when he redeemed them by Cyrus out of the Babylonish Captivity Of which salvation our Prophet speaketh often from the fourth Chapter of this Prophesie to the end thereof And in the 45. Chapter and the eighth Verse he speakes of it Metaphorically as he doth here that is as of a Branch or a Plant which the Lord maketh to spring out of the Earth The branch of the Lord shall be beautifull and glorious c. q. d. The Salvation which God will work for those which escape of Jews shall bring honour and glory to them that escape and make them honourable and glorious â—n the eyes of all men How honourable and glorious the Jews were by reason of this Salvation see among other places Chap. 40. v. 5. Chap. 41. v. 10. c. Chap. 43. v. 14. Chap. 45. v. 17. Chap. 49. v. 9 23. c. Chap. 52. v. 9. Chap 54. v. 1. c. And the fruit of the Earth i. e. And the fruit which shall spring up out of the Earth This is but a repetition of the former Sentence And the fruit of the Earth signifieth the same here as the Branch of the Lord doth there Note that the fruit of the Earth is of larger extent than the fruit of Trees or Plants or Branches For not onely the friut of Trees and of Plants and of Branches but Trees and Plants and Branches themselves may be called the fruits of the Earth And comely i. e. And an Ornament For them that are escaped of Israel i. e. For those Jews which shall escape death and survive after the destruction and captivity which the Babylonians shall bring upon that People Of Israel i. e. Of the Jews to wit the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin see Chap. 1.3 3. He that is left in Sion and he that remaineth in Hierusalem By him that is left in Sion and him that remaineth in Hierusalem is meant he that remaineth alive of the Jews after the Babylonish captivity Note therefore that in Sion and in Hierusalem is as if he should say in Jacob and in Israel For as Jacob or Israel is often put for the Jewes and that per Metonymiam Efficientis Because Jacob or Israel was the Father of the Jews So is Sion or Hierusalem put for the same Jews by the same figure Because Sion or Hierusalem was the Mother of the Jewes But observe that Jacob or Israel was the true naturall Father of the Jews But Sion or Hierusalem was called their Mother onely by a Metaphor yet that she was so at least called their Mother we may learn from Chap. 49. Vers 20. and Chap. 50. Vers 1. and Gal. 4. Vers 25. But yet we may take Sion and Hierusalem here plainly without a Metaphor that the sense of these words may be this Viz. And he Supple of the Jews which is left alive Supple and shall dwell in Sion and he Supple of the Jews which remaineth Supple alive and shall dwell in Hierusalem after the Babylonish captivity shall c. For note that though many of the Jews survâ—ved after the Babylonish captivity yet the Blessings spoken of in this Chapter did appertain onely to them which returned and dwelt in Hierusalem Shall be called Holy i. e. Shall be holy For the Hebrews doe often use vocall verbes for reall and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be called for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be To be holy doth primarily and originally signifie to be separated from others by way of excellencie Hence they which excell the vulgar sort of Men in Piety and Religion are commonly called Holy and in this sense may these Men be called Holy in this place Yet because this place speakes both in the precedent and Subsequent Verses of the blessings of God to this People in keeping and preserving them I had rather take Holy here for such as God separates and sets apart from other People by his blessings to them and hedge of protection about them by which he maketh a difference between them and other People In which sence the word Holy is taken Exod. 19. Vers 5 6. where we thus read Now therefore if yee will obey my voice indeed then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto me above all the people For all the earth is mine And ye shall be unto me a Kingdome of Priests and an holy Nation In opposition to Holinesse thus taken God is said to prophâ—ne the Princes of the Sanctuary Chap. 43. Vers 28. Every one that is written among the living in Hierusalem i. e. Every one which shall be alive after the Babylonish Captivity and shall live in Hierusalem shall be called Holy He alludeth here in this phrase to the Mustering of an Army after a Battle where the names of those which escaped in Battle are written and entered into a Muster-Roule or Muster-Book that so they m ght know what they have lost and what forces they have left 4. When the Lord shall have washed away the filth c. i. e. When the Lord shall have washed away the sins c. He likeneth the sin of the Soul here to the filth of the body And the taking sin away to the washing away of that filth by water But the way by which God took away the filth of sin here spoken of was by destroying the incorrigible sinner and bringing others to amendment of life both which he did by the Babylonians into whose hands he gave them The filth of the Daughter of Sion Read Chap. 3.16 To wh ch place the Prophet doth here allude The bloud Bloud is put here Metonymice for Murder by which the bloud of man is shed And that againe is put Hypâ—rbolice for Oppression See Chap. 1. Vers 15. The Prophet doth here allude to the Oppression which he spake of Chap. 3. Vers 12. c. From the midst of her i. e. From her or out of her An Hebrew Periphrase By the Spirit of judgement The Spirit of Judgement is put here Periphrastically for Judgement the word Spirit redounding by an Hebraisme By Judgement the Prophet meaneth the Calamities and Punishment which God brought upon this People by the Babylonians which kind of Calamities and Punishments are called Judgemenes because of the Justnesse of them and that by a Metaphor from those Punishments which are inflicted upon a Malefactor upon a Just Sentence or Judgement given against him And by the spirit of burning i. e. And by burning for the word Spirit redounds here as it did before He meaneth the same thing by burning here as he did by Judgement just before But he alludeth here to the manner of Goldsmiths and other the like Crafts-mens who purifie their Gold and other mettals from their drosse by Fire and Burning 5. And the Lord will create upon evey dwelling place c. The meaning of this Place is that God will protect them and keep them in all their dwellings and will be no lesse pâ—esent with them for this purpose than â—e was with their fathers when he
