against the Lord. 2 Chron. 28.22 The whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint He proves here that though the men of Judah should be smitten yet they would revolt more and more And he proves it from former experience for experience shewed that though God had smitten them that they should amend yet for all that they were not the better for it And where men grow not the better they grow worse and worse The Prophet compareth the people of Judah here to the body of a man and the calamities and plagues which God had laid upon them to wounds and bruises and putrifying sores and other sicknesses By the head of this body are meant the King and Princes and Judges and other the Rulers of the Common-wealth and by the heart he meaneth the Priests and Levites 6. From the soal of the foot even to the head Here he includes all the members of the naturall body and by them he understands all the members of the body Politique q. d. There is none from the highest to the lowest in all the Kingdome or Common-wealth of Judah which hath not been smitten by the hand of God There is no soundness The soundness here spoken of is opposed to the wounds bruises and putrifying sores spoken of in the next words In it That is In the body Note that this Relative It is put here without an Antecedent And indeed it is usuall with the Hebrewes to put a Relative without an Antecedent and to leave the Antecedent to be gathered by the Circumstances of the place But wounds and bruises and putrifying sores These are opposed to the soundness spoken of just before And by these are meant all the calamities and plagues which had been of late inflicted upon the Jewes They have not been closed These words relate especially to the wounds before spoken of and by closing here is meant the â—queezing of the lips of the wounds together that the crude and raw bloud which is in them might be got out that they might heal the better Note that this praepositive Pronoune They is put for the Subjunctive Which q. d. Which have not been closed Neither bound up Supple with swathes and clothes as wounds and bruises and sores use to be bound up by Chyrurgians to keep them from the aire and to keep them warm Neither mollified with ointment Neither suppled with ointment Wounds and sores cause a hardnesse or stiffness in the adjacent parts through the afflux of humours which hardnesse or stiffness is mollified and supled with fit ointment Note that the Prophet is not curious in observing the method of Chyrurgians in this place For the binding up of wounds or sores is the last thing which the Chyrurgians do though here it be put before mollifying them with oyntment Those wounds and bruises and putrifying sores which have not been closed nor bound up nor mollyfied with ointment must needs be grievous And by these is meant that the plagues and miseries which the Lord had brought upon the Jewes were still grievous and lay heavie upon them even at this time when he spake Note that the Prophet leaves somewhat here to be understood to complete the sense And it is this Viz And yet ye are never the better but rather worse and worse and revolt more and more 7. Your Country is desolate Understand here yet neverthelesse q d. But though ye will revolt more and more if ye be stricken and are never awhit the better for all the calamities which have been brought upon you yet neverthelâ—ss ye shall undergoe more calamities and ye shall be stricken againe for your Country shall be desolate A Country is said to be desolate when it is spoiled of its Inhabitants which should manure it And when the Cities and dweling places thereof are ruined and the Vineyards and Gardens cut down and laid waste Note that the Prophet useth a present tense in this place for the future And so do Prophets use to do often to signifie thereby that that which they speak of shall as certainly come to passe as if it were already come The desolation and misery here prophesied of was that which the King of Syria and Israel brought upon the land of Judah 2 Chron. 28. Verse 5. c. A Question might here be asked why God said Why should ye be stricken any more ye will revolt more and more And yet for all that did strike them againe Answer When God tells them here that they wâ—ll revolt more and more if they be stricken he doth it for this end that they might not revolt And herein he imitates a careful Father which asketh an untowardly son why he should scourge him and tells him he will be never the better for scourging And this he doth that his son may be the better for he scourgeth him for all that that he may reclaim him Secondly Though God doth see the meanes which he useth will do but little good yet neverthelesse he will use them that it may appear that not He but man is the cause of his own perdition Thirdly Though the greatest part were like to revolt more and more upon the Lords striking them againe yet it was likely that some few of the best of them would returne and repent and for these few sakes the Lord might strike them Your Cities are burnt with fire Here he puts againe a Present or a Praeterperfect tense for a Future and so he doth throughout this and the next Verse Your land strangers devoure it q. d. Your land and whatsoever is therein strangers shall devoure Note that the Relative Pronoune It is often redundant as it is here in this place In your presence i. e. before your face which will cause the greater grief And it is desolate as overthrown by strangers That desolation is the greatest which is made by strangers For strangers do more waste a Country by warrs than inhabitants of the Country do For strangers have not that love of a Country which the natives and inhabitants thereof have neither do they hope for that good from it in times to come as the inhabitants do therefore they spoile it and devoure it so that they may either enrich themselves for the present or hurt their enemies for the future 8. And the daughter of Sion Sion was a famous hill within the walls of Hierusalem upon which the Palace of the Kings of Judah was built and that which was called the City of David 2 Sam. Chap. 5. Vers 7. But by a Synechdoche it is here taken for Hierusalem it self By the daughter of Sion or the daughter of Hierusalem is meant the City of Sion or the City of Hierusalem as we say the City of London For the Hebrewes do usually speak of a City as of a woman by a Metaphor or Prosopopeia and because among the sex of women the Daughters that is the young Maides and Virgins are commonly the fairest therefore they do call a City sometimes a Daughter sometimes
highly honour him and reward him But if you would know what particular honour and reward the Lord gave his Sonne and Servant Christ Iesus read among other places Ephes 1. v. 20 21 22 23. and Phil. 12. v. 1.81 91 101.11 But for the understanding of this That these words I will devide him a portion with the great signifie no more than this I will highly honour him and reward him know this that those places of Scripture which carry two senses in them are Historicall as I may call it and a Mysticall though they carry the Historicall sense word for word yet they carry the Mysticall sense for the most part but in Grosse though here and there there be sometimes such sentences interserted as apperteine according to the words themselves not onely to the Historicall but also to the Mysticall sense of which I spake more at large in the Preface And he shall divide the spoile with the strong This is the same for sense with former words Because he hath poured out his soul unto death i. e. Because he hath not spared his life but parted with it to the uttermost By His soule is here meant His life by a Metonymie for Life is nothing else but the Union of the soule with the body which Union is mainteined by the apt dispositions of the body to reteine it When he saith he hath poured out his soule he useth a Metaphor taken from the powring out of water out of Buckets He saith He hath poured out his soule unto death in pursuance of that Metaphor Of powring out of water out of a Bucket where the water is so poured out to the last drop as that there is not a drop thereof remaining And he was numbred with the transgressours i. e. And because he was accounted as a Transgressour though he were innocent and was put to death amongst Transgressours This was fulfilled when he was crucified between two Thieves Mark 15. v. 27 28. And he bare the sinne of many i. e. And he bare what the malice of the Jewes and the Gentiles under Pontius Pilate could lay upon him See Acts Cap. 4.27 By Sinne understand here the Torments and Afflictions which were the effect of the sinne That is of the malice and envy of the Jewes c. By a Metonymie And made intercession for the transgressours i. e. And because he made intercession for these who through envy and malice did put him to death ISAIAH CHAP. LIV. SIng O barren thou that didst not bear i. e. Sing for joy O Sion or O Jerusalem thou which hast been like a barren woman and bore no children He prophecyeth here of the joyful deliverance of the Jews out of the Babylonish captivity as he did cap. 49.51 52. and elsewhere And he speaks to the material City of Sion or Ierusalem as to a woman by a Prosopopoeia whom he calleth barren and one that did not bear because all the time of the Babylonish captivity she was empty of Jews which were to her as children for they were all carryed away into Babylon and there was none left in her to encrease the Nation See cap. 49.21 Cry aloud Supple For joy Thou that didst not travel with childe This is a repetition of those words Thou that didst not bear For more are the children of the desolate i. e. For more shall thy children be O thou which wast desolate and as a widow and as one forsaken of her Husband during the Babylonish captivity c. He changeth the person here and speaks of Sion or Jerusalem in the third person to whom he spoke in the foregoing words in the second and he useth a present for a future tense Sion or Jerusalem was called desolate and as one forsaken of her Husband because God who was her Husband vers 5. and cap. 62.5 had forsaken her cap. 50.1 And therefore as a woman which is desolate and forsaken of her Husband beareth not children so was Ierusalem barren and without children while God had forsaken her who might be called her Husband as in other regards so in this that while he had a favor to her he did encrease her children within her as a woman multiplyeth her children by her Husband Then the children of the marryed wife i. e. Then thy children were when thou hadst an Husband any time heretofore and wast a marryed Wife The meaning is that Jerusalem though she had been afflicted and brought into captivity by the Babylonians and had her Children or Citizens carryed away from her yet now she should be more populous then ever she was at any time before that her captivity Note that when he saith More are the children of the desolate then the children of the marryed woman he speaks as though he spoke of two several persons but he speaks but of two several states or conditions of the same person So we say of a man that is changed from what he was that he is another man though not his substance but his condition onely is changed This which I have given is the first sence of this place But Sion here as she became fruitful after her widowhood was a Type of the Church of Christ So that in the second and sublime sence this place is to be understood of the Church of Christ as will appear Gal. 4.27 For as Sion while God had put her away from being his Wife and had given her over to be spoyled by the hands of the Babylonians was barren and brought forth no children but when he took her to him to Wife again she encreased in children as the Stars of Heaven for multitude So the Church of Christ while she was a stranger to the bed of Christ and was without the seed of his Word that is while all Nations were suffered to walk in their own ways Acts 14.16 and were given over to the god of this World to be blinded by him Acts 17.30 brought forth no children unto God But when Christ took her to his bed Ioh. 3.29 and redeemed her out of the hand of Satan and gave her the seed of his Word she so encreased in children as that all the ends of the Earth were full of her issue So that she far exceeded the Synagogue of the Iews when it was most populous Note here that Sion as she was considered before the Babylonish captivity was a Type of the Synagogue of the Iews but as she was considered after the Babylonish captivity was a Type of the Church of Christ As therefore Sion was more populous after the Babylonish captivity then ever she was before so was the Church of Christ more populous then ever the Synagogue of the Iews was Wonder not that I make Sion a Type of the Synagogue and the same Sion a Type of the Church upon divers considerations For Saint Paul makes her a Type of the Synagogue Gal. 4.25 and a Type of the Church Rom. 9.33 It may be objected here That the Church of Christ was not the Church
company And thus might their Judges be called Companions of Theeves because they did take away other mens goods as Theeves did For the spoile of the poor was in their houses Chap. 7. Vers 14. Againe by Theeves may be meant not onely Theeves but all kind of evill doers whatsoever by a Synecdoche And these Judges may be called Companions of Theeves and of evill doers because Theeves and evill doers resorted to them to bribe them that they might be acquitted in Judgement when they were appealed for their villany And they themselves did privily resort to theeves and evill doers againe that they might make the better bargaine with them and sell their absolution at the dearer rate And thus Theeves being often in their company and they againe often in the company of Theeves might be called the Companions of Theeves Or thirdly They might be called the Companions of Theeves because their companions presuming of their favour and connivance became no better than Theeves in their Actions by defrauding and oppressing and taking from other men Every one Supple Of them Loveth gifts and followeth after rewards By which gifts and rewards they are corrupted and drawn to do injustice See Ex. 18.21 and 23.8 They judge not the Fatherlesse i. e. They will not give the Fatherlesse a day of hearing nor judge their cause when it depends before them But delay it and put it off from Time to Time and day to day because they have no friends to make to them nor gifts to give them See Verse 17. Neither doth the cause of the widdow come unto them q. d. And the câ—use of the widdow is kept off and cannot come unto them to be heard for the causes of great men He speakes of the widdowes cause as of a Person by a Prosopopoâ—ia And puts an Indicative for a Potâ—ntial Mood for the Hebrewes have no Potential Mood 24 The mighty one of Israel i. e The God of Israel which excelleth in strength might and power I will ease me of mine adversaries i. e. I will ease me of these rebellious Princes and Judges which are now a trouble to me and anger me He calls these rebellious Princes and Judges his Adversaries because they refuse to keep his Commandements And the carnall mind is enmity against God Rom. 8. Vers 7. But how will God ease himself of these his Adversaries Answ By cutting them off or destroying them out of the City For note that this is spoken of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and revenge useth to ease yea to be sweet to the mind of an angry man And avenge me of mine enemies This Particle And may be taken for a Note of Explication here and declare how God will ease himself of his Adversaries to wit by Avenging himself of them 25. And I will turn my hand upon thee i. e. For I will take thee in hand O Hierusalem And is put here for For a Copulative for a Causall Note that because we must turn our hand to a thing before we can take that thing in hand Hence by putting the Antecedent for the Consequent turning the hand to a thing is put for taking a thing in hand Or I will turne my hand upon thee signifieth I will afflict thee or punish thee and that from the End for which He will turn his hand upon her And purely purge away thy drosse i. e. And clean purge away the drosse Or purge away thy drosse from thee so as that thy silver shall be pure silver What is meant by dr sse See Vers 22. And take away all thy Tinn Tinn and Dresse signifie here one and the same thing viz Vnrighteousnesse Yet Tinn seemeth to signifie Vnrighteousnâ—ssâ— as it is vailed with a mask of Righteousnesse For Tinn sheweth like silver though it be not silver The Lord did purge away the Drâ—sse and take aâ—ay the Tinn that is the Vnrighteousnessâ— â—hich was in Hierusalâ—m either by destâ—oying the Unrighteous Judges or amendâ—ng them The Question will here be how and when God did ease himself of these his adversâ—ries and avenge himself of these his enemies and purge away the drâ—sse c. Answ He did it in thâ— dayes of Hezekiah and by the hands of Hezekiah who as he reformed the Temple of God when he came to the Crowne 2 Kings 18.4 So did he no doubt reform the Common-wealth also and did accordi g to that saying of his Father David I will early destroy all the wickâ—d of the Land that I may cut off all the wicked doers from the City of the Lord Psal 101.8 Hezekiah therefore did cut off these wicked Judges either by the sword which was a naturall death or by banishment which was a civill death And they being banished and turned out of Hierusalem were taken and destroyed by the hands of the Assyrians under Sennacharib when they came against Judah and Hierulem See Notes Cap 22. Vers 18. 