his slave to be abused despised or trampled under his feet but to be kindly treated and used like a companion with moderation respect and affection Qu. How could a Rib be taken from Adam but it must be either superfluous in Adam while it was in him or defective afterwards both which reflect upon the Creator Answ. 1. It was no superfluity but a conveniency if Adam had at first one Rib extraordinary put into him for this purpose 2. If Adam lost a Rib upon so glorious an occasion it was but a scar or badge of honour and no disparagement either to him or to his Creator 3. Either God created him a new Rib or hardned the Flesh to the Nature and use of a Rib and so there was no defect in him and closed up the Flesh i Together with another Bone or Rib. in stead thereof k i. e. Of that Rib and Flesh which he took away from him which was easie for God to do 22. And the Rib which the LORD God had taken from Man †Heb builded made he a Woman and brought her l From some place at a little distance whether he first carryed her that for the decency of the action he might bring her thence unto the Man m A Bride to a Bridegroom to be married to him the great God being pleased to act the part of a Father to give his Daughter and workmanship to him thereby both teaching Parents their duty of providing Marriages for their Children and Children their duty of expecting their Parents consent in Marriage 23. And Adam said n Qu. How knew he this Answ. Either 1. By his own observation For though it be said that he was asleep till the Rib was taken out and restored yet he might awake as soon as ever that was done the reason of his sleep ceasing and so might see the making of the Woman Or. 2. By the Revelation of God who put these words into Adams mouth to whom therefore these words of Adam are ascribed Matth. 19. 5. this is now o Or For this time the Woman is made of my Bones c. but for the time to come the Woman as well as the man shall be produced another way to wit by Generation Bone of my Bones and Flesh of my Flesh p Made of my Rib and Flesh i. e. God hath provided me a meet help and Wife not out of the brute Creatures but nearer hand a part of my own Body and of the same nature with my self She shall be called Woman because she was * 2 Cor. 11. 8. taken out of man 24. * Matth. 19. 5. Mar. 10. 7. 1 Cor. 6. 16. Eph. 5. 31. Therefore q These are the words of Moses by divine instinct or his inference from Adam's words shall a man leave his Father and his Mother r In regard of Habitation and society but not as to natural duty and affection and shall cleave unto his Wife s In Coniâ—…gal relation and highest affection even above what they owe to their Parents And they t Or they two as it is in the Samaritan Syriack and Arabick translations and Matthew 19. 5. shall u i. e. Shall be esteemed by themselves and others to be as intirely and inseparably united and shall have as intimate and universal communion as if they were be one Flesh x i. e. One Person one Soul one Body And this first institution shews the sinfulness of Divorces and Polygamy however God might upon a particular reason for a time dispence with his own institution or to remit the punishment due to the violaters of it 25. And they were both naked the Man and his Wife and were not ashamed y To wit of their nakedness as having no guilt nor cause of shame no filthy or evil inclinations in their Bodies no sinful Concupiscence or impure motions in their Souls but spotless innocency and perfection which must needs exclude shame CHAP. III. 1. NOw the Serpent a Or Rather this or that Serpent For here is an emphatical article of which more by and by was more subtile than any Beast of the Field b The Serpents eminent subtilty is noted both in sacred Scripture Gen. 49. 17. Psal. 58. 5. Mark 10. 16. 2 Cor. 11. 3. and by Heathen Authors whereof these instances are given that when it is assaulted it secures its head that it stops its ear at the charmers voice and the like If it be yet said that some beasts are more subtle and therefore this is not true it may be replied 1. It is no wonder if the Serpent for its instrumentality in mans sin hath lost the greatest part of its original subtlety even as mans sin was punished with a great decay both of the natural endowments of his Mind Wisdom and Knowledge and of the beauty and glory of his Body the instrument of his sin But this Text may and seems to be understood not of the whole kind of Serpents but of this individual or particular Serpent for it is in the Hebrew Haunachaâ—…h that Serpent or this Serpent to signifie that this was not only an ordinary Serpent but was acted and assisted by the Devil who is therefore called that old Serpent Rev. 12. 9. And this seems most probable partly from the following discourse which is added as a proof of that which is here said concerning the Serpents subtlety and that sâ—…rely was not the discourse of a Beast but of a Devil and partly from 2 Cor. 11. 3. which hath a manifest reference to this place where the Apostle affirmeth that the Serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety not surely through that subtlety which is common to all Serpents but through that subtilty which was peculiar to this as it was possessed and acted by the Devil There seems indeed to be an all â—…sion here to the natural subtilty of all Serpents and the sense of the sacred Penman may seem to be this as if he said the Serpent indeed in it self is a subtil Creature and thought to be more subtil than any Beast of the Field but howsoever this be in other Serpents â—…t is certain that this Serpent was more subtil than any Beast of the Field as will appear by the following words If it be said the particle this or that is relative to something going before whereas there is not a word about it in the foregoing words it may be replyed that relative particles are often put without any antecedents and the antecedents are left to be gathered not onely out of the foregoing but sometimes also out of the following passages as is apparent from Exod. 14. 29. Numb 7. 89. and 24. 17. Psal. 87. 1. and 105. 19. and 114. 2. Prov. 7. 8. and 14. 26. So here that Serpent that of which I am now to speak whose discourse with the Woman here followeth which the LORD God had made and he said c Quest. How the
thoroughly instructed in Religion Gen. 18. 19. and doubtless did willingly embrace it and submit to this Sacrament which is not of thy seed 13 He that is born in thy house and he that is bought with thy Money must needs be Circumcised And my Covenant shall be in your Flesh for an Everlasting Covenant t So it was and is properly in regard of the thing signified to all true Beleivers and for the sign it is so called because it was to endure through all Generations till the coming of the Messias The word Olam here and elsewhere rendred everlasting or for ever being oft used to express not only simple eternity but any long continuance for many ages yea sometimes for a mans Life See Exod. 21. 6. Deut. 15. 17. 1 King 9. 3. 14 And the uncircumcised man-child * Or rather And as for the uncircumcised man-child So the nominative is put absolutely as is frequent in the Hebrew Tongue whose Flesh of his fore-skin is not circumcised u Or Who shall not circumcise the Flesh of his fore-skin For the Hebrew verb may be rendred actively Which seems best here because the punishment seems more justly to belong to the Parent who was guilty of this neglect than to the Child who was not capable of this precept and therefore not guilty of the violation of it And this may further appear from Exod. 4. 24 25. where God seeks to kill not the Child but the Father Moses for this sin And the Flesh of the Childs Foreskin is rightly called the Flesh of his i. e. The Parents Foreskin because the Child is a part and the possession of his Parent So that this threatning concerns only grown persons and of them only such as shall willfully and unnecessarily neglect this duty For otherwise it was neglected by the Israelites for forty years together in the Wilderness Ios. 5. 7. without any token of Gods displeasure for it that soul shall be cut of from his People x This phrase denotes either 1. An exclusion from fellowship with Gods People and from all the promises priviledges and blessings belonging to them either in this Life or that to come Or rather 2. An untimely and violent death as may be gathered from Exod. 31. 14. to be inflicted by the Magistrate to whom God committed the execution of this as well as other Laws and in case of his neglect and default or the secrecy of the fact by the extraordinary hand of God who sometimes ascribes this act to himself as Levit. 17. 10. and 20. 6. He hath broken my Covenant y That sacred bond which tyed him and me together and by his neglect and contempt of the condition required on his part he hath forfeited the blessing promised on my part 15 And God said unto Abraham as for Sarai thy Wife thou shalt not call her Name Sarai but Sarah z Sarai signifies my Lady or my Princess which confines her dominion to one Family but Sarah signifies either a Lady or Princess simply and absolutely without restriction or the Princess of a multitude the Hebrew letter he being taken out of Hamon and added to her Name as it was to Abrams Name shall her Name be 16 And I will bless her and give thee a Son also of her Yea I will bless her and †Heb. she shall become Nations she shall be a mother of * Chap 35. 11. Nations Kings of people shall be of her 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed a Through admiration and holy rejoycing at so great a blessing not through unbelief as Sarah did Gen. 18. 12. 13. as appears from Rom. 4. 19 20. And though the outward act was the same in both yet God discerned their differing dispositions and intentions therein and said in his heart shall a Child be born unto him that is an hundred years old and shall Sarah that is ninety years old bear 18 And Abraham said unto God O that Ishmael might live before thee b Grant O Lord that the giving of one Son may not be joyned with the taking away of another that Ishmael may faithfully serve thee and may have a share in thy favour and gracious Covenant For this seems to be the meaning of this phrase of living before God or in Gods presence by comparing a parallel phrase of walking before God ver 1. and elsewhere and an opposite phrase from thy face shall I be hid Gen. 4. 14. 19 And God said * Chap. 18. 10. and 21. 2. Sarah thy Wife shall bear thee a Son indeed and thou shalt call his name Isaac c Which signifies laughter not from Sarahs laughter which as yet had not happened but from Abrams past laughter ver 17. and future joy in his Son and I will establish my Covenant with him for an Everlasting Covenant and with his seed after him 20 And as for Ishmael I have heard thee ‖ To wit in part or so far as is here expressed and probably as to the chief blessing of the Covenant to wit the forgiveness of his sins and eternal Life as the Hebrew Doctors and some others collect from Gen. 25. 17. and from other considerations behold I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly * Chap. 25. 16. twelve princes shall he beget and I will make him a great nation 21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac d The Covenant of the promised Seed to come out of his Loins and of Life and Salvation to accrue to himself and to his posterity by vertue of that Seed In comparison whereof God speaks slightly of all the Temporal blessings conferred upon Ishmael though in themselves they were great and glorious By which it may sufficiently appear that Abrahams Faith whereby he is said to be justified Rom. 4. Had a farther reach in it than to his own immediate Child even to the Messias whose Day therefore Abraham is said to have seen Ioh. 8. 56. whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year 22 And he left of talking with him and God went up e To Heaven in a visible manner as it seems he conversed with him in some visible shape Compare Gen. 35. 13. Iudg. 13. 20. from Abraham 23 And Abraham took Ishmael his Son and all that were born in his house and all that were bought with his money every male among the men of Abrahams house and circumcised the flesh of their fore-skin f Partly by his own hand and partly by the help of others whom he by Divine instinct called to and directed in that work in the self-same day g In which God appeared to him and gave the command So he made hast and delayed not to execute Gods command And his Servants also yielded a ready and chearful obedience to this severe and painful precept being moved thereunto by Abrahams example and soveraign Authority by