seemes he begun with Galilee and shewed the greatest spight there which made that alone to be named here Or that alone is here named because Galilee was the richest and most populous of all the Land of Israel and it will move the more lamentation to tell that so rich a Countrey shall be spoiled and so populous a Countrey wasted then to tell of the spoiling and desolation of a Land which is not so rich and populous Note that neither of the two afflictions which are spoke of in this verse were light in themselves But when Israel was afflicted by Tiglah-Pileser he was said to be lightly afflicted in comparison of that affliction which he suffered afterwards by Salmaneser which of the two was farre the most grievous affliction Note also that when it is said that the dimnesse or affliction of Judah wherewith Sennacharib shall afflict him shall not be so great as the affliction of Israel wherewith Tiglah-Pileser first and afterwards Salmaneser shall afflict him The affliction of Israel by Tiglah-Pileser and the affliction of Israel by Salmaneser are not to be taken severally as though either of them two were greater than the affliction of Judah by Sennacharib for the affliction of Israel by Tiglah-Pileser seemes not to have been greater than the affliction of Judah by Sennacharib but joyntly q. d. Yet shall not the affliction of Judah by Sennacharib be so grievous as the affliction of Israel by Tiglah-Pileser and Salmaneser For Tiglah-Pileser shall begin to destroy the Israelites and to carry them into Captivity out of which they shall not be redeemed And what he hath begun Salmaneser shall make an end of For he shall carry the residue into perpetuall captivity and destroy Israel from being any more a People or a Kingdome But Sennacharib shall not be able to deal thus with the Jewes for though he shall over-run all Judea yet he shall not prevail against Hierusalem So that out of Hierusalem shall Judea be peopled again and flourish 2. The People that walked in darknesse i. e. For the People of Judah and especially of Hierusalem which shall be grievously afflicted by Sennacharib and his Host c. By Darknesse he meaneth Misery and Affliction which the Hebrewes often signifie by the Metaphor of Darknesse Note here that he puts a Praeterperfect Tense for a Future as before He gives a Reason here in this and the following verses why the dimnesse or affliction of Judah should not be so great as the affliction of Israel in his vexation Have seen a great light i. e Shall receive great comfort and a great deliverance Here again a Praeterperfect Tense is put for a Future And by light he meaneth comfort For as the Hebrewes doe often put darknesse to signifie misery and affliction So they doe put light to signifie comfort and prosperity and both by a Metaphor This was fulfilled when the Lord destroyed by his Angel the huge host of the Assyrians which had wasted the Land of Judah and did at that time besiedge the chief City Hierusalem of which you may read 2 Kings Cap. 18. and 19. They that dwell in the Land of the shadow of death i. e. They that shall dwell in the Land which is overspread with the dark and dreadful night or with black and dreadful darknesse That is they which shall be grievously afflicted This Phrase is every whit the same for sense with that which went a little before namely with that The People that walked in darknesse By the shadow is meant the night or darknesse For darknesse is nothing else but the shadow of a thick dark body interposed between the light and the thing darkened And the night is nothing else but the shadow of the earth interposed between the light of the Sun and the Air or whatsoever else is thereby made dark He calls that the shadow of death which is such a shadow or night or darknesse as is as dreadful as death or which affrights a Man with the terrour of death or which is such as death brings for upon whom death seizeth him it depriveth of all light Wherefore a dead man is called Lumine cassus i. e. one deprived of light by the Prince of Latine Poets And on the contrary Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery saith Job Job 3.20 That is why doth he live Again by the shadow of death may be meant such darknesse as the dead have in their Sepulchres for death is put sometimes for the dead per Metonymiam adjuncti as cap. 28. v. 18. and Sepulchres are wholly dark without any light at all The Prophet Amos speaking of the night useth the very same Phrase as is here used saying Seek him that maketh the seven Stars and Orion and turneth the shadow of death that is the night into the morning Amos 5. v. 8. And Job useth the shadow of death for a great darknesse when he saith Let darknesse and the shadow of death stain it Job 3. v. 6. Vpon them hath the light shined i. e. Upon them shall the light shine He alludes here to the light of the Sun or Morning And by it doth Metaphorically understand comfort as before It was a Maxime received among the Hebrewes that the Redemption from their temporal enemies such as were the Aegyptians Midianites Philistines Assyrians c. was a Type and Figure of the Redemption which was to be expected in the dayes of the Messiah and accordingly the Redemption here spoken of was the Type and Figure of the spirituall Redemption which was wrought in the dayes of the Messiah Mat. 4. v. 15. Where note that the spiritual Redemption here prefigured was not more peculiar to those which inhabited the Land of Zebulun and the Land of Nepthali and Galilee of the Nations than it was to others though it may seem to concern them more than others at the first reading of Mat. cap. 4. v. 14 15. for the Evangelist by mentioning the Land of Zebulun and the Land of Nepthali and Galilee of the Nations doth onely upon occasion apply this General to those Particular Men and make use of these words Viz. The Land of Zebulun the Land of Nepthali by the way of the Sea beyond Jordan Galilee of the Nations to shew what particular Men he meant though they are not the words of the same sentence because those words were nigh the sentence which he quoted and which concerned his purpose 3. Thou hast multiplied the Nation i e. Thou wilt multiply the Nation of the Assyrians by adding many Nations to it i. e. Thou wilt get together many Nations He puts a Praeterperfect for a Future Tense He useth also here an Apostrophe to Sennacharib who mustered a great Army out of many Nations and marched with it against Judah But not increased the joy q.d. But though thou wilt get many Nations together yet thou shalt not make thy joy the greater Sennacharib when he had gathered a mighty Army together out of almost all Nations