26. And I will restore thy Judgeâ— as at the first i. e. I will make thy Judges such as the were heretofore in the dayes of David Salomon Asa and Jehoshaphat Note here that it is not the Prophets meaning that all thâ—se Judges which were corrupt should become good for most of them were incorrigible and so destroyed But his meaning is that many of them should amend their faults and in the places of those which would not amend others which were just and righteous should be put â—or although these last were several Persons or individua distinct from those into whose places they were put Yet he speaketh of them as if they were the same men because they did succeed one another in the same place of judicature As in the beginning i. e. As heretofore An Hyperbole Thou shalt be called the City of Righteousnesse i. e. Thou shalt be a righteous City The Prophet useth the word to be called for to be For it is not the Prophets meaning that this shall be the proper name of Hierusalem Viz. the righteous City But that Hierusalem should be a righteous City and men may truly so call it The like manner of speech he useth Cap 7.14 and Cap. 9. Vers 6. c. The City of Righteousnesse i. e. the Righteous City or City wherein Justice is truely administred He puts a Substantive of the Genitive case for an Adjective The faithfull City See Vers 21. 27. Zion shall be redeemed with judgement q. d. When the Assyrians shall come under Sennacharib against Judah and Hierusalem Hierusalem shall be redeemed out of their hands because of the Judgement and Righteous Justice which shall be administred in her Zion i. e. Hierusalem See vers 8. And her Converts i e. And such of her Judges and Princes which were Unrighteous but shall turne from their unrighteous dealing With Righteousnesse i. e. For their Righteousnesse What is meant by Judgement and Righteousnesse See Vers 21. 28. And the destruction of the Transgressors and of the sinners shall be together i. e. But the Judges which have
Burrough with us called Alâ—er-men quasi Elder-men Yet he calleth these same men Children Vers 12. But it is not from their yeares or from their place but from their Ignorance and their carriage that he calleth them Children in that place For yee have eaten up the Vine-yard By the Vine-yard he meaneth the Poor of whom the Lord hath as great a care as a Master of a Vine-yard hath of his Vine-yard See Chap. 5. vers 7. Men eat onely the Grapes of the Vine-yard but the Beasts eat the Vines themselves To such therefore may these men be here compared except you take the Vine-yard by a Metonymie for the Grapes of the Vine-yard By eating up the Vineyard is meant the spoiling of the Poor of their money and goods by oppression And wonder not that this should so signifie when it is said in the same sense They eat up my People as they eat bread Psal 14 v. 4. Note here the Enallage of the Person how he passeth from the Third to the Second Person The spoil of the poor i. e. The goods which yee have spoiled the Poor of or which ye have wrung from the poor by oppression and extortion What mean ye that ye beat my people By my people are here meant the poor for the Lord doth often call the poor his people because of the care which he hath of them as Psal 14.4 and James 2.5 15. What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces and grind the faces of the poor q. d. What reason have ye thus to oppresse my people to witt the poor and to get their meanes and their substance from them by Oppression Those Phrases are both of them Metaphoricall alluding to wheat whose flower is gotten out by beating or by grinding For note that they were wont not one to grind their wheat in a Mill but also to bray it and beat it in pieces in a morter as appeareth Prov. 27. vers 22. that they may get the flower out of it Hence they which imprison the poor or use them hardly that they may get their money or meanes away from them are said to beat them in pieces and to grind them The like phrase we have among us which speakes of squeezing a man which phrase is Metaphoricall and taken from Grapes or such like fruits which we squeeze that we may get the juyce out of them But you will say that a Mans money or his meanes are not the same to a Man as the flower is to the wheat or the juyce is to the grapes Answer Nor need they be to make the Metaphor good for Similitudes run not upon four feet Yet the Scripture often speakes in this case of a poor mans money and goods as if it were part of the man yea the man himself see Micah 3. v. 2.3 Job 29. v. 17. Prov. 30. v. 14. Psal 14. v. 4. And grinde the faces of the Poor i. e. And grinde the poor He useth here a Synecdoche of the Part for the Whole And puts the faces of the Poor for the Poor themselves and the face rather than any other part in this Place Because this oppression of the Poor did shew it self in the Faces of the Poor when they went heavy and sorrowful through the manifold wrongs which they suffered And when the hunger which they susteined for want of their meanes to buy them bread shewed it self in their lean thin pined and starved faces 16. The daughters of Sion i. e. The women of Hierusalem Sion is taken for Hierusalem as Cap. 1. v. 8. And Hierusalem as any other City may is taken here by a Prosopopoeia for a Mother her Inhabitants all for Children the Men for her Sonnes the Women for her Daughters see Chap. 1. v. 27. Are haughty Some understand this not onely of the haughtinesse of the mind which certainly is chiefly here intended but of the Stature of the body also As though these women to make themselves more tall and stately used high-sole Shooes or stately Buskins And walked with stretched forth necks Like Cranes or Swans The Prophet useth a kind of Sarcasme in this description It is the manner of proud Ones to goe as loftily as they can but humble Men and Women look low And wanton eyes i. e. Lascivious eyes which they cast wantonly and lasciviously upon young Men thereby to allure them to their embraces Walking Supple Abroad in the streets which is not so seemly for them as to keep at home And mincing as they goe i. e. Mincing and cutting their steps and strides as it were into little pieces and taking but a piece of a stride at a time as they goe And making a tinckling with their feet How this tinckling was made with their feet as they went no man can certainly know being utterly unacquainted with the dressings and fashions of the women of that time But some conjecture that they were bells about their feet by the tinckling of which the measure and composure of their steps might be taken notice of Others conjecture that they were Jewels and Pearles in their Shooes and Plinie writes of such lib. 9. cap. 35. and that the hitting and striking of these together as they went mincing made this tinckling Others have other conjectures but they wore some kind or other of tinckling Ornament about their feet v. 18. 17. The Lord will smite with a Scab the Crown of the head This Scab might come either immediately from God or by carrying burthens upon their heads as captives are put to all hardnesse Or by pulling of their hair by the roots which they were wont to doe in their Lamentations And the Lord will discover their secret parts This was when they had not any clothes left them to cover their nakedness For the Babylonish Souldiers under Nebuchadnezzar pilladg'd them of their long trained gownes and scarce left them or allowed them a rag to wear 18. In that day i. e. In the day in which the Lord shall punish this pride of theirs by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar He puts a Relative here without an Antecedent as the Hebrews often use to doe Or else this relateth to the day mentioned chap. 2. v. 12 19. The tinckling Ornaments about their feet See vers 16. The chaines Which they wore about their necks And the bracelets Which they wore about their wrists And the Nose Jewels i. e. Jewels hanging down from the forehead as low as the Nose Some say that the Eastern women were wont to were Jewels in their noses as well as in their eares by boring a hole in their nose as they did in the eare and that the Prophet speaketh here of such jewels or rings 22. The changeable sutes of apparell Changeable Sutes of Apparell were many Sutes of Apparell whereof they wore one one day and another another and another a third day which change and variety of Sutes and of Apparell was accounted a piece of the Luxury of those times And the mantles They were wont
of Sennacherib wherewith he should march toward Hierusalem to besiedge it or rather to strengthen the siedge thereof that he might thereby set forth the danger into which the Inhabitants of Hierusalem should come and afterwards shew what a deliverance they should have in being delivered from him He is passed to Migron Of Migron we read 1 Sam. 14.2 That was also in the Tribe of Benjamin in the uttermost parts of the Territories of Gibeah This is spoken in the person of another Messenger or Scout At Michmash he hath laid up his carriages Supple That he might march with the more speed Michmash was a City in the Tribe of Ephraim in the uttermost parts thereof neer the Tribe of Benjamin This is spoken in the person of another Messenger or Scout 29. They are gone over the passage By This Passage is meant that Passage which was called the passage of Michmash of which you may read 1 Sam. 13.23 and 14. v. 4 5. Note the Enallage here of the number he speakes in the Plurall number here whereas he spoke in the Singular before because Sennacherib marched with a great part of his Army in this march of his They have taken up their lodging at Geba i. e They intend to quarter at Geba this night Geba was in the Tribe of Benjamim not farre from Ramah as the next words shew Ramah is afraid i e. The Inhabitants of Ramah are afraid Supple because of the approach of Sennacherib and the forces which he had with him Ramah was a City of Benjamin Josh 18. v. 25. Gibeah of Saul is fled i. e. The Inhabitants of Gibeah of Saul are fled for fear of Sennacherib Gibeah was seated in the Tribe of Benjamin and was called Gibeah of Saul because Saul who was the first King of Israel dwelt there Of this you may read 1 Sam. Cap. 11. v. 4. 30. Lift up thy voyce O Daughter of Gallim q. d. Cry aloud for sorrow and grief O ye Inhabitants of Gallim because the Assyrians are come so near you O Daughter of Gallim i. e. O City of Gallim The Hebrews call their Cityes by the name of Daughters See Chap. 1. v. 8 The Prophet puts here the Cityes themselves for the Inhabitants of the Cityes per Metonymiam Subjecti or Continentis Cause it to be heard i. e. Cause thy voyce to be heard in mourning and lamentation This is spoken not to Gallim but to Anathoth It is a Relative without an Antecedent but the Antecedent may be understood from the former words Vnto Laish Some think that this Laish was a Citty in the Tribe of Benjamin But others take it for that Laish which was in the Tribe of Dan and which was the utmost City one of them of the Land of Canaan Northward of which Judg. 18. So that by bidding them cry and cause their voyce to be heard to Laish he bids them cry exceeding loud O poor Anathoth This City was in the Tribe of Benjamin and was the City of the Prophet Jeremy Jer. 1.1 He calls it poor Anathoth out of pitty pittying the case thereof because of the Assyrians approach towards it 31. Madmenah is removed i. e. The Inhabitants of Madmenah have left their City for fear of Sennacherib Madmenah was a City of Benjamin The Inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to fly Supple For fear of the Assyrians Gebim was a City of Benjamin 32. As yet he shall remaine at Nob that day q d. Yet for all this his speed which he makes to come to Hierusalem he shall not come to Hierusalem he shall come no farther than Nob there he shall remaine and there he shall be that day Supple in which he shall march from Geba in which he lodged v. 20. These words are somewhat defective and have an Ellepsis in them which I have made up Note that whereas the Prophet spoke in the four former verses in the person of Messengers and Scouts here he speakes in his own person and prophesieth of the speedy destruction of Sennacherib's Army which shall be before Sennacherib can get himself to Hierusalem to trench against it As yet i. e. Yet for all this He. That is Sennacherib Nob. This Nob was a City of the Priests 1 Sam. 22.19 And it was in the Tribe of Benjamin That day He meaneth the day in which Sennacherib removed from Geba where he lodged v. 29. He shall shake his hand against the Mount of the daughter of Sion the hill of Hierusalem i. e. When he is come to Nob from whence he may see Hierusalem he shall shake his hand against Hierusalem and threaten it But he shall not come to Hierusalem to cast up any Bankes or raise up a Fort against it Note here that it is most probable that though Hierusalem was besiedged by Sennacherib's Army yet Sennacherib was not there himself in person though he was comming thither but that Rabshake or some other great Officer of Sennacherib's had the chief command of the siedge till Sennacherib himself should come For it is said of Sennacherib himself Cap. 37. v. 33. and 2 Kings 19.32 That he should not come against Hierusalem with Shields nor cast a Bank against it He shall shake his hand i. e. He shall if he will shake his hand Shake his hand i. e. Threaten They which threatâ—n a man doe usually hold up their hand and shake it against him whom they threaten Hence to shake the hand is put here for to threaten by a Metonyâ—ie Against the Mount of the Daughter of Sion i. e. Against Mount Sion whereon the City of David was built 1 Kings 8.1 and whereon were strong holds 2 Sam. cap. 5. v. 7. The Daughter of Sion is as much to say as the City of Sion See Chap. 1. v. 8. The hill of Hierusalem i. e. Mount Sion which was within the walls of Hierusalem This is a Repetition of the former words 33. Behold i. e. But behold Shall lop the bough He puts bough here Collective for boughs By the Boughes he meaneth the Souldiers of Sennacherib's Army For here he compareth Sennacherib and his Army to a Tree whereof Sennacherib is the Body on which the Boughes depend and the Souldiers are the Boughes of that Body Yet note that some take the Bough here simply and singularly for some eminent bough and think that Rabshake was meant thereby of whom we read Cap. 36. and 37. who Commanded in chief at this time in which the siedge was layd against Hierusalem With terrour i. e. After a terrible manner And the high ones of stature i. e. And the Tall trees By which are Metaphorically meant the Captaines and chief Officers of Sennacherib's Army See v. 18. In the former words he likened Sennacherib to a Tree and the Souldiers of his Army to the boughes of that tree The Captaines and chief-Officers to the upper and the common Souldiers to the lowâ—r boughs But here he likeneth Sennacherib's Armie to a forrest as he doth also v. 18. And his Captaines and
