certain place of abode Which is a grievous curse in it self Gen. 4. 12 14. Isa. 16. 2. and beg x This increaseth their misery let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places y Into which they are fled for fear and shame as not daring to shew their faces amongst men 11. Let the extortioner z Or usurer or creditor catch a Heb. Ensnare which is an Emphatical expression i. e. take away not only by oppression and violence but also by cheats and cunning artifices whereby such persons entangle and so ruine their debtors all that he hath and let the stranger b Who hath no right to his goods and will use no pity nor measure in spoiling him spoil his labour c All the fruits of his labours 12. Let there be none to * Psal. 34. 10. extend mercy unto him neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children d Let him and his be unpitied and hated as the publick enemies of mankind 13. * Job 18. 19. Let his posterity be cut off and in the generation following e Heb. in another generation either in the third generation or in the second or that which next followed the generation of his fathers So in this clause he limits the time of that destruction which he imprecates or foretells in the former let their name be blotted out 14. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembred f Against him or punished in him as God hath threatned to deal with great delinquents Exod. 20. 5. with the LORD and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out 15. Let them g The sins of his parents last mentioned be before the LORD h In Gods sight and memory to provoke God to punish him let them not be covered or pardoned continually that he may * Job 18. 17. Psal. 34. 16. cut off the memory of them from the earth 16. Because that he remembred not i His duty to God and his obligation to me for my former kindness expressed v. 4 5. to shew mercy but persecuted the poor and needy man k My self who was desolate and miserable whose condition required pity and not additions of cruelty that he might even sâ—…ay the broken in heart
not riches his trust shall flourish as a branch d To wit a green and flourishing branch 29. He that troubleth his own house e He who bringeth trouble and misery upon himself and Children either 1. by carelesness â—…lothfulness improvidence prodigality or any wickedness whereby he consumeth his Estate So this troubling of his House may be opposed to a Man's building of his House Jer. 29. 28. Or 2. by covetous desires and restless endeavours to heap up Riches whereby he greatly tires and troubles both himself and all his Family with excessive cares and labours which is called coveting an evil covetousness to his House Habak 2. 9. shall inherit the wind f Shall be as unable to keep and enjoy what he gets as a Man is to hold the VVind in his Fist or to feed and satisfie himself with it he shall be brought to poverty and * Ch. 17. 2. the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart g By which means such a troublesome fool shall through his extreme necessity be forced even to fell himself to such as are wiser 30. The fruit of the righteous h i. e. VVhich he produceth his discourses and his whole conversation is * Ch. 13. 12. a tree of life i Is like the fruit of the Tree of Life is a great preserver of this life and a procurer of Eternal life not onely to himself but to others also and he that †Heb. taketh * Dan. 12. 3. winneth souls k Heb. that catcheth Souls as a Fowler doth Birds that maketh it his design and business and useth all his skill and diligence to gain Souls to God and to pluck them out of the snare of the Devil is wise l Sheweth himself to be a truly wise and good Man But this Clause is and may be rendred thus and 〈◊〉 that is wise the same with the Righteous in the former Clause winneth Souls or brings them to life So this Clause agrees very well with the former 31. Behold the righteous shall be recompensed m i. e. Punished for his sins as appears from the next Clause the general word being here used of this one particular by a Synecdoche in the Earth n VVhereby he intimates that all his sufferings are confined to this VVorld which is an unspeakable felicity much more o They shall be punished more certainly and more severely either in this life or in the next the wicked and the sinner p Those who make sin their great study and daily and most delightful exercise Compare this Verse with 1 Pet. 4. 18. which is a good Conment upon it CHAP. XII 1. WHoso loveth instruction a Admonition or reproof as appears from the next Clause which is a singular means of getting true and sound knowledge loveth knowledg b Sheweth that he is a true lover of knowledge because he is willing to purchase it upon such unwelcome terms as reproofs are generally esteemed * Ch. 15. 5. but he that hateth reproof is brutish c Discovereth himself to be a most foolish and stupid Creature because he is an enemy to himself and to his own happiness 2. A good man †Heb. draweth out obtaineth favour d Whereby he is and shall be acquitted and justified of the LORD but a man of wicked devices e Who designeth and industriously committeth wickedness will he condemn f When he standeth in judgment howsoever he may for the present justifie himself and deceive others into a good opinion of him 3. A man shall not be established by wickedness g By any sinful courses by which he useth to secure or stablish himself whereby he implies that he shall be rooted up but the * Ch. 10. 25. root of the righteous shall not be moved h To wit out of its place He shall stand fast and flourish like a wel-rooted Tree 4. * 1 Cor. 11. 7. A vertuous woman is a crown i A singular ornament and matter of his glorying and joy to her husband but she that maketh ashamed k That by her folly or wickedness bringeth shame to her self and to her Husband is as rottenness in his bones l Loathsom and vexatious and pernicious 5. The thoughts of the righteous are †Heb. judgment right m His constant purpose is to deal justly and truly with God and with men but the counsels of the wicked are * Ch. 11. 18. deceit n His great care and contrivance is to wrong and deceive others by fair pretences and cunning Artifices 6. * Ch. 1. 11 38. 18. The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood o Are designed and ordered to intrap or deceive others and to destroy them but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them p To wit from those that lie in wait for them which it doth either 1. by prayer to God for their deliverance Or 2. by pacifying the wicked with soft and gentle answers or by diverting them from their evil course by their good counsels and admonitions Or 3. by pleading their righteous cause in a judicial or other way 7. * Ps. 37. 37. Ch. 11. 21. 14. 11. The wicked are overthrown and are not q Both they and their Families shall suddenly perish but the house r The Family or Posterity of the righteous shall stand 8. A man shall be commended s To wit by wise and good men according to his wisdom t More or less according to the degree of Wisdom which his discourses and actions discover to be in him but he that is †Heb. perverse of heart of a perverse heart u Which he sheweth by his wicked words and conversation shall be despised x By God and all wise men 9. He that is despised y That liveth in a â—…ean and obscure condition in the World for such are commonly despised by men of an higher raâ—…k and ‖ hath a servant z Hath but one Servant Or rather as it is in the Margent is Servant to himself hath none to wait upon him or work for him but himself that getteth Bread by his own labours is better Or is servant to himself So Gr. a Is happier than he that honoureth himself b That glorieth in his high Birth or gay attire and lacketh bread c Wants necessaries for his own sustenance 10. * Deut. 25. 4. A righteous man †Heb. knoweth Ps. 1. 6. regardeth the life of his beast d Which is employed in his Service he will not destroy it either by labours beyond its strength or by denying to it necessary food or rest or by any other way and much more will he be pitiful to his own Servants and to poor men but the ‖ Or bowels tender mercies of the wicked are cruel
Physicians observe and Experience sheweth ‖ Or to a medicine like a medicine * Ch. 15. 13. 12. 25. but a broken h Sad and dejected spirit drieth the bones i Wasteth the marrow of the Bones and the moisture and strength of the Body 23 A wicked man k Whether Judge or Witness taketh a gift out of the bosom l In secret as this Phrase is expounded Prov. 21. 14. being privily conveyed from the bosom of the giver into his own bosom to pervert the ways of judgment m To give or procure an unjust sentence 24 * Eccles. 2. 14. 8. 1. Wisdom is before him n Or in as the particle peth is used Deut. 2. 7. and is here rendred by divers Interpreters the face or countenance The sense is either 1. His Wisdom appears even in his gestures and looks which are modest and composed and grave Or 2. Wisdom is before him or in his sight as the mark at which he aims or as the rule by which he constantly walketh and ordereth all his steps from time to time minding his present duty and business that hath understanding but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth o The sense of this clause also is either 1. His folly appears in his light and unsteddy and disorderly carriage and looks Or 2. His mind is wavering and unsettled he neither proposeth a right and certain end to himself nor is he constant in the use of fit means to attain it he neglects his present business and true interest and wanders hither and thither in the pursuit of earthly vanities minding most those things which are remotest from him and least concern him 25 * Chap. 10. 1. 15. 20. 19. 13. A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her that bare him p This he said before Prov. 15. 20. and elsewhere but he here repeats it as a point of great moment and constant use and as a powerful motive to oblige both Children to carry themselves wisely and dutifully to their Parents as they would not be thought to be unnatural or inhumane and Parents to educate their Children prudently and religiously at least for their own comfort if not for the publick good 26 Also q This particle seems to have relation to the next foregoing Proverb to imply that it is a very evil thing for Children to cause grief to their Parents as it is also to do what here follows †Heb. to mulct or fine to punish the just r For Parents or Princes or Rulers to whom alone this power belongs to punish innocent and good men is not good s is highly evil and abominable as is implied See above v. 20. and Prov. 16. 29. 17. 10. c. nor to strike princes for equity t Nor to smite Magistrates either with the Hand or Tongue for the execution of Justice as condemned persons are apt to do Or as some learned Interpreters render it Nor for Princes to strike any man for equity or for doing his duty or what is just So this clause best agrees with the former Besides it belongs to Princes or Magistrates to punish or strike 27 * Jam. 1. 19. He that hath knowledg spareth u Heb. restraineth as at other times so especially when he is provoked to passion in which case fools utter all their mind his words and a man of understanding is of ‖ Or a cool spirit an excellent spirit x Which he sheweth by commanding his passions and bridling himself from hasty and unadvised speeches Or as others render it is of a cool Spirit calm and moderate not easily provoked humble as the Chaldee renders it patient or long-suffering as the LXX and Arabick Interpreters render the words Or as others sparing Heb. precious which is put for rare or scarce 1 Sam. 3. 1. Prov. 25. 17. Isa. 13. 12. of his breath i. e. of his speech as this very word is used Prov. 29. 11. Isa. 11. 4. compared with 2 Thes. 2. 8. 28 * Job 13. 5. Even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise y Because he is sensible of his own folly and therefore forbears to speak leâ—…t he should discover it which is a great point of true Wisdom and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding CHAP. XVIII 1 ‖ Or He that separateth himself seeketh according to his desire and intermeddleth in every business THrough desire a man having separated himself seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom a According to this interpretation the sense is Through desire of it to wit of Wisdom which is easily understood out of the end of the verse such Ellipses being frequent in Scripture a man having separated himself being sequestred from the company and noise and business of the World betaking himself to retirement and solitude as men do that apply themselves to any serious study seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom i. e. useth all diligence that he may search and find out all solid knowledg and true Wisdom And this earnest desire and endeavour to get true Wisdom within a mans self is fitly opposed to the fools contempt of Wisdom or to his desire of it not for use and benefit but only for vain ostentation which is expressed in the next verse Although coherence is little regarded by Interpreters in the several Verses and Proverbs of this Book But this verse is otherwise rendred in the margin of our English Bible and by divers others He that separateth himself either 1. From his friend Or rather 2. From other men who affects singularity is wedded to his own Opinion and through self-conceit despiseth the opinions and conversation of others seeketh according to his desire seeketh to gratifie his own Inclinations and Affections and chuseth those opinions which most comply with them and intermeddleth for this word is used in a bad sense Prov. â—…7 14. 20. 3. and it is not found elsewhere save in this place in every business as proud and singular persons are commonly pragmatical delighting to find faults in others that they may get some Reputation to themselves by it Heb. in every thing that is thrusting themselves into the actions and affairs of other men Or as this last clause is and may be rendred and contendeth Heb. mingleth himself for words of that signification are commonly used for contending or fighting as Deut. 2. 5 9 19. Isa. 36. 8 Dan. 11 10. with or against for the Hebrew prefix beth oft signifies against all Reason or Wisdom whatsoever any man speaketh against his opinion and desire though it be never so reasonable and evident he rejecteth it and obstinately maintains his own opinion 2 A fool hath no delight in understanding b In getting â—…ound and saving knowledg either by his own sâ—…udy or by the instructions of wise and good men but that
redeemer t Heb. their near kinsman to whom it belongs to avenge their wrongs and to recover and maintain their rights of which see Lev. 25. 25. Numb 35. 12. Thus God is pleased to call himself to shew how much he concerns himself for the relief of oppressed and helpless persons is mighty he shall plead their cause with thee 12 Apply thine heart unto instruction u Content not thy self with outward hearing or reading of it but affectionately receive it into thine heart and lay it up there as choice Treasure and thine ears unto the words of knowledg 13 * Ch. 13. 24. 〈◊〉 19. 18. 〈◊〉 22. 15. 〈◊〉 29. 15 17. With-hold not correction from the child for if thou beatest him with a rod he shall not die x It is a likely mean to prevent their corruption and the destruction which commonly follows it as the next verse explains this 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod and shalt de liver his soul from hell 15 My son if thine heart be wise my heart shall â—…rejoice y In the good success of my Counsels and in thy Piety and Happiness which is as truly desirable and pleasant to me as my own ‖ Or 〈◊〉 I 〈◊〉 rejoice even mine 16 Yea my reins shall rejoice z I shall rejoice not onely in shew and profession but inwardly and with all my soul. when thy lips speak right things 17 * Psal. 37. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3. 〈◊〉 3. 31. 〈◊〉 â—…4 1. Let not thine heart envy sinners a Let not the consideration of their present impunity and prosperity stir thee up either to envy them or to approve and imitate their evil courses but be thou in the fear of the LORD b Reverence the presence of the Divine Majesty and dread his power and justice and those judgments which he hath prepared for sinners and thou wilâ—…t see no cause to envy but rather to 〈◊〉 them all the day long c Not only when thou art in trouble but in all times and conditions 18 * Ch. 24. 14. For surely there is an ‖ Or reward end d An expected and happy end for such as fear God which was required v. 17. Or a reward as this Hebrew word is rendred Prov. 24. 20. and thine expectation shall not be cut off e Thou shalt certainly enjoy that good which thou expectest as the wicked shall lose that Happiness which they enjoy 19 Hear thou my son and be wise f Rest not in hearing but see that thou growest wiser and better by it and guide thine heart g Order the whole course of thine affections and actions in the way h In Gods way oft called the way as hath been observed before 20 * 〈◊〉 5 22. Luke 21. 34. Rom. 13. 13. Eph. 5. 18. Be not amongst wine-bibbers i Avoid their conversation and company lest thou be either insected or injured by them amongst riotous eaters †Heb. of their flesh of flesh 21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness k Immoderate sleep and idleness which is as ready a way to Poverty as Gluttony or Drunkenness is shall cloth a man with rags 22 * Chap. 1. 8. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee l And therefore desires and seeks thy good in all his counsels and despise not thy mother when she is old m When the infirmity of age is added to that of her sex which is apt to breed contempt 23 * Ch. 4. 5 7. Buy n Purchase it upon any terms spare no pains nor cost to get it the truth o The true and saving knowledg of Gods Mind and Will concerning your Salvation and the way that leads to it and sell it not p Do not forget it nor forsake it for any worldly advantages as ungodly men frequently do also wisdom and instruction and understanding q Whereby you may love and practise the truth known and received 24 * Ch. 10. 1. 15. 20. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him 25 Thy Father and thy mother shall be glad r He repeateth this again as a powerful Argument to prevail with all Children that are not void of natural affection to labour to be wise and good that so they may glad the hearts of their Parents to whom they have such high and indelible obligations and she that bare thee s With so great pain and hazard and brought thee up with such tender care whom thou canst not better require shall rejoice 26 My son give me thine heart t Receive my Counsels with thy whole heart Selomon speaking in Gods Name and cause requires the heart to be given to him and let thine eyes observe u Let thy mind seriously and practically consider my ways x Either 1. The ways in which I have walked my evil practices take warning by my sad example Or 2. The ways which I prescribe to you as the Apostles called the Gospel which they preached their Gospel 1 Thes. 1. 5. 2 Tim. 2. 8. 27 * Ch. 22. 14. For a whore is a deep ditch y In which a man is in evident danger of perdition and out of which it is exceeding difficult to escape and a strange woman is a narrow pit 28 * Chap. 7. 12. She also lieth in wait ‖ Or as a robber as for a prey z Watching all opportunities of ensnaring young men to their destruction and increaseth the transgressors among men a She is the cause of innumerable sins against God and against the Marriage Bed against the Soul and Body too and by her wicked Example and Arts involveth many persons in the guilt of her sins 29 * Isa. 5. 11 22. Who hath woe b From the 〈◊〉 of Lust he proceeds to that of drunkenness which doth frequently accompany it who hath sorrow who hath contentions who hath babling c The sin of much and impertinent talking or 〈◊〉 noise or clamour which is usual among Drunkards See 〈◊〉 20. 1. who hath wounds without cause d Upon every sleight occasion which men enflamed with Wine are very apt to take who hath redness of eyes 30 They that tarry long at the wine they that go to seek mixt wine e Either mixed with Water or with other ingredients to make it strong and delicious Heb. mixture mixed drinks of several sorts suited to their Palats 31 Look not thou upon the wine f Earnestly so as to inflame thine Appetite towards it in which sense men are forbidden to look upon a Woman Job 31. 1. Mat. 5. 28. when it is red g Which was the colour of the best Wines in that Countrey which therefore are called Blood Gen. 49. 11. Deut. 32. 14. and such were used by them in
River yet they shall be freed from the disadvantage of it which is That the Enemies may come against them in Ships for no Galleys nor Ships of the Enemies shall be able to come into this River to annoy them 22. For the LORD is our judge t To judge for us to plead our Cause against our Enemies as the ancient Judges of Israel did Iudg. 2. 16. the Lord is our * Jam. 4. 12. †Heb. statute-maker lawgiver u Our chief Governour to whom it belongs to give Laws and to defend his People the LORD is king he will save us 23 ‖ Or they have forsaken thy tacklings Thy tacklings are loosed x He directeth his Speech to the Assyrians and having tacitely designed their Army under the notion of a gallant Ship ver 21. he here represents their broken and undone condition by the Metaphor of a Ship tossed in a tempestuous Sea having her Cables broken and all her Tacklings loose and out of order so as she could have no benefit of her Masts or Sails and therefore is quickly broken or swallowed up by the Sea they y The Assyrians of whom he still speaks as in the first Clause he spake to them could not well strengthen their mast they could not spread the sail then is the Prey of a great spoil divided the Iame take the prey z They who came to spoil and prey upon my People shall become a prey to them and shall be forced to flee away so suddenly that they shall leave so many Spoils behind them that when strong and active Men have carried away all that they desired there shall be enough left for the Lame who come last to the Spoil The general Sence of the place is That God's People shall be Victorious over all their Enemies 24. And the inhabitants a To wit of Ierusalem God's people shall not say I am sick b Shall have no cause to complain of any sicknes or calamity shall be fully delivered from all their Enemies and evil Occurrents shall enjoy perfect tranquility and prosperity the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity c This may be added Either 1. as the Reason of the foregoing priviledge Their Sins the main causes of all their Distresses shall be pardoned and therefore their Sufferings the effects of Sin shall cease Or 2. as an additional Favour They shall not onely receive from me a glorious Temporal Deliverance but which is infinitely better the pardon of all their Sins and all those spiritual and everlasting Blessings which attend upon that Mercy CHAP. XXXIV 1. COme near ye nations to hear and hearken ye people a Let the People of all Nations take notice of what I am about to say and do as that wherein they are generally concerned and by the consideration whereof they may if they will be instructed and so delivered from the Calamity here denounced let the earth hear and †Heb the fulness thereof all that is therein the world and all things that come forth of it b Heb. All the off-springs of it Either 1. all the Trees and Fruits and other productions of it For it is usual with the Prophets by a Figure to turn his Speech to these senseless Creatures Or 2. all the Inhabitants of the World as the Chaldee and other Ancients restrain and understand this general Expression which also is Emphatical and admonisheth the proud and insolent Sons of Men of their mean and obscure Original that how great and glorious soever they may seem to themselves or others yet in truth they are but a better sort of Mushromes springing out of the Earth for Dust they are and unto dust they must return as was said Gen. 3. 19. 2. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations c Not onely upon the Assyrians and those Nations which were Confederate with them in this Expedition but upon all other Enemies of my People whatsoever and his fury upon all their armies he hath utterly destroyed them d He will infallibly Destroy all of them he hath delivered them to the slaughter 3. Their slain also shall be cast out e Into the Fields where they shall lie unburied and be left for a prey to all ravenous Birds and Beasts Whereby he implies either the vast Numbers which shall be Slain so as they could not have time or place to Bury them Or the curse of God upon them and the Peoples contempt and abhorrency of them and * Joel 2. 20. their stink shall come up out of their carcases and the mountains f About Ierusalem where they are supposed to be gathered to Fight against Ierusalem as the Assyrians now were and as other Enemies afterward would be Zech. 12. 2. 14. 2. shall be melted with their blood g Shall be filled with their Blood which shall run down abundantly from the Mountains with great force and dissolve and carry down part of the earth of the Mountains with it as great showers of Rain frequently do 4. And all the host of heaven h The Sun and Moon and Stars which frequently come under this name in Scripture as Deut. 4. 19. and 17. 3. and elsewhere shall be dissolved i Shall seem to be dissolved So great shall be the confusion and consternation of Man-kind as if all the frame of the Creation were broken into pieces Some understand this of the general Judgment which some passages here following will not permit But it is a very usual thing for Prophetical Writers both in the Old and New-Testament to represent great and general Calamities in such words and phrases as properly agree to the Day of Judgment as on the contrary The glorious Deliverances of God's People are set forth in such Expressions as properly agree to the Resurrection from the Dead See Ezek. 37. 7. Ioel. 2. 31. 3. 15. Revel 6. 12 13. and the heavens shall be * Rev. 6. 14. rolled together as a scroll k Heb. as a book for Books were then written in Scroles which they usually rolled up together and when they were so no Man could â—…ead any word in it and no more shall any Man be able to see those goodly Lights of Heaven for they shall all be obscured and confounded This Phrase is used also Isa. 8. 1. Revel 6. 14. and all their host shall fall down as the leaf that falleth off from the vine l When it is withered and as a * Rev. 6. 13. falling fig m Which falleth either through great Maturity or being thrust out by green Figs coming forth or by any other accident from the fig-tree 5. For * Jer. 46. 10. my sword shall be bathed n In the Blood of these People Heb. Is or shall be made drunk in heaven o Either 1. in my Church which is called Heaven Dan. 8. 10. Revel 4. 1.
prevention thereof the LORD God sent him forth e Or expelled him with shame and violence and so as never to restore him thither For it is the same word which is used concerning divorced Wives from the Garden of Eden to till f To wit with toil and sweat as was threatned ver 17. the ground from whence he was taken g The ground without Paradise For he was made without Paradise and then put into it as was noted before 24. So he drove out the Man And he placed at the East of the Garden h Where the entrance into it was the other sides of it being inclosed or secured by God to preserve it from the entrance and annoyance of wild Beasts Or before the Garden i. e. Near to the Garden before any man could come at the Garden any way of Eden Cherubims i i. e. Angels so called from their exquisite knowledge and therefore fitly here used for the punishment of man who sinned by affecting divine knowledge and †Heb. The flame of a Sword a flaming Sword k In the Cherubims hands as it was upon other occasions Numb 22. 23. Ios. 5. 13. 1 Chron. 21. 16 27. And this was either a material Sword bright and being brandished shining and glittering like a flame of fire or flaming fire in the shape of a Sword Or flaming Swords because there were divers Cherubims and each of them had a Sword The singular number for the plural Or a two edged Sword which turned every way l Was brandished and nimbly whirled about by the Cherubims which posture was fittest for the present service to keep the way of the Tree of Life m The way that leads to Paradise and so to the Tree of Life that man might be deterred and kept from coming thither CHAP. IV. 1. AND Adam knew a This modest expression is used both in Scripture and other Authours to signifie the Conjugal act or Carnal knowledge So Gen. 19. 8. and 24. 16. Numb 31. 17. Matth. 1. 25. Luk. 1. 34. Eve his Wife and she Conceived and bare Cain b Whose name signifies a possession and said I have gotten a Man c A Male Child as Gen. 7. 2. which was most welcome from the LORD d Or By or with the Lord i. e. By vertue of his first blessing Gen. 1. 28. and special favour Or a man the Lord as the words properly signifie q. d. God-man or the Messias hoping that this was the promised Seed 2. And she again bare his Brother †Heb. Hebel Abel e Signifying vanity a vain mortal miserable man whereas she thought Cain to be more than an ordinary man or this name might prophetically design his miserable life and untimely and unnatural death and Abel was †Heb. a feeder a Keeper of Sheep but Cain was a tiller of the ground f Which was esteemed a more honourable calling than that of a Shepherd and therefore either chosen by the Elder Brother or allotted to him by his Father 3. And †Heb at the end of days Exod 2. 23. Or of the year 2 Sam. 15. 26. Neh. 13. 6. Isai. 24. 22. in * Exod. 2. 23. process of time g Either 1. In general at the return of the set time then appointed and used for the solemn service of God Or 2. At the end of the year when there might be now as there was afterward among the Jews more solemn Worship and Sacrifices The word Days being often put for a year as Levit. 25. 29 1 Sam. 1. 3. and 27. 7. Or 3. More probably at the end of the days of the week or upon the seventh and last day of the week Saturday which then was the Sabbath day which before this time was blessed and sanctified Gen. 2. 3. it came to pass that Cain brought h Either to the place appointed for the solemn Worship of God Or to his Father who at that time was both King and Prophet and Priest Or brought i. e. offered of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD 4. And Abel he also brought of the Firstlings i Either 1. The First-born which God reserved to himself both at this time and afterwards by an express Law Exod. 13. 2. Numb 3. 13. Or 2. The choicest and most eminent of the Flock For the best of any kind are oft called First-born as Ioh 18. 13. Ier. 31. 19. Heb. 12. 23. of his †Heb. Sheep or Goats Flock and of the fat thereof k Either 1. Properly the fat being properly now required by God as afterwards was expressed Ex. 29. 13 22. Levit. 3. 3. Or 2. The best of them as the word fat is often used as Gen. 45. 18. and 49. 20. Numb 18. 12. Nehem. 8. 10. Psal. 147. 14. And the LORD had * Heb. 11. 4. respect l Or looked to him with a gracious eye kindly accepted and owned him and his Sacrifice and testified this Heb. 11. 4. to Cain and all there present either by express word or by some visible sign probably by consuming his Sacrifice by Fire from Heaven as the Fathers generally think whereby also God did afterwards frequently signifie his acceptance of Sacrifices as Levit. 9. 24. Iud. 6. 21. 1 King 18. 38. 1 Chron. 21. 26. 2 Chron. 7. 1. unto Abel m Unto Abels person who was a truly good Man and then to his Sacrifice which was offered with Faith in Gods Mercy and in the promised Mediatour Heb. 11. 4. and to his offering 5. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect And Cain was very wroth n Partly with God who had cast so publick a disgrace upon him and given the preference to his younger Brother And partly with Abel because he had received more Honour from God and therefore was likely to have more respect and priviledge from his Parents than himself and his countenance fell o Whereas before it was lifted up and chearful now it fell down through sense of guilt disappointment of his hope shame and grief and envy at his Brother 6. And the LORD said unto Cain p That he might bring him to Repentance and the knowledge of his sin why art thou wroth and * Job 29. 24. why is thy countenance fallen q The cause of this dejectedness is not from me but from thy self 7. If thou doest well r Or for the future shalt do well i. e. repent of thy sin amend thy Life offer thy Offerings with a willing and chearful mind and honest heart in Faith and Love as Abel did shalt thou not ‖ Or have the excellency be accepted s Or pardoned received into favour Or exalted and either preserved in or restoredunto those rights of the First-born which thou art conscious to thy self that thou hast forfeited Or elevated in thy looks i. e. would not or should not thy
the less sort of Birds as appears from Gen. 15. 9 10. Levit. 14. 4. Psal. 104. 17. of every †Heb. wing sort c Heb. Of every kind of Wing whether Feathered as it is in most Birds or skinny and grisly as in Bats 15. And they went in d See on ver 9. unto Noah into the Ark two and two of all Flesh wherein is the breath of Life e i. e. All living Creatures 16. And they that went in went in Male and Female of all Flesh as God had commanded him And the LORD shut him in f Or shut the door after him or upon him or for him i. e. his good and safety against the fury either of the Waters or of the people This God did in some extraordinary manner 17. And the Flood g Or that Flood of Waters which was poured down in that shower mentioned ver 12. otherwise the Flood was one hundred and fifty days upon the Earth ver 24. was forty days upon the Earth And the Waters encreased i By the accession of more Waters from above and beneath and bare up the Ark and it was lift up above the Earth 18. And the Waters prevailed and were encreased greatly upon the Earth k Overthrowing Men and Houses and Trees where possibly they did or thought to secure themselves and the Ark went upon the face of the Waters 19. And the Waters prevailed exceedingly upon the Earth and all the high Hills that were under the whole Heaven were covered m Profane Wiâ—…s pretend this to be impossible because of the vast height of divers Mountains But 1. This cannot be thought impossible by any man that believeth a God to whom it was as easie to bring forth a sufficiency of water for this end as to speak a word And if we acknowledge a miracle of the Divine Power and Providence here it is no more than even Heathens have confessed in other cases 2. Peradventure this Flood might not be simply universal over the whole Earth but only over all the habitable World where either Men or Beasts lived which was as much as either the meritorious cause of the Flood mens sins oâ—… the end of it the destruction of all Men and Beasts required And the or that whole Heaven may be understood of that which was over all the habitable parts of it And whereas our modern Heathens that mis-cal themselves Christians laugh at the History of this Flood upon this and the like occasions as if it were an idle Romance they may please to note that their Predecessors the antient and wiser Heathens have diverse of them acknowledged the Truth of it though they also mixed it with their Fables which was neither strange nor unusual for them to do Lactantius appeals to the Heathens of his age concerning it Nay there is not onely mention of the Flood in general but also of the Dove sent out of the Ark in Plutarch and Berosus and Abydenus And the memory of this general Flood is preserved to this day among the poor ignorant Indians who asked the Christians who invaded their Land whether they ever heard of such a thing and whether another Flood was to be expected And the Chinese Writers relate that but one person whom they call Pumcuâ—…s with his Family were saved in the Flood and all the rest perished 20. Fifteen Cubits upwards did the Waters prevail n Which was sufficient for the destruction of the highest men or other Creatures though placed upon the highest Mountains and the Mountains were covered 21. And all Flesh died that moved o i. e. Lived for motion is a sign of Life upon the Earth both of Fowl and of Cattle and of Beast and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the Earth and every man 22. All in whose nostrils was †Heb. the breath of the spirit of Life 2 Sam. 22. 16. the breath of Life p Of which phrase see the note on Gen. 2. 7. of all that was in the dry Land died q Whether Men or Beasts c. all that breathed the same Air with Man all that lived in the same Element which man by his sins had infected whereby the Fishes are excepted as living in another Element 23. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground both Man and Cattle and the creeping things and the Fowl of the Heaven and they were destroyed from the Earth r This is so often repeated that it may be more deeply ingrafted into the dull minds and hard hearts of men to teach men that they ought again and again to consider this dreadful instance of Gods justice against sin and incorrigible sinners And * 2 Per. 2. â—… Noah only remained alive and they that were with him in the Ark. 24. And the Waters prevailed s i. e. Either grew higher and higher or rather continued to prevail and did not decrease upon the Earth an hundred and fifty days t In all whereof one part was the forty days mentioned ver 17. as appears from chap. 8. 4. CHAP. VIII 1. AND God remembred Noah a i. e He shewed by his actions that he minded and cared for him Or pitied and succoured him God is said to remember his people when after some delays or suspensions of his favour he returns and shews kindness to them as Gen. 19. 29. and 30. 22. Exod. 32. 13. Iob 14. 13. Psal. 132. 1. and every †Heb. Beast living thing b As God punished the Beasts for mans sin so now he favours them for mans sake and all the Cattle that was with him in the Ark And God made a Wind c A drying and burning Wind like that of Exod. 14. 21. which had a natural power to dry up the Waters but that was heightned by the assistance of an higher and miraculous operation of God to pass over the Earth and the Waters asswaged 2. The Fountains also of the deep and the windows of Heaven were stopped and the Rain from Heaven was restrained 3. And the Waters returned from off the Earth †Heb. in going and returning continually And after the end of the hundred and fifty days the Waters were abated 4. And the Ark rested in the seventh moneth d From the beginning not of the Flood but of the year as appears by comparing ch 7. 11. and ch 8. 13 14. on the seventeenth day of the moneth upon the Mountains of Ararat e i. e. Upon one of the Mountains of Ararat by a frequent Enallage of the number as Iud. 12. 7. Matth. 21. 5. And by Ararat is here commonly and rightly understood Armenia as appears both by comparing Isa. 37. 38. Ier. 51. 27. and by the Testimony of antient Writers produced by Iosephus and others to this purpose and by the great height of those Mountains and by its nearness to the place where the first men lived this
the same phrase Gen. 48. 15. 1 King 8. 25. Psal. 116. 9. and be thou ‖ Or upright or sincere perfect c i. e. sincere universal and constant in thy belief of my promises and obedience to my commands See Gen. 6. 9. 2. And I will make my covenant between me and thee d I am come to renew establish and enlarge that covenant which I formerly made with thee and will multiply thee exceedingly 3. And Abram fell on his face e Partly in self-abasement and an humble sense of his own undeservedness of such favours and partly in reverence and worship to God and a thankful acknowledgment of his marvellous kindess Compare Levit. 9. 24. Ezek. 43. 3. and God talked with him saying 4. As for me behold my covenant is with thee and thou shalt be a father of †Heb. multitude of Nations many nations f Both literally or after the Flesh of the Israelites Ismaelites Edomites c. and spiritually of all Believers of all Nations to whom Abram hath in some sort the place of a Father Rom. 4. 12 17. Not only as he was the great example and teacher of that faith by which they are all saved as the instructers of others are called their Fathers both in Scripture as Gen. 4. 20 21. and in profane Authors but as he was made by God the head of the Covenant by or through whom the Covenant-right was conveyed to all his natural seed and afterwards to the spiritual seed all Gentile-Believers 5. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram but thy name shall be Abraham g i. e. The Father of a multitude Ham in the Hebrew being put for Hamon which signifies a multitude by a figure called Apocope which is usual in proper names * Rom. 4. 17 for a father of many nations have I made thee 6. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful and †Heb. I will make thee Nations I will make * Chap. 35. 11 nations of thee and Kings shall come out of thee h So did the Kings of Israel and Iudah of Edom of the Saracens and the Messias who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their Generations for an everlasting covenant to be a God unto thee i i. e. Whatsoever I am or have all that shall be thine and shall be employed for thy protection consolation and Salvation This phrase contains in it the confluence of all blessings Temporal Spiritual and Eternal See Levit. 26. 12. Psal. 33. 12. and 144. 15. Ier. 31. 33. and to thy seed after thee 8 And * Chap. 12. 7. I will give unto thee and to thy seed †Unto thee not in thy own person but in thy Seed See Gen. 13. 15 17. after thee the land †Heb. of thy sojournings wherein thou art a stranger all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession k Upon condition of their obedience to God as is oft expressed Wherein seeing they so notoriously failed it is no wonder if they possessed it but a little while as the Prophet complains Isa. 63. 18. and I will be their God 9 And God said unto Abraham Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore thou l The agreement is mutual My part was expressed before now follows thy part and the condition to which my promise and blessing is annexed and thy Seed after thee in their Generations 10 This is my covenant m Circumcision is here called the Covenant by an usual Metonymy because it is the condition sign and seal of the Covenant the pledge of Gods promise and mans duty And upon the same grounds the cup i. e. the Wine is called the New Testament in Christs blood Luke 22. 20. Or which is all one Christs Blood in the New Testament Matth. 26. 28. which ye shall keep between me and you and thy Seed after thee every * Acts 7. 8. man-child n It is evident that Women as well as Men were comprehended in this Covenant from Gen. 34. 14. Exod. 12. 3 4. Ioel 2. 15 16. Yet Circumcision is given only to the Males partly because it could not at least not conveniently be administred to Females partly because man is the principal cause of the propagation of Children and consequently of the propagation of that original corruption which cleaves to them partly to signifie that all persons begotten by man should be polluted by sin though not all conceived by a Woman as Christ was And partly because Man is the Head of the Woman and of the Family upon whom all their concerns are devolved and from whom the distinction of Families and People comes among you shall be circumcised 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your fore-skin o i. e. By an usual Hypallage the fore-skin of your flesh And the word Flesh is here put for the Genital part as it is Levit. 15. 2 19. Ezek 16. 26. and 23 20. and elsewhere This part God singled out for this Ordinance because it is and was a great instrument both in the commission of actual sins and in the propagation of original sin and therefore it was very proper to apply to it the seal of Gods gracious Covenant for the remission of sins past and the extirpation of sin for the future and it shall be a * Act. 7. 8. Rom. 4. 11. token of the covenant p i. e. A sign evidence and assurance both of the blessing promised by that God who appointed this Ordinance and of mans obligation to the duties required which is signifyed by his acceptance of and submission to this Ordinance And here we have the nature and definition of a Sacrament viz. that it is a figure or token of Gods Covenant betwixt me and you 12 And †Heb. a son of eight days he that is eight days old q Not before that time because of the Childs weakness and imperfection and impurity too Exod. 22. 30. Levit. 12. 3. for which reason also Beasts were not to be offered to God before the eigth day Exodus 22. 30. * Levit. 12. 3. Luke 2. 21. John 7. 22. shall be circumcised among you every man-child in your generations r Successively until the Messias come who shall circumcise your hearts and change this Ordinance for another he that is born in the house or bought with money of any stranger s These were of two sorts 1. Children who being entirely his possession and having not understanding to discern nor will to chuse or refuse were to be circumcised 2. Grown persons who were not to be compelled to be circumcised but if they refused it were not to be permitted to dwell in his Family lest they should infect others but were to be sold to strangers as the Hebrew Doctors teach But as for Abrahams Servants here they were
Rom. â—…4 19. Heb. 11. 11 12. Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women r As to those monethly effluviums peculiar to her Sex which are necessary to Conception Compare Gen. 31. 35. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed s Not from joy and admiration but from distrust and contempt as if it were incredible within herself t Heb. In her heart i. e. she secretly derided it though none but her self as she thought knew it saying * Luk. â—… 18. After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure u Not so much in the conception as in the education and fruition of a Child my * 1 Pet. 3. 6. Lord being old also 13. And the LORD said unto Abraham Wherefore did Sarah laugh saying shall I of a surety bear a Child which am old 14 * Jer. 32. 17. Zech. 8. 6. Luk. 1. 37. Is any thing too hard for the LORD x †Chap. 17. 21. at the time appointed will I return unto thee according to the time of life and Sarah shall have a son * Heb. Hid from God So the sense is though she laughed onely in her heart it is not unknown to me Or rather too wonderful for God to effect Which best suits with the following words 15 Then Sarah denied y From the sense of guilt and the discovery of her shame and the expectation of a sharp rebuke both from this person and from her husband saying I laughed not for she was afraid y From the sense of guilt and the discovery of her shame and the expectation of a sharp rebuke both from this person and from her husband and he said Nay but thou didst laugh 16 And the men rose up from thence and looked towards Sodom and Abraham went with them * 3 Joh. 6. to bring them on the way z A Civility usual then and afterwards See Act. 20. 38. and 21. 5. Rom. 15. 24. 1 Cor. 16. 11. 17 And the LORD said * Amos 3. 7. shall I hide from Abraham a q. d. I will not cannot hide it It is against the laws of Friendship to conceal my secrets from him The interrogation here is in effect a negation as elsewhere Compare 2 Sam. 7. 5. with 1 Chron. 17. 4. and Matth. 7. 16. with Luke 6. 43. See also Amos 3. 7. that thing which I do 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the Earth shall be * Chap. 12. 3. and 22. 18. Acts 3. 25. Gal. 3. 8. blessed in him b q. d. Seeing I have done greater things for him how can I deny him the less Compare the argument Rom. 8. 32. Gods ways are not like mens ways Former favours to men are arguments why they should do no more but to God they are motives for the adding of new ones 19 For I know him c I know him to be such an one as I am now describing Or I know this concerning him which now follows Others I love him and therefore cannot conceal this from him Words of Knowledge being oft put for Love as Ier. 1. 5. and 24. 5. Hos. 13. 5. Amos 3. 2. that he will command d Or Instruct as the word is used Levit. 14. 5. Deut. 20. 18. and 27. 3. It will not be in vain that I tell him this and give him occasion to pray and to tast my goodness in answering prayers because he will not smother these things in his own breast but manifest them to others and teach them how good God is who so readily complies with the desires and prayers of men and how terrible he is to incorrigible sinners and how evil and bitter a thing it is to sin against God And so I shall get the end I aim at in all my works which is that they may be known for the good of others that they may learn by such examples his children and his houshold after him e Who will live when he is dead He will so diligently imprint these things in their minds that they shall never forget them and they shall keep the way of the LORD f i. e Observe and walk in the way of Gods precepts q. d. He shall not lose his design or labour for what he teacheth they shall learn and practise See Psal. 51. 15 c. to do justice and judgment g i. e. To do all things that are good and right and just both to God and Men. Compare Psal. 119. 121. that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him h i. e. That Abraham and his posterity keeping the conditions of the Covenant required on their part God may without any blemish to his honour or justice give all those good things which he hath promised to them 20 And the LORD said Because * Chap. 4. 10. and 19. 13. Jam. 5. 4. the cry i Sins are said to cry when they are gross and manifest and impudent and such as highly provoke God to anger of Sodom and Gomorrha k He names only these two as being the most eminent in state and exemplary in wickedness but under them he includes the rest as appears by the story is great and because their sin is very grievous 21 I * Chap. 11. 5. will go down now and see l i. e. Enquire into the truth of the thing God here speaks after the manner of men and for the example and instruction of Judges to search into causes ere they pass sentence whether they have †Heb. made a full end done altogether m Heb. Whether they have made a consummation or accomplishment i. e. whether they have filled up the measure of their sins Compare Gen. 15. 16. Matth. 23. 32. Iames 1. 15. according to the cry of it which is come unto me and if not I will know 22 And the men n i. e. Two of them For the third stayed with Abraham as it here follows turned their faces from thence and went toward Sodom but Abraham stood yet before the LORD o The third of these persons whom now he perceived to be the Lord himself who had assumed an humane shape 23 And Abraham drew near p i. e. Approached unto God to enquire of him and to pray unto him For so the phrase of drawing near to God is used 1 Sam. 14. 36. Psal. 73. 28. Isa. 29. 13. Heb. 10. 22. and said wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked 24 * Jer. 5. 1. Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the City q i. e. in the Cities concerned as appears by ver 20. 19. 25. The singular number for the plural as is frequent as Gen. 3. 2. 1 Chron. 10. 1. compared with 1 Sam. 31. 1. and oft elsewhere Or the City Sâ—…om alone is mentioned but the rest
not the power of Life and Death at least not over her who was a Canaanite and who was not in his but in her own fathers house But he being a person of great estate and authority and as it seems of obliging conversation could do very much to perswade those who then had the power of the Sword either to draw it forth at least in a just cause on his behalf or to sheath it upon his desire and satisfaction and let her be burnt d As guilty of Adultery which was punished with death by the laws of God Deut. 22. 23 24. and of Nations too Ier. 29. 22 23. He chargeth her with adultery because she was betrothed to Shelah See Deut. 22. 23. This eagerness of Iudah proceeded not from zeal of Justice for then he would not have indeavoured to destroy the innocent child with the guilty mother against Gods law Deut. 24. 16. Ezek. 18. 20 but from worldly policy that he might take her out of the way which he esteemed a burden and a blot to his family 25 When she was brought forth she sent to her father in law saying By the man whose these are am I with child and she said Discern I pray thee whose are these the signet and bracelets and staff 26 And Judah acknowledged them e His guilty conscience and the horrour of so foul a fact together with his sudden surprizal forced him to an ingenuous confession whereas he might have used many pretences and evasions which would easily have prevailed with such partial Judges and said She hath been more righteous than I f She was more unchast because she knowingly committed Adultery and Incest when he designed neither but he was more unjust because he was the cause of her sin both by withholding Shelah from her who was hers both by right and by Iudahs promise and by whom her chastity should have been preserved and by his solicitation and encouragement of her to the sin because that I gave her not to Shelah my son and he knew her again no more g Shewing the sincerity of his confession by his forsaking of the sin confessed See Iob 34. 32. And it may be probably concluded that he neither knew her nor any other Woman afterward because there is no mention of any Child which he had after this time 27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail that behold twins were in her womb 28 And it came to pass when she travailed that the one put out his hand and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a skarlet thread h In token of his being the first-born which she confidently expected he would be saying This came out first 29 And it came to pass as he drew back his hand that behold his brother came out and she said ‖ Or wherefore hast thou made this breach against thee How hast thou broken forth this breach be upon thee i Be imputed to thee as the same phrase is taken Genesis 16. 5. therefore his name was called ‖ That is a breach * 1 Chron. 2. 4. Matth. 1. 3. Pharez 30 And afterward came out his brother that had the skarlet thread upon his hand and his name was called Zarah CHAP. XXXIX 1 AND Joseph was brought down to Egypt and * Chap. 37. 36. Potiphar an officer of Pharaoh captain of the guard an Egyptian bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites which had brought him down thither 2 And * 1 Sam. 16. 18. and 18. 28. Aâ—…t 7. 9. the LORD was with Joseph a With his gracious presence and blessing as this phrase is taken here ver 21. and Gen. 21. 22. and 26. 24. and he was a prosperous man and he was in the house b He doth not endeavour to make an escape to his Father but demeaned himself patiently and faithfully in the station into which Gods Providence had brought him of his master the Egyptian 3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him c The Heathens owned a supreme God and his overruling Providence in affairs though they did not glorifie him as God but worshipped the Creature with and more than the creator Rom. 1. 25. and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand d i. e. Under his ministery as this phrase is used Exod. 4. 13. Levit. 8. 36. Prov. 26. 6. and oft elsewhere 4 And Joseph found grace in his sight and he served him e Not now as a slave but in an higher degree and he made him overseer over his house and all that he had he put into his hand f i. e. Committed to his care and management as Gen. 16. 6. Object How could this be when Ioseph understood not the Egyptian Tongue Answ. Ioseph doubtless when he came thither did as much as possibly he could endeavour to get the knowledge of that Language and being a person of excellent parts would soon obtain it especially because of the great affinity between that Language and his own Nor must we think that Ioseph was thus highly advanced in an instant but by degrees step by step and after some considerable time 5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house and over all that he had that * Chap. 30. 27. the LORD blessed the Egyptians house for Josephs sake and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house and in the field 6 And he left all that he had in Josephs hand and he knew not ought he had save the bread which he did eat g He took care for nothing but that he might eat and drink and fare deliciously Nor did he indeed take any care for that it being provided for him by other hands Others thus he took care for nothing but committed all to Ioseph except his bread which he would not have provided by an Hebrew hand because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews Gen. 43. 32. But that was no impediment for neither did Ioseph eat with his master nor was he the cook to dress it for him But he might provide food for him as afterwards he did for all the Egyptians without any scruple on their side and Joseph was a goodly person and well-favoured 7 And it came to pass after these things that his masters wife cast her eyes upon Joseph h In a lascivious and unchast manner See Ioâ—… 31. 1. Mat. 5. 28. 2 Pet. 2. 14. and she said lie with me 8 But he refused and said unto his Masters wife Behold my master wotteth not what is with me in the house and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand 9 There is none greater in this house than I neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee because thou art his wife how then can I do this great wickedness and * Chap. 20. 6. Lev.