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
or Literall or Historicall or Meaner sense of the Heavens and that Metaphorically And the Heavens are said to sound out and speak the praises of God all the world over because they are seen to all the world to be so excellently made as that men may understand thereby the eternall power and God-head of him that made them But as they are spoken in the First or Literall or Historicall or Meaner sense of the Heavens Metaphorically So are they spoken of the Apostles who preached the Gospel in all the world in the Second Mysticall and Sublime sense properly Rom. 10. v. 18. And note here that Saint Paul alledgeth these words of the Psalmist in that place of the Romanes not by Accommodation onely that is not because they are words fit for his purpose without any relation to the intent of the Prophet David in that place but he alledgeth them as words intended by the Prophet David as a man inspired by the Holy Ghost to signifie that for which he there alledgeth them as he that seriously considereth the Text and Context must needs confesse But if you ask me how the Prophet David though inspired by the Holy Ghost can signifie by those words in that place the preaching of the Gospel by the Apostles throughout the world Take these my Notions such as they are in a place of much difficulty and controversie The work of Christ in the whole redemption of Man is as a new Creation and hath resemblance thereunto intended by the Holy Ghost Hence we read 1 Cor. 5. v. 1 7. If any man be in Christ he is a new Creature Old things are passed away behold all things are become new And Gal. 6. v. 15. In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision nor Uncircumcision availeth any thing but a new Creature The Psalmist therefore while he speakes of the Heavens which is the highest and lightest and chiefest part of the materiall world and the glory which they bring to God their Maker doth in a mysticall sense foretell of the Apostles and the glory which they shall bring to the Lord who gave them to be Apostles by their preaching For in the new world which Christ framed that is in the Church of Christ the Apostles are the highest and chiefest Creatures hence in the similitude of an house they are likened to the foundations which are the chiefest parts and most to be regarded in a building Ephes 2.20 And they are the lightest also for our Saviour saith to them Yee are the light of the world Matth. 5. vers 14. But to return to that from which we may seem to have digressed That which our Prophet saith of himself in the first sense Cap. 18. v. 12. I and the children which thou hast given me is said also by Christ of himself in the Second and Sublime sense Heb. 2. v. 13. But it is spoken by Isaiah otherwise than it is by Christ for it is spoken by Isaiah properly for he was the naturall father of these children which he speakes of But Christ is called the Father of these Children which he speakes of onely by a Metaphor So in these woâ—ds Isaiah 25. v. 8. He will swallow up death in victory Death as the words are considered in the First Literall Historicall and Meaner sense is to betaken Metonymically for Sorrow Or if Death be taken for that which deprives a man of life the meaning of the words is this That the Lord will destroy death that it shall kill no more But as the words are taken in the Second Mysticall and Sublime sense as they are taken 1 Cor. 15. v. 55. Death is to be taken properly for the deprivation of life And the sense of the words is That the Lord will so destroy death and triumph over it as that he will restore those which are dead to life again So Isaiah 35. v. 4. In the words which we read there to wit Then shall the lame leap as an Hart and the tongue of the dumb shall sing The lame and the dumb as the words are taken in the First or Literall or Historicall and Meaner sense are taken Metaphorically for those that are in such extremity of grief as that they have no desire either to talke or to walk but sit as dumb and lame men But in the Second Mysticall and Sublime sense they are taken properly for him that is lame indeed And him that is dumb indeed Matth. 11. vers 5. The Fifth and last thing that I desired to betaken notice of was this That though in many Histories â—as I may call them and Prophesies of those holy Writers there be sometimes one sometimes more sentences which signifie immediately by their words not onely some passage or passages which appertain to the First Literall Historicall or Meaner Sense But also some passage or passages which appertain to the Second Mysticall and Sublime Sense Yet it is not necessary neither is it alwayes so yea it is very seldome so that every sentence of the whole Prophesie or History as I may call it doth signifie immediately by its words those passage or passages which appertain to the Second Mysticall or Sublime sense as they doe those passages which appertain to the First or Historical or Meaner Sense Which some not observing where they have assuredly found a sentence belonging to some passage of the Sublime sense thinking therefore that the whole Context must necessarily thereunto appertain word by word have attempted to construe the Context word by word accordingly and have rack'd the words yet have they not made them speak good sense But that it is not necessary nor is it alwayes true that where one sentence is found appertaining word by word to the Second Mysticall or Sublime sense the sentences adjoyning must therefore appertain to the same sense word by word is evident by these examples following for Exod. 12. v. 46. Those words Neither shall yee break a bone thereof appertain in the Second Mysticall and Sublime sense to our Saviour Christ John 19. v. 36. But though that sentence appertaineth word by word to our Saviour Christ in the Second Mysticall and Sublime sense yet cannot the sentences preceding or following be construed of him word by word as he which readeth them must needs confesse So that sentence 2 Sam. 7.14 I will be his Father and he shall be my Sonne is spoke of our Saviour Christ in the Second Mysticall and Sublime sense Heb. 1. v. 5. Yet cannot the words following in that verse be understood of him to wit If he commit iniquity I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men So those words Isaiah 1. v. 9. Except the Lord of Hosts had left unto us a very small remnant we should have been as Sodome and we should have been like unto Gomorrah signifie in the and Second Mysticall and Sublime sense that many should perish through unbelief and that a Remnant onely should be saved according to the election