v. 5. The howling thereof unto Eglaim and the howling thereof unto Beer-Elim i. e. The cry and lamentation of Moab is heard to Eglaim it is heard to Beer-Elim These two Toâ—â—es Eglaim and Beer-Elim were in the uttermost Coasts of the land of Moab Thereof i. e. Of Moab i e. Of the Moabites Moab is put by a Metonymie for the Moabites or Children of Moab 9. For the waters of Dimon shall be full of bloud The Prophet alludes to the name of Dimon which is derived from Bloud signifieth Bloudy And saith that Dimon shall be filled with the bloud of the Moabites which shall be slaine at this time It is thought by comparing this place with that of the second of Kings Cap. 3. v. 20. c. that this Dimon was that River which came by the way of Edom into the Land of Moab by the meanes of Elisha when the King of Israel and the King of Judah and the King of Edom went together against Moab to battle and they and their Armies were distressed for want of water And that it was called Dimon that is Bloudy First because the Moabites when they saw the Sunne shine upon the water as red as bloud said this is Bloud Secondly because the waters of that River were coloured with the bloud of the Moabites which were slain there close by that River or those waters at that time Note that this sentence must be referred as the former were to those words My heart shall cry for Moab v. 5. For I will bring more upon Dimon i. e. For I the Lord will bring more streames of bloud upon Dimon q. d. When the three Kings of Israel Judah and Edom warred against Moab The Lord slew so many of the Moabites as that whole streames of their bloud ran into Dimon and raised the waters thereof and as the Lord did then so will he do now againe he will slay so many of the Moabites as that more streams of their bloud shall run into Dimon and encrease the waters thereof therewith Note that the Prophet speakes here in Person of God Lions upon him that escapeth of Moab i. e. I will also bring for these words are here to be repeated or understood Lions upon that Moabite which escapeth the sword and they shall devoure him And upon the remnant of the Land i. e. And upon them that remaine alive in the land of Moab after the desolation and destruction here spoken of The like judgement of this by Lions we read of 2 Kings 17.25 Note that this Prophesie and that which followeth in the next Chapter were not delivered at one and the same time but yet they concern one and the same judgement of the Moabites for the Prophets did often repeat one and the same Prophesie as they were moved thereunto concerning the fulfilling therefore of this Prophesie we shall speak at the end of the next Chapter ISAIAH CHAP. XVI SEnd ye the Lamb to the Ruler of the Land c. For the understanding of this place we must know that David made warre upon the Moabites and overcame them he put two parts of them to the sword and one part of them he spared upon this condition that they should become his servants and acknowledge him for their Lord and pay him a yearely Tribute 2 Sam. 8.2 This Tribute was yearely to be an hundred thousand Lambes and an hundred thousand Ramms with the wooll 2 Kings 3.4 Now when the Kingdome of David was rent in twaine in the dayes of Rehoboam his grand-child the Moabites payd this Tribute to the Kings of Israel as having the greater part of that divided Kingdome and therefore being the strongest as they thought And the payment thereof they continued untill the dayes of Ahaz 2 Kings 3.4 But now the Prophet adviseth them to pay this Tribute to Hezekiah as due to him he being of the lineage of David and his right Heire and so much the rather because now the Kingdome of Israel was utterly ruined by Salmaneser but the Kingdome of Judah did increase in power and strength and flourish under Hezekiah Send ye the Lamb. q. d. O ye Moabites send ye the Tribute of Lambes and of Ramms which ye owe to David and his Successours He speakes here to the Moabites And by the Lamb he meaneth the Lambes putting a Singular number for a Plurall And by the Lambes he meaneth the whole Tribute of Lambs and Ramms which the Moabites owed to David and his Successours by a Synechdoche by part of the Tribute understanding the whole To the Ruler of the Land i. e. To Hezekiah King of Judah who is the Supream Lord of your Land and so your Lord. By the Land he meaneth the Land in which they lived that is the Land of Moab But how could Hezekiah be called the Ruler or Lord of the Land of Moab Answer Because he was the right Heire of David For because he was the right Heir of David he was by right of Inheritance Lord and Ruler of the Land of Moab For the Moabites covenanted with David to be his Servants and by consequence the Servants of his Heires and lawfull Successours 2 Sam. 8.2 And if they covenanted to be his Servants then was he by consequence their Lord. From Sala to the wildernesse These words depend upon the Pronoune Ye So that the sence of the words and order thereof is this O ye Moabites Supple which dwell from Sala to the wilderness send ye the Lambs to the Ruler of the Land Sala was a City scituate on the South and the wildernesse here mentioned was a wildernesse lying on the North of the Land of Moab the west part of which wildernesse bordered upon Jordan these therefore were two of the bounds of that Land And by these two bounds the whole Land of Moab is to be understood Vnto the Mount of the daughter of Sion i. e. To Hierusalem which is the head City of the Kingdome of Judah and where is the Throne of David and Pallace of Hezekiah By the Mount of the daughter of Sion he meaneth Hierusalem see Chap. 1. vers 8. These words Vnto the Mount of the Daughter of Sion depend upon the word send q. d. Send ye the Lambs unto the Mount of the Daughter of Sion When he bids them send the Lambs to the Ruler of the Land he tells them the Person to whom and when he bids them send them to the Mount of the Daughter of Sion He tells them the Place whether they should send them 2. For it shall be c. i. e. For otherwise it shall be Understand otherwise here A wandering bird cast out of the nest By a wandering bird cast out of the nest he meaneth a young Bird which while a man commeth to take the whole nest getteth out of the nest But when it is out of the nest wandereth up and down peeping and crying knowing not which way to take or what to do haveing no Damme to feed it and to guide it and
tutour it So the Daughter of Moab shall be i. e. So shall the Daughters of Moab wander up and down crying and bemoaning themselves and not knowing what to do or which way to take By the Daughters of Moab he meanes the Women of Moab and by a Sylepsis the Men to but he mentioneth onely the Women because they are most subject to fear and terrour and soonest faint Or by the Daughters of Moab he means the Cityes of Moab by an Hebraisme of which Cap 1.8 And by the Cityes of Moab he meaneth the Inhabitants of those Cityes by a Metonymie At the ford of Arnon Arnon was a River which ran on the East of the Land of Moab and divided the Land of Moab from the Land of the Ammonites By the Ford of Arnon therefore understand the East-borders of the Land of Moab and by the East-borders all the other borders thereof by a Syllepsis 3. Take counsel q. d. Take counsell together and consider what ye are bound to do to or for the Kings of Judah and their People by that Covenant which ye made with David when ye became his Servants and Tributaries 2 Sam. cap. 8. v 2. These words are to be joyned with the first Verse as if the second were brought in by way of Parenthesis Executes judgement q. d. When ye know and have considered what ye are bound to doe by your Covenant for the Kings of Judah and their People do it for this is just and justice requireth it to be done Judgement is put here for that which is just or that which justice requireth to be done Make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noon day q. d. It will not be long before the men of Judah will be persecuted and faine to flie out of their own Countrey to strangers for relief But when they are persecuted and faine thus to flie receive ye them and relieve them The Phrase is Allegoricall wherein he compares Persecution to the heate at noone day and the relief afforded to such as are persecuted to the shaddow of a tree or tent which abates that heat The time when the men of Judah should be persecuted and flie to save their lives and had need of relief abroad was when Sennacherib invaded the Land of Judah Make thy shaddow i. e. Let thy shaddow be He alludes to a tree or tent which casts a shaddow by the interposition of its leaves or Curtaines between the Sunne and the earth As the night the night is nothing else but a Shaddâ—w caused by the interposition of the earth between the Sunne and us But is a great shaddow and abateth the scorching heat of the day more than any shaddow else In the middest of the noone day At which time the Sunne is at the highest and the weather hottest and by which is meant here the heat of persecution Hide the out-casts i. e. Receive them and hide them from the fury of their enemies which are faine for fear to leave their owne homes By the Out-casts he meaneth such Jewes as were constrained for fear of the Assyrians under Sennacherib to flie out of their owne land Bewray not him that wandereth q. d. Bewray not that Jew to his enemies which is faine to leave his house and home and to steale or goe privately from place to place to save his life 4. Let mine out-casts dwell with thee O Moab q. d. Yea entertaine my People which are forced to flie from their house and home and give them a safe and quiet dwelling among you O ye Moabites This is spoken in the Person of God Be thou a covert to theiâ— from the face of the spoiler i. e. Be thou as an hiding place to hide them in that the spoiler may not see them or find them out to spoile them A Metaphor from a Covert which keeps from Storme and Raine as Chapter 4. verse 6. That which the Prophet here adviseth the Moabites to is not so much a piece of mercy as of justice For being that they were by their Covenant Servants to the Kings of Judah and the Kings of Judah were their Lords they were bound in justice to relieve their Subjects as they were able For the Extortioner is at an end i. e. For the Assyrians which shall vex my people shall not continue their cruelty long but they shall be speedily cut off and brought to an end He puts a Singular number here Collective for a Plural and by the Extortioners he meaneth the Assyrians which did extort and wring gold and silver and whatsoever they liked from or out of them over whom they tyrannized and particularly out of or from the Jewes 2 Kings 18. v. 14 15 16. The Spoiler ceaseth i. e. They which will spoile the land of Judah shall presently be destroyed The Oppressours are consumed out of the Land i. e. They which shall oppresse my People shall be forthwith consumed and clean ridd out of the Land of Judah againe These three last Phrases signifie all one and the same thing and they are repeated for the more assurance of what is said and the meaning of the phrases is this that though the Assyrians shall cruelly vex and oppresse and spoile the land of Judah and the People thereof for a while yet it shall be but for a while for after a while they shall be utterly destroyed and consumed so that not one of them shall be left in the land And this came to passe when the Angell destroyed an hundred fourscore and five thousand of the Assyrian Army in one night 2 Kings Chap. 19. Vers 35. He tells the Moabites here that the Assyrians rage and cruelty shall last but a while in the Land of Judah the better to perswade them to shew kindnesse to the men of Judah in their distresse For the lesse burthensome men are like to be the soonner will they find entertainment 5. And in mercy shall the Throne be established q. d. And through the mercy of God the Kingdome of Judah shall be established and stand firme and flourish againe maugre all the cruelty of the Assyrians In mercy i. e. By mercy viz. the mercy of God Note that the Preposition In is put for almost all other Prepositions among the Hebrews and so used The Throne The Throne which is the Kings Chaire of State is put here Metonymice for the Kingdome of Judah And he shall sit upon it And Hezekiah shall sit upon the Throne of the Kingdome of Judah after the destruction which the Assyrians shall make in the Land of Judah He putts the Relative He here without an Antecedent which yet may be easily understood And by Hez kiah's sitting upon the Throne he meanes Hezekiah's Raigne and rule over the Kingdome of Judah In truth i. e. Certainely and without faile Or In truth i. e. According to the truth to wit of Gods promise made to David Psal 132. v. 11 12. In the Tabernacle of David i. e. In the House or Pallace of David He
put their Shields or Bucklers when they had no use of them and out of which they took them when they made use thereof 7. And it shall come to passe that thy choicest vallies shall be full of Charets c. i. e. And it shall come to passe that thy Suburbs and thy Vallies which are without thy walls shall be full of the Charets of the Assyrians O Jerusalem Here the Prophet speaks again to Jerusalem in his own person and fore-tells the doome which shall befall her by Sennacherib And note that the Prophet did here interrupt Jerusalem before she could give a full answer to the doubts or questions which he moved to her in the first second and third verses and upon occasion of those words And Elam bare the Quiver with Charets of men and with horsemen c. Foretold that the Assyrians should bring the like misery upon her under Sennacherib as they and their complices the Medes and Elamites had done upon the Kingdom of Israel under Salmaneser At the gate i. e. At thy gates A Singular for a Plural number He seemeth to have pointed to the gates of Jerusalem when he said The gate shewing thereby what gate he meant 8. And he discovered the covering of Judah i. e. And Sennacherib King of Assyria shall demolish and beat down the fenced Cities of Judah See this fulfilled 2 Chron. 32.1 And 2 Kings cap. 18. vers 13. He puts here a Relative without an Antecedent and a Praeterperfect or Praeterimperfect tense for a Future The covering of Judah By the covering may be meant any wall or fort or fortification or place of defence whereby men defended themselves from their enemies in the time of War and that by a Metaphor from a covering which is spread over any thing to keep it safe from dust and soile and any thing which may marre it And to discover the covering signifieth properly to take away the covering from off the thing which is therewith covered and metaphorically to beat down any wall or fort or fortification or place of defence which metaphoricall signification is the signification of this place But being that by the covering may be meant any wall or fort or fortification or place of defence what is that which is called the covering of Judah Answer By the covering of Judah is meant the walls and fortifications of the fenced Cities of Judah which were broken down and laid waste by Sennacherib 2 Kin. 18.13 The covering therefore is put for the coverings a singular for a plural number The discovering of the covering of Judah that is The beating down and taking of the fenced Cities of Judah did neerly concern Jerusalem wherefore Jerusalem when Sennacherib began to encamp against them and to take them began to look and provide for her self as it is here prophesied 2 Chron. 