for thy neighbour but he saith against both because such perjuries slanders c. are most commonly designed against them and because this is a great aggravation of the sin when a man not only speaks evil and fâ—…lshood but doth this from malice and ill will But under this kind are contained other sins of a like though less sinful nature as in the other commands d A mans neighbour here is not onely the Israelite as some would have it but any man as plainly appears 1. because that word is frequently used in that sence not only in the New as all agree but also in the Old Testament as Gen. 11. 3. Lev. 20. 10. Esth. 1. 19. Prov. 18. 17. 2. because it is so explained Luk. 10. 29 36. Rom. 13. 9. compared with Mat. 22. 39. 3. from the reason of the thing which is common to all unless a man will be so hardy to say that he may bear false witness against a stranger though not against an Israelite and in like manner that when God forbids a man to commit adultery with his neighbours wife Lev. 20. 10. he may do it with a strangers wife and that though a man be commanded to speak the truth to his neighbour Zech. 8. 16. he may tell lies to a stranger 4. because the great law of love and charity which is the life and soul of this and all the commands and binds us to all binds us and bound the Israelites to strangers as appears from Exod. 23. 4. and Lev. 19. 33 34. 17 * Acts 20. 33. Rom. 7. 7. Thou shalt not covet e The coveting here forbidden is either 1. the inward and deliberate purpose and desire of a deceitful or violent taking away of another mans goods But this is forbidden in the eighth commandment And it is hard to conceive that St. Paul should think that this command did not forbid such a practise Rom. 7. 7. which even the better sort of heathens esteemed a sin whose words are that they who are with-held from incest or whoredom or theft onely from a principle of fear are guilty of those crimes especially seeing the Old Testament Scriptures which doubtless he diligently studied do so plainly condemn evil purposes of the heart as Lev. 19. 17. Deut. 9. 4 5. and 15. 7 9. c. or 2. the greedy desire of that which is another mans though it be without injury to him Thus Ahab sinned in desiring Naboths vineyard though he offered him mony for it 1 King 21. 2. or rather 3. those inward motions of the heart which from the fountain of original corruption do spring up in the heart and tickle it with some secret delight though they do not obtain the deliberate consent of the will For seeing this law of God is spiritual and holy Rom. 7. 12 14. and reacheth the thoughts intents and all the actual motions of the heart as is apparent from the nature of God and of his law and seeing such motions are both the fruits of a sinful nature and the common causes of sinful actions and are not agreeable either to mans first and uncorrupted nature or to Gods law they must needs be a swerving from it and therefore sin And this is the reason why this command is added as distinct from all the rest thy neighbours house thou shalt not * Job 31. 9. covet thy neighbours wife nor his man-servant nor his maid-servant nor his oxe nor his ass nor any thing that is thy neighbours 18 And * Heb. 12. 18. all the people saw the thunderings f i. e. Heard them One sence is oft put for another as seâ—…ing Gen. 42. 1. for hearing Act. 7. 12. and the lightnings and the noise of the trumpet and the mountain smoaking and when the people saw it they removed g From the bottom of the mountain where it seems they stood and stood afar off 19 And they said unto Moses * Deut. 5. 24. 18. 16. Heb. 12. 19. Speak thou with us and we will hear but let not God speak with us lest we die h This they speak from a sence of their own guilt and of the greatness and holiness of the Divine Majesty to whom they durst not approach but by a Mediatour See Deut. 5. 28. and 18. 16. Gal. 3. 19. 20 And Moses said unto the people Fear not for God is come to prove you i Or try or search you whether you are innocent and such as delight in my presence or conscious of your guilt and therefore afraid of my appearance whether you have such a righteousness as can abide the trial of a severe Judge or whether you are such as have cause to fear my wrath and to flee to my grace and mercy which of you are sincere and upright and which are hypocrites and ungodly persons or to try whether this terrible appearance will produce in you that reverence fear and obedience which I call for or to give you a law by which you will be proved whether you do indeed love and fear me as you pretend you do or whether you do not and that his fear may be before your faces k Gods fear is properly in mens hearts but here the sence seems to be this That his fear i. e. this dreadful manifestation of his Majesty and justice the act being here put for the object may be now and ever before your eyes and in your memories as an effectual preservative from sin that ye Sin not 21 And the people stood afar off and Moses drew near unto * chap. 19. 1â—… 1 King 8. 12. the thick darkness where God was 22 And the LORD said unto Moses Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel Ye have seen l i. e. Heard as ver 18. He may use the word seen here to intimate that this was all they could see of God to wit his voice and speech and that they saw no Image of him as is expressed in a parallel place and therefore should make no resemblances of him as it here follows that I have talked with you * Deut. 4. 36. from heaven m i. e. From the lower heaven to wit the air or the clouds which were over the top of mount Sinai Deut. 4. 36. Neh. 9. 13. and so the word heaven is oft understood as Gen. 1. 20. Iob 35. 11. Psal. 79. 2. And so this place may be reconciled with Heb. 12. 25. where this is said to be spoken upon earth 23 Ye shall not make * 1 Sam. 5. 4 â—… 2 King 17. 3â—… Ezek. 20. 39. 〈◊〉 43. 8. 2 Coâ—… 14 15 16. with me n i. e. To worship together with me I will allow no companion or to me as it follows unto you and ver 24. unto me and the particle eth is sometimes used for el or lamed as 1 Sam. 22. 14. 2 King 22. 14. or for me either to represent my person by comparing this with the parallel
19. 10. Deut. 15. 4 7 11. by thee thou shalt not be to him as an usurer neither shalt thou lay upon him usury p The Hebrew word signifies biting so usury is called not by way of distinction as if moderate usury were allowed in this case which is manifestly false because the borrower is here supposed to be poor to whom not the use onely but oft-times even the principal is to be remitted Luk. 6. 34 35. but by way of explication because all usury is of a biting or eating nature which commonly consumes the person that pays it 26 * Job 24. 3 9. Prov. 20. 16. and 22. 27. Amos 2. 8. If thou at all take thy neighbours q To wit that is poor as appears by comparing this with the next verse where he is supposed to have but one garment and with Deut. 24. 12 13. raiment to pledge thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the Sun goeth down r Because he speaks of such raiment or covering wherein he used to sleep ver 27. But you are not to think that the creditour would every morning take and every night redeliver his pledge and therefore this is rather a prohibition to take any such thing for a pledge as a man hath great and daily need of by this argument that if he did take it he could not keep it Compare Deut. 24. 6. 27 For that is his covering onely it is his raiment for his skin wherein shall he sleep and it shall come to pass when he cryeth unto me that I will hear for I am gracious 28 Thou shalt not revile the ‖ Or judges gods s Not Gods falsly so called as some would have it as appears by 1 King 18. 27. Ier. 10. 11. but Magistrates and governours whether Civil or Ecclesiastical as it is evident both from Act. 23. 3 4 5. and from the following words which explain the former according to the common use of Scripture and from the title of Gods commonly given to such as Exod. 7. 1. Psal. 82. 6. Ioh. 10. 34 35. nor curse the ruler of thy people t Compare Eccl. 10. 20. Iude ver 8. 29 Thou shalt not delay u Beyond the times appointed lest this delay grow to a total neglect And delay may here be put for neglect as that word is used Deut. 7. 10. and 23. 21. Hab. 2. 3. which may seem to be favoured by the following clause which commands the giving or offering of the first-born without any mention of the hastning or delaying of it to offer the †Heb. thy fulness first of thy ripe fruits x Heb. thy fulness and whereas this word is sometimes applied to seed or corn as Numb 18. 27. and sometimes to the vintage as Deut. 22. 9. the circumstances must determine as it doth in like cases how it must be taken which here seem to restrain it to dry fruits as corn c. because it is opposed to liquors and so all sorts of fruits are comprehended here Unless you will make this an usual figure called Hendyadis as judgment and justice Deut. 16. 18. is put for judgment of Iustice or just judgment so here thy fulness and liquors for the fulness of thy liquors and so this may be one kind mentioned for all the rest than which nothing more frequent and of thy †Heb. tear liquors * chap. 13. 2 12. and 34. 19. Deut. 15. 19. the first-born of thy sons shalt thou give unto me y Not in kind but by a price of redemption to be paid to me in their stead 30 Likewise z i. e. Ye shall offer their first-born shalt thou do with thine oxen and with thy sheep seven days it shall be with his dam on the eighth day a Not sooner because it was till then tender and imperfect and therefore not fit to be offered to God but it was not â—…yed to that day for it might be offered afterwards as appears from Lev. 22. 27. eveâ—… till it was a year old thou shalt give it me 31 And ye shall be holy b i. e. Separated from all filthiness both moral and ceremonial men unto me neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of Beasts c Partly because the blood was not taken out of iâ—… partly because the clean beast was ceremonially defiled by the touch of the unclean and partly to beget in them a detestation of cruelty even in the beasts and much more in men in the field ye shall cast it to the dogs CHAP. XXIII 1 THou * Psal. 15. 3. shalt not †Or receive raise a Heb. not take up to wit into thy mouth as Exod. 20. 7. either by the first raising or further spreading of it or not bear or endure as that word oft signifies not hear it patiently delightfully readily approvingly as persons are very apt to do but rather shalt discourage and reprove the spreader of it according to Prov. 25. 23. Possibly the holy Ghost might chuse a word of such general signification to shew that all these things were forbidden a false report put not thine hand b i. e. Not conspire or agree with them which is signified by joyning hands Prov. 11. 21. not give them an helping hand in it not incourage them to it by gifts or promises not assist them by counsel or interest Others not swear with them But swearing is not noted by putting the hand but by lifting it up with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness 2 * Lev. 19. 15. Deut. 1. 17. Thou shalt not follow a multitude c Either their counsel or example But the Hebrew rabbim both here and in the following clause is by some rendred great men men in power and authority whom we are commanded not to follow And as the word is thus used Iob 32. 9. Ier. 41. 1. so this sence may seem most probable 1. because in the last clause he speaks of causes or controversies as the Hebrew rib signifies and matters of judgment which were not determined by the multitude but by great men 2. because these are opposed to the poor in the next verse 3. because the examples of such men are most prevalent to do evil d Either in general or particularly to work mischief to oppress or crush another neither 〈◊〉 thou †Heb. answer speak e Heb. answer when thou art summoned as a witness in any cause in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment f Or to turn aside right or to pervert thy self the verb being taken reciprocally as Hiphil is oft put for Hithpahel or which is all one to do perversly i. e. unrighteously 3 Neither shalt thou countenance g Heb. Honour i. e. respect or prefer his cause when the richer mans cause is more just The meaning of this and the former verse is there shall be no respect of persons whether rich or poor
oft used as Gen. 13. 8. and 24. 27. from before the Sanctuary out of the camp n Where the burying places of the Iews were that the living might neither be annoyed by the unwholsome sent of the dead nor defiled by the touch of their graves 5 So they went near and carried them in their coats o In the holy garments wherein they ministred which might be done either 1. as a testimony of a respect due to them notwithstanding their present failure and that God in judgment remembred mercy and when he took away their lives spared their souls Or 2. because being polluted both by their sin and by the touch of their dead bodies God would not have them any more used in his service out of the camp as Moses had said 6 And Moses said unto Aaron and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar his sons * Num. 6. â—… Uncover not your heads p Either 1. by putting off your Miters and Bonnets or Ornaments and going bare-headed as mourners sometimes did See Lev. 13. 45. Ezek. 24. 17 23. Or 2. by shaving off the hair of your heads and beards as mourners did See Iob 1. 20. Ier. 7. 29. and 41. 5. Ezek. 4â—… 20. Mich. 1. 16. This latter may seem to be principally intended 1. because this ceremony of uncovering the head being used by the people as well as by the Priests in case of mourning as the places now alledged shew and the other ceremony here joyned with it of rending the clothes being also common to the people seems to imply that he speaks not of that uncovering the head which was peculiar to the Priests but to that which was common both to Priests and people especially seeing that which is here forbidden to these Priests is in the following words allowed to the people to bewail their death which as at other times it was so now probably might be performed by these same ceremonies 2. because the High-priest is forbidden to uncover his head in way of mourning for the dead not onely at that time when he was in actual ministration but at all times even when he had neither his miter nor any of the holy garments upon him Lev. 21. 10. neither rend your clothes q Give no signification of your sorrow mourn not for them partly lest you should seem to justifie and approve of your brethren and tacitly reflect upon God as too severe in his proceedings with them and partly least thereby you should be diverted from or disturbed in your present service which God expects should be done chearfully lest you die and lest wrath come upon all the people but let your brethren the whole house of Israel bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled r Not so much in compassion to them against whom I have shewed such great and just indignation as in sorrow for the tokens of Divine displeasure 7 And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation s Where at this time they were either because this happened within the 7 days of their consecration See Lev. 8. 35. or because they were longer detained there about some other holy ministrations Though the former may seem more probable because the meat-offering here mentioned ver 12. and the sin-offering ver 16. were part of the consecration-offerings lest you die for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you t You are persons consecrated peculiarly to Gods service which therefore it is just and reasonable you should prefer before all funeral solemnities and they did according to the word of Moses 8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron saying 9 * Ezek. 44. 21. 1 Tim. 3. 3. Do not drink wine nor strong drink u This is here added either because Nadab and Abihu had been led to their errour by drinking too much which might easily fall out when they were feasting and full of joy for their entrance into so honourable and profitable an employment or at lest because others might thereby be drawn to commit the same miscarriages which they might now commit from other causes Drunkenness is so odious a sin in it self especially in a Minister and most of all in the time of his administration of sacred things that God saw fit to prevent all occasions of it And hence the Devil who is Gods ape in his prescriptions for his worship required this abstinence from his Priests in their Idolatrous services thou nor thy sons with thee when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation lest ye die It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations 10 And that ye may * Jer. 15. 19. Ezek. 22. 26. and 44. 23. put difference between holy and unholy x Persons and things which Nadab and Abihu did not mistaking unholy or common fire for that which was sacred and appointed by God for their use and between unclean and clean 11 And that ye may teach y Be apt to teach aright which drâ—…nken persons are very unfit to do the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses 25 And whosoever beareth b Or taketh away out of the place where haply it may ly by which others may be either offended or polluted ought of the carcass of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the even 26 The carcasses c Which word is easily to be understood out of ver 24. and 25. where it is expressed of every beast which divideth the hoof and is not cloven footed nor cheweth the cud are unclean unto you every one that toucheth them shall be unclean 27 And whatsoever goeth upon his paws d Heb. upon his hands i. e. which hath feet divided into several parts like fingers as dogs cats apes bears c. among all manner of beasts that go on all four those are unclean unto you whoso toucheth their carcass shall be unclean until the even 28 And he that beareth the carcass of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the even they are unclean unto you 29 These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth the Weasel and the * Isa. 66. 17. Mouse and the Tortois after his kind 30 And the Ferret and the Camelion and the Lyzard and the Snail and the Mole 31 These are unclean to you among all that creep whosoever doth touch them when they be dead shall be unclean until the even 32 And upon whatsoever any of them when they are dead doth fall it shall be unclean whether it be any vessel of wood or rayment or skin or sack whatsoever vessel it be wherein any work is done it must be put into water and it shall be unclean until the even so it shall be cleansed 33 And every earthen vessel whereinto any of them falleth whatsoever is in it shall be unclean and * chap. 6. 28.
bird that was killed over the running water 7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosie seven times k To signifie his perfect cleansing and restoration to all his former priviledges Compare Levit. 4. 17. and 7. 15 16. 10. 14 19. and shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird loose †Heb. upon the face of the field into the open field l The place of its former abode signifying the taking off that restraint which was laid upon the leper and the liberty which the leper now had to return to his former habitation and conversation with other men 8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair m Partly to discover his perfect soundness partly to preserve him from relapse through any seeds or relicks of it which might remain in his hair or in his clothes and partly to teach him to put off his old lusts and to become a new man and wash himself in water that he may be clean And after that he shall come into the camp and shall * Numb 12. 15. tarry abroad out of his tent n Out of his former habitation in some separate place least some of his leprosie yet lurking in him should break forth to the infection of his family seven dayes 9 But it shall be on the seventh day that he shall shave all his hair o Which began to grow again since it was first shaved and now for more caution is shaved again off his head and his beard and his eye-brows even all his hair he shall shave off And he shall wash his clothes also he shall wash his flesh in water and he shall be clean 10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he-lambs without blemish and one ewe lamb of †Heb. 〈◊〉 of her year the first year without blemish and three tenth deales of fine flour for * chap. 2. 1. a meat-offering mingled with oyl p Oyl is added here as a fit sign of Gods grace and mercy and of the lepers healing and one log q A measure for liquid things containing six eggshels full of oyl 11 And the priest that maketh him clean r The healing is ascribed to God ver 13. but the ceremonial cleansing or making of him clean and fit for society was an act of the Priest using the rites which God had prescribed whereby the sinner was cleansed shall present the man that is to be made clean and those things before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation 12 And the priest shall take one he-lamb and offer him for a trespass offering s To teach them that sin was the cause of leprosie and of all diseases and that these ceremonial observations had a further meaning even to make them sensible of their spiritual diseases their sins and to fly to God in Christ for the cure of them and the log of oyl and * Exod. 29. 〈◊〉 wave them for a wave-offering before the LORD 13 And he shall slay the lamb in * Exod. 29. 11 chap. 3. 8. 〈◊〉 4. 4 24. the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt-offering in the holy place t To wit in the Court of the Tabernacle See Levit. 1. 11. and 7. 7. for * chap. 7. â—… as the sin offering is the priests so is the trespass offering it is * chap. 2. 3. and 21. 22. most holy u Both of them are equally holy and therefore to be offered in the same place 14 And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and the priest shall put it upon * Exod. 29. 〈◊〉 chap. 8. 23. the tip of the right ear x To signifie that he was now free to hear Gods word in the appointed places from which he was before excluded and to touch any person or thing without defiling it and to go whither he pleased hand and upon the great toe of his right foot x To signifie that he was now free to hear Gods word in the appointed places from which he was before excluded and to touch any person or thing without defiling it and to go whither he pleased 15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oyl z As the blood signified Christs blood by which men obtain remission of sins so the oyl noted the graces of the spirit by which they are regenerated and renewed and pour it into the palm of his own left hand 16 And the priest shall dip his right-finger in the oyl that is in his left hand and shall sprinkle of the oyl with his finger seven times before the LORD a i. e. Before the second vail which covered the Holy of Holies where God is oft said to dwell and to be present in a peculiar manner 17 And of the rest of the oyl that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed and upon the thumb of his right hand and upon the great toe of his right foot upon the blood of the trespass offering b i. e. Upon the place of that blood as it is expressed verse 28. or where that blood was put ver 14. Or over and besides the blood c. i. e. As the blood was put in those places so shall the oyl be 18 And the remnant of the oyl that is in the priests hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD 19 And the priest shall offer * chap. 5. 1. the sin offering and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness and afterward he shall kill the burnt-offering 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt-offering and the meat-offering upon the altar and the priest shall make an atonement for him and he shall be clean 21 And * chap. 5. 7. if he be poor and †Heb. his hand reap not cannot get so much then he shall take one lamb for a trespass-offering †Heb. for waving to be waved to make an atonement for him and one tenth-deal of fine flour mingled with oyl for a meat-offering and a log of oyl 23 And two turtle doves or two young pigeons such as he is able to get and the one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt-offering 23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD 24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering and the log of oyl and the priest shall wave them for a wave-offering before the LORD 25 And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering and the priest shall take some of the
children of Israel 20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place and the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar he shall bring the live goat 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands h See on Exod. 29. 10. and Lev. 1. 4. upon the head of the live goat and confess over him i Confession of sin being a duty to accompany the sacrifice offered for it as we see Lev. 5. 5. Numb 5. 7. all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions in all their sins k Or with or according to all their sins for so the Hebrew particle is oft used He mentions iniquities transgressions and sins to note sins of all sorts and that a very free and full confession was to be made and that the smallest sins needed and the greatest sins were not excluded from the benefit of Christs death here represented putting them upon the head l Charging all their sins and the punishment due to them upon the goat which though onely a ceremony yet being done according to Gods appointment and manifestly pointing at Christ upon whom their iniquities and punishments were laid Isa. 53. 5 6. it was available for this end And hence the heathens took their custom of selecting one beast or man upon whom they laid all their imprecations and curses and whom they killed as an expiatory sacrifice for their sins and to prevent their ruine of the goat and shall send him away by the hand of †Heb. a 〈◊〉 opportunity a fit man m One that knows the wilderness and the way to it and what places in it are most convenient for that use Heb. a man of time i. e. of years and discretion who may be trusted with this work into the wilderness n Which signified the removal of their sins far away both from the people and out of Gods sight or from the place of his presence And here the goat being neglected by all men and exposed to many hardships and hazards from wild beasts which were numerous there might further signify Christs being forsaken both by God and by men even by his own disciples and the many dangers and sufferings he underwent The Iews write that this goat was carried to the mountain called Azazel whence the goat is so called ver 10. and that there he was cast down headlong and that the red string by which he was led turned white when God was pleased with the Israelites otherwise it remained red and then they mourned all that year And the antient Hebrews write that 40 years before the destruction of the Temple which was about the time of Christs death this red string turned no more white 22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land †Heb. of seperation not inhabited and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness 23 And Aaron shall come o Forthwith not expecting the return of the man who carried the goat away but securely committing that to Gods providence he shall go on in his work into the tabernacle of the congregation and shall put off the linnen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place and shall leave them there 24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place p Either in the laver appointed for that purpose Or in some other vessel within the holy place because after he had washed in it he is said to come forth and put on his garments q Not his ordinary Priestly linnen garments for he was to leave them in the Tabernacle ver 23. but the High-priestly garments called his garments properly and peculiarly and by way of distinction from the former garments which are called holy garments ver 4. and the linnen garments ver 23. but never his garments as these are And this change of his garments was not without cause For the common Priestly garments were more proper and fit for him in the former part of his ministration both because he was to appear before the Lord in the most holy place to humble himself and make atonement for his own and for the peoples sins and therefore his humblest and meanest attire was most fit and because he was to lay his hands upon that goat on which all their sins were put by which touch both he and his garments would be in some sort defiled and therefore as we read here that he washed himself or his flesh so we may well presume his linnen garments were laid by for the washing as the cloaths â—…f him who carried away the scape-goat were washed ver 26. And the High-priestly garments were most proper for the latter part of his work which was of another nature and come forth and offer his burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people and make an atonement for himself and for the people 25 And the * fat of the sin offering shall he burn chap. 4. 10. upon the altar 26 And he that let go the goat for a scape-goat shall wash r Because he had contracted some degree of ceremonial uncleanness by the touch of the goat his clothes and bathe his flesh in water and afterward come into the camp 27 * And the bullock †for the sin offering and chap. 4. 12 the goat ‖ for the sin offering whose blood was 〈◊〉 and 6. 30. brought in to make atonement in the holy place 〈◊〉 13. 11. Heb. of Heb. of shall one carry forth without the camp and they shall burn in the fire their skins and their flesh and their dung 28 And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water and afterward he shall come into the camp 29 And this shall be a statute for ever s See on Exod. 12. 14. unto you that * in the seventh moneth t Answering part to our September and part to our October when they had gathered in all their fruits and were most at leasure for Gods service This time God chose for this and other feasts herein graciously condescending to mens necessities and conveniencies being contented with that time which men could best spare on the tenth chap. 23. 27. 〈◊〉 29. 7. day u Obj. It was on the ninth day Lev. 23. 32. Ans. It began in the evening of the ninth day and continued till the evening of the tenth day as is there sufficiently implyed of the month ye shall afflict your souls x i. e. your selves as the word soul is frequently used both your bodies by abstinence from food and other delights and your minds by anguish and grief for former sins which though bitter yet is voluntary in all true penitents who are therefore here said not to be afflicted but to afflict themselves or to be active in the work and do no work at all whether it be one of your own countrey or a stranger that sojourneth among you 30 For on
the land after fourty dayes 26 And they went and came to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation of the children of Israel unto the wilderness of Paran to Kadesh y So called by way of abbreviation which is frequent in Hebrew names for Kadesh-barnea Deut. 1. 19. which some rashly confound with Kadesh in the wilderness of Sin Numb 20. 1. and 27. 14. and 33. 16. into which they came not till the 40th year after their coming out of Egypt as appears from Numb 33. 37 38. whereas they were in this Kadesh in the second year and before they received the sentence of their forty years abode in the wilderness and brought back word unto them and unto all the congregation and shewed them the fruit of the land 27 And they told him z In the audience of the people as appears from ver 30. and said We came unto the land whither thou sentest us and surely it floweth with * Exod. 33. 〈◊〉 milk and honey a They craftily begin their relation with commendations that their following slanders might be more easily believed and this is the fruit of it 28 Nevertheless the * Deut. 2. 1â—… 21. people be strong b Potent both for the strength of their body and the valour of their minds that dwell in the land and the cities are * Deut. 1. 〈◊〉 walled and very great and moreover we saw the children of Anak there 29 The Amalekite dwelleth in the land of the south c Where we are to enter the land and they who were so eager and fierce against us that they came into the wilderness to fight with us will without doubt oppose us when we come close by their land and are about to settle in their neighbourhood the rather to revenge themselves for their former loss and shame received by us Therefore they mention them though they were no Canaanites and the Hittite and the Jebusite and the Amorite dwelleth in the mountains d i. e. In the mountainous country in the South-east part of the land so that you cannot enter there without great difficulty both because of the noted strength and valour of those people and because of the advantage they have from the mountains and the Canaanite dwelleth by the sea e Not the midland Sea which is commonly understood by that expression but the salt or dead sea as appears 1. because it is that sea which is next to Iordan as here follows 2. because the Canaanites dwelt principally in those parts and not near the mid-land sea So these guard the entrance on the east-side as the others do on the South and by the coast of Jordan 30 And Caleb f Together with Ioshua as is manifest from Numb 14. 6 7 30. but Caleb alone is here mentioned possibly because he spake first and most which he might better do because he might be presumed to be more impartial than Ioshua who being Moses his Minister might be thought to speak onely what he knew his master would like stilled the people g Which implies either that they had began to murmur or that by their looks and carriages they discovered that grief and anger which boiled in their breasts before Moses h Or towards Moses against whom they were incensed as the man who had brought them into such sad circumstances and said Let us go up at once and possess it for we are well able to overcome it i Partly in moral probability because we are one people united under one head whereas they are divided into several nations and governments of differing counsels and interests and inclinations and principally because of the assistance of the almighty God 31 But the men that went up with him k All of them Ioshua excepted said We be not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we l Both in stature of body and numbers of people Thus they wickedly question the power and truth and goodness of God of all which they had such ample testimonies 32 And they brought up m Heb. brought forth to wit out of their mouthes they uttered a reproach or reproachful words an evil report of the land n i. e. Against or concerning the land It is the genitive case of the object as Mat. 10. 1. and 14. 1. which they had searched unto the children of Israel saying The land through which we have gone to search it is a land * Lev. 2â—… 〈◊〉 that eateth up the inhabitants thereof o Not so much by civil wars as most think for that was likely to make their conquest more easie nor by the barrenness of the soil which consumed the people with the excessive pains it required to make it fruitful as others think for they confessed the excellency of the land ver 27. but rather by the unwholesomness of the air and place which they guesseâ—… from the many funerals which as some Hebrew Writers not without probability affirm they observed in their travels through it though that came to pass from another cause even from the singular providence of God which to facilitate the Israelites conquest cut off vast numbers of the Canaanites either by a plague or by the hornet sent before them as is expressed Ios. 24. 12. or some other way and * Amos 2â—… 〈◊〉 all the people that we saw in it are †Heb. 〈◊〉 statures men of a great stature 33 And there we saw the giants the sons of Anak which come of the giants and we were in our own sight as grashoppers p i. e. Small and contemptible and so we were in their sight CHAP. XIV 1 AND all the congregation a Except Caleb and Ioshua and some few others A Synecdochical expression the whole for the greatest part lifted up their voice and cryed and the people wept that night 2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron b As the instruments and occasions of their present calamity and the whole congregation said unto them * See v. 28 29. Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt or would God that we had died in this wilderness c It was not long before they had their desire and did die in the wilderness 3 And wherefore hath the LORD d From the instruments they rise higher and strike at God the chief cause and author of their journey by which we see the prodigious growth and progress of sin when it is not resisted brought us unto this land to fall by the sword that our wives and our children should be a prey e To the Canaanites whose land we were made to believe we should possess were it not better for us to return into Egypt 4 And they said one to another Let us make a captain f Instead of Moses one who will be more faithful to our interest than he
mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure q Which was allowed in those parts because of the great plenty and fruitfulness of Vines there but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel 25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbours * Mat. 12. 1. Mar. 2. 23. Luk. 6. 1. then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbours standing corn CHAP. XXIV 1 WHen * Mat. 5. 31. and 19. 7. Mar. 10. 4. a man hath taken a wife and married her and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes a i. e. He dislike and loath her It is a figure called Melosis whereby more is understood than is expressed as Prov. 10. 2. and 17. 21. and 24. 23. because he hath found some †Heb. 〈◊〉 of nakedness chap. 23. 14 uncleanness b Heb. nakedness or shamefulness or filthiness of a thing i. e. some filthy or hateful thing some loathsome distemper of body or quality of mind not observed before Marriage Or some light and unchast carriage as this or the like phrase commonly signifies but not amounting to Adultery which was not punished with divorce but with death in her then let him write her a bill of †Heb. cuttiâ—…g off divorcement and give it in her hand and send her out of his house c Which is not a command to divorce them as some of the Jews understood it nor an allowance and approbation as plainly appears not onely from the New Testment Matth. 5. 31 32. and 19. 8 9. But also from the old Testament Gen. 2. 24. Mal. 2. 16. but meerly a permission or toleration of that practise for prevention of greater mischiefs and cruelties of that hard hearted people towards their Wives and this onely for a season even until the time of reformation as it is called Heb. 9. 10. i. e. till the coming of the Messias when things were to return to their first institution and purest condition The Husband is not here commanded to put her away but if he do put her away he is commanded to write and give her a bill of divorcement before he send her out of his house And though it be true as our Saviour observes that Moses did suffer these divorces to wit without punishing them which also is here implyed yet it must be acknowledged that if we consult the Hebrew words those three first verses may seem to be onely a supposition and the words rendred then let him write her in the Hebrew run thus and hath written her and so it follows ver 2. And she be departed out of his house and be gone and become another mans wife Then follows ver 3. which even according to our translation carries on the supposition And if the later husband hate her c. Then follows the position or prohibition ver 4. 2 And when she is departed out of his house she may go and be another mans wife d For although he could not causelessly put her away without sin yet she being put away and forsaken by her husband might marry another without sin as is determined in the same or a like case 1 Cor. 7. 15. 3 And if the later husband hate her and write her a bill of divorcement and giveth it her in her hand and sendeth her out of his house or if the later husband die which took her to be his wife 4 * Jer. 3. 1. Her former husband which sent her away may not take her again e This is the punishment of his levity and injustice in putting her away without sufficient cause which by this offer he now acknowledgeth to be his wife after that she is defiled f Not simply and absolutely as if her second Marriage were a sin but respectively or as to her first husband to whom she is as a defiled or unclean woman that is forbidden for things forbidden are accounted and called unclean Iudg. 13. 7. because they may no more be touched or used than an unclean thing for that is abomination before the LORD and ‖ Or 〈◊〉 so Gr. thou shalt not cause the land to sin g i. e. Thou shalt not suffer such abhominable lightness and lewdness to be practised least the people be polluted and the land defiled and accursed by that means which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance 5 * chap. â—… â—… When a man hath taken a new wife he shall not go out to war †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon hiâ—… neither shall he be charged with any business h i. e. Any publick office or employment which may cause an absence from or neglect of his Wife but he shall be free at home one year i That their affections newly engaged may be firmly settled so as there may be no occasions for the divorces last mentioned and shall chear up his wife which he hath taken 6 No man shall take the nether or the upper milstone i Used in their handmills of which see Exod. 11. 5. Numb 11. 28. Ier. 25. 10. Under this one kind he understands all other things necessary to get a livelihood the taking away whereof is against the Laws both of charity and prudence seeing by those things alone he can be enabled both to subsist and to pay his debts to pledge for he taketh a mans †Heb. 〈◊〉 life k i. e. His livelihood or the necessary supports of his life to pledge 7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren l See on Exod. 21. 16. of the children of Israel and maketh merchandise of him or selleth him then that thief shall die and thou shalt put evil away from among you 8 Take heed in * Lev. 13. 14. the plague of leprosie that thou observe diligently and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you as I commanded them m By which words he plainly intimates that they were not onely to have an eye to the Levites instructions but also and especially unto the word and command of God and that if the Levites sentence were manifestly contrary to the command of God it were not to be obeyed As now if a Levite or Priest should for fear or favour or gain pronounce a person to be clean who were really and manifestly unclean and had the unquestionable marks of leprosie upon him I suppose no man in his wits will question but every man that saw and knew this were bound to avoid the touching of him and that if he did touch him he should be defiled by it so ye shall observe to do 9 Remember what the LORD thy God did * Num. 12. 10. unto Miriam n Whom God smote with leprosie for her contempt of Moses and therefore thou maist expect the same or like punishment if thou dost despise the counsel and direction of the
by Moses to their Father Numb 10. 31 32. and whence they might remove either to avoid the Society or Molestation of the Neighbouring Canaanites or out of love to the children of Iudah whom they went to or to avoid temptations to Luxury and exercise themselves in self-denial and contempt of the present evil World and the Lusts thereof as may be thought from Ier. 35. 6 c. Or for some other cause unknown to us at this distance and they In the Southern part of the Land of Canaan where Arad was Numb 21. 1. u i. e. Some of them for others of them dwelt in the contrary quarter in the most Northern part of the Land went and dwelt among the people x Heb. that people to wit those Children of Iudah that lived there 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother y According to his Promise v. 3. and the Laws of Justice and Gratitude and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed it and the name of the city was called Hormah z Either 1. The same place so destroyed and called Numb 21. 3. and so what was there Vowed â—… here Executed Or 2. Some other place called by the same Name upon the like occasion which was frequent among the Hebrews This seems more probable 1. Because this was but one City that divers Cities Numb 21. 2 3. 2. Because that seems to have been done in Moses his time though Interpreters generally think otherwise of which see my Notes there 18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof and Askelon with the coast thereof and Ekron with the coast thereof a The principal Cities of the Philistines Qu. How could this be when among the people leâ—…t to try Israel are the five Lords of the Philistines Judg. 3. 3 Ans. It is onely said that they took the Cities and probably contented themselves with making them Tributary but it is not said that they slew the people as they ought to have done and as it is said of the other Cities here v. 5 8 17 25. And the people being thus spared did by Gods Just Judgment recover their strength and expel the Iews out of their Cities as we find afterwards It is further observable that Ekron here taken was one of Dan's Cities Ios. 19. 43. and it was attempted and taken here by Iudah and Simeon partly out of love to their Brother Dan and partly to secure their new Conquests and other adjoining Territories from such potent Neighbours 19 And the LORD was with Judah and ‖ Or he 〈◊〉 the mountain he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain but could not b Because of their unbelief whereby they doubted and distrusted Gods power to destroy those who had Chariots of Iron and so gave way to their own fear and sloth whereby God was provoked to withdraw his helping hand from them and so they were really made impotent as they were unwilling See Ios. 17. 16. drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had charets of iron 20 * Numb 14. 24. Josh. 14. 9 13. and 15. 13. And they gave Hebron unto Caleb as Moses said and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak c Above mentioned v. 10. 21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin d See on Ios. 15. 36. in Jerusalem unto this day 22 ¶ And the house of Joseph e i. e. The Tribe of Ephraim as appeaars from their opposition to the Tribe of Manasseh v. 27. they also went up against Bethel and the LORD was with them 23 ¶ And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel now the name of the city before was * Gen. 28. 19. Luz 24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city and they said unto him Shew us we pray thee the entrance into the city f On which side it is weakest that we may best invade and take it and * Josh. 2. 12 14. we will shew thee mercy 25 And when he shewed them the entrance into the city they smote the city with the edge of the sword but they let go the man and all his family g Together with his Estate as the following Verse manifests 26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites h Where the Hittites seated themselves after they were driven out of Canaan which seems to be Northward from Canaan and near unto it See 1 King 11. 1. 1 Chron. 1. 17. and built a city and called the name thereof Luz which is the name thereof unto this day 27 ¶ * Josh. 17. 11 12 13. Neither did Manasseh i i. e. That half of this Tribe which dwelt in Canaan drive out the inhatants of Beth-shean k A place near Iordan Ios. 17. 11. and her ‡ Heb. daughters towns nor Taanach l Of which see Ios. 1â—… 21. and 17. 11. and her towns nor the inhabitants of Dor m A great City with large Territories See Ios. 11. 2. and 12. 23. and 17. 11. and her towns nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns nor the inhabitants of Megiddo n A Royal City See Ios. 12. 21. and 17. 11. and her towns but the Canaanites would dwell in that land 28 And it came to pass when Israel was strong that they put the Canaanites to tribute and did not utterly drive them out 29 ¶ * â—…sh 16. 10. Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer o Which they possessed till Solomons time 1 King 9. 16. among them 30 ¶ Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron nor the inhabitants of Nahalol but the Canaanites dwelt among them and became tributaries 31 ¶ Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho nor the inhabitants of Zidon nor of Ahlab nor Achzib nor Helbah nor Aphik nor of Rehob 32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites the inhabitants of the land for they did not drive them out 33 ¶ Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath but he dwelt among the Canaanites the inhabitants of the land nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh p A place differing from that Bethshemesh Ios. 15. 10. and of Beth-anath became tributaries unto them 34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley q i. e. Into the Plain Countrey which was the occasion of that Expedition for the getting of new quarters of which we read Ios. 19. and Iudg. 18. 35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Ajalon and in Shaalbim yet the hand of the house of Joseph r i. e. Of the Ephraimites who helped their Brethren the Danites against the Amorites and