thy self with her 21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed * chap. 20. 2. 2 King 2â—… 10 pass through the fire g This was done two ways either 1. By burning them in the fire of which see 2 King 3. 27. 2 Chron. 28. 3. Psal. 106. 37 38. Esa. 57. 1. Or 2. By making them pass between two great fires which was a kind of lustration or consecration of them to that God Which latter seems to be here meant See on Deut. 18. 10. where the word fire here understood is expressed to * called Act. 7. 43. Moloch Molech h Or Moloch called also Milcom an Idol chiefly of the Ammonites as appears from 1 King 11. 7. 2 King 23. 13. Ier. 49. 1 3. This seems to be the Saturn of the Heathens to whom especially children and men were sacrificed This is mentioned because the neighbours of Israel were most infected with this Idolatry and therefore they are particularly cautioned against it though under this one instance all other Idols and acts or kinds of Idolatry are manifestly comprehended and forbidden neither â—…halt thou prophane the name of thy God i Either by joyning him with or by forsaking him for such a base and bloody Idol whereby the name honour and service of God would be horribly defiled and exposed to the scorn of the Heathen as if he were but one of the same kind with their mungrel-deities I am the LORD 22 * 1 Cor. 6. 9. 1 Tim. 1. 10. Thou shalt not lie with mankind k See Lâ—…vit 20. 13. 1 King 14. 24. as with woman-kind it is abomination 23 * chap. 20. 15. and 22. 19. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thy self therewith neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto it is confusion l An horrible confusion of the natures which God hath distinguished and of the order which God hath appointed and an overthrow of all bounds of Religion Honesty Sobriety and Modesty 24 Defile not ye your selves in any of these things for in all these m To wit above mentioned sins Whence it is apparent that the several incests here prohibited are not onely against the positive and particular Law given by God to the Jews but also against the general Law and Light of nature And therefore the Law about these things was one of the seven Precepts of Noah And the sober Heathens condemned such incestuous Marriages The Roman Historians observe that when Claudius the Emperour had married his Neece which is one of the lowest kinds of incest here mentioned and the Senate in complaisance with him had made it lawful for any to do so yet there was but one and he too an obscure person that followed his example the nations are defiled which I cast out before you 25 And the land is defiled therefore I do visit m I am now visiting or about to visit i. e. to punish See Esâ—… 2â—… 21. the iniquity thereof upon it and the land it self vomiteth out her inhabitants n As no less burdens to the Earth than corrupted â—…ood is to the stomack See Ier. 9. 19. Mich. 2. 10. 26 * chap. 20. 22. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments and shall not commit any of these abominations neither and of your own nation nor any stranger o In Nation or Religion of what kind soever For though they might not force them to submit to their Religion yet they might restrain them from the publick contempt of the Jewish Laws and from the violation of natural Laws which besides the offence against God and nature were matters of evil example and consequence to the Israelites themselves that sojourneth among you 27 For all these abominations have the men of the land done which were before you and the land is defiled 28 That * Jer. 9. 19. Ezek. 36. 13 17. the land spue not you out also when ye defile it as it spued out the nations that were before you 29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations even the souls that commit them shall be cut off p To wit by death to be inflicted by the Magistrates as it is apparent in case of Idolatry with Moloch or other false Gods and in case of the Magistrates neglect by God himself This phrase therefore of cutting off is to be understood variously as many other phrases are either of Ecclesiastical or Civil and Corporal punishment according to the differing natures of the offences for which it is inflicted from among their people 30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs which were committed before you and that ye defile not your selves therein I am the LORD your God CHAP. XIX 1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying 2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel and say unto them * chap. 11. 4â—… and 20. 7. 1 Pet. 1. 16. ye shall be holy a Separated from all the forementioned defilements and intirely consecrated to God and obedient to all his Laws and Statutes for I the LORD your God am holy b Both in my essence and in all my Laws which are holy and â—…ust and good and in all my actions Whereas the Gods of the Heathens are unholy both in their Laws and Institutions whereby they allow and require filthy and abominable actions and in their practices some of them having given wicked examples to their Worshippers 3 * Exod. 20. 1â—… Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father c The mother is put first partly because the practise of this duty begins there mothers by perpetual converse being more and sooner known to their children then their fathers and partly because this duty is most commonly neglected to the mother upon whom children have not so much dependance as they have upon their Father And this fear includes the two great duties of reverence and obedience and * Exod. 20. 8. and 31. 13. keep my sabbaths d This is here added to shew that whereas it is enjoyned to Parents that they should take care that the Sabbath be observed both by themselves and by their children it is the duty of children to fear and obey their Parents in this matter and moreover that if Parents should neglect their duty herein or by their command counsel or example draw them to pollute the Sabbath yet the Children in that caâ—…e must keep the Sabbath and in all such cases prefer the command of God before the commands of their Parents or Superiours I am the LORD your God 4 * Exod. 20. â—… Turn ye not e Turn not your hearts and faces from me whom alone you pretend to respect unto them He intimates that their turning to Idols is a turning from God and that they could not serve both God and Idols unto Idols f The word signifies
may know it to wit judicially or in a publick manner so as both you and others may know and see it that so the justice of his judgments upon you may be more evident and glorious whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice and ye shall serve him h To wit onely as appears from the opposition Compare Deut. 6. 13. with Mat. 4. 10. and * chap. 10. 20. cleave unto him 5 And * chap. 18. 20. Zech. 13. 3. that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put death because he hath †Heb. spoken revolt against the LORD spoken i i. e. Taught or perswaded you to turn you away from the LORD k To forsake God and his worship He shews that the chiefest and most certain character of a true Prophet is to be taken from his doctrine rather than from his miracles your God which brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of bondage to thrust thee out of the way l This phrase notes the great force and power of seducers to corrupt mens minds Compare Deut. 4. 19. 2 King 17. 21. Mat. 24. 24. which the LORD thy God commanded to walk in * chap. 22. 21 24. 1 Cor. 5. 13. so shalt thou put the evil m Either 1. that evil thing that wicked doctrine and practise Or 2. that wicked and scandalous man that Idolater and seducer away from the midst of thee 6 * chap. 17. 2. If thy brother the son of thy mother n This is added to restrain the signification of the word brother which is oft used generally for one near akin and to express the nearness of the relation the mothers side being the surest and usually the ground of the truest and most fervent affection See Gen. 20. 12. or thy son or thy daughter o Thy piety must overcome both thy affection to thy nearest relation and thy compassion to the weaker Sex or the wife of thy bosom p Either 1. that is near to thy heart that hath thy dearest love Or rather 2. that lieth in thy bosom as it is expressed Mic. 7. 5. Compare Gen. 16. 5. Prov. 5. 20. Deut. 28. 54. So we read of the husband of her bosom Deut. 28. 56. or thy friend which is as thine own soul q As dear to thee as thy self The father and mother are here omitted not as some fancy because children might not in this nor in any case accuse their parents for certainly they owe more reverence and duty to God who is injured in this case than to their parents and Levi is commended for neglecting his father and mother in this case but because they are sufficiently contained in the former examples for since mens love doth usually descend more strongly than it ascends and the relation of a wife is and ought to be nearer and dearer than of a parent that favour which is denied to wives and children cannot be thought fit to be allowed to parents intice thee r Though it be without success because the very attempt of such an abominable crime deserved death as it is judged in case of treason secretly saying Let us go and serve other gods which thou hast not known thou nor thy fathers s Unknown and obscure and new Gods which greatly aggravates the crime to forsake a God whom thou and thy fathers have long known and had great and good experience of for such upstarts 7 Namely of the gods of the people which are round about you nigh unto thee or far off from thee from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth t He armes against the pretence of the universality of this Idol-worship wherewith they were like to be oft assaulted 8 Thou shalt not consent unto him nor hearken unto him neither shall thine eye pity him neither shalt thou spare neither shalt thou conceal him u i. e. Smother his fault hide or protect his person but shalt accuse him to the Magistrate and demand justice upon him which was not to be done in most other criminal causes and no wonder this crime being of a far higher â—…ature than others 9 But * chap. 17. 7. thou shalt surely kill him x Not privately which pretence would have opened the door to innumerable murders but by procuring his death by the sentence of the Magistrate thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death y Thou shalt cast the first stone at him as the witness was to do See Deut. 17. 7. Act. 7. 58. and afterwards the hand of all the people 10 And thou shalt stone him with stones that he die because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God which brought thee from the land of Egypt from the house of †Heb. 〈◊〉 bondage 11 And * chap. 17. 13. all Israel shall hear and fear and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you 12 If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there saying 13 Certain men ‖ Or 〈◊〉 men 1 Sam. â—… 12. and 25. 〈◊〉 2 Cor. 6. 1â—… the children of Belial z A title oft used in Scripture as Iudg. 19. 22. 1 Sam. 1. 16. and 25. 25. 2 Sam. 16. 7. It signifies properly persons without yoke vile and wretched miscreants lawless and rebellious that will suffer no restraint that neither fear God nor reverence man are gone out from among you a i. e. From your Church and Religion It notes a separation or departure from them not in place as appears by their partnership with their fellow Citizens both in the sin and punishment as it here follows but in heart doctrine and worship as the same phrase is used 1 Iob. 2. 19. and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city saying Let us go and serve other gods which ye have not known 14 Then shalt thou b This is meant of the Magistrate to whose office this properly belongs and of whom he continues to speak in the same manner thou ver 15. and ver 16. inquire and make search and ask diligently and behold if it be truth and the thing certain that such abomination is wrought among you 15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city c To wit all that are guilty not the innocent part such as disowned this Apostacy who doubtless by choice and interest at least upon warning would come out of so wicked and cursed a place with the edg of the sword * Iosh. 6. 1â—… destroying it utterly d The very same punishments which was inflicted upon the cities of the cursed Canaanites to whom having made themselves equal in sin