32. vers 2 3. c. And thou didst look in that day to the Armour of the house of the Forrest i. e. And at that time when Sennacherib shall begin to discover the coverings of Judah that is To fight against the fenced Cities of Judah and to take them thou wilt look to the Armour which thou hast laid up in thy Armorie or Magazin of Arms to see that it be in good plight and in a readiness that thou maist use it to defend thy self He puts a Praeterimperfect tense for a Future Of the house of the Forrest i. e. Of the house of the Forrest of Lebanon This house of the Forrest of Lebanon was the Armorie of the Kings of Judah and it was scituate in Jerusalem 1 Kings 7.2 Here were the golden Targets and Shields kept which Solomon made 1 Kings 10.17 And hence were those Targets Shields taken by Shishak King of Egypt when he came up against Jerusalem 1 Kings 14. vers 25.26 It was called the house of the Forrest of Lebanon either from that house which some affirm from 2 Chron. 8.6 Solomon built in the Forrest of Lebanon for the same use as this was built viz. to be an Armorie or Magazine or because of the great number of Cedar-pillars and great store of Cedar-wood which were used about that house which Cedars and Wood vvere brought from Lebanon which was famous for Cedars which pillars were so many and store of Wood so great as that the whole Forrest of Lebanon seemed to have been cut down to make pillars and yeeld materials for that house See 1 Kings 7.2 Or it might be called the house of the Forrest of Lebanon because it was pleasantly seated and planted about with trees and groves Eccles 2. v. 4.5.6 which were no lesse pleasant then the Forrest of Lebanon it self for it is not unusuall for a like place to give denomination to a like Wherefore as all Universities were called Academies from that famous place of Learning in or neer to Athens called the Academie so might every pleasant grove or place of trees be called Lebanon from that renowned Forrest of Lebanon and this house because it stood among such trees might be called the house of the Forrest of Lebanon 9. Ye have seen also the breaches of the City of David that they are many q. d. Ye will also view the City of David to see what reparations it wanteth and ye shall finde that the breaches thereof are many and that it wanteth much repaire Of the City of David The fort or strong hold which was built upon Mount Sion in Jerusalem which the Iebusites hold and which David won from them was called the City of David 2 Sam. 5.7.9 In this Fort or strong Hold there were many breaches and ruinous places which came by the neglect which long peace bringeth with it And ye gathered together the water of the lower poole i. e. And ye will gather together the waters of the lower poole into hollow places and ditches which ye shall make for that end They gathered together these waters that they might have plenty of waters neer at hand wherewith to temper the mortar which they should use in building and repairing the breaches of the City of David and for such other ends as the waters of the old poole were gathered for of which verse 10. 10. And ye have numbred the houses of Jerusalem i. e. And ye will make choice of a certain number of houses in Jerusalem as many as will serve your turn that you may pull them down and have the materialls thereof wherewith to repaire the City of David It was a case of necessity which made them to pull down houses for the materials therof because the materials thereof were neer at hand and ready fitted in a manner for the building which they could not have elsewhere in so short a time the Assyrian being in the Land when the counsell of the King of Hezekiah advised him to repair the City of David 2 Chron. 32.2 3. Of Jerusalem Jerusalem seemeth to be opposed here to the City of David and therefore to be taken for the lower Citie of
would without fear Far Supple From Jerusalem where they were shut up and as it were imprisoned Of the earth By the earth he meaneth the Land of Judah per Synecdochen Integri as cap. 24.17 c. 16. In trouble i. e. When the Assyrians afflicted and distressed them Have they i. e. The just and righteous men which were in Jerusalem Have they visited thee i. e. Have they come into thy Temple which is thy house and there visited thee and offered up their prayers to thee See 2 Kings 19. v. 14 15. He speaks here of things then to come as if they had been then already past and that for the certainty of them 17. Like as a woman with child that draweth neer to the time of her delivery is in pain and crieth out in her pangs so have we been Supple In great paine and anguish of heart and so have we cryed out for very grief because of the oppressions wherewith the Assyrians do oppresse us Note here how he changeth persons from the third to the first 18. We have been with child q. d. Yea we have been yet more like to women with child for we have been as it were with child with the hopes of deliverance from the distresse wherewith the Assyrians do distresse us We have been in pain i. e. We have been in pain and anguish of spirit because of our oppressions from which we desired to be delivered We have as it were brought forth wind But yet when after all our pain and anguish of spirit we thought we should have brought forth deliverance according to our hopes we did not bring forth deliverance as we hoped To bring forth wind is to bring forth that which is contrary or at least not according to our hopes and expectation The Prophet seemeth here to allude to those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or those windy egges which naturalists speak off of which cometh no bird nor chick but they prove addle Nor doth it hinder the allusion that in the former part of this similitude he alludes to a woman with child who is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Not such a one as layeth egges but bringeth forth her young alive for the Prophet doth often mingle Metaphors and Allegories and allude now to one thing now to another in the same sentence We have not wrought any deliverance in the earth i. e. We have not hitherto procured from thee any deliverance from the oppression of the Assyrians which oppresse us in our Land He sheweth here what he meaneth by the fore-going words and what it was with which they were with child they were with child with hope of deliverance and with hope that the Assyrians should be destroyed but they brought not forth this child The means by which they would have wrought this deliverance was by prayer which hitherto God had not heard Note that the Prophâ—t leaveth his former allegory here which if he had followed he should have said we have not brought forth deliverance In the earth He takes the earth here for Judea as verse 15. Neither have the Inhabitants of the world faln Neither hast thou as yet smitten the Assyrians which now vex us as thou didst the Egyptians and Moabites which vexed our fore-fathers that they might fall The Inhabitants of the world By the Inhabitants of the world he meaneth the Assyrians per Synecdochen Integri And the Assyrians might be called at this time the Inhabitants of the world rather then any other people because of their large dominions in the world 19. Thy dead men shall live This is the answer of God to that complaint which the Prophet made just before in the person of the just nation Thy dead men i. e. Thy men which are but as dead men in thy esteem and in the esteem of the world because no man can see how they can possibly escape the sword of the Assyrians Shall live i. e. Shall live again i. e. Shall escape death and flourish again He persists in the allusion to dead men Together with my dead body shall they arise i. e. Together with my holy City Jerusalem which is accounted but as a dead carcase shall they arise from the dead He speaks here of Jerusalem as of a woman which first he calls His in respect of the love which he did bear to her for he loved the gates of Sion more then all the dwellings of Jacob Psal 87.2 Yea in respect of the marriage by which he had married her for he was her husband Cap. 54.5 Then he calls her his dead body in respect of the opinion of men which made no other account but that the Assyrians would destroy her as they had destroyed other Cities of Judah their power being so great and their wrath so hot against her and in allusion to that that Jerusalem was to God as a Wife and as his Love these words my dead body sound somewhat amorously or love-like This which is here spoken of was fulfilled when God destroyed the Army of the Assyrians which did sorely distresse Jerusalem and the men within her by which they in Jerusalem were relieved Ye that dwell in the dust By them that dwell in the dust are meant dead men whom he describeth by that that they dwell in the dust because the dead are bruied in the dust of earth And by dead men he meaneth metaphorically those Jewes which were in Jerusalem when Sennacheribs Army besieged it whom he cals dead men because every one thought them to be in so great danger of death as that they could not possibly escape it and Jerusalem was then but as a Grave or Sepulchre because the Jewes while they were besieged therein could no more go out nor were they like to go out thence any more then a dead man could or was likely to go out of his Grave or Sepulchr The Lord therefore cals them dead men not in his own sense for he knew how to deliver them but in the sense of others See the like cap. 41.14 Thy dew is as the dew of herbs i. e. The blessing which shall light upon thee shall be as the dew which falls upon herbs for as the dew which falls upon herbes refresheth them and makes them to flourish so shall the blessing which shall light upon thee refresh thee and make thee flourish again He calls the blessing of God here by the name of dew because it should be like unto dew and he calls it her dew because it should light upon her i. e. Upon Jerusalem as he calls the dew which falls uon the herbes the dew of herbes And the earth shall cast out the dead i. e. And ye which are accounted as men which are dead shall rise out of the earth where ye are buried He seemeth here to compare the earth or the grave to the wombe which concurreth actively and vigorously to the casting out of the dead child which is therein These words are
27 28 29. is the same for sence with that which he said Vers 24 25 26. For as there he shewed that the Husbandmans works were not always the same but that he wrought sometimes after this manner sometimes after that so doth he here And as he left us there to understand That if God gave men such wisdom and discretion as to work variously and to perform their works after different manners then much more did he himself know how to work variously So doth he here Who is wonderful in counsel i. e. Who is wonderful in his Wisdom and inventing or contriving businesses He speaks of God as of a man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Excellent in working i. e. Excellent in His Works ISAIAH CHAP. XXIX WO to Ariel to Ariel c. Ariel signifieth by interpretation the Lion of God or the strong Lion and it is a name given to he Altar of Burnt Offerings by a Metaphor Ezech. 43.15 Because that Altar did devoure the Beasts which were sacrificed thereon as a strong Lion devoureth his prey from this Altar the whole City of Jerusalem is here called Ariel by a Synecdoche The City where David dwelt This is a Periphrase of Jerusalem for David when he had took the strong hold of Sion which is in Jerusalem from the Jebusites he dwelt in it and called it the City of David 2 Sam. 5.7 9. And there he reigned three and thirty yeares 1 Kings 2.11 The Prophet gives this Periphrase of Jerusalem that it might be the better known what he meant by Ariel Add ye year to year q.d. Add ye yearly feast to yearly feast one yearly feast to another as the feast of weeks to the feast of Vnleavened Bread and the feast of Tabernacles to the feast of weeks and keep them with joy and mirth one after another The year is put here by a Metonymy for the yearly feast or feast which is kept once every year As the new Moons are taken for the solemnities as I may call them which were wont to be used the first day of every month at the change of the Moon Cap. 1.14 Three times in the year were all the Males of Israel to appear before the Lord in the place which he should chuse in the feast of Vnleavened Bread and in the feast of weeks and in the feasts of Tabernacles Deut. 16.16 And of these doth the Prophet seem here to speak and it is likely that he denounced this prophesie against Ariel at one of these feasts at which time the people were full of mirth and joy not without confidence of their outward performances and observations of these feasts though inwardly they were full of wickedness Note that the Prophet useth an Ironical concession in these words the like whereof you may read cap. 50.11 Some interpret these words thus adde ye a year to a year as if it had been the Prophets intent to shew that after a year and a year that is after two years the calamity which is here prophesied against Ariel should befall Ariel Let them kill sacrifices q. d. Kill ye your Sacrifices and make ye merry He speaks especially of the sacrifices of Peace-Offerings the flesh whereof they were to eat and to rejoyce before the Lord Deut. 27.7 Note here the Enallage of the person from the second to the third I will distresse Ariel i. e. The Prophet speaks here in the person of God and what he speaks here was fulfilled when Jerusalem was besieged by Sennacheribs Host The Prophet did often prophesie of this siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib as he did also of other things which he did the more to shew the providence of God And there shall be heavinesse and sorrow Supple In Ariel that is in Jerusalem And it shall be to me as Ariel i. e. And I will make it as Ariel By Ariel may be meant here the Altar of Burnt-offerings which was in Jerusalem for the reason given v. 1. And the sense of this place may be this q. d. And as in a day of solemnity many Carcases of Beasts which are to be sacrificed lye dead upon the ground about the Altar of Burnt-offerings so shall many carcases and dead bodies of men lye about Jerusalem Many carcases of dead men might lye about Jerusalem when it was besieged by the Assyrians because many of the Hierusalomitans which were set to defend the wals might be slain with arrows and slings c. upon the walls and many again might be slain upon sallies out of the City upon the enemy Moreover many dead bodies might lye about Jerusalem because many which dwelt in the Towns and Villages about Jerusalem and the suburbs thereof which were friends to Jerusalem and were now sacrificing and making merry at Jerusalem might be slain by the Assyrians in their several towns and villages about Jerusalem and in the suburbs thereof whose deaths might be as grievous to the men of Jerusalem as the deaths of their own Citizens Or by Ariel we may understand a strong Lion for so this word Ariel signifies by interpretation and the sense of this place may be this q. d. And as a strong Lion when he is percâ—ived to approach neer to the sheepfold or pastures where cattle feed is compassed about and set upon by a company of Shepheards and Countrey-men so shall Jerusalem be encompassed and environed by the Assyrians who shall set upon it and besiege it that they may take it and this interpretation very well agreeth with what followeth 3. And I will camp against thee He useth an Apostrophe here to Ariel that is to Jerusalem Round about i. e. On every side of thee and that so close as that none can escape out of thee With a Mount i. e. With a Bulwarke or heap of earth cast out of a Trench such as besiegers use to cast up therewith to save themselves against the shot of the besieged and to hinder the besieged from fallying out upon their Quarters and from making an escape out of the place which they besiege God is said to do here what the Assyrians did by his providence and guidance But it may be here objected That this is contrary to what is said cap. 37.33 For there the Lord said concerning the King of Assyria He shall not come into this City nor shoot an arrow there nor come before it with shields nor cast a banck against it and yet here he saith I will campe against thee round about and will lay siege against thee with a mount c. Which Prophesie was fulfilled by Sennacheribs Host Answer Sennacherib King of Assyria sent Tartan Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lackish to King Hezekiah with a great Army against Jerusalem and they went up and came to Jerusalem cap. 36. v. 2. and then did they camp against Jerusalem round about and lay siege against her with a mount and raise forts against her and fulfill this Prophesie But while these Princes lay before Jerusalom Sennacherib himselfe was with another part of