ye are all children of Israel q The Sons of that Holy man who for one filthy action left an Eternal brand upon one of his own Sons a People in Covenant with the holy God whose Honour you are obliged to vindicate and who hath expresly commanded you to punish all such notorious Enormities give here your advice and counsel 8 ¶ And all the people arose as one man saying We will not any of us go to his tent r i. e. His habitation to wit until we have revenged this Injury neither will we any of us turn into his house 9 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah we will go up by lot against it 10 And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel and an hundred of a thousand and a thousand out of ten thousand to â—…etch victual for the people that they may do when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin accord ing to all the folly that they have wrought s That we may punish them as such a wickedness deserves in Israel t This is added as an aggravation that they should do that in Israel or among Gods peculiar People which was esteemed abominable even among the Heathen 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city ‡ Heb. fellows knit together as one man 12 ¶ And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe u Heb. tribes Either the Plural Number for the Singular or rather tribe is put for family as was noted before as families are elsewhere put for tribes They take a wise and a just course in sending to all the parts and families of the tribe to separate the Innocent from the Guilty and to give them a fair opportunity of preventing their ruin by doing nothing but what their Duty Honour and Interest obliged them to even by delivering up those vile Malefactors whom they could not keep without horrid guilt and shame and bringing the Curse of God upon themselves of Benjamin saying What wickedness is this that is done among you 13 Now therefore deliver us the men the children of Belial which are in Gibeah that we may put them to death and put away evil x Both the Guilt and the Punishment wherein all Israel will be Involved if they do not Punish it from Israel but the children of Benjamin would not hearken y Partly from the Pride of their Hearts which made them scorn to submit to their Brethren or to suffer them to meddle in their Territory partly from a conceit of their own Valour and Military skill and partly from Gods just judgment to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel 14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah to go out to battel against the children of Israel 15 And the children of Benjamin were numbred at that time out of the city twenty and six thousand men that drew sword beside the inhabitants of Gibeah which were numbred seven hundred chosen men z Object This agrees not with the following numbers for all that were slain of Benjamin were 25100 men v. 35. and there were only 600 that survived v. 47. which make only 25700. Ans. The other thousand men were either left in some of their cities where they were slain v. 48. or were cut off in the two first Battels wherein it is unreasonable to think they had an unbloody Victory and as for these 25100 men they were all slain in that day i. e. the day of the third Battel as is affirmed v. 35. 16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men * Chap. 3. 15. left handed a Heb. shut up on their right hand i. e. using their left hand instead of their right every one could sling stones at an hairs breadth and not miss b An Hyperbolical expression signifying that they could do this with great exactness There are many Parallel Instances in Historians of Persons that could throw Stones or shoot Arrows with great certainty so as seldom or never to miss Of which see my Latin Synopsis And this was very considerable and one ground of the Benjamites confidence because in those times they had no Guns 17 And the men of Israel c To wit such as were here present v. 2. for otherwise it is most probable they had a far greater number of men being 600000 before their entrance into Canaan Num. 1. 2. beside Benjamin were numbred four hundred thousand men that drew sword all these were men of war 18 ¶ And the children of Israel d i. e. Some sent in the name of all arose and went up to the house of God e To wit to Shiloh which was not far from Mizpeh where they were and * Chap. 1. 1. asked counsel of God and said Which of us shall go up first to the battel f This they ask to prevent Emulations and Contentions but they do not ask whether they should go against them oâ—… no for that they knew they ought to do by the will of God already revealed nor yet do they seek to God for his help by Prayer and Fasting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in all reason they ought to have done but were confident of Success because of their great Numbers and Righteous Cause against the children of Benjamin And the LORD said Judah shall go up first 19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning and encamped against Gibeah 20 And the men of Israel went out to battel against Benjamin and the men of Israel put themselves in aray to fight against them at Gibeah 21 And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men g Quest. Why would God suffer them to have so great a loss in so Good a Cause Ans. Because they had many and great Sins reigning amongst themselves and they should not have come to so great a Work of God as this with polluted hands but should have pulled the Beam out of their own Eye before they attempted to take that out of their Brother Benjamin's Eye which because they did not God doth it for them making them by this loss more clearly to see their own Sins and their need of Gods help without which their great Numbers were insignificant and bringing them through the Fire that they might be purged from their Dross it being probable that the great God who governs every stroke in Battels did so order things that their worst and rotten Members should be cut off which was a great Blessing to the whole Common-wealth 22 And the people the men of Israel incouraged themselves h Heb. strengthned themselves partly by supporting themselves with the Conscience of the Justice of their Cause and the hopes of success and partly by putting themselves in better order for
defending themselves and annoying their Enemies and set their battel again in aray in the place where they put themselves in aray the first day i Hereby shewing their freedom from that Heathenish Superstition whereby they might have been apt to have rejected that as an unlucky place Compare 1 King 20. 23 28. 23 And the children of Israel went up and wept k Not so much for their Sins as for their Defeat and Loss as appears by the Sequel before the LORD until even and asked counsel of the LORD saying Shall I go up to battel against the children of Benjamin my brother l They impute their ill Success not to their own Sins as they had great reason to do but to their taking up Arms against their Brethren the Lawfulness whereof they now begin to doubt of But still they persist in their former neglect of seeking Gods assistance in the way which he had appointed as they themselves acknowledge presently by doing those very things which now they Sinfully neglected v. 26. and therefore are again justly punished l God answers to their question but as they did not desire his assistance and success so he doth not promise it And the LORD said Go up against him 24 And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day 25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men all these drew the sword 26 ¶ Then all the children of Israel and all the people went up and came unto the house of God and wept and sat there before the LORD and fasted m Being now sensible of their former slightness and not being truly humbled for their Sins which now they discover to be the true Cause of their ill success that day until even and offered burnt-offerings n To make atonement to God for their own Sins and peace-offerings o Partly to bless God for sparing so many of them whereas he might justly have cut off all of them when their Brethren were slain and partly to Implore his assistance for the future and to give him Thanks for the Victory which now they were confident he would give them before the LORD 27 And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD p To wit by Urim and Thummim Numb 27. 21. for the ark of the covenant of God was there q In Shiloh where they were now assembled in those days 28 And Phineas the son of Eleazar r This is added to give us some light about the time of this History and to shew it was not done in the order in which it is here placed after Sampson's Death but long before the son of Aaron stood s i. e. Ministred as the word stand oft signifies as Deut. 10. 8. and 18. 7. Prov. 22. 29. Ier. 52. 12. compare with 2 King 25. 8. because standing is the usual posture of Servants before it t i. e. Before the Ark or before his i. e. the Lord's face or presence which shews that he was the high-priest for none else might appear there in those days saying Shall I yet again go out to battel against the children of Benjamin my brother or shall I cease u Which if thou requirest we are willing to do notwithstanding the provocation they have given us and our own Inclination to revenge And the LORD said Go up for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand Now when they had sought God after the due order and truly humbled themselves for their Sins he gives them a full and satisfactory Answer to their Desires 29 And Israel set liers in wait x Though they were assured of the Success by a particular and absolute promise yet they do not neglect the use of means as well knowing that the certainty of Gods purposes or promises doth not excuse but rather require Mans diligent use of all fit means for the accomplishment of them round about Gibeah y i. e. On several sides of it as may be gathered from the following Verses 30 And the children of Israel z i. e. A considerable part of them who were ordered to give the first onset and then to counterfeit flight to draw the Benjamites forth of their strong hold See v. 32. went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day a To wit after the second Battel for the first day after it they spent in perplexing thoughts and going up to the House of the Lord the second in Fasting and Prayer there and this third in the Fight Or this is so called with respect unto the two several foregoing days of Battel and so this was the third day of Battel and put themselves in aray against Gibeah as at other times 31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city b By the dissembled Flight of the Israelites and they began ‡ 〈◊〉 to sinite of the people wounded as at c. to smite of the people and kill as at other times c With the same kind though not the same degree of Success in the high-ways of which one goeth up to ‖ Oâ—… Bethel the house of God and the other to Gibeah in the field d So called to difference it from this Gibeah which was upon an Hill wherefore they are constantly said to ascend or go up against it as v. 23 30. See Ios. 18. 24 28. about thirty men of Israel 32 And the children of Benjamin said They are smitten down before us as at the first But the children of Israel said Let us flee and draw them from the city unto the high-ways 33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place e Where they had disposed themselves that they might fall upon the Benjamites when they were drawn forth to a sufficient distance from their City and when they were pursuing that Party mentioned v. 30. and put themselves in aray at Baal-Tamar and the lyers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places f To execute what was agreed upon even to take Gibeah and burn it as they actually did v. 37. even out of the meadows of Gibeah 34 And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel g Selected out of the main Body which was at Baal-Tamar and these were to march directly to Gibeah on the one side whilst the liers in wait stormed it on the other side and whilst the great Body of the Army laboured to intercept these Benjamites who having pursued the Israelites that pretended to flee now endeavoured to retreat to Gibeah and the battel was sore but they knew not that evil was near them h They were so puffed up with their former Successes that they were insensible of their danger 35 And the
deceived by thy fair professions of Religion but knows very well that thou didst not seek Sacrifices for God but Prey to thy self 20 And Saul said unto Samuel Yea I have obeyed the voice of the LORD m He addeth Obstinacy and Impenitency to his Crime and justifies his Fact though he hath nothing of any Moment to say but what he said before So he gives Samuel the lye and reflects upon him as one that had falsly Accused him and have gone the way which the LORD sent me and have brought Agag the king of Amalek n To be dealt with as God pleaseth and as thou thinkest 〈◊〉 and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites 21 But the people took of the spoil sheep and oxen the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed o Heb. the chief of the devoted things which being devoted to Destruction I thought it most proper to destroy them by way of Sacrifice to God But God had commanded Saul himself to smite and slay all upon the place above verse 3. to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal 22 And Samuel said * Psal. 50. 8 9. Isa. 1. 11. Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD Behold * Eccles. 5. 1. Hos. 6. 6. Matth. 5. 24. and 9. 13. and 12. 7. to obey is better than sacrifice p Because Obedience to God is a Moral Duty constantly and indispensably necessary but Sacrifice is but a Ceremonial Institution sometimes unnecessary as it was in the Wilderness and sometimes sinful when it is offered by a polluted hand or in an irregular manner Therefore thy gross Disobedience to Gods express command is not to be compensated with Sacrifice and to hearken q i. e. To obey as hearing is oft used in Scripture than the fat of rams r Then the choicest part of all the Sacrifice to wit the Fat which was appropriated to God Levit. 3. 16. Whereas the Offerer might partake of other parts of it 23 For rebellion s i. e. Disobedience to Gods express Precept which was Saul's case is as the sin of ‡ Heb. divination witchcraft t Is though not so great yet as inexcusable and impudent a sin as Witchcraft as plainly Condemned and as certainly Destructive and Damnable and stubbornness u Either wilful and presumptuous sin whereby a man violently breaks loose from Gods command and resists his Authority Or rather Perseverance or Contumacy in sin justifying it and pleading for it which was Saul's present crime is as * See Isa. 66. 3. Heb. iniquity and idolatry x Or the Iniquity of Idolatry this being an Hendiadis as Iudgment and Iustice Deut. 16. 18. is put for the Iudgment of Iustice or Iust Iudgment Or Idolatry for so the Hebrew word Aven signifies as Ier. 10. 15. Hos. 4. 15. and 10. 5. Compare with 1 King 12. 29. even the Teraphim which is here mentioned as one of the worst kinds of Idolatry because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD he hath also rejected thee from being king y i. e. Hath pronounced the Sentence of Rejection for that he was not actually Rejected or Deposed by God plainly appears because not onely the People but even David after this owned him as King and Samuel at Saul's desire did honour him i. e. own him as King before the People v. 30. 24 ¶ And Saul said unto Samuel I have sinned z Which confession proceeded not from true Repentance but from the sence of his great Danger and from a desire of recalling that dreadful Sentence denounced against him for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and thy words a i. e. The Commandment of the Lord delivered to me by thy words Another Hendiadis because I feared the people b Who as thou knowest are set upon mischief and would probably have broken forth into a Mutiny or Rebellion had I done otherwise But how little he feared the People may be seen by 1 Sam. 11. 7. and 14. 24. But this was a false cause nor doth he acknowledge the true cause which was his Covetousness and because he did not fear God and obeyed their voice 25 Now therefore I pray thee pardon my sin c Use thy great Interest with God to obtain the Pardon of my sin Or do thou Pardon my sin against thee for he had sinned not onely against God but against Samuel also as Gods Prophet and therefore needed a Pardon both from God and Man and turn again with me d To Gilgal whence Saul was gone forth to meet Samuel and Samuel is here said to turn again to Gilgal not properly for he had not now been there but by way of Concomitancy because he accompanied Saul who was come thence and returned thither See the like expression Ruth 1. 10 22. and 2. 6. that I may worship the LORD e That I may offer further Sacrifices to God partly to Praise him for the past Victory and partly to Implore his Mercy and the taking off of my sin and punishment This was a politick device of Saul's That Samuel might at least seem to countenance his Design in reserving the Cattel for Sacrifice which Samuel seeing refused to do it Heb. and I will worship the Lord i. e. I will seek his Pardon and Favour 26 And Samuel said unto Saul I will not return with thee f This was no lye though he afterwards returned because he spoke what he meant his words and intentions agreed together though afterwards he saw reason to change his intentions Compare Gen. 19. 2 3. Which may relieve many perplexed Consciences who think themselves obliged to do what they have said they would do though they see just cause to change their minds for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel 27 And as Samuel turned about to go away * See 1 King 11. 30. he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle and it rent 28 And Samuel said unto him * Chap. 28. 17. 1 King 11. 3â—… The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee g Samuel makes use of the emergent occasion as a sign to signify and confirm his former Prediction this day and hath given it to a neighbour of thine h Either another Man or another Israelite for the word Neighbour is used both ways or rather one of a Neighbouring Tribe even Iudah whose Inheritance did not onely joyn to that of Benjamin but was partly mixed with it that is better than thou 29 And also the ‖ Or eternity or victory strength of Israel i So he calls God here partly to shew the reason why God neither will nor can lye because lying is a weakness and proceeds from the sence of a Mans weakness because he cannot many times accomplish his Design without lying
do in the morning when I may hope to find him in a better temper and abide in a secret place and hide thy self 3 And I will go out and stand by my father in the field where thou art d In the Field where my Father useth to walk where also I would have thee to hide thy self that I may know where to find thee at hand to acquaint thee with the success of my indeavours that thou maist accordingly either return to Court or speedily depart and I will commune with my father of thee and what I see that I will tell thee 4 ¶ And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father e Which he could not do without hazard to himself Herein therefore he performed the Duty of a true FriÌ„end and of a valiant Man and said unto him Let not the king sin against his servant against David because he hath not sinned against thee and because his works have been to thee-ward very good 5 For he did put his * Judg. 9. 17. and 12. 3. Chap. 28. 21. Psal. 119. 109. life in his hand f i. e. He exposed his life to emâ—…t hazard See the Notes on Iudg. 12. 3. and slew the Philistine and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel thou sawest it and didst rejoyce wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood to slay David without a cause 6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan and Saul sware As the LORD liveth he shall not be slain g This great change is not to be ascribed to any true Repentance for his sin against David or any better affection which he now had to him but meerly to his own worldly Interest because he was convinced by Ionathan's discourse that he could not kill him without great inconvenience and shame to himself 7 And Jonathan called David and Jonathan shewed him all those things and Jonathan brought David to Saul and he was in his presence as ‡ Heb. yesterday third day in times past 8 ¶ And there was war again and David went out and fought with the Philistines and slew them with a great slaughter and they fled from ‡ Heb. his face him 9 And * Chap. 16. 14. and 18. 10. the evil spirit ‡ Heb. of the Lord. from the LORD was upon Saul h David's successes against the Philistines which should have cheered his heart made him sad and the Devil watched the opportunity to improve his Melancholy as before he had done as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand and David played with his hand 10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin but he slipt away out of Sauls presence and he smote the javelin into the wall and David fled and escaped that night 11 * Psal. 59. title Saul also sent messengers unto David's house to watch him and to slay him in the morning i Why not in the Night Ans. Partly because it would have been barbarous and most dishonourable to Saul to break into David's House by Night and kill him in his own House and Bed and it seemed more expedient to kill him as he came out of his House in the Morning partly because the Night might give David some opportunity of escaping which the Day-light would prevent and principally by Gods singular Providence infatuating Saul's mind to take the worst course that David might be delivered from him and Michal Davids wife told him saying If thou save not thy life to night to morrow thou shalt be slain k Which she might learn either by information from Ionathan or some other Courtier that was privy to the design or from her own observation of some suspicious or dangerous Persons hovering about the House 12 ¶ So Michal let David down thorow a window l Because they lay in wait for him at the Doors of the House whensoever he should come forth there and he went and fled and escaped 13 And Michal took ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 an image m Heb. Teraphim which was an Image made in human shape which she might keep secretly either out of a superstitious regard to it or out of meer curiosity This stratagenâ—… she used because knowing her Fathers unquiet and jealous and furious temper she suspected he might come or send to see whether David was there or no. and laid it in the bed and put a pillow of goats hair for his bolster n Or put great Goats hair upon his Bolster i. e. upon the head and face of the Image which lay upon his Bolster that it might have some kind of resemblance of David's head and hair at least in a sick man's Bed where there useth to be but a glimmering light Goats is here put for Goats hair as it manifestly is Exod. 25. 4. and 26. 7. and 35. 26. It is acknowledged by Learned Writers that in those Eastern Countries Goats had much longer hair than ours have and were shorn like Sheep and that their hair was not unlike to a Mans or Womans hair as may also be gathered from Cant. 4. 1. thy hair is as a flock of Goats i. e. as the hair of a flock of Goats And as there was Goats hair of several colours as the Wool of Sheep in divers parts is of very differing colours as white or black or yellow c. so it is most probable â—…he took that colour which was likest the colour of David's hair And she took this rather than the hair of another man because the procuring and ordering of that would have taken up some time whereas she had Goats hair of all sorts at hand as being used in Spinning or Weaving c. Or the sense may be this according to our Translation That she put a Pillow of the softest part of Goats hair under the head of the Image as they used to put under the heads of sick Men whereby also the head of the Image sinking into the Pillow might be less discerned especially when it was either wholly or in part covered with a Cloath And all this art was used that David being supposed and by some Persons who were sent to inquire perceived as they thought to be in the Bed Saul might be hindred from pursuing and overtaking him before he had got into some secure place and covered it with a cloth o Upon pretence of his being sick and needing some such covering but really in design to prevent the discovery of her deceit 14 And when Saul sent messengers p To wit other Messengers in the Morning supposing the former to be either slow or perfidious to take David she said He is sick 15 And Saul sent the messengers again to see David q Or onely to see David which they did not before but went away satisfied as it was fit they should with her Report and Testimony of his sickness saying Bring him up to me in the bed
Behold the arrows are on this side of thee take them then come thou for there is peace to thee and ‡ Heb. not any thing no hurt as the LORD liveth 22 But if I say thus unto the young man Behold the arrows are beyond thee go thy way for the LORD hath sent thee away r Take this for an intimation of Gods Providence that thou shouldest keep away from the Court. 23 And as touching * Vers. 14 15. the matter which thou and I have spoken of behold the LORD be ‡ witness between thee and me for ever 24 ¶ So David hid himself in the field s To wit at the time appointed for it seems probable that he went first to Bethlehem as he bad Ionathan tell his Father v. 6. and thence returned to the Field when the occasion required else we must charge him with a downright Lie which ought not to be imagined without any apparent cause concerning so good a Man especially in so distressed and dangerous a Condition And why should he hide himself there so long before the time when Ionathan was to come thither to inform him Nor were there any need of appointing a certain time to meet if David were there all the while and when the new moon was come the king sat him down to eat meat 25 And the king sat upon his seat as at other times even upon a seat by the wall and Jonathan arose t To wit from his seat where he was sat next to the King whence he arose and stood up at Abner's coming to do Honour to him who was his Fathers Cousin and the General of the Army and Abner sat by Sauls side and Davids place u Which seems to have been next to Abner on the same side with him was empty 26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day for he thought something hath befallen him x Some accident which hath rendred him unclean and so unfit to partake of this Feast which consisted in part of the remainders of these Peace-offerings according to the Law Levit. 7. 20. Unfit also to come into any company much more into the Kings company lest he should Pollute them also See above on v. 5. See also Levit. 11. and 15. he is not clean surely he is not clean 27 And it came to pass on the morrow which was the second day of the month y Or on the mâ—…rrow of the new mâ—…en being the second day Either 1. of the Three days appointed v. 5 19. Or 2. of the Feast Or 3. of the Month. that Davids place was empty and Saul said unto Jonathan his son z Who was Davids friend and best knew his mind and his ways Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse a So he calls him in Scorn and Contempt to note the meanness of his Original and as not deigning to call him by his proper Name See below Chap. 22. 9. and 25. 10. to meat neither yesterday nor to day b For the Uncleanness which came by some chance usually lasted but for one day See Levit. 11. 28 And Jonathan answered Saul David â—…arnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem 29 And he said Let me go I pray thee for our family hath a sacrifice in the city and my brother he hath commanded me to be there c Either in his Fathers name or in the right of the First-born one branch of which was Authority over his Brethren in all the concerns of the Family whereof this was one and now if I have found faâ—…our in thine eyes let me get away I pray thee and fee my brethren therefore he cometh not to the kings table 30 Then Sauls anger was kindled agaâ—…nst Jonathan and he said unto him ‖ Or 〈◊〉 â—…verse 〈◊〉 ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 perverse rebellion Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman d This base Temper of thine thou hadst not from me but from thy Mother of whose perverseness I have had so much experience Or thou son of preverse rebellion i. e. Thou preverse and rebellious Son Or thou most perverse rebel For in the Hebrew Language the Word Son thus used is an Aggravation of a Man's Crime and notes one who is extraordinarily addicted to it Thus he calls him because he hid and preserved that man whom the King had commanded to be brought forth that â—…e might be slain do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion e For it will be a horrible shame and reproach unto thee that David by his crafty Insinuations and fair Pretences should Cheat thee of thy Kingdom and unto the confusion of thy mothers nakedness f Men will conclude That thy Mother was a Whore and Thou a Bastard and that thou hast no Royal Blood in thy Veins that canst so â—…amely give up thy Crown to so contemptible a Person 31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground thou shalt not be stablished nor thy kingdom g Thus he grosly mistakes the cause of Ionathan's loss of the Kingdom which was not Davids Art but Saul's Sin and vainly indeavours to prevent Gods Irrevocable Sentence wherefore now send and fetch him unto me for he ‡ Heb. is 〈◊〉 son of 〈◊〉 shall surely die 32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father and said unto him Wherefore shall he be slain what hath he done 33 And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him h i. e. To Wound him though not to smite him even to the wall as he designed to do to David Chap. 19. 10. whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David 34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and did eat no meat the second day of the month for he was grieved for David because i Or and because for this is a second cause of his Grief The Conjunction and is oft-times omitted and to be supplyed as Psal. 33. 2. and 144. 9. Ios. 63. 11. Habak 3. 11. his father had done him shame 35 ¶ And it came to pass in the morning k To wit of the third day appointed for this Work v. 5. that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David and a little lad with him 36 And he said unto his lad Run find out now the arrows which I shoot And as the lad ran he shot an arrow ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 over him beyond him 37 And when the lad was come to the place l i. e. Near to the place Or And the lad went or was going on to the place for the words following shew that he was not yet come thither The Hebrew Verb bo which properly signifies to come sometimes signifies to go as here and Ruth 3. 7. and Ionah 1. 3. of the arrow which Jonathan had shot Jonathan cried after the lad and said Is not the arrow beyond thee 38 And
speak unto the king for he will not withhold me from thee s This the spake either because she did not understand or not remember that the Law of God prohibited such Marriages between a Brother and his half-Sister or because she thought her Royal Father could or would dispense with it upon this extraordinary occasion to save his first-born Sons life or that by this pretence she might free her self from her present and most urgent danger knowing she should have opportunity enough to prevent other mischiefs 14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice but being stronger than she forced her and lay with her 15 ¶ Then Amnon hated her ‡ Heb. with great hatred greatly exceedingly s Partly because his Lust being now satisfied his mind and conscience had a true and clear prospect and deep sense of the Natural turpitude and baseness of the action and of that shame and contempt and loss and mischief which was likely to follow it and consequently an utter aversion from her who had been the instrument and occasion of his sin and principally by the just Judgment of God both upon Amnon and David that so the sin might be made publick and way made for the succeeding Tragedies for otherwise it would probably produce Love and Kindness to her as it did in another Gen. 34. 2 3. especially in him whom both Nature and Interest and even Lust it self obliged to allay her grief and shame by all possible demonstrations of kindness so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her and Amnon said unto her Arise be gone 16 And she said unto him There is no cause ‖ To wit given thee by me this evil in sending me away is greater than the other t This she might truly say because though the other was in it self a greater sin yet this was an act of greater inhumanity and barbarous cruelty and a greater wrong and calamity to her which she means by evil because it exposed her to publick infamy and contempt as if she had been an impudent Strumpet and had either enticed him to the sin or at least consented to it and besides it turned a private offence into a publick scandal to the great dishonour of God and of his people Israel and especially of the Royal Family and was likely to cause direful passions and breaches and mischiefs among them that thou didst unto me but he would not hearken unto her 17 Then he called his servant that ministred unto him and said Put now this woman out from me and bolt the door after her 18 And she had a garment of divers colours u Of Embroidered work Compare Gen. 37. 3. up on her for with such robes were the kings daughters that were virgins apparelled Then his servant brought her out and bolted the door after her 19 ¶ And Tamar put ashes on her head and rent her garment x To signify her grief for some Calamity which had befallen her and what that was concurring circumstances did easily discover of divers colours that was on her and laid her hand on her head y In token of grief and shame as if the were unable and ashamed to shew her face See Iâ—…r 2. 37. and went on crying z To manifest her abhorrency of the Fact and that it was not done by her consent 20 And Absalom her brother said unto her Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee a i. e. Lien with thee Behold and imitate the modesty of Scripture-expressions but hold now thy peace my sister he is thy brother b Therefore thou must forgive and forget the injury therefore thy disgracing of him will be a blot to us all therefore thou wiltst not get right from David against him because he is as near and dear to him as thou therefore thy dishonour is the less because thou wast not abused by any mean person but by a Kings Son therefore this Evil must be born because it cannot be revenged And thus he covers his design of taking vengeance upon him at the first opportunity ‡ Heb. not thine heart regard not this thing c So as to torment thy self So Tamar remained ‡ Heb. and was desolate desolate d Neglected and forsaken by others none now seeking her in Marriage and through shame and dejection of mind giving her self up to solitude and retirement in her brother Absaloms house 21 ¶ But when king David heard of all these things he was very wroth e To wit with Amnon whom yet he did not punish at least so severely as he should either from the conscience of his own guilt in the like kind or from that foolish indulgence which he oft shewed to his Children or because the case was perplexed for if he had been put to death for the Fact by vertue of that Law Deut. 22. 23 24. she also who was innocent must have died with him because she did not cry out although indeed that Law did not reach the present case Tamar not being betrothed to an Husband and for the following Law concerning a Virgin not betrothed that could have no place here he could not force Amnon to Marry Tamar because that Marriage had been incestuous 22 And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad f i. e. He said nothing at all to him to wit about that business It is a Synecdochical expression used in like manner Gen. 31. 24. He neither debated it with him nor threatned him for it but seemed willing to cover it and pass it by with Brotherly kindness For if he had wholly forborn all discourse and converse with him it would have raised great jealousies in Amnon and David and hindred him in his intended and desired revenge for g Or rather but or though as the Hebrew Particle Chi commonly signifies for the following Clause is not added as a reason of the former but by way of exception or opposition Though he outwardly expressed no dislike of the Fact yet he inwardly hated him Absalom hated Amnon because he had forced his sister Tamar 23 ¶ And it came to pass after two full years ‖ This circumstance of time is noted partly as an aggravation of Absalom's malice which was so inveterate and implacable and partly as an act of Absalom's policy that both Amnon and David might more securely comply with his desires as being now free from all suspition of revenge that Absalom * 1 Sam 〈◊〉 had sheep shearers h According to the manner of those ancient times when Princes did not give themselves up to sloth and luxury but spent their time and pains in some honest imploiment in Baal-Hazor which is besides Ephraim i Either First The City called Ephraim or Ephrem Ioh. 11. 54. Or Secondly The Tribe of Ephraim towards or nigh unto which this place was scituate and Absalom
and in all probability be Victorious and then the storm would fall most heavily upon his head as the main Author and Pillar of the Rebellion and the contriver of those two pernicious Counsels above mentioned and died and was buried in the sepulchre of his father 24 Then David came to Mahanaim h A place in the Countrey of Gilead bordering upon the Land of the Ammonites v. 27. See Gen. 32. 2. and 2 Sam. 2. 8. and Absalom passed over Jordan i Not speedily but when all the men of Israel were gathered together according to Hushai's counsel who are said to be with him here as it follows and all the men of Israel with him 25 ¶ And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab which Amasa was a mans son whose name was Ithra an Israelite k Obj. He was an Ishmaelite 1 Chron. 2. 17. Ans. Not Amasa but Ithra or Iether Amasa's Father is there so called because he was such either by his Birth from such Parents or by his long habitation among them or for some other reason now unknown Compare 2 Sam. 15. 18. And Amasa is here called an Israelite either because he was a Proselyte or in opposition to Ioab who was of the Tribe of Iudah as Amasa was of one of the ten Tribes or rather to intimate that although he or his Parents were called Ishmaelites for some reason yet as to their extraction they were indeed Israelites Which if Amasa had not been it is not probable that he could have had so powerful an influence upon the Tribe of Iudah as he had chap. 19. 14. that went in to Abigail l i. e. Lay with her whether being first Married to her or not is uncertain the daughter of Nahash m Nahash is either another name of Iesse or rather the name of Iesse's Wife by whom he had this Abigail as he had Zeruiah by another Wife so they were sisters by the Father but not by the Mother and Nahash is here named to signify so much sister to Zeruiah Joabs mother 26 So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead 27 ¶ And it came to pass when David was come to Mahanaim that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon n Who as it may seem disliked and disowned that barbarous action to the Embassadors and therefore when the rest were destroyed was left King or Governor of the residue of the Ammonites and * Chap. 9. 4. Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar o See above ch 9. 4. and * Chap. 19. 31. 1 King 2. 7. Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim 28 Brought beds and ‖ Or cups basins p i. e. All sorts â—…of Houshold-stuff as well as other proviâ—…ons all which David now wanted and earthen vessels and wheat and barley and flour and parched corn and beans and lentiles and parched pulse 29 And honey and butter and sheep and cheese of kine for David and for the people that were with him to eat for they said The people is hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness q i. e. Having been in the wilderness Which is an easie and common Ellipsis Or because of so the Hebrew Particle hath is oft used the Wilderness which they have passed thorough in which provisions are very scarce CHAP. XVIII AND David numbred the people that were with him a Which flocked to him thither so as to make up a small Army and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them 2 And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab b To wit for his especial conduct and management in the â—…attel otherwise Ioab was the General of all the Forces nor had David yet taken away that power from him nor was this a time to do it But such distributions of Forces are usual in Battels and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah â—…oabs brother and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite and the king said unto the people I will surely go forth with you my self also c That by my presence I may put life and courage into my Soldiers and because it is fit I should run the same hazards with you which you do for my sake 3 But * Chap. 21 〈◊〉 the people answered Thou shall not go forth d For this was Absalom's great error into which he was drawn by a Divine infatuation and by Hushai's craft to go to Battel in his own person which was the utter ruin of him and of his Cause for if we flee away they will not ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 their heart on us care for us neither if half of us die will they care for us but now thou art ‡ Heb. aâ—… ten thousand of us worth ten thousand of us e Not onely for the Dignity of thy Person but also for the importance of our common cause and concern which if thou art slain is irrecoverably lost 〈◊〉 now it is better that thou ‡ Heb. be to succour succour us out of the city f By sending us Supplies of Men and Provisions of all sorts as we have occasion and by securing our retreat if we be defeated Or thus not go along to the Battel with us but onely go out with us or accompany us out of the City to incourage the Company and then retire for thy own safety And so it seems by the next Verse 4 And the king said unto them What seemeth you best I will do And the king stood by 〈◊〉 gate-side g i. e. Between the two Gates of the City as it is expressed below v. 24. and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands 5 And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai saying Deal gently for my sake with the young man even with Absalom h If you Conquer which he presaged they would by Gods Gracious answer to his prayer for the turning of Ahitopbel's counsel into foolishness take him Prisoner but do not kill him Which desire proceeded partly from his great indulgence towards his Children partly from David s consciousness that he himself was the meritorious and procuring cause of this Rebellion Absalom being given up to it for the punishment of David's sins and therefore did indeed deserve some pity from him partly from the consideration of his youth which commonly makes men foolish and heady and violent and subject to ill counsels and partly from his Piety being loth that he should be cut off in the act of his sin without any space or means for repentance whereby both his Soul and Body would be in danger to perish for ever And all the people i To wit the Citizens and others who stood with the King in the Gate when the Army Marched forth heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom 6 ¶ So the people