future Or and be thou admonished For they may be the words of Abimelech 17 So Abraham prayed unto God and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maid-servants and they bare children 18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs k This phrase elsewhere notes barrenness as 1 Sam. 1. 5 6. and so many understand it here Against which some learned men object that that could not so soon be discovered for all this happened between the Conception and birth of Isaac Which objection may seem not valid because the evidences of of Womens being with Child go so long before the birth of the Child and those evidences not appearing in any of their Women who before that time were generally fruitful and child-bearing they might discern Gods hand in it especially upon Gods admonition to their King But because this history seems to have been done in a far less space of time it not being probable either that God would suffer Sarah to be long with Abimelech ere he warned him or that he being warned and so severely threatned and actually punished would delay the execution of Gods command or that upon his obedience to God the mercy and deliverance promised would be delayed by God That seems more probable which others think that this was an indisposition or plague or sore in the secret parts by which they were hindred from cohabitation and mutual converse and consequently from hopes of conception and Child-bearing upon the removal whereof it is said that they bare Children where as oft-times in Scripture the last and consummating act is put for all the proceeding acts q. d. And they were restored to the Conjugal use and Conception and in due time to Child-bearing of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah Abrahams wife CHAP. XXI 1 AND the LORD visited Sarah a i. e. Performed his gracious promise of giving her strength to Conceive and Bear a Child Gods visitation of a person in Scripture use is the manifestation and execution of his purpose or word towards that person and that either for evil and so it is an inflicting of evils threatned as the word visiting is used Exod. 20. 5. Psal. 59. 5. or for good and so it is used for the actual giving of mercies promised as here and Gen. 50. 24. Exod. 4. 31. Ruth 1. 6. as he had said and the LORD did unto Sarah * Chap. 17. 19. and 18. 10. as he had spoken 2 For Sarah * Acts 7. 8. Gal. 4. 22. Heb. 11. 11. conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age b Or For his old age i. e. for the comfort of his old age at the set time of which God had spoken to him 3 And Abraham called the name of his Son that was born unto him whom Sarah bare to him * Chap. 17. 19. Isaac 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old * Chap. 17. 12. as God had commanded him 5. And * Chap. 17. 17. Abraham was an hundred years old when his son Isaac was born unto him 6 And Sarah said God hath made me to laugh c i. e. Before my own distrustful Heart made me to laugh now God makes me laugh not through diffidence and irreverence as before chap. 18. 12. but through excess of holy joy so that all that hear will laugh with me d Or At me some through sympathy rejoycing with me and for me laughter being oft put for joy as Isa. 54. 1. Gal. 4. 27. c. others through scorn and derision as at a thing which well may seem incredible to them because it did so to me See Gen. 17. 17. and 18. 12 13 15. 7 And she said who would have said e i. e. What Man or Woman could believe so improbable a thing Or who but a God could have foreseen and foretold it upto Abraham that Sarah should have given children f She saith Children though she had but one Child either by an usual Enallage of the plural number for the singular whereby the word Sons or Daughters is used when there was but one as Gen. 36. 25. and 46. 23. Numb 26. 8. or presaging that having received from God a new strength she might have more Children suck g By which expression she sheweth all Mothers what their duty is viz to give their Children suck when they are able to do it and that neither greatness of quality nor multitude of business nor other difficulties and inconveniences will be a sufficient excuse to those that neglect it for I have born him a Son in his old age 8 And the child grew and was weaned h It doth not appear how old Isaac was because the time for the weaning of Children is very various according to the differing tempers and necessities of Children or inclination of Parents and in those times when mens lives were longer than now they are proportionably the time was longer ere Children were weaned and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned 9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian which she had born unto Abraham mocking i Signifying either by words or gestures his contempt of Isaac and his derision of all that magnificence then shewed towards his younger Brother and this carriage proceeding from a most envious and malitious disposition and being a sufficient indication of further mischief intended to him if ever he should have opportunity it is no wonder it is called persecution Gal. 4. 29. Although the Hebrew word may be rendred beating him as it is used 2 Sam. 2. 14. 10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham k Being enraged by this fact and perceiving it was but a beginning and earnest of greater evil designed by him against her beloved Isaac being also guided by the wise counsel and providence of God as appears from ver 12. * Gal. 4. 30. cast out this bond-woman l Though the fact was done by Ismael yet Sarah plainly saw that this and other like carriages were from his Mothers instigation and encouragement who being of an imperious and petulant disposition as appears from Gen. 16. 4 9. in all probability comforted her self and animated her Son by that right he had to his Fathers inheritance as he was his first-born as may be gathered both from the custom of Women in such cases and from the last words of this verse Besides if the Mother had been continued she would easily have prevailed with Abraham to fetch the Child back again and her son for the son of this bond-woman shall not be heir with my son even with Isaac 11 And the thing was very grievous in Abrahams sight m Because of his tender affection to him and Gods promise concerning him See Gen. 17. 18 20. He who chearfully parted with Isaac was hardly brought to part with Ismael because the former was done by Gods command which he was obliged to obey the latter
a civil refusal of the gift And he said These are to find grace in the sight of my Lord. 9 And Esau said I have enough my brother †Heb. be that to thee that is 〈◊〉 keep that thou hast unto thy self c I neither need it for my use nor desire it as a compensation for thy former injuries 10 And Jacob said Nay I pray thee If now I have found grace in thy sight then receive my present at my hand for therefore d Or For I therefore tender it unto thee and humbly beg thy acceptance of it because for the Hebrew Al-cen is used Numb 14. 43. and elsewhere I have seen thy face as though I had seen the face of God e It is in a manner as pleasant a sight to me as the sight of God himself because in thy reconciled face I see the face and favour of God thus manifested unto me and thou wast pleased with me 11 Take I pray thee my blessing f This gift which as I received from Gods blessing so I heartily give it to thee with my blessing and prayer that God would abundantly bless it to thee Gifts are oft called blessings as Ios. 15. 19. 1 Sam. 25. 27. and 30. 26. that is brought to thee because God hath dealt graciously with me and because I have †Heb. all things enough and he urged him and he took it 12 And he said Let us take our journey and let us go and I will go before thee g Or rather beside thee so as to keep thee company or to keep pace with thee 13 And he said unto him My Lord knoweth that the children are tender h The eldest of them Reuben not being yet fourteen years old and the flocks and herds with young are with me i Or upon me i. e. committed to my care to be managed as their necessities require See Isa. 40. 11. and if men should overdrive them one day all the flock will die 14 Let my Lord I pray thee pass over before his servant and I will lead on softly according †Heb. according to the foot of the work c. and according to the foot of the children as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure until I come unto my Lord unto Seir k We do not read that Iacob did according to this promise or insinuation go to Seir either therefore he changed his first intentions for some weighty reasons or upon warning from God Or he used this onely as a pretence which we should not too easily believe of so good a man especially after such dangers and deliverances or rather he did perform this promise though the Scripture be silent of it as it is of many other historical passages and as it is here concerning Iacobs visiting of his father Isaac which is not mentioned till ten years after this time and yet it is utterly incredible that Iacob should be so near to his dear and worthy Father for so long a time together and not once give him a visit 15 And Esau said Let me now †Heb. set or place leave with thee some of the folk that are with me And he said †Heb. wherefore is this what needeth it * Chap. 34. 11. let me find grace in the sight of my Lord. 16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. 17 And Jacob journyed to Succoth and built him an house l Which doubtless was some slight building because he intended not to stay there and made booths for his cattle therefore the name of the place is called ‖ That is booths Succoth 18 And Jacob came to Shalem m Most take it for the proper name of a place belonging to Shechem as it here follows called Salim Iohn 3. 23. and Sichem or Sychar Iohn 4. 5. But others take it for an appellative noun and render the place thus he came safe or whole to the City of Shechem to note either that he was then cured of the lameness which the Angel gave him Or rather to note the good providence of God that had brought him safe in his Person Family and Estate through all his dangers first from Laban then from Esau till he came to this place where it seems he intended to make his abode for a good while had not the following miscarriages obliged him to remove a City of ‖ Called Act. 7. 16. Sychem Shechem which is in the land of Canaan when he came from Padan-Aram and pitched his tent before the City n i. e. Near to it but not in it for the conveniency of his Cattle 19 And * Josh. 24. 32. he bought o For his present possession and use for the right which he had to it was onely in Reversion after the time that God had allotted for it a parcel of a field where he had spread his tent at the hand of the children p i. e. Subjects called his Children to note the duty which they owed to him and the Care and Affection that he owed to them Compare Numb 11. 12. of ‖ called Acts 7. 16. Emor Hamor Shechems father for an hundred ‖ Or lambs pieces of money q The word is used onely here and Ios. 24. 32. Iob 42. 11. and it may signifie either Lambs given in way of exchange for it or pieces of money which seems more probable both by comparing Act. 7. 16. and because money was come into use in that place and time Gen. 17. 12 13. and 23. 16. and 47. 16. which were called Lambs possibly from the figure of a Lamb stamped upon it as the Athenian money was called an Oxe for the like reason and as we call a piece of Gold a Iacobus because the picture of that King is upon it 20 And he erected there an Altar and called it ‖ That is God the God of Israel El-Elohe-Israel r Or Called upon El-Elohe-Israel the particle Lo being redundant as such pronouns oft are as Gen. 12. 1. and Ioshua 20. 2. CHAP. XXXIV 1 AND * Chap. 30. 21. Dinah the daughter of Leah which she bare unto Jacob went out a From her fathers house into the City out of curiosity there being then as Iosephus reports a great concourse of people to a Feast Thus she put her self out of her Fathers protection and meerly out of a vain humor exposed both her self and others to Temptation which was the worse because it was amongst them that had no fear of God to restrain them from the most enormous crimes She was now fourteen or fifteen years old to see the daughters of the land 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite Prince of the country saw her he took her and lay with her and †Heb. humbled her defiled her 3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob and he loved the