men which he spoke of Vers 8.11 c. whom he might call fat Ones by a Metaphor from fat Bulls as Psalm 22. v. 12. Or fat Boares as Psal 119. v. 70. because they pampered themselves up and grew fat with their luxurious and riotous living The Lands and Possessions which these covetous and voluptuous rich men enjoyed he calls their waste places because they should be made waste and desolate by the death of them who were the Lords thereof Shall Strangers eat By Strangers he meaneth those whom he called Lambs before and he calleth them Strangers because they were not of kin to those whom he calleth fat Ones nor had right by way of descent to their Lands For a Stranger is sometime taken for one that is not of the same kin or tribe or family Eat i. e. Plant and sow and eat the fruits thereof A Syllepsis Or by eating he meaneth injoying by a Metaphor from Cattle whose enjoying of grounds is by eating and feeding upon them It is the use and practice of such men as these were to call their Lands and Housen by their own names and it is their desire to transmit them to their Seed after them But here the names of these men shall perish and Strangers shall inherit their Land 18. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with Cords of Vanity Here be more wild Grapes which the Lords Vine-yard brought forth Though most Interpreters take Iniquity here formally and by the Cords with which wicked men draw iniquity they mean the occasions of and temptations to iniquity whereby they cannot avoid the iniquity it self but draw it to them or upon them as it were with Cords Yet they seem to interpret this place most agreeable to the Context who take Iniquity by a Metonymie of the cause for Gods Judgements or Punishments for Iniquity q d. Woe to them who by their presumptuous sinning and daring words draw down Gods Judgements upon themselves as it were with Cords and Cart-ropes With Cords of vanity i e. With vain Cords He puts a Substantive of the Genitive case for an Adjective With Cords of vanity and as it were with Cart-ropes He likeneth Presumptuous sinnes and daring words against the Almighty to strong Cords and Cart-ropes because as Horses in a Teem by the meanes of strong Cords and Cart-ropes draw great loads and burthens after them and fail not So doe these kind of men by these their sinnes draw Gods Judgements after them Or because as men when strong Cords or Cart-ropes are fastened to any great Stone or piece of Timber in a house which they would pull down doe not fail to pull it down and that upon their own heads too if they take not heed So doe such men as these by these their sinnes not fail to pull down Gods Judgements upon their own heads if they avert them not by hearty and speedy repentance But why then doth he call them Cords of vanity or vain Cords Answer He calls these Sinnes Cords of vanity or vain Cords not in respect of the punishment which they should draw after them For they would not fail of that and therefore in that respect they were not vain but in respect of the end which those sinners proposed to themselves in committing these presumptuous sinnes and speaking these daring words For what was the end which these men had in committing such sinnes and using such words Surely their end was frivolous and so vain Or if they did expect any good by their doing and speaking they missed of their end and so were their sinnes vain also Yea such Cords as these were that is to say Sinnes are alwayes vain there is no good or profit in them but evill and mischief to the committers of them 19. Let him make speed and hasten his work i e. Let God make speed and hasten his Judgements which thou O Isaiah hast threatned us with we care not By his work he meaneth his Judgements i. e. The judgements of God see Notes on Vers 12. Loe the counsell of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh c. i. e. Let the Judgements or Punishments which God who is the Holy One of Israel hath decreed to send or concerning which he hath taken so long counsell and deliberation draw nigh He puts the counsell of God here for the Judgements of God concerning which he had taken counsell and deliberation by a Metonymie And this is a Repetition of the former sentence both which sentences shew how much these men contemnea the judgements which the Lord threatned The long suffering of God towards man who threatneth a great while before he striketh is greater but wicked men abusing it think that those threats are vaine which are not speedily followed with judgement and therefore they mock at them Thus do they mock and scoffe also 2 Pet. 3.4 20. Woe unto them that call evill Good and good Evill So great a power hath Custome in sinne to corrupt and deprave the judgement of men as that they which accustome themselves to sinne cannot judge of good and bad honest and dishonest Virtue and Vice aright and as they are in themselves but judge that good which is bad and that bad which is good that dishonest which is honest and that honest which is dishonest that virtue which is vice and that vice which is virtue That put That is that affirme or maintaine or hold So in the Schools that speech which is made in affirmation and maintainance of that part of a question which we hold is called A Position That put darknesse for light and light for darknesse i. e. That affirme and maintaine or hold that Darknesse is light and Light is darknesse He saith here in Metaphoricall termes what he said plainely before and by darkâ—esse he meaneth evill by light good Darknesse is put here for evill and therefore may it be so put because They which do evill love darknesse Joh. 3. vers 18 19. And because evill as it proceedeth from the darknesse of the judgement and understanding so doth it darken the same againe more and more And light is put herefor good and it may be so put First because They which do well come to the light that their deeds may be made manifest Joh. 3. vers 20. Secondly because it proceedeth from Light Viz. the Light of the understanding rightly enlightened And Thirdly because it encreaseth that Light and maketh it the brighter That put bitter for sweet sweet for bitter This is another repetition of what he said Bitter signifieth evill and so it may signifie because evill is unpleasing to God and all good men as that which is bitter is to the Taste And Sweeter signifieth good and so it may signifie because good is pleasant and delightful to good men and to God himself as honey and sweet things are to the mouth 21. Woe to them that are wise in their own eyes Supple They which are wise in their own conceites had rather rule their actions by