their hearts bethink themselves q Heb. bring back their hearts to wit their Sin Expressed ver 46. and implied in the following word Repent in the land whither they were carried captives and repent and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives saying r Sensibly and with an honest heart We have sinned and have done preversly we have committed wickedness 48 And so return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul s i. e. Sincerely Universally and Stedfastly in the land of their enemies which led them away captive and * Dan. 6. 10. pray unto thee toward their land which thou gavest unto their fathers the city which thou hast chosen and the house which I have built for thy Name 49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling-place and maintain their ‖ Or right Heb. judgment cause t Heb. their right against their Invaders and Oppressors For they had forfeited all their Rights to God onely but not to their Enemies whom though God used as scourges to chastise his Peoples Sins yet they had no pretence of Right to their Land nor any regard to it but onely minded the satisfaction of their own Lusts and Interests See Isa. 10. 5 6. and 47. 6. Zech. 1. 15. 50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee and * Psa. 106. 46. give them compassion before them who carryed them away captive that they may have compassion on them u i. e. May gently use them whilst they are there and proclaim Liberty to their Captives to go to their own Land 51 For they be thy people x For howsoever they may sin against thee or suffer from men yet still remember that they are thy peculiar People and therefore do thou pity and pardon and save them and thine inheritance which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt from the * Jer. 11. 4 midst of the furnace of iron y So called either from the Metal melted in it or rather from the Matter of which it consisted an Iron Furnace being more hot and terrible than one of Brick or Stone He understands hereby their cruel Bondage and painful Labours See on Deut. 4. 20. 52 That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant and unto the supplication of thy people Israel to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee 53 For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth to be thine inheritance z Thou hast begun to build a Work of great and glorious Mercy to them do not give occasion to thine Enemies to think thou wast unable to finish it or that thou art unstable in thy ways and Counsels or unkind to thine own Children * Exod. 19. â—… as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt O LORD GOD. 54 And it was so that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD he arose from before the altar of the LORD from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven 55 And he stood and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice saying 56 Blessed be the LORD that hath given rest unto his people Israel according to all that he promised * Deut. 12. 10. there hath not ‡ Heb fallen failed one word of all his good ‡ Heb. word Jer. 29. 1â—… promises a See the like Iosh. 21. 45. and 23. 14. 2 King 10. 10. which he ‡ Heb. spake promised by the hand of Moses his servant 57 The LORD our God be with us b By the presence of his Grace and Mercy as he was with our fathers let him not leave us nor forsake us 58 That he may incline our heart unto him c That he may not onely bless us with outward Prosperity and Glory but especially with Spiritual Blessings and that as he hath given us his Word and Statutes to teach and direct us so he would by his Holy Spirit effectually incline and engage our Hearts to keep and obey them to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments which he commanded our fathers 59 And let these my words wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night that he ‡ Heb. do the judgment maintain the cause of his servant d i. e. Of me as ver 28 29 30. their King and consequently of all my Successors and the cause of his people Israel e According to mine or their various necessities and exigencies ‡ Heb. the thing of a day in his day at all times as the matter shall require 60 That all the people of the earth may know f Both by our vertuous and holy Lives to which thou inclinest us by thy Grace and by the eminent manifestations of thy Power and Goodness in defending and delivering us from all the assaults and devices of our Enemies that * 35 the LORD is God and that there is none else 61 Let your heart therefore be perfect g i. e. Sincere and serious in your purposes of Obedience for sinless Perfection he himself taught them was not to be expected here Eccles. 7. 20. with the LORD our God to walk in his statutes and to keep his commandments as at this day 62 ¶ And * 2 Chron. 7. 4. the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifice before the LORD 63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice h By the hands of the Priests of peace-offerings which he offered unto the LORD two and twenty thousand oxen and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep i Not all in one day but in the 7 or it may be in the 14 days mentioned ver 65. so k i. e. By these Sacrifices and Holy Exercises the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD l i. e. Began to set it apart for the Work and Service of God 64 The * 2 Chron. 7. 7. same day did the king hallow the middle of the court m To wit of the Priests Court in which the great Altar was This he Consecrated as he did the great Altar to wit by Sacrifices but with this difference That he Consecrated That for lasting and perpetual use but This onely for the present time and occasion being warranted to do so both by the necessity of it for God's Service and for the present Solemn Work for which the Brazen Altar was not sufficient as it here follows and by the direction of God's Spirit where with Solomon was endowed as being a Prophet as well as a King Here therefore he suddenly reared up divers Altars which after this
Men and the affairs of all Kings and Kingdoms are governed and of which he had lately seen so eminent an Instance it was a foolish as well as wicked course even unto Rehoboam king of Judah and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah 28 Whereupon the king took counsel and made two calves of gold o In imitation of Aaron's Golden Calf and of the Egyptians from whom he was lately come And this he the rather presumed to do because he knew the people of Israel were generally very prone to Superstition and Idolatry as their whole History sheweth and that Solomon's example and countenance given to false Worships had exceedingly strengthned those inclinations and therefore they were in a great measure prepared for such an Attempt especially when his Proposition tended to their own ease and safety and profit which he knew was much dearer to them as well as to himself than their Religion and said unto them It is too much for you p Too great a trouble and charge and neither necessary nor safe for them as things now stood to go up to Jerusalem * Exod. 32. 8. behold thy gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt q Not as if he did himself believe or thought to persuade the people to believe That these Calves were properly and truly that very God of Israel who brought them out of Egypt which was so monstrously absurd and ridiculous that no Israelite in his right wits could believe it and had been so far from attaining his end and satisfying his people that this would have made him both hateful and contemptible to them but his meaning was that these Images were visible Representations in and by which he designed to Worship the True God of Israel as appears partly from that Parallel-place Exod. 32. 4. where see my notes partly because the Priests and Worshippers of the Calves are said to Worship Iehovah and upon that account are distinguished from those belonging to Baal 1 King 18. 21. and 22. 6 7. And partly from Ieroboam's design in this Work which was to quiet the peoples minds and remove their scruples about going to Ierusalem to Worship their God in that place as they were commanded which he doth by signifying to them That he did not intend any alteration in the substance of their Religion nor to draw them from the Worship of the True God to the Worship of Ashteroth or Milcom or any of those Baals which were set up by Solomon but to Worship that self-same God whom they Worshipped in Ierusalem even the True God and the God of their Fathers who brought them out of Egypt but onely to vary a circumstance and that as they Worshipped God at Ierusalem by and before one Visible Sign even the Ark and the Sacred Cherubims there so his Subjects should Worship God by another Visible Sign even that of the Calves in other places and as for the change of the place he might suggest to them that God was present in all places where Men with honest minds did call upon him that before the Temple was built the best of Kings and Prophets and People did Pray and Sacrifice to God in divers High-places without any scruple notwithstanding that restraint of God to one place Deut. 12. 5 c. That God would dispence with them also in that matter because going to Ierusalem was very dangerous to them at this time and God would have Mercy rather than Sacrifice and God had been pleased to dispense with his own Ordinances in cases of necessity or great inconvenience as he did with Circumcision for 40 years in the Wilderness 29 And he set the one in Bethel and the other put he in Dan r Which two places he chose for his peoples conveniency Bethel being in the Southern and Dan in the Northern parts of his Kingdom 30 And this thing became a sin s i. e. A cause or occasion of great wickedness among that People not onely of Idolatry which is called Sin by way of Eminency not onely of the Worship of the Calves wherein they pretended to worship the True God but also of the Worship of Baal and of the utter desertion of the True God and of all sorts of impiety and abominable Sins as is manifest from the History of that Kingdom in which there was not one good King and very few of the people who were not guilty of hainous Crimes as the Prophets witness for the people went t The Kings Counsel and Example seduced them though it did not excuse their Sin and they willingly walked after this his wicked commandment Hos. 5. 11. to worship before the one ‡ Heb. of the Calves even unto Dan u Which is not here mentioned exclusively for that they went also to Bethel is evident from ver 32 33. but for other reasons either because that of Dan was first made or best frequented the people in those parts having been long leavened with Idolatry See Iudg. 18. 30. or to shew the peoples readiness to comply with the King's Command and their Zeal for Idols that those who lived in or near Bethel had not patience to stay till that Calf was finished but all of them were forward to go as far as Dan which was in the utmost borders of the Land to Worship an Idol there when it was thought too much for them to go to Ierusalem to Worship God 31 And he made an house of high places x Or an house i. e. Houses or Chappels in the high-places Besides the famous Houses or Temples which he Built at Dan and Bethel he Built also for his Peoples better accommodation lesser Temples upon divers high-places which were esteemed Sacred and Venerable because their Pious Ancestors had served God in them and thereby Ieroboam might not seem to bring in a new Religion but onely to revive the old and made priests of ‡ Heb. the extremities the * Chap. 13. 33. Ezek. 44. 7 8. lowest of the people y Which he might do either 1. Because the better sort refused it as an office below their quality or 2. Because such would be satisfied with mean allowances and so he could put into his own Purse a great part of the rich Possessions and Revenues of the Levites which doubtless he seized upon when they forsook him and went to Ierusalem 2 Chron. 11. 13 14. which also was very necessary for his present and pressing Occasions the rather because he durst not yet lay grievous Taxes upon that People who had newly cast off Rehoboam for that very Reason Or 3. Because mean persons would depend upon his favour and therefore be very pliable to his humour and firm to his Interest and zealous to promote the Worship of the Calves But the Words in the Hebrew properly signifie from the ends of the people which is and may be Translated thus out of all 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
by other Authors that I may go in and dress it for me and my son that we may eat it and die b For having no more Provision we must needs perish with Hunger For though the Famine was onely in the Land of Israel yet the Effects of it were in Tyre and Sidon which were fed by the Corn of that Land See Acts 12. 20. Or the same Famine might be in those parts also the chief cause of the Famine to wit the Worship of Baal being common to both places 13 And Elijah said unto her Fear not go and do as thou hast said but make me thereof a little cake first c Which he requires as a tryal and exercise of her Faith and Charity and Obedience which he knew God would graciously and plentifully reward and so this would be a great Example to encourage others to the practise of the same Graces upon like occasions and bring it unto me and after make for thee and for thy son 14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel d In whom I perceive thou trustest The barrel of meal e i. e. The Meal of the Barrel An Hypallage or Metonymy So the cruse of oil â—…or the oil of the cruse shall not waste neither shall the cruse of oil fail until the day that the LORD ‡ Heb. giveth sendeth rain upon the earth 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah f Giving Glory to the God of Israel by believing his Prophet and she and he and her house did eat ‖ Or a full year many days g i. e. A long time even above Two Years See Chap. 18. 1. Heb. days i. e. A full Year as ver 7. namely before the following Event about her Son happened and the rest of the time of the Famine after it 16 And the barrel of meal wasted not h God still Creating new as fast as the old was spent neither did the cruse of oil fail according to the word of the LORD which he spake ‡ Heb. by the hand of by Elijah 17 ¶ And it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman the mistress of the house fell sick and his sickness was so sore that there was no breath i Or no Soul or Life as this Hebrew Word oft signifies i. e. He died as is manifest from the following Verses See also Heb. 11. 35. left in him 18 And she said unto Elijah What have I to do with thee k Wherein have I injured or provoked thee Or Why didst thou come to Sojourn in my House as the following Words seem to Explain these if this be the fruit of it They are Words of a troubled Mind favouring of some rashness and impatience O thou man of God art thou come unto me l Didst thou come for this end that thou mightest severely observe my Sins and by thy prayers bring down God's just Judgment upon me for them as thou hast for the like cause brought down this Famine upon the Nation to call my sin to remembrance m Either 1. To my remembrance that I should by this dreadful Judgment be brought to the knowledge and remembrance of my Sins which have procured it Or rather 2. To God's Remembrance for God is oft said in Scripture to remember sins when he punisheth them and to forget them when he spares the Sinner See 2 Sem. 16. 10. Have I instead of the Blessing which I expected from thy presence met with a Curse and to stay my son 19 And he said unto her Give me thy son n Into mine Arms. And he took him out of her bosom and carried him up into a loft o A private place where he might more freely and fully pour out his Soul to God and use such Gestures or Methods as he thought most proper without any offence or observation where he abode and laid him upon his own bed 20 And he cried unto the LORD and said O LORD my God hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn by slaying her son p A Prayer full of powerful Arguments Thou art the Lord that canst revive the Child and my God and therefore wiltst not do not deny me She is a widow add not Affliction to the Afflicted deprive her not of the great support and staff of her Age She hath given me kind entertainment let her not fare the worse for her kindness to a Prophet whereby Wicked Men will take occasion to Reproach both her and Religion 21 And he ‡ Heb. measured stretched himself upon the child q Not as if he thought this could contribute any warmth or Life to the Child but partly to express and withal to increase his grief for the Child's Death and his desire of its reviving that thereby his Prayers might be more fervent and consequently more prevalent with God and partly that it might appear That this Miracle though wrought by God alone yet was done for the sake of Elijah and in answer to his Prayers Compare 2 King 4. 34. Ioh. 9. 6. Act. 20. 10. three times and cried unto the LORD r First he stretched himself then he prayed and that for Three times successively and said O LORD my God I pray thee let this childs soul come ‡ Heb. into 〈◊〉 inward parts into him again s By which it is evident That the Soul was gone out of his Body and therefore doth subsist without it after Death Compare Gen. 35. 18. This was a great Request but Elias was incouraged to make it partly by his Zeal for God's Honour which he thought was concerned in it and would be Eclipsed by it partly by the experience which he had of his prevailingpower with God in prayer and partly by a Divine Impulse moving him to desire it 22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the child came into him again and he revived 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber into the house and delivered him unto his mother and Elijah said See thy son liveth 24 ¶ And the woman said to Elijah Now by this I know t Now I am assured of that concerning which I began upon this sad occasion to doubt that thou art a man of God and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth u That the God whom thou professest is the True God and the Doctrine and Religion which thou Teachest is the onely True Religion and therefore henceforth I wholly Renounce the Worship of Idols CHAP. XVIII AND it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year a Either 1. From the time when he went to hide himself by the Brook Cerith Six Months before which time the Famine might begin though it was not yet come to extremity And so this being in or
14. 10. â—… King 9. 8. I will bring evil upon thee and will take away thy posterity and will cut off from Ahab * Sam. 25. 22. him that pisseth against the wall and * Chap. 14. 10. him that is shut up and left in Israel e Of which see on chap. 14. 10. 22 And will make thine house like the house of * Chap. 15. 29. Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of * Chap. 16. 3. Baasha the son of Ahijah for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger and made Israel to sin 23 And * â—… Kin. 9. 36. 〈◊〉 ditch of Jezabel also spake the LORD saying The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the ‖ wall f Or by the ditch or fort or in the portion as it is explained 2 King 9. 36. the Hebrew chel here being put for chelek used there by an Apocope of the last Hebrew Letter which is not unusual in the Hebrew Tongue of Jezreel 24 * Chap. 14. 11. and 16. 4. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat 25 ¶ But there was none like unto Ahab g None among all the Kings of Israel which had been before him which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD whom Jezebel his wife ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 stirred up h This is added to shew that temptations to sin are no excuse to the sinner 26 And he did very abominably in following idols according to all things as did the Amorites i i. e. The seven Nations of Canaan all called by this name as Gen. 15. 16. and 48. 22. Amos 2. 9 10. whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel 27 And it came to pass when Ahab heard those words that he rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went softly k i. e. Slowly and silently after the manner of mourners or those who are under a great consternation and in deep consideration 28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite saying 29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me because he humbleth himself before me l i. e. In my presence and upon my threatning But this humiliation or repentance of Ahab's was onely external and superficial arising from the terror of Gods Judgments and not sincere and serious proceeding from the Love of God or a true sense of his sin or a solemn purpose of amendment of his Life as appears because all the particulars of his repentance here ver 27. are external and ritual onely nor is there the least intimation of any one sign or fruit of his true repentance as that he restored Naboth's Land or reproved his infamous Wife but in the very next Chapter you find him returning to his former Vomit hating and threatning the Lods Prophets c. I will not bring the evil m i. e. The Judgment threatned both that ver 19. which was not inflicted upon Ahab with so much ignominy and with that particular signature of Gods vengeance that it was to be done in the same place as it was upon his Son Ioram and especially that ver 21 22 which was wholly suspended until his Sons days in his days but * â—… Kin. 9. 25. in his sons days will I bring the evil upon his house CHAP. XXII AND they a The Syrians and Israelites designed in the following words continued three years b Computed from the last War and League wherewith it was concluded because both Ahab and Benhadad were so weakned and broken by the late Wars that they needed and desired Peace to recruit themselves and repair their former losses without war between Syria and Israel 2 And it came to pass in the third year that * 2 Chron. 18. 1 c. Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel c Having now as he supposed made a firm Peace with Ahab by the Alliance contracted between Ioram his Son and Athaliah Ahab's Daughter Of which see 2 King 8. 18. 2 Chron. 18. 1. 3 And the king of Israel said unto his servants Know ye that * 1 Chr. 6 73. Ramoth in Gilead is ours d i. e. Belongeth to us by right both by Gods Donation and designation of it for a City of refuge Ios. 21. 38. and by our last agreement with Benhadad 1 King 20. 34. which he refuseth to deliver up to us upon our demand and we be ‡ Heb. â—…lent from taking it still and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria 4 And he said unto Jehoshaphat Wilt thou go with me to battel to Ramoth-gilead And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel * 2 King 3â—… I am as thou art my people as thy people my horses as thy horses e I will heartily and effectually joyn with thee and my Forces shall be at thy service as much as thine own 5 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel Enquire f By some Prophet that we may know the mind of God in it and what success we may expect This was the practise of the Godly See Iudg. 1. 1. and 20. 28. 1 Sam. 23. 2. I pray thee at the word of the LORD to day 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets g Which doubtless were his own false Prophets or the Priests of Baal probably those very 400 Men whom Iezabel preserved from that great slaughter chap. 18. who yet gave in their Answer in the Name of Iehovah not of Baal either in compliance with Iehoshaphat or rather by Ahab's direction that good Iehoshaphat might be deceived by them into a good opinion of the War together about four hundred men and said unto them Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battel or shall I forbear And they said Go up for the LORD shall deliver it unto the hand of the king 7 And Jehoshaphat said Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides h Besides these who may seem to be such by your opinion and their own profession but I desire further satisfaction from some other Prophet that we might enquire of him 8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat There is yet one i To wit in this place for whom I can speedily send for there were also other Prophets elsewhere in the Kingdom as Elijah Elisha and others but these were not at hand for the present occasion man Micaiah k Not one of the 12 Prophets who lived about 150 Years after this time but another of that name the son of Imlah by whom we may enquire of the LORD but I hate him for he doth not prophesie good concerning me but evil l He is always a messenger of evil tidings which was true but no sufficient reason why he should hate him
because Micaiah was purely Gods instrument in all his messages and whatsoever evil he threatned Ahab himself was the cause and procurer of it And Jehoshaphat said Let not the king say so m Do not presage evil to our enterprize let us neither hate his person nor despise his message but first hear it and then do as we see cause 9 Then the king of Israel called an ‖ Or Eunuch officer and said Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah 10 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne having put on their robes n Their Royal Robes and Ensigns of Majesty in a ‡ Heb. floor void place o In the place of Judicature which was in or nigh the Gate of the City and in the front of some void place where either People stood to hear and see Justice Administred or Soldiers were placed for the defence of the City in time of War in the entrance of the gate of Samaria and all the prophets prophesied before them 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron p Fit Emblems of the Power and Victory of these two Kings The Devil is Gods Ape and the false Prophets sometimes imitating the true who when they declared Gods mind by words did also oftentimes confirm it by sensible signs See Isa. 20. 2. Ier. 27. 2. and he said Thus saith the LORD q Heb. Iehovah whose Name he pretends to gain the more credit and countenance to his words See on v. 7. With these shalt thou push the Syrians until thou have consumed them 12 And all the prophets prophesied so saying Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper for the LORD shall deliver it into the kings hand 13 And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him saying Behold now the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth let thy word I pray thee be like the word of one of them and speak that which is good r This he designs not out of any Love to Micaiah whom he persuades to debauch his Conscience but meerly out of a desire to gratify his Kings humour 14 And Micaiah said As the LORD liveth what the LORD saith unto me s What answer God shall put into my mind and mouth which it seems was not yet done that will I speak 15 ¶ So he came to the king and the king said unto him Micaiah shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battel or shall we forbear And he answered him t Not seriously but ironically using the very words of the false Prophets in way of derision As appears First From his omission of that Solemn Preface Thus saith the Lord or this is the word of the Lord which the Prophets generally used and which himself useth when he comes to his serious answer v. 19. Secondly From Ahab's reply ver 16. which shews that he suspected Micaiah's sincerity in that answer and gathered by his gesture or manner of speaking that he spake onely mimically as representing and traducing the false Prophets for their answer See the like Ironical passages Gen. 3. 22. Iudg. 10. 14. 1 King 18. 27. Eccles. 11. 9. Ezek. 20. 39. Amos 4. 4 5. All which expressions are not used to lead Men into mistakes but to bring them to the sight of their sin and duty which may be done sometimes most efficaciously in this way So Micaiah's meaning is plainly this Because thou dost not seek to know the truth but onely to please thy self go to the Battel as all thy Prophets advise thee and expect the success which they promise thee and try the truth of their Prediction by thy own costly experience Go and prosper for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king 16 And the king said unto him How many times shall I adjure thee u I adjure thee again and again that thou give over this mockery and seriously tell me the mind of God in this matter that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the Name of the LORD 17 And he said I saw x In the Spirit or in a Vision all Israel * Matth. 9. 36. scattered upon the hills y Upon the Mountains of Gilead nigh Ramoth either where they lay encamped by Ahab's order or to which they fled from the Enemy esteeming that the safest place See Matth. 24. 16. as sheep that have not a shepherd z As People who have lost their King See Numb 27. 17. Isa. 40. 11. and 44. 28. Ezek. 34. 23. And the LORD said These have no master let them return every man to his house in peace a Discharged from the War which was fulfilled v. 26. 18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat Did I not tell thee that he would prophesie no good concerning me but evil b Now thou seest my words verified and this man shewing his hatred by this malignant and treasonable Prophecy and how little heed is to be given to his words Which crafty insinuation seems to have had too great an influence upon good Iehoshaphat otherwise he would never have gone to the Battel 19 And he said Hear thou therefore c Because thou givest credit to thy false Prophets and distrustest my words as if they were but the suggestions of my own fancy and hatred of thy Person I will give thee a distinct and true account of the whole matter in Gods Name and Presence the word of the LORD I saw d By the eyes of my mind for he could not see the Lord with bodily eyes the LORD sitting on his throne and * Job 1. 6. and 2. 1. Dan. 7. 10. Zech. 4. 10. Matth. 18. 10. Heb. 1. 7 14. all the host of heaven e i. e. The Angels who are oft called Gods host or hosts because of their great number excellent order and constant readiness to attend upon God and to execute his Commands See Gen. 2. 1. Psal. 103. 21. and 148. 2. These Angels were both good and bad the one possibly on his right the other on his left hand Nor is it strange that the Devils are called the host of heaven if you consider First That their original seat was in Heaven and men in Scripture are oft called by the name of the place from whence they came Secondly That the name of heaven is oft given to all that part of the World which is above the Earth and among the rest to the Air as Gen. 1. 20. and 7. 11. and 8. 2. and 27. 28. Deut. 4. 11. and 11. 11. where the Devils residence and dominion lies Eph. 2. 2. and that both Michael and his Angels and the Dragon and his Angels are said to be and to wage war in heaven Revel 12. 7. i. e. either the Air or the Church And this place is not to be understood as if Micaiah had seen with his bodily eyes the Lord
Ahab and made a Garden 22 And it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu that he said Is it peace f Dost thou come to me with a Peaceable mind or in a way of Hostility For now when it was too late he began to suspect some Treachery which God hid from him before to prepare him for destruction Jehu And he answered What peace g What cause hast thou to expect Peace when thou hast so long abetted and dost still abet and allow thy Mother in her abominable practises so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts h Which are to be understood Either First Literally Spiritual Whoredom which is Idolatry being oft punished with corporal See ver 30. and witchcraft there was oft practised by Idolaters Or rather Mystically and Spiritually of her Idolatry which is oft called whoredom because it is a departing from God to whom we are all tied by many obligations and witchcraft either because it doth so powerfully bewitch and deceive mens minds or because it is a manifest entring into Covenant with the Devil For Idolatry being her chief sin and the cause of all the rest it seems improbable that Iehu would omit that in the Inditement which he drew against her He mentions not Ioram's but his Mothers sins partly because they were more notorious and infamous partly because they were the principal cause why God inflicted and he was come to execute these Judgments partly because by his connivence he had made them his own and partly because he could find no gross and odious matter wherewith to charge him except about the worship of the Calves which he forbore to mention both lest it should lose his Interest amongst his Officers and Soldiers who were devoted to that worship and because he himself intended to keep it up are so many 23 And Joram turned his hands i Either that therewith he might turn the Reins of the Chariot or that by this motion he might direct his Charioteer to turn it from Iehu and fled and said to Ahaziah There is treachery O Ahaziah 24 And Jehu ‡ Heb. filled his hand with a bow drew a bow with his full strength and smote Jehoram between his arms k Between his shoulders when he was turned or turning back the Chariot being probably open behind as many times they were and the arrow went out at his heart and he ‡ Heb. bowed sunk down in his chariot 25 Then said Iohn to Bidkar his captain Take up and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite for remember how that ‖ Or I and thoâ—… were with them that rode together when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father l Which might be when Ahab went in his Chariot attended with his Nobles or Chief Officers of which these were two to take a formal and solemn possession of Naboth's Land for then the Prophet Elijah met him and denounced this Judgment against him 1 King 21. 17 c. * 1 Kin. 21. 29. the LORD laid this burden m i. e. This grievous Prophecy for such are oft and truly called burdens as Isa. 13. 1. and 15. 1. Ier. 23. 33 34. Nah. 1. 1. upon him 26 Surely I have seen yesterday the ‡ Heb. bloods blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons n Who as it seems were killed with their Father by Iezabel's advice to make the possession of the Vineyard more sure to Ahab though it be not mentioned in its proper place 1 Kin. 21. 13. For it is not unusual to bring in such fragments of History in succeeding Writings which were neglected in the History of those matters Thus we read of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah Amos 1. 1. which was not Recorded in his History in the Books of the Kings or Chronicles Although he might well be charged with â—…aking away the lives of his Sons because he took away the necessary supports of their lives said the LORD and I will requite thee in this ‖ Or portion plat o Of which see the Notes on 1 King 21. 19. saith the LORD Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground p Where he shall lie unburied and be a prey to the Dogs or Fowls according to the prediction 1 King 21. 24. according to the word of the LORD 27 ¶ But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this he fled by the way of the garden-house q By some secret way hoping to escape whilst they were busie about Ioram and Jehu followed after him and said Smite him also r As you have done Ioram for he also is of the House of Ahab chap. 8. 18. in the chariot and they did so s They smote or wounded him but not mortally either supposing that the wound was mortal or being more remiss in executing Iehu's Sentence against him because they were not so much concerned in his as in Ioram's Death or because they had some kindness for him either for his own or for Iehoshaphat's sake at the going up to Gur which is by Ibleam and he fled to Megiddo and died there t Quest. How doth this agree with 2 Chron. 22. 9. He sought Ahaziah and they caught him for he was hid in Samaria and brought him to Iehu and when they had slain him c Ans. Either First Samaria is there to be understood not of the City but of the Kingdom or Territory so called 1 Kin. 13. 32. and elsewhere in which Megiddo was and so that may be noted to shew that he could not flee into his own Kingdom where he might have been safe but was forced to take up in another part of the Kingdom of Israel in the Territory of Samaria and there to hide himself Or Secondly If Samaria be the City then the History is briefly and imperfectly described here and the defects supplied there the Book of Chronicles being in great part written for that end to supply things omitted in the Book of Kings and out of both the History may be thus compleated He fled first to Megiddo and thence to Samaria where he was caught and thence brought to Iehu and by his Sentence was put to death at Megiddo either because Iehu was there at that time upon some occasion or for some other reason which at this distance of time we cannot understand 28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David u Which they did by Iehu's permission for Iehoshaphat's sake 2 Chron. 22. 9. 29 And in the eleventh year of Joram x Of this see the Note on chap. 8. 25. the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah 30 ¶ And when Jehu was come to Jezreel Jezebel heard of it and she ‡ Heb. put 〈◊〉 eyes in pâ—…ing painted her face and tired her head y
of it Cities and Countries are oft called Mothers as 2 Sam. 20. 19. and their Inhabitants Daughters as Numb 21. 25. Iosh. 17. 16. Iudg. 1. 27. Psal. 45. 13. and 137. 8. hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee y Laughed at all thy proud and impotent Threatnings This is a Gesture of Contempt and Derision of which see Psal. 22. 7. and 44. 13. Ier. 18. 16. Matt. 27. 39. 22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice z By Rabshakeh who cryed with a loud voice Chap. 18. 28. and lift up thine eyes on high a A Gesture of Pride and Scornfulness Pro. 21. 4. even against the holy One of Israel b Not against man but against the Holy God who will not suffer thy Impious Blasphemies to go unpunished and against the holy one of Israel who hath a special relation and kindness to Israel having as it were set himself apart for them and set them apart for himself as being at this time the God of the Iews onely and not the God of the Gentiles whom as yet he suffered to walk in their own evil ways Act. 14. 16. And therefore he will Plead their Cause against thee 23 By ‡ Heb. By the hand of c. thy messengers c So thou hast advanced thy very Servants above me thou hast reproached the LORD and hast said With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains d I have brought up my very Chariots to those Mountains which were thought inaccessible by my Army to the sides of Lebanon e An high Hill famous for Cedars and Fir-trees here following and will cut down ‡ Heb. the tallness c. the tall cedars thereof and the choice fir-trees thereof f This may be understood either 1. Mystically I will destroy the Princes and Nobles of Iudah which are sometimes compared to cedars c. Or their strongest Cities Or rather 2. Literally I will cut down the Trees that hinder my March and plain and prepare the way for all my Numerous Army and Chariots And by this one Instance he intimates That nothing should stand in his way no not the highest and strongest Places and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders g i. e. Those Towns and Cities which he calls Lodgings in way of Contempt which are in his utmost Borders and most remote from me I am come into the Land of Canaan at one Border Lebanon and I resolve to March on to the other extreme Border and so to Destroy the whole Countrey from one Border to another the borders of a Land being oft put for the whole Land within its Borders as Exod. 8. 2. Psal. 74. 17. and 147. 14. Isa. 54. 12. Or as it is in the Hebrew into the lodging of his border for which in the Parallel place Isa. 37. 24. it is into the height of his border And so this may be understood of Ierusalem which it is not probable that in all his brags he would omit and against which his chief Design now lay which he here calleth a lodging for its contemptible smallness if compared with his great and vast City of Niniveh or as it is in Isa. 37. the height for its Two famous Mountains Zion and Moriah or for the Mountains which were round about Ierusalem Psal. 125. 2. and he adds of his border because this City was in the Border of Iudah as being part of it in the Tribe of Benjamin and near the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes which was now in the Assyrians hands and into the ‖ Or the forest and his fruitful field forest of his Carmel h i. e. The Forest of Mount Carmel which may seem to be another Inaccessible Place like Lebanon Or into his forest and his fruitful field For Carmel though properly it was a pleasant and fruitful Mountain in the Tribe of Issachar of which see Iosh. 12. 22. yet it is oft used to signifie any fruitful place as is manifest from Isa. 10. 18. and 16. 10. Ier. 2. 7. And thus all the parts of the Land are here enumerated the Mountains the Cities the Woods and the Fruitful Fields Or his fruitful forest to wit Ierusalem which is thought by many Interpreters to be called a Forest Ier. 21. 14. Ezek 20. 46. a name which agrees well enough to Cities where Buildings are very numerous and close and high like Trees in a Forest And if Ierusalem might be called a Forest it might well be called Hezekiah's Carmel or Fruitful Place because his Chief Strength and Treasure and Fruit was now in it and this last Word may seem to be added here to intimate That this was not like other Forests unfruitful and barren And so both this and the foregoing words are understood of the same place even of Ierusalem the last Branch being joyned to the former by way of Apposition into the lodging of his border the forest of his Carmel or his fruitful Forest there being no more words in the Hebrew Text. 24 I have digged and drank strange waters i Such as were never discovered nor used by others And therefore all thy indeavours to deprive me of Water for my Army 2 Chron. 32. 3. are Idle and Fruitless and * Deut. 11 1â—… with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of ‖ Or fenced besieged places k And as I can furnish my Army with Water digged out of the Earth by their Labour and my Art so I can deprive my Enemies of their Water and can dry up their rivers and that with the sole of my feet i. e. With the March of my Vast and Numerous Army who will easily do this either by Marching thorough them and each carrying part away with them or by Drinking every one a little of them or by their Pains making many new Channels and deriving the Waters of the River into them as Cyrus dried up Euphrates and thereby took Babylon 25 ‖ Or Hast thou not heard how I have made it long ago and formed it of ancient times should I now bring it to be laid waste and fenced cities to be ruinous heaps Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it and of ancient times that I have formed it l Hast thou not long since learned that which some of thy Philosophers could and did teach thee That there is a Supreme and Powerful God by whose Decree and Providence all these Wars and Calamities were sent and ordered whose meer Instrument thou art so that thou hast no cause for these vain Boastings This Work is mine more than thine Or as it is in the Margent of our Bibles Hast thou not heard that a Particle oft understood I have made i. e. Constituted or Purchased or Adorned for all these ways is this Hebrew Verb used
†Heb. 〈◊〉 Abishai his brother and they set themselves in aray against the children of Ammon 12 And he said If the Syrians be too strong for me then thou shalt help me but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee then I will help thee 13 Be of good courage and let us behave our selves valiantly for our people and for the cities of our God and let the LORD do that which is good in his sight 14 So Joab and the people that were with him drew nigh before the Syrians unto the battel and they fled before him 15 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled they likewise fled before Abishai his brother and entred into the city Then Joab came to Jerusalem 16 And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel they sent messengers and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the ‖ That is â—… 〈◊〉 river and ‖ Or 〈◊〉 2 Sam. 1â—… 〈◊〉 Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them 17 And it was told David and he gathered all Israel and passed over Jordan and came upon them and set the battel in aray against them so when David had put the battel in aray against the Syrians they fought with him 18 But the Syrians fled before Israel and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots and forty thousand footmen c How this agrees with 2 Sam. 10. 18. see in the Notes on that place and killed Shophach the captain of the host 19 And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel they made peace with David and became his servants neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more CHAP. XX. 1 ANd * Sam. 11. 1. 〈◊〉 â—…t the 〈◊〉 of the â—… it came to pass that †after the year was expired at the time that kings go out to battel Joab led forth the power of the army and wasted the country of the children of Ammon a Of this first verse see my Notes on 2 Sam. 11. 1. and of v. 2 3. on 2 Sam. 12. 30 31. and of the rest of this Chapter on 2 Sam. 21. 15 c. where also an Account is given of the seeming Differences between this and that Relation and came and besieged Rabbah but David tarried at Jerusalem and Joab smote Rabbah and destroyed it 2 And David * â—… Sam. 11. 12 â—… took the crown of their king from off his head and found it †Heb. the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to weigh a talent of gold and there were precious stones in it and it was set upon Davids head and he brought also exceeding much spoil out of the city 3 And he brought out the people that were in it and cut them with saws and with harrows of iron and with axes even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem 4 And it came to pass after this * 2 Sam. 21. 18. that there ‖ Or 〈◊〉 †Heâ—… 〈◊〉 arose war at ‖ Or Geâ—… Gezer with the Philistins at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew ‖ 〈◊〉 Sippai that was of the children of ‖ 〈◊〉 21. 18. the giant and they were subdued 5 And there was war again with the Philistins and Elhanan the son of ‖ Or Raâ—…es 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 21. 19. â—… 〈◊〉 â—…1 20. 〈◊〉 slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite whose spear-staff was like a weavers beam 6 And yet again * 〈◊〉 â—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there was war at Gath where was †a man of great stature whose fingers and toes were four and twenty six on each hand and six on each foot and he also was †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the son of the giant 7 But when he ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 defied Israel Jonathan the son of ‖ Shimea Davids brother slew him 8 These were born unto the giant in Gath and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 16. 9. they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants CHAP. XXI 1 ANd * â—… Sam 24. 1 â—… ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 22. 〈◊〉 Satan stood up a Heb. stood to wit before the Lord and his Tribunal to accuse David and Israel and to beg Gods permission to tempt David to number the People Standing is the Accusers posture before Mens Tribunals and consequently the Holy Scripture which useth to speak of God and of the things of God after the manner of men to bring them down to our Capacities elsewhere represents Satan in this posture as 1 King 22. 21. Zech. 3. 1. And so this agrees with 2 Sam. 24. 1. where the Lord is said to move David i. e. to give Satan Commission or Permission to move him for otherwise God tempteth no man Jam. 1. 13. But of this and of this whole Chapter and of the Variations and seeming Contradictions between this Narrative and that in Samuel see my Notes on 2 Sam. 24. against Israel and provoked David to number Israel 2 And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people Go number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan and bring the number of them to me that I may know it 3 And Joab answered The LORD make his people an hundred times as many mo as they be but my lord the king are they not all my lords servants why then doth my lord require this thing why will he be †〈◊〉 â—… tresâ—… Gr. a cause of trespass to Israel b Or why will he be or why should this be a trespass or a cause of trespass or an occasion of punishment for Hebrew words signifying sin are oft used to note the punishment of Sin or a desolation or a cause of desolation or destruction for the verb whence this noun proceeds is oft used in that Sense to or against Israel Why wilst thou provoke God by this sin to punish Israel Thus he speaks because God commonly punisheth the People for the sins of their Rulers because they are for the most part guilty of their sins in one kind or other or at least God takes this occasion to punish People for all their Sins 4 Nevertheless the kings word prevailed against Joab wherefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem 5 And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and one hundred thousand men that drew sword and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword 6 But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them c Partly for the following Reason and principally by Gods special and gracious Providence to these two Tribes to Levi because they were devoted to his Service and to Benjamin because they were the least of all the Tribes having been almost extinct