contented with multitudes of partners So this is properly said to be the name of God whereby he is known and distinguished from all other Gods is a * chap. 20. 5. jealous God 15 Lest thou make a covenant r For cohabitation or to suffer them quietly to live among you whom you should drive out with the inhabitants of the land and they go a whoring s i. e. Commit Idolatry which is oft called and compared to spiritual whoredom See Ier. 2. and 3. and Ezek. 16. after their gods and do facrifice unto their gods and one call thee and thou eat of his sacrifice t To wit of the parts or remainders of his sacrifices whereby thou wilt partake with him in an idolatrous worship because such feasts were a part of the Worship offered to the Idol and were accompanied with solemn benedictions and thanksgivings to the Idol See Numb 25. 2. Psal. 106. 28. Ezek. 18. 6. and 22. 9. 1 Cor. 10. 20. Rev. 2. 20. 16 And thou take of * 1 King 11. 2. their daughters unto thy sons and their daughters * Num. 25. 1 2. go a whoring after their gods and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods 17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods u Nor graven nor any other as it plainly appears both from the nature of the things and from many parallel Scriptures But he mentions molten because their late Idol was of that kind 18 The feast of * chap. 12. 15. c. 23. 15. unleavened bread shalt thou keep seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread as I commanded thee in the time of the month Abib for in the * chap. 13. 4. month Abib thou camest out from Egypt 19 * chap. 22. 29. Ezek. 44. 30. Luk. 2. 23. All that openeth the matrix is mine and every firstling amongst thy cattle whether oxe or sheep that is male x Heb. And for That is as the particle and is oft used the words following here and verse 20. being a particular explication of the general sentence in the beginning of this verse all thy cattle which a particle oft understood shall be born male as it is also explained Exod. 13. 12. the opening or whatsoever to wit of the male-kind openeth the matrix which word is fitly understood cut of the former member which is very usual of Ox or and put for or as it is oft done Sheep 20 But the * chap. 13. 13. firstling of an ass thou shait redeem with a ‖ Oâ—… â—…id lamb and if thou redeem him not then shalt thou break his neck All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem and none shall appear before me * chap. 23. 15. 1 Sam. 9. 7 8. 2 Sam. 24. 24. empty y Either without a gift to me so it is a precept or without benefit to himself so it is a promise See Exod. 23. 15. 21 * chap. 23. 1â—… Deut. 5. 12. Luk. 13. 14. Six dayes thou shalt work but on the seventh day thou shalt rest in earing-time and in harvest thou shalt rest z Which times are expressed because the great profit and seeming necessity of working at that time was likely to be a powerful temptation to make men break the Sabbath 22 * chap. 23. 16. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks a i. e. Which is numbred by weeks being just seven weeks after the Passe-over whence it is called Pentecost i. e. the fiftieth day to wit after the passe-over See Levit. 23. 15. and 25. 8. of the first-fruits of wheat-harvest b So this is a designation of the time and business of the feast of weeks and the feast of in-gathering c To wit of the fruits of the Earth at the †Heb. revolution of the year years end d So it was in regard of the jubilee and civil contracts 23 * chap. 23. 14 17. Deut. 16. 16. Thrice in the year shall all your man-men-children appear before the LORD God the God of Israel 24 For I will cast out the nations e So thou shalt have no intestine enemy to do thee or thine mischief This God promised to do but upon condition of Israels discharge of their duty in following God in this work of driving them out which they neglecting it was not fully done before thee and enlarge thy borders * Gen. 35. 5. Act. 18. 10. neither shall any man desire thy land f I will not onely tye their hands that they shall make no invasion upon you but I will take off their thoughts and affections from such an enterprize which it was very easie for God to effect many ways when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year 25 * chap. 23. 18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of passeover be left unto the morning 26 * Deut. 26. 2. The first of the first-fruits of thy land g Thou shalt not delay to do this but shalt bring the very first of them Or the first-fruits even the first-fruits of thy land Which limitation seems here conveniently added because they were not bound to bring thither all their first-fruits to wit those of their own bodies their children thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God Thou shalt not seethe a * chap. 23. 19. Deut. 14. 21. kid in his mothers milk 27 And the LORD said unto Moses Write thou these words h Object God saith I will write verse 1. Answ 1. Moses was to write the ritual precepts mentioned here above God wrote the Moral Law 2. Moses wrote what he wrote in a book See Exod. 24. 7. but what was written upon the Tables of stone was written by God himself not by Moses who had no graving instruments with him in the Mount and could not without them writeupon the stone for after the tenour of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel 28 And he was there with the LORD fourty days and forty nights i As he had been before being now to renew the broken covenant This forty dayes fast of his is mentioned four times Exod. 24. 18. and here and Deut. 9. 18. and 10. 10. but it is evident it was performed but twice as the occasion of it happened onely twice he did neither eat bread nor drink water and he * chap. 31. 18. and 34. 1. Deut. 4. 13. wrote k Not Moses but the Lord as appears from verse 1. and from Deut. 10 the relative pronoun being here referred to the remoter antecedent of which there are many instances as Gen. 10. 12. 1 Sam. 21. 14. and 27. 8. Psal. 99. 6. upon the tables the words of the covenants the Ten †Heb. words Commandments 29 And it came to pass when Moses came down from mount Sinai with
20 24. Psal. 105. 39. And this cloud was easily distinguished from other clouds both by its peculiar figure and by its constant residence in that place and at * Exod. 13. 21. and 40. 38. even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire q That they might better discern it and direct themselves and their journeys or stations by it until the morning 16 So it was alway the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night 17. And when the cloud was taken up r Or Ascended on high above its ordinary place by which it became more visible to all the camp from the tabernacle then after that the children of Israel journeyed and in the place where the cloud abode there the children of Israel pitched their tents 18 At the commandment of the LORD s The motion or stay of the cloud is fitly called the command of God because it was a signification of Gods will and their duty which a command properly is the children of Israel journeyed and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched * 1 Cor. 〈◊〉 1. as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in the tents 19 And when the cloud †Heb. prolonged tarried long upon the tabernacle many dayes then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD t i. e. The command of God mentioned before that 〈◊〉 should stay as long as the cloud stayed as the same phrase is manifestly taken below ver 23. And this saith he they did though it were long in one place which was tedious to them who desired to change places and to make haste to Canaan yet they obeyed God herein against their own inclinations Which because it was remarkable in so obstinate a people it is so largely and particularly mentioned here as an instance of their obedience and as an aggravation of the many following instances of their Apostacy and Disobedience and journeyed not 20 And so it was when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle according to the commandment of the LORD they abode in their tents and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed 21 And so it was when the cloud †Heb. was chap. 11. 3â—… abode from even unto the morning and that the cloud was taken up in the morning then they journeyed whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up they journeyed 22 Or whether it were two dayes or a month or a year that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle remaining thereon the children of Israel * Exod. 40. 36 37. abode in their tents and journeyed not but when it was taken up they journeyed 23 At the commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed they kept the charge of the LORD at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses CHAP. X. 1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying 2 Make thee two trumpets a For Aarons two Sons though afterwards the number of the trumpets was much increased as the number of the Priests also was See 2 Chron. 5. 12. These trumpets were ordained both for signification of the great duty of Ministers to wit to preach the word and for use as here follows of silver b A metal pure and pretious and giving a clear sound of an whole piece c See Exod. 25. 31. Numb 8. 4. shalt thou make them that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly and for the journeying of the camps 3 And when * Joel 2. 15. they d i. e. The Priests by comparing this with ver 8. shall blow with them e i. e. With both of them by comparing this with the next verse all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation 4 And if they blow but with one trumpet then the princes which are heads of the thousands of Israel shall gather themselves unto thee 5 When ye blow an alarm e To wit once as appears from ver 6. then the camps that lie on the east-part shall go forward 6 When ye blow an alarm the second time then the camps that lie on the south-side shall take their journey they shall blow an alarm for their journeys f As a sign for them to march forward and consequently for the rest to follow them which is easily understood out of these words 7 But when the congregation is to be gathered together ye shall blow but ye shall not sound an alarm 8 And the sons of Aaron the priests shall blow with the trumpets g To oblige them to the greater regard and observance as if God himself had called them and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations 9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets h Which was practised accordingly See Numb 31. 6. 2 Chron. 13. 12. and ye shall be remembred before the LORD your God and ye shall be saved from your enemies i If you use this ordinance of God with trust and dependance upon God for help which condition is necessarily to be understood from divers other Scriptures where it is expressed 10 Also * chap. 29. 1. 1 Chro. 15. 24. 2 Chron. 5. 12. and 7. 6. and 29. 26. Ezra 3. 10. Neh. 12. 35. in the dayes of your gladness k i. e. Days appointed for rejoycing and thanksgiving to God either for former mercies or for succeeding deliverances as Esth. 9. 18. c. Compare Hos. 2. 11. and in your solemn dayes l Your stated and constant festivals and in the beginnings of your months m Of which see Psal. 81. 3. ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt-offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings that they may be to you for a memorial before your God n That God may remember you for good to accept and bless you as that phrase oft signifies I am the LORD your God 11 And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month in the second year that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony 12 And the children of Israel took * chap. 2. 9 16 24 31. their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran o From which they travelled to other places and then returned into it again Numb 12. 16. 13 And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses 14 * chap. 2. 3. In the first place went the standard of the camp of the children of Iudah according to their armies and over his host was * chap. 1. 4. Nahshon the son of Amminadab 15 And over the
