children of Esau Gen. 36.8 and of the stock of Abraham as was said before As at this day what greater enemies haue wee then the Papists Papists the greatest enemies the Church of God hath which are baptized with the same baptisme that we are and make profession of the name of Christ and yet they furiouslie persecute vs and would haue vs vtterlie rooted out because we condemne their superstitions and Idolatries Euen such were the Idumeans and therefore the Prophet culled them out from amongst all the rest of the enemies of the Church In calling them the people of his discomfiture he confirmes the former sentence for it is as much as if the Lord had said It will be but in vaine for you to thinke you can escape my hands seeing you are alreadie ordeined to destruction For by this phrase of speech he pronounceth definitiue sentence vpon them as being alreadie condemned in his heauenlie decree and that no lesse then if at that present they had been put apart and cut away from off the land of the liuing And lest it might seeme that God did them any wrong he addes in iudgement for there is nothing vnto which men are more prone then to accuse God of crueltie so as the greatest part can not be brought to acknowledge him their competent Iudge especiallie if he chastise them somewhat seuerely Isaiah therefore shewes that this slaughter must needs be mixt with equitie seeing God neuer xceeds in ouermuch seueritie Vers 6. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood it is made fat with the fat and with the blood of the lambs and the goates with the fat of the kidneys of the rammes for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. HE goes on still with the same argument but by another description which amplifies the matter greatlie wherein his drift is to rouze vp the wicked who were wont to gibe and geere at all admonitions as we haue said before Is it not needfull then that Gods iudgements should be disciphered out in liuely tables to wound the hearts of the enemies and to animate the minds of the faithfull with an holy pride in assurance that their foes can not any way shift it for all their stoutnes and rebellion but that they must be brought to the shambles like beasts as soone as God doth but hold vp his finger as they say He compares their destruction to the sacrifices for as they were wont to sacrifice beasts for the seruice and honor of God so should he be glorified by the slaughter of this people The Prophet then confirmes that here which he hath said before touching the iudgement for when the Lord executes Iustice Vers 5. his glorie shines thereby men reuerence and worship him so as the destruction of the wicked you see is rightlie compared to sacrifices which were a part of his seruice Indeed there was no great pleasure in beholding the sacrifices for the cutting their throats the gushing out of the warme blood and the stinck of the smoke serued rather to driue men away yet the honour and glorie of God shined euen in these things So this destruction of the Idumeans no doubt was an horrible spectacle to looke vpon and made no such goodly shew as to bring one in loue with the sight of it but that the faithfull euen in this respect might learne to sanctifie the name of God they were commanded to lift vp their eies to heauen because God in executing such a vengeance did as it were erect and set vp so many altars for his sacrifices And because they had vniustly afflicted the Church of God and had cruelly intreated his chosen without all compassion or humanitie Isaiahâ— pronounceth that the offering vp of their blood was a sacrifice acceptable and of a sweet smelling sauor vnto God because it is the execution of his iudgements By lambs and goates vnder a figure he means the people which should be sacrificed and in alluding to the sundry kinds of offerings he comprehends all the people as well small as great to shew that when God shall take his enemies in hand to punish them hee will not let so much as any one of them escape He mentions Bozrah which was the chiefe and head Citie of the Country in which the greatest slaughter should bee executed and in the next place addes the land of Edom through which this discomfiture should passe without sparing any corner of it Vers 7. And the vnicornes shall come downe with them and the * Or calues heifers with the bulles and their land shall bee drunken with blood and their dust is made fat with fatnesse THis verse is annexed to the former for it is no new thing he speakes of but hee continues the same figure amplifying what hee had said touching goates and lambes to which hee not onely addes calues but wilde beasts also The summe is that Gods vengeance is bounden so as he will spare neither age nor estate for he will put to the sword as well the cruell and proud Giants with their vaine brags as the feeble weakling as if one prepared a sacrifice in which beasts of all sorts were mingled one with another Neither should any thinke it absurd that lambs are coupled with cruell beasts in this sacrifice for by the word lambs in this place hee meanes not harmlesnesse and innocencie but the poore and weake are called so by comparison because their meane condition held them vnder some appearance of modestie Now albeit it may seeme strange that the Lord should thus smite his enemies without sparing of any at all notwithstanding by the word sacrifice he shewes he doth nothing but that which is iust and equall and for which he ought to be praised And indeed whosoeuer shall examin this fact shall be inforced to lay his hand vpon his mouth and to confesse that God had iust occasion to cut them off all not one excepted The like end are all reprobates to looke for namely to be sacrificed by the hands of those that are as wicked as themselues Some take the word Abbirim for Strong I had rather follow them which translate it Bulles it being so taken Psal 50. Albeit by Bulles here vnder a figure he meanes the strong and mighty Vers 8. For it is a day of the Lords vengeance and the yeere of recompence for the iudgement of Zion THis verse must be ioyned to the former for it containes the end why the Lord corrected the Idumeans so seuerely namely because he meant now to maintaine and reuenge the quarrell of his people For had he not added this reason that which hee spake before might haue seemed not onely darke but improper For it would be but a flitting and vncertaine knowledge of things vnlesse in the consideration of Gods punishing of the wicked we did also therein see that hee manifests the continuall care and loue which he hath to his chosen in
in to the end he may still continue a Church in the world And S. Paul also who is the best expositor of this place yeeldes the same reason for alledging it in the Epistle to the Romans chap. 9.29 he beates downe the insolencie of the Iewes to the end they should not bragge of that naked title which they bare as if it had been enough for them that they were descended from the ancient fathers in regard of the flesh For he admonisheth them that God could deale with them as hee had done in old time with their fathers but that he is still minded for his mercies sake to reserue a Church to himselfe and to what end euen that it should not vtterly perish For it is for the loue and fauour which hee beares toward it that the Lord reserueth some little seede when in regard of our rebellion hee is constrained to exercise his rigorous iudgemeÌ„ts Which sentence ought greatly to comfort vs in our extreamest calamities yea euen then when we shall thinke the Church as good as forlorne that when we see the state of things turned vpside downe so as to our seeming heauen and earth goeth together as they say yet that we euen then continue firme and inuincible touching our trust in God his mercie notwithstanding resoluing our selues that God will neuer cease to haue care of his Church howsoeuer the world goe Euen a small remnant This particle small may be referred as well to that which went before as to that which followes And therefore some translate We had been almost as Sodom Notwithstanding I had rather referre it to the former speech to declare that the number which God reserued from the common destruction was very small But some rather thinke that this is taken affirmatiuely and was therefore put to expresse the matter the more liuely which I reiect not although it may be taken in his true and natiue sense as if it had been said There shall but a small number of the people remaine Now we are to note this sentence diligently for vnles the Church haue faire and large dominions men are wont to despise her And from thence it comes that hypocrits bragge so much of their multitudes and that the weake also stagger as being dazled with their pompe and glorie It therfore appeares by this place that wee must not measure the Church by the hugenes of the multitude vnlesse we meane to esteeme more of the chaffe then of the wheate because the quantitie therof is greater But it ought to suffice vs that although the number of the faithful be verie small yet that God notwithstanding acknowledgeth them for his elect people And with this also should that consolation of Christ come into our minds Feare not little flocke for it is your fathers pleasure to giue you the kingdome Luk. 12.31 Vers 10. Heare the word of the Lord O princes of Sodome hearken vnto the law of our God O people of Gomorah HE confirmes that which he had said before to wit that God his vengeance is not crueltie why so Because they had deserued a farre greater punishment And howsoeuer there was some difference betweene them and the Sodomites in regard of the punishment yet the fault was alike so as if the Lord had not pardoned them hee might euen iustly haue plagued them with the like iudgement In a word he telles them that if God doe spare it is not to the end they should conclude with themselues that their sinnes were lesse then those of the Sodomites but that they were to attribute it rather vnto the mercie of God Now there is no great diuersitie in that he attributes the name of the citie of Sodom to the Pâ—inces and the name of Gomorah to the people but it rather shewes their condition to be both alike But whereas hee repeates one thing twice this diuersitie of names hath the greater elegancie As if he shoud say The Princes and people differ no more one from another then Sodom differed from Gomorah True it is that hee alludes to the diuers degrees of men when he attributes two cities to them as it were apart but in â—egard that Sodom equals Gomorah in value wee see hee binds them vp both together as it were in one fardle The summe then is If any man wil iudge of the Princes and people he shall find them agreeing as well together in one euen as Sodom and Gomorah did That is to say there was neuer a barrell better hearing but they were as like as one egge is to another For there was no more vprightnes in the princes then in the people The Prophet begins now therfore to vnmaske the Iewes and that very iustly for as it is a common thing with all hypocrites to shroud themselues vnder merueilous pretences to the ende they may not bee espied euen so stood the case with this people who were stained with this vice aboue any other And therefore the Prophets had no sharper conflicts with them then about this matter Pride also with this bragging of fained holines reigned amongst them and they gloried no lesse in the noblenesse and excellencie of their nation then of their outward ceremonies and seruice by reason whereof this seueritie of the Prophet did greatly gall them But in as much as it was needefull to draw out their villanies into light the more they set vp their bristles the more liuely doth the Prophet thunder against them And thus must all hypocrites be serued The word of the Lord. The Prophet takes the word of the Lord and the law for one and the same thing And yet notwithstanding I doubt not but hee vsed this word law of set purpose to the end he might taxe their sottish opinion For whilest they imagined to appease God with sacrifices which they offered without faith or repentance they interpreted the law of God after their owne fantasies By which words then he admonisheth them that in alledging the authoritie of Moses he brings in no new deuice of his owne neither addes he any thing to the law but that in hearing him they should only heare the will of God whereof hee faithfully enformeth them Also that the law of God doth in no sort fauour or allow of their dealings in this point to the end they should not thinke to beguile the Lord with a false perswasion of their owne righteousnes Vers 11. What haue I to doe with the multitude of your sacrifices saith the Lord I am full of the burnt offerings of Rammes and the fat of fed beasts and I desire not the blood of Bullocks nor of Lambs nor of Goates NOw Isaiah brings in God speaking who interprets his owne meaning himselfe For it is not enough that the Lawgiuer doe command onely but that he also should adde a natiue exposition to the lawes that they be not corrupted Now it is not to be doubted but that the former sharpe reprehension was very ill taken For what could one haue spoken more boldly
a terrible and grieuous threatning to wit that the vengeance of God is readie to sease vpon them to the end they might feele that the contemners of God shall not remaine vnpunished We must also note that there is but one only rule of well liuing that is the obedience which wee yeeld vnto God and to his word Also in these words there is a traÌ„sported sentence by a figure which wee call Hypallage because the speech should be resolued thus If you be of a readie mind and haue full consent of will to obey or else thus and yet in the same sense If ye hearken and obey me and my word Seing then that God placeth the felicitie of men in obedience it followes that our life is then well ordered when wee heare God speakâ—ng and that we obey him in all things Now wee may see how great the wickednes of men is when they vouchsafe not to lend their eare to God but reiect the felicitie which hee offereth and prepareth for them Truely their froward affections ought to bee timed to the end that whilst these poore wretches draw the wrath of God vpon their owne heads they might not wittingly and willingly cast themselues headlong vpon the edge of the sword Wee must note also that in the verse followin g which is the conclusion he threatens them with extreame ruine if so be they still continue to rebell obstinately against God The good things of the earth He meanes the fruites which the earth brings forth for the necessitie of our life For the earth seemes to bee somewhat vnkind when it brings not forth her fruites but keeps them as it were in her bosome Although I make no question but hee alludes to the promises of the law where God promiseth that he will blesse the ground of such as walke in his commandements that they may haue abundance of all good things And yet hee offereth not the commodities of this life vnto vs to the end he would stay vs in an earthly felicity which hypocrits indeed only gape after wholly imploying all their wits thereabouts but that by the contemplation thereof we should lift vp our minds to the heauenly and spirituall felicity as also that by the taste of his so great goodnes he might accustome vs to rellish the estate of eternall happines Now the ancient people were inured rather to be called by such shadowes and resemblances to the heauenly inheritance namely by the taste of earthly benefits And this difference is well to be noted that we may applie this doctrine to our vse according to that degree whereunto God hath been pleased to exalt vs. Now the Prophet would teach vs that true felicity with the complements thereof consists in the obedience of God also that the wicked in rebelling against him doe draw vpon themselues all manner of calamities and that we therfore ought to impute all the euils which we endure to our sinnes and rebellions as to the proper cause thereof Vers 20. But if yee refuse and be rebellious yee shall be deuoured with the sword for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it TThe wicked alwaies thinke the punishments which they suffer are farre greater then their fault although God deale mercifully and fauourably with them And howsoeuer they dare not wholly iustifie themselues yet notwithstanding they cease not as we haue said heretofore to accuse him of too great seueritie But the Prophet shewes how there shall bee no end of their plagues which they often suffer till they bee wholly consumed as also that there are yet more heauie chastisements prepared for them of God that they should not imagine to escape with those light fillips wherewith they were hitherto smitten The Papists wrest this place to establish their free will And thus they reason If men be happie when they will obey God then it followes that it is in their owne power to will Behold a childish argument For the Lord by the mouth of his Prophet disputes not what or how great our power of will is to good or euill but admonisheth that it is by our owne default that we enioy not the abundance of all good things and further that the necessities wherewith wee bee pinched are the iust rewards of our disobedience and rebellion Now there is great ods betwixt demanding whether a man bee able to make his will which is euill good and whether by his wicked will which is his owne by nature hee drawes vpon himselfe all the plagues which he endureth These subtile and craftie doctors therfore do vniustly and falselie ground their doctrine of free choice of good and euill vpon this place For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Because threatnings ordinarily doe not much moue such as are carried away with their inordinate desires and lusts the Prophet to the end he might awaken them from out of their so great drousines admonisheth them that this sentence proceeds not from the mouth of a mortall man but that it is come out of the mouth of the eternall God who is not mutable as men are but is alwaies as good as his word He sets the authoritie of God before them then to feare and terrifie them to the end that such among them as were fallen into a dead sleepe in their vices might earnestly giue themselues to hearken to his threatnings Vers 21. How is the faithfull citie become an harlot It was full of iudgement and iustice lodged therin but now they are murtherers TO the end the reprehension might be the more forcible and that their wickednes might be the more detestable in that this people were thus reuolted from God and from all integritie and vprightnes he cries out as if he saw some strange and vnwonted thing And surely it was an horrible change that the people whom the Lord had chosen and set apart to bee a royall priesthood to himselfe should thus fal from so soueraigne pietie and godlines into the gulfe and sincke of all sinne and wickednes But he speakes chieflie of the citie of Ierusalem which was the royall seate of the Sanctuarie of God hee complaines that she which heretofore was a faithfull gardian of iustice is now become a denne of theeues and that of an holy and chast virgin she is become an harlot To the ende therefore hee might make the bastard Iewes who were farre from the integritie of the holy Patriarks the more ashamed hee takes vnto himselfe the person of a man astonished who wondreth and reasoneth with himselfe how such a thing could come to passe Also in this word faithfull hee alludes as I thinke to the faith in mariage which the wife ought to keepe to her husband I grant that the signification of the word reacheth further but waying the circumstance narrowly I thinke it not amisse to take the word faithfull for chaste For a little after he opposeth the contrarie member calling her harlot So as being in times past a loyall wife keeping faith to her
of wretched and beggerly fellowes but euen with the tip of the finger you shall see them vomit forth insupportable poysoned speeches Seeing then that this vice was very common Isaiah toucheth as well the small as the great that were tainted therewith signifying that by how much the more the Lord had dealt gentlie with them by so much the more they were to looke for a greater iudgement for their hearts were swollen with rebellion because of their too great abundance Furthermore although the letter Lamed which is put in the datiue case be sometime superfluous yet notwithstanding in this place it holds his proprietie because it seemes Isaiah assignes out a certaine day as men are wont to doe when iudgements or assises are held I expound it then that the day is appointed by God himselfe wherein the proud must make their appearance before his iudicall throne to receiue sentence of condemnation Moreouer we may gather by these words that God shewes himselfe an enemie to all the proud and therefore this day of assignation is as much as if God had said I can no longer endure that men should thus wickedly exalt themselues against me and therfore all such as lift vp themselues aboue measure shall be broken in peeces with my hand Now if this were well rooted in our hearts who is it that would not abhorre and detest pride by which we thus prouoke the wrath of God against vs If any will reade Proud and loftie in the Neuter gender it must be referred to the fortresses bulwarkes and munitions but the rules of Grammar cannot beare it that wee should expound it otherwise then of mens persons Vers 12. For the day of the Lord of hosts is vpon all the proud and hauty and vpon all that is exalted and it shall bee made low This verse is expounded together with the eleuenth Vers 13. Euen vpon all the Cedars of Lebanon that are high and exalted and vpon all the Okes of Bashan 14. And vpon all the mountaines and vpon all the hilles that are lifted vp 15. And vpon euery hie tower and vpon euery strong wall ALl these allegories which are here inserted of Libanus and of the high mountaines are so far off from darkning the matter that they do rather giue light vnto it For let mortall man exalt himselfe as high as he will yet shal he neuer be able to match the mountaines and highest trees in height which the Lord will as easily beate downe as it is easie for the winde with a puffe to scatter the light chaffe here and there Isaiah then shewes the proud here as it were in a glasse how vaine and foolish they were to think that their hautines could keepe them that God should not ouertop them There is also here an excessiue manner of speech which was of great weight in respect of amplifying the threatning For it is not like that God was angrie with the mountaines and trees or as if hauing changed his purpose hee should now bring to nought that which himselfe had established and setled but Isaiah sets the iudgement of God before their eies in the guiltles creatures to the end they might the more assuredly peâ—swade themselues that their presumptions and bold wickednes should not remaine vnpunished We see then wherfore he intermingles these figures of Cedars Okes and mountaines That which is added of the walles is not spoken by way of allegorie or figure Wee know that whilest men feele themselues well fortified they flatter themselues as if they stood in no great neede of Gods helpe Isaiah then mentioneth the matter of their false confidence vnder the names of towers and walles For if any place seeme to be vnable to be vanquished there will the prophane ones build their nests from which they despite both heauen and earth because they thinke they are there safe from all dangers Isaiah threatens then that when it shall please the Lord to bring men downe he can quicklie ouerthrow their fortresses vpon which they in a false confidence leaned And howsoeuer they are things which in themselues are not to be misliked yet notwithstanding because they do too much occupie our braines it is for very iust cause that the Prophet sharpeneth his stile against them And hereunto belonged that which hee spake before as touching the Chariots and horses verse 7. For as it is said in Miche Miche 5.10 that because men doe rest themselues beyond measure vpon the riches of this world therefore it is necessary that they be wholly bereft of them that so they may trust to be saued by the onely hand of God and not hang their hope vpon the sonnes of Adam So hauing a little before reprooued them for the multitude of their horses now he denounceth the iudgement of God and withall admonisheth them that it is vnpossible to returne into fauour againe with him till he hath bereft them wholly of those things to the end they should not rest anie more vpom the false succours of this world Vers 16. And vpon all the ships of Tarshish and vpon all pleasant pictures BY Tarshish the Hebrewes do surely meane Cilicia and because the Iewes had great trafficke with this nation the Scripture often makes mention of the ships of Tarshish which were so called because they frequented that sea Nauigation certainly is not to be condemned because it bringes great profit and commoditie to men as well to carrie forth as to bring home marchandise This kinde of trafficke also cannot be hurtfull seeing it is the will of God that all mankinde should be helpfull one to another by mutuall duties but because pride and crueltie is aboue al things ingendred by abundaÌ„ce therfore Isaiah reproues this kind of merchandise by which the land had been greatly enriched Adde hereunto that oft times it comes to passe that the merchandise and trafficke which is vsed with nations farre off is full of deceit and pillage and there is no measure amongst men in this behalfe touching excessiue gaine First then the Prophets meaning is that the Iewes shall be stripped of their riches to the end they may learne to subiect themselues vnder God Secondly he sets forth their couetousnes and vnlawfull gaines by signes as if one should describe murther by shewing a sword all bloodie The second part of the verse shewes that the Prophet condemnes that nauigation by which the land was much infected with corruptions It is a thing too frequent and common that delicacie wantonnes and abundance of voluptuousnesse doe easily follow great wealth and riches which is verie often seene in wealthie countries and cities of merchandise For those that trade into farre countries contenting themselues nothing at all with things which are in their houses do bring home with them new sumptuous and rich stuffes which in former time were vtterly vnknown Now because wealth is for the most part the mother of superfluitie and dissolution Wealth the mother of superfluitie and dissolutions the Prophet
Isaiah giues them to vnderstand therfore that these things fel not out by hap hazzard Moreouer men are wont to quarrell with God yea they are so proud and shamelesse that they feare not to make head against him Therefore to the end this pride might be beaten downe hee shewes that the chastisements wherewith they are punished are most iust and that they were wholly to blame themselues for being euery way so miserable Vers 15. And man shall be brought downe and man shall be humbled euen the eies of the proud shall be humbled THis is as it were in the shutting vp of his speech in which he shewes to what end and issue these scourges would come vnto to wit Chap. 2 11.17 that all should be humbled and that the Lord only should be exalted We haue seene the like sentence heretofore and haue there declared the Prophets meaning to wit the end why we are chastised of God For aduersities are so odious vnto vs that for the most part we can conceiue no good thing to proceed from them When we heare of punishments wee haue them in horror and detestation because we consider not that the Lord is iust But the Prophets call vs to another consideration to wit that whilst men sport themselues in their sinnes they smother as it were the iustice of God which shineth not clearely vnlesse when hee takes vengeance vpon our iniquities Behold indeede an excellent fruite and such a one as is to bee preferred before the saluation of all men For we ought to let all things giue place to the glorie of God which shineth no lesse in his iustice then in his mercie There is no cause then why we should so much feare the rods of God wherewithall we are corrected but ought rather in all humilitie to imbrace whatsoeuer the Prophets pronounce against vs. Although in this kind of speech the Prophet hath also touched the pride of the hypocrits to the quicke who euer become the more wicked when they escape still vnpunished as if he should say do yee thinke it is possible that after God hath forborne you so long yet at the last you should tread him vnder your feete no assure your selues he will arise and will be exalted in your destruction Because the Prophet hath put the word Adam in the first place and after Aisch some thinke he ment to comprehend as well noble as base as if he should say It shall not be the common people only which shall perish but also all those who are noted for their honour riches and dignitie And I willingly receiue this sence because Aisch is deriued from force and Adam from earth If any will expound it more simplie I leaue him to his owne iudgement Howsoeuer it be the Prophet hath here comprehended all mortall men as well great as small Vers 16. And the Lord of hosts shal be exalted in iudgement and the holy God shall be sanctified in iustice HE shewes the manner of the excellencie or the formall cause as they say of this exaltation whereof he spake before and it is as much as if he had said That the Lord of hosts whom the wicked doe proudly treade vnder foote shall be exalted when he shall shew himselfe the iudge of the world And thus hee scornes the sottish confidence wherewith the wicked were swollen For if iudgement and iustice must haue the vpper hand there ruine must needes follow seeing their pride was nothing else but an ouerturning of the whole course of nature Now we must diligently note that it is no more possible for the wicked to remaine alwaies in an happie estate then that God should suffer his glorie to be abolished Although iudgement and iustice doe differ in nothing one from the other yet the repetition is not superfluous The vehemencie also of the speech is further enlarged when hee addes in the second member and the holy God shall be sanctified to the ende the wicked should not through a false imagination promise a lasting felicitie by force or without cause which they cannot doe but that the holines of God shall thereby be abolished But seeing God is holy of his owne nature it must needs be that he must be sanctified Whence it followes that ruine is prepared for the wicked that so their obstinacie and rebellion may be brought vnder because God can not denie himselfe Vers 17. Then shall the lambs feede after their maner and the strangers shall eate the desolate places of the fat SOme translate The lambs shall feede according to their maner others according to their portion but he meanes according to their custome This verse is diuersly expounded but we are to note in the first place that it is the Prophets meaning to giue consolation to the faithfull which were terrified by the hearing of such fearefull iudgements of God for looke how much the more a man is of a good and tender conscience so much the more feeles he the present hand of God and the more neerely is he touched to the quick with his iudgements lastly the feare and reuerence of God causeth vs to be touched in good earnest with whatsoeuer it be that is set before vs in his name wherefore they could not haue bene withheld from dispaire in hearing so terrible threatnings vnlesse this consolation had bin added thereunto as a sweet sauce to giue them occasion to relish and take a sweet taste in the mercie of God And this is a thing much vsed in the Prophets to wit still to haue an eye alwayes to the faithfull to furnish them with comfort Although then saith Isaiah it seemes God is minded to destroy all this people yet notwithstanding he will shew himselfe a faithfull shepheard toward his lambs and will feed them as he was wont to doe marke that for one point Also the meaning of the Prophet was to beate back the pride of the great ones who in oppressing the faithfull and simple by an vniust tyrany boasted notwithstanding that they were the Church of God still he tels them therfore that this their boasting is full of lying and vanitie thus to adorne themselues with the title of the flock or sheepfold of God because they are goates and not lambs and therefore when they shall be cut off God will still haue meanes in his hand to feede his flock but yet by the way that the lambs shall neuer thriue nor be in good plight till they be seperated and deliuered from the goats The desolate places The expositors do yet againe vary vpon this place also but I thinke the true sence is that after the children of God haue been driuen away for a time as banished men they shall be restored to their right and shall then recouer that which was desert or which was trampled and spoyled by the fat beasts that is to say by the proud and cruel which had spoiled them of their goods By the deserts he meanes the possessiōs which they had left and which others
iudgement For he reueales and manifests himselfe and his power vnto vs in them both First when in taking pitie vpon vs he deliuers vs out of the dangers wherein we are plunged And secondly when he roots out the wicked and contemners of his word The two significations tend to one end because God manifests not himselfe vnto vs but by his workes and we thinke hee hath forsaken vs vnlesse hee giues vs some signe of his presence The Scripture applies this word visitation then to our capacitie because when wee are pressed with afflictions and the wicked in the meane while let loose the bridle to all dissolutions it seemes to vs that God is farre off from vs and that he takes no care of our matters Visitation therefore in this place must bee taken for iudgement And how it is taken in this place by which God will take the wicked by the necke so as they shall not escape him also that he will oppose himselfe against their boldnesse and rebellion Now if there be such horrible iudgements of God heere in this world how fearefull and terrible will he be when he shall come at the last to iudge all men For all the examples of chastisements which now astonish and amaze vs are but small beginnings of that last vengeance wherein hee will thunder vpon the reprobate and hee also reserues and deferres many things which hee seemes to passe ouer in silence euen of set purpose vntil that day And if the wicked be not able to beare the blowes wherewith he smiteth them here below how much lesse well they be able to sustaine his fearefull and incomprehensible Maiestie when they must come before his tribunall seate of glory at whose presence euen the very Angels are astonied When he saith from farre note that wee ought not to waxe senselesse whē prosperitie abounds for all such as extenuate the power of God by a false securitie which rockes them asleepe in their vices shall feele that in an instant he can and also when he will shake both heauen and earth euen from the one end thereof to the other To whom will ye flee He shewes how they shall rest vpon their forces in vaine because they shall auaile them nothing at all to resist the hand of God He also shewes that as they haue been cruell towards others so it should be a most iust recompence that in their need they should finde succor neither from God nor man for there shall be iudgement without mercie vnto those that shew no mercie Iam. 2.13 This shall happen especiallie to the Iudges who ought to haue been a refuge for the whole people because it is their office to defend and maintaine the poore and afflicted but if in stead therof they despise betray or spoile thē is it not good reason they should feele how much their crueltie displeaseth God that euē in their own destructiō As touching that which followes Where will ye leaue your glorie The expositors take it as if Isaiah should say that they shall be depriued of their dignitie And they thinke the Prophet in derision asks what shall become of this their high preheminence wherewith the great ones haue no lesse proudly then foolishlie aduanced themselues when God suffered them to take their pleasure But because this would be too much constrained I rather thinke that Isaiah inquires where they will finde hiding places to secure their glory And in this sense I take the word To leaue namely To put in safetie and the two particles answers thereunto To whom will you flee for succor Where will you finde refuge that you may hide your excellencie Vnlesse any had rather retaine the exposition which I haue put in the margin because the verbe Azab signifies To assure as well as To leaue To conclude if God confound and ouerthrow Princes in this wise that are so high exalted what shall become of those that are of base condition There is none then that hath any cause to flatter himselfe for wee must needs become all as stubble Psal 83.14.15 when the wrath of God shall be kindled against vs. Vers 4. * Or if they fall not Without me they shal fal amōg the bound they shall fall among the slaine yet for all this his wrath is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still BEcause the signification of the Hebrew particle is ambiguous the expositors bring many interpretations Some take it exclusiuely as in many other texts of the scripture euen as if he should say They shall only fall among the prisoners and slaine because they shall be led captiue or put to death Others translate Without me and if this reading agree the Prophet shewes what the cause of their destruction is to wit they are reuolted from God and this is the cause indeed of all euils namely to leaue the fountaine of life of saluation and so consequently of all good things And thus he toucheth the sottishnes of the wicked to the quick who thought themselues iolly fellowes when they had forsaken the Lord euen as if there could not haue befalne them a more desireable and pleasant thing then to be separate farre enough from him and thus it should be a kind of bitter reproch in regard their calamitie should proceed from no other cause then from the absence of God whereof they fondlie reioyced Others thinke this should be a broken or an abrupt maner of speech to wit that they should haue no refuge but in hiding themselues vnder them that were fallen and slaine And also it may be a forme of an oth Now this sense will agree well that God should sweare with indignation that he would not pardon one of them but would deliuer some ouer to their enemies who should cut their throtes and would cause others to be led into captiuitie This sentence then sheweth what destruction shall befall all those who being admonished by the word of God repent not We also gather from the text following that the Prophet threatens them with a fearefull destruction for he repeates that which he hath said alreadie to wit that the wrath of God is not yet appeased and that he will finde out greater chastisements then the former to auenge himselfe vpon them This teacheth vs that there is nothing better then to be touched with true repentance and in good earnest to acknowledge our faults betimes to the end the Lord may shew vs mercie Vers 5. O Ashur the rod of my wrath the staffe also in their hands is mine indignation THat which now followes hath such reference to the denunciation of punishment that yet there is also mingled therewithall some consolation to sweeten the troubles of the faithfull yea the speciall drift of the speech is to shew that all the euil which the Assyrians shall do them is but a scourge sent of God for a time only and yet after the wicked shall haue triumphed with ioy aboue measure it must needs come to
or caues so also the diuels seeke for the night darkenesse and places far remote from mens sight to the end they may the more affright them which are fearefull and timerous of nature Vers 22. And Iim shall cry in their palaces and dragons in their pleasant palaces and the time thereof is readie to come and the daies thereof shall not bee prolonged HEe sets forth that which hath been touched before and shewes how horrible this change shall be that it might appeare that this shall come to passe from the iudgement of God and not by fortune He also amplifies it wheÌ„ he saith that this shal happeÌ„ not to houses but to pleasant palaces The shortnesse of time whereof he speakes here may be referred to the first destruction yet so as it was requisite that the expectation of the faithfull should bee held the longer in suspence I haue told you that Babylon was not so quickely ouerturned and that the discomfiture made by the Medes was not so great that the Citie might therefore be compared to a desert He saith then that the destruction thereof shall shortly come the beginnings whereof were seene soone ofter for the Iewes were to content themselues in regard that this vengeance vpon Babylon was not promised them in vaine The holy Ghost in like manner is wont to preuent our heate and hastinesse A iust reproofe of our impatiency because we would haue God execute his iudgements out of hand and should chastise the wicked as soone as we thinke good But he only knowes the fit season which yet wee are impatient in waiting for by reason of the boiling of our passions The meditation of Gods eternitie the best bridle to curbe our impatiency But if wee could meditate of his euerlastingnesse we should easilie bridle this ouer great hastinesse by patience but because we haue much adoe to hold in our importunitie God doth somewhat incline vnto vs shewing that he will come by and by And yet let vs not iudge of the shortnesse of the time We must not iudge of this shortnesse of time according to our carnall reason according to our reason but let vs lift vp our hearts to heauen and despise the daies of this life Aboue all let vs learne to stoope as soone as we begin to see the iudgements of God comming towards vs yea though it be in the least measure although he deferre the execution of them for a long time The second member is immediately added for a confirmation to wit that the daies of Babylon shall not be prolonged as if he should say The Lord hath appointed a day so as none shall be able to make truce any longer THE XIIII CHAPTER Vers 1. For the Lord will haue compassion of Iacob and will yet chuse Israel and cause them to rest in their own land and the stranger shall ioyne himselfe vnto them and they shall cleane to the house of Iacob BEcause the particle Ci hath diuers significations wee may conioyne this verse with the former thus But yet the Lord will haue pitie vpon Zion and so it should shew how much the condition of the Church differeth from that which he described before But I had rather take it for a particle rendring the cause and that indeed agrees best to this place as in many other texts so as the sense shall be this God shall destroy Babylon because he shall haue compassion of Iacob whom hee can neither despise nor reiect Whence wee perceiue that the Prophet hath indeuoured hitherto to asswage the sorrow of this poore people to the end they might learne to be of good comfort in those their afflictions which God would at length auenge Thus Babylon the Church of God are here set before vs as in a glasse Babylon I say exalted in her soueraigne power who had so oppressed the poore and desolate Church that shee was vtterly past hope in a manner that euer shee should be restored againe But the Lord tumbling Babylon downe from her high seate therein witnesseth that he hath care ouer his people â—ow abiect or contemptible soeuer they seem to be Note this consolatioâ— From hence we may gather a sweet coÌ„solation when wee see that God thus gouernes all the world for our saluation For all things aime to this end that the elect may be saued and not ouerwhelmed by any changes how many soeuer befall theÌ„ Quest But some will aske whether mercie and compassion ceased to be in God for a time Ans Doubtlesse it continued in him alwaies but the people which were so greeuously afflicted felt it not For being forepossessed with the sense of his wrath they iudged of themselues according to the outward appearance and were not able to apprehend his mercie And yet was the Lord euer like himselfe notwithstanding neuer left his mercifull nature We must distinguish between faithâ— apprehension and experience Thus then we must distinguish betweene the vnderstanding or knowledge of faith and experience for whilest the signes of Gods indignation appeare on all sides in regard that according to the iudgement of the flâ—sh we thinke hee is angrie so his grace is hidden from vs yet faith notwithstanding lifts vp our hearts aboue all darkenesse to the end wee may behold God in heauen who is fauourable towards vs. He will yet chuse Israel saith he Gods election eternâ—ll The election of God is eternall for hee chuseth vs not as if he thought not on it before and euen as we were chosen before the foundations of the world so doth he neuer repent himselfe of the same his election Ephes 1.4 Rom. 11.29 But when the Lord corrects his children this hath in it some appearance of reiection as we may gather from the ordinarie complaints of the faithfull Psal 7.4.1 Lord why hast thou put vs away for euer Why is thy wrath kindled against the sheep of thy pasture Psal 74.1 For we apprehend the election or reiection of God according to our infirmitie We often measure Gods affection towards vs by his outward worke Our vocation a confirmation of our election How God is said to elect and reiect vs. and measure his affection towards vs by the outward worke I speake of that knowledge which proceeds from experience which is corrected by the light of faith And therefore when the Lord calles vs that is to say when he confirmes his election it is said he chuseth vs and contrariwise that hee reiects vs when he shewes vs any euident signe of his indignation See then how we are to vnderstand this verse to wit that although the Lord should so sharplie correct his people as if he meant to cast them off yet notwithstanding he will shew in the end by the effects and will giue them to know that he hath elected them when he shall giue sufficient testimonie thereof and shall take compassion vpon them Now we may easily collect that which I said erewhile to wit that there
we only feele his wrath for praises proceed from the feeling of his fauor and goodnes It is all one then as if he had said Lord thou wilt not only smite and afflict but wilt also effect that the wounds which thou makest shall not be without fruit For by them thou wilt beate downe the pride of men to the end that those which in times past were strangers frō thee may now stoope vnder thine obedience Hence we learne how necessarie chastisements be The necessitie of afflictions for by them we are taught to glorifie God whereas prosperitie puffs vs vp in such wise that we dishonor him and thinke we may doe what we list we also runne out and range ouer all the fields whē God deales louinglie with vs. The Prophet addes the word feare to shew that this praise consists neither in words nor outward gestures We must reioyce in trembling Psal 2.11 5.7 but in the sound and sincere affection of the heart Whence wee gather that he heere speakes of the whole worship of God Now because many thinke themselues well discharged when they haue made confession with their lips only Isaiah the better to expound his owne meaning addes The nation shall feare thee Now in calling them strong and mightie by such epithites he meanes the pride and loftines of those who are puffed vp with their prosperitie for they exalt themselues against God so as they cannot possiblie be humbled and brought downe vnlesse they be quite stripped of all things You see now whether our thoughts are to retire in the calamities which we see to fall out dayly mens pride must needs be repressed and abated that they may be prepared to imbrace holy doctrine and to walke in sound obedience Whilest they are besotted with their riches and vaine hopes they feare not to contemne the iudgements of God and hold him out at the staues end as they say Vers 4. For thou hast been a strength to the poore euen a strength to the needie in his trouble a refuge against the tempest a shadow against the heate for the blast of the mightie is like a storme against the wall BEhold here the fruit of conuersion How The Lord raiseth vs from death deliuers vs from the graue by stretching out his hand from heauen to pluck vs out of the iawes of hell Our first entrance vnto God This is the first entrance he giues vs for hee findes nothing but our miserie for his mercy to worke vpon Wee must therefore feele our selues poore and helplesse before we can see what neede we haue of his power yea it is necessary that we be stripped of all confidence and selfe trust before he will reueale his strength in vs. For this cause he fits and frames vs by rods and chastisements as by instrustions to come to the feeling of his fauour and assistance It is not without good cause then that Isaiah deckes this description with so many similitudes for hee thereby meetes with many and great temptations vnder which weake man would neuer be able to stand were he not fortified and sustained with such props And therefore hee saith that God will bee strength to the poore a refuge against the tempest and a shadow against the heate for what dangers soeuer be fall vs the Lord wil defend his owne against them and will arme vs with all kinds of armour to resist them Gen. 8.1 Exod. 15.10 1. Kin. 19.11 2. King 7. The Spirit in this place as in many others signifies winde and it is taken for a violent storme wherewith the wicked are carried to rush against the children of God for they not onely threaten and terrifie but also spit out fire it selfe as to consume them all Hereunto appertaines that which is added of the tempest or ouerflowing against the wall by which figure his meaning is that the wicked runne with such force when they haue libertie to doe euill that they ouerthrow whatsoeuer stands in their way for it is a greater matter to breake downe and ouerthrow walles then if water should onely spread it selfe ouer the earth Vers 5. Thou shalt bring downe the noise of the strangers as the heate in a dry place he will bring downe the song of the mightie as the heate in the shadow in a cloud IF the Lord were not on our side when violent men set themselues against vs wee should be vtterly swallowed vp for wee see how great the rage of the wicked is Alas if they be able to ouerturne stone walles how can a poore man bee able to stand against them This is added then to set forth the godnesse of almightie God that we might know in what an ill case wee should be in if God did not succour vs. The expositours take the similitude two waies some thinke that as the vehemēt heat burnes vp the fields which of themselues are dry and barren so the wrath of God shall consume and burne vp the wicked others translate As the heat and then the sense is Howsoeuer the wicked relie vpon their power and therefore are thus boisterous the Lord notwithstanding will bring them downe in a moment as if they were surprised with heat in a dry place But I take th◠sense to be otherwise for hauing shewed how great the rage of the wicked is against the faithfull he addes Lord thou wilt humble them But how He alludes vnto the deluge which similitude he vsed before Chap. 24.18 Thou wilt bring downe their heat saith hee which otherwise must needes consume vs euen as the raine falling from heauen cooles the heate which would burne vp the fields for want of moisture And thus the text hangs well together whereas the other exposition is constrained and offers violence to the very letter as they say The latter part of the verse is expounded diuers waies some translate the word Zemir Seede others a Roote as if the Prophet had said The Lord will not onely cut off the wicked but will plucke them vp by the verie rootes This were probable if the similitude of heat would beare it and therefore those who turne it song cry or waste in my iudgement doe come neerest the Prophets meaning albeit they touch it not fully Well he confirmes the former sentence to wit that the violence or cry of the wicked who proudly exalt themselues shall suddenly fall euen as the heat of the Sunne when anie raine followes which is signified by the shadow of the cloud Vers 6. And in this mountaine shall the Lord of hostes make vnto all the people a feast of fat things euen a feast of fined wines and of fat things full of marowe of wines fined and purified THey also diuersly interpret this place for some thinke the Prophet threatens the Iewes and that in such sort as if he called diuers nations to the feast which phrase of speech is often found in other places because it is said that the Lord feedes the wicked far against the day
his first Epistle Chap. 3. vers 13. But our Prophet leades them higher to wit that in liuing holilie and iustlie they shall keepe themselues in Gods fauour For is it not a thing altogether vnreasonable that the wicked should expect peace when they themselues will continuallie make warre against God The wicked would faine enioy peace whilest they make open war against God In deed there is none but desires peace yea who is he that can not highlie extoll it but in the meane while themselues are the cause why enemies are raised vp against them for they trouble heauen and earth by heapes as it were with their wickednesses Now in regard that this peace which God giues is perpetuall Isaiah compares it with that which lasts but for a moment In that he calles peace the effect of Iustice let vs thence learne that warres proceed frō Gods wrath which we set on fire by our rebellion whereas peace on the contrarie proceeds from his blessing When therefore we see the enemies boile with rage Warres proceed from Gods wrath which we set on fire by our sinnes Our sound and sincere conuersion the onely meanes to still and quiet the rage of our enemies exalting themselues furiouslie against vs let vs seeke no other matter to allay that heate then true conuersion for our God will easily calme and quiet tumults we being at one with him for he it is as the Psalmist saith which makes warres to cease vnto the ends of the earth he breakes the bow and knappeth the speares in sunder and burnes the chariots with fire Psal 46.9 but we haue told you before that these things belong not only to the time of Hezekias but ought also to be referred vnto Christ Vers 18. And my people shall dwell in the tabernacles of peace and in sure dwellings and in * Or quiet refreshings Peace the fruite of Iustice safe resting-places AS he hath shewed that spirituall Iustice is that which hath her seate in the hearts of men the same must be said of peace which is the fruite of it Thus when we heare of sure dwelling places and refreshings let vs remember what Paul saith Rom. 5.1 Being iustified by faith wee haue peace with God This peace Christ left with his Disciples which the world could not giue vnto them Iohn 14.27 And what maruell For as the same Apostle teacheth Phil. 4.7 This peace passeth all vnderstanding Hauing once obteined this Iustice we shall be no more disquieted with inward terrors as we were whē we felt that God was angrie with vs. The wicked conscience is alwaies at warres with it selfe and in continuall anguishes The wicked therefore must needs be tossed to and fro with diuers garboiles for he that is destitute of righteousnes can neuer be in any sound peace He that is destitute of the imputation of Christs righteousnes can neuer haue sound peace of conscience But where Christ reignes there only is the true peace to be found which the faithfull haue in assurance which makes thē come without feare before the heauenlie throne not so much in respect of their owne pietie as for that they rest themselues vpon the sure rock of Gods mercies in Christ Hence we gather that Christ reignes not where consciences are troubled and tossed to and fro with diuers doubtings in which case the Papists must of necessitie be yea and all others that cast not themselues vpon the meritorious sacrifices of Christ and vpon that purgation which he hath purchased for vs. Vers 19. When it haileth it shall fall on the forrest and the Citie shall be set in the lower place WE told you before that the Prophets were often wont to set forth the kingdome of Christ vnder shadowes because they borrowed similitudes from an earthly kingdome for otherwise in respect of our dulnes we could hardly be brought to comprehend this inestimable treasure of all good things The meaning is that the Lord will remoue far off from his people all incombrances and discommodities and will cause them to fall vpon others Now because in this world were subiect to diuers tempests and vexations so as wee must indure raine haile windes and whirle windes he saith that God by his admirable prouidence will exempt vs from the harme we might receiue by these things because the violence thereof shall be driuen by him vpon those of other places By forrests hee meanes vast and deset places Many are the troubles of the righteous but the Lord deliuers thē out of all Psal 34.19 where none inhabits By this we are aduertised that being vnder the protection of Iesus Christ we are so freed from all dangers and inconueniences that notwithstanding there are many hailes and tempests readie to fall vpon our heads but the Lord is our deliuerer who either turnes away these eminent perils or frees them who are in danger to take hurt by them And that hee might the better confirme that which he said touching peace he saith that the Cities which stood in the plaine shall be out of danger for they were wont then to build their Cities vpon high places the rather to preuent assaults Now hee saith that God will so defend his people that they shall neede none of these vsuall munitions because the Cities shall bee safe though they stand in the vallies neither shall they receiue any hurt albeit they lie open to the furie of the enemie Why so For the hand of the Lord will saue and keepe them Wil we be secure then Let vs not trust in horses nor chariots nor yet in defenced Cities lest the Lord suddenly dislodge vs but seeing our good and heauenly Father vouchsafeth to take care of our saluation let the protection of so good a gardian suffice vs. Vers 20. Blessed are yee that sow vpon all waters and driue thither the feet of the Oxe and the Asse HE shewes how great the change shall be when Christ begins to reigne Vers 13. Verse 14. For hee said before that there should be such a desolation that thornes and briars should couer the face of the holy land that stately houses should be laid on heapes and the Cities and palaces vtterly raced All these things were to fall out when the Country should be spoiled by continuall incursions of the enemie but now he saith they shall be blessed because God will giue them the abundance of all things He adorneth and decketh this fruitfulnesse with figuratiue speeches which may be expounded in plaine words to wit that they shall sow in marish grounds and shall feede their cattell in those places without feare By waters some vnderstand a fat and fruitfull soile but I take it otherwise because of the generallitie of the particle All for in calling them all waters it is as if hee had said that euen those places which were couered with waters should be fit for tillage so as they shall not need to feare the spoiling of their seede It is our manner also to
hauing omitted no part of their duties shall to their griefe and smart I confesse see no fruits to come of their labours yet let them not repent that they haue heerein pleased God whose approbation is heere opposed to all the peruerse iudgements of the world As if the Prophet should say Be it that men abhorre you and charge you with many faults yet must you swallow this and much more too with patience for God hath another end and will crowne your patience with glorie and honour which the wicked so proudly and scornefullie despise He addes in the same sense that it ought to suffice them that God is their strength to the end that neither the multitude nor power of their enemies doe astonish them seeing in their God consists their strength Vers 6. And hee said It is a small thing that thou shouldest be my seruant to raise vp the tribes of Iakob and to restore the desolations of Israel I will also giue thee for a light to the Gentiles that thou maiest bee my saluation to the end of the world HEe goes on further and shewes that the labours of Christ and of all his seruants shall be glorious indeede not onely before God but also before men For howsoeuer they be esteemed vaine and vnfruitfull in the beginning yet in the end the Lord will cause them to bring forth fruit contrary to all the opinions of men It was enough that in the first place God approued their labours but in that he now addes that the same shall not proue vnprofitable no not in regard of men this ought to bee as a spurre to put life into them and much to comfort their comfortlesse spirits Whence it followes that wee ought to hope that the issue of that which is committed into Gods hands shall be good because the blessing which hee promiseth to our labours shall in the end appeare so farre forth as he sees it expedient and for his own glory Besides he addes that this labour shall not onely fructifie among the people of Israel but among the Gentiles also which blessed be our God is now come to passe Nay more then that for seeing the Iewes with an obstinate hardnesse became so gracelesse as to reiect Christ the Gentiles are now grafted into their stocke And thus Christ is appointed of God to be a light vnto the Gentiles and his saluation manifested to the vtmost parts of the world This consolation then was very necessarie as well for the Prophets as the Apostles Acts 13.47 For they had but too wofull and dailie experience more and more of the frowardnesse of the Iewes In which regard they might haue called the certainty of these promises into question seeing so little fruit of them appeared But vnderstanding that Christ was also sent to the Gentiles they were not so vnwilling to goe thorow thicke and thin as otherwise they would haue been I grant it was a thing incredible nay prodigious but thus the Lord is wont to worke far aboue the reach of mans reason Saint Paul calles it a secret hidden Eph. 3.9 from the foundations of the world and is yet vnknowne to the very Angels 1. Pet. 1.12 further forth then it is manifested vnto them by the Church Eph. 3.10 Thus then although the Iewes were once the onelie wise people vnder heauen Deuteronomie 4.6 yet they are heere matched with the Gentiles neither is there anie more distinction now betweene them before God Rom. 10 12. The Rabbines reade this verse by an interogation Is it a small thing As if he should say that it is enough and that nothing greater nor further is to be required But they doe maliciously peruert the natiue sense of the Prophets words and make themselues belieue forsooth that they shall one day become Lords ouer the Gentiles and raigne ouer all nations But the true meaning is that this shall be an excellent and glorious worke in it selfe when God shall restore and reestablish the Tribes of Israel And yet this worke shall be much more glorious in respect that he will ioine the Gentiles to the Iewes that they may with one mouth and heart professe the name of one Christ He speakes not in this place of the reiection of the ancient people then but of the increasing of the Church when Iewes and Gentiles shall be made one body I grant that after the Iewes fell away from the couenant of grace the Gentiles supplied their emtie place so as their reuolt was the cause that those which were strangers before were now made children by adoption But heere as in many other places Isaiah foretelles that the Church shall haue a large extent when the Gentiles shall be receiued in and made one body with the Iewes Now albeit the word light may be vnderstood ioy and felicitie yet I doubt not but the Prophet respects the doctrine of the Gospell which giues light to our vnderstandings and pulles vs out of darknesse Hee also saith that this light which Christ shall bring shall be saluation for as Christ is called the way the truth and the life because we obtaine life by the knowledge of the truth so in this place he is called the light and saluation of the Gentiles because hee inlightens our mindes by the doctrine of the light of the Gospell that he may bring vs ro saluation Let vs obserue these two things then first that our eies are opened by Christs doctrine secondlie that wee which were dead shall be raised vp to life or rather that life is restored vnto vs. Vers 7. Thus saith the Lord the redeemer of Israel and his holy one to him that is despised * Oâ— in himselfe in soule to a nation that is abhorred to a seruant of rulers Kings shall see and arise and Princes shall worship because of the Lord that is faithfull and the holy one of Israel which hath chosen thee ISaiah goes on with the same argument that the people might conceiue a better hope in their minde touching their estate condition when they should see themselues afflicted vnder so many tedious calamities And the rather to confirme his saying hee calles God who promised to performe these things the redeemer of Israel But may some obiect Obiect How can these things stand together that God should bee called the redeemer of his people whom he suffered to be ouerwhelmed with miseries For where was this redemption and sanctification become seeing the people had iust cause to complaine of their pouertie and calamities I answere Ans that the memorie of that which had fallen out long before is heere propounded and set before them to minister vnto them matter of hope and trust For the Iewes being pressed with despaire the Prophet preuents it by aduertising them that that God which in times past had deliuered their fathers is now no lesse almightie then he was then Albeit then for a time hee withdraw the light of his countenance from them to exercise and trie their faith
as if yee had laid your heads together deliberately to conspire thereof in your minds so that there is no hope at al left of any moderation Now God in this speech purposed to manifest vnto al men how incorrigible their spirit was to the end they might pretend no excuses afterwards The whole head Others translate Euery head and thinke that the princes and great men among the people are here meant by these particular names But for mine owne part I rather agree to their opinion who translate all the head For me thinks it is a plaine similitude taken from the body of man to wit when the bodie is so sore afflicted that there is no hope of health left Now he names two principall partes whereupon the health of the whole bodie depends and hereby he declares the extremitie of the diseases wherewith this wretched people was vtterly spent It was not some part or common member of the bodie then which was pained but the heart was wounded and the head very sore diseased in a word that the vitall parts as they are called were so putrified and infected that they were incurable But the Interpreters doe not agree in this behalfe for some referre this sicknes to sins others to punishments To sinnes thus You are alreadie become a rotten and stinking bodie wherein nothing that is whole and sound is left wickednes and sinne hath gotten the swinge amongst you by the infection whereof all is defiled and corrupt But I had rather vnderstand it of the punishments for the Lord doubtles stil pursues this complaint namely that the people are so rooted in obstinacie that they cannot bee brought to amendment of life for any plague inflicted vpon them and that howsoeuer they had been smitten euen to death at the least wise rent and torne in peeces with sore blowes in a fearefull maner yet that they became neuer the wiser for all that Vers 6. Euen from the sole of the foote vnto the head there is nothing whole therein but wounds and swelling and sores full of corruption they haue not been wrapped nor bound vp nor mollified with oyle THese words also haue affinitie with the former wherein hee still prosecutes the very same matter vnder the same similitude and manner of speech Those who referre the first part vnto sinnes doe not sufficiently waigh the remainder of the text that followes Let vs grant that the people corrupted with vices are compared to a sicke bodie what coherence will there be touching the things which by and by follow to wit that their wounds were not wrapped nor mollified with oyle It appeares therefore that the Prophet speakes of the afflictions wherewith the people were almost consumed And he also sets forth this continuall languishing in them as a testimonie of their extreame hardning He calles the wound Corrupt from whence flowes a continuall infection as if a spring deepe in the earth should continually send forth new streames of venome So that by this similitude he shewes that the maladie is incurable seeing the corrupt water which is in it runnes without stay The amplification also is not small when hee saith there were no remedies applied thereunto For the three similitudes which he coÌ„ioynes together tend al to one end namely that this people were in so miserable a plight that they were without any hope of comfort without consolation and without remedie So that in such kinds of punishments one might easily discerne the extreame seueritie of God Vers 7. Your land is wast your cities are burnt with fire strangers deuoure your land in your presence and it is desolate like the ouerthrow of * Or forrâ—ine enemies strangers WAst Word for word it is desolation And thus Isaâ—ah prosecutes that more largely and more clearely which he had said before figuratiuely touching the wounds To wit that the land was afflicted with an horrible wast For I had rather referre the sentences to the time past because the Prophet rather recountes how many calamities haue formerly hâ—ppened before he denounceth the vengeance of God For he casts their dotage and benummednes of hart in their teeth in that they continued so besotted in their miseries As the ouerthrow of strangers This is added for amplification sake For their sense is too narrow and constrained who would haue the Hebrew word zarim which signifieth destruction which word the Prophet also here vseth to bee put in the stead of zerem which signifies an ouerflowing of waters True it is that the word may be applied to enemies but it is better to take it in his proper signification for strangers For the calamitie is then much more grieuous when men vnknowne and those that come from a farre countrie doe make warre in a kingdome because they are lightly farre more cruell and doe more hurt then the nighbour enemies For they race the cities they burne vp houses buildings and villages destroying all things and sparing nothing In a word they rush in with barbarous inhumanitie seeking nothing but to kill sack and burne yea they study rather to do hurt theÌ„ to get their booty But the neighbour enemies because they are able to hold that which they haue won vse to leaue garisons there and as soone as any reuolt is intended or any trouble moued they forthwith send succors and therefore are not so cruell neither doe they spoyle the countrie out of which they may fitly reape any commoditie Hee therefore describes no ordinarie destruction but rather so bloodie and fierce an one as exceeded all the rest From hence then we may note that when God hath once begun to chastice correct he makes not an end with vs by and by But in striking vs with many wounds hee redoubles the blowes and ceaseth not to visit vs stil with one plague after another if so bee wee cannot be brought to true repentance Let vs then eschew and flee such an obstinacie if we meane to escape the like punishments or if we meane this reproach which was iustly cast vpon the Iewes should not by as good right light vpon vs namely that albeit wee haue been diligently admonished and haue felt the hand of the Lord yet for al that we could not bee corrected nor amended What maruaile is it then I pray you if wee are pressed with so many and so diuers calamities whereof we can see neither end or issue Surely we euen fight hand to hand as it were with God and against all his roddes by our rebellion Is it not needefull then that hee should take vs in hand and deale with vs as men do with restie and vnruly lades who the more they wince and kick the more they must bee pummelled about the head and spurred vpon the sides There want not many at this day I dare say who accuse God of crueltie as if he were too outragious and that he ought to carrie a more soft and gentle hand ouer vs But in the meane while they consider not how horrible
our wickednesses be For if they would looke well into them truely they should easily perceiue an admirable mercie of God euen in the midst of this his seueritie which seemes so great in their eyes And to the end wee may not thinke the Lord was too rigorous towards this people let vs consider the vices which he by and by reckons vp But a question may here be demanded to wit why the Prophet should say that the people were so many waies afflicted seeing he began to prophesie as we said before vnder the reigne of Vzziah in whose time the state of the kingdome of Judah was verie quiet so that howsoeuer the kingdome of Israel sustained some losse towards the ende of Vzziah his daies yet that notwithstanding appertained nothing at all to the kingdome of Iudah For which cause the Iewes indeed thinke this to appertaine to the reigne of Iotham and not to the reigne of Vzzâ—ah Now howsoeuer their opinion seemes not to agree very well at the first blush yet is it not without some probabilitie of reason if wee shall examine the opinions of others For wee know that they haue not alwaies kept the order of time in gathering together of the prophesies And it may bee that this Sermon of Isaiah had obtained first place here for no other cause but for that it containes a summe of that doctrine which shall be handled afterwards Others thinke they escape easily away when they expound all these things of vices and not of punishments but they cannot so easily auoid that which is spoken of the burning of cities and wasting of the land If any thinke the Prophet speakes not of the present estate of the kingdome but of that which was to come and that in the person of God hee denounceth the iudgements which were at hand howsoeuer they then saw them not before their eyes I doe not greatly gainesay it Although it be very likely that the Prophet speakes of things which were knowne vnto him It is rather a certaine narration then of a thing done than a prophesie though in the verse following I confesse he shewes what the issue is which approacheth Vers 8. And the daughter of Zion shall remaine like a cottage in a vineyard like a lodge in a garden of Cucumbers and like a besieged citie HE alludes euen to that custome which is now in vse amongst vs in France namely to a little cottage which the Vinekeepers prepare when the grapes doe ripen Also he vseth another Similitude which is almost like vnto the former drawne from the manner of that nation when the seruants watched to keepe the gardens of cucumbers Afterwards in vers 9. he himselfe expounds what he meanes both by the one by the other Now the exposition may be double to wit that all the countrie should be wasted and nothing left in safetie but the citie of Ierusalem which should remaine as a cottage or that the citie it selfe should bee brought to nought The Iewes follow the first interpretation and vnderstand this place of the siege of Senacherib but I thinke it reacheth further off namely to the destructions which followed afterwards We may alâ—o referre it to the neerenes of neighbourhood which being ruinated and destroyed amongst them it could not bee auoyded but that the citie should feele great losse thereby But as I take it the true meaning of the Prophet is that the euils whereof he speakes should come euen to the citie it selfe so as it beeing consumed ruinated and brought to nothing and into derision should become like a cottage Now he calles Ierusalem the daughter of Zion by a phrase of speech vsuall in the Scriptures which intitleth some people by the name of daughter as the daughter of Babylon and Tyre for the Babylonians and Tyrians themselues Also hee rather mentioneth Zion then Ierusalem because of the dignitie of the Temple and this manner of speech also is very frequent thorowout the whole Scriptures Vers 9. Except the Lord of hosts had reserued vnto vs euen a small remnant we should haue been as Sodom and should haue been as Gomorah HEre he concludes that which he had pronounced before touching the scourges of God to wit that there should be such a ruin or rather that it is alreadie present so as by the beholding of it it might bee fitly resembled to the destruction of Sodom were it not that the Lord should pull out a few remainders as out of the midst of the fire This verse therefore confirmes that which I said erewhile where the Prophet hauing spoken of the calamities which were alreadie hapned did in briefe manner conioyne therewith the euent which should shortly ensue as if hee should haue said Suffer not your selues to be beguiled with faire words For looke what destruction hapned to Sodom and Gomorah the same should fall vpon you vnlesse the Lord in hauing compassion vpon you should reserue some few And vnto this agrees that which is said in Ieremiah Jt is the Lords mercies that wee are not consumed c. Lament 3.22 Now from hence we are to note two things First that he here denounceth an extreame ruin yet for as much as God hath to doe with his Church and elect people therefore this iudgement shall be mitigated by a particular and speciall fauour to the end the faithfull whom hee here rightly compares to small remnants may bee deliuered from the generall destruction of the whole nation Now if God hath punished the iniquities of the Iewes by such horrible chastisements doe we thinke the like wâ—ll not befall vnto vs if we partake with them in their rebellions for the Lord had consecrated this people to himselfe and had exempted them from the common condition of others And wherefore should he rather spare vs if we continue hardned in our impietie and disloyaltie But which more is what issue can wee expect in the midst of such an heape and puddle of vices whereinto men plunge themselues euery way thorowout the whole world Truly euen the same that befell to Sodom and Gomorah namely that we should be brought to nothing did not the respect which God hath to his free couenant wherein hee hath promised that his Church shall neuer perish withhold his vengeance from vs. This threatning also which is very terrible and fearefull appertaines to all those that are obstinate and desperate whose manners cannot bee reformed by any strokes of God his roddes On the other side wee are to note that which I haue alreadie touched out of Ieremiah namely that we ought to attribute it to the only mercie of God that we are not al vtterly consumed and brought to nothing For if we shall behold how great the iniquities are which do reigne in euery place and amongst all sorts of men we ought to admire Gods mercie that we see so much as one man aliue and that all haue not been cleane swept away from off the earth Thus it pleaseth the Lord to keepe his hand
thereby but because hee would not haue men to attribute that vnto him which they haue rashly inuented of their owne heads without his commandement and also because hee cannot endure that men should establish their owne fantasies in stead of his law Although to the end he may yet touch them neerer to the quicke he by and by addes That it is a seruice falsely so called which he esteemes to be but lost labour namely that in assembling themselues in the Temple they did nothing else but weare the pauements thereof with their feete as if he should say You must needes thinke that I am much bound to you for beating mine eares thus with your feined prayers Vers 13. Bring no moe oblations in vaine incense is an abomination vnto me I cannot suffer your new moones nor sabbaths nor solemne daies it is iniquitie nor solemne assemblies THis is a very profitable admonition to represse the inordinate appetite of those who ceased not obstinately to follow their vaine and fained seruices that at least being warned of God they might repent if at any hand they would be admonished But it appeares by this place how obstinate hypocrits are in their false confidence being once hardned therein because they cannot possiblie heare the Lord although hee manifestly warne them that they should cease to lose their labour as they doe Incense is an abomination c. That he might pricke them vnto the quicke indeede he passeth yet further and tels them that such seruice is not only vnprofitable but that he also detests it as abominable vnto him and very iustly for it is an high sacriledge to prophane the seruice of God vnder which they falsely shrouded themselues For euen as God esteemes nothing more deare and precious vnto him thē his glory so is nothing lesse tolerable vnto him then to see it trodden vnder feete by any corruption whatsoeuer which yet is then done when euery vaine thing is set vp in stead of his true worship Some are deceiued in vnderstanding this place thinking that the Prophet speakes of the abolishing of the law for that is not his meaning but he rather brings the people of his time to the true obseruation of the ceremonies and shewes wherefore and to what end they were instituted The seruice of God was spirituall euen from the beginning of the world And whereas there were other exercises diuers from ours in the old Testament it was in regard of men and not of God for there is no changing with him Iames 1.17 but he applied himselfe to the weakenes of man This gouernment then was fit for the Iewes as an Abce for children Therefore he shewes to what end this gouernment was established and what was the true vse of ceremonies Vers 14. My soule hateth your new moones and your appointed feasts they are a burthen vnto me I am wearie to beare them THe Prophet addes nothing different from the former doctrine but in generall pronoūceth of al ceremonies †Viz. In the performer as after appeareth by M. Caluins owne words where there is not spirituall trueth ioyned but onely a false pretence appeareth that they are not onely things vnprofitable †1. As he performeth them that is an hypocrite his actions is vnprofitable to himselfe and impious but wicked From hence we must obserue that we labour but in vaine vnlesse we worship God aright as it is meete and himselfe prescribeth For if trueth be it indeede which pleaseth God in all things then much more doth he looke for it in the worship which is done to his Maiestie Moreouer our labour is not only lost as hath been said heretofore but the worship of God is hereby peruerted which is the greatest villanie that can be committed Now all superstitions are so many corruptions of the pure worship of God and therefore it followes that they are wicked and detestable Superstition then is to be esteemed either by the thing it selfe or by the affection of the heart from whence it proceedes By the thing it selfe when men dare bring in of their owne heades that which God hath not commanded As all those things are which superstition commonly called deuotion hath begotten One will set vp and Idoll another will build a chappel the third will found yeerely pensions to haue Masses said daily for him others such like paltrie stuffe without end or measure Now when men take vpon them to be so malepert as to forge new seruices there hath superstition the full swinge It may also be in the affection of the heart when men doe vse the ceremonies which God hath allowed and commanded in outward appearance who in the meane while sticke fast there neuer aiming at the marke and trueth of them As for example the Iewes hold the ceremonies ordained by Moses with tooth and naile but yet they leaue that which is the principall behind them For they regard a good conscience nothing at all a man shall not heare them speake of faith or of repentance they haue no knowledge of their spirituall miserie and which is worst of all they separate Christ from their sacrifices giuing no place at all to the trueth Wherein we cleerely see the trueth of that which wee haue taught heretofore to wit that it was a bastardly painted shew which they made so as their sacrifices differed in nothing from the sacrifices of the heathen We neede not wonder then if the Lord call them an abomination I will not stand to scan the phrases of speech which the Prophet here vseth they are diuers and yet notwithstanding they are not to be lightly passed ouer For the Lord well discernes how great the rage of man is to forge new seruices and therefore he vseth amplifications to depresse this vice the more and againe pronounceth that hee hates them Besides for as much as men doe flatter themselues and are perswaded that the Lord will make some account of their dreames and store of deuices he on the contrarie saith that he abhorres and detests them Vers 15. And when you shall stretch out your hands I will hide mine eies from you and though you make many prayers I will not heare for your hands are full of blood IT came not from any superstition that the people in old time vsed to stretch out their hands in prayer neither came this gesture of any vaine or friuolous lust as many others haue done But in regard that nature her selfe thrusteth forth her hands to seeke for that which she desireth testifying euen by outward signes that she hath her recourse vnto God Therefore in as much as we cannot flie vp vnto him wee lift vp our selues as it were vnto him by this signe or gesture True it is that the fathers had no commandement to doe it notwithstanding they vsed it as being inspired of God And by this very signe are all idolaters conuinced euen of sottish blindnes for they protest by this outward gesture that they haue their refuge
Also that hee so ioynes these two vertues together as if they tended both to one end so as truth should be the first in order as being the cause then that Iustice should be the effect of it Moreouer Isaiah not onely promiseth that she shall be iust and faithfull but also that by these badges and markes she shall become excellent and renoumed thereby further signifying that her righteousnes shal be such that the knowledge and renoune therof shall be spread abroad euery where We know also that hypocrits obtaine great and honorable titles but because Isaiah brings in the Lord speaking hee holds it as a sure conclusion that the citie shall bee iust according as hee hath foretold In the meane while as I haue said he sets before vs the fruit of a true conuersion as if he should say When Ierusalem shall bee once brought to true godlines then others shall see the fruites of her renouation also Vers 27. Zion shall be redeemed in iudgement and they that returne in her in iustice HE confirmes the same doctrine and because the restitution of the Church was a thing hard to bee beleeued hee shewes that it hangs not vpon the will of men but that it is grounded vpon the Iudgement and Iustice of God as if he should say God will by no means endure that the Church should wholly be destroyed because he is iust The meaning of the Prophet then is to withdraw the minds of the faithfull from all earthly cogitations to the end that when the hope of the saluation of the Church is in question they should depend vpon God and not be discouraged although in stead of helpe and succour they should see lets and hinderances on all sides For those that referre these words of Iudgement and Iustice to men are deceiued as if Isaiah should speake now of the well ordred estate of a city and therefore that sense which I haue giuen is according to the true meaning of the Prophet to wit that although no succour appeare vnto them from men yet that the iustice of the Lord notwithstanding is more then sufficient to redeeme his Church And truely whilst wee looke into our owne strength what hope of helpe can we conceiue Nay how many rockes doe there by and by rather appeare to dash our faith all to peeces It is in God only then that we shal finde a perpetuall firmenes of trust In the second member and they that returne the means of the redemption is expressed to wit that those which were banished and scattered farre off shall be gathered together againe Vers 28. And the destruction of the transgressers and of the sinners shall bee together and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed TO the end hypocrits should not thinke that any fruit of these promises did appertaine vnto them and lest they should boast in vaine he threatens that they shall perish although God redeeme his Church For hypocrites are alwaies mingled amongst the faithfull and which more is they thrust themselues into the chiefest places valuing the Church according to the outward forme and shew thereof audaciously drawing whatsoeuer God hath promised vnto themselues But the Prophet pluckes this trust if it may be so called from them because it proceedes from nothing else but pride of heart and a vaine perswasion Here therefore is diligently to be considered with what wisedome and discretion the faithfull Teachers haue neede to be endued withall for the comfort of the good that they may refresh their minds with some consolation and preserue them from fainting and from being discouraged whilst they terrifie the wicked with the iudgements of God On the contrarie also the faithfull being stayed by the promise of God and that the wicked seeke to wrest it to themselues and lift vp their crests with a vaine confidence we must then keepe this order and meane that we giue the wicked no occasion to become proud and insolent as also that the faithfull be no whit out of heart nor discouraged as Isaiah doth here in this place For hauing spoken of the redemption of the Church hee threatens the obstinate and wicked and denounceth their ruin to the end they might not thinke these benefits of God did any thing at all belong vnto them Now although he iudgeth the wicked to perdition yet by this comparison he amplifies the grace of God towards the faithfull the which should then be the better perceiued when God should heale those that were his whilest the wicked in the meane while should perish as it is said in the 91. Psalme vers 7. Againe he also moderates the sorrow which might disquiet the hearts of the faithfull for the wast of the Church for he admonisheth them that the whole bodie could not otherwise be healed vnlesse the corruption which was in it were cut off Vers 29. * Or to wit For they shall be confounded for the Oakes which yee haue desired and yee shall bee ashamed of the gardens that yee haue chosen THe particle Ci is put in the Hebrew which shewes the cause but it is often also vsed for an exposition Now because the Pâ—ophet addes no new matter here but only manifests vnto them the cause of the ruine which hung ouer the heads of the wicked the Hebrew word which wee haue translated to wit hath seemed to agree very well as if the Prophet should haue said There was no plague more hurtfull to them then superstition the idols saith hee which you doe so heape together to procure your welfare shall rather turne to your ruine Now whereas some haue heretofore translated gods for the word trees is refuted by the text it selfe for he by and by makes mention of gardens Moreouer he reprooues all false and new found seruices vnder the names of trees and gardens by a figure called Synecdoche when a part is taken for the whole For howsoeuer there were all sorts of Idolatrie among the Iewes yet this particular kind namely to chuse woods and forrests to offer sacrifices was specially the most vsuall amongst others Now be it that one would reade woods or gardens in the second place yet no doubt but he meant to point at their Altars and Chapels where they performed their diuellish worships and although it was not their meaning wholly to reuolt from the true God yet notwithstanding they forged new seruices and as if one place had been more acceptable to God then another they consecrated and dedicated them to their deuotions as wee see it is come to passe in the Papacie But by and by there followes a change of the person for to the ende the reproofe might bee the more sharpe he speakes euen to the wicked themselues of whom he spake before in the third person Afterward by the word to couet he taxeth the furious affection wherewith the wicked are set on fire in their superstitions God requires that the whole heart be dedicated vnto him but they violently plunged themselues in a
them which the Prophet foresaw by the Spirit as if hee should say Wonder not to see the mount of Zion laid wast and spoiled for so many sins of the people Yet is it not made such a lamentable spectacle that any should bee brought to despaire but that all those in whom there is any hope of health being touched with true repentance might conuert vnto God before such a thunderclap come vpon them For the Prophets were as Heraulds to publish the iudgement and vengeance of God to the wicked that so by all meanes they might endeuour to bring all that they possiblie could to repentance And the seruants of God must neuer put off this affection namely euen to study how they may profit the verie reprobate if by any meanes it could bee brought to passe This place therefore may bring a merueilous consolation to all faithfull Pastors for when it seemes to vs that we speake to deafe cares we stagger and begin to forsake all What shall I doe I doe nothing but beate the aire And yet notwithstanding the Prophet ceaseth not to exhort those in whom hee saw no hope of amendment An howsoeuer he be as a man astonished at their ruine yet doth hee not cease for all that to admonish them stil Let vs note also that although the wicked bee obstinate yet the iudgements of God must be denounced against them let them recoyie and gnaw the bit as much as they will yet must they stil be summoned before the iudgement seate of God to the end they may be left without excuse I take the Hebrew word Ci for surely for this signification agrees best because it breakes off the exhortation which he had begun and now speakes to God Also when he againe calles them the house of Iacob it is added for the greater vehemencie of speech which men in a matter of great importance are wont to doe as if he should say This holie nation which God hath chosen is now left and forsaken For they are filled Because the word Kedem signifies sometime the East and sometime antiquitie we may interpret it that they were filled with the manners of the ancient because they had brought the superstitions in vse wherewithall the land of Canaan was in times past infected For wee know that the Prophets did often reproch the children of Israel that they were liker to the Cananites then to Abraham and the other holy Patriarkes And questionlesse it was a double vnthankfulnes not to change their peruerse manners seeing the old inhabitants being driuen out they were brought in to possesse this land to the end it being purged from all their filthines it might afterwards be dedicated to holines Yet because the other sense is more receiued I had rather hold that although the expositors themselues doe not here agree For some take the letter Mem comparatiuely as if the Prophet should say Before or Rather then them of the East others take it more simple and better also in mine opinion in saying that they were full of the East that is to say of the vices which they had drawne from thence imitation being a merueilous contagion so as nothing is more vsual then to see corruptions glide from one land to another a farre off That which by and by followeth opens it yet more cleerely when he saith of the sorceries of the Philistins For vnder diuinations by a figure which they call Senecdoche hee comprehends the deceits of Satan to which the prophane nations were giuen The Prophet then meanes that they differ in nothing from the Philistins from whom God notwithstanding had separated them by the priueledge of his adoption And this was sufficient to condemne them vtterly in that hauing forgotten their vocation they defiled themselues in the corrupt and wicked waies of the Gentiles Whence it appeares that to sinne by the example of another doth serue nothing at all to make the fault the lesse The latter part of the verse is diuersly expounded for some draw strange children by a similitude to the lawes and customes others referre it to mariages Because that in taking of strange wiues without discretion they had so mingled their seede that there were manie children bastards The exposition of S. Ierome is more grosse who thinks that they defiled themselues in wicked lusts contrarie to nature For mine owne part I doubt not but by strange children he meanes strange nations and not by a figure the lawes The Prophet then accuseth them that in desiring to please the Gentiles they wrapped themselues together with them in their wickednesses and thus had not only mortall men but wicked men also in greater account then God himselfe Now he saith that they tooke their delight because the affection and delectation of a wicked imitation had raced the true loue of God and of his holesome doctrine out of their hearts Vers 7. Their land also was ful of siluer and gold and there was none end of their treasure and their land was full of horses and their chariots were infinite WE must take good heede to the order which the Prophet keepes here For he now shewes the causes wherfore the Lord reiected his people In the former verse hee began with diuinations and strange manners now hee descends to the gold and siluer and afterward he will speake of their horses and chariots No doubt then but hauing first of all condemned their idolatrie he here in the second place reprooues their auarice and in the third that wicked confidence which men haue when by forging vaine succours vnto themselues they depart farre off from God It is not a thing to bee condemned as vnlawfull in it selfe to haue abundance of gold and siluer but because this people burned with an insatiable couetousnes and trusted in horses and in Chariots therefore they are iustly reprooued Some take the Hebrew particle by way of opposition as if the sense were thus And yet they abounded in siluer thereby to make the ingratitude of this people the greater because hauing abundance of all things yet they ran after their idols and enchantments as if al things had been in a desperate estate Which is much lesse excusable then if they had gone after them in aduersitie whereas they shooke off the yoke of God from their necks being fed with good things in all abundance Thus by this sense then he should amplifie the wickednes of this people running voluntarily and for no cause to idols whilest they ouerflowed in their delights but yet I receiue not this interpretation because I thinke it too much constrained For hee rather reckons vp with one breath as it were the vices wherewith the people had spotted themselues that is to say couetousnesse false confidence and idolatrie And howsoeuer their opinion be true which expound it by way of opposition yet notwithstanding it agrees not with the sense of this place A little after Isaiah confirmes the same also more clearely For howsoeuer it bee not wicked nor a
esteeme so much of themselues as if they were gods Isaiah therefore wisely separates man from God as also the Holy ghost doth thorowout the whole Scripture For when men are considered in themselues it better appeares how fraile their condition is yea how transitorie and inconstant As soone therefore as men shall once beginne to attribute vnto themselues but the least strength whatsoeuer then must their vanitie be made knowen and discouered vnto them to the ende they may acknowledge themselues to be nothing By this onely word all the glorious titles of free will and mans merits doe fall to the ground wherein the Papists glorie against the grace of God and all that fond and foolish loue which prophane men haue of themselues is also plucked away from them Lastly we are all called home to God the author of al good things to the end wee should not think any thing excellent either in heauen or earth out of him For his praise is forthwith eclipsed if so be the whole world be not stripped of all wisedome strength and iustice in a word of all praise that so it may be giuen to God alone THE III. CHAPTER Vers 1. For loe the Lord God of hosts will take away from Ierusalem and from Iudah the stay and the strength euen all the stay of bread and all the stay of water WE haue said a little before that the Prophet goes on still with the same matter which he began in the ende of the former chapter For hee admonisheth the Iewes that how great riches soeuer they possesse yet notwithstanding they shall not bee able by any meanes whatsoeuer to hinder the wrath of God being once inflamed against them to consume all their preparations Whence it appeares that they too much ouershoote themselues who to put farre away from them all feares doe heape gather together weapons power strength of warre counsels great store of victuals and such like The particle demonstratiue Hinneh which wee haue translated Behold or Loe is not put here for the more certentie of the matter but to set forth the shortnes of the time as if Isaiah should euen set the thing it selfe before the eyes of the wicked For it often comes to passe that those who dare not openly contemne the iudgements of God do yet notwithstanding reiect them as if they touched them neuer a whit or else as if they were farre off from them What is that to vs say they or if afflictions come wherefore should wee make our selues miserable before the time when the calamitie comes vpon vs will it not then be time enough to thinke vpon it Because then the wicked digge themselues such hiding places and securely take their ease in despising the iudgements of God the Prophet doth the more neerely presse them home to the end they should not imagine that the hand of God should bee farre off also that all their staies which they promised to themselues should be but in vaine To this appertaines that where he calles God the Lord God of hosts that so his Maiestie might the more daunt their sleepie and benummed consciences For God hath no need of titles but it is necessary that our blockishnes and drousines should be awakened by the sense and feeling of his glorie Now the Prophet in the first place threatens that the Iewes shall be stripped of all abundance of victuals so as they shall be forced to die for want And by and by he will adde the same thing as touching their succours of warre and all helps of politicke order and gouernment From hence we may gather that the Iewes were so lifted vp with the prosperous successe which their affaires then had that they foolishly secured themselues as if they had been vtterly exempt from all damage or decay But Isaiah lets them know that not onely all the region shall bee smitten with the rods of God but that Ierusalem in like manner which was as it were the inuincible fortresse of the whole nation should be smitten also as if he should say The wrath of God shall not one be scattered vpon the bodie but it shall pearce also euen vnto the very heart As touching the words Mashen and Mashenah which he hath put in the masculin and in the feminine gender I doubt not but by this diuersitie he would more certainlie expresse that all kinds of staies should bee broken and therfore I haue translated strength say For I approoue not of their expositions who referre this to men because it is rather to bee vnderstoode of all helps of all kinds Notwithstanding some doubt whether the Prophet restraines this to victuals or rather whether he referres it to the other helpes and staies which doe follow a little after But it is very likely that vnder these two words he generally comprehends all things whatsoeuer which are necessarie for the sustentation of the estate of a citie or people and also that by way of explication hee names some specials The first member then hath this scope to wit that the Lord will tread vnder feete all defences and riches by meanes whereof they thought to continue safe so as there should be nothing left to succour them Secondlie he addes what the pouertie and want shall be and as we haue said he begins with food which in the first place is of al other the most necessarie helpe for sustaining mans life Now the Lord takes the strength of bread and of water away two waies first when hee takes them from vs altogether or else when he takes away their strength to nourish vs. God takes away strēgth from bread after two sorts For if God inspires not a secret vertue into thē they can profit vs nothing at all though we should haue them in neuer so great abundance and that is the reason why it is said elsewhere that he breakes the staffe of bread Ezech. 4.16 That is to say Though the Bakers giue out bread by waight Leuit. 26.26 and though it be eaten yet it shall not satisfie them any thing at all This similitude ought to be diligently obserued to the end wee may know that although the bellie bee filled neuer so full yet we shal alwaies bee hungrie It is not bread but God his secret blessing which nourisheth because the secret blessing of God which nourisheth and giueth strength is wanting But although the want wherewith the Prophet threatens the people in this place may be vnderstood of famine because God will depriue the Iewes of all kind of reliefe notwithstanding because the Prophets are wont for the most part to take these manners of speech out of the law this interpretation agrees very well For hee might simplie haue said I will take away from you bread and win◠but he expresseth a thing more secret in speaking of the stay and strength of bread and water as if he should say Although the people bee not brought to pouertie for want of meate and drinke yet God
the flesh are solicited to despaire The Prophet therefore shewes the vpright iudgement of God to the end they might perseuere in his feare and might also know that those shal not escape vnpunished who perswade themselues that he will not correct them though they prouoke him daylie to wrath and indignation Also he exhorts them to magnifie and extoll Gods iustice with high reuerence as if he should say Do not think that this world is gouerned by chaunce or that God strikes he cares not how without keeping measure but resolue your selues assuredly that he will deale well with the iust for the Lord will giue him that which he hath promised and will not disappoint him of his hope And on the other side be you as verilie perswaded that the condition of the wicked shall bee most accursed because hee himselfe seekes his owne woe and therefore shall it fall vpon his owne pate And herewithall the Prophet also reprooues the blockishnes of the people who felt not the iudgement of God For they suffred the punishment of their iniquities and yet they hardenned themselues against the blowes as if they had bin altogether senselesse Now there cannot a worse thing befall vs then when we harden our hearts against corrections and feele not the hand that smiteth vs when we perceaue such a senselesnesse in vs surely then we are almost past hope of amendment Vers 12. Children are extortioners of my people and women haue rule ouer them O my people they that leade thee cause thee to erre and destroy the way of thy pathes THe Prophet also reprooues the follie and blockishnesse of this people who were starke blind euen at noone day There is nothing which men beare more impatiently then to endure the yoke to be laid vpon their shoulders neither do they verie readilie submit themselues to the gouernment of any that haue more power then themselues We must needes say that such as obey delicate and effeminate persons and suffer that such folke should oppresse them are become sottish impotent and faint hearted Neither is it to be doubted also but those who thus willingly did offer their shoulders like Asses to beare the burthen were smitten from heauen with a spirit of amazednes I graunt that those who are couragious ought to beare the rule of a tyrant but Isaiah reprooueth the Iewes who for that they had obstinately shaken off the sweete yoke of God were now readie to yeeld themselues vnder vilanous and base subiection that with most seruile conditions They could not complaine that they were constrained to it by force seeing they obeyed them freely to whome notwithstanding they needed not to haue beene subiect vnlesse they would Whereby it appeares that they were stricken with the hand of God and daunted with feare so as they had neither strength nor wit left in them And it is euen that same vengeance wherwith God had threatned the people with before by Moses For as we said erewhile the Prophets had still an eye to this generall doctrine of Moses in all their Sermons For how can it bee that men hauing power to resist should willingly put themselues into bondage which notwithstanding they naturally flee vnlesse that God hauing depriued them of all counsell and vnderstanding should thus leaue them to themselues to auenge himselfe by this meanes of their rebellions Wherefore as oft as the like befals any of vs let vs not think it is come to passe by chance no let vs on the contrarie know that when witlesse men and more feeble then little children shall haue dominion ouer vs that the wrath of God hath then ceassed vpon vs vnlesse peraduenture we meane to be reproued by the Prophet of a much greater blockishnesse They that lead thee He goes on stil with the same doctrine to wit that God is exceedingly angry with the Iewes in that he hath let loose the bridle to the wicked to trouble all From hence also we may coniecture that the common people foolishly suffered themselues to be led hoodwinked by the Gouernours so as they receiued their edicts and course of conuersation as oracles Now all the corruptions which raigned euery where came frō thence To the end that the contagion therfore should not spread further by the ignorance of the people Isaiah cries to them that they should take heede of the Gouernours themselues who were carrying them away headlong into destruction Others expound Those which make thee happy But because the participle which he vseth may be deriued from the verb Iashar which signifies to gouerne I had rather follow this interpretation because me thinks it sutes best with the scope of the text I confesse indeede that the false Prophets flattered the people yet I see no reason why he should mention their flatteries in this place But it agrees very well to the heads and leaders namely that they were the cause of ruine For as the Princes are ordained for the common safety so also is there not a more dangerous plague then when they be men of no value ruling all things as they list He saith then that those which gouern are the cause of the euill and corrupt all seeing they ought to correct others to shew them the way by their examples Vers 13. The Lord standeth vp to plead yea he standeth to iudge the people 14. The Lord shall enter into iudgement with the auncient of his people and the Princes thereof for ye haue * Or consumed eaten vp the vineyard the spoile of the poore is in your houses WHilest impiety runnes ouer the countrie with the raines in her neck and that the Lord sends no succour from aboue we either think that he is idle or that he hath forgotten his charge Therefore after he hath complained of the princes which did not their office hee addes now that the Lord will do his and that he will not suffer such wicked ones to goe vnpunished For there cannot be a greater offence nor a thing that troubles our mindes more then when Magistrates in the open sight of all the people shall shew all manner of leude examples and yet none must dare once to open his mouth nay by your leaue they must be soothed and flattered Then we beginne to aske where is the Lord become from whom by this ouer great licentiousnes the chiefest thing wherein his glorie ought to shine to wit in good gouernment is taken away Isaiah meetes with this difficultie As if he should say Albeit I confesse indeed that the common people are bad inough yet because the Princes themselues are corrupt in the highest degree yea so farre as by their euill examples to defile the whole bodie of the cōmon wealth know ye that God is gone vp into his heauenly throne as a iust Iudge who at the last wil cal them to account and will giue euery one of them according to their workes And yet he exempts not the common people as if they were faultlesse but to
and then hauing finished his sermon hee comprehends a briefe summe of it in few words as hee did in the first Chapter Hee speakes then against sumptuous apparrell and superfluous ornaments which were euident signes of vaine ostentation For where there is this excesse in apparrell and ornaments there is alwaies ambition ioyned with it and so by consequence many other vices for the most part doe goe hand in hand with it For from whence comes the superfluitie both of men and women but from pride First then hee iustly taxeth this vice as the welspring of all the abuse and shewes it by the signe thereof to wit by their going because the women walked with stretched out necks Now as it is an euident signe of modestie to bow the head as also prophane authors doe witnes so to lift it vp too much is a signe of arrogancie And for a womans head lifted vp what can it shew else but pride The Prophet therfore did wisely in beginning at the fountaine it selfe for if he had begun at the outward signes as at the garments walking and such like things they would haue had their replies at hand to wit that their harts were vpright and innocent enough for all that and that there was no such great necessitie to crie so bitterly against them and to summon them before the iudgement seate of God for putting on a little braue or light apparrell To the end therefore that hee may meete with their vaine obiections hee first discouers the inward disease which shewes it selfe euery way in all the outward attire That which hee addes of wandring eâ—es shewes a shameles lust which is oftenest seene and espied as certaine witnesses thereof in the eies for bold and audacious eies are the true messengers of a dishonest heart On the contrarie chaste women haue their eies stedfast and drawne in as it were rather then rouing and wandring abroad Tinkling This gesture sutes wel with an immodest and lasciuious countenance It is vncertaine whether the women had little belles to their pantables which tinckled as they went or rather whether in keeping measure they carried their countenances as women dansers do because the manner of attire is much changed since that time Notwithstanding I willingly receiue this exposition that in going they made their steps to sound for the very words doe sufficiently shew it Vers 17. Therefore shall the Lord make the heads of the daughters of Zion bald and the Lord shall discouer their secret parts 18. In that day shall the Lord take away the ornament of the slippers and the calles and the round tires 19. The sweete balles and the bracelets and the bonets 20. The tires of the head and the sloppes and the head bands and tablets and the earings 21. The rings and the mufflers 22. The costly apparrell and the vailes and the wimples and the crisping pinnes 23. And the glasses and the fine linnen and the hoodes and the launes HEre is a coupling of things together in stead of a particle that renders the cause For he denounceth that seeing they cannot be amended neither by gentle admonitions nor by any words that the Lord will proceede otherwise with them because hee will no more vse sharpenes and rigor of speech but will come vpon them in great displeasure and with his arme out strethed to take vengeance vpon them And therefore euen as they had shewed their rebellion from the head vnto the feete so he also giues them to vnderstand that the Lord wil shew the signes of his vengeance vpon all the parts of their bodies Wherefore he begins with the head where the principall decking is and afterwards descends to the other parts Now we are to obserue that the Prophet reprooues not the excessiue pompe of these women with this sharpenes vehemency without cause for aboue all other vices What vice is most predominate in women wherewith they are stained they naturally burne with a fond desire to decke and trim themselues brauely And although they are prone enough by nature to couetousnes yet will they spare no cost to make themselues fine yea they wil pinch their bellies and offer violence to nature it selfe that they may haue wherewith to attire themselues the more costly sumptuously so greatly are they corrupted with this vice that it surmountes all others Histories doe shew what vprores women haue raised at Rome Women made an vprore at Rome because of a law made for restraint of fine apparrell by reason of the law called Oppie which was ordained concerning apparrell because one side would establish it and the other part would haue it abolished so that there could be no conclusion made hereabout by any graue and moderate course because of their riots But we neede not goe so farre to seeke examples for wee may find infinite numbers almost thorowout all nations so as it is a vice too common in al ages Now because we are alwaies sharpe witted to deuise excuses to couer our excessiue superfluities therefore the Prophet pointes as it were with his finger at the fountaine of all the mischiefe to wit this furious pride before spoken of wherewith women are carried away when they are to shew themselues and appeare before others For to the ende they may be the better seene and discerned they will shine with deckings of their garments that so the eies of euery one may be drawne vnto them The Prophet then hauing touched the inward sore hee reckons vp many particulars that so he might bring the sottishnes of women into the open view of all the world to receiue disgrace And therefore hee makes a long catalogue because none are more curious then a woman about this matter of piling vp fashion vpon fashion and tire vpon tire She will heape ornaments one vpon another without nuÌ„ber and therefore it was not without cause that the auncients in times past called a womans cabinet A womans cabinate called a world by the Anciâ—nts or chest A world For if all the pieces which are here mentioned should be gathered together and laid vpon an heape a man should find as many fashions as there are parts of the world And therefore it seemes the Prophet here rifles the chests of women to bring forth their paltrie packe of iewels which were laid vp therein to the ende that by how much the more they gloried in them and tooke pleasure therein by so much the more euery one might bee made the better acquainted with their follies Therefore howsoeuer here bee a long catalogue yet is nothing superfluous seeing thereby their insatiable lusts are the better discerned As touching the particulars I meane not to stand dilating vpon euery thing apart seeing euen the best learned of the Hebrews themselues are doubtfull concerning some of them neither can they make any true difinition of the sundrie formes of these ornaments It is sufficient for vs to know the summe of the words and to vnderstand the Prophets