many of Ephraim and Manasseh Issachar and Zebulun had not cleansed themselves yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written z They had so eager a Desire to partake of this Ordinance that rather than neglect it they would venture upon it with some Ceremonial Uncleanness upon them but Hezekiah prayed for them saying †〈…〉 The good LORD pardon every one 19 That prepareth his heart to seek God the LORD God of his fathers though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary a i. e. With that Ceremonial Purification which was required of them that came into Gods Sanctuary So he calls it to distinguish from that Moral and Internal Purity which they are here acknowledged to have 20 And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah and healed the people b From their Uncleanness which it self was a Spiritual Disease and which probably produced a Disease or Distemper or Trouble in their Minds and Consciences which also had formerly brought and might justly now bring even outward Diseases upon the Body or at least Guilt which is a Disease upon the Soul From all which the Lord was pleased now to heal them by pardoning this their Sin and accepting them and their Services as if they had been clean Which it is likely God was pleased to manifest by some outward Sign possibly by fire from Heaven consuming the Sacrifices which was the usual Token of Gods Approbation as hath been formerly noted more than once 21 And the children of Israel that were †Heb. found present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day singing with †loud instruments unto the LORD 22 And Hezekiah spake †Heb. instruments of strength comfortably unto all the Levites c Encouraged them to a chearful and diligent Attendance upon their Holy Ministrations by the Promise of his Favour and utmost Care for them which he faithfully performed ch 31. 4 c. that taught the good knowledge of †Heb. to the heart of all c. the LORD d Who by their Office were to instruct and build up the People in the Knowledge and Fear of God which is mentioned as the Cause of his Respect and Kindness to them which was for their works sake as it is said 1 Thes. 5. 13. and they did eat throughout the feast seven days offering peace-offerings and making confession e Either 1. Confessing their Sins which Work was to accompany many of their Sacrifices of which see Levit. 5. 5. 16. 21. Or rather 2. Confessing Gods Goodness or praising of God which oft goes under this Name as 1 Chron. 16. 8 24. which also seems to be more proper work for this Season of Joy unto the LORD God of their fathers 23 And the whole assembly took counsel to keep * See 1 Kin. 8. 65. other seven days and they kept other seven days with gladness f Not in the same manner as they had done the former with offering new Paschal Lambs and eating onely Unleavened Bread of which there is not the least intimation in the Text but onely in the solemn Worship of God by Sacrifices and Prayers and Praises and publick Instruction of that great Congregation in the Good Knowledge of the Lord which was so dear to Hezekiah v. 22. and at this time most seasonable and necessary for the People after so long and dismal a Night of Ignorance Superstition and Idolatry as both Israel and Judah had been involved in 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah †Heb. lifted up or offered did give to the congregation g First to God to whom the parts appointed were offered in way of Thanksgiving and then to the People who feasted upon the Relicks as the Offerer used to do in Peace-offerings and Hâ—…zekiah who was the Offerer gave away his Right in the Remains of the Sacrifices to the People a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep h Which Generosity is the more considerable because it was in the Beginning of his Reign when he found the Royal Exchequer exhausted and empty and when he had been at great Expence about the Cleansing and refitting of the Temple and making Preparations for this great Feast and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep and a great number of priests sanctified themselves i Having now both more Time and further Need of sanctifying themselves to offer these Numerous Sacrifices 25 And all the congregation of Judah with the priests and the Levites and all the congregation that came out of Israel and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel and that dwelt in Judah rejoyced 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem 27 Then the priests the Levites k Those of the Levites who were Priests also for to them onely this Work belonged 1 Chron. 23. 13. Or the Priests and the Levites For as the Levites did some other part of the Priests Work at this time it is not strange if they did this also Or the Priests might bless by solemn pronunciation of the Blessing and the Levites by their Acclamations or with their Musical Instruments arose and * Numb 6. 23. blessed the people l Either commended them for their great Zeal and Diligence in Gods Service Or rather solemnly prayed to God to bless them and their Prayer was not in vain as the following words shew and their voice was heard and their prayer came up to †Heb. the habitation of his holiness his holy dwelling place even unto heaven CHAP. XXXI 1 NOw when all this was finished all Israel that were †Heb. found present went out to the cities of Judah and * 2 Kin. â—… 〈◊〉 brake the †Heb. 〈◊〉 images in pieces and cut down the groves and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin in Ephraim also and Manasseh †Heb. until to make an end until they had utterly destroyed them all Then all the children of Israel returned every man to his possession into their own cities a Either 1. In those Cities belonging to Ephraim and Manasseh which the Kings of Judah had formerly taken from the Kings of Israel Or 2. In the Tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh For although these were a part of Hoshea's Kingdom yet Hezekiah presumed to do this partly by vertue of the Law of God to which both Israel and Judah owed Subjection which commanded the extirpation of these things out of the whole Land of Canaan Partly by the special Impulse and Direction of Gods Spirit which sometimes did put persons upon Heroical and Extraordinary Actions not to be drawn into Imitation And partly because he knew that Hoshea
I have done for this people p As I have done thy People good for thy sake so do me good for thine own sake for thou art pleased and hast promised graciously to reward us according to our works and to mete to men the same measure which they mere to others CHAP. VI. 1 NOw it came to pass when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arabian and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left therein though at that time I had not set up the doors a Not all of them See on ch 3. 1 2 3. upon the gates 2 Then Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me saying Come let us meet together b To consult about the common Service of our Master the King of Persia or to make a friendly accommodation in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono c A City in the Tribe of Benjamin of which see chap. 11. 35. and 1 Chron. 8. 12. But they thought to do me mischief 3 And I sent messengers unto them saying I am doing a great work d He tells them one but not the onely nor the principal reason of his refusal because his coming might cause the work to cease not only by the neglect of it during his absence but by his death which they by this means might compass though he thought it not fit to express so much to them so that I cannot come down why should the work cease whilest I leave it and come down to you 4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort and I answered them after the same manner 5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter e Thereby bidding open defiance to him as before he had used secret practices and intimating that he would do that by manifest force which he had intended to do by sudden surprize in his hand 6 Wherein was written It is reported among the heathen f The neighbouring People whom you proudly and disdainfully call Heathens or Gentiles and ‖ Or 〈◊〉 ver 2. Gashmu g Called Geshem v. 1. Who affirmed it and would prove it saith it that thou and the Jews think to rebel for which cause thou buildest the wall that thou maist be their king according to these words h i. e. According to these reports or that thou maist justifie and verifie these rumours Others according to these things i. e. when these things which thou art now doing shall be finished But the first sense seems most agreeable to the use of the same words in the next verse 7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem saying There is a king in Judah i We have now a King of our own Nation and are free from the Bondage of a forreign yoke and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words Come now therefore and let us take counsel together k That we may impartially examine the matter that either thy Innocency may be cleared and false accusations may be prevented or if thou art guilty the King may be informed 8 Then I sent unto him saying There are no such things done as thou saist but thou feignest them out of thine own heart 9 For they all made us afraid l i. e. They endeavoured to do so and actually did terrifie some persons saying Their hands shall be weakened from the work that it be not done Now therefore O God strengthen my hands 10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemajah the son of Delajah m Probably one of the chief of the Priests 1 Chron. 24. 26. the son of Mehetabel who was shut up n In his chamber adjoining to the Temple upon pretence of singular Devotion Sequestration from the World and special acquaintance and much communion with God in his retirements after the manner of the Prophets and withal of certain knowledg which he had by the Spirit of God and of Prophecy concerning their approaching danger from which they could be safe no where but in the Temple which the very heathens owned for a Sanctuary which they might not violate and he said Let us meet together in the house of God within the Temple o For the danger is so near that we cannot safely tarry here so long as to consult what to do in this juncture His design herein was partly to discourage and disgrace Nehemiah and thereby to strike a dread into all the People and give a speedy and full stop to the work partly to prepare the way for the Enemies to assault and take the City whilest Nehemiah was shut up and unable to give them any opposition partly to justifie their accusation of Nehemiah to the King by his flight upon it and partly that there by the help of other Priests who were conscious of his plot he might either destroy him or secure his person till the City by some of his complices were betrayed into the Enemies hands and let us shut the doors of the temple for they will come to slay thee yea in the night will they come to slay thee 11 And I said should such a man as I p â—… the chief Governour upon whose presence and Counsel and conduct the very Life and Being of the whole City and Nation in a great measure depends I who have professed such Resolution and Courage and Confidence in God I who have had such eminent experience of Gods gracious and powerful Assistances of his calling me to this employment and carrying me through it when our danger was greater than now it is Shall I now dishonour God and Religion and betray the People and City of God by my cowardize God forbid This is not the counsel of God nor of a Friend but a Plot of mine Enemies as it here follows flee and who is there that being as I am would go into the temple to save his life q As if I had an evil Cause or Conscience as if I were a a malefactor who fled thither for refuge as if I durst not trust God with my preservation except I went into the Temple which it is not lawful for me being no Priest to do I will not go in 12 And lo I perceived r Partly by considering the sinful Nature and pernicious consequence of this Counsel partly by the suggestion of Gods Spirit whose counsel and help I sought in this matter and partly by the event which discovered that there was no such danger from the approach of the Enemy as was pretended that God had not sent him but that he pronounced this prophecy against me for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him 13 Therefore was he hired that I should be afraid and do so and sin s By going into a place forbidden to me and that in such a time and manner and upon such an occasion which would
a The next day but one after the feast of Tabernacles which begun on the 14th day and ended on the 22 day Levit. 23. for their consciences having then been fully awakened by the law read to them and their hearts being full of grief for their great sins which they were not allowed to express in that time of publick joy and triumph now when that was past they resume their former thoughts and passions and recalling their sins to mind set apart a day for solemn fasting and humiliation the children of Israel were assembled with fasting and with sackcloths and with earth upon them 2 And * Ezra 1â—… 11. Chap. 13. â—…0 the seed of Israel separated themselves from all †Heb. 〈◊〉 of a 〈◊〉 strangers b From all familiar and unnecessary society with the heathens and particularly from those strange Women whom some of them had married For though Ezra had done this formerly Ezra 10. as far as he had knowledge of the persons faulty and power to redress their faults yet it seems there were some criminals who were either without his knowledge or out of his power or these were some new delinquents that since that time had fallen into the same errour and shewed the truth of their repentance by the forsaking of their beloved sins and dearest relations See again Nehe. 13. 3. and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers c Which they confess partly as one cause of their present sufferings and partly because they by their practises had justified their fathers sins and made them their own 3 And they stood up in their places and read in the book of the law d So as they did before giving them the sense of what they read of which see on ch 8. 7 8. of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day e To wit for three hours for there were accounted 12 hours in their day Iohn 11. 9. Probably they began after the morning sacrifice at which divers religious people used to be present but now they were all assembled together upon this great occasion and they continued their work from that time till the evening sacrifice with which they closed the work of the day and another fourth part they confessed f Both Gods mercies as appears from the matter of the following prayer and their own sins as is expressed v. 2. this day being chiefly set apart for that work and worshipped the LORD their God g Partly by the acknowledgment and adoration of his wonderful mercy in forgiving their sins and saving them from the deserved judgments which they either felt or feared and giving them his law and the knowledge thereof and partly by imploring his further grace and mercy to them 4 Then stood up upon the ‖ Or 〈◊〉 stairs of the Levites h Or upon the scaffold c. i. e. Upon such stairs or rather scaffolds or pulpits as the Levites used to stand upon when they taught the people But you must not think that all the persons here named stood in one place and uttered the following words together which would have caused great confusion in their speeches by which means but few of the people could have distinctly heard or understood them but that they stood upon several pulpits each of them either teaching of that part of the Congregation which was allotted to him or praying or blessing God with them Jeshua and Bani Kadmiel Shebaniah Bunni Sherebiah Bani and Chenani and cried with a loud voice i Thereby testifying their deep sense of their sins and miseries and their servent and importunate desire of Gods mercy unto the LORD their God 5 Then the Levites Jeshua and Kadmiel Bani Hashabniah Sherebiah Hodijah Shebaniah and Pethahiah said k All the following words Either therefore they all used the same words being composed and agreed upon by Ezra and themselves or they all prayed in the same manner and to the same purpose having agreed among themselves concerning the matter of their confessions and prayers And these are the words which one of them used and it is implied that the rest of their prayers were of the same nature stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever l From day to day as long as you live and to all eternity and blessed be thy glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise 6 Thou even thou art LORD alone * Gen. 1. 1. thou hast made heaven the * Deut. 10. 14. heaven of heavens with all their host the earth and all things that are therein the seas and all that is therein and thou preservest them all and * Gen. 2. 1. the host of heaven m Either 1. The stars which after their manner worship and praise God as all the creatures do after their manner of which see Psal. 148. or rather 2. The Angels who are so called as 1 King 22. 19. Luke 2. 13. who do worship God truly and properly And it is most usual and reasonable to understand all words properly where there is no need of a figurative interpretation And if this were understood of metaphorical and objective worshipping of God there seems to be no reason to appropriate that to the host of Heaven to wit the stars seeing the hosts of sea and earth do in that sense worship God no less than the stars do namely in giving Angels and men matter and occasion of worshipping and praising of God worshippeth thee 7 Thou art the LORD the God who didst choose * Gen. 11. 〈◊〉 12. 1. Abram n Out of the midst of all his nation and family When thou didst pass by and neglect the rest of them suffering them to walk on in their idolatrous and destructive courses thou didst chuse and single out him to serve and glorify thee to be Father of all the faithful the progenitor of the Messias and the person in whom not we only but all nations should be blessed and to enjoy thee to all eternity and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees and gavest him the name of * Gen. 17. â—… Abraham 8 And foundest his heart * Gen. 15. â—… faithful before thee o When thou madest that admirable trial of his faith and obedience in requiring him to offer up his onely son Isaac thou didst find out and discover his faithfulness which was well known to thee before and also was wrought in him by thy grace and madest a * Gen. 12. 7 15. 18. 17. 7 8. covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite the Hittite the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite to give it I say to his seed and hast performed thy words for thou art righteous 9 * 〈◊〉 2. 25. 〈◊〉 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Aegypt and heardest their cry by the Red sea 10 And * 〈◊〉
that this was done with manifest contempt both to God and Men. 17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah c i. e. Their chief Men and Rulers whom he chargeth with this sin because though others did it it was by their countenance or connivance and they should and might have punished and restrained it and said unto them What evil thing is this that ye do and prophane the sabbath-day 18 Did not your fathers thus and did not our God bring all this evil upon us d Which you so well and sadly remember that I need not tell you the particulars and upon this city yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by prophaning the sabbath 19 And it came to pass that when the gates of Jerusalem * Lev. 23. 32. began to be dark e Which was about Sun-setting by reason of the Mountains which were round about and near Ierusalem Psa. 125. 2. before the sabbath I commanded that the gates should be shut and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath and some of my servants set I at the gates f Out of a diffidence in those to whom the keeping of the Gates was committed * â—…er 17. 21. that there should no burthen be brought in on the sabbath day 20 So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice 21 Then I testified against them and said unto them Why lodg ye †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 about the wall if ye do so again I will lay hands on you g I will punish you and seize your goods For this was a temptation 〈◊〉 or needy Jews that lived in or near the City to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of buying their commodities which then they might 〈◊〉 more advantage From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath 22 And I commanded the Levites that they should 〈◊〉 themselves h Partly because the work they were now set upon though common in its nature yet was holy in design of it and had respect unto the Sabbath and partly because the day in which they were to do this was the Sabbath day for the observation whereof they were obliged to prepare and purifie themselves and that they should come and keep the gates i Either 1. The Gates of the Temple But a particular command was superfluous in that case because it was their constant work and charge to do this both Sabbath-days and every day Or rather 2. The Gates of the City for of them he spake last v. 19. and not daring to trust the common Porters of those Gates not being able always to employ his men in that work he committeth the charge of them for the present season and upon the Sabbath-days to the Levites to whom the care of sanctifying the Sabbath did properly belong to sanctifie the sabbath-day Remember me O my God concerning this also and spare me according to the ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 greatness of thy mercy k Whereby he intimates that though he mentioned his good works as things wherewith God was well-pleased and which he had promised to reward yet he neither did nor durst trust to their merit or his own worthiness but when he had done all he judged himself an unprofitable servant and one that needed Gods infinite Mercy and Indulgence to pardon all his sins and particularly those infirmities and corruptions which adhered to his good deeds 23 In those days also saw I Jews that †Or had made to dwell with them * Ezra 9. 2. had married wives of Ashdod l A City of the Philistines 1 Sam. 5. 1 2 c. of Ammon and of Moab 24 And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod and †Heb. they discerned not to speak could not speak in the Jews language but according to the language †Heb. of people and people of each people m Which their Mothers instilled into them together with their Principles and Manners 25 And I contended with them and ‖ Or reviled them cursed them n i. e. Caused them to be excommunicated and cast out of the society and priviledges of Gods people This and the following punishments were justly inflicted upon them because this transgression was contrary both to a very plain and express Law of God and also to their own late solemn Covenants and Promises of which see Ezra 10. Nehem. 10. 30. and smote o i. e. I caused them to be beaten with stripes according to the Law Deut. 25. 2. certain of them p Such whose faults were most aggravated by their quality or other circumstances to whom he added this punishment over and besides the former and pluckt off their hair q Or shaved them The hair was an Ornament and Ensign of Liberty amongst the Eastern Nations and baldness was a disgrace and token of slavery and sorrow See Isa. 3. 24. 15. 2. Ier. 48. 37. Ezek. 29. 18. and made them swear by God saying Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons nor take their daughters unto your sons or for your selves 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things yet * 1 Kin. 3. 13. 2 Chr. 1. 12. among many nations was there no king like him who was * 2 Sam. 12. 24. beloved of his God and God made him king over all Israel * 1 Kin. 11 1. c. nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin 27 Shall we then hearken unto you r Shall we justifie your action by permitting or not punishing it God forbid to do all this great evil to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives 28 And one of the sons of Jojada s Said by Iosephus to be that Manasses who by Sanballats interest procured Liberty to build the Samaritan Temple in mount Gerizim to which those Priests who had married strange Wives or been otherwise criminal betook themselves and with or after them others of the people in the same or like circumstances the son of Eliashib the high priest was son in law to Sanballat the Horonite therefore I chased him from me t i. e. From my Presence and Court and from the City and Temple and all the priviledges of the Priesthood and from the whole Congregation and Church of Israel whereof I am a member 29 Remember them O my God †Heb for the defilings because they have defiled the priesthood and * Mal. 2. 4. the covenant of the priesthood u That Covenant made between me and his Progenitors for themselves and their Posterity whereby I promised to give them an everlasting Priesthood Numb 25. 12 13. and they covenanted with me that they would faithfully and holily execute that sacred Function according to the rules which I gave them whereby among other things they were enjoyned to keep themselves pure from all unlawful marriages and from all other things which might
Piety is uniform and constant and stedfast in all varieties of conditions and under all Trials and Temptations But this Translation removes the and from its proper place and changeth the Order of the words which is this in the Hebrew thy Hope and the Uprightness of thy ways which words may be restored to their own Order and with that variation our Translation may stand and this seems to be the true sense And so here are four distinct Questions Is not this thy Fear Is not this thy Confidence Is not this thy Hope Is not this the Uprightness of thy ways But others make only two Questions and render the words either thus Is not or rather Was not thy Fear of God thy Confidence And the Uprightness of thy Ways thy Hope i. e. Did not thy Fear of God and the Integrity of thy Life of which thou didst make such eminent Profession proceed only from the love of thy self and of this present World And from thy Confidence and Hope that God would bless and prosper thee for it For now when God withdraws his Favour and Blessings from thee thy Religion is vanished and thou hast cast off all Fear and Reverence of God as thy impious Speeches shew Or thus Would not thy Fiar be thy Confidence and the Uprightness of thy Ways thy Hope i. e. If thou hadst indeed that Fear and Integrity to which thou pretendest it would give thee good ground of Hope and Confidence in the midst of all thy distresses and thou wouldst not so faint and sink under thy Calamities as now thou dost for want of a solid foundation of true Prety But both these Translations besides other Inconveniences stumble at the same stone and pervert the Order of the Words in the Hebrew Text of which see before which is not to be allowed without some kind of necessity which is not in this case 7. Remember I pray thee l Give me one Example hereof out of all thy Experience or Reading who ever perished m i. e. Was so utterly undone as thou art so miserably afflicted by such unparallel'd and various Judgments from God and Men all conspiring against thee being innocent n Who had not by his wickedness provoked so merciful a God to do that which is so unusual and in some sort unpleasing to himself Therefore thou art guilty of some great though secret Crimes and thy Sin hath now found thee out and hath brought down these stupendious Plagues upon thee or where were the righteous cut off o By the Sicle of Divine Vengeance before his time which is like to be thy case His Judgment herein was rash and false but not without some appearance of Truth For God had made many Promises not only of spiritual and eternal but also of temporal Blessings to all that should faithfully serve and obey him which accordingly he did from time to time confer upon them as we see by the Examples of Noah Lot Abraham Isaac and Jacob and doubtless many others which had lived in or before their days And this was Gods usual method under all the times of the Old Testament as we see by the People of Israel who were generally either in an happy and flourishing or in an afflicted and miserable State according to their Obedience to God or their Apostacy from him And therefore it is not strange that they fell into this mistake But allowing for this mistake and the consequence of it his uncharitable Opinion of Iob the method which he useth with Iob is commendable and to be imitated by others in their dealing with persons in Sickness or Affliction For he doth not flatter him in his Sins nor immediately and unseasonably apply Comforts to him but endeavours to convince him of his Sins and to bring him to Repentance as the only regular way to his Remedy 8. Even as I have seen p As thou hast never seen any Example of a Righteous man cut off so on the contrary I have seen many Examples of wicked men cut off for their wickedness Or As far as I have observed Or But as I have seen or experienced * Psal. 7. 14. Prov. 22. 8. Hos. 10. 13. they that plough Iniquity and sow Wickedness q They that designedly and industriously work wickedness first plotting and preparing themselves for it and then continuing to pursue and execute it as Husbandmen first plow up and prepare the ground and then cast in the Seed Compare Prov. 22. 8. Hos. 10. 13. reap the same r i. e. Iniquity or such trouble or Injury for so also the Hebrew word Aven signifies as they cause to others Or the fruit of their Iniquity the just Recompence and Punishment of it which is oft called Sin or Iniquity as Gen. 4. 7. Numb 12. 11. and 16. 26. and 32. 23. Compare Gal. 6. 7 8. 9. By the blast of God s To wit Of his Nostrils as it here follows i. e. by his Anger which in Men shews itself in the Nostrils by hot and frequent Breathings there and therefore by an Anthropopathy is ascribed to God by a secret and oft undiscerned but mighty and powerful Judgment of God by which they are blasted and blown away as Chaff by the Wind as the Phrase is Psal. 1. they perish and †That is by his Anger as Isa. 30. 33. Exod. 15. 8. Chap. 1. 19. and 15. 30. Isa. 11. 4. by the Breath of his Nostrils are they consumed 10. The roaring of * Psal. 34. 10. and 35. 17. the Lion and the voice of the fierce Lion t Understand vanisheth or perisheth out of v. 9. or is restrained or suppressed as may be gathered out of the following Branch of this Verse and †Psal. 58. 6. the Teeth of the young Lions are broken u Which is true literally the Lions when taken having most commonly their Teeth broken as antient and modern Writers relate But this is here mystically meant of wicked and Powerful Tyrants who are oft and fitly compared to Lions Ezek. 32. 2. and 38. 13. 2 Tim. 4. 17. who though for a time they persecute and oppress other men yet in due time they are restrained and broken and crushed in pieces by the mighty Power of God appearing against them in some eminent Judgments Possibly he may secretly accuse Iob or his Children or both that being persons of great Wealth and Power in those parts they had wickedly abused it to ruine their Neighbours and therefore were justly cut off 11. The old Lion perisheth for lack of Prey x Because they cannot go abroad to seek it and their young ones either cannot find or do not bring it to them See Psal. 59. 14 15. and 109. 10. and the stout Lions Whelpâ—… are scattered abroad y Gone from their Dens several ways to hunt for Prey and can find none 12. Now z Heb And or Moreover I will further convince thee by a Vision which I had
man who is quite destitute of true i. e. of spiritual and heavenly wisdom taking root m Not only prosperous for the present but as it seemed firm and secure for the future being strongly fortified with power and riches and children too so as there was no appearance nor danger of a change but suddenly n In a moment besides and before mine and his own and all other mens expectation I cursed o Either 1. I judged that he was a cursed creature notwithstanding all his prosperity and I foresaw and foretold it by the Rules of Scripture or the Direction of God's Spirit that he would certainly sooner or later be stript of all his blessings have God's curse fall heavily upon him Or rather 2 I saw perceived by the event which followed his prosperity that he was a man accursed of God For he speaks not in these words of what his estate constantly was even in the midst of his happiness though even then he was really accursed but of what it was by a sudden change his habitation p Or as the Hebrew word signifies his pleasant or commodious habitation persons or things in it or belonging to it being comprehended in that word by an usual Metonymy 4. * Psal 19. 155. His Children q Whose greatness and happiness he designed in all his enterprises supposing that his family was and would be established for ever are far from safety r i. e. Are exposed to great dangers and calamities in this life and can neither preserve themselves nor the great inheritance which their Fathers got and left for them Thus to be far from peace Lam. 3. 17. Is to be involved in desperate troubles and they are crushed in the gate s i. e. In the place of judicature To which they are brought for their offences and where they will find severe judges and few or no friends partly because being wickedly educated and trusting to their own greatness they were insolent and injurious to all their neighbours and partly because those many persons whom their powerful fathers defrauded or oppressed to seek for justice and the recovery of their rights which they easily obtain against such persons as plainly declared by their Actions that they neither feared God nor reverenced man therefore were hated by all sorts of men neither is there any to deliver them t They can find no advocates nor assistants who are either able or willing to help them But like Ishmael as their hand was formerly against every man so now every mans hand is against them 5. Whose harvest u Which they now justly and confidently expect to reap after all their cost and labour for that end but are sadly and suddenly disappointed Which is a great aggravation of their mistry the hungry x i. e. The poor whose necessities make theâ—… greedy and revâ—… nous to eat it all up And from whom he can never recover iâ—… nor any thing in recompence of it cateth up and taketh it even out of the thorns y i. e. Out of the fields notwithstanding the strong thorn-hedges wherewith it is inclosed and sortified and all other dangers or difficulties which may be in their way They will take it though they be scratched and wounded by the thorns about it and the * Chap. 18. 9. robbers z So called from their long hair which such persons nourished either because of their wild savage kind of life which made them neglect the trimming of their hair and body Or that they might look more terribly and so assright all those who should indeavour to oppose them Or the thirsty as the word may signify from another root And so it answers well to the hungry in the former branch swalloweth up a Greedily and so as there is no Hope of Recovering it their substance 6. Although b Or For or rather Because So the following words may contain a reason why he should seek unto God as he exhorts him v. 8. Or Surely as that particle is oft used And so it is a note of his proceeding to another argument ‖ Or iniquity affliction c Or iniquity As this word oft signifies and of this the following sentence is true And so this first branch speaks of sin and the next branch of trouble which is the fruit or sin And both sin and trouble are said to come from the same spring But this word signifies also affliction or misery or trouble as Psal. 90 10 Prov. 12. 21. Which seems most proper here both because it is so explained by the following words trouble and again trouble v. 7. the same thing being repeated in several words as is usual in holy Scripture and because the great thing which troubled Iob and the chief matter of these discourses was Iobs afflictions not his sins cometh not forth of the dust d It springs not up by choice as herbs which grow of their own accord out of the earth Or it comes not from men or creatures here below but it comes from a certain and an higher cause even from God and that for mans sins and therefore thou shouldest seek to him for redress as it follows v. 8. neither doth trouble spring out of the ground 7. Yet man is born unto ‖ Or labour trouble e i. e. He is so commonly exposed to many and various troubles as if he were born to no other end Affliction is become in some sort natural and proper to man and it is together with sin transmitted from parents to Children as their most certain and constant inheritance God having allotted this portion to mankind for their sins And therefore thou takest a wrong course in complaining so bitterly of that which thou shouldest patiently bear as the common lot of mankind and thy right method is to seek unto God who inflicts it and who onely can remove it as †Heb. the sons of the burning coals lift up to fly the sparks fly upward f i. e. As naturally and as generally as the sparks of fire fly upward which do so universally and conssantly Heb. and the sparks c. But the particle and is oft used comparatively for as as Ch. 12. 11. 14. 12. 34. 3. Prov. 25. 24. Mark 9. 49. 8. I would g If I were in thy condition And therefore I would advise thee to the same course seek unto God h To wit by prayer and humiliation and submission imploring his pardon and favour and help and not repine at him and accuse his providence as thou doest and unto God would I commit my cause i i. e. Commend my afflicted condition to him by fervent prayer and resign my self all my concerns to him and humbly hope for relief from him Or propound my matters i. e. Make known my afflictions and requests to him Or put or dispose my words i. e. Pray to him and pour out
and my Cause and not according to the rigours of his justice 16. If I had called p i. e. Prayed as this word is commonly used to wit unto my Judge for a favourable sentence as he now said and therefore it was neeedless here to mention the Object of his Calling or Prayer and he had answered me yet would I not believe that he had hearkned unto my voice q I could not believe that God had indeed granted my Desire though he had done it because I am so infinitely below him and obnoxious to him and still full of the tokens of his displeasure and therefore should conclude that it was but a pleasant Dream or Fancy and not a real thing Compare Psalm 126. 1. 17. For he breaketh me r This is the Reason of his foregoing Diffidence that even when God seemed to answer him in words yet the course of his actions towards him was of a quite contrary nature and tendency with a tempest s As with a Tempest i. â—… unexpectedly violently and irrecoverably and multiplieth my wounds without cause t Not simply without any desert of his or as if he had no sin in him for he oft declares the contrary but without any evident or special cause of such singular Afflictions i. e. any peculiar and extraordinary guilt such as my Friends charge me with 18. He will not suffer me to take my breath u My pains and miseries are continual and I have not so much as a breathing-time free from them but 〈◊〉 me with bitterness x My Afflictions are not only long and uninterrupted but also exceeding sharp and violent contrary to the common course of God's Providence 19. If I speak of strength y If my Cause were to be decided by power lo he is strong z i. e. stronger than I. and if of judgment a If I would contend with him in a way of right who shall set me a time to plead b There is no superiour Judge that can summon him and me together and appoint us a time of pleading before him and oblige us both to stand to his Sentence and therefore I must be contented to sit down with the loss 20. If I justifie my self c If I plead against God mine own Righteousness and Innocency mine own mouth shall condemn me d God is so infinitely wise and just that he will find sufficient matter of condemnation from my own words though spoken with all possible care and circumspection or he will discover so much wickedness in me of which I was not aware that I shall be forced to joyn with him in condemning my self if I say I am perfect e If I were perfect in my own opinion If I thought my self compleatly righteous and faultless it f i. e. My own mouth as he now said Or he i. e. God who is easily understood by comparing this with the former Verses where the same he is oft mentioned shall also prove me perverse 21. Though I were perfect yet would I not know my soul I would despise my life g i. e. Though God should acquit me in Judgment and pronounce me perfect or righteous yet would I not know i. e. regard or value as that word is oft used my soul i. e. my life as the soul frequently signifies as Gen. 19. 17. Iob 2. 6. Iohn 10. 15 17. and as it is explained in the following branch where life is put for soul and despising for not knowing and so the same thing is repeated in differing words and the latter clause explains the former which was more dark and doubtful according to the usage of sacred Scripture So the sense is Though God should give sentence for me yet I should be so overwhelmed with the dread and terrour of the Divine Majesty that I should be weary of my life And therefore I abhor the thoughts of contending with my Maker whereof you accuse me and yet I have reason to be weary of my life and to desire death Or thus If I say I am perfect as the very same Hebrew words are rendred v. 20. i. e. If I should think my self perfect yet I would not know i. e. not acknowledge my soul I could not own nor plead before God the perfection and integrity of my soul but would onely make supplication to my Judge as he said v. 16. and flee to his grace and mercy I would abhor or reject or condemn my life i. e. my conversation So the sense is I would not insist upon nor trust to the integrity either of my soul and heart or of my life so as to justifie my self before the pure and piercing Eyes of the all-seeing God 22. This is one thing h In the other things which you have spoken of God's greatness justice c. I do not contend with you but thi one thing I do and must affirm against you therefore I said it i I did not utter it rashly but upon deep consideration he de stroyeth the perfect and the wicked k God sends afflictions promiscuously upon good and bad men Compare Psal. 73. 2 c. Eccles. 9. 2. Ier. 12. 1 c. 23. If the scourge slay suddenly l Either 1. If some common and deadly Judgment come upon a people which destroys both good and bad Or 2. If God inflicts some grievous and unexpected stroke upon an innocent person as it follows he will laugh at the trial of the innocent m As he doth at the destruction of the wicked Psal. 2. 4. His outward carriage is the same to both he neglects the innocent and seems not to answer their prayers and suflers them to perish with others as if he took pleasure in their râ—…ne also But withal he intimates the matter and cause of this laughter or complacency which God takes in their afflictions because to them they are but trials of their saith and patience and perseverance which tends to God's honour and their own eternal advantage 24. The earth n i. e. The possession and dominion of men and things on earth is given o To wit by God the great Lord and disposer of it by his providence into the hand of the wicked p Into their power As good men are scourged v. 23. so the wicked are advanced and prospered in this world he covereth the faces of the Judges thereof q i. e. He blinds their eyes that they cannot discern between truth and falshood justice and unrighteousness He. Who Either 1. the wicked last mentioned who either by power or by gifts corrupts the Officers of justice Or rather 2. God whom the pronoun he designed all along this Chapter Who is oft said to blind the minds of men which he doth not positively by making them blind but privatively by withdrawing his own light and leaving them to their own mistakes and lusts Or by Iudges he may here mean