his similitudes doth often give more respect in his expressions to the thing signified by his similitude then to the thing from which his similitude is taken 12. They shall call the Nobles to the Kingdom i. e. After this slaughter and desolation the common people which are left alive shall hearing of the death of their King call for the Nobles of the Land to govern the Kingdom or to choose a King out of them By They are meant the Commons of the Land of Idumea which are left alive where a Relative is put without an Antecedent and by the Kingdom is meant the Government of the Kingdom But none shall be there i. e. But none of the Nobles shall be left in the Land All her Princes shall be nothing i. e. All the Nobles of Idumea shall be nothing that is they shall be slain Whom he called Nobles before be calls Princes here 13. And thorns shall come up in her palaces i. e. And thorns shall come up in the places where now her palaces stand See Cap. 32.13 14. In the fortresses i. e. In the compass of ground where her Fortresses and strong Cities stood 14. The wilde beasts of the desart shall also meet with the wilde beasts of the Islands Supple There i. e. All manner of wilde beasts shall meet there The wilde beasts of the Desart i. e. The wilde beasts which use to live in the Desart and Wilderness With the wilde beasts of the Islands i. e. With strange wilde beasts such as inhabit Islands and remote places neer the Sea See Cap. 13.22 The Satyre See Cap. 13.21 The Satyre shall cry to his fellow i. e. One Satyre shall cry there to another so that there shall be more Satyres there then one Shall cry The cry here meant is a cry of mirth and joy See Cap. 13.21 15. Gather under her shadow i. e. Gather her young ones under her wings He putteth her shadow for her wings per Metonymiam Effecti because birds cover their young ones with their wings as with a shadow The Vultures The Vulture is a ravenous bird which loveth desolate places 16. Seek ye out of the Book of the Lord and read q. d. When this desolation shall come to pass which I have spoken of in this Chapter then take ye into your hands the Book of this my Prophecy and read it and mark it well and observe from thence what solitary creatures I have said shall dwell in Idumea after this desolation He calls the Book of this his Prophecy the Book of the Lord either because he did write it at the commandment of the Lord or because he wrote nothing in it but what he heard of the Lord. Not one shall fail i. e. Not one of these solitary creatures shall fail of being there None shall want her mate q. d. Every one shall be there with her mate or fâ—llow and their being there every one with their mate or fellow sheweth that they shall not come thither to fly away again presently but shall make their abode there For my mouth it hath commanded it i. e. For I will command them every one to come and dwell there with her mate The Prophet speaks here in the person of God and yet speaks of God as of a man by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and puts the mouth for the whole man by a Synecdoche he puts also a preterfect for a future tense It hath commanded it The Particle It is redundant here after the Hebrew manner Commanded it i. e. Commanded that every one shall come and dwell there And his Spirit i. e. And the Lord. The Prophet speaks here in his own person and he speaks of God as of a man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and puts the spirit which is but part for the whole man Or by his Spirit he meaneth his power for any quality or ability of doing do the Hebrews call Spirit It This Pronoun It is redundant here by an Hebraism as it is once before in this Verse Hath gathered them i. e. Will gather these solitary creatures together in Idumea when it is layd desolate mate with mate And he hath cast the lot for them i. e. And he will give them every one an inheritance and a several place of abode in that Land viz. the Land of Idumea He puts here a preterperfect for a future tense and he alludes here to the division of the Land of Canaan to the Tribes of Israel by lot of which you may read Josh 18.8 c. where Joshua did cast lots when the Land was divided into several divisions which division should be given to which Tribe for his inheritance And his hand hath divided it unto them i. e. And he will divide it unto them He puts the hand for he a part for the whole man and by he he meaneth the Lord of whom he speaks as of a man by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Prophet persists still in his allusion to the division of the Land of Canaan for an inheritance to the several Tribes of Israel where the Land was first divided into so many parts then the lot was cast which Tribe should inherit which part Joshua cap. 18. Note here that the division which we spoke of was before the casting of lots for the Land of Canaan was first divided into so many parts then did Joshua cast lots what Tribe should inherit what part The Prophet therefore useth here an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he doth also Cap. 1.6 and elsewhere By line He alludes here to the manner of measuring and dividing Lands which was wont to be done by a line See Josh 17.5 14. and 19.9 where the Hebrew hath it line and lines whereas it is rendered portions by our Translators See also Psal 78.55 where the Kingly Prophet speaking of the division of Canaan to the Tribes of Israel and the manner thereof saith He cast out the Heathen also before them and divided them an inheritance by line and made the Tribes of Israel to dwell in their Tents From generation to generation See vers 10. ISAIAH CHAP. XXXV THe wilderness and the solitary places shall be glad for them This cohereth with the former Chapter and seemeth to have been delivered at the same time And the sence of this place is this q.d. And when the indignation of the Lord shall have passed upon all Nations Cap. 34.2 and his Sword shall have come down upon Idumea Cap. 34.5 then shall the happiness of the Jews be such as that the very Earth or Land of Judah shall be glad and rejoyce for this their happiness The wilderness c. By the wilderness he meaneth Judea which the Assyrians made like a wilderness in the days of Hezekiah by depopulating and laying waste the Cities and Towns cutting down the trees and hedges treading down the Vines and Vineyards trampling under feet the grass and fruit of the field and killing and driving out the Husbandmen thereof so that there were none