worship but for their use and service So he speaks here of the Sun and Moon and Stars which were the principal Gods worshipped by the neighbouring Nations Or to whom none hath given this i. e. that they should be worshipped or to whom no worship belongs So this is an argument against Idolatry Or who had not given unto them to wit any thing It is an Ellipsis of the Accusative which is very frequent gods known to them by no benefits received from them as they had from their God whom therefore it was the greater folly and ingratitude to forsake 27 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book 28 And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger and in wrath and in great indignation and cast them into another land as it is this day 29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God k Having now mentioned the dreadful and amazing judgments of God upon the whole land and people of Israel and foreseeing by the spirit of prophecy the utter extirpation and destruction which would come upon them for their wickedness he breaks out into this pathetical exclamation either to bridle their curiosity who hearing this would be apt to enquire into the time and manner of so great an event or to quiet his own mind and satisfie the scruples of others who perceiving God to deal so severely with his own people when in the mean time he suffered those Nations which were guilty of grosser Atheisme and Idolatry and Impiety than the generality of the Jewish people were to live and prosper in the world might thence take occasion to deny or reproach his providence or question the equity of his proceedings To this he answers that the ways and judgments of God though never unjust are oft-times secret and hidden from us and unsearchable by our shallow capacities and are matter for our admiration not for our enquiry but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children l But the things which are revealed by God and his word these are the proper object of our enquiries and studies that thereby we may come to the knowledge of our duty by the practise whereof we may be kept from such terrible punishments and calamities as these now mentioned for ever that we may do all the words of this law CHAP. XXX 1 * Lev. 26. 40. AND it shall come to pass when all these things are come upon thee the blessing a When thou art obedient and the curse b When thou becomest rebellious and Apostatical which I have set before thee c Heb. placed before thy face i. e. propounded to thy consideration and choice and thou shalt call them to mind d Or bring them back to thy heart i. e. deeply affect thy heart with the sence of these things to wit of the blessings offered and given to them by Gods mercy and the curses brought upon themselves by their sins among the nations whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee 2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day thou and thy children with all thine heart and with all thy soul 3 * Psal. 126. 1. That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity e i. e. Bring back thy captives as captivity is taken Psal. 14. 7. Eph. 4. 8. and have compassion upon thee and will return and * Psal. 147. 2. gather thee f i. e. Thy children either spiritually such as it is explained Ioh. 11. 51 52. or literally such as is promised Rom. 11. from all the nations whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee 4 * Neh. 1. 9. If any of thine be driven out unto the * Jer. 32. 37. outmost parts of heaven from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee and from thence will he fetch thee 5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed and thou shalt possess it and he will do thee good and multiply thee above thy fathers 6 And * the LORD thy God will circumcise Ezek. 11. 19. 36. 26. thine heart f Or For the Lord will circumâ—…ise thine heart i. e. will by his Word and Spirit change and purge thy heart from all thine Idolatry and Superstition and Wickedness and encline thy heart to love him as it here follows See Deut. 10. 16. And so this is produced to shew why and how those great things should be accomplished God would first convert and sanctifie them the fruit whereof should be this that they should return and obey Gods commandements and v. 8. and then should prosper in all things v. 9. The Hebrew Vau is oft rendred sor and notes the reason of a thing as 1 King 1. 21. and 18. 3 4 Psal. 1. 3. and 5. 12. Isa. 16. 2. and 64. 5. And this promise principally respects the times of the Gospel and the Grace which was to be then imparted to all Gods Israel by Christ by whom alone this circumcision is obtained Col. 2. 11. And so having fully described to them the Law of God the Rule of their obedience here and in the foregoing chapters and considering their great instability in the performance of their obedience to it he now seasonably adds a glorious Gospel promise and directs their faith to the Messias by whom alone they could expect or receive the establishment of their hearts in the ways of God against Apostacy and the heart of thy seed to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul that thou mayest live 7 And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies and on them that hate thee which persecuted thee 8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD and do all his commandments which I command thee this day 9 * chap. 28. 11. And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand in the fruit of thy body and in the fruit of thy cattel and in the fruit of thy land for good g Whereas thou didst formerly receive and enjoy these mercies for thy hurt through thy own wicked and foolish heart when thou wast full and fat forgetting God and kicking against him Deut. 31 20. and 32. 15. now thou shalt have them for thy good thy heart shall be so changed by the grace of the Gospel that thou shalt not now abuse them but imploy them to the more chearful and faithful service of God the giver of them for the LORD will again rejoyce over thee for good h i. e. To do thee good as he did rejoyce to destroy thee Deut. 28. 63. as he rejoyced over thy fathers 10 If thou shalt hearken i This caution and condition is added to warn them that they
* Deut. 4. 39. 12 Now therefore I pray you swear unto me by the LORD y By your God who is the only true God so she shews her Conversion to God and owns his Worship one eminent Act whereof is swearing by his Name since I have shewed you kindness that ye will also shew kindness unto * See 1 Tim 5. 8. my fathers house z My near Kindred which she particularly names v. 13. Husband and Children it seems she had none And for her self it was needless to speak it being a plain and undeniable Duty to save their Preserver and give me a true token a Either an assurance that you will preserve me and mine from the common Ruine or a Token which I may produce as a Witness of this agreement and a mean of my security 13 And that ye will save alive my father and my mother and my brethren and my sisters and all that they have b i. e. Their Children as appears from Iosh. 6. 23. and deliver our lives from death 14 And the men answered her Our life †for ‡ Heb. instead of you to die yours c We pawn and will venture our lives for the security of yours Or may we perish if you be not preserved if ye utter not this our business d i. e. This Agreement of ours and the way and condition of it lest others under this pretence secure themselves By which they shew both their Piety and Prudence in managing their Oath with so much Circumspection and Caution that neither their own Consciences might be ensnared nor the publick Justice obstructed And it shall be when the LORD hath given us the land that * Judg. 1. 24. we will deal kindly and truly with thee 15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window for her house was upon the Town-wall e Which gave her the opportunity of dismissing them when the gates were shut and she dwelt upon the wall f Her particular dwelling was there which may possibly be added because the other part of her House was reserved for the entertainment of Strangers 16 And she said unto them Get ye to the mountain g i. e. To some of the Mountains wherewith Iericho was encompassed in which also there were many Caves where they might lurk lest the Pursuers meet you and hide your selves there three days h Not three whole days but one whole day and parts of two days See on Iosh. 1. 11. until the Pursuers be returned and afterward may ye go your way 17 And the mensaid i Or had said namely before she let them down it being very improbable either that she would dismiss them before the Condition was expressed and agreed or that she would discourse with them or they with her about such secret and weighty things after they were let down when others might over-hear them or that she should begin her discourse in her Chamber and not finish it till they were gone out of her House Obj. They spoke this after they were let down for it follows v. 18. this thread which thou didst let us down by Ans. Those words may be thus rendred which thou dost let us down by i. e. art about to do it it being frequent for the Preter Tense to be used of a thing about to be done by an Enallage of Tenses as Iosh. 10. 15. unto her We will be blameless k i. e. Free from guilt or reproach if it be violated namely if the following Condition be not observed of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear 18 Behold when we come into the land l i. e. Over Iordan and near the City thou shalt binde this line of scarlet threed in the window m That it may be easily discerned by our Soldiers which thou didst let us down by and thou shalt †bring thy Father and thy Mother and ‡ Heb. gather thy Brethren and all thy Fathers Houshold home unto thee 19 And it shall be that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street his blood shall be upon his head n The blame of his death shall rest wholly upon himself as being occasioned by his own neglect or contempt of the means of safety and we will be guiltless and whosoever shall be with thee in the house his blood shall be upon our head o We are willing to bear the sin and shame and punishment of it if any hand be upon him p To wit so as to kill him as this Phrase is used Esth. 6. 2. Iob 1. 12. 20 And if thou utter this our business then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear 21 And she said According unto your words so be it And she sent them away and they departed and she bound the scarlet line in the window q Forthwith partly that the Spies might see it hung out before their departure and so the better know it at some distance partly lest some accident might occasion a mistake or neglect about it and partly for her own comfort it being pleasant and encouraging to her to have in her eye the pledg of her deliverance 22 And they went and came unto the mountain and abode there three days r Supporting themselves there with the Provisions which after the manner of those times and places they carried with them which Rahab furnished them with until the Pursuers were returned And the Pursuers sought them throughout all the way s i. e. In the Road to Iordan and the places near it but not in the Mountains but found them not 23 So the two men returned and descended from the mountain and passed over t To wit Iordan unto Ioshua and came to Joshua the son of Nun and told him u Him alone not the people as they did Numb 13. all things that befel them 24 And they said unto Joshua Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hand all the land for even all the Inhabitants of the country do †faint because ‡ Heb. melt of us CHAP. III. AND Joshua rose early in the morning a Not after the return of the Spies as may seem at first view but after the three days as it follows v. 2. and they removed from Shittirn and came to Jordan he and all the children of Israel and lodged there b That night that they might go over in the day time partly that the Miracle might be more evident and unquestionable and partly to strike the greater terror into their Enemies before they passed over 2 And it came to pass after three days c Either 1. at the end of the three days mentioned Iosh. 1. 11. or upon the last of them as this Phrase is used See on Deut. 15. 1. Or 2. after those days were expired See on Iosh. 1. 11. that the Officers went through the host