perhaps any part should stick thereunto whereupon to shake the hand of or from such a thing comes to signifie by a Metaphor and Metonymy together to hate that thing That stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood i. e. Which will by no means hear of any counsel or perswasion which tends to the shedding of innocent blood Blood is put here for a counsel or perswasion to shed innocent blood per Metonymiam Objecti And shutteth his eyes from seeing evil i. e. That shutteth his eyes that he may not be delighted with the sight of evil that is which detesteth all manner of injustice Seeing is put here for seeing with delight 16. He shall dwell on high i. e. He shall dwell in safety notwithstanding the devouring fire and everlasting burnings and be as safe as he which dwelleth in a Castle founded upon an high rock which no force can approach to He shall dwell on high i. e. He shall dwell as it were on high and so safely for high places are safe His place of defence shall be the munition of rocks i. e. The place and City of defence where he is shall be against the Assyrians as strong as any place which is fortified and environed with inaccessible and impregnable rocks His place of defence i. e. The fenced City wherein he is By this place of defence or fenced City is meant Jerusalem as will appear as by other circumstances of the Text so by that that the sinners which asked the question vers 14. dwelt in Sion and asked it concerning those which dwelt in Sion For who amongst us say they that is who amongst us which dwell in Sion or in Jerusalem shall dwell safely with devouring fire c. The munition of rocks i. e. As a place fortified and environed with rocks He puts munition here for a place munited that is fortified An Abstract for a Concrete per Metonymiam Adjuncti Bread shall be given him i. e. He shall not be starved out of his strong hold as many are who though they are in such Castles and Forts and strong holds as no Enemy can approach unto yet are fain to yield at length for want of victuals He prevents an Objection here For they might say Though the Assyrians cannot take Jerusalem by force yet may they in time starve out the men thereof His water shall be sure i. e. His water shall not fail This he saith because many who have been besieged in strong places have been fain to yield for want of water whom no power could hurt 17. Thine eyes c. He useth an Apostrophe here to the faithful in Jerusalem which were such as he described Vers 13. Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty i. e. Thou shalt see King Hezekiah in his glory again He says thine eyes for thou by a Synecdoche of a part for the whole The glory of King Hezekiah was obscured when Jerusalem was besieged by the Assyrians and he did lay aside his royal robe and put on sackcloth 2 King 19.1 but when the Assyrians were destroyed his glory appeared greater then ever They shall behold i. e. Thine eyes shall behold i. e. Thou shalt behold The Land that is very far off q. d. Though thou art besieged for a while and shut up in Jerusalem by the Assyrians yet after a while when they are destroyed by the Angel thou shalt be at liberty to go whither thou wilt thou mayst then if thou wilt visit the parts of the Land which are far distant from Jerusalem Here he prevents another Objection which they might make For they might object and say Suppose that Jerusalem could not be taken by force nor the men thereof starved out yet will the Assyrians always besiege it and so the King will live in a sordid condition and the rest of the people will live as prisoners and such a life is little better then death 18. Thine heart shall meditate terror i. e. Thou shalt think upon the fear which the Assyrians did put thee in by his threats 2 King 18.17 c. Supple with a great deal of joy and pleasure It is a great deal of joy and delight for a man to think in what danger he was or hath been in when the danger is perfectly past Thine heart i. e. Thou He puts a Synecdoche of the part for the whole man Shall meditate Supple With joy and delight Terror i. e. The terror and frights thou wert in by the threats of the Assyrians Where is the Scribe c. q. d. Thou shalt insult over the Assyrians and say Where is the Scribe For the Angel of the Lord shall destroy them all and then thou mayst insult and ask where they are for they shall not be any where to be found Where is the Scribe c. By the Scribe may be meant the Secretary of Sennacheribs Army It is believed that Saint Paul alludes to this place in 1 Cor. 1.20 and most likely it is that he doth so but he alludeth onely to the words not to the sence a thing usual with all sorts of men to allude to the words of an Author or Writer and yet not to the sence of those words Where is the Receiver By the Receiver may be meant he which received the Pay to pay the Army Where is he that counted the Towers By him that counted the Towers may be meant the Master of the Engines who gives out and takes in and keeps an Account of all the Engines of War by tale For in old time they used movable Towers which went upon wheels and other devices which they could drive to the walls of a Town either to scale them or do some other mischief to the Town And by this one kinde of Engine may synecdochically be understood all other kindes of warlike Engines whatsoever Or by him that counted the Towers may be meant he which counted the Towers which stood upon the walls of Jerusalem that he might proportion strength and Engines thereto for the taking of them 19. Thou shalt not see a fierce people i. e. For after a while thou shalt not see the Assyrians which are a fierce people besieging thee and warring against thee for the Angel of the Lord shall destroy them A people of deeper speech then thou canst perceive i. e. A people whose language thou canst not understand By this he also means the Assyrians whose language the Jews understood not 2 King 18.26 Of a stammering tongue i. e. A people of a strange tongue By a stammering tongue is meant a strange tongue for Outlandish men seem to them which understand not their language to stutter and stammer See Cap. 28.11 This Verse contains a reason of what was said in the former Verse that is a reason why the people of Jerusalem might insult over the Assyrian and say Where is the Scribe where is the Receiver where is he that counted the Towers For they might thus insult over the Assyrian when the Assyrian was not to be
Cap. 4.5 And see Cap. 52. v. 12. where he saith to the Jews The Lord will go before you and the God of Israel will be your rearward For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it i. e. For the Lord hath spoken it who cannot lye and therefore what he hath spoken shall come to pass The Prophet speaks of the Lord as of a man by a Prosopopoeia and puts the mouth which is but part for the whole man by a Synecdoche 3. The voyce of him that cryeth in the wilderness What is meant by these words as they are taken in the first sence and as they concern the Redemption of the Jews out of Babylon ye have heard Now in the second and more sublime sence by the voyce of him that cryeth in the wilderness the Holy Ghost meaneth John the Baptist Mat. 3.3 For as the Cryer here cryeth to the people to prepare the way of the Lord so did John the Baptist cry to the people of his time to repent and so to prepare a way for the coming of the Lord Christ And as the voyce of this Cryer was heard in the wilderness which lay between Babylon and Judea so was the voyce of John heard in a wilderness too to wit the wilderness of Judea Matt. 3.1 Where note that as by the captivity of the Jews in Babylon is signified our spiritual captivity and misery under sin and Satan so by the deliverance of the Jews out of that their captivity is signified our spiritual Redemption by Christ Jesus In the Prophecy therefore of the deliverance of the Jews out of the captivity of Babylon there be many passages which as in a first sence they concern things which appertain to the deliverance of the Jews so in a second sence they concern things which appertain to the Redemption which was wrought by Christ Jesus 6. The voyce said Cry i. e. A voyce said to me Cry And he said what shall I cry i. e. And I said what shall I cry The Prophet speaks of himself here in a third person The like may you read of one speaking of himself in the third person cap. 21. vers 12. All flesh is grass and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field i. e. And the voyce said unto me cry and say with a loud voyce thus All flesh that is all men which are made of flesh are as the grass and all their glory and goodliness is as the flower of the field The Note of similitude is here left to be understood 7. The grass withereth and the flower fadeth because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it As when a red burning wind bloweth upon the grass or upon the flower the grass withereth and the flower fadeth because thereof Even so for the Apodosis is left to be understood when God is angry with all or any kinde of flesh that is when he is angry with any men whatsoever they are he can easily consume them even with the breath of his nostrils and they shall perish By the Spirit of God is meant the wind which he brings out of his treasures when he would have it blow Psal 13.7 and yet not any wind but that which the Country-man calls a red wind which bliteth Trees and Herbs and Flowers Surely the people is grass q. d. Surely therefore the people that thou art afraid of even the people of the Babylonians are as grass 8. But the Word of our God shall stand for ever q. d. But the Word of our God shall never fail And therefore the Word whereby he hath spoken comfort to you and promised you deliverance out of the Babylonish captivity shall stand firm and come to pass maugre the Babylonians You may gather by what hath been said what coherence these three last Verses had with the former The coherence is this In the five first Verses the Prophet prophecyeth to the Jews Deliverance out of the Babylonish captivity but the Jews being at this time sore oppressed and seeing themselves weak and the Babylonians strong and mighty in power were like to give but little credence to the Prophets words and despair of ever being delivered That therefore they might lift up their heads and hope for deliverance according to the Word of God and might not fear the strength and mighty power of the Babylonians the Lord did for their sakes by way of prevention shew the Prophet a Vision in which the voyce of the Lord bids the Prophet to tell his Country-men that all flesh and the Babylonians as well as others were as grass therefore they need not fear them or any other men 9. O Sion that bringest good tydings i. e. O Jerusalem that bringest good tydings to the other Cities of Judah c. This seems to begin a new Sermon Sion is taken here for Jerusalem a part for the whole And he speaks to the material Jerusalem as if she were a person indeed as he doth often elsewhere by a Prosopopoeia The good tydings which Sion here brings are mentioned in the tenth and eleventh Verses Get thee up into the high mountain Supple and there proclaim the good tydings which thou bringest that they may be the Father-head O Jerusalem that bringest good tydings c. This is a repetition of the former sentence with which repetition the Prophet is much delighted Say unto the Cities of Judah i. e. Say unto other the Cities of Judah He speaks here of the Cities of Judah as of women by a Prosopopoeia as he did of Sion or Jerusalem Behold your God i. e. Behold your God cometh unto you See Vers 3. 10. Behold the Lord will come with a strong hand Behold the Lord himself will come with a strong hand against the Babylonians who hold us captive and will deliver us out of their hands And his arm shall rule i. e. And he shall now rule He shall rule over us as a King over his Subjects though till now the Babylonians have had dominion over us And he shall rule over the Babylonians as a Lord over his Vassals and a Conqueror over his Enemies though hitherto they have reigned as Conquerors and Lords themselves He speaks here of God as of man by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and puts a part to wit the arm for the whole man by a Synecdoche the arm I say wherein the strength of man is most seen For him These words are redundant by an Hebrew elegancy Behold his reward is with him Supple To reward all such of his people as have waited for him And his work i. e. And his reward Work is put here for the reward of a work by a Metonymy And this is a repetition of the former sentence Is before him i. e. Is in a readiness See Cap. 62.11 11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd q. d. He shall bring his people out of Babylon into their own Cities And while he bringeth them he shall be to them as a shepherd is to
take darkness for prisons the meaning of these words are Come ye out of prison out of the prison which was dark and wherein no man could see you into the light where ye may be seen They shall feed in the ways c. Between this and that which went immediately before we must understand these or the like words For the Jews which are prisoners in Babylon shall come forth out of their prisons and they which are there in darkness shall shew themselves and shall return into their own Land to inherit the desolate heritages thereof and as they go they shall feed in the ways home-ward c. The Prophet sheweth here how plentifully the Lord will provide for the Jews in their return out of captivity into their own Land See the like cap. 48.21 They shall feed i. e. They shall have abundance of food whereon to feed He alludeth here to the feeding of sheep or cattel but speaks of the Jews themselves They shall feed in the ways And if God provideth food for them in the ways they need not go out of their way nor slack their journey for want of food And their pastures shall be in all high places q. d. And though they travel over Hills and Mountains which are usually dry and barren yet shall all the Hills and the Mountains over which they travel yield them pastures in abundance He alludeth still to the feeding of sheep or cattel 10. They shall not hunger and thirst Supple By the way which they go though their way be through the desarts See cap. 48.21 Neither shall the heat nor the Sun smite them q. d. Though they are to travel through an hot scorching Wilderness as they travel from Babylon to the Land of Judah yet shall not the heat nor the Sun hurt them or offend them Neither the heat nor the Sun i. e. Neither the heat of the Sun 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For he that hath mercy on them shall lead them i. e. For the Lord who hath mercy on them shall lead them Supple as a careful and skilful shepherd leadeth his flock The Lord speaks here of himself in the thiâ—d person and alludes to a shepherd leading his sheep for shepherds were wont not onely to follow their sheep and drive them but also to go before them and lead them See Psal 80.1 Even by the springs of waters shall he guide them He persists still in the Metaphor of a shepherd Where springs of waters are there are waters enough to quench and keep from thirst there are pastures for food adjoyning to the springs by reason of the moysture and there are vapors arising from the springs to allay the extremity of heat with their coolness and Willows growing thereby to shadow from the scorching beams of the Sun 11. And I will make all my mountains a way i. e. And I will pull down all my mountains by which they are to go and make them low that I may make away over them yea an easie way for the Jews to pass See cap. 40.4 The meaning of this phrase is That the Jews shall find nothing to hinder them in their way home-ward no not in the mountainous Wilderness The Lord speaks here of himself in his own person though he spoke of himself in the third person in the Verse before He speaks also of himself