find him out deeper than hell what canst thou know r Concerning him and his ways which are far out of thy sight and reach 9. The measure thereof is longer than the earth r From one end to the other and broader than the sea s Which is called the great and wide sea Psalm 104. 25. 10. * Chap. 9. 12. If he ‖ Or make a change cut off t To wit a Person or a Family and shut up u In a Prison or in the hands of an Enemy This shutting up is opposed to the opening of the prison-doors and to that enlargement which God is elsewhere said to give to men or gather together x Either 1. in a way of judgment as a like word is used Psalm 26. 9. Gather not my soul with sinners Or rather 2. in a way of mercy as this word is generally used in Scripture this being every where promised by God to his people as an eminent mercy that he would gather them together So this is opposed to the former actions and the sense of the place is whether it pleaseth God to scatter a Family or to gather them together from their dispersions then †Heb. who can turn him away who can hinder him y From doing what he pleaseth and designeth with his own Creatures Who can restrain him either by giving Law to him or by force and power Or who can contradict or answer him or object against him or retort or return upon him i. e. charge him with injustice in such proceedings Which sense may seem to agree best both with the scope of the place and state of the question between him and Iob which was not whether any man could resist God's power but whether he could question his justice and with the following Verse 11. For * Ps. 10. 11 14. 35. 22. he knoweth vain man z Though men know but little of God and therefore are very unfit Judges of all his Counsels and Actions yet God knows man exactly and his vanity or â—…abhood or folly or rashness for all these this word signifies He knoweth that every man in the World is guilty of much vanity and folly and therefore seeth sufficient reason for his severity against the best men such as thou O Iob fanciest thy self to be and if thou wert so thou hast no reason to wonder at or quarrel with his proceedings And if thy quarrel be that he shuts thee up or cuts thee off when he gathers others under his wing and protection whom thou thinkest or knowest to be worse than thy self while thou doest impeach his justice thou doest but betray thy own vanity and folly For he knows both whom he chastiseth and whom he spareth and why he doth it though he do not acquaint thee with the reasons of all his actions he seeth wickedness also a As he knoweth the vanity of all men so he exactly perceiveth the wickedness of evil men though it be covered with the Veil of Religion He seeth thy evil heart which discovers it self by such wicked and scandalous speeches against the justice and goodness of his Providence which gives him just cause to continue and encrease thy miseries Though thou art partial and flatterest thy self with a conceit of thy own Integrity yet he knoweth thy hypocrisie and wickedness will he not then consider it b Shall he only see it as an idle Spectator and not observe it as a Judge to requite and punish it 12. For †Heb. empty or hollow * Ps. 73. 22. 92. 6. Eccl. 3. 18. vain man would be wise c Or Yet or But vain or empty man that foolish Creature that since the fall is void of all true wisdom and solid knowledge and judgment of the things of God would be wise i. e. pretends to be and would be thought wise and able to pass a censure upon all God's ways and works Or thus But vain man is foolish or without heart i. e. without understanding unable to judge aright of the ways and things of God For a Verb very like this and coming from the same Root signifies to have ones heart taken away Cant. 4. 9. though man be born d And man is born i. e. he is by his birth such this evil is now natural and hereditary and therefore common to all men and therefore it is not strange if Iob partake of the common distemper like a wild asses colt e i. e. Ignorant and dull and stupid as to the knowledge of divine things and withal heady and untractable and therefore very incompetent to judge of these high affairs 13. * Ch. 5. 8. 22. 21. If thou f O Iob thy business is not to quarrel with thy Maker or his Works but to address thy self to him prepare thine heart g To wit to seek God as it is expressed 2 Chron. 19. 3. 30. 19. Psalm 78. 8. If thou prepare thy heart by sincere repentance for all thy hard speeches of God and fins against him and with a pure and upright heart seek unto him without which thy prayers will be in vain Or If thou directest or rectifiest thine heart turning thy bold contentions with God into humble and sincere supplications to him and stretch out thine hands h i. e. Pray which is here described by its usual gesture as Chap. 15. 25. Psalm 88. 9. towards him i i. e. To God as appears both from the nature of the thing and from the Context 14. If iniquity be in thine hand k Either 1. If thou hast in thine hand or possession any Goods got by injury or oppression as it seems they supposed that he had Or 2. more generally If thou allowest thy self in any sinful practises The hand is put for action Whereof it is the Instrument put it far away l Keep thy self aâ—… a great distance not only from such actions but also from the very occasions and appearances of them and let not wickedness dwell m Let it not have a quiet and settled abode or allowance in thy tabernacles n i. e. In thy habitation i. e. either in thy self or in thy family whose sins Iob was obliged as far as he could to prevent or reform as he had done Chap. 1. 5. He saith Tabernacles because anciently the habitations of great men consisted of several Tents or Tabernacles as we see Gen. 24. 67. 31. 33. 15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face o Which notes chearfulness and holy boldness and confidence as a dejected Countenance notes grief and shame See Gen. 4. 5 6. 2 Sam. 2. 22. Iob 22. 26. Luke 21. 28. without spot p Or Being without spot So it is only an Ellipsis of the Verb Substantive which is most frequent And this fitly follows as the ground of his confidence because he should in this case have a clear and unspotted Conscience and a
unto thee 9. Who knoweth not in all these q Or by all these Brute-creatures that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this r That God by his power and wisdom hath created and ordered all this which is in them or is done by and among them 10. * Num. 16. 22. In whose hand s i. e. At whose absolute disposal it is to give it or take it away when and how it seemeth good to him is the ‖ Or life soul t The Life or the Soul the Principle of Life of every living thing u i. e. Of all unreasonable Creatures of which he spoke v. 7. opposed to man in the last words and the breath x Or the spirit as that word is commonly used i. e. the Immortal Soul which is no less a Creature and in Gods power to dispose of it than the Animal Soul of unreasonable Creatures of †Heb. all flesh of man all mankind 11. * Chap. 34. 3. Doth not the ear try words and the †Heb. pâ—…late Chap. 6. 30. mouth tast his meat y As the Mouth tasteth and thereby judgeth of Meats and as it liketh or disliketh so it receiveth or rejecteth what is put into it so it is the Office of the Ear or rather of the Mind which hears and receives the Opinions and Discourses of others by the Ear not rashly to approve or condemn every thing which it hears but diligently and thoroughly to search and try whether it be true and so to be embraced or false and to be rejected Interpreters are much puzzled about the connexion and design of these words But they seem to be either 1. An Apology for himself why he did not comply with their Opinion and Arguments because they did not suit with his Ear or Mind and though he had considered and tried them he could not discern any weight in them Or rather 2. a Reproof to his Friends that they did so hastily condemn his Person and his Doctrine without a strict and serious enquiry Or 3. a Preface to his following Discourse whereby he invites them to hear and judge of his Words and Arguments more candidly and impartially and not to scorn all that he said because of his present poverty and misery as men aâ—…â—…ase use to do nor to cast away the good for any mixture of bad with it but calmly to weigh and debate things both within and among themselves and with him that they and he too might all agree in disallowing whatsoever should appear to be false and owning of every truth 12. With the ancient is Wisdom and in length of days Understanding z These words contain a concession of what Bildad had said ch 8. 8 9. and a joining with him in that appeal but withal an intimation that this Wisdom was but sinite and imperfect and liable to many mistakes and indeed meer Ignorance and Folly if compared with the divine Wisdom of which he speaks in the next and following Verses And therefore that antiquity which they pretended for their Opinion ought not to be received against the Oracles or Truths of the eternal and most wise God 13. ‖ That is with God With him a i. e. With God the Relative being put for the Antecedent which is easily and necessarily understood out of the scope of the place and all the following Verses is Wisdom b Perfect Wisdom is only in him and all Wisdom in the World cometh from him who giveth to old or young as iâ—… pleaseth him The ancient are not wise without his Giâ—… and Gâ—…ce and with that a younger Man may be wiser than the Ancients 〈◊〉 David was Psal. 119. 100. and strength he hath Counsel and Understanding c Counsel i. e. Practical Wisdom to guide all the Affairs of the World and Understanding or a speculative knowledge of all persons and things Chap. 36. 5. 14. Behold he * Chap. 11. 10. breaketh down d To wit Houses Castles Cities which God designeth to destroy utterly and it cannot be built again he ‖ 〈◊〉 22. 22. Rev. 3. 7. shutteth †Heb. upon up e If he will shut up a man in Prison or in any straits or troubles a man and there can be no opening f Without Gods Permission and Providence 15. Behold he withholdeth the waters g Which are reserved in the Clouds that they may not fall upon the Earth and they h i. e. The Waters upon the Earth Ponds and Springs and Brooks and Rivers dry up also he sendeth them out and they overturn the Earth 16. With him is strength and Wisdom i He doth the things here mentioned in the foregoing and succeeding Verses and that both powerfully so as no Creature can resist and hinder him and wisely so as none can prevent and over-reach him The same thing he had said before v. 13. but he repeats it here to prepare the way for the following events which are eminent Instances both of his Power and Wisdom the deceived and the deceiver are his k i. e. From or by him and wholly subject to his disposal That one man deceiveth another and that the other is deceived by him either in Divine or Civil and Worldly things which seem to be principally intended here by comparing the following Verses this is from God and by the conduct of his wise and powerful Providence God giveth to the deceiver more Wit and Knowledge and Art and withal opportunity and all favourable Circumstances for his deceit He also gives less Understanding to the deceived and withdraws from him either wholly or in part that common light of discretion which is his free Gift and he may justly give or take away as he pleaseth and leaves him to his own Ignorance and Errour Pride and Self-conceit and to all those Prejudices Passions and Lusts which commonly corrupt mens Minds and to the Power and Crafts of Satan that grand deceiver He governs the Deceiver and sets bounds to his Deceits to whom and when and how far they shall extend as is manifest from Deut. 13. 1. 1 King 22. 20. Isa. 19. 14. Ezek. 14. 9. Mat. 24. 24. 2 Thes. 2. 11. Rev. 20. 3 8. He also over-rules all this to his own Glory and the accomplishment of his righteous Designs of trying the good and punishing wicked men by giving them up to believe Lies Yet God is not the cause or Author of any error or sin but only the wise and holy Governour and Disposer of it 17. He leadeth Counsellors away spoiled l The wise Counsellors or Statesmen by whom the affairs of Kings and Kingdoms are ordered he leadeth away as Captives in triumph being sâ—…oiled either of that Wisdom which they had or seemed or pretended to have or of that Power and dignity which they had enjoyed and maketh the Judges Fools m Partly by discovering their Folly and partly by infatuating their
wit his Consumâ—…tion and utter Destruction which was making haste towards him Or 2 God of whom he hitherto spoke in the second Person and now in the third Person such changes of persons being very frequent in poetical Writings such as this is So he continueth the former Discourse and as before he mentioned Gods severe Enquiry into his ways and Sentence against him so here he describes the Consequence and dreadful Execution of it upon him He i. e. God consumeth for the Verb is Active me as rottenness consumeth that in which it is or as a rotten thing is consumed and as a Moth which eateth a Garment as a rotten thing consumeth as a Garment that is Moth-eaten CHAP. XIV 1. MAn that is born of a Woman a This expression is here used either 1. To intimate the cause of Mans Misery that he was born of Woman a weak Creature 1 Pet. 3. 7. and withal corrupt and sinful and of that Sex by which sin and all calamity was brought into the world See Ch. 15. 14. Gen. 3. 17. 1 Tim. 2. 13 4. Or 2. To note the Universality of the thing Every man every Mothers Son as we use to speak Mens Fathers are oft times unknown and uncertain but their Mothers are always definite and certain One man was then to be born and afterwards was born without an earthly Father to wit our Lord and Saviour Christ but no man was ever born without a Mother is †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 days of few days b A short liv'd Creature in himself and therefore needs no violent hand to cut him off because he withereth so soon of his own accord and * Eccles. 2. 23. full of trouble c And therefore a fitter Object for divine Compassion than for his â—…ury or severity He chiefly intendeth himself but he expresseth it thus generally partly to relieve himself with the thoughts of the common Calamities of Mankind and partly to move God with the consideration of the frailty and misery of humane Nature and consequently of his condition 2. * Chap. â—… 9. Pâ—… 90. 5 6. 102. 11. 103. 15. 144. 4. Isa. 4â—… 6. Jam. 1. 10 11. 1 Pet. 1. â—…4 He cometh forth d Out of his Mothers Womb Ch. 1. 21. like a Flower e Which quickly groweth up and maketh a fair shew but soon withereth or is cut down and is cut down he fleeth also as a shadow f Which being made by the Sun follows its motions and is in perpetual variation until at last it quite vanish and disappear and continueth not 3. And dost thou open thine Eyes upon such an one g Either 1. To take thought or care about him Or rather 2. To observe all his ways that thou maist find cause of Punishment He is not a fit match for thee It is below thee to contend with him and to use thy infinite Wisdom and Power to crush him This seems best to suit with the scope and context and bringest me into judgment with thee h i. e. Pleadest with me by thy Judgments and thereby in a manner forcest me to plead with thee without granting me those Two necessary and favourable conditions expressed Ch. 13. 20 21. 4. †Heb. 〈◊〉 will give Who * Gen. 5. 3. Psal. 51. 5. Joh. 3. 6. Rom. 5. 12. Ephes. 2. 3. can bring a clean thing out of an unclean i I do not say I am clean as Zophar pretendeth Ch. 11. 4. but confess that I am a very unclean Creature and therefore liable to thy Justice if thou wiltst deal rigorously with me but remember that this is not my peculiar case but the common lot of every Man who coming from sinful Parents and being infected with original Corruption must unavoidably be unclean Why then doest thou inflict such peculiar and extraordinary Judgments upon me for that which is common to all men And although my original Corruption do not excuse my actual Sins yet I hope it may procure some mitigation to my punishments and move thy divine Pitty which oft sheweth itself upon such occasions See Gen. 8. 21. Not one k i. e. No man can cleanse himself or any other from all sin See 1 Kin. 8. 46. Psal. 14. 3. Eccles. 7. 21. This is the Prorogative of thy Grace which therefore I humbly implore of thee 5. Seeing his days l The days or as it follows months of his Life are determined m Are by thy Sentence and Decree limited to a certain period the number of his Months are †Ch. 7. 1. with thee n i. e. Exactly known to thee Or in thy power and disposal thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass o Thou hast appointed a certain end of his days beyond which he cannot prolong his Life And therefore let this short Life and unavoidable Death suffice for mans punishment and do not add further and sorer Calamities 6. * Ch. 7. 16 19. Turn from him p Withdraw thine afflicting Hand from him that he may †Heb. 〈◊〉 rest q That he may have some present comfort and ease Or and let it cease to wit the affliction which is sufficiently implied Others and let him cease to wit to live i. e. Take away my life But that seems not to agree with the following clause of this Verse nor with the succeeding Verses till he shall accomplish as * Chap. â—… 1. an hireling his day r Give him some respite till he finish his course and come to the period of his Life which thou hast allotted to him as a man appoints a set time to a mercenary servant 7. For there is hope of a Tree if it be cut down that it will sprout again s But man though a far nobler Creature is in a much worse condition and when once he loseth this present and Worldly Life he never recovers it Therefore shew some pity to him and give him some Comfort whilest he lives and that the tender branch thereof will not cease 8. Though the root thereof wax old t Begin to wither and decay in the Earth and the stock thereof die u To wit in outward appearance in the †〈◊〉 ground 9. Yet through the sent of Water x i. e. By means of Water Sent or Smell is figuratively ascribed to a Tree it will bud and bring forth boughs like a Plant y Like a Tree newly planted 10. But man dieth and †〈…〉 wasteth away z His body by degrees rotting away Or and is cut off as this word is used Exod. 17. 13. Isa. 14. 12. yea man giveth up the Ghost and where is he a i. e. He is no where or he is not to wit in this World as that Phrase is commonly used See Iob 3. 16. 7. 8 21. 11. As the Waters fail from the Sea and the flood decayeth and drieth up b
destruction expressed v. 12. and designed by this particle it v. 13. shall not come upon him and his for a season for then there might be some hopes of Recovery but it shall fix its abode with him because it is none of his m This may be added either 1. By way of correction did I say his Tabernacle I must retract the expression for in truth it is none of his it is become another mans Or 2. As a reason of the ruine of his Tabernacle because it is none of his own but got from others by deceit or violence But these words are and may be joined with the former and both thus rendred A stranger Heb. one that is not his that is not descended from him and hath no relation to him shall dwell in his Tabernacle i. e. shall possess his House and Goods brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation n It shall be utterly and prodigiously destroyed as it were by Fire and Brimstone He seems to allude both to the destruction of Sodom upon which God did scatter Brimstone and Fire which happened not long before these times and could not be unknown to them who lived near that place and were diligent observers of Gods works and to the judgment which beâ—…el Iob Ch. 1. 16. when the stranger hath taken and rifled his dwelling he shall forsake it as an accursed place and shall burn it with Fire and Brimstone that there may be no monument of so vile a person left upon the Earth 16. His roots shall be dried up beneath and above shall his branch be cut off o i. e. He shall be destroyed both root and branch i. e. both himself and all his posterity Compare Mal. 4. 1. 17. * Psal. 109. 13. Prov. 2. 22. 10. 7. His remembrance shall perish p Instead of that Honour and Renown which he designed to have both whilest he lived and after his death he is not so much as remembred unless it be with contempt and reproach from the Earth and he shall have no name in the street 18. †Heb. 〈◊〉 shall 〈◊〉 He shall be driven q Heb. They shall drive him i. e. his Enemies or those whom he hath oppressed or they whom God shall appoint to do it whether Angels or men Or it is an impersonal Speech and to be rendred passively as it is also Iob 7. 3. Luk. 12. 20. 16. 9. from light into darkness r From a splendid and prosperous Life to disgrace and misery and to the Grave the Land of Darkness and Forgetfulness as the following words explain it and chased out of the World 19. * Isa. 14. 2â—… Jer. 22. 3â—… He shall neither have Son nor Nephew among his People s But if any such survive they shall be in the hands and power of strangers or rather of their Enemies nor any remaining in his dwellings 20. They that come after him shall be astonied at his day t i. e. At the day of his destruction as the word day is used Psal. 37. 13. 137. 7. Ezek. 21. 25. Obad. 12. They shall be amazed at the suddenness and dreadfulness and prodigiousness of it as Iob's Friends were at his Calamities Ch. 2. 12 13. as they that ‖ Or 〈◊〉 with 〈◊〉 went before u i. e. Before the persons last mentioned Those who lived in the time and place where this judgment was inflicted †Heb. 〈◊〉 â—…old or 〈◊〉 were affrighted x Or filled with horrour partly through Humanity and Compassion and partly for Fear lest the Judgment should overtake them also 21. Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked and this is the place of him that knoweth not God y i. e. Who doth not acknowledge nor fear nor serve God as this Phrase is used 1 Sam. 2. 12. Psal. 79. 6. 2 Thes. 1. 8. CHAP. XIX 1. THen Job answered and said 2. How long will ye vex my Soul and break me in pieces with words a With meer empty words void of Sense or Argument with your impertinent and unedifying discourses and bitter reproaches as it followeth 3. These ten times b i. e Many times A certain number for an uncertain So this Phrase is oft used as Gen. 31. 7. Numb 14. 22 c. have ye reproached me ye are not ashamed that ye ‖ Or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gainst me make your selves strange to me c That you carry your selves like strangers to me and are not concerned nor affected with my Calamities and condemn me as if you had never known my former Piety and Integrity 4. And be it indeed that I have erred d If my Opinion in this point be faulty and erroneous as you pretend it is Or if I have sinned for sin is oft called errour in Scripture and am therefore punished mine errour remaineth with my self e Either 1. It is likely to continue I see no cause from your reasons to change my Judgment Or 2. I suffer deeply for my sins and therefore deserve your pity and help rather than your reproaches whereby you add affliction to the afflicted 5. If indeed ye will magnifie your selves against me f i. e. Use lofty and imperious and contemptuous Speeches against me Or seek Praise and Honour from others by your conquering or out-reasoning of me So called either 1. Your reproaches of me If your reproachful and censorious Speeches must pass for solid Arguments Or 2. My wickedness which if true were just matter of reproach and the cause of all my miseries Or 3. My contemptible and calamitous condition for which you reproach and condemn me as an Hypocrite and wicked man and plead against me my reproach g 6. Know now h Consider what I am now saying that God hath overthrown me i Hath grievously afflicted me in all kinds Therefore it ill becomes you to aggravate my miseries and if my passions hereby raised have broken forth into some extravagant and unmeet expressions I might expect your pitty and favourable construction and not such severe censures and reproaches Heb. God hath perverted me i. e. either my state or condition as was now said or my right and cause He oppresseth me with power and will not give me a fair hearing as it follows v. 7. He giveth me very hard measure and dealeth worse with me than I might in reason and justice expect from so wise and gracious a God This is an harsh reflection upon God but such passages have sometimes come from good men when under sore afflictions and temptations which was Iob's case and hath compassed me with his Net k i. e. With afflictions on every side so that I cannot escape nor get any freedom to come to him and plead with him as I desire 7. Behold I cry out l To wit unto God by Prayer or Appeal of †Or 〈◊〉 wrong m That I am oppressed either 1. by my Friends Or rather
And so here to strip the naked is by stripping them to make them naked 7. Thou hast not given water o Surely thou hast been so hard hearted as to deny a Cup of cold Water to those that needed and desired it Water was oft times scarce and precious in those hot Countries and was appropriated to particular persons without whose leave other persons might not take it to the weary p i. e. To him who by reason of hard labour or Travel is weary and thirsty So this word is used Prov. 25. 25. to drink and thou hast with-holden Bread from the hungry q To whom it was due by Gods Law Prov. 3. 27. which also was known to Iob by the light of Nature Hereby he intimates the greatness of this Sin of Uncharitableness by ranking it with heinous crimes whereas Iob as he thought esteemed it but a small fault if any 8. But as for †Heb. 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 the mighty man he had the Earth r Heb. And or but the man of Arm or Strength or Power to him was the Earth or the Land i. e. he had the firm possession or free enjoyment of it Which is meant either 1. Of Iob of whom he speaks invidiously in the third person The mighty man Iob possessed and enlarged and enjoyed his Estate without any compassion to the poor Or rather 2. Of other rich and potent men who had the Earth or Land either 1. By Iob's judicial Sentence which was generally given in favour of the rich and against the poor Or 2. By Iob's kindness and courtesie The rich were always welcom to him his house was open to them his Land was before them when the poor were driven away from his House and Territories and the †Heb. 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Kings 5. Isa. 3. 3. honourable man dwelt in it s Either by thy sentence or permission he had a peaceable and sure possession of it He repeateth the same thing in other words 9. Thou hast sent Widows t Whose helpless Estate called for thy pity Exod. 22. 22. Deut. 24. 17 19. away empty u Either by denying them that Relief which their poverty required or that right which their cause deserved or by spoiling them of their Goods because thou knewest them to be unable to oppose thee or to right themselves and the Arms x i. e. All their supports and comforts and rights An heinous sin but falsly charged upon Iob. of the Fatherless have been broken 10. Therefore y For these and the like crimes The cause of thy ruine is not secret from Gods soveraign Power and unsearchable Judgments as thou pretendest but plain and manifest even thy own crying sins Snares are round about thee z Thou art encompassed with dangers and calamities and sudden fear a Beside thy present miseries thou art tormented with the dread and expectation of further and sorer Judgments troubleth thee 11. Or darkness b Either 1. A darkness and confusion of mind so great that thou canst not discern the true cause and use of all thy sufferings Or 2. Grievous Calamities which are oft called darkness which are such that thou canst see no way nor possibility of escaping Either thou art troubled with fear of further evils as it is said v. 10. or with the gross darkness of thy present state of misery that thou canst not see and abundance of Waters c i. e. Plenty and variety of sore afflictions which are frequently compared to Waters as Psal. 18. 16. 66. 12. Isa. 43. 2. cover thee 12. Is not God in the height of Heaven d Surely he is and from that high Tower he looketh down upon men Psal. 14. 2. to behold and govern and recompense all their actions whether good or bad And therefore O Iob thou art grosly mistaken in thinking that all things in this lower world are managed by chance and without any regard to Justice or to just men and not by the wise and holy Providence of God For this is the genuine Consequence of thy great Principle that good men suffer as deeply as any others whilest the vilest of men are exalted and flourish and behold †Heb. 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 Sâ—… the height of the Stars how high they are e Yet God is far higher than they and from thence can easily spy all men and things here below as the highest places afford the best prospects 13. And f Or Therefore From this true and certain principle thou drawest this false and wicked Conclusion Or Yet notwithstanding this undeniable Argument thou sayest g Thou reasonest thus within thy self as it may seem by thy discourses ‖ Or 〈◊〉 how doth God know h i. e. God cannot discern and therefore doth not mind things so far below him and distant from him * Psal. 〈◊〉 â—…9 â—… 73. 11. 〈◊〉 7. can he judge through the dark Cloud i i. e. Through those immense and innumerable Clouds which lie between the Heaven and the Earth although our eyes see but few of them 14. Thick clouds are a covering to him that he seeth not and he walketh in the circuit of heaven k His conversation and business and delight is in the higher and heavenly World which is worthy of his care but he will not disparage nor burden himself with the care of this contemptible spot of earth which was the opinion of many heathen Philosophers and as they fancied was Iob's opinion also 15. Hast thou marked the †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 way So old way l Heb. The way of antiquity i. e. of men living in ancient times or former ages By this way is here meant either 1. their course or common practice Or 2. their end or success as the way is taken 1 Sam. 9. 6 8. and as death which is and is called the end of all men Eccles. 72. is also called the way of all the earth Jos. 23. 14. 1 Kings 2. 2. which wicked men have troden 16. Which were cut down out of time m i. e. Before their time who died a violent and untimely death †〈…〉 whose foundation was overflown with a floud n Who together with their foundation to wit the earth and all their supports and enjoyments in it were destroyed by the general Deluge which doubtless was very well known to them because they lived not long after it and which was most proper for this Argument Or whose foundation i. e. all their power and riches and policy upon which they build all their hopes and happiness was like a flood poured forth which made a great shew and noise for a time but speedily vanished and came to nothing 17. * 〈…〉 Which said unto God Depart from us and what can the Almighty do ‖ 〈…〉 for them o He reports Iob's words Chap. 21. 14 15. where they are explained but to a contrary
a long time in searching and judging to find them out And this and the other Acts mentioned in this Verse are to be understood of God solely and exclusively it being here as it is oft elsewhere in this Book sufficiently implied that this kind of divine Wisdom which consists in the accurate knowledge of all Gods Counsels and works is far above out of man's reach Man doth not see this Wisdom but only so far as God is pleased to reveal it to him and therefore he cannot declare it to others man did not prepare nor order nor contriâ—… it and therefore no wonder if he cannot search it out And so this is most fitly connected with the following Verse For as here he tells us what Wisdom is denied to man so there he informeth us what is granted to him 28. And a Or rather But For this is added by way of opposition to shew that mans Wisdom doth not lie in a curious enquiry into or an exact knowledge of the secret paths of Gods Counsel and Providence but in things of another and of a lower nature unto man b Unto Adam at first and in and with him to all his Race and Posterâ—…ty he said c i. e. God spake it partly and at first inwardly to the mind of Man in which God wrote this with his own Finger and engraved it as a first Principle for his direction and partly afterwards by the Holy Patriarchs and Prophets and other Teachers of his Church whom God sent into the World to teach men true Wisdom which accordingly they did not by acquainting the People with the secrets and intricacies of Gods Counsel and Providence but by declaring the revealed Will of God and instructing them in their duty towards God and Men making this their great if not only business to make men wise unto Salvation See Deut. 4. 6. 29. 29. behold d Which expression notes the great importance of this Doctrine and withal man's dulness and backwardness to apprehend and consider it and man's proneness to place his Wisdom in vain and curious speculations * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—… 〈◊〉 Eccâ—… 1â—… 〈◊〉 the fear of the LORD e i. e. True Religion and the right Worship of God both inward and outward all which cometh under this name that is wisdom f In that only consists mans true Wisdom because that and that only is his duty and his safety and happiness both for this Life and for the next and withal this is attainable whereas the depths of Gods ways are unknown and unsearchable to humane or created Capacities and to depart from evil g i. e. From 〈◊〉 which is called evil eminently as being the chief if not the only Evil and the cause of all other evils and that which is constantly and immutably evil whereas afflictions are frequently made good and highly beneficial Religion consists of two Branches doing good and forsaking evil the former is expressed in the former clause of this Verse and the latter in these words is understanding h Is the best kind of Knowledge or Wisdom to which man can attain in this Life The same thing is here twice expressed in several Phrases And the design of Iob in this close of his Discourse is not only to shew the mistake and reprove the Arrogance and boldness of his Friends in prying into Gods secrets and passing such a rash censure upon him and upon Gods ways and carriage towards him but also to vâ—…ndicate himself from the imputation of Hypocrifie and Profaneness which they fastened upon him by shewing that he had ever esteemed it to be his best Wisdom and true Interest to fear God and to depart from evil CHAP. XXIX 1. MOreover Job †Heb. 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 up continued his Parable and said 2. Oh that I were as in months past as in the days when God preserved me a To wit from all those miseries which now I feel This he desires not only for his own Ease and comfort but also for the vindication of his Reputation and of the honour of Religion which suffered by his means For as his calamities were the only ground of all their hard Speeches and censures of him as a man for saken and hated by God so he rightly judged that this ground being removed and his prosperity restored his Friends would take it for a token of Gods favour to him and beget in them a milder and better opinion of him 3. When his ‖ Or 〈◊〉 Candle b i. e. His Favour and Blessing oft signified by the name light as his displeasure and a state of affliction is frequently called darkness shined upon my head c Or over my bead to comfort and direct me The ground of the Expression is this that lights used to be carried and set on high that men may make the better use of them as the Sun for that end was placed above us and when by his light I walked through darkness d I passed safely through many difficulties and dangers and common calamities which befell others who lived round about me and overcame those troubles which fell upon my self 4. As I was in the days of my youth e i. e. In my former and flourishing days which he calls the days of Youth because those are commonly the times of mirth and comfort as Old-age is called evil days Eccles. 12. 1. when the secret of God was upon my Tabernacle f When there was a secret Blessing of God upon me and my Family protecting directing and succeeding us in all our affairs which the Devil observed Ch. 1. 10. whereas now there is a visible curse of God upon me and mine 5. When the Almighty was yet with me g i. e. On my side whereas now he is against me and hath forsaken me when my Children h Or servants or both and therefore he useth this word which comprehends both were about me 6. When I washed my steps with ‖ butter i i. e. When I abounded in all sorts of Blessings which is oft signified by this or the like Phrases as Gen. 49. 11. Deut. 33. 24. Iob 20. 17. Psal. 81. 16. When I had such numerous Herds of Cattle and consequently such plenty of Butter that if I had needed it or been pleased so to use it I might have washed my Feet with it and the 〈◊〉 Rock poured †me out Rivers of Oil k When not only fruitful fields but even barren and rocky places such as that part of Arabia was where Iob lived yielded me Olive Trees and Oil in great plenty See on Deut. 32. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 7. When I went out l From my dwelling to the gate m To wit of the City as the following words shew to the place of Judicature which was in the Gates as hath been oft observed through the City n Through that part of the City which was between
to him through the Mediatour and sincerely repenting of and turning from his former sins unto the serious practice of righteousness and true holiness and therefore must needs be favourable to him as he hath declared and ingaged himself to be in such cases 27. ‖ 〈…〉 He looketh upon men u Either 1. the sick Man shall look upon and converse with Mankind his Friends or others as he did before and shall say as the following word is and may be rendred I have sinned c. i. e. He shall confess to them that God was not to be blamed but that he by his own sin and folly did bring that evil upon himself And then he shall acknowledge God's great goodness to him and shall add what follows in the next Verse He hath delivered my Soul c. and my life c. as they render it Or rather 2. God diligently observes all Mankind and their several carriages especially in sickness and distress and if any say I have sinned x If there be any Man that sincerely saith thus God hears it and will pardon and heal him as it follows and perverted that which was right y Either 1. I have judged perversly of the just and right ways of God censuring his proceedings against me as too severe and rigorous whereas in truth I only was to be blamed Or 2. I have perverted God's righteous Law by bending it and making it comply with my crooked ways Or I have swerved from the right and good way of God's commands or I have made crooked paths So he repeats in other words what he said in the former branch of the Verse I have sinned and it profited me not z I got no good by so doing as I vainly promised my self but I got much hurt by it even diseases and griefs and extreme dangers This was the just fruit of my sins It is a Meiosis whereby less is said and more is understood of which we have seen many examples before 28. ‖ 〈…〉 He a i. e. God whose work alone this is will deliver his soul b Himself or as it follows his life from going into the pit and his life c See on v. 18. shall see the light d i. e. Shall enjoy either 1. prosperity which is oft called light as darkness is put for affliction or 2. the light of the living as it follows v. 30. the light of this World i. e. His life which was endangered shall be restored and continued This is opposed to his going down into the Pit in the former branch 29. Lo all these things worketh God e All these ways and methods doth God use to awaken and convince and save sinners †〈…〉 oftentimes with man f Either severally one way with one and another way with another or with the same Man trying several means one after another to bring him to repentance and prepare him for deliverance 30. * 〈◊〉 â—…6 13. To bring back his soul from the pit to be enlightned with the light of the living g i. e. That he may enjoy the light of life and continue in the Land of the Living out of which he was going 31. Mark well O Job hearken unto me hold thy peace h Attend to what I have further to say to thee with patience and silence and I will speak 32. If thou hast any thing to say i answer me speak for I desire to justifie thee k For thy own justification or in answer to the charge that I have already brought against thee k To wit as far as may consist with Truth and Justice I do not speak with evil design or a bitter mind or as one resolved to condemn thee whatsoever thou sayest and I shall be glad to hear any thing from thee which may make for thy just vindication 33. If not hearken unto me hold thy peace and I shall teach thee wisdom l i. e. What thy wisdom and duty is in thy circumstances CHAP. XXXIV 1. FUrthermore Elihu answered and said 2. Hear my words O ye wise men a Who are here present do you judge of the truth and reason of what I have said and am further to say for I am willing to submit all to the judgment of the truly wise and give ear unto me ye that have knowledge 3. * Chap. 6. 30. 12. 11. For the ear trieth words b i. e. Man's mind judgeth of things spoken and heard The ear the sense of Discipline is put for the mind to which things are conveyed by it See the note on Iob 12. 11. as the †Heb. palate mouth tasteth meat 4. Let us choose to us judgment c i. e. Justice and Equity judgment being oft synecdochically used for just judgment as Iob 8. 3. 19 7. 32. 9. Psal. 37. 28. Let us not contend for victory but only for Truth and Justice This shall be my only care and business Let us lay aside all prejudices and animosities which I perceive have had too great an influence upon thee and thy friends and impartially consider the naked truth and right of the cause let us know d i. e. Let us discover or make it known one to another among our selves what is good e Who hath the best cause 5. For Job hath said * Chap. 〈◊〉 I am righteous f Either 1. I am perfectly righteous But this Iob did not say but the contrary Iob 9. 2 3. 14. 4. Or 2. I am a sincere Person no Hypocrite as my Friends make me But this Elibu doth not deny or 3. I am so far righteous and have been so holy and blameless in my life that I have not deserved not had any reason to expect such hard usage from God And this Iob had oft intimated and Elihu doth justly blame him for it that he blazoned his own righteousness with tacit reflections upon God for dealing so severely with him and my God hath taken away my judgment g For so Iob had said Ch. 27. 2. i. e. He denies me that which is but just and equal to give me a fair hearing to suffer me to plead my Cause with or before him to shew me the reasons of his contending with me and what sins besides common infirmities I have been guilty of whereby I have deserved such extraordinary judgments Which Elihu justly taxeth him with as a very irreverent and presumptuous expression 6. Should I lie against my right h So Iob had said in effect Ch. 27. 4 5 6. Should I falsly accuse my self of such sins of which I am no way conscious to my self Should I betray mine own cause and deny my integrity and say that I deserved worse than I have done †Heb. mine Arrow Chap. 6. 4. 16. 12. my wound is incurable without transgression i i. e. Without any great or hainous or crying sin as
also was of great and good use both to glorifie Gods Justice and to warn and reform other sinners by the Terror of their Example 3. That they may be taken only for predictions as hath been observed before upon the like Occasion and put to shame that seek after my soul let them * Jâ—…r 46. 5. be turned back g Either 1. Stopped or hindred in the Execution of their wicked Design Or rather 2. which is more sutable to the Context discomfited and put to flight as this Phrase is frequently used as Psal. 9. 3. and 70. 2. and 78. 9. Isa. 42. 17. Ier. 46. 5. 21. and brought to confusion that devise my hurt 5. * Job 21. 18. Psal. 1. 4. Isa. 29. 5. Hos. 13. 3. Let them be as chaff before the wind h i. e. Dispersed and Chased from place to place finding Rest and Safety no where and let the angel of the LORD i Whom God useâ—…h to defend his people and to destroy their Enemies chase them 6. Let their way k By which they flee being Chased as was now said be †Heb. 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 * Psal. 73. 18. Jer. 23. 12. dark and slippery l So as they can neither discern the right path nor be able to stand in it and much less to run away especially from so swift a Persecutor as an Angel Whereby they must unavoidably fall into their Enemies hands and be destroyed and let the angel of the LORD persecute them 7. For without cause m Out of meer Malice without any injury or provocation on my part and without any necessity on their parts They are no Common but the worst of Enemies and therefore I may justly pray against them as I do have they hid for me their net in a pit which without cause they digged for my soul n These Expressions aggravate their sins and signifie that their Persecution of him was not the effect of a sudden Passion but of a deep and habitual Hatred and Malice and of an Evil design carried on in a constant and continued Course with Deliberation and Cunning and Deceit and that against his Soul or Life for nothing less would satiâ—…fie them 8. Let destruction come upon him o i. e. Upon each of thine and mine implacable Enemies of whom he hath hitherto spoken †Heb. which 〈◊〉 knoweth 〈◊〉 of at unawares and * Psal. 7. 1â—… 16. 57. â—… Prov. 5. 22. let his net that he hath hid catch himself into that very destruction let him fall 9. And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD p In and for his Glory and Service which shall be advanced by this means and for his Favour to me otherwise I am far from rejoycing in their Calamities it shall rejoyce in his salvation 10. All my bones q i. e. My whole Body by a Synecdoche as Psal. 34. 20. as well as my Soul mentioned v. 9. I will glorifie thee both with my Soul and with my Body shall say r Speech is ascribed to the Bones figuratively as elsewhere they are said to Fear and to Rejoyce Psal. 6. 2. and 51. 8. and as the Loins are said to Bless Iob 31. 20. If they could speak they would express thy Praises because having been dryed up with Sorrow they are now refreshed by thy Mercy LORD who is like unto thee which deliverest the poor that is too strong for him yea the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him 11. False †Heb. 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 witnesses did rise up †Heb. 〈◊〉 â—…ed me they laid to my charge things that I knew not s They accused me to Saul of Treachery and Designs against his Crown and Life and other Crimes whereof I was wholly innocent and ignorant 12. * Psal. 38. â—…0 109. 5. They rewarded me evil for good t For the good Offices which I did to divers of them when I haâ—… Favour and Power in Saul's Court and Camp to the †Heb. dâ—…priving spoiling of my soul u i. e. To the stripping of my Person of all my Comforts and Hopes and of my Life it self 13. But as for me * 〈◊〉 30. 25. when they were sick x Or in any other great Misery my clothing was saccloth y Which was the Habit of Mourners Gen. 37. 34. Mat. 11. 21. Revel 11. 3. I ‖ Or â—…licted humbled my soul z Heb. I afflicted my Soul of which Phrase see Levit. 16. 29 31. and 23. 27. 32. c. Partly with Fasting and Partly with Compassion and â—…ervent Prayers for them with fasting and my prayer returned into mine own bosom a According to this Translation the Sence may be this And or But Or Although my Fastings and Prayers did them no good neither abated their Malice nor prevailed with God for them so far as I desired but returned to me without success like a Gift sent to an uncivil Person who disdainfully rejects it and returns it to the Giver But 1. This is not true that his Prayers returned empty to him and did them no good for they prevailed with God for their Recovery as appears by the following Verses 2. This doth not seem to suit well with the Context for both in the foregoing and following Words he is only describing what he did for them and not what the Effects of it were which he describes in the succeeding Verses Others therefore render the Words otherwise Either 1. Thus And my Prayer in my Bosom returned i. e I did daily and frequently repeat my Prayers for them and that not onely in publick when I joyned with others in a Fast-day appointed for them which might be done in Policy or for Ostentation but also in secret between God and my own Soul and that with a sincere and hearty Affection For what is done secretly and affectionately is said to be done in the Bosom Numb 11. 12. Psal. 89. 50. Prov. 21. 14. although indeed there is in those places another Proposition which may possibly alter the Case Or 2. Which seems the truest Sence and as for my Prayer to wit which I joyned with my Fasting on their behalf let it return nothing being more frequent than for Future Verbs to be put Imperatively into my own Bosom i. e. If any shall think or say that my Fasting for them was but Counterfeit or Politick and that I did not pray for them but rather against them as I do in this Psalm and that under all this shew I secretly wished their Death or Destruction my earnest desire is that the All-seeing and Heart-searching God would grant unto me when I come into their Circumstances the same things which I begged for them whether Good or Evil. And this Sence agrees with the Common use of this Phrase in Scripture where whatsoever is repay'd to any Man is said to be render'd into his Bosom as Psal. 79. 12. Isa. 65.