grosly abused and which as they might think would be rejected and abhorred by God himself and therefore they would not contribute to the Priests Sin and the corruption of Gods Worship but judged it better to neglect the thing than to expose it to the Priests depravation wherein yet they Erred as we see v. 24. 18 ¶ But Samuel ministred h i. e. Performed his Ministration carefully and faithfully not corrupting nor abusing it as Eli's Sons did before the LORD i In Gods Tabernacle or as in Gods presence sincerely and regularly with Gods approbation Compare Gen. 17. 1. 2 Chron. 26. 4. being a child * Exod. 〈◊〉 girded with a linnen Ephed k A garment used in Gods Service and allowed not onely to the inferior Priests and Levites but also to eminent persons of the People as 2 Sam. 6. 14. and therefore to Samuel who though no Levite was a Nazarite and that from his Birth 19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat l Suitable to his Age and Stature to be worn ordinarily for coats were their usual Garments See Gen. 3. 21. and 37. 3. 2 Sam. 15. 32. Cant. 5. 3. Dan. 2. 21. Luk. 3. 11. and 9. 3. and brought it to him from year to year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice m Knowing that he could not yet do much service she would not have him too burdensome to the Tabernacle and therefore she yearly provided him with a Coat which was the chief and upper Garment and under that his other Garments possibly are comprehended 20 ¶ And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife m As their Superiour and Gods High-Priest he Blessed them in Gods Name and they received his Blessing by Faith which made it effectual v. 21. and said The LORD give thee seed n i. e. A Child or rather Children as the Event shewed of this woman for the ‖ Or Pâ—… which see â—…ed c. loan which is lent to the LORD o Or for the petition i. e. the thing desired to wit the Child which she thy Wife asked of the Lord or for the Lord as Chap. 1. 28. to whom accordingly she hath given them And therefore as she asked him not so much for her self for she seldom sees him as for the Lord to whose service she hath wholly devoted him So now I pray that God would give you other Children for both your comfort and enjoyment And they went unto their own home 21 And the LORD visited p To wit in Mercy and with his Blessing as that Word is used Gen. 21. 1. Exod. 13. 19. Ier. 15. 15. not in anger as it is taken Exod. 32. 34. Levit. 26. 16. Hannah so that she conceived and bare three sons and two daughters and the child Samuel grew q Not onely in Age and Stature but especially in Wisdom and Goodness as Luk. 1. 15. Or was magnified or grew great famous and acceptable as v. 26. before the LORD r Not onely before men who might be deceived but in the presence and judgment of the All-seeing God 22 ¶ Now Eli was very old s And therefore unfit either to manage his Office himself or to make a diligent inspection into the Carriage of his Sons in holy Administrations which gave them opportunity for their Wickedness and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel t Whom they injured in their Offerings and alienated from the Service of God and how they lay with the women that ‡ Or â—…bled by 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 Exod. 38. â—… Numb 4. 〈◊〉 and 8. 24. assembled u Or warred which expression is used of them either because they came to the Service and Worship of God in the Tabernacle which is often called a warfare or because they came in considerable Numbers and due order like to an Army at the door x The place where all the People both Men and Women waited when they came up to the Service of God 1 Sam. 1. 9 12. Luk. 1. 10. because they could not have admittance into the Tabernacle and because the Altar on which their Sacrifices were offered was by the door Hence it seems probable that these Women were not such as devoted themselves to the Service of God and of his Tabernacle either by Fasting and Prayer c. Or by Sowing Spinning c. which if then there were any such had their Stations not at the door but in divers places allotted to them round about the Tabernacle but of such as came up to Worship God at his Tabernacle as Women oft-times did with their Husbands as here Hannah did and the Blessed Virgin Mary Luke 2. 41. or with their Parents And this Exposition may receive strength from Exod. 38. 8. where the very same Phrase is used and that when the great Tabernacle was not yet built and so there was no occasion for any Women to come to the other less Tabernacle then used save onely to Pray or offer Sacrifices of the Tabernacle of the Congregation 23 And he said unto them Why do ye such things y As those above mentioned v. 13. and v. 22. Eli's Sin in this matter was not onely that he reproved them too gently and generally and sparingly but especially that he contented himself with a Verbal Rebuke and did not restrain them as is said Chap. 3. 13. and inflict those Punishments upon them of putting them out of their Priests Office and cutting them off from Gods People which such high Crimes deserved by Gods Law and which he as Judge and High-Priest ought to have done without all respect of persons for ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hear 〈◊〉 words of 〈◊〉 I hear of your evil dealings by all this people z That dwell here or come hither to Worship 24 Nay my sons for it is no good report a Words too mild for such Diabolical Actions that I hear ye make the LORD's people ‖ Or to cry 〈◊〉 to transgress b Either 1. The Women that by your instigation were drawn to folly Or 2. others who are easily brought to follow your pernicious example Or 3. Other persons of Pious and honest Minds whom therefore he calls the Lords people by way of distinction from the children of Belial who were so highly offended with the great dishonour done to God and to his Worship and with the horrible Wickedness of the Priests that upon that occasion they were hurried into the other Extreme and lived in the neglect and contempt of their own indispensable duty of offering Sacrifices because they came through the Priests hands 25 If one man sin against another c By doing any injury ‡ Heb. God shall judge him Gr. They shall pray for him to the Lord. the judge shall judge him d The Magistrate shall by his Sentence end the difference and both Parties shall acquiesce in his Determination and so the Breach shall be
can work a Miracle by the most unlikely and contemptible means as he did by a Rod Exod. 14. 16. and a Mantle 2 King 2. 8. 30 And the mother of the child said As the LORD liveth and as thy soul liveth I will not leave thee q Until thou goest home with me For she had no great confidence in Gehazi nor was her Faith so strong as to think that the Prophet could work so great a Miracle at this distance and by his Staff which possibly was one reason why this did no good Compare Matth. 9. 18. and 13. 58. and 17. 20. And he arose and followed her 31 And Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff upon the face of the child but there was neither voice nor ‡ Heb. attention hearing r i. e. Neither speech nor sense nor any sign of life to wit in the Child Which disappointment might proceed from hence that Elisha having changed his mind and yielded to her importunity to go with her did alter his course and not joyn his fervent prayers with Gehazi's action but reserved them till he came thither wherefore he went again to meet him and told him saying The child is not awaked s i. e. Not revived death being oft and fitly compared to a sleep as Psal. 76. 5. Dan. 12. 2. because of the Resurrection which will in due time follow it and here followed speedily which makes the expression most proper in this place 32 And when Elisha was come into the house behold the child was dead and laid upon his bed 33 He went in therefore and shut the door upon them twain t Upon himself and the dead Child that he might pray to God without distraction and might more freely use all those gestures and means which he thought fit and prayed unto the LORD 34 And he â—…ent up and lay upon the child u And although some ceremonial uncleanness might seem to be contracted by the touch of this dead Body yet that was justly to give place to a Moral Duty and to an action of so great Piety and Charity as this was especially when done by a Prophet and by the instinct of Gods Spirit who can dispence with his own Laws and put his mouth upon his mouth and his eyes upon his eyes and his hands upon his hands x One part upon another successively for the disproportion of the Bodies would not permit it to be done together Compare 1 King 17. 21. Act. 20. 10. and he stretched himself upon the child and the flesh of the child waxed warm y Not by any external heat which could not be transmitted to the Childs Body by such slight touches of the Prophets Body but by a Natural heat proceeding from a principle of Life which was already infused into the Child and by degrees enlivened all the parts of his Body 35 Then he returned and walked in the house ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 â—…ther 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to and fro z He changeth his postures for his own necessary refreshment and walked to and fro exercising his mind in Prayer to God and Faith for the accomplishment of this work and went up and stretched himself upon him a Repeating his former actions to teach us not to be discouraged in our Prayers if we be not speedily answered but to wait with patience and continue and be instant in Prayer till we obtain what we seek for and the child neesed seven times and the child opened his eyes b So the work begun in the former Verse is here perfected Although Miracles were for the most part done in an instant yet sometimes they were done by degrees as here and 1 King 18. 44 45. Mark 8. 24 25. 36 And he called Gehazi and said Call this Shunammite So he called her and when she was come in unto him c Heb. come to him to wit to the Door of his Chamber where probably he met her with this joyful message he said Take up thy son 37 Then she went in d Into his Chamber and after she had done him honour to the Bed where the Child lay whence she took him and went her way and fell at his feet and bowed her self to the ground and took up her son and went out 38 ¶ And Elisha came again to Gilgal e When he came with Elijah chap. 2. 1. where was a School of the Prophets whom he designed to comfort concerning the present Dearth and their other discouragements and to confirm in the profession and practise of Religion and to instruct in the Duties of the present season and there was a dearth in the land and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him f At his Feet as Scholars to be taught by him See chap. 2. 3. Act. 22. 3. and he said unto his servant Set on the great pot and seethe pottage g He provides no delicious Meats but meeâ—… necessaries to teach them the contempt of worldly delights for the sons of the prophets 39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine h A Plant called Coloquintida whose Gourds or Leaves resemble the Leaves of a Vine and are very bitter and pernicious to the eater and gathered thereof wild gourds his lapâ—…l and came and shred them into the pot of pottage for they knew them not 40 So they poured out for the men to eat and it came to pass as they were eating of the pottage that they cried out and said O thou man of God there is death in the pot i i. e. Some deadly thing which they gathered from its excessive bitterness by which possibly some of them might discern what it was and they could not eat thereof 41 But he said Then bring meal and he cast it into the pot k Together with the Pottage which they had taken out of it and he said Pour out for the people that they may eat and there was no ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 thing harm in the pot l The Meal took away that hurful quality not by its natural power which could do little in so short a time but by the Supernatural Blessing of God upon it 42 ¶ And there came a man from Baal-shalisha and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits m Which were the Priests due Numb 18. 2. but these and probably the rest of the Priests dues were usually brought by the Pious Israelites according to their ability and opportunity to the Lords Prophets partly because they did a great part of the Priests office and partly because they were not permitted to carry them to Ierusalem and they might reasonably think that their circumstances being extraordinary would warrant their giving of them â—…o extraordinary Persons and that those ceremonial Justitutions ought to give place to the greater Laws of necessity and mercy to the Lords Prophets And this passage seems to be noted here not onely on