as of a way-maker which maketh a way for a King and his Court or for a General and his Army whereas he spoke of himself before as of a shepherd And my high-ways shall be exalted And my high-ways or Causey-ways Supple which lie through the valleys shall be exalted that the mountains being pulled down and the high-ways or causey-ways of the valleys exalted the whole way from Babylon to Judea may be plain and even without Hill or Dale In valleys because the grounds are for the most part moorish and rotten they use to make a way of stones and the like higher then the surface of the ground which therefore he calls an High-way and we usually a Causey Behold these shall come from far q. d. And moreover behold these Jews which are now in the East shall come from the East to their own Land By these he meaneth the Jews which were in the East after the Land of Judah was wasted by the Babylonians whom he nameth not because he doth as it were point at them with his finger From far i. e. From the East for so doth the Context require that we should interpret it The Prophet therefore useth a Synecdoche generis and putteth a far place in general for the East in special And lo these from the North i. e. And lo these Jews which are now in the North shall come from the North to their own Land And from the West i. e. And these which are in the West shall come from the West c. And these from the Land of Sinim i. e. And these which are in the South shall come from the South c. The Land of Sinim Sinim is the name of a people which are also called Sinites Gen. 10.17 These dwelt in the South of Judea about the Wilderness of Sin Wherefore their Land in particular is put here for any Southern Land in general Though when the Babylonians invaded Judea they carryed away most of them which escaped the sword captives into Babylon yet many escaped into all the quarters of the Earth where they lived as Exiles until they heard of the delivery of their Countrymen out of Babylon and of Cyrus's favor to them at the hearing of which they also returned to their own home again 13. Sing O Heaven and be joyful O Earth He speaks to the material Heaven and the material Earth as though they had sense and reason by a Prosopopoeia as he doth cap. 1.2 The Prophet speaketh here in his own person and having shewed his authority from God and Gods respect to him in order to his Ministry in the former part of this Chapter he doth here begin to tell the message which God gave him in charge to tell and which was part of his Ministry For God hath comforted his people i. e. For God will comfort his people the Jews which have suffered much misery and sorrow by reason of the Babylonians He puts here a Preterperfect for a Future tense Vpon his afflicted i. e. upon his afflicted people the Jewes The comfort and mercy which is here promised consisted in bringing the afflicted Jewes home to their own Land yea even to Hierusalem after the Babylonish captivity 14. But Sion i. e. But Hierusalem Hierusalem was the mother of the Jewes as St. Paul intimates Gal. 4.25 By Sion is meant Hierusalem and the materiall City of Hierusalem is brought here in the person of a woman yea of a mother speaking and complaining c. by a Prosopopoeia as Cap. 40.9 And under the feigned person of Sion is shewed the State and condition of the Jewes at the time here spoken of But Zion said
the Lord hath forsaken me c. In the former verse it was said that God would comfort his people and would have mercy upon his afflicted but Zion when she heard of it did hardly believe it but saith she here surely that is not so for the Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me And this she saith in a kind of despaire having been sorely oppressed by the Babylonians But it may be asked what it concerned Zion to heare that God would comfort his people and shew mercy upon his afflicted and what she should be the better for it that she should say when she heard of it in despaire Surely it will not be so for the Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me Answ The comfort and mercy which is here spoken of was the bringing in of the afflicted Jewes into their own Land again and to Sion the holy City And if they were once brought into their own Land again and to Sion the holy City then should Sion have joy in their prosperity as a mother in the prosperity of her children and then should her walls and her houses which the Babylonian had broken down be builded up again And then should her inhabitants be to her again as the ornament of a bride V. 18. But Zion said c. But Zion hath said heretofore and saith still c. This word said denoteth a continuall saying and signifies not onely the time past but also the present time by a Syllepsis The Lord hath forsaken me aad my Lord hath forgotten me i. e. The Lord hath cast me off and will take no more care of me nor any way pitty me How then can he comfort his peoplâ— and have mercy upon his afflicted for their comfort is my comfort and their joy is my joy When the Lord hath cast any one off so that he will take no more care of him or shew him any pity he is said in the Scripture-phrase to have forsaken him and forgot him 15. Can a woman forget her sucking childe The Prophet speaketh this in the person of God and answereth to the complaint of Sion and sheweth that the Lord hath not forgotten her Or the Sonne of heâ— wombe i. e. Or her Sâ—cking child which is a Sonne and a Sonne of her owne wombe Yea they may forget q. d. Verily though it be unlikely yet women may forget their Sucking children and the Sonnâ—s of their wombe Note here the Enallage of the numbâ—r how he passeth from a Singular to a Pâ—urall number 16. I have graven thee upon the palmes of my hands i. e. I have writ Sion upon the palme of my hands that it may bâ— to me as a memoriall of thee and so often as I see or read it I may remember thee By this he would shew that he is alwayes mindfull of Sion And he alludeth to those who that they may remember some one thing or businesse which they would not forget put some signe or memoriall thereof upon their hands which some doe by tying a thred about their fingers Others by writing the thing or name of the thing which they would remember upon some part of the hand either backe or palme c. See Exod. 13.9 I have graven c. That is I have written thy name upon the palmes of my hand so that it cannot be blotted out He useth a Metaphor from a Graver in Stone or Brasse or the like whose engravings are not easily blotted out or defaced Thee i. e. Thy name viz. Sion Thy walls are continually before me i. e. Thy ruined walls are continually in my thoughts yea in my sight and it pittieth me to see them in the dust 17. Thy children shall make hast q. d. Therefore thy children which shall build up thy walls againe shall make hast to come unto thee By the children of Sion are meant the Jewes which were in Captivity in Babylon or else where in exile Thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall goe forth of thee i. e. The Babylonians which destroyed thee and laid thee waste shall goe forth of thee and give place to thy children Note that when the Iewes were carried away Captive into Babylon many Babylonians inhabited their Cities either of their own private voluntary minde or by the publike authority of their King who when he conquered a Countrey and carried away the Inhabitants thereof sent other of his own Subjects to Inhabit there And these saith the Lord to Sion shall goe forth of thee 18. Cast up thine eyes round about i. e. Looke towards the East and towards the West towards the North and towards the South He speakes still to Sion And behold He speakes as though the Jewes which were scattered abroad by the comming of the Babylonians into Judaea were even then gathering themselves together to returne into Judaea againe in kenne of eye All these gather themselves together and come to thee q. d. All these whom thou seest are Jewes which gather themselves together to come to thee He speakes as though he pointed at them with his finger In the former verse he said to Sion that her children should make hast to come to her here he saith that they are comming already Thou shalt surely cloth thy selfe with them all as with an ornament q. d. They shall all come and when they are all come they shall be as great an Ornament and a glory to thee by reason of their multitude as the Robe is to a King or Queene He alludeth to a glorious Robe wherewith a King or Queene is clothed when he saith Thou shalt cloth thy self with them all as with an Ornament When he saith Thou shalt surely cloth thy selfe with them all as with an Ornament He speaketh not so much of their quality as of their number as may appeare by the content For the glory of a City consisteth also in the number and multitude of the Inhabitants And binde them on thee as a Bride doth Supple Her Jewells or Bracelets or her head attire q. d. And they shall be as great an Ornament to thee by reason of their number as the Jewells or Bracelets or Head attire which shee bindes on her are to a Bride These are the same for sense with the former words only the Metaphor or Allusion is different 19. For thy waste and thy desolate places and the Land of thy destruction shall even now be too narrow by reason of the Inhabitants q. d. For they which shall come and inhabite thee shall be so many in number and their multitude shall be so great as that thy waste and thy desolate places and the Land of thy destruction shall even now be too narrow to containe the Inhabitants thereof because of their number and multitude Thy waste and desolate places i. e. Those places which lay waste and desolate in thee for want of Inhabitants The Land of thy destruction i. e. Thy Land which is destroyed by the Babylonians He saith the
Land of thy destruction for thy Land which is destroyed putting a Substantive of the Genitive Case for an Adjective or a Participle after the Hebrew manner Even now i. e. So soon as ever they to wit thy children which gather themselves together to come to thee shall be come to thee And they that swallowed thee up i. e. And the Babylonians which destroyed thee and now dwell in thee c. See verse 17. He saith swallowed thee up for destroyed thee by a Metaphor from a Lion or Beare or some such ravenous Beast or other which is wont to swallow downe his prey And they that swallowed thee up shall be farre away Read these words as with a Parenthesis 20. Thy children which thou shalt have i. e. These words have their immediate connexion with the formost words of verse 19. viz. with those Thy wast and thy desolate places and the Land of thy destruction shall even now be too narrow by reason of the Inhabitants And are for sense the same with them The children which thou shalt have Supple Even now He speakes as though the Jewes which were in Captivity in Babylon and dispersed elsewhere were even now comming to Sion or Hierusalem their mother After thou hast lost the other Supple Which thou hadst before the Babylonians besieged thee who slew some and carried others of thy children away Captive and made others to flye into forraigne Lands Shall say againe in thine eares i. e. Shall say againe to thee or in thine hearing Againe This relates to such time or times before the Babylonish Captivity in which Hierusalem was very populous so that many of the people thereof were faine to dwell in other Cities and Villages of Judah For they which did so did in effect say The place is too straight for mee The place is too straight for me i. e. The place wherein we dwell is too little for us we must seeke us a dwelling elsewhere For me i. e. For us For here is an Enallage of the number The Singular being put for the Plurall Give place to me that I may dwell q.d. Give me a place elsewhere that I may have a place to dwell in 21. Then shalt thou say in thine heart i. e. Then when thy children shal come to thee and they shall be straightned for want of roome to dwell in thee thou shalt wonder to see that they are so many and shalt say within thy selfe Who hath begotten me these i. e. By whom have I these so many children Seeing I have lost my children Supple Which I had Shee lost her children when the Babylonians slew many of them made many to flye away for feare of their lives and carried the rest away Captive into Babylon And am desolate i. e. And am without an husband The Lord was her husband and had married her but had put her away Cap. 50.1 So that shee was at this time desolate and without an husband A Captive and removing to and fro And shee which is a captive removing to and fro hath but little propension to the procreation of children A Captive Supple to the Babylonians Removing to and fro Conquerours use to hurry their Captives from place to place and City to City at their pleasures and seldome suffer them to abide long in one place Ob. It may be here objected that Sion being a City could not remove from place to place to and fro Ans What is said in this Chapter of Sion and attributâ—d to her is spoken of her and attributed to her by a Prosopopoeia by which figure shee may be made aswell to remove from place to place to and fro as to speake But what is spoken of Sion in this Chapter and attributed to her is spoken of her and attributed to her to set forth the condition of the Jewes as it was at that time as I said before And who hath brought up these And who hath nourished and brought up all these Behold I was left alone Supple without children and none of them all were with me therefore I could not nourish them and bring them up These where they had been q. d. Where have all these been wheresoever they have been they have not been with me so that I could not bring them up 22. Thus saith the Lord God behold I wil lift up mine hand to the Gentiles q. d. Moreover thus saith the Lord God Behold c. In the 18 19 20 verses the Lord assured Sion that her children should come to her to comfort her Here that he may yet further comfort her and shew her how mindfull he was of her she sheweth the manner how they shall come to her and how happy she shall be when she hath received them I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles i. e. I will call the Gentiles to me He alludeth to one man beckning to another with his hand to come to him And set up my Standard to the people i. e. And I will gather the people or Nations together For what end he will call the Gentiles to him and gather the Nations together he sheweth in the next following words This phrase is the same for sense with that which went immediately before but he alludes herein to a Captaine which sets up his Standard for his souldiers to come together and to be in a readinesse for what march or service he shall appoint them And they shall bring thy sonnes in their armes i. e. and they shall bring thy sonnes to thee in their armes as nurses use to carry their little ones And thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders i. e. And they shall carry thy daughters to thee upon their shoulders Supple on soft beds or pallate as they which are weak were wont to be carried Mark 2.3 The meaning is that the Gentiles shall carefully provide and accommodate the Jewes with all things necessary and convenient for their return from Babylon and other parts of the world to their own Land How this was fulfilled in part read Ezra 1. 23. And Kings shall be thy nursing fathers and Queens thy nursing mothers i. e. And after thy sonnes and daughters are brought to thee Kings and Queens shall be as carefull to provide and shew kindnesse to thee as nursing fathers and nursing mothers are to their Foster-children Kings shall be their nursing fathers This was fulfilled in Cyrus Darius Artaxerxes whose good deeds to the Jewes are mentioned in the book of Ezra and Nehemiah and Assuerus of whom we read Esther 8.7 c. And Alexander the Great and his successors and especially Demetrius whom Josephus writeth of All which were exceeding good to the Jewes and to Hierusalem and to the Temple and gave them many gifts and priviledges And thâ—ir Queens thy nursing mothers This was fulfilled in the Queenes of some of those forementioned Kings and particularly in Ester as may be seen in the book which beareth her name They shall bown down to thee with their face towards the