p For the great Anxiety and Torment of my Mind caused by the deep Sence of my sins and of God's wrath and of the sad Issue of my Disease which being added to my bodily Pains makes them more intolerable 9. Lord all my desire is before thee and my groaning is not hid from thee q I do not utter all these Complaints nor Roar out that thou mayst hear and know them for thou hearest and knowest even my lowest Groans yea mine inward Desires and all my Necessities And therefore I pray thee Pity and deliver me as I trust thou wilst do 10. My heart panteth r Or goes round Wanders hither and thither as the Word signifies is Perplexed and Tossed with many and various Thoughts not knowing what to do nor whither to go my strength faileth me as for the light of mine eyes it also †Heb. is 〈◊〉 with me is gone from me s Mine Eyes are grown dim Either through grief and Tears as Psal. 6. 7. Or through weakness as 1 Sam. 14. 28 29. 11. * Psal. 31. 11. Mat. 27. 55. My lover and my friends stand aloof t Either through Neglect and Contempt or Disdain of me Or through Delicacy and Abhorrency from loathsome and sadding Spectacles Or through Fear of Infection or some other Inconveniences from my †Heb. stroke sore and ‖ Or my Neighbours my kinsmen stand afar off 12. They also that seek after my life lay snares for me u That if my Disease do not kill me they may destroy me some other way and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things and imagine deceits x They design Mischief but cover it with fair Pretences all the day long 13. But I as a deaf man heard not and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth y I carried my self towards them as if I had no Ears to hear what they said either to me or for me nor a Tongue to Answer or reprove them for their Reproaches and Calumnies Which he did not for want of just Answers to them but to testifie his Humiliation for his sins and his patient Submission to and Acceptation of the Punishment which he had brought upon himself Of which see an instance 2 Sam. 16. 10 11 12. Wherein also he was an eminent Type of Christ who when he was reviled reviled not again 1 Pet. 2. 23. 14. Thus I was as a man that heareth not and in whose mouth are no reproofs z Or Arguments to Convince or Confute them or to defend my self 15. For ‖ 〈…〉 in thee O LORD do I hope a I bore their Carriage silently and patiently because I hoped and knew that thou wouldest Answer for me and Plead my Cause better than my self which I would not prevent by my impatience and avenging my self Or But in thee do I hope i. e. Though Friends forsake me and mine Enemies Plot and Practise against me yet I do not Despair because I have thee on my side thou wilt ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hear O LORD my God 16. For I said b To wit in my Heart and Prayers I used this Argument which I knew was prevalent Hear me lest otherwise they should rejoyce over me c In my Destruction which also will reflect upon thee who hast undertaken to defend and save me and for whose sake I suffer so much from these wicked Men v. 20. when my foot slippeth d When I fall either into any Gross sin or into any Misery or into both as I have now done they magnifie themselves against me e They Triumph in the Accomplishment of their Designs or Desires 17. For I am ready †〈◊〉 for Haltâ—… Psal. 35. 〈◊〉 Mic. 4. 7. to halt f Just falling into utter Destruction see Ier. 20. 10. and therefore if thou dost not help me speedily it will be too late and my sorrow is continually before me g I am deeply and constantly sensible of thy just Hand and of my sins the cause of it wherewith I shall be overwhelmed if thou dost not prevent it 18. For I will declare mine iniquity h Either to thee Or publickly to the World because my sin hath been publick and Scandalous I will be sorry i Heb. I will be Or I am Futures being oft so taken Solicitous or Anxious full of Grief for what is past and of Cares and Fears for the Future Partly lest I should Relapse into the same folly upon new Temptations and Partly lest thou shouldest cut me off for my sins Therefore Pity and pardon and save me for my sin k Or by reason of my sin or upon that occasion 19. But mine enemies †Heb. being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are lively l Heb. Living i. e. Thriving or Flourishing or Prosperous as Life is used Psal. 22. 26. and 34. 12. and elsewhere and they are strong and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied 20. They also * 〈◊〉 35. 12. that render evil for good m They hate and Persecute me not onely without any Injury or Provocation on my part but as it were in Requital of the good which I have done to them are mine adversaries because I follow the thing that good is n Because I Love and diligently Practise Justice and Godliness which they hate and which they take to be a Reproach to them and which I did Exercise as I had Opportunity in the Punishment of such as they are Compare Ioh. 15. 19. 1 Ioh. 3. 12. 21. Forsake me not O LORD O my God be not far from me 22. Make hast †Heb. for my 〈◊〉 to help me O LORD my salvation PSAL. XXXIX The ARGUMENT This Psalm was written by David when his Mind was much discomposed and disquieted with the Contemplation of the Prosperity of sinners and the afflictions of the Godly which being Exemplified in himself and in his Enemies he speaks of the Case not in general but as in his own Person To the chief musician even to * Châ—… 25. 1. Jeduthun a One of the three chief Masters of the Sacred Musick Of whom see 1 Chron. 16. 41 42. 2 Chron. 5. 12. A Psalm of David 1. I Said b I fully resolved I will take heed to my ways c i. e. To order all my Actions aright aâ—…d particularly to govern my Tongue which is very hard to do and especially under these Provocations that I sin not with my tongue d That if any evil Thoughts or Passions do arise in me I will indeavour to suppress and mortifie them and not suffer them to boyl and break forth into sinful and scandalous Reflections upon God and his Providence as they usually do upon such occasions I will keep †Heb. a 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my 〈◊〉 my mouth as with a bridle e i. e. With all possible Care and Diligence The Phrase implies the great
Favour which is the 〈◊〉 that I desiâ—…e pardon all my sins which stand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cloud between thee and me and fill me with Feaâ—… 〈◊〉 my Condition both here and hereafter make me not the reproach i Let not their Prosperity and my Misery give them Occasion to deride and Reproach me for my serving of thee and trusting in thee to so little purpose or Advantage of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 k i. e. Of wicked Men who though they profess and think themselves to be Wiâ—…e yet indeed are Fools as is manifest from their Eager pursuit of fruitless Vanities v. 6. and from their Gross neglect of God and of his Service who onely is able to make them Happy 9. * Job 4â—… 4 5 I was dumb I opened not my mouth l To wit in way of Murmuring or Repining against thee oâ—… thy Providence as I promise I would be v. 1. For though when I looked onely to Instruments I was Discomposed and did at last speak a foolish Word yet when I did Recollect my self and looked up to thee the first Cause and Soveraign disposer of this and all other things I return to my former silence because thou didst it m What Either 1. And particularly Absolom's Rebellion wherein I acknowledge thy just Hand in punishing my sins Or 2. And more generally whatsoever is done in these Matters all the Events which befall all Men whether good or bad The Afflictions of the one and the Prosperity of the other All which are the Effects of thy Counsel and Providence in which all Men ought to acquiesce 10. * Job 9. â—…4 Remove thy stroke away from me n But although I may not I will not open my Mouth to Complain of thee yet I may open it to Complain and Pray to thee that thou wouldest take off the Judgment which thou hast inflicted upon me I am consumed o Help me therefore before I be utterly and irrecoverably lost by the †Heb. Conflict blow of thine hand 11. When thou with rebukes p i. e. With Punishment which are oâ—…t sâ—… called See Psal. 6. 1. and 76. 6. dost correct man for iniquity q i. e. Dost punish him as his iniquity deserves thou makest †Heb. that which is desired in him to â—…elt away his beauty r Heb. his Desire i. e. His desiderable things as this Word signifies Lam. 1. 11. Dan. 9. 23. and 1â—… 3. 11. 19. His Comeliness Strength Wealth and Prosperity and all his present Excellencies or Felicities to consume away like a mâ—…th s Either 1. Passively as a Moth is quickly and easily crushed to Pieces with a touch as this Phrase is used Iob 4. 19. Or 2. Actively as a Moth consumeth a Garment as it is Iob 13. 28. Isa. 50. 9. to which God Compareth himself and his Judgments secretly and insensibly consuming a People Isa. 51. 8. Hoâ—…a 5. 12. * Vers. 5. surely every man is vanity t And this Confirms what I said v. 5. That every Man is Vanity Which though men in the height of their Prosperity will not believe yet when God Contendeth with them by his Judgments they are forced to acknowledge it Selah 12. Hear my prayer O LORD and give ear unto my cry hold not thy peace at my Tears u Joyned with my Prayers Heb. 5. 7. * Lev. 25. 23. 1 Chr. 29. 15. Psal. 119. 19 Heb. 11. 13. 1 Pet. â—… 11. for I am a stranger x Though I be not onely a Native but either anointed or actually King of this Land yet in Truth I am but a Stranger both in regard of my very uncertain and short Continuance here where I am onely in my â—… Journey or Passage to my real and long Home which is in the other World and in Respect of the many wants and Hardships and Contempts and Injuries to which I am exposed as men usually are in strange Lands And therefore I greatly need and desire thy Pity and Help Oh thou who art the Patron of Strangers whom thou hast Commended to our Care and kindness Exod. 12. 48. Levit. 19. 33. and 25. 35. c. with thee y Either 1. In thy sight or Judgment and therefore truly We are apt to flatter our selves and can hardly believe that we are but Strangers here where we seem to have settled Habitations and Possessions but thou knowest the Truth of the Business that we are really such Or â—… In thy Land or Territory in which I sojourn onely by thy leave and Favour and during thy Pleasure as this whole Phrase is used Levit. 25. 23. whence these Words are taken is also v. 35 36. 39. 40. 45. 47. where that Branch of it with thee is so meant And withal this Phrase both here and Levit. 25. 23. may have a further Emphasis in it implying that every Israelite and particularly David himself in Respect of men were the Proprietors or owners of their Portions of which no other man might deprive or dispossess them and therefore David's Enemies had done wrongfully in banishing him from his and from the Lords inheritance but yet in Respect of God they were but strangers and God was the onely Proprietor of it and a sojourner as all my fathers were z Both in thy Judgment expressed Levit. 25. 23. and in their own Opinion Heb. 11. 13. c. Upon which Account thou didst take a special Care of them and therefore do so to me also 13. O spare me ‖ Or Cease from me i. e. From afflicting me do not destroy me My Life at best is but short and miserable as I have said and thou knowest sufficient for it is the Evil thereof do not add Affliction to the Afflicted that I may recovâ—…r strength †Both in my outward and inward Man both which are much weakened and oppressed Or that I may be Refreshed or Comforted eased of the Burden of my sins and thy Terrors Consequent upon them and better prepared for a Comfortable and happy Dâ—…solution before I go hence * Heb. Before I go to wit unto the Grave as this Phrase is used Gen. 15. 2. and 25. 32. or the way of all the Earth as the Phrase is Compleated Iâ—…s 23. 14. or whence I shall not return as it is Iob 10. 21. or which is all one into that place and state in which I shall not be to wit amongst the Living or in this World as this Phrase is frequently used both in Scripture as Gen. 5. 24. Gen. 37. 30. and 42. 36. and in Heathen Authors Of which see my Latin Synopsis and be no more PSAL. XL. The ARGUMENT This Psalm is a Celebration of God's great Goodness and Mercy vouchsafed unto him and all his People It is certain and Evident that David speaks some things in this Book of Psalms in his own Name and Person and some things in the Name and Person of Christ of whom he was an eminent Type
of both these Holy places God appeared and put forth such Acts of his Power as might justly terrifie his Enemies the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people f The strength which the Kingdom of Israel now hath is not to be ascribed to my Valour or Conduct nor to the Courage or numbers of the People nor to that happy Union now made and Established among all the Tribes but onely to the might and Grace of God blessed be God PSAL. LXIX To the chief musician upon Shoshannim a Psalm of David This Psalm of David Consists of his Complaints and servent Prayers and Comfortable predictions of his Deliverance and of the Ruin of his Enemies But the Condition of this Psalm is like that of divers others wherein although the Matter or Substance of it agree in some sort to David yet there are some singular passages which he delivers with a particular Respect unto Christ of whom he was an Eminent Type and upon whom his Thoughts were much and often fixed and of whom they are more fitly and fully understood and therefore they are justly applied to him in the New Testament as we shall see 1 SAve me O God for * Jon. 2. 5. the waters a i. e. Tribulations which are oft expressed by waters as hath been observed are come in unto my soul b i. e. To my Vital parts so that I am ready to be choaked with them My Soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto Death 2 * Ver. 14. I sink in †Heb. the Mire of death deep mire c Heb. In the Mire of the deep Waters I am not in the Shallows or nigh the Bank but in the middle and deepest Parts and in the very Mire which is at the bottom of the Waters where there is no standing d No firm and sure footing but I sink in deeper and deeper and without thy speedy and Almighty help shall be overwhelmed and destroyed I am come into †Heb. depth of Waters deep waters where * Psal. 18. 4. the floods overflow me 3 I am weary of my crying e I have Prayed and Cryed to God long and servently and yet God seems to neglect and forsake me my throat is dried f With loud and frequent Cryes mine eyes fail g With looking to God for that Assistance which he hath Promised and I Confidently expected but in Vain while I wait for my God 4 They that * Joh. 15. 25. hate me without a cause g are more than the hairs of mine head they that would destroy me being mine enemies wrongfully are mighty then I restored that which I took not away h Without any injury or occasion given them by me i Either because they uniustly and violently forced me to it Or because I was willing to do it to my own wrong for Peace lâ—…ke By this one kind of Wrong he understands all those Injuries and Violences which they Practised against him 5 O God thou knowest my foolishness and my †Heb. 〈◊〉 sins are not hid from thee e. i This is added Either 1. As a Proof of his Innocency which he had now asserted by way of appeal to God do thou O Lord Judge between me and them whether I be Guilty of those Follies and Sins which they lay to my Charge And such Appeals indeed David useth Psal. 7. 3 4. and elsewhere But then they are delivered in form of a Supposition and not a positive Assertion as this is Or rather 2. As an Exception to what he last said But O Lord although I have been innocent to mine Enemies and have given them no cause to Hate or Persecute me as they do yet I must Confess I am guilty of many Sins and Follies against thee and have given thee just Cause to punish me and to give me up into their Hands and to deny or delay thine Help unto me By Foolishness he means Sin as he explains it which is commonly so called in Scripture Or by his Foolishness he means lesser sins Commited through Ignorance or Inconsiderateness and by sins those of a grosser Nature 6 Let not them that wait on thee f i. e. Thy Godly people who relye upon thy Promises which thou hast made to all thine in General and to me in a special manner wherein they also are concerned O LORD GOD of hosts be ashamed g i. e. Frustrated of their just Hopes which will make them ashamed Either to look up upon God or to look upon their Enemies when they shall Reproach them for their Confidence in God for my sake h Either 1. For the sake of my sins last mentioned let not all Good men suffer for my sins Or 2. Because of my sad Disappointments For if they see me Rejected and forsaken of God whom they have esteemed a great example of Faith and Prayer and all Vertue and Piety they will be exceedingly discouraged by this Example which will tend much to thy Dishonour and disservice let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake O God of Israel 7 Because for thy sake i For my trust is in thy Promise and Obedience to thy Commands and Zeal for thy Glory and against all Wickedness All which they turn into matter of Derision and Reproach I have born reproach shame hath covered my face k In which mans Majesty and Glory is most Evident which I am in a manner ashamed to shew amongst men 8 I * Psal. 31. 11. am become a stranger unto my brethen and an alien unto my Mothers children l My nearest Kinsmen estranged themselves from me Partly out of Fear left they should be involved in my sufferings and Chiefly out of dislike of his Piety and excessive Zeal in Religion as it here follows 9 * Psal. 119. 139. Ioh. 2. 17. For m This is the Reason of that Alienation of my brethren and others from me because there is a vast difference and contrarity in our Tempers They mind not the concerns of God and of Religion but are wholly intent upon Wealth and Honour and Worldly greatness the zeal of thine house n That servent Passion which I have for thy House and Service and Glory and People hath eaten me up o Exhausted and wasted my natural Moisture and Vital Spirits which is oft effected by Grief and Anger and servent Love and Desire of which Passions Zeal is Composed * Rom. 15. 3. and the reproaches of them that reproached thee p That speak Contemptuously or Wickedly of thy Name or Providence or Truth or Worship and Service are fallen upon me q Either 1. By imputation They reflect upon me because I am engaged in the defence of thy Cause and Glory which wicked men oppose and despise and therefore must needs suffer in it and with it Or 2. By Choice and Affection I have been as deeply
to come might know them even the children which should be born who should arise and declare them to their children 7 That they might set their hope in God m That by the Consideration of God's gracious Promises and wonderful Works wrought by God for his People they might be incouraged to trust in him and not forget the works of God but keep his commandments 8 And might not be as their fathers * Ex. 32. 9. 33. 3. 34. 9. Deut. 9. 6 13. 31. 27. a stubborn and rebellious generation a generation †Heb. That prepared not their Heart that set not their heart aright n Who though they outwardly and seemingly complyed with the forms of Worship which God had prescribed yet did not direct or prepare their Hearts to the Obedience and Service of God and whose spirit was not stedfast with God o Who quickly discovered their Hypocrisie by their Apostacy from God and from the Religion which they had professed 9 * Am. 2. 1â—… The children of Ephraim p This passage concerns Either 1 The Tribe of Ephraim and some exploit of theirs wherein they met with this Disaster whether it were that mentioned 1 Chron. 7. 21. or some other not particularly related in any other place of Scripture For we must not think that all the Actions and Events of the several Tribes are recorded in Scripture but onely some of the most memorable ones Or 2. The ten Tribes who are very frequently called Ephraim because that Tribe was the chief of them and the seat of the kingdom And so this is referred by some to the Captivity of the ten Tribes 2 Kings 17. Although the Historical references of this Psalm seem not to go beyond David's time Or rather 3. All the Tribes and People of Israel who are sometimes designed by the Name of Ephraim as Ier. 31 9. 18. 20. Zech. 10. 7. as well they might be because of the Eminency of this Tribe out of which came Ioshua their first Governour in Canaan and in which the Ark of God continued for a long time and whose People were both most numerous and most valiant and therefore they are fidy named for all to shew that this slaughter was not made amongst them for any defect of power or courage in them but merely from God's just judgment upon them for their sins here following And that Ephraim is here put for all Israel seems to be evident from the following Verses wherein the sins upon which this overthrow is charged are manifestly the sins of all the children of Israel and they who are here called Ephraim are called Iacob and Israel vers 21. And so this passage is by divers Learned Interpreters referred unto that dreadful overthrow related 1 Sam. 4. Wherein they did not stand to fight but turned their backs and fled as is there expressed which though it reached all Israel yet Ephraim is particularly named because as the Ark so the Fight was in that Tribe and therefore it may be presumed that the Ephraimites were a very considerable part of that Israelitish Army And the Psalmist having related this amazing providence and judgment of God upon his own people he falls into a large Discourse of the causes of it to wit the great and manisold and continual sins of that and the former Generations which having prosecuted from hence to Verse 60 he there returns to this History and relates the sad consequences of that disaster to wit the captivity of the Ark and God's forsaking of Shiloh and Ephraim and removing thence to the Tribe of Iudah and Mount Zion the reason of which change of place he designed to give in the relation of this passage being armed and †Heb. Throwing forth carrying bows q Which includes Arrows and these being then the chiefest and most common Weapons are put for all other Arms. turned back in the day of battel p This passage concerns Either 1 The Tribe of Ephraim and some exploit of theirs wherein they met with this Disaster whether it were that mentioned 1 Chron. 7. 21. or some other not particularly related in any other place of Scripture For we must not think that all the Actions and Events of the several Tribes are recorded in Scripture but onely some of the most memorable ones Or 2. The ten Tribes who are very frequently called Ephraim because that Tribe was the chief of them and the seat of the kingdom And so this is referred by some to the Captivity of the ten Tribes 2 Kings 17. Although the Historical references of this Psalm seem not to go beyond David's time Or rather 3. All the Tribes and People of Israel who are sometimes designed by the Name of Ephraim as Ier. 31 9. 18. 20. Zech. 10. 7. as well they might be because of the Eminency of this Tribe out of which came Ioshua their first Governour in Canaan and in which the Ark of God continued for a long time and whose People were both most numerous and most valiant and therefore they are fidy named for all to shew that this slaughter was not made amongst them for any defect of power or courage in them but merely from God's just judgment upon them for their sins here following And that Ephraim is here put for all Israel seems to be evident from the following Verses wherein the sins upon which this overthrow is charged are manifestly the sins of all the children of Israel and they who are here called Ephraim are called Iacob and Israel vers 21. And so this passage is by divers Learned Interpreters referred unto that dreadful overthrow related 1 Sam. 4. Wherein they did not stand to fight but turned their backs and fled as is there expressed which though it reached all Israel yet Ephraim is particularly named because as the Ark so the Fight was in that Tribe and therefore it may be presumed that the Ephraimites were a very considerable part of that Israelitish Army And the Psalmist having related this amazing providence and judgment of God upon his own people he falls into a large Discourse of the causes of it to wit the great and manisold and continual sins of that and the former Generations which having prosecuted from hence to Verse 60 he there returns to this History and relates the sad consequences of that disaster to wit the captivity of the Ark and God's forsaking of Shiloh and Ephraim and removing thence to the Tribe of Iudah and Mount Zion the reason of which change of place he designed to give in the relation of this passage 10. They kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk in his law r Their disobedience was accompanied with obstinacy and contempt of God's Laws 11 And forgate s Not historically but practically They did not so remember them as to love and serve and trust that God of whose infinite power and goodness they had such ample experience Words of knowledge such
Lord awaked as one out of sleep m For God by giving up not onely his people but his Ark to the contempt and insolency of the Philistins might seem to be asleep and insensible of his own honour and interest till by a sudden and unexpected blow he convinced his enemies of the contrary and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine m Whose spirit and courage is revived and inflamed by a liberal draught of generous wine Which comparison is no more injurious to the Divine Majesty than that of a thiefs coming in the night to which Christ's second coming is compared 1 Thess. 5. 2. 66 And * 1 Sam. 5. 6. and 6. 4. he smote his enemies in the hinder parts n With the Disease of the Emerods which was both painful and shameful he put them to a perpetual reproach o He caused them to perpetuate their own reproach by sending back the Ark of God with their golden Emerods the lasting monuments of their shame 67 Moreover p And as he smotâ—… his enemies for their sins so he punished his own people for the same cause he refused the tabernacle of Joseph q Either 1. He rejected the Kingdom of the ten tribes whereof Ephraim was the Head But this Psalm reacheth not so far as the erection of that Kingdom Or rather 2. He would not have his Ark to abide longer in the Tabernacle of Shiloh which was in the Tribe of Ioseph or Ephraim See 1 Sam. 6. 12. and 7. 1 2. Ier. 7. 12 14 and 26. 6 9. and chose not the tribe of Ephraim r The same thing repeated in other words after the manner 68 But chose the tribe of Judah s Either 1. For the seat of the Kingdom Or rather 2. For the seat of the Ark and of God's Worship Obj. Ierusalem was in the Tribe of Benjamin Jos. 18 27 Ans. 1. It was so in part and part of it was in Iudah as appears from Ios. 15. 63. To which Tribe Zion belonged by special reason because David the Head of that Tribe conquered and took it 2. Benjamin after the division of the two Kingdoms was incorporated with Iudah and is oft comprehended under the name of Iudah the mount Zion which he loved 69 And he built his sanctuary t The Temple by Solomon like high palaces u Magnificently and gloriously like the earth which he hath †Heb. â—…ounded established for ever x Not now to be removed from place to place as the Tabernacle was but as a fixed place for the Arks perpetual residence unless the people by their Apostacy should cause its removal 70 * â—… Sam. 16. 11. â—… Sam. 7. 8. He chose David also his servant and took him from the sheep-fold 71 †Seb. from afâ—… From following the ewes great with young y By which employment he was inured to that care and diligence and self-denial which is necessary in a King or Governor and instructed to rule his people with all gentleness and tenderness he brought him * â—… Sam. 5. 2 1 Chr. 11. 2. to feed Jacob his people and Israel his inheritance 72 So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands z He commends David for the now necessary ingredients of a good Prince 1. Integrity whereby he sincerely sought the good and welfare of his people avoiding and abhorring or those counsels and courses which were contrary thereunto 2. Skillfulness whereby he managed all the publick affairs with singular prudence which is here ascribed to his hands not because it was seated in them but because it was acted and discovered by them and appeared in all his actions or administrations PSAL. LXXIX The ARGUMENT This Psalm was doubtless composed upon the sad occasion of the destruction of Judaea and Jerusalem either by Antiochus or rather by the Chaldaeans as may be gathered from 1 Macc. 7. 16 7. where in the relation of the persecution of Antiochus the second and third Verses of this Psalm are cited A Psalm ‖ Or â—…or Asaph of Asaph 1 O God the heathen are come a As Invaders and Conquerors unto thine inheritance b Into Canaan and Iudaea which thou didst chuse for thine inheritance * â—…al 74. 5. thy holy temple have they defiled c By entring into it and touching and carrying away its holy Vessels and shedding blood in it and burning of it they have laid Jerusalem on heaps d Made of the ruines of those goodly houses which they burned or threw down 2 The dead bodies of thy servants e Either 1. Of thy faithful and holy servants whom they used as cruelly as the worst of the people Or 2. Of the Jews whom though the generality of them were very wicked he calleth God's Servants and Saints because they were all such by profession and some of them were really such and the Chaldaeans did never know nor regard those that were so but promiscuously destroyed all that came in their way have they given to be meat unto the fowls of heaven f By casting them out like dung upon the face of the earth and not suffering any to bury them the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth 3 Their blood they shed like water g Plentifully and contemptuously valuing it no more than common water round about Jerusalem * Psal. 141. 7. Jer. 14. 16. and 16. 4. and there was none to bury them h Because their friends who should have done it were either slain or fled or were not permitted or durst not undertake to perform that Office to them 4 * Psal. 44. 13. We are become a reproach to our neighbours a scorn and derision to them that are round about us i We who were their terrour and scourge are now neither feared nor pityed but become the matter of their scoffs and reproaches See Psal. 80. 6. and 137. 7. Ezek. 35 2 12 c. 5 * Psal. 89. 46. How long LORD wilt thou be angry for ever shall thy jealousie burn like fire 6 * Jer. 1â—… 25. Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen k Though we confess that we have deserved thy wrath yet the Heathen by whom thou hast scourged us deserve it much more as being guilty of far greater impieties than we living in gross ignorance and contempt of God and of his worship And therefore we pray transfer thy wrath from us to them that have not known thee and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name k Though we confess that we have deserved thy wrath yet the Heathen by whom thou hast scourged us deserve it much more as being guilty of far greater impieties than we living in gross ignorance and contempt of God and of his worship And therefore we pray transfer thy wrath from us to them
from the Babylonish Captivity wherein he partly gives God thanks for that glorious deliverance and partly implores God's mercy in compleating that work and rescuing his People from the Relicks of their Bondage and from the vexation which they had by their Neighbours after they were returned to Canaan To the chief musician A Psalm ‖ Or of for the sons of Korah 1 LORD thou hast been ‖ Or well pleased favourable unto thy land a i. e. unto thy People in removing the sad effects of thy displeasure thou hast brought back the captivity b The Captives as that Word is used Psal. 14. 7. and 68. 18. and elsewhere of Jacob. 2 * Psal. 32. 1 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people thou hast covered all their sin Selah c So as not-to impute it to them or to continue the punishment which thou didst inflict upon them for it 3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath d Those Calamities which were the effects of thy just wrath conceived against us ‖ Or thou hast turned thine anger from waxsag hot thou hast turned thy self from the fierceness of thine anger 4 Turn us e Either 1. Convert us As thou hast brought back our bodies to thy Land so bring back our hearts to thy self from whom many of them to this day are alienated Or rather 2. Restore us to our former tranquillity and free us from the troubles which we yet groan under from our malicious Neighbours and Enemies For this best suits with the following Clause of the Verse which commonly explains the former O God of our salvation and cause thine anger towards us to cease f He prudently indeavours to take away the root and cause of their continued miseries to wit God's anger procured by their sins 5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations 6 Wilt thou not revive us again g Thou hast once revived us in bringing us out of Captivity give us a second reviving in bringing home the rest of our Brethren and in rebuking and restraining the Remainder of our Enemies wrath that thy people may rejoyce in thee 7 Shew us h i. e. Grant it to us as the next words explain it and as shewing signifies Psal. 4. 6. So also Psal. 60. 3. and 71. 20. Or manifest thy secret purpose of mercy to us by thy providential Dispensations thy mercy O LORD and grant us thy salvation 8 I will hear i i. e. Diligently observe And the Psalmist by declaring what he would do teacheth all the Israelites what they ought to do Or he speaks in the name of all the People of God what God the LORD will speak k Either by his Prophets or Messengers or by the works of his providence for that also hath a voice What Answer God will give to these my Prayers for * Zech. 9. 1â—… he will speak peace l For I am assured from God's gracious nature and declared will and promise that he will give an answer of peace unto his people and to his saints m Which Clause seems to be added by way of explication and restriction to shew that this glorious privilege did not belong to all that were called God's people but onely to those that were truly and really such even to his saints or holy ones but let them not turn again to folly n i. e. To sin which in Scripture is commonly called folly This is added as a necessary caution but when God shall speak peace to his People let them not grow wanton and secure nor return to their former wicked courses which if they do they will provoke God to repent of his kindness to them and to inflict further and sorer judgments upon them Others render the place And they will not or That they may not return to folly But the Particle al being prohibitive our Translation seems to be better 9 Surely his salvation o That compleat salvation and deliverance for which all the Israel of God do pray and wait even the Redemption of Israel by the Messiah of which not only Christian but even Jewish Writers understand this place and to which the following passage do most properly and perfectly belong And the Psalmist might well say of this Salvation that it was nigh because the seventy weeks determined by Daniel for this work Chap. 9. 24. were now begun this Psalm being written after Daniel's time is nigh them that fear him p The true Israel of God even all those that love and fear him By which words he both excludes all hypocritical Israelites from this salvation and tacitly assigns it to all that fear God whether Jews or Gentiles that * Zech. 2. â—… glory may dwell in our Land q And when that Salvation shall come we shall be freed from all that scorn and contempt under which we now groan and shall recover our ancient glory and the glorious presence of God the most eminent tokens whereof we have now utterly lost and the God of Glory himself even Christ who is called the brightness of his Father's glory Heb. 1. 3. comp Ioh. 1. 14. and the glory of Israel Luk. 2. 32. shall come and visibly dwell in this now despised Land 10 Mercy and truth are met together righteousness and peace r This is to be understood either 1. Of these Graces or Vertues in men So the sence is when that blessed time shall come those Virtues which now seem to be banished from humane Societies shall be restored and there shall be an happy conjunction of mercy or benignity truth or veracity righteousness or faithfulness and peace or peaceableness and concord Or rather 2. Of the Blessings of God of which the whole Context speaks And the sence is That great Work of Redemption by Christ shall clearly manifest and demonstrate God's mercy in redeeming his People of Israel and in the calling and conversion of the Gentiles his truth in fulfilling that great promise of the sending of his Son which is the Foundation of all the rest his righteousness in punishing sin or unrighteousness in his Son and in conferring righteousness upon guilty and lost creatures and his peace or reconciliation to sinners and that peace of conscience which attends upon it kave kissed each other s As Friends use to do when they meet See Exod. 4. 27. and 18. 7. So this is another expression of the same thing 11 Truth shall spring out of the earth t Either 1. Truth among men which shall be so common amongst all men as if it grew out of the earth Or rather 2. The truth or faithfulness of God which is most truly and fitly said to spring out of the earth partly because it had long been hid and buried like a root in a dry ground without any hopes of a reviving from whence yet God made it to grow as is noted Isa.