the Lord in his own person yet it may be understood of the Lords speaking thus to himself and stirring up himself for this work See the like cap. 63.11 Because the Lord had suffered his people to lie in captivity a long time and did not shew his power in their deliverance he might seem to be like a man asleep therefore he saith Awake awake put on strength O arm of the Lord Supple That thou mayst deliver thy people out of Babylon as thou hast promised Put on strength He alludeth to a mans putting on his garments when he awaketh which he did put off and lay aside when he went to sleep O arm of the Lord i. e. O powerful God He speaks of God as of a man by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and puts the arm which is but part for the whole man by a Synecdoche as Vers 5. As in the ancient days and in the generations of old Supple When thou didst bring the children of Israel out of the Land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage Art not thou it that hath cut Rahab i. e. Art not thou He which didst cut and hew the Egyptians to pieces It This relateth to that O thou arm of the Lord by which as I said is meant the Lord himself Rahab By Rahab is meant Egypt and by Egypt the Egyptians as Psal 87. v. 4. And Egypt was called Rahab because of her pride for Rahab signifieth one that is proud and Egypt carryed her self proudly at least towards Israel Exod. 18.11 And wounded the Dragon Supple Even to death By the Dragon he meaneth Pharaoh King of Egypt whom the Lord overthrew in the red Sea For the Prophet calls tyrants by that name See cap. 27.1 10. Art not thou it which hath dryed the Sea c. He meaneth by the Sea the red Sea which the Lord divided and through which he made a dry way for his people of Israel to pass when he brought them out of Egypt Exod. 14.21 The waters of the great deep q. d. Even the waters of the red Sea which was very deep For the ransomed to pass over i. e. For the Israelites which thou didst redeem out of Egypt from the bondage which they suffered there to pass over This is mentioned here to strengthen the faith of the people in God For if God had power to do such things heretofore he hath as much power to do the like now and to redeem his people out of Babylon now as he had to redeem them out of Egypt in times past 11. The redeemed of the Lord i. e. The Jews which are now in captivity in Babylon He calleth these Jews the redeemed of the Lord by anticipation for as yet they were not redeemed though afterwards they were Shall return Supple Out of Babylon where they are captive And come with singing unto Sion i. e. And come back with a great deal of joy to Jerusalem Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads He resembleth joy to a crown therefore he saith that it shall be upon their heads q. d. They shall be crowned with everlasting joy See cap. 35.10 And sorrow and mourning Supple Which they now suffer by reason of their captivity 12. I even I am he that comforteth you This is spoken in the person of the Lord to Zion who fearing the great power of the Babylonians could not receive that comfort from the promises of God as she should do I even I c. q. d. I the Lord who am the true and Almighty God even I am he that comforteth you c. That comforteth you i. e. That comforteth you now by my promises of your redemption and will comfort you hereafter by performing what I promise Who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall dye q. d. What a fearful woman art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of the Babylonians because they are many which yet are but men and shall dye This was that which made the Lords promise of the redemption of the Jews out of Babylon so hardly to be believed to wit the strength and abundance of men which the Babylonians had and therefore the Lord would take this Objection or stumbling block away Who art thou This in the Hebrew is of the Feminine gender and therefore is spoken to Zion whom he speaks to as to a woman or a mother by a Prosopopoeia as cap. 49.14 And of the son of man which shall be made as grass i. e. And of the son of man which shall be cut down and wither as the grass This is a repetition of the former sentence The son of man Every man livinâ— as he is man himself so is he the son of a man 13. And forgettest the Lord thy Maker i. e. And art not mindf ll of the power of the Lord which made thee who because he made thee will have mercy upon thee That hath stretched out the Heavens and layd the foundations of the Earth Supple And therefore is of exceeding great power power enough to turn the Babylonians to nothing Hath stretched out the Heavens i. e. Hath made the Heavens See Cap. 45. vers 12. And layd the foundations of the Earth See cap. 55.13 And hast feared continually every day Supple Lest thou and thy children should be destroyed by hard usage and by famine Because of the fury of the oppressor i. e. Because of the fury of the Babylonian which oppresseth thee and thy children As if he were ready to destroy i. e. As if he i. e. the Babylonian thy oppressor would instantly destroy thee and thy children by hard usage and by starving And where is the fury of the oppressor i. e. And what I pray you is become of the fury of the Oppressor This is to be pronounced with contempt to vilifie the power and fury of the Babylonian when Zion feared And he speaketh as if the Babylonians were already destroyed 14. The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed q. d. Behold notwithstanding all the fury of the Oppressor the captive Exile already hasteneth that he may be loosed The captive Exile i. e. The Jew which is captive in Babylon and liveth there as an Exile or banished man Hasteneth that he may be loosed i. e. Maketh haste already that he may be loosed supple out of prison that is out of the Land of his captivity from being a captive any longer He likeneth the Land of Babylon in which the Jews were captive to a prison and alludeth thereunto as cap. 42.7 He speaketh here as though the captived Jews were even then hastening to get out of their captivity But how did they hasten that they might be loosed Ans By sending Zorobbabel to Cyrus to entreat him to let them go free And this was after Cyrus had subdued Babylon so that the Lord might well say as he did Vers 13. And wheâ—e is the fury of the Oppressor And that he should not dye in the pit i. e. And that he