of all the streets i. e. They lie some dead some ready to dye through famine and the sword at the entrance of every street Quest What streets of what City are here meant Ans The streets of the City of Jerusalem may be here meant But then understand this of that which happened presently after the taking of Jerusalem for not long after the Jews were carryed from thence captive to Babylon Or the streets of the City of Babylon may be here meant where no doubt but many Jews dyed in the streets in the time of their captivity for want of food and by reason of that cruelty which was used to them As a wilde Bull in a net Understand here they are q. d. They are as a wilde Bull in a net i. e. Some of thy sons have fainted others be dead or ready to dye at the head of every street And if any be in health and strength of body yet being he is in chains and in prison and captivity he is but as a wilde Bull in a net or toyl whose strength can avail him nothing so that none of thy sons are able to comfort thee Note that these words Thy sons have fainted they lie at the head of the streets they are as a wilde Bull in a net are not to be understood collectivè but disjunctivè or distributivè as I have expounded them They are full of the fury of the Lord i. e. They are full of the calamities and miseries which the Lord in his fury hath poured out upon them The fury of the Lord is put here by a Metonymy for calamities and miseries proceeding from the Lords fury The rebuke of thy God This is a repetition of the former sentence Rebuke signifieth properly a chiding but as Gods blessing is not meer verbal so is not his rebuke and his cursing but whom he rebuketh or curseth he afflicteth Therefore hear now this c. q. d. Though thy misery be thus great and thou hast none to comfort thee no not of all thy sons neither King nor Prince nor Priest c. yet notwithstanding I will comfort thee Therefore is put here for yet notwithstanding Thou afflicted i. e. Thou Jerusalem which art afflicted And drunken but not with wine i. e. And drunken but not with wine and strong drink which are pleasant to the pallate and with which most men are drunk but with a bitter potion a potion of poyson a potion which I the Lord mingled for thee to drink in my fury 22. That pleadeth the cause of his people Supple Against their Enemies And will now plead thy cause against the Babylonians which afflict thee and oppress thee He which pleads a mans cause for him in a Court of Justice is said to defend him and to contend for him and from hence to plead a mans cause is taken for to defend a man in any kinde whatsoever and to fight for him and be his friend Behold I will take out of thine hand the cup of trembling Supple Which I gave thee to drink vers 17. By this is meant that he would afflict Jerusalem no longer Even the dregs of the cup of my fury This is put by an Hypallage for Even the cup of the dregs of my fury For Jerusalem had left no dregs in the cup she had drunk them up clean as all Expositors expound the seventeenth Verse By the cup of the dregs of his fury is meant the cup in which were those dregs of his fury which Jerusalem drunk up and wrung out Thou shalt no more drink it again q. d. Thou shalt not be thus afflicted any more Note that these words no more do not always signifie Eternity but sometimes a long space of time onely as suppose time within the memory of man 23. But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee But I will fill it up again and put it into the hands of the Babylonians which afflict thee for them to drink The meaning is that he would deliver Jerusalem out of the hands of the Babylonians which afflicted her and would give the Babylonians into the hands of the Persians to be afflicted by them Which have said to thy Soul i. e. Which have said to thee Here is a synecdoche For the Soul which is but part is put for the whole woman for he spoke of Jerusalem as of a Mother Bow down that we may go over Supple Thee i. e. Lie down flat on the ground that we may trample upon thee And thou hast layd thy body as the ground and as the street to them that went over Supple Thee q. d. And thou hast been fain to lay thy body flat on the ground to them and they have trampled upon thee as upon the ground whereon they walk The Eastern Conquerors were wont to tread upon them whom they had conquered So Joshua and the men of Israel did put their feet upon the neck of the Kings whom they had conquered Josh 10.24 And in allusion to this it is said Psal 110.1 The Lord said to my Lord Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine Enemies thy footstool And some did thi◠with more pride and insulting then others did But whether our Prophet doth allude to this custom or no I cannot say onely I say that by those expressions he would shew the proud carriage and the cruelty of the Babylonians towards Jerusalem and the Jews ISAIAH CHAP. LII AWake awake This may be joyned with the foregoing Chapter He speaks here to Jerusalem as he did cap. 50. vers 17. and bids her awake out of her drunken sleep which was caused by the cup which she drank of cap. 51.17 intimating thereby that the end of her miseries was at hand Put on strength This strength is opposed to the trembling which the cup of the Lords fury wrought cap. 50.17 He speaks of strength here Metaphorically as of a garment and when he hath called to Jerusalem to awake he bids her put on her strength in allusion to a man which when he awakes in a morning puts on his garments O Zion i. e. O Jerusalem The Prophet speaks here in his own person Put on thy beautiful garments i. e. Put on thy best apparel such as thou usest to wear at festival times and times of joy He alludeth to the manner of women who have one garment for times of mourning others for times of joy and intimates that a time of joy was approaching to Jerusalem by her redemption and the redemption of her children out of captivity when he bids her put on her beautiful garments O Jerusalem the holy City Why Jerusalem is called the holy City see Cap. 48. vers 2. He speaks to Jerusalem as to a woman yea a mother by a Prosopopoeia as before From henceforth there shall come no more into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean i. e. The Babylonians shall no more come into thee who have of late come into thee and trod thee down By
mother by a Prosopopoeia Thy God reigneth God is said to reign in general when he doth shew by any act worthy his greatness that he is King and in particular here he is said to reign because he shewed his Kingly Power in the delivery of his people out of the hands of their Enemies the Babylonians That which Isaiah speaketh here of a Messenger bringing good news of peace and salvation befaln the Jews in Babylon Saint Paul speaks of the Apostles and Ministers of Christ preaching peace and salvation by Christ and this may both do Isaiah in the first Saint Paul in the second and sublime sence For as I have often said as the temporal miseries of the Jews under their Enemies were a type of our spiritual miseries under Sin and Satan that grand Enemy of mankinde so were the Deliverances of the Jews out of those miseries types of our deliveries by Christ and of that Salvation which we have by him And the Holy Ghost doth often so order the words of the Prophets that they shall signifie as well one as the other word by word in particular 8. Thy watchmen shall lift up the voyce i. e. Thy watchmen which shall stand upon thy towers shall lift up their voyce and cry and shout aloud for joy O Sion He alludeth to the Watchmen which use to stand upon the Towers of great Cities to give notice of any danger or any great company approaching to the City See cap. 21.5 Why these Watchmen shall lift up their voyce he tells a little after viz. because they shall see when the Lord bringeth again Zion But why doth hâ— mention the Watchmen here rather then any other Ans Because they shall see when the Lord bringeth Siâ—n again before any other as being placed in the high Towers and set purposely to watch what companies approach to the City With the voyce together shall they sing i. e. They shall sing with a loud voyce Together This word signifieth All. For they shall see Supple From the Towers whereon they stand They shall see eye to eye i. e. They shall see very plainly and evidently and not be deceived in their sight When the Lord shall bring again Sion The Preposition To is here to be understood as also it is left to be understood in the Hebrew Text cap. 35.10 and cap. 51.11 though it is there expressed in our Translation and not here The sence therefore of this place is this When the Lord shall bring again to Sion that is When the Lord shall bring his people back again out of Babylon the place of their captivity to Sion their own City Here is such an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in those words cap. 49.8 To cause to inherit the desolate heritages Yet by Sion may be here meant the Jews the children and inhabitants of Sion either as the same Jews are called Jacob because they are the children of Jacob cap. 41.14 Or as Kir is taken for the Citizens and Inhabitants of Kir cap. 22.6 9. Ye waste places of Jerusalem See cap. 51.3 The Lord hath comforted his people Supple Which were in captivity in Babylon by setting them free again He hath redeemed Jerusalem Supple Out of her captivity For she also was a captive vers 2. and cap. 49.21 He speaks of the City of Jerusalem as of a captive He speaketh also as if the Lord had comforted his people and redeemed Jerusalem already at this time And so do the Prophets often speak before the thing they speak of is come to pass to signifie that it shall as surely come to pass as if it were already come 10. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm i. e. The Lord hath shewed his peerless power viz. in overthrowing the Babylonians whose power was thought invincible and in delivering and bringing back again his people out of captivity Note here that the arm of the Lord is put for the power of the Lord and therefore is it put for the power of the Lord because the Prophet speaks here of the Lord as of a man by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the strength and power of a man is seen in his arm Again because that a man when he would shew his arm must strip up the sleeve of the arm and make it bare he puts the making bare of the Lords arm for the shewing of his power His holy arm i. e. His matchless arm his peerless power For the word holy signifieth that which is separated from other things by way of excellency See Notes cap. 6.3 And all the ends of the Earth i. e. All they which dwell at the ends of the Earth that is All the Heathen Shall see the salvation of our God i. e. Shall see the Salvation which our God hath wrought for his people which were captive to the Babylonians by Cyrus 11. Depart ye depart ye This is spoken in particular to the Levites which were in Babylon intimating that they might go freely thence out of captivity and it is spoken as if Cyrus had already subdued Babylon and vanquished the Babylonians and given the Jews leave to depart thence to their own Land Go ye out from thence i. e. Go ye out from Babylon Here is a Relative put without an Antecedent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Touch no unclean thing q. d. Touch no unclean thing thereby to defile your selves and make your selves unclean The unclean things here mentioned were such as caused legal uncleanness in those that touched them or such as those were which we read of Levit. 11.24 25 26 c. and Lev. 22.4 c. which uncleanness was not to be upon the Levites when they did any way minister about the vessels of the Lord that is about the vessels of the Temple or Sanctuary because they were holy things Go out of the midst of her i. e. Go out of her that is out of Babylon Be ye clean i. e. If ye are clean keep your selves clean If ye are not clean but are defiled by touching some unclean thing be ye cleansed and purified that ye may be clean That bear the vessels of the Lord. i. e. O ye Levites By the vessels of the Lord are here meant the vessels of the Sanctuary or of the Temple which were consecrated to the service of the Lord which kinde of vessels the Levites were appointed to carry Numb 1.50 and 2.8 c. By these therefore which bore the vessels of the Lord are meant the Levites which were appointed to carry those vessels See Ezra 8.30 Note here that when the Babylonians had taken Jerusalem Nebuzaradan one of the Captains of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon carryed the vessels of the Temple away into Babylon 2 King 25. vers 14 15 c. These vessels there continued during all the time of the Jews captivity and when Cyrus delivered the Jews out of captivity he gave them also these vessels of the house of the Lord which were brought from Jerusalem to carry to Jerusalem back
Kings 14.9 Psal 22.12 Ezech. 31.3 Shall come unto thee i. e. Shall be brought unto thee For what purpose the Cedar should be brought he tells towards the end of this verse Note that this is another reason why the gates of Ierusalem should stand open continually and hereby is intimated also that the Syrians which possessed mount Lebanon should be subdued by the Jewes or at least should so farre either stand in feare of them or respect them as that they should furnish them with all things for the use of the Temple which their Country could afford For it must be either by the good will or by a conquest of this people that the Jewes could have these Trees brought to Jerusalem but Strabo relates that the Jewes did subdue this people by the sword To beautifie the place of my sanctuary i. e. To adorne my Temple for the Temple was adorned by the wood of these Trees being curiously wrought And I will make the place of my feet glorious i. e. For I will make my Temple glorious The place of my feet By the place of Gods feet is meant the Arke then by the Arke which stood in the Sanctum Sanctorum is meant the Temple Per metonymiam contenti The Arke is called the place of Gods feet as appeareth 1 Chron. 28.2 And therefore was it called the place of Gods feet because in the two ends of the mercy seat which covered the Arke there were two Cherubins of gold looking one towards another and spreading out their wings one towards another and by the spreading out of their wings making as it were a seat to sit upon Upon the wings of the Cherubins so stretched out was the Lord supposed to sit in shape of a man and to rest his feet upon the Arke And therefore was the Arke called the place of his feet See Exod. Cap. 25. v. 17 18 19 20 21 22. 