2. 12. They did not fall into sin once or twice as good men may do but it was their usual practice and therefore they are justly punished and because of their iniquities are afflicted d With wasting sickness as appears from v. 18 20. Compare Iob 33. 19 c. Psal. 39. 12 c. 18. * Job 33. 20. Their soul e Either themselves with all their soul or their appetite as the soul is taken Iob 33. 20. Isa. 29. 8. abhorreth all manner of meat f Which is an usual effect of great sickness and they draw ‖ Psal. 9. 13. 8â—… 3. near unto the gates of death g They are sick well-nigh unto death 19. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble he sayeth them out of their distresses 20. He sent his word h His command or his blessing which came with power and healed them and delivered them from their destructions 21. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men 22. And * Lev. 7. 12. Psal. 50. 14. let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving i Either properly so called or praises and thanksgivings to God which in Scripture are called Sacrifices because they are no less acceptable to God than costly Sacrifices and declare his works with †Heb. singing rejoycing 23. They that go down to the sea k He saith go down either because the Sea or the shore of it is commonly lower than their habitations from whence they come or than the natural or artificial banks which are raised to prevent the inundation of the waters or because the Sea is lower than the earth as may be gathered from the rivers which run down into it in ships that do business l Whose occupation lies there either as Merchants or as Mariners in great waters 24. These see the works of the LORD and his wonders m His wonderful works either 1. of Creation fishes of various kinds and shapes and some of prodigious greatness which are unknown to other men Or 2. of Providence in raising and laying storms of which he speaks in the following verses in the deep 25. For he commandeth and †Heb. maketh to stand raiseth the stormy wind n The winds and storms come not by chance but by the disposition of Divine providence which lifteth up the waves thereof 26. They mount up to the heaven they go down again to the depths o Towards the bottom of the Sea their soul is melted because of trouble p Through the perplexity of their minds and fear of sudden and violent death 27. They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man q Not so much from the giddiness of their heads which is not usual in persons accustomed to the Sea as through the violent and various motions of the Sea and the ship and †Heb. all 〈◊〉 wisdom is swallowed up are at their wits end 28. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble and he bringeth them out of their distresses 29. He maketh the storm a calm so that the waves thereof are still 30. Then are they glad because they be quiet so he bringeth them unto their desired haven 31. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men 32. Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people r Not only in their own hearts and families but even in publick assemblies and before all persons as they have opportunity and praise him in the assembly of the elders s The Magistrates or Rulers who are here opposed to the people The sence is let them not be ashamed nor afraid to speak of Gods wonderful works and praises before the greatest of men as mean persons commonly are Compare Psal 119. 46. Or he mentions the Elders particularly because they were most apt to neglect and forget God and to exaâ—…t themselves above and against him and therefore it was meet and necessary that they should be acquainted with the Almighty power and universal providence and dominion of God that they themselves might learn subjection and reverence to God and might promote it among their people 33. He turneth rivers t Either 1. properly so called which he can divert or dry up when he pleaseth as sometimes he hath done Or father 2. those grounds which are well watered and therefore very fruitful as the next verse explains this And so the water-springs here and v. 35. and the standing water v. 35. are taken into a wilderness u Into a dry ground as it follows which is like a parched and barren wilderness and the water-springs into dry ground 34. A fruitful land into †Heb. saltness barrenness x Heb. Into saltness which procures barrenness See Deut. 29. 23. Iudg. 9. 45. for the wickedness of them that dwell therein y He doth not inflict these judgments by choice or without cause but for the punishment of sin in some and the prevention of it in others 35. * Isa. 41. 18. He turneth the wilderness into a standing water z Into a well-watered and fruitful land and dry ground into water-springs 36. And there he maketh the hungry a Poor people who could not provide for themselves or were banished from their own land by potent oppressors and were driven into wildernesses like them Iob 30. 3. which God in pity to them made fruitful to dwell that they may prepare a city for habitation 37. And sow the fields and plant vineyards which may yield b Heb. and they shall make or procure from their fields and vineyards fruits of increase c Such fruits as they use to produce 38. He blesseth them also so that they are multiplied greatly and suffereth not their cattel to decrease d Preserves them from abortion and deadly diseases and on the contrary causeth them to increase as he said in the former branch which is here repeated in other words after the same manner 39. Again they e These poor men who when they are exalted and blessed by God kick at him and grow insolent and secure as the manner of men is are minished and brought low f Are by Gods just judgment diminished in their numbers and in their blessings through oppression affliction and sorrow g Or through wicked oppression by the tyranny of others whom God sends to spoil them of their abused riches and by other griefs or grievous calamities which God inflicts 40. * Job 12. 21 24. He poureth contempt upon princes h Those who were honourable and adored like Gods by their people and terrible to all their enemies he renders them despicable to their own Subjects and to other Nations and this he doth suddenly abundantly and unavoidably as this phrase of pouring it out upon them seems to
beast both of man and beast 9 Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee O Egypt upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants 10 * Numb 21. 24 25 26 34 35. Who smote great nations and slew mighty kings 11 Sihon king of the Amorite and Og king of Bashan and * Josh. 12. 7. all the kingdoms of Canaan 12 * Josh. 12. 7. Psal. 78. 55. And gave their land for an heritage an heritage unto Israel his people 13 Thy * Psal. 102. 12. name O LORD endureth for ever and thy memorial O LORD †Heb. to generation and generation throughout all generations o These wonderful works of thine shall never be forgotten The land which thou gavest us v. 12. and which we yet enjoy is an everlasting monument of thy power and goodness and an obligation and encouragement to trust in thee in all our present or future difficulties 14 For the LORD will judge his people p Will in due time plead the cause of his people or give judgment for them as this phrase is used Deut. 32. 36. Ier. 5. 28 22. 16. and he will repent himself concerning his servants q He will recal that severe sentence which for their sins he had passed upon them and be reconciled to them 15 * Psal. 115. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold r Of this and the following verses see the Notes on Psal. 115. 4 5 c. the work of mens hands 16 They have mouths but they speak not eyes have they but they see not 17 They have ears but they hear not neither is there any breath in their mouths 18 They that make them †Heb. let them be So Gr. are like unto them so is every one that trusteth in them 19 Bless the LORD O house of Israel bless the LORD O house of Aaron 20 Bless the LORD O house of Levi ye that fear the LORD bless the LORD 21 Blessed be the LORD out of Zion s By the assemblies of his people in Zion or Ierusalem which dwelleth at Jerusalem t This clause may be added either to distinguish the true God from the gods which were worshipped in other places and countries or as a reason why they should bless God because he had blessed and honoured that place with his gracious and glorious presence Praise ye the LORD PSAL. CXXXVI The matter of this Psalm is the same with the former onely it is a little more fitted to the use and service of the Temple by the continued repetition of that solemn clause for thy mercy endures for ever which was much used by the sacred Singers See 2 Chron. 7. 3. 20. 21. 1 O * Psal. 106. 1. 107. 1. 118. 1. Give thanks unto the LORD for he is good * 1 Chr. 16. 41. for his mercy endureth for ever 2 O give thanks unto * Deut. 10. 17. the God of gods a Who is infinitely superiour to all that are called gods whether Angels or Princes or Idols for his mercy endureth for ever 3 O give thanks unto the Lord of lords for his mercy endureth for ever 4 To him who alone b He and none else Or he without the help of any other person or thing whereas no other being can do any thing alone or without his help doth great wonders for his mercy endureth for ever 5 * Gen. 1. 1. To him that by wisdom c To wit by eminent and admirable wisdom far exceeding the capacity of all humane or Angelical creatures made the heavens for his mercy endureth for ever 6 * Gen. 1. 9. Jeâ—… 10. 12. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters d Of which see on Gen. 1. 9. Psal. 24. 2. for his mercy endureth for ever 7 * Gen. 1. 14. To him that made great lights for his mercy endureth for ever 8 The sun †Heb. for the â—…lings by day to rule by day e Of which phrase and the like in the next verse see my Notes on Gen. 1. 16. for his mercy endureth for ever 9 The moon and stars to rule by night for his mercy endureth for ever 10 * Exod. 12. 2. To him that smote Egypt in their first-born for his mercy endureth for ever 11 * Exod. 12. 51. 13. 17. And brought out Israel from among them for his mercy endureth for ever 12 * Exod. 6. 6. With a strong hand and with a stretched out arm for his mercy endureth for ever 13 * Exod. 14. 21 22. Psal. 74. 13. 78. 13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts for his mercy endureth for ever 14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it f To wit without fear or danger by comparing this with the next verse for his mercy endureth for ever 15 * Exod. 14. 28. But †Heb. shaked off overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea for his mercy endureth for ever 16 * Exod. 15. 22. To him which led his people through the wilderness g Through that vast howling wilderness where there was neither way nor provision through which none but the Almighty God could have safely conducted them for his mercy endureth for ever 17 * Psal. 135. 10 11. To him which smote great kings for his mercy endureth for ever 18 * Deut. 29. 7. Ps. 135. 10 11. And slew mighty kings for his mercy endureth for ever 19 * Num. 21. 23. Sihon king of the Amorite for his mercy endureth for ever 20 * Num. 21. 33. And Og the king of Bashan for his mercy endureth for ever 21 * Josh. 12. 17. And gave their land for an heritage for his mercy endureth for ever 22 Even an heritage unto Israel his servant h He speaks of all that people as of one man because they were united together in one body in the worship of one and the same God Thus God calleth them all his first-born Exod. 4. 22. for his mercy endureth for ever 23 Who remembred us in our low estate for his mercy endureth for ever 24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies for his mercy endureth for ever 25 * Psal. 104. 27. 147. 9. Who giveth food to all flesh i Either to all mankind or to all living creatures For which God deserves great praises which the Psalmist by his example teacheth us to render to God for them because those who are most concerned either cannot or do not perform this duty for his mercy endureth for ever 26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven for his mercy endureth for ever PSAL. CXXXVII The Penman of this Psalm is uncertain the occasion of it was unquestionably the consideration of the Babylonish Captivity and it seems to have been composed either during the time of that Captivity or presently after
hath been noted and proved before or in the way to wâ—…t the way of God which is oft called emphâ—…ically the way as Psal. 25. 8. 119. 1. Prov. 23. 19. 29. 27. and which is sufficiently understood from its opposition to the wicked way in the former clause for ever or as long as I live as this Hebrew word Olam without any prefix to it is used 2 Sam. 27. 12. Iob 41. 4. Psal. 21. 4. 45. 7. and elsewhere But this with submission PSAL. CXL To the chief Musician A Psalm of David This Psalm was composed by David upon occasion of those slanderous and reproachful speeches and treacherous dealings which David had from his enemies in Sauls time of which we have an account in the history 1 DEliver me O LORD from the evil man a Either Saul or Doeg or some other malicious enemy or rather enemies the word man being taken collectively for men as appears from the next verse where he speaks of this man in the Plural number preserve me from the †Heb. man of violences violent man 2 Which imagine mischiefs in their heart continually are they gathered together for war b To execute those bloody enterprises which they had devised in the first clause of this verse 3 They have sharpned their tongues c Their malicious hearts stirred up their tongues to utter vile slanders against me like a serpent d Either whetting their tongues as serpents are said to whet theirs when they are about to bite or rather using words as sharp and piercing as the sting of a serpent * Psal. 58. 4 Rom. 3. 13. adders poison is under their lips 4 Keep me O LORD from the hands of the wicked preserve me from the violent man who have purposed e Whose design and full resolution it is if thou dost not prevent it to overthrow my goings f Or my â—…eet or footsteps i. e. to throw me down to the ground to defeat all my hopes and counsels and bring me to ruine 5 * Psal. 35. 7. 57. 6. 141. 9. Jer. 18. 22. The proud g My inâ—…olent enemies who despise me for my meanness and exalt themselves against thee have hid a snare for me and cords they have spread a net by the way †Heb. hand side h In which I used to walk they have set grins for me Selah 6 I said unto the LORD Thou art my God hear the voice of my supplications O LORD 7 O GOD the Lord the strength of my salvation thou hast covered my head i With thy powerful protection as with an helmet or shield in the day of battel 8 Grant not O LORD the desires of the wicked further not his wicked device k Which is to destroy me ‖ Or let them not be exalted * Deut. 32. 27. lest they exalt themselves l Not onely against me but against thee also as if by their power and policy they had frustrated thy design and promise made to me Selah 9 As for the head m Or beads the Singular number put for the Plural as is frequent By which he understands either 1. their politick heads their chiefs or ring-leaders who were most malicious and by whom all the rest were supported and stirred up or 2. their proper and natural heads as this word is used v. 7. and this covering of their heads here is opposed to that covering of Davids head there of those that compass me about * Psal. 7. 16. 94. 23. Prov. 12. 13. 18. 7. let the mischief of their own lips cover them n Let the mischief which by their calumnies they design against me fall upon themselves 10 * Psal. 11. 6. Let burning coals o Divine vengeance which is compared to coals of fire as Psal. 18. 12. and elsewhere fall upon them let them be cast into the fire into deep pits that they rise not up again p Either to my danger or to their own comfort 11 Let not †Heb. a man of tongue ‖ Or an evil speaker a wicked man of violence be established in the â—…arth let him be hunted to his overthrow an evil speaker q Such as slander me and other innocent persons to exasperate Princes against us be established in the earth evil r Either the evil of punishment or which comes to the same thing the evil of sin their own wickedness which shall recoil upon themselves shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him 12 I know s Both by Gods word which hath promised it and by my own experience of it in the course of Gods providence that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted and the right of the poor 13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy Name t Shall have occasion to praise thee for their deliverance the upright shall dwell in thy presence u Shall constantly enjoy thy gracious and powerful presence and assistance PSAL. CXLI A Psalm of David This Psalm also must be referred to the time of Davids persecution by Saul It is an humble prayer that God would deliver him from the rage and malice of his enemies and from those sins to which he might be inclined or provoked upon that occasion 1 LORD I cry unto thee make haste unto me give ear unto my voice when I cry unto thee 2 Let my prayer be †Heb. directed set forth before thee a Heb. Be directed to thy face Let it not be lost but let it come unto thee and find audience as incense b Owned and accepted by thee no less than the incense which by thy command Exod. 30. 7 c. is offered upon thine Altar from which I am now banished and so disenabled to offer it there and therefore I trust thou wilt accept my prayer instead of it and the lifting up of my hands c My prayer made with hands lifted up which was the usual gesture See Iob 11. 13. Psal. 63. 5. 88. 10 c. as the evening sacrifice d Which was offered every evening Exod. 29. 39 c. Which he mentionâ—… either 1. by way of opposition to the incense which was offered in the morning or 2. Synecdochically so as to include the morning-sacrifice and all the sacrifices of the day of which this was the close such Synecdoches being most frequent as hath been already observed or 3. because the evening-sacrifice was more solemn than the morning and was attended with more company and more prayers whence the ninth hour which was the time of this sacrifice is called the hour of prayer Acts 3. 1. 3 Set a watch O LORD before my mouth e That I may not through mine own infirmity and the great provocations of mine enemies break â—…orth into any unadvised speeches or any expressions of impaâ—…ience or distrust or envy or malice c. keep the
others by it and therefore they most need this remedy 19 A brother offended r To wit by his Brothers unkindness or injury is harder to be won s Or is stronger which is sufficiently understood by the mention of a strong City to which he is compared such Ellipses being frequent in the Hebrew as hath been noted before than a strong city t Which is hardly to be conquered and their contentions are like the bars of a castle u Which are very strong and not to be broken and make the castle strong and hardly to be won The truth of this assertion is confirmed by the testimony of Aristotle and other learned Authors who affirm the same thing and the reason of it is evident because the nearness of the Relation greatly heightens the provocation and Love abused frequently turns to extream hatred 20 * Ch. 12. 14. 13. 2. A mans belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth x Wise and edifying discourses tend to the comfort and satisfaction of the Speaker as well as to the good of the Hearers and with the encrease of his lips shall he be filled 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue y Are brought upon men by the good or bad use of their tongues and they that love it z Either 1. The Tongue that love and use much talking which is oft censured as a sin and a cause of mischief See Prov. 10. 19. Iam. 1. 19. Or 2. The use of their tongue in either of those ways which are plainly supposed in the former clause of the verse they who do not only speak well which a wicked man may somtimes do or speak ill which a good man may possibly do but do love and therefore accustom themselves to speak well or ill shall eat the fruit thereof a Shall receive either good or evil according to the quality of their Speeches 22 * Ch. 19. 14. Whoso findeth a Wife b Either 1. Simply a Wife for a Wife though she be not the best of kind is to be esteemed a blessing being useful both for society of life Gen. 2. 18. and for the mitigation of a mans cares and troubles and for the prevention of sins Or 2. Good Wife one that deserves the Name and performs the duty of that Relation a wise and worthy Wife as this word may seem to imply being deduced from the Hebrew word isch which somtimes notes a man of Eminency And this limitation and explication of the word may be gathered both from the following commendations which would hardly be given to a bad Wife and from the usage of Scripture in which this Ellipsis is frequent as a path or way is put for a good path or way Psal. 119. 1. Prov. 15. 10. an answer for a good answer Prov. 15. 23. a King for a good King Prov. 16. 10. 29. 4. a name for a good name Prov. 22. 1. Eccles. 7. 1. c. findeth a good thing c A singular Blessing and obtaineth favour of the LORD d Obtaineth her not by his own Wit or Art or Diligence but by Gods good Providence towards him which ordereth that and all other events as it pleaseth him 23 The poor useth intreaties e Humbly begs the favour of rich men as his necessities and occasions require it but the rich answereth * Jam. 2. 3. roughly f Speaketh proudly and scornfully either to the poor or to others that converse with him being puffed up with a conceit of his Riches and of his self-sufficiency 24 A man that hath friends g Heb. A man of friends either 1. Who desires the friendship of others Or 2. Who professeth friendship to others must shew himself friendly * Ch. 17. 17. and there is a friend that sticketh closer h To him that desires and needs his help who is more hearty in the performance of all friendly Offices than a brother CHAP. XIX 1 * Chap. 28. 6. BEtter is the poor that walketh in his integrity a Who is upright in his words and actions than he that is perverse in his lips b That useth to speak wickedly which proceeds from a wicked heart and is usually attended with an evil Life and is a fool c Is an Hypocrite or a wicked man for this is opposed to the upright man in the former clause yea though he be rich which is implied from the same clause 2 Also that the soul d Which is the principal cause and director of all mens actions be without knowledg e Without Wisdom or Prudence to discern his way and what and how he ought to act in his several cases and concernments it is not good f It is very evil and pernicious and he that hasteth with his feet g That rashly and headily rusheth into actions without serious consideration So two vices are here censured the want of Knowledg and the neglect or diâ—…use of Knowledg in a mans actions sinneth 3. The foolishness of man perverteth his way h Either 1. enticeth him to sin Or rather 2. Crosseth and blasâ—…eth his designs and enterprises and brings losses and miseries upon him and his heart fretteth against the LORD i He ascribes his unhappiness not to his own sin and folly which is the true cause of it but to God and his Providence against which he unjustly murmurs 4 * Ch. 14. 20. Wealth maketh many friends but the poor is separated from his neighbour k Is disowned and forsaken by those who are most obliged to help him 5 * Ver. 9. Exod. 23. 1. Deut. 19. 16 19. Ch. 6. 19. 21. 28. A false witness shall not be †Heb. held innocent unpunished l Though he escape the observation and punishment of men yet he shall not avoid the judgment of God and he that speaketh lies m That accustometh himself to lying either in judgment or in common conversation shall not escape 6 Many will entreat the †Heb. face favour of the prince n Or as others of the liberal or bountiful man which comes to the same thing for Kings were antiently called Benefactors Luk. 22. 25. and every man is a friend o Not sincerely as daily experience shews but in shew or profession or in the outward expressions of it whereby they may oblige him to †Heb. a man of gifts him that giveth gifts 7 * Ch. 14. 20. All the brethren p His nearest and dearest Relations who are oft called Brethren in Scripture by a common Synecdoche of the poor do hate him q i. e. Despise and shun him as men do any thing which they hate and as the following words explain it how much more do his friends r His former companions who in his prosperity professed friendship to him go far from him he pursueth them with words
serious consideration of their last end which is their greatest Wisdom and Interest and the living will lay it to his heart g Will be seriously affected with it and awakened to prepare for it whereas feasting is commonly attended with Mirth and Levity and manifold Temptations and indisposeth mens minds to Spiritual and Heavenly Thoughts Hence it is evident that those passages of this Book which may seem to favour a sensual and voluptuous Life are not spoken by Solomon in his own Name or as his Opinion but in the person of an Epicure 3 ‖ Or 〈◊〉 Sorrow h Either for sin or any outward troubles is better than laughter for by the sadness of the countenance i Which is â—…eared in the heart but manifested in the Countenance the heart is made better k More weaned from the Lusts and Vanities of this World by which most men are ensnared and destroyed and more quickned to seek after and embrace that true and everlasting Happiness which God offers to them in his Word 4 The heart of the wiâ—…e is in the house of mourning l Even when their bodies are absent They are constantly or very frequently meditating upon sad and serious things such as Death and Judgment the Vanity of this Life and the reality and eternity of the next because they know that these thoughts though they be not grateful to the sensual part yet they are absolutely necessary and highly profitable and most comfortable in the end which every wise man most regards but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth m Their minds and affections are wholly set upon feasting and jolly because like Fools and brutish Creatures they regard only their present delight and mind not how dearly they must pay for them 5 * Prov. 13. 18. â—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 32. See 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—… 5. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wiâ—…e n Which though it causeth some grief yet frequently brings great benefit even Reformation and Salvation both from temporal and from eternal Destruction both which are the portion of impenitent sinners than for a man to hear the song o The flatteries or other merry discourses which are as pleasant to corrupt Nature as Songs or Musick of fools 6 For as the †Heb. a sound crackling of thorns p Which for a time make a great noise and blaze but presently wast themselves and go out without any considerable effect upon the meat in the pot under a pot so q So vanishing and fruitless is the laughter of the fool this also is vanity 7 Surely oppression r Either 1 Active When a wise Man falls into the practice of this sin of oppressing others he is besotted by it and by the vast Riches which he by his great wit gets by it Or rather 2. Passive when a wise man is oppressed by foolish and wicked men it makes him fret and rage and speak or act like a mad man for the wisest men are most sensible of indignities and injuries whereas fools are stupid do not much lay them to heart maketh a wise man mad * Deut. 16. 19. and a gift s A bribe given to a wise man destroyeth the heart t Deprives him of the use of his understanding which is oft called the heart as Exod. 23. 8. Deut. 16. 19. Hos. 4. 18. or makes him mad as was said in the former clause So this verse discovers two ways whereby a wise man may be made mad by suffering oppression from others or by receiving bribes to oppress others And this also is an argument of the vanity of worldly Wisdom that it is so easily corrupted and lost and so it serves the main design of this Book 8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof u If this verse relates to that next foregoing it is an Argument to keep mens minds from being disordered either by oppression or bribery because the end of those practices will shew that he who oppresseth another doth himself most hurt by it and that he who taketh Bribes is no gainer by them But if this be independent upon the former as divers other verses here are it is a general and useful observation that the good or evil of things is better known by their end than by their beginning which is true both in evil Counsels and Courses which are pleasant at first but at last bring destruction and in all noble Enterprizes in the studies of Learning and in the practice of Virtue and Godliness where the beginnings are difficult and troublesom but in the progress and conclusion they are most easie and comfortable and it is not sufficient to begin well unless we persevere to the end which crowns all and * Pro. 24. 29. the patient in spirit x Who quietly waits for the end and issue of things and is willing to bear hardships and inconveniences in the mean time is better than the proud y Which he puts instead of hasty or impatient which the opposition might seem to require partly because Pride is the chief cause of impatience Prov. 13. 10. and makes men unable to bear any thing either from God or from Men whereas Humility makes Men sensible of their own unworthiness and that they deserve at least from God all the indignities and injuries which they suffer from Men by Gods permission and therefore patient under them and partly to correct the vulgar errour of proud men who think highly of themselves and trample all others especially such as are meek and patient under their feet in spirit 9 * Pro. 14. 17. 16. 32. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry z Be not angry with any man without due consideration and just and necessary cause for otherwise anger is somtimes lawful and somtimes a duty for anger resteth a Hath its settled and quiet abode is their constant companion ever at hand upon all occasions whereas wise Men resist and mortifie and banish it in the bosom b In the Heart the proper seat of the passions of fools 10 Say not thou c To wit by way of impatient Expostulation and Complaint against God either for permitting such disorders in the World or for bringing thee into the World in such an evil time and state of things Otherwise a man may say this by way of prudent and pious enquiry that by searching out the cause he may as far as it is in his power apply Remedies to make them better What is the cause that the former days were better d Either 1. Less sinful Or rather 2. More quiet and comfortable For this and not the former is the cause of most Mens murmurings against Gods Providence And this is an Argument of a mind discontented and unthankful for the many Mercies which Men commonly enjoy even in evil times and impatient under Gods hand than these
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
of any particular King or Emperour it constantly speaks of him in the Masculine gender as it doth of Cyrus in this very Chapter ver 1. and elsewhere And thus the sence of the place seems to be this Ierusalem shall not onely be rebuilt but the Wealth and Glory of other Countryes shall be brought to it again as it was in former times Which although it was in part verified in Ierusalem yet it was much more fully accomplished in the Church of the Gospel which is oft expressed in Scripture under the name of Ierusalem and in the Accession of the Gentiles to that Church which began in Ierusalem and from thence spread it self into all the parts of the World And this sence seems best to agree with the latter part of this and with the following verse as we shall see and they shall be thine they shall come after thee in chains they shall come over o They shall be taken captive by thee and willingly submit themselves to thee Which was accomplished in the Conversion of the Gentiles whose Subjection to Gods Church is oft expressed in Scripture under such Metaphors as this as Psal. 45. 5. and 149. 8 c. Psal. 68. 18. compared with Eph. 4. 8. and they * Chap. 60. 14 shall fall down unto thee they shall make supplication unto thee p To obtain thy favour and society saying Surely God is in thee q Or with thee We plainly discern that God is on thy side or in the midst of thee and therefore we desire to joyn our selves with thee and * 1 Cor. 14. 25 Ver. 5. there is none else there is no God r We are now convinced that thou art the onely true God and that Idols are vain and empty nothings Which was but very obscurely fulfilled in Cyrus his time but was most evidently and eminently accomplished in the days of the Messiah of whom Cyrus was a Type as also this deliverance of the Iews from Babylon by Cyrus was a Type of the Redemption of Gods People by Christ. 15. Verily thou art a God s These are the words of the Prophet drawn from him by the contemplation of the great and various works and dispensations of God towards his Church and in the World that hidest thy * Chap. 8. 17. self t To wit from thy people for a season Thy counsels are deep and incomprehensible thy wayes and carriages are past finding out and full of beautiful variety Sometimes thou hidest thy face and withdrawest thy help from thy people and sometimes thou dost shew thy self to be their God and Saviour as it follows And therefore it is meet that we should patiently wait for the accomplishment of these glorious things here promised to us And this admonition is most fitly inserted here to prevent the mistakes of Gods people and to intimate that these promises were not to be speedily executed but that they must expect and prepare for many and sharp afflictions before that time should come which yet should end in their Salvation O God of Israel the Saviour 16. They u The Idolatrous Gentiles as it is explained in the end of the verse opposed to Israel in the beginning of the next verse shall be ashamed and also confounded all of them they shall go to confusion together that are * Chap. 44. 11. makers x Either the artificers or the chief masters who set them on work and consequently all their Worshippers although the Makers being most guilty and the cause of the sins of others might justly expect an higher degree of confusion of Idols 17. But Israel shall be saved in the LORD Or by with an everlasting Salvation y Not for a short time as it was in the dayes of the Judges and of the Kings under whom their dangers and calamities did frequently return upon them but unto all ages as it follows Whence it appears that he speaks not onely nor chiefly of their Deliverance out of Babylon which was far from being compleat or perpetual as appears both from Scripture as Ezra 9. 8. and elsewhere and from other Authors but of their Redemption by Christ by which this was truly and fully verified unto a great number of Israelites after the Flesh and especially unto the mystical Gods Church and People who are frequently called in Scripture by that name as the Ordinances and Priviledges of the Gospel are commonly discribed in the Old Testament by expressions borrowed from the Levitical dispensation And that this is the meaning of the place is evident from ver 22. wherein all the ends of the Earth are said to be sharers in this Salvation ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end 18. For thus saith the LORD * Chap. 42. 5. that created the heavens God himself that formed the earth made it he hath established it he created it not in vain he formed it to be inhabited * ver 5. I am the LORD and there is none else z This description of God is here added Either 1. To detect the vanity of Idols by asserting that none was to be owned as the trâ—…e God besides that one God who made the Heavens and the Earth and the Inhabitants thereof Or 2. To demonstrate Gods Sufficiency to fulfil all these glorious promises made to his Church because he made the World out of nothing and upholds it by the word of his Power and withal to discover Gods goodness to mankind inasmuch as he did not Create the Earth in vain but for the use and comfort of men that it might be a fit habitation for them whence it was easy to infer that God would much more be gracious to his own People 19. I have not spoken in * Deut. 30. 11. secret in a dark place of the earth a The Heathen Idols deliver their Oracles darkly and doubtfully in obscure Cells and Caverns of the Earth or out of the bellies of their Priests but I have delivered my Oracles to Israel publickly and plainly as one that was neither afraid nor ashamed to utter my mind least I should be convinced of folly and falshood which was the case of Idols I said not unto the seed of * Chap. 48. 16. Jacob Seek ye me in vain b Serve and Worship me for nought As I appointed them work so I promised and from time to time have given and shall give them abundant recompence for their service Whereas the Gentiles seek to their Idols in vain for they can do them no good as is observed in the next verse I the LORD speak righteousness I declare things that are right c I require nothing of my people which is not highly just and good whereas the Idols commanded their Worshippers to do many sinful and shameful things â—…ven in their worship as is notoriously known 20. Assemble your selves and come draw near together d To debate the business with
he was perfectly innocent it pleased God for other just and wise Reasons to punish him he hath put him to grief p God was the principal cause of all his sorrows and sufferings although mens sins were the deserving cause ‖ Or when his soul shall make an offering †If thou shalt make his soul sin 2 Cor. 5. 21. 1 Pet. 2. 24. when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin q When thou O God shalt make or have made thy Son a Sacrifice by giving him up to death for the attonement of mens sins His Soul is here put for his Life or for himself or his whole humane nature which was sacrificed his Soul being tormented with the sense of Gods Wrath and his Body crucified and Soul and Body separated by Death Or the words may be rendred When his soul shall make or have made itself an offering for sin whereby it may be implied that he did not lay down his Life by force but willingly he shall see his seed r His death shall be glorious to himself and highly beneficial to others for he shall have a numerous issue of Believers reconciled to God and saved by his death he shall prolong his days s He shall be raised to immortal Life and shall live and reign with God for ever he shall die no more Rom. 6. 9. and of his Kingdom there shall be no end Luk. 1. 33. and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand t Gods gracious decree for the redemption and Salvation of Mankind shall be effectually carried on by his Ministry and Mediation 11 He shall see u He shall receive or enjoy as this word commonly signifies of the travel of his soul x The comfortable and blessed fruit of all his hard labours and grievous sufferings and shall be satisfied y He shall esteem his own and his Fathers Glory and the Salvation of his People an abundant recompence for all his Sufferings by his knowledg z Either 1. Actively by that knowledg of Gods Will and of the way of Salvation which is in him in its highest perfection and which by him is revealed unto men and by his Spirit is imprinted in the Minds and Hearts of his People so as to produce Faith and Obedience in them Or 2. Passively by the knowledg of him as my fear and thy fear are put for the fear of me and of thee Psal. 5. 7. Ier. 32. 40. Knowledg being here as it is most frequently in Scripture taken practically for that kind of Knowledge which worketh Faith and Love and Obedience to him So the sense is the same in both cases shall * Ch. 42. 1. 49. 3. my righteous servant a Which title is here given to Christ partly to vindicate him from those false imputations of wickedness which were fastened upon him by his Adversaries and which found the more belief because of his most grievous and unexampled Sufferings both from God and Men and partly to shew his fitness for this great work of justifying sinners because he was exactly holy and harmless and undefiled Heb. 7. 26. and fulfilled all righteousness according to his duty Mat. 3. 15. and therefore his person and performance must needs be acceptable to God and effectual for the justification of his People which was the great design of his coming into the World justifie b Acquit them from the guilt of their sins and all the dreadful consequences thereof For Iustification is here opposed to condemnation as appears from the following clause and from many other passages in this Chapter and as it is used in all places of Scripture one or two at most excepted where it is mentioned And Christ is said to justifie sinners meritoriously because he purchaseth and procureth it for us as God the Father is commonly said to do it authoritatively because he accepted the price paid by Christ for it and the pronunciation of the sentence of Absolution is referred to him in the Gospel Dispensation many c Which word is seasonably added partly by way of Restriction to shew that Christ will not justifie all but only such as believe in him and obey him and partly by way of Amplification to declare that this blessed priviledge shall not now be as hitherto it had in a manner been confined to Iudoea and the Jews but shall be conferred upon an innumerable company of all the Nations of the World for he shall bear their iniquities d For he shall satisfie the Justice and Law of God for them by bearing the punishments due to their sins and therefore by the principles of Reason and Justice they must be justified or acquitted otherwise the same debt should be twice required and paid 12 Therefore will I e God the Father the spectator and Judge of the Action or Combat divide him f Give him his share Or impart or give to him for this word is oft used without respect to any distribution or division as Deut. 4. 19. 29. 26. and elsewhere a portion g Which is very commodiously supplied out of the next clause where a word which answers to it the spoil is expressed with the great h Or among the great such as the great and mighty Potentates of the World use to have after a sharp Combat and a glorious Victory Though he be a very mean and obscure person as to his extraction and outward condition in the World yet he shall attain to as great a pitch of the Glory as the greatest Monarchs enjoy and he shall divide the spoil with the strong i The same thing is repeated in other words after the manner of prophetical Writers The sense of both clauses is That God will give him and he shall receive great and happy success in his glorious undertaking he shall conquer all his Enemies and lead Captivity Captive as is said Eph. 4. 8. and set up his universal and everlasting Kingdom in the World because he hath poured out his soul unto death k Because he willingly laid down his Life in Obedience to Gods Command Ioh. 10. 17 18. and in order to the Redemption of Mankind Death is here called a pouring out of the Soul or Life either because the Soul or Life which in living men is contained in the body is turned out of the Body by Death or to signifie the manner of Christs Death that it should be with the shedding of his Blood in which the Life of Man consists Levit. 17. 11 14. and he * Mar. 15. 28. Luk. 22. 37. was numbred with the transgressors l He was willing for Gods Glory and for Mans Good to be reproached and punished like a Malefactor in the same manner and place and betwixt two of them as is noted with reference to this place Mark 15. 27 28. and he bare the sin of many m Which was said v. 11.
me not I said Behold me behold me unto a nation d I invited whole Nations by the preaching of my Gospel to behold me and I invited them with importunity doubling my words upon them and this I did unto a Nation not call'd by my name with whom I was not in Covenant and which did not profess any relation to me which none of the Gentiles could pretend unto The Prophet speaks of a thing to come many years after as if it were a thing then done to signifie the certainty of it God doth the same thing yet in every soul that is converted But the Text is manifestly to be interpreted of the conversion of the Gentiles that was not called by my name That in the primary sense of this Text is a Prophecy of the Conversâ—…on of the Gentiles upon the rejection of the Jews for their 〈◊〉 and crucifying of 〈◊〉 cannot be 〈◊〉 by any who will not arrogatâ—… to themselves a greater ability to interprâ—… the Prophesies of the old 〈◊〉 than Paul had who Rom. 10. 20. expresly so interpreteth it and applâ—…th it which sheweth the vanity of the Jews in their other interpretations of it 2 I have spread out my hands e Applied to the Jews Rom. 10. 21. I have stretched out my hands that is I have used all probable means to reduce them I have stretched out the hands of a passionate Orator to persuade them of a tender Mother to protect and defend them of a liberal Benefactor to load them with my Benefits this I have done continually in the whole course of my Providence with them yet all the day long to a rebellious people f They are a rebellious people Paul expoundeth it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a People not persuaded not believing but contradicting the will of God which walketh in a way that was not good g That walketh in a way that is not good that term is not good often signifies what is very bad see 1 Sam. 2. 24. Prov. 28. 21. 24. 23. Psal. 36. 5. Though all sins be not equal yet what is not good is bad after their own thoughts h After their own thoughts What is here called after their own thoughts is elsewhere called a walking after the imaginations of their hearts an ordinary Phrase by which sin especially sins in the matter of the Worship of God are expressed eight times in the Prophet Ieremiah sinning is thus expressed Ier. 3. 17. 7. 24. 9. 14. 11. 8. 13. 10. 16. 12. 18. 12. 23. 17. so also Deut. 29. 19. Errours in matter of Worship are ordinarily thus expressed certainly to let us know that all Worship must be according to Gods revealed Will and of such errours this Text seemeth by what followeth to speak though indeed the reason of all sin is mens fondness of their own imaginations in opposition to Gods revealed Will whence it is that self-denial is made the Law of a Discipleship to Christ. 3 A people that provoketh me to anger i That the Jews are the People here intended is without question the Prophet speaking of the calling of the Gentiles upon their rejection reckons up their sins which were the causes For though their rejection and crucifying of Christ was that sin which was the proximate cause yet God did but visit on that Generation their Iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together they having by that act filled up their measure They had provoked God continually to anger to his face continually to my face k Either in his Temple the place where he used to manifest himself or considering what followeth more probably the Phrase signifieth their impudence not taking notice of Gods Omnipresence and Omniscience that sacrificeth in gardens and burneth incense ‖ Or upon brick upon altars of brick l The particular provocations instanced in are deviations in the matter of divine Worship Sacrificing in gardens is one thing instanced in and burning incense on brick or altars of brick is another Deut. 12. 13. there was a particular Altar of Gold appointed for Incense Exod. 40. 5. God commanded Exod. 20. 24 25. That his Altars should be made of Earth or rough stone This people transgressed both these Laws sacrificing in gardens for which the Prophet reflected on them ch 1. 29. and again ch 66. 17. whether in gardens consecrated to Idols or in such Gardens as the Heathens worshipped Idols in is not much material for us to know and burning incense upon altars of brick directly contrary to the divine Rule Their Worship was doubtless Idolatrous and these Phrases signifie committing Idolatry but the expressing that sin by these Phrases lets us know that the doing contrary to the direction of the Divine Rule in Gods Worship is a great part of the sinfulness of Idolatry 4 Which remain amongst the graves m They remained amongst the Graves either there expecting Revelations by dreams or there consulting with Devils who were thought to delight in such places or to practice Necromancy all which were forbidden Deut. 18. 11. ch 8. 19. and and lodge in the monuments n And they lodged in the Monuments the Hebrew word here used gives advantage to Interpreters to vary in their senses The word signifying onely places kept or observed some interpret it of Idol Temples some of Caves and Denns in which the Heathens used to worship their Idols some of Tombs or Monuments for dead persons besides the Idolatry of the thing there was in it a sinful imitation of the Heathens and a swerving from the Rule which God had given them which eat swines flesh o They also are Swines flesh contrary to the divine Law Lâ—…v 11. 7. Deut. 14. 8. and they indured in their vessels and ‖ pieces broth of abominable things p Broth of abominable things so the word is used Iud. 6. 19 20. others read it parts or pieces of abominable things that is broth or pieces of such flesh as was to the Jews unclean by the Law Levit. 11. Every Creature of God is good but Gods Prohibition had made the flesh of divers Creatures an abominable thing to the Jews they might not touch their flesh Lev. 11 28. but they taking the measures of their duty from their Appetite or from their Reason concluding from natural Principles made no Conscience of the positive Law of God This was their iniquity which is further aggravated in the next verse in their vessels 5 Which say Stand by thy self come not near to me for I am holier than thou q Though they were so exceedingly guilty yet they pretended to a singular Sanctity so as they would not suffer others to come near or touch them The Samaritans are usually charged with this uncharitableness and the use of this form of Words but as some do more excuse the Samaritans than the other Jews as to this rigour so it may be questioned whether they