a Rich man Againe certaine it is that our Saviour Christ suffered upon Golgotha which was the publike place of execution where all Malefactors which were condemned to death suffered And being that Golgotha was the place where Malefactors which were condemned to death suffered it is not to be doubted but the Malefactors which were put to death were buried either there or nigh thereunto For such is the custome of all places even at this day to bury those which are put to death either in or nigh to the place of their suffering except some friend beg their bodies of the Magistrates to dispose of them elsewhere As therefore the place in which the Malefactors were buried was in or nigh to the place of their suffering So was thâ— Sepulcher in which Christ was buried nigh to Golgotha where he suffered Iohn 19. v. 41 42. So that Christ though he were not buried in the place where Malefactors were buried he was buried nigh â—nto it And therefore we may interpret this place thus viz. He was buried nigh to the wicked yet with the rich when he was dead taking the first Praeposition and with for nigh to And the conjunction And for Yet Because he had done no violence neither was there deceit in his mouth i. e. Because he had done no evill either in word or deed Referre this Clause to the words immediately going before namely to those with the rich in his death For the cause why Pilate granted the body of Jesus so speedily to Joseph of Arimathea was certainly because he took Jesus to have been a just man and a man without fault John 19.6 And for the same reason also did Joseph desire the body of Jesus and lay it decently in his own Sepulcher 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to griefe q. d. But though he had done no violence neither was any deceit in his mouth yet hath it pleased the Lord to suffer him to be bruised and put to griefe When thou shalt make his soul an offring for sinne i. e. Yet when thou hast made him a Sacrifice for the sinne of thy people q.d. yet when thou hast delivered him up to death for us as Rom. 18.32 He either confoundes Tenses Or puts a Future for a Praeterperfect Tense by an Enallage His Soule His soule is put by a Synecdoche for him And the Prophet maketh here his Apostrophe to God He shall see his seed i. e. He shall have many children borne to him and shall see them and enjoy them By Seed he meaneth Children and those spirituall Children such as they are which are faithfull and believe for such are called his Children Hebr. 2.13 If I be lifted up from the earth saith our Saviour of himselfe I will draw all men unto me Iohn 12.32 Our Saviour therefore had more which believed in him after his death then he had while he lived among men and this is that which the Prophet here foretells He shall prolong his dayes i. e. After he hath been made an Offring for sinne that is After he hath been delivered over to death he shall rise againe and live for ever to make intercession for his Seed See Hebr. 7.25 And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands This is the will of him which hath sent me saith our Saviour that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life Iohn 6.40 And he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them saith the Apostle Heb. 7.25 The will therefore and pleasure of the Lord must needes prosper in his hands Note here the Enallage of the Person how he passeth from the second to the third person 11. He shall see of the travaile of his soul He shall see the fruit of all his travaile and paines and griefe which he hath susteined His soule The soul which is but part is put here for the wole man His travaile i. e. The fruit or effect of his travaile A Metonymie And shall be satisfied i. e. Aed shall take full content and delight in seeing the fruit of his travaile A Metaphor of which before By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many The knowledge here spoken of is a knowledge joyned with power Such a knowledge as St. Peter speakes of 2 Pet. 2.9 When he saith the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation Or particularly the knowledge here spoken of is that knowledge whereby Christ knew how to obey and was obedient even unto death the death of the Crosse Phil. 2.8 for the Apostle teacheth us that Christ learned obedience by the things which he suffered Hebr. 5.8 As therefore a Physitian is said to heale a sick man by his skill because he knoweth what is good to take away his disease and knoweth how to temper and apply it and doth temper it and apply it accordingly So may Christ be said to justifie many by his knowledge because he knew that by his patient suffering man might be justified for by his stripes are we healed v. 5. And knew how to suffer obediently and patiently Note that this is spoken in the person of God of Christ his Sonne and Servant Shall my righteous servant i. e. Shall Christ my Sonne and Servant who is just and righteous in all his wayes Iustifie many viz. As many as shall believe in his name For he shall beare their iniquities i. e. For he shall take away their iniquities This thus expounded relates to that word Iustifie as shewing what that meanes Or thus He shall beare their iniquities i. e. He shall beare the punishments which are due unto them for their iniquities Supple By which meanes he knowes that he shall free them from their sinnes This last way Iniquities are put for the punishments due to iniquities By a Metonymie 12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great i. e. And therefore will I divide him a portion c. Understand And here And I will divide him a portion with the great How these words may be applyed to Ieâ—emy I shewed before but how they can be applyed to Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is word for word I know not For who are those great ones with whom he should have a portion divided I therefore take it that these words as theâ— are here read are not to be interpreted of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. word by word but onely in grosse And though they shewed of Ieremy particularly how God did honour and reward him yet they shew onely in Generall and in Grosse of Christ that God would honour and reward him without mentioning any particular or speciall manner how he would do it So that speaking of Christ these words I will divide him a portion with the great signifiâ— no more than this I will