14. The sonnes also of them which afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee q. d. So glorious also shalt thou be that not onely they which were thy friends but they also which afflicted thee as enemies shall be moved with thy glory and come and honour and reverence thee if not for love yet for feare and sâ—e to thee for thy favour and for thy friendship This is another reason why the gates of Hierusalem should stand open continually to wit because the sonnes of them that had afflicted Sion should come bending to thee The sonnes of them which afflicted thee i. e. The children of those that afflicted thee Or they themselves which afflicted thee O Sion For the Hebrewes put the sonnes of such and such for such and such themselves Shall come bending unto thee Supple In token of honour and reverence towards thee See this fulfilled in part Ezra 4. v. 1.2 Shall bow themselves at the soles of thy feet i. e. Shall bow themselves down even to the ground in most humble manner in signe of the greater respects to thee And they shall call thee the City of the Lord q. d. And when they speake unto thee and call thee they shall say O thou City of the Lord And this they shall say to shew the great esteeme which they have of thee and that they greatly reverence thee Sion or Jerusalem might be called the City of the Lord aswell in regard of the love which the Lord had to her as of the Temple which was scituate in Jerusalem which was the Lords house The Sion of the holy one of Israel i. e. The Sion of the Lord who is the holy One of Israel 15. Forsaken Supple Of me as of thine husband and of thy children thinâ— Inhabitants during the Babylonish captivity Anâ— hated Supple Of me as of thine husband against whom thou hast plaid the whore And of the Babylonians as of my Instruments which I called to pâ—nish thee who out of hatred to thee have laid thee waste and desolate So that no man went through thee i. e. So that no man went through thy Streets I will make thee an eternall excellence i. e. I will make thee most excellent and glorious for a long time to come The Hebrewes when they would signifie a thing in the Superlative degree They use an Abstract for a Concrete so here when the Prophet would signifie that Sion should be most excellent saith that she shall be an excellency An eternall excellency i. e. Most excellent a long time The Hebrewes are somewhat hyperbolicall in their expression of time and duration and that that shall be eternall and everlasting which shall last onely a long time A joy of many generations i. e. Such a one as in which many generations successively shall rejoyce Note that joy is put here per Metonymium objecti for the thing in which we joy and many generations for the men of many generations per Metonymiam Efficientis When the Lord made Jerusalem an eternall excellency and a joy of many generations then did all men flock to her and tread her streets though none went through her before Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles i. e. Thou shalt draw the riches of the Gentiles to thy selfe and be enriched by them He useth a Metaphor taken from a sucking child milking his Nurses breasts and resembleth Riches to the milk which he drawes by sucking And shalt suck the breasts of Kings Hee persists in the Metaphor of a sucking child In the 49 Chapter vers 27. The Prophet saith That Kings shall be their i. e. the Jewes nursing fathers and that the same with this Thou shalt suck the breast of Kings Whe he saith The breast of Kings his Metaphor is Catachresticall For children use to suck not the brests of men but of women And thou shalt know i. e. For thou shalt know and that by experience And is put here for for Thy Saviour and thy Redeemer Supple which will save thee and redeem thee out of the hands of the Babylonians The Mighty one of Israel i. e. The mighty God whom Israel worshipped and who loved Israel By Israel may be here meant either Jacob himselfe who was named Israel Gen. 32.28 or the Jewes â—he children of Jacob. The Lord addeth this viz. The mighty God of Israel to shew that what he hath said here should surely be effected for there be but two things required to bring any thing to passe A power and a will to doe God sheweth his power in that he calleth himselfe the Mighty one his will in that he calls himselfe the Mighty one of Israel for by that he sheweth his love to the children of Israel 17. For Brasse I will bring Gold c. q. d. whereas now thou art poore I will make thee exceeding rich so as Gold shall be as plentifull with thee then as Brasse is now c. Thus rich God made Sion by the Gentiles whom he made as Conduit-pipes to convey these his favours to them so as these words are an explication of those Thou shalt
our Potter i. e. And thou art the Potter which made us thy vessels We are all the work of thine hands This is a repetition of the former Sentence We are the Clay and thou our Potter we are all the work of thine hands Supple therefore forsake us not forsake not the works of thine own hands Psal 138.8 Be not wroth Supple with us Neither remember iniquity for ever i. e. Neither remember our iniquity Supple to punish us for it for ever We are all thy people Save us therefore we beseech thee Save thy people and lift them up for ever Psal 28.9 Thy holy Cities are a Wildernesse i. e. Thy Cities even the Cities of Judah which is the land of thine inheritance are made as a wildernesse by the Babylonians who have cast them down and left none to build them up again and inhabite them He calls the Cities of Judah the holy Cities because they were the Cities standing upon Gods own Inheritance for the land of Judah was Gods inheritance Cap. 63.17 Or because they were Cities appertaining to Gods people the Jewes which were an holy people Deut. 7.6 Or because there were Synagogues therein erected for Gods service Psal 74.8 Sion is a wildernesse By Sion is meant the City of David which was built upon the hill Sion which was also called the upper City of Hierusalem Jerusalem a Desolation i. e. Jerusalem is utterly desolate He puts desolation for utterly desolate an Abstract for a Concrete And by Hierusalem he meaneth that part of Hierusalem which lay under the hill of Sion in the valley and which was called the lower City Note that he maketh particular mention of Sion and Hierusalem here because they were the chiefest and most holy of all the Cities and note that is not an unusuall figure in Rhetorique 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. for a man to make speciall mention of one particular amongst the rest even then when he maketh mention of all in generall as Strabo noteth lib. 8. 11. Our holy and our beautifull house where our fathers praised thee is burnt up with fire q. d. Thy beautifull Temple which was the place to which we and our fathers resorted to worship thee is burnt up with fire All our pleasant things are laid wast By pleasant things may be meant the Kings Palaces and the Palaces of the Nobles with all other the stately houses of their great men and the Orchards Gardens and places of delight thereunto appertaining Or by their pleasant things may be meant Those rare peeces of workmanship which were about the Temple Or else thereby may be meant their Synagogues wherein their fathers delighted to meet for Gods service 12. Wilt thou refrain thy selfe for these things q. d. And they which did these things were the Babylonians wilt thou therefore refraine thy selfe from taking vengeance of the Babylonians for doing these things Wilt thou hold thy peace q. d. Wilt thou hold thy peace at the Babylonians which did these things and wilt thou not rebuke them And afflict us very sore q. d. And wilt thou afflict us very sore who have not done any such things as these are but suffered all this at the hands of the Babylonians He layeth open the sins and outrages of the Babylonians that he might provoke God to punish them because by their punishment the Jews were like to speed the better as the event shewed For when God punished the Babylonians by Cyrus the Jews obtained their freedom again ISAIAH CHAP. LXV I Am sought of them that asked not for me This hath good connexion with the former Chapter and this Verse containeth the gracious Answer of God to that prayer which was there made to him in person of a Jew which was in captivity For here he tells him that he hath them that shall do all his pleasure in punishing the Babylonians and in redeeming his people the Jews which was the chief subject of that prayer I am sought of them that asked not for me i. e. They have light upon my will and pleasure to do it that never enquired after it as if they had enquired after it Note first that God is put here by a Metonymy for the will and pleasure of God As when we say Abraham obeyed God for Abraham obeyed the will of God c. Note secondly that he saith I am sought for I am found out or my will is found out or they have light upon will and pleasure as if they had sought for it per Metonymiam Antecedentis For seeking goeth before finding out So is this word seeking also taken for to get Eccles 3.6 by the same figure Now if ye ask who they were which sought that is which found out and light upon the will and pleasure of God as if they had sought it I say that it was Cyrus and the Medes and Persians under him For thus doth God say of Cyrus He shall perform all my pleasure Cap. 44.28 If you ask what this will and pleasure of God was The answer is That it was that Cyrus should tread down the Babylonians Isai 41.25 And that he should redeem the Jews out of captivity Cap. 45.4 And that he should build up the Temple Cap. 44.28 If you ask whether Cyrus knew that this was the determinate will of God or no when he light upon it I answer At first it is probable he did not but before he had performed all the Lords pleasure he did as appeareth 2 Chron. 36.23 Ezra 1.1 2 c. And Josephus in the eleventh Book of his Antiquities cap. 1. reports that Cyrus read what was written of him in Isaiah Cap. 45. whereby Cyrus was stirred up to perform the Lords will in subduing Babylon redeeming the Jews and building the Temple c. That asked not after me i. e. That enquired not what my will was Cyrus and the Medes and Persians under him which did perform the pleasure of God did not ask what the pleasure and will of God was that they should perform it for they did not so much as know God at the first Isai 45.4 And afterwards when the Priests of the Lord acquainted Cyrus with the will and pleasure of the Lord concerning him they did it without his asking for he did not so much as dream of any such thing I am found of them that sought me not This is an illustration of the former sentence as also a repetition thereof with which kinde of repetition our Prophet is much delighted I said Behold me behold me to a Nation that was not called by my Name q. d. I said to a Nation that I owned not and took not for a peculiar people as I did the Jews Behold me Supple For I will bless thee and make thy way prosperous Behold me Supple For I will bless thee and make thy way prosperous The Nation or Nations here spoken of for Nation may be put for Nations collectivè were they which served Cyrus in his expedition against Babylon whom God blessed
his people the Jews with all cruelty when they were in captivity and upon whom he poured out vengeance when he delivered his people by Cyrus Before she travelled she brought forth i. e. The Jews which were in captivity were delivered out of captivity and brought back to Sion sooner then any one could expect This is the meaning of the words which are proverbial and where Sion is compared to a teeming woman yea to a woman bringing forth before her pains came upon her and the Jews which were in captivity and brought home again to the children brought forth by such a woman Note that by she is meant Sion or Jerusalem of which he speaks as of a woman by a Prosopopoeia But the Relative She is put without an Antecedent which is a thing ordinary with the Hebrews Before her pain came she was delivered of a man-childe This is a repetition of the former words Of a man-childe The birth of a man-childe makes the joy the greater Joh. 16. vers 21. But whom doth he mean by this man-childe Ans He meaneth the whole people of the Jews for he speaks often of a people as of one individual man as Cap. 17.4 Or a man-childe may be taken collectivè for men-children q. d. Before her pain she was delivered of many men-children 8. Who hath heard such a thing q. d. Who ever heard or saw such a thing Who hath seen such things i. e. Supple as this That a woman should bring forth before she travelled and that she should be delivered before she was in pain as Sion was that is That a City should be so suddenly redeemed out of so great captivity and so suddenly filled with people which was so utterly desolate before as Jerusalem was when she was redeemed by Cyrus Shall the Earth be made to bring forth in one day i. e. Shall a Land be made to bring forth in one day people enough to inhabit it The whole Earth is put by a Synecdoche for one Land and Country Or shall a Nation be born at once Or shall a whole Nation be suddenly born at one birth For as soon as Sion travelled she brought forth her children i. e. Yet Sion did all on the sudden bring forth all these her children which are more then enough to inhabit her cap. 49.20 By this Metaphor of Sion travelling and bringing forth the Prophet meaneth that Jerusalem was replenished in a moment with inhabitants which was desolate before multitudes of people returning on a sudden out of Babylon into her as if a whole Nation had been born in her in one day For is put here for Yet A question may here be asked How he can say As soon as Sion travelled she brought forth when as he said vers 7. Before she travelled she brought forth Ans These two phrases are both proverbial To bring forth before she travelled and To bring forth as soon as she travelled and both these may signifie one and the same thing viz. To bring forth of a sudden And this is all which is intended by this place to wit to shew the suddenness of Sions bringing forth her children And therefore he may say As soon as Sion travelled and Before Sion travelled she brought forth without any contradiction or contrariety So Cap. 65.24 The Lord saith Before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear By which phrases is onely meant that the Lord would be forward to help them when they stood in need of him So we read Matt. 10.10 that our Saviour whâ—n he sends forth his Disciples bids them carry no staves yet Mark 6.8 our Saviour tells them that they should take nothing for their journey save a staff onely in which words there is no contradiction if we look to the sence for by both phrases our Saviour intendeth that his Disciples should have nothing but what was necessary for the present and that Matthew signified when he said no staves for every poor man hath a staff And Mark when he said nothing save a staff onely for he that hath onely a staff hath nothing superfluous 9. Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth q. d. Shall I cause Sion to conceive and shall I perfect her fruit within her and bring it to the birth and shall I not cause her to bring it forth that is Shall I give Sion hopes of having her children return to her out of captivity and shall I not bring it to pass Shall I cause to bring forth and shut the womb q. d. Shall I cause all mothers to bring forth and be fruitful and shall I shut the womb of my beloved Sion so that she shall not bring forth No I will not but I will open her womb and make her more fruitful then any mother in the world besides for I will make her very populous Or thus q. d. Shall I say that I will cause Sion to bring forth and yet shut her womb I will not do it To cause to bring forth in this last interpretation is taken for To say that he would cause to bring forth and To shut her womb for To suffer her womb to be shut 10. Rejoyce ye with Jerusalem and be glad with her all ye which love her Supple Because of the happiness and prosperity which she shall enjoy He speaks to the captive Jews which sought the Lord and served him who therefore loved Jerusalem because the Lord had chosen it for the place of his worship And hereby he prophecyeth both of theirs and of Jerusalems prosperity All ye that mourn for her Supple Now in the time of her affliction and desolation because she lieth waste and desolate without Altar and without Temple to serve God in 11. That ye may suck and be satisfied with the brest of her consolation i. e. For though ye be now afflicted ye shall be partakers of her comfort This phrase is Metaphorical and alludeth to children which when they cry and weep the mother to quiet them and comfort them layeth them to the brest to suck Note that the Particle that signifieth here as often elsewhere either the connexion and consequence or else the cause of rejoycing That ye may milk out i. e. For ye shall milk out of her brests abundance of glory And be delighted with the abundance of her glory i. e. Ye shall eat and be delighted with the abundance of her glory that is of her prosperity and happiness By glory he meaneth prosperity and happiness per Metonymiam Effecti or Adjuncti because prosperity and happiness make him glorious who hath them And he compareth this glory that is this prosperity and happiness here to the milk of the brest 12. I will extend peace to her like a river i. e. I will give her that is Jerusalem abundance of prosperity and happiness The word peace signifieth in the Hebrew language all manner of prosperity and happiness And the word extend noteth abundance and continuance of