Bebai Jehohanan Hananiah Zabbai and Athlai 29 And of the sons of Bani Meshullam Malluch and Adajah Jashub and Sheal and Ramoth 30 And of the sons of Pahath-moab Adna and Chelal Benajah Maasejah Mattaniah Bezaleel and Binnui and Manasseh 31 And of the sons of Harim Eliezer Ishijah Malchiah Shemajah Shimeon 32 Benjamin Malluch and Shemariah 33 Of the sons of Hashum Matanai Mattathah Zabad Eliphelet Jeremai Manasseh and Shimei 34 Of the sons of Bani Maadi Amram and Uel 35 Benajah Bedejah Chelluh 36 Vaniah Meremoth Eliashib 37 Mattaniah Mattenai and Jaasau 38 And Bani and Binnui Shemei 39 And Shelemiah and Nathan and Adajah 40 ‖ Or 〈◊〉 â—…bai according to some copies Machnadebai Shashai Sharai 41 Azareel and Shelemiah Shemariah 42 Shallum Amariah and Joseph 43 Of the sons of Nebo Jehiel Mattithiah Zabad Zebina Jadau and Joel Benajah 44 All these had taken strange wives and some of them had wives by whom they had children c Whereby he implies that most of their Wives were barren Which came to pass by Gods special Providence partly to manifest his displeasure against such matches and partly that the practice of this great and necessary duty might not be encumbred with too many difficulties NEHEMIAH THis Book seems not to have been written by Ezra because it is written in a quite differing and more plain and easy stile and without that mixture of Chaldee or Syriack words which is in the Book of Ezra but by Nehemiah ch 1. 1. who writ an account of his own Transactions as Ezra did of his But whether this be the same Nehemiah who came up with Zerubbabel Ezra 2. 2. Nehemiah 7. 7. may be questioned the same name being oft given to divers Persons And for the name of Tirshatha which is used both Ezra 2. 63. Nehem. 7. 65 70. that seems to be the Title of his Office and so belongs to any Governour whether it was Zerubbabel or Nehemiah or any other CHAP. I. 1 THe words a Or rather the acts or deeds as the word oft signifies of which he here treats of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah And it came to pass in the month * Zech. 7. 1. Chisleu b Which is the 9th month containing part of November and part of December in the twentieth year c Of Artaxerxes ch 2. 1. as I was in Shushan d The Chief and Royal City of Persia Esth. 3. 15. the palace 2 That Hanani one of my Brethren e Of my Family or Tribe or Nation came he and certain men of Judah and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped f Out of the slavery which they indured in strange Lands which were left of the captivity g The remnant of those numerous Captives and concerning Jerusalem 3 And they said unto me the remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province h i. e. In Iudea which was now made a province under the Persian Monarchs see the Notes on Ezra 5. 8. are in great affliction and reproach i Despised and distressed by the neighbouring Nations the wall of Jerusalem also * 2 Kin. 25. 10. is broken down and the gates thereof are burnt with fire k i. e. The walls and gates continue in the same woful plight in which Nebuchadnezzar left them the Jews not being yet in a condition to rebuild them nor having Commission from the Kings of Persia to do so but onely to build the Temple and their own private houses And this made their enemies scorn them who also would have ruined them but for fear of offending the Persian King 4 And it came to pass when I heard these words that I sate down and wept and mourned certain days and prayed before the God of heaven 5 And said I beseech thee * Dan. 9. 4. O LORD God of heaven the great and terrible God * Exod. 20. 6. that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments 6 Let thine ear now be attentive and thine eyes open that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant which I pray before thee now day and night for the children of Israel thy servants and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against thee both I and my fathers house have sinned 7 We have dealt very corruptly l Or we have wholly corrupted to wit our selves and our ways and thy Worship against thee and have not kept the commandments nor the statutes nor the judgments which thou commandedst thy servant Moses 8 Remember I beseech thee the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses to deliver to us saying * 〈◊〉 26. 39. 〈◊〉 4. 25. â—… if ye transgress I will scatter you abroad among the nations 9 But if ye turn unto me and keep my commandments and do them * 〈◊〉 30. 4. though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of heaven yet will I gather them from thence and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there 10 Now these are thy servants and thy people whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power and by thy strong hand 11 O LORD I beseech thee let now thine ear be attentive unto the prayer of thy servant to the prayer of thy servants †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who desire to fear thy name and prosper I pray thee thy servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man m The King who though a God by Office is but a man by Nature and therefore his heart is wholly at thy disposal For I was the kings cup bearer n Whereby I had opportunity to speak to him and some Favour and Freedom with him which encouraged me to make this Prayer and to hope for some success CHAP. II. 1 And it came to pass in the month * 〈◊〉 3. 7. Nisan a Which was four months after he had heard those sad ridings The reason of this long silence and delay might be manifold either because he thought fit that some time should be spent by himself and possibly others of his brethren in seeking God by solemn Prayer and fasting for Gods blessing and the good success of this great affair or because he could not take so long and dangerous a journey in the depth of Winter or because his turn of attending upon the King did not come to him till that time or because till then he wanted a fit opportunity to move it to the King by reason of the Kings indisposition or occasions or multitude of attendants among whom there probably were diverse enemies to the Jews who he feared might hinder his design and desire in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes b Artaxerxes Longimanus the Son of the great Xerxes who reigned both with his Father and after his death alone whence the years of his reign are
accurately understands their several natures and operations 2. That he hath a Soveraign power over them as men have over their children or servants or souldiers whom they can call by name that he appointeth and governeth all their motions and influences to the fulfilling of his own pleasure and purposes 5 Great is our LORD and of great power †Heb. of his understanding there is no number his understanding is infinite 6 * Psal. 146. 9. The LORD lifteth up the meek he casteth the wicked down to the ground 7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving sing praises upon the harp unto our God 8 * 〈◊〉 104. 13 â—… Who covereth the heaven with clouds who prepareth rain for the earth who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains 9 * 〈◊〉 38. 41. 〈◊〉 104. 27 〈◊〉 â—… 136. 25. He giveth to the beast his food ‖ 〈◊〉 â—…5 15. and to the * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Job 38. 4. young ravens g Which he mentions partly because they were most contemptible especially to the Jews to whom they were unclean and forbidden for food partly because they are greedy and voracious and partly because they are not onely neglected by men but also forsaken by their dams as soon as ever they can flie and so are wholly left to the care and keeping of Divine providence which cry 10 * 〈◊〉 33. 16. 〈◊〉 1. 7. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man h As if he needed either the one or the other for the accomplishment of his designs 11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him in those that hope in his mercy i That believingly and patiently expect and seek relief and happiness from God alone and from his meer grace and mercy and not from any creature nor from their own merits 12 Praise the LORD O Jerusalem praise thy God O Zion 13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates k Thy strength consists not in thy walls and gates and bars but in his protection he hath blessed thy children within thee 14 †〈◊〉 who 〈◊〉 thy borâ—… 〈◊〉 He maketh peace in thy borders l In all thy land even to its utmost borders which are most liable to the incursion of enemies and * 〈◊〉 132. 15. filleth thee with the †〈◊〉 â—…at of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 16. finest of the wheat 15 He sendeth forth his commandment m Which is sufficient without any instruments to execute whatsoever pleaseth him either in works of nature or of providence upon earth his word runneth very swiftly n The thing is done without delay or difficulty 16 He giveth snow like wool o Not onely in colour and shape and softness but also in use keeping the fruits of the earth warm he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes p In colour and smalness of parts as also in its burning quality 17 He casteth forth his ice q Either 1. pieces of ice which God may be said to cast forth or to cast down because he sendeth it and oft-times suddenly or 2. great hail-stones which are of an icy nature and substance and which are very properly cast forth or cast down out of the clouds and that like morsels or fragments the particles being congealed in them like morsels who can stand before his cold r The cold which he sometimes sends into the air is so sharp that it would be intolerable if men did not defend themselves from it by houses cloaths fire c. 18 He sendeth out his word and melteth them he causeth his †〈◊〉 spirit 〈◊〉 40. 7. wind s The Southern or some other warm wind sent with commission to dissolve the ice to blow and the waters flow t The rivers return to their course which before were bound up by or turned into ice 19 He sheweth †Heb. his 〈◊〉 his word u He fully declared his mind and will by revelation and in his word unto Jacob x To the children of Iacob or Israel and to them alone as it follows his statutes and his judgments unto Israel 20 * 〈◊〉 Rom 3. 42. He hath not dealt so with any nation y He left all others to their own native darkness and blindness and to those dim discoveries of God and of themselves which they had from the light of Nature and as for his judgments they have not known them Praise ye the LORD PSAL. CXLVIII The nature of this Psalm is for substance the same with the former containing an invitation to all the creatures to praise God for his manifold blessings 1 †〈◊〉 Halleluâ—… PRaise ye the LORD Praise ye the LORD from the heavens a All the host of Heaven which he particularly expresseth in the following verses praise him in the heights b In those high and heavenly places 2 * Psal. 103. 20 21. Praise ye him all his Angels c He inviteth the Angels here and the senseless creatures afterward to praise God not as if the former needed or the latter were capable of his exhortation but onely by a Poetical rapture the design whereof is that men by this means might be more provoked to this duty praise ye him all his hosts d The Angels called hosts here and 1 Kings 22. 19. for their vast numbers exquisite order and perfect subjection to their General the Lord of hosts 3 Praise ye him sun and moon e You which are adored by the blind Heathens for gods you are but his creatures and therefore were obliged if you were capable to worship and praise him for your glorious light and powerful influences praise him all ye stars of light 4 Praise him ye heavens of heavens f Ye highest and most glorious Heavens the place of Gods Throne and glorious presence as this phrase is used Deut. 10. 14. 1 Kings 8. 27. Neh. 9. 6. Psal. 115. 16. Or ye starry Heavens which also may well be so called because they are above the air which is oft called Heaven in Scripture and ye waters that be above the heavens g Ye clouds which are above a part of the Heavens Of which see on Gen. 1. 7. 5. Let them praise the Name of the LORD for * Gen. 1. 1 6. Psal. 33. 9. he commanded and they were created h They owe their being wholly to Gods good will 6 * Psal. 89. 37. 119. 90 91. Jer. 31. 35 36. He hath also established them for ever and ever i Either absolutely as to the substance of them or at least to the end of the world He hath made them constant and incorruptible not changeable and perishing as the things of the lower world are he hath made a decree k Either concerning their several courses and influences or rather for their continuance for ever which best agrees with the foregoing and