CHAPTER Vers 1. Now will I sing * Or for to my beloued a song of my beloued to his vineyard My beloued had a vineyard in a * Heb. Sonne of the oyle or of the fat very fruitfull hill THe argument of this Chapter differs from the former For the Prophets purpose is to set forth the estate of the children of Israel as it then was to the ende euerie one might take knowledge of his faults and that by this meanes shame and displeasure in themselues for their sinnes might prouoke them to come to true and earnest repentance as also that hereby they might behold their miserable condition as in a glasse For otherwise they would haue flattered theÌ„â—elues too much in their vices and would not haue borne any admonitions at all It was needfull therefore that their brutishnes should bee painted out before them as in liuely colours But to the end he might procure himselfe the greater authoritie he vseth this preface for they were wont to write excellent and memorable things in verse to the end euery one might haue it in their mouth that so there might remaine a perpetuall remembrance of them Exod. 15. According as wee see that song which Moses wrote Deut. 32. and many others after him who did the like that as well in publike as in priuate one might heare all things sounded forth by such voices For the doctrine is thereby more highly aduanced then if it should be taught onely For this cause Isaiah composed this song that so the people might take a more cleare view of their filthines Neither is it to be doubted but these things were handled excellentlie both for art and voice as the custome is wee know to compose verse with the most exquisite skill that may be To my beloued It is certaine that he meaneth God as if he should say I will make a song on Gods behalfe by which hee complaines of the ingratitude of the people because there was much more vehemencie in it to bring God in speaking But some may aske wherefore Isaiah calles him his beloued Some doe answer it was because hee was of the kindred of Christ And the trueth is indeede that hee descended from Dauid but this seemes to bee constrained It shall be more plaine and agreeable if according to the sentence of S. Iohn we say Iohn 3.29 that the Church is committed to the friend of the bridegrome and that we put the Prophets in this number For no doubt but this title is fitting for them seeing the charge of the auncient people was committed vnto them to the ende they might be maintained vnder their head It is no meruaile then if they were iealous and displeased when the people turned away their hearts from him Isaiah then puts himselfe in the person of the bridegrome and as one grieued and perplexed in regard of the Church committed to his charge hee complaines that she hath broken the couenant of wedlocke 1. Cor. 11.2 and withall laments and bewailes her disloyaltie and ingratitude And hereby wee may see that it was not S. Paul alone who was iealous ouer the spouse of God but also all the Prophets and Teachers as much as in them lay had the like care to wit so many as were faithfull to the Lord. And this title of Spouse ought to touch all the seruants of God to the heart and to quicken vp their spirits For what doth a man hold more deare vnto him then his wife Surely euery honest man will prefer her before all treasures and will more readily hazard his goods to other mens custodie then his wife And therefore he must needes bee esteemed very faithfull to whose keeping a man will commit his best beloued Now the Lord commits this trust to the Pastors and Ministers and puts his Church which is as his deare wife into their hands What wickednes were it then to betray her by our sloth and negligence Whâ—soeuer is not inflamed with the care of her preseruation he cannot couer himselfe vnder any pretence whatsoeuer Whereas in the second place he addes the word Dodi which he vsed before although he chaÌ„geth the first syllable yet notwithstanding it is of the same signification with the first Be it then that some turne it Vncle others Cosine I am rather of their opinion who take it by way of allusion For we must giue more liberty to Poets then to other writers He hath then thus garnished these words and come ouer them as you would say to the end that by the rhythme and tuning of the verse he might helpe their memorie and quicken their vnderstandings My beloued had a vine The similitude of the vine is much vsed in the Prophets and there is no comparison more fitting his purpose then this For he shewes by it two waies how much the Lord esteemes his Church There is no possesion that a man holds more deare to him then his vine neither is there any thing that requires more daily and continuall labour and di igence The Lord then not onely teacheth that we are as a pretious heritage vnto him but would also haue vs take knowledge of the continuall care and thought he takes for vs. In the beginning of the song the Prophet remembers the benefits which the Lord had bestowed vpon his people the Iewes then he shewes how great the ingratitude of this people was thirdly the punishment and correction which will follow lastly he makes a catalogue of their sinnes because men will not acknowledge their offences but by maine force In a very fruitfull In the entrance hee shewes that God had seated this people in a happie dwelling place as if a man should plant a vine in a pleasant and fruitfull hill For by the word which he vseth I vnderstand an high place which is exalted aboue the plaine we commonly call it a hill Whereas some referre it to Ierusalem as if he should describe the situation thereof I thinke it to be farre fetched and constrained It seemes to me rather that the Prophet pursues his allegorie And because God had vouchsafed to take this people into his care and safegard he compares this grace to the planting of a vine For vines are more easily planted in hils and high places then in vallies And as one saith The vine loues the high hils the West and the side of a wood He alluded then to the common custome of planting vines Afterwards hee followes the similitude saying that the seate of this place was not common as others were For in calling it The sonne of the oyle or of the fat in his language he meanes a fat and fruitfull place I approoue not of their exposition who restraine it to the fruitfulnes of Iudeah For the Prophet meant to describe the happie and blessed estate of the people by this similitude Vers 2. And he hedged it and gathered out the stones of it and he planted it with the best plants and he built a tower in
said vnto vs for as this people was planted so also haue we ben We ought also to call to mind that which S. Paul saith Rom. 11.24 that we were but wild Oliues and they were the true and naturall Oliue We then which were strangers are grafted into the true Oliue and are purged and adorned with a continuall care of the Lord. But what fruits bring we forth truly not onely vnprofitable but also bitter And therefore we are guiltie of greater ingratitude in regard that we are inriched and abound in benefits much more excellent And iustly is this complaint commenced against vs seeing that violence and wrongs doe reigne euery where But because the general doctrine did not sufficiently prick their hearts he describes two kinds particularly to the end hee might shew them as with the finger how far off this people were from the fruite that a good vine should bring forth Vers 8. Woe be vnto them that ioyne house to house and lay field to field till there be no place that ye may be placed by your selues in the midst of the earth NOw he reprooues their insatiable auarice and couetousnes from whence frauds iniuries and violences do commonly arise For it is not a thing vnlawfull in it selfe to ioyne one field to another nor one house to another but he aimes at the heart which by no meanes whatsoeuer can bee satisfied when it is once set on fire with desire of hauing Hee describes the affection of those then which thinke they haue neuer enough neither are content how rich soeuer they be We may see that the couetous are possessed with such a greedy lusting that they desire to haue all to theÌ„selues alone think that that which others haue is their want or is taken froÌ„ them Chrysostom And therefore Chrysostome hath an elegant speech to this purpose That the couetous would gladly take away the sunne from the poore if it were in their power For they grutch their brethren the very elements which yet are common and would gladly swal ow them vp not to enioy them but because their lust depriues them of vnderstanding in this behalfe In the meane while they consider not that themselues are not able to doe any thing without the helpe of others that a man being alone by himselfe is vnprofitable they onely carke and care how to gather much together and therefore they deuoure all by their couetousnesse He chargeth the couetous and proud with such a furie that they would haue all others cut off from the face of the earth to the end themselues alone might haue it in possession and therefore there is neither end nor measure in their lust What folly and madnes is it to driue those from of the earth whom God hath placed therein with vs and to whom he giues a dwelling place common with vs The couetous dâ—siâ—e to dwell alone But a worse thing could not befall them then to haue their wish Questionlesse a worse thing could not befall them then to haue their wish Neither could they alone till the ground reape and performe other necessarie duties of this life nor yet could they administer things necessarie to themselues Also God hath so vnited men together that one hath neede of the helpe and industrie of another and there is no man vnlesse he be out of his wits who will reiect his brethren as though they were hurtfull or vnprofitable The proud also cannot inioy their glorie if they should be left alone How blind are they then who would chase and driue men away to reigne by themselues Now as touching the length and greatnes of houses the like is to be said of them as was heretofore said of fields because the ambition of those is also reprooued who desire to dwell in goodly palaces and spatious houses It is not vnlawfull for him who hath a great family to haue also a large house but when men puffed vp with pride will adde to their houses without cause onely to be at more libertie and that one alone takes vp the dwelling places which would suffice a great many then it is meerely ambition and vaine glorie which ought worthily to be reprooued For it is all one as if hauing contemned others they onely should bee lodged and that their poore brethren were worthie of no more but the couering of the firmament or that they ought to goe seeke out some other habitation Vers 9. This is in mine eares saith the Lord of hostes * Or if there be not many c. surely many houses shall be desolate euen great and faire without inhabitant SOmething must be heere supplied for his meaning is that the Lord is set downe as the Iudge hauing the knowledge of all these things When the couetous rappe and scrape their riches together they are blinded by their lust and thinke not that they must one day be called to an account True it is that men are neuer so besotted but they attribute some kinde of iudgement to God but they flatter themselues in such wise as that they thinke surely God regardeth not So they acknowledge a iudgement of God in generall but when it comes to the perticular there they lay the raines in the neck and suppose they should not be kept so short Also in this particle if there be not wee see a forme and maner of oath often vsed in the scripture For to the end he might the more astonish them hee speakes doubtfully as it were by sentence broken off in the mid way He might haue expressed this threatning by a full sentence but being imperfect it holds the hearer more in suspence and so it brings the greater feare with it Moreouer by this maner of oath halfe pronounced as we say the Lord would teach vs to accustome our selues to modestie to the end we take not libertie in vsing execrations What is it then that he threatneth That many houses shall be desolate This is a iust punishment whereby the Lord corrects the couetousnes and ambition of men which would not be brought to consider their end that they might haue contented themselues with a little As he who derided the insatiable couetousnes of Alexander Alexander who because he vnderstood by the philosophie of Anacharsis Anacharsis that there were many worlds sighed in himselfe Vnus pelleâ— Iuneni non sufficit orbis c. because with so much labour he had not yet conquered the gouernment of one A world saith he will not suffice Alexander he is as discontented as if he were pinnd vp in a very narrow roome or as if hee were bounded within some certaine Iland and yet when his time comes to be buried he must content himselfe with a coffin For it is death only which teacheth and constreineth vs to confesse how vaine a thing the bodie of man is We see euery day examples therof and yet who is instructed by it for the Lord sheweth vs in a glasse how ridiculous
had occupied in as much as he hath regard to the custome which was then well knowne and commonly vsed amongst them to wit that if any possessed fields or houses he had his hand as it were in such wise stretched forth vpoÌ„ them that no man durst touch so much as a clod of earth but and if he left them an other occupied them The people then had so left their inheritances out of which they had bin driuen that they had no hope euer to recouer the same againe so as in regard of them they might well be called deserts yea deserts of the fat because the strong and men of power possessed them Now although it may simply be taken for fat deserts yet notwithstanding it is more probable that the tyrants are heere called the fat Vers 18. Woe vnto them that drawe iniquitie with cords of vanitie and sinne as with cartropes HAuing inserted a briefe consolation to aswage the sharpnes of the punishments in regard of the faithfull he returnes to the threatnings and goes on to strike them thorow with these thundring speeches which at the least might terrifie them in some sort By cords he meanes nothing else but the alluremeÌ„ts of sinne by which men suffer themselues to be deceiued and thereby to become hardened in their hearts in wickednes because lightly they either contemne the iudgments of God or frame vaine excuses or else pretend they can do no otherwise what vaile then soeuer it be which they put before theÌ„ that the Prophet calleth cords For as often as men are led away to sinning by the concupiscence of their flesh in the beginning therof they consult in themselues and feele some bridle which restraines them and which doubtlesse would hinder them from committing of euill if that they were not ouercaried by a contrarie tempest which shakes off and puts away all remorse of conscience When any man is entised or stirred vp to euill his conscience by a secret instinct asketh him What doest thou And sinne neuer creepeth thus vpon vs but we feele some remorse And God hath thus in deed preuented men to the end all should not giue ouer themselues with an vnbridled licentiousnes to commit euill Whence commeth it then that men are so obstinate in their naughtinesse To say the truth they suffer themselues to be beguiled by allurements and do so drench their minds with delighting themselues therein that they despise the iudgements of God and all to pursue their owne sinnes with greedines They flatter themselues in beleeuing that which is sinne to be no sinne or else they mince them making theÌ„ lesse then they be or excuse themselues in them vnder one pretence or other These are then the cords and wicked bands by which they draw iniquitie to them Whence it appeares that God did not threaten them in vaine for they not only sinned wittingly but obstinatly and rebelliously To conclude they so pulled and halled sinne vnto them that they were left without excuse Vers 19. Which say let him make speede let him hasten his worke that we may see it and let the counsell of the holy one of Israel draw neere and come that we may know it HE notes out one perticular by which he shewes how they drew sinne vnto them as with cartâ—opes There is nothing so dangerous as to reiect all thought of God his iudgment and not only that but also to contemne whatsoeuer he saith as a fable Isaiah meant therefore to expresse an extreme contempt when as men hauing been forewarned of God his iudgements shall in scorne say that they would gladly see them and deride at them as at some bug-beare which these words so full of contempt and presumption do euidently shew Let him come let him hasten Worke heere by a kind of excellencie is taken for iudgement For it seemes in deede that the Lord regards not when he deferres to take vengeance vpon the iniquities of the vngodly but when he ariseth to giue iudgement and to execute punishment then his worke appeares and is manifest in deed as they say because we perceiue by the effects that the world is gouerned by his power and authoritie Worke then in this place is specially taken for iudgement because thereby it something appeares vnto vs that God is not idle but doth his office Now the wicked speake of him in derision and scorne and we haue experience of this frowardnes and obstinacie at this day more then is meete and wee must wage the like warre against them which the Prophets did The wicked thinke that God takes his ease in heauen and cares not for mens matters as certaine epicures who placed God his chiefest happines in this that he had nothing to doe And although they imagin that there is some God yet they acknowledge him not in his iudgement but in the meane while they make good cheere and neuer pine away themselues with such thoughts Let the Prophets and Ministers crie and that with open mouth let them threaten and terrifie vs whilst they list we will securely lye still waiting till that which they threaten come to passe and in the whilst we will make merie Thus the Prophet recounts the speeches of the wicked whereby they shewed in what contempt and disdaine they had his word not only saying let his work come but let it come quickly and let it draw neere for in regard it came not suddenly they concluded that whatsoeuer he executes not as soone as he hath spoken the word is but smoke In the second Epistle of S. Peter he brings in the wicked speaking thus and saying 2. Pet. 3.4 that since the world was created all things haue continued alike there is still one continuall course of nature and therefore it is but a mockerie to looke for a day of iudgement after so many ages In the meane while they prouoke God and that of set purpose to the end he should forthwith shew his power They adde Counsell to his worke as if they should say how long wil God deliberate vpon it eare he tell what he will do let him rather shew vs by effect what he hath decreed Their fault also is greatly amplified in that they dare to mock so wickedly at the doctrine which was so familiarly taught them being herein more wicked then the very prophane heathen because they despised that word whereby God had adopted them as a peculiar people vnto himselfe That we may know it See heere manifest signes of infidelitie For the wicked will not acknowledge God vnlesse they presently feele him neither wil they beleeue his words But if the holy Ghost by this marke brandeth them for abominable wicked ones it behoueth vs by a contrary marke to let our faith and godlines appeare to wit that we rest in the bare and naked word of the Lord although the euent doe not by and by shew it selfe seeing it is the propertie of faith to hold vs fast glued to the mouth of God The
is nothing more vile and base as we haue said then for a man to proue his force in deuouring and swallowing in meates and drinks and thus to wrestle against himselfe by cramming in as much meat as his belly will hold Such men hold no rules of sobrietie neither do they know why God nourisheth them We eate and drinke to vphold the body and not to ouerthrow it We liue to serue God and to bestow our strength in the helping of our neighbours turne but when men endeuor not to preserue their strength by these meanes but rather ouerturne it by prouing how much they can beare it is certaine they are become worse then brute beasts Verse 23. Which iustifie the wicked for a reward and take away the righteousnesse of the righteous from him HE reproues a corruption which was then rise in iudgement seates and shewes the cause why there was no iustice kept in them Exod. 23 8. Deut. 16.19 to wit for that gifts had place and were in account For auarice blinds the eyes of the wise and peruerts all order of iustice and right yea euâ—n in those who otherwise beare some good affection thereunto Obiect But some may obiect that iudgements are peruerted by many other meanes then by presents only seeing that hatred friendship loue and other sinister affections doe very often blind the vnderstanding Ans This is very true but the Prophet aimed at that which falls out for the most part yet notwithstanding meant not to spare the vices which he expressed not By whâ—se example good Teachers ought to be wise and well aduised in considering and correcting those vices which carrie the chiefe swinge among the people and aboue all to insist vpon those which they see to be most in vse by wicked custome Now this corruption whereof mention is made in this place is the most frequent of all others in iudgement seates and therefore the Iudges which would iudge iustly ought to take diligent heed they auoid it Neither must we giue eare to those Iudges who denie that presents are giuen them to that end or who say that although they receiue them yet notwithstanding they will giue vpright iudgement Where gifts haue place there all loue of iustice must needs be corrupted for where gifts haue place there needs must all affection of equitie and iustice be corrupted neither can it be possible that thine affection should not be most inclined to him of whom thou hast receiued thy reward To conclude let vs giue eare vnto the Lord who saith that rewards blind the eyes of the wise Deut. 16.19 and peruert the words of the iust lest in doing otherwise we will seeme to be wiser then God himselfe Vers 24. Therefore as the flame of fire deuoureth the stubble and as the chaffe is consumed of the flame so their roote shall be as rottennes and their bud shall rise vp like dust because they haue cast off the law of the Lord of hostes and contemned the word of the holy one of Israel THat it might not seeme he hath cried out so oft without cause he shewes againe how great and horrible punishment is neere to this people and denounceth an extreme ruine against the obstinate because they would not be brought into the way but obstinately resisted against the heauenly doctrine now he vseth such figures as were fit to expresse his meaning and also such as touched them neerer to the quick then if he had spoken plainely without them He begins with a similitude and forthwith ends with a metaphor in attributing a roote and bud to the people as to a tree for by these two words he comprehends whatsoeuer force was in the people were it open or hid and saith that all of it should perish For euen as when the roote which giues strength vnto the tree and susteineth it begins once to rot then the tree decayeth so he threatens destruction to this people and tels them that all their strength is wasted and consumed But he shewes not now as heretofore the particular kinds of wickednesses by which they had prouoked the wrath of God He only addes the generall cause to wit the contempt of the law of God because as we all know that is the fountaine of all euils He also amplifies the fault greatly that in as much as the will of God was manifested vnto them in the law they could not say it was by ignorance or error but of set malice that in shaking off the yoke of God they gaue themselues the raines to all licentious libertie which was all one as if in reiecting a most louing father they should giue ouer themselues to be vassals and slaues to the diuell Adde withall that he accuseth them of a generall reuolt as if he should say they were not rebellious against God in one kind only but they wholly forsooke the Lord as disloyall apostataes Moreouer that they did not only despise the word of God but he complaines of a thing more horrible to wit that the word was become abominable vnto them or that they reiected it with a wicked despitefulnesse If so be then that the contempt of the law of God be the welspring head and perfection of all euils there is nothing we are more to feare then that Satan should so preuaile as to turne vs aside from the reuerence of it And if we be subiect to some faults yet let vs suffer at the least that the medicine may be applied vnto them vnlesse in reiecting thereof proudly and maliciously we meane to draw eternall perdition vpon our owne heads Vers 25. Therefore is the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people and he hath stretched out his hand vpon them and hath smitten them that the mountaines did tremble and their carkases were torne in the midst of the streets and for all this his wrath is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still IN this verse the Prophet repeates the former iudgements whereof the Iewes had experience alreadie and shewes that they be not yet at an end but that far worse punishments are prepared for them vnlesse they returne into the right way I confesse indeed that the time past is often changed for that which is to come but the words of this text will best agree so for he propounds two distinct things coÌ„cerning the obstinat rebellioÌ„ of this people first how God had alreadie chastised their iniquities Secondly seeing there was no signe of repentance that he hath yet other scourges readie to correct their wickednesses Thirdly hee shewes what these scourges are and tels them that the Assyrians shall come as soone as the Lord shall but hold vp his finger yea that they shall come at his only hissing As in verse the 26. This is the Prophets meaning Whence we may gather that as soone as a people hath escaped one calamitie they forget their chastisements and neuer thinke more of the iudgements of God and although experience
should also be the mistris of fooles yet they harden their hearts vnder the blowes Isaiah strikes at this senselesnes as if he should say Haue you so soone forgotten the calamities vnder which you groned not long since Whence came it that the dead bodieâ— were cast heere and there but becauâ—e the Lord had stâ—etched forth his hand vpon you And if God dealt with you as a Iudge what is the cause that the wounds which do yet bleed do not worke a reuerent feare in you to preserue you from heaping sinne vpon sinne thus freshly againe on all sides And to this end doth he repeate the particle Therfore wherin he yelds a reason of his speech as if he should say These are not afflictions that come at aduâ—nture but are manifest signes of God his dispâ—easure He also saith expresly that God was angrie with his people for had not the Iewes fallen from their dignitie their condition had been more happie then that of all the nations of the world besides When God therfore deales so sharply seuerely with his chosen people no doubt but they had grieuously prouoked him by their rebellions And withall he refutes the false brag of the Iewes wherewith they were woont to aduance and boast themseluâ—s as if they forsooth ought to be exempt from all corrections because they were the peculiar people of God Also when he saith that the mountaines trembled by this comparison he expresseth the weight of the punishments vnder which they hardened themselues to the end he might yet more sharply reprooue their sensâ—lesnes as being more bloekish then things without feeling if they felt not the wrath of God and the horrible vengeance wherewith the kingdome of Israel had been chastised And for all these things Hee threatens more heauie plagues to come as hath been sayd For although the wicked know they are corrected of the Lord yet they thinke all is past as soone as they haue receiued but two or three blowes And therefore they wrap themselues vp as it were in a vaine confidence as though the worst were past and that the powers of the Almightie were spent This is the cause why he cries out that the wrath of the Lord is not yet appeased and that although they haue suffered many calamities yet notwithstanding hee is furnished with varietie of darts from whence they were to looke for infinite wounds The Coniunction Copulatiue may be resolued into the Disiunctiue as if he would say Be sure that the hand of God is yet sâ—retched out Now he hath regard to that which he had sayd before Verse 25. namely that the hand of God was lifted vp He saith now that it is not pulled in but that he wi l yet pursue and smite them with wounds yea yet more fearefull and terrible We ought to meditate vpon these sentences diligentlie to awaken such men who feare not to lie snorting and that after they haue been humbled and chastised of God Vers 26. And I will lift vp a signe vnto the Nations a farre and will hisse vnto * Or a people them from the ends of the earth and behold * Or he they shall come hastely with speede IN this and in the verses following he shewes what punishment the Lord would inflict vpon this people to wit that they shall be so spoyled by the Assyrians as the Israelites their brethren had been a little before them yea much more grieuously for howsoeuer the Assyrians in tâ—mes past had much wasted them the kingdome of Iudah neuerthelesse was not yet brought to ruine Adde hereunto that the destruction of the kingdome of Isâ—ael was as a looking-glasse wherein they might behold the wrath of God and the iust iudgement which hee had brought vpon them and yet no question but this prophesie seemed incredible to them of Iudea although there were many good likelihoods of it and all because the state was quiet and they no sooner had the least shew of truce but they forthwith grew carelesse therefore hee sayth that this destruction should come from farre whereof they did not so much as dreame And thus he sounds the Alarum as if the enemies had bin alreadie at the gates For he puts not these words from farre and from the ends of the earth to put them in any hope but rather of set purpose he thus speakes so the end they should not iudge of the wrath of God by things apparent to the eye We are woont to esteeme of dangers according to the outward appearaÌ„ce of things when the enemies are farre off or that they be hindred by other impediments to molest vs we thinke we are safe Thus the people slept as they say on both sides no otherwisâ— then as if they had been out of all danger But Isaiah declareth that all this shall not hinder the Lord from sending the Assyrians with banners displayed to cut them in pieces This lifting vp a signe is a figuratiue kind of speech because when the banner is displayed and the Captaine giues the signe then the souldiers are wont to arme themselues and to begin the fight He shall hisse Although the change of the number be a thing much vsed in the Scripture yet it is not without reason I take it that the Prophet of many nations makes but one people for he shewes that when God should assemble many peoples ioine them to one body that this shall be no confused multitude but should be as an intire body hauing one head which should rule and haue the soueraigntie ouer them He rather vsed the word of hissing then some other that sounded more terriblie as of sounding the Trumpet or such like to shew that God had no neede of any great noyse to assemble the enemies togither and that it is no hard matter for him to be reuenged on them which haue offended when the time appointed is come for he can finish all things by the least signe that may be And behold he shall come He heere yet further confirmes that which I haue noted to wit that the wrath of the Lord must not be esteemed according to outward obiects for although it seemes that all things do promise peace yet shall warre come notwithstanding sodainely froÌ„ thence whence we looked not for it yea and although it may seeme we be enuironed with friends round about vs yet shall God raise vp enemies from the ends of the earth which shal come easily vpon vs all lets whatsoeuer to the contrary as if a plaine and smooth way were prepared for them Which we ought to beare well in mind lest we suffer our selues to be blinded by some false trust and confidence We are also to obserue that warres fall not out by chance nor at mens appointments but by the commandement of God euen as if he sounded the Trumpet to assemble the souldiers Be it by warre then by famine or pestilence that we are afflicted let vs know that all of them do proceede from the hand
heretofore and therewithall I answere that it ought to seeme no new thing that the Prophet should be cast as it were into a swound and so astonished with this strange vision that he should vtterly forget he was a Prophet for there was no part in him which was not abashed at the presence of God and therefore as one amazed he willingly ran into some hole or rather thinking himself but a dead man he thought verily he should haue giuen vp the ghost And it is very necessarie that the children of God should be thus touched when God letteth them perceiue the signes of his presence to the end they may be humbled and confounded in themselues Adde also that God meant thus to feare the rebellious people in the person of his seruant and therefore it is no maruell if he excuse himselfe being so astonished with feare as also in regard that he had not before felt the weight of his charge as now he did after the maiestie of God had thus euidentlie appeared vnto him But why was not this vision giuen him in the beginning I answere Quest Ans it was necessarie in regard of the time to confirme him more and more in the execution of his office An example whereof we may see in the Apostles for in the beginning they were sent with commandement not to passe the bounds of Iudea but after Christ rose againe Mat. 10.5 Iohn 20.22 Act. 2.3 he establisheth them anew in a solemne maner He breatheth on them and tels them that they should receiue the holy Ghost and contents not himselfe therewith but sending downe the holy Ghost from heauen vpon them in firie toongs he put an extraordinarie power vpon them So according to the diuers mutations which happened in times and kingdomes it was necessarie that Isaiah should be confirmed and approued againe by a new vision as well that he might be encouraged to constancie and might with the more cheerefulnes follow his vocation in time to come as also that his ministrie might be authorised among the Iewes by the authoritie of God This reason to me seemes sufficient why he had not this vision at the beginning but had it rather sometime after he began to teach Now that this booke takes not his beginning here it sufficientlie appeares by that we haue seene in the former preface which is much more cleare and proper then this And because all passage might be stopped by the desperate obstinacie of this people it was necessarie he should begin his speech with this vehemencie here set downe as also because it is very likely that he had exercised the function of teaching a long time vnder king Vzzias who was dead as I thinke before this prophesie was published Lastly the Prophet by these words signifies that God appeared vnto him after he had alreadie begun to execute his office Some by Death vnderstand the Leprosie wherewith this king was smitten 2. King 15.5 which was indeed a ciuill death because the king was constrained to forsake the companie of men and to leaue the gouernment of the kingdome but I had rather take death in his proper signification Thus I thinke then to wit that Isaiah prophesied the former things frō the time of Vzziah at that time when he was strucken with Leprosie and that Isaiah had this vision after his death at that time when Iothan should succeed him For we know how the change of kings do bring diuers sturres and hurly burlies so as it is no wonder if Isaiah were confirmed againe in his calling Also the prophesie it selfe which followes will declare sufficientlie that he had preached sometime before he had seene the Lord. For the blinding of the people is heere spoken of whereof the Prophet had such experience that their stubburnnes might haue caused him to haue giuen ouer that which he had begun seeing he lost all his labour The Lord then confirmes him by this vision to the end all discouragemēts being set apart he should manfullie continue to do his dutie and goe on with that which he had begun by the commandement of the Lord. Obiect I saw the Lord. Some aske how Isaiah could see the Lord who is a spirit and therefore can not be seene with corporall eyes and also because the vnderstandings of men are not able to mount vp to his infinit greatnes how it can be that he should comprehend him vnder a visible forme Ans But we must note that as oft as God shewed himselfe to the fathers he neuer appeared vnto them in his whole essence but as men were able to comprehend him according to their capacitie For it is not inconuenient albeit men creepe heere as it were vpon the earth or at the least are very low beneath the heauens that God should descend downe vnto them so as the beames of his glorie should appeare vnto them as in a glasse Such a forme then was represented before Isaiah whereby he tasted and saw the incomprehensible maiestie of God as farre as his weakenes could beare And therefore he attributes a seate a garment and a bodily sight vnto him Whence wee may gather a very profitable doctrine to wit that as oft as God shewes any signe of his presence we are to know for certaine that he is present by vs for he deceiues not in giuing vaine representations as men wickedly disfigure him by their foolish inuentions Because this representation then was a true testimonie of God his presence Isaiah rightly affirmes that he saw him As when it is sayd that Iohn saw the holy Ghost in the likenes of a Doue Matth. 3.1.6 the name of the spirit is transferred to the signe because he should not doubt but it was the holy Ghost which rested vpō Christ Obiect It is demanded in the second place who this Lord should be S. Iohn in the twelfth of his Gospel teacheth and that truly Ans that it was Christ because God neuer shewed himselfe to the fathers but in his eternall Word and only Sonne And yet some notwithstanding do restraine this amisse to the person of Christ in my iudgement seeing the Prophet giues him indefinitly the name of God The name Adonai which seemes best to appertaine to Christ fauours their opinion nothing at all for it is often attributed vnto God simply and without relation Mention is made of God in this place then without determining of either end yet notwithstanding one may properly say that Isaiah saw the glory of Christ Col. 1.15 because he was the image of the inuisible God from euerlasting Sitting vpon a seate He could not haue better described the maiestie of God in regard of the circumstance of the place then vnder the person of a Iudge to the end his maiestie might the better awaken the Iewes and we shall see hereafter the horrible iudgement which the Lord pronounceth from his seate But to the end we thinke not the Prophet should inuent how he could paint out God we must note
whosâ— praises they continuallie sound forth with full voyce lastly whom they serue and obey came forth vpon his throne but men whom he had vouchsafed to adopt for his children proudly with obstinacie resisted him Now when we heare that the Angels are continually busied in sounding forth Gods glorie let vs know that their example is set before vs for our imitation To be occupied in celebrating Gods praises is the highest seruice we can do him For it is the highest seruice we can do vnto him to be occupied in celebrating his praises In as much then as he herein makes vs companions with his Angels it is to the end that whilst we wander here below we should notwithstanding be conioyned and made like to the heauenly inhabitaÌ„ts Lastly to the end the harmonie between vs and the Angels may be perfect in all points it behoues that the praises of God doe not only sound vpon our tongues but that all the actions of our life be referred thereunto which we shall then do when we endeuor to doe all things therein to the glory of God The Auncients haue vsed this testimonie against the Arians when they would prooue the three persons in the one essence of God Holy Holy Holy I mislike not their iudgement although if I should haue to deale with heretikes I had rather vse stronger arguments for they triumph and become the more hardened when we contend against them with such places as are not sufficientlie plaine and euident as heere they might readily answer that by the number of Three in this place was shewed a perfection as in many other places of the scripture besides Although I doubt not but the Angels doe heere set forth one God in three persons and to say the truth we can not magnifie God but we must by and by celebrate the praises of the Father of the Son and of the holy Ghost yet notwithstanding I take it we should rather vse more solid testimonies to the end that whilest we go about to prooue the chiefe article of our faith we expose not our selues to the scoffes of heretikes So then by this repetition there should be rather shewed an vnweariable continuance of praising as if the Prophet had sayd The Angels neuer ceased their melodie in singing the praises of God as indeed his Holinesse ministreth to vs infinite matter thereof The whole world is full Word for word it is The fulnesse of whole earth which we may referre as well to the fruits liuing things as to all sorts of riches wherewith God hath furnished the earth and so the sense should be that in this adorning of the earth and the diuers furnitures which are in it we may see the glorie of God to shine because they are so many testimonies of his fatherly loue towards vs. Notwithstanding the most simple and naturall sense is that the glorie of God filles the whole world and is spread abroad throughout all the quarters of the earth And in mine opinion there is heere a close opposition by which he beates back the foolish ouerweening of the Iewes who imagined the glorie of God was shewed no where else but vpon them as if they meant to shut it vp in their Temple Now Isaiah shewes that it is so farre off from beeing shut vp within so narrow bounds that it fiâ—â—es the whole earth And this agrees to the prophesie which will afterwards follow touching the blinding of the Iewes for thereby he hath giuen entrance for the Gentiles into the Church of God in regard they supplied the emptie and forsaken place of the Iewes Vers 4. And the lintels of the doore cheekes mooued at the voice of him that cried and the house was filled with smoke THis noyse of the posts sufficiently shewes that it was no voyce of man which the Prophet heard for there is no mortall man that is able to make the posts and threshold of an house to shake with his voyce Now the Lord meant not only to confirme his voyce to the Prophet but to men also and that for euer that so it might be knowne throughout all ages Let vs know then that the voyce of God is confirmed to vs at this day by this sound to the end we also should tremble as oft as he speaketh for if the dumb and insensible creatures are moued therewith what ought we to do we I say which feele smell taste and only vnderstand it to the end we should holily and reuerently obey his holy word The house was filled with smoke This was a common and an ordinarie signe which the Lord vsed among the auncient people for as soone as Moses entred into the Tabernacle we reade that the smoke was spread Exod. 33.6.9 so as the people could neither see Moses nor the Tabernacle The smoke then which Isaiah describes was no new thing but God according to his accustomed maner meant thereby to tâ—stifie that he would manifest his power in executing iudgement vpon this people But some may aske why the Lord would manifest his presence by this signe rather then by an other Quest Ans A twofold answere may be giuen to this question First because the Lord hath alwayes been bent to represse the boldnes of men to the end they should not enquire further into his Maiestie then was meete being alwayes prone euen all of vs to be prying ouermalepertly and rashly in this regard Wee would pearce aboue the clouds and search into the very secrets of Gods counsell and in the meane while neglect that which is before our feete From thence ariseth this laberinth of errors in which after the spirits of men are enwrapped they forthwith fall to serue false gods for meÌ„ no sooner giue leaue vnto theÌ„selues to forge what they list of God in their fantasie but they by and by therewithall enterprise they care not what against him And therefore it is not without cause that he hath opposed this smoke thereby to admonish men of their weakenes And yet he would not haue them to be either blind or besotted with the blockishnes and error of the Papists who at this day couer ignorance vnder the name of simplicitie but he forbids to search or prie further into the heaueÌ„ly mysteries then that which is manifested vnto vs by himselfe in his word for that as S. Augustine Augustine sayth is a very learned ignorance Wherefore as oft as mention is made of the like smoke let vs know it is as a bridle by which we ought to be kept in awe that we should not be too curious in searching into the counsels of God Secondly this smoke was to strike a feare into them as we see when Dauid describing God to be terrible and angrie sayth that cloudes and darknes are round about him Psal 97.2 which also agrees very well to this place because he pronounceth an horrible iudgement to wit the blinding of the Iewes Some would haue this a forerunner of the fire which should burne
fullers field for it may be the fullers were wont to wash their clothes thereabouts or rather it was some ancient place called by this name howsoeuer it be it was a signe that this miserable hypocrite ran hither and thither with feare and terror when Isaiah was comming forth to quiet and secure him Vers 4. And say vnto him * Or be assured Take heed and be still feare not neither be faint-hearted for the two tailes of these smoking firebrands for the furious wrath of Rezin and of Aram and of Remaliahs sonne THe verb Shamar which signifies to keepe is here put in the coniugation of Hiphil and many expositors take it to take heed although they draw it amisse and to a sense both constrained and besides the purpose as if the Prophet had admonished Ahaz to take heed how he made warre The sentence is more simple to wit that he should not wax faint-hearted nor wauer doubtinglie but that he should be quiet secure therefore I haue translated Be assured The sense is then that Ahaz should take such heart vnto him that at no hand hee suffer himselfe to boyle with impacience neither to torment his minde with restlesse thoughts For when men are once stricken with terror their mindes are tossed vp down and haue no setled stay This exposition is confirmed by the words which follow Be still for these two things are ioyned together first to stand quietly vpon his watch to the end he may not be distracted with diuers thoughts looking this way and that way secondly that he be still and of a calme and quiet spirit within And behold here the fruites agreeable to a iustifying faith For as the vnbeleeuers wauer and floate in vncertaintie in diuers assaults and know not to which end to turne them so the faithfull on the contrarie are staied and cast themselues vpon God with quiet mindes Impietie is neuer at rest but where faith hath gotten strength there we may see securitie and quietnes of minde not trembling beyond measure These words then doe expresse the vertue of a true faith Now hauing shewed the remedie whereby to appease the troublesome passions of the heart he also forbids him to feare because nothing is more contrarie to faith who commits her saluation into the hands of God then feare But I confesse indeed that it is impossible for vs to be voyde of feare when dangers approach For faith makes vs not senselesse Contrariwise the children of God are touched with a double feare A double feare the first proceedes from naturall sense which feare they could not auoyde although they had a perfect faith the other from the weakenes of faith because there is no man that hath profited so well therein that there should not still remaine some reliques of distrust against the which we must continuallie fight This exhortation of the Prophet therefore must not be vnderstoode as if the Lord forbad all feare but his meaning is that the faithfull must arme themselues with such constancie that they ouercome all their feares As if he should say Take heede thou be not cast downe and if thou meetest with strong and sharpe assaults be of an inuincible courage that dangers ouerwhelme thee not but rather manfully stay thy selfe vpon the power and goodnesse of thy God to the end thou maiest bee able to ouercome all calamities And hereunto he by and by addes that he be not faint-hearted which is as much as to melt away or be dissolued Also it is not without good cause that the Apostle teacheth vs Heb. 11.27 that our hearts are stablished by faith For when in forgetting God we suffer our selues to moulter away any thing at all through our owne infidelitie it proceedes first from a weake and sluggish cowardlinesse But hee cannot be said to be delicate or womanish who resting himselfe vpon the spirit of God valiantly resistes all aduersities Whence we gather that the Prophet meant nothing else but that Ahaz should waite with an vndaunted minde for that issue which God had promised him For the two Tayles Isaiah vseth a very elegant similitude here to weaken the opinion which the Iewes had conceiued concerning these mightie Kings whose greatnes had smitten their hearts with such terror for their crueltie and furie was as it had been a flaming fire sufficient to haue consumed all Iudea yea and it seemed that this fire could neuer haue been quenched But Isaiah on the contrarie vouchsafeth them not so much as the name of firebrands because that might haue seemed somewhat but onely calles them I cannot tell what fragments or ends of firebrands not kindled but onely smoking as if a brand being taken out of the fire should begin to moulder away and should cast nothing else but a little light smoke This similitude then containes a singular consolation by which we are admonished to esteeme farre otherwise of the violence of the wicked We must not esteeme the violence of the wicked according to outward appearances then according to the outward appearance They seeme to be so mightie as if they were able to set on fire destroy and consume all the world Now the Lord minding to preuent and take the feare which we haue conceiued from vs pronounceth that it is but a little weake smoake of small continuance although to our seeming it should bee such a fire as neuer could bee quenched Vers 5. Because Aram hath taken wicked counsell against thee and Ephraim and Remaliahs sonne saying ALthough hee had saide before that the threates and endeuors of the enemies against the people of God should bee vaine and turned into smoke yet hee dissembles not how many cruelties they had deuised if God withheld them not For by euill counsell he meanes a destruction because these two Kings had both conspired to destroy the countrey of Iudeah And to the end he might the better expresse the same and might also let them see it as it were before their eyes hee recites their counsell in the verse following Vers 6. Let vs goe vp against Iudah and let vs waken them vp and make a * Or an entrance into it breach therein for vs and set a King in the middest thereof euen the sonne of Tabeal LEt vs goe vp That is to say let vs make ready an armie Some turne the verbe Nekitsennah let vs trouble or afflict the which indeede shewes the originall of the word but in this coniugation it signifies rather To awaken And howsoeuer I reiect not this first interpretation yet notwithstanding I had rather follow the second because it agrees best with the Text. By Awakening I vnderstand To trouble and to practise some new stratagem as we commonly say raise vp sturres that this kingdome may no longer be in quiet As touching that which followes many expound Nanquiennah Let vs enter into it by force others Let vs so handle the matter that it shall not be able to stand before vs. I haue translated
looke for the ruine of their enemies This place also teacheth that the Prophets were faithfull assisters one of another to the end they might serue God with one heart and affection Vers 9. * Or In the meane while For the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is Remaliahs sonne If ye beleeue not surely ye shall not be established BEcause this is a repetition by which hee would confirme that which hee said before namely that God hath limited the boundes of the kingdome of Israel for a certaine time therefore I haue translated In the meane time for otherwise it would bee absurd that the chiefe citie should remaine in hir perfection after the kingdome as hee erewhile foretold should bee brought to nought The sense then is whilest the threescore and fiue yeeres are running on and comming to their end Israel hath some respite His chiefe citie shal be Samaria let him content himselfe with his boundes and aspire no higher for such shall his estate be till he be wholly cut off and be no more reputed a people Except yee beleeue it The particle Ci is put in the middest of the sentence as yeelding the reason of it And therefore some translate thus If you beleeue not that is to say because you are not beleeuers And so restraine the first member to the prophesie of Isaiah but the second to the whole word of God as if he should say If you giue no credit to my words then your infidelitie shall bee knowne to all But thus there should be no difference betweene the verbe Thaaminu and the other verbe Theamenu which are of diuers coniugations But the Prophet hath not changed the termination without cause and it appeares by many testimonies of the holy Scriptures that the verbe Amâ—n in the coniugation of Niphal is taken for to stand or continue fast in his degree I thinke then that this is as much as if he had said Beholde your onely stay waite quietly without being vexed in your selues for that which the Lord hath promised to wit deliuerance if you waite not for it what remaines but that you perish The particle Ci signifies as much it being also vsually so taken in many other places as surely He affirmes then that they cannot stand vnlesse they beleeue this promise yea his words sound somewhat more bitingly namely that although they refused to giue credit vnto it and should endeuour to the vttermost to ouerthrow the stedfastnesse thereof yet would God for his part continue still to bee firme and sure as also that themselues could not stand vnlesse they rested vpon the promise here offered them Whence we haue to gather a generall doctrine to wit that our destruction then approcheth when we shall depart froÌ„ the word of God howsoeuer we imagine our selues to be well and sufficieÌ„tly grounded For our saluation is inclosed in the word of God and when that is reiected God iustly auengeth the wrong that is done to him therein for hee was neere to haue sustained men by his power if they had not voluntarily plunged themselues headlong into destruction we must rest confidently then vpon the promises of God or else it is in vaine to looke for saluation Vers 10. And the Lord spake againe vnto Ahaz saying BEcause the Lord knew very well that King Ahaz was so wicked as he would not rest vpon his promise he therefore sent Isaiah to confirme him by adding a signe For when God sees that his promises suffice vs not hee addes fit and conuenient signes according to our weakenesse to the end wee should not onely heare him speake but that also in seeing his hand reached forth vnto vs we might be further confirmed by euident testimonies Whereupon we ought diligently to note the vse of signes namely to what end God shewes miracles to wit that wee might bee confirmed by them in the certaintie of the word For when we see his power if we make scruple to beleeue his word hee corrects our doubting by making vs see euen the thing it selfe and miracles being added to the word doe become seales thereof Vers 11. Aske a signe for thee of the Lord thy God aske it either in the depth beneath or in the height aboue I Vnderstand these words hie or low simplie He puts it to his choyce to choose a miracle whether he aske it in heauen or in earth It may be this word in the depth hath some greater vehemencie in this place as if he should say Take thy choice God will shew thee by and by that his dominion is farre aboue all the world yea that it reacheth euen to the bottome of all depths so as at his will and pleasure he can raise the dead out of their graues See here then a singular goodnes of God towards the King and towards the people that not only patientlie beares with their distrust for a time but thus graciouslie submits himselfe so far as to be readie to giue them euen such a signe as they themselues would desire for a pledge of his power Indeed he had not so much regard herein to the wicked alone as rather to prouide for the weake which had some seed of godlines in them to the end they might be the more assured that Isaiah spake not at aduenture seeing he could so readily shew a signe of the power of God for a confirmation of his speech The same goodnes of God is now displayed towards such as he beares so much withall although he haue iust occasion to be angrie with them For how great iniurie do they to him when they doubt of his truth What is left to God I pray you when he is dispoiled of that Now although wee doubt yet he is not only contented to pardon it but also to vnderprop our distrust not with words only but which is more with miracles and presents them not only to the faithfull but euen to the vnfaithfull likewise of which wee may take a view in this king Now if he be so gentle to strangers what shall we thinke he will be to his owne houshold seruants which wait vpon him Vers 12. But Ahaz said I will not aske neither will I tempt the Lord. HE vnder a faire pretence refuseth the signe which the Lord offred him saying that he would not tempt him for he seemes as if he beleeued the words of the Prophet demanding nothing else but the word And truely as impietie is detestable before God so doubtlesse he greatly priseth faith Wherefore it should seeme that he who rests vpon the only word of God despising all things else is worthie of great praise because there is no greater perfection then to submit our selues to God Obiect But wil some say Do we tempt God when we receiue that which he offreth Certainely no. Ans Ahaz lied then when he refused the signe which was offred him vnder pretence of not tempting God for there is nothing better or more excellent then to obey God It
is a great vertue in deed to aske no-nothing but the word but if God be pleased to adde somewhat more vnto it it is then no vertue but a vice to reiect such an help as a thing superfluous Yea there is great iniurie offred vnto God in despising his liberalitie as if that which he doth for our sakes were vnprofitable or as if he were ignorant what things were good and necessarie for vs. Wee know that faith receiues her chiefe praise because she holds her selfe in obedience but when we will be wise in our owne conceits and despise the least thing which is of God we are abominable before him what pretence soeuer we make before men We must so ioyne faith to the word then that we despise not the helps which he offreth and giueth vs for the strengthening of our faith As for example the Lord in the Gospell offreth vs all things necessarie for our saluation for seeing by it we be ioyned to Christ the summe of all good things is conteined in it But to what end serueth Baptisme and the holy Supper then should we esteeme them as things superfluous No surely because whoso without flattering of himselfe shall take knowledge of his infirmitie which all from the least to the greatest ought to feele such an one will be willing to strengthen his faith by these helps True it is we ought to mourne and weepe that the holy truth of God which can not lie should haue need of any prop for the infirmities sake of our flesh But in regard we can not cast off this corruption from vs at the first chop whosoeuer according to his abilitie shall adde faith to the word he shall forthwith render perfect obedience to God The signes and word must not be separated where God hath coupled them together Let vs learne then to imbrace the signes with the word seeing it is not in the power of man to separate them Now in that Ahaz refuseth the signe which was offred him he therein shewed his rebellion vnthankfulnes for he despiseth that which God had presented him for his exceeding profit Heereby also it appeares after what maner we ought to require signes to wit when they are offred vs of God he then which refuseth them must needs reiect the grace of God therewithall Some franticke ones there are at this day who make no reckning of Baptisme nor of the Lords Supper thinking them abces for little children which yet they can not do but they must therewithall reiect the whole Gospell for those things must not be separate which God hath ioyned together But some wil aske notwithstanding Quest whether it be not lawfull to aske some signes of God for we haue an example thereof in Gedeon who desired that his vocation might bee confirmed with some signe the Lord granted his request and disliked not such a desire Iudg. 6.17 To this I answere Ans that although Gedeon had no expresse commandement of God to aske a signe yet notwithstanding he was stirred vp to doe it by the holy Ghost and did it not of his owne proper motion Wherefore we must not take the like libertie to our selues by abusing his example especiallie seeing the importunitie of men is so great that they make no bones to aske signes of God without end or measure Such a boldnes therefore is to be suppressed to the end wee may content our selues with those which God offereth vs. Two sorts of signes Now there are two sorts of signes some extraordinarie which we may call supernaturall as that whereof the Prophet wil speake anon and that which was giuen to Hezekiah as we shal see God willing hereafter Isay 38.7 Others are ordinarie and in daily vse as Baptisme and the holy Supper which conteine no miracle at the least which can be seene to the eye or by any other outward sense For that which the Lord miraculously works therein by the holy Ghost can not be seene but in the extraordinarie the miracle is visible to the eye Extraordinarie miracles visible Now all other signes haue the same end and vse because that euen as Gedeon was confirmed by that maruelous signe so also are we confirmed by Baptisme and the holy Supper although we see no miracle before our eyes Vers 13. Then he sayd heare you now ô house of Dauid is it a small thing for you to grieue men that ye will also grieue my God BEcause it was an intolerable wickednes to shut the gate against the power of God which should confirme the truth of the promise vnder colour of honestie and modestie the Prophet is iustlie offended and sharplie rebukes these wicked hypocrites Now howsoeuer it were an honorable thing for them to be held for the race of Dauid which had been so indeed if they had walked in the steps of Dauid yet notwithstanding he now calles them the successors of the house of Dauid rather by way of reproach then otherwise And in very deed the ingratitude was so much the more heinous because this fauour was reiected by that house out of which the saluation of the whole world should come Their originall therefore from whom they had so shamefullie degenerated was a great dishonor vnto them And wee must obserue this order heere for we ought not to begin with sharp reprehensions but with doctrine to the end men may be gentlie drawen rather then enforced by it Doctrine When the bare simple doctrine will not serue then we must adde confirmations Confirmations but if they will profit by heither of these then it is needfull to vse greater vehemencie In this maner it is that Isaiah thundreth here Reprehentions for hauing offred doctrine and signes to the king without fruit he now vseth the last remedie sharplie and grieuouslie chiding this obstinate man and not him alone but also all the house royall which was defiled with this impietie Is it a small thing He vseth comparisons betweene God and men not that those of whom hee speakes to wit the Prophets and faithfull Teachers can in deed be separated from God for they are nothing else but the instruments of the Lord hauing one common cause with him as long as they discharge their duties And the Lord testifies of them who so despiseth you despiseth me and he that heareth you heareth me Math. 10.40 The Prophet then shapes his speech according to the impietie of Ahaz and his fellowes because they thought they had to do only with men And no question but we may heare the like voyce which the wicked belch out euen amongst vs at this day Are they not men that speake vnto vs and by this meanes they thinke to make voyd the doctrine of God It being then an ordinarie thing amongst the prophane contemners of holie doctrine to speake thus the Prophet acknowledgeth indeed that they were men which had this charge committed vnto them to teach the word of God As if he should say be it that I am
the house of Dauid which by a speciall priuiledge ought to be exempted shall be wrapped euen vnder the like calamities For God so moderates his iudgemēts that whilest he spares his Church and prouides for the safetie thereof he yet in the end causeth the wicked who are mingled with the good to feele the rigor of his vengeance From the day that Ephraim 1. Kin. 12.16 The Scripture vseth this phrase of speech when it notes out say when a thing is sold extremely vnderfoote There is no field so barren and vnfruitefull that is not worth more if so bee a man bee able to husband it as they doe when a land is well peopled Hee addes the reason of the changing of the price whereby it appeares that he speakes of a wast and destruction There shall be no labourers saith he because of the bushes and briars which we see comes to passe in an extreme calamitie I thinke also that the letter Lamed which some haue expressed by the word To signifies Because For the enemies hauing pilled and made hauock of all and no husbandmen nor vinedressers being left the best husbanded places must of necessitie be couered with thick bushes and brambles His meaning is therefore that there shall be so few inhabitants that scarcely one should be found that would bestow the least piece of siluer to buy the fairest Lordships Vers 24. With arrowes and with bow shall one come thither because all the land shall be briars and thornes THe verb is in the singular number yet notwithstanding we may expound it by the plurall to wit that the Archers shall goe through Iudea Some thinke Isaiah speakes of Bowes and arrowes because the enemies should be so fearefull to behold that no man should dare to approch neere his possessions without armour But I thinke it more probable that men shall go a hunting where the land was well manured and dressed before because there should be caues and dennes for wilde beasts Now this is a miserable change to wit when fields which in times past were husbanded and fruitfull are conuerted into forests and bushes And therefore by bowes and arrowes in this place I vnderstand hunting and the sense is that the Farmers shall not come neere their Vineyards but the hunters and that they shall not meddle either with planting or pruning of vines there but others shall hunt wilde beasts in those places So that for conclusion he notes nothing else but an vtter desolation by meanes whereof the whole land shall be turned topsie turuie Vers 25. But on all the mountaines which shall be digged with the mattock there * Or there shall be no feare shall not come thither the feare of briars and thornes but they shall be for the sending out of Bullocks and for the treading of sheepe IT seemes heere that the Prophet contradicts himselfe for hitherunto he hath spoken of the consumption of the land but now when he saith that oxen shall feed in the places where were thornes and briars he describes as it were a new estate This hath caused some to applie these words to the consolation of the people But the Prophets meaning is nothing lesse because hee declares that the mountaines which were farre remote from the places where men dwelt and whither men went with great difficultie should be now fit pasture for Cattell by reason of the multitude of folks which should retire thither And because euery one would flee to the mountaines which in former times were desert and inaccessible they should not feare to be scratched with thornes because there should bee inhabitants enow to suppresse them Now this is a miserable thing when men can no otherwise escape from death but by running amongst the thornes and brambles His meaning is then that men shall seeke shelter and habitation in the mountaines which were desert and vnhabited because there shall be no roome left for safetie in the plaine And thus hee portraites out the ruinous and pitifull estate of all the countrie namely such an horrible destruction that the face of the land shall be vtterly changed from that it was before When the Prophet foretold these things to King Ahaz no doubt but hee contemned them For this wicked King resting vpon his forces and vpon the league with the Assyrians staied himselfe thereupon and setled himselfe againe vpon his lees as soone as the siege which threatned the Citie was raised and gone But Isaiah notwithstanding ceased not constantly to discharge his dutie shewing still that there was no succour but in God testifying to this wicked hypocrite also that his ruine would come from that place whence he looked for safetie and deliuerance THE VIII CHAPTER Vers 1. Moreouer the Lord said vnto mee Take thee a great roll and write in it with a * Or a common stile mans pen Make speede to the spoile haste to the pray THis Prophecie containes no new matter but is a cōfirmation of the former wherin Isaiah had prophecied the destruction of the two kingdomes of Israel and Syria which was at hand Hee had also foretold that both Countries should lose their Kings before the children which should be borne soone after were able to discerne betweene good and euill that is to say before they should bee of discretion But because the wicked take no warning by any threatnings it was needefull that this prophecie should bee repeated and confirmed by some signe First that he might awaken the people God commandeth this Prophecie to bee published and written to the end all might take knowledge of it We haue said heretofore See the end of the Preface before this Prophecie that the Prophets were wont after they had receiued commandement to publish any thing to the people to comprehend the summe of it in few wordes and then fixed it to the gates of the Temple as we may gather from the booke of Habacuk Hab. 2.2 wherewith if wee conferre this place the thing shall bee manifest enough But here is a more particular thing for hee not onely commands the prophecie to bee written but hee requireth a great and large roll to the end it might bee read a farre off For by how much smaller the letter is so much the more difficult and obscure it is to reade Heereunto appertaines that which immediately followeth touching the Stile of a common person The word Enosh is taken for a man of any trade to the end all yea the simplest ideots might reade that which should be written Make haste This short and cutted manner of speech hath much more vehemencie in it then if hee had stood to dilate the matter at large For euery one was able to carry home foure words to his house and in them to take knowledge of the swiftnesse of Gods wrath as also to bee the more neere and in good earnest touched with his iudgement no lesse then if hee had felt it with his finger Lastly the Lord would not striue with words because
it was now no time to pleade but rather to represent the matter by an outward signe By an example then he sets the vengeance of God before their eyes whereof the Prophets had so often told them in vaine before to the end it should pierce the more deepely into their hearts and should remaine engrauen in their memories So that as oft as one should but mention these words haste to the spoile they should also call to mind the destruction of Israel and Syria Chap. 7.14 and be further certified of it Now because the Prophet prophecied in the former chapter of the comming of Christ many vnaptly expound this of him to wit that being furnished with an heauenly vertue hee came to dispoile the prince of the world and therefore hastneth to the pray Although this hath some shew of wit yet it can by no means agree to the text For the true and plaine sense declares that the Prophet saith not any new thing but confirmeth that which hee had saide before Vers 2. Then I tooke vnto mee faithfull witnesses to record Vriah the Priest and Zechariah the sonne of Ieberechiah THe Prophet vseth a noune and verbe deriued from one roote and the meeting together of the words hath elegancie as if we should say I haue witnessed my selfe with witnesses Now because this matter was of great importance he tooke witnesses with him as men were wont to doe in things of consequence Hee calles them faithfull that is to say true and meete and yet notwithstanding one of them was a cursed and wicked apostata who to flatter the King 2. Kin. 16.11 built an Altar like vnto that at Damascus and openly consented to an horrible impietie and abomination I know there are others who are indeed of a contrarie opinion but if wee consider the circumstance of the time well we shall finde it to be euen that same Vriah who like a trencher-chaplaine conformed himselfe to the vngodly humour of the King as the holy historie witnesseth Whereas they thinke it was some other because Isaiah calleth him faithfull it is too weake a reason for the Prophet did not so much looke to the man as to the office which he exercised in regard whereof hee was sufficient to be a witnesse in this case He meant not to say then that Vriah was a good man but that his person was not to be reiected in regard of the authoritie of his office but was in respect thereof a witnes free from all exception as they say Moreouer I thinke this prophecie was fixed to the doores of the Temple in the presence of Vriah and Zechariah who were taken to be witnesses to it For hee speakes of no vision but of a commandement of God which hee indeed did and performed to the end these words might be as a common prouerbe in the mouthes of all the people Vers 3. After I came vnto the Prophetesse which conceiued and bare a son Then said the Lord to me call his name Maher-shalal-chash-baz I Make no question but this which followes happened to the Prophet in vision to seale vp the former prophecie It seemed then to Isaiah that he had the company of his wife and that by this copulation he begat a son vpon whom this name is imposed There were no absurditie if we should confesse that the Prophet had the company of his wife and that hee did indeed beget a child to whom this name was giuen neither would I much contend with him which should be of such an opinion But because it is not very likely that this name was imposed vpon any man there being no testimony of it I rather incline this way to think that this visiō was offred to the Prophet as a confirmation of the former prophecie He calles not his wife a Prophetesse as the wiues of Kings are called Queenes by way of honour but because she was a publike person in this vision Isaiah therefore out of doubt doth of set purpose turne away the mindes of the faithfull from thought of any carnall copulation that they might so much the more attend to this sacred mystery For howsoeuer it be a thing lawfull in it selfe to beget children in mariage yet notwithstanding nature it selfe teacheth that the act is a matter of blushing or shamefastnes which seeketh to do it secretly Vers 4. For before the child shall haue knowledge to crie My father and my mother hee shall take away the riches of Damascus and the spoile of Samaria before the King of Ashur HEre followes both the exposition of the obscure words of Isaiah as also of the vision adioyned vnto it For seeing God meant to speake briefly it was needefull it should bee intelligible I referre not the word child to the sonne of the Prophet but to all those that should bee borne soone after as I haue said heretofore Chap. 7.14 He threatens then that the two kings of Israel and Samaria shal be cut off before those children shall be of any growth Jn the presence of the King of Ashur That is to say according to his desire and will Wherein it may bee hee meetes with the ancient manner of those which triumphed before whose chariot they vsed to carrie the spoiles of the enemies Thus the spoiles of Damascus and Samaria shall bee borne before the King of Ashur From hence it appeares yet better that the Prophet meant nothing else but to foretell the ruine of the kingdome of Israel and Syria First for the comfort of the faithfull and secondly to scorne at the foolish feare of this cursed King which could not endure that the Lord should succour him He had not onely reiected the promises but also the signe which was offered him This is the cause why the Prophet doth so much the more reprooue the impiety of this king and of al the people as if he should say I see that thou art resolued to beleeue nothing but yet is the Lord determined to assist his chosen For thou shalt shortly see sudden and vnexpected changes by which God will deliuer his people And yet it is certaine that these things are not directed so much to the King as to the faithfull Whence we are to note that the seruants of God doe not alwaies speake so that the hearers doe by and by beleeue their sayings Isaiah speakes heer to the wicked whom he profited nothing at all Why then doth he direct his speech vnto them To the end hee may conuince them more and more and to lay their infidelity in their dish as also that the goodnes of God might be the better knowne For who would not haue thought but such an impietie would haue shut vp the gate of all Gods mercies from them yet notwithstanding the Lord by his goodnes ouercomes both the peruersitie of the King and of the people Now yee see the Prophets drift to wit that whilest he reprocheth the wicked with their pride he shewes them notwithstanding that God is alwaies like
then all the great and boysterous riuers of the Heathen let vs not therfore enuie the greatnesse and power of the wicked To this purpose it is said in the 46. Psal The streames of the riuer shal reioyce the city of God the sanctuary of the most high is in the midst therof therefore it shall not mooue God wil helpe it right early the Heathen make a noise the kingdoms shaked and the earth trembled The Lord of hostes is with vs c. Obiect If any shall obiect that the helpe and succour of men is not to be despised the answere is very easie Ans to wit that the Prophet condemnes not such helps here but that cursed feare which driues vs into despaire as when we are so affrighted that no promise of God whatsoeuer can hold vs in our places Let this be wel obserued Now we must yeeld God this honour to content our selues with him alone although all things else should faile vs seeing we are assured that he is alwaies redy to relieue vs. And then it is all one whether we haue outward helps or whether we haue them not For if we haue them it is in our liberty to vse them if wee haue them not let vs be content and let one God onely suffice vs for all necessities For hee is sufficientlie able to fulfill his promises of himselfe and needeth none of mans helpe therefore wee may boldlie commit our selues ouer into his onely custodie and safegard The Verbe Kalaq which sometimes signifies to passe is as much in this place as to spoile and cut off as if the Prophet should haue said Hee shall not onely slightly passe thorow Iudeah but shall also ouer-flow it so as he will drowne and destroy it wholly For he will spread himselfe all ouer the land in all places He addes Vers 8. And shall breake into Iudah and shall ouerflow and passe thorow and shall come vp to the necke and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the the breadth of thy land O Immanuel THis similitude is taken froÌ„ a maÌ„ who entering into a riuer goes forward by degrees til at leÌ„gth he come vp to the neck So shal Iudah be inuironed with this boisterous flood to wit with the Assyrian in such sort as he shall wade into it vp to the necke Now he speakes this of Ierusalem which was the chiefe and capitall Citie in the kingdome for when the Assyrian arriued there it was no hard matter to destroy all Iudah The bredth of thy land That is to say ouer all the parts of it The Prophet goes on still with the similitude of his prophesie and sheâ—es how great the violence of the Assyrian wil be and he amplifies his fiercenes and turbulencie by the same similitude to wit of a raging streame which hauing broken all ramparts that could be set before it ouerflowes and spreads euery way ouercaries and beares all downe before it For he followes his denunciation against the Iewes as he began to do in the two former verses And as he had threatned the Israelites and Syrians with destruction so now he likewise threatens the Iewes with the same For the better vnderstanding whereof we must consider the context which Isaiah disposeth very fitlie He had directed his speech before to others because Ahaz was vnworthie of it The Lord shall giue you a signe and this we haue handled in the former Chapter He therewithall addes the meanes whereby to preserue Ierusalem to wit by the sodaine mutations which should happen to Israel and Syria This was confirmed in the beginning of this Chapter as well by expresse commandement as by vision Now hee comes to the Iewes who should not thinke to escape without punishment as also that they should not be too much lifted vp with the fall of their enemies for he shewes that their reward is very neere and that they shall be chastised for their impietie and disloyaltie because they despised the Lord and would not be satisfied with his promises signes and benefits which were offred them in all fulnes and abundance Quest Immanuel Some aske why the Prophet rather turnes his speech to Christ then to call it Gods holy land for no doubt but by the name of Immanuel he meanes Christ It should seeme that this was said to expresse the indignitie of the offence so much the more because Iudah was not only consecrated vnto God but also had the pledge of his saluation in the person of the Mediator and therefore should be a great indignitie vnto them to be destroyed by an Infidell king Ans But I thinke rather the Prophet addes this word to giue some hope againe to the faithfull and to comfort them in so great a calamitie for they might haue been out of heart seeing the countrie so cruellie wasted and spoiled His meaning is to say then that this destruction shall not hinder the comming of the Redeemer of whom he had made mention before As if he had said The land shall be thine O Immanuel thou must dwell and remaine in it This then is added in stead of a consolation giuing them to vnderstand that the land being pilled and destroyed shall yet notwithstanding be rather Gods then mans And this turning and applying of the speech to the second person hath great vehemencie because by this meanes he hath recourse to the promised redemption to the end the Lord may moderate his anger in the midst of these horrible calamities Vers 9. Gather together on heapes ô ye * Or peoples people and ye shall be broken in pieces and hearken all yee of far countries gird your selues and you shall be broken in pieces gird your selues and you shall be broken in pieces THe Verb Raaf signifieth to bruise or to breake whether it descends from the word Roa or from Raah But because Raah signifies to conioyne or assemble some had rather take it in this sense which also agrees best with the argument and context of the Prophet For whereas some translate Breake you to wit either the kingdome of Iudah or the Assyrians it seemes too coÌ„strained too farre fetched But it appeeres that the Prophet describes the counsels and enterprises by which they thought to cut off the Church of God because he by and by addes Gird your selues Also in the beginning of the next verse Take counsell The word then of Assembling properlie agrees to this place vnlesse any had rather take the word to Breake by a figure to which I willinglie yeeld and so the word amounts to as much as to heape vp or as we commonlie say to pack vp hard together because things which are pressed are also consequeÌ„tlie pressed with violence and thrust together He meanes then not only an heape but an heape well pressed together as if he should say Gather your selues close together as if you were some very thick heape This signification as it seemes agrees very well to the circumstance of this place and that which is added
people who were dispersed abroad in the Countrie and villages but also to the greatest as to the Magistrates and Ministers who were in Ierusalem yea euen in this holy place I say where God intended that there remembrance of his name should especially be honoured The which Dauid also witnesseth when he saith that the master builders whom God had set on worke reiected the chiefe corner stone Plas 118.22 Iesus Christ alleadging this place against the Iewes Mat. 21.42 shewes that these words were spoken of him I deny not but this fell out in Isaiah his time but much more the time of Christ for impietie rebellion increased by little little euen till it came to the height So then as wel the great as the small who had alwaies obstinately resisted God did yet more licentiously ouerflow at that time so as being come to the top in the day of their destruction they were wholly forsaken of God whose Sonne they had wilfully reiected A testimonie prouing the Godhead of Christ And from hence we gather a testimonie of the eternall Godhead of Christ Saint Paul shewing that it is God himselfe of whom the Prophet heere speakes Rom. 9.33 Now hee mentions no new God but him who created heauen and earth and who manifested himselfe to Moses It is God himselfe then by whom the Church hath been alwaies gouerned Vers 15. And many among them shall stumble and shall fall and shall bee broken and shall be snared and shall bee taken HE continues to threatē the wicked as he did heretofore and denounceth that all those which would not rest vpon God should not escape vnpunished Now the threatning is this After they haue stumbled they shall fall and in the end shall be broken This agrees with the former Similitude in which he compares God vnto a stone Christ alludes thereunto comprehending both the members Whosoeuer falles vpon this stone shall bee broken and vpon whomsoeuer it shall fall it shall grinde him to powder Matthew 21.44 That which followes afterwards They shall bee snared and taken agrees to the Similitude following wherein he compares God to a net and snare Let not the wicked thinke themselues then stronger then God or wiser then hee for they shall feele in the end both to their cost and ruine that he is the strongest and wisest Therefore it must needes follow that they bee brought to nought because they shall be broken to powder in an instant or else so enwrapped that they shall neuer winde themselues out Now these things are not proper vnto God otherwise thē accidentally if we may so speake for his proper office is rather to draw men vnto him and to to giue them assured ground of their saluation which was very well knowne and seene most cleerely in Christ In regard whereof Saint Peter saith that howsoeuer many vnbeleeuers stumble at him yet that their falles ought not to hinder our faith that it should not alwaies march on because to vs Christ is a chosen and pretious stone 2. Pet. 2.4 Vers 16. Binde vp the testimonie seale vp the law among my Disciples THe Lord now turnes his speech to the Prophet and incourageth him against he should fight against Apostataes and rebels to the end he might execute his office boldly and constantly which was not a little needefull For Isaiah had tried the great rebellion which was in the people so as if he had looked onely vpon the present estate to wit the infidelitie of the people and the labor which hee bestowed in vaine hee might forthwith haue been vtterly out of heart For this cause the Lord purposed to confirme and ratifie his vocation afresh vnto him and not for his sake alone but for all their sakes also which should obey his doctrine And howsoeuer few should giue credit to the same yet doth the Lord witnesse notwithstanding that his doctrine is sealed vp to those few and that for their sakes Isaiah was not to giue ouer teaching neither yet that the others should cease their walking in the obedience of faith Now he compares the doctrine of the word to Sealed letters which many might hold and handle but yet notwithstanding could not bee read nor vnderstood but of a small number that is to say of those to whom they were directed And thus there are very few who vnderstand the word of God for they are the elect onely howsoeuer it be offered to all in generall The word of God then is sealed vp to those that profit not by it and yet so sealed as that the Lord opens the same notwithstanding to his chosen by his holie Spirit Some deriue the verbe Tsur which signifies to Binde of the verbe Natsar and translates Keepe Now although this bee of no great importance yet notwithstanding it appeares by the other word Seale that the expositiō which I haue followed is the best for the ancients were wont to binde a threed about their letters and then to set the seale vpon it Now from hence wee gather a most profitable doctrine to wit that the Pastours and Ministers of the word ought to continue constant in their office although it seemes that all reuolt and that nothing is to be seen in men but outrage and rebellion because the Lord will euer reserue vnto himselfe some disciples which will profit in the reading of his letters howsoeuer they be closed and shut vp to others The Prophet will vse the same Similitude Chap. 29.11 where hee saith that the word is like to a closed booke but there mentions the wicked onely but heere hee speakes of the Disciples amongst whom his doctrine should not be vnfruitfull But some will demand whether the Prophet should leaue the people so Quest as to withdraw and shut vp himselfe apart with his disciples Ans who made some benefit of his warnings I answere This was not the Prophets intent for it was the will of the Lord that he should preach publikely and manifest his message vnto all And because he spake as to deafe eares might therfore lose his labor and so bee discouraged in seeing no fruit to come thereof the Lord heereby incourageth and strengtheneth him to the end he should go on forward still although all things were in a manner desperate that so contenting himselfe with the small number of his disciples he might be more couragious in his ministerie then euer before Vers 17. * Or So. Therefore I will waite vpon the Lord that hath hid his face from the house of Iaakob and I will looke for him SO I will wait I had rather translate the Hebrew particle Van in this sense because the Prophet retires himselfe apar◠as it were hauing receiued consolation from the Lord as wee haue seene heretofore It is as much then as if hee had said Seeing the Lord is pleased to haue some Disciples amongst whom his doctrine should bee sealed I will wait although hee hath hid his face from Iaakob That is to say although
these things as if they should haue said Our happinesse consists in our deliuerance from death not to leade our liues onely in the land of Canaan but rather that we should aspire to the kingdome of heauen This place admonisheth vs that we should not swallow vp the benefits which wee receiue from God so as wee should forthwith put them to forgetfulnesse but ought râ—ther to lift vp our mindes vnto Christ for otherwise it will bee but a flashing and vaine ioy because such benefits will not make vs taste the sweetenesse of the loue which God our Father beares vs vnlesse his free election ratified in Iesus Christ goes before Lastly To rest in the enioying of outward benefits without hauing an eye vnto Christ will proue but a vanishing ioy in the end the Prophet would not haue this people to rest in the pleasure of that one outward and transitory deliuerance which they obtained but that they should consider the end thereof to wit the conseruation of the Church vntill such time as Christ the onely Sauiour and redeemer should appeare For hee it is who ought to bee the matter and end of all our ioy A childe is borne to vs. The Iewes doe impudently wrest this place for they expound it of Hezekias who was born notwithstanding before this prophesie was published But hee here speakes as of a new and rare matter yea which more is it is a promise to confirme the faithfull in the hope of a thing to come whence wee may truely gather that such a child is here spoken of as should be borne afterward He is also called the Sonne of God I deny not but the name of Sonne stretcheth very far in the Hebrue tongue Chap. 65.20 but it is when some other word is ioyned therewithall Euery man is the sonne of his Father those who haue attained to the age of an hundreth yeeres are called Sonnes of an hundreth yeeres the wicked are called Sonnes of iniquitie those which are blessed Sonnes of blessing Heretofore in the fifth chapter verse 1. Isaiah called the fruitfull hill the Sonne of the Oliue But this word Sonne by it selfe can be vnderstoode of none but of the Sonne of God And here it is attributed vnto Christ by way of excellencie to the end we might knâ—w that by this marke he is separated from all other men Neither is there any doubt but the Prophet had respect to that famous Prophesie which was so often in the mouthes of all I will be his Father 2. Sam. 7.14 and he shall be mâ— Sonne Psalm 86.27 as it is said in the second Psalme Thou art my Sonne this day haue I begotten thee For had it not been a thing commonly knowne that the Messias should be the sonne of God the Prophet had vnaptly and to little or no purpose mentioned the name of Sonne barely and simplie This title therefore depends vpon the Prophecie before going from whence the Apostle concludes that Christ is more excellent then all the Angels and is exalted farre aboue them Heb. 1.5 Moreouer although Christ should be contemptible in the person of a little child yet notwithstanding his dignitie is adorned with the title of Sonne I confesse indeede that he might also haue been called the Sonne of Dauid but it is better referred vnto God Now the other titles following we know doe in no sort belong to Hezkeias And I will hereafter refute at large the cauils wherewith the Iewes arme themselues to corrupt this place Let them barke as long as they will yet is the thing cleare and most apparent vnto all such as will iudge thereof peaceably and with sound iudgement There is also great weight in this which he addes that this sonne is giuen to the people to the end the Iewes might know their saluation and also the saluation of the whole Church was inclosed in the person of Christ And this gift is one of the principall articles of our faith for the birth of Iesus Christ should little auaile vs vnlesse hee were giuen vnto vs. Christs biâ—â—â— should lâ—tâ—lâ— auaile vs vnlesse the Father had giuâ—n him vnto vâ— Now in the verses following Isaiah shewes what this child and his condition shall be His gouernment is laid vpon his shoulders It is vtterlie friuolous to thinke as many do that the Prophet alludes to the Crosse of Christ He bare his Crosse vpon his shoulders Iohn 19.17.18 and thereon triumphed gloriouslie ouer the prince of the world But seeing it is heere said That the gouernment is laid vpon his shoulders in the same sense as it is said that the key of the house of Dauid is laid vpon the shoulders of Eliakim as we shall see in the 22. Chapter we haue no need to coine new inuentions without a foundation Me thinks heere is rather a close opposition betweene the gouernment which the redeemer should beare vpon his shoulders and the yoke which was mentioned before verse 4. wherewith the tyrants oppressed the poore captiues This exposition agrees well and is not subiect to any cauill whatsoeuer The Prophet shewes then that the Messiah shall in nothing resemble those foolish kings who giue themselues to lasciuiousnes neuer taking thought for the discharge of their duties for he shall be strong and mightie to vndergoe the burthen imposed vpon him Thus he extolles the maiestie and excellencie of Christ because he shall obteine honor and authoritie by his owne power and shall not execute his office with his fingers ends only but with his whole strength His name shall be Although the verbe be of the actiue signification yet notwithstanding because it is taken indefinitlie I haue been bold to render it in the neuter gender for it is as much as if the Prophet should haue said in the plurall number They shall call This maner of speech is in vse amongst vs Frenchmen saying * On appellera They shall call For whereas the Iewes referre this vnto God and reade it thus Wonderfull Counseller The mightie God The eternal father and Prince of peace shall giue him his name wee see easily that they do this of set purpose and with an affectation of darkning the glorie of Christ for were they not so obstinate as to desire to spoile him of his Deitie the text would run exceeding well as our men haue turned it Besides what need was there to adorne God with these epithites if the Prophet had only meant to say that he should giue the name to Messiah For the epithites which are wont to be giuen to God are either perpetuall or applied to the matter which shall be handled which we see is not so in this place Furthermore it were a peruerting of order to put the name of God in the middest of diuers epithites but it should rather be put before the verb Shall call to wit The mightie God shall call c. Moreouer I see not how the name of Counseller can simplie agree vnto God for it must be
blesse thee or speake blessedly as if hee should say There is no greater pestileÌ„ce amongst people then flatteries which nourish al licentiousnes of dissolutions But yet I will follow that reading which I haue approued of before where wee met with the very same word Chap. 3.12 Now his meaning is that the gouernours and magistrates whose office it was to leade and hold the people in good order and in an honest course of life gaue liberty and licence to all to doe what them listed suffering them to follow vice and wickednesse and that in regard thereof they were worthily esteemed seducers and corrupters for the corruption flowed from them vpon all the people as from the head into the members The dutie of Magistrates of Ministers Magistrates and Pastors are chosen to represse the dissolutions of people to ordaine that which is good and right and especially to maintaine the honour of God If they contemne these things they are rather to bee esteemed impostors then Pastors because they bring in horrible confusion And when euery one gouernes as he lists without any order what is to be expected but some woful euent Whereas the people bee so chastised for their offences wee must not therefore say that the gouernours should looke for lesse punishment for they made none account of the charge which was committed vnto them and in so doing were the cause of all those euils When hee addes that those which are led are deuoured although by this particle his meaning is to say that wicked Princes and those who rule as they list cannot but bring all things to ruine as also because the teachers deceiue and abuse the people in stead of shewing them the right way because the people perish through their owne default yet notwithstanding he therewithall shewes that neither the one nor the other is to be excused as if the wicked gouernours should serue as a couert for their faults as commonly men are wont to imagine For if the blind leade the blind as Iesus Christ saith they shall both fall into the ditch Matth. 15.14 It being certaine that there was none of them all who was not willingly misled And therfore those onely who tooke delight to bee deceiued were deuoured by the wicked and disloyall leaders Vers 17. Therefore shall the Lord haue no pleasure in their young men neither will hee haue compassion on their fatherlesse and of their widowes for euery one is an hypocrit and wicked and euery mouth speaketh folly yet for all this his wrath * Or shall not be c. is not turned away but his hand is stretched out HEere Isaiah shewes more plainely how horrible this vengeance of God shall be against all estates So farre off is it that the guilty should saue themselues that euen children young men and widowes shall not escape although they haue been wont to spare such and that in the cruellest warres Which mercy histories doe shew hath been practised euen by the very heathen at the sacking of Cities But the Lord shewes heere that he will haue neither respect to age nor sexe Although yet another sense will not bee amisse to wit that though the battels depriue many women of their husbands and children of their fathers yet that God will not cease for all that to chastise both widowes children and fatherlesse But because this sense concernes the principall point very little I therefore stay not my selfe in it Now to the end they should not accuse God of crueltie hee therewithall shewes good cause why hee ought to be thus seuere towards them because they shall bee found wicked and therefore worthy to bee equally cast headlong into destruction and that by a most iust sentence Hypocrites I minde not to differ from the common opinion touching this word although Chanaph signifies a wicked one disloyall corrupt For it seemes he toucheth the chiefe spring and fountaine of all euils saying that there was no sparke of the true feare of God amongst them Hee speakes not of some light dissimulation then but of an inward contempt which benummes mens consciences so as they cannot be moued by any admonitions at all as if hee should say They are wholly sunke deepe in their rebellion But for as much as iniquitie drawes the hands feete and other parts of the bodie with it after it hath once gotten possâ—ssion of the vnderstanding therefore the Prophet addes Gen. 34.7 Iosh 7.15 that they aâ—e all wicked In the third place hee affirmes they ouerslowed so farre as without blushing to boast of their sins The word Nâ—balah which some translate folly hath oftentimes a larger signification among the Hebrewes for it is taken for villanie wickednesse and frensie The Prophet therefore as I thinke meant to say that they are so giuen to iniquitie that there need none other witnes to be takeÌ„ against theÌ„ then their own togues Yet for all this c. He againe repeates this sentence which indeed ought often to be repeated because it sufficeth not to be once instructed how grieuous the iudgemeÌ„ts of God are against the vngodlie seeing we easily and quicklie forget them and thereof it comes that we soone cast off all care and feare And bâ—sides a false opinion bâ—guiles and blindfolds vs which is that after God hath chastised vs only once we think his power is spent Wherfore as oft as God corrects vs it is good we hold vs to this principle namely that by the first God threatens vs with a greater calamitie The fiâ—st stroke God giues vs 〈…〉 foreâ—unnâ—r of a g eâ—ter vnlâ—ssâ— wâ— prâ—uent the sâ—me â—y timely repentance See Leuit. 26 18.21.24.28 vnlesse we repent betimes And seeing the Lord â—eiterateth this admonition so oft let vs learne thereby to set it alwaies before our eies to wit that the wrath of God is not yet appeased although it seemes he hath sharplie corrected mens iniquities What are we to iudge then when hee giues vs but a fillip and away as at this day indeed we haue been afflicted but what is it in regard of these extreme calamities wherewith this people were oppressed and yet the Prophet threatneth that the Lord prepareth new rods for them What will become of vs then Truelie the Lord will doe his office and will alwaies bee like himselfe If this terror do not awaken vs our blockishnesse is intollerable I haue translated the verbe To turne in the time to come to the end the sense might bee the more cleere for although he speakes as of a thing past yet notwithstanding he threatens a coÌ„tinual successioÌ„ of punishments to the rebellious Vers 18. For * Or vnbeliefe wickednesse burneth as a fire it deuoureth the briars and the thornes and will kindle in the thicke places of the forrest and they shall mount vp like the lifting vp of smoke THe Prophet taxeth the wicked who make a trade of discharging themselues of their faults to lay them vpon God For either they seeke starting
holes by perswading themselues that they are innocent or they extenuate their sinnes if they be conuinced as if God were too rigorous And the truth is that they will neuer confesse God to bee iust in correcting them vnlesse it bee by constraint and albeit they dare not excuse themselues openly yet they fret and grumble inwardly The Prophet minding to represse such a stubburnnes compares the calamities to a fire but he addes that the impietie of men is the wood and fewell which kindles Gods wrath as if he should say They all of them cry out and complaine that the wrath of God burnes fiercely and yet they consider not in the meane while that they kindle and enflame the same by their sinnes as with bellowes and that these sinnes doe adde new matter daily to this fire yea euen they themselues burne and consume inwardly in the fire of their iniquities That which he saith of the briars and thornes is as much as if hee had said that this flame should spread it selfe throughout all the quarters of Iudea Now he expresseth two things together to wit that the chastisements of the wicked did proceede from the iudgement of God and yet that the fault is wholly in the sinners to the end they might not mutter as if God had dealt cruelly with them But his manner of speaking hath an elegant degradation for experience shewes that when the fire is kindled in any low place it increaseth by little and little and then spreads it selfe more and more euen till it hath attained the top Isaiah shewes that in such wise shall the wrath of God be because it should not inuade the wicked at the very first but should kindle by little and little so as at length it should ouerspread farre and wide In the beginning the Lord proceeds moderately if he gaine nothing by touching and going then he doubles his blowes But if he see vs altogether indurate then hee sets his wrath on fire Chap. 33.11 Chap. 5.24 Psal 83.14 Chap. 40.24 41.2 47.14 vtterly to destroy and consume vs euen as the fire burnes vp a thicke forrest Lastly as the other Prophets say Wee shall finde our selues to be but straw and stubble when the wrath of God is once kindled Vers 19. By the wrath of the Lord of hosts shall the land be darkened and the people shall be as the meate of the fire no man shall spare his brother HAuing shewed that the cause of all euils proceeds from our selues to whom they therefore ought to be imputed hee teacheth by consequence that God reuengeth himselfe iustly For seeing men draw miseries and calamities vpon themselues God permits them not to escape his hands Not that hee is inclined to crueltie for hee is louing and gentle but because he is iust and cannot indure the wicked Hee expresseth the vengeance of God by the similitude of smoke and darkenesse then which nothing is more heauie and dolefull because so fearefull a iudgement could not well be expressed but vnder borrowed speeches Although it seemes hee alludes to the smoke whereof hee had spoken before For when a fire is growne to such greatnesse and burnes so on euery side the brightnesse must needees be obscured by the darknesse of the smoke No man shall spare his brother In this last particle and in the verse following the Prophet describes by what meanes the Lord will execute his wrath after it shall bee so inflamed For though wee discerne no enemies which might astonish vs God can arme one of vs against another to destroy our selues As if he should haue said that God will not be much to seeke in bringing his vengeance vpon you which he hath threatned because although others should let you alone not molest you ye the can ouerthrow you euē by ciuill warres Now it is an horrible thing and monstrous to say that none should spare his brother and that euery one shall deuoure his flesh For a man neuer hated his owne flesh Ephes 5.19 But when God hath blinded vs what letteth that wee should not destroy one another And although this bee odious yet it comes to passe euery day There is neither coniunction of blood Gen. 1.27 9.6 nor of religion nor of the image of God which we all beare that can hold vs in although euen the very heathen sometimes deferred to do euill being bound with nothing else but the common band of naturall societie because they knew that the beasts themselues agree together taking knowledge of one another not exercising crueltie to any of their owne kinde for one Wolfe will not eate another neither one Beare another It is much against nature then that men from whom the name of humanitie proceeds should be so cruell as to eate one an other therein surpassing the rage of wilde beasts This euill then can not fall out but by reason that God hath blinded them and giuen them vp vnto a reprobate sense for when as men are in peace they thinke themselues free from all dangers and feare nothing But the Lord derides such securitie and shewes that he will execute his wrath vpon them euen by their owne hands which he wil arme and prouoke against them Vers 20. And he shall snatch at the right hand and be hungrie and he shall eate on the left hand and shall not be satisfied euery one shall eate the flesh of his owne arme THis is a common speech To pull and hale on all sides and this phrase sets forth an insatiable or cruell auarice Also this desire of snatching pricks men forwards vnto crueltie Now he expresseth their insatiable desire with greater vehemencie in that being prouoked by a blinde crueltie possessed with more then a brutish furie their teeth also shall be set on edge with no lesse appetite to suck the blood of their brethren then to eate the flesh that is bought in the shambles This circumstance greatly aggrauates the sharpnes of the vengeance A signe of some fearfull punishment ensuing whē brethren bite and teare one another to wit that the children of Abraham and the holie posteritie of the chosen people should ouerflow into so horrible a rage Let vs remember then that it is a token of a fearefull punishment of God when brethren band themselues one against an other with a furious desire or lust to teare one another in pieces Vers 21. Manasseh Ephraim and Ephraim Manasseh and they both shall be against Iudah yet for all this his wrath is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still THese two Tribes were speciallie linked together for besides that they descended of one father Abraham there was yet a neerer coniunction in that they tooke their originall of one Patriarke Ioseph Gen. 41.50 Abrahams great grand-child Now although they were so neere allied yet notwithstanding God shewes that he will cause them to haue such conflicts together that they shall destroy each other euen as if they should deuoure the
from the hypocrites and contemners who ceased not to heape sinne vpon sinne Afterwards it is said he gaue the reines to the rage of the enemies that they should deuoure and ouerflow into all kinds of pilling and extortions And yet we must not take this as if because the Assyrians had commandement from God they might therefore excuse themselues for God commands after two sorts to wit by his secret counsell whereof men haue no knowledge secondly he commands by his law which we ought chiefly to haue regard vnto that so we may answere a companie of fantasticall spirits who dispute prophanely of the counsell of God wheÌ„ they will excuse their owne and others impietie Wee must then wisely distinguish betweene these two sorts of commandements We must distinguish betweene Gods secret and reuealed will for seeing the Lord declares his will in his law I ought not to mount vp to his secret counsell which he hath hidden from me but ought rather to bring my selfe simplie vnder his obedience Obiect If any shall alledge that he obeyes God when he plungeth himselfe into dissolutions Ans he is a lyar and accuseth God in vaine to be the author of his wickednesses whereof his owne heart knowes himselfe to be guiltie for in this respect there needs none other witnesse but euery mans owne conscience I grant that God serues his turne of the wicked but the wicked haue no purpose therein to serue God Therefore when he works by the wicked and reprobate The wicked do Gods wil yet it is not with a minde to serue him but their owne lusts it is a thing accidentall in regard of men for they haue no intent of seruing his will neither haue they any will thereunto If therefore they take this pretext they may be easily conuinced as vtter rebels against God seeing they only do that which pleaseth themselues for they haue the expresse will of God in his law so as they seeke it in vaine any where else In regard of them then they do not the worke of God but the diuels because they serue their owne lusts It is certaine that the Assyrians did not so much as looke for any reward for their paines at Gods hands but were caried away with their lusts ambition and auarice in the meane while the Lord ordered their endeuors and counsels to another end which was to them vtterlie vnknowne Now the summe of this place is that a rare and extraordinarie testimonie of Gods vengeance should be manifested when the Assyrians should ouerflow with a furious licentiousnes because they should be sent of God not to deale mildlie or moderatelie with his people but to pill and sack them as in open warre He addeth also To be trod vnder feete which is the vttermost of all rage for what can men do more then with shame and contempt to stamp them vnder feete whom they haue vanquished Vers 7. But he thinketh not so neither doth his heart esteeme it so but he imagineth to cut off and destroy not a few nations BEcause the wicked doe trouble the consciences of the weake by casting out the fome of their rage as if God had not the power to hold their fiercenesse and furie short the Prophet preuents this betimes and exhorts the faithfull to know that they are iustlie afflicted by a secret iudgement of God although the wicked ouerflow into all dissolution So then he shewes that which we touched erewhile namely that the Assyrians shall minde nothing lesse then to serue God and to be executioners of his vengeance but we shall see by and by to what end they did it For some might obiect thus Obiect Thou art the Ambassador of God why doest thou menace vs with the Assyrians As if belike this furious beast would yeeld obedience to the commandement of God Ans To this he answereth that God is such a wonderfull workeman that he knoweth how to draw those to do him seruice who thinke nothing at all thereon or which otherwise would not obey him Although saith he that their endeuors and counsels tend whollie to another end yet nothing shall hinder God that euen by them he should not execute and fulfill that which he hath ordeined For many might replie What a preposterous course is this Will God subiect his chosen people to profane nations There is no equitie at all in it that our estate be we sinners as we are in the highest degree should be made worse then the condition of theeues who by their wickednes and impietie had deserued a most seuere punishment The Prophet declareth then that the Assyrians should haue their turne also and should be iustlie punished in their time and yet ought no man to thinke it strange if they afflict pill deuoure massacre others seeing they should not want their recompence Besides the Prophet comforts the faithfull and asswageth their trouble and perplexitie shewing that God holds the pride of these wicked ones short lest they should exercise whatsoeuer pleased them He teacheth then that howsoeuer the wicked furiouslie rage that God notwithstanding moderates his owne iudgements from heauen so as he takes a speciall charge of the saluation of his Church And therefore although that Ashur be inflamed as as cruell beast after his pray yet he commands the faithfull to lift vp their eies vnto God whose counsell is farre remote from this blind furie of the enemie Vers 8. For hee saith Are not my Princes altogether Kings THe Prophet shewes the cause why the Assyrian will not thinke himselfe to bee the rod of God namely because hee was so blinded with pride that he acknowledged not any power aboue his owne Neither can it otherwise be that those should in any sort submit themselues vnder the prouidence of God who resting vpon their greatnesse attribute this and that vnto their owne forces For then are wee said to giue the chiefe dominion vnto God when we beleeue that it is vnpossible to moue the least finger without his will Contrariwise whosoeuer thinks himselfe to haue any power of his owne hee vsurpes Gods power vnto himselfe with a pride full of sacrilege as in this place the Prophet describes the insolencie of a profane King in liuely colours who proudly vaunted as one hauing all things This especially happens to great Princes for they are so blinded with abundance of riches munition and power that they hardly can bee brought to thinke themselues men Of which wee haue too much experience for what Prince shall we see at this day who thinks or remembers that he is a man and subiect to the miseries of this present life They are so carried away with giddinesse of spirit that they thinke to â—ttaine to the top of whatsoeuer they haue determined by and by and that in despite of all impediments whatsoeuer Vers 9. Is not Calno as Carchemish Is not Hamath like Arpad Is not Samaria as Damascus HEere hee names certaine Cities although others affirme that they are regions