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
themselves to all the Ordinances of Moses as the Jewes themselves did which they would not have been suffered to doe if they had not observed so much as they did And from these Proselytes were they also which observed as much as they did called Proselytes of the Gate though they lived not among the Iewes but lived elsewhere because they were under the same condition such was Naaman the Syrian the Eunuch Cornelius c. The other kinde of Proselytes were such as were circumcised and tooke upon them the observation of the whole Law of Moses and these were called Proselites of the Covenant and were accounted almost for priviledges and observances as Jewes such were Vriah the Hittite Achior in the booke of Judith c. Note here againe that though in the first sense these Gentiles afore mentioned are here invited to joyne themselves to the Lord and worship him as Proselytes yet in the second and more sublime sense This is a Prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles to the Church of Christ where the Jews and Gentiles are made both one Ephes 2. vers 14. Come ye to the waters i. e. Come ye to that knowledge which will satisfie your desires as waters satisfie the thirst of him which is thirsty By waters he meaneth metaphorically the true knowledge of the true God in which knowledge there is that true content to be had which no other knowledge can afford and will satisfie a mans desire as waters will quench his thirst And he that hath no mony q. d. Yea let him come that is poor and hath no mony This he saith in opposition to those which desired to learn humane Arts and Sciences which he that desired to learn had need to have been rich because the Masters of those Arts and Sciences would not teach them without great rewards But they which would learn the knowledg of the Lord need not to have been rich the poor might learn it as well as the wealthy he that had no mony as well as he that had for the Lords servants taught the knowledge of the Lord freely Come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk c. The Prophet is not content to call the knowledge of God waters but he calls it also wine and milk because it did not onely satisfie the desire as waters satisfie and quench the thirst but it doth also feed the Soul as wine and milk do feed and nourish the body yea it is as the chiefest delicates to the Soul For by these two to wit wine and milk the Scripture doth not onely signifie food necessary for the sustenance of life but dainties and delicates too as Gen. 49.12 Without mony and without price This is said in opposition to those who gave great sums of mony to their Masters to learn humane Arts and Sciences q. d. Ye need not take care for mony or agree for a price for learning the knowledge of God as you use to take care for mony and agree for a price with your Masters of humane Arts and Sciences but this knowledge shall be taught you freely 2. Wherefore do ye spend your mony for that which is not bread q. d. Wherefore do you give so much mony to the Masters of the Arts to learn of them those Arts which bring no fruit or profit at all with them He persists still in his Metaphor whereby he likened the knowledge of God to meat and drink which nourish and refresh the body because this knowledge is the onely food of the Soul q. d. Wherefore do ye spend mony for that which is not so much as bread which is the necessary sustenance of mans life much less is it wine or milk which are the dainties and delicates thereof Which satisfieth not Supple Your hunger This is a repetition of those words Which is not bread Eat ye that which is good q. d. Eat ye not that which is not fit to nourish you but eat ye that which is good not onely to nourish you but to make you fat He persists still in his Metaphor and compares the knowledge of God to that which is good to nourish yea to fatten the body and humane science to that which is but bran or hulks and hath not any nourishment in it And let your Soul delight it self in fatness i. e. And delight your selves in that which will not onely feed you and nourish you but make you fat The Soul is put here for the whole man by a Synecdoche Fatness is put here for food which will fatten per Metonymiam Effecti 3. Encline your ears He alludes here to the manner of men which bow their heads toward him which speaketh when they desire to hear distinctly what he saith Come unto me He that cometh to the Servants and Prophets of the Lord cometh to the Lord. See Luk. 10.16 Hear i. e. Hear my words and keep them and obey them And your soul shall live i. e. And ye shall live q. d. And your lives shall be preserved yea ye shall live happily and plentifully He still alludeth to bread and wholesom food which preserve the life and keep men fat and in good liking which bran and hulks cannot do I will make an everlasting Covenant with you That is oftentimes called Everlasting which lasteth onely a long time as the Priesthood of Aaron was called everlasting although it was to last but during the Law and was to be abolished by the death of Christ Exod. 40.15 Even the sure mercies of David q. d. And I will even give you by that Covenant the sure mercies of David That these words I will give you are here to be understood we may learn from Acts 13.64 But what are those which are here called the mercies of David The mercies which are here called the mercies of David are those mercies and blessings which David so often speaks of in the Psalms and which are there promised in the Name of God to all which serve and fear him and lead a godly life whether they be Jews or Gentiles as Psa 34.15 and 37. v. 4 11. and 84.11 c. where the Promises being made in general terms to them which fear God and lead a godly life are made as well to the Gentile as to the Jew as we may gather from St. Pauls arguing from that general word Whosoever Rom. 10.11 But why are these called the mercies of David Ans Because they are so often repeated in the Book or Psalms of David and because they were made upon the particular occasion of Davids fear and trust in God and because David had had often experience of them But why are they called the sure mercies of David Ans Because they shall be certainly performed for God who hath promised them is faithful in his Word and will therefore perform them because he hath said it Note here that the Apostle Paul preaching of the Resurrection of Christ from the dead brings this as an argument to prove that God raised