Physicians observe and Experience sheweth ‖ Or to a medicine like a medicine * Ch. 15. 13. 12. 25. but a broken h Sad and dejected spirit drieth the bones i Wasteth the marrow of the Bones and the moisture and strength of the Body 23 A wicked man k Whether Judge or Witness taketh a gift out of the bosom l In secret as this Phrase is expounded Prov. 21. 14. being privily conveyed from the bosom of the giver into his own bosom to pervert the ways of judgment m To give or procure an unjust sentence 24 * Eccles. 2. 14. 8. 1. Wisdom is before him n Or in as the particle peth is used Deut. 2. 7. and is here rendred by divers Interpreters the face or countenance The sense is either 1. His Wisdom appears even in his gestures and looks which are modest and composed and grave Or 2. Wisdom is before him or in his sight as the mark at which he aims or as the rule by which he constantly walketh and ordereth all his steps from time to time minding his present duty and business that hath understanding but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth o The sense of this clause also is either 1. His folly appears in his light and unsteddy and disorderly carriage and looks Or 2. His mind is wavering and unsettled he neither proposeth a right and certain end to himself nor is he constant in the use of fit means to attain it he neglects his present business and true interest and wanders hither and thither in the pursuit of earthly vanities minding most those things which are remotest from him and least concern him 25 * Chap. 10. 1. 15. 20. 19. 13. A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her that bare him p This he said before Prov. 15. 20. and elsewhere but he here repeats it as a point of great moment and constant use and as a powerful motive to oblige both Children to carry themselves wisely and dutifully to their Parents as they would not be thought to be unnatural or inhumane and Parents to educate their Children prudently and religiously at least for their own comfort if not for the publick good 26 Also q This particle seems to have relation to the next foregoing Proverb to imply that it is a very evil thing for Children to cause grief to their Parents as it is also to do what here follows †Heb. to mulct or fine to punish the just r For Parents or Princes or Rulers to whom alone this power belongs to punish innocent and good men is not good s is highly evil and abominable as is implied See above v. 20. and Prov. 16. 29. 17. 10. c. nor to strike princes for equity t Nor to smite Magistrates either with the Hand or Tongue for the execution of Justice as condemned persons are apt to do Or as some learned Interpreters render it Nor for Princes to strike any man for equity or for doing his duty or what is just So this clause best agrees with the former Besides it belongs to Princes or Magistrates to punish or strike 27 * Jam. 1. 19. He that hath knowledg spareth u Heb. restraineth as at other times so especially when he is provoked to passion in which case fools utter all their mind his words and a man of understanding is of ‖ Or a cool spirit an excellent spirit x Which he sheweth by commanding his passions and bridling himself from hasty and unadvised speeches Or as others render it is of a cool Spirit calm and moderate not easily provoked humble as the Chaldee renders it patient or long-suffering as the LXX and Arabick Interpreters render the words Or as others sparing Heb. precious which is put for rare or scarce 1 Sam. 3. 1. Prov. 25. 17. Isa. 13. 12. of his breath i. e. of his speech as this very word is used Prov. 29. 11. Isa. 11. 4. compared with 2 Thes. 2. 8. 28 * Job 13. 5. Even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise y Because he is sensible of his own folly and therefore forbears to speak leâ—…t he should discover it which is a great point of true Wisdom and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding CHAP. XVIII 1 ‖ Or He that separateth himself seeketh according to his desire and intermeddleth in every business THrough desire a man having separated himself seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom a According to this interpretation the sense is Through desire of it to wit of Wisdom which is easily understood out of the end of the verse such Ellipses being frequent in Scripture a man having separated himself being sequestred from the company and noise and business of the World betaking himself to retirement and solitude as men do that apply themselves to any serious study seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom i. e. useth all diligence that he may search and find out all solid knowledg and true Wisdom And this earnest desire and endeavour to get true Wisdom within a mans self is fitly opposed to the fools contempt of Wisdom or to his desire of it not for use and benefit but only for vain ostentation which is expressed in the next verse Although coherence is little regarded by Interpreters in the several Verses and Proverbs of this Book But this verse is otherwise rendred in the margin of our English Bible and by divers others He that separateth himself either 1. From his friend Or rather 2. From other men who affects singularity is wedded to his own Opinion and through self-conceit despiseth the opinions and conversation of others seeketh according to his desire seeketh to gratifie his own Inclinations and Affections and chuseth those opinions which most comply with them and intermeddleth for this word is used in a bad sense Prov. â—…7 14. 20. 3. and it is not found elsewhere save in this place in every business as proud and singular persons are commonly pragmatical delighting to find faults in others that they may get some Reputation to themselves by it Heb. in every thing that is thrusting themselves into the actions and affairs of other men Or as this last clause is and may be rendred and contendeth Heb. mingleth himself for words of that signification are commonly used for contending or fighting as Deut. 2. 5 9 19. Isa. 36. 8 Dan. 11 10. with or against for the Hebrew prefix beth oft signifies against all Reason or Wisdom whatsoever any man speaketh against his opinion and desire though it be never so reasonable and evident he rejecteth it and obstinately maintains his own opinion 2 A fool hath no delight in understanding b In getting â—…ound and saving knowledg either by his own sâ—…udy or by the instructions of wise and good men but that
Spirits Heb. 12. 9. 8 * Ch. 1. 2. Vanity of vanities saith the preacher all is vanity m This sentence wherewith he began this Book he here repeateth in the end of it Partly as that which he had proved in all the foregoing discourse and partly as that which naturally and necessarily followed from both the branches of the assertion now laid down v. 7. 9 And ‖ Or the more wise the preacher was c. moreover because the preacher was wise n Which he affirmeth not out of vain ostentation but partly to procure the more credit and acceptance to his Doctrine and Counsel here delivered and partly to declare his Repentance for his former follies and Gods great Mercy in restoring his Wisdom to him he still taught the people knowledge o As God gave him this Wisdom that he might be a teacher of others so he used it to that end Therefore despise not his Counsel yea he gave good heed p He did not rashly and foolishly utter whatsoever came into his mind or mouth but seriously pondered both his matter and words and sought out q Both by the exercise of his own mind and by reading and learning from others and * 1 Kin. 4. 32. set in order r Or directed on fitted He selected such as were most useful many proverbs s Excellent and wise sayings which are oft called Proverbs as was noted before upon the Book of Proverbs 10 The preacher sought to find out †Heb. words of delight acceptable words t Heb. desirable or delightful worthy of all acceptation such as would minister comfort and profit to the hearers or Readers and that which was written u By the Preacher in this and his other Books was upright x Heb. right or streight agreeable to the Mind or Will of God which is the rule of right not crooked or perverse even words of truth y Not fables cunningly devised to deceive the simple but true and certain Doctrines which commend themselves to mens own Consciences or Reasons wholsom and edifying Counsels 11 The words of the wise z Not of secularly or politickly wise men but of the spiritually wise and holy men of God of which and not of the former this whole context treats are as goads and as nails a Piercing into mens dull Minds and hard Hearts and quickening and provoking them to the practice of all their duties fastened b Which do not only amuse and startle men for the present as the wise and grave Counsels of moral Philosophers frequently do but make powerful and abiding impressions in them which is the peculiar effect of Gods Word by the masters of assemblies c By the teachers of Gods Church and People whether Prophets or others appointed by God for that work which are given from one shepherd d From God or from Jesus Christ the great Shepheard and Teacher of the Church in all Ages by whose Spirit the ancient Prophets as well as other succeeding Teachers were inspired and taught Ier. 3. 15. 1 Pet. 1. 11. 2 Pet. 1. 21. And this clause seems to be added partly as the reason of that admirable Harmony and Agreement which is amongst all the men of God in all ages and places because they are all taught by one Master and guided by the same Hand and partly to oblige us to the greater Attention and Reverence to all their Doctrines and Counsels which we are to receive as the word of God and not of Men only as is said 1 Thes. 2. 13. 12 And further by these e By these Wise Men and their Words or Wâ—…ings of which he spake in the foregoing verse my son be admonished f Take your Instructions from them for their words are right and true as he said v. 10. where as the words of other men are false or at best doubtful of making many books there is no end g I could easily write many Books and large Volumes upon these matters but that were an endless and needless work seeing things necessary to be known and done lie in a little compass as he informs us in the next verse and much ‖ Or reaâ—…ing study h The reading of many Books written by learned Philosophers about these things which it is more than probable were then extant though since lost which also Solomon being so curious and inquisitive a person would in all likelihood procure and peruse as far as he had opportunity is a weariness to the flesh i It wasteth a mans strength and Spirits and yet which is implied doth not satisfie the Mind nor sufficiently recompence the trouble and inconvenience to which man is exposed by it 13 ‖ Or 〈◊〉 eâ—…d of tâ—…e matter 〈◊〉 all that hath been 〈◊〉 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter k The summ and substance of all that hath been said or written by wise men so far as it is necessary for us to know * Deut. 6. 2 10. 12. Fear God l Which is Synecdochically put here as it is very frequently in Scripture for all the inward Worship of God Reverence and Love and Trust and a Devotedness of Heart to serve and please God and a Lothness to offend him and an Aptness to tremble at his Word and Judgments and keep his commandments m This is fitly added as a necessary effect and certain Evidence of the Fear of God Make Conscience of practising whatsoever God requires how costly or troublesom or dangerous soever it be for this is the whole duty n In the Hebrew it is only the whole it is his whole work and business his whole Perfection and Happiness it is the summ of what he need either know or do or enjoy of man 14 For * Rom. 2. 16. 14. 1â—… 1 Cor. 4. 5. 2 Cor. 5. 10. God shall bring every work into judgment o This is added either 1. As a reason of what he last said this is the whole of man because all men must give an account to God of all their works and this alone will enable them to do that with joy and not with grief Or 2. As another Argument to press the foregoing Exhortation Fear God and keep his commandments for you must be called to judgment about it c. with every secret thing p Not only outward and visible actions but even inward and secret thoughts whether it be good or whether it be evil CANTICLES BEfore I come to the Explication of this Book some things must be premised concerning it 1. That it was of Divine Inspiration is so clear and certain that as the Iewish Writers note none ever questioned it although some doubted of some other of Solomon's Writings And the same Arguments which prove the Divinity of other Books are found here such as the quality of the Pen-man who was confessedly a man