would take them away and peck at him with their billes or else they would indeuour to driue him away by hissings and shrill cryings But this Tyrant boasts that there was no bodie durst so much as open his mouth against him and that by meanes thereof he conquered all kingdomes without any great adoe and therefore he attributes all these things to his wisdome acknowledging no prouidence of God at all Now the Prophet hath set forth these brags of set purpose and that euen by the mouth of the Tyrant himselfe to the end he might shew that these boastings of his were so many bellowes as it were to kindle the wrath of God For if such a proud caytiue were not to be borne with among men how much lesse can the Lord suffer or endure such an one Vers 15. Shall the axe boast it selfe against him that heweth therewith or shall the saw exalt it selfe against him that moueth it as if the rod should lift vp it selfe against him that taketh it vp or the staffe should exalt it selfe as if it were no wood HEre the Lord doth more apparantlie deride the follie of this outragious Assyrian by which hee promiseth vnto himselfe mountaines and wonders For saith the Lord it is all one as if the axe or hammer should despise the hand that holds it and should brag of their nimblenes whereas it appeares well enough that these are but dead instruments without any proper mouing But before wee further expound the sentence at large I will touch something brieflie as concerning the Prophets words The second member of the verse is somewhat obscure True it is that the sentence is plaine but there is some ambiguitie in the maner of speech which also causeth great diuersitie among the expositors All things being well weyed then me thinks the sense which I haue giuen sorts best with the text What Were it not a monstrous spectacle if the staffe should exalt it selfe against him that takes it vp as if it vvere no vvood For the particle â—â—th often signifies as much as Against and the Copulatiue Vau is also often superfluous And thus we shall haue a cleare exposition and such a one as agrees with the Prophets meaning Heretofore he reproched the king of Ashur because he attributed the victories which he obteined to his counsels and forces but now he saith that herein this Tyrant exalted himselfe against God neither more nor lesse then if the axe despising the hand that ruled it should appropriate the praise due to the workeman vnto it selfe or that a staffe should rise vp against him that handleth it as if it were some other thing then wood which yet is dead and without strength Whence wee may know that men exalt themselues against God when they attribute vnto themselues more then is meete and that they war not so much with men like themselues as with the Lord himselfe Let vs then reiect these proud speeches so full of blasphemies as I haue done this by my power I haue directed this by my wisedome I haue brought such a thing to passe by my industrie For the Lord is a iealovs God Exod. 20.5 and cannot abide to giue his glory to another Isaiah 42.8 Now let vs obserue these comparisons whereby he likeneth men to instruments But first of all we must not referre this to the prouidence of God in general by which all creatures are ordered and gouerned as some doe who confesse indeede that all are moued of God because they can neither will nor chuse but they adde that euery creature is moued according to his naturall instinct as the Sun the Moone the heauens and such like things Thus they imagine that man is carried hither and thither by his owne will and free choice because God doth nothing else but continue the power which hee gaue at the beginning Now their errour tends hereunto that the frame of the whole world is indeed sustained by the hand of God yet so that it is not needful the particular mouings shold be ordered by his prouidence And thus they attribute vnto God the office to send raine and faire weather in as much as hee is the creator of nature and yet neuerthelesse that God commands nothing but the raine is ingendred of the vapors and faire weather proceedes from some other naturall causes Now this confused gouernement which they leaue vnto God is scarcely the one thousand part of the dominion which he attributes to himselfe Isaiah therefore rightly establisheth him as president ouer all actions so as hee disposeth of men according as it pleaseth him best no lesse then if they were rods in his hand He bowes their counsels ordereth their enterprises and moderates their actions to the end wee might know that all things depend vpon his prouidence and not vpon the appetite of the wicked Obiect Yet they reply that there is no reason wherefore men should bee thus called axes and swords and that in the meane while their will iudgement and whatsoeuer else that distinguisheth them from beasts should be taken away from them so as of men we should make trunkes of wood or stones Ans But the answer is ready for although God compares men to stones it followes not therupon that they should be altogether like them For that which is like is not the same but agrees in some point For although a staffe cannot moue it selfe hither and thither yet notwithstanding is fit to giue blowes so the wicked haue something in nature and yet can they turne themselues neither one way nor other further then they be still guided by the prouidence and secret counsell of God Thus this fitting or agreement of things hindereth not that the whole action should not be attributed to God onely But it is very farre from the purpose that some doe heere moue that question touching the will of man For although God be said to hold the counsels of men in his hand and turnes their enterprises and executions to what end it pleaseth him doth it therefore follow that they consult not or cease to deuise this or that For wee must not here imagine any constrained will as if God drew men whether they would or no but hee rules all their mouings by a wonderfull and an incomprehensible manner yet so as their owne will remaines vnto them still Now Isaiah teacheth chiefly in this place that all the indeuours of men are vaine if the Lord giue not an issue vnto them and therefore that the King of Ashur could haue done nothing what enterprise soeuer hee had taken in hand if God had not giuen him his victories In regard whereof hee hath no cause to attribute the praise of those things to himselfe which hee obtained not but by the meanes of God And this is it which hee confirmes by another similitude when hee saith that the lifting vp of the staffe comes not from the nature of wood but from the will of him which handleth it Vers 16. Therefore shall
mightie trees he meanes whatsoeuer is strong excellent and high so as he foretels the ruine and destruction of Iudea and compares it to the cutting downe of a forest signifying that there shall be nothing so high and excellent in the countrie which the enemies shall not cast downe euen till they shall haue stripped the land of all her ornaments He also makes mention of Lebanon for wee know that it was a mountaine greatly renoumed in regard of faire goodly trees which were in it but if he had spoken of the Assyrians there should haue been no reason in it for him to speake of the destruction of Lebanon Whence we gather that he heere threatens the Iewes againe and that the preface of his Sermon agrees very well when it begins at this particle demonstratiue Behold Vers 33. Chap. 10. Reade the former Section saue one for the better vnderstanding of the verse following THE XI CHAPTER Vers 1. But there shall come a rod forth of the stock of Ishai and a graffe shall grow out of his rootes BEcause the description of so horrible calamities might astonish the faithful and might therewithall minister matter of despaire vnto them it was very requisit to set some word of consolation before their eyes For the beholding of the kingdome wasted the cities ouerthrowne and all parts of the countrie destroyed could not but worke sighes and deepe gronings in them so as they might very easily haue been shaken and in the end vtterlie become desperate if the Lord had not preuented them by this consolation The Prophet then shewes what the Lord will do in time to come as also how he will restore the kingdome Now he still continues the similitude which he had vsed in the former Chapter Vers 33.34 for there he said that Iudea should be brought to nought euen as the fire consumes the forest The deformitie of this countrie then should resemble a wast ground where nothing can be discerned but ashes after the trees haue been consumed with fire But to the end there might be some resemblance betweene things opposite he saith that a rod shall come forth of a stocke which yet shall become a tree and shall spread his branches and fruits farre and neere For this cause I haue chosen rather to translate the word Gueza A dry stocke then roote although the matter be not great whether of them both we vse and yet this word stocke notwithstanding doth better expresse the Prophets meaning for hee signifies that howsoeuer the stocke be dry yet the graffe which shall come forth of it shall bee more excellent then all the forrests in the world Whence wee gather that this prophecie cannot agree to any other person then to Christ because no such graft was seene to come forth before hee came into the world Verily this can no way be applied vnto Hezekias neither yet to Iosias because they were aduanced euen from their birth to be Kings at the length As touching Zorobabel he neuer came to the thousand part of that dignitie which the Prophet extolleth in this place Wee see then that the consolation of the poore and desolate Iewes is heere set before them in one onely Messiah and that their hope concerning the same is deferred euen till his appearing For when he was manifested there was no hope left of any restoring or reestablishing of the kingdome neither in deed could they haue had any if this promise had not been added because it seemed that the house and linage of Dauid was vtterly extinct For this cause he mentions not Dauid but rather the familie of Ishai 1. Sam. 16.11 12. 2. Sam. 7.11 Psal 78.70.71 because the dignitie of this family was so diminished that it seemed rather the house of a countrie Farmer then the house of a King for such indeed was the house of Ishai when Dauid little thinking thereon was called to the gouernment of the Kingdome Thus then after they had lost their antient glory and had receiued so great a discomfiture hee calleth it the familie of Ishai because it was the most inferiour of all others And therefore I thinke that the consolation rather beginnes heere then at the end of the former Chapter The Iewes might doubt in so horrible a destruction who should be their defender Isaiah promiseth one vnto them howsoeuer hee must come forth of a drie stocke He continues still the former similitude of the forrest as I haue said because it hath greater elegancie then if he had simply said that Messiah should come For hauing shewed heretofore that the forrest should be vtterly consumed hee addes notwithstanding that a rod shall come forth which shall restore the abundance and beautie of this burnt forrest againe and this rod is Iesus Christ who should come to bee the protector and Sauiour of his people Now it is not needfull to shew how abiect and base the beginnings of this kingdome was Truely all that was to bee seene therein was so poore and weake that to outward appearance all things the originall of the blood royall excepted seemed to be directly contrary to this which should be accomplished in the person of the Redeemer Yea so low were they brought that this royall race was as good as vtterly extinguished for who would haue thought that a poore Carpenter had been begotten of the royall feede Besides in what place I pray you was Christ borne Marke 6.3 and what was his bringing vp To conclude after he had spent his whole life in contempt and continually exposed to shame and derision was he not cruelly and shamefully put to death by which hee was to begin his kingdome Yet notwithstanding all this he grew into an infinite greatnesse euen as a great tree growes vp of a small little seede as Christ also himselfe teacheth vs Matth. 13.31 whereof wee haue daily examples Mark 4.32 For it must come to passe of necessitie that the same should befall his kingdome which came to passe in his owne person Vers 2. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest vpon him the spirit of wisedome and vnderstanding the spirit of counsell and strength the spirit of knowledge and of the feare of the Lord. NOw he begins to speake of Christ plainely and without any figure It had been sufficient to haue propounded the consolation vnder the former similitude and fitly did the opposition answere betweene the burning of the forrest and the new restoring of it againe He therein described the twofold estate of the people for hauing spoken of the calamitie he by and by addes the hope of restauration the beginning whereof notwithstanding must come forth of a little bud but now hee manifestly shewes what this deliuerance shall bee and what the condition both of Christ and his Kingdome should be also Some thinke this should rather be referred to Ezekiah who was a figure of Christ but how inconsiderately wee shewed heretofore For when Ezekias was borne the name and royall
dignitie of the house of Dauid had yet vigor and strength in his successours and besides hee was farre short of this greatnesse whereof he will speake by and by Moreouer hence we gather that the spirituall Kingdome of Christ was promised in times past to the antient people inasmuch as the vertue power and maiestie thereof is heere established in the gifts of the Holy ghost Now albeit Christ had little neede of these gifts and graces yet was it needfull for vs that he should be thus inriched with them because hee tooke our flesh vpon him to the end hee might afterwards powre out againe all those benefits vpon vs whereof we should otherwise haue been vtterly destitute For out of his fulnesse must we all draw grace vpon grace euen as out of the fountaine Ioh. 3.37.38 according to that in Iohn 1.16 The Spirit of the Lord. We must keepe that in mind which I touched erewhile to wit that this is to be referred to the humane nature of Christ because it could not be that hee should haue been inriched with the gifts and graces of the Father but as in respect that he was made man Besides as he descended froÌ„ heauen for our sakes so did he also receiue the gifts of the holy Ghost from heauen to adorne vs with them and this is that anointing whereby he obtained this name of Christ the which he communicates to vs. For whence comes it that wee are called Christians but â—y reason that hee receiues vs into his fâ—llowship Eph. 4 7. and that he distributes to euerie one of his fulnâ—sse according to the measure of his fâ—â—â—â—â—â—â—ralitie We â—re 〈◊〉 be in this place not so much wiâ—â— Châ—â—t is in him â—e f as wh â— hâ— hâ—â—h â—â—ceiued â—f his Father thâ—t he â—ight fiâ—l vâ— wâ—â—â— his abunâ— nce And in very deed this placâ— doth not so much teach vs what Christ is in himselfe as rather what he receiuâ—d of the Father that hee might fill vs with his abundance Now albeit there is no great need that wee should stand long in opening the meaning of the words yet not withstanding if any will haue a short difference betweene wisedâ—me and vnderstanding I am of opinion that the word wisedome doth generally comprehend whatsoeuer belongs to the order and rule of life 1. Wisâ—â—me and then that vnderstanding is added in stead of the exposition thereof 2 Vnderstandâ—ng For if we haue the foresaid wisedome wee shall haue vnderstanding enough This word counsell 3. Counsell signifies as much as the word Iudgement whereby wee are able to giue resolution in doubtfull things for it were not sufficient to haue vnderstanding vnlesse wee were therewithall endued with counsell to guide vs safely in matters of importance The word strength is sufficiently knowne 4. Streng h. As touching knowledge or skill it differs lâ—ttle from vnderstanding vnlesse it should rather appertaine vnto knowing and so â—t should declare the act 5 Knowledge The feare of the Lord 6 The feare of the Lord. signifies a sincere affection to serue and honour God Now the Prophet reckons not vp all the graces of the holy Ghost heere as many haue thought For the Papists haue sottishly and vnlearnedly drawne their seuen-formed gâ—ace from this place and some of the antienâ—s haue been no lesse absurdly deceiued therein then they Isaiah mentioneth but sixe they haue added the seuenth of their owne head And as one errour lightly followes another so they haue indeuoured to restraine the gifts and graces of the holy Ghost to be but seuen in number and yet notwithstanding in other places wee see that there are as many epithites more attributed vnto him Gal. 6.1 2. Tim 1.7 according to the diuersitie of his effects Morouer it is a thing sufficiently knowne that wee our selues are made partakers of many other benefits by the meanes of Christ then those which are heere recited to wit meekenesse chastitie sobrietie truth holinesse and the like which comes to vs from no other fountaine then from Christ himselfe Hee recites not all the gifts heere then which were conferred vpon the Lord Iesus neither was it needfull so to doe his meaning was onely to shew that Christ was sent vnto vs furnished and adorned with all graces fit to inrich vs with all If these things had not been added peraduenture wee might haue conceiued the restauration of this kingdome to be carnall rather then spiritual as the Iewes doe or might haue imagined Iesus Christ had been vnfurnished of all necessarie graces And therefore hee shewes first generally then particularly that the gifts of the holy Ghost were powred into him These gifâ—â— of the holy Ghost namely wisdome vnderstanding counsell strength knowledge and the feare of the Lord are therefore powred into Christ that we standing in neede of all or any one of them might boldly beg the same at his hands to the end we might boldly goe vnto him to aske those things we stand in need of For he will inrich vs with wisdome and vnderstanding he wil giue vs counsell when things are confused he will make vs strong and valiant in combats and will beautifie vs also with godlinesse that is to say with the true feare of God in a word hee will furnish vs with all things needful for our life and saluation The Prophet then comprehends all gifts and graces heere so as it is too foolishly done of them who haue gone about to suppresse that which is not heere expressed Now hee shewes that all graces are in Christ to the end they might be communicated vnto vs for which cause we are called his companions in the 45. Psalme verse 8. For as the strength of the members flowes from the head so Christ powres out the vertue of his heauenly vnction vpon the whole body of his Church Whence it followes that those who are barren and dry haue no communion at all with Christ and therefore doe falsly challenge vnto them the name of Christians As often therefore as wee feele in our selues the want of any of these gifts let vs accuse our owne infidelitie as the cause of it because true faith makes vs partakers of all Christs benefits Let vs humbly intreat the Lord then that he will not suffer the lusts of our flesh to raigne in vs that so Christ may wholly vnite vs vnto himselfe Let vs also obserue that it is onely in Christ in whom wee are to seeke all good things For we greatly deceiue our selues if wee thinke to obtaine any thing at the Fathers hand by any other meane Vers 3. And shall make him prudent in the feare of the Lord for he shall not iudge after the sight of his eyes neither reproue by the hearing of his eares THe verbe Riach which is put heere in the coniugation of Hâ—phil signifies properly to smell It may also bee expounded in the actiue signification To giue a piercing smell which I thinke agrees as fittest
to this place that this prudencie might also be placed amongst the gifts of the holy Ghost And this effect also agrees particularly vnto the person of Christ to wit that he is wise and prudent to gouerne his owne boyond al that the capacitie of any of the faithfull is able to comprehend First we are to note the similitude of the verbe To smell which signifies that Christ shall so abound with iudgement and discretion that he shall not neede to apprehend any thing either by sight or hearing because hee shall be able by his onely smell to discerne the most secret and hidden things The most part of the expositours take the particle In the feare of the Lord as if all the affections of the heart should bee discouered before Christ so as hee should be able easilie to iudge who are the true seruants of God But let the readers consider if the sense would not agree better to say that the feare of God is taken heere for a certaine rule of iudgement For the Prophet doth of set purpose distinguish the heauenly iudgement of Christ from the iudgement of men to the end we might know that the outward appearance of holinesse or integritie is nothing at all approued before him The sense then is that when we come before the tribunal of Christ he will not onely examine things according to the outward actions as men doe in ciuill policie but the life is there examined and squared out according to the rule of true pietie Neither indeed is it fit for men to bee the searchers of the heart and we shall often see that there is onely a vaine appearance in those whom we shall esteeme honest men but Christ iudgeth not by the outside because he knoweth and soundeth the vttermost and hiddenest secrets of the heart His iudgement then is far different froÌ„ mans iudgement who though they bee neuer so expert and wittie doe yet too foolishly oft times ouershoot theÌ„selues Thence it followes that none can be the true seruants of God but those whom Iesus Christ approueth Now they cannot bee approued of him vnlesse they shew a pure and vpright heart for we cannot deceiue him by any false and vaine appearances Vers 4. But with righteousnesse shall he iudge the poore and with equitie shall he reprooue for the meek of the earth and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips shal he slay the wicked HEere he teacheth that Christ shall be the protectour of the poore To whom these graces formerly mentioned doe propeâ—ly appertaine or rather hee shewes who they are to whom the grace of Christ properly appertaines to wit to the poore and meeke that is to those who being humbled vnder the sense of their owne miserie haue throwne to the ground this high and proud conceit of themselues wherewith men are vsually puffed vp till being meekened by the word they haue learned to humble themselues The Prophet heere protests then that Christ will not be the defender and protectour of all in generall but of those who acknowledge themselues poore and destitute of all good things And this Iesus Christ himselfe shewed to the Disciples of Iohn Baptist when he told them that the Gospell was preached to the poore Mat 11.5 For all are not indeede indifferently capable of this doctrine All are not not capable of this doctrine but those onely who being stripped of all ouerweening of the flesh haue their recourse to this heauenly saueguard and protection There is heere then a close opposition to wit that Christ gouernes not the rich that is to say those who are blowne vp wiith a false opinion of themselues because that howsoeuer he cals al men vnto him yet notwithstanding the most part refuse to subiect themselues vnder his gouernement for they are the poore onely which suffer themselues to be guided by him This text admonisheth vs to strippe our selues quite and cleane of all pride and to put on the spirit of meekenesse and modestie if wee desire that Christ should rule vs vnder his hand Behold heere then the spirituall pouertie which the Prophet recommends to all the members of Christ which is not to be swollen with an ouerweening bâ—t truely to be humbled with the feeling of our pouertie and miserie to the end we may depend vpon Christ onely Hauing once resolued throughly vpon that this King and faithfull protectour will take care of our saluation and will defend vs euen to the very end against all our enemies we also heere learne who they be that he calles vnto him Come to mee all you saith he that trauaile and are heauie laden Matth. 11.28 Needfull it is then that we trauaile and be pressed vnder the weight of our burthen if wee will feele and haue experience of his succour Wee haue also to obserue the order which the Prophet keepes heere for first hee placeth pouertie and afterwards meeknesse or gentlenesse We must be poore before we can be brought to meekenesse because we must be poore before wee can bee brought to be meeke and lowly As long as we thâ—nke our selues to be any thing being puffed vp with a vaine confidence of our owne worth our heart forthwith ouerfloweth into all pride and conceitednesse so as wee cannot be humbled nor brought into any order but when we once know our own miserie then we beginne to abase our selues and being weake and oppressed wee are forced to sigh vnder the burthen He heere describes then the condition of Christs people In the former verses the Prophet did set forth the nature 〈◊〉 of Christ as he is the King of his Church heere he describes the qualities and condition of his subiects as heeretofore hee had set forth the nature of their King whence also we are to learne that all doe not indifferently partake in these excellent gifts of the holy Ghost wherewith Christ was adorned as we haue seene heretofore but the poore and humble onely Now this word to iudge signifies gouernmeÌ„t the principall part whereof is that Christ makes vs partakers of those gifts which hee hath receiued of his Father to the end hee might liue in vs and we in him And shall smite the earth In this place the Prophet extolles the efficacie of the word which is the royall scepter of Christ For the rod of the mouth is as much to say as a verball scepter and in the second member speaking of the breath or spirit of the lips hee repeates the selfesame thing as if he should say Christ shall not neede to borrow strength from others to beate backe his enemies and to ouerthrow whatsoeuer is contrary to his dignitie and Empire for his onely breath or word shall be sufficient thereunto Now this may be a generall sentence seeing it is of necessitie that the faithfull doe first die to the end they may bee renewed into a spirituall life And in this sense Rom. 15.16 the
Medes Zocdians Bactrians and other Easterne people Shinar or Ethiopia is comprehended in Chaldea By Hamath some vnderstand Cilicia and other neighbour regions about Mount Taurus Vnder this word of the Iles the Iewes vnderstand all the regions which are beyond the sea For according to their opinion Greece Italie and Spaine are Iles because the sea is betweene them and others We see then that the Prophet speakes not onely heere of the deliuerance which was vnder Zorobabel but the aimes at a further marke for the Iewes were not then carried into Egypt neither into Ethiopia nor yet into any other regions This cannot be vnderstood then of the deliuerance out of Babylon but ought to be referred to the kingdome of Christ vnder which this deliuerance hath been and is accomplished by the preaching of the Gospell Moreouer we must obserue that this which is heere mentioned is a speciall worke of God and not of men because hee saith that the Lord shall stretch out his hand heerein attributing that to the diuine power of the Lord which men cannot accomplish by all their strength We are also to note that from the consideration of the benefits which the Lord hath done for vs in times past wee ought to be the better confirmed in hope for the time to come so as when we call to minde the deliuerance out of Egypt and out of Babylon Former deliuerances should incourage vs to hope for the like in time to come 2. Cor. 1.10 wee may boldly conclude that the Lord is as mightie now as he was then and that he will no lesse assist vs at this day euen in setting vp the Church againe in her primitiue beautie and glory He can performe the same thing the third the fourth yea many times which hee hath done once or twice Whereas the Prophet calles those whom God deliuers a remnant let vs learne not to affect a great multitude Multitudes not to be affected vnlâ—sse truth and righteousnesse doe also flourish but let vs content our selues with our small number and not bee abashed although we be but a few For if so be the truth and righteousnes of God florish amongst vs we shall hâ—ue true and ample occasion giuen vs to rest therein securely Vers 12. He shall set vp a signe to the nations and assemble the dispersed of Israel and gather the scattered of Iudah from the foure corners of the world THis verse containes nothing in it but the explication of the former Now this maner of speech is taken from a similitude the sense whereof notwithstanding may be double to wit either that the Lord in making this signe will amaze the enemies in such wise as they shall not dare to stop the passages against the people which shall returne or rather that hee will set vp a signe to the poore banished to the end they should make no difficultie to take their iournie home againe Besides the vse of this doctrine hath its force amongst vs euen at this day for looke how the standard is lifted vp in the Campe to assemble euerie one to his colours and to hold himselfe in battel aray so also is the standard now set vp before vs to the end all of vs should gather our selues together thereunto that is to say The Gospell which the Lord hath lifted vp amongst the Gentiles and in the which Iesus Christ is preached vnto vs. From hence let vs obserue that we cannot be gathered vnto the Lord vnlesse wee come vnder this ensigne and bee vnited vnto him by faith For he will not acknowledge vs for any of his sheep if we be not gathered in from our scattering and that all of vs doe assemble our selues vnder this banner as himselfe also saith My sheepe heare my voyce and they follow me Iohn 10.27 There is a repetition in the word To gather for he shewes how effectuall the calling of God shall bee because he will set his people in their former estate euen as soone as he shall be pleased to make but a signe onely The word scattering is collectiue and vnder it he comprehends the Iewes scattered here and there It seemes also that he alludes as hee often doth in other places to one selfe same text of Moses where the Lord promiseth to gather together his people when they shall be scattered to the vtmost parts of the world yea euen into the foure corners of the earth Deut. 30.4 Now this was fulfilled vnder the leading and gouernment of Christ at this day therefore ought wee to hope that by the meanes of this good Captaine the poore and desolate Church shall bee restored For otherwise there is little hope that this small remnant shall bee gathered together vnlesse the elect doe bend their eyes toward this ensigne We ought often therefore to call these promises to minde to the end wee being vnderpropped by them may bee more and more established and confirmed Vers 13. The hatred also of Ephraim shall depart and the aduersaries of Iudah shall be cut off Ephraim shall not enuie Iudah neither shall Iudah vexe Ephraim HEere hee promiseth that there shall bee such great tranquillitie in the Church that the Israelites and the Iewes shall not waste themselues any more by ciuill dissensions neither yet bee molested in any sort by their enemies also that they shall not bee subiect to hatred nor enuie as they were before Not as if there should no wicked ones at all be found still among them but that the Lord will roote them out at the last Yet we are especially to obserue that which he addes touching the pacifications of ciuill hatreds and dissensions to wit that the children of Abraham shall no more molest one another but shall be at vnitie in one religion and in the true feare of God For it was an odious and detestable spectacle to see them so long time sworne enemies one to another Enuie the fountaine of dissensions It is not for nought that he shewes the fountaine of dissensions to wit enuie which was the cause why the successours of Abraham did rent one another when the Tribes of Iudah and Ephraim stroue amongst themselues for the excellencie This cursed fire brand enuie hath kindled all the warres in the world when as no man will humble himselfe nor part with the least iot of his right In a word the Lord promiseth heere both an outward and an inward peace which is an excellent and desireable benefit aboue all things But some will say that this was neuer yet accomplished Obiect and that we haue rather seene the contrarie come to passe For as soone as the Gospell beganne to be published diuers wars tumults and horrible persecutions followed thereupon all the world almost was in an vprore and shaken and since I pray you what peace hath the Church had within it Satan by sowing of his cockle and cursed seede hath stirred vp horrible troubles euen amongst Christians themselues so as the Church hath had none more
therefore appertaines properly vnto the faithfull and elect Greâ—t diffeâ—ence betweene the afflictions of the godly and the wicked thâ—ugh they seeme alike in outwaâ—d appearance for although the afflictions of the faithfull the wicked are alike in appearance yet is there great difference betweene them For the wrath of God against the reprobate is perpetuall and the plagues which they receiue are the tastes and beginnings of their eternall destruction neither haue they any promise of refreshing or comfort But the faithfull feele by experience that the wrath of God endures not long and doe therefore cheere vp their hearts with good hope and assurance because they know that God will be mercifull vnto them in the end which hope certifies them that hee chastiseth them not so much for their sinnes as rather to bring them to repentance 1. Cor. 11.31 that they should not perish with the world Vers 2. Behold God is my saluation I will trust and will not feare for the Lord God is my strength and song he * Or shall be is also become my saluation ALthough wee ought to apprehend the helpe of God in the midst of afflictions by faith yet Isaiah speakes heere of that knowledge which is grounded vpon experience for he endites a song of reioycing when God by outward testimonies gaue them to vnderstand that he was pacified towards his Church Heereunto appertaines the particle behold because the bright and shining light of Gods countenance which had for a time bin hidden from them did now shine againe vpon them and that so apparently that it might almost be pointed out with the finger Now inasmuch as wee are terrified in afflictions so as it cannot be auoided but the the conscience of sinnes will ouershadow our vnderstandings no otherwise then as if the helpe of God were farre from vs or did nothing at all appertaine vnto vs the Prophet doth heere describe what a change there is in the affections when God hath once reconciled vs vnto himselfe But this prophecie extends it selfe principally vnto the comming of Christ This propheticall song extends it selfe principally to the comming of Christ in which time God caused his saluation to appeare after a more speciall manner He addes afterwards that when wee are once well resolued that our saluation dependeth vpon God that the same is a stedfast foundation of fall assurance and a singular remedie to appease feares For without this wee must needes tremble be still in vnquietnesse and perplexities and miserably tossed to and fro Hence wee gather that confidence proceedes from faith Confidence proceedes from faiâ—h as the effect from the cause as the effect from the cause For by faith we feele that our saluation is in God from thence followes a quiet and peaceable estate in the conscience but where faith is not there the conscience cannot be in quiet Let vs know then that we haue well profited in faith We haue wel profited in faith when we are furnished with this confidence when we are furnished with this confidence which the Prophet heere describes Moreouer this confidence ought so to beare rule in our hearts that it ought to put all feare and horrâ—ur to slight not that wee can be vtterly exempt from all feare and disquietnesse Confidence ought so to beare sway in our hearts â—s to put all feares to flight but because assurance will beare away the victorie at the last Yet notwithstanding wee must remember what I haue said namely that the Prophet heere sets forth the cheerefulnesse which the faithfull inioy when God is fauourable vnto them whereas in former times they were almost ouerwhelmed vnder the weight of temptation For the Lord is my strength He more cleerely and in a more especiall manner expresseth that the faithfull shall haue good occasion to sing because they shall know by experience that their strength was in their God for the truth is that their deliuerance was an excellent proofe of the power of God But seeing Isaiah recounts not heere the benefit of one day onely but extolles the worke which God determined in himselfe to continue vntill the comming of Christ it thereupon followes that the praises of God are not sounded forth as is meete Who they be that are fit to praise God vnlesse it be by them who feeling their weakenesse doe onely seeke vnto God that hee would furnish them with strength and power For it is not said heere that hee should be a part or the stay of our strength but that hee is our full and perfect strength The reason is because wee haue no more strength and power then that wee receiue from him And in this regard also the faithfull say that he is their song because they are thus liberally dealt withall by him to the end they should exercise themselues in thanksgiuings Whence we gather that the beginning of ioy proceedes from the fauour of God Psal 50.23 and that the end of that ioy is the sacrifice of praise Truely the hearts of the faithfull ought to bee so disposed to patience We ought to praise God euen then when we seâ— manifest tokens of his wrath much more when wee perceiue signes of his fauor that they should not cease to praise God euen when they see tokens of his frowning countenance yet in the time of peace and prosperitie they haue much more cause to open their mouthes to the end they may sing forth the benefits of God with a loud voice But because the wicked reioyce euen whilest they despise God and besot themselues like bruit beasts with a false ioy rocking their consciences asleepe therein neuer awaking themselues to praise God iustly doth our Sauiour Christ curse their ioy Woe bee to you saith hee that now laugh Luke 6.25 for you shall weepe your ioy shall be turned into heauinesse and your laughter into gnashing of teeth In the end of the verse if any be pleased to retaine the preterperfect tence of the verbe the sense will be that the faithfull sing ioyfully because God hath saued them The sense will also agree very well in the future tence to wit that God hath not deliuered his chosen once onely but that hee will also continue the same vnto the very end for the faithfull ought not to stay themselues in the beholding of the present benefit alone but to stretch forth their hope to the continuall progresse of Gods fauour Vers 3. Therefore with ioy shall yee draw waters out of the wels of * Or out of the Sauiour saluation BY this verse he confirmes that which we haue touched before to wit that this Chapter is as it were a seale to confirme the promise made touching the deliuerance of the people This song is a seale to confirme the promise made touching the peoples deliuerance as if he should say The saluation of the Lord is set before you as a liuing fountaine out of which you may draw waters
in abundance This similitude is very fit for as there is nothing more necessarie for this present life then water so nothing troubles and disquiets vs more nor goes so neere vs as the want thereof doth Thus by a figure called Synecdoche when a part is taken for the whole he shewes that whatsoeuer is necessarie for the sustentation of life is giuen vs freely out of the meere bountie of God And because we are barren emptie of all good things it is no maruell that he compares the mercie of God to a fountaine which satisfies them that are thirstie refresheth those that are parched with heate and recreates those that are wearie and laden Of the sauiour This word sauiour agrees much better heere then if he had said out of the fountaines of God For wee haue farre greater cause of consolation when we know yâ— himselfe is the author of our saluation The Prophet therefore hath appropriated this epithite according to the circumstance of the place Now if this promise comprehends vnder it the whole kingdome of Christ wee for our parts ought alwayes to applie the same vnto our vse Let vs know then that the goodnes of God is heere offred and set before vs to the end we might satisfie our selus to the full therewith For we ought as Dauid saith to be as the parched ground gaping for thirst Psal 143.6 and to aspire vnto these waters of the sauiour Now this goodnes of God is wonderfull and incredible when he permits not that our desire should be in vaine but freely offers and presents a fountaine vnto vs out of the which we may draw waters in abundance Moreouer Iesus Christ is this fountaine Iesus Christ the true fountaine and in him we haue the participation of all Gods benefits for as S. Iohn saith we draw all out of his fulnesse Iohn 1.16 It remaineth then that wee goe directlie vnto him as soone as our pouertie and want presseth vs. Vers 4. And yee shall say in that day praise the Lord call vpon his name declare his works among the people make mention of them for his name is exalted HE not only exhorts them one by one to praise God and to giue him thanks but would also that they should stirre vp others with them to doe the like And as he had sayd before Chap. 2.3 many people shall goe and shall say Come and let vs goe vp to the mountaine of the Lord prouoking one another by mutuall exhortations to imbrace the pure woâ—ship of God so after he hath commanded euery one of them to render thanks to God he would now also that they should incite one another to the same dutie He shewes then that this ought not to be said only to one but to all and not only in one time but for their whole life Now in a briefe summe he shewes how God is rightlie honored when he commands vs to call vpon him and to reioyce in none but in him only For this cause also the holy scripture by the word Inuocation comprehends often times vnder it the whole seruice of God vsing therein a part for the whole for by prayer wee shew the trust that wee haue in God and this indeede he requires of vs aboue all things I also thinke that pâ—ayer is ioined with praise that the Prophet might comprehend the whole seruice of God Make mention c. His meaning is that this deliuerance shall be so excellent a work that it ought not to be hidden from any corner but published thorowout the whole world I grant that he would haue the Iewes to acknowledge this in the first place but after he caused all people to haue the knowledge of it And this exhortation whereby the Iewes shewed their good will was as a preamble to the preaching of the Gospell which was afterwards published For as the Iewes magnified the fauor which God had shewed them amongst the Medes and Persians and other nations neere about them so also after Christ once appeared they ought to haue been heraults to publish the name of God thorowout all the quarters of the world Hereby it appeares with what zeale all the faithfull ought to be moued namely that they cause the goodnes of God to be manifested vnto all to the end the seruice of God may be imbraced Now we ought then especiallie to be moued with such an affection when we haue been deliuered from some great danger as out of the iawes of the diuell and from vnder the tyrannie of eternall death Vers 5. Sing vnto the Lord for he hath done excellent things this is knowne in all the world HE goes on stil with his exhortation shewing vs from what affection this prayse ought to proceed for he teacheth that it is our dutie to publish the goodnes of God in all places and yet must we not exhort nor prouoke others to go forward and our selues in the meane time to stand still with our armes acrosse but we ought to leade them the way by our example for there is nothing more absurd then to see them slothfull and negligent which prouoke others to prayse God Now in saying that God hath done excellent things he thereby signifies that there is great cause to sing Neither in deed would the Lord haue them to sing forth his praises vpon no ground but he gaue them ample and very good cause thereof when he deliuered his people out of that extreme hard bondage Now we haue alreadie said that we must not restraine this song to one moment of time but that it ought to be extended euen vnto the whole kingdome of Christ This worke therefore is excellent indeed when God sent his Sonne Ioh. 3.16.17 Heb. 2.14 by whom he hath reconciled vs vnto himselfe and hath destroyed the dominion of death and of the diuell If wee then consider wel of this worke of our deliuerance as we ought we shall haue exceeding abundant matter giuen vs to praise God When he saith in the last member that this is knowne in all the world hee therein toucheth the calling of the Gentiles and confirmes that which hath been alreadie said to wit that this worke shall be such as it ought not to be concealed in some one corner but to be publishâ—d thorowout the whole world Vers 6. * Or reioyce and sing Cry out and shout O inhatant of Zion for great is the holy one of Israel in the midst of thee HE againe exhorts the faithfull to reioyce in God and therewithall shewes what is the true reioycing and whereupon it is grounded No felicitie but where God dwels For we can haue no felicitie but when God dwelâ—es in the midst of vs without this our life is poore and miserable although wee had the abundance of all other benefits and riches whatsoeuer So then if our hearts bee ioyned to this treasure this felicitie will draw all our senses easily vnto it He calles God holy to the end we might know that
we may humble our selues vnder Gods scourges and learne to be wise by other mens costs and crie vnto the Lord for comfort in our afflictions Vers 1. The burden As touching this word bâ—â—â—en What is vnderstood by this word burden which we shall meete so often withall I will brieflie shew how we are to vnderstand it When the Prophets meane to denounce any aduersitie they vsuallie vse this word burden that the people might know how no aduersitie should happen which the Lord himselfe should not lay vpon them euen as a burden or faâ—dle is laid vpon mens shoulders Now in regard that the wickednes and inflexiblenes of the people constreined the Prophets to speake incessantlie of Gods scourges thence it came to passe by a common stout or deriding maner of speech that the Iewes gaue this name of burden to all the prophesies as it appeareth in the 23. of Ier. vers 36. where the Lord sharplie rebukes them because by this flouting kind of speech they not only disfamed his word but also made it odious and contemptible Moreouer this word shewes that God sends all calamities and afflictions to the end euery one may beare the punishment of his owne sinne He expresly shewes that that which he was to threaten was reuealed vnto him by a heaueÌ„ly vision to the end this authoritie might put all discourses of fleshlie wisdome to silence It was a thing no doubt hard to be beleeued that a Monarchie so beautifull and abounding with so great riches could be ouerthrowne by any meanes In regard therefore that so great a power might not dazell their eyes the Prophet brings them to the truth of the heauenly oracle to the end they might by faith vnderstand that iudgement of God which they were not able to comprehend by sense Vers 2. Lift vp a standard vpon the hie mountaine lift vp the voice vnto them that wag the hand that they may go into the gates of the nobles THere is a similitude in the word mountaine because it is spoken to Babylon which as we know was seated vpon a plaine but he sets it as it were vpon an hie place like a fortresse mounted vp aboue all peoples and that in regard of the Monarchie Vnlesse any had rather take this word indefinitly as if he should say that wheÌ„ the standard shall be lifted vp they shall runne thither from farre countries because it will draw people vnto it from all parts by the sight of it I take this latter sense to be the most probable but I thought it not amisse to set downe that first which was commonly receiued Notwithstanding this might seeme ridiculous that the Prophet should heere lay a commandement vpon the creatures as vpon his subiects were it not that he was taught to doe so of God and was furnished as it were with his authoritie For a priuate man heere commands the Medes and Persians hee calles armies he bids them display the banner sound the trumpet to prepare vnto battel In this place then wee haue to consider the Maiestie of God in whose name he speakes Doctrine and also the vertue and efficacie which is alwaies ioyned to his word Wee often meete with these kindes of speech in the Prophets to the end we might know that God threatens nothing by his seruants the execution whereof is not at hand Isaiah might haue spoken more simply and in plainer tearmes might haue told them that the Medes and Persians shall come and breake open the gates of Babylon how strong and inuincible soeuer they seemed to be But these exclamations haue much greater vehemencie in them when hee not onely threatens war as taking to himselfe the person of an Herald but with soueraigne authoritie commands the Medes and Persians to come as if they were souldiers vnder his pay Besides he not onely teacheth that they shall bee readie when God shall onely make a signe vnto them because they shall be pricked forward by his secret instinct but being sent of God to denounce the ruine of Babylon he attributes the effect of so incredible a thing to his owne voice The summe is that when God hath once spoken we neede make no doubt but that his word shall be accomplished This is also worthy our obseruation that he speakes to the Medes and Persians and yet names theÌ„ not and this hath much greater vehemency in pointing them forth with the finger as when we say This man and that man This manner of speech serues to confirme the prophecie when he shewes things which were far off as being present When he saith Shake the hand and they shall enter his meaning is that the Medes and Persians shall no sooner set forward at Gods commandement but they shall haue an open and easie way to march without any impediment Now although the Hebrewes call Princes gracious Lords and bountifull as our Lord Iesus Christ also giues them this title in the Gospell notwithstanding it rather seemes that the Prophet speakes of the excellent power whereof the Babylonians boasted Luke 22.25 For they were furnished with multitudes of people and all preparations for war aboue any others so as it was a thing incredible vnto them that they should euer be ouercome But the Prophet declares that nothing shall bee able to let that God should not prepare the way and giue passage to the enemies Vers 3. I haue commanded them that I haue sanctified and I haue called the mightie to my wrath and them that reioyce in my glory HEere the Prophet brings in the Lord speaking and declaring his Commandements He calles the Medes and Persians his sanctified that is to say those which hee had prepared For the verbe To sanctifie is diuersly taken sometimes it is referred to the spirit of regeneration which is peculiarly giuen to the elect of God Sometimes also it signifies to set apart or prepare which signification is the most fitting to this place Now all those whom the Lord creates hee also appoints to some certaine vse and scatters not men here and there vpon the earth at randome to range whithersoeuer they think good but he gouernes them by his secret counsell orders and moderates the violences of the reprobates so as hee moues them at his pleasure this way or that way and then represseth and pulles them in short when hee listeth And therefore he calles them sanctified whom hee hath set apart and prepared for his seruice howsoeuer they bee no whit aware of it Whence wee are taught to attribute and referre all the changes in this world to the secret counsell of God In this place also wee haue a meruailous consolation to wit that the wicked shall be able to doe nothing but that which is decreed of God let them enterprise what they will Where hee immediately addes that he hath called them it is much more then to command which hee puts in the first place For his meaning is that the enemies shall not onely rouze vp themselues at the
signe which God shall giue them but at his expresse commandement euen as if I should call one to come vnto mee and hee should forthwith follow me He shewes then that Babylon shall be destroyed by the Medes and Persians no otherwise then if they should yeelde obedience to the call of God For although their ambition pride and crueltie was the motiue touching themselues which prouoked them to the warre yet God fitted them thereunto without their priuitie that they might bee the executioners of his iudgement Vers 4. The noise of a multitude in the mountaines like a great people a tumultuous voice of the Kingdomes of the Nations gathered together the Lord of hostes numbreth the host of the battel HE now addes a more liuely description by which he sets the things themselues as it were before their sight because the Prophets contented not to speake only vnlesse therewithall they did euen plainely represent the things wherof they spake for words barely and coldly pronounced after a common maner moue not so much neither doe they touch mens hearts so to the quick as fuguratiue speeches doe which represent the liuely image of things It is then as if the Prophet should say You now heare a man speake but know ye that this voice shall haue such great efficacie that by the very sound thereof nations shall be moued peoples shall make a noyse and a great sound for the great multitudes of them yea they shall cast forth fearefull cries and all to bring Babylon to ruin This cry then shall haue such force and that after my death as if that which I now threaten were presentlie before your eyes By this therefore we see of how great efficacie the word of God is when all creatures both in heauen in earth yeeld obedience vnto it So much the more then ought we to be confirmed in this doctrine seeing nothing came to passe which was not foretold long time before This is the reason why he affirmes in the latter end of the verse that God will assemble diuers nations together vnder his conduct and howsoeuer they shall haue no meaning at all to execute those correctiōs which he hath ordained yet shall they do nothing but by his appointmēt euen as if some Captaine amongst vs should muster or set his souldiers in array Vers 5. They come from a farre countrey from the end of heauen euen the Lord with the * Or vessels or instrumēts weapons of his wrath to destroy the whole land HE yet more fullie confirmes that which I said erewhile to wit that the preparations of warre come not out of the earth nor by hap hazard for albeit men by their lusts raise vp those troubles which are in the world yet God hath an ouerruling hand aboue them Isaiah therefore rightlie attributes the preheminence vnto him seeing men are nothing but the weapons of his wrath Now he saith that the destroyers of the Monarchie of Babylon shall come from a farre countrie the reason is because we seldome feare any dangers vnlesse those which be very neere vnto vs. Babylon was in such wise fortified and well compassed about with so many kingdomes and prouinces which were subiect vnto it that it seemed no enemies could euer so much as approch vnto it In a word she feared no dangers at all euen as if she had been compact together and built in the cloudes In as much then as there was no danger which threatned this citie any way round about it he therefore shewes that the destruction thereof shall come from farre For although all things may seeme quiet and peaceable in our conceit hauing no controuersies at all with our neighbours yet notwithstanding God is able to cause enemies to come from the vttermost part vnder heauen Wherefore we haue no occasion to promise a secure and prosperous estate vnto our selues although we should discerne no danger neere at hand to threaten vs. If this prophesie should haue been caried to Babylon no doubt but they would haue despised it as a meere fable For let it bee granted that they would haue had some respect of the Prophets person yet would they in this their proud confidence wherewithall they were possessed haue contemned these threatnings as vaine and friuolous An example whereof wee haue readie at hand for wee at this day speake of the Turke in our Sermons yet euery one thinks they be idle tales because we thinke they are very farre off notwithstanding wee see how much ground he hath gotten in a small time in ouerrunning those which were farre remote from him and were more mightie then he The sottishnes of men is so great that they can not be awakened vnlesse they be beaten vpon till they may feele the blowes Let vs therefore set the Babylonians before vs as an example to teach vs wisdome that so we may scare the threatnings which the Prophets denounce in their Sermons betimes lest we be ouertaken with the reprobates who trusting to their tranquillitie are so astonished when the hand of God appeares and smites them that they are vtterly vnable to stand but rather fall downe senselesse and amazed Whereas he puts the whole land for Babylon he hath respect to the largenesse of the kingdome that they might not thinke to preuent the assaults of the enemies by meanes of the prouinces wherewith they were inuironed on euery side yea notwithstanding that he shewes the calamitie shall be such that it shall not only come in one way vpon them but shall be as a deluge ouerspreading a great part of the world Moreouer the Medes and Persians are here called instruments or vessels of the wrath of the Lord in a contrarie sense to that which the reprobates are so called by S. Paul Rom. 9.22 For there the Apostle opposeth the vessels of wrath to the vessels of mercie and teacheth that the free grace of God shines in the elect and his iust and seuere iudgement in the reprobate But the Prophets meaning is that the Medes and Persians are as darts in Gods hand of whom he serues his turne to execute his wrath and vengeance Vers 6. Howle you for the day of the Lord is at hand it shall come as a destroyer from the * Or of the strong or destruction of the destroyer Almightie HE followes the matter still and commands the Babylonians to howle not that he directs his speech to them as if he were in hope that it should profit them but in shewing what effect it should haue hee intermingles this maner of speech with great vehemencie He speakes of the day of the Lord after the vsuall phrase of the scripture because that when the Lord deferres his iudgements it seemes he ceaseth from performing of his office euen as Iudges do when they go not vp into their Iudgement seates Let vs then obserue this language well the reason is Doctrine we would willinglie subiect the Lord to our fancies that so he might by and by pronounce
neither to their Ensignes nor Garisons nor yet keepe any order And when he addes euerie one shall flee to his land it sufficiently appeares from thence that the Prophet speakes not of the inhabitants of Babel nor of her people but of strangers which had been called to her succour For it hath been said heretofore that the hearts of men are so in the hands of God that when it pleaseth him they suddenly recouer new strength who were before fearefull and amazed and contrariwise those who haue shewed great valour and boldnesse lose it all in an instant and become weake and effeminate Vers 15. Euerie one that is found shall be stricken thorow and whosoeuer ioyneth himselfe shall fall by the sword HE here confirmes that which he said heretofore to wit that none shall escape out of Babylon and that all those which shall be therein shall perish Xenophon Xenophon telles how by the commandement of Cyrus Cyrus all those which were met withall the first night were put to death and the next day all those which had not brought in or laid downe their weapons But we haue already said that this prophecie hath a further extent because this first taking was onely the beginning of all other calamities whereunto Babylon was expresly reserued by the Lord to the end it might be punished the more often Others expound the second member otherwise then I haue translated it for in as much as Saphah signifieth To lose or To consume they reade Whosoeuer shall be lost and expound this of old men who by reason of their age can liue no longer as if he should say they would not pardon no not euen those who are alreadie worne with age and vpon the brim of their graues yea when they should haue one foote within as it were and should bee ready to yeeld vp the ghost But because this is a constrained exposition and that the very same verbe signifies To be ioyned I had rather follow Ionathan Ionathan and others who thinke the Prophet speakes of the bands and squadrons as for example when a Citie is to be taken the souldiers ioyne together to beate backe the assaults of the enemies Vnlesse any had rather vnderstand by these words the confederates and companions which were ioyned together with the Babylonians the more to amplifie the greatnesse of this discomfiture Vers 16. Their children also shall be broken in pieces before their eyes their houses shall be spoiled and their wiues rauished HEe paintes out an image of more then barbarous crueltie For behold the vttermost extremitie of the enemies rage when no age whatsoeuer shall be spared when little children are slaine who should rather bee defended in regard of their young yeares And yet he further amplifies the crueltie when he saith that this shall be done in the presence of their fathers and mothers That which followes of the houses which shall be spoiled and of the women which shall be rauished tends also to the same end and this falles out when the enemies hauing forgotten all humanitie and being inflamed with crueltie would that those whom they haue subdued were vtterlie rooted out with their name also Vers 17. Behold I will stirre vp the Medes against them which shall not regard siluer nor be desirous of gold THe Prophet hauing prophesied the destruction of the Babylonians shewes therewithall also the authors or he rather expresseth that God shall be the mouer of them and therein also specifies how or by whom this worke shall be done for he saith that he will stirre vp the Medes Certainlie he could not coniecture this by any humane reason for there was then no enmitie nor dissensions betweene the Medes and the Babylonians And although there had been discord what was the power of the Medes then to doe the Babylonians any harme Seeing things were not so fitted then that the Medes could make warre with the Babylonians it is very certaine that the Prophet was inspired of God in this matter especiallie if we consider that he foretold thâ—se things more then an hundred yeres before they came to passe When he addes that they shall not couet gold nor siluer he excuseth not the Medes of their rauening and auarice as if they should be so liberall as to despise gold and siluer but he rather meant to say that this warre shall be so cruell terrible that nothing shall be seene but a final destruction for example because the speciall drift which the Spaniards aime at now adaies when they make warre The Spaniard is only to spoile and rob they doe more easily spare mens liues and are not so addicted to shed blood as the Almans or Englishmen be Almans Englishmen who thinke of nothing but killing their enemies Now let it not seeme strange to any man that the Lord who is louing gratious doth yet notwithstanding serue his turne of so cruel executioners for he works iustlie euen by the wicked and yet is not spotted himselfe with their malice Wherefore we must not iudge of the worke of God by the executioners thereof who are caried away with ambition couetousnes or crueltie but wee ought to consider therein the iust vengeance of God which the Babylonians had well deserued because of their wickednesses Vers 18. With bowes also shall they destroy the children and shall haue no compassion vpon the fruite of the womb and their eyes shall not spare the children SOme translate They shall cut and thinke that this is spoken by an excessiue maner of speech as if they should vse the children of the Babylonians in stead of arrowes in regard they dashed them against the stones that they might breake them with the greater violence But I had rather take it more simplie namely that the crueltie of the Medes shall be so great that they shall not spare so much as the little children which notwithstanding are neuer touched except it be there where they commit exceeding outrages In a word that neither old nor yong should be spared as we haue said erewhile But we reade not that the Medes vsed any such crueltie and Babylon was in good estate and florished long time after this discomfiture and although the seate of the kingdome was caried thence yet she kept her renoume still for the very day and night before that it was taken there was no hurt done except it were to those which bare armes In the meane while howsoeuer it was the Prophets meaning to comprehend other iudgements of God also which threatned the Babylonians and came to passe long time after this first calamitie yet is it not without reason neither from the purpose that he describes the maners of barbarous nations that so the Iewes might the better vnderstand that God had a iust recompence readie in his hand to execute vpoÌ„ the Babilonish tyranny No doubt but the faithfull also vpoÌ„ the ground of this promise made the imprecation coÌ„teined in the 137. Psalme Blessed shal he be
that takes thy children and dasheth them against the stones Vers 19. And Babel the glorie of kingdomes and the beautie and pride of the Chaldeans shall be as the destruction of God in Sodome and Gomorah ISaiah meant to cōclude his prophesie touching the ruin of the Babylonians in a briefe maner in this place although he addes some amplifications to confirme his speech touching the full rooting of them out For the Prophets speake in such sort of the punishments of the wicked that they leaue them no hope of mercie wherewith they might comfort themselues But as touching the faithfull although it seemes now and then that they should be chastened too seuerely yet are they susteined with this assurance that the Lord will haue pitie vpon them and will not vtterlie destroy them Whence we ought to gather that we must not alwaies iudge according to the outward appearance For we shall many times thinke that the children of God are vtterlie vndone whose saluatio◠notwithstanding is neere yea euen in the midst of death it selfe In Sodome and Gomorah Sodome and Gomorah This example is oft alledged by the Prophets to the end wee might know that howsoeuer all chastisements be not equall yet notwithstāding in as much as God is vnpartiall in his iudgements the memorable example which he shewed thereof in the destruction of Sodom appertaines to all reprobates Gen. 19.24 so as those who harden themselues in their sinnes with the like obstinacie shall be no lesse punished then they were And they distinguish betweene the punishments of the elect and reprobates in such wise that still God left some seed to the Israelites but to the wicked none as we haue seene in the first Chapter Chap. 1.9 If the Lord saith he had not left vs a seed we had bin as Sodome and as Gomorah But he pursues the reprobate with all seueritie and therefore the Prophets threaten them with the very same ruine which happened to the Sodomites that is to say an vtter destruction without all hope of recouerie He saith it is the ouerthrow of God to the end wee should not thinke it came to passe by chance or by the will of men For euen as the fire fell not vpon Sodome Gomorah from heauen at randome so Babylon also was not destroyed by haphazard but by the iust vengeance of God Which being alwaies like vnto himselfe did execute his iust iudgement against them and will still doe the same against all reprobates euen vnto the end Whereas Babylon is called the glorie and bright beauty of Kingdomes No glory can withstand Gods almightie power this is added for amplifications sake to teach vs that God cannot bee hindered from performing his worke by any glorie or excellencie whatsoeuer that hee should not vtterly roote out the wicked For in regard that this destruction was incredible therefore so much the more did an excellent example of Gods mightie power appeare in the confusion of it Vers 20. It shall not be * Or sit vpon inhabited for euer neither shall it be dwelled in from generation to generation neither shall the Arabian pitch his tents there neither shall the sheepheards make their foldes there BY the word To sit hee signifies a firme estate as if he should say Neuer looke that Babel shall be restored any more For all these phrases of speech tend to one and the same end namely the Babylonians shall be so destroyed that their ruine shall be perpetuall This also he further amplifies when he addes that the destruction shall be so great that the verie Arabians shall disdaine to pitch their tents there and the sheepheards their foldes Now wee may well say that this place was become wonderfull desert and inhabitable seeing these vagabonds made no reckoning of it for this nation of the Arabians in verie deed Arabians vagabonds and theeues did nothing else but trot vp and downe and had no setled abiding For hauing left their owne Countrie because it was barren and therefore is called the desert Arabia for of that wee speake and being giuen to nourish cattell and to hunting they frisked it hither thither and abode in the midst of the fields especially in places of best pasture Thence it came that the Greekes called them by a name which signifieth dwellers in tents The region of Babylon was wonderfull fruitfull before this destruction by reason whereof this change was so much the more terrible and as it were prodigious whether in regard that it lost the first fruitfulnesse or that all abhorred the sight of it because of the continuall calamities wherewith it was wasted Certaine it is the Prophet declares it shal come to passe that not only the buildings shall be broken downe but that the land also shall be accursed Vers 21. But Ziim shall lodge there and their houses shall be full of Ohim Ostriches shall dwell there and the Satyres shall dance there HE goes on in describing a desert place and alludes to that he said before to wit that Babylon should be vnhabited I cannot well tell how this word Ziim should be translated in regard the opinions of the expositours are so diuers who agree no more in this then they doe about sundry names of beasts and hearbs The vse of these things continued not alwaies and the Iewes being ignorant themselues haue not the knowledge of them although some amongst them are not ashamed to brag of their skill in physicke and yet notwithstanding are ignorant not onely of the nature of plants but of beasts also Whereas some are of opinion that Ziim was a wild beast others that it should be a bird and some others a fourefooted beast herein there is no great difference For mine owne part I make no question but the Prophet meant in this place to speake either of wild beasts which cannot be tamed or of birds which make their nests in forrests farre remote from men And there will be no inconuenience in it if we expound that which followes of Satyres or Fairies which the Frenchmen according to the diuersities of regions in one place call Hobgoblins Robin good fellowes and Bugbeares in an other For as Satan abuseth men by diuers impostures so also he allots diuers names to euery one of these It is certaine that the word Ziim is sometimes taken in the Scripture for wicked spirits for it comes of Ziiah which signifies drinesse or desert as Iim comes of Aiam which signifies feare For in as much as the diuell workes strange illusions by Fairies and Satyres therefore the names thereof are attributed vnto him The Prophets drift is to shew that there should be such desolation that the place should not onely be forsaken of men but the euill spirits also should worke their illusions there for by the solitarinesse of the place they take occasion to terrifie those which passe thereby And looke how theeues and enemies shew themselues more cruell when they come out of some obscure place
hands of her enemies Hee iustly mockes then at their vaine and foolish confidence in regard that being puffed vp with their intollerable pride they thought themselues inuincible and out of all danger But it seemes contrarie to the modestie of the faithfull to mocke at the miserie of others a man would thinke they should rather haue compassion on them To scorne the wicked is not against modestie when our zeale is ordered therein accoâ—ding to the equity of Gods iudgements Psal 2.4 But this is not against modâ—stie when our zeale is ordered according to the equitie of Gods iudgement for by humane affection we may bewaile the miserie of those who perish through their owne folly and yet theâ—ewithall despise their pride and furie And euen as the Lord exalts himself against them scorning their beastlinesse so also hee doth in this place command vs which loue and desiâ—e his glory to contemne them not after a proud and insulting maner but as magnifying and extolling his goodnesse and power By this example then it is lawfull for vs to scoffe at Gods enemies when they are ouerthrowne and abased as at Antichrist whose power wee daily see to decay by little and little The word Madheuah which is put in the end of the verse may be translated gilt or of gold but because this word is conioyned with tyrant or exactor it is very like the Prophet speakes of the couetousnesse and insatiable desire of gold which the Babylonians thirsted after For it often comes to passe that how much the more great Empires Commonwealths and nations haue of riches so much the more doe they burne with lust of increasing and hauing Vers 5. The Lord hath broken the rod of the wicked and the scepter of the rulers 6. Which smote the people in anger with a continuall plague and ruled the Nations in wrath if any were persecuted he did not let HE now answers to the former interrogation and would not that the faithfull should any way doubt of the euent thereof but rather that they should stand astonied at such admirable workes of God For the interrogation serued to awaken vp their mindeâ— to the greater attention It is as much then as if he should haue said It came not to passe by chance or by any blinde passion of fortune that you were not still oppressed vnder a continuall bondage but you are wholly to attribute it to the prouidence of God who brake so sore a yoke of seruitude from off your neckes Now the wicked are at their wits end when they see such workes and stand amazed because they see not the reason of them but the faithfull know that this ought to bee attributed vnto God Let vs learne then to admire the workes of the Lord and let vs bee stricken with such an astonishment that we may acknowledge him to bee the author of them and let vs not in any wise passe lightly ouer the least of them Gods worâ—â— ought diligently to bee obserued but especially in the redemption of his Church but especially then when he manifâ—sts his power in the redemption of his Chuâ—ch when by his admirable strength he redeemes any one of vs from vnder the seruitude of the diuell the tyranny of Antichrist and from eternall death For these are no common workes and therefore wee may not in any sort attribute the same to the power of man or to any other causes whatsoeuer Hee ioynes the scepter of the rulers to the staffe of the wicked shewing by this repetition that an vniust tyranny cannot be established by a power imperial in any sort whatsoeuer Then by and by after he more cleerly shewes that the Monarchy of the Babylonians shall be abolished because it was vniust and tyrannicall and saith that the people were smitten with an incurable wound and extremely afflicted because they ouerflowed in all excessiue dissolutions By this we are admonished that howsoeuer God may seeme to winke at the tyranny of the wicked for a time yet that he will spare them neuer the more for all that in the latter end for they shall be destroyed euen as we know Babylon was because the Lord is iust and continues alwayes like himselfe Vers 7. The whole world is at rest and is quiet they sing for ioy 8. Also the firre trees reioyced of thee and the cedars of Lebanon saying since thou art laid downe no hewer came vp against vs. HEere he shewes how Tyrants are hatefull to all the world Tyrants hatefull to all the world for they are no sooner dead or destroyed but all leape for ioy shewing what affection they caried towards them which for feare before they dissembled Then shall you see men vtter forth their discontentments and hatreds and not men only discouer their ioy but euen the dumb creatures also as the Prophet addes afterwards speaking of the firre trees and cedars by way of amplification for as all things are ouerturned and peruerted by tyranny so also it being abolished it seemes all things are put into their perfect estate againe Now to the end the speech might haue the greater vehemencie he addes a figure called Prosopopeia by which he brings in trees speaking and reioycing that they shall stand quietlie now this tyrant is dead So then the Prophets drift is to shew that the heauenly Iudge can not indure tyrants alwayes to vsurp God will not alwayes suffer Tyrants to vsurp whom all the world detests hates Whence we may gather that albeit men be silent and dare not open their lips whilst tyrants beare sway yet the Lord notwithstanding heares their secret grones and complaints Let vs not wonder then if tyrants be cut off by such admirable meanes for it is necessarie that God who is priuie to all the outrages which they commit should fauour and assist the innocent Vers 9. Hell beneath is moued for thee to meete thee at thy comming raising vp the dead for thee euen all the princes of the earth and hath raised from their thrones all the kings of the nations EVen as before he attributed gladnes to Trees so now also by the same maner of speaking hee attributes speech to the dead For he brings them as it were out of their graues to the end they should deride the pride of this tyrant and all the words following are nothing else in a maner but most pleasant taunts and flouts For when great kings approch neere a place people tremble they go before and receiue them with great pomp and preperations so Isaiah faines that the dead shall goe before this tyrant who after his death shall descend into his sepulchre that they may do him homage but yet such as to him appertaineth Which is as much as if he should say His death shall not only be acceptable to the liuing but to the dead also so as they shal receiue him honorablie according to his deserts Vers 10. All they shall cry and say vnto thee Art thou become weake also as
length hauing ouerturned all their enterprises eueÌ„ in lesse then the twinkling of an eye Vers 16. They that see thee shall looke vpon thee and consider thee saying Is this the man that made the earth to tremble and that did shake the kingdomes THe Prophet scornes this wicked king againe in the person of the dead and yet this may also be vnderstood of the liuing but it is better to referre this whole speech to the dead vnlesse we had rather vnderstand it of the sepulchre which is almost all one in effect Now we are wont to stretch forth our neck and to stand vpon the tipto when any admirable or rare thing is presented to our view So in regard it was a thing almost incredible that this king furnished with so great power should be dead the Prophet saith that all haue cast their eyes vpon him to behold him diligentlie as if they could hardly beleeue that to be true which they saw euidentlie before them They aske in the first place whether it be possible that he which made the world to tremble with his looke only could be so suddenlie easilie brought low Next the Prophet shewes how all his wicked desires and enterprises are ouerthrowne as also that tyrants with their crueltie are like to cloudes which poure downe water or haile on a sudden as though they meant to destroy the whole world but they are scattered and gone in an instant And this similitude that same good old father Athanasius vsed See Martin Luther vpon the Psalme â—f degrees fol. 33. when some threatned him with the furie of Iulian. Now the Prophet shewes that this change came from the hand of God who by his only will can ouerthrow the whole world Vers 17. Hee made the world as a wildernesse and destroyed the Cities thereof and opened not the house of his prisoners IN this verse he expresseth the crueltie and in humanitie of this Tyrant namely that he brought the world to a wildernesse rased the Cities deliuered not his prisoners Those who haue obtained victorie haue been accustomed sometimes to release their prisoners that they might win their hearts by gentlenesse Tyrants had rather be feared then loued but Tyrants had rather bee feared then loued because they perswade themselues that the onely safe way to raigne is to make themselues feared of all through a brutish cruelty We need not wonder then at their so miserable and wofull an end for it cannot bee but God must render them like for like after hee hath corrected his Church by their crueltie shewing no more mercy to them then they did to others Thus then he shewes how miserable Tyrants are in regard they haue both God and men their enemies Vers 18. All the Kings of the Nations euen they all sleepe in glorie euerie one in his owne house 19. But thou art cast out of the graue like an abominable branch like the rayment of those that are slaine and thrust thorow with a sword which goe downe to the stones of the pit as a carkase troden vnder feete HEe opposeth the King of Babylon against other Kings to shew that hee shall be more wretched after his death then they all And thus he amplifies the iudgement of God who should execute vengeance vpon the cruelties done to his Church by comparison This place is the cause why I dare not restraine that which Isaiah speakes heere of the King of Babylon to the onely person of Nebuchadnezzer because we finde not by histories that hee was depriued of buriall Although the Iewes tell how Euil-merodath commanded hee should be taken out of his sepulchre because the great Lords of his kingdome durst not doe him homage till they were certaine of the death of his father But S. Ierome howsoeuer hee be credulous enough in other things yet holds this as a fable He speakes not then of one man particularly 2. Thes 2. but of the whole Kingdome euen as when the Scripture speakes of Antichrist it comprehends the estate of all the Popes And therefore he scornes the pride of all Tyrants vnder the person of one testifying what their issue shall be to wit that they shall fall into such miserie that not so much as a small handfull of dust shall be giuen them for their burial howsoeuer in times past they were like insatiable gulfes whom all the wealth in the world was not able to satisfie Those which haue scarse one foot of land haue notwithstanding the honour of buriall and this was esteemed sacred and inuiolable aboue all things among the Patriarks for it was a great dishonour to be depriued of this priuiledge Yet he shewes that the Kings of Babylon should receiue such an opprobie that being cast out of the sepulchre of their fathers they should be a spectacle of disdaine vnto all Quest But some may aske whether it were so great a matter in Gods sight to bee buried with a mans predecessors that it should be esteemed as a punishment and curse to be depriued of it I answere Ans he speakes not of the sepulchre here as of a thing necessarie to saluation and yet that it was reputed a great shame for this Tyrant to want buriall First of all then let vs consider why buriall was so esteemed among all Nations Doubtlesse this came from the Patriarks whose bodies the Lord commanded to bee buried in hope of the last resurrection The carkases of beasts are cast out The reason why we are buried and beasts are not because they are ordained to none other end but to turne to rottennesse but our bodies are couered with earth that being laid vp therein they may wait for the last day at which time they shall be raised vp to inioy the soule in an eternall and blessed life Whereas diuers superstitions are crept in touching the buriall of the dead it is certaine that Satan hath brought this to passe by his subtletie who is wont to corrupt and peruent all things which yet in their owne nature are good and profitable for he hath forged infinite waies whereby to bewitch men But concerning the Iewes we are not to meruaile if they had many ceremonies in this behalfe neither ought wee to condemne them for it for they had not so cleere and manifest a reuelation of the resurrection because Christ was not yet reuealed But the matter is farre otherwise now seeing we behold our resurrection in Iesus Christ appâ—rently and the vaile being taken away wee now see the promises as in the sunshine which were obscure to the Iewes If at this day then any would bring in and reuiue the ancient ceremonies such a one should suppresse the light and doe great wrong vnto Iesus Christ for they indeuour to put a vaile before him who hath discouered himselfe vnto vs with open face Notwithstanding it is not vnprofitable to regard the interring of the corps Buriall of the dead ought to be retained but superstitious customes therin to be reiected The
God not onely disposeth of that which the wicked are to doe but that hee also hath executioners at his commandement to auenge himselfe vpon their iniquities Obiect Whereas he by and by addes that the iniquitie of the fathers shal be punished by meanes hereof it may at the first seeme ouer seuere to couple the children with the fathers as touching the punishment which the fathers haue deserued and ought to beare And yet seemes it to be more hard that the punishment due to the fathers should be extended to the children and their childrens children But this absurditie may easily bee auoided Ans Exod. 20 5. 34 7. Deut. 5.9 Ier. 32.18 Ezek. 18.20 if we interpret the Hebrew word Aon Miserie because it signifies as well the punishment of the sinne as the sinne it selfe But because such sentences are found in many places of the Scripture to wit that God will visit the iniquitie of the fathers vpon the children we need seeke no such euasion Neither doth the place in Ezechiel The sonne shall not beare the iniquity of his father Ezech. 18.20 crosse this For God punisheth not the innocent neither must we so vnderstand this place as if the punishment due to the ancestors were conueied ouer by God vnto the children altogether guiltlesse for the fault of the children is forth-with coupled therewithall But leauing now to speake of that vniuersall curse of all mankinde whereunto all of vs are subiect from our mothers wombes let vs take an example from some wicked one whom when God reiects with his whole race truely we haue no cause at all to complain of it For his blessing is free and it is not lawfull for vs to compell him to bestow it equally vpon all because he may dispose of his grace according to his owne good pleasure and it is the dutie of euery of vs apart to acknowledge that whatsoeuer good thing wee haue receiued it is none of our own properly nor naturally but comes vnto vs from elsewhere namely frō Gods free libealirty If so be then that he reiect any must it not also needes follow that his seede should bee accursed For what can remaine in those which are destitute of his grace but a masse of impiety And if they deserue eternal death much more are they worthy of temporall punishments for hee who expects the cutting off of his head ought much more to iudge himselfe worthy of the prison and stripes Wee must obserue this point diligently For I hold the solution of those but childish who thinke the Lord punisheth the children of the wicked with temporall punishments because of the iniquities of their fathers thinking it not vnbeseeming for the Lord to correct those that are innocent Now we know he neuer punisheth such as haue not deserued it besides he is naturally inclined to mercy But how should he spare the wicked if he should exercise his wrath against the guiltlesse This then must be held as a thing resolued to wit that all such as are destitute of Gods grace are subiect to the iudgement of eternall death Whence it followes that the children of reprobates whom the curse of God pursues are subiect to the same condemnation with their fathers And therefore Isaiah speakes not of innocent children but of the lost and desperate which it may be haue surpassed their fathers in wickednesse and therefore are iustly coupled with them and adiudged to the same punishments with them because they haue walked in their steps But some may say that then they beare their owne punishment and not that which their fathers haue deserued I grant this to be true in part but the reiection began before in their fathers for which cause they are also forsaken and cast away of God And yet their fault is not so particular as if they were not guiltie at all but being inwrapped in the same sinnes in regard of reprobation they are also liable to the same miseries and punishment I know wel enough that this solution will not satisfie those who neuer cease to dispute braule against God but if so be I satisfie the faithfull and those that are not contentious I passe not much what the rest say As for the faithfull I doubt not but they will content themselues with this solution which I dare affirme to be most true In the end of the verse som translate That they fill the world no more with enemies as if the Prophet meant to say that all the wicked are the enemies of mankind yea euen of the whole earth and therefore that the Lord prouides for the safety of all when he sweeps them from the earth otherwise it should be choked by them as with thornes and briars It seemes that this signification expresseth somewhat more because the earth receiues vs into her lap if we discharge our dutie but if wee be contemners of God it nourisheth and sustaines vs vnwillingly as her very enemies Yet had I rather follow the other signification which is more generally receiued for I thinke the Prophet meant to say that the wicked grow vp into a stocke and linage and bring forth children in great abundance so as they exceed their progenitors in number and are more glorious in shew and thence came the prouerbe that an ill weede growes apace We may thanke our selues that the wicked are so multiplied Now whereas wee behold an infinit multitude of wicked ones which haue couered the face of the whole earth as it were we may euen thanke our selues for it and yet the Lord neuer deales so seuerely with vs but hee reserues alwaies some good seede although it be very thin sowne yea he alwaies hath an eye vnto some corner of the world where he may giue his seruants some litle breathing And if he should diminish the multitude of the wicked nothing at all it is certaine they would forthwith ouerspread the whole earth By this is confirmed that which wee haue said before to wit that the children of the Babylonians were not slaine causlesse because it is here said it was to the end they should not fill the world with Cities It followes then that they were wicked and therefore cut off by the iust iudgement of God that by this meanes hee might prouide for the safetie of men and that the Lord cannot be accused of cruelty or hard dealing Vers 22. For I will rise vp against them saith the Lord of hostes and will out off from Babel the name and the remnant and the sonne and the nephew saith the Lord. NOw the Lord testifieth that he will doe that himselfe which he before had commanded others to do by the ministrie of the Prophet so that we must obserue both the one and the other Though God vse men as his instrumēts in bringing the wicked to nought yet the worke is properly said to be his owne namely that it is a worke of God when the wicked come to nought although he vse men as instruments
to execute his iudgements For he spake thus to them heretofore Prepare a slaughter vers 21. Whence we haue to note not only the power of God but also the efficacie of prophesie Whence the Prophets ordeined of God giue commandement to all nations to do this or that it is then so farre off that men can hinder the euent thereof that they are euen constreined to performe the will of God Now because we ordinarilie stay our selues vpon men and in forsaking God attribute the power of doing all things vnto them we must hold this principle that seeing God worketh by them himself is properlie the author of the worke whereof they are only but the executioners and instruments This is clearely inough laid open vnto vs by the dependence of the places following I haue thought it best to resolue the letter Vau into a particle of shewing the cause for he yeelds the reason wherfore he commands the Medes and Persians to prepare a destruction and slaughter for the Babylonians for I will rise vp against them This phrase I will arise expounded saith he and this phrase where God saith he will arise is very frequent Thus also the Prophet applies himselfe to our capacitie because the maiestie of God is so high that we can not comprehend it We thinke he takes his ease and is idle whilest he winks at the wicked and therefore when he will cause men to feele his power and giue some testimonie thereof by some visible worke he saith he will arise The epithite which he afterward addes calling him The Lord of hostes serues for a confirmation of this sentence as if the Prophet should say I haue not giuen these Commandements to the nations of mine owne head for it is God that gouernes and leades all the battailes vnder his owne hand Seeing the Prophet is ordeined then to pronounce the senteÌ„ce on Gods behalfe he may also command meÌ„ to the end they may yeeld obedience vnto him He yet repeates the same thing in the latter end of the verse Sayth the Lord. shewing that he speakes nothing but that which the Lord gaue him in charge that so the prophesie might be the more autenticall God cuts off not only the posteritie of the wicked but their memorie also Pro. 10.7 Now it hath been often told vs before that Babylon was not thus ruinated till after the death of Alexander the Great By the sonnes and nephewes he meanes not only the Posteritie but the Memorie which the wicked would obteine so as they might be long renoumed after their death God tooke euen this also away from Babylon that so no remembrance should remaine thereof at all but only reproch and ignominie Vers 23. And I will make it a possession to the hedghog and pooles of water and I will sweepe it with the beasome of destruction saith the Lord of hostes HE yet againe confirmes the same things which he spake heretofore touching the future destruction of Babylon to wit that men shall hereafter inhabit it no more but it shall be made an hidious Caue into which wilde beasts shall retire Some say that the word Kipod which we haue translated Bicure signifies a Beuer others an Hedghog other a Torteis But it is very likely by the circumstance of the place that our Prophet speakes of a beast which frequents the waters because afterwards he mentions a poole or marish which in deed properlie belongs to the situation of the place for howsoeuer Babylon was not compassed in with pooles yet is it situated in a moist soile Euphrates waters the region on the one side and Tigris on the other thence it is that the Lord threatens to drowne it Vers 24. The Lord of hostes hath sworne saying Surely like as I haue purposed so shall it come to passe and as I haue consulted it shall stand IT was needfull to adde an othe for the more full confirmation of the threatning The reason why God in faine to adde an oth to his threatnings For nothing is more hardly beaten into our heads then to heare tell of a present destruction of the wicked because we see them florishing furnished with all kind of helps seeming to be out of all dangers vtterlie secure Therfore wee are at our wits end in beholding them being so dazled with their glorie that we can scarsly beleeue God when he threatens their ruin and perdition and therefore he addes an othe that they might haue no occasion to hang in any suspence See the like in Chap. 22.14 Whence we may see how gratious louing he is towards vs in succoring our weaknes by applying this remedie vnto it for otherwise his bare word ought to suffice This serues then for the great consolation of the faithfull as we shall see hereafter But this short forme of an othe which he vseth ought to be well knowne vnto vs because we meete often with it in the scriptures Othes slip out of our mouthes at randon with too much boldnes but Gods sparingnes in suppressing the greater part of his oth ought to bridle our inteÌ„perancie and thereby the Lord bridles vs lest we should take too great libertie in oths which slip out of our mouths at randon with too much boldnes for he suppresseth the greater part of the othe If I performe not this which I haue decreed let men take me for a lier and hold me no more for God this I say or some thing else like vnto it fearefull to vtter should be heere supplied Men ought then to refraine their tongues lest they ouerflow too lightlie in execrations making horrible imprecations against themselues yea let them rather learne by the Lords example here to hold in their rebellion Vers 25. That I will breake Ashur to pieces in my land and vpon my mountaines will I tread him vnder foote so that his yoke shall depart from them and his burden shal be taken from off their shoulder SOme thinke this is spoken of the host of Senacherib 2. King 19.35 Chap. 37.36 which was destroyed by the Angell whilest the siege was before Ierusalem If wee shall receiue this interpretation the sense will be thus to wit The Lord will shortly shew some euident proofe of this ruine wherewith hee threatned the Babylonians For those which heard the prophecies might aske What shall the ruine of Babel profit vs when she hath destroyed vs first were it not better for vs to remain in our own laÌ„d that she might continue safe What consolation can we take in her destruction seeing with her our selues must also perish And truely I make no question but Isaiah sets before them a proofe of Gods fauour in the destruction of their enemies which was either come to passe already or should shortly happen I dare not affirme in what time the Prophet foretold this There may be some probâ—ble coniecture that Senacherib was discomfited before the time of this particular prophecie vnlesse there bee
herb THe Prophet amplifies this desolation by a kind of excessiue speech He saith The grasse shall wither which falles out when God depriues a land of all helps Also that the waters shall be dried vp for it is very likely they were exceedinglie necessarie for this quarter which was drie for such countries as those bring forth nothing vnlesse they be watered But howsoeuer this be an excessiue speech yet it conteines nothing but that which is most true for he passed not his bounds but was faine to lay forth these things in the more words because of the peoples dulnesse to the end they might know that this land beeing depriued of Gods blessing should become a desert deformed and void of all beautie Vers 7. Therefore what euery man hath left and their substance shall they beare to the brooke of the willowes THat which euery one hath reserued signifies the same which we vsually say that which is left or spared For his meaning is to speake of riches reserued thereby shewing what happens ordinarily in those countries which the enemies inuade to wit euery one labors to transport his goods to an other place and to lay them vp safe there that so they may fetch them home afterwards Now he saith that these shall haue no fortresse nor refuge to put their goods in safetie so as they shall bee constrained to hide them amongst the willowes See here an extreme miserie when wee can finde no place of refuge to safegard and keepe that which wee haue gotten with great labour from being a spoile to the enemies It is very likely that these willowes stood in some secret and close place remote from others Some expound this of the enemies which bring the riches which they haue pilled to the riuer to part the pray among themselues Vers 8. For the cry went round about the borders of Moab and the houling thereof vnto Eglaim and the skriking thereof vnto Beer-Elim THe Hebrew particle Ci was added for ornament His meaning is that all the quarters of this Country shall be filled with cries and lamentations in euery corner because this destruction shall reach from one end to another To the cry he addes a skriking or double houling to expresse the execesse of dolour it being the maner of desperate persons to become vtterly desolate and to bee resolued into teares Vers 9. Because the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood and I will * Or increasings bring more vpon Dimon euen lions vpon him that escapeth Moab and to the remnant of the land HEe not onely describes here the dolour houling flight and trembling or the couetousnesse of the enemies in raking together of riches but the slaughter of men which must needes be fearefull when the great and renowned riuers as Dimon was were filled with blood By increasings hee meanes that the Lord in whose person hee speakes will augment the murthers so as the dead bodies shall be piled one vpon another and there shall be no end thereof till they be all put to the sword Now howsoeuer the aduersaries were cruell in this destruction yet the Lord passed not measure for all that because hee iustly punished the inhumanitie which the Moabites vniustly exercised ouer the Iewes vpon whom they ought to haue had compassion It was iust then for them to beare the same punishment which they had laid vpon others Which are escaped These are also the increasings whereof he spake or at least part of them For behold the highest pitch of all these calamities that if any indeuoured to saue himselfe in battel from out of the hands of his enemies hee should meete with lions and cruell beasts which should deuoure him And this is the true meaning of the Prophet if we narrowly weigh the whole context He meant to expresse this discomfiture and the miserie thereof in liuely colours by shewing that the small remnant which shall escape the slaughter shall fall into the pawes of the lion because the hand of the Lord doth so pursue the wicked that they can no way escape if they passe one danger they by and by fall into another But withall let vs remember that the Prophet speakes these things for the consolation of the faithfull that they might fortifie themselues by some promises against the cruelty of the enemies who in the end should be cut off and should finde no refuge at all in their gods fortresses or lurking holes neither should their flight any thing at all auaile them THE XVI CHAPTER Vers 1. Send yee a lamb to the ruler of the world from the rocke of the wildernesse vnto the mountain of the daughter Zion HEere the Prophet insults ouer the Moabites for that they knew not God whilest they had time but boldly expected his punishing hand till at length they were destroyed by it In this place then there is a condemning of too late a repentance when men cannot be brought to amendment by any admonitions whatsoeuer but harden their faces against God In a word this kind of exhortation hath place when the disease is become incurable Now wee must diligently obserue the words because both Hebrewes and Christians interpret this place amisse St. Ierome Saint Ierome expounds it of Iesus Christ because he descended from the Moabites of whom Ruth came Ruth 1.4 Matth. 1.5 and the most part of Christian expositours follow him As if the Prophet should say Lord although so seuere a iudgement be prepared for the Moabites yet thou wilt not vtterly destroy them Why Because they must send vs the Lambe which is the ruler of the world But as this exposition hath no ground so needes it not to be refuted As touching the Hebrewes they thinke this was spoken in regard that the Moabites who seeing the Iewes to haue ill successe ceassed to pay them the tribute which they ought and Isaiah hauing prophecied the restauration of the Kingdome of Iudah they thinke that therewithall hee exhorts the Moabites to acknowledge their King And so would haue this a royall edict to correct their disobedience as if hee should say Send the tribute which you owe. But wee reade not in any place that the Moabites were subiect or tributaries to the Iewes neither is there so much as any probable coniecture of it Wheras they alleage the history of the Kings they are mistaken for it is there spoken to the king of Israel Ahab and Samaria are there expresly named 2. King 3.5 6 and we know that the Samaritans bare a deadly hatred against the Iewes The true senâ—e of this place I content my selfe then in the first exposition which I haue touched as being the truest and most naturall because the Prophets meaning is to condemne the Moabites for not repenting in time and therefore should now seek reconciliation in vaine which before to their great vtilitie they might easily haue obtained Thus the word send must be taken by way of deriding as if he should say You may now send
Moabites to acknowledge their sinnes to the end they might confesse the punishment of their cruelties to be iustlie inflicted vpon them Although he rather respects the Iewes to teach theÌ„ that God neglected not their miseries but would afterwards let them see that he reuenged all their wrongs Vers 4. Let my banished dwell with thee Moab be thou their couert from the face of the destroyer for the extortioner shall end the destroyer shall be consumed and the oppressor shall cease out of the land THe Prophet speakes to the Moabites as if he humblie sued vnto them in the name of the common people as if he should say You are neighbours and of the same blood I pray you receiue and succor the oppressed If you will not help vs yet at the least harme vs not He brings in Goâ— speaking who is wont to put himselfe in the place of his people as if he â—ooke vpon him the person of a suppliant It is very certaine that the Moabites shewed none of this kindnes to the Iewes nay they rather ioined with their enemies to hurt them by all the meanes they could This place is worthie our diligent obseruation for God heere shewes the great care he hath ouer his chosen A Consolation God is no lesse moued with the wrongs d ne to his câ—oâ—n then wiâ—h those which are done directly against his owne Maiestie seeing he is as greatly moued with the wrongs done to them as with those which are directly against his owne Maiestie As in Zacharie hee witnesseth that as oft as his children are oppressed by any they euen touch the apple of his eye Zacha. 2.8 He sees the teares and heares the grones of the afflicted which call vpon him Psal 12.5 38.9 102.20 And howsoeuer this alwaies comes not to passe in our sight yet will he shew in due season that he hath heard them Let vs then learne from hence to be kinde Be mercifull to poore exiles banished for the truths sake and giuen to succor poore exiles especiallie the faithful banished from their countrey for the confession of the truth For there is no seruice which God accepts or allowes better then this as on the coÌ„trarie nothing is more displeasing or detestable in his sight then crueltie and inhumanitie Wherefore if we will feele any refreshing in our calamities let vs shew our selues louing and mercifull and not withdraw our helpe from those that haue neede Blessed is he saith Dauid which iudgeth wisely of the poore and needie the Lord shall deliuer him in the time of trouble Psal 41.1 Whereas on the coÌ„trarie there shall be iudgement mercilesse to him that sheweth no mercie Iam. 2.13 Now in that the Lord calles the Iewes heere his banished although this might well be referred to the chastisement as if he should say they are indeed driuen out of the land of Canaan according as they were oftentimes threatned before Deut. 28.64 yet he therewithall meanes that they remaine vnder his protection and safegard acknowledging them for his owne although they be chased and banished out of their countrie For this calamitie which the Iewes endured seemed a kind of reiection but the Lord takes them still for his children although he thus sharplie corrected them Hence we may gather a singular consolation to wit A Consolation that we are still of the number of Gods children howsoeuer we may be smitten with hard and grieuous plagues The extortioner shall end He now directs his speech to the Iewes and continues to comfort them as before shewing that when their enemies shall be cut off they shall thereby be eased of all their miseries and calamities Now howsoeuer the Prophet spake heretofore expresly to the Moabites yet did he therewithall direct his speech to the Iewes also But then he only threatned the Moabites as enemies here he more clearely promiseth comfort to his people as if he should say O Moab thou thoughtest that my people were vtterlie vndone but I will subdue their enemies and put an end to their afflictions thou shalt perish but my people shall in the end escape from the heauie burthens which oppresse them Vnlesse any had rather say that there is a change of the time here so as the particle Because should signifie vntill and so reading the sentence all with a breath But because this may seeme constreined I had rather retaine the naturall sense Vers 5. And in mercie shall the throne be prepared and he shall sit vpon it in stedfastnesse in the tabernacle of Dauid iudging and seeking iudgement and hastning Iustice. IT is ill done of the Hebrewes to expound this whole verse of Hezekias For the Prophet speakes of a greater restauration of the Church the Moabites were not as yet chastened whilest the gouernement of Hezekias flourished and at that time the blessing of God began to shine againe vpon the Iewes It is as much then as if he had said the enemies of the elect people doe plot the ruine of this kingdome which God had promised to stand firme 2. Sam. 7.13 yea and that for euer To the end then that the faithfull might not be out of heart in this wofull scattering the eternitie of the kingdome which had been set before their eyes by an excellent prophesie Dan. 7.27 is here brought to their remembrance This place therefore can be referred to none other but to Iesus Christ of whom Hezekia as also Dauid and his successors were figures These then doe rather leade and conduct others to Christ who is the onely safe keeper and protector of his people who indeede gathereth together the remnant that is scattered Ioh. 10 16. 11.52 Thus then hee brings the faithfull backe vnto Christ as if hee should say You know what God you serue he hath promised to be the onely keeper of your saluation to the end you may remaine safe vnder his protection Iohn 10.28 And if it so fall out that things goe crosse sometimes yet hath he promised you a redeemer vnder whom you shall recouer a new and stedfast felicitie What then if for a time you be sad and heauie yet will this Sauiour of the Church come in the end who wil set you in a flourishing liberty And therefore settle your selues constantly in the expectation of him yea euen then when you shall see the estate of the Church miserably scattered All consolations whatsoeuer are fading and transitoâ—ie vnlesse they be referred vnto Christ We haue need to obserue this diligently because all consolations whatsoeuer are but earthly and transitorie if all be not referred vnto Christ Let vs then fasten our eyes vpon him if we will enioy any prosperitie or happines for he hath promised that felicitie shall accompanie vs euen in the middest of persecutions Matth. 5.10.11 and that all our anguishes and vexations shall open a way vnto vs to eternall life yea that all the afflictions which we endure shall turne to a full measure of
happinesse vnto vs Rom. 8.28 Now Isaiah shewes that this shall not come to passe by meanes of men but by the grace of God which is the onely builder of this throne Wherefore to him onely must we attribute this mercie and acknowledge that it is of his free goodnesse that he hath established this sacred throne in the middest of vs. Now the Prophet confirmes it very well in saying that the cause must be sought no where else but in the meere mercie of God This is a grounded trueth for God was not mooued thereto by the worthinesse of any merits alas they were of no value to set vp that throne againe which was fallen downe by the sinne and iniquitie of the people but seeing those whom he had adopted had vndone themselues he meant to shew a token of his infinite bountie in their restauration Shall sit vpon it in stedfastnesse There is almost no one word here which hath not his weight so as this verse is worthy to be continually remembred I grant indeede there is an allusion heere in the word Tabernacle 1. Sam. 16.11.12 2. Sam. 7.2 as some doe expound it to wit that he was as a common person before he was called to sit in the royall throne For the Prophet meant to decipher out a liuely image of the Church which is farre vnlike the thrones of kings and princes neither shines it with gold siluer or precious stones as they doe Now howsoeuer he proposed the spirituall kingdome of Christ vnder a base and abiect resemblance yet he therewithall admonisheth that it shall beâ— prepared and set vp among men in the earth For if it had been onely said that the throne of Christ should be set vp it might haue been demaunded whether his seate should be set vp in heauen or in earth But when he saith in the Tabernacle of Dauid he shewes that he reignes not onely among Angels but among men also lest wee should imagine he were not to be found vnlesse we ascend vp into heauen The wicked laugh at this taking all that we say of the kingdome of Iesus Christ but for a fable as if it were a fancie forged in our owne braine For they must behold that wee tell them of with their eyes Vnlesse the wicked see yâ— with their eies which is told them they will beleeue nothing also it must agree to their senses as for vs we ought in no wise to conceiue any thing carnally of him but to content our selues with his power and vertue In stedfastnesse The word Emeth signifies all stedfastnesse whatsoeuer and trueth Here the Prophet meanes that the kingdome of Christ shall be firme and stable as Daniel also hath witnessed Dan. 2.44 and 7.14 Likewise the Euangelist Luke Of his kingdome saith he shall be none end Luke 1.33 Wherein it differs from the common condition of other kingdomes Christs Kingdome differs from the common condition of other Kingdoms which often fall and tumble downe by their owne weight be it that the foundations of them bee riches and other great commodities alas their stedfastnesse differs very little from vanishing shadowes But howsoeuer the kingdome of Christ seeme to totter now and then yet Isaiah tels vs that it shall stand for euer Christs Kingdome may now and then seeme to totter but it shall euer stand stedfast because God vpholds it because God vpholds it with his hand We must therefore arme our selues with these testimonies against the temptations which shal happen when Christs kingdome is assailed with many and mighty enemies so as a man would imagine it would fall to ruine forthwith Let the world deuise what it can then yea let hell it selfe cast forth flashes of flaming fire yet must we sticke fast to this promise Who shall iudge I take the word â—â—ophet for Gouernour as if he should say there shall be one that shall gouerne we often see a magnificent throne and yet no man fits on it and it will ordinarilie fall out that kings shall be either idols or beasts who haue neither iudgment wisedome nor any discretion in them But heere he saith that he which shall sit in this throne wil performe the office of a good gouernour which is added to the end we may know that Christ will be our protector in deed for the iudgement which is attributed to him is nothing else but the safe custodie vnder which he hath receiued vs and which none can wring from him neither will he let the wicked remaine vnpunished when they haue offred vs violence if so be that with a meeke and quiet spirit we will put our selues vnder his protection By the word hasten the Prophet sheweth that Christ will take vengeance quicklie and speedilie of our afflictions We must set Christs speedines in comming to our rescue against our impatiencie which we ought to oppose to our impatieÌ„cie because it seemes to vs that he is too slow in succoring vs. But when we shall be so ouerswayed by our passions let vs thinke surely this comes to passe because we giue not place to his prouidence Although then that he tarrie according to the sense of the flesh Although Christ seeme to tarrie long in our sense yet he knows what time is fittest to help vs. yet doth he alwaies moderate his iudgements after a most excellent order according as he knowes the seasons best for vs. For this cause then let vs quietlie wait his good pleasure Vers 6. We haue heard of the pride of Moab he is very proud euen his pride and his arrogancie and his * Or insolencie indignation but his lies * Or shal not be approued or shall not take effect shall not be so THe Prophet addes this sentence by way of preueÌ„tion For that which he had promised touching the restauration of the royall throne seemed incredible neither could they perswade themselues that the Moabites could be destroyed seeing they florished at that time with abundance of riches as also in strength and power of men who for this cause being puffed vp with prosperitie became exceeding proud Adde also that their malapertnes wherewith they insulted ouer the poore Iewes was vnto them like a sore and hard engin to breake and bruise their hearts The Prophet that he might preuent this temptation tels them that the brags of the Moabites are well enough knowne but yet their pride shall not hinder the Lord from punishing of them because there is neither force riches nor multitude that is able to resist him Isaiah then speakes as of a thing commonlie knowne to wit that the Moabites were become so extreame proude that they feared nothing it being in deed the vsuall fashion of those that abound in wealth and power to insult malapertlie ouer God and men But how great soeuer their arrogancie is the Lord will easily pull it downe His insolencie The word Eurah for the most part signifies indignation but the circumstance of this place seemes to require
Kingdome of Israel to the bent of their bow to make warre against the Iewes No doubt but the Israelites were inticed by the flatteries of the Syrians to make a league with them to fight against their brethren And the better to deceiue them the Syrians alledged that they would aide them against all their aduersaries And therefore the Israelites also rested themselues vpon the strength of their confederates so as they were perswaded that none were too hard for them Vnder the word Ephraim he meanes all Israel as in many other places for Ephraim was the chiefe Tribe of the people Besides he saith that the munition and kingdome shall cease from a place when the strength thereof is broken and the excellency thereof brought low The remnant That is to say the peoples both of Syria and Israel should bee brought to nought and the better to authorise his prophecie he addes forthwith that God hath spoken it Now when God punished these two kingdomes so seuerely no doubt but hereby he prouided for the saluation of his Church redeeming and deliuering it euen by the destruction of the enemies And for the rooting out of them both he vsed the helpe of the Assyrians whom the Iewes themselues had called in which fact of theirs they sinned very grosly Yet could not their offence hinder the Lord from being carefull of his Church God sometimes deliuers his Church by setting her aduersaries together by the eares deliuering it by setting his enemies together by the eares And by this wee may seâ— how great care the Lord hath of vs seeing he spares not to punish euen great and mightie kingdomes for our safetie We may also obserue that although all the wicked should band and ioyne themselues in league together to destroy vs yet the Lord will easily finde a way how to deliuer vs out of their deuouring iawes Besides we may note how needfull it is for vs to be depriued of all humane helpes wherein wee often put vaine confidence and that against God himselfe for being once blinded with prosperitie It is fit we should now and â—hâ—n be left hâ—lpelâ—sse to bring vs to the true sight of our owne weâ—kenâ—sse we begin so to pride our selues in it that we can giue God no audience Hee must be faine therefore to remoue all impediments out of our way to the end we may come to the true sight of our pouertie as it happened to the Israelites who were stripped of all their succours after Syria was once destroyed Vers 4. And in that day the glory of Iacob shall be impouerished and the fatnesse of his flesh shall be made leane 5. And it shall be as when the haruest man gathereth the corne and reapeth the eares with his arme and he shall be as he that gathereth the eares in the valley of Rephaim ALthough hee had promised to speake of Syria and Damascus The reason why the Israelites are matched with the Syrians in this iudgement yet now he ioynes the Israelites with the Syrians and the reason is because they were confederates in one and the same quarrell The Syrians to whom Isaiah especially directs his speech were euen as a firebrand to kindle the wrath of the Israelites as hath been said but the Israelites were no lesse guilty and therefore iustly are they wrapped in the same afflictions as if they had been yoked with them It is vncertaine whether hee meanes all the elect people when he speakes of Iacob so as he should comprehend the Tribe of Iudah also Yet is it very likely it should bee referred to the ten Tribes onely who challenged this name vnto themselues so as he calles them glorious by way of derision because when they waxed proud of their strength multitude and confederacies they despised their brethren the Iewes Whereas he threatens them afterward with leannesse he doth it to taxe their insolencie as on the contrary the Prophets scorne and reproch them for being become fat For their prosperitie made them proud being puffed vp with the fruitfulnes of their country euen as fat horses ouermuch pampered are wont to kicke with the heele which is the cause why Amos cals them fat kine Amos. 4.1 Amos 4.1 How wanton and lustie soeuer they were then the Lord protests that hee will take downe their fat which caused them to be so glorious And it shall be Vers 5. By this similitude he shewes how fearefull the iudgement shall be Looke saith he Simile how reapers gather the corne into their armes so shall this multitude how great and mightie soeuer be reaped by the enemies And that he might not omit any thing he addes that after the haruest shall be ended some loose eares shall be gathered which lay scattered here there as if he should say After the multitude shall be gathered in the land made bare eueÌ„ as a field that is reaped the remainder which shall be scattered shall not therefore rest in safetie Moreouer hee vseth this similitude of the haruest because the people were growne secure vpon trust of their great multitude But as the reapers are not amazed at all when they see the corne very thicke so saith he the great multitude shall not disable the Lord from rooting them whollie out We may in like maner referre this to the Assyrians but yet the sense will be the same because they were Gods seruants to execute this vengeance Wee neede not stand to debate much about the verb To gather because it signifies nothing else but that the slaughter shall be like an haruest which being once ended others are permitted to gleane the eares which lie scattered For after that the tenne tribes had bin led captiues the Assyrians gleaned vp the remnant also when they vnderstood of their new deuices 2. King 17.4.5 He makes especiall mention of Rephaim because the Israelites were well acquainted with the fruitfulnes of it Vers 6. Yet a gathering of grapes shall be left in it Chap. 24.13 as the shaking of an oliue tree two or three berries in the top of the vtmost bowes and foure or fiue in the high branches of the fruit thereof saith the Lord God of Israel HE had preciselie affirmed that nothing should remaine of the discomfiture euen as if the name of the nation should be vtterlie defaced Now he addes a consolation A Consolation to asswage the bitternes of the slaughter For he shewes that there shall some remaine although the enemies determined to consume and destroy theÌ„ vtterlie Euen as a man neuer plucks his vine so cleane but there will some grape or cluster lie hidden vnder the leaues Likewise as a man neuer shakes his oliues so thorowlie but that some one will hang still in the top of the trees so howsoeuer the enemies be enraged and the wrath of God kindled yet as he therin shewes himselfe a seuere Iudge so will he shew himselfe gracious and mercifull in reseruing a small number in not suffring the
reioyce the harts of the faithful or as if he would reuiue and quicken them by watering them with sweet showers and thus the Prophet should shew a diuers successe There may be also a close opposition whereby he admonisheth that when God shall be thought to take his ease and behold things heere below as it were carelesly that euen then hee may as it were sport himselfe in executing his iudgements Truely because the two verses following are conioyned with this it seemes that Isaiah would say Howsoeuer God shewes not himselfe carefull after the maner of men neither runnes with violent heat to take vengeance yet hath he secret meanes in his hands to execute his iudgements and yet in the meane while neuer stir his least finger It may be also that hee meant to shew that God would vse an extraordinarie meanes in rooting out this people But that which I touched erewhile may suffice to wit that whilest men are besotted with prosperâ—ie and drunken in their delights thinking that God hath no more to doe with them euen then their destruction is at hand The reason is because God is able with his onely looke to cast down all the forces and preparations of the whole world And therefore he saith he will be like to a faire bright day and to the heate drying vp the raine secondly to a watrish cloud in the hottest day of summer Now wee know that such a raine is very fit to ripen fruits and that the heate comming after the raine brings them forward and makes them swell because it disperseth all the moisture that is in them by the force of his heate This it it then which the Prophet meant to say that howsoeuer many miseries and calamities be prepared for the reprobates yet all things notwithstanding falles out for a while as they would wish The wicked are neere to their ruine then when they thinke themselues most secure so as they seeme the onely happy men in the world no otherwise then if God meant to satiâ—sfie them to the full with the â—â—st of his benefits But in conclusion they shall finde that they were onely fatted vp as Oxen for the slaughter for they shall perish in an instant and that euen then when they seemed to bee come to the very top of their happinesse Whence wee may learn that we are not to iudge of Gods iudgements according to outward appearance for when the wicked thinke themselues most secure then their ruine ouerthrow is at the doores Thus doth he comfort the faithfull in very fit season lest they should thinke the vnbeleeuers more happy then themselues because God winked at their faults for albeit hee seemes to cocker them whom hee so forbeares yet will he quickely bring them to destruction Now we are to apply these things to these miserable and troublesome times wherein the persecuting tyrants of the Church haue their full swinge abounding in all wealth A consolation for the Church bringing their enterprises to passe no lesse then if all things were in their owne power why so because they surpasse all others in strength counsel and policie But let vs know for certaine that all these things are brought to passe by the determinate counsell of God who is contented to let them goe on forward with their deliberations and lets them prosper that so he may at the last destroy and vtterly cut them off I am not ignorant that some others draw the words of the Prophet to another sense but I hope that whosoeuer shall wisely consider the whole context will easily subscribe to mine exposition Vers 5. For afore the haruest when the flower is finished and the fruit is ripening in the flower then he shal cut downe the branches with hookes and shall take away and cut off the boughes WOrd for word it is For the presence of the haruest but we must a little mitigate the sharpnesse of the words The Prophets meaning is not obscure for when haruest drawes neere and that grapes be ripe the wicked shall finde themselues disappointed and that suddenly of their whole reuenue in hope whereof they meant to glad themselues Thus hee goes on still with the same matter and confirmes that which hee spake before by the former similitudes to wit that the wicked are not ouerthrowne at the first but florish for a time and the Lord seemes to spare them but when the haruest is come and that the vines haue once budded and blossomed so as the iuice begins to vtter it selfe then are the very branches cut vp by the rootes So when the wicked are neere vnto their ripenes they shall not only be depriued of the fruit they expected but shall be cut vp roote and rinde The Lord will giue this issue to wicked men after he hath suffred them to inioy their delites for a time for they shall be so rooted vp that they shall neuer be able to reuiue nor yet to be plaÌ„ted in any sort From hence then wee gather a singular consolation to wit A singular â—onsolation that when the Lord seemes to winke at the practises of the aduersaries he thereby tries our faith but yet suffers not things to be guided by the vnbridled hand of blind fortune as prophane men thinke For he is in heauen as in his Tabernacle and is resident in his Church as in a poore tent or cottage yet so as he will come forth when it shall be fit and conuenient time Let vs thus enter into our consciences and lay all these things to our heart in priuat that by this meanes wee may fortifie our selues with so excellent a promise by which only we may be enabled to ouercome and surmount all temptations Let vs also thinke with our selues how the Lord shewes vs that he sets forward and lifts vp the felicitie of the wicked to the end his mercie toward his Church may be so much the more admired The reason why God suffreth the wicked to florish for a whilâ— For if he should cut them off as corne before it be ripe we should neither so certainly nor clearely know his power nor his goodnes as when he suffers them to grow vp to their full height suffring them to be full eared and to florish to the end that their owne weight may the sooner ouerthrow them or that he himselfe may cut them vp with his sickle as fat and full eares Vers 6. They shall be left together vnto the fowles of the mountaines and to the beasts of the earth for the fowle shall sommer vpon it and euery beast shall winter vpon it HE shewes that the wicked shal be reiected as a thing of nought Matt. 3.12 Luk. 3.17 Iohn Baptist in like maner compares them to chaffe which is cast out vpon the dunghill And Isaiah shewes that they shall be left to the beasts and birds so as the birds shall make their nests in the mids of them in sommer and the beasts shall make their lodgings in
felicitie is powerfull and mightie in deed but that our wisdome is so likewise The Apothegme of this elegant Orator seemes a goodly one at the first blush but seeing he takes wisdome and prudence from God to giue it vnto mortall men such a parting of stakes is no lesse sottish then wicked For what blasphemie is it to attribute a prouideÌ„t counsell vnto men only leaue to the Lord an happie fortune If any now dare leaue those meanes by which the Lord doth instruct vs Those that seeke to coniurers are most worthie to be confounded with shame and dishonor to haue recourse to the impostures of the diuell truely such a one is most worthie to be deceiued with shame and great dishonour for he seekes the remedies which are not and despiseth those which God offers him Vers 13. The Princes of Zoan are become fooles the Princes of Noph are deceiued they haue deceiued Egypt euen the corners of the tribes thereof ZOan was one of the chiefe Cities of Egypt Noph was also very much renoumed but we can not certainly iudge what Cities they were vnlesse any shall take it to be Alexandria the antiquitie and wealth whereof may be gathered from many places of the scripture Whereby also their error is refuted who say that Alexander the Great built it For albeit it was often laid waste before yet he neuer built it vp againe whollie but only repaired it Now it appeeres by the third Chapter of Nahum vers 8. that it was once a free Citie and had league with the Egyptians being as greatlie renoumed as any Citie in the world He rightlie affirmes then that the beginning of her destruction came because of her follie Wherein the chiefe streÌ„gth of a coÌ„mon-wealth consists For the chiefe strength of a common-wealth or of a kingdome consists in counsell and wisdome without which neither riches nor multitude of men do profit any thing I take this word Angulum which signifies a corner by way of similitude for the principall part of the building whereupon the whole weight resteth so that I had rather reade it in the nominatiue case then in the accusatiue because it should be referred as I take it to these wise men vpon whom the Egyptians relied as securely as though no mishap could possiblie befall them But Isaiah tels them that this leaning-stock is too weake because the resting ouer-confidentlie vpoÌ„ their counsels was the destruction of Egypt Therefore after a taunting maner he condemnes this deceitfull wisdome which indeede rather deserues the title of vanitie and follie because it is separate from the feare of God For men not only abuse this excellent gift of God but they are also puffed vp with vaine ambition and subtletie which pleaseth them farre better then true wisedome Besides there is also a diuellish furie in them for they quite suppresse the prouidence of God referring all these euents whatsoeuer to the capacitie of their owne braine This is the cause why the scripture cries out so often against such wise men shewing all their wit to be meere madnes For they take that vpon them which belongs to God whereby they commit horrible and intolerable sacrilege We neede not meruaile then if the Lord shew fearefull examples against such wisards For howsoeuer they be ingenious and quicke witted yet they stumble and misse the marke euen in small matters casting themselues into such great dangers as a simple clowne or artificer could haue easilie auoided and foreseene Let this be a warning vnto vs lest we waxe proud in heart in attributing some praise of wisdome to our selues If so be wee haue any prudence and dexteritie in vs let vs wholly refer it to the free liberalitie of God and keepâ— our selues within the rule of modestie and sobrietie For if we make the Lord the stay of our wisdome wee haue a sure corner stone The surest corner stone which can neuer bee beaten downe nor ouerthrowne Vers 14. The Lord hath mingled among them the spirits of errors and they haue caused Egypt to erre in euery worke thereof as a drunken man erreth in his vomit BEcause it was incredible and vnexpected that the leaders of so wise and politike a people should ouerthrow the Country by their folly therefore the Prophet attributes the cause of it to the iudgement of God to the end the Iewes should not be as it were hood-winked in so excellent and memorable an example For prophane men are wont to attribute Gods iudgements to Fortune when any thing that is new and vnlooked for falles out now he speakes by way of similitude as if hee should say euen as wine is powred into a cup or glasse so will the Lord make the wise men drunke by powring the spirit of giddinesse into them that being at their wits end becoÌ„ming senselesse they may be made vnable either to say or doe any thing rightly The cause why they deceiued Egypt then was because themselues were deceiued first And in that the Egyptians suffered themselues to bee so abused and were not able to keepe themselues from it therein may we see the iudgement of God vpon them How God is said to depriue men of wisedome and counsell And yet Isaiah makes not God so the author of this their senselesnes as if the Egyptians might haue laid the blame vpon him But thus stands the case men of themselues haue neither vnderstanding nor iudgement for whence comes wisdome but from the Spirit of God which is the onely fountaine of light vnderstanding and trueth Now if the Lord takes this his Spirit from vs what haue we to charge him withall Hee is bound to vs no way at all and in that he is liberall in giuing to men it proceedes from his meere fauour So then when soeuer hee smites mens hearts with the spirit of giddinesse and error he doth it alwaies vpon iust causes howsoeuer I grant they may be hidden from vs. But for the most part he punisheth the wicked who haue lifted vp themselues against him with this blindnesse as it happened to the Egyptians who being swollen with an opinion of their owne wisdome were ready to burst with pride despised all in regard of themselues It is a superfluous matter then to dispute of predestination in this place seeing the Lord punisheth them for a notorious vice Wherefore when hee blindes or giues them vp hee cannot be accused of crueltie for it is a iust chastisement of their rebellion and wickednesse neither can he which punisheth mens iniquities be called the author of euill Let vs now shew after what manner God inflicts this punishment vpon them How God works iustly by euill instruments He deliuers them vp to Satan who effects this for he it is properly who sowes the spirit of error and frowardnesse in mens hearts but because hee acts nothing but at Gods commandement it is said that God doth that which Satan indeed doth For where it is commonly said This oâ—
that is done by Gods permission nothing is more friuolous The Prophet expresseth yet more to wit that this punishment was sent of God besause hee is a iust Iudge For he works by Satan as a Iudge doth by the executioner and iustly punisheth those that haue offended him as we reade in the booke of the Kings Satan there presents himselfe before God and askes leaue to deceiue the Prophets of Ahab his request being granted he executes Gods commandement for of himselfe hee was able to doe nothing 1. King 22.21 We neede not heape vp many testimonies of Scripture the thing it selfe is manifest enough In that hee addes they were deceiued by their counsellers he therein sets forth the iudgement of God in the second manner For it might well be that although the Princes had been witlesse much like to men drunke that the people neuerthelesse were sober and of sound iudgement but he also saith that the seducers should obtaine the efficacie of error to deceiue the people also Thus you see a twofold iudgement of God in this place both against the seductors and the seduced By vomiting hee meanes a beastly kinde of drunkennesse adding it by way of amplification shewing that they are not drunken after an ordinarie manner some wit remaining still in them but that they were drunke like swine Vers 15. Neither shall there be any worke in Egypt which the head may doe nor the taile the branch nor the rush THis is the conclusion of the former sentence for his meaning is that there shall be such a brutish blockishnesse in all the Egyptians that whatsoeuer they enterprise shall vanish away and come to nothing This must needes be fall them who are destitute of counsell and it is a iust punishment of our pride and ouerweening The Prophet then meant to note out the euent and effect to shew that all things should haue wofull successes And in menacing the head and taile What is meant by Head and Taile he signifies thereby that all estates from the highest to the lowest shall bee destitute of counsell so as they shall be able to doe nothing to the purpose vnlesse any had rather vnderstand it as touching the maner of the proceeding of their actions Let vs learne from hence that the beginning and end of all things depends vpon God only of whom we must aske counsell wisedome and a prosperous successe in all our businesses vnlesse we meane to haue things succeed with vs as they did with the Egyptians Vers 16. In that day shall Egypt be like women for it shall bee afraid and feare because of the mouing of the hand of the Lord of hosts which he shaketh ouer it HE repeates that againe which he had said before to wit that the Egyptians should haue no strength at all Some thinke the Prophet alludes to a womanish behauiour wherewith the Historiographers haue taxed the Egyptians which was this all order being peruerted women managed the publike affaires and men kept the house and performed the offices that belonged to women It may be Isaiah aimed at thâ—s But all being well considered this coniecture cannot be currant because he threatens a iudgement heere which should bring men into a wonderfull mammering If he should speake of their accustomed behauiour it should appertaine nothing at all to the matter in hand neither doth he reproue the Egyptians for their womanish hearts but rather tels them they shall be so terrified that they shall become timerous like women For they not only esteemed of themselues as of a warlike people able to wage battaile but would take it in hand themselues without any prouocation thereunto and were also helpfull vnto other nations For wee see that many prophane authors tell sundrie things of the facts of the Egyptians and stand much vpon their commendation Howsoeuer then they were more nice and delicate then any other people yet they were desirous to be esteemed a valarous and warlike people But now in so sudden a change we may see an admirable iudgement of God And therefore he addes that the shaking of the Lords hand shall be the cause of this feare by which words he shewes that the Lord will order and take all this warre in hand so as the Egyptians shall neuer be able to stand in regard they shall not haue to doe with men but with God himselfe Now this which Isaiah pronounceth against Egypt ought also to be applied to other nations for when troubles arise and warres are proclaimed the iudgement of God must be acknowledged therein if men proue cowards and faint-hearted For wee see the most warlike men sometimes to giue place shewing themselues more delicate then women yea to be ouercome with little or no power when God once smites their hearts with trembling Vers 17. And the land of Iudah shall be a feare vnto Egypt euery one that maketh mention of it shall be afraid thereat because of the counsell of the Lord of hostes which he hath determined vpon it SOme expound it simplie that the land of Iudah shall be a wonderment to the Egyptians as well as other nations comparing this place with Chap. 18.2.7 where it is said You shal be an astonishment c. But I thinke the Prophets meaning is otherwise in this place for his purpose is to shew the cause why the Lord will shew such an example against the Egyptians to wit because they had been the occasion of the destruction of the Iewes For they had turned them froÌ„ the coÌ„fidence which they ought to haue had in God it being the custome of Princes to solicite their neighbours and offring them help to the end they may vse them afterward in the like case But God had forbidden the Iewes to goe downe into Egypt for any succour Deut. 17.16 Yet did this wretched people chuse rather to yeeld to the solicitations of the Infidels which offred themselues vnto them then to God they are chastised therefore very iustly Neither did the Egyptians escape vnpunished because they had giuen them occasion of incredulitie and distrust for they were so sharplie chastised that they quaked for feare as oft as they remembred the Iewes We may gather a very profitable doctrine from hence to wit that all such which shall alienate the Church from the true seruice of God and from trusting in his help hauing giuen them offence either by fearing or counselling them Such as shall be so wickedly minded as to withdraw Gods childrâ— from his seruice or from trusting in him shall be punished seuerely or by any allurements whatsoeuer shall be punished and that seuerely The Prophets words are as much in effect then as if one should say That the very looke of a woman will make him to blush which hath entised her to leaudnes when the filthines of the fact shall come to light and when God the auenger of the mariage knot shall appeare Vers 18. And in that day shall fiue Cities in the land of Egypt
it is written Thou shalt sweare by my name Deut. 6.13 Doe wee not contemne and defile his holy name if wee mixe Saints or any other creature in our oathes Let vs note here also with what reuerence we ought to take an oath How we ought to sweare for if wee thereby make profession of Gods honour ought wee not to come thereunto with feare and humilitie Afterwards where he saith in the end of the verse that euery sixth Citie shall be destroyed the meaning is that all such as turne not vnto God to serue him shall perish without hope of restitution this is the reason why he opposeth the Cities of Egypt which should begin to acknowledge God against those that are appointed to coÌ„fusion Nothing but ruin to be expected where the seruice of God is wanting Where the seruice of God is wanting then there we can expect nothing but vtter ruin for the word Here 's signifies cursing and execration after which followes ruin and eternall death Vers 19. In that day shall the Altar of the Lord be in the middest of the land of Egypt and a pillar by the border thereof vnto the Lord. HE continues on still that which he spake in the former verse and expresseth more fullie the renument of Fgypt because true religion shall florish there the pure seruice of God shall be established and all superstitions shall fall to the ground Now he vseth this word Altar to represent Gods worship as by the signe thereof because sacrifices and oblations were exercises of pietie By the middest of Egypt he vnderstaÌ„ds the principall part of all the kingdome as if he should say in the middes of the kingdome or in the most excellent part of it As touching the word pillar we may not thinke he speakes of Images that represents the shape of Saincts or men but memorials of the feare of God or his meaning is that they shall be as signes or land-marks like to those which bound our the ends and limits of kingdomes and that after this maner there should be signes set vp whereby all men might know that God gouerned this people When men are truly turned vnto God from their idolatrie they testifie it by some publike signe And doe we not see it ordinarilie fall out that when a people is truly conuerted vnto God hauing once forsaken and detested their Idols and superstitions how they openly set vp signes of true religion so as all may know that God is purely worshipped there Iosephus tels how Onias Onias abused this place when he fled to Ptolemeus Philometor for he perswaded him that it should be a very profitable course to set vp an Altar in the Countrey vpon which the Iewes that dwelt there might offer sacrifice and alledged this text affirming that this prophesie ought now to be fulfilled And in the end this wicked Priest made the King beleeue it to be true although the Iewes openlie gainsaid him for the King regarded his owne benefit and this bad fellow who had been deposed from his office meant to obteine new credit and fauour So by this meanes what opposition soeuer there was yet could not this wicked counsell be hindred But Isaiah vnder these figuratiue signes plainely describes the pure worship of God which was then in vse for he hath respect to his owne time and to those with whom he had to deale Onias then did wickedlie peruert this place to serue his own turne Papists wresters of Scripture But the popish Doctors are no lesse impudent at this day in drawing in a place of Malachie by the haire as it were to maintaine the sacrifice of the Masse For where he saith Mal. 1.11 It shall come to passe that incense shall be euery where offred vnto God from thence they conclude that there are some sacrifices differing from the ancient sacrifices for neither oxen nor other beasts are to be sacrificed therefore it is the Masse say they Truly a very trim argument Wee may easily discerne that Malachie speakes there of the seruice of God The place of Malachi truly expounded noting it vnder one of the shadowes of the Law as Isaiah doth in this place and we ought to marke these kinds of speech diligentlie which the Prophets are wont to vse very often The Papists argument out of Malachi for the sacrifice of the Masse answered by another place out of Ioel. This then may be plainly explaned by another place in Ioel which we will alledge by way of example Your sonnes and your daughters shall prophesie saith he your yong men shall see visions and your old men shall dreame dreames Ioel 2.28 S. Peter tels how this prophesie was fulfilled wheÌ„ the Apostles being inspired with the holy Ghost spake diuers tongues for whereas they were vnlearned before they then began to be fit to teach the heaueÌ„lie mysteries Act. 2. We reade nothing there of dreames The Apostle theâ— seemes to alledge this place very vnfitlie but it appeeres that Ioel meane to signifie nothing else in this place but Prophesie and vseth the word dreames and to sâ—â—ns for ornament sake because the Lord in times past did make his minde knowne to the Prophets by this meanes Numb 12.6 He also had respect to the custome vsed at that timâ— because the Iewes would hardlie haue vnderstood what the gifts of the holy Ghost meant seeing it was a thing as yet vnknowne vnto them for being nourished vp vnder rudiments of the Law they could aspire no higher then to the sacrifices and ceremonies or whether the signes and sacraments led them The Prophets lisped to them then as vnto babes or children to whom we vse not to speake of higher matters then that which they may be able by little and little to comprehend by custome This doctrine therefore will giue vs the meaning of many texts the obscuritie whereof wee might otherwise be held a long while in doubt of It plainly appeeres that the Prophet speakes of Christ his kingdome so that the things whereof hee speakes were not fulfilled till his comming The shadowes must be taken away that wee may behold the truth of things and so by the Altar we vnderstand the pure and true inuocation of Gods name But yet the Prophet therewithall shewes by these outward signes that the pure seruice of God can not be preserued without the publick exercises of religion the maner whereof must not be disposed according to our will Let mens inuentions cease then that God alone may be heard in this matter Vers 20. And it shall be for a signe and for a witnes vnto the Lord of hostes in the land of Egypt for they shall crie vnto the Lord because of the oppressors and he shall send them a Sauiour and a great man and shall deliuer them WE cannot offer any acceptable seruice vnto God Draw me and I will runne after thee Cant. 1. I shall runne the way of thy Commande ets when thou hast sâ—t mine
with his own mouth may also answer and by good right say that he is their God This priuiledge is indifferently granted both to the Egyptians and Assyrians But although the Prophet meant to make these strangers companions with the Iewes which were the houshold-people of God yet he distinguisheth their degrees by speciall markes For in calling the Egyptians Gods people he meanes that they are partakers of that honour which God vouchsafed onely to the Iewes He adornes the Assyrians with the proper title giuen to the Church saying that they are the worke of his hands The Church as we haue said elsewhere is called the worke or workemanship of God Eph. 2.10 because the faithfull are reformed by the spirit of regeneration to the end they may beare the image of God Thus by the worke of the hands meanes not our creation The meaning of this phrase The worke of mine hands If our new birth be the workmanship of God ought we to attribute any thing to our selues as we are made men but regeneration as wee are created vnto newnesse of life that so being separated from the world wee may bee made new creatures Whence wee perceiue that in the matter of our new life we ought to attribute nothing vnto our selues because wee are altogether the workmanship of God But when the Prophet speakes of Israel he adornes him with his preheminence to wit that he is the heritage of God to the end hee might still retaine the right and honour of the first borne among his new brethren For this word heritage hath a greater emphasis in it then we thinke commonly of For questionlesse that same couenant which God made fiâ—st with them gaue them such a priuiledge as could not be disanulled by their vnthankfulnesse because the gifts callings of God are without repentance as Saint Paul teacheth Rom. 11.29 Ephes 2.12 Which shewes that they are the first borne in Gods house The Iewes Howsoeuer then that the grace of God bee now shed forth and spread abroad further of yet cease they not to hold the first degreâ— not by their merit but by the stedfastnesse of the promise THE XX. CHAPTER Vers 1. In the yeere that Tartan came to Ashdod when Sargon King of Ashur sent him and had fought against Ashdod and taken it IN the former Chapter Isaiah prophesied of that calamitie threatned against the Egyptians therewithall promising them Gods mercie now repeating againe the same argument hee shewes that Israell shall be confounded by this chastisement of Egypt because they put their confidence in them He also ioines the Ethiopians with him Whence we may coniecture that the Ethiopians were ioined in league with the Egyptians which I haue touched heretofore and shall touch it again in the 37. Chapter First The time of this prophecie we are to note the time of this prophesie for necessitie did presse the Iewes in such wise then that they were constreined to seeke help of other nations 2. King 18. â—7 The holie historie witnesseth that Tartan was one of the Captaines of Senacherib for which cause we must needs acknowledge that this Sargon was Senacherib who as wee may see by this place had two names We are likewise to consider in what case the state of Israel was for the ten Tribes had been led away captiue and it seemed that the kingdome of Iudah was vtterlie wasted in regard the whole Countrie was almost conquered Ierusalem excepted which was besieged by Rabsache Tartan on the other side laid siege against Ashdod Tartan Rabsaris and Rabsache 2 King 18.13 17. Now in the 17. verse of the 18. Chapter there are three Captaines named whence wee rightlie collect that Sennacheribs camp at that time was diuided into three parts that so at one instant all being amazed and troubled and some put to their shifts the rest might haue no opportunitie to aid and succour one another The Iewes therefore had no other refuge but to seeke for help of strangers The Prophet in the meane whilâ— is sent from God to tell them in flat termes that it is but in vaine for them to depend vpoÌ„ the succour of the Egyptians who were alreadie pursued euen by Gods immediat hand and so farre was it off that they should be helpfull to others that they were scarce able to defend themselues against their enemies Thus the Iewes were to know for certaine that they were iustlie punished for their infidelitie because they left God to flee for help to the Egyptians The drift and â—ope of this prophesie We are heere then to obserue the drift and scope of the text for it is not Gods meaning to admonish the Egyptians but to correct the infedelitie of his people which infidelitie often caried them away to false and peruerse hopes That the Prophet might teach them therefore to rest vpon God alone he heere sets before them what issue and successe they should haue froÌ„ these vaine helps which they so greedily sought after Now this admonition doubtlesse was very seasonable because the Egyptians had now begun to hinder the passage of the Assyrians and had constreined them to returne from whence they came which was the best newes the Iewes could possiblie heare tell of But to the end they might not reioice too much in these goodly beginnings he threatens that this succor shall turne into smoke because the Ethiopians and Egyptians shall in short space be ouercome to their great disgrace and confusion Vers 2. At the same time spake the Lord by the hand of Isaiah the sonne of Amoz saying Goâ— and lose the sackcloth from thy loines and put off thy shooe from thy foote and he did so walking naked and bare-foot TO the end the Lord might confirme this prophesie by some externall signe he commands Isaiah to walke naked For if the Prophet had done this of his owne head he had iustlie deserued to haue been mocked for his labor but in regard he did it at Gods bidding there is nothing to be seene in him which is not worthie of admiration yea of great feare Vnder this nakednes and such other signes there are weightie matters included besides God neuer did any thing either immediatlie by himselfe neither yet by any of his seruants but the reason of it is forthwith declared Thus Isaiah walks not naked only but shewes what his drift is that is to say why the Lord enioined him to do it otherwise the false Prophets might imitate the seruants of God changing themselues into diuers fearefull formes to dazle the eies of simple people and so get estimation but such signes are nought worth because God is not the author of them Papists readie to set vp new Ceremonies in stead of true Sacraments Whâ—t rule must be opposed against popish Ceremonies Which we are diligentlie to obserue in regard of the Papists who are readie to aduance and set vp new Ceremonies in stead of true Sacraments This is the rule which
Prophet reprocheth the Iewes then with this their calamitie very iustly for it was fit they should be touched to the quicke to the end they might learne that all the trouble and euils which they indured happened to them in regard of their trespasses and sins For the Lord had promised them continuall assistance but being now left of him they were to confesse themselues vnworthy of his aid and that they had caused the Lord to recoile backe from them by their rebellions The Lord neuer deceiues neither promiseth he any thing in vaine but these poore wretches are depriued of his loue and fauor by their owne default which is yet better expressed by that interrogation which followeth What hast thou to doe here For it is as much as if by the present act he shewed that Ierusalem is left destâ—tute of her protectour and defender because this manner of speech signifies as much as some strange and vnwonted thing And to the end he might the better set forth the vengeance of God hee telleâ— them that those which were slaine died not like valiant men in battell but that they died onely for want of heart and courage for this womanish and timorous heart was a sure token to them that they were all left of God whose assistance if they had had they should boldly and manfully haue made resistance So then hee not onely affirmes that this discomfiture was accompanied with shame and dishonour but he also attributes the want of heart and courage to resist to the wrath and anger of God neither is it to be doubted but by the circumstance of this their flight hee beates downe their vaine arrogancie and pride Vers 3. All thy Princes shall flee together from the bowe they shall bee bound all that shall be found in thee shall be bound together which haue fled from farre THis veâ—se is expounded diuers waies The matter in it selfe is cleere enough but there is some dâ—fficultie in the words Now because the letter Menâ— signifies Before some expound the word Merachok They fled before others who notwithstanding were neerer vnto danger in regard they dwelt vpon the borders of the Country Others thus Althogh they were very far off from Ierusalem yâ—t they ranne away as men possâ—ssâ—d with feâ—re who flee without stay thinking that they haue the enemie alwaies at their heeles But I take this sense to bee better agreeing They ranne farre off that is to say those who fled to Ierusalem as to a Sanctuarie shall bee taken and bound by the enemies Now Ierusalem was as the common Citie of reâ—uge for the whole Country of Iudea and therefore after any warre was begun the inhabitants on all sides drew themselues thither But they were surprised notwithstanding they thought it such a place of safetie Some referre this to the siege of Senacherib 2. King 18.13 2. King 39.15 2. King 24.12 but I cannot be led by any meanes to expound it so because hee speakes of the destruction of Ierusalem But we know when it was besieged by Senacherib the Lord deliuered it forthwith neither was there any taken or bound neither was any slaine there These things fell out then a long time after the Prophets death and the holie historie witnesseth the same as also that the Princes determined to flee when this calamitie hapned but neither their flight to Ierusalem nor their running away from it did them any good at all because they fell into the hands of the enemies In that he speakes expreslie of the Princes it aggrauates the indignitie of the fact for they should haue been the formost in ventring of their liues for the safetie of the people no lesse then if they had bin their shields and bucklers to fortifie and defend them But Ierusalem being now in her florishing estate and in great prosperitie these things might seeme incredible because it was a strong and well fenced Citie besides it boasted chieflie in this that it was vnder Gods protection For the people thought that God was fast lincked as you would say to the Temple which was amongst them Iere. 7.4 of which they bragged in such wise that they perswaded themselues they could not be hurt by any power or forces whatsoeuer though the whole world should conspire their destruction This prophesie therefore might seeme very strange to wit that they should become heartlesse and betake them to their heeles and yet should not escape this way neither Vers 4. Therefore said I Turne away from me I will weepe bitterlie labour not to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people TO the end the Prophet might affect the hearts of the Iewes the more with this calamitie he takes vpon him the person of a mourner and not that only but with bitter lamentation he bewailes the desolation of Gods Church For this place must not be expounded like the forâ—er wherein he expressed and set forth the sorrow and heauines of forreine nations But in regard he speakes heere of the afflictions of the Church whereof himselfe was a member he hath good cause to mourne in good earnest and to call vpon others to lament with him That which happens to the Church then in generall ought no lesse to moue vs then if each of vs felt the miserie vpon himselfe in particular otherwise where shall this sentence be verified The zeale of thy house hath eaten me vp Psal 69.10 Now the Prophet mournes not apart nor in socret without witnesses first because he meant as I said euen now to prouoke others by his example not onely to mourne and weepe but rather to repent that so they might preuent the iudgement of God which hung ouer their heads and might prouoke him no more for the time to come Secondlie to the end that himselfe who was as the herauld and messenger of God might publish and declare the wrath that was like to fall vpon them shewing by this his owne deed that it was no vaine thing which he spake We may easilie gather from that which is added that the Prophet spake that with his mouth which he felt in his heart when he saith I will weepe bitterlie for the daughter of my people for himselfe being one of Abrahams of-spring he could not but be touched to the quick with this common calamitie and therefore testifies that he hath iust cause to mourne He calles the daughter the assemblie of the people according to the vsuall phrase We ought to be thoâ—owlie touched with sorrow for the Churches aâ—fliction vnlesse we will pâ—oue our selues yron-hearted Whence wee may note that when the Church is afflicted we ought to be moued with compassion by the example of the Prophet vnlesse wee be more then yron hearted For wee are vtterlie vnworthie to be numbred among the children of God or to be accounted among the communion of Saincts vnlesse our selues with all we enioy be in such wise consecrated vnto her that nothing can separate vs by any meanes from
her Therefore in seeing the Church so many waies and with such diuers calamities afflicted at this day and an infinit number of soules to perish whom Iesus Christ hath redeemed with his pretious blood must we not needs be cruell and barbarous if we be moued with no sorrow at all Especiallie the Ministers of the word ought to be thorowlie touched with the feeling of this sorrow for as they are held for the watchmen and therefore can see further off so also ought they to sigh when they perceiue the signes of a scattering of the sheepe to be at hand Now the Prophets publike teares serued as we haue said to breake the hearts of the people for he had to doe with men of such obstinacie as could not easilie be brought to lament There is a place almost like vnto this in Ieremiah where he bewailes the destruction and scattering of the people saying that his soule fainted with sorrow Iere. 4.31 And in another place Who will graunt that my head might be filled with waters and that mine eies might be a fountaine of teares to weepe day and night for the slaine of the daughter of my people Iere. 9.1 Iere. 9.1 When the Prophets perceiued they labored in vaine to breake the hard hearts of this people surely they could not chuse but be ouerwhelmed with griefe and sorrow and therefore they indeuored by all meanes to mollifie y◠hearts of the obstinate that if it were possible they might be bowed and brought back againe into the right way Vers 5. For it is a day of trouble and of ruin and of perplexitie by the Lord of hosts in the valley of vision breaking downe the Citie and a crying vnto the mountaines HE againe signifies that the Lord is the Author of this fearefull iudgement Though it be often told vs that God is the author of our afflictiōs yet we forget it when we should put this knowledge in practise and to the end the Iewes might not gaze heere and there wondring that the enemies should get the vpper hand he tels them plainely that they fight against God himselfe Now albeit we often meete with this doctrine in the holie Scriptures yet notwithstanding it is no way superfluous neither can it be so often repeated but we forget it when we are to practise it thence it is that we humble not our selues before our Iudge but cast our eyes rather vpon men and externall meanes then vpon God who would easilie remedie our euils By day he meanes a time prefixed according to the vsuall prase of the Scripture because it seemes that God yeelds ouer his right for a time when he winkes at mens wickednesse but he forthwith recouers it againe in that season that himselfe hath appointed Now it is not for nought that he names the valley of vision againe for the Iewes thought themselues secured from all dangers because it pleased God to inlighten them by his word But because they did vnthankfully reiect the doctrine thereof it was but a vaine confidence to thinke the bare inioying of it should any way profit them for the Lord not onely punisheth the infidelitie of those that are out of the Church but that also of the Church it selfe Nay rather he begins to manifest his anger against it first for he will not indure to haue his graces abused nor that men should boast of his titles in vaine That which is added touching The cry of the mountaine it may be referred to God to the Caldeans and to those also which fled because the vanquishers raised vp a cry to augment the terrour but the vanquished either cried for mercie and fidelitie or else testified their sorrow by teares weepings The singular number may also be takē for the plurall or else it is meant of that side of the Citie in which the Temple was built Both expositions agree to the text and there is no great difference whether we say That the enemies cried from the mountaine of Zion to incourage one another or that their cry was heard of the neighbour mountaines when they pilled and destroyed the Citie or that the citizens themselues made their lamentations sound to the mountaines which inuironed the plaine of Iordan Vers 6. And Elam bare the quiuer in a mans chariot with horsemen and Kir vncouered the shield THe expositours are of opinion that this is a continued speech that the Prophet denounceth the same iudgement against the Iewes that he had done before But when I consider all things aduisedly I am enforced to bee of the contrarie opinion for I thinke the Prophet vpbraides the Iewes with their obstinacie and rebellion See the exposition of the eleuenth verse for that giues light to this for that they repented not albeit the Lord had chastised them and thus he repeates the historie of the time past to put them in remembrance that God his chastisements had done them no good Thus should these things bee distinguished from the former In the other verses he foretold what should happen to the Iewes but now he shewes that they are iustly punished and that they haue deserued these violent blowes wherewithall the Lord smites them For hee had called them to repentance not onely by his word but also by most wofull effects yet had they shewed none amendement at all notwithstanding that their wealth was wasted and the Kingdome weakened but proudly persisted in their rebellion There remained nothing thē but that the Lord should bring heauie iudgements vpon them seeing they thus persisted in their obstinacy and rebellion Now I haue translated this Hebrew coniunction Vau by way of opposition it being often taken in this sense Those who thinke the Prophet threatens in the time to come retaine the proper sense as if the Prophet hauing made mention of God should by and by adde the executioners of his vengeance But I haue already shewed what exposition I haue approued and it shall appeare hereafter by the course of the text that mine opinion is not without good reason In that hee names the Elamits and the Kirenians it agrees better as I take it to the Assyrians then to the Babylonians For although these nations did neuer make war vpon the Iewes by their owne instinct yet is it very likely that they were in wages with the King of Assyria and occupied a place in his host when he besieged Ierusalem Now we haue said alreadie that by the Elamits are meant the Esterne people and vnder the name of Kir it is certaine that the Prophet comprehends the Kirenians And because they bare shields he saith they discouered them because they drew them forth of their cases when they entred into the battell Whereas some translate In the chariot of horsemen I reiect it not yet had I rather render the words of the Prophet word for word for I thinke he meanes a chariot of warre They vsed then two sorts of chariots one serued to beare the baggage and the other to
God hath committed vnto them with al faithfulnesse who also for their parts ought to be well assured that the end wherefore God hath put them in that place is to execute that office faithfully which is committed vnto them Shebna was called indeed for a time but as he was Gods rod because he thought nothing lesse then to serue God in that place But it was farre otherwise with Eliakim for he acknowledged himselfe the seruant of God Note this difference and willingly obeyed his holy calling So that I will call him then signifies as much as if hee should haue said I will giue a signe to my seruant whereby hee shall know that it is I who haue put him into this estate of honor A particular relation betweene thâ— Lord and the seruant There is here then a particular relation betweene the Lord and the seruant which at no hand belongs to the vnbeleeuers because they serue their owne imaginations and wicked lusts but Eliakim acknowledged the Lord and serued him truely To be short this marke puts a difference betweene the true seruant of God and the froward and hypocriticall who climbes to honour by euill practises Vers 21. And with thy garments will I clothe him and with thy girdle will I strengthen him thy power also will I commit into his hand and he shall be a father of the inhabitants of Ierusalem and of the house of Iudah HEe now more plainely expounds that which hee had set downe briefly in the former verse to wit that Shebna shall be deposed by Gods iust iudgement to the end Eliakim may succeede him Doubtlesse God by his prouidence disposeth of all the changes which happen in the world for as Iob saith he girdes the loynes of Kings with a girdle and looseth it againe when it pleaseth him Iob 12.18 It was pleasantly said in old time of the Emperours of Rome That it was the tragedie of Kings for as players that represent some great personage vpon the stage hauing ended their part in stead of Kings become poore snakes as they were before so these being deiected from their high estate are now and then led to shamefull deaths And yet is it most certaine that things were not then thus confused by hap hazard neither yet by mens deuices onely nor by the violence of men of warre but by the counsell of God which ouerruleth all The Prophet affirmes then that men shal see a special note of Gods iudgement in the banishment of this same Shebna and on the other side a right forme of gouernement in the restoring of Eliakim By the garments and girdle are vnderstood part of that attire which belong to Magistrates The girdle was a kingly ornament and no doubt but the chiefe gouernours ware it by a speciall priuiledge of honour But in Rome the Pretors vsed such a kinde of ornament ordinarilie Iob also saith as wee alleadged before that God looseth off the girdle from Kings when they are stripped out of their dignities Now the Prophet foretold this to the end euerie one might not onely behold the admirable counsell and prouidence of God in this example but to the end they might also know that this wretched fellow who was thus aduanced by vnlawfull meanes was iustly deposed Hose 13.11 And he shall be a father No doubt but heathen Magistrates are established by God but so as it is in his wrath that is to say when we are vnworthy he himselfe should beare rule ouer vs. For hee giues the raines to Tyrants and Pagans thereby auenging himselfe vpon our vnthankfulnesse as if he reiected vs and regarded not how nor by whom wee are gouerned Contrariwise when as good Magistrates beare rule wee therein see God comming neere vnto vs commanding vs that by them which himselfe hath ordained This is that which the Prophet meant now to say to wit that Eliakim will shew himselfe a father because he shall be indued with the Spirit of God In the meane while he admonisheth all the faithfull that it was their duties to sigh earnestly after the aduancement of Eliakim in regard his preferment should tend to the common good of the Church Good Magistrates ought to be fathers of the Countrie By the name of father he teacheth what is the dutie of a good Magistrate and the verie profane authors haue affirmed as much to wit that a good King is in stead of a father And when they would flatter tyrants which oppressed the Commonwealth nature it selfe put this title of honour into their mouthes to call them fathers of the Country So likewise when the Philosophers say that a familie is an image of a kingdome they meane that a King ought to be a father to his subiects The ancient titles also which they gaue kings witnesseth the same as for example Abimelec Gen. 20.2 that is to say My father the King and such other like Whereby is shewed that the kingly power cannot bee separated from the affection of a father Let them then which would be esteemed true and lawfull Princes and would bee taken for Gods seruants let them I say shew themselues fathers of the people Vers 22. And the key of the house of Dauid will I lay vpon his shoulder so hee shall open and no man shall shut and hee shall shut and no man shall open THis is a figuratiue kinde of speech and therefore we shall not neede to seeke out an allegoricall sense of it as many do for this phrase is taken from the vsuall dealings of men The keyes of the house are giuen to such as are appointed the distributers of necessarie things so as they open and shut at their pleasure The house of Dauid signifies the kingly house and this was a common speech among the people because a promise was made to Dauid 2. Sam. 7.12 Psal 132.11 that his kingdome should last for euer this is the reason why it was vsually called the house of Dauid The word key is put in the singular number for many keyes Now albeit they were wont to beare the keyes in their hands yet it is said here that they were laid vpon his shoulder because he was to vndergoe an heauie burthen And yet he meanes nothing else but that the tuition and gouernement of the house is committed into Eliakims hands to order it as he thinkes best Wee also know that to giue the keyes signifies as much as to put one into possession Some referre this vnto Christ but with what reason I see not for the Prophet here compares two men together namely Shebna and Eliakim Shebna was banished and Eliakim was placed in his roome wherein doth this concerne Iesus Christ For Eliakim was no figure of him neither doth the Prophet describe some hidden mysterie here but borrowes a similitude from the dealings of men as if one should giue the keyes to some steward placed ouer his house as hath beene said There is also the same reason to be giuen of it where
translated Secret signifies also whatsoeuer is within the bodie And thus it is an exclamation to wit my inward parts or my bowels paine me neither is it any absurditie to supplie a verb in a passionate and vehement speech When the Lord plants his Church it seemes to florish and to be out of all perill but when her owne bowels that is to say her children trouble her then is she the most grieued hypocrits aduance thēselues which toucheth her neerer then all the malice of those that are without To this appertaines these complaints Alas Alas for that doubtlesse was the Prophets meaning to the end the faithfull might not thinke their felicitie consisted in the things of this life but might rather know that they were to susteine continuall combates yea euen then when they imagined nothing could hinder them from inioying most sweet peace and tranquillitie His meaning is then to expresse an extreame passion of sorrow wherwith the Church should be inwardlie touched that is to say euen in her bowels and so much the more cause had she to lament because she could not auoid it A true saying For as one saith The Church can not flee from her home enemies neither can she rid her selfe of them This is the cause why the Prophet wants words to expresse his miserie When he speakes in the next place of the disloyall it is a sufficient confirmation of this exposition We haue too much experience and shall feele more and more euery day how great and wofull this calamitie is Whence came Poperie and all the filthie puddle but from this inward plague It is an impostume bred in the bowels of the Church The bane of the Church bred within her owne bowels which at length hath broken forth and annoyed vs with the corruption and stinch of it Whence is it also that in these beginnings of the Church which is but now in the swadling clouts as it were we see the true doctrine corrupted the discipline Discipline adulterated not only by the common people but by them also which from their good example ought to be guides vnto others Is it not because the Church hath alwaies been subiect to this euill Vers 17. Feare and the pit and the snare are vpon thee ô Inhabitant of the earth 18. And he that fleeth from the noyse of the feare shall fall into the pit and he that commeth vp out of the pit shall be taken in the snare for the windowes from an high are open and the foundations of the earth do shake THe Prophet heere expostulates with the people because of their sinnes See verse 14.15.16 Before he said that not one but many nations farre remote should haue cause to sing now hee comes to doctrine for I thinke this should be seuered from the former because Isaiah threatens the wicked againe to the end they might know that in the greatest felicitie of the Church they should continue to be accursed For such are wont falsly to challenge vnto themselues the promises of God when as they appertaine nothing at all vnto them this is the cause why the Prophets are wont to mingle threatnings with consolations It may be for ought we know that the Prophet made this sermon apart vpon some other occasion For neither did the Prophets themselues nor other learned men for them distinguish the Chapters we haue diuers times seene sundrie sentēces ioined together which should be separate many separated which should be ioined What was the cause thereof but ignorance Be it as you will the Prophet directs his speech againe to the wicked and threatens them with an horrible iudgement Now this description of feare pit and snare is set before them to worke vpon their affections for had he in one word told them that destruction was at hand they would haue bin little moued with it But the doubt is whether he speakes to the Iewes only or no for mine owne part I meane not to contend much about it and yet it is most likely vnto me that it appertaines also to other nations yea euen to the whole earth See vers 1.4 whereof he had prophesied before By the earth wee vnderstand those regions which were knowne to the Iewes as we touched in another place Verse 1. The sense then is The sense of this place Thou shalt be pressed with so many miseries that thou shalt not know which way to turne thee as also it is written in Amos He which flies for feare of the Lion shall meete a Beare Amos 5.19 And if he go into his house when he leanes against the wall a serpent shall bite him And in the 15. Chapter of this booke Isaiah told vs that Lions should be sent against those Moabites that escaped the warre For God hath a store-house of infinite plagues wherewith to punish the wicked God hath a store-house of infinite plagues wherewith to punish the wicked It is as much therefore as if the Prophet had said Be it knowne vnto you that you can no way winde your selues out of Gods hands for he hath mo wayes then one to auenge himselfe vpon you for your iniquities and hath skill enough to snare them that thinke by subtletie to steale away in the darke from him He that scapes the sword shall be vexed with famine and if he die not of that he shall be pressed with some other euen as if nets were euery where spread to catch you The reason which is added in the latter end of the 18. verse confirmes this exposition to wit that they can no way preuent Gods vengeance Why so for all things are at his beck from the highest heauens to the lowest depths of the earth Some are of opinion that the Prophet alludes to the deluge but as I thinke the very meaning is that Gods wrath shall be reuealed both from aboue and below as if he should say The Lord will arme heauen and earth on his side to execute his wrath vpon the sonnes of men that which way soeuer they turne their eyes they may see nothing but ruine and destruction Vers 19. The earth is vtterlie broken downe the earth is cleane dissolued the earth is moued exceedinglie 20. The earth shall reele to and fro like a drunken man and shall be remoued as a tent and the iniquitie thereof shall be heauie vpon it so that it shall fall and rise no more HE amplifies these punishments by diuers phrases of speech Now in the 20 verse he will shew the cause of this calamitie to wit that men haue pulled it vpon their owne heads by their sinnes in all the rest of the words he shewes that the mischiefe is desperate and incurable We haue said before that the Prophet vtters one and the same thing in diuers manners of speech to the end hee might awaken and wound the hearts of the people which naturally were too secure For there is a carelesnesse in our flesh which begets a contempt
of God A carelesnes rooted in our flesh which begets a contempt of God and of this euerie one of vs hath too wofull experience both in himselfe and in others That the Prophet then might rowse vp those that were drowsie and rocked asleepe in their sinnes he garnisheth his words not as one affecting eloquence to procure credit vnto himselfe but to gaine attention of his hearers to cause the same to sink the deeper into their hearts Thence proceedes all these allusions wherewith these verses are replenished thence flowes this decking of his speech with figures thence is it that these threatnings and terrours are set forth in such varietie of words namely euen to awaken the dull and dead hearts of his auditors Now this doctrine ought to be restrained to the wicked not that the faithfull were exempt from these calamities for they often suffer with others but hauing their recourse vnto God and resting themselues wholly vpon him they are not so appalled but they get the victorie ouer all assaults whatsoeuer But the wicked which despise the iudgements of God and take a raging libertie of sinning to themselues shall alwaies be vexed and terrified without any ease or rest Where he saith the earth shall be shaken it is not meant as though it should be carried out of one place into some other but this as we haue said is to be referred vnto men and it is as if he had said There shall be neither kingdome nor gouernement In a word his meaning is to set forth those changes whereof he spake in the tenth Chapter Now it is not without cause that he saith the earth is laden with iniquitie Our selues the authors of our owne euils for thereby we perceiue that God is neuer displeased with men but wee our selues are the authors and causes of all the euill we indure God is naturally inclined to pitie and compassion and loues vs with a fatherly affection our sinnes are the cause why hee deales roughly with vs and we haue no reason at all to accuse him that smites vs. The Prophet againe tels them that there is no recouerie and some are of opinion that this was spoken to the Iewes whose commonwealth was vtterly abolished so as being scattered here and there they were scacely reputed or held for men of like condition with others But I extend it further to wit that the calamities shall be so great in the world that it should neuer bee restored to his first beautie for men labour tooth and naile to resist aduersities and are foolehardy vpon a false confidence When they haue indured some corrections Men are readie enough to feede themselues with vaine hopes they thinke leaue shall bee giuen them to take breath feeding themselues with a vaine assurance which the Prophet labours to depriue them of to the end their fond hopes might not beguile them It is also to be noted that this generall sentence takes not away the exception which Isaiah spake of before vers 13. Vers 21. And in that day shall the Lord visit the hoste aboue that is on high euen the Kings of the world that are vpon the earth THis place hath troubled many mens heads so as euery one hath descanted vpon it diuersly Some thinke it to be meant of the Sunne and starres others of the diuels which should be punished with the wicked others referre it to the Iewes whom God had beautified with a special priuiledge but I can receiue none of these interpretations The true and naturall sense as I take it is that there are no powers so high that shall be able to free themselues from these scourges of God for let them soare aboue the cloudes yet euen there shall the hand of God reach them as it is said in the Psalme Psal 139. Whither shall I goe from thy presence whither shall I flee from thy Spirit if I goe vp into heauen thou art there if I take the wings of the morning and flie to the vttermost parts of the sea yet thither wilt thou pursue mee For Isaiah calles Kings and Princes the host from aboue by way of similitude and himselfe so expounds it cleerely when he addes Vpon the kings of the earth For I am not of the mind that the words should bee seuered as if hee spake of diuers things but it is rather the repetition of the same thing againe so as the latter expounds the former vnlesse any had rather expound it thus He will come in visitation vpon the kingdomes of the earth yea euen vpon them which seeme the highest exalted aboue the common condition of men Some are so aduanced aboue others that they seeme petty Gods rather then men Now the word visit must bee referred to the punishment as it appeares sufficiently by the text Vers 22. And they shall be gathered together as the prisoners in the pit and they shall bee shut vp in the prison and after many daies shall they bee visited HEe continues on his purpose in the beginning of the verse vsing a phrase of speech by way of similitude for all were not prisoners but the Lord brought them all into seruitude as if one should keepe his enemies in safe custodie which he had subdued The Prophet brings in the Lord then like a Conquerour which holds his enemies in prison For men are wont to lay them fast whom they haue taken We know that men flee the presence of God despise him all the while he spares or giues thē any truce for this cause Isaiah saith that they shall be shut vp in prison by heapes that so their reioycing in their multitudes might cease Where he saith they shall be visited after many dayes we are not to take it simplie as a promise but as a threatning also included vnder it and that in this sense O ye Iewes you haue a long time dallied with your God by your rebellion and haue prolonged your trading in sinne too long so God will now prolong his chastisements till he haue in the end brought you though very late to a sight of your misdeeds And this course we see the Iudges of the earth often take with malefactors with whom they are displeased they admit thē not to their presence the first day but humble them first by throwing them into stinking dungeons Simile and into miserie that they may thereby breake the pride of their hearts God is said to visit the world two waies But God is said to visit the world two waies first in punishing the wicked secondly when after some chastisements he shewes his elect some tokens of his fatherlie kindnes The word visit in this place is taken To behold and thus the Prophet mitigates the rigor of his menace or threatning For the hearts of the faithfull in these cases haue need of comfort lest they should quaile and be discouraged The cause why the Prophets are wont so often to mingle consolations with their denunciatiōs in regard of
them therefore it is that the Prophets are wont to mingle consolations after their denunciations of iudgements Seeing these things serued then to cheere vp the faithfull no doubt but they were speciallie directed to the Iewes among whom faith had her speciall residence in regard that it appeared in none but them But yet we are once againe to obserue these words after many dayes for this is added to exercise the faith of Gods children we often run headlong in our desires and would haue God accomplish his promises by and by we grudge that he delaies so long and wax so impatient that we can no longer indure But we must learne in humilitie to wait and looke long for the saluation and mercie of our God and not be discontented how long soeuer he deferre for certainly he will come and he will not tarrie But herewithall wee must note that God speakes not heere of all for as we haue seene in the 13. verse he was determined to saue but a few and this ought so much the more to whet our appetites to the end after we haue been long exercised vnder sundrie calamities we may meete the Lord that smites vs by vnfeined repentance Vers 23. Then the Moone shall be abashed and the Sunne ashamed when the Lord of hosts shall reigne in mount Zion and in Ierusalem and glorie shall be * Or euen in the presence of his c. before his ancient men MAny thinke that the Prophet vseth this vehemencie against the Iewes as if he said The Sunne Moone and Starres are ashamed of your incredulitie so that you are a detestation not to men only but euen to the insensible creatures but this seemes vtterlie wide frō the Prophets purpose I make no doubt but he continues on that consolation which he touched in the former verse as if he should say When the Lord shall visit his people and purge his Church he will establish such a glorious kingdome that it shal darken the light of the Sunne and Starres And this maner of speech is very vsuall among the Prophets we also haue seene it before in this prophesie Now Isaiah speakes not here alone of the head but also of the whole bodie of the Church when the Lord then shall settle his kingdome vpon mount Zion his glorie in the restauration of the people shall be so great that that which seemes bright and glorious in mens eies being compared with this shall be but darkenes And the better to expresse it he names the greatest lights in the firmament Some improperlie draw the verb To reigne to Gods vengeance for albeit God reignes when he iudgeth the world yet this maner of speech linked thus together God shall reigne in Mount Zion alwayes notes mercie and saluation For he speakes of the restauration of the Church whence we gather that these things are not accomplished but in Christ In mentioning of the Ancients he vseth a figure called Synecdoche a figure often vsed in scripture taking the chiefe part of the Church for the whole bodie and yet not without a speciall cause The ancient men Priests and gouerning Elders are heere taken then not only for the Priests but for those gouernors which haue the ouersight of maners and discipline to wit such as ought with wisdome and discretion to gouerne others And vnder these names he comprehends all the people not only because they represent the whole bodie the common people being hid as it were vnder the shadow of their wings but also that the faithfull might haue good hope of a future restoring otherwise it were to little purpose that a scattered multitude should be left like a crased bodie or a confused lump It is not without cause that the particle euen before his auncient men is added to the end the Iewes might know that Gods power should be glorious not that it can be comprehended with the eies of flesh but by faith for he so reignes that we effectuallie feele his strength in our weakenes And if we apprehend not this we shall neuer receiue any comfort In stead of glorie some reade gloriouslie others glorious I had rather take it in the substantiue although it be not much materiall as touching the sense For he shewes how great Gods glorie and magnificence should be when Christes kingdome shall be set vp all glorie then must be turned into darknes that his glorie alone may shine and surmount all things Whence it followes that God then inioyes that which belongs vnto him in the middest of vs and that honor which none ought to depriue him of when all creatures are brought within compasse and that he alone shines and is the light of our eyes THE XXV CHAPTER Vers 1. O Lord thou art my God I will exalt thee I will praise thy name for thou hast done wonderfull things according to the counsels of olde with a stable trueth HItherunto Isaiah hath prophecied of Gods iudgements which hung not ouer the head of one people alone but almost of the whole world Now it was impossible that the consideration of so many calamities which hee foresaw would fall vpon them should not worke great sorrow and trouble of mind in him For those that are of an vpright heart desire that all the world might bee saued And as they thirst after Gods glory so they cannot but loue all the works of his hands by how much the more then a man is possessed with the true feare of God the more neerely is hee touched to the quicke with the feeling of his iudgements In the meane while the wicked are besotted when he manifests the same and will not be moued for any terrours whatsoeuer the godly on the contrary quake at the least signe of his displeasure If wee haue experience of this what thinke we the Prophet felt who saw all these calamities which hee foretold before his eyes as in a glasse For the Ministers of the word must needes bee much more effectually affected with the sight of such things then the common sort that the same may be as it were a seale vnto them of the trueth of their doctrine The Lord then hauing set these horrible desolations before the Prophet as in a table it was necessarie that being moued with sorrow and griefe he should turne his eyes vnto the Lord for otherwise hee might haue been intangled with confused passions and great disquietnesse of minde And therefore being assured that the Lord would prouide for his Church in the middest of these tempests and that hee would gather in those vnder the wings of his power which before were scattered farre off hee takes courage vnto him Wee see then that Isaiah continues constant in his vocation without being daunted or any way discouraged but rather relying alwaies vpon the assurance of obtaining mercy and therefore hee continues to celebrate the praises of the Lord his God By this we may see that this thanksgiuing depends vpon the former prophecies and that Isaiah respects not
that which hee hath foretold alone but also what end the Lord aimed at in this execution that is to say why he afflicted so many nations with such diuersities of punishments namely that he might bring vnder those which were before vnrulie and ouerflowed in a brutish sensualitie who as they had no feare of God before their eyes so had they no sense of religion or godlinesse at all Thou art my God Being perplexed and confounded in himselfe he suddenly turnes his thoughts vnto God as we haue said Whence we may gather a very profitable doctrine to wit that when our mindes are tossed to and fro with diuers cogitations What ought to be our refuge in time of deep distresses in regard of the many miseries and calamities which daily happen that we by and by flee vnto God resting our selues vpon his onely prouidence for we shall be at our wits end euen for the wagging of a straw if wee haue not this doctrine for our refuge by sustaining our hearts therewith But the better to see the Prophets meaning wee may well adde a particle aduersatiue here in this sense Although I be now oppressed with many temptations on euery side yet will I still acknowledge thee to be my God The assuraÌ„ce of Gods sauour giues vs ample matter of ioy and reioicing euen in the greatest troubles And thus he voweth to giue vnto God that praise which vnto him appertaineth which none of vs can doe vnlesse an assured perswasion of Gods grace doe raigne and beare sway in our hearts from whence springs that ioy which affords vs exceeding ample matter of praises when being certaine of our saluation we are assured that the Lord is our God For all those that are not caried with an affection to magnifie Gods goodnes in the middest of their sorrowes know not what faith is The faithfull may bee daunted for a time but faith gets the victorie neither yet did they euer taste the sweetnesse of his mercy for if wee haue a sure confidence in God we must of necessitie extoll his name with ioy and gladnesse of heart A wonderfull thing The singular number is put for the plurall Now the Prophet rests not in the contemplation of present things but rather lookes to the end of them for you shall haue euen profane men that will be affected at the wonderfull euents of things which fall out in the gouernement of the world and will stand amazed thereat as no doubt the Tyrians Sidonians Babylonians and Moabites did Who they are that profit by the view of Gods works But none could benefit themselues by this sight but such as therewithall had a taste and feeling of Gods wisdome and goodnesse for without that men doe rather scorne and despise such workes then apprehend the excellencie of them because they looke not to the end that God aimeth at to wit 2. Cor. 4.6 that by drawing light out of darknesse he is wont after a wonderfull manner How God is wont to deale with his Church to raise vp and reuiue his Church in the middest of death orders and disposeth rightly and to good vse those things which the wit of man conceiues to be exceedingly confused But the better to set forth the commendation of Gods prouidence he addes The counsels ordained of old as if he should say Nothing falles out suddenly or at randome in respect of God And indeede albeit to vs it often seemes he doth things vtterlie at vnawares yet is it most certaine that he hath foreseene and appointed all of theÌ„ so to come to passe before the creation of the world By these words then the Prophet meant to say that all the wonders which happen beyond the expectation of men flow from the order of this moderation which God keeps in the gouernment and disposition of all things from the beginning vnto the end Now because we are not able to attaine to his secret counsels and that our wits can not mount so high we must be brought to the manifestation of that which for the present is hidden from vs and is aboue our reach till such time as the Lord discouer the same vnto vs by his word by which he applies himselfe to our weakenes because his secret counsell is incomprehensible Isaiah therefore descends by and by from these hidden ordinances of God to the doctrine of the word and the promises therein coÌ„tained Isaiâ—h descends fâ—om Gâ—ds secret will to his reuealed will which doubtlesse he comprehends vnder the word Truth For this repetition should be to little purpose vnlesse he had had some relation in this word for after God hath by it reuealed his counsell vnto vs then he properlie appeares to be true if we beleeue and credit his sayings Thus then the Prophet commends the stablenes and certentie of the word when he calles it a stable truth as if he should say All things which God pronounceth and proceed from him is stable and immoueable Vers 2. For thou hast made of a Citie an heape of a strong Citie a ruine euen the palace of strangers of a Citie it shall neuer be built SOme referre this to Ierusalem but I rather thinke it to be a change of the number only which is a thing very vsuall among the Prophets for Isaiah speakes not of one Citie alone but of many which he foretels should be laid vpon heapes Whereas others take it that Ierusalem serued for a palace to the Romanes they come nothing nigh the Prophets meaning which will plainely appeere if we call to mind what hath been said before to wit that the Prophet busies not himselfe in thinking of the scourges wherwith God hath afflicted diuers nations but rather aimes at the end and issue of them For by them the Lord purposed to subdue and tame the pride and rebellion of men whom he could neuer haue subdued vnto himselfe vnlesse they had been smitten with diuers calamities Moreouer Isaiah saith not only that strangers shall inhabit the surprized Cities out of which they were driuen that dwelt in them for so that which he by and by addes would not agree to wit that the palace shall be no more a Citie but his meaning is that vagabonds who should haue no place of abode at all shall find sufficient roome there because the inhabitants shal betake them to their heeles Now because Armon signifies goodly houses he saith by way of derision that theeues shall dwell there as in Palaces in regard of the great space which should lie waste like vnto a desert Vers 3. Therefore shall the mightie people giue glorie vnto thee the Citie of the strong nations shall feare thee SEe heere the end whereof I haue spoken in the first verse for if the Lord should destroy the world no fruit would come of it such a desolation could ingender nothing but horror neither would it euer bring vs neerer vnto God to praise him nay contrariwise we must needs remaine as blocks wheÌ„
as hath been said For their exposition is farre wide from the naturall sense who extend it generallie to all the world because in what place soeuer we liue God maintaines vs vpon this condition that we behaue our selues vprightlie towards all The Lord indeed hath now caused his kingdome to spread into all places How farre this land of vprightnes may now be said to extend it selfe the land of vprightnes therefore is wheresoeuer his name is called vpon and thus we deserue a double condemnation if wee yeeld not testimonies of true thankfulnes by giuing our selues to pietie good works wheÌ„ God pâ—ouokes vs therunto by so many of his benefits Where he addes that the reprobates shall see the maiestie of God it is not to lessen the fault but rather to augment and increase it for it is a foolish and wicked ingratitude in men to bee carelesse of Gods glory which plainly shines before their eyes The wicked then are no way excusable for although God proclaime his name diuers waies yet in this so cleere a sunshine they see nothing Questionlesse there want not euident signes at all times by which the Lord manifests both his glory and greatnesse but their number is very small who take it to heart as we haue seene before Chap. 5.19 The Lord not onely sets forth his maiestie and glory by his ordinarie workes in nature but also by certaine signes and worthy documents wherein hee fully instructs vs as touching his iustice wisdome and goodnesse The wicked shut their eyes at it and perceiue it not albeit they be very quicke and sharpe sighted in other matters This frowardnesse and peruersitie the Prophet now reproues Others thinke hee threatens the reprobates here as if they were vnworthy to behold the workes of God Which although it be true yet seeing this member is ioyned to the rest the Prophet still reproues the sottishnesse of those who are so farre off from making benefit of the workes of God that rather they become the more senselesse by them For which cause it should not seeme strange vnto vs at this day if there be few which come to repentance albeit Gods iustice manifests it selfe so diuersly for infidelitie is alwaies blinde when it should behold the workes of God Infidelitie alwaies blind when it should behold the workes of God Vers 11. O Lord they will not behold thine high hand but they shall see it and be confounded with the zeale of thy people and the fire of thine enemies shall deuoure them THis is an exposition of the former sentence for hee enters into no new discourse but expounds that at large which he had said before in few words He said in the other verse that the wicked would not behold the maiestie of the Lord now he shewes that this magnificence of the Lord is the same which appeares in his workes For the Prophet sends vs not to the hidden maiestie of God which wee cannot behold with our eyes but brings vs to his workes which hee here represents by a figure vnder this word hand Well he accuseth the wicked once againe shewing that they haue nothing to alleage for their defence neither can they couer themselues vnder any pretence of ignorance for albeit they were starke blind yet was the hand of God made manifest enough so as nothing could hinder them from seeing of it but their owne grosse vnthankfulnesse or rather wilfull sottishnesse For many haue skill enough to pleade ignorance affirming that they perceiue not these workes but hee telles such that God hand is stretched forth not onely in such wise that it may be discerned of a small number but also farre and neere They shall see it and be confounded He makes it very apparent that this beholding is not the same whereof he spake before when hee said that the wicked saw not the maiestie of the Lord for they saw it well enough but they regarded it not Notwithstanding at the last they shall see it although too late and to their great disaduantage For hauing a long time abused the patience of God in shewing themselues obstinate and rebellious God may well suffer the wicked to take their swinge for a while but in the end hee paies them home Heb. 12.17 they shall be constrained in the end to take knowledge of his iudgements Thus albeit Caine Esau and the like who repented their sinnes too late fled from Gods presence yet in despight of their teeth they were made both to see and feele that he was their Iudge Gen. 4.13 and 27.38 Thus he often drawes some remorse as it were euen from those that despise him to the end he might cause his power to shine cleerely but such apprehensions bring them no profit at all The Prophet then so threatens the wicked whose blindnesse hee hath rebuked that he therewithall takes from them all pretext of ignorance plainely telling them that the time shall come wherein they shall know with whom they haue to doe and shall then well perceiue that this maiestie and high hand of God which they reiected made light of ought not in any sort to bee contemned For they ouerflow in all riot and dissolution with their eyes shut they flout and mocke thinking God will neuer call them to iudgement yea which more is the miseries and afflictions of the faithfull are things wherein they take great delight Thus they looke vpon vs with disdaine as if they were out of all danger hardening their hearts more more but in the end they shall know that the seruants of God haue not serued him in vaine Now that hee might the better shew that this beholding of God should not onely be vnprofitable but also hurtfull to the wicked he saith that they shall be confounded when they shall see the blessing of God vpon his people wherein they shall haue neither part nor portion In the next place he further augments the sharpnesse of the punishment in regard that these vngodly ones shall not onely be consumed with enuie when they shall see the children of God deliuered from these miseries and exalted into glory but they shall also be stricken with no lesse an euill to wit the fire of the enemies shall deuoure them The zeale of the people then in this place signifies the indignation wherewith the reprobates shall bee inflamed when they shall compare the condition of the faithfull with theirs Hee calles that the fire of the enemies wherewith God consumes his aduersaries taking this word fire for Gods vengeance for it must not be taken here for that visible fire wherewith things are consumed in this world neither yet for lightning onely but by a figure it is taken for a cruell torment for so by this word the holy Ghost is wont often to note out the extreme wrath of the Lord. Yet I denie not but the Prophet alludes to the destruction of Sodome and Gomorah Gen. 19.24 Deus 32.22 Iob 20.26 22.20 Vers 12. Lord
good lawes by the which they might liue but because they haue not obserued my iudgements and haue cast my statutes behind their backs prophaning mine ordinances and setting their eies towards the Idols of their fathers It is iust with God to mâ—ke vs serue cruel Lords when we will not yeeld willing obedience to his lawes therefore I also gaue theÌ„ statutes which were not good and iudgements in which they should not liue Ezech. 20.24 Now in regard they might haue prosred and beene happie by Gods blessing in times past if they had yeelded their obedience to his word therefore Ezechiel threatens them that Tyrants shall rule ouer them and in spite of their teeth shall cause them to submit themselues to their cruell edicts and lawes yea and that without bringing any profit or reward at all vnto them Isaiah in this place bewailes the like miserie Oh saith he whilst the Lord reigned ouer vs we had much adoe to content our selues with our estate but now we are constreined to beare a wofull seruitude and therein are iustlie punished for our wickednes The faithfull also which liue vnder the Papacie or such as are forced to yeeld in any sort to wicked lawes and constitutions full of superstition may well take vp the like complaint for they are vnder such an authoritie as is against God The slauerie of such as are vnder the tyrannie of the Romane Antichrist they are oppressed vnder more then a barbarous seruitude which binds not the bodie only but leades them to the flaying of their soules But we will remember thee only It seemes this particle should be opposed to the former thus Albeit these prophane Lords would turne and withdraw vs from vnder thy gouernment yet will we hold our selues fast vnto it because we assuredlie know our selues to belong to thee But there may be gathered from hence a more ample doctrine to wit that although carnall reason is readie to say that such as are made a pray to their enemies and cruellie vexed vnder their tyrannie are forsaken of God yet the Iewes cease not therefore still to reioyce in him notwithstanding they saw him nothing neere vnto them for the only remembrance of his name susteined them and did sweetly feede and nourish their hope Thus there is an opposition of great weight betweene the remembrance of Gods name A singular grace of God it is to cleaue fast vnto him wheÌ„ he seems to forsake vs. and the present feeling of his fauor for it is a rare and singular grace of God constantlie to cleaue vnto him when he seemes to be absent and farre off from vs. Others translate In thee and in thy name but here is no such coniunction To let that passe therefore A Consolation fitting our times this place affords vnto vs such consolation as is exceeding necessarie for our times wherein the peruerse vnthankfulnes of men by casting off the sweet yoke of God haue drawne vpon themselues a grieuous and cruell slauerie neither are we to wonder if we see this tyrannie alreadie exercised euen in many places where the name of God is called vpon The faithfull I say must not therefore be discouraged only let them rest their hopes vpon this consolation to wit God will neuer vtterlie forsake those whose whole ioy and delight consists in the remembrance of his name Let them not feare then I say at any hand to professe this their confidence before all men What confidence Truly that they had rather die ten times then once to recoile back from God Better to die often then once to reuolt and so to darken his glorie For whosoeuer he be that through feare giues place to men They that sin against conscience for feare of men neuer yet tasted in truth how gracious the Lord is let him know for a truth that he hath not as yet rightlie tasted how gracious the Lord is Whilest we enioy the free vse of Gods word then let vs diligentlie exercise our selues in it that so we may arme our selues therewith against the time of need to the end the world may know that we haue not studied it as in a dreame Vers 14. * Or being dead they c The dead shall not liue * Or being slaine they shall not c. neither shall the dead arise * Or for this cause thou hast c. because thou hast visited and scattered them and destroyed all their memorie THe Prophet comes againe to speake of the wofull end of the wicked whose prosperous estate often disquiets and dismaies vs as we may see in the 37. Psal and in the 73.17 That our eies then may not be dazeled in the beholding of present things the Prophet threatens that their end shall be most wofull Others expound this place of the faithfull who seeme so to die in the eyes of the world as if they should neuer rise againe but it is very cleare that he here speakes of the wicked and reprobates which will euidentlie appeere by the contrarie to this which is added in the 19. verse For we haue in this place an opposition betweene the resurrection of the good and the bad whose estates would be little differing one from another vnlesse it should appeere that the one sort were iudged to eternall death Euery iudgement that lights vpon a reprobate in this life is a seale vnto him of his endlesse torment in the life to come and the other to a blessed and an euerlasting life Nay the wicked are not simplie condemned to eternall perdition but all the iudgements of God which befall them in this life are as it were the beginnings and seales vnto them of their endlesse torment for they can not be relieued by any consolation at all Why so Because they inwardly feele that God is their enemie Whereas we haue translated Slaine others reade it Giants but seeing the word Rephaim in many places of the Scriptures is taken for the slaine Psal 88.10 Prou. 2.18 9.18 21.16 it will agree best if wee take it so here otherwise the opposition would not be fitting That which followes For this cause hast thou visited them is put here by way of exposition for he shewes why the reprobates perish without hope of any restauration to wit because God hath determined to cast them away Now what can they expect from Gods wrath which is inflamed against them but death and perdition Vers 15. Thou hast increased the nation O Lord thou hast increased the nation thou art made glorious thou hast enlarged all the coastes of the earth THis verse is diuersly expounded for some think the Prophet shewes how the faithfull are not pressed with one affliction alone but are plunged ouer head and eares as it were in extreme miseries and yet can see no issue out of them Others expound it more simply thus O Lord thou hast inriched thy people with many benefits and so they think that the Prophet mentions those
indured but hee saith here that the faithfull are in cōtinuall trauaile Why so Because they still are assaulted with new pangs and trauailes and whē they thinke the birth is neere then they bring forth nothing but sorrowes and anguish which is expressed by the word wind to wit they saw no appearance of any deliuerance or ease of their sorrowes For so he forthwith expounds himselfe when hee saith that there was no helpe for them in the earth That is to say we see no succour at all He addes that the inhabitants of the world did not fall for the Hebrew word Naphal signifies to fall Some affirme it signifies to dwel If we take it in the latter signification the sense wil be That the Iewes shal not dwel that is they shall not returne into their Country the inhabitants which inioyed it should not perish But if we follow the common translation this must be referred to the wicked on this wise The inhabitants of the world oppresse vs and yet they fall not Why so Because they haue more then heart can wish For when the wicked florish as Salomon saith then Gods children must of necessitie sigh and be like vnto women in trauaile with child Yet let vs not refuse euen this hard condition if wee would haue any place in Gods Church It is most certaine that the common lot of all men is to beare sundry and infinite calamities and thence came the old prouerb It were best of all neuer to haue been borne or being borne to die quickly But we see that the faithfull are tired with extreme miseries and exercised therewith aboue all others For God meanes to try their faith to the end they may serue him Why God corrects his children and lets the wicked in the meane while run riot hauing renounced their lusts and the world also Seeing the Lord then hath such a speciall care of them he will chastise them and in the meane while will suffer the wicked to run riot into all misorder Hence also wee are admonished that wee must not onely suffer one or two calamities and so an end lest we should think our selues discharged after wee haue indured some few assaults for we must alwaies be prepared to meete with new trials When the Lord takes vp his children he lets them not down forthwith For we must be content euen then to bring forth the wind whē we thinke the houre of deliuerance is come our sorrowes shall still increase and our throwes shall ouertake one another at euery turne Wee must hold out with patience then in this combate as long as God shall be pleased to exercise vs vnderneath it We will therefore follow the vsuall exposition They fell not for as the Lord now and then cheeres vp the hearts of his children in manifesting vnto them the light of his countenance in their saluation and in shewing vengeance vpon the wicked so he also giues them with all occasion of mourning by causing them to see their aduersaries euery way aduanced into high place of rule and authoritie ouer them And if the Lord hath so exercised his Church in former times why should we thinke much if hee take the same course with vs now By the Inhabitants of the world he meanes the prophane and vnbeleeuers for he opposeth the rest of the world to the countrie of Iudea which by way of excellencie he called the land or the earth verse 15. making mention of the Inhabitants thereof apart Vers 19. Thy dead men shall liue * Or my body euen with my body shall they rise Awake and sing ye that dwell in dust for thy dew is as the dew * Or of the medow of herbs and the earth shall cast out the dead ISaiah still continues to speake of this Consolation and turnes his speech vnto God and thus he shewes that our best course is to bend all our senses towards him Our best course in affliction is to gather in all our senses and fasten our minds vpon God as oft as we are to resist temptations For wee shall find nothing more hurtfull vnto vs then to vtter words at randon pleasing our selues in them for what doe we else but roule our selues hither and thither and at the last plunge our selues into many errors We can chuse no way therefore that is more safe then to draw neere vnto God God only able to giue our restlesse spirits rest and reliefe who only is able to quiet our distressed consciences which if we doe not we must of necessitie meete with many encumbrances which will shake our faith Will you haue the summe of this verse then If God be the protector of his seruants notwithstanding they be as good as dead shall they not liue euen in death it selfe or rather shall they not haue power to rise againe although they be altogether dead Yes surely Quest But it may here be demanded of what time the Prophet speakes in this place for many expound it of the last resurrection The Iewes referre it vnto Messiah and his kingdome but they deceiue themselues because they imagin that this was fulfilled at his first comming our writers that are Christians haue also missed the marke who haue restrained it to the last Iudgement Ans For the Prophet comprehends the whole kingdome of Christ euen from the beginning thereof vnto the latter end Why so Because the hope of the blessed life alwaies ouercomes the world as we shall see anon Now to the end we may the better vnderstand the Prophets meaning we must first know that life is not promised generallie vnto all but only to such as die in the Lord now he speakes of the faithfull which so die whom the Lord preserues vnder his safegard We know that God is the God of the liuing and not of the dead Math. 22.32 Are we the Lords Doubtlesse we shall liue But we must in the meane while become as those that are dead Col. 3.3 Rom. 8.23.24 for our life is hidden and as yet we can not see that which we hope for Thus then he only speakes of the dead that is to say of the condition of the faithfull which sit now in the shadow of death in regard of the many afflictions wherewith they are dayly visited whence we see that this can not be restrained to the last resurrection For we contrariwise affirme that the reprobates are dead The reprobates are dead whilest they liue euen whilest they liue Why Because they neuer tasted of Gods fatherlie loue in Christ wherein the true life consists and therefore they perish in their brutish sottishnes But because the faithfull runne vnto God therefore they obteine life in the middest of their greatest dangers yea euen in death it selfe but in regard they set this last resurrection before them as the end of their hope therefore it can not be said properlie that they liue til that day be come that being then freed from all sorrowes and corruption
that shall onely behold the vpper face of the earth but the rootes notwithstanding lie hid vnderneathe which after they haue sucked in the deaw of the spring time doe againe gather strength and life so as the flowers which before were withered away and dried doe then become fresh and greene Thus the people shall gather new force after they shall bee reuiued and watered with this fruitfull deaw of Gods grace although for a time it seemed they were wholly withered and gone Sure these similitudes which are drawne from such things as are familiarly knowne amongst vs haue great force in them to worke vpon our affections What forâ—â— familiar similitudes haue to work vpon our affections For if flowers or grasse which are wet with the deaw that falles vpon them doe sprout forth and wax greene how much more shall we be reuiued if we be watered with the quickening deawes of Gods grace Why should not our bodies receiue new liuelinesse albeit they were rotten before Note Hath not God as much care ouer vs as he hath ouer the hearbs Is not the holy Spirit of greater force then the deaw Saint Paul I remember vseth the like similitude 1. Cor. 15.36 where hee speakes of the resurrection but in regard he applies his metaphor to another purpose I thinke it not amisse to let it passe for this time because I would not willingly confound that place with this Let it suffice vs that we haue attained the true meaning of the Prophet In the end of the verse where I haue translated The earth shall cast forth her dead some translate it in the second person Thou shalt bring downe the land of Giants or Thou wilt bring downe the Giants in the earth I reiect not this interpretation because the words may well beare this signification but as I take it the first seemes to agree best to the text although the matter be not much materiall in regard of the substance For this must be referred to the consolation which we mentioned a little before Vers 20. Come my people enter thou into thy chambers and shut thy doores after thee hide thy selfe for a very little while vntill the indignation passe ouer IN this verse hee exhorts the children of God vnto patieÌ„ce that they might coÌ„tinue to beare their miseries and afflictions quietly as also to remaine inuincible against all the sharpe temptations which as it seemed should ouerwhelme them There was great need of this exhortation therefore for the pitifull case into which the poore people were soone after brought seemed in all outward appearance to bee farre off from the promise which was formerly made vnto them The Prophet then like a tender hearted nurse takes this troubled people by the hand as it were who otherwise knew not what shift to make and carries them aside into a secret place to lodge them in safetie till these stirres and hurly burlies were appeased Now whereas he calles them my people he speakes in the person of God and not in his owne By chambers he meanes a quiet and peaceable state of conscience to wit when with boldnesse of courage and confidence wee arme our selues with patience in waiting for the comming of the Lord as Abacuk who hauing foretold what calamitie should befall the Iewes professeth that hee stands all day vpon his watch-tower that is to say in a place of safetie to expect the euent in patience and silence Isaiah commands them to doe the like here as if he should say You that are the seruants of the Lord get you into your chambers or into some other sequestred place when you feele your selues assaulted with such temptations as you are not able to resist But for as much as it is not sufficient to be once well fortified against the violence of garboiles and stirres he therefore also commands them to shut the doore after them which is to be referred to constancie and perseuerance as if he should say Looke to it that the diuell finde not the least creuise open to assaile you for hee can easily enter into our hearts if we giue him but the least aduantage that is Whereas he bids them to hide themselues his meaning is that the faithful should inioy a secure freedom if so be they were couragious in waiting for the comming of the Lord for albeit we ought to fight boldly and valiantly 2. Cor. 12.9 yet seeing the power of God is often manifested in our weaknesse wee cannot possibly take a better course then in all humilitie to run and shrowd our selues vnder his wings that so hee may saue vs from all inordinate feares and terrors Furthermore in regard that wee are giuen to boiling passions naturally and are euer and anon caried away with impatiency if we feele not Gods help at hand to succour vs presently therefore hee saith that these stormes and tempests shall blow ouer and continue but a while We must make account to fight euery day against one temptation or other Wee must make our accounts to meete with new conflicts euery day neither must wee thinke to come to the end thereof as long as we liue and this is it that makes our miseries seeme so wonderfull long and tedious vnto vs. But if we compare them with that eternitie wherin we shall inioy happinesse without end the meditation thereof will cause them to seeme but as a moment As Saint Paul in a certaine place shewes that the light afflictions which for a short space wee suffer in this world are no way to be compared vnto that eternal weight of glory which shall bee reuealed in the world to come Rom. 8.8 2. Cor. 4.7 When the Prophet addes vntill the indignation be past he meant thereby to remoue all difficulties out of the mindes of the faithfull and it is no lesse then if hee had promised them deliuerance out of hand Mee thinkes this word indignation simply considered in it selfe signifies that affliction which proceedes from the wrath of God Others referre it vnto the enemies of the Church which sense though I reiect not yet the first likes me better For wee see how carefull the Prophets are to insinuate into our mindes that no euil befalles vs but by the hand of God No euill befalles vs but by the hand of God and that he neuer sends the same without cause but is first prouoked thereunto by our sinnes and offences Hence we learne that God will not be angry with his Church for euer but will cause his wrath to cease at the last God will not alwaies retaine his anger towards his Church but wil cause his wrath at the length to cease Mich. 7.18 Zac. 1.12 13 euen as we see it to fall out in stormes and tempests and this is the cause why the faithfull beare their crosses with the greater courage For thus the Church saith Mich. 7.9 I will beare the wrath of the Lord because I haue sinned against him c. Why so She knew well
that God meant her good in chastising of her Now our Prophet brings in the Lord speaking as I touched before to the end his exhortation might haue the better authoritie Vers 21. For behold the Lord commeth out of his place to visit the iniquitie of the inhabitants of the earth against him and the earth shall discouer her blood and shall not hide her slaine NO doubt but it is an heauie temptation to the faithfull when they see the wicked exercise their rage against them and in the meane while that God should hold his peace for in so doing they imagine he hath forsaken them The Prophet then labours to preuent this temptation and shewes that howsoeuer the Lord hath been silent for a while yet hee will in the end shew himselfe in due season to giue reliefe to his seruants and to punish the wrongs that haue been done him Thus by the word of comming forth he describes the Lord reaching out his hand as it were to his children as if the same had been hidden before in regard they felt not his helpe For that is the cause why he saith the Lord comes forth into sight namely to succor his Church and to execute his iudgements vpon her enemies for in former time it seemed he had kept himselfe close and altogether shut vp in heauen We may also verie well affirme that Isaiah alludes to the sanctuarie which maner of speech is often met withall in the bookes of the Prophets Mich. 1.3 Abac. 3.13 Zach. 14.3 As if he should say Howsoeuer the prophane nations despise the Arke of the couenant being seated in a very meane place yet from thence shall the faithfull feele by good experience how readie the power and fauour of God is prest to succour them and that hee is not called vpon in this holy place in vaine In the meane while wee must hold this as a sure principle that albeit the wicked scorne the Temple as if it were no better then some Country barne or some such like thing yet euen from thence will the Lord come forth when he sees the time fit to defend and to auenge his peoples quarrell vpon all the inhabitants of the world And this exposition sutes better then if by the word place we should expound that he should come forth of heauen for Isaiah meant to expresse somewhat more The Prophets whē they make any mention of heauen they therewithall present before vs the glorie and maiestie of God but our Prophet in this place respects our capacitie that is to say when we feele that God who in times past seemed to be farre off and hidden out of our sight doth at the last appeere for our comfort He also hath vsed a particle demonstratiue and a participle of the present tence for the greater certentie of the matter as also to the end the faithfull might not thinke much to bridle their passions by patience till his comming forth Hitherunto appertaines that which he ads touching the visiting of iniquitie for it were contrarie to his nature who is the Iudge of all the world to suffer wicked men to giue ouer themselues to all wickednes without impunitie There is in the verb to visit a similitude well enough knowne for we thinke that God either sees not at all or else is busied about some other matters when he withholds or deferres the execution of his iudgements be it neuer so little a while These words also against him want not their weight for it is often said that when the wicked lay their ambushes they spread a net or dig a pit for themselues Psal 9.15 57.6 The sense then is that all the annoyances oppressions which the wicked bring vpon the Church shall in time fall vpon their heads that haue been the contriuers thereof Lastly there is also a very great vehemencie in the word shall disclose for now whilest the wicked shed and tread vnder foot innocent blood the earth seemes as it were to suck and drinke it into her womb in the meane while it seemes the death of the faithfull is quite and cleane forgotten and the memorie thereof raced out of mens minds for euer yea and that God himselfe vtterlie neglects it These are mens imaginations but the Lord witnesseth the contrarie here He calles the blood of the earth then which the earth hath drunke in as it is said Gen. 4.11 The earth hath opened her mouth to receiue thy brothers blood when the blood of Abel was shed For the Lord in that place amplifies and aggrauates the foulenes of the fact when he saith That the earth is defiled with that blood which was shed and therefore he therein shewes first how pretious the death of his Saincts is in his sight secondly what care he hath of the same and lastly that he will reuenge it For the earth it selfe shall be armed to punish the cruelties which haue been exercised by tyrants and the enemies of the truth against the faithfull so that there is not the least drop of blood which is shed that shall not be accounted for Let vs therefore remember this consolation A Consolation which we ought to haue continuallie before our eies and set it alwaies before our eyes when the wicked smite vs laughing and sporting themselues whilest they vex vs with all maner of outrages For God in the end will shew that innocent blood hath not cried in vaine because he can neuer forget his Saincts THE XXVII CHAPTER Vers 1. In that day the Lord will visit Leuiathan that pearcing Serpent and Leuiathan that crooked Serpent with his sore and great and mightie sword and will kill the Dragon that is in the sea THE Prophet speakes heere of Gods iudgement in generall and so comprehends the whole kingdom of Satan For hauing spoken before of the vengeāce of God against tyrants and vnbeleeuers which had shed innocent blood he now passeth on further and publisheth the edict it selfe The word Leuiathan is diuerslie expounded but generallie it signifies a serpent or the whales and fishes of the sea which are as mōsters in regard of their excessiue greatnes Now howsoeuer this description agrees to the king of Egypt yet vnder this one kind he meant to comprehend all the enemies of the Church For mine owne part I make no question but by way of Allegorie he speakes here of Satan and his whole kingdome describing it vnder the figure of some monstrous beast Gen. 3.1 Satan and therwithall also priuilie taxeth the subtleties wherewith he couers his deceitfull baits And thus he meant to preuent many doubts wherewith as with mightie billowes we are at euery turne tossed to and fro whilest God on the one side promiseth to assist vs and yet Satan on the other side ceaseth not to make vs feele the force of his darts and craftie conueyances for his cunning is exceeding great to worke mischiefe and his wrath is wonderfull hot against the poore Saincts of God But in the meane
vnto for the good conseruation of a vine to wit that it be well husbanded and well fenced By watering of it he comprehends whatsoeuer belongs to the dressing and manuring of it wherein he promiseth to leaue no dutie vnperformed whereby the good thereof may be procured But vnto this vigilancie must needs be added for what would it auaile to husband a vine with great labour if afterward it should be left open for theeues and beasts to enter in and spoile it at their pleasures God will neuer cease to supplie his Church with necessarie benefits The Lord promiseth therfore that he will likewise keepe it that no hurt be done vnto it but that the fruites may haue time to ripen and may afterward be reaped in their season Howsoeuer this poore vine be subiect then to many inconueniences by reason of enemies and cruell beasts which will still be assailing of it with great furie yet God promiseth that he will interpose himselfe for her defence so as it shall be kept safe and sound from all dangers Now seeing he hath appointed a certaine day in which we shall sing this song Vers 2. let not our hearts quaile if for a time he withdraw his help from vs. Be it that he leaues vs to be spoiled and vexed for a little while yet will he let vs see in the end that he hath not forgotten vs. Vers 4. Anger is not in me who would set the briars and thornes against me in battell I would goe thorow them I would burne them together THis verse conteines a most sweet consolation in it For the Prophet therein shewes the incredible loue which God beares to his people albeit they be of a peruerse and wicked spirit God takes vpon him heere then as we shall see anon the person of a louing father greatlie offended who is angrie with his sonne yet so that he must needs shew how much he is inclined to pitie and compassion because the ardent loue he beares to his sonne ouercomes all his displeasure God can not so hate his chosen but he makes them feele his fauour In a word he shews that God can not so hate his chosen but that he therewithall will make them feele his fatherlie loue towards them euen in the middest of his corrections wherewith he visits them The Scripture is wont to set forth God vnto vs many waies for sometime it sets him before vs as one whose wrath is kindled and as one terrible to behold againe in other places shewing nothing but mercie and loue Now why is he set forth thus diuerslie Surely because wee are not capable of his goodnes For this cause he is faine to shew himselfe froward with such as are froward and pure with the pure as Dauid shewes Psal 18.26 For he manifests himselfe in such wise vnto vs as we giue him occasion And if he shew himselfe seuere at any time we may thanke the hardnes of our owne hearts for it But the Prophet speakes not here of all indifferentlie but of the Church only to whom he will euer be a father notwithstanding that he chastise and correct her for her sinnes and iniquities His Church shall continue safe then howsoeuer she be vnworthie of such a benefit This verse must be restrained to the Church This sentence therefore must be restrained to the Church that so there may be a relation alwaies had betweene God and his elect whom he can not but dearely loue although his anger be seuere against the reprobate Thus we see the excellencie of this Consolation God can not be angrie with his chosen for if we be sure that we are the called of God we may boldly resolue that he can not be angrie with vs and to speake properlie it is impossible Why so Because he loues vs with such a constant affection as he can neuer lose it I denie not but God at that time hated some euen among this people and yet he calles them his beloued because of his secret adoption Now by how much the more God shewed himselfe good and gratious towards the people by so much the more were they all left without excuse that had prouoked his wrath against them by their rebellions Neither need we doubt but he aggrauates their fault by this circumstāce to wit that he is enforced to change his wonted affection towards them in regard of their frowardnes For hauing spoken of his mildnes he suddenlie cries out Who would set the briars and thornes against me in battaile Or as others translate who will make me like the briar and the thorne Now it were not amisse to reade it VVho will set the briar against me that I may fight as the thorne against it For there is no coniunction copulatiue betweene these two words But I willinglie content my selfe with the first exposition to wit that God wisheth he might haue to do with thornes and briars which he would quicklie consume with the fire of his indignation But if any had rather say that the Prophet here taxeth the doubts which often troubles vs by reason of our owne infidelitie when we feele the anger of God to be kindled against vs as if he should say You much deceiue your selues in that you compare me to a thorne and a briar that is to say in attributing a cruell or froward disposition of nature vnto me if any I say shall thus interpret it I hinder him not to follow the same and yet I suppose it to be besides the Prophets meaning Whereas others also thinke that God here puts vpon him the person of one that is angrie as if he should say I will no longer be so milde nor easie to be intreated as I haue been heretofore this also seemes so constreined that it needs no further refutation I grant that as God is gratious and mercifull by nature so nothing goes more against the same then roughnes and seueritie as one that is constreined to borrow another nature as it were from others when he would shew himselfe angrie But if the text be read as I haue first interpreted it I doubt not but it will be sufficient of it selfe to refute the rest to wit that God takes vp a heauie complaint that he is not to fight rather with thornes then against his vine which he is therefore constreined to spare because it is his inheritance That which followes after J will goe by steps thorow them and burne them doth also confirme mine exposition for burning belongs to thornes and briars all which the Lord would burne euen as if he made war against them and therefore he shewes that he will carrie himselfe more moderately because hee hath to doe with his vine Hence we gather that if the Lord be not angry with vs If God refraine his anger towards vs it is not for our merits but for his free election sake wee are not to attribute it to our owne merits or deserts but to his owne free election For
see that he not only condemnes Images and Idols but whatsoeuer the Iewes had inuented without the prescript rule of the law whence it followes that all will-worship is reiected of GOD. God reiects not Idolatrie alone but all will worship all be it be grounded vpon neuer so good intents Where he addes in the end that they shall no more arise or stand vp he shewes how odious a thing Idolatrie is in Gods sight seeing he will haue the very memorie thereof to be quite abolished so as afterwards there should no signe thereof be left at all And yet the Prophet meant to expresse somewhat more to wit that our repentance should be such as that we ought to perseuere therein coÌ„stantlie vnto the end For we call not that true repentance when men are only moued vpon some sudden passion to renounce and abolish their superstitions and then forthwith to suffer them to sprout and increase againe which yet we see comes often to passe in manie who in the beginning seemed to be consumed with zeale in an outward shew and within a while haue growne key cold againe But the Prophet here notes out such a constant zeale True repentance holds out to the end that those who haue once begun to forsake and renounce their abominations hold out and perseuere in a good course vnto the end Vers 10. * Or neuerthelesse Yet the defenced Citie shall be desolate and the habitation shall be forsaken and left like a wildernes There shall the Calfe feede and there shall he lie * Or shall brouze vpon the tops thereof and consume the branches thereof YEt Some take the Hebrue Coniunction Vau for a particle of rendring the cause and some as if it signified Otherwise therefore it will beare a double sense If we interpret it For then the Prophet should giue a reason of that which went before but that is against the drift of the text and besides it is vtterlie a verie absurd exposition Those who take it for Otherwise haue the most likelihood for this threat may well agree If you repent not looke to the issue Your Citie which is so well fortified shall be made like a wildernes But yet me thinks this is too constreined a sense I had rather then expound it Notwithstanding or neuerthelesse for the Prophet meant to say that Ierusalem and the rest of the Cities of Iudea should be destroyed neither could Ierusalem possiblie escape albeit God meant to spare his people This admonition was very requisit because the faithfull might haue been discouraged in seeing this holie Citie ouerthrowne and the Temple laid on heapes but they knew by the former prophesies that God had meanes enow in store to conserue his Church and the consideration thereof vpheld them The Prophet then goes about to preuent this temptation And from hence learne that we ought neuer to be out of heart howsoeuer we be brought to a great exigent and that the Lord begins to handle vs with all extremitie Now albeit this threatning may well concerne all Iudea yet I rather thinke that he speakes here principallie of Ierusalem which was the Mother Citie of that countrie Whereas he addes that the Calfe shall feede there it is a figuratiue maner of speech much vsed among the Prophets as oft as they mention the destruction of a Citie for they then forthwith shew that the place shall be made pasture ground In which we haue to obserue what should moue the Lord to execute such a iudgement as to put brute beasts to feed in that place which the Iewes by their wickednes had prophaned Surely he had adopted them to be his children and therefore it was their duties to haue yeelded subiection to so louing a father but in regard they had broken out into licentious behauiour against him and had shaken off his yoke The sinnes of a nation may so farre prouoke the Lord that where it was an habitation for men it shall become an habitation for beasts only it was iust with the Lord as a punishment of their ingratitude that the place of their dwelling should now be inhabited by better inhabitants taken from among brute beasts rather then men Whereas he saith the tops it is to augment the description of this waste and desolation as if he should say There shal be such plentie of grasse that the Calues shal only brouze vpon the tenderest parts thereof The word Saiph signifies also a bow or branch but because they naturallie sprout vp on high I take it here for the top or end We may also affirme that the Prophet alludes to the faire shew which the Citie had it being in times past beautified with faire and high buildings but nothing should be seene there these houses being throwne downe but grasse and boughs of trees wherewith the calues being plentifully fed should onely for wantonnes browze vpon the tops thereof Vers 11. When * Or his haâ—uest shall dry the boughes of it are dry they shall be broken the women * Or shall come and shall set c. come and set them on fire for it is a people of none vnderstanding therefore hee that made them shall haue no compassion of them and he that formed them shall haue no mercy on them SOme thinke the Prophet hath respect to the similitude of the vine whereof hee spake in the beginning of this Chapter and therefore they translate When the branches shall die I grant that the word Kesirah is ambiguous but because the similitude of the haruest agrees better as also that the Hebrew word may be so expounded therefore I had rather take it in this sense And yet I traÌ„slate not When the haruest shall be dried but WheÌ„ the haruest shal dry Now To dry in this place signifies nothing else but to come to ripenesse as if hee should say Before the crop be ripe it shall be cut downe and so the Lord will depriue thee of that which thou thoughtest thou hadst sure enough in thine hand Where he saith the women shall come his meaning is that God shall neede no strong armie of men to finish this businesse but poore weake women shall suffice and thus he amplifies the indignitie that shall bee offered them in this chastisement For he threatens that the calamitie shall be full of shame and reproach in regard that it is a greater disgrace to be praied vpon and spoiled by the hands of sillie women who were neuer expert in feates of armes then by men who are souldiers by profession In the next place hee shewes the cause of this so great a calamitie for at the first blush the Lord might seeme too seuere in suffering his chosen to be so miserably vexed and scattered without any succour Why so Because it is contrary to his louing and fatherly disposition to deale thus with his children But our Prophet shewes that God did not correct the Iewes so rigorously without good reason for they were destitute of
be comforted and refreshed or to fall vnder the burthen and so be ouerwhelmed Wherein hee confirmes that which I touched erewhile to wit that God exhorts not those that haue neede of rest to come vnto him in vaine as he saith Chap. 45.19 I aue not said in vaine to the house of Iacob Seeke yee me Are wee taught by this word then Surely if the fault be not in our selues we may safely rest in the doctrine which he sets before vs. For it is not his custome to feede vs with vaine hopes though men are often wont by fond conceits to throw themselues into many griefes and vexations Moreouer in that he shewes that this rest is prepared for those that are wearie and groane vnder the burthen we are taught therein at the least to haue our recourse vnto the word of God It is the property of Gods word to b ing assured rest to our soules See Ier. 6.16 to the end wee may obtaine rest By which wee may be assured and that by good experience that it is the propertie of this word to quiet our boiling passions and to appease our distracted and amased consciences Whosoeuer hee be then that wanders in seeking rest out of the bounds of this word shall alwaies be vexed and shall surely tremble in continuall feares and good reason for they will bee wise and happie without God This as we see befals the Papists who hauing scorned this peace are therefore tossed to and fro all their life time with horrible anxietie For Satan turnes end windes them that they are euer vexed with terrible astonishments and yet can neuer find anie place of rest Vers 13. Therefore shall the word of the Lord be vnto them precept vpon precept precept vpon precept line vpon line line vnto line there a little there a little that they may goe and fall backward and bee broken and bee snared and bee taken ALbeit the Prophet repeates the same speech with the former yet the sense doth a little alter for now he denounceth the punishment of this so wilful a deafenesse whereof he spake The iudgement is that God shall so dazle their wits that they shal not only reap no fruite at all of the doctrine of saluation but an emptie and vnprofitable sound In a word from the former verses he concludes that seeing the word of God had in no sort profited the Iewes that their vnthankfulnes should now be punished Note that God may continue his word in a nation in the meane while depriue them of the benefit thereof Not that Gods word should bee cleane taken from them but in wanting vnderstanding and a right iudgement they should groape for the way at noone day and should not finde it And thus God blindes the eies and hardens the hearts of the reprobates more and more when they are waxen incorrigible Saint Paul alleadgeth this place when hee reprehends the foolish conceit of th◠Corinthians who were so possessed with pride that they admired none but such as spake vnto them in strange languages 1. Cor. 14.21 It being an vsuall thing with the common people to wonder at strange vnwonted things But this place of Paul is ill vnderstood by reason they haue not well pondered the Prophets words which the Apostle very fitly applies to his purpose For he declares how the Corinthians were caried away with a foolish and vnbridled ambition vnreasonably affecting things altogether vnprofitable and thus were become children not in malice but in iudgement and vnderstanding By meanes whereof they pulled the curse of God wittingly vpon themselues wherewith the Prophet had threatned the Iewes in this place And so it came to passe that the word of God was vnto them precept vpon precept receiuing no more fruit by it then if one had told them a long tale in a language they vnderstood not Men are growne exceeding fond therefore when they begin to throw themselues by a vaine affection into wilfull blindnesse and benummednesse of spirit with which plague the Lord here threatens the obstinate rebellious Saint Paul then expounds and cleeres this sentence of the Prophet verie well shewing that such as abuse the doctrine of saluation are vnworthy to profit any thing at all by it We had almost the like place to this in the eight Chapter Chap. 8.16 Chap. 29.9 10. where our Prophet compared his doctrine to letters sealed vp and anon he will liken it to a closed booke This falles out when the Lord depriues men of the light of his spirit and of sound iudgement for their vnthankfulnesse sake that seeing they might not see and hearing they might not heare at all whereby hee punisheth them most iustly We ought to obserue this well for wee often take our selues to be great proficients and to be exceeding happie that we haue the word of God amongst vs but what profit get we by it vnlesse our vnderstandings be fitted to cōceiue it and our hearts framed to be directed by it For wanting this We are in worse case in inioying the word then if we were vtterly bereaued of it vnlesse we yeeld obedience therunto wee are more accursed then if we had not the word at all And therefore wee stand in neede of a twofold grace First that God would inlighten vs by his word secondly that hee would open our eyes and dispose our affections to imbrace the obedience of it Otherwise the light of the Gospell shall stand vs in no more stead then the light of the Sun doth to the eyes of him that is starke blind By this chastisement then we are admonished Let vs beware how wee abuse Gods word not to abuse the word of God by our prophanenesse but to vse it to that end for which he hath ordained it In the end of the verse he shewes what ruine is like to fall vpon those that profit not by this cleere light of the word euen to bee left without a guide and to stumble and fall because they are departed out of the right way But he telles them their falles shall not be easie for they shall be broken By the word snared hee vseth an other similitude to wit that snares are prepared for vnbeleeuers wherein they shall be hampered and led to destruction Wee haue had the like speech in the eight Chapter Chap. 8.16 and almost expressed in the very same words for there the Prophet handles the same doctrine as touching the blinding of the people who by the hardnesse of their hearts had prouoked God to anger Now his purpose is here to shew that such who take the bridle in their teeth and will needes turne their backs and be gone from the direction of the word are verie neere to a ruinous downefall For they shall either meete with stumbling blockes against which they shall dash themselues in peeces or with nets in which they shall be snared and taken In a word they shall no way escape for a mischiefe watcheth
dust and the multitude of strong men shall be as chaffe that passeth away and it shall be in a moment euen suddenlie I Will first recite the opinions of others and then that which to me seemes most probable All in a maner do thinke that this should be spokē of the enemies of the Iewes for they take the word Strangers for enemies and so they affirme that the multitude of those who should oppresse the Iewes shall be like the dust that is to say infinite But considering all things circumspectlie I incline rather to another opinion to wit that the Prophet speakes by way of contempt of the fortresses and garisons whereupon the Iewes relied For they had souldiers out of forreine Countries that were valiant vnder their pay And thus I interpret the word Aritsim which properlie signifies so much neither do I wonder a little that some of the Rabbins should take it for the heathen or wicked In regard the Iewes then drew vnto themselues diuers garisons out of strange Countries they thought they were cock-sure and out of danger The Prophet on the cōtrarie threatens that their garisons shall skirmish in vaine notwithstanding their companies be many in number for they shall be but as dust or chaffe that is to say like vnprofitable ofscourings so as they shall haue neither strength nor actiuitie Hence may we obserue No wisdome nor strength against the Lord. that be our riches or abundance neuer so much yet all shall turne to smoke as soone as the Lord shall but blow vpon it The preparations which men make last awhile it may be but when the Lord shall once but lift vp his hand all strength must vanish and become like chaffe In the end of the verse some expound that a sound shall arise suddenlie and as in a moment from the inuasion of the enemies but I rather referre this word shall be to the time that this shall endure which shall be but short as saith the Prophet for his meaning is that these garisons shal not hold out lōg but shall vanish away in a moment Men shall boast but in vaine therfore seeing God is their enemie Vers 6. Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hostes with thunder and shaking and a great noise a whirlewinde and a tempest and a flame of deuouring fire HE addes the cause why all these multitudes of garisons shall be like stubble setting it forth by a contrarie similitude For he opposeth the wrath and visitation of the Lord of hostes against these souldiers For alas how will straw and stubble be able to resist the flame of a deuouring fire How shall dust be able to abide the force of the whirlewind His meaning is then that the vengeance of God shall be so great that no preparations shall be able to withstand it And in this sense me thinks the text concurres well the parts whereof would not answere proportionablie one to another if we should follow another exposition Now by this wee learne that our enemies which assaile vs shall neuer attempt more against vs then the Lord shall permit If he then be pleased to defend vs our aduersaries can not hurt vs although they should stirre vp all the world against vs. On the contrarie is he minded to correct vs We can resist his wrath neither by weapons nor any fortresses whatsoeuer for he will sweepe them away as with a vvhirlewind yea he will consume them like a deuouring flame that leaues nothing behind it Vers 7. And the multitude of all the nations that fight against the Altar shall be as a dreame or vision by night euen all they that make the warre against it and lay siege vnto it I Expound this verse otherwise then some do The first member of this seuenth verse is explaned in the verse following who thinke that the Prophet meant to comfort the faithfull which I confesse is not without great shew of reason And so it conteines a very excellent doctrine to wit that the enemies shall be like those that dreame when the Lord shall disappoint them of their hope euen whilest they imagined they were sure of the pray But this interpretation for ought I see seemes not to agree very well with the text Sometime it falles out that a sentence sounds so goodly in shew that we are drawne to such a liking of it that it steales from vs the true and naturall meaning thereof We must not easily bee caried away to like of such a sense of Scripture as steales from vs the meaning of the Holy Ghost how goodly a shew soeuer it seemes to haue so as we neither aduisedlie consider the text it selfe nor yet take any great paines to seeke out the authors intent and purpose Let vs see then whether the Prophets meaning be as they say for seeing he still continues to denounce threatnings in the verses following I doubt not but he prosecutes his speech in this place which otherwise should be broken off abruptlie in this sentence For he rebukes and taxeth the Iewes for their obstinacie in that they durst be so bold to despise God all his threatnings To be short he reprooues their false trust and confidence by a very fit similitude saying that the enemie should suddenlie come vpon the Iewes euen at that time when they thought themselues hope of the resurrection Luk 10.27 Act. 23.8 yea the doctrine of the immortalitie of soules was vtterly abolished how could it bee I pray you but the people must become like beasts or swine For take away the hope of the eternall and blessed life from men and what shall we make of them And yet it sufficiently appeares by the testimonies of the Euangelists that such they were when our Lord Iesus Christ came into the world For at that time these things were truely accomplished according as our Prophet foretold to let vs see that these things were not vttered by him at random but that they assuredly came to passe though the wicked no doubt in his time made light account of his words Their incredulitie and blindnes therefore fully appeared when this true light came to lighten the world to wit Iesus Christ the only light of trueth the soule and spirit of the law and the end whereat all the Prophets aimed Then I say the Iewes especially had a vaile laid ouer their eyes which was figured before in Moses when the people could not indure to behold him Exod. 34.30 because of the brightnesse of his countenance But this is truely fulfilled in Christ to whom it appertaines to take away and abolish this vaile as S. Paul teacheth 2. Cor. 3.16 Vntill Christ then the vaile remained ouer their hearts vntaken away in reading of Moses for they reiected Christ to whom Moses ought to haue been referred Now in this place vnder the word Moses the whole law is to bee vnderstood which being referred to Christ the true end thereof this vaile shall then be taken away These iudgements
hath been said but because they thought or spake thus in their hearts as their boldnes and vaine confidence witnessed for they were so plunged in iniquities that they reiected all admonitions euen as if they should neuer haue had any thing to do before Gods Iudgemēt seate The prophet then we see had to deale against such wicked ones who albeit in outward shew they seemed to haue some knowledge of God yet they denied him by their works and persecuted the pure doctrine with all extremitie Now thus to speake what is it else but to affirme that God is not the Iudge of the world and so to pluck him downe from his throne of Iudgement for he can not be knowne but by his word which being once suppressed or reiected it can not be but himselfe who is the author of it must also therewithall be forsaken and reiected Vers 16. Your turning of deuices shall it not be esteemed as the potters clay for shall the worke of him that made it say he made me not or the thing formed say of him that fashioned it he had none vnderstanding THis verse is diuerslie expounded and there is also some difficultie in regard of two Hebrew particles Im and Ci. Im is often taken for an interrogation sometimes for an affirmation which is the cause that some take it for Truely Moreouer they take the word Haphac for Subuersion as if he should say Your subuersion shal be esteemed as the clay Others for Thought that is to say for the counsels which are working in the braine But the exposition most receiued is to take this word for Subuersion or destruction as if he should say It will be no more mastrie for me to roote you out then for a potter to turne his clay in his hand for you are like vnto it in regard that I haue formed you yet because the Prophet seemes to oppose the two foresaid particles one to the other I encline to another opinion but so that I reiect not the former exposition which in it selfe conteines a very profitable doctrine Thus I vnderstand it then Your turning or remouing that is to say the counsels and deuices which runne to and fro in your minds shall they not be esteemed as the potters clay for is it not as if the vessell should say to him that made it Hast thou formed me See Chap. 55 9. Your pride is strange therefore for you do as if your selues were your owne Creators and as if you had all things at your beck But it is my proper office to appoint what I thinke good and if you dare vsurpe my right and authoritie be it knowne vnto you that you haue forgotten your condition no lesse then if you thought your selues goddes rather then men This diuersitie of expositions alters the Prophets meaning nothing at all whose purpose was to confirme the doctrine of the former verse for hee againe reproues these proud ones who attributed so much power vnto themselues that they would by no meanes be brought vnder Gods yoke being in such wise bewitched with a false opinion of their owne wisdome that they contemned all good admonitions as if they had beene somes pettie goddes Thus you see how it is said that they denied God that formed them for whatsoeuer it bee that men attribute vnto themselues therein they rob God and take away that honour which belongs vnto him The exposition should be a little differing in the first member onely those which take the particle Im affirmatiuely draw this sense Certainely I will breake you as if a potter should breake the pot which he hath made But because the Prophet had to deale against great ones who sought couerts to hide themselues from the Lord I rather take it by way of an interrogation as if he should say Are you such subtile headed fellowes indeed that by the turnings and discourses which you plot in your minds you thinke you can bring this and that to passe as the Potter doth his clay who by turning it vpon his wheele makes it receiue what shape it pleaseth him But let euerie man chuse which sense he likes best for mine owne part I haue followed that which I thinke to be most probable Vers 17. Is it not yet but a little while and Lebanon shall bee turned into Carmel And Carmel shall be counted as a forrest NOw the Lord shewes that hee will let these wicked ones see what they are as if he should say You rocke your selues asleep in your pride but I will wake you ere it bee long For men are wont to take libertie to themselues to doe euill till they feele the heauie hand of God for which cause the Prophet threatens that his iudgementts are readie to seise vpon so brutish a boldnesse Vnder the names of Lebanon and Carmel he meant to expresse a renuing of the world as it were and a change of things therein But the doubt is to what end in which regard the expositors disagree much one from another for mount Libanus being replenished with trees and forrests and Carmel being a fat and fruitfull soile many thinke that the Iewes are compared to Carmel because they should become barren and the Christians to Lebanon because they should bring forth great plentie of fruit This opinion hath a goodly shew Men much delighted with vnapt expositions and men are vsually very much tickled and delighted with the like deuices but we find a like place to this in the end of 32. Chapter verse 5. which will make it manifest that the Prophet doth here by way of comparison set forth the greatnesse of Gods fauour for when he shall begin to blesse his people the abundance of all benefits shall be such that Mount Carmel shall lose the report that it had for fruitfulnesse He saith then that he will make Lebanon to be like Carmel that is to say of a woodland it should bee made pasturage to sow corne in so as they should gather as much fruit of plowed land as if their present estate being compared with that which it should be afterwards it might well be esteemed barren and desert But this manner of speech shall be more fully expounded when we come to the 32. Chapter Others take Carmel for a noune appellatiue but I had rather take it for a proper noune for his meaning is that these so fruitfull fields might well be counted barren and desert in comparison of this new and extraordinarie fruitfulnesse Others expound it allegorically and take Lebanon for the proud and Carmel for those of meane estate which is too far fetched and for mine owne part I affect alwaies to follow the most naturall sense and that is it which I haue touched before Moreouer to the end the faithfull might not be discouraged he descends from threatnings to mercy assuring them that after they shall haue shewed their obedience of faith in bearing the Crosse which for a time was to bee imposed vpon them they should behold a
sudden change to approch which would cause them to reioyce And yet in taking away this hope from the wicked he signifies that vengeance is then neerest vnto them when they thinke least of it and whilest they promise themselues all prosperitie for when they shall say peace peace then shall sudden destruction ouerwhelme them as S. Paul saith 1. Thess 5.3 Vers 18. And in that day shall the deafe heare the words of the booke and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscuritie and out of darknesse HE promiseth as hath been said that the Church of God shall continue safe in the middest of these stormes for albeit the world should be shaken with infinite tempests and laid on heapes as if heauen and earth went together yet the Lord would conserue a little flocke and raise vp his Church againe as out of the middest of death This place ought greatly to refresh the wearie spirits of the Saints and to confirme their faith for is it not a miracle of miracles that so small an handfull of the faithfull amongst whom remaines the one and the same religion worship faith and meanes of saluation should be conserued among so many wrackes of Empires which happened here and there But it seemes that Isaiah contradicts himselfe for before he foretold that Gods people should be so besotted that they should haue none vnderstanding vers 11 12. and now on the contrarie hee saith that the deafe shall heare and that the blind shall see His meaning is then that the Church must first be chastised and purged not after an ordinarie or common fashion but so strangely that shee should seeme as good as vtterly extinct And therefore he saith In that day that is to say after God hath punished the wicked and cleansed his Church hee will not onely inrich the earth with store of fruits It is an happie thing when temporâ—ll blâ—ssings and inward renouation go together Men are not so fit to receiue coÌ„fort in the day of distresse as when the storme is ouer Wherein the true meanes of the Churches restauration coÌ„sists but with the renuing of the face thereof hee will also restore hearing to the deafe and sight to the blind to the end they may vnderstand his law For men had neither ere 's to see nor eares to heare withall as long as so horrible a iudgement lasted for all were so terrified and amased that none could vnderstand But when the plagues miseries should cease then the Lord would opeÌ„ the eies of that that were his to the end they might see imbrace the goodnes of God For this is the true way to effect the restauration of the Church namely in giuing sight to the blind and hearing to the deafe which Iesus Christ as we know not onely effected vpon mens bodies but especially vpon their soules Iohn 9. We through Gods infinit mercy haue had experience hereof euen in our times who haue been drawne out of that grosse darknesse of ignorance into which wee were plunged and hath brought vs out into the true light Psal 40. for our eyes haue receiued sight and our eares which before were close stopped vp haue been opened to vnderstand because the Lord hath pierced them to fit vs for his seruice True it is that the blessing which he mentioned in the 17. verse concerning the renuing of the earth was vnto them a good testimonie of their reconciliation but the illumination whereof he now speakes is much more excellent All Gods benefits will turne to our ruin without we be borne anew for without that all the gifts of God will not onely vanish away but will also turne to our ruine and destruction Now the Lord iustly attributes to himselfe alone so excellent and great a worke for it is not possible that those which are blind and deafe should recouer their sight and hearing by their owne power It appeares therefore that this is promised in particular to the elect onely because the greatest part of men doe alwaies lie wallowing and weltering in darknesse Vers 19. * Or Then the c. The meeke in the Lord shall receiue ioy againe and the poore men shall reioyce in the holie one of Israel THen the humble shall againe bee glad in the Lord. I translate this place thus whereas others expound The meeke shall continue to reioyce for the Prophet speakes not of the continuance of ioy but rather of a new ioy As if he should say Notwithstanding they be heauie and sorrowfull now yet I will giue them cause of gladnesse that they shall bee once againe filled with ioy He speakes of the humble in which note that we are prepared by afflctions to receiue Gods grace Afflictions prepares vs to receiue Gods grace for the Lord casts vs downe and humbles vs that hee may afterwards raise vs vp When he corrects his children then we ought not to bee discouraged but rather to meditate on this and the like sentences and to hope stil aboue hope And to coÌ„clude that after we haue suffered a little while Heauinesse may indure for a night but ioy comes in the morning God will in the end giue his Church ioy and consolation Moreouer we hence gather that which I touched before to wit that the grace of illumination is not common to all indifferently for albeit all dranke of the same cuppe of affliction All receiue not benefit alike by afflictions yet affliction humbled but a few to make them truely poore in spirit Vers 20. For the cruell man shall cease and the scornefull men shall be consumed and all that hasted to iniquitie shall be cut off NOw he expounds that more fully which was said in the former verse to wit that the restauration of the Church should consist in rearing vp those that were humbled and in shewing compassion to the poore But first of all that purgation of the Church whereof we haue spoken was necessarie for as long as God defers to execute his iudgements vpon the wicked that are mingled among the good they beare all the sway in the Church all things are corrupt and out of order God is neither worshipped nor serued as hee ought and religion it selfe is trodden vnder foote When the wicked then are either taken away or repressed then the Church recouers her first beauty and the faithfull feeling themselues disburthened of so manie miseries and calamities doe begin to leape for ioy In the first place he calles the cruell Artsim which word is diuersly expounded but the Prophet as I thinke makes a distinction betweene those who were not ashamed to commit their wickednesse openly and such who although they had some shew of goodnesse yet in the meane while were no better then the rest because they despised God in their hearts It may be also that he giues them two differing titles in regard that as theeues among men they spoiled oppressed and vexed giuing themselues leaue to commit what them listed
And thus they were not restrained by any feare or awe of God because they esteemed of religion but as a fable He also comprehends other wickednesses in adding that they rose betimes to doe euill for he speakes not of the Caldeans or Assyrians but of such as would bee held to be of the number of the faithfull and boasted that they were the children of Abraham Vers 21. Which made a man to sinne in the word and tooke him in a snare which reproued them in the gate made the iust to fall without cause WE haue told you heretofore with whom the Prophet had to deale namelie with hypocrites and prophane contemners who esteemed all the reprehensions threatnings of the Prophet but as wind and had forged to themselues a god of their owne deuising For such who only sought libertie to liue as they listed in their lusts and wicked courses were vtterlie vnable to beare the sharp reprofes of the Prophets neither would they bee touched nor repressed by their good willes For which cause they were diligent in noting and obseruing their words either to snarle at them or to wrest something or other to their purpose Neither do I doubt but he here taxeth the wicked who were offended at the plainnes of the Prophets and with their sharp and vehement rebukes as if they meant to bring the necks of the people princes and priests vnder their girdles Thence it is that these calumniations and false accusations are raised vp against the faithfull seruants of God at this day thence is it also that such doubtfull and curious questions are propounded vnto them euen as nets and snares to put the innocent in hazard of their liues or else to plunge them into some imminent danger And we see that the Scribes and Pharises did the like euen to Iesus Christ himselfe Math. 21.23 and 22.17 Iohn 8.6 The last member of the verse which is added by way of exposition shewes that this is not to be vnderstood of slanders and other cunning deuises in generall by which the subtle are wont to intrap the simple for the Prophet rather more plainly condemnes the wicked conspiracies by which the vnbeleeuers indeuor to exempt themselues from all reprehensions and censures Now in regard that their assemblies were kept openlie for giuing sentence in iudgement and that the gates were alwaies replenished with people the Prophets tooke opportunitie from thence to reproue all sorts so as they spared not the Iudges themselues For the matters of life and death at that time were in the hands of such wicked and godles wretches that it was needfull to rebuke them very sharplie But in stead of making any good vse of these admonitions to come to amendment of life they became so much the worse and raged against the Prophets and laid snares to catch them for as Amos saith They hated him that reproued in the gate and abhorred him that spake vprightlie Amos 5.10 This appertaines to all and especiallie to Iudges and rulers in Common-wealths who are the most impatient and wil by no meanes abide the least reproofe They loue to reigne as Kings and would be so esteemed of others also albeit they be worse indeed then the meanest good subiect The expositors agree not in the exposition of the verb Iekoshun which signifies to spread nets for some take it to chide others to do wrong as if the Prophet accused the malepertnes of those who gaue ouer themselues to violence and by meanes thereof banished such out of their presence as should any way touch thē in their reputations But as I hope the readers will approue of that reading which I haue followed He also saith that the iust was ouerthrowne without cause for they did what they could by craft and wicked practises to bring the iust into hatred as if they had been the only wicked men in the world but after they haue borne their scoffes and reproach for a while their enemies at length shall come to destruction Vers 20. For this is the Consolation which the Lord giues the faithfull to wit that he will not suffer the wicked to scape so scot-free but they also shall snart for it and in the end shall be suppressed howsoeuer for a time they had the world at will Let patience haue her perfect worke But we must haue patience to wait for the accomplishment of these and the like promises Vers 22. Therefore saith the Lord vnto the house of Iaacob euen he that redeemed Abraham Iaacob shall not now be confounded neither now shall his face be pale THis is the conclusion of the former sentence for he comforts the people to the end they should not despaire in this poore and wofull estate into which they should be brought It is also needfull to note the time vnto which these things ought to be referred to wit to the time of the captiuitie when the Temple was ouerthrowne the sacrifices abolished so as it seemed religion was whollie rooted out and all hope of deliuerance taken frō them There was great cause therefore why the hearts of the people should be susteined and vpheld by these prophesies to the end that the wrack and ruine of all things being come vpon them they might haue this planck as it were to saue themselues from Ship-wrack vpon which if they kept themselues firmely they might by meanes thereof come safe to the shore By this let vs be warned also to imbrace the like promises by faith and when all things shall seeme desperate yet let vs rest vpon them with our whole hearts Now he speakes of the house of Iaacob in which we are to note that the vertue of Gods word is perpetuall and of such efficacie that it brings forth fruit as long as there is a people in the world which adores and stands in awe of him For there are alwaies some whom God reserues because he will not suffer the race of the faithfull to perish Doubtlesse there is an end and thy hope shall not be cut off Prou. 23.18 None that trust in him shall be confounded Psal 34.22 Hath the Lord spoken it then let vs beleeue him and doubtlesse the time wil come in which we shal reape the fruit of our faith For as his truth is firme and stable in it selfe so if we rest constantlie vpon him wee shall neuer be destitute of comfort It is not without cause also that he addes that God who now promiseth to be mercifull vnto Iaacob saith that he redeemed Abraham for he therein brings the people to the beginning of the Church that cōsidering Gods power which from time to time was manifested by so many famous examples they might haue no occasion at all to call his truth into question If so be then they gloried in that they were the children of Abraham Abrahams deliuerances they were also therewithall to thinke from what place the Lord did first deliuer him to wit from the seruice of idols which he and
owne neckes for it came to passe by his iust iudgement that Satan drew them on by little and little with his sweete baites till hee had caught them fast in his nets But in the end it was euident that they were not onely depriued of that succour which they expected but were also sharplie corrected for their presumption and infidelitie The Prophet threatens them then that the Egyptians shall not onely deceiue them as it often falles out that the wicked either giue vs the slip when we haue most neede or doe treacherously betray those whom they haue set a gog with faire promises but that they should stand them in no stead although they did their best indeuours to keepe that faith which they had promised For let men do the vtmost they can for vs Men can doe vs no good further then it pleaseth God to blesse their indeuors for our good yet in as much as the issues of all things rests in the hands of God we shall receiue no benefit thereby vnlesse God bee pleased to adde his blessing When the Prophet spake this it was verie doubtfull and hard to bee beleeued that so mightie a people should bee vnable to giue them helpe but we ought to hold it for a sure principle A Principle that all the comforts which the world is able to set before vs shall turne but to smoke vnlesse the Lord be fauourable and mercifull vnto vs. Vers 6. The burthen of the beasts of the South in a land of trouble and anguish from whence shall come the young and old Lion the Viper and fierie flying Serpent against them that shall beare their riches vpon the shoulders of the Coltes and their treasures vpon the bounches of the Camels to a people that cannot profit HAuing inueied against the consultations of the Iewes in seeking helpe from the Egyptians he now scornes them for the large expences and great paines which they were at to bring this about and therefore he denounceth the same curse which he did in the beginning of the Chapter because they foolishly busied themselues much in trangressing Gods commandement He mentions the South because they passed thorow the South Country wherein Egypt was situated from Iudea And in regard of the way thereunto he calles the beasts and speakes to them the rather to shame men who were become senslesse and would heare no admonitions at all He therefore shewes that the effect of this prophecie shall extend it selfe to the very brute beasts seeing men did shut their eares against it For seeing this people did proudly contemne these threatnings the Prophet doth for good cause direct his speech to the Horses and Camels who though they were destitute of reason yet should they perceiue that God spake not in vaine Furthermore the Prophet shewes that Egypt vpon which this people thought to build their perfect happinesse should proue a land of trouble and affliction euen to the verie beasts The way was long and tedious yet they spared no cost to satisfie their inordinate lusts yea they were so violently ouerswayed and caried away therewith that no distance of place nor length of way could possibly coole or abate the same Now Isaiah threatens them with a speciall iudgement besides the former incumbrances which should catch hold vpon them to wit that wild and cruell beasts that is the young and old Lion should meete them Which was no new nor extraordinary accident vnto them that trauelled betweene Iudea and Egypt Therefore hee heere notes out some thing more rare and dangerous to wit that besides the sore trauaile discommodities and charges which they should be at God in his iustice would meete them with such misfortunes that in the end they should miserably perish This doctrine ought to be applied vnto vs who are too much wedded to the verie same vice for as soone as any shew of danger ariseth wee by and by hasten to vnlawfull shifts imagining that they shall doe vs good albeit we know they be condemned of God Is it not great reason then that if wee will needes partake with this people in their sin that wee also should share with them in their punishment vnlesse we preuent the same by repressing our stubburnnesse and vnbeliefe by Gods word We ought also to obserue and take heede of this folly which caries vs away in such wise that we care for no cost nor refuse any paines whatsoeuer to satisfie and accomplish our ouer great fond and furious lust Whilest we were captiues vnder the Papacie we had too wofull experience hereof trotting hither and thither Men will take great paines to fulfill their owne lusts but none at al in yeelding obedience to the Gospell and made long and wearisome pilgrimages to diuers Saints when as yet the most tedious iournies were easie and light vnto vs but now when wee should yeeld obedience vnto God and beare the light yoke of Christ wee can indure no paines at all Vers 7. * Or Surely For the Egyptians are vanitie and they shall helpe in vaine Therefore haue I cried vnto her their strength is to sit still THis verse containes in it the exposition of the former sentence for he denounceth and repeates but the same thing as it were to wit that the Egyptians shall stand the Iewes in no stead albeit they weary their bodies and empty their purses neuer so much in seeking helpe at their hands As if hee should say Egypts strength shall be vnprofitable vnto you notwithstanding they should do their vttermost and imploy all their power to that end Thus the Iewes should be vtterly frustrated of their hopes and to their great griefe should find themselues much deceiued The letter Vau here signifies For or Surely as I haue translated it In the next place he shewes that the Iewes haue nothing to say for themselues in that they were thus giddy headed to runne into Egypt and that they were vtterly vnworthy of pardon in regard they would not repent but wilfully and wittingly posted downe thither albeit they had been admonished to tarrie at home For I refer this crying vnto Ierusalem to the persō of God wherein he complaines that he did but lose his labour in seeking to reclaime them by so many and plaine admonitions therewithall shewing that it was not without good cause that he had forewarned them to sit still for he therein sought to preuent the afflictions and calamities which otherwise he foresaw would surely fall vpon them But whence I pray you sprang this vnquietnesse Truely from this that Ierusalem would not beleeue the word of the Lord. In a word he shewes that meere rebellion of heart pricked them forward to trot into Egypt Why so Because they might haue liued in safetie if they would haue taried at home The verbe to crie signifies that they were not onely admonished by words but also by stripes whence it appeares that their obstinacie and rebellion was the greater He takes sitting still here to remaine
despised and reiected so as he hath no more audience This the wicked cunningly dissemble because they are ashamed to confesse so great a wickednesse against themselues but it goes neuer the better with them for all that For God wil be heard by those to whom he hath giuen commandement to speake vnto vs Would wee obey Gâ—d let vs shew it by our obedience to the doctâ—ine of the Prophets and Apostles and to publish that doctrine which is contained in his word Ought he then to be heard Is any reuereÌ„ce due vnto him Let vs shew it in imbracing his word as it is contained in the writings of the Prophets and Euangelists Which I wish should be well noted to vphold the credit of the word for those that reiect it doe as much as if they denied God to haue any being Againe the cause of such impietie is here touched which doubles the fault to wit because God flatters vs not in our sinnes but performes the office of a good and expert Physitian Men desire to be flattered and cannot willingly indure that God should threaten them thence proceedes this hatred and reiection of the word thence comes that furious war which they raise vp against the Prophets whose threats and reprehensions they can by no meanes indure For what cause should men haue to reuolt from God and from vnder his rule and gouernment were it not that they please themselues with the mists of errors and hate the right way The Prophet therefore fitly ioynes these two thigs together first the contempt of heauenlie doctrine secondly the hatred of vprightnesse Vers 12. Therefore thus saith the holy one of Israel Because you haue cast off this word and trust in violence and wickednesse and stay thereupon HE addes the chastisement of this impiety to wit that they should not escape vnpunished because they refused to heare the Lord speaking vnto them which contempt he expresseth the more fully by the verbe to Reiect or to disgorge He calles it this word vsing therein a word demonstratiue in regard that men willingly forge vnto themselues a word agreeable to the manner and course of their owne life but they will giue God no audience when hee speakes Afterwards hee opposeth Gods milde summoning of them and an exhortation to a quies rest against their turbulent enterprises saying You trust in violence and stay thereupon The word Oseq signifies rapine and extortion in things appertaining to mens substance others translate Riches ill gotten others Slander or misreporting but they expresse not the Prophets meaning sufficiently For mine owne part I refer it not to Riches gotten by wicked practises but rather to the pride and rebellion wherewith this people were puffed vp Violence and wickednesse The word iniquitie afterwards added is not to be restrained to iudgement because as I thinke it hath a larger scope for by these two words the Prophet meant to set forth the impudencie of the wicked who proudly and insolently exalted themselues against God Why so Because they would alwaies do what them listed and withstood him and his sacred will And as the Poets fained that the Giants made war with God A fiction of Poets so these resisted him when he threatned perswading themselues that they were able to make his force to recoile by their pride and ouerweening Vers 13. Therefore this iniquitie shall be vnto you as a breach that falleth or a swelling in an high wall whose breaking commeth suddenly in a moment THis is the sentence touching their punishment which Isaiah sets forth by a goodly similitude for he compares the wicked to a wall that is cracked or swollen Now as the swelling of a wall shewes that it is readie to fall because it cannot long stand vpright vnlesse all the parts be equally knit together so the pride and insolencie of the wicked is an infallible signe token of their present destruction for the more they are puffed vp the more sudden shall their downfall be And as they are full of wind so it is not possible but being ouercharged therewith they must forthwith breake in sunder Hee bids them therefore to exalt themselues and to behaue themselues malapertly against God if they will but in conclusion hee will quickly ouerturne your pride presumption for it is nothing else but a bubble ful of wind Hence we are to be admonished that there is nothing better for vs then that wee wholly submit our selues vnder God and so to gather in all our spirits that we bind our selues perpetually to doe him seruice For whosoeuer hee be that shakes off this humilitie and growes proud must needes breake in sunder with gathering in ouer much wind The Lord indeed for a time suffers the wicked to swell and make their great risings and ouerflowings appeare that in the end they might pull ruine and destruction vpon themselues by their pride and vaine boastings Vers 14. And the breaking thereof is like the breaking of a Potters pot which is broken without pitie and in the breaking thereof there is not found so much as a shard to take fire out of the harth or to take water out of the pit WHen a wall falles downe yet there remaines some remnants of the ruines thereof and besides the stones will serue for some good vses yea that which is fallen may be reedified But our Prophet prophecieth here that those which shall behaue themselues thus rebelliously and proudly against God shall perish in such sort that they shall neuer be healed so that the remainder shall be vtterly vnprofitable He therefore vseth a similitude taken from an earthen vessel whose broken peeces can neither be made vp nor gathered together againe Which threatnings ought greatlie to moue vs to imbrace the word of God with all reuereÌ„ce when we heare that so horrible punishments are prepared for those which despise the same for the Prophet shewes that they shall be whollie destroyed and vtterlie confounded and takes away all hope of their restauration And good reason For wee see how the contemners of God cease not dayly to set vp their Creasts notwithstaÌ„ding they haue had the foile three or foure times Why so Because nothing is more difficult then to pluck from out of their hearts that false confidence which was fast rooted therein Vers 15. For thus saith the Lord God the holie one of Israel In rest and in quietnes shall ye be saued in quietnes and in confidence shall be your strength but yee would not HEre the Prophet shewes one speciall touching the contempt of God For when hypocrites are generallie admonished it toucheth them little or nothing at all the Prophets therefore vnto their generall doctrines adde particular applications The prophets are wont to descend from generall doctrines to particular applicatioâ—s touching in a speciall maner the conuersation or those with whom they had to doe and so alwaies aimed at some certaine marke or end For his aduersaries might thus cauill and say Wherefore
his people Where I haue translated He wil be exalted that he may be mercifull others turne it When he shall be mercifull But I thinke the first translation sutes best It seemes to vs sometimes that the Lord either sits idle in heauen or sleeps when he permits the wicked to offer violence to his people and the ordinarie phrase of the Scripture is that he sits still or is farre off when he defends not his Church When therfore he had let loose the raines to the Chaldeans to oppresse the Iewes they might haue thought he had beene asleepe Wherefore the Prophet saith that the Lord will exalt or raise himselfe againe and wil goe vp into his Iudgement seate What to doe That he may shew you mercie Where he saith Blessed are all those that wait for him this flowes from the former part of the sentence wherein he called the Lord the God of Iudgement When the Prophet speakes thus graciously of him it is that he might perswade and exhort the Iewes to hope and patience Hope and patience for the people were full of diffidence and were tossed to and fro with a maruellous vnquietnes and vexation of spirit Why so Their infidelitie pestered them so miserablie that they were not able with quiet minds to wait vpon God Well to remedie this vice A definition of hope he exhorts them to wait that is to hope Now hope is nothing else but the perseuerance of faith If they be blessed that wait for God those must needs be accursed that flee from him Without hope no happines nor saluation when we peaceablie wait for the accomplishment of Gods promises Where he saith Those shall be blessed that wait for him on the coÌ„trarie he signifies that such as suffer themselues to be ouerswayed with impatiencie and haue their refuge to wicked shifts shall be accursed and in the end shall perish for without hope in God there is neither saluation nor happines Vers 19. Surely a people shall dwell in Zion and in Ierusalem thou shalt weepe no more he will certainlie haue mercie vpon thee at the voice of thy crie when he heareth thee he will answer thee HE confirmes the former sentence to wit that the people shall indeed be afflicted but yet that in the end they shall returne vnto Zion But this was a matter very incredible especiallie after the ruin of Ierusalem and the whole land for then it seemed that all the people were coÌ„sumed yet the Prophet giues them a promise that the Church shall continue safe We must dwell in Zion and in Ierusalem if we will haue our requests heard and granted He begins at Mount Zion where the Temple was erected and saith that the Lord shall yet be there called vpon then he addes that it shall be also in Ierusalem thereby vnderstanding the spreading and increasing of the Church together with the restauration of such things as before were ruinated In the meane while he aduertiseth them that Ierusalem shall be repeopled because God had his dwelling there When he addes thou shalt weepe no more it is to shew that their lamentations should not last alwaies The Church that is all the faithfull should be in great heauinesse whilest they remained in so miserable and in so wofull an estate but Isaiah tels them that this their sorrow shall haue an end and in this sense is it said in Psal 126.9 that those which sow in teares shall reape in ioy The Lord often suffers vs to be pressed with wonderfull anguishes but in the end he will relieue vs and giue vs matter of gladnes to wit when he turnes the captiuitie of Zion The returning of ZioÌ„s captiuitie the matter of our true ioy for this is the true ioy of the faithfull Moreouer in as much as it is a thing very difficult to reioyce whilst the tokens of Gods iudgements present themselues to our view on euery side the Prophet sets the cause of ioy before vs in his mercie Our ioy flowes from Gods shewing of mercie for we may assure our selues that all ioy and reioycing shal returne and abound as soone as Gods anger shall be appeased towards vs according as we haue before alledged that famous saying of the Prophet Abacuck that in the middes of wrath the Lord remembers mercie Though God be most readie to shew mercie yet will he be sought vnto Ezek. 36 37. and neuer so farre afflicts his Church but he limits moderates and measures his blowes by iudgement Our Prophet likewise shewes by what meanes we may obtaine this grace in saying it shall be when God shall heare the voice of thy cry For in these words hee incites and prouokes the faithful to praiers and ardent sighes and groanes To demand pardon of God without sense of sin is the next way to depriue vs of this mercy here promised for if wee aske pardon of God and be not touched with repentance and remorse for our sinnes whence indeed this cry ought to proceed we are vtterly vnworthy to haue any mercy shewed vs. Would wee then haue the Church deliuered from death and restored vnto a prosperous estate no lesse theÌ„ if she were raised vp out of her graue Oh let vs cry vnto the Lord that hee may heare the voice of our cries No looking for succour without the affection of prayer sighes and groanes For alas if wee be void of the affection of praier how can wee looke for any succour of him To answere here signifies nothing else but that God wil cause vs to feele by experience both his helpe and fauour for the Lord answers vs not by voice but by the effects And yet let vs not thinke he will forthwith answer our crieâ— Why so Many times there is much weaknesse of ours mingled with them so as they be disordered by reason of our vnbridled passions he will assist vs when it shall be expedient for vs so as wee shall proue by experience that hee hath respected our saluation Vers 20. And when the Lord hath giuen you the bread of aduersitie and water of affliction thy raine shall be no more kept backe but thine eyes shall see thy raine HEe continues on his former speech confirming the hearts of the faithfull lest they should faint Patience begets hope of a good issue for patience alwaies begets hope of a better issue He therefore instructs them pâ—tiently to beare the chastisement to come because they should onely feele Gods wrath theâ—ein for a time but soone after the storme shâ—ll be blowne ouer hee promiseth them that ioy and deliuerance shall bee at hand See Hos 14 5 because God will turne his anger away from them I expound the latter Vau After that as if hee should say After you haue been thus afflicted Psal 30.5 then the Lord will blesse you for hee will change your mourning into ioy Whereas some take the word Raine for Instructer it agrees not with the text for albeit the
will bind vp our wounds which may otherwise seeme mortall and deadly Quest Now if any aske why the Lord deales thus seuerely with his children I answer Ans wee seldome profit in his feare when he vseth vs mildely for our vices are so rooted in vs and cling so fast to our bones that they cannot bee cut off vnlesse God whet his razor verie sharpe and keene Vers 27. Behold the name of the Lord commeth from farre his face is burning and the burthen thereof is heauie his lips are full of indignation and his tongue is as a deuouring fire HEe foretels the destruction of the Assyrians which were then the principall enemies of the Church I grant the Iewes had almost no neighbours that were borderers but they were against them notwithstanding in respect the Assyrians were the richest and mightiest of all others the Prophet scarcely mentions any but them and the Babylonians who had bin Monarks ouer nations although sometimes by a figure called synecdoche the Caldeans are signified vnder the name of the Assyrians By the name of God he meanes God himselfe but he vseth this circumlocution in regard the Assyrians and the rest of the nations serued goddes of gold and siluer For they mocked the Iews as if they had worshipped a God in name onely Why so Because they represented him not forth by some shape or image as we read of a certaine prophane Poet A prophane Poet. who vsed to say of them in scorne that they worshipped the clouds and a diuinitie that was shut vp in heauen See how infidels and prophane persons iudge of God according to their outward senses but our Prophet brings the faithfull to this name of God As if he should say This God which hath manifested himselfe vnto you by his name The God whom wee neither feele nor see with outward senses is sufficient to auenge the wrongs done to his church this God whom you neither touch nor see shall come and shall auenge the wrongs done vnto you From farre He addes this by way of yeelding or granting so much as it were vnto the idolaters For as long as the wicked feele not the hand of God they thinke him far off and in the meane while deride the faithfull as if they trusted in vanitie The prophet therefore speaking according to the opinion of the vnbeleeuers shewes that that same God whom they esteeme so far off shall come or rather that hee is already come and is hard at hand This he signifies by the particle Behold which he opposeth to the word farre off and therein admonishing the faithfull also to passe ouer all impediments that they may come to the hope of this promised redemption Now to shew that Gods name is not worshipped in vaine nor without fruit in Iudeah the Prophet sets before them his fearefull power His face is burning which he will manifest for the ouerthrow of the enemies of his Church For when he speakes to the faithfull he sets him forth gentle louing patient slow to anger and pitifull to put life as it were into them but to the vnbeleeuers he proposeth nothing but horrors and terrors So that where the wicked tremble at the very naming of God the faithfull being allured by the sense of his bountie goodnes do sweetlie repose themselues vnder the shadow of his wings and are not oppressed with such feares Hence we are taught alwaies to keepe our hearts in a reuerent awe of God lest we finde him such a one to vs as the Prophet here describes him to the wicked Where he saith the burthen of the Lord is heauie to beare his meaning is that God will bring such heauie calamities with him when he comes that the wicked shall sinke vnder them for by this weight he vnderstands the strokes which they shall receiue He also expresseth the same thing in mentioning the lips and tongue Quest But wherefore did he rather name them then his hands Ans Surely the wicked mock at all the threatnings which are published vnto thē out of Gods word and esteeme whatsoeuer the Prophets say no better then fables But they shall feele one day to their cost that this sound which proceeds out of Gods sacred mouth is no vaine word neither yet a thunder which only strikes the eares but they shall in the end feele the force of this word which they haue despised Vers 28. And his spirit is as a riuer that ouerfloweth vp to the neck it deuideth asunder to fanne the nations with the fanne of vanitie and there shall be a bridle to cause them to erre in the charets of the people HE goes on with the denunciation which he began in the 27. verse as if he should say The Church in deed must passe vnder the rod yet so as the Assyrians in the end shall vtterlie come to nought For he saith that they shall be swallowed vp of the Spirit of the Lord which he compares to a deepe riuer First similitude of a deepe Riuer Others take the word Spirit for Breath so as it should be an allusion to the whirlewind or to some boisterous tempest In the next place he vseth the similitude of a fanne Second similitude of ◠Fanne which is very frequent in the scriptures and saith that he wil fanne the Assyrians to shake them out and to scatter them For this cause also he addes the word vanitie that is to say an vnprofitable Fanne which cannot retaine or keepe any thing but loseth whatsoeuer is put within it For we know God is wont sometimes to sift and fanne his owne deere children but it is to gather thē into his floore as good wheate The third similitude is taken from a bridle The third of a Bridle whereby the Lord vseth sometimes to tame the pride and fiercenes of the wicked in a word to shew that he is their Iudge I denie not but he also bridles and curbs his seruants and children but it is to bring them to tracktablenes for the wicked he raines them vp so hard that he tumbles them into perdition and that is the meaning of this clause where he saith it is a bridle to cause them to erre For fierce horses are tugged this way and that way by their riders and the more they wince the more they spurre them God likewise keepes the wicked short and handles them so roughlie that they erre at euery blow hee giues them as Dauid well describes it Psal 32.10 The end why the Prophet vseth these similitudes Now the end of these similitudes is to teach vs that there is no dallying with God For albeit he forbeares vs for a time yet at the last we shall prooue the Prophets words true to wit that his spirit or breath shall be enough to swallow vp the wicked and suddenlie to consume them no lesse then if a flood had passed ouer their heads To conclude seeing he shewes that the nations were to be fanned in the fanne of
vanitie The wicked and the godly corrected alike but the one as drosse to be burnt vp the other as pure gold to be preserued for the Lords vse let vs feare lest if the Lord find nought in vs but chaffe he also cast vs vpō the dunghill Note also the difference betweene the children of God and the wicked both are chastised alike but yet diuerslie How so The one to be kept and preserued as pure gold the other as drosse to be burnt vp and consumed Vers 29. But there shall be a song vnto you as in the night when a solemne feast is kept and gladnes of heart as he that commeth with a pipe to go vnto the mount of the Lord to the mightie one of Israel HE shewes that all the euils wherewith he threatned the Assyrians should turne to the saluation of the Church Why so Because God would no lesse seuerely punish the iniuries done to his children then if they had been done to himselfe And thus he sets forth his fatherlie loue and his inestimable good will towards vs in that he vouchsafes to take armes euen in his owne person as it were for our defence Whence we may gather Threatnings pronounced against the wicked in the holy Scriptures serue greatly for the comfort of the faithfull that all the menaces so frequent in the holy Scriptures serue much for the consolation of the faithfull In the next place he saith that this shall be an holie song and compares it to those that were vsed in solemne feasts the rather to stirre the faithfull vp to thanksgiuing and to teach them how to order their ioy and reioycing For it is not enough to reioyce If our ioy be not in the Lord it is a vaine and profane ioy vnlesse our ioy be directlie in the Lord whose glorie should alwaies be the marke and end we aime at therein otherwise our ioy should neither be good nor acceptable vnto him but rather prophane and vaine Now because the Iewes began their feast daies at the sun setting The Iewes vsed to begin to celebrate their feasts the euening before and therefore began to celebrate them as soone as it was euening he saith that this song shall be as in the night And he yet further expresseth the manner of their ioy to wit that they shall not leape nor skip after the custome of prophane persons but shall lift vp their hearts vnto God resting in him alone whom they shall acknowledge the sole author of all benefits By the mount he meanes the Temple which was built vpon it He calles God the strength of Israel because the Iewes receiued their redemption from his out stretched arme as also because they dwelt in quietnesse vnder his mighty protection herein aduertising them that they could haue no safetie for the time to come but by putting their trust in his strength For alas as soone as we perswade our selues that wee haue any strength of our owne The mightie one of Israel we forthwith bereaue God of this title which indeed none but the humble meeke can giue vnto him who are stripped of all their owne strength and power Vers 30. And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to bee heard and shall declare the lighting downe of his arme with the anger of his countenance and flame of a deuouring fire with scattering and tempest and hailestones HE confirmes that which he said before of the iudgement of God against the Assyrians and describes it vnder a figure as hee and the rest of the Prophets are wont to do For whilest God seemes to hold his peace and plagues not the wicked forthwith either we thinke he sleepes or that he wants sufficient power and thus wee are distracted with diuers and doubtfull thoughts And albeit he shewes vs some one example of his iudgement yet by reason of this sottishnesse or rather vnthankfulnesse which naturally possesseth vs we wittingly put a vaile betweene by one deuice or other to darken the glory of God For either we attribute it vnto fortune or to the policies and subtile inuentions of mans braine so as we will neuer in good earnest ascribe the same wholly vnto God vnlesse he constraines vs vnto it by force This is the cause why the Prophet contents not himselfe to haue once affirmed that Gods vengeance should fall vpon the Assyrians but also in this place is diligent to paint out the same in liuely colours repeating the same thing with greater vehemencie His meaning is then that this destruction of the enemie shall bee so famous that men shall be constrained to heare the voice of God that is to say to acknowledge his iudegmēts and to confesse that this desolation indeede was from his hand euen as if himselfe had vttered the same from heauen with his liuely voice in all mens hearing The sum is then that the matter shall bee so euident that all shall confesse this destruction came from the mouth of God to wit from his ordinance He begins with the voice of God to the end we might know that he gouernes whatsoeuer is done in the earth And therewithall he extolles the efficacie of his doctrine in which the people were to rest till it should bring forth these effects in the appointed time But for as much as the effect incontinently followes this ordinance and voice of God therfore the Prophet addes the lighting down of his arme Gods voice and the lighting downe of his arme goe together For these two things must alwaies bee ioyned together it being vnlawfull once to imagin that God is like vnto men who suddenly taking a thing in hand in the end leaue it vnperfected No looke what he ordaines that he executes for his hand or arme is neuer separated from the words of his mouth On the contrary hee neuer doth any thing rashly but that which hee hath ordained before so as all the crosses which hee sends are so many documents to vs of his equall and iust dealing In the end of the verse hee sets forth this vengeance of God vnder figures that by the horrour thereof the Iewes might raise vp their faith on high with so much the more courage for it was a great consolatio◠vnto them notwithstanding the sharpe scourges which they felt to know that their enemies soone after should drinke off this cup euen to the very dregs But away with the dreames of the Rabbines who from this place gather that the Assyrians were indeed smitten with thunder for such a coniecture is most friuolous The Prophet keeps his ordinary course and by these similitudes describes Gods fearfull iudgements in regard that wee are too slow yea altogether vnfit to comprehend them Therefore to awaken our dulnesse wee had need to heare of deuouring fire of thunders floods and deluges of water The vse of the former similitudes which because they are things abhorring to nature they vsually touch vs the more to the quicke in which respect
the Prophets doe the more willingly draw their similitudes from them to the end wee may apprehend the fearefull reuenging hand of God against the wicked Vers 31. For with the voice of the Lord shall Ashur be destroied which smote with the rod. HE addes this for two causes First to shew why the Assyrian was to be broken For seeing hee behaued himselfe cruelly and sauagely towards others it was good reason he should receiue like for like This we know is the vsuall course which God takes with tyrants as our Prophet will tell vs Chap. 33. Woe to thee that spoiledst when thou wast not spoiled c. Secondly the Assyrians power seemed too great to be vanquished But albeit he was euery way so well fortified that he was not only able to defend himselfe but also to annoy others yet the Prophet tels him Gods onely voice shall shake him in peeces By this wee may learne how vaine the confidence of the wicked is who haue nothing to trust vnto but their outward forces altogether despising God as if they were not liable to the strokes of his hand But the Lord needs no better weapons then his voice to scatter all their munitions for hee will consume them with the very beck of his countenance Neither are wee to doubt but the Prophet also meant by this meanes to withdraw the senses of the faithfull from looking to these helpes lest they should stand to inquire how it might come to passe but should onely content themselues with Gods promise who is of power sufficient to execute his counsels as soone as he hath spoken the word Vers 32. And in euerie place that the staffe shall passe it shall cleaue fast which the Lord shall lay vpon him with tabrets and harpes and with battels and lifting vp of hands shall hee fight against it HIs meaning is that the Assyrians will trie all meanes to flie from Gods hand but all in vaine for it shall pursue them whithersoeuer they shall turne them bee it forwards or backward Touching these words of the staffe digging I willingly cōsent to their opiniō who thinke it to bee a similitude taken from those that haue laid on so long till the traces and prints thereof appeare a great while after as if a whip or staffe had been let into the flesh Vnlesse any had rather vnderstand that the plague should cleaue fast to the backs of the Assyrian euen as a foundatiō is laid fast into the earth For that which is not rooted in the ground may be taken away and transported to another place but hee shewes that this staffe shall cleaue so fast that there shall bee no remouing of it neither shall any be able to plucke it away For God suffers the weight of his wrath to fall vpō the reprobates which vtterly ouerchargeth them and lest they might dreame of any starting holes the Prophet cuts off al hope thereof in this word euery place For so ought the text to be resolued to wit wheresoeuer the staffe shall light it shall cleaue fast When he mentions the tabrets it is to shew that the issue of the war shall not bee vncertain as it is when forces are of equall strēgth but his meanig is that the Lord shall haue the victory If the Lord goe into the field hee will surely conquer Why so Because he shall no sooner vndertake the war but hee brings that with him that shall do the deed For tabrets harps and hands lifted vp doe signifie the ioy which they make that haue gotten the conquest whilest they cry victorie victorie Some refer that to the host which he addes in the feminin gender shall fight against it but the truth is hee meant to expresse a greater thing then it to wit Babylon the head Citie of the Kingdome opposing it to Ierusalem which hee had noted out before by a like relatiue vers 29. From whence we may gather that the wicked must needes be consumed at the last notwithstanding the great shew of meanes which they haue to escape the same for which way soeuer they turne them or whither so euer they flee yet the staffe of the Lord shall pursue them yea and cleaue fast to their backes they shall neuer bee able to shun his hand nor beat backe his blowes Wee also are now and then corrected by this hand of God but his blowes shall not alwaies cleaue vnto vs our wounds shall bee mollified and eased and our sorrow shall bee turned into ioy Moreouer the Lord so fights against the wicked that they are not able to make their party good nor yet gaine anie thing by their resistance He fights with thē but as one that is sure of the victory before he giues the first blow sometimes hee giues them a little scope indeed but he takes down their pride whensoeuer it pleaseth him If we then fight vnder his ensigne wee may assure our selues of a prosperou◠victorie for vnder his leading we shall be safe from danger and shall haue certaine hope of conquest in the end Vers 33. For Topheth is prepared of * Or before yesterday olde it is euen prepared for the King hee hath made it deepe and large * Or his heap is fire the burning thereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord like a riuer of brimstone doth kindle it ISaiah continues his description of Gods seuere punishments wherein he shewes that the wicked shall not onely haue their portion of plagues in this life but shall bee vexed therewith for euer and euer Why so Because hell is prepared and made ready for them not for the poorer sort alone but for those in great places euen for Kings Princes By Topheth no doubt he meanes hell not as though we should imagin there were some place where the wicked are shut vp after their death as in a prison there to suffer the torments which they haue deserued but hee thereby signifies their miserable condition and extreame torments In the booke of the Kings this word Topheth is taken for the place where the Iewes sacrificed their sonnes to Moloch 2. King 23.10 whereof Ieremiah also maketh mention Ier. 19 6. Now this place was destroied by Iosiah in regard of the horrible murthers and superstitions which were there committed For mine owne part I am out of doubt that the Prophets meant to apply the name of this place to those exquisite torments which the wicked indure Let vs learne to make good vse of this doctrine to the end the faithfull might shudder and shake at the onely hearing of it as also that euery one might learne to haue idolatrie in the greater detestation This very etymologie agrees to the word Hell for the valley of Hinnon was taken for hell it selfe because of the execrable sacrilegies which were there committed Now because we thinke the wicked shall escape scot-free when we see them prosper and haue all things at their wish the Prophet to take away this conceit
he is the deliuerer of his Church And when he freed Ierusalem from the siege which was after laid before it he did therein as in a glasse present also vnto the Iewes an image of their spiritual deliuerance It is he alone then which will destroy our spirituall enemies Our help stands only in the name of the Lord that made heauen and earth In vaine therefore shall we seeke other helps and remedies and in vaine shall we rest vpon our owne strength which is nothing for we shall neuer ouercome nor be Conquerors but by the leading and help of our God His yong men His meaning is that the Lord will so manifest his might against the Assyrians that the hearts of young men which are wont to be couragious shall quaile and melt as waxe For in as much as yong men haue lesse experience then those that are old they are more rash and headie But the Lord will easilie coole their heate when the houre is come in which he will deliuer his seruants See to this purpose Chap. 40. â—0 This is the cause why Isaiah made speciall mention of yong men as if he had said the flower or strength Vers 9. He shall flee for feare into his fortresse and his Princes shall be feared with the banner saith the Lord who hath a fire in Zion and a furnace in Ierusalem NOw he speakes of Sennacherib who being swallowed vp with feare should shamefullie flee into his fortresse in Nineue as into his nest He addes that his Princes who should incourage the rest of the souldiours shall be so surprized with astonishment that they shall neither dare to take vp their weapons nor to ioine issue as they say but shall flee the Standard To conclude he shewes that he is Gods Herald to proclaime this Edict that the Iewes might in no wise doubt nor dispute of the euent as they were wont as also that they might not afterward forget so great a benefit neither attribute it vnto fortune In the end of the verse if we reade as some translate Whose fire is in Zion the sense will be that God hath a power of fire to deuoure his enemies Notwithstanding I thinke the relatiue Asher is superfluous or ought to be translated in the nominatiue Qui because God is properlie called fire in respect of the Assyrian whom he will consume Now because he speakes of fire some referre it to the Sacrifices but this interpretation is farre fetched neither hath it any good ground For mine owne part I doubt not but his meaning is to say That the Lord hath a fire to consume the Assyrian or that God himselfe is as a fire so as he closely compares the Assyrian to straw or stubble He also saith that this fire is kindled and maintained in Zion and in Ierusalem that is to say in the middes of his people to shew that the wicked shall not escape vnpunished for persecuting the Church of God For they shall one day feele him their Iudge who stands in the middes of his Church which for the most part is thought to be destitute of all help The summe is that Gods vengeance is prepared for the wicked which haue not ceased to molest his people and that the Lord will not reuenge for his owne sake only but for his elects sake also Let vs reioyce in this consolation God will euermore be a consuming fire to consume the aduersaries of his Church and howsoeuer we seeme destitute of succor and exposed to all dangers yet let vs euermore assure our selues that our God will be as a consuming fiâ—e against our aduersaries THE XXXII CHAPTER Vers 1. Behold a King shall reigne in righteousnesse and the Princes shall gouerne in iudgement The Churches glory begins at the establishing of a well ordered ciuill policie HIs meaning is to say that God will yet bee good vnto his church so as he will restore it vnto the former estate Now the best way to bring it thereunto is when ciuill policie is rightly administred and all things ordered according to iustice and equitie No doubt this prophecie belongs to Hezechias and to his reigne vnder whom the Church was reformed and brought againe into her first glory for before she was miserably scattered That wicked and cursed hypocrit Ahaz had corrupted all after his own fantasie and had ouerthrowne both the ciuill and ecclesiastiâ—all policie The prophecie extends it selfe first to Hezechias Next vnto Christ of whom Hezechias was a figure The Prophet therefore promiseth another King to wit Hezechias who by his iustice and equitie should set those things in order which before were confused In a word he here sets forth the happie state of the Church as in a glasse which seeing it cannot bee erected without Christ it is therefore certaine that the things here spoken of ought to be referred to him of whom Hezechias was but a figure both touching his office and Kingdome He mentions iustice and iudgement according to the vsuall phrase of the Scripture which by these two words vnderstands a well ordered gouernment for iustice signifies equitie and moderation and vnder the word iudgement is comprehended that part of equitie by which the good are maintained and preserued from the violence of the wicked It is very certaine that the office of a good Prince A good Prince must carefully prouide for the florishing estate both of Church and Common-wealth stretcheth it selfe further then iustice and iudgement for he ought principally to vphold the honour of God and the purity of religion but the Scripture is wont to expresse the whole obseruation of the Law vnder the duties of the second table For if we abstaine from violence if as much as in vs lies we labour to releeue the poore and oppressed if we hold the band of peace one with another To abstaine from offring violence to releeue the poore to be at peace with our neighbours good signes of the feare of God It is needfull for a good Prince to haue good counsellers about him Nerua wee therein giue good testimonie that the feare of God is in our hearts from which such fruits of faith doe spring forth Vnder a part then the Prophet hath comprehended the whole But it is not without cause that hee mentions Princes Why so It is not enough that he himselfe bee a good King vnlesse hee also haue good gouernours counsellers about his person For it often falles out that the people behaue themselues leaudly vnder good Kings as we reade of Nerua vnder whose raigne euey one might doe as he listed so as the condition of many was much worse at that time then in the daies of Nero Nero. for the carelesnesse of one onely gaue occasion to many to become wicked Kings therefore ought to be furnished with good gouernors Good gouernours eies eares and hands to Kings which may be as eyes eares and hands to his body in helping him to order things aright
driue Oxen Asses and other beasts out of the fields that are sowen lest they should crop off or mar the corne But he saith here that it shall be so thicke and faire vpon the ground that Oxen and Asses must be driuen thither to eate the first growth as they vsually doe when corne is too ranke He calles them blessed according to the vsuall Hebrew phrase because their labour should not be in vaine Obiect If it be obiected that there was neuer seene such a fruitfulnesse of the earth vnder the kingdome of Christ Ans I confesse that in the times wherein God hath prouided for his children in greatest plenty yet some tokens of his curse might alwaies bee perceiued wherein the whole race of mankind is wrapped by reason of Adams reuolt But because the inheritance of this world was restored to the faithfull by the meanes of Iesus Christ the Prophets vpon good reason affirme that hee will renew the earth in such wise that it being purged againe from her filthinesse shee shall receiue her first beautie Those that reply that this is not yet fulfilled ought to take a view of themselues to see whether they be yet whollie cleansed from all their sinnes And if they be as yet far off from that spirituall righteousnesse spoken of vers 16 let vs bee contented to feele this blessing according to the measure of our regeneration If thou see not the full accomplishment of these promises impute it onely to thy imperfect obedience be content to feele this blessing according to the measure of thy regeneration which shall neuer be perfected in vs till hauing put off the infirmitie of the flesh wee be fully renewed after the image of God in true holinesse and righteousnesse THE XXXIII CHAPTER Vers 1. Woe to thee that spoilest and wast not spoiled and dost wickedly and they did not wickedly against thee when thou shalt cease to spoile thou shalt bee spoiled when thou shalt make an end of doing wickedly Whither this woe be pronounced against the Caldeans IF we expound this of the Caldeans the scope of the place will very well beare it For seeing in chap. 32.15 hee promised freedome to the vanquished it was high time for him now to direct his speech against the vanquishers Not onely that but the faithfull also stood in need to be confirmed in particular manner to the end they might be drawne to beleeue this prophecie which was almost incredible It was verie vnlikely that such a Monarchie could suddenly be brought to nought or that these poore prisoners destitute of all hope should by and by be set at libertie to returne into their owne Country The Iewes therefore you see might very well haue fainted in waiting for any succour in such extremities vnlesse the Prophet had preuented the same by this and the like instructions He takes away the occasions then which might otherwise haue incited and prouoked them to dispaire when the Caldeans led them captiue into Babylon for they then saw no performance at all of these promises but felt the cleane contrary Notwithstanding because all are of opinion that this is the beginning of a new sermon and that these words are directed against Senacherib and his host I also am drawn to admit that the Prophet here threatens the Assyrians Or against the Assyriās with the chastisement of their vniust oppressions and cruelties by them committed against their neighbours that so comfort might bee giuen by meanes hereof to the comfortlesse and oppressed His meaning is then that there shall be a wonderfull change when this florishing estate of Niniue shall be brought to ruin albeit it seemed impregnable Why so Because the Caldeans should come against it and should reuenge the cruelties which the Assyrians had exercised against so many Countries The Caldeans sent to reuenge the cruelties committed by the Assyrians And to the end his words might haue the greater efficacie he addresseth his speech euen to the Assyrians saying Ho thou vvhich spoilest as if he should say thou hast now libertie to range abroad at thy pleasure no man dares resist thee but a day vvill come vvherein others shall make their pray vpon thee as thou hast done vpon them He speakes in the singular number but it is by a noune collectiue which is an vsuall phrase of speech Others read it by an interrogation Shalt thou not be spoiled Thinkest thou thy violences shall escape vnpunished No they shall one day render thee like for like But we may follow the vsuall interpretation by which Isaiah amplifies the iniquitie of the enemie who was so greedie after his pray that he spared none no not those innocents vvhich neuer vvronged him Wherein we may behold a signe of extreme crueltie I am very willing to receiue this exposition then to wit that in this first member he describes the disposition of the Assyrians shewing that they were mercilesse theeues and robbers and further inlargeth their crueltie in regard they vexed and spoiled those which neuer hurt thē and all to this end that when the Iewes should behold such wickednesses they might first bee brought to consider of Gods iustice therein and in the secōd place that hee would not suffer such barbaritie to escape vnpunished When thou shalt cease This is the second part of this verse in which the Prophet shewes that the Assyrians do now spoile because the Lord lets them run riot but the time of their restraint drawes on so as they shall haue no more power of doing hurt If it were said they shal cease to spoile when they were able to spoile no longer the sense would be too barrē Our Prophet therefore mounts higher to wit that the time will come that they shall indeed cease to spoile because the Lord will tame them and take downe the pride of their power Which is as much as if he had said euen then when thou shalt be at the highest Hence we may learne that tyrants haue their terme limitted which they shall not passe Tyrants haue their terme prefixed which they shall not passe They rob and spoile whilest they haue run the length of their chaine but when they are come to the end of it they shall be constrained to stay there as at their last exploit Let this consolation A consolatiō then cheere vp our hearts when we see tyrants take their swinge and doe furiously band themselues against the poore Church for the Lord will calme their rage well enough and by how much the more they haue exercised their crueltie so much the more shall God heape his wrath vpon them The Lord will cut them off in a moment for hee will raise vp enemies against them which shall sacke and spoile them forthwith and shall reward them that which they haue done to others We are here also to note Gods prouidence in the change of kingdomes Gods prouidence seen in the change of kingdoms for vnbeleeuers thinke that all
and the end for as men are fooles vntill they haue submitted themselues vnto the word of God so the perfection of wisdome flowes from teachablenes or the obedience of faith All outward felicitie meere beggerie without the feare of God The feare of God then is called his treasure because without it all prosperitie is but miserie whence it yet further appeares that all the parts of a prosperous life consists in the knowledge of God which we attaine by faith Also vnder the person of this king he shews that it is an inestimable treasure to serue God in such deuotion and humilitie as is meete and further he esteemes all them miserable and forlorne people which are void of this feare of God On the contrarie blessed and happie are all those which feare him albeit of the world they be iudged the most miserable of all others But what feare speakes he of here Euen of that which conteines in it true obedience and a reformation of our minds and affections For the wicked haue a feare of God but they feare him as malefactors doe their Iudge Such a feare deserues no such praise because it proceeds not from the true knowledge of God nor from a readie desire to serue him It therefore is directlie contrarie to that vvisdome whereof our Prophet speakes These things haue reference first to Hezekiah secondly to the people but especiallie to Christ who hath so applied these things vnto Hezekias that in the meane while they also appertaine to the whole bodie of the people as we haue said before Whence we gather that they haue relation vnto the people as well as the king but much more vnto Christ who was filled with the Spirit of the feare of the Lord as we haue seene in the 11. Chapter to make vs partakers with him of the same grace Vers 7. Behold their messengers shall crie without and the Ambassadors of peace shall weepe bitterlie 8. The paths are wast the wayfaring man ceaseth he hath broken the Couenant he hath contemned the Cities he regardeth no man IT is not very certaine whether Isaiah here mentions the perplexitie and danger in which the Iewes were the rather to set forth the greatnes of their deliuerance or whether he foretels the calamitie which was to come that the faithfull should not faint vnderneath it For mine owne part I thinke this is not to be referred to the historie of that which already happened for in regard that sharp and sore temptations were at hand it was necessarie that the faithfull should be fortified to wait patientlie for the help of God euen then whē things should be growne desperate Howsoeuer it be it is a wofull and lamentable description of the wast of the Church that in these dangers the faithfull might hold fast their confidence secondly that seeing themselues deliuered they might acknowledge they were no other way rid from them but by the wonderfull power of God The signe of a desperate estate is noted out when he saith that the Ambassadors which were sent to appease this tyrant could obteine no truce for which cause they returned with bitter sorrow and teares not being able to hide the same in their iourney but were willing to manifest to others what was in their hearts in regard they were in such a wretched estate No doubt but Sennacherib with proud and scornefull reproaches refused the conditions of peace which were offred him so as the Ambassadors were constreined openly to lament and crie as hauing forgotten the dignitie of their persons and letted not to publish the answer which this tyrant gaue them euen before they returned to the King their master to giue an account of their Ambassage Others by the Ambassadors of peace vnderstand those which were wont to proclaime peace but this interpretation is vnapt and as I thinke too farre fetched By the Ambassadors of peace I vnderstand those which were sent to appease Senacherib and to redeeme peace with any conditions In the next verse he addes that the waies shall be so stopped vp that there shall be no commers or goers as it falles out when open warres are proclaimed Now it seemes that the Prophet brings in the Ambassadors telling how it shall not be lawfull for them to passe to nor fro any more the passages shall be so dangerous As touching that which followes he hath broken the Couenant some expound it as if the hypocrits complained that God kept not his promise But if this be referred vnto God such a complaint may be attributed not onely to the hypocrits but to the faithfull also who sometimes expostulate the matter on this wise with the Lord but I like not this sense And therefore I rather thinke the Prophet continues to set forth the crueltie and vnappeaceable furie of Sennacherib who disloyally brake the couenant which he made before with Hezechias For albeit he promised truce yet as soone as any occasion offered it selfe to inuade Iudea he falsified his faith and began warre afresh Thereunto appertaines that which is in the end of the verse he contemned the Cities and regarded no mans person wherein he shewes that the crueltie of this tyrant was such that hee could not be withheld neither by feare nor shame Vers 9. The earth mourneth and fainteth Lebanon is ashamed and hewen downe Sharon is like a wildernesse and Bashan is shaken and Carmell 10. Now will I arise saith the Lord now will I bee exalted now will I lift vp my selfe HE here more fully expresseth after what maner they should see the estate of Iudeah miserably distressed yet so that their faith in the end should breake forth as out of a bottomlesse gulfe He also names the places particularly to wit Lebanon Bashan and Carmell which are far distant one from another being as it were the borders of the holy land all which is to shew that no corner shall be spared or rest in safetie And in the description of this desolation hee attributes to euery seuerall place that which agreed with the situation of it as to Lebanon shame and confusion because glory and beautie are attributed vnto it in other places 1. King 7.2 Psal 92.12 Chap. 35.2 in regard it was replenished and adorned with great and goodly trees As touching Sharon because it was a plaine and fertile soile he saith it shall be like a wildernesse That Bashan and Carmell is shaken because there grew abundance of fruits Thus he alludes to the nature of these places and describes the miserie and calamitie which should befall the same that hee might the better amplifie and set forth the mercy and goodnesse of God which should be the cause of their deliuerance albeit for the present they saw themselues as good as forlorne For here was cause to behold the immediat hand of God Vnlesse any had rather say that the Prophet recites a thing already done to stir the people vp to thanksgiuing Verse 10. Now I vvill arise The particle now
the preseruation of them From particular threatnings wee may descend to the generall Now that which is here said of the Idumeans ought to bee applied to all the enemies of the Church for vnder this one particular our Prophet comprehended them all and for this cause are we to cheere vp and refresh our hearts with this consolation in time of aduersitie and to sustaine the iniuries which are done vs which God shall reuenge himselfe For is he called the auenger thinke you for nought See Psal 94.1 It is not our Prophets meaning then alone to say that God hath power sufficient to punish the wicked when he thinks good but also that he reignes in heauen to reuenge all wrongs in due season But the two words day and yeere is to bee noted for thereby he giues vs to vnderstand that God sleepes not in heauen whilest hee seemes to winke at the enemies crueltie but onely deferres to punish till the appointed time to the end the faithfull might learne in the meane space Luke 21.19 to possesse their soules in patience and suffer him to gouerne all things according to his incomprehensible wisdome Vers 9. And the riuers thereof shall be turned into pitch and the dust ehereof into brimstone and the land thereof shall be burning pitch THis whereof he speakes hath relation to that which went before in which hee addes a more ample declaration of this destruction We told you erewhile why the Prophets doe liuely represent and set forth Gods iudgements in such plaine tables as it were euen to bring men vpon the scaffold thereby constraining men to take knowledge of those things which otherwise they would neither see nor comprehend and if they did yet they would vtterly forget them as soone as they had seene or apprehended them But besides this we must note that the Prophets spake of secret and hidden things which seemed altogether incredible for many thought the Prophets bolted out things at a venture in these matters There needed many confirmations therefore and such are those that he vseth in this and other the like places The summe then is that he speakes of such an horrible change as shall vtterly waste the land of Edom. Moreouer he alludes to the destruction of Sodome and Gomorrah Gen. 19.24 which is a forme of teaching much vsed among the Prophets for in this ruin we haue as Saint Iude Iude 7. telles vs a perpetuall example of Gods wrath against the reprobate neither is it without cause that the Prophets doe so often renue the remembrance thereof for they would haue all men learne thereby to tremble at Gods iudgements Hitherunto appertaines that which is said in the verse following Vers 10. It shall not bee quenched night nor day the smoke thereof shall goe vp euermore it shall be desolate from generation to generation none shall passe through it for euer QVestionlesse the Prophet vseth an excessiue manner of speech but the Lord is constrained thus to deale with vs to awaken our dulnes for an vsuall forme of speech would not moue or affect vs. In saying then that the wrath of the Lord against the Idumeans resembles a fire that neuer goes out he takes from them all hope of pardon for as they ceased not to prouoke him so should they find him a seuere Iudge vnto them And Malachi notes it as a signe of the reprobation of this people that the Lord was angry with them for euer Malachi 1.4 The opposition must be supplied because Gods children alwaies receiue some consolation lest they should be discouraged But we need not stand long vpon this matter it sufficeth that we haue the drift and scope of the Prophets words Vers 11. But the pellican and the hedgehog shall possesse it and the great owle and the rauen shall dwell in it and he shall stretch out vpon it the line of vanity and the stones of emptinesse AS touching these creatures which Isaiah here mentions there are diuers opinions neither are the Hebrew expositors themselues well resolued touching the same yet wee may perceiue the Prophets drift well enough to wit that hee sets out the face of a Country laid waste desolate For doubtlesse he speakes of hideous monsters in nature which come not among men neither are they acquainted with them And this he doth the rather to describe the horror of this destruction The first member of the verse then is cleere enough of it selfe but there is some difficultie in the second Some expound these words lines of vanitie by an * A figure thaâ— hath a contrarie meaning antiphrase and vnderstand it of the Iewes but I rather thinke it should bee referred to the Idumeans as the former words are And to the end we may the better know that this is the Prophets true meaning the same words are found in the first Chapter of Malachi verse 4 5. who came long after our Prophet in which place hee confirmes that which Isaiah here denounceth Though Edom say we are impouerished but we wil returne build the desolate places yet saith the Lord of hostes they shall build but I will destroy it and they shall call them the border of wickednesse and the people with whom the Lord is angry for euer And your eies shall see it and yee shall say The Lord wil be magnified vpon the borders of Israel Malachi then plainely expounds that which Isaiah spake somewhat darkly in his time Isaiah saith the Idumeans shall build in vaine the other that they shall spread the lines of vanitie for it is all one in effect as if he had said that the master-workmen as Masons and Carpenters shall but lose their labour in going about to build the Cities againe for men of such craft vse small lines and plummets to measure their works by Those then that should take in hand the restauration of Edom should bestow cost in vaine for they shall be so confounded that they shall not know at what end to begin nor where to make an end And albeit God vseth to mitigate the miseries which he sends vpon others by some consolation in the end yet they must looke for none at all Hence we may collect a very profitable doctrine which is this doe wee at any time see that cities heretofore ruinated are now built againe and brought into some good fashion Therein wee may behold a singular note of Gods fauour Except the Lord build the house they labour but in vaine that build it Psal 127.1 for the labour of Masons and handicrafts men would haue been to no purpose vnlesse the Lord had put his hand both to the beginning middest and end thereof for what can prosper vnlesse he guide things from the laying of the first stone to the last and likewise vnlesse hee keepe them vnder his protection Men may well disburse great summes of monie then yet in vaine yea they shall vexe themselues without bringing to passe vnlesse hee be pleased to gouerne the businesse
and to powre out his blessing vpon that which they take in hand Pro. 10.20 His onely blessing therefore makes rich â—nd that alone is it which vpholds vs in any estate or condition For which cause it is said that his hands built Ierusalem Psal 47.2 Now as touching that which Isaiah here threatens against the Idumeans the holy Ghost pronounceth the like elsewhere against the house of Ahab meaning that it should bee raced euen with the ground 2. King 21.13 Vers 12. The Nobles thereof shall call to the Kingdome and there shall be none and all the Princes shall bee as nothing THis text is diuersly expounded but I will not trouble you with the reciting of the expositions for in refuting of them I should make my selfe more worke then needes That which is most probable is this They shall call the Nobles of Edom to rule but it shall be in vaine As if he should say In so miserable an estate there shall none be found that will willinglie beare rule or take vpon him the gouernment of state-matters Chap. 3.6.7 This sentence is read elsewhere yea we haue had the same in a maner before albeit somewhat differing in words Now this maner of speech leads me to think that the Prophet meant closely to taxe the pride of this people who were waxen ouer-haughtie by reason of their peace and abundance For as much then as the Idumeans being seated vpoÌ„ high mountaines grew proud the Prophet shewes that they should be brought downe with shame so as none of the Nobilitie should be left neither should there remaine any man of great place for when kingdomes are ruinated all gouernment is also abolished The people are as a bodie without an head neither is there any distinction of persons or places Thus then by way of scorne he saith that these braue Nobles which were so highlie exalted shal be as Lords without Lordships Lords without Lordships which appeares yet better by the second member where it is added for expositions sake that they shall be brought to nothing The summe is that Edom shall resemble a bodie shattered in peeces in which shall appeare nought else but an horrible confusion of all things Oh fearefull curse of God! What doe men differ from beasts I pray you if they want the execution of good lawes Is their condition any whit better No surely The beasts may well be without any head or gouernour because they will not offer crueltie to those of their owne kinde but Lord what is more cruell then man if he be not kept vnder Is he not caried an end by his passions as a furie of hell to runne out into all dissolutions Vers 13. And it shal bring forth thorns in the pallaces thereof nettles and thistles in the strong holds thereof and it shall be an habitation for Dragons and a court for Ostriches HE continues on his speech wherein he sets forth an Image of an horrible desolation to wit when beautifull houses and pallaces are razed euen with the ground or so laid on heapes that men can haue no vse of them being rather fit for thornes briars and nettles to grow in then for dwelling places which is farre worse then if they had bin conuerted into meadow or errable ground But see how the Lord punisheth the pride of such as delight in building of sumptuous houses How God punisheth the pride of such as delight in building sumptuous houses and gorgeous pallaces they thinke to make their names immortall as it were but God driues them out and makes nests therein for birds and dennes for wild beasts and thus they serue as perpetuall ensignes of their vaine ambition who by such buildings thought to make theÌ„selues garlands of their owne renoume and excellencie Mens places then are inhabited of such beasts The houses of men inhabited by beasts answerable to their natures that dwelt in them who represent the nature dispositions of those which built and dwelt in those so goodly houses Now this ouerturning of order is also a wofull signe of Gods wrath to wit when the earth which was created for the vse of man is coÌ„streined to receiue inhabitants of other kinds A note of Gods curse in this change and to spew out their right and lawfull owners but by meanes thereof no doubt it shall be purged of that filthines wherewith it was in times past defiled Vers 14. There shall meet also Ziim and Iim and the Satyre shall crie to his fellow and the Skritch-owle shall rest there and shall finde for her selfe a quiet dwelling 15. There shal the Owle make her nest and lay and hatch and gather them vnder her shadow there shall the Vultures also be gathered euery one with her make SOme affirme that these beasts are Fayries others Hobgoblins others Satyres neither do the Hebrues themselues agree about the proper signification of their names But what need we stand much about the matter It sufficeth vs that wee haue the Prophets scope and drift He meant to decipher out an horrible desolation As if he should say Idumea shall be laid so wast that it shall be left without inhabitants The like was threatned before Chap. 13.21.22 against Babell for in stead of them it shall be replenished with wild beasts See here the iust reward of those vaineglorious fooles which built such sumptuous pallaces to continue the perpetuall memorie of their names forsooth And here by the way also is a prediction of the chastisement wherewith this cursed nation was to be scourged for their crueltie in regard they whollie bent themselues to seeke the ouerthrow and destruction of their brethren and neighbours Now howsoeuer it be doubtfull whether the Prophet speakes heere of * Ladies of the Fayries or Elfes Fates * A Skritch-owle or an vnlucky kind of bird Hobgoblins or * Gods of the wods hauing the head of a man and bodie of a goate Satyres yet all agree that these words signifie such beasts as haue the faces of men We also see how cunning the Deuill is by diuers illusions ghosts and fearefull apparitions by sounds and hidious noyses to inchant desolat places but of this wee haue spoken in the 13. Chap. Now this vice which God hath so sharplie punished in one people is almost common to all for who is he that builds such stately houses but the price therof is wrung out of the poore sometimes by violence and extorsion Sumptuous buildings for the most part reared vp by extortions sometimes by continuall molestations so as the very morter stones wood are replenished with blood in Gods sight Therefore the stone shall crie out of the wall saith Abacuck Abacuk 2.11 and the beame shall answere vnto it Woe to him that builds a Towne with blood c. Let vs not wonder at these strange iudgements and horrible changes then when wee see that ambition drawes with it these wicked extortions and robberies but rather let vs
is more then need then that the Lord succor vs this way that our feares being appeased our weaknes strengthened we may be fitted to walke on in our christian course For if we had these words Feare not Behold your God well fixed in our hearts How to be eased of fainting fits all faintings would soone vanish Men no sooner feele that God is neere vnto them but they cast away feare or at the least so resist it that they are not ouercome of it In nothing be carefull saith S. Paul for the Lord is at hand Philip. 4.5 and 6. of which senteÌ„ce we haue intreated at large elsewhere It seems also that the Apostle to the Hebrues alludes to this place Chap. 12.3 and 13. where hauing forbidden them to be grieued or discoraged with Gods correction he recites the words of our Prophet and applies this sentence to all the faithfull that so they might stirre vp themselues vnto perseuerance and constantlie to hold out vnto the end in regard they were to suffer many assaults Neither is it superfluous that the Prophet addes your God for if we be not assured that he is ours his comming shall bring vs terror rather then comfort Therefore he sets not God forth here in his Maiestie which casts downe the pride of the flesh but his grace which comforts the afflicted weake We see then it is not without cause that he thus adornes God with this title namely that he is the protector of the faithfull to retaine them in safetie Obiect If any obiect that God must needs be dreadfull when he comes to punish in his wrath I answere Ans that this vengeance is threatned against the wicked and the enemies of his Church so that albeit it be terrible vnto theÌ„ yet it shall bring consolation to the faithfull This is the cause why he addes that he will come to saue for otherwise the Iewes might haue replied What benefit shall the destruction of the enemie bring vs What shall we be the better for it Should wee delight in their calamities This is the cause I say why he saith expreslie that he will turne this vengeance and recompence touching their enemies vnto their saluation The punishment of the wicked is alwaâ—es ioined with the saluation of the faithfull for the saluation of the godly is alwaies ioined with the punishment of the wicked We shewed in the seauenth Chapter vers 4. how the faithfull are deliuered from perplexed cares by this fauor of God and by the hope of his defence For the present let vs obserue that God is readie armed with vengeance to the end his children may learne to rest vpon his help and not to thinke him idle in the heauens this is the cause of these repetitions for infidelitie hath gotten such fast rooting in vs that is not plucked vp by and by In the end of the verse there may be a double reading to wit either that God shall come with a recompence or that he will come with the recompence of God choose whether of the two you like best for the sense is all one Notwithstanding if you reade Elohim in the genetiue case Recompence shall be called the recompence of God because it properlie belongs vnto him that so the faithfull may know assuredlie that he is no lesse a rewarder then God Vers 5. Then shall the eies of the blind be lightened and the eares of the deafe opened 6. Then shall the lame man leape as an heart and the dumb mans tongue shall sing for in the wildernes shall waters * Or be digged breake out and riuers in the desert HE speakes still of the promise touching the restauration of the Church that he might comfort the harts of the faithfull who should be sharplie assaulted with the grieuous calamities of which he had foretold Now seeing Christ is the fountaine from whence this restauration springs we must of necessitie still haue recourse vnto him if we will haue the right vnderstanding of that which Isaiah saith in this place for by him alone it is in deed that we are begotten againe to the hope of the heauenlie life Now it is not vnlike but our Prophet alludes to the prophesie which we haue seene in the 29. Chapter vers 9.10 where he threatens the Iewes with a fearefull blinding of their eies and an hardening of their hearts for which cause he here promiseth that at Christes comming mens mindes shall be enlightened and cleared by regeneration whereas before they sate in darknes There is great force in the word Then for thence wee may gather that being out of Christ we are dumb blind and lame Being out of Christ we are spirituallie blind dumb and lame in a word void of all abilitie to performe any thing that is good but Christ renues vs by his spirit that in him we may recouer our true health By tongue eyes eares and feete he meanes all the faculties of our soules which in themselues are so corrupted that we can not draw thence so much as a good thought till we be made new creatures by the benefit of Christ for our eies Eyes can not see the truth our eares Eares can not vnderstand it neither can our feete Feet walke in it vntill we be vnited vnto Christ The vnderstandings of men indeed are very accute in appreheÌ„ding mischiefe We are naturallie prone and wise to do euill but to do well we haue no knowledge Iere. 4.22 their tongues eloquent and prompt vnto slanders periuries lying and vaine speach their hands and fingers but too nimble to theft and violence their feete to shedding of blood in a word all the powers both of soule and bodie not only inclined but also set on fire to doe wickedly But come we to the performaÌ„ce of that which is good euery finger is a thumbe as they say Is it not more then needfull then that wee be reformed by the power of God that thence wee may beginne to vnderstand comprehend speake and put in execution those things which God hath called vs vnto 1. Cor. 12.3 for none can so much as say that Iesus is the Lord but by the holy Ghost This reformation then we see proceedes onely from the grace of Christ those therefore which are conuerted vnto him doe recouer new strength whereas before they were wholly vnfruitfull and as good as dead For out of him we are either depriued of all good things or else they are so corrupted in vs that they can be applied to no right vse but are rather prophaned by our abusing of them Mat. 1.11.5 15.3 Iesus Christ hath both fully testified and taught the truth of this point when hee gaue speech to the dumbe sight to the blind legs to the lame and impotent but that which he did to the body was but a glimpse of that which he works much more abundantly and powerfully in our soules In saying that the waters shall be digged out he addes
other benefits wherewith the faithfull are inriched soone after the establishing of Christ his Kingdome as if hee should say You shall not neede to feare any want after you be reconciled vnto God through Christ for plentifull and perfect felicitie streames from him vpon vs. But these things the Prophet sets before vs vnder borrowed speeches Wee are poore and beggerly â—ill God inrich vs with Christs benefits First he saith the vvaters are digged For whereas all things were barren before now there should be great abundance How poore and beggerly are we then vnlesse God for the loue which hee beares to Iesus Christ powres out his blessing vpon vs which Iesus onely brings with him from his heauenly Father and then imparts it to the members of his body I denie not but the wicked thriue wonderfully in outward abundance but all is accursed of God because they are out of Christ from whom onely flowes that true and sauing influence of all riches Truly it were much better to wish death Death is rather to be wished then that abundance with which we must needes swallow Gods curse rather then the abundance of wine and oyle with which wee must needes swallow the curse of God When Christ then shall beginne to manifest himselfe then shall riuers and waters flow forth to the healthfull vse of the faithfull Vers 7. And the dry ground shall be as a poole and the thirstie as springs of water in the habitations of dragons where they lay shall bee a place for reedes and rushes HE confirmes the former sentence to wit that Christ shall come to satisfie his chosen with abundance of all good things Why so Because waters shall issue and flow out of the dry ground But we must remember what I said erewhile to wit that the Prophet here desciphers out vnto vs an image as it were of euerlasting happinesse for howsoeuer this outward change appeared not visible to the eye at Christs comming yet Isaiah not without good cause affirmes that vnder his gouernment all things shall be fruitfull for hee hath said before that without him all things are accursed vnto vs. This whole world will bee but as a parched heath and wildernesse The world but a wildernesse without Châ—ist Psal 67.9 7. Psal 84.11 where lions dragons and wild beasts range after their pray vntill the kingdome of our Lord Iesus Christ bee erected and set vp amongst vs let it bee once established the faithfull shall feele no want at all The Lord did set his seale to the truth of this doctrin wheÌ„ he deliuered his people out of Babylons captiuitie Yet we are to seek the accomplishment of this prophecie in Iesus Christ who sets all things that are out of frame in their perfect estate againe For that deliuerance was but a darke shadow of this and yet wee are not to seeke the full accomplishment of this promise in this world neither because as our blessednesse consists onely in hope so must wee frame our mindes to wait for the same till the last day As our full blessednesse consists in hope so must we patiently wait for the same till the last day when wee shall be put into the full possession of our happinesse which now for the present is hidden as it were from vs. It sufficeth vs that God giues vs some sweete taste thereof in these our conflicting daies that with the greater affection wee might learne daily to aspire to that full felicitie which is reserued for vs in the heauens Vers 8. And there shall bee a path way and the way shall bee called holy and the polluted shall not passe by it for he * Or shal go shall be with them and walke in the way and the fooles shall not erre THe Prophet promiseth the Iewes heere that they shall bee set at libertie to returne home againe into their country to the end that being afterward carried captiue into Babylon they might not imagin it to be a perpetuall banishment And yet me thinkes this sentence should extend it selfe further For as heretofore hee promised them abundance and store of blessings Vers 7. where there was nothing but barrennesse so he saith now that the place where none dwelt shall be inhabited and frequented by multitudes To bee short that Iudea shall be in such league and amitie with other nations that one of them shall mutually passe to the other without any danger at all for where places are not inhabited what traffique can men haue there You shall see no man passe to and fro there He saith then it shall come to passe that the Iewes shall haue egresse and regresse as we vse to speake to traffique with others after they are come home and shall bee setled in their Country But it is not without cause our Prophet addes that the way shall be holy For where there is much concourse of people vices and corruptions haue their swinge on euery side How could it bee auoided then but these great troupes must needs pollute the land yea and infect one another with a mutuall contagion The Prophets meaning is then that not only the land but the minds of men should be purged and renued by the benefit of Christ that both the one and the other which in times past were wont to be prophaned by their vncleanes should now be sanctified And yet we must keepe that in minde which I haue touched before to wit that the Iewes whose way shall be made holy should returne into their countrie again to serue their Redeemer therein As if he should say The land shall be purged from those filthie sinkes which in times past were in it that it may be inhabited by the true seruants of God He ads also a more ample exposition when he saith that no polluted shall passe by this land now hallowed by the Lord for his children As if he had said God will so separate the faithfull from the prophane that they shall no more be mingled one with another and this doubtlesse was to be esteemed as one of the principall blessings that the Church receiued But this is not accomplished in this life for hypocrits and contemners of God intrude theÌ„selues pell mell into the Church and many times hold great places in it and yet we may see some signe of Gods fauor this way when he takes off the scumme from his Church by diuers meanes The Church shâ—ll not be fullie purged till the last day only we must wait for the full purgation of it vntill the last day yea euen the seruants of God theÌ„selues who are regenerated by the worke of his holy spirit are yet compassed about with many corruptions for albeit the Lord hath begun to sanctifie them yet it shall not be perfected in this life their old man is not whollie mortified but only tamed and repressed to giue way for obedience to the new Now because the Lord liues and reignes in them and subdues their lusts they are called
holy in respect of the principall part of regeneration in them The elect are called Saints in regard the principall part is regenerated The expositors turne the end of the verse diuerslie where he saith he shall goe with them for some translate They shall walke that way and shall not erre after they haue been accustomed to walke in it no not they which knew it before others This way shall be for the children of Israell those which walke in it shall not erre though they be foolish But me thinks the pronowne demonstratiue he may better be referred vnto God As if the Prophet had said God shall goe before you to prepare the way and the scope of the text also requires it to be so vnderstood for it was not enough for them to haue an open way vnlesse God went first before to direct his chosen Our Prophet then magnifies this inestimable grace by bringing in the Lord walking with-his people for if he shew vs not the way we shall alwaies erre being of our selus whollie addicted to vanitie Nay though the way be plaine and be before our eies yet can not wee discerne it from that which is crooked and although we haue made some good entrance yet will our follie carrie vs hither and thither out of it by and by But our Prophet telles vs that we shall not neede to feare missing of the way when we follow God whilest he goes before vs seeing it pleaseth him to take this office vpon him It is very likely also that he alludes to the historie of the first deliuerance because God then led his people in the day vnder the cloude and in the night vnder a piller of fire Exod. 12.21 Therewithall he also shewes how needfull it is that God should gouerne vs he also taxeth vs all of follie be wee neuer so wise in our owne conceit when he addes that the fooles shall erre no more for God lets them wander by crooked paths which thinke themselues wise enough to be their owne guides if we therefore desire to keepe him in the way with vs let vs acknowledge that we stand in neede of his direction In the meane while he offers vs a good recompence when he promiseth that all such as forsaking their owne counsels shal be content to follow him shall not erre in any thing though they be none of the wisest And yet his meaning is not that the faithfull shall remaine fooles still after the Lord hath taken them by the hand but he shewes what they were before God vouchsafed to leade them the right way Vers 9. There shall be no lyon nor noysome beasts shall ascend by it neither shall they be found there that the redeemed may walke HE addes yet another fauour of God and that is that the people shall be deliuered frō all dangers though they walked through the deserts Before Chap. 30.6 among other curses of God he put this that wild beasts should meet the Iewes in all places which way soeuer they trauailed but now being receiued into fauor they should be assailed neither by lyons nor any other cruell beasts because God would chase them away that his redeemed might passe without hurt or danger For albeit they had libertie to returne yet they might well meete with many impediments in the way and therefore he saith The Lord shall remoue all anoyances that might any way stop their passage He that begins a good worke will accomplish it vnto the day of Christ Philip. 1.6 Hence we gather a very necessarie doctrine to wit that the Lord not only begins the worke of our saluation but cōtinues it vnto the very end lest otherwise his grace might be frutelesse and vaine in vs. First then he opens the way to giue vs entrance Secondly he makes it plaine and easie and takes away all impediments Thirdly he goes with and before vs in the way Lastly he so continues forth this grace in vs that at the last he brings vs vnto his perfection We ought to make vse of this doctrine for the whole course of our life We must make vse of these foure points euery day For albeit our hearts be set whilest we liue in this world to aspire to our inheritance which is in heauen yet Satan laies many stumbling blocks before vs and we are inuironed on euery side with infinit dangers but the Lord who hath set vs in this way and goes before vs leading vs by the hand will neuer leaue vs in the midway but wil fullie perfect that vnto the end which he hath begun in vs by his Spirit We may also obserue that the mouthes of rauening and wilde beasts are musled so by the grace of God they cannot hurt vs nor exercise their crueltie vpon vs according as it is said in Hose 2.18 I will make a couenant for you with the beasts of the field and with the birds of the aire Vers 10. Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall returne and come to Zion with praise and euerlasting ioy shall be vpon their heads they shall obtaine ioy and gladnesse and sorrow and mourning shall flee away THe Prophet confirmes the former doctrine to wit that nothing shall hinder the Lord from working the full redemption of his people because he hath decreed it He calles them the redeemed of the Lord first that he might prouoke them to the consideration of his power secondly that they should not measure the promise of their returne by looking vnto humane helpes Moreouer hee shewes that they shall come to Zion Thereby giuing them assurance that God will not bring them out of Babylon to leaue them in the way Hence we learne that we cannot enter into Zion which is the Church vntill God haue redeemed vs We cannot enter into the Church till God haue redeemed vs. for in this example of the ancient people we haue a patterne set before vs in which wee may see that no man is deliuered from vnder the tyrannie of the diuell whose vassals we are all of vs by nature vntill God haue preuented vs by his grace For who is sufficient to be his owne redeemer Now because the worke of this redemption belongs in particular vnto the kingdom of Christ it thereupon followes that hee is onely the finisher of it as himselfe saith Iohn 8.36 Againe it is not enough to be once redeemed for marke what the end of it is here to wit that he might remaine in the Church of God and grow daily from faith to faith Hath Christ redeemed vs then let vs aime at this marke with all our might Obiect If any shall reply that we need not goe far to be receiued into the Church for wee are brought into it by Baptisme I answere the Prophet vnder this figure Ans speakes of the whole course of our life because the redeemed of the Lord are then said to bee truly come into Zion when hauing ended this their pilgrimage they enter into the possession of
the heauenly life We may therewithall also note that the more we profit in the grace of God and prosper in the Church the neerer we are vnto him By the words of ioy and gladnesse he meanes there shall be such felicitie vnder the Kingdome of Christ that we shal haue ample matter of reioicing But wherein doth true ioy and gladnesse consist And surely the true and onely way to obtaine gladnesse is to feele that God is reconciled vnto vs whose fauor alone is sufficient to yeeld vs perfect felicitie yea so far as to make vs reioyce in tribulation Rom. 5.1 2 3. Contrariwise what can comfort or glad vs if God bereaue vs of this reconciliation Hence wee gather a sure doctrine to wit the faithfull cannot be said to reioice as they ought vnlesse they ioine praises vnto God therewith this spirituall ioy therefore must be distinguished from carnall and prophane ioy and delights into which the wicked plunge themselues for they reioice indeed but the issue shewes how dangerous this lasciuiousnesse of the flesh is when wee flatter our selues in the contempt of God It is not without good cause therefore that S. Paul calles this ioy spirituall for it consists not in the inioying of earthly things as in riches honours treasures which perish and come to nothing in a moment but this ioy is secret it hath his seat in the heart and out of it can it not be remoued nor taken away by any meanes whatsoeuer though Satan indeuors with might and maine vpon all occasions to disturbe and afflict vs. And therefore our Prophet addes verie well that it is euerlasting and driues away all sorrow for albeit the children of God do euery day vndergoe many anguishes yet so great is the power of their consolation which they haue by the Spirit that in the end it swallowes vp all sorrow and mourning We glorie saith Paul Rom. 5.3 euen in our tribulations now this glorying or boasting cannot be without ioy The Apostles went away reioicing from before the Councell that God vouchsafed them the honour to suffer rebuke for the name of Iesus Act. 5.41 I grant the faithfull are not exempt vtterly from sorrow nay they are oftentimes plunged in great distresses it is most true but they are not ouercome of them because by faith they looke directly vnto this redeemer by whose power they are more then conquerors For they may bee compared to one that being gotten vp to the top of some high mountaine Simile beholds the Sunne and is gladded with the brightnesse of it and in the meane while should see others vnderneath him below in the vallies so choked and stifled with fogges and mists that they could not behold this light The historie contained in the next Chapter and that which followes is as it were a seale set vnto the former prophecies THE XXXVI CHAPTER Vers 1. Now in the fourteenth yeere of King Hezekias Sennacherib King of Ashur came vp against all the strong Cities of Iudah and tooke them IN this Chapter and in that which followes the Prophet recites an excellent historie which is set as a seale vnto the doctrine of the prophesies before going touching the afflictions of his people in which also God promised to shew them mercy by repulsing the Assyrians that so hee might deliuer Ierusalem and the holy land out of their hands By this so manifest an effect then the people perceiued that the Prophet had not foretold these things in vaine Furthermore God had also a purpose to informe the posteritie to come albeit those which then liued had no lesse need of such a spectacle then their predecessors Our Prophet hath often threatned that Gods vengeance was at hand that the Assyrians taried but till God gaue them a signe to imploy themselues as his scourges in his seruice on the other side he published promises of consolation touching the Iewes to wit that God would succor them when all things should be brought to an after deale And these things were all fulfilled but the greatest part of the people closed their eies when they should haue beheld these famous iudgements of God nay which was worse they shamefully despised the succour which God offered them By all which circumstances their sottishnesse was altogether inexcusable The ends and vses of this history But this serued no doubt for the comfort of the little flocke who would not by their infidelitie cast disgrace vpon so excellent warnings but rather by beleeuing indeuoured to purchase credit vnto them for their sakes that should succeede And the Prophet for his part was hereby incouraged to hold on his course with the greater affection and with the more inuincible constancie when he saw before his eies that God did as it were from heauen so gloriously confirme the doctrine which he had preached And because the truth of God is neuer honoured according as it deserueth if it bee not furnished with infallible testimonies of his mightie power he being willing to relieue our infirmitie makes vs here behold as in a glasse his workes and word ioined together so that looke what the Prophet taught vpon earth God confirmed from heauen But his calling was then manifestly confirmed indeed when the Lord deliuered Ierusalem from the siege of Sennacherib all things being then in such a desperate case that the faithfull could not but confesse that they were rid out of death by his onely power Now yee see the reason why I haue said that this historie is as an authentique seale set to the former doctrines the which if it had been wanting would not haue bin beleeued In the fourteenth yeere It is not without cause that he notes this circumstance of time in which these things were done For Ezechiah had then established the worshippe of God in his Country and not content therewith he had also summoned the Israelites by posts and messengers sent from all parts with commandement that they should come to Ierusalem to offer sacrifices to forsake that their long reuolt that with one consent they might be reunited againe into their most holy faith serue God according to his word Read 2. Chro. 30 31.32 Chapters Euen when the Kingdome was brought into this good order to wit 2. King 18.4 when superstitions were abolished the Temple purged and Gods true worship erected and set vp Note then came the Assyrians to assaile Iudea who wasted the Country tooke the Cities and subdued the land vnder his command Ierusalem onely remained within which Hezechiah was mued vp as in a prison Let vs consider a little now in what dumps this good King and his subiects were cast for if we iudge of this calamity according to reason vnreformed a man would thinke that God did vniustly suffer his seruant to bee brought into such extremities because it seemed in some sort that his godlinesse nâ—ght deserue protection at Gods hands and that hee should haue exempted him from all incumbrances because his whole desire
King of Ashur and I will giue thee two thousand horses if thou be able for thy part to set riders vpon them HIs conclusion is that Hezekias shall doe best to yeelde himselfe without trying it out by fight and to promise obedience for euer vnto the Assyrian Which that he may the rather perswade him vnto hee casts his pouertie againe in his teeth As if hee should say If I should giue thee two thousand horses wert thou able to furnish them with sufficient riders amongst all thy people For hee offers him not horses by way of honor or that he meant in good earnest so to doe but rather to afflict and wound the heart of this good Prince The clause I will giue thee must be thus resolued Although I should giue thee two thousand horse yet wert not thou able to finde horsmen enough for them I am not ignorant what the expositors write vpon this place but whosoeuer shall consider euery circumstance well will easilie iudge that this was spoken in contempt Vers 9. For how canst thou despise any Captaine of the least of my Lords seruants and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and horsmen HEe now confirmes the former sentence shewes that Hezekias is so far off from resisting the power of Sennacherib that hee is scarse worthy to be compared with the least of his Captaines But what is the reason that he lifts himselfe thus arrogantly No doubt because the Iewes should not presume any thing at all in regard of the absence of the King of Ashur who was now besieging Lachish For albeit he was not yet come with all his host Rabshekeh brags notwithstanding that his Leiftenants are strong enough to the end Hezechias and the people might without delay yeelde themselues vnder his obedience Vers 10. And am I come now vp without the Lord to this land to destroy it The Lord said vnto me Goe vp against this land and destroy it NOw he sets vpon Hezekias another way namely that he shall assemble his forces in vaine together for his defence For he pretends that the King hath not now to deale with a mortall man like himselfe but rather with God himselfe because he is come vp to destroy the land of Iudeah at his appointment As if he should haue said As many of you as shall resist me shall resist God and then your resistance will be to small purpose Hence let vs learne that albeit we be giuen to piety faithfully indeuouring by all means to aduance the Kingdome of our Lord Iesus Christ yet wee must not looke for all that to be exempt from all crosses but rather to fit our selues for the bearing of them For the Lord will not alwaies crowne our vertuous life with earthly rewards God crownes not vertue alwaies with earthly honours truly such recompences were vnfitting for vs. As namely abundance of riches inioying of outward peace and hauing all things that heart can wish For are not the wicked therefore esteemed the onely happy men in the eies of the world because they are frolike quiet healthfull and haue the world at will Thus then it might seeme that our condition should be no better then theirs But it behoues vs alwaies to set this example of good King Hezekias before our eies Note who after he had wholly bent himselfe to reforme religion and to set vp the pure worship of God was yet sharply assailed with afflictions so far forth as he was not far off from despaire to the end that when we shall think we haue done much wee be still ready notwithstanding to sustaine all sorts of combates and persecutions Neither to be out of heart if at the first our enemies be too hard for vs in such wise that we looke euerie moment to bee swallowed vp aliue of them For these great crackers and haughtie sp rits will easilie bee taken downe after they haue cast vp their first bubbles yea after they haue spit forth their venom all their pride will quickly vanish and come to nought Rabshekeh magnifies the greatnesse and power of his King to affright the heart of King Hezekias see I pray you what course the wicked sort takes with vs they assaile vs by threats they labour to shake our faith and patience by many feares or rather Satan himselfe doth it indeede in their persons For who sees him not speaking heere in the person of this railing miscreant Satan speâ—ks by the mouth of Rabshekeh Nay which more is he takes vnto him euen the person of God himself and so transformes himselfe into an Angell of light 2. Cor. 11.14 For what saith the Holy Ghost in other places He that rests vpon the help of man seeks his owne destruction Iere. 17.5 because man is a thing of nought weake and brittle Doth not Rabshekeh affirme the same here Speakes he any otherwise then if he were a Prophet sent of God We must wisely distinguish betweene the voice of God and the voice of meÌ„ It behoues vs therefore wisely to distinguish betweene the voice of God and men who deck and adorne themselues with his name vnder false pretences for the Deuill can turne himselfe into many shapes that he may appeare in the likenes of God But this rayler had no cause at all to reproach Hezekias with this as hath been said for he trusted not in his forces neither was he puffed vp in any confidence of the strength of Egypt It is the portion of the faithfull to be railed vpon when they do the most good But it is our portion euen then to be railed on when we doe the most good Satan hath skill enough in deed to assaile vs by such engins and causleslie to make vs stinke as it were in the presence of men which I confesse is a very dangerous temptation for we desire to maintaine our credits with men and are much offended when they take that in euill part which is done with an honest and vpright affection and therefore Satan labors in nothing more then by slanders to cast disgrace vpon that which we haue done with pure consciences for either he forgeth against vs some crime whereof we are innocent or chargeth vs with falshood imputing things vnto vs which we neuer meant The integritie of the faithfull ought to be vnto them as a wall of brasse to fortifie them with inuincible constancie But our integritie must be vnto vs as a brasen wall whereby we may remaine vnmoueable as Hezekias here doth against all such accusations and slanders As touching the latter member of this sentence wherein Rabshekeh taxeth the King because he had abolished Gods true worship who sees not that this is a meere slander Hezekias had indeed ouerthrowne the Idols and the Idolatrie which God abhorred Vnbeleeuers know not how to distinguish betweene religion and superstition But what maruell is it if the Infidels know not how to distinguish betweene the false god and the true
teacheth vs to mount by little and little vnto heauen by the light of the promises which doe shine clearely before vs yet so that in seeking succour we imagin not that God should be absent from vs seeing he hath chosen his dwelling place in the mids of vs. For in regard that his Maiestie much surmounts heauen and earth it is not lawfull for vs to bound him within the narrow scantling of our vnderstanding yet we may comprehend him according to the small measure thereof because he hath reuealed himselfe vnto vs by his word not that we must needs pull him downe from his heauenlie throne therefore but that our minds which are of themselues weake and dull might by degrees approach neerer and neerer vnto him for we haue good reason to presse with boldnes towards his highnes in regard he calles vs vnto him by his word and Sacraments And if we conceiue of these things aright the spirituall knowledge of God shall alwaies beare sway amongst vs so as wee shall not need to tye the Lord any more to stones nor stocks If the spirituall knowledge of God beares sway in our hearts we shall not need to tye his presence to stocks or stones No we shall imagin nothing of him that is earthlie or carnall for the neerer we shall draw towards him the more will we endeuour our selues to vse all lawfull meanes which he sets before vs that our spirits may not rest vpon earthlie things for he applies himselfe to our shallownes only to the end that his Sacraments might serue vs as ladders to climb vp vnto him by but this superstition hath peruerted and turned it to a cleane contrarie vse Vers 17. Incline thine eare O Lord and heare open thine eyes O Lord and see heare all the words of Sennacherib who hath sent to blaspheme the liuing God HEnce we gather in how great perplexitie Hezekias was for the vehemencie of his prayer discouers vnto vs a wonderfull measure of griefe so as a man may see that he indured great combates which he ouercame not without much adoe For albeit the affection and zeale of his prayer shewes the strength and power of his faith yet he therein represents vnto vs as in a glasse his passions that boiled within him As soone then as we are to indure any such assaults let vs learne from the example of this good King to oppose against the passions wherewith we are tossed that which may best serue for the confirming of our faith that by the tempest it selfe we may be brought to a safe and quiet hauen Let not the sense of our weakenes any whit astonish vs then no not when feare and dread shall presse vs aboue measure as it were For the Lord will haue vs wrestle valiantlie euen till we sweate and tremble God will haue vs wrestle till we tremble and sweate because we must not thinke to goe to heauen in a fetherbed or at ease as we vse to speake but after many combates God hath promised an happie issue to them that fight as they ought to doe which in the end he will vndoubtedlie bestow vpon vs. But why doth Hezekiah desire God to heare Thinks he that he sleepes or vnderstands not No such matter But wee are wont to speake thus in some desperat cases either when wee thinke God absent or when hee seemes to make light account of our afflictions Wee see he was so perplexed then that God as he thought had forgotten him that is to say according to the sense of the flesh for had he not beheld him present by the eies of faith he had vtterlie quailed It is as much then as if Hezekias had desired the Lord euen effectuallie and openlie to shew some worke for his saluation which he had long hoped for before in the secret of his heart But why doth he pray that God would open his eies and see It is as much as if he had said Lord let it appeare that thou hast care of these matters Now he sufficientlie shewes where his paine held him most namely he longed to see some vengeance shewed vpon these blasphemers which offred such outrage against Gods Maiestie for albeit this good King tooke great thought for the preseruation of his kingdome and people yet had he respect vnto Gods glorie aboue all other commodities whatsoeuer Hezekias respected Gods glorie aboue all things whatsoeuer And truly the aduancement thereof should touch vs neerer and moue vs more then any thing else especiallie when we know that his glorie and our saluation are things that can not be separated Thus Hezekias hauing brought forth this Tyrant vpon the stage as a blasphemous and hatefull enemie of God because Ierusalem gloried in this title The God of Iacob and in his protection he thereupon concludes that God can by no meanes cast off the Citie which he hath taken into his owne custodie vnlesse therewithall he should renounce his owne name also Seeing the Lord then of his infinit bountie is pleased to ioine his glorie with our saluation let vs hold fast these promises and let vs fortifie our selues with them namely that although the wicked goe on in a vaine hope thinking to scape scotfree whilest they blaspheme God and cast vp that poison out of their hearts which lurked before in them yet there is not a sillable thereof which he vnderstands not and he will in his due time bring them to an account for the same Vers 18. Truth it is O Lord that the Kings of Asshur haue destroyed all lands and their countrie 19. And haue cast their gods in the fire for they were no Gods but the worke of mans hands euen wood or stone therefore they destroyed them HEzekias begins here to put a difference betweene the true God and the false which we also had need diligentlie to do for the wicked that are not enlightened haue many confused thoughts of some diuinitie which by and by vanisheth away so as either they thinke there is no God at all or if there be yet they regard him not But God would not haue vs lightlie touched with some idle or vading conceit of him What knowledge of God is required to be in Christians but that we should acknowledge him to be the true God who by the brightnes of his power scatters abroad all the darknes of ignorāce It is not enough then you see to acknowledge a diuinitie of I can not tell what as prophane ones do but God ought to be so knowne and receiued that he be discerned from all Idols and the truth separated from lyes And questionlesse when he hath once cleared our iudgements all opinion of false religions which possessed our minds before will immediatlie fall to the ground And so much the rather are we to hold fast this doctrine by how much the more many please themselues in fond speculations thinking it sufficient for them if they acknowledge a God at randon Whether they ought to worship the god
called the first borne of euery creature Colos 1.13 so the Church also which is his bodie obteines in this world the preheminence of dignitie and honour I leaue the Rabbins to their rauings Rauings of the Rabbins when they say that God created the Messiah and Ierusalem with a throne of glorie before he formed heauen or earth But we must hold this principle that he will be the faithfull gardian of his Church seeing he hath vouchsafed to preferre it before all the world besides As touching that which followes in the end of the verse And should I now bring it to this point Some draw it to a sense altogether wrested I denie not but the Prophets words are in the preterperfectence Now I haue brought it and put it but because the change of the tence is very familiar and vsuall in the Hebrue tongue it is certaine that the Prophet hauing affirmed that God is in such wise the former of his Church that it is the chiefest of all his works he now thence concludes that it can not be ruinated as other common things are It must be read by an Interrogation then Shall I bring it now or should I suffer it to be brought As if he should say Should I suffer it to be raced as other Cities which are quite ouerthrowne and laid on heapes For he compares Ierusalem with other Cities which were destroyed and subdued by the Assyrian that so they might know that this Tyrant should not so easily obtaine that which he desired because the difference is great betweene it and other Cities which haue beene raced to the foundation It must not be compared then with other Cities how well fortified soeuer they be because they with the earthlie matter of which they consist shall easily fall but albeit the Church be but weake and feeble in outward shew yet hath shee such a stable and firme foundation laid in Gods secret election that it can neuer be ouerturned by any tempests whatsoeuer The glory of the Roman Empire gone We see strange changes haue befallen the world Commonwealths haue been turned topsie turuie Empires abolished mightie nations subdued and their renowne and glorie extinguished What is now become of the glory of the Roman Empire What is become of the Nobles of this people who were the Lords of all the earth If any reliques thereof remaine which is very small is it not brought vnder the miserable slauerie of that cursed monster That Antichrist of Rome an exec able monster I meane Antichrist who exerciseth his tyranny ouer al the earth Where is now the liberty which Rome once inioied Where is that goodly forme of a Common-wealth which was once to be seene there Rome may now well be called the shop of all mischiefe and impietie Rome may now be called the shop of al imipâ—ty and a cage of euery vncleane bird But in the midst of all these horrible confusions the Lord shewes that he wil preserue Ierusalem that is to say his Church and albeit among these changes she be tossed vp and downe and diuersly afflicted yet she shall stand fast notwithstanding At least the shakings and persecutions which she suffers shall not hinder her so that by many resurrections as it were she should not still be renued and multiplied from age to age Now although the members of the Church are not alwaies of one ranke in this world yet it is one and the same body knit by ioints and bands to one head Iesus Christ Thus then The Lord will keepe and defend the Citie and will cause the children of his seruants to continue that their seede may be established for euer Psal 102.28 Vers 27. * Or For the. Whose inhabitants * Ebr. are short in haÌ„d haue small power and are afraid and confounded They are like the grasse of the field and greene hearb or grasse on the house toppes or corne blasted before it be growne THe Prophet now better expresseth that which hee touched in briefe before to wit that the estate of the Church is not to be iudged according to that which she is in this world for though the strongest Cities be taken that the most valiant doe faile in heart and fall into their enemies hands yet the Church shall remaine and florish because she rests not vpon her owne strength neither hath she her foundation from earth but from heauen For there is a close opposition here betweene strong Cities which the inhabitants cannot keepe because they are frighted and troubled and the Church of God which being vpheld by his onely grace sustaines all assaults and is neuer vanquished for she referres all things to God onely who giues her beginning and being continues her strength indues her with constancie and all sorts of benefits in a word with all the parts of her saluation Hence we are taught that all the fortresses in the world are nothing vnlesse God be the watchman All the forces of men are but as shiuering reeds vnlesse they be sustained by his power castels ramparts and weapons bee they neuer so many and inuincible without him shall serue their turnes nothing at all This is yet better expressed by the similitudes which are added For it was necessarie that the faithfull should bee well informed touching the loue and singular affection which the Lord bare towards them lest they should be offended at the prosperitie of the prophane and wicked Albeit humane forces then be neuer so glorious in outward appearance and make all the goodly shewes that can be deuised yet the Prophet affirmes that it is but like the grasse and flowers of the field The first Simile which are greene and florish for a time and suddenly are gone He abaseth them more by the other similitude which hee ads touching the grasse vpon the house tops The second Simile whose stalkes are high and easie to be seene of all but if they grow vpon any high place then are they neerest their withering being neuer fit for any vse as the Psalmist saith for the reaper filles not his hand nor the gleaner his lap and therefore the passers by say not so much as God speed you Psal 129.6 7. So albeit the enemies of the Church be like the tall Cedars whose toppes touch the heauens as it were and florish by inioying the world at will yet shall they in a moment wither and come to nothing As the corne then which growes on the ground serues to much better vse then the vnfruitfull grasse which growes on the house top so the Lord shewes that the base and abiect condition of his seruants is much more excellent then theirs who by reason of their power exalt themselues so farre as to iustle against the Lord of heauen and earth Some thinke that that which is added touching the corne blasted should be the fourth similitude but as I thinke the Prophet would haue it serue as an exposition of the former similitude as if he should say
This grasse shall wither away afore it is come to a stalke or to any ripenesse As the Psalmist also saith It withereth before it be plucked vp Vers 28. But I know thy dwelling and thy going out and thy comming in and thy furie agaist me HE returneth and toucheth the insupportable pride of this Tyrant who attributed I wot not what to himselfe as if he had been inferiour to none yea he durst blaspheme and raile vpon the liuing God as if he had been nothing in comparison of him But God takes downe his pride and arrogancie as if he should say yet doe I know all thy haunts well enough yea thy sitting downe and rising vp The wicked exalt themselues thinking they should be subiect to none no not to the prouidence of God it selfe but he shewes that they haue no more power but that which is giuen them from aboue Sitting and going forth is taken here for consultations imaginations and enterprises of the profane and wicked who inuent sundrie plots how they may ouerwhelme and destroy the people of God but on which side soeuer they turne themselues and what way soeuer they take to bring their purposes to passe yet they shall not performe a iot more then God hath willed For they are restrained by his prouidence which driues them to and fro and often turnes their wicked plots to a good end though they meant the cleane cōtrarie But God whose proper office it is to direct mens paths Pro. 20.24 conducts them which way it pleaseth him He saith also I know thy furie thereby minding to shew that whilest the wicked play the bedlems on earth God sits still in heauen laughing their madnes to scorne And because Sennacherib behaued himselfe malepertly and thought to goe scot-free the Prophet addes these words expreslie to the end the faithfull should not imagin this to be new or vnknowne to the Lord or as if he esteemed them not Vers 29. Because thou ragest against me and thy tumult is come vp into mine eares therefore will I put mine * Or ring hooke in thy nostrils and my bridle in thy lips and will bring thee back againe the same way thou camest THe more the wicked are caried away with rage furiouslie exalting themselues against God the more seuerely doth he at the last oppose himselfe against their pride He lets them take their swinge for a time and suffers them to inioy the world at will but after long forbearance he tames them and restraines them lest they should thinke they had all vnder their command Sennacherib is a singular example hereof for the more audacious he is to fome out his rage and furie against God the more heauie did he feele his wrath to fall vpon him whom he thus braued which all the pack of persecuters ought to expect as well as he Now he doth aptlie and pleasantlie scorne the fond ouerweening of this Tyrant as if he should say I see well enough how the world goes I shall gaine nothing by handling thee gentlie because thy wrath is become desperate seeing then thou canst not be tamed I wil hamper thee like a wild beast Verse 28. And thus God shewes more plainely that he is not only acquainted with the plots and imaginations of this miscreant but so moderates and holds back his tyrannie that in spight of his teeth he leades them whither soeuer he lists as if a wilde beast haue a ring put thorow his snout a man may leade him whither he will Some translate the word Kaki an hooke but I had rather expound it a ring because an hooke is fitter to catch fish withall then wilde beasts Sennacherib then was constreined to turne from whēce he came and hastned away without doing any thing although his purpose was to haue possest Egypt and Iudah whollie neither would he haue been disappointed of his purpose willinglie if God had not drawne him away by his secret worke Vers 30. And this shall be a signe vnto thee O Hezekiah Thou shalt eate this yeere such as groweth of it selfe and the second yeere such things as grow without sowing and in the third yeere sow yee and reape and plant vineyards and eate the fruite thereof NOw he directs his speech vnto Hezekias and to all the people for he spake not before to Sennacherib as if he had heard him but it was to the end he might the better quicken vp the people to be of good courage seeing the Lord did thus despise this Tyrant If he had only said Hezekias be of good comfort albeit Sennacherib insults ouer thee yet I will represse his pride when I see it fit these words I say had not been of such efficacie as when together with the same he turnes his speech towards the Tyrant himselfe in thundring from heauen vpon him for by this meanes he imboldens the faithfull to set light by all his threates Therefore hauing first spoken to the Tyrant now he turnes himselfe very fitlie vnto Hezekias and to the people promising them deliuerance and that not only out of the pawes of this cruell beare but also that Hezekias should inioy his kingdome still in peace and prosperitie and that the rest of the people should likewise haue all things necessarie for an happie and quiet life And thus he amplifies the benefit of their deliuerance the rather to shew that he will not only succor his people in one kind only but many waies for in deed his deliuerāces are not only limitted to once or twice but he would haue vs feele his benefits in large and in abundant measure that the fruit thereof might last for a long time But it seemes the Prophet fits not his signe to the present purpose Obiect seeing that which he promiseth came not to passe till after they were deliuered for if God meant hereby to comfort these poore besieged ones it was now the fittest time one would haue thought to haue shewed his power and not to haue deferd it till the siege had been raised Ans Two sorts of signes I answere there are two sorts of signes one goes before and leades vs by the hand as it were to the thing promised the other comes after and confirmes it that it may stick fast in our memories neuer to be raced out As for example when the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt he gaue many signes afore hand vnto Moses but afterward he ordained one which should follow the deliuerance to wit You shall sacrifice vnto me three daies Exod. 3.12 Why so To the end they should not forget so great a benefit but might yeeld him thanks after they had had experience of so exceeding a fauour Such a signe is that which Isaiah here describes questionles it serues also for a good cōfirmatiō of our faith to haue such an euerlasting testimonie as it were still before our eies which may cause vs to consider how many mercies the Lord hath shewed vs. Now though the enemie was driuen back yet
not all of vs too much inclined to rebellion of our selues but we must also haue a Scholemaster to instruct vs But if we shall rightlie and aduisedlie consider of the matter Ans we shall see it was most profitable for vs that the image of this man in a maner ouerwhelmed with sorrowes lie say I made my account From this verse we may gather that Hezekias was sicke about two daies for in the former verse he said the maladie was so vehement that he looked for nothing but death That day being past he euen waits vnto the dawning of the next day following and from thence till night so as he expected death euery minute of an houre The sense then is that although hee came to the day breake yet he ranne hastily to death by continuall turmoilings for being smitten with the stroke of Gods fearfull iudgement hee makes no account to liue Man termed a daies bird by the Greâ—kes And as the Greekes when they will shew that nothing is so vaine a thing as man do terme him a daies bird so this good King puts the life of a day here for that transitorie life of a man which is but of small continuance Whereas he compares God to a lion it is no new thing albeit God of his owne nature be gentle mercifull and louing and nothing sutes better to his nature then these titles but we cannot feele this sweetnesse when we haue prouoked him by our vices and made him seuere by our rebellion Nay which is more there is not the crueltie nor sternnesse of any nor of all the bruit beasts that can so amaze or astonish vs as doth the bare mentioning of the very name of God in this case but most iustly For his strokes must of necessitie haue that efficacie in them as to bring downe all loftinesse and to humble vs to the very gates of hell that so being in a maner stripped of all comfort wee may lie gasping after it and yet in the meane while apprehend nothing but dread and horror And of such terrors Dauid speaks in Psal 22.17 where he saith I may tell all my bones Againe Psal 6.6 Psal 38. I water my couch with teares Also My soule is sore troubled Psal 6.3 And the graue hath opened her mouth to swallow mee vp Now it is needful that the faithful should sometimes bee feared in this wise by the sense of Gods iudgements that they may be so much the rather prouoked to desire his fauour Vers 14. Like a crane or a swallow so did I chatter I did mourne as a done mine eies were lift vp on high O Lord it hath oppressed me comfort me HEzekias cannot fit himselfe with wordes sufficient to set forth the greatnesse of his miserie which brought him to that extremitie that he was not able to speake distinctly but to mutter forth a confused sound of words euen as those that lie at the point of death Whence it appeares that he was wonderfully perplexed seeing his griefe was so great that hee wanted words to expresse it His wordes stucke as it were in his throat nothing could bee heard but whisperings whereunto appertaines these similitudes of the crane and swallow which the Prophet here vseth Yet euen these confused voices doubtlesse doe pierce the eares of God and albeit al our senses be surprised with heauinesse and that our sorrowes haue shut vp our mouthes yet he beholds our hearts still and heares the sighes which be breathed from faith Yea often times such broken sentences are sent forth with more force efficacie then words rightly framed prouided that they proceede from the spirit of God who stirs vp in vs such gronings as cannot be expressed Rom. 8.25 There is no childe of God but in this case feeles by experience when extreme sorrow causeth his tongue to cleaue to the roofe of his mouth and his heart to be closed vp so as his praiers are but stutterings and stammerings Some translate that which followes in this sense Mine eies are sunke in but so the particle on high should not agree And therefore it is best to retaine the naturall sense which is that his eies were wasted with often and much looking or that hee ceased not to lift vp his eies on high albeit he was halfe dead or was neuer so far out of heart but he knew well that it was his dutie to wait for succour from God Let vs learne with Hezekias Hezekias his example set before vs. to lift vp our eies to the heauens and let vs also know that our God requires no great rhetorique of vs in our praiers God requires no Art of Rhetorike in the praiers of his seruants He confirmes this sentence in turning his speech by and by vnto God to desire his helpe for in regard the violence of the disease oppressed him he intreats the Lord to comfort him Some translate Answer for me which we haue thought best to turne comfort or glad mee vnlesse any had rather receiue their translation who read it Make mee to rest How euer it be he demands succour of God to the end the weight of his afflictions might not ouerwhelme him we also ought to assure our selues in this case that God will be so much the more ready to comfort vs by how much the more wee shall be pressed on euerie side with many calamities Vers 15. What shall I say For hee hath said it to me and hee hath done it * Or shall walke in trembling I shall walke weakelie all my yeeres in the bitternesse of my soule THe most thinke that these words are vttered by way of an exclamation such as proceedes from ioy as if Hezekias reioiced in hauing obtained his request but I am of another opinion For it seemes to me that hee goes on still in his complaints because hee speakes as those commonly doe who are oppressed with sorrow What shall I say He which hath said is to mee hath done it That is to say life and death are in his hands I plead but in vaine with him Iob 7.4 13.24 it is but lost labour to complaine so much as I doe Many such wordes and sentences are to be found in the booke of Iob. This therefore as I take it is the verie true sense of the place For before Hezekias looked euery way to see if any comfort would present it selfe vnto him but now seeing that God had giuen sentence of death vpon him hee concludes there is no resisting I must obey In the meane while these words are to be well weighed to wit that God accomplisheth that in effect which hee threatned in words For those say somewhat I grant but not all who expound simply thus God hath performed that which the Prophet pronounced of me Because Hezekias doth not thus barely affirme that he felt the effect of the word but setting before his eies the power of God hee puts an end to all his complaints and cries Thus Dauid in
that seemes to be cast off in regard he is vnworthy to be any longer accounted among the number of Gods seruants cannot distinctly consider with a still and quiet mind what shall become of him after death but being ouershadowed with sorrowes takes from the dead the facultie of praising God as if all exercises of pietie ceased after this life because as hee thinkes Gods glorie is buried in the graue with those that should bee the witnesses of it Vers 19. But the liuing the liuing he shall confesse thee as I doe this day the father to the children shall declare thy truth HE comprehends not all men generally within this sentence seeing many liue who notwithstanding as much as in them is labour to extinguish Gods glory by their ingratitude so far are they off from thinking they were borne to set forth or magnifie the same But his meaning onely is that men may be true and lawfull Preachers of the glory of God as long as it pleaseth him to retaine them aliue in the world because he by his liberalitie daily hourly sūmons them to the performance of this dutie Vers 18. This opposition shews that his former speech The graue cannot confesse thee death cannot praise thee c. oght to be referred to this point namely that such as are cut off from the world where they imploy their time in praising God are by death depriued of so excellent a benefit Besides he protesteth that himsefe shall now bee one of the witnesses of Gods glory thereby shewimg a signe of his thankfulnesse for he saith hee will neuer forget such a mercie but will magnifie the Lord and preach to others what fauour hee hath tasted of And not onely to those of his owne time but to the posteritie also that they may euerie one set forth these praises and reuerence the author of so great a blessing Hence wee are to gather a very profitable instruction to wit that men haue children bestowed vpon them Vpon what condition God giues men children on condition to bring them vp in the information of the Lord euerie one indeuoring with al his might to leaue behind him for his successors some good occasions to set forth Gods praises Fathers of families therefore ought carefully to record vnto their children the mercies which God hath shewed them By the word truth wee are to vnderstand the fidelitie which God keepes with his seruants and with all those that are witnesses of his grace whereby hee manifests vnto them the truth of his promises Vers 20. The Lord was ready to saue me therefore we will sing my song all the daies of our life in the house of the Lord. HEe acknowledgeth that his deliuerance proceeded not from the industry of men but from the onely fauour of God Whereas some translate It is the Lord which can deliuer mee they expresse not the thing sufficiently it also seemes they misse the very letter for hee not onely magnifies the power of God but also his worke by which his power was cleerly manifested In a word he opposeth this his deliuerance to that death vnto which he was iudged of God for as before he apprehended him as a seuere Iudge so now he leaps for ioy in acknowledging him to be his redeemer For this cause he prepares himselfe againe to sing a song of thanksgiuing yea he calles others to him to aid him therein He mentions the Temple because there the faithfull met together Had he been but a priuat man and one of the common sort yet he was bound to haue offered a solemne sacrifice for the incouraging of others as well as for the discharge of his owne dutie He therefore being a king was to be much more carefull in bringing others with him to giue God thanks especiallie seeing the safetie of the whole Church consisted vpon his deliuerance He will therefore indeuor he saith to make it knowne to all what fauour God shewed him and that it should be remembred not for a day or two but all the daies of their liues Truly it had been a most vnworthy thing euer to haue suffered so singular a benefit to haue vanished away or to die at any time but in regard of our owne forgetfulnesse and dulnesse wee haue need to haue spurres to pricke vs continuallie forwards to the performance of this dutie Thus also hee shewes to what end God hath appointed holy assemblies Why God ordained publike assemblies euen to the end that all with one heart and mouth may praise one God in Iesus Christ and stirre vp one another to the exercises of pietie Vers 21. Then said Isaiah Take a lumpe of dry figges and lay it vpon the boile and he shall recouer ISaiah shewes now what remedie hee gaue Hezekias Others thinke it was no remedie because figs are contrarie and hurtfull to vlcers and therefore they say that the King was aduertised and by this signe more fullie instructed that this recouerie onlie proceeded from the free grace of God For example the bow in the cloudes whereby God meant to testifie that the world should neuer perish againe by the flood Gen. 9.13 seemed notwithstanding to signifie the cleane contrarie for it appeeres only when great raines gather together and are readie to drowne the whole world They thinke then that the Prophet hath of set purpose applied a remedie nothing fitting for the healing of the disease because it might appeere to all that Hezekias was healed without the help of any salues But seeing the Physitians of our times do vse plaisters of figs to ripen the Plague-sore it may be the Lord added the salue to his promise as he often doth in other cases for this medicine lessens not the promise which without the word had bin vaine and vnprofitable He also had receiued a supernaturall signe which no doubt taught him that it was God and none but he who restored his life vnto him which in his conceit was lost Vers 22. Also Hezekias had said What is the signe that I shall goe vp into the house of the Lord SOme expound this verse as if this had bin giuen Hezekias for a signe and therefore they referre it to the former sentence but it is more likely that the order of the thing is here changed which often falles out among the Hebrues so as that which should be said in the beginning comes in towards the latter end Isaiah mentions not in the beginning of the Chapter that Hezekias required this signe yet it is recorded in the holy historie that he so did 2. King 20.8 He now addes that therefore which was omitted at the first That I shall goe vp In these words his meaning is that the chiefe care of his whole life was to bestow it to the glorie of God for he desires not to liue that he might consume his daies in voluptuousnes but that he might maintaine the honour and pure worship of God Why God prolongs our dayes on earth Let vs
be admonished then that our daies are not prolonged to the end we should giue our selues to iollitie and dissolutions but to honour him that hath so much honoured vs to further one another in his feare to meete together in the holy assemblies to magnifie his mercie and truth THE XXXIX CHAPTER Vers 1. At the same time Merodach Baladan the sonne of Baladan King of Babel sent letters and a present to Hezekias for he had heard that he had bin sick and was recouered THE expositors thinke that this Merodach was the first King of the Chaldeans because his father Baladan held the superioritie amōg the Babilonians without hauing the title of King After this Merodach then had reigned 12. yeeres he subdued the Assyrians and made them tributaries vnder the Caldeans For those are deceiued who thinke that the warres were begun by Nebuchadnezar It may well be that he made an end of them and whollie subdued the Assyrians whose power was then like enough halfe spent there remained nothing for him then but to confirme the kingdome in his owne hands which was cōquered by the power of his predecessor Now howsoeuer the Prophet in few words telles how the Ambassadors were sent yet we must obserue that Merodach did this guilefullie to guggle Hezekias with his flatteries He threatned the Assyrians alreadie whom he knew the Iewes hated for good cause because of their continuall warres that he might get him a companion then and a fellow helper in his intended warres hee insinuates himselfe cunningly into the amitie of this good King whose heart as you see was forthwith surprised with pride in that hee was too forward in accepting the fradulent flatteries of this Tyrant and suffered himselfe to be poisoned therewith And yet the pretence was nothing else forsooth but that the Ambassadors came to congratulate with him in regard of the late recouerie of his health howbeit the holy historie seemes to alleadge another reason to wit that Merodach was moued to send by a miracle 2. Chron. 32.31 No doubt but this going backe of the Sunne was renowned far and neere neither could it be but many nations were much moued by the report of so vnwonted a thing But it is hard to say that so profane a man respected any other thing then to catch Hezekias by this meanes in his nets And because God had by so excellent a signe signified how deare the safetie of Hezekias was vnto him Merodach thought with himselfe as the wicked and vnbeleeuers are wont to abuse such testimonies of Gods fauour to the seruing of their own turnes that his warres which he meant to vndertake must needes succeed wel and be blessed from heauen if he might get such a one as Hezekias to take his part Thence it was that to manifest his good will he sent his Ambassadors to him with a present for he meant to winne him because such an acquaintance should be fit and profitable to aid him against the Assyrians whom the Iewes as he well knew hated most deadly Thus you see the policies of Kings and Princes The practises of idolatrous Kings and Princes to wit by close conueiances to serue their owne turnes neuer caring by what meanes they procure aid so they may make themselues strong against their enemies Vers 2. And Hezekias was glad of them and shewed them the house of his treasures the siluer and the gold and the spices and the pretious ointment and all the house of his armour and all that was found in his treasures there was nothing in his house nor in all his kinkdome that Hezekias shewed them not THe Prophet plaies the historiographer For first hee telles plainly what Hezekias did next he will shew why he did it to wit because ambition had blinded his eies and thus he meant to make himselfe great in the sight of the Ambassadors Thus he taxeth this inordinate ioy from whence proceeded so great care at length to feast and welcome them He that shall reade the historie barely wil thinke there is no great fault to be found in Hezekiah for any thing he did Was it not humanitie in him to receiue such Ambassadors with gladnesse and magnificence and to shew them all signes of loue Who can denie it Nay hee had shewed himselfe more then barbarous if hee had reiected those who in such kind manner came to visit him or if he had set light by the friendship of so mightie a King Notwithstanding all this his heart was too farre tickled with vanitie and ostentation For he meant to shew his greatnesse to the end the Babylonian might know that this amitie should serue him to good purpose which he further insinuated by shewing his riches munitions and furniture for warre Hee was also blame-worthy for desiring to bee supported by strange and vnlawfull meanes for therein he bereaued God of his honour who had freely deliuered him out of two great dangers otherwise the Prophet would neuer haue reproued him so sharply for this fact Heere is a faire looking glasse therefore in which euery one may see that there is nothing so dangerous as to bee blinded with prosperitie Nothing so dangerous as to bee blinded with prosperitie to which purpose it was well said long agoe It is a harder matter to beare prosperitie then aduersitie We wax vnruly and insolent when things fall out as wee would haue them neither can we be kept in awe by any threatnings or admonitions whatsoeuer If this befell Hezekias whom the Prophet before hath so much commended whose onely treasure was the feare of God Chap. 33.6 how ought we to watch ouer our owne hearts lest we fall into the like dangers He suffers himselfe to bee ouerswaied with vaine ostentation If such a mightie Cedar fell what shall become of such low shrubs as we be and neuer remembers that being halfe dead before the Lord drew him out of his graue by a miracle from heauen In the 20. verse of the former Chapter hee vowed to sing the praises of God all the daies of his life in the assemblie of the Saints Now when he sees some suing for his friendship and that a mightie Monarch sends from far to salute him he presently forgets God with al the benefits which he had receiued at his hands Do we see this good King so soone ouerthrowne and ouerswaied with pride and ambition let vs learne to hold our selues within the lists of modestie by which we may daily be preserued in the feare of God Modestie the meanes to hold vs in the feare of God Vers 3. Then came Isaiah the Prophet vnto King Hezekias and said vnto him What said these men and from whence came they to thee And Hezekiah said They are come from a farre Country vnto me from Babel HEe goes on with the same narration still but he addes doctrine vnto it And howsoeuer he vtters not a word of Gods sending of him yet it is most certaine that he did this by the
to swelling and impatiencie for the very reprobates haue sometimes confessed the fault and yet their stubborne hearts haue neuer bin so tamed but they haue grudged against the reuenging hand of their Iudge To the end that Gods threatnings may haue a sweet relish therefore it is necessarily required that wee conceiue some hope of pardon in the middest of Gods displeasure otherwise our hearts will bee alwaies so stuffed with bitternesse that nothing but gall and wormewood will proceed out of the same But he which in his heart is perswaded that though God corrects yet he ceaseth not still to retaine the louing affection of a father Faith will teach vs that nothing is more profitable for vs then Gods fatherly chastisement such a one will not onely acknowledge God to be iust but will also meekely and patiently beare his temporarie seueritie To be short where the feeling of Gods loue takes place so as this principle be once fixed in our hearts that he is our father it shall not much dismay nor trouble vs to be heaued vp or cast downe according as it pleaseth him for faith will teach vs that there is nothing more profitable then his fatherly chastisement In this sort Dauid in all humilitie answers the Prophet Nathan who sharply rebuked him I haue sinned against the Lord 2. Sam. 12.13 which imports as much as that speech of old Hely It is the Lord let him doe that vvhich is good in his eies 1. Sam. 3.18 For he is silent not because it could aduantage him nothing at all to murmure but because hee willingly submits himselfe to Gods iustice It seemes that Sauls silence tends to the same end when Samuel told him that the kingdome was rent from him 1. Sam. 15.24 But because the punishment onely terrified him he was touched with no compunction of heart at all for his fault It is no wonder then though he be full of garboilings inwardly still albeit hee set a faire countenance of it outwardly because he could not resist accordingly as he would for malefactors that haue fetters on their heeles Simile and mannacles on their hands are wont to intreat those Iudges whom they could find in their hearts to tumble frō their seates and to stampe them vnder their feete But because Dauid and Hezekias are in such wise hūbled vnder the mightie hand of God that they lost not the assurance of pardon they chose rather willingly to beare the blowes wherewith they were smitten then to pull their necks out of the yoke It is also very remarkeable that Hezekias not onely confesseth that this sentence of God is good but that also vvhich Isaiah had spoken for this word thou hath great weight in it in that hee is contented with all reuerence to receiue the word though spoken by a mortall man for hee looked to the chiefe author of it The libertie which Isaiah tooke might haue seemed somewhat too harsh and combersome in the eies of a King but taking him as he was indeede for the seruant of God he suffers himselfe to bee censured of him Which being so their nicenesse is insupportable who can beare no admonitions nor reprehensions at all but in disdaine obiect against the Pastors and Ministers of the word Are you not men as well as wee As if forsooth God were not to be obeied vnlesse he should send an Angell to admonish them or vnlesse himselfe should speake vnto them from heauen Hence also we may learne what to thinke of such fantasticall spirits who seeming to reuerence God doe notwithstanding wilfully reiect the doctrine of the holy Prophets But if they were so readie to obey God then would they giue as much audience to him in the person of his seruants as to himselfe if hee should thunder from heauen I confesse wee must distinguish the true Prophets from the false and the voice of the Pastor from the stranger but we must not reiect all hand ouer head Those that are indeed willing to obey God will giue him as much reuerence whē he speakes by the mouth of one of his seruants as if himselfe should speak vnto them out of a thūder from heauen vnlesse we meane therewithall to reiect God himselfe Yea they must be heard of vs not onely when they exhort and reproue but also when they condemne and threaten vs in the name of God to be punished for our sinnes The particle Ci is taken heere for an exception and therefore I haue translated Yet there shal be peace For Hezekias addes somewhat more therein to the former to wit hee thanks God in that hee hath mitigated the punishment which he had deserued As if he should say The Lord might haue raised vp enemies against mee forthwith that might haue driuen mee out of my Kingdome but now he spares me in deferring the iudgement moderates the punishment which I should of right sustaine This sentence may also be expounded by way of a praier yet let there be peace so as Hezekias should request that the correction might be deferred to another time Notwithstanding it is more probable that he applies that to the cōforting of his sorrowfull heart which the Prophet had said of the daies to come that thereby hee might arme himselfe with patience because a sudden iudgement would haue astonished him much more This exception then agrees well for the tranquillitie of his minde yet God will spare for the terme of my life Notwithstanding if any had rather expound it For there shall bee peace I hinder him not Some take the word truth for the seruice of God and true religion as if in dying hee should render thanks to God that the pure doctrine should remaine vncorrupted but I had rather take it for stabilitie or a quiet state of the Kingdome vnlesse any had rather take it to signifie an assured prosperitie and of long continuance Now Hezekias might seeme cruell in that he vtterly neglected his posterity as one that cared not much what became of things after his death For these are horrible blasphemies which swinish Epicures Horrible blasphemies of swinish Epicures and others of that rout haue in their mouthes at this day When I am dead let the earth bee on a flaming fire Againe When I die let all die with me But Hezekias had a far other meaning for albeit hee desired the prosperitie of such as should suruiue him as much as his owne yet hee could not set light by the signe of Gods mercie who deferred the execution of this iudgement till after his death For he might conceiue hope from thence that his successors should in the end bee partakers of this fauour and mercie Some thinke he reioiced for this delay because wee ought not to care for to morrow considering that the day hath enough with his owne griefe Mat. 6.24 But this sutes not well in this place for Hezekias contemnes not the posteritie but perceiuing that God did fauourably mittigate the chastisement which hee had
in Gods presence but digge themselues hiding places that they may flatter themselues without checke or controle To the end then that they might no more deceiue themselues with the sweete deceits of lying vanities the Prophet summons them before Gods iudgement seat and grants indeed that they florish in appearance as long as they keep themselues a great way oâ—f from the presence of Gods Maiestie but let the Lord beginne once to blow vpon them their all their beautie and strength shall forthwith vanish into smoke He seemes to attribute an office to the Spirit of God Obiect which is not very fitting vnto it for it is his propertie to 〈◊〉 the face of the earth as on the other siâ—â—â— he withdraw himselfe neuer so little al things fall to nothing Psal 104. And Isaiah affirmes here the cleane contrarie Some may thinke then that one Prophet contradicts another Ans But there is no absurditie in it to say that all things are renued by the vertue of the holy Ghost And againe that the same Spirit should consume those things which seemed very glorious before For we haue no being but in God and to beginne to be something in him wee must first of all bâ— conuinced of our vanitie that we may the better acknowledge it The Lord therefore bloâ—es vpon vs to teach vs that in our selues wee are nothing Now to the end all might know that the Prophet spake not of strangers but of that people which gloried much in the name of God he addes that the people is graffe â—or the Iewes thought themselues more worâ—â—â—nd excellent then any other nation and therefore that they of all others ought to be separated from the common sort of men Hee speakes to them then properlie and expreslie to the end they might attribute nothing vnto themselues aboue others as if he should say You shall shew your selues very discreet and wise if in considering your owne pouertie and basenes you shall reiect all vaine confidence In a word the Prophet hauing spoken of comfort in the first verse hee now shewes how men ought to be prepared to receiue it In the first verse the Prophet mentioned some consolation now he shewes them the meanes how to be prepared to receiue it but they are no way fit to receiue it vnlesse they be first brought to nothing Our hardnes of heart then must be softned our high and prowd conceits must be brought low our glorie turned into shame of face and our hearts tamed and humbled if with fruit we will receiue the consolations which the Prophets shall bring vs by the commandement of the Lord. Vers 8. The grasse withereth the floure fadeth but the word of our God shall stand for euer THis repetition is added once againe to bring all the glorie of prowd flesh vnto nothing With matter of humiliation the Prophet mingleth matter of consolation it also therewithall conteines an excellent consolation to wit that the Lord hauing humbled his seruants forthwith giues them matter of ioy and gladnes This is the order of the text then The grasse withers but the word of the Lord indures for euer This only consolation is sufficient namely that the word of God is made the ground of our comfort Gods word the ground of our comfort as if God himselfe should reach out his hand to lift vs vp after he hath manifested to vs how emptie and destitute wee are of all good things and how perishable and transitorie our flesh is We then are fraile and fading as the flower but the word of the Lord is firme and eternall To be short that life which is wanting in vs is offred vs elsewhere The whole summe of the Gospell The summe of the Gospel is heere comprehended in few words for it consists in the knowledge of our miserie pouertie and vanitie that being humbled in good earnest we might haue our recourse vnto God by whose only grace we shall be whollie restored Let not such then as are acquainted with their wofull condition by nature be therefore out of heart Our base estate must not put vs vtterlie out of heart for the word of the Lord is set before them which is able to build them vp and to giue them strong consolation Moreouer wee are here taught to seeke consolation no where else but in eternitie which is only to be found in God and in none other for there is no stabilitie in earth or earthlie things No stabilitie in earth or earthly things What madnes is it then to place our happines in present things which wee see consume like smoke He therefore much deceiues himselfe which thinks he can meete with true felicitie till he be come vnto God who is therfore called the eternall in holy Scriptures because we might know that life flowes from him into vs yea he hath adopted vs for his children on this condition that we may partake with him in his immortalitie But all this shall profit vs very little vnlesse we be shewed the way how to attaine it The way how to attaine true felicitie the word therefore comes betweene from which we must not turne an haires breadth For if we wander and stray from it we shall be intangled in such wonderfull laborynths that we shall neuer know how to get out Now he saith the word endures for euer not only in it selfe but in vs also which we ought diligentlie to obserue because without this addition we should neuer be able to attaine any sound consolation And S. Peter a faithfull expositor of this place applies it vnto vs in saying that we are regenerated by this incorruptible seed yea by this word which saith he is preached amoÌ„g you 1. Pet. 1.23 whence we gather as I touched a little before that life is prepared for the dead which shall earnestlie draw neere to this fountaine set open vnto them for that power which is hidden in God is manifested vnto vs by this word Vers 9. O Zion that bringest good tidings get thee vp into the hie mountaine O Ierusalem that bringest good tidings lift vp thy voice with strength lift it vp be not afraid say vnto the Cities of Iudah Behold your God HE goes on still with the same argument The Lord promised before that he would send Prophets which should publish the promises to comfort this desolate and sorrowfull people now he commands that this consolation be spread further because he meanes that his grace shall be shed forth vpon the whole land of Iudeah He gaue hope of these ioyfull tidings to Ierusalem and Zion before now his purpose is that this voice should sound forth and ring throughout all the rest of the Cities for which purpose he commands them to lift vp the voice and to publish it in the high mountaine Now howsoeuer it be true that by the names of Zion and Ierusalem one and the same is to be vnderstood yet the repetition is diligentlie to be marked For the
regards vs not when he suffers vs to be giuen vp for a pray to our enemies It is as much then as if he should say O ye Iewes what meane ye to complaine as if God had forgotten or despised your conditions Now by this reprehension Isaiah prepares them to receiue consolation for all impediments were to bee remoued to the end the way to come thereunto might bee the more easie Vers 28. Knowest thou not or hast thou not heard that the euerlasting God the Lord hath created the ends of the earth Hee neither fainteth nor is wearie there is no searching of his vnderstanding HE repeates the same thing that he said before to wit that the people who had been instructed in the schoole of God were no way excusable in regard of their dulnesse Hee rebukes them thus sharply then for not hauing profited better in the Law and other good meanes which God had giuen them ouer and besides the common vnderstanding wherewith all of them might haue been indued In the first place he puts the verbe To know which is more generall because God had caused his glory to appeare vnto them by many miracles and testimonies of his power in the second place hee comes to the hearing as if hee should say If these things haue wrought nothing vpon thee namely that thou hast been so long taught and instructed both by the word and workes of God that he vseth not to sit idle in heauen it must needs be concluded that thou art verie vnteachable He calles him the euerlasting God thereby distinguishing him from al corruptible idols the worke of mens hands Now if this article were well imprinted in our hearts distrust would vanish away like smoke For if God be eternall then it is impossible for him either to be changeable or weake for eternitie hath this propertie vnto it that it is no way subiect to change Eternitie hath this proper vnto it that it is no way subiect to change but continues alwaies alike which the Iewes comprehended not though they had often heard it before This is the cause why the Prophet is so round with them in rouzing them vp by this reprehension For thus he shewes how double guiltie they shall be before God if hauing bin taught by his word and by so many of his benefits they shal still refuse to yeeld him that honour and glorie which to him belongs He is not wearie c. Heere the Prophet shewes two things the first that God is not wearie of well doing the second that there is no searching of his vnderstanding In the first member he proues that nothing can let God to continue his well doing towards them because he is not like those that waste their goods by often giuing out or to such as are euer and anon wearie in doing good turnes or to such as repent their liberalitie for his bountie can neuer be drawne drie If he haue done good to the fathers he will do no lesse to the children And whereas he often works quite contrarie to that which we thinke meete the Prophet preuents the conceit by telling vs that his Counsels are inscrutable Thus he admonisheth vs not to murmure though he do not by and by applie himselfe to our desires for there is nothing better to nourish hope in vs then this sobrietie Sobrietie a notable meanes to nourish hope to wit that we considering how wonderfullie God works for the defence of his chosen might be brought willinglie to submit our reason vnder his secret counsels Vers 29. But he giueth strength vnto him that fainteth and vnto him that hath no strength he increaseth power The application of the former doctrine THe Prophet now applies the former generall sentences to the matter in hand for his purpose is as we haue said to hearten on the people and to giue them better hope But because the Iewes were low brought and void of strength therefore he shewes that it is the proper office of God to succor those which are thus faint and wearie By this circumstance then he sets forth Gods power to the end they might conclude and be surely resolued of their saluation whilest God shall be fauorable vnto them I grant that the Prophet had respect to the people who were detained prisoners in Babylon but we ought notwithstanding to make our profit of this doctrine that although our strength should faile vs so as we should be brought to deaths dore yet to remember that it is Gods propertie to stretch forth his hand to such as faint and are spent being left succorlesse But it is requisit we should first of all feele our pouertie and wearines that that sentence of S. Paul might be fulfilled in vs It is necessarie we should feele our selues weake before God giue vs of his power The power of God is perfected in our weakenes 2. Cor. 12.9 For if our hearts be not thoroughlie touched so as we be indeed conuinced of our imbecilitie we can not find help of God in due time Vers 30. Euen the yong men shall faint and be wearie and the yong men shall stumble and fall BY this comparison the Prophet further enricheth that which he said before to wit that the power which God giues to his elect is inuincible and euer durable for mans strength easily vanisheth but Gods neuer It is most certaine that all the naturall strength we haue is from God but for as much as men prowdly attribute that as proper to themselues which he giues to all therefore the Prophet distinguisheth betweene the strength which seemes to flow from nature and that by which God especiallie susteines his children The Prophet distinguisheth betweene that strength which men seeme to haue by nature and that by which God sustaines his children For in as much as the other is an vniuersall benefit bestowed vpon all the world therefore men take no knowledge of that Thus then hee calles that the strength of men which is a gift common to all and that the strength of God by which he assists vs when all our strength faileth For he here speakes of that grace of God which is called supernaturall Supernaturall grace and saith that it is perpetuall whereas men can haue nothing of themselues but that which is transitorie â—â—perishable that so by this marke he may separate the Church of God from the rest of the world and spirituall strength from that which is earthly prosperitie Whereas in the first member he hath put the word Nearim which is as much to say as young men and in the second he addes Bakurim which signifies not that only but men of choise yet because he repeates but one and the same thing it agrees best if we referre it vnto the time of age and yet hee meanes all such as are stout and in their best strength Now by this we may see how hee magnifies the excellent prerogatiue wherewith Gods childreÌ„ are endued aboue others to the end
Gods spirit to which vice we being too much inclined the Lord often commands vs to represse these desires of reuenge so farre off is he from allowing them in vs nay doth he not on the contrarie exhort vs to pray for our enemies Math. 5.44 Wee ought much lesse then to reioice in their miseries and calamities I answere Ans that the Prophet shewes here what shall come to passe but he neither commands nor counsels them to desire the ruin of their enemies Obiect If any replie that we must not only expect but also desire that which the Lord hath promised seeing it turnes to his glorie Ans and our saluation I confesse indeed that this consolation greatlie asswageth our sorrowes in that he promiseth to punish our enemies one day who haue cruelly vexed vs in rendring them the same measure which they haue measured Yet this hinders not the law of loue which enioines vs rather to sorrow for the euils which they voluntarily pull downe vpon their owne heads Note and to bewaile their condition then to wish their ouerthrow If we imbrace this promise with such faith as is meet that is in casting downe all the impaciencie of the flesh at her feet then shall we first of all be disposed to patience and in the next place we will with a moderat zeale wait for the accomplishment of Gods iudgements We must therefore labour to quench all those inordinate passions of the flesh and with an humble and meeke spirit to wait for the fit time when this iudgement shall be executed not so much in regard of our owne particular profits as to see Gods iustice exalted according as it deserues Dauid hath written to this effect Psal 58. The righteous shall reioyce when he seeth the vengeance he shall wash his feete in the blood of the wicked not that they take pleasure in their miseries but as it is said afterwards in that Psalme Men shall say Verily there is fruit for the righteous doubtlesse there is a God that iudgeth the earth For God manifests his iust iudgements to the world when the wicked are punished for their misdoings The Iewes being cruell and blood-thirstie snatch vp these promises like sauage and wilde beasts who rauenouslie deuoure the pray that is offred and keepe a howling if they doe but apprehend the very sent of it We cannot approoue our selues to bee Gods children vnlesse we be led by the spirit of meekenesse But the Lord would not haue his children to forget that mildnes which he aboue al things likes of for we can make no claime to be the children of such a father vnlesse we be led with the spirit of meekenes and gentlenes To be short by the harrow with sharp teeth he meanes nothing else but the fearefull and terrible end of the wicked whom the Lord will ouerthrow by the hands of the faithfull yet not so inflame their hearts with a desire of shedding blood as to comfort and cheere vp their spirits Vers 16. Thou shalt fanne them and the winde shall carrie them away and the whirlewind shall scatter them and thou shalt reioyce in the Lord and shalt glorie in the holy one of Israel HIs meaning is to shew that which he vttered in the former verse but by another similitude For he compares the Church to a fanne Three things to be noted in that the Church is compared to a Fanne and the wicked to chaffe which the winde scatters to and fro As if he should say Though the wicked thresh and fanne you now yet they shall be chastised more seuerely for they shall be crushed in pieces by their destruction and scattered as straw But yet note the difference for the faithfull are fanned in this world for their great good The faithfull are fanned in this world for their great good because they suffer themselues to be brought vnder the obedience of God but the other obstinately resisting and abiding no yoke the Prophet teacheth that they shall be scattered as chaffe that is carried away by the winde Thus then God had threshed the Iewes with great strokes of the flaile he had smitten them downe with laying them on and scattered them with his fanne that so becomming cleane and pure wheate he might gather them into his Garner but appointed out the prophane nations to be as stubble for the fire There is one thing more to be considered to wit The Church sometimes fannes the wicked to make them fit for Gods glorie that the victorious Church fannes some vnbeleeuers to the end they might be purged and finde place in Gods flore and thus this prophesie was fulfilled as oft as any of the Gentiles were woon to the faith by meanes of the godly thereby bringing them vnder the dominion of Christ Neither had the faithfull euer any earthly power to rule ouer their enemies nay contrariwise they are alwaies faine to possesse their soules in patience but the Lord causeth them vnder such heauie burthens to florish like the Palme trees so as they escape safe from danger And which more is they haue euen a middest these streites troden the enemies of the truth vnder their feete with inuincible courage Moreouer it is to be noted that the Scripture is wont often to attribute that to the Church which appertaines to none but God only In regard then that God punisheth the wicked for the fauor he beares to his Church it is said that he giues them to the faithfull to tread vnder their feete because the fruite of such a benefit belongs vnto them Besides as oft as we reade these prophesies we must lift vp our minds to Christs kingdome that putting off all peruerse affections we may keepe such a measure as is fitting and neuer with this scattering before the time For it ought to suffice vs that our head will at the last tread downe all our enemies vnder our feete and make them his very footstoole that we may participate with him in his victorie Where he addes that the Iewes should haue cause to reioyce in the Lord Wherefore it is added that the Church must reioyce in the Lord. though he meant hereby to asswage their sorrowes yet therewithall he also exhorts the faithfull to modestie that they should not breake forth into furie if it fell out that the Lord should thus subdue their enemies For men are inclined to nothing more then to swell in pride when things fall out as they would haue them they forget then that they are men and as for God whom they ought to acknowledge the author of all benefits him they vtterlie neglect Thus then that the Prophet might bridle this inordinate ioy of the flesh which often caries vs beyond our bounds he addes in the Lord because Let him that reioyceth reioyce in the Lord. as all our glory and gladnes comes only from him so it should be ascribed only to him Lastly he exhorts vs to acknowledge Gods benefits that the higher he hath
abomination Others reade it The abomination in the nominatiue and vnderstand it that such are abominable as erect and set vp idols but I thinke it is otherwise to be vnderstood I take the verbe chosen indefinitiuely as the Grammarians speake it is often so taken in the Scriptures For when the Prophet speakes of the common people and recounts some ordinarie and vsuall thing they expresse not the noune substantiue Thus I vnderstand it then Men cannot forge idols but therewithall they also forge an abomination And surely this is a worthy text This place teacheth vs to abhor the idol and the idol maker teaching vs both to abhor idols and the boldnes of those that set them vp for this cannot be done without offering great violence to the Lord himselfe Many esteeme it but a sport but the Prophet not onely thinkes otherwise but he calles it such an abomination as God neither can nor will suffer vnpunished The word To chuse points out as with the finger The originall of idols from what fountaine idolatry springs For true religion should neuer be polluted with so many corruptions if men had not presumed to make them idols of their owne deuising Whence wee may note that all deuised and inuented worships of God are heere opposed to true pietie Vers 25. I haue raised vp from the north and hee shall come from the east Sunne shall hee call vpon my name and shall come vpon Princes as vpon clay and as the potter treadeth mire vnder foote NOw hee turnes againe to the argument which hee touched before concerning Gods prescience and power and shewes that the name of diuinitie appertaines to him onely in whom these things are to be found Touching his raising from the north some expound it of Cyrus others of Christ but I think the Prophet notes out two things here so as by north we are to vnderstand the Caldeans and by the east the Medes and Persians as if hee should say There vvill come two changes vvorthy of memorie for I vvill raise vp the Caldeans Caldeans and exalt their kingdome afterward the Persians Persians shall come vvhich shall bee their Lords and Masters Now although these things were to fall out long time after yet the Lord shewes that they were already manifest in his sight yea that hee ordained them in his secret counsell to the end the euent thereof might be a certaine token of his diuinitie Yet in the first member of the verse he denounceth iudgement to feare the Iewes in the second he sets forth mercy in testifying that the captiuitie and deliuerance of the people was his worke that all might perceiue that the prescience and power of God were things which did indeed belong vnto him The prophane nations diuide certaine offices amongst their gods Apollo Apollos Iupiter he foretels things to come Iupiter he puts them in execution another hee dispatches a businesse contrarie to that but Gods office Gods office is not only to foretell and signifie things to come but to dispose of things also according to his good pleasure For in whatsoeuer thing it be that any diuinitie shines it ought to bee ascribed to God onely and not to any other This is the cause why hee appropriates to himselfe both prescience Prescience and the execution thereof ought to be appropriated to God inseparably and the execution of the same inseparably In that hee saith he will raise vp from the north hee prophecieth as I touched before of the captiuitie to come of which there was no feare at that time because the Iewes and Caldeans were in league together in the next place hee prophecieth of the restauration of the people who had leaue of Cyrus to returne into to their Country Now who would haue imagined that things being in so good plight as then they were that such a change had been possible especially in regard the euent was to fall out long time after namely About some two hundred yeeres betweene the time of Isaiahs prophecies and the accomplishmēt thereof about 200. yeeres after the prophecies of Isaiah And yet the Lord testifies that he is the author thereof that so all might know that the Caldeans came not by chance but were raised vp of God who vsed them as his rods to correct the Iewes withall The Medes and Persians also subdued not the Caldeans by their owne power further forth then as they were led and directed by the same hand of the Lord. In this place therfore hee sets forth the greatnesse of Gods power and that so plainly that hee proues Kings and Princes to be but dung and dirt in comparison of him And thus we may yet better perceiue that the Prophet not onely respected those of his owne time but those also which should come after him for they which then liued could hardly discerne what this meant but their successors which saw it and had experience of it vnderstood it much better The end was that all might know how there was but one God before whose eies all things are naked and manifest and who gouernes all things according to his good pleasure You may perceiue then what an excellent text this is in that it shewes the perfection and certentie of Gods oracles The perfection and certentie of Gods oracles For the Iewes forged not these prophecies whilest they were prisoners in Babylon but their fathers hauing heard and receiued thē long time before their successors at last acknowledged Gods iust iudgement whereof they had been forewarned before and in the second place they also imbraced the mercy offered in that they saw God would in due time send thē deliuerance who as he is the preseruer of his Church so they felt him faithfull in his promises by good triall and experience Isaiah spake as hee was moued by the holie Ghost From this place therefore we may safely conclude that Isaiah spake not by his owne motion but that God vsed his tongue as the organ of the holie Ghost who put these wordes into his mouth The certaintie of prophecies In that he saith he shall come it signifies that whatsoeuer was foretold by Gods commandement should without all peraduenture come to passe For hee speakes of a thing to come Gods prescience and power which sets out as in liuely tables the prescience of God Secondly in adding that he is the author of these things that is to bee applied to his power To call vpon the name of God signifies nothing else in this place but to perform somewhat at Gods commandement It is true that Cyrus little thought he was imploied in the seruice of the God of Israel neither meant he to obey him but the euent shewed that the Lord marched before him by his secret power and prouidence to bring him to Babylon by continuall and incredible victories In comparing him to a Potter which treads his clay it is added because euery one thoght the strength and
any of them For he is called seruant in respect that God the Father hath not onely giuen him the charge of teaching or to doe some other thing but also in regard that hee hath called him to performe an excellent and peerelesse worke which is common to none but him Furthermore although this name be attributed to the person of Christ yet it ought to be referred to his humane nature for his Godhead being eternall and that in respect thereof he hath euer obtained equall glory with his Father Christ Gods seruant in respect of his humanitie it was necessary he should take our nature vpon him that he might submit himselfe to the obedience of a seruant And therefore Saint Paul saith that he being in the forme of God thought it no robberie to be equall with him and yet notwithstanding emptied himselfe and tooke vpon him the forme of a seruant c. Phil. 2.6 Christ then is a seruant but voluntarily Christ being Gods seruaÌ„t no way impaires his dignitie DispensatioÌ„ lest wee should imagin his dignity might be somewhat impaired therby Which the ancient Doctors signified vnder this word Dispensation whereby it came to passe as they say that Christ subiected himselfe to all our infirmities The affection by which he became subiect vnto God Christs subiection voluntarie was voluntarie in the meane while it was to the end he might become our seruant also notwithstanding this his so abiect a condition hinders him nothing at all from inioying his soueraigne maiestie for which cause the Apostle saith God hath giuen him a name aboue euery name Phil. 2.9 He vseth the particle demonstratiue Behold to bring the Iewes as it were to the sight of the thing done for that which they saw in Babylon was able to haue put them cleane out of heart He wils them therefore to turne their eies from beholding things present and to fix them onely vpon Christ Some expound the verbe Tamach which signifies To stay passiuely others actiuely If we take it in the passiue the sense will bee that God so staies himselfe vpon his Christ that hee will giue him charge of all things euen as masters doe to their trustie seruants Now it is a signe of great trust which the Father reposeth in him that hee giues him charge of all things and commits into his hands his owne rule authoritie and power Yet I reiect not the actiue signification to wit I will erect or set him vp or I will establish him in his estate for that which followes immediately after I vvill put my spirit vpon him is but a repetition of the same thing He saith in the first place then I vvill stay vpon him then he shewes the maner of this stay in saying that he will gouerne him by his Spirit and thus hee shewes that he will sustaine and helpe Christ in all things and will not suffer him to fall vnder any difficulties Now it was needfull that Christ should be indued with the holy Spirit from aboue Why Christ was to bee indued with the holy Spirit in regard hee was to take vpon him that diuine office of being mediator betweene God and men for according to his humane nature he was vnable to beare the waight of so great a burthen Christ a seruant elect Elect is here taken for excellent as in other places young men which are in the flower of their youth are called men of choice Hee is called a seruant elect then because hee shall beare the message of reconciliation and all his actions shall bee disposed of by the Lord. Yet behold heere a testimonie of that loue which God hath shewed vs in his onely Son for in him the head wee may see our election shine by which wee are adopted to the hope of a better life Seeing then that there is an heauenly power dwelling in the humane nature of Christ Wee must looke vpon Christ in both his natures when we heare him speake let vs not so much looke vpon flesh blood as lift vp our mindes higher that so we may see his diuinitie shine in all his actions In vvhom my soule delights By this testimonie we may conceiue that Iesus Christ is not onely well pleasing vnto God his Father but is also that his onely beloued Sonne so as there is no obtaining of any grace but by the meanes of his intercession In this sense it is alleadged by the Euangelists Mat. 3.17 Luke 9.35 Saint Paul also teacheth that wee were reconciled with God through this his vvelbeloued one for whose sake God loues vs Ephes 1.6 According to which our Prophet shewes that Christ shall not be adorned with the vertue and power of the holy Ghost for his owne particular onely but to shed it abroad also far and wide vpon others By the word iudgement hee vnderstands a well ordered gouernment and not the sentence which the Iudge pronounceth vpon the iudgement seat for the verbe To iudge among the Hebrewes signifies to rule gouerne and direct things He addes that this iudgement shall extend thorowout all the earth as well to the Gentiles as to the Iewes which promise was then new and strange for God was onely knowne in lurie Psal 76.1 so as forraine nations were excluded from any hope of grace We therefore that are Gentiles staÌ„d in exceeding need of these so cleare and euident testimonies that we may grow daily in the assurance of our vocation and calling for without these promises what assurance is left vs They nothing at all pertaine vnto vs. Christ was sent then to bring the whole world vnder the rule and obedience of God his Father Whence it appeares that al things without him are but a confused chaos Before hee comes therefore All things out of ordâ—r without Christ it is impossible to see any right order or gouerâ—â—ment among men Let vs then learne in all things to submit our neckes vnto his sweet yoke if we desire to be iustly and rightly gouerned Now we must iudge of this gouernment according to the nature of his kingdome that we liue in which as you know is not of this world but consists in the inward man Iohn 18.36 for it consists in a good conscience and integritie of life approued not of men only but of God chiefly and principally Wherein Christs kingdome principally consists The summe then comes to this that our whole life being peruerted since the time wee were altogether corrupted by the fall of Adam Christ is now towards the end of the world come vvith an heauenly power of the spirit The end of Christs comming in the flesh to change our hearts and to reforme vs into newnesse of life Vers 2. Hee shall not cry nor lift vp nor cause his voice to be heard in the streetes THe Prophet shewes after what manner Christ shall come to wit without such pompe and preparations as earthly Kings haue For when they come in trumpets are sounded on euery
haue saued and I haue shewed when there was no strange god among you therefore you are my witnesses saith the Lord that I am God THis verse is as it were a rehearsall of the former for the Lord telles them againe that hee hath foretold things to come and hath brought them to passe accordingly thus To declare is or may be referred to his fâ—reknowledge and To saue to his power and goodnesse In a word his meaning is that he is the onely God who knowes and accomplisheth all things Now howsoeuer this was spoken to the Iewes yet wee are to know that it also appertaines vnto vs for all the prophecies which remaine on record ought to be so many lessons to teach vs the wisdome and power of God that so wee may wholly rest vpon him Now that wee should abolish all superstitions and suffer him to sit as our onely Doctor in his heauenly chaire he tels vs againe that hee hath shewed his power and manifested the signes of his fauour without any mans helpe whence it followes that those are too ingratefull and peruerse which will not content themselues with him alone Wâ—â—n there vvas no strange God among you saith he to worship euen then did I openly discouer my power in the sight of the whole world How dare you then attribute that to Idols which belongs to me onely And yet the Prophet doth not so much in this place commend the antiquitie of the peoples religion as he labours to reiect all false succors As if he should say Seeing you haue knowne none but the true God whose miracles haue been so wonderfull and apparant you ought to be resolued that there is no helpe but in him Therewithall also the Prophet shewes that our infidelitie hinders God from shewing his power in the midst of vs let vs therefore abandon all errors and all false opinions of God if we will haue experience of his power for if we turne aside after idolatries and superstitions are wee not well worthy to feele the want of his power and goodnes In conclusion he calles them witnesses as accusing them of froward and cursed ingratitude if they dissemble that goodnesse of his which was so publikely manifested for the more God shall haue declared his power by many visible testimonies the more are wee bound to publish and make knowne the same vnto others Vers 13. Yea before the day was I am and there is none that can deliuer out of mine hand and I will doe it and who shall let HE speakes now of Gods eternitie but we must still keepe in minde the Prophets drift For he which had a beginning He which had a beginning is not of himselfe is not of himselfe neither can hee hold vnder his dominion nor gouerne the things which hee created not When the Lord therefore calles himselfe the eternall it is to shew that the world was made by his hand and that this goodly order of nature fell not out by chaÌ„ce but tooke the originall from his admirable wisdome and power Gen. 1.1 And therefore he addes in the next place that none can deliuer out of his hand Gods soueraigntie proued by his eternitie which yet shewes vs more plainly that by his eternitie wee may proue his soueraigne and infinite power For were he not eternall hee could neither retaine all things in his hands neither could hee desend his people nor serue his turne of the creatures according to his owne will But because he is vvithout beginning it necessarilie followes that all things be subiect to his disposition Heereunto appertaines that which is added that nothing can let him from doing that which hee hath once determined All which serued to teach the Iewes that they should not stand amazed nor be discouraged in regard of the force furie and multitude of their enemies Vers 14. Thus saith the Lord your redeemer the holy one of Israel For your sake I haue sent to Babel and brought it downe they are all fugitiues and the Caldeans cry in the ships THe Prophet saith that Cyrus Cyrus shall be as an hired souldier which shall bestow his trauell in the Lords seruice for the redemption of his people I grant hee names not Cyrus but hee speakes of the host which marched vnder his conduct to subdue the Babylonians We know this was brought about by Cyrus and Darius Darius but all of them were Gods executioners who had foretold these things long before He directs not his speech onely to those that saw the accomplishment of all these things but also to all those whom the Lord meant to sustaine with this hope of deliuerance which they could neuer haue dreamed of by any humane reason For hee speakes to the captiues who being oppressed vnder the cruell seruitude of the Caldeans were left destitute of all meanes of comfort in which respect these promises might seeme most fabulous because in mans iudgement there was no hope that euer they should get out of this prison But we must giue this honor to Gods word Wee must giue this honour to Gods word as to beleeue things incredible The vertue of faith euen to beleeue that which otherwise is incredible to the end wee may hope aboue hope for such is the power of faith that she stands not gazing vpon things externall but fixeth her eies in the heauens and pierceth thorough euen to the very throne of God Now there is great force in that which is added for thy sake For seeing pride and an insatiable couetous desire to rule pricked Cyrus forward to this action and that there were many occasions for which this war was raised a man would not haue thought that the whole world should thus haue bin shaken in the ouerthrow of this Monarchie and that the poore Iewes the miserablest of all people vnder heauen should by this meanes haue had a way made to returne home into their owne countrie But God protests that he will giue the Persians victorie so as they shall easily conquer all the East because he fauors his Church For this cause he shewes in the first place that it is he which is their redeemer and the holy one the better to perswade them that he held those whom he had chosen to be his peculiar people deare and pretious vnto him Notwithstanding Obiect this seemes contrarie to that which we haue seene before in the 33. Chapter Woe to thee that robbest when thou wast not robbed the Lord meant by this that he would auenge himselfe vpon the crueltie of the Babylonians and render them that measure which they had met out vnto others now hee shewes that the Persians tooke armes by his commandement that by meanes thereof he might worke his peoples deliuerance Ans But these things may be easily reconciled to wit that the Lord had respect to his people euen then whilest he scourged the Chaldeans for as his prouidence extends it selfe ouer the whole world in generall so hath he a speciall
care of his Church and as he dearly loues his Saincts so he turnes all things to their saluation It is not without cause then that he saith he sent them to performe this worke by his free grace because he meant thereby to procure the saluation of his Church In the same sense he addes that at his commandement hee brought them downe for albeit the Medes and Persians Medes and Persians had another end yet their iorney was gouerned by an heauenly instinct And thus God meant to shew what loue he bare to his chosen people aforehand lest they should haue fainted in their extreme anguishes and afflictions This promise therefore was of great vse in respect the poore captiues might from hence greatly comfort themselues that they were beloued of God although all the world besides contemned hated and reiected them as the ofscouring of all things seeing they saw that God in the end was minded to succor them and for their sakes to destroy the Monarchie of the Babylonians Where he saith they shall flee it is to shew that God shall so prosper the affaires of Cyrus that the Chaldeans shall be astonished at his arriuall and shal throw downe their armes to take them to their heeles for it often falles out euen to some mightie Prince well appointed with all furniture to enterprise war in which notwithstanding the issue shall be wofull It was not enough then that Cyrus was sent with a great armie vnlesse therewithall his enterprises had succeeded well And that he might further set forth their hastie flight he addes there shall be a crie or tumult in the Ships for they could not flee by land True it is they had a riuer fit for the purpose to wit Euphrates Euphrates which met with the riuer Tigris Tigris by reason whereof they had meanes to escape but they were disappointed of their purpose in this behalfe in regard the riuer was drawne drie Vers 15. I am the Lord your holy one the Creator of Israel your King THis verse conteines in it only a description of him that speakes first shewing how great his power maiestie is secondly with what affection he entertaines his elect and all to the end the promises before mentioned might haue the greater waight This verse a seale to the former sentence I call this verse therefore a seale to the former sentence as if the people should haue said We heare much spoken of God and of his promises but I pray you what is this God The Prophet answers Euen he that is your holy one the creator of Israel and your king He is called holy one Holy one because he culled and separated a people to consecrate them vnto himselfe By this title then he puts them in minde of their adoption wherein he ioined himselfe vnto them by a speciall band to assure them for the time to come that he would be their Father and Sauiour In which sense wee at this day ought to acknowledge that God is our holy one God our Holie one now in that he hath put vs apart to be members of his Church whereof he hath assured vs by our vocation and calling The title Creator Creator is not to be referred to the generall creation of all things for so he is also the Creator of the wicked but to reformation in which respect we are called his workmanship Ephes 2.10 In that he addes your king King it might seeme somewhat strange for what appearance was there of a kingdome among the Iewes now Were they not loaden with reproches and contumelies because they were left destitute of all succor Yet faith was to breake thorow all these obstacles in this title therefore the Prophet gaue them hope that the kingdome should againe be restored howsoeuer to the eies of flesh and blood it lay now in the dust yea vtterly extinct notwithstanding all this they were to hold God for their Soueraigne and King still Vers 16. Thus saith the Lord which maketh a way in the sea and a path in the mightie waters HE once againe comes to confirme that which otherwise seemed incredible and that this confirmation might haue the greater authoritie he takes vnto him the person of God Now he puts them in mind of former benefits to teach them God alwaies the same that as they had found him an Almightie Sauiour before so they should assure themselues that he would be no lesse powerfull and gracious vnto them for the time to come neither lesse able nor willing to worke their deliuerance As if hee should say The Lord vvho speakes will certainly shew the greatnes of his power by the effects of which as your forefathers haue had experience so his meaning is to giue you no lesse triall of it then they had Vnthankfulnes Are we not too vnthankfull then if by former benefits receiued we be not drawne to hope in him for hereafter but especially when hee hath showne so certaine and so excellent testimonies of his continuall care ouer vs. Israel deliuered out of Egypt to the end they should neuer forget it Hee brought Israel out of Egypt vpon condition they should neuer forget such a deliuerance Exod. 13.9 The Prophet now sets the same God before their eies shewing that nothing could withstand him which by his power hee ouercame not when he tooke his peoples saluatioÌ„ in hand For then he made a vvay for them in the sea Exod. 14.21 and guided them thorow the tempestuous mightie waters to wit thorow the riuer Iordan which he dried vp though it was very boisterous Ios 3.16 Now hee expresly names these two admirable miracles because they might imagin that all passage was shut vp against them in regard of their returne into Iudea and that all these promises therefore were but fables Vers 17. When hee bringeth out the chariot and horse the armie and the power lie together and shall not rise they are extinct and quenched as towe NOw he shewes that neither munition nor strength can resist God or hinder him from deliuering his people when hee thinks good no more then the sâ—a was able to let him from sauing them but hee diuided the same and drowned theiâ— enimies with their chariots and horses therein See here then an amplification of the former verse as if he should say Be it that the whole world haue conspired your destruction and would hinder mee from working your deliuerance shall it not be in vaine For when I list I will not onely find out a passage for you in the midst of bottomlesse gulphes but I will also scatter and ouerthrow all force and power of your enemies yea I will so dash them in sunder that they shall neuer be able to arise It may be he that hath lost one victorie will gather his forces afresh together the second time and win that he lost before but the Lord in this place promiseth a perpetuall victorie shewing that their enemies
praise Although the Prophets meaning be as I haue said to shew that the people should be deliuered in regard it neerely concerned Gods glorie yet from this place we also learne The end of our election vocation that the end of our election is the setting forth of Gods glorie in all things I grant that the reprobates are instruments of this glorie but it shines in a farre diuers sort in vs for we are chosen as S. Paul saith that we should be holy and without blame before him in loue Exod. 14.4 and 17.18 and he hath also predestinated vs to adopt vs in himselfe by Iesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glorie of his grace Election wherewith he hath freely accepted vs through his beloued Ephes 1.4.5.6 Hereunto appertaine the words of Peter where he saith We are a chosen generation and that vve should shew forth the vertues of him vvho hath called vs out of darknes Vocation into his maruelous light 1. Pet. 2.9 And Zacharie sings That we are deliuered out of the hands of our enemies to serue our God in holines and righteousnes before him all the daies of our life Luk. 1.75 Here ye see the end then both of our election and calling which is that we being consecrated and set apart for Gods vse as it were wee might praise and honor him as long as wee haue any being in this world Vers 22. And thou hast not called vpon me ô Iacob but thou hast * rather wearied me ô Israel WIth this priuie rebuke he confirmes that which was said in the former verse God saues none for his merits sake to wit that the merits of the people had no way moued him to deale so graciouslie with them This deliuerance therefore was to be ascribed to his free goodnes For proofe The proofe hereof he saith Thou hast not called vpon me vnder which word he cōprehends the whole seruice of God This phrase Called vpon me expounded whereof prayer was a principall part And thus he takes a part for the whole according to the vsuall maner of the Hebrues Now the Lord manifests it sufficientlie in other places that Inuocation is a speciall part of his worship Prayer a speciall part of Gods worship for hauing said in the fiftieth Psalme that he reiects sacrifices and ceremonies he presentlie addes Call vpō me For this cause the Scripture mentions this exercise of prayer when it notes out the marks of Gods worship For Moses minding to shew that the same was againe restored saith that then men began to call vpon the name of the Lord Gen. 4.26 I take the particle Ci in the second part of this verse for a coniunction aduersatiue thus God require◠a willing obedience Psal 110.3 But thou hast rather wearied me Others translate For thou hast trauailed as if he should say Thou hast done that which I commanded thee vnwillingly which comes all to one For as the Lord requires obedience so would he haue his seruants to performe the same cheerfully and readily Hee loues a cheerfull giuer as the Apostle saith 2. Cor. 9.7 but those that serue him by halues or by constrains cannot properly be called his seruants neither doth he accept of them nor of such seruices To shew then that the Iewes had not worshipped as they ought to haue done hee saith they did it vnwillinglie If any had rather haue it an exposition of the former member and so translate it thus Thou hast not called vpon me O Israel because thou hast yeelded me but a forced and constrained seruice I gainsay him not because the difference is not great as touching the sense Yet if it be taken as I haue translated it I thinke it is neerer to the Prophets meaning and the opposition containes also in it a rendring of the cause Will we haue our seruices acceptable vnto God then The vse let vs yeeld him a frank and willing obedience Vers 23. Thou hast not brought me the sheepe of thy burnt offerings neither hast thou honoured mee with thy sacrifices I haue not caused thee to serue with an offering nor wearied thee with incense SOme may demād why the Prophet should thus reproch the Iewes Obiect seeing it is apparent that they were very diligent in offering sacrifices according to the ordinances of the Law Some refer this to the captiuitie during which time they could offer no sacrifices though they had bin willing so to haue done Why so Because it was vnlawfull to offer them any where but in Ierusalem Ans for which respect their sacrifices could not be acceptable vnto God But I rather take it as a generall reproch for whilest the people had opportunitie to sacrifice yet they could alleadge no merit nor worthinesse as if God had been any way beholding vnto them for the same for there was neither faith nor obedience to bee seene in their sacrifices But faith God lookes rather to our faith and obedience then to our sacrifices as we know and obedience are things which God chiefly lookes vnto without which nothing we doe is or can be pleasing in his sight They wanted therefore integritie of heart their hands were full of blood they were wholly defiled with robberies and deceit iustice and equitie was banished far from them Albeit then that they brought their beasts euery day vnto the Temple and offered them there yet hee rightly affirmes that they offered none of these things to him because God accepts of no sacrifices which are separated from the truth and so offered them to another and not to him for all he required was that by these outward meanes his people should exercise their faith and obedience But these being wanting what worth was there in the sacrifices Hence wee gather that the Prophet speakes here of no new thing but continues that which hee began to teach in the former verse to wit that hee reiects all hollow and seruile seruices Vers 24. Thou boughtest me no sweet * Or caneh sauour with thy money neither hast thou made me drunke with the fat of thy sacrifices but thou hast made mee to serue with thy sinnes and wearied me with thine inquities BY the word Caneh he meanes that wherewith they made the precious ointment which was seldome vsed High Priests The Tabernacle The Arke The Instruments as is recorded in Exod. 30.25 For therewith were the high Priests the Tabernacle the Arke of the couenant with the instruments thereunto appertaining annointed Hee saith then Albeit thou shouldest lay forth thy money to buy me of that odoriferous ointment thou shalt but spend it in vaine if thou lookest that I should accept of it For all their labour was lost because they aimed not at the right marke God esteemed none of all these ceremonies as long as they were separated from faith and the vprightnesse of the heart and a pure conscience Where he
time freely added new benefits to the former He vvill help thee Others supplie the relatiue Ci as if he had said Thy helper notwithstanding it seemes best to reade it apart and the sense had bin clearer if we had read it in the first person I vvill help thee but the difference is not great The summe of the whole comes to this If God haue regenerated vs he will surely help vs. that he which is the Creator of the people will be readie to succor them when the appointed time is come In which regard it is free for euery one to rest in the exposition he thinks best yet I had rather follow the plaine and the lesse constrained sense without supplying any thing The word Ioshurun is diuerslie expounded for some would deriue it of Iaschar which signifies To be vpright or To please others deriue it otherwise but I agree rather with those who translate Beloued deriuing it from the verb aboue mentioned Moses also hath giuen this title to the Israelites in his song Deut. 32.15 for howsoeuer some translate the Hebrue word there vpright as in this place yet the old translation agrees best which reades it My beloued is waxed fat Now our Prophet adornes his people with this name to the end that by the remembrance of benefits past they might conceiue good hope for the time to come A generall and perpetuall rule For the faithfull are to hold this as a generall and perpetuall rule that by mercies formerlie receiued they ought to expect no lesse fauors for hereafter otherwise we should sauour too much of ingratitude and should shew our selues not to rest at all in the promises which if they were soundly and deeply imprinted in our hearts would worke a setled peace and tranquillitie of spirit not to make vs idle but to chase away al inordinate feares and distrust For which cause he once againe repeates Feare not ô Iaakob whereunto also belongs that consolation of Christ Luk. 12.32 Feare not little flock for my Father takes pleasure in you and will giue you the Kingdome And questionlesse among so many dangers which threaten vs with death on euery side there is no remedie more soueraigne to appease our feares then this sentence A soueraigne remedie to appease our feares namely that God vouchsafeth so farre forth to fauour vs that we shall be euerlastinglie saued by him By the word Beloued then he giues them the better to vnderstand that their saluation depends vpon the grace and good will of God who reserues and attributes whollie to himselfe all that which is found praise-worthie in his people Vers 3. For I will powre water vpon the thirstie and floods vpon the dry grouÌ„d I will powre my spirit vpon thy seed and my blessing on thy buds HE continues on the same argument In the forme verse he promised them help here he describes the meanes and therewithall shewes wherein this promised help shall stand We must still keepe in mind therefore that these prophesies are to be referred to those wofull and dolefull times whereof mention hath bin made before to wit when all things were confused the people forsaken and all the promises of God seeming as if they had been of none effect the Prophet therefore meets with these doubts and compares the people to a drie and thirstie ground which hath no moysture left in it which similitude Dauid vseth Psal 141.6 to set forth his miserie Now howsoeuer they were ouerwhelmed with sorrowes and had lost all vigor yet lest their hearts should faint within them in these extremities they were to set these and the like sweete sentences before them And wee also are to haue our recourse to such promises as oft as dangers beset vs on euery side The vse for vs. so as we can see nothing but present death ready to swallow vs vp quick and by this meanes shall we remaine more then conquerors But it is required that we be such as haue a sense and feeling of our thirst and pouertie that so our fainting and parched soules may cheerefullie receiue refreshing from these floods By the word spirit he tels vs what is signified by vvaters and floods The spirit is also called vvater in Ezech. 36.25 but in a diuers sense For when Ezechiel attributes the name of vvaters to the holy Spirit he calles them pure vvaters hauing respect to the purgations vnder the Lawe Isaiah will afterwards likewise call the holy Spirit vvater but in another respect to wit in that it giues streÌ„gth and vigor to fainting soules by his secret and inward power But here the Prophets words haue a further extent for he not only speakes of the spirit of regeneration but there is an allusion to that generall vertue which it sheds into all the creatures whereof the Psalmist speakes Psal 104.30 When thou sendest forth thy spirit they are created This word Spiriâ— here not only signifies the spirit of regeneration but that generall vertue which it sheds into all the creatures and thou renuest the face of the earth Now as Dauid there in the first place shewes that all the parts of the world are reuiued by that secret power which God breathes into them so afterwards he attributes vnto the Lord a sufficient abilitie forthwith as soone as it pleaseth him to renue the whole frame of heauen and earth that it should not fall to ruine In the same sense doth our Prophet call vvater the sudden restauration of the Church as if he should say the restoring therof is in the hand of God as well as it rests in him by dewes or showers to fructifie barren parched grouÌ„ds Thus the Spirit is compared vnto vvater because without it all things would fade and wither with drouth he it is also that reuiues the world by a secret sprinkling of it with his power and redresseth the barrennes that proceeds of heate and drouth whereby the earth recouers a new face as it were which is yet further amplified by the word blessing added in the end of the verse Vers 4. And they shall grow as among the grasse and as the willowes by the riuers of waters This verse is an amplification of the former THere is nothing contained in this verse but that which I haue alleadged out of the hundreth and fourth Psalme to wit that when God sends forth his Spirit then the whole face of the earth is renued and the things which were before parched vp with heate shall beginne to wax greene and florishing euen as the hearbs sprout after they haue been watered by the dewes from heauen He amplifies his speech by these similitudes and shewes more plainly that it shall be no lesse difficult for God to repeople his Church a new which was barren and deformed in regard of the wofull estate in which shee was then to giue the earth power to bud and bring forth gâ—asse and hearbs Moreouer albeit hee speakes not properly heere of regeneration
their extreme fall be Vers 12. The smith taketh an instrument and worketh in the coales and fashioneth it with his hammers and worketh it with the strength of his armes yea hee is an hungred and his strength faileth hee drinketh no water and is faint 13. The Carpenter stretcheth out a line he fashioneth it with a red threed he planteth it and he pourtraieth it with the compasse and maketh it after the figure of a man and according to the beautie of a man that it may remaine in an house IT is not in vaine that the Prophet makes this large description The furie of Idolaters amplified for his meaning is to rouze vp the drowsie consciences of the superstitious out of their senslesse blockishnes if by any meanes he might either terrifie or at least hinder the Iewes from being made drunke with this poisoned cup for they were compassed about on all sides with an infinite number of idolaters He disciphers out euerie thing point by point that he might giue them cleerly to discerne of their spirituall frensie and madnesse I grant he might haue condemned this their wickednesse euen in few words but this large description makes it very apparant when hee thus reckons vp the Smith the Carpenter the tooles labour and diligence of these workemen to bring vs as you would say euen to the acting of the thing it selfe For men who naturally haue these errors ingrauen in their vnderstandings are more moued this way then by a plaine sermon Neither can they be wakened from their sluggishnesse but by continuall loud cries All things therefore must of necessitie be minced out vnto them by small morsels yea they had neede haue it chewed for them and put into their mouthes like young children that so at the last they may comprehend that doctrine which otherwise seemes new and strange vnto them Yea is hungry Hee expresseth the zeale wherewith Idolaters are carried away in forging their gods for they are so fierie and vehement that they can keepe no measure at all Their lusts pricke them forward as mad men to runne vpon their owne destruction they will not afford themselues time to eate nor drinke This furie therefore may well be compared to the raging lusts of whoremongers as we haue said before In a word they spare not their strength but imploy all the faculties powers both of soule body in this businesse which is better vnderstood by The strength of the arme As if he had said They depriue themselues of diet and rest they apply to the vtmost the strength of their armes yea they will scarsly allow themselues the common comforts of nature In a word they spare neither paines nor cost to finish their gods which they so much desire vers 9. Now whereas hee saith that though these saint yet they giue not ouer but indure hunger and thirst rather then to hinder their work it is to be vnderstood of the workmen yet it may also as well extend it selfe to all the indeuors of an inconsiderate zeale For we see how the superstitious will torment their bodies in their feruent deuotions as they call them But the more they melt and pine away themselues to fall into perdition the more vile and abominable is our sloth when wee defraud God of that seruice which to him appertaines But in the end hee shewes with what folly this diligence is filled seeing the whole fruit of their labour is to behold their Idols idlely to rest without feare in whatsoeuer place they were fastened as if some lazie bodie should wallow in the ashes or lie all day soaking in his bed Vers 14. He will hew him downe cedars and take the pine tree and the oke and taketh courage among the trees of the forrest hee planteth a firre tree and the raine doth nourish it In this verse the Prophet describes not onely their violent furie but their wilfull obstinacie THe Prophet sets forth not onely the zeale and witlesse rage of Idolaters but also their obstinacie and rebellion For in that he saith they cut downe cedars and did plant a firre-tree it is to shew that they perseuered long in their follie and were not ouertaken with any suddeÌ„ passion which droue them to forge these gods They are not content onely to chuse trees of sufficient growth but they also plant them young water and husband them and vvait a long while till they be come to a sufficient stature to make an Idoll of When wee reade these things and see such an horrible rage let vs know that God takes vs by the necke as it were to pull vs thence and to continue vs in true pietie Wee must take these foxes I meane these lusts betimes and kill them whilest they be cubs lest if we nourish them ouer long in our breasts they grow wild and impregnable Wee are euermore to watch ouer our owne hearts that a wicked lust no sooner creepes in to carry vs away to the loue of Idols but wee forthwith roote it out for feare of falling into these deepe gulphes because euen the best of vs all beares about with vs some seedes of this brutishnes which by no meanes can be weeded out nay they wil bud sprout vp in vs without ceasing vnlesse we be purged of them by the power of the holy Ghost Moreouer seeing Idolaters are thus violently carried â—owne the streame in seruing their Idols â—â—ue not wee cause to blush for shame that aâ—â— so cold in the seruice of our God In that Idolaters are so vehement in their Idoll seruice it ought to make vs blush that are so cold in Gods seruice Let vs â— say blush and be ashamed of our sloth and lâ—kewarmnesse nay key coldnesse whilest â—â—ose that worship Idols are fire hote as it were with zeale and let vs also bethinke vs of the count wee are to make With what veâ—emencie are the Turkes Turkes carried away whâ—n the matter concernes the maintenance of their Mahomet Mahomet and his blasphemies Are they not ready to shed their owne blood and to giue their liues for the defence thereof The Papists Papists are not behind them herein for they are no lesse inflamed with furie to vphold their superstitions And we in the meane while can content our selues to sit still much adoe there is to quicken vp our zeale nay doe we not often euen quench those good sparkles which God hath kindled in vs by his holy Spirit HearkeÌ„ what Ieremiah saith Hath any Nation changed their gods But my people hath forsaken me the fountaine of liuing waters to dig vnto themselues broken pits that can hold no water Ier. 2.11 This comparison therefore ought to be well obserued Note lest wee be found lesse constant in maintaining the trueth then Idolaters are obstinate in defending lies Vers 15. A man burneth thereof for he will take thereof and warme himselfe also hee kindleth it and baketh bread yet hee maketh a god and worshippeth it
it that wil pardon such a carelesnesse as is ioined with the losse of mens soules Men busie themselues tooth and naile for the matters of this naturall life We see how busilie men bestir them when the naturall life is in ieopardie stands it not vs much more in hand then to awaken men out of the slumber of their soules which are in danger of eternall damnation especially if wee may doe it by putting forth our hand in pulling them out Moreouer it is said that he deliuers his soule which by repentance escapes out of Satans nets And in that sense we are said to saue one another when we bring men that haue erred into the right way by our holy admonitions Whence comes it then that Idolaters runne headâ—ong into perdition The cause that plungeth Idolaters iâ—â—o pâ—rdition Because they take the bridle in their teeth and wilfully rush into the same euen as the horse rusheth into the battell Lastly in the end of the verse hee shortly shewes the meane whereby men may recouer themselues out of this danger to wit in considering their owne vvorkes without flattering of themselues Note for he that pleaseth himselfe in his error and inquires not whether he doth well or no such a one shall neuer be able to deliuer his owne soule As for example our Papists will not examine vpon what reason their diuine seruice is grounded but content themselues to couer such a beastlinesse vnder the cloake of simplicitie as if God meant to haue a Church of rude asses or as if hee had not commanded vs to distinguish betweene that seruice hee accepts and that which he reiects or as if hee had not commanded vs diligently to search what his good and acceptable will is lest we should indifferently allow darknesse for light and sower for sweete For these things must bee examined by the touchstone of his written word To the law and to the testimonie Chap. 8. which if we shall doe it shall be easie for vs to escape out of the dangers if not then let vs lay the cause of our ruine vpon our selues Why so Because our meaning is to perish wilfully in regard wee will not suffer our selues to be brought into the right way or will not beare the words of exhortation Vers 21. Remember these O Iakob and Israel for thou art my seruant I haue formed thee thou art my seruant O Israel forget me not Application NOw hee applies that to the peoples vse which he hath so long insisted vpon before touching the lies and superstitions of the Gentiles wherein the ignorant deceiued themselues especially in the matters belonging to Gods worship and seruice Now hee writ not this so much for them of his owne time as for their sakes principally which were to succeede and should afterward remaine captiues in Babylon In which regard they by their long abode among the Idols were in danger to be corrupted declined from the true seruice of God if they had not been restrained by such bridles The Prophet therfore admonisheth them that howsoeuer they should be detained seuenty yeeres in captiuitie yet they should call these exhortations vnto mind thereby to sustaine their hearts in their greatest temptations Thou art my seruant Hee addes this as the reason why they should remember these promises euen to keepe themselues from this common contagion For it had been a thing insupportable for the elect people whom God had inclosed within the limits of his law thereby to separate them from others if they confusedly and indifferently should haue mingled themselues among the pollutions of the Gentiles As if he should say Wonder not you that the Caldeans are so rise in their errors neither follow their example because I haue formed thee to serue mee that is to say I haue reformed and regenerated thee that thou mightest be heire of eternall life Of this creation we haue amply spoken heretofore to wit that it appertaines to the renewing of the inward man Now the Scripture is often wont to vse this argumeÌ„t to wit You are called to holinesse and not to vncleannesse 1. Thes 4.7 Also Phil. 2.15 Walke as children of the light in the midst of a peruerse and froward nation With many the like places Hence wee gather that wee are worthy of many stripes if by our carelesnesse and negligence wee suffer that light of Gods grace wherewith he hath inlightened vs to go out because our fault will be much greater then theirs who haue not tasted of the like fauour I grant the prophane are worthily punished neither shall the excuse of ignorance be able to serue their turnes but those that haue receiued grace and haue abused it shall bee worthy to be the more seuerely chastised Forget me not His meaning is that it is vnpossible for those which were once entred into the good way to turne aside vnlesse it bee by forgetting of God For as long as the remembrance of his Maiestie remaines imprinted in the tables of our hearts neither errors nor impostures shall euer bee able to take place Errors will neuer take place in vs if the remembrance of Gods name bee thorowlie imprinted in vs. Is any reuolted from God then to turne to superstition and impietie Let him impute it to his owne malice What is the cause of apostasie then The forgetfulnesse of God for that by little and little drawes vs out of the right way till at the length we be wholly reuolted But by the remedie heere prescribed he assures them that they shall be out of danger to reuolt namely if they exercise themselues in continuall meditation for if our minds grow once carelesse heerein they gather rust as it were which infects and corrupts all knowledge of God till it be cleane eaten out Vers 22. I haue put away thy transgressions like a cloud and thy sinnes as a mist turne vnto me for I haue redeemed thee A consalatorie promise THe Lord promiseth deliuerance to his people for the truth is that our mindes cannot be raised vp to remember him as wee ought vnlesse we first feele him gracious and fauourable vnto vs. That hee might preserue his people which he had formed for himselfe from reuolting then he addes now a promise of consolation to perswade with them that this their banishment should not indure for euer for God as hee is a most patient and louing Father so mitigates their corrections When God forgiues the sinne he also remits the punishment that hee alwaies forgiues the faults of his children As touching the putting away of their iniquities it properly belonged to the captiues which for their iniquities sake suffered that punishment Hence it followed therefore that God being appeased their deliuerance was at hand for it is an argument taken from the cause to the effect An argument taken from the cause to the effect If the fault be remitted so is the punishment For the Iewes were no sooner reconciled with God
but the punishment which they suffered for their transgressions ceased Now in these words there is hid a close exhortation to repentance not onely to moue them to sigh vnder the burthen of their afflictions but to acknowledge them as iust recompences of their iniquities whereby they had prouoked God vnto wrath As oft then as he handles vs roughly We should not desire so much the remouall of our punishments as the blotting out of our sins The fond distinction of the Sophisters met withall againe touching the remitting of the fault and retaining of the punishment Simile wee must not craue so much to be disburthened of this our sorrow and miserie as rather to beginne at the forgiuenesse of our sinnes that God would not impute them vnto vs. And heere wee haue cause giuen vs againe to meet with that fond distinction of the Papists who confesse that the fault indeed is forgiuen but not the punishment By the similitude of the cloud hee meanes that the Lord would no longer continue to pursue them in his wrath nor to correct them in his displeasure because their sinnes being put out of his sight the punishment was therewithall also abolished For you see that in a faire day the clouds which before darkened the light of the Sunne from vs are vanished and gone Let vs therefore reiect these diuelish inuentions of men whereby they labour to ouerthrow this comfortable doctrine of the free remission of sinnes seeing it flatly crosseth the doctrine of the holy Prophets This clause which is added returne to mee may be taken two waies either that the Lord thereby exhorts them to repentance or that therein he giues them hope of deliuerance but both expositions may sute well We haue told you that it is vsuall in the Scriptures to exhort to repentance as oft as it mentions our deliuerance for the Lord purposeth by this meanes to draw vs to himselfe that hee might thereby fit vs for the receiuing of his benefits But because the people were in a manner past hope of their deliuerance in respect of their owne infidelitie wee may take these words as a confirmation that from thence the people might vndoubtedly conclude in themselues that they should returne As if the Lord should haue said I know you thinke me to be far from you in this your distresse yet be of good cheere for I am mindfull of you still Now this latter exposition pleaseth me best because as I thinke it sutes best with the text For the Prophet aboue all things studies how to confirme these poore captiues in the promises yea and if it were possible to ingraue them in their hearts Well he commands the Iewes to turne vnto the Lord howsoeuer their long exile hindered them from hoping that he would be their redeemer As if he should haue said Though I seeme to be far from you and to neglect you yet be not discouraged for I am resolued to redeeme you Vers 23. Reioice yee heauens for the Lord hath done it shout yee lower parts of the earth brast forth into praises yee mountaines O forrest and euery tree therein for the Lord hath redeemed Iakob and will be glorified in Israel HEe now exhorts the Iewes to giuing of thanks An exhortation to thanksgiuing not onely as a testimonie of their dutie but also to assure them the more fully of their deliuerance And thus he brings the people as it were to the thing done no lesse then if they had seene their deliuerance before their eies For such maner of speeches doe affect vs much more then if the promises were deliuered in naked and bare termes Seeing then the people might stand in some doubt of their returne because they languished long in their miseries and were almost consumed in them the Prophet awakens them and not onely frames them a song fit for the paying of their vowes but also shews that this worke of God shall bee so glorious that the very heauens and the earth with all the insensible creatures shall admire the greatnesse and nouelty of it Ye mountaines sound forth praises We may well interpret yee high heauens and thou earth below sing praises but because he makes mention of the mountaines he cals those the lower parts of the earth which are euen as the plaines and vallies to the end that all Countries on which side soeuer might be incited to celebrate and magnifie the name of the Lord. He addes afterwards that this work which all the creatures are called to behold and admire is the redemption of his Church for that is comprehended vnder Iakob and Israel and signifies that Gods glory shall wonderfullie shine therein Besides we are to consider that which I haue said elsewhere to wit that their returne is not simply set out heere but the end thereof also is comprehended vnder it for they were redeemed out of their captiuitie vpon condition that God in the end might gather vnder one head to wit Christ a Church composed of all nations vnder heauen Vers 24. Thus saith the Lord thy redeemer and he that formed thee from the wombe I am the Lord that made all things that spread out the heauens alone and stretched out the earth by my selfe A description of Gods power NOw the Prophet will forthwith according to his custome fall into a description of Gods power because the promises would little moue vs vnlesse the doctrine of Gods power were also added to remoue all doubts and scruples out of our hearts For it often falles out that by our obstinacie and distrust wee diminish both the goodnesse and power of God in attributing lesse vnto the same then we ought for which respect the Prophet heartens on the faithfull by the excellent titles afterwards mentioned to the end they might hope aboue hope And yet he begins with the commendation of the goodnes and fatherly affection which God beares his Church to the very end for the setting forth of Gods force and power would moue vs but little if himselfe should not therewithal draw neere to confirme vs in the assurance of his goodnesse Wee must not begin at his Maiestie then nor mount so high for feare of being ouerwhelmed but this loue of his by which he graciously drawes vs vnto him must be imbraced of vs also The title of redeemer in this place is referred to the time past in regard that the Iewes who were once redeemed out of Egypt as out of a bottomlesse gulph and that by a miracle almost incredible ought from the remembrance thereof to be confirmed in hope of the euerlasting continuance of it from age to age Hee calles himselfe their former in the same sense which we haue often expounded it before Regeneratiō to wit because in regenerating those by his Spirit whom he adopts he makes them new creatures And thus by the way he puts them in mind of the benefits they had already receiued that from thence they might conclude that God would be sure
end of our election is therewithall set downe For God finding vs the very bondslaues of Satan by nature The end of election calles vs by his free grace that we being set at libertie should become his seruants notwithstanding he shews that no man is worthie in himselfe of this fauour but he which is elect For who dares brag that he hath merited so great a benefit Or what can we doe or offer vnto God We are not sufficient of our selues but the Lord makes vs sufficient as S. Paul saith 2. Cor. 3.5 His free election therefore is free and is the very foundation of our saluation Gods free election the foundation of our saluation and the seruice is but the end which we of dutie owe vnto him Now howsoeuer this be restrained to the historie of Cyrus yet thence we may gather a generall doctrine For when God causeth such diuersities of changes in the world he therby procures the saluation of his Church and wonderfullie conserues it euen in the middest of these tempests We for the most part are as blind as beetles in viewing the works of God but yet wee must hold it for a sure principle that he neuer forgets his Church A sure principle God neuer forgets his Church no not then when a man would thinke heauen and earth would goe together nay then by secret meanes he brings forth her light as the noone day that all in conclusion may indeed confesse that himselfe is the protector and defender of the same Lib. 11. Chap. 8. Iosephus Alexander the Great Iaddus the hie Priest Iosephus recites a memorable historie of Alexander the Great who hauing besieged Tyre sent Ambassadors to Ierusalem to aske the tribute which the Iewes payed to Darius Jaddus the high Priest who had sworne to pay this tribute would in no wise obey Alexander but refused to pay it him this tyrant scorning such a refusall and in a maner being readie to burst with pride determined the destruction of Ierusalem and indeed hauing ouercome Darius he fits himselfe for the execution of his deliberation The hie Priest Iaddus comes forth clothed with the Priestly robes and with other Priests met Alexander Alexander no sooner beheld them but he alights from his horse and fell downe at the hie Priests feet in signe of reuerence As all stood amazed at this as at a thing extraordinarie and cleane contrarie to his purpose thinking he had bin besides himselfe Alexander answered Parmenion Parmenion who only amongst the rest asked him what he meant that he worshipped not this man but God whose office Iaddus susteined As also that whilest he remained at Dion a Citie of Macedonia Dion a Citie in Macedonia he had seene in a dreame a man so apparelled which presented himselfe vnto him in the person of God willing him to take Asia also promising to be the conductor of his armie that he might not doubt of the victorie and for this cause he said he could not content himselfe with sufficient admirations in beholding this hie Priest Thus Ierusalem was deliuered the mouth of the Lyon stopped who thought of nothing but gorging himselfe with the pray nay she gat greater libertie of him then she inioyed before besides great gifts and large priuiledges Why this historie is alledged Now I haue alledged this historie to shew that the Church of God is preserued in the middes of all dangers by strange and vnexpected meanes for the times were then very troublesome and no one corner in the world almost remained in quiet But aboue all Iudeah seemed to be appointed vnto robberies and spoilings and yet behold the Church deliuered as it were by a miracle whilest other countries were wasted and the forme of them vtterlie changed That which is added in the end of the verse though thou hast not knowne me serues for the greater amplification not only to teach Cyrus that these his endowments were no parts of his merits but that he should not despise the God of Israel albeit he knew him not The Lord often aduertiseth vs that he preuents mens industries that he might vtterlie cast downe all high conceits of flesh and blood But he had another end in preuenting of Cyrus for if he had thought that God had giuen these victories vnto him for his owne sake then would he like enough haue scorned the Iewes yea and would haue vsed them but as his vassals and slaues The Prophet shewes therefore that Cyrus his deserts were no cause of this but that he deliuered the people out of their enemies hands because God fauored them for this poore blind Infidell would haue bin readie to haue transported that ouer vnto his Idols which was due to the liuing God because being besotted in his superstitions he would neuer haue giuen obediēce to that God willinglie who was a stranger and vnknowne vnto him vnlesse he had first of all bin instructed by this prophesie Vers 5. I am the Lord and there is none other there is no God besides me I * Or apparelled girded thee though thou hast not knowen me HE confirmes the former sentence A confirmation of the former sentence for it is no superfluous repetition Truly it was necessarie that Cyrus should be often vrged with this point that there was but one God vnder whose power all potentates and nations are tributaries that being rid by this meanes from all impostures he might be whollie turned to the God of Israel Moreouer the Prophet more expreslie shewes that no diuinitie is to be sought out of him No diuinitie to be sought out of God as if he should say Looke that thou attributest not this victorie to thine Idols neither conceiue thou any confused god in thine owne braine as foolishmen are wont to doe but be thou aduertised that it is the God of Israel only that is the author of this conquest It is like enough that Cyrus made no great vse of this sermon neither that he forsooke his Idols to cleaue to this true God yet no doubt he had many flashings in his mind which made him after a sort to acknowledge a Godhead and that this God had the whole world at his becke But howsoeuer Cyrus neglected this doctrine yet the members of the Church ought to imbrace it that they may boldly reiect all false gods I haue apparelled or girded thee This apparrelling answers to the nakednesse whereof he spake before saying The loines of Kings shall be vngirt for he is said to apparell such as he furnisheth with strength to the battell Ps 18.32 to make them conquerors Whence we may gather first that men haue no more courage then that which God inspireth them withall by the power of his Spirit Secondly that neither armor nor armies serues to any purpose if God be not for vs. Thirdly that it is he onely who gouernes all hurly burlies and giues the victory to whom it pleaseth him lest any should thinke that things fall
for his Church deliuerance thereby to make triall of her faith and patiēce that they must wait long for the inioying of Gods promises for the people were in danger of declining seeing the wicked had the world at will and that all things went crosse with them I know well that many expound this place otherwise for the Hebrues for the most part interpret it thus That the Lord will hide himselfe from the Gentiles but will manifest himselfe to his people The Christian Doctors bring another exposition but as far from the purpose I grant that which they say sauors of wit whē they affirme that Christ is an hidden God because his diuinitie was hidden vnder the infirmitie of his flesh But this hath no affinitie with the Prophets intention who saith God is hid because he seemed as it were to estrange himselfe for a time whilest he suffred his Church to languish vnder diuers oppressions and calamities they were therefore to build vp one another by hope which as Paul saith is not of things seene but of things hidden Rom. 8.24 And in this sense Isaiah saith that God was hid because they saw not the promises by by performed thus he meant to draw their minds from the consideration of things present and to rauish them aboue the heauens So also must we doe if we meane to apprehend and imbrace his help Wee haue neede of patience Wee haue neede of patience then you see that when the promises are deferred wee may also be able to hold our desires in suspence He said erewhile that the heathen should feele Gods presence notwithstanding they were then blind and sottish but because the time of the manifestation hereof was not yet come it is not without cause that this exclamation is intermingled to wit that before God will manifest his glorie he will hide his power for the triall of his seruants Besides from the epethite which is by and by added where God is called the sauiour the Prophet speakes not of the essence but of the want of his succor for he shewes that God hid himselfe frō minding the deliuerance of his Church in regard he withdrew his hand for a time as if he had purposed whollie to forsake the same We must be content to suffer our saluation to lie hid for a time See Col. 3.3.4 Our God will haue our saluation lie hidden then as it were in darknes to the end that if we wil haue any part therein we may make our accounts to goe out of this world because this benefit will not by and by appeare vnto vs we must therefore wait for this saluation with an inuincible constancie Yet we must wait for it with an inuincible constancie for it is expedient and for our great good that God by this meanes should examin and proue our faith that so when afflictions do diuerslie presse vs we yet cease not to rest our selues vpon him and vpon his promises Vers 16. All they shall be ashamed and also confounded they shall goe to confusion together that are the makers of Images 17. But Israel shall be saued in the Lord with an euerlasting saluation yee shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end As God in the former verses tooke order for the saluation of his Church so here he decrees the destruction of his enemies THe Prophet heere compares the Iewes with the Gentiles to preuent a difficult and dangerous temptation wherewith they might be shaken by seeing the Gentiles to haue all things according to their wish For they might well thinke in such streights that either God fauored the Gentiles or that he neglected his Church or that all things were hudled vp together at aduenture The Prophet therefore aduertiseth them that howsoeuer the prophane nations florished for a time and seemed to be aduanced aboue the clouds yet their perdition was decreed as well as the saluation of Israel In a word he admonisheth them not to iudge of Gods power by the estate of things present lest they should fix their thoughts vpon things of no continuance but that they should rather lift them vp to the eternal saluation and in the meane while being striken with Gods hand patiently to beare their condition without grudging at the prosperitie of the wicked who were shortly to haue a shamefull fall Psal 37. This sentence then is knit to the former for whosoeuer shall be well instructed that God hides himselfe whilest he is a sauiour will not much be moued at the prosperitie of the wicked nor at the miserie of the faithfull that are despised and exercised with sundrie afflictions because the end of the one is shame and the end of the other glorie Thus you see how the Lord prooues our faith and patience and yet that nothing of our eternall saluation which is prepared for vs shall fall to the ground and that such who seemed the only happie men shall in the end perish All the good they now enioy shall turne to their extreame ruine because they abused the gifts of God and like theeues vsurp vpō that which is none of theirs though they seeme to be the iust possessors of all things As oft then as these thoughts shall trouble vs to wit that the wicked prosper that God fauors them and that the promises vpon which we rest are vaine let vs haue our recourse to this sentence of our Prophet as to a safe citie of refuge and let vs thus fortifie our selues God will not disappoint vs of our hope in the end we shall be deliuered though wee bee now exposed to the reproches iniuries outrages and cruelties of our enemies Vers 18. For thus saith the Lord that created heauen God himselfe that formed the earth and made it he that prepared it he created it not in vaine he formed it to be inhabited I am the Lord and there is none other THis verse serues to confirme that which was said before An argument taken againe from the lesse to the greater as in verse 12. for the Prophet would haue the Iewes fullie resolued that the Lord at last would worke their deliuerance albeit they were a long while oppressed vnder a miserable seruitude and therefore some by the earth vnderstand the land of Iudeah but I rather take it to be an argument takē from the lesse to the greater as we said before in the 12. verse to wit That seeing Gods prouidence reacheth generallie ouer all his creatures by so much the more doth it extend it selfe to those whom he hath adopted for his children in regard he hath a speciall care ouer them Thus stands the Prophets argument The prophets Argument then Seeing God hath created the earth that men should inhabit it much more hath he made it a place of abode for his Church which he esteemeth more then of all creatures besides If he hath setled the earth vpon her foundations in giuing it a certaine forme and in ordeining it to a certaine
vse and end that men might be nourished and susteined vvith the fruites it bringeth forth no doubt but he hath giuē it to his childrē in the first place Gods children haue or ought to haue the first place in the earth Our minds must be vpheld by hope by which we may manfully resist temptations and that in a soueraigne degree of honor aboue others I grant wee see not this come alwaies thus to passe and therefore our minds must be framed to be vpheld by hope that so wee may stand firme and inuincible against all sorts of temptations In a word the Church of God shall stand as long as the foundations of the earth remaine for it shall be established before God as the Sunne and Moone in the firmament Psal 89.36.37 In Chap. 54.9 he will vse an argument of greater force to wit If the couenant which was made with Noah touching the constant estate of the world be firme Gen. 9.9 much more shall his promise made to his Church be sure and permanent for the world is corruptible and perishable but the Church which is Christs kingdome shall remaine for euer The Church remaines for euer The promises therefore which are made concerning her must needes be more firme and stable then any thing besides Now because the earths principall ornament stands in her being inhabited the Prophet addes that it was not created to be vvaste but for men to conuerse in If any shall obiect Obiect on the contrary that the earth was without forme and void euen after it was created as it appeares in Genes 1.2 where Moses vseth the same word Tohu that the Prophet heere doth which signifies without forme Ans and emptie the solution is easie for the Prophet speakes not of th◠beginning of the creatiō but of Gods purpose by which hee ordained the earth for mens vse and abode The Prophet then contradicts not Moses at all seeing he hath respect to the vse and end As touching that which followes to be inhabited it extends it selfe to all mankind in generall to wit the earth is ordained for all men to dwell vpon For whence comes it to passe that the Lord nourisheth vs prouides all necessaries for vs yea and sustaines the very wicked The reason why God continues sinfull man vpon the earth Is it not that his decree might continue stedfast because hee hath appointed men to haue their dwelling in it Otherwise it were impossible that hee should indure so many vices wickednesses to raigne and not vtterly to destroy man from off the same but hee respects his owne holy ordinance and not our deserts Heere is the reason then why states and kingdomes continue so long in the middest of Barbarians and Infidels The Lord vvill haue the earth inhabited And howsoeuer for the sinnes of men the Lord oftentimes brings some Countries into desolation and sowes it as it were with salt in regard they become barren and are notable to sustaine their inhabitants yet he euer so mitigates his stroke that the earth is inhabited by some because God will haue his decree to stand inuiolable But we must remember what I said before to wit whilest there is a world to bee inhabited of men that God will haue a remnant reserued which shall call vpon his name God will alwaies haue a remnant to call vpon his name From hence then may all the faithfull gather great consolation for albeit the world contemnes them and that they be few in number and on the contrary that the wicked surpasse them in multitude riches power and authoritie yet how little account soeuer bee made of them and that they be esteemed no better then abiects and the of-scouring of al things yet are they precious in the eies of the Lord because he acknowledgeth them for his children and therefore will neuer suffer them to perish In that he repeates it againe I am the Lord it is not onely to iustifie his eternall essence but to put a difference betweene his Maiestie and Idols that he might still retaine the Iewes within the bounds of his pure worshippe and seruice The superstitious sort will confesse indeed that there is one God but they forge that one God in their owne braine we must therefore know and acknowledge that God which manifested himselfe to the Patriarks and Prophets Neither speakes he heere of Gods eternall essence onely as many thinke but likewise of all the offices which peculiarlie belong vnto him to the end none may dare to transfer that which is onely proper vnto him and not vnto creatures Vers 19. I haue not spoken in secret neither in a place of darknesse in the earth I said not in vaine vnto the seede of Iakob Seeke you mee I the Lord doe speake in righteousnesse and declare righteous things NOw he brings the people to the doctrine of the Law because God cannot be comprehended by the sense of flesh and blood Howsoeuer then he be hid from carnall reason yet he fully manifests himselfe and giues a remedy in his word which supplies our want to the end we should seeke no further then it were it not so we should be left as men without any hope at all and should vtterly quaile He therefore protests that hee called vs not vnto him in vaine albeit his helpe be deferred because that which hee hath promised is most sure As hee hath shewed vs cleerly then whither we ought to flee and vpon what to rest so will he let it be seene by the effects that the hope of such as haue staied vpon his word shall not be fruitlesse Hence wee may see how abominable their speeches are who affirme that a man can gather no particular assurance of his saluation An horrible blasphemie to affirme that a man can gather no particular assurance to himselfe of his owne saluation out of the Scriptures from the word of God they also make it no better then a nose of wax that they might discourage Gods people from medling with it For these mastiues barke thus in regard they see it discouers their errors and that the whole foundation of their rotten building is ouerthrowne by the doctrine contained in that little volume But with Dauid we answere Thy vvord O Lord is a lanterne to my feete and a light vnto my paths Psal 119.105 With Isaiah and the rest of the holy Prophets we answer that the Lord hath deliuered nothing that is obscure doubtfull or deceiuing and with Saint Peter we confesse that the vvord of the Prophets is most stable and sure to vvhich as he saith vve do vvell in giuing heede as to a light that shines in a darke place vntill the day dawne and the day starre arise in our hearts 2. Pet. 1.19 And if this were said of the Law and of the Prophets vvhat shall vve say of the Gospell by which this light is openly reuealed vnto vs Shall we not affirme with Saint Paul If the Gospell be yet hid
and let them take counsell together who hath declared this froÌ„ the beginning or hath told it of old Haue not I the Lord and there is none other God besides mee a iust God a Sauiour there is none besides me A comparisoÌ„ betweene Gods predictions and those of the Idols AGaine hee protests against all such as might trouble the Iewes or weaken their faith by their scornings For the Prophet aimes alwaies at this marke to wit that hee may fortifie the peoples faith against the assaults of the Gentiles because the poore Iews who were so extreamly handled were in danger of staggering in the midst of so many great and violent temptations had they not had some pregnant arguments set before them to hold them in their faith and obedience towards the true God Thus then hee permits the prophane to bring in whatsoeuer they can for the maintenance of their cause Where he saith let them consult together it is added in token of the greater boldnesse and confidence for the Prophets meaning is that they shall gaine nothing as wee haue said before albeit they conspire neuer so much together It may be also hee meant to shew how there was nought else but vanitie and deceit in all that which the Idolaters dreame of touching the excusing of their errors Make what pretences you will then saith he to colour your inuentions yet shall Gods word be strong enough to sustaine the faith of his seruants Hee calles them therefore to a right examination of things that they may compare all the brags of the Infidels touching the predictions of their Idols with the Law and the prophecies I willingly receiue that which is affirmed by all to wit that the Prophet speakes of the deliuerance of the people But in regard the ouerthrow of the Babylonian Monarchy was ioined therewithall therefore I thinke one of these things is compared with the other And because one sentence is repeated twice these two words Mikkedem and Mean are as much in effect as if he had said From the beginnig and from the times past for this prophecie was published long time before the things prophecied were accomplished whereby the faithfull might euidently perceiue that it was God which spake To prescience he addes his power as we haue often said and yet withall he shewes to what end God is powerfull euen to saue his people Vers 22. Looke vnto mee and yee shall bee saued all the ends of the earth shall be saued for I am God and there is none other HItherunto hee hath spoken onely to the Iewes Now the Prophet turnes his speech from the Iewes to the Gentiles as if saluation appertained to none but them Now he extends his speech further off for he cals a great audience to him euen the whole world to partake of the hope of saluation and therewithall condemnes all nations of vnthankfulnes if in giuing themselues still to be seduced with erâ—ors they obstinately shunned the cleere light which was offered For can a man commit a greater sinne then directly to reiect his owne saluation God commands all then to looke vnto him to which Commandement he addes a Promise for this hath greater weight in it and confirmes the matter much more then if he had set it downe simply by way of a command We haue in this text therefore an excellent testimony touching the vocation of the Gentiles wherein wee see how the Lord indifferently calles all sorts of men vnto him the partition wall being broken downe which separated betweene the Iewes and the Gentiles Eph. 2.14 Moreouer wee are heere taught the true meanes how to obtaine saluation euen to looke vnto God and to turne vnto him with our whole heart But we must looke vnto him with the eie of faith that we may imbrace the saluation promised to all in Iesus Christ For God so loued the world that he gaue his onely begotten Sonne that vvhosoeuer beleeues in him might not perish but haue euerlasting life Iohn 3.16 Now when hee exhorts all the ends of the earth All haue erred he shewes that all men haue hitherunto erred out of the right way haue had no respect vnto the true God for where infidelitie raignes there God cannot be discerned from Idols In a word he shewes that the condemnation of the whole world ariseth from doting vpon their owne inuentions whereby they forsake the liuing God for from the knowledge of him flowes eternall and assured saluation The way to saluation described The Lord then reacheth out his hand to saue all nations and shewes them what way they should take to obtaine it And thus it appeares it fel not out by chance that the Gospell was generally preached vnto all nations vnder heauen but that it proceeded from Gods decree who had ordained it so to come to passe long before Yet hee accuseth the Gentiles of blindnesse as I haue said ere while in that they turned their eies after vanities and ranne which way soeuer their giddie spirits led them For howsoeuer by nature they could not find out the true God hauing from their infancie been trained vp in superstitions and were bewitched with them yet God had iust cause notwithstanding to blame them for the prophane contempt of his grace Hypocrisie you know is alwaies wrapped in ignorance Hypocrisie alwaies mixed with ignorance so as men had rather bee deceiued through vaine deceits then to be led the straight way vnto God Vers 23. I haue sworne by my selfe the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousnesse and shall not returne * O that is euery knee c that euerie knee shall bow vnto mee and euerie tongue shall sweare by me HE addes a more manifest confirmation to the former sentence A confiâ—mation of the fâ—rmer sentence for because this calling was extraordinary and vnheard of hee therefore addes an oath as men are wont to doe in things that are strange and hard to be credited The Iewes might haue made replies in regard they were then reputed the onely elect people But in that he confirmes it with an oath all contention is taken away I grant the Prophet aimes againe at the same marke that he did in vers 6. to wit that Gods glory shall so shine in the restauration of the Church that all the world from the rising of the Sunne to the West shal admire the same or to tell it you in a word that the signes of Gods power shal so shine in this deliuerance that all nations shall bee confounded with feare and astonishment In the meane while hence wee may gather that which I touched before namely the Gentiles are heere equalled with the Iewes so as God shall be the common father of all and his name called vpon in all places Now God sweares by himselfe because there is none more sufficient to be a witnesse of his truth for he is the truth it selfe Men sweare by greater then themselues The câ—use of
to hold them from turning out of the right way We haue also to obserue that hee contents not himselfe to be called God but to be acknowedged the onely God God the onely God as wee haue said before He will therefore be separated from all gods that men forge that we may whollie rest our selues in him for he no sooner receiues any to be a companion with him but his throne will be made either to totter or to fall quite downe for there must be one only God or none at all Vers 10. Which declare the last things from the beginning and from of old the things that were not done saying My counsell shall stand and I will do what soeuer I will An implification NOw he shewes more at large after what maner he would haue the Iewes to thinke of the time past to wit because they were dayly instructed by continuall prophesies so farre forth as was expedient But hauing made this preface he comes in the next place to mention the hope of their deliuerance Neither are we to wonder that he repeates one thing so oft because it was a matter whereof they could hardly be perswaded for the people were not only slow to beleeue but with their infidelitie they ioined rebellion He admonisheth them then that they had bin often taught for a long time together how safe a thing it is to trust in God who doth not so much commend his foreknowledge vnto them as to shew what he had ordeined to fall out by the ministrie of his Prophets Neither had there bin any truth nor stedfastnes at all in the prophesies vnlesse the same God which had foreordeined this or that to come to passe had not also the euents thereof in his owne power And withall he aduertiseth them that in all prophesies he spake nothing but the truth for he published his decrees to the end they should not doubt to rest boldly therein as soone as the Prophets had spoken But because I haue handled these things largely before therefore I touch them the more briefly for the present Vers 11. I call * Or the thâ—ught a bird from the East and the man of my counsell from farre as I haue spoken so will I bring it to passe I haue purposed it and I will do it THe Prophet hauing spoken of the prescience and power of God An application of the generall doctrine to a particular vse now applies his generall speech to a particular vse for he meanes to comfort the Iewes to wit that they were not in such perpetuall slauerie vnder the Babylonians as that no hope were left them touching their deliuerance He now comes to a specialtie then and promiseth that Cyrus Cyrus shall come with haste howsoeuer it seeme impossible in the eies of flesh and blood Where I haue translated the word Aait thought almost all the Interpreters translate Bird which is the true signification of the word but because we may gather out of the second of Daniel verse 14. that it is sometimes taken for counsell or thought I had rather follow this interpretation which is also approued by certaine Hebrues yet it may be the Prophet therein alludes to a bird as if he should say It shall be a swift thought or counsel neither do I denie but he notes the swiftnes of Cyrus his voyage Where he calles Cyrus the man of his counsell it is a repetition much vsed amongst the Hebrues whereby also it appeares that the word Aait is put in the first member for thought or decree Now he calles him a man of his counsell because he shal be the executioner of this iudgement Notwithstanding if any had rather retaine the word Bird I will not gainesay him in regard of the neere affinitie that is betweene the similitudes for Cyrus his comming was so sudden and vnexpected as that he seemed to come string as a Bird. He besieged and tooke Babylon whilest the Chaldeans thought all passages were shut against him Also if this interpretation be better liked we may say that Isaiah alludes to those diuinations which they made from the flying of Birds whereunto the Chaldeans were exceedingly giuen for as they practised iudiciall Astronomie Iudiciall Astronomie so obserued they the flying chirping of Birds thinking that herein consisted a certaine knowledge of things to come but the Lord tels them he will send a bird which they could not foresee Notwithstanding the first exposition contents me best to wit that he hath respect to the swift passage of Cyrus signifying that the waies can not be so shut vp nor the fortresses so strong that they should hinder him froÌ„ approching suddenly vnto Babylon Where he addes from the East it serues not only to make the promise certaine but also to assure the Iewes that no distance of way should be able to let or foreslow this worke of God and therefore by way of exposition he addes in the second member from farre Hence let vs learne to what end we ought to referre all that which we reade of Gods prescience or power in the holy scriptures for these things are not said to hold vs in suspeÌ„se but to the end we might the better applie them to our vse He also closely opposeth Gods counsell to our thoughts Why so Because he will so deliuer his Church that men shall not be able to conceiue the reason thereof in their minds Howsoeuer then that which God promiseth seemes incredible yet he shewes that he will easily open himselfe a way to the end wee should not measure his incomprehensible counsels within the narrow scantling of our reason I haue thought it Others translate I haue formed it but I thinke the verb Iatser agrees best being taken here for to thinke He therefore confirmes that which he said before to wit that this was thus ordeined of him before and therefore should remaine stedfast and inuiolable And whereas he addes As I haue spoken so vvill I bring it to passe it is as much as if he had said that he foretold no thing in vaine and that this prophesie which was published at his commandement oughâ— to be accounted of as if it were alreadie accomplished He hath put this first member then to gaine credit to his words and then hee addes in the second his thoughts with his word preached which wee are dilligently to obserue because we are tossed with diuers distractions doubting whether God hath spoken in good earnest or no because wee imagin him to be such a one as our selues that is to say in plaine English an hypocrit or a dissembler But he protests that nothing proceedes from him but that which hath issued from his mature deliberations so as the preaching of the word is no other thing but an assured testimonie of his secret counsels which he hath purposed to manifest vnto vs. Gods promise and the performance goe together As oft then as the Lord vtters his voyce wee ought to build
that thou shouldest plucke vp and destroy No power so high but it is subiect to the authoritie of Gods word and pull downe and plant Ier. 1.10 For there is no power at all that is not vnder the checke of Gods word Lastly his meaning is to bring the Iewes as it were to view the thing done for they could not without much difficultie conceiue how this change should happē vnlesse God should destroy their enemies with thunder lightning from heauen Touching this word daughter of Babylon it is a figure much vsed among the Hebrewes when they speake of Cities and nations He calles her virgin not in regard of her chastitie or shamefastnesse but because shee was tenderly and delicately entertained as virgins be and was not as yet forced nor rauished by the enemie as it was said of Zidon in Chap. 23.12 The like may be said at this day of Venice Venice and of other Cities flowing and abounding in riches and pleasures in which regard they seeme most happy in the eies of the world But they haue no lesse cause to feare the change of their estate then the Babylonians howsoeuer they seeme now to be far off from danger For thou shalt be no more that is to say those that esteemed thee happy shall reioice no more with thee for thy prosperitie Vers 2. Take the milstones and grind meale lose thy lockes make bare the feete vncouer the leg and passe thorow the floods ALl this description tends to this end Notes of extreame slauerie namely that Chaldea shal taste of a wonderfull change For this Citie which before was in great honour shall bee brought into extreme dishonout and euery way put to such drudgerie that all shall perceiue euident and apparant signes of Gods wrath therein Behold then the marks of a most seruile bondage Take the milstones and grind meale For they were wont in ancient time to put slaues of the basest and abiectest condition to the mill Their condition then must needs bee miserable when they were held no better then horses for in warre those that got the conquest handled some of their prisoners with much better respect But heere the Prophet propounds nothing before the Chaldeans but a wofull condition in all points to the end the faithfull might assure themselues that they should goe forth freely The righteous escapeth out of trouble and the wicked shall come in his stead Prou. 11.8 when the Chaldeans who held them captiues should themselues be captiuated Now howsoeuer we reade not that the great states of the land were thus dishonourably vsed yet it sufficed for the accomplishment of the prophecie that Cyrus suffering them to inioy some base offices made them vncapeable of any rule or authority by constraining them to cease from all honest exercises and liberall sciences And because they ouerflowed in voluptuousnesse Virgins but too curious in setting forth their haire by the lockes hee alludes to the trimmings of virgins We know they are but too curious in tricking and setting out their haire Isaiah therefore on the contrarie describes here a dressing far discrepant from the former to wit that from the head downe to the feete they should be couered with ignominie with filth and mire in stead of that braue and costly attire they were wont to weare Maidens and virgins will scarsly bee seene to passe through the streetes much lesse through high waies but the Chaldeans must passe thorow the floods and that with the thigh or leg vncouered Vers 3. Thy filthines shall be discouered and thy shame shall be seene I will take vengeance and I will not meet thee as a man THis is the conclusion The conclusion of the former sentence as if he should say As long as Babylon florished she kept her reputation and was greatly esteemed for oftentimes vnder riches and authoritie there lie many vlcers as vnder vailes which being taken away the filth is discouered to the great shame of the parties as Demosthenes speaking of Philip king of Macedon saith Whilest mens bodies are in good plight the weaknes vvhich is hidden in some of the members is not espied A saying of Demosthenes speaking of the estate of Philip king of Macedonia but if the body fall into any dangerous sicknes then all is out of order heere is a breach felt there is a sinew perished or somewhat else out of tune The same we see to happen in kingdomes Common-wealths and Cities ill gouerned for the filth and corruption which before was couered vnder the glorie of their estates A Simile being now a little troubled are discouered when their pomp and riches are taken from them then their cruelties treasons robberies periuries vniust taxes and other impieties by which they purchased to themselues honour in time of prosperitie begin to turne to their dishonour in the time of aduersitie I vvill take vengeance and vvill not meet thee as a man It is as much as if he should say Thinke not thou hast to do in this case with a mortall man whose violence thou mayst resist for in other places where mention is made of mans hand it signifies a kinde of moderation But here the Prophet shewes that the Chaldeans shall find no reliefe at all because God will vtterlie roote them out Others translate I vvill not meet a man that is to say I will accept of no man that shall intreate for them Let who will come forth and intercede for them yet I will not remit their fault neither lessen nor asswage the punishment one whit This sense agrees well but it is a little constreined in regard of the disposition of the words for thus the verb Paga which signifies to goe before must be taken in the passiue signification which cannot be Moreouer the Prophet saith not simplie that God will not be intreated but that he wil not be appeased Thus the first exposition sutes best if we consider rightlie of the order of the words yet euery one may follow whether of the senses he will for take which you list the summe will be that the Lord will race them out without pitie or mercie only this I say the first exposition likes me well because it agrees best with the text Vers 4. Our redeemer the Lord of hosts is his name the holy one of Israel The end of Gods iudgements is to manifest himselfe the redeemer of his Church THe Prophet shewes to what end God would take vengeance vpon the Chaldeans euen in regard of the peoples saluation as he said in Chap. 45.4 But this sentence hath much greater force in it in regard it comes in abruptly and as one wakening himselfe out of a dreame when he saw Babylon ruinated which before made it her trade to subdue and treade other nations vnder her feet And he shewes that this shall come to passe for none other cause but to the end the Lord may manifest himselfe to be the redeemer and auenger of
out to draw their prognostications from thence He derides their vaine brags then as if he should say They retire to their regions but they shall vvander in their imaginations and shall find no place of refuge If any had rather vnderstand it of their reuolt from whom Babel looked for present helpe in time of need I gainsay him not THE XLVIII CHAPTER Vers 1. Heare yee this O house of Iakob which are called by the name of Israel and are come out of the waters of Iudah which sweare by the name of the Lord and make mention of the God of Israel but not in truth nor in righteousnesse Now the Prophet directs his speech to the Iewes NOW hee directs his speech to the Iewes whom hee chiefly respected in the whole chapter before going For he was not sent to the Babylonians but so speakes to thē that still his meaning is the Iewes should make their profit of it for whose good he was principally appointed The drift of Isaiah in this Chapter ordained to that high and excellent calling He hath foretold the ruine of Babel then to the end the Iewes might in patience and silence wait for their deliuerance and yet that the greatnesse and power of their enemies in the meane while might not daunt nor discourage them But resting securely vpō these promises they might stand with inuincible force against al temptations Now in as much as the Iewes were somewhat obstinate and would not easilie be brought to credit these promises as also that Isaiah by the spirit of prophecie wel foresaw how stiffe necked and rebellious they would proue euen in their captiuitie he therefore reproues them thus sharply Ezech. in Chap. 33 31. shewes at large how great their incredulitie was when they murmured against God and fel off the hooks making no more account of these promises then of so many fables It is not without cause then that Isaiah is so vehement shewing that they much dishonoured the Lord in that they would not rest vpon his truth He speakes to Israel but so as to Israel degenerate Israel in name and not Israel in deed Hee giues them not this title then by way of honour but rather to conuince them of their false confidence in that they wrongfully vsurped this honourable title and nothing at all answered the truth thereof in their practise For why did God dignifie his seruant Iakob with this name but because he shewed himselfe valorous and inuincible in aduersitie Which appeares by that vvrestling he had with God who pitcheth the field as it were to make warre vpon vs when hee exerciseth vs with diuers tribulations Gen. 32.28 How could this title agree then to his successors Prou. 24.10 when they fainted and forsooke their confidence in the day of aduersitie He afterwards reprocheth them in that they nothing at all resembled the holy fathers from whom they were descended By vvaters vnder a figure hee meanes the fountaine and spring from whence the Iewes issued for I allow not of the Rabbines ridiculous glosse who by the word waters vnderstand that sperm whereof children are ingendred because it is moist and waterish but it is a similitude very fitly drawne from waters which flow from a spring Now hauing taxed them for bastard and degenerate children he addes that they falsly couer the same title vnder the cloke of pietie and religion from the truth whereof they were also reuolted Now because an oath is a part of Gods worship An oath a part of Gods worship he heere puts it for the whole vnder the figure synecdoche For as the Idolaters offer God great wrong in swearing by their Idols so the true worshippers doe highly honour him in swearing by his name for thereby they protest to haue but one God whose name they thus glorie in But in this place the Prophet inueyes bitterly against the hypocrites Hypocrites taxed who had nothing in their mouthes but the name of God and tossed it continuallie vpon the tip of their tongues but in the meane while their hearts were farre off from him as it is in Chap. 29.13 for this cause he saith But not in righteousnes which word he takes heere for vprightnes and soundnes of heart without which nothing we doe is acceptable before God Or truth and righteousnes may be taken for words of one signification as if he should say There is nothing but hypocrisie and vaine shewes in all your doings you professe your selues to be the seruants of the God of truth and behold you let all the world see that you are stuffed with disloyaltie and lies Vers 2. For they are called of the holie Citie and stay themselues vpon the God of Israel whose name is the Lord of hosts An amplification of the Iewes hypocrisie HE holds himselfe to the point still and in other words refutes their vaine shewes for falsly they gloried to be citizens of the holy Citie and yet they stuck not to pollute and defile it with their leaud practises Ierusalem was worthily reputed holy in regard God had sanctified it for the place of his abode but it was prophaned with so many abuses that there was no holines at all in a maner left in it In the 15. and 24. Psalme wee see who are worthie to be esteemed the true citizens of Ierusalem but seeing the Iewes blushed not to play fast and loose with God they thought it enough to couer themselues vnder this vaile Iere. 7. of the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord. Where he saith they staied vpon the God of Israel hee speakes not of a true confidence but of a malepart boldnesse For as the faithfull stay and rest vpon the Lord with their whole hearts so hypocrites doe falsly maske themselues with his name and are besotted with a vaine and fond perswasion they contemne all things yea they feare not impudentlie to disgorge this brag Tush God will surely help vs he will neuer forsake his people as if God were a softerer of such a prophane crew To be short they cast his lawes behind their backs and tread them vnder their feet and yet protest with high termes that God is the stay of their saluation But to the end they should not thinke to escape vnpunished for such dallyings the Prophet affirmes that Gods maiestie and glorie shall no whit be impeached though hypocrites indeuor to transfigure him at their pleasures For in calling him the Lord of hosts he addes it as a threatning to the end they might know that the God of Israel vnder which title they vainely couered themselues was also the Lord of hosts to punish such hypocrites and that could not indure to be thus mocked and trifled withall Vers 3. I haue declared the former things of old and they went out of my mouth and I shewed them I did them suddenly and they came to passe HE accuseth the Iewes of ingratitude Before he taxed their hypocrisie they now their
to darken the grace of God Now it seemes the Lord permits the Iewes to bring in their allegations which they had as those who trusting to the goodnes of their cause dare thus defie their aduerse partie Bring in thy reasons and if thou hast anie metall in thee shew it The Lord then prouokes them first and bids them tell if they can whether the gods of the Gentiles haue foretold any such things or no. And this may also be applied to the Soothsaiers and Prognosticators who attributed to themselues the knowledge of things to come which they could not foresee at all And in the same sense he repeates that which followes in the verse insulng I euen I haue spoken it The summe comes to this then that the Iewes wauer yea and fall because they haue not well informed themselues how singular a grace of God it is to learne from his sacred mouth whatsoeuer is needfull to saluation In the latter part of the verse hee recites one particular namely God had foretold the end of their captiuity in Babylon True it is that he names not Cyrus as the dispenser of this benefite Cyrus but in speaking of some certaine personage well knowne he saith God hath chosen him to surprise Babel by force The word To loue is not taken heere simply but for some speciall respect and therefore he restraines it to the happy issue of his voyage And so we may say that Saul was beloued of God for some priuate end Example namelie that hee might raigne for a time and might haue the gift of prophecie 1. Sam. 10.10 But there is an higher matter to bee considered of touching the faithfull whom God loues with an euerlasting loue for hee will neuer suffer them to be separated from him Iohn 13.1 Iere. 31.3 The Prophet then meant to say that Cyrus shall vanquish Babylon because he shall vndertake that businesse vnder Gods authoritie leading not of his owne motion but after such a manner as God thrusts forward the blind and ignorant whither him listeth or as hee vseth sometimes to serue his turne of men against their wils For Cyrus is not praised for his voluntary obedience but it is rather indeed an extolling of Gods singular prouidence by which hee disposeth of all sorts of men to performe his will and to execute his decrees By arme vnder a figure familiar amongst the Prophets we may vnderstand his vvorke And thus the speech will runne better Hee shall execute his vvill against Babylon and his vvorke against the Chaldeans And wee know that the Prophets are wont to ioine Gods counsell and worke together Now he priuilie taxeth the Iewes for their ingratitude in that they would not beleeue Gods promises though hee pointed out the thing before them with his finger and spake far otherwise then did the Chaplaines of the false gods To conclude hee meant to informe the Iewes that the surprizing of Babel by the hand of Cyrus shall bee a vvorke of the Lord vnder whose direction all things shall bee so carried that the Church in the end shall be deliuered Vers 15. I euen I haue spoken it and I haue called him I haue brought him and his way shall prosper HEe brings the Iewes againe to the prophecies and attributes this honour vnto God that hauing in fit time reuealed the thing hee takes away all doublings Afterwards hee addes that whatsoeuer was foretold shall be confirmed And thus there is a double force in the doubling of these words I euen I. As if he should say It is none but the God of Israel that hath spoken these things which are hidden and to come secondly he being true and one that neuer deceiues he will vndoubtedly accomplish whatsoeuer he hath promised Isaiah then propounds two ends here vnto himselfe First that the poore captiues should wait for their deliuerance secondly being deliuered that they should acknowledge God to be the author of so excellent a benefit and not to ascribe it either to the arme of flesh or to haphazard Now he shewes that Cyrus his good successe in his enterprises shall proceede from Gods calling of him Not that he was worthy of so great a fauour neither that he obtained it by his own industry and power but in regard that the Lord vsed him as his seruant to deliuer his people For where he called him his beloued in the former verse and heere saith that he hath called and brought him I told you erewhile that it is not to bee referred to that loue of God whereby he adopts vs for his children by calling vs to himselfe Cyrus was neither loued nor called in this kind How Cyrus is said to be loued and called of God See Chap. 45.3 for howsoeuer he were indued with excellent vertues yet was he tainted with very odious crimes as ambition desire of swaying Kingdomes couetousnesse crueltie and many other vices Cyrus had a miserable end for his wofull and vnhappy end manifested sufficientlie what he was The Prophets meaning is then that God will be fauorable to Cyrus in prospering him outwardly not to adopt nor to shew him that fauor which he only communicates to his chosen The cause must be considered then for which he giues him these titles to wit that he will vse his ministrie for the deliueraÌ„ce of his Church as we haue said before Vers 16. Come neere vnto me heare you this I haue not spoken it in secret from the beginning from the time that the thing was * Or done I was there and now the Lord God and his Spirit hath sent me God rebukes the people for their ingratitude HE directs his speech againe to the Iewes and in commanding them to draw neere he meetes them halfe way as it were gently to receiue them and yet he couertlie taxeth their reuolt shewing that they were vnfit to entertaine wholesome doctrine vnlesse they departed from their errors Surely it was a detestable fault in them to be so farre separated from God with whom they ought to haue bin so neerely conioined but their separation coÌ„sisted not so much in distance of place as in the want of consent in affections our approching then consists in a readines to heare hauing subdued our owne carnall reason But this is a worke of his owne grace for who will be readie to direct his heart vnto God Iohn 6. if himselfe draw him not J haue not spoken in secret The expositors expound this place diuerslie Some applie it to Iesus Christ whereas Isaiah had no such meaning and it stands vs in hand to auoid all wrested and constâ—eined interpretations Wrested expositions are to be auoided Others referre it to the Prophet himselfe but this sutes as badly as the former for this speech can agree to no man I thinke then that Isaiah brings in God speaking and blaming of the people touching their ingratitude in that from the beginning that is to say since the day he began first
yet hee commands them not to cast away their confidence because their certaine and full redemption is in his hands and yet they were heerein to looke farre aboue the reach of humane reason This therefore is a very excellent place We must not cease to belieue though God for a time deferre his promise out of which we may gather how carefully we ought to beleeue God when he speakes albeit he doe no forthwith accomplish that which hee hath promised but suffers vs to languish vnder afflictions a long time Some translate the word Veze Contemned others Contemptible which I approoue of But this augments the miserie of the people when the Prophet calles them despised * Or in himselfe in soule for many are despised of others who notwithstanding are worthy of honour in regard of the graces wherewith they be indued or being puffed vp with pride cease not with an higher contempt to treade vnder their feete the contempt of others But Isaiah affirmes that the Iewes are not more despised and contemptible in the eies of others then they are in their owne Thus then hee notes out an exceeding ignominie and low estate therewithall comprehending the affliction of the Spirit to teach them that God shall come in fit time to succour them when they shall be throughly humbled I see no reason why some haue changed the number in the word nation seeing the Prophet vseth the singular number Goi it being certaine that he addresseth his speech to the posteritie of Abraham Afterwards he cals them seruants of rulers as if he should say that mightie tyrants oppressed them for by the word Moschelim he meanes those that haue so much force and power that it is an hard matâ—er to escape their hands When he saith that Kings shall see he speaks in high and glorious termes of the deliuerie of his people but in the meane while hee is contented they should bee tried in the furnace to proue their faith and patience for where were the triall of faith if God should forthwith giue that which he hath promised as we said before In the word Princes there is a repetition much vsed among the Hebrewes But we will speake it thus shortly Kings and Princes shall see they shall arise and bow downe By the verbe To bow downe he expounds what he meant by arising for wee rise vp to giue honour The summe is that the greatest Princes of the world shall bee awakened to confesse that the restauration of the Church is an excellent worke of God and worthy of respect and reuerence Because the holy one of Israel who hath chosen thee is faithfull See the cause of this great astonishment touching the honour which Princes shall performe to God to wit because they shall acknowledge his faithfulnesse and constancie in his promises God would not be held to be faithful by a bare imagination but from good experience For the Lord would not be acknowledged faithfull from a bare and naked imagination but from experience it selfe to wit in the preseruation and protection of his people whom hee hath adopted Hence therefore let vs learne not to iudge of Gods promises by our present estate but by his truth and faithfulnesse so as when we perceiue nothing but death and the graue to compasse vs round yet wee may remember this sentence by which the Lord calles vs to him euen the vile and contemptible 2. Cor. 7.6 Hence also wee are to consider how glorious and admirable a worke the deliuerance of the Church is in that it constraines Kings be they neuer so proud thinking nothing be it neuer so excellent worthy to behold them to behold to admire yea and to honour and reuerence the Lord whether they will or no. This new and extraordinary worke then is heere greatly recommended vnto vs in this behalfe For not to mention ancient histories by what meanes hath God deliuered vs out of that wofull tyrannie of Antichrist Truly wee were as those that dreame as the Psalmist saith Psal 126.1 especially if wee doe but seriously consider of the thing it selfe for the Lord hath wrought a miracle in bringing vs to doe homage vnto Christ In the end of the verse the Prophet repeates that which he touched before to wit that this people were set a part to bee the Lords But in election we must seeke the beginning of sanctification for the people were the holy inheritance because God had vouchsafed of his meere grace to chuse them Isaiah then means that secret will of God from whence sanctification flowes that Israel might not thinke they were chosen for their own deserts As if he had said The Lord which hath elected thee shewes that thou art so indeed by the effects As wee ought then to acknowledge Gods faithfulnes and truth in our saluation so must we attribute this saluation only to our free election And yet it behoues euery one that will partake in so great a benefit Neither truth nor saluation out of he Church to be a portion of the true Israel that is to say of the Church out of which there is neither truth nor saluation to be found Vers 8. This saith the Lord in an acceptable time haue I heard thee and in a day of saluation haue I succored thee and will preserue thee and giue thee for a couenant of the people that thou mayst raise vp the earth and obteine the inheritance of the desolute heritage FRom this verse we may yet more clearely gather that which we haue handled in the beginning of this Chapter to wit that the Prophet so speakes of the whole body of the Church that he begins at the head thereof And this as I haue said ought to be well obserued for the expositors haue bauked it and yet without it we shall not be able to make these verses to cohere S. Paul plainly shewes this in applying this very sentence to the whole Church 2. Cor. 6.2 But yet that which followes I vvill giue thee for a couenant of the people sutes to none but Christ only How shal we make these things agree then To wit if we shall consider that Christ is not so much his owne as ours Christ not so much his owne as ours For he was not borne neither died be nor rose againe for himselfe He was sent for the saluation of his people He seeks nothing at our hands for he stands in neede of nothing Thus then God makes his promises to the whole Church and Christ who is as it were the suretie or pledge betweene both receiues these promises and procures nothing to himselfe by them but altogether for the Churches behoofe for whose saluation he was sent He speakes not then of Christ as singling him out by himselfe but as of one that is ioined and made one with his Church for euer It is an inestimable fauor then which the father shewes vs when he heares his sonne for our sakes yea that he directs his speech to
wherewith he is endued set light by all his aduersaries he also labors to draw others to the same constancie with him and as in a glasse describes to the life what the state and condition of all Ministers of the word is and shall be For thus he would turne them from the loue of the world that they might giue themselues whollie vnto God and to fixe their eies altogether vpon him for there is no combat so sharp in which they shall not be more then Conquerors vnder the leading of such a Captaine By the similitude of a flint he shewes that come what come will he will not shrinck an inch for the signes of feare and astonishmēt and of all other affections appeare by and by in the face which plainely vtters to all how matters goe within When Gods seruants are handled thus shamefullie they must needs quaile vnder so many iniuries if they had not browes of brasse and yron to repulse them And in this sense it is said that Ieremiah was set as a defenced Citie and yron pillar and vvalles of brasse against the Kings of Iudah against the Princes and against all the people Iere. 1.18 Ezechiel also had his forhead made as hard as the adamant which is much harder then the flint that he might not recoile back from the obstinacie of the people Ezech. 3 9. This sentence I shall not be ashamed is not to be taken in the same sense with that in the former member for there it is referred to the affection and heere to the effect or the thing it selfe When in the beginning of the verse then he glories that he shall not be confounded because God is on his side it is to shew that it sufficeth not to know that God will help vs vnlesse we also feele the same by experience For what profit haue we by his promises vnlesse wee put our confidence therein Faith then is required both to vphold our comfort and assure vs of Gods fauor but in the end of the verse the Prophet boldly protests that he is vndoubtedlie perswaded of an happie issue And thus to be ashamed signifies to be disappointed For they that conceiue a vaine hope are subiect to mocks and reproches Heere we see then that the faithfull teachers and Ministers of the word haue promise of a speciall defence Let Satan and the world bend their forces together then to assaile them with all their power the more they assault them the stronger shall Gods defence and protection be ouer vs. Thence we must conclude that all such as are fainthearted and quaile when they come to the triall were neuer yet well fitted to execute their office For he that hath not learned to fight is neither apt to serue God nor his Church 2. Tim. 2.5 neither is he fit to preach the doctrine of the word Vers 8. He is neere that iustifieth me who will contend with me Let vs stand together who is mine aduersarie Let him come neere to me 9. Behold the Lord will help me who is he that can condemne me Loe they shall wax old as a garment the moth shall eate them vp VVEE must alwaies remember that the Prophet speakes nothing heere that is proper to himselfe only A Minister that hath a good conscience may haue also great boldnes but testifies what a one God will and euer shall be towards the faithfull Ministers that so being assured of their lawfull calling and executing their offices faithfullie they might boldly contemne all aduersarie power and neuer slack their duties an inch for any slanders Why so Because the Lord who iustifies them hath and euer will be readie to maintaine and defend his owne truth Now whosoeuer he be that will indeed boldly protest this he ought to haue a pure conscience For if he haue vnaduisedly intruded himselfe not hauing a sure testimonie of his lawfull calling Intruders can not challenge to thēselues this priuiledge or if he be such a one as brocheth his owne dreames and fansies in vaine shall he boast of this promise for it appertaines to none but to such as being called of God doe faithfullie and purely discharge their duties Now howsoeuer mockers and despisers of God will neuer cease to make many replies against his seruants yet Isaiah stil offers himselfe to pleade his masters cause and that as boldly as if none durst enter the lists against him or to forge any slanders for their defence Not that he was able to charme their tongues but because he was well assured they should gaine nothing by all their tattle Thus then he shewes that notwithstanding all the false imputations which the aduersaries lay vpon the word and the Ministers thereof they must not be discoraged For there is no crime with which they doe not charge vs. But all in vaine Why so Because the Iudge that defends their innocencie is neere The faithfull Ministers therefore may by S. Pauls example summon the false and sinister iudgements of men before the Iudgement seate of God who will giue a iust sentence 1. Cor. 4.4 Let vs stand together The faithfull teachers ought to be so confident as without feare to challenge all their enemies the field For Satan with all his supposts dare not at all times stand to their tackling openly but especially when they encounter vs with lies But they haue close and secret practises and iugling tricks vnder boord to surprize such as stand not vpon their watch Yet the seruants of God feare not to shew their faces nor to enter the lists against the aduersarie neither are they abashed to reason and debate the matter if the enemie dare appeare For the truth is of such strength that it flees not the noone day as we see heere that Isaiah feares not boldly to egge and prouoke all those to the fight whom he saw to lie in wait to trap him And here he vrgeth them againe saying Let him come neere me For the true Pastors ought to be alwaies readie to yeeld a reason of their doctrine But where is he that vouchsafes to heare them patientlie or that will consider what his doctrine is which they preach I grant the aduersaries are readie enough to draw neere but it is only to draw out their swords and to cut the throates of Gods seruants or to whet file their tongues that they may be fit to defame them by all sorts of slanders In a word their best defences consists in fraude and tyrannie for with reasons orderly gathered from the Scriptures they dare not encounter we therefore being well assured of the equitie of our cause are readie with a christian fortitude to challenge them the field For though they condemne vs without hearing our defences yea and though the numbers of thē be great which subscribe to their sayings yet will we not be outfaced for God whose cause we defend is the Iudge who at the last will giue sentence on our side It seemes S. Paul alludes to this
place where he saith It is God that iustifies who shall condemne Rom. 8.33 For wee may boldly appeale to the Iudgement seate of God when we are clothed with his free righteousnes in Iesus Christ But Isaiah handles another argument heere For he speakes not now of mans saluation in generall but of the ministrie of the word whereof the Lord will be the protector against all the assaults of the wicked neither will he suffer his seruants to be ouerwhelmed with their false packing nor violences In the end of the verse he shewes that he vaunts not of his fortitude as one out of gunshot or as if he meant to fight with his owne shadow but he protests that he will keepe his standing in the face of the proudest of them all that dare assaile him For whosoeuer they be â—hat bid battell to Gods word shall but dash themselues vpon their owne destruction by reason of their owne brittlenes and shall forthwith vanish to nothing Now as if he had had the thing before his eies he vseth a particle demonstratiue Behold or loe they shall vvax old as doth a garment the moth shall consume them The Psalmist vseth the like similitude when he compares the men of this world with the children of God Psal 49. For albeit the worldlings braue it out and that they shine as pretious stones yet shall they perish But the faithfull who now lie couered with filth and rubbish being once decked with new beautie shall in the end shine as the starres But in this place Isaiah properly speakes of these mad dogs who hate and barke at the faithfull Ministers of the word Now howsoeuer such prophane wretches are in best esteeme with the world and in great authoritie in the middest of theÌ„ yet all their brauadoes shall fall and come to nought euen as the beautie of garments that are defaced by the gnawing of the moth Vers 10. Who is amongst you that feareth the Lord Let him heare the voice of his seruant he that walketh in darknes and hath no light let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay vpon his God HAuing spoken of the inuincible succors which God giues to all his Prophets Heere the Prophet turnes his speech to the faithfull Isaiah now directs his speech to the faithfull admonishing them to suffer themselues to be gouerned by Gods word and to yeeld themselues teachable Whence wee may gather how farre he insulted ouer those with an holy pride which were his detractors For in regard the wicked among the Iewes at that time preuailed in respect of their multitudes the little flock were in danger to haue their faith extinguished by them In that he asks where those were that feared the Lord it is to note out the fewnes of them And yet he calles these few to take part with him that they might separate themselues from that great rout lest they should consent with them in their wicked plots so much condemned of God As in Chap. 8. Say yee not a conspiracie c. Thus then howsoeuer Gods enemies make a great armie in regard of their multitudes yet Isaiah assures himselfe that there is a remnant left who wil profit by his doctrine Now he speakes to such as feare God for where religion and the feare of God is wanting there wholesome doctrine can take no place We see how those who otherwise will be taken for great clerks and sharp witted do yet reiect the same Why so Surely those that are swollen with pride and hate modestie and all humilitie proue more then doltish when the matter concernes the discerning of this vvisdome of God It is no maruell then that Isaiah layes this as the foundation to wit the feare of the Lord that so the word may indeed be diligentlie and attentiuely receiued and heard Whence also it appeares that there is no true feare of God where the hearing of his word is contemned For hypocrites will make great brags of pietie and the feare of God but by their contempt of it they plainly manifest their rebellion in that they obstinately reiect the doctrine of the Gospell and all sound admonitions Take a sure triall heere then of such kind of persons that so you may pluck off their vizard wherewith they would couer their faces Let him heare the voice of his seruant He might euen as well haue said the voice of God The voice of Gods Ministers the voice of God but he chooseth rather to say of his seruant For God will be no otherwise heard of vs but by the voice of his Ministers whose seruice he vseth for our instruction Isaiah then speakes first of himselfe and next of all his fellow brethren who haue the same office of teaching with him And thus heere is a close opposition betweene the audience which he requires and that licentious contempt of holy doctrine which being basely accounted of among the impure they by their pride drew others as witlesse and giddie headed as themselues to the like base estimation of it Now because the faithfull might reply that the fruit of their feare and pietie did not yet appeare but that they were contrariwise in miserable seruitude as if they had been wicked liuers the Prophet meetes with this complaint and affirmes that the faithfull who hitherto had been hardlie dealt withall should not for all that lose their labour in yeelding obedience to God and his word for though they haue vvalked in darknesse yet they shall at the length inioy the light of Lord. Darknesse taken for afflictions By darknesse the Prophet meanes not ignorance nor blindnesse of minde but the afflictions whereby Gods children are in a manner ouerwhelmed And this is the consolation whereof he spake vers 4. where hee said that the tongue of the learned was giuen him that hee might know how to minister a word in due season to him that was wearie And he also heere promiseth that those who hitherto haue been almost drowned in so many calamities shall be comforted Vers 11. Behold all you kindle a fire and are compassed about with sparks walke in the light of your fire and in the sparkes that yee haue kindled This shall yee haue of mine hand yee shall lie downe in sorrow The differeÌ„ce betweene Gods comforts and those of our owne deuising Verse 10. HEe reprocheth the Iewes because they chose rather to make a fire alone by themselues to walke in the light thereof then approch to Gods light This place hath bin ill expounded And it we would haue the right meaning of it wee must note the opposition which is betweene Gods light and mans light that is to say between the consolation which the word of God brings and the vaine comforts of men who will indeuour to put away their sorrowes by things ridiculous and of no value Hauing spoken before then of light and darknesse and hauing promised light to such as gaue care to the voice of the Lord hee now saith that
beginning we may hope of perseuerance vnto the end lest we should proue vnthankfull vnto God when after so vndoùbted testimonies he hath manifested his faithfulnes and truth vnto vs. Besides the Prophet ioines Gods infinite power with his speciall goodnes vvhich he shewed to his people and this power he opposeth to mans imbecilitie who in the former verse he compared to grasse He shewes by his works what his power is so as those which perceiue not the same therein are more then blinde For which way can we turne our eies but we must needs behold most ample and large testimonies of Gods power and goodnes which he notwithstanding notes out here in a word wheÌ„ he speakes of the spreading out of the heauens and of laying the foundations of the earth It is our brutishnes then matchlesse sensualitie to foâ—get the same seeing there are so many infinite testimonies of Gods power which may dayly refresh our memories And hast feared Hee continues the same comparison For what are man saith he that thou shouldest so feare them if thou comparest them vvith God who hath promised to relieue thee Truly it is an exceeding dishonor done to his Maiestie if we beleeue not that he hath more power to saue vs then the enemies haue to destroy vs. See 2. Kin. 6.16 2. Chr. 32.7 1. Ioh. 4.4 The Lord therefore would haue vs to consider well what and how great he is and how farre his power extends it selfe that we should not feare the rage of the oppressor nor the furie of a mortall man who vanisheth as a puffe of winde or as the smoke Vers 14. The captiue hasteth to be loosed and that he should not die in the pit nor that his bread should faile THis verse is diuersly expounded A thousand yeeres with the Lord is but as one day for some thinke it is to be referred to Cyrus and so they expound the word Tsoch which we haue translated banisâ—ed he which causeth to remoue But the most receiued opinion is that this word is to be taken for him that is bound or oppressed or for one exiled wandring hither and thither The Iewes were not only banished but were so held captiues that it was impossible for them freely to returne home into their countrie and therefore I expound this of the Iewes but yet it may be taken both waies either that the Prophet reproues their ouer-great haste to be loosed in regard of their impatient wishing to returne or it signifies that their returne into their countrie shall come in due season that their long expectation might not put them vtterly out of heart As if he should say The time in which you are to depart home is hard at hand This second exposition is the most approued and I willinglie receiue it because it agrees with the scope of the text But is it not strange that he saith the people shall shortly returne seeing the captiuitie indured so long a time But it is not without cause that God saith his deliuerance which he deferred to a fit time should forthwith be accomplished for albeit the same seeme very long to vs yet is it but short in deed because it is the fittest and best time And truly if we shall consider the estate of this so great and mightie a Monarchie which had not then so much as any appearance of euer being ruinated we may safely affirme that the time was very short Thus then whereas we thinke Gods promises long in performing we shall esteeme the time but a moment prouided that wee lift vp our eies vnto the heauens Psal 123.1 This exposition is yet better confirmed by that which is added that he die not in the pit See how the Lord hastens then to deliuer his elect in due season that out of the darke dungeon they may come forth safe and sound Neither doth he promise his people a speedie dispatch to free them from their bonds only but also that he may do theÌ„ good after their deliuerance for he promiseth them all things necessarie for this life present that so they may rest whollie vpon the Lord who is not wont to aid his people for once only but is wont to be with them euen till their latter end Vers 15. And I am the Lord thy God that diuided the Sea when his waues rored the Lord of hostes is his name HE mentions his power againe For mens distrust and slothfulnesse is so great that albeit the same his power bee manifested in their sight yet the least temptation that is prooues sufficiently that they are not well perswaded thereof For they alwaies turne to their old bias againe when the euill presseth them neither can they conceiue how this power which is in God appertaines any whit vnto them Hee speakes not heere generally but alleageth that worke of wonder so often mentioned heeretofore for in that redemption of their fathers hee gaue hope of eternall saluation to all their posteritie He therefore rightly affirmes himselfe to be that God who long since diuided the sea Exod. 14.21 Then he adornes this miracle in saying that at his voice the roring and boiling waues were appeased Let vs know then that there are no floods so violent but the Lord can stil and asswage them for the deliuerance of his Church Psal 93.3 4. For it is hee that calmes the sea by his power as Iob saith Chap. 26.12 though it bee very boisterous and vntamed He also raiseth the tempests when it pleaseth him But the Prophet as I haue said chiefly respected the historie of their deliuerance out of Egypt He giues God the title of the Lord of hostes to teach vs how farre his power extends it selfe which hee is readie to manifest as oft as hee purposeth to giue reliefe vnto his Church Vers 16. And I haue put my words in thy mouth and haue defended thee in the shadow of mine hand that I may plant the heauens and lay the foundations of the earth and say vnto Zion Thou art my people HEe returnes againe to the doctrine by him propounded before namely that God who comforts his Church and saith I euen I am hee that comfort you vers 12. affirmes heere that hee hath put that into the mâ—â—â—hes of the Prophets which they haue in charge to deliuer Hence we may gather that these things proceeded not from man who commonly is mutable but from God that cannot lie The Lord spake to all the Prophets first to Isaiah then to others successiuely but at last we must come to Christ and yet we need not restraine this to Isaiah nor to Christ but to extend it to al the Prophets Moreouer it is the Lords meaning that wee should hearken as diligently to the consolations of the Prophets as if he taught them vs in his owne person yea he saith heere that it is hee which speakes by their mouthes Hence wee gather that others neede not draw neere to giue comfort to the Church but such us by vvhose
miserie is growne to the height and to this belongs the word pressing or wringing out Besides the Church is heere aduertised that all her calamities whatsoeuer which befell her proceeded from Gods immediate hand to the end shee should not imagin that shee was wrongfully afflicted or that her miseries fell out by chance for the Prophets drift is to let the people see that they bee iustly punished for their iniquities Neither can a man euer be raised vp vnlesse hee confesse first of all that he is fallen nor rid out of his miserie except he acknowledge himselfe miserable by his owne fault In a word what haue we to doe with consolations vnlesse the doctrine of repentance goes before The dregs then are not to be taken in this place as they are in Ieremy 25.15 where he speakes of the reprobates whom the Lord chokes and stifles with the drinke of this cup but for a iust and ample punishment which yet the Lord meant somewhat to moderate After he hath chastised vs then after his own will and is purposed to put an end to our miseries he saith the dregs are drunke vp as wee haue seene Chap. 40.2 Vers 18. There is none to guide her among all the sonnes whom shee hath brought forth there is none that taketh her by the hand of all the sonnes that shee hath brought vp THe Prophet heere describes a pitifull estate wherein the Church was The Church oft times findes least reliefe of those that come out of her owne bosome for what greater griefe then when the children which shee had brought forth would not yeelde her any reliefe or comfort at all But he sets forth this her miserie in this wise to reach her to wait for consolation from God albeit she were in this pitifull plight because God will neuer forsake his seruants no not although they were plunged into the depth of hell The doctrine is then that albeit the Church be forsaken of men yea of her owne children whoÌ„ she hath nourished vp in her lap yet God will assist her A mother cannot be more pinched at the heart then to see her children to abandon her of whom she expects loue for lâ—â—â— This ingratitude and inhumanity cuts her much more then the cruell rage of her enemies for why doth she nurce and bring vp children but that they may be a staffe vnto her in her age But when children neglect their dutie what can she else imagin but that she hath lost her cost and labour Thus then howsoeuer the Church had performed the office of a Mother and had brought forth and brought vp her children to mans estate notwithstanding Isaiah pronounceth that there is no suppers nor succor to be looked for at the hands of the vngratefull And yet the Prophets speech hath a further scope to wit that the children that will not relieue their mothers necessities are bastards and degenerate that so she might the more quietly beare their destruction It was a very heauie and dolorous thing to see the Church stripped of all her of spring and to be left a widow And yet this befell her But the Prophet aduertiseth the Church that her children deserue not to be bewailed of her but that she should rather desire to haue others in their stead as it is in Psal 102.18 that the people which shall be borne shall praise the Lord. Moreouer that miserie which the Prophet heere describes belongs whollie to our time Many now brag that they are the children of the Church Who takes the miseries of the church to heart but which of them takes the miseries of their mother to heart Who laments her ruins Who feeles his spirits so moued thereat as to put his shoulders to vndergoe the burthen with her How many are there which betray and more cruellie persecute her vnder this title then the open sworne enemies And therefore after all the rest of her miseries this comes in at the last to make vp the measure of them to the full Againe those which will be reputed the pillars of the Church and not only boast that they are children but brag that they are her fathers are euen they who cowardly and treacherously haue forsaken her when she called them to succor her What maruell is it then if God cut them off that he may hereafter giue his Church naturall children which may assist her Vers 19. These two things are come vnto thee who will lament thee Desolation and * Or brusing destruction and famine and the sword by whom shall I comfort thee THe Prophet vseth the like words in a maner touching Babylon in Chap. 47. These two things shall come to thee suddenly in one day the losse of children and widowhood But here the Prophet promiseth a better issue and end to the Church The Church must make her account to meet not only with inward but outward calamities also because the Lord wil draw her out of this bottomlesse gulph of miseries yet he threatens an extreame miserie that he might fit the faithfull for patience and that in the middes of their anguishes they should not cease to lift vp their prayers and supplications vnto God The summe is that the Church shall be so oppressed vnder all sorts of calamities that she shall seeme euen to be ouerwhelmed with them How so Without she was to looke for many sharp afflictions secondly she should receiue no comfort nor reliefe from her owne children vers 18. These are the two great euils whereof the Prophet speakes But yet this diuision seemes not to agree for after he hath mentioned one euill to wit that none shall giue the Church comfort or coÌ„solation he names foure kinds of euils desolation sorrow or breaking sword and famine Some expound that the Church was famished within and vexed vvitâ—â—â— by her enemies But I am of another opinion as I haue alreadie shewed For it is a phrase of speech to speake by an interrogation much frequeÌ„ted among the Hebrues when they purpose to denie a thing absolutely And this hath its elegancie among them though it hath not so much grace in another language Isaiah then mentions these two euils the one outward in regard she was wasted and destroyed with vvarre and famine which he hath signified by the foure former kinds The other inward in that she shall be left destitute of consolation and none would lament her For by the interrogation he shewes that she should haue no consolation This verse then answers to the former where we haue alreadie told you to what end the Prophet describes this so lamentable and wofull an estate of the Church Vers 20. Thy sonnes haue fainted and lie at the head of all the streetes as a wild bull in a net and are full of the wrath of the Lord and rebuke of thy God HE sets forth this sorrowfull condition of the Church at large when he saith A miserie to a mother to see her sonnes slain from whom she
peace The Papists will confesse thus much I grant but by and by they restraine this doctrine to originall sinne as if after baptisme free reconciliation had no more place but that we are to satisfie for the rest by our workes and merits But our Prophet deales not heere with one kind of remission onely but extends this benefit to all the parts of our liues so as it cannot bee lessened nor restrained to one certaine time without committing horrible sacrilege A friuolous distinction of Sophisters touching the fault and punishment answered And by this also it is easie to ouerthrow the friuolous distinction of the Sophisters touching the remission of the punishment and the fault for they will not haue the punishment remitted vnlesse it be abolished by satisfactions But the Prophet plainlie shewes that the punishment due to vs for our sinnes is laid vpon Christ What doe our Papists then but make themselues ioint redeemers with Christ attributing vnto themselues the same power with him And vvith his stripes vvee are healed Hee brings vs againe vnto Christ that wee may haue recourse to his vvounds if euer wee meane to recouer life for the Prophet heere opposeth him to vs in respect that there is nothing to bee found in vs but death and damnation and in Christ onely life and saluation It is he alone that hath procured vs a plaister yea by his sicknesse hath he giuen vs health and by his death life for he alone it is who hath pacified and reconciled the Father with vs. I confesse heere is ample occasion afforded mee to speake of many things touching the fruits that come to vs by the passion of our Lord Iesus Christ but my purpose is now rather to expound then to preach Let vs therfore content our selues now with this short and plaine exposition And I wish euery one by himselfe to gather consolation from hence and to apply the fruit of this doctrine to his particular vse for these matters doe as well concerne all in generall as euery one in particular Vers 6. All wee like sheepe haue gone astray wee haue turned euery one to his owne way and the Lord hath laid vpon him the iniquities of vs all THat he might the better imprint the benefit of Christs death in our hearts The necessitie of this healing described hee shewes how necessarie this healing is which he mentioned in the latter end of the former verse For if we acknowledge not our miserie and pouertie wee shall neuer know how desireable the remedie is which Christ hath brought vs neither shall we euer hunger or thirst after the same with such a longing affection as we ought but being acquainted with our owne forlorne estate then feeling our wants we will runne with greedinesse to receiue the remedie which otherwise wee shall lightly esteeme That Christ then may bee receiued as hee deserueth let euery one consider and examine himselfe and acknowledge that he is lost Luke 19.10 vntill Christ seeke him out We see heere that none are excepted seeing the Prophet comprehends all None excepted out of this lost condition for all mankind had been vtterly lost if Christ had not wrought our saluation No he excepts not the Iewes who yet were puffed vp with a false opinion of their dignitie but hee euen wraps them vp in the same condemnation Now he compares them to sheepe not to lessen their fault as if themselues for their parts were harmlesse but the more plainly to shew that the proper office of Christ consists in gathering from among the dispersed those vvho resembled brute beasts In adding afterwards euery one he descends from the generall in which hee comprehended all The Prophet descends frō the generall to euery one in particular to the particular to teach euery one apart whether it be not so indeede for a sentence generally propounded moues vs not so much as when euery man considers that it belongs to him in speciall Let euery one then awaken vp his owne conscience and let him present himselfe before the iudgement seate of God confessing his misery In the next place the Prophet shewes wherein this staying consists namely that euery one hath followed his owne vvay that is to say hath liued after his owne pleasure And thus he shewes that there is but one vvay to walke in out of which if any one turnes he can doe nothing but wander and lose himselfe Neither speaks he of vvorkes only but of our very nature which causeth vs all to go astray For if wee could recouer the right way againe and deliuer our selues from error either by the instinct of nature or by our owne wit Christ had died in vaine Wee are all lost then till Christ hath deliuered vs and the more wee shall relie vpon our owne wisdome or industry the more shall we draw perdition downe vpon our owne heads Thus then the Prophet shewes in what estate weare till we be regenerated by Christ for all are wrapped vp in the same condemnation there is none righteous no not one there is none that vnderstands there is none that seeketh God They haue all gone out of the way they are all become vnprofitable there is none that doth good no not one Psal 14.3 53.4 As S. Paul also manifests it more fully Rom. 3.10 11 12. And the Lord hath laid vpon him Heere is a goodly opposition for in our selues wee are scattered in Christ we are gathered by nature wee erre and run headlong into destruction in Christ we find the vvay by which wee are directed to the hauen of saluation our sinnes presse vs downe to hell Christ dischargeth vs of them to lay them vpon his owne backe whilest we were lost then and so estranged from God that we runne post haste to hell Christ tooke vpon himselfe all our filthinesses and iniquities that hee might deliuer vs from eternall death But we must refer this only to his condemnation and punishment for hee was no way guiltie otherwise then by imputing of our sinnes vnto him Let euery one of vs then make a diligent examination of his own iniquities that so he may bring himselfe to a true taste of this grace and may feele the fruit of the death of Christ Vers 7. Hee was oppressed and hee was afflicted yet did hee not open his mouth hee is brought as a * Or lambe sheepe to the slaughter and as a sheepe before her sheerer is dumbe so opened hee not his mouth Christs obedience commended HE here praiseth Christs obedience which he shewed when he was to suffer death for had hee not done it willingly hee might haue seemed not to haue satisfied for our disobedience As by the disobedience of one then all were made guiltie as Paul saith Rom. 5.19 so by the obedience of one many were made righteous And in another place Hee was obedient to the death euen to the death of the Crosse Phil. 2.8 This is the cause why he held his
our vocation But because the Gentiles were farre estranged from God it was necessary they should valiantly inforce themselues to breake thorow all impediments to draw neere vnto him Because of the Lord. Isaiah shewes from what fountaine this willingnesse and cheerfull alacritie shall spring namely the Gentiles shall know they haue to doe with God For if we consider Christ as man onely his doctrine will not much moue vs but if we apprehend God in him we shall be inflamed with a wonderfull affection Now he is heere described vnto vs as a Minister ordained of God to perfect his worke For in taking vpon him our nature he therewithall tooke vpon him the forme of a seruant and in this behalfe it is no disparagement to him to see him subiected vnto the Father as one of vs. Moreouer we are to remember that which we haue often touched before touching the coniunction of the head with the members For that which is said of Christ appertaines to his whole body and therefore glorifycation is common to the whole Church I grant that Christ alwaies holds the soueraigne degree for being highly exalted he rules ouer the whole world to the end all nations may runne vnto him To conclude the Prophet shewes that men yeeld obedience to Christ and submit themselues to his doctrine because God hath exalted him and would that his excellencie should bee acknowledged of all men for otherwise the preaching of the Gospell would profit very little vnlesse God gaue efficacie to the doctrine by the power of his holy Spirit Vers 6. Seeke the Lord whilest hee may be found call ye vpon him whilest he is neere HAuing spoken of the fruit of the Gospell among the Gentiles The Gentiles set before the Iews to prouoke them to follow them who were before estranged from Gods kingdome he now pricks forward the Iewes that they may be ashamed to sleepe whilest others ranne for seeing they were first called it were a shame for them to come lag This exhortation therefore properly belongs to the Iewes before whom Isaiah sets the example of the Gentiles that hee might prouoke them to follow them which the Lord also had foretold namely that he would prouoke the Iewes to ielousie by a foolish nation Deut. 32.21 The time To find is not taken altogether in the same sense heere as it is in the 32. Psalme but for that time wherein God offers himselfe as in other places he hath set down a certaine limited day within the compasse whereof his fauour and saluation shall bee found And yet I grant that Isaiah also notes the time wherein necessitie presseth vs to aske helpe of God but we must principallie remember that God is sought in a fit time vvhen himselfe comes forth to meete vs for it shall be in vaine for the drowzie and sleepie to bewaile the losse of that grace which themselues haue wittingly reiected The Lord beares with our slothfulnes for a time and patiently waits for vs but if he gets nothing by it hee will leaue vs and bestow his grace vpon others Christ therefore admonisheth vs to walke whilest it is day because the night will come in which wee can walke no more forward Iohn 12.37 Hence wee are to gather a singular consolation namely that we are heere assured not to lose our time in seeking God Seeke saith Christ and you shall finde knocke and it shall be opened aske and you shall receiue Matth. 7.7 The word call may be taken heere generally but I thinke hee notes out a particular seeking of God such an one as is principall aboue others as if he commanded vs to haue recourse vnto him by praiers and supplications Now hee then shewes himselfe to bee neere when hee summons vs familiarly vnto him in opening the gate or presents himselfe before vs to the end we should not wander hither and thither to seeke him VVhilâ—st he is neere Saint Pauls distinction is to bee noted who saith the preaching of the Gospell is signified by these words Rom. 10.10 The Lord is neere How God is said to be neer vnto vs. and offers himselfe vnto vs when the voice of the Gospel sounds in our eares Neither ought we to seeke him a far off nor to fetch many circuits as the vnbeleeuers doe for he presents himselfe vnto vs in his word to the end wee for our parts may draw neere vnto him Vers 7. Let the wicked forsake his waies and the vnrighteous his owne imaginations and returne vnto the Lord and hee will haue mercie vpon him and to our God for he is * abundant in pardon very readie to forgiue A confirmation of the former sentence HE confirmes the former sentence for hauing called men to receiue Gods grace he at large describes the way how to recouer the same We know how the hypocrites yell and cry with open mouth after God when they would bee succoured in their miseries and in the meane while they harden their hearts through a wicked obstinacie That the Iews then might not disguise themselues in seeking of God Isaiah exhorts them to true pietie Whence wee gather that the doctrine of repentance ought perpetually to be ioined with the promise of saluation The doctrine of repentaÌ„ce must alwaies be ioined with the promises of saluation for men can neuer taste Gods goodnesse vnlesse first of all they bee displeased in themselues for their sinnes and haue both renounced the vvorld and themselues also For no man will euer in good earnest desire to be reconciled vnto God nor to obtaine remission of his sinnes vnlesse he be touched with a true and sound repentance The Prophet describes the nature of repentance three waies The nature of repentaÌ„ce described or by three phrases of speech Let the vvicked forsake his vvaies and the vnrighteous his imaginations and then let him returne vnto the Lord. Vnder the word vvay he comprehends the whole course of our liues and thus hee requires that they bring forth fruits of righteousnesse to shew their newnesse of life In adding thoughts he signifies that it is not enough to correct the outward actions but that wee must begin at the heart For though according to mens iudgements we haue as it seemes changed our life from worse to better yet wee haue indeed made but a weak beginning if the heart be not first changed Repentance therfore coÌ„taines in it the change of the whole man Wherein wee haue first to consider the imagination then the deliberations and lastly the outward actions Men see the actions but the roote from whence they proceed is hidden within the heart it behoueth therefore that it bee first renued that afterward from thence there may flow forth fruitfull workes First the vnderstanding must be clensed from all the filthinesse that is in it and then must we cast off the wicked affections and lusts that from thence outward testimonies may afterward manifest themselues If any one boast that hee is changed Note
Ans the answere is easie for the Lord offers vs not saluation as being preuented by our merits nay he rather preuents vs but he offers himselfe freely to vs and only requires that wee draw neere vnto him Seeing then that of his owne good will he calles vs to himselfe and offers his righteousnes freely we are to take heed that we depriue not our selues of so great a benefit Now because the Sabbath as it appeares by Moses and Ezechiel Exod. 31.13.17 Ezech. 21.13 was the principall signe of Gods seruice therefore by the figure Synecdoche it containes in it selfe all the exercises of pietie a part being taken for the whole We must vnderstād the Sabbath then with all his circumstances For God rests not himselfe contented with the outward ceremonie neither delights he in our idlenes but he requires that we freely renounce our selues that with hart and hand we may yeeld him absolute obedience The Prophet also addes another Synecdoche in the end of the verse That keepeth his hand c. to note out charitie The summe is That God is not serued aright vnlesse true pietie and innocencie of life goe together as also vnder these two parts he hath distinguished the maner of well liuing In a word here is an exposition of that true righteousnes which is contained in the law of the Lord that in it we may rest for in vaine shall any man seeke a way of perfection out of it This then ouerthrowes all deuised worships and all superstitions Vers 3. And let not the sonne of the strāger which is ioined to the Lord speak◠and say The Lord hath surely separate me from his people neither let the Eunuch say behold I am a drie tree THe Prophet shewes that this grace of God shall be such A preuention of an obiection that those who were farre off from him before and against whom the gate was shut should now obtaine a new estate or should be placed againe in their right And thus he meets with their complaints that they should not say they were reiected vnworthie aliants or shut out for any infamous note because the Lord would take away all lets and impediments Now this may be as well referred to the Iewes whose temporarie reiection had made thē like to strangers as to the prophane nations and for mine owne part I referre it both to the one and to the other that so it may agree with the prophesie of Hosea J vvill call them my people vvhich vvere not my people Hose 1.10 Moreouer when he saith that they shall be ioined to the Lord it is to admonish them that this consolation only appertained to such as followed the voice of Gods call For there were many Eunuches to whom the Lord shewed no mercie and many strangers which were not ioined to the Lord. This promise therefore is restrained to those who being called should obey Vnder strangers and Eunuches he notes out all such as seemed vnworthie to be reputed among the number of Gods people who once had chosen them for his peculiar inheritance and afterwards banished them out of his land Other nations were shut out of his kingdome as it appeares in euery place of the holy Scripture Saint Paul saith in the Epistle to the Ephesians Chap. 2.12.13 that the Gentiles had nothing to do in the Common wealth of Israel but were strangers from the couenants of promise without hope and vvithout God in the world but now in Christ Iesus saith he you which were once farre off are made neere by the blood of Christ Thus then the Gentiles might in the beginning doubt whether this benefit of adoption belonged vnto them or no seeing it was properly appropriated to the Iewes And therefore wee see how the Apostles auoided this thing though the Lord had commanded them to preach the Gospel thorowout all th◠world Mark 16.15 For they thought the doctrine of the Gospell should haue been prophaned if they should indifferently publish it as well to the Gentiles as to the Iewes And the same scruple might also trouble the minds euen of the elect people in regard their banishment out of the holy land was a signe vnto them of their reiection The Prophet therefore wils them to remoue all such doubts as these out of their heads Vnder the word Eunuch by the figure Synecdoche hee comprehends all those that bare any note of infamie vpon them which might be an occasion to separate them from Gods people For it seemed that the Eunuches and such as had no children were reiected of God and excluded out of the promise wherein he had said to Abraham that his posteritie should be as the starres in the heauens and as the sand of the sea Gen. 15.5 and 22.17 In a word he withdrawes all men from the consideration of themselues that they may wholly fix their mindes vpon the calling of God that thus they might imitate the faith of Abraham who considered not his body now dead neither the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe so as to enter into any dispute with himselfe through his owne incredulitie touching the power of God but aboue hope beleeued vnder hope Rom. 4.18 19 20. The Prophet then speakes to the vile and contemptible lest they should be discouraged because as Saint Peter saith God is no accepter of persons Acts 10.34.35 but in euery nation he that feareth God and vvorketh righteousnesse is accepted of him Vers 4. For thus saith the Lord vnto the Eunuches that keepe my Sabbaths and chuse the thing that pleaseth me and take hold of my couenant A confirmation NOw followes the confirmation For the faithfull seruants of God which kept the Sabbath and cleaued to the righteousnesse of the Law should haue place in the Church although they were Eunuches or had any other impediment And thus it seemes the Prophet abolisheth all the externall markes and visible ceremonies wherein the Iewes onely gloried The dignitie of the new Church is not externall but spiritual For the dignitie of the new Church is not outward but spirituall and albeit the faithfull haue no appearance of glorie before the eies of worldlings nay they are rather despised and wronged by them yet are they of precious esteeme in the sight and presence of God When he ioines obedience to the obseruation of the Sabbath thence we may easilie gather that in speaking of the day of rest hee had not so much respect to the bare cetemonie as to a perfection of holinesse Where againe he imposeth bands vpon the faithfull that they should not start the least step from the duties of the whole Law for it is not permitted them to chuse any thing that likes them but that which God hath reuealed to be pleasing and acceptable to him Hypocrisie and inconsiderate zeale therefore are here cōdemned Hypocrisie and inconsiderate zeale condemned in that God opposeth his commandements to mens inuentions and inioines them to take sure hold of his couenant Vers 5. Euen
that nothing pleaseth him nor is approued of him but that which accords with his word Vers 7. Thou hast made thy bed vpon euery high mountaine thou wentest vp thither euen thither wentest thou to offer a sacrifice HEe repeates the same similitude againe which we haue touched before A repetition of the former similitude vers 4. For the superstitious sort commit whordome with their Idols in regard that hauing forsaken the puritie of the word they breake that holy mariage knot which God had contracted with them and sell themselues ouer vnto Satan But Isaiah meant heere to expresse somewhat more for in telling them that they had made their bed in an high place it is as much as if he had said They were become shamelesse for they cared not vvho saw their villanie no more then an impudent harlot shunnes the presence of men but is carelesse of her reputation so these committed whordome in the sight of the Sunne and being past shame ascended vp to euery high and imminent place to doe it in Hee compares Chapels and Altars to beds vpon which this cursed filthinesse is committed and men which sacrifice there to bold and brazen faced strumpets In the end of the verse he shewes without any figure what this harlotry is which he condemnes namely that they sacrificed to Idols I grant they thought in so doing to serue God but hee reiects whatsoeuer it is that men forge according to their owne lusts and detests such a lasciuious course Vers 8. Behind the doores also and postes hast thou set vp thy remembrance for thou hast discouered thy selfe to another then mee and wentest vp and diddest inlarge thy bed and make a couenant betweene thee and them and louedst their bed in euery place where thou sawest it An amplificâ—â—ion of the faulâ— HE amplifies the crime whereof hee spake before that the people should not flatter themselues in their inuentions Now it is verie likely that Isaiah alludes to Moses words wherein the Lord commanded that they should alwaies haue the Law before them that they should fixe it vpon the doore postes of the house and write it in roles to wrap it about their armes and about the fringes of their garments that they might be continually admonished of their duties Deut. 6.9 and 11.20 Numb 15.38.39.40 But contrariwise the Iews ceased not to pollute the doores and the postes of their houses with markes and signes of idolatry and left no corner nor nooke free from such defilings Thus God and his Law were reiected in all places and in stead thereof they had set vp prouocations and inticements vnto whoredome Thou hast inlarged thy bed Yet once more he repeates that which he had said before and comes to this clause againe to wit that the Iewes committed grosse adulterie with their Idols and yet thought they serued Gods but this came to passe because they neglected to follow the rules of the word Simile For it is all one as if a woman hauing forsaken her husband should goe and prostitute her selfe to the stewes and make her selfe common indifferently to all commers as if the bed were now become an open field which might containe a great troope of men For this cause he saith that she discouered herselfe vvithout him because hauing shaken off the shamefastnesse of mariage she suffered others to abuse her For God holds the place of an husband to which shee ought to haue been subiect but shee sought out new companions and brake the faith of marriage He amplifies this crime in regard the Iewes did voluntarilie present themselues before the idols as if a disloyall wife should runne after another man to haue his companie Moreouer vnder another figure he taxeth their inordinate lust in respect that one onelie glance of the eie serued the turne to carry them suddenly and dotingly away into euerie place Therewithall also he conuinceth men of rashnes who thinke themselues very sharp witted in things belonging to Gods seruice and make choice of their places where themselues list But this is a diuellish wit for the Lord will haue our eies fixed in such wise vpon him and his word that they rest closed and shut vp against all other things Vers 9. Thou wentest to the Kings with oile and diddest increase thine ointments and send thy messengers farre off and diddest humble thy selfe vnto hell HEre the Prophet reprooues another vice almost like the former It is iust that such as will not rest contented with God should wander vp and downe restleslie without reliefe for impietie begets many errors and forceth light heads that are void of Gods feare into very sore and perplexed molestations And is it not good reason that such as will not rest in God should bee restlesse or rather tossed vp and downe with whirlewinds He reprocheth the Iewes then that they vexed themselues so much and so long a time in hunting after the helpe of strangers namelie when they endeuoured to oppose the aide of the Egyptians against the Assyrians and then being defrauded of their hopes they began to trot to the Chaldeans See 2. Sam. 28.5.6.7 For when men haue forsaken the feare of the Almightie then they seeke helpe in others and not onelie wearie themselues but are a great cost and trauell to atchieue the same And whilest the Lord giues quiet sleepe to his beloued ones that they may quietly finish that they haue to doe the wicked vexe themselues for nothing They rise early and goe late to bed and eate the bread of carefulnesse as it is in Psalm 127.2 And yet in the meane while they cannot enrich themselues the value of a naile because they do nothing vnder Gods authoritie or gouerment Now the Lord punisheth them thus to the end they may wander vp and downe as men at their wits end being euer in doubt and perplexitie without euer enioying the benefit of a quiet and contented mind Vers 10. Thou weariest thy selfe in thy manifold iournies yet saidst thou not There is no hope thou hast found life by thine hand therefore thou wast not grieued HIs meaning is Men labouâ— in vaine when they follow not God that men labour in vaine when they follow not God For they vex themselues without profit as wee haue said before because whatsoeuer it be that is taken in hand contrarie to the will of God can neuer haue good successe And here hee doth wittily deride the peruerse endeuors of such as in taking much paines had rather vvaste and consume the strength of bodie and mind then vvith quietnesse to goe whither the Lord called them It is labour lost That is to say Albeit thou seest thy iournies serue thee to no purpose yet doest thou obstinately go on in pursuing thy enterprises And yet very Idiots are wont to repent when their counsels prosper not well Such then must be called peruerse and desperate Who they be that deserue to be called peruerse and obstinate who hauing experience of
into his iudgement seate then men are forced to come out of their dennes and their villanies are manifested to euery one Psal 50.21 The Prophet therefore meant to say that the world esteemes horrible impieties to be vertues as long as God is silent but this shall vanish at the last when hee shall sit to iudge of them For after men shal haue flattered themselues much and for a long time together yet in the end they shall feele him to be their Iudge And they shall not profit thee This appertaines to the effect by which men are wont to iudge of things for the most part For they care not whether the matter bee iust or vniust but imagin that vvhatsoeuer is profitable ought to be approued of and therefore denounceth that all the vvorkes from whence they expected any benefit should turne to their detriment and ruine Vers 13. When thou criest let them that thou hast gathered together deliuer thee but the winde shall take them all away vanitie shall pull them away but hee that trusteth in mee shall inherit the land and shall possesse mine holy mountaine The former verse amplified HEe shewes now more at large that which hee touched but briefly in the former verse namely that when the matter shal come to the vp-shot they shall be confounded for the clause let them deliuer thee signifies as much as if he had said they shall not be able to doe it In this verse then hee alludes to that which he said before in vers 9. to wit Thou wentest to Kings with thy presents And for this cause hee calles all the meanes whereby the Iewes thought to secure themselues gathered for in resting thereupon they prostituted themselues to all kindes of villanies as if they had had been liable to no punishment at all in regard they were fortified with ramparts on euery side But the Lord shewes how vaine all their preparations are that are thus gathered together without him The cry here signifies that calamitie wherewith they should be afflicted For being setled vpon leagues and succours of their confederates they thought themselues in such safetie as if before they had neuer been annoied by such associates But hee protests that all the aid which they haue gathered together shall serue them to no vse for the hopes which we conceiue in the things of this world and in the helpe of man ioined with the forsaking of God is accursed and abominable Ier. 17.7 Hee reproched the Iewes in Chap. 8.6 for not contenting themselues with the still waters of Silo but searched out swelling and roring riuers which would ouerwhelme them in the end which indeed came so to passe For the Assyrians Egyptians and in the end the Chaldeans not onely were vnprofitable to the Iewes with whom they were confederate but at last were also their destruction Afterwards there followes an opposition wherein he recalles them to trust in God which was the onely remedie that ought to bee opposed to all calamities as on the contrary all our miseries flow from our owne infidelitie and distrust All our miseries flow from our owne infidelitie And whereas hee promiseth an heritage to those that hope in the Lord it is as if hee should haue said What is it that you seeke but that you may liue in safetie and that your inheritance may remaine whollie vnto you And I am sure my selfe can giue it you For tell me who brought you into this land Who gaue you possession in it And yet you trot downe into Egypt and seeke aid from men which cannot helpe you and you set mine assistance at nought The word heritage out of all doubt is meant of Iudea wherin the Iewes desired to remaine securely For afterwards he mentions the mountaine of his holinesse whereupon the Temple was built Thus then the Iewes sought to turne God out of his office as it were seeing they rather ranne for succour to the Egyptians and Assyrians then to him Hence let vs gather a generall doctrine Doctrine namely that all our affaires shall succeede well if we trust in God but if wee reiect that wee are not to wonder if wee be tossed from post to pillar and carried with the violence of diuers tempests whither we would not By the holy mountaine to which the Iewes were to be brought againe hee meanes that neither life nor none of the commodities thereof are to be desired but vpon condition that we may therewithall inioy the true worship of God for the end of mans life is The end of mans life that God may haue a people to call vpon his name purely Let our eies then be alwaies fixed vpon the honour and seruice of our God if wee either desire deliuerance from troubles or to inioy life with the commodities thereof Vers 14. And he shall say Cast vp cast vp prepare the way take vp the stumbling-blocks out of the way of my people See vers 13. BEcause this promise to wit that those who trusted in the Lord should possesse the land might seeme ridiculous seeing soone after they should be banished out of their countrie A preuention therefore this second promise is added for the little remnants sake which yet remained In which he promiseth that they shall be brought home againe into the land of Canaan though for a time they were cast out and driuen into a farre countrie He meetes with a doubt which might arise that so the faithfull might not be discouraged during this long and tedious exile nor esteeme Gods promises to be vaine Some expound That the Lord would send true and faithfull Prophets which should remoue and purge out those offences of the Church wherewith it was corrupted by false prophets and wicked gouernors For they as he shewed in Chap. 56.10.11 were the cause of the ruine of it and therefore they iudge that heere is a better and more desirable estate promised But this exposition sutes very ill and therefore I had rather follow the first namely that albeit the Iewes for a time were to be depriued of this land yet the Lord would establish them therein againe who will to that end command the rough vvaies to be made smooth for their returne This place therefore agrees with that which we haue seene in Chap. 40.1.2.3.4 where the Lord commanded that the people should be comforted that their returne should be proclaimed and that the vvaies should be clensed For being yet in Babylon as in a sepulcher and the distance of place very great and the passage tedious they were hardly drawne to hope that they should euer returne againe into their countrie Isaiah therefore was not lightly to passe ouer this matter that so he might take from them all feare of being hindred in their iourney either in regard of the mountaines or the sea He speakes to Cyrus Cyrus and Darius Darius then into whose minds God would inspire a will to giue the Iewes both passage and all necessaries fit
themselues For hee condemns them especially for being giuen to their lusts and then mentions certaine particular vices Whence wee may gather that they were touched with no care of repentance Vers 4. Behold yee fast to strife and debate and to smite with the fist of wickednesse yee shall not fast as yee doo to day to make your voice to be heard aboue The reason Why God regarded not the Iâ—wes fasts THis verse must be ioyned to the former For in regard the Lord brought in the hypocrites complaining of the Prophets vehemencie and sharpenesse in the first member now in this second he yeelds a reason wherefore the Lord regarded not their fasts and other workes namelie because none of these things proceeded from a pure affection of the heart Now he shewes what their hearts were by the fruites for he brings them to the commandements of the second table whereby it is easie to discerne what wee are within The puritie of the heart manifests it selfe in an vpright conuersing with our neighbours and in absteining from all fraud and violence These are the liuely representations of a pure affection without which God reiects yea abhorres all externall seruices For where deceit extortions and robberies haue the full scope it is most certaine that there the feare of God hath no place at all He reprocheth the hypocrites then that vnder colour of their fastings they took the greater libertie to oppresse their brethren and to follow their lusts the more freely Wee haue experience of this euery day for manie fast not onely to obtaine pardon for their fraudes and thefts and libertie to play the theeues the more freely but also that during the time of their fasts they may haue the better leisure to cast ouer their reckonings to reade their bils and obligations to count what gaines are come in by their vsurie Vsurie and to deuise waies how to intangle the goods of their debters within their nets And therefore for the most our hypocrites put off this businesse vntill Lent Lent and to the set fasting daies and such as are the most notorious hypocrites will heare manie Masses euery daie that vnder pretext of religion they may plot their cosenages and treacheries with more freedome that so no man may come to interrupt them Last of all the Prophet reiects their fasts notwithstanding the high account which they made of them because by meanes hereof Gods wrath was the more prouoked And by and by after he also reiects their prayers God approues no seruice but that which proceedes from the sincere affection of the heart whence it appeares as we haue more largely shewed vpon the first Chapter that God approues no seruices at all vnlesse they proceed from the sincere affection of the heart Truly there is no sacrifice more excellent then prayer and yet we see notwithstanding that the impuritie of the heart pollutes and defiles all our prayers Moreouer in regard that fasts are vsuallie ioined with prayer the Prophet takes it for granted Fasting a dependance of Prayer for indeed it is a dependance of prayer He forbids such kind of men then to make solemne prayers with fasts because they shall gaine nothing thereby vnlesse peraduenture that the Lord will punish them the more seuerely for it And hence we gather as we haue said before that the Lord reiects all externall works if the true feare of his Maiestie goes not before The fast which was in vse among the Iewes is not here in it selfe condemned The Iewes fast not condemned in it selfe as if it had bin a superstitious ceremonie but the abuse of it vaine confidence in it Which we are well to obserue for we must goe another way to worke with the Papists if we should stand to reproue their fasts which are meerely superstitious in regard they are tied to certain daies and times as if the rest of the yeere it were lawfull to cram their bellies Fast of Papists meerely superstitions They also hold flesh to be vncleane and in the meane while stuffe themselues vp to the throates with iunckets delicate meates In a word if so be they eate and drinke their fils only once in the day when they keepe their fast they thinke then they haue done a worke of supererogation Seeing then that there is nothing in all that which they doe that may be approued of wee may simplie condemne them But Isaiahs dispute was in another kind for the fast which the Iewes obserued was laudable in it selfe because God had instituted it Leuit 23.27 and 16.29.30 But the false opinion only was condemned As for the Papists wee must condemne not only their false opinion but the institution of their fasts also in regard it is wicked The Papists ioine together with the Iewes in this namely that they thinke God beholding to them for it and in that they thinke to merit by it Fasting alone is no seruice of God But a fast alone is no seruice of God neither is it required in it selfe as other works commanded in the law but it is an outward action as an handmaid vnto prayer and is profitable either to tame the flesh or to testifie our humiliation As when we feele our selues guiltie we desire God in the day of our aduersitie that hee would turne his wrath away from vs. But he that would be further instructed touching this point Institutions of Caluin let him resort to our Institutions Lib 4. Chap. 12. Sect. 14. 15. 16. 17. and there he shall find a more ample discourse both concerning the vse and end of it Vers 5. Is it such a fast that I haue chosen that a man should afflict his soule for a day and to hang downe his head like a bulrush and to lye downe in sackcloth and ashes wilt thou call this a fasting or an acceptable day vnto the Lord A confirmation of the confirmation HE confirmes the former sentence and shewes that God neither approues nor condemnes fasting in it selfe further then when it is applied to the right end Now his meaning was not vtterly to abolish it but the wicked abuse of it to wit when men put holines in it and either in despising or neglecting true godlines they thinke that the bodilie exercise alone sufficeth For hypocrites are euer wont to make the most they can of their externall ceremonies and that no lesse then if they were satisfactions to appease God withall Now in regard that men accorâ—ing to their headines dare of themselues define what Gods seruice is he therfore brings vs backe expreslie to his own difinition of it to the end our reason may not giue sentence that a thing is right vnlesse we be first assured that he approues of it for howsoeuer men please themselues and be highly conceited of their owne vnderstandings and malepertlie vaunt thereof yet the Lord reiects and abhorres such pride for he reserues it in his owne power to make choice of
that which he likes best neither doth it belong to any other To chuse is as much as to like or allow of but he protests that this is not acceptable vnto him to see one continue a day without meate and to goe sorrowfullie with his head hanging downe Simile The Prophet hath vsed a very fit similitude for as the bulrush bowes it selfe easily notwithstanding it stands bolt vpright so hypocrites haue skill to bow and hang downe the head as if they were brought low with faintnes or to signifie some vaine appearance of humilitie His meaning was therefore to taxe these superstitious gestures wherein hypocrites are wont to place a kind of holinesse Sackcloth and ashes were added to fasting then chieflie When sackcloth and ashes were chieflie in vse when they made solemne profession of their repentance for they couered themselues with sackcloth and laid ashes vpon their heads God approued this as an holie and laudable exercise And we also see that the Prophets summoning the people to repentance haue called them to sackcloth and ashes Ioel. 1.13 But as we haue formerly said that fasting is not here condemned in it self no more doth Isaiah condemne these externall rites only he rebukes hypocrites for separating the truth from the signes If any shall aske Quest whether sackcloth and ashes agree to our times or no Ans I answere that they are things indifferent which may also be vsed to edification And yet it is not needful to vse such shadowes now in the light of the Gospel which hath brought vs greater libertie Herewithall we are also to note the difference which is betweene the Easterne people who vse many ceremonies and the Westerne who are much more sparing therein so as if wee should imitate them it would be little better then a may-game or apish tricks And yet this hinders not them who are desitous to confesse their faults to clothe themselues in vile rayment after the maner of the penitents who craued pardon and mercie An acceptable fast From hence we obserue that fasts were celebrated whē solemne prayers were made and that all the Church was assembled together For fasting is but the handmaid of prayer Fasting the handmaid of prayer as we haue shewed before and wee also see that Christ addes it thereunto Matth. 17.21 It is not instituted then in regard of it selfe but tends to another end Vers 6. Is not this the fasting that I haue chosen to loose the bands of wickednes to take off the heauie burthens and to let the oppressed goe free and that yee breake euery yoke THe Prophet shewes wherein the true offices of pietie which are principally commanded of God consist namely What duties God allowes of in fasting in comforting the poore and oppressed Obiect But it seemes the Prophet vtterlie abolisheth fasting when in stead thereof hee recites those works which are much more acceptable vnto God I answere Ans Fasting approoued when charity is ioyned with it that fasting is then approued when charitie is ioined with it The Prophet brings vs to this principle to wit that our consciences may be pure sound that we exercise our selues in shewing brotherly kindnes one to another For if this order be duly obserued then fasting being added thereto wil be pleasing and acceptable to the Lord. But may some say here is not a word vttered touching the puritie of the heart Ans I answere it is vnderstood by the fruits that proceede from the same or from the workes by which it is easie to discerne what the heart is In the next place he numbers vp the duties of the second Table and so vnder this part vnderstands the obseruation of the whole Law as wee haue seene in Chap. 56. For it is not enough to be beneficial to our neighbours if in the meane while we contemne God But we are to note our Prophets meaning for in as much as we cannot hold the band of brotherly loue with our neighbours vnlesse the loue of God goe before to examine whether this loue and feare of his Maiestie bee in vs or no hee requires these Christian duties as the neerest signes therof namely if we liue with our brethren iustly louingly and without offering them any hard measure Adde also that an outward appearance will not serue the turne for where the Spirit of God beares not rule there charitie is cold And therefore S. Paul makes expresse mention of loue among the fruits of the Spirit Gal. 5.22 When the obseruation of the Law is mentioned then we vnderstand not onely the outward actions but the affections of the heart must also come into account To loose the bands of vvickednesse Some expound it The wicked thoughts wherewith men are bound and intangled But it seemes Isaiah meant otherwise to wit that hypocrites are very mercilesse towards the poore and lay very heauie yokes vpō them He calles that knots or bands which wee commonly terme oppressions To which agrees that which is added to take off the heauie burthens vnder the weight whereof the poore needie grone and are in a maner ouerwhelmed therewith The Prophet then sets not downe the definition of a fast but shewes what the Lord chiefly and principally requires in the first place also by what meanes our seruice may bee acceptable before him and how those ought to bee fitted and prepared that meane to fast Vers 7. Is it not to deale thy bread to the hungry and that thou bring the poore that wander vnto thine house When thou seest the naked that thou couer him and hide not thy selfe from thine owne flesh He still goes on in describing the duties of loue HEe goes on in describing the duties of loue which hee touched in the former verse For hauing said in the first place that wee must abstaine from doing any wrong now he admonisheth vs to shew our selues liberall and lowly towards the afflicted and such as stand in neede of our helpe Two parts of equitie For there are two parts of equitie and iustice First that we offer no man any wrong secondly that we imploy our riches and goods towards the maintenance of them that are in want and necessitie and these two parts must be ioined together For it is not enough to abstaine from violent courses vnlesse therewithall we shew mercy in relieuing our poore brethrens wants Neither is it sufficient to succour one if you rob from some to bestow vpon others for wee must not relieue our neighbours wants by thefts and pillages And if thou hast committed any iniustice crueltie or extortion thou oughtest not to make amends by calling in God to thee as if thou wouldst make him partner with thee of thy spoiles It is necessarie then you see that these two parts be ioined together if we would haue God to approue and allow of our charitie In commanding them to breake their bread to the hungry he meant to take away all excuses from the couetous and niggardly
who are wont to reply that their goods are their owne like Nabal 1. Sam. 25.11 It is mine owne say they and therefore I may keepe it to my selfe Why should I make that common which God hath giuen me for my particular vse The Prophet answers that it doth indeed appertaine vnto thee but vpon condition that thou dealest out part thereof to the hungry and thirstie and not that thou shouldest eate all thy selfe alone Truly common reason teacheth vs that the hungry are defrauded of their right vnlesse their wants be supplied yea such a wofull spectacle often moues the most barbarous and cruell to compassion Afterwards hee reckons vp some particulars which are vsually wont to mollifie the stoniest heart and moue them to shew mercie The reason is that their inhumanitie which are not touched with the sense of the pouertie and need of their brethren might be the lesse excusable Lastly hee concludes and hide not thy face from thine owne flesh where we are to note this word flesh for thereby he meanes all men in generall not one whereof wee can behold but therein of necessitie wee must view our owne nature as in a glasse It is great inhumanitie then to disdaine and despise those in whom wee are forced to acknowledge our owne image Vers 8. Then shall thy light breake forth as the morning and thine health shall grow speedily thy righteousnesse shall goe before thee and the glory of the Lord shall imbrace thee THe Prophet shewes that God is not ouer rigorous A preuention of an obiection neither requires hee of vs more then is neede though hypocrites complaine causlesly neuer so much in accusing him of too great seueritie for when their workes are condemned then they gnash the teeth and answer that God can neuer be content and therefore they know not what they should doe more nor what way to take Hee answers them againe that God requires no more but a pure and vpright heart that is to say a good conscience If they haue that he will shew them mercy and in gathering them together againe will giue testimonie of their holinesse and will blesse them euery manner of way whom he hath iustly chastised for their disloyalties In a word that they shall haue no occasion at all to murmure as if he were too sharpe towards them because they should taste of his bountie and liberalitie if in reiecting all hypocrisie they would dispose themselues to worship him in sinceritie We must note the particle then For on the contrarie it signifies that hypocrites are very farre off from this pure worship of God though they would be taken for the holiest men in the world But the Prophet holds them more then conuinced when by their owne workes he shewes that they neither feare nor reuerence the Lord. By the word light he meanes a prosperous estate as on the contrarie darkenesse signifies a life full of miserie and calamities And this we know is a phrase of speech much vsed in the Scriptures Mich. 7.8 Chap 42.16 Health notes out an happie and quiet life as we shall see anon in another place For the plagues which were inflicted vpon this people by the hand of God in regard of their sinnes had almost consumed them so as they pined away as a sicke man that is brought low by a languishing disease For there is no sicknesse so sharpe as to be pressed with the iust vengeance of God or to be washed vnder his curse The word righteousnesse may be taken two waies either for a testimonie of vprightnesse or for an estate well ordered because God would heale the confusions and place all things in their first estate The first sense then will be after God shall be reconciled with thee the testimonie of thy righteousnesse shal appeare before him and before men as if an Herauld of armes went before thee There are other expositors which had rather take righteousnesse for a well ordered common-wealth which is a gift of God and no small token of his fatherly loue And in other places also we haue seene that it is taken in this sense amongst the Hebrews But the last member which followes the glorie of the Lord causeth me rather to follow the first exposition Thy righteousnesse shall goe foorth that is to say All shall know that thou art iust and holie vvhereas before thou wast guilty and conuicted And thus the glorie of the Lord shall be put vpon thee whereas before thou wert ouerwhelmed with ignominie and reproches For we are exposed to shame and contempt when we beare the punishment of our transgressions Vers 9. Then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answere thou shalt crie and hee shall say Here I am if thou take away from the middest of thee the yoke the putting foorth of the singer and wicked speaking ISaiah prosecutes that which he hath alreadie begun to intreate of namely that the Iewes should prosper in all things The same argument further prosecuted if they liue in such equitie and so abstaine from all wrong that thence men may take notice of their piety and religion For he pronounceth that which is said by Hosea and is repeated by Christ That mercie ought to bee preferred before sacrifice Hos 6.7 Matth. 12 7. Hauing spoken then of the duties of charitie and likewise hauing protested that such as performe them shall be happie now he ads Then thou shalt cal and the Lord shal heare thee For herein consists the chiefest part of our happinesse namelie if God vouchsafe to heare vs contrariwise there cannot befall vs a more wofull condition then when hee is our enemy Now for the exercise of our faith he attributes that to our prayers which he is minded to bestow voluntarily Wherein our principall happinesse consists and of his meere liberalitie For if he should still supplie vs with his benefits while we slept as it were the affection of prayer would grow cold in vs yea would be vtterly frozen vp and so his liberality shuld nourish our sloth negligence Albeit then that hee preuent vs by his free grace yet will he haue our prayers to come betweene and therfore he addes Thou shalt crie and he shall say Here J am For this promise containes also an exhortation to the end we should not remaine idle When hee saith Here am I this appertaines not to our outward senses but by the effects he shewes that he is neere vnto vs and afuours vs. And in the end of the verse he repeates againe that God will be pacified towards the Iewes if so be they did repent By the yoke he comprehends all the molestations wherewith the poore were vexed As if hee should say If thou ceasest to molest thy brethren and abstainest from deceit and violence the Lord will blesse thee euery kind of way The lifting vp of the finger also containes vnder it all manner of iniuries For wee are wont to say Lift vp thy finger when we meane to
remaines alwaies the same For if it be asked Who reedifed Ierusalem Truly it was this people But out of this infinite multitude God culled out an handfull and cut off all the rest Some thinke that the Cities should not be big enough to containe so many people for which cause they should be forced to build those againe which were throwne downe before But this seemes too farre fetched By the foundations from generation to generation whereof he speakes in the second member some thinke that the Prophet only repeates that which he said before and so expound foundations of generations because they had a long time bin ouerthrowne in regard these buildings were forthwith to be reedified and set vp but many impediments should come betweene that should cause the worke to cease notwithstanding this may be referred to the time to come thus Thou shalt reare vp the buildings which shall remaine for a long space for he seemes to promise vnto the Church such an estate as shal continue a long while as if he should say other buildings stand not long but this shall indure for many generations If any had rather referre it to the time past I gainsay him not And thou shalt be called The Prophet here comprehends two points First that the people should resemble a ruinous building Secondly that they should shortly be built againe But he attributes to the Iewes that they shall be the repairers and directors of the paths in regard the Lord shall vse their seruice to that end Wee haue heere then an excellent promise namely that the ruins of the Church shall be gathered againe together and repaired Now seeing the Lord will vse our selues in this worke let nothing hinder vs from imploying our whole seruices this way And albeit the world resist and scorne vs as witlesse people yet let vs be of good courage and ouercome all these impediments For we must be valiant and bold when we know it is the Lords vvorke who hath enioined vs thus to doe Vers 13. If thou turne away thy foote from the Sabbath from doing thy will on mine holy day and call the Sabbath * Or delites a delite to consecrate it as glorious to the Lord and shalt honor him not doing thine owne wayes nor speaking * Or thy words a vaine word SOme thinke the Prophet hath respect to the outward obseruation of the Sabbath because it was not lawfull to trauaile on that day Now howsoeuer I reiect not this yet I take it that the sense hath a larger extent for vnder the figure Synecdoche he signifies the whole course of mans life it being a thing well knowne to all that by vvalking our whole conuersation is vnderstood He saith then If thou ceasest to follow thine owne swinge if thou shut vp all passage against thy selfe vvalke not vvhither thy fantasie leades thee c. For they are said to turne their feete from the Sabbath who impose not this law vpon themselues namely not to wander whither their vnbridled lusts would carrie them Now as before vnder the fast he comprehended all ceremonies and shewed that these disguisings in which they placed their holines were nothing but vain and vnprofitable things so in this place he shewes wherein the true obseruation of the Sabbath consists to the end they should not thinke it to be in the outward rest from bodily labor but in the true renouncing of our selues that is in abstaining from all wickednes violence voluptuousnes and euill thoughts First by the word foote he meanes their works for the Iewes durst not trauaile nor dresse any flesh vpon the Sabbath day and yet they made no scruple at all to vex their poore neighbors and to scorne the afflicted notwithstanding he comes forthwith to speake of the vvill and vvords that he might comprehend all the parts of that obediēce which is due vnto God The word delights ought to be referred vnto God and not to men For there is nothing which pleaseth him better or is more acceptable vnto him then the obseruation of the Sabbath and his pure worship He carefullie repeates that men do much ouershute themselues if they cōtemne the commandements of God to set vp their vnprofitable workes in the stead thereof and also admonisheth vs to suffer our selues to be gouerned by his only will Moreouer he mentions some particulars whereby he shewes that the true obseruation of the Sabbath consists in the renouncing of ouer selues and in the conuersion of the whole man and therefore he layes the vvill for the foundation that from thence may flow vvords and deeds for we lightly vtter the conceptions of our vnderstandings and by our vvords we manifest our vvill then followe the actions Whosoeuer then will indeuor to serue God as he ought he must first of necessitie whollie renounce his will and carnall reason Hence we see wherefore the Lord so oft requires the obseruation of the Sabbath in the Scriptures Exod. 20.13 Doubtlesse he looked higher then to the externall ceremonie which is this rest in which the Iewes placed a worke of great holinesse No he rather meant that hauing put off all the concupiscences of the flesh and renounced all their inordinate affections For a more particular explication and application of this 13. verse see Widley vpō the Sabbath Lib. 2. Chap. 4. Sect. 2. they should testifie their sincere obedience For in truth that man can neuer be said to meditate aright of the heauenly life that is not dead both to the world and to himselfe Now howsoeuer this ceremonie bee abolished yet the substance remaines For Christ is dead and risen againe to the end we might keepe a perpetuall Sabbath that we cease from our own workes to suffer the Spirit of grace to worke powerfully in vs. Vers 14. Then shalt thou delight in the Lord and I will cause thee to mount vpon the high places of the earth and feede thee with the heritage of Iaakob thy father for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it THen shalt thou delight It seemes he alludes to the word delights in the former verse For the word Tithannagh which the Prophet vseth comes of the word Onegh which hee vsed in vers 12. in saying that the Lord tooke great delights in the true obseruation of the Sabbath In a word his meaning is that the people receiued no delight from God because they prouoked him to anger would not obey his will For if wee square our liues according to the rules of Gods Law wee shall be his delights and hee shall be our ioy and contentment He testifies then that the Iewes are the cause themselues that God takes no more pleasure in them also that their owne liues are so comfortlesse By this then hee priuily reprocheth the Iewes namely that through their owne folly they haue drawne downe so many calamities vpon them Afterwards he addes that they shall mount vpon the high places of the earth thereby promising vnto them their returne
and a safe abode in their Country for we know that Iudeah was situated on high aboue the regions round about and that Babylon was seated lower so as the people was hid there as within a caue And yet hee shewes more plainly what he meant by this word to mount for hee promiseth to them the possession of that heritage which was promised and giuen to the Fathers which they also should then inioy after that for a time they had been depriued of it He addes for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it that they might know for certaine that all these things should take effect But this must not only be vnderstood touching these promises but must also be referred to the former part of this Chapter For therein hee hath sharply censured the hypocrites who thought to haue made their party good against God shewing also that they were notwithstanding their plea iustly punished for their iniquities yea that it was in vaine for them to quarrell with God by opposing their vaine and vnprofitable workes to his iustice And therefore hee brings them backe to the true obseruation of the Sabbath day and shewes that all shall goe well with them if they worship the Lord purely and in the end concludes that in all these things they had not to doe vvith a mortall man but vvith the eternall God vvho is the Iudge that testifies these things THE LIX CHAPTER Vers 1. Behold the Lords hand is not shortened that it cannot saue neither is his eare heauie that it cannot heare 2. But your iniquities haue separated betweene you and your God and your sinnes haue hid his face from you that he will not heare The Prophet maintaines Gods equall dealing against the slanders of the wicked THis Sermon is in a manner like to the former For after hee hath vnmasked the hypocrites who falsly vaunted theÌ„selues and shewed that their punishmeÌ„t is iust now hee answeres to the rest of their obiections The custome of such kind of persons is to accuse God either of impotencie or of ouer great seueritie and therefore he shewes that neither power nor vvill is wanting in God to saue those that be his but that it is their owne peruersitie that hinders him from causing them to feele his liberalitie and consequently that they did wickedly to complaine of him in vttering such slanders against him seeing that themselues rather deserued to be accused The word Behold hath great weight in it for it is as much as if the Prophet in speaking of a thing present should haue pointed it out with his finger for the greater certentie that so he might at once cut off all the cauils and replies of hypocrites Now we must supply oppositions in the words shortened and heauie as if he should say The hand of the Lord vvas once strong enough to saue his children and once his eares vvere open to heare their praiers and now hee is no changeling as if his hand were maimed or as if his eares were heauie that he should not be quicked enough of hearing The sum is that men are not to charge God with mutabilitie as if he had altered his nature but that the whole blame rested in themselues in regard that by their sinnes they had as it were shut vp the passage against his bountie and would not admit of his succour So that if themselues had not laid impediments in the way hee would haue caused them to haue felt his power and mercy as well as their fathers in times past had done And thus he drawes his argument from the perpetuall and equall constancie of God whose grace they reieced by their sins and would none of his helpe Doctrine Hence we gather that it is our sinnes only that depriues vs of Gods fauour and sets him and vs at oddes For that which the Prophet said of his time agrees to all ages for hee maintaines Gods cause against the slanders of the wicked God therefore is alwaies like himselfe and is neuer wearie of well doing his power is not lessened but it is wee our selues that shut vp the gate against his grace Obiect But some will obiect that God cannot bee preuented by mens deserts and therefore it must needes be that hee doe good to the vnworthy Obiect Ans I confesse this is true but yet I say that mens peruersitie sometimes ouerflowes so farre that it stops vp all passage against Gods benefits no lesse then if of set purpose we meant to driue him farre away from vs. And albeit hee neuer heares any but with pardon it being also our duties alwaies to bring with vs into his presence requests touching the forgiuenesse of our sinnes yet hee neuer heares the prayers of the wicked We are not to wonder then if the Prophet accuseth the people for hauing reiected Gods benefits by their wickednesses and for making him vnappeaseable by their obstinacie To be short for making a diuorce by which they repulsed and turned backe the ordinary course of Gods graces Vers 3. For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquitie your lippes haue spoken lies and your tongue hath murmured iniquitie He descends from the generall to particulars NOw he brings their workes to light to stop their contendings and that they should not call into question what these sins were which had made this diuision He takes away from theÌ„ all excuse then in discouering vnto them these particular vices as if their wicked life had been blazed in an open theater Now he speakes in the second person in regard that he maintaines and prosecutes the cause of God whose aduocate he is and therefore he separates himselfe out of the wickeds societie to whom now he will not ioyne himselfe although hee were not vtterly exempt from sinne But hee feared and honoured God notwithstanding and therfore had his conscience cleare He is vnfit to controle otheâ—s that is gâ—iltie himselfe of the same crimes For he which shal be tainted with the same offences cannot freelie condemne others neither shall he be fit to debate the matter because he bereaues himselfe of his authoritie by his scandalous and wicked life For we ought not to be culpable of the vices which wee reprooue in others vnlesse we meane to make the doctrine which we teach a matter of scorne and derision and our selues to bee taken for bold and impudent fellowes But on the other side when we serue our God in a pure and good conscience then hath the doctrine which we deliuer maiestie and power in it and leaues the aduersarie the more without excuse Now it is not to be held as a matter superfluous that he laies forth the vngracious life of this people thus by peece meale For men are wont to seeke out many starting holes neither can they be brought into any good order vnlesse they bee first brought to acknowledge their offences In mentioning of blood his meaning is not that they committed open murthers but thereby
that many returned from Babylon into Iudeah which were not touched with any repentance at all who neuerthelesse had their part in this benefit but the Prophet speakes of that full redemption which is onely proper vnto the elect For howsoeuer the externall fruit of the deliuerance redounded to the hypocrites yet imbraced they not this benefit of God to their saluation The Prophet meant to say then that the punishment of their banishment should haue fruit to the end that the Lord hauing purged his Church from her filthinesse corruptions he might againe gather together her dissipations We must also euer beare in mind that which I haue heeretofore touched in respect of the diminution of this people Thus then our Prophet exhorts the elect to the feare of God that so they might make benefit of the stripes which they receiued Hence let vs gather that we can not be reconciled vnto God by the blood of Iesus Christ No reconciliation without conuersion vnlesse we be first of all thorowly displeased with our selues for displeasing of him Not that our saluation depends vpon our repentance seeing that is grounded vpon the remission of sinnes Conuersion deserues not remission of sinnes But the hatred of euill and the loue of good is so conioined therewith that they can not be separate For those whom the Lord receiues into fauour are in such wise regenerated by the holy Ghost that they abhorre their vices and change their course of life The Papists vtterly ouerthrow the whole doctrine of saluation in mingling and confounding repentance and remission of sinnes together Papists confound repentance and remission of sinnes together neither are they of the ignorant sort only that do this but those also who will be reputed the most ingenious amongst thē They confesse indeed that a man is iustified freely by Christ but they adde it is because we are renued by him And thus they tie one part of their righteousnes to the remission of sinnes and another part to repentance But in this doing our consciences shall neuer be at rest because we are alwaies farre off from being perfectlie regenerated We must therfore distinguish these things without separating or confounding them together They must be distinguished not separated and so hold fast the foundation of our saluation S. Paul alleageth this place to shew that there yet remaines some hope of saluation for the Iewes howsoeuer by their vntamed obstinacie wee might gather that they were vtterly reiected and iudged to eternal death Rom. 11.26 But in regard that God alwaies remembers his couenant and that his gifts and calling are without repentance Rom. 11.29 Saint Paul aptly concludes it to be impossible that some remnant should not at last bee gathered vnto Christ to inioy that saluation which he hath purchased The Iews in the end must be gathered in with the Gentiles that both peoples may make one fold vnder Christ Quest But yet the Prophet speakes heere may some say of the deliuerance from Babylon Ans I grant it notwithstanding we haue said that vnder this hee comprehends the kingdome of Christ and that spirituall deliuerance to which this prophecie belongs Thence the Apostle concludes that Christ could not so be the redeemer of the world that it should not appertaine to some of the Iews out of whom he had elected their fathers and made this promise expresly in fauor of them Rom. 11.1 2. In the end of the verse the ratification of so excellent a sentence is added Vers 21. And I will make this my couenant with them saith the Lord My Spirit that is vpon thee and my words which I haue put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy seede nor out of the mouth of the seede of thy seede saith the Lord from hence forth euen for euer BEcause the doctrine before proposed by our Prophet hitherunto was hard to bee beleeued he labours by diuers meanes to confirme the Iewes that without wauering they might assuredly rest vpon this promise of saluation and should so farre foorth honour the Lord as to stay vpon his word This word couenant is diligently to be noted For thereby the Prophet sets forth the greatnes and excellencie of this promise For the promises haue a large extent and may bee compared to stones in the building whereof the couenant is the foundation that sustaines and beares vp the whole burthen Thus then he hath vsed this word couenant that they should not esteeme hereof as of some common matter And hee addes this confirmation to the end that howsoeuer this promise was not by and by accomplished yet they should hope for the same euen aboue hope And it may be here is a close opposition to cause the faithfull with the greater alacritie to aspire to the new couenant which should bee established in the hand of Christ Obiect But that which he addes afterwards seemes to bring but colde comfort with it when he would haue the Church to content her selfe with vvords and the Spirit Ans As though forsooth there were some great happinesse in hanging in suspence touching the accomplishment of Gods promises But howsoeuer the Prophet hereby recommends the excellencie and worth of doctrine yet notwithstanding I am well assured that it is not separated from his effect Now in regard that God thus orders dispenceth his grace that he alwaies exerciseth the patience of the faithfull whilest they liue here below and neuer wholly satisfies their desires this is the cause why he brings them to the vvord As if he should say Thou shalt truely feele that I am liberall and that I will many waies procure thy good but thou oughtest not to wish greater happinesse then to feele my presence by my word Whence wee gather that the greatest treasure the Church hath The richest treasure the church hath consists in this that the Lord hath chosen her for his dwelling place that in the hearts of the faithfull he may make his abode by his Spirit and may conserue the doctrine of the Gospell among them Lastly he foretels that God will neuer forsake his people but will alwaies assist them by his vvord and spirit which two are conioined together Why the Spirit is ioined with the word because without the efficacie of the Spirit the word would profit nothing but would remaine fruitlesse On the other side wee must not separate the one from the other as some fantasticall spirits dreame who in reiecting the vvord pretend the name of the Spirit and are readie to burst with a vaine confidence which they haue conceiued in their fantasticall imaginations for wee must hold that for the spirit of Satan which is separated from the word of God That is to be held for the spirit of Satan that is separated frō the word to which the holy Spirit is euer more annexed Now when he quickens the externall word writing it in our hearts by the finger of
shall be The same argument still prosesecuted when those that persecuted or despised the Church shall come to prostrate themselues humbly before her feete and with their whole hearts shall submit themselues to her seruice By the children of those that afflicted her hee meanes the tyrants and persecuters which vexed her Now this was partly accomplished when the Iewes returned into their country But this returne was but an obscure shadow of that deliuerance which wee haue obtained by Christ Thus these things then were truly accomplished vnder Christs kingdome yet so that we must wait for the perfect consummation thereof till his second comming as in another place before we haue noted But will some say Quest is not this honor whereof the Prophet speakes too excessiue and greater then of right belongs to the Church For to bow and fall downe vpon the ground are such signes of honour which no mortall man ought to accept of I answer Ans that this honor is not made to the members but to the head which is Christ This honor not done to the Church but to the head Christ who is worshipped in the Church and those who hated and persecuted him before come now to do him this reuerence Now we say that Christ is adored in the Church not according to the Popish opinion who thinke they indeed worship Christ whilst they kneele before that Romane Idoll The Romane Idoll to kisse his pantable Those in fauor of whom this is affirmed hate and reiect such a doctrine They only honor Christ then who obey his voice as also the Prophet saith that the strangers which were out of the Church should willingly submit themselues to yeeld obedience vnto Christ whose Maiestie shines in the doctrine which himselfe administers by the seruice of men And shall call thee c. The Church was adorned with this title heretofore but it was in a maner defaced when the Citie was destroyed the Temple raced and the people led away captiue Ierusalem was no more the same neither was there ought to be seene in her but an horrible wast and yet he promiseth that she shall be so restored that all shall acknowledge her for the Citie of the Lord. Zion of the c. Afterwards he speakes of the Temple to signifie vnto vs that this dignitie is attributed to Ierusalem in regard of the Temple that is to say for the seruice of Gods sake which was there established Vers 15. Whereas thou hast bin forsaken and hated so that no man went by thee I will make thee an eternall glorie and a ioy from generation to generation THe Prophet had an eie to that middle time which alreadie approched for a little after his death the people were driuen out of their heritage and led away captiue so as all thought that the Iewes had bin for euer rooted out That this thought then might not arise in the minds of the faithfull whereby they were in danger to fall into despaire and say We are vndone there is no way left how to remedie these so exâ—reame miseries neither are we euer to expect a better condition he on the contrarie shewes that these sore calamities can not let God to restore them againe For howsoeuer for a time they were after a sort forsaken when the Lord thus corrected them yet was it no masterie for him to set them in a more happie and better estate then the former If any obiect Obiect that this magnificence of the Church was of no long continuance the answere Ans is soone made For howsoeuer the people were diuerslie afflicted after their returne home and that the Christian Church also did not long hold her excellencie yet is all that which the Prophet foretold accomplished for Christes glorie shines forth from vnder the crosse Christes glorie shines Vnder the crosse so as Gods name remâ— nes and a people also that calles vpon his name by faith Vse Besides we are to note that our owne vnthankfulnes hinders vs from receiuing the fruit of these promises because we breake off the course of Gods working by our infidelitie and by our owne frowardnes wee lose the profit which wee might reape from the same To conclude we are alwaies to remember that which I haue so often told you namely That the Prophet speakes not of yeeres heere or of a few daies but comprehends the whole course of our redemption from the end of the captiuitie vntill the publishing of the Gospell and so successiuely till he shall giue vp the kingdome to God his Father Vers 16. Thou shalt also suck the milke of the Gentiles and shalt suck the breasts of the Kings and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy sauiour and thy redeemer the mightie one of Iaakob HE speakes of the spreading forth of the Church But it was necessarie that one and the same thing should be often repeated in regard it seemed incredible that the Church of God being now brought to so low an ebbe should euer be raised or spread ouer the whole world for her condition was lamentable but in the end she was rebuilt againe to the astonishment of all and that by a small remnant as a brand recouered out of the fire and the seed thereof was scattered farre and wide thorow all the quarters of the world And therefore it is as much as if he had said Though thou beest now inclosed within strait and very narrow bounds and hast nothing in common with the Gentiles yet so it is that thou shalt receiue from them much fruites in abundance By milke and breasts he meanes nothing else but that seruice and obedience which the Gentiles should render to the Church to nourish her ofspring For hauing sâ—id before that of an handfull should proceed an infinite number of children now he prouides milke to suckle them with vntill they be come of sufficient age And he expresly speakes of Kings in regard it was the harder to be beleeued And thus Kings by the way are admonished of their duties Kings admonished of their duties who if they will discharge the same as they ought then must they be seruants of the Church otherwise the Lord will call them to account for it and we know what Dauid pronounceth in the second Psalme verse 10.11 But wee must note after what maner the Church shall suck the milke and the breasts of the Gentiles For she is not permitted whollie to draw in vnto her selfe all the abilities and riches of the world but only thereby to preserue her owne estate in safetie For can any thing in the world be more contrarie to the nature of the Church then to be an insatiable gulph No 〈◊〉 mo e â—â—â—trarie to the nature of the true Church then to become an insatiable gulph swallowing vp into her belly whatsoeuer she may come by These things therefore must be referred to the spirituall estate of the Church namely that by meanes hereof God may be purely
worshipped in her that the ministrie of the word may florish and be aduanced there and that she may thereby retaine some discipline Discipline which may serue as a bridle to curbe euery one And yet herewithall that the faithfull must remember it is a more blessed thing to giue then to take Act. 20.35 that thus they may be instructed to beare pouertie patiently to the end they may inrich others with their spirituall riches Lastly he addes that that which for a time was hidden shall be discouered namely the Iewes should know that they were not elected in vaine in regard they should feele by experience that God was carefull of their saluation Quest But some may aske if they knew not this before they were led captiue I answere Ans this banishment resembled a thicke and grosse darknesse which comparison also our Prophet vsed in the beginning of this chapter Seeing then that vnder this grieuous seruitude they could behold neither the power nor glorie of God he now drew them into the open light Faith and experience distinguished Not that faith failes in afflictions but because the feeling thereof is one thing and experience another Whilest we seeme forlorne then faith soares vp aloft farre aboue the present miserie and those thicke mists with which we be enwrapped And if God be pleased to restore vs to our perfect estate then wee perceiue the thing not by the eies of faith but by experience it selfe loe here that manifest knowledge whereof hee speakes As if he should say after I shal haue dealt liberally with you you shall then see by the effects that I am your redeemer He doth of set purpose vse the title of the mightie one of Jacob in regard he had formerly often shewed himself to be such an one towards them And that not onely Jacob himselfe had many waies felt Gods power by experience but that his successors also had prooued that it was in him in whom they were to seeke assured helpe Thus then hee calles him mightie to the end they might acknowledge that God would be the same for euer towards them which in times past hee had been to their fathers Vers 17. For brasse I will bring gold and for iron will I bring siluer and for wood brasse and for stones iron I will also make thy gouernment peace and thine exactors righteousnesse The excellencie of Christs spirituall Temple discribed THe Prophet alludes to the building of the old and ancient Temple and compares it with the spirituall and heauenly As if hee should say When you shall bee carried away captiue then you will bewaile the ruine of the Temple but I will so worke that you shall build it after a more excellent manner In stead of brasse then I will bring gold and in stead of iron siluer for wood brasse and for stones iron As if he had said All shall bee full of magnificence and glorie in that second Temple which shall succeed the first Now we know that this prophesie was neuer accomplished in the externall restauration of this people Nay it is certaine that the beautie of the second Temple was farre inferior to the first Ezra 3.12.13 It followes then that the Prophet who in spirit saw the true redemption recites not only that which should fall out presently after the returne of the people but publisheth the excellencie of the spirituall Temple which is the Church of Christ we must therefore come by a direct line as it were vnto Christ if wee will attaine the true meaning of this prophesie In his kingdome these things were fully accomplished and the dignity of the first Temple was much surpassed For the Lord shed abrode the gifts of his holie spirit which farre excelled either gold siluer or precious stones Wee may now then see the Temple built of precious stones as it was in Chapter 54.11.12 As concerning the word superintendance others tanslate tribute Neither do I doubt but the Prophet meant closelie to compare the miserable seruitude vnder which the people should be held with that excellent dignitie to which they were afterwards aduanced For to peace and iustice he opposeth the exactors who vniustly tyrannised ouer them whilest the Iewes were vexed with the couetousnesse and crueltie of the Babylonians Now he shewes that the exactors being cut off there shall be no other superintendancie then peace and iustice This was more fullie accomplished when we were deliuered from the tyrannie of the diuell by Christ For by his Gospell he erected a kingdome of righteousnesse which is not yet finished But wee are to wait for his last comming to see the perfection thereof and yet in the meane while to content our selues with these first fruits Vers 18. Violence shall no more bee heard of in thy land neither desolation nor destruction within thy borders but thou shalt call saluation thy walles and praise thy gates HE here more largely expresseth that which we haue said namely An amplification of the former doctrine that in describing the happie estate of the Church hee priuilie opposeth the miseries and calamities wherewith shee had been diuerslie afflicted thereunto For which cause hee promiseth that in time to come shee should no more be vexed by them I grant notwithstanding that many euils befell them after their deliuerance What of that Yet the people were neuer so vtterly wasted but some forme of a Church still remained and by meanes hereof they enioyed peace feeling by experience that God kept and defended them by his power Wee must not take it then as if the Prophet in these words promised them to be exempt from all trouble and encumbrance But this consolation was added by way of comparison in regard of the miseries to come to wit that the Lord will spare his Church which shall be in safetie vnder his protection And questionlesse in the course of their deliuerance they euidently perceiued some testimonies of this peace which the Prophet doth here so highly extoll To bee short we must alwaies remember that which we haue so oft repeated namely that wee feele all these things in part onely because the kingdome of Christ is not yet accomplished And thy gates He alludes to the building of the Temple or of the Church as we haue said elsewhere and shewes that her safetie shall not consist in towers walles or other enclosures and that howsoeuer humane helpes should faile her yet should shee haue sufficient safetie and quiet contentment in God alone But to the saluation of the Church he ioyneth praise or ioy for being now in perfect safetie shee should reioyce whereas before during her oppression she lay trodden vnder foote in an hopelesse silence Vers 19. Thou shalt haue no more Sunne to shine by day neither shall the brightnesse of the Moone shine vpon thee for the Lord shall bee thine euerlasting light and thy God thy glorie 20. Thy Sunne shall neuer goe downe neither shall thy Moone bee hid for the Lord shall be
her forlorne chiefly in respect her roote lay hidden That she might sprout a fresh then the Prophet saith that God will play the husband man namely in replanting that which was withered after it was plucked vp by the rootes In a word hee signifies that the deliuerance of the Church out of this miserable seruitude shal be an admirable worke of the Lord and not of men in regard she shall be raised vp as it were from death And truly that which belongs to the heauenly life is not giuen vs by nature nor obtained by our industry but flowes vnto vs and proceedes from Gods free bountie Euery one of vs also oght to apply vnto himself in particular that whcih is here said of the whole Church in generall for we were planted of God before the foundations of the world Eph. 1.4 and afterward incorporated and called to the end we might haue assurance of our election and plantation The wicked were neuer planted of God and therefore Christ pronounceth that those whom his heauenly Father hath not planted shall be plucked vp Mat. 15.13 To cōclude the end wherefore we be planted The end why we are planted is by and by added namely that wee might set forth the praise of God and tell of his wonderfull workes as we are taught verie well by Paul in Eph. 1.12 And by Peter in his first Epistle Chap. 2.9 Vers 22 A little one shall become as a thousand and a small one as a strong nation I the Lord will hasten it in due time HE confirmes that which he hath alreadie said A confirmation of that which was said before namely that albeit they were few in number yet the Church of God should bee plentifully replenished with people When the Prophet foretolde these things there were great multitudes of people but in short time after they were so diminished that the remainders were very few as we haue seene in the first and tenth Chapters yet this small number saith he shal so increase that in processe of time it shall become an infinit people of great power Let vs know then that whatsoeuer was said vnto the Iewes in this behalfe Vse is also said vnto vs at this day For howsoeuer we be but a poore handfull of people and seeme to bee neere our vtter ruine yet the Church cannot perish but shall grow and increase to a great multitude because it is the planting of God vers 21. which we must not esteeme of by outward appearances nor by the force or multitudes of men I the Lord. Now the Prophet shews to what end all his former speeches haue tended namely that we should not resemble God vnto men whose counsels and indeuors easilie vanish and come to nothing If they would take vpon them to alter the state of the world or of a kingdome alas they could doe nothing but the Lord can change all these things in a moment He speakes not then of an ordinary gouernment but of a rare and admirable worke whereby the Lord will deliuer and multiply his Church In the end of the verse he promiseth to hasten the accomplishment of this worke but he addes a particle that is worthy to bee noted touching the time of the Church For the relatiue is in the feminine gender so as they who refer it vnto God are deceiued And those who translate In his time are the cause of this error in regard this word His is ambiguous The Prophets meaning is that there is an appointed time set in which the Church should be deliuered And thus hee exhorts the faithfull vnto patience that they should not fall away but rather depend vpon the vnchangeable decree of God who hath skill enough to dispose of the moments of times First of all thē he notes the fit time wherein it shall be most for the Churches profit to be deliuered We cannot iudge of this for we would haue God doe that which hee hath promised out of hand and if he foreslow the time we storme But he defers for our good in respect that the fit time is not yet come Afterwards he speakes of hastening because we imagin that the Lord is asleepe or takes his ease when hee deferres And yet hee hastens to execute all things according to that time and season which he alone knowes to be fittest THE LXI CHAPTER Vers 1. The Spirit of the Lord God is vpon me therefore hath the Lord anointed me hee hath sent me to preach good tidings vnto the poore to bind vp the broken hearted to preach libertie to the Captiues and to them that are bound the opening of the prison That which is here said appertaines to Christ as the head and all the Prophets and Apostles as his seruants FOr as much as Christ expoundeth this place of himselfe Luk. 4.18 therefore the interpreters doe without any difficultie restraine it vnto him holding it for a principle that Christ is here brought in speaking as if these things onely appertained vnto him The Iews scoffe at such who inconsiderately haue attributed to Christ alone the things which doe also agree to the rest of the Prophets To speake then what I thinke it seemes to me that this Chapter is added as a seale vnto the former This Chapter is added as a seale vnto the things before going thereby to confirme that which hath been said hitherunto touching the restauration of the Christian Church And that to this end Christ protesteth that God hath anointed him which is the cause that he and that very iustly appropriates this prophesie vnto himselfe in regard hee hath exhibited that to vs clearely and manifestly which others haue taught obscurely Yet this hinders not but that this sentence may in like manner agree to the rest of the Prophets whom the Lord hath also anointed For they spake not in their owne names neither did they execute their offices from their priuate authoritie but they shewed foorth the authoritie and office of Christ to whom it not onely belongs to publish these things but also to fulfill them This place then must be thus vnderstood namely that Christ who is the Prince of the Prophets obtaines the chiefe place among thē and that it is he only who manifests all that which is here mentioned also that Isaiah with the rest of the Prophets and the Apostles are his seruants euery one of them imploying thēselues to the vtmost in preaching and publishing the benefits which we receiue frō him So as that which Isaiah hath said should be finished by Christ wee now see it accomplished by the effects For this cause he hath anointed me This second member was added in stead of an exposition For first it would haue been obscure to vs If he had concealed the cause vvherefore God had giuen him his Spirit but now wee may euidently perceiue his meaning when he shewes the vse thereof namelie that hee exerciseth a publicke office that so hee may not bee taken as some priuate person
vengeance vnto the enemies who vniustly afflict the faithfull and to giue rest to the afflicted Neither could the Iewes expect any good issue out of so many miseâ—â—es vnlesse it were by the confusion of their aduersaries In the meane while it is good to note the cause of this deliueraÌ„ce which must be whollie ascribed to the free grace of God and not to our merits worthines or any industrie that is in vs. The Prophet seemes indeed as I haue said to allude to the yeere of Iubile but yet we must principallie obserue this namely that our saluation consists altogether vpon the free will of our God To comfort We must remember what I haue touched before to wit what the end of the Gospell is namely That we being deliuered out of all miseries and restored to our first liberty our teares wiped from our eies we may enioy spirituall comfort and consolation But if we be depriued of so great a benefit let vs impute the same to our owne incredulitie and vnthankfulnes whereby we both reiect and repulse God who freely offers himselfe vnto vs. Vers 3. To * Or to establish appoint vnto them that mourne in Zion and to giue vnto them * Or magnificence beauty for ashes the oyle of ioy for mourning the garment of gladnes for the spirit of heauines that they may be called trees of righteousnes the planting of the Lord that he might be glorified HE prosecutes the same argument The same argument continued and declares that the chastisement wherewith the people should be exercised should not be so sharp but that there was hope notwithstanding left for them touching remission of sinnes Which that hee might the better perswade theÌ„ of he saith the Lord hath giuen him charge to publish this deliuerance and that not to himselfe alone but also to all the Prophets euen til the comming of that great Embassador to wit Christ Iesus who shall indeed publish and accomplish that which God would now haue diuulged for the time to come yet therewithall he signifies that their sorrowes shall not be able to let God from giuing them matter of ioy wheÌ„ it should seeme good vnto himselfe For to establish is as much to say as to appoint a time that the long delay might not discourage them Againe by the verb To giue he recommends vnto them the efficacie of his prophecie to the end they might be vndoubtedly perswaded touching the euent thereof Well he alludes herein to the ancient Ceremonies of the Iewes who when any affliction in those times pressed them were wont to couer their heads with ashes and to clothe themselues with sackcloth By these things then he notes out that mourning and deformitie which of necessitie was to ensue vpon the peoples wofull condition and opposeth the same to that ioy and gladnes which they should be filled withall after they had obtained their freedome and libertie But yet me thinks I can not let passe the answering of these words Peer and Epher one to another which signifie magnificence and ashes For by the transposition of the letters they signifie things cleane contrarie by which elegant turning of the words vpside downe he meant to note out the change of their estate Trees of righteousnesse By these words hee sets out the peoples restauration As if hee should say Whereas in times past you were rooted vp and resembled a withered stocke now you shall be planted againe and established He brings them then to the consideration of Gods power to the end that howsoeuer they should be ouerwhelmed brought to deaths doore yet were they notwithstanding to assure themselues to bee so reuiued that they should take roote gather strength and grow Hence we may gather a generall doctrine A generall Doctrine namely that we cannot be quickened vnlesse we be planted by the Lord. True it is that we are called his plants Chap. 60.21 because hee hath elected vs from the beginning Eph. 1.4 But yet there is another kind of planting which succeeds this first Two kinds of planting to wit our calling which by faith grafts vs into the body of Christ This the Lord brings to passe by the labours of his seruants the Ministers of the Gospell but the whole must be ascribed vnto him because it is hee onely that giues the increase 1. Cor. 3.7 Yet we are alwaies to keep in mind that doctrine which brings vs from this first deliuerance vnto the spirituall kingdome of Christ He cals them trees of righteousnesse in whom Gods iustice shines or an order rightly composed Yet let vs know that the Lord adopts vs vpon condition that we be new creatures and that righteousnesse may rule and raigne in vs. And thence it followes that by nature we are all corrupt and peruerse and cannot bring forth any good fruit till the Lord haue changed and planted vs. This also abolisheth that vaine and proud conceit of the Papists Popish preparations who in forging vnto themselues preparations forsooth or some helps of free will vsurp vpon that which belongs vnto God If we bee planted of the Lord then it followes that by nature wee are drie and vnfruitfull For my glory See heere the end wherefore we be planted But of this matter we haue spoken in Chap. 60.21 Vers 4. And they shall build the old waste places and raise vp the former desolations and they shall repaire the Cities that were desolate and waste thorow many generations THe Prophet amplifies this restauration of the Church An amplification in this the verses following and insists principally thereabouts that the Iewes might conceiue in their mindes a certaine and an assured hope of their deliuerance for these promises seemed altogether incredible And this is the cause why hee adornes the benefit of this redemption with so many glorious and goodly titles Those erre who will haue these words Of the age and from generation to generation referred to the time to come As if the Prophet should haue said that the building whereof he speakes shall be firme and stable whereas his meaning is farre otherwise For he shewes as I noted in Chap. 58.12 namely that the old ruines of the Citie should not hinder the Lord from rearing it vp againe After the inhabitants of any Citie haue been long scattered heere and there what hope is left that it should be built againe As for example who is he that thinkes of the reedifiing of Athens Athens So whilest the Iewes were banished for a long time into a forrain country and that Ierusalem lay waste the space of seuentie yeeres who durst expect that euer the Citizens thereof should haue reedified it For this cause Isaiah calles deserts of an age the places formerly desolated the Cities vvasted the solitarie places from generation to generation to shew that none of these should hinder the Lord in due season as was noted in Chap. 60.22 to bring backe his elect to Ierusalem and to cause them to
oile of gladnesse vers 3. Now this change of their sorrow into ioy is heere againe promised Some interpret double to bee in regard that those whom God hath redeemed should be happie before him and before men But I know not whether this exposition be solid enough or no. I had rather take it more simply then as if the Prophet should haue said The prosperitie of the Church shall be so great that it shall much exceede all the calamities and aduersities wherewith it is now oppressed If she be now then discontented with her estate shee must cast her eies towards this day in which shee shall be most happy And so Saint Paul opposeth a vveight of glory to the momentany afflictions which are suddenly gone 2. Cor. 4.17 The wicked scorne vs without measure for they seeme lustie and strong they abuse their prosperitie and tread vnder their feete the poore children of God but the Lord promiseth in short space to cause the faithfull being deliuered from vnder their tyrannie to reioice in their portion This began to be accomplished when the people returned out of captiuitie but in Christ we haue a more full testimonie of it which daily manifests it selfe and at his last comming shall be finished who will perfectly renue all things and the wicked shall be consumed to the end the possession of the world may be ours To this appertaines that which hee saith by way of yeelding or granting namely that the land is now indeede theirs For then they vaunted themselues as being Lords of the whole world but in the end they should feele that it is the proper and particular possession of Gods children Euerlasting ioy may be referred to the externall estate of the Church because God daily furnisheth them with ample matter of thanksgiuing but in regard they are constrained to swallow many anguishes and are inuironed about with all kindes of incumbrances this prophecie is not accomplished vntill the ioy of the Spirit hath gotten strength in vs and obtained the full victorie in our hearts nor till wee feele that sweete peace which passeth all vnderstanding to raigne there as saith Saint Paul in Phil. 4.7 Col. 3.15 which peace onely the Saints of God inioy when they feele liuely testimonies within them of their adoption Hee calles it perpetuall to shew how farre it differs from the ioy of the wicked 〈◊〉 â—rence 〈…〉 â—ene 〈◊〉 of the 〈◊〉 and tâ—â—â—cked which is but of short continuance and suddenly vanisheth away yea and is conuerted into gnashing of teeth Vers 8. For I the Lord loue iudgement and hate robberie for burnt offering and I will direct their worke in truth and will make an euerlasting couenant with them Aâ— hoâ—taâ—â—â—â—â—led to 〈◊〉 â—â—â—er 〈◊〉 â—â—natioÌ„ THe Prophet not onely confirmes that which he hath promised in the name of God but also exhorts the Iewes to repentance and shewes them from whence they were to looke for saluation and with what a terrible Iudge they had to deale For he reasons from the nature of God and thence shewes after what manner they were to frame their liues that so they might not reiect this grace of God now offered them by their owne rebellion Vnder the word iudgement he comprehends all iustice and equall dealing For hee opposeth this word to those idle inuentions whereby the Iewes thought to satisfie God withall which yet were but cloakes for their wickednes But as we haue often seene heeretofore the Lord cares for none of these maskes and vaine pretences but onely requires the true puritie of the heart and hands purged from all iniquities He then that will be approued of God with all that he performes in his seruice must needs haue a pure heart and leade a blamelesse life Hating robberie for burnt offerings Whose seruice it is that God approues of Vnder a part he comprehends all the fained seruices of God And by burnt offering is vnderstood all sacrifices There is nothing then more hatefull then that men should sacrifice their robberies and cosenages vnto God or when they mingle their lies hypocrisies and filthinesses of heart therewith or in defrauding God maliciously of his right doe corrupt his pure worship But this is a vice not onely practised of that age but in all times For euery one will seeme to serue God and the wicked themselues will be ashamed to be without the appearance of deuotion in regard the sense and feeling of the diuine nature is so ingrauen in the hearts of all men that it cannot be raced out But in the meane while the most part of men doe but trifle dallie with God and labor to satisfie him with pretie gawdies and toies Isaiah therefore condemnes and detests such an hypocrisie and teacheth that the Lord rather requires mercy of vs then sacrifices Hos 6.7 Mat. 9.13 and 12.7 For wee cannot serue God vnlesse vve obserue the duties of the second table namely in abstaining from all violence and fraudulent dealing for he who either deceiues or offers violence to his neighbours doth also therewithall offer violence vnto God himselfe To bee short the Prophets meaning is to teach vs the true meanes to attaine repentance The meanes to attaine true repentance first if in casting off all hypocrisie and in reiecting all inuentions of men the seruants of God doe giue themselues to the duties of brotherly loue I vvill establish their vvork Some expound The reward of their work But I rather thinke heereby are vnderstood all the enterprises of this life vnto which the Lord promiseth an happie successe That which men purpose in themselues to doe comes not to a good end Why mens affaires hauâ— commonly ill successe either in regard they neglect to aske counsell of God or because they doe not things vnder his conduct and leading And therefore they worthily beare the punishment of their boldnesse for they either trust in their own counsels or depend vpon chances Now in any of all thesc things there is not so much as a dramme of truth but onely a deceiueable shadow of it On the other side it is no maruell if all things prosper well in their hands that are gouerned and directed by the holie Ghost and doe whollie cast both themselues and their affaires vpon the prouidence of the almightie for all prosperitie doth absolutelie flow from his onely blessing Moreouer by the word truth is vnderstood an equall course for the vnbeleeuers are sometimes puffed vp with a worldly ioy but it foorthwith vanishes into smoke In the end of the verse hee shewes the cause of this stabilitie namely God doth not only guide them with his hand for once and so away but directs them in their way continually Loe here the solid stay and vpholding of our perseuerance to wit in that he vouchsafeth to make an euerlastâ—ng couenant with vs wherein he binds himselfe voluntarily and freelie bestowes all things vpon vs albeit in truth he owes vs nothing at all Vers 9. And
to such a cleere knowledge of it It is as much then as if he had said The Lord will so deliuer and restore his Church that all shall know his righteousnesse for deliuerance is an excellent testimonie thereof He addes praise in respect that such a benefit ought to be accompanied with thanksgiuings for the end of righteousnesse is Gods glory And therefore he exhorts vs to beware of ingratitude seeing it were too vnworthy a thing to haue our lippes shut vp after the receiuing of so many benefits from God THE LXII CHAPTER Vers 1. For Zions sake I will not hold my tongue and for Ierusalems sake I will not rest vntill the righteousnesse thereof breake forth as the light and the saluation thereof as a burning lampe The causes of these oftē repetitions IN regard that this sorrowfull exile approched neere which should in a maner vtterly extinguish the name of this people it was needefull for the faithfull to bee confirmed and hartened with many words that in sure and stedfast confidence they might bee supported with these promises vnder the heauie burthen of the Crosse In this verse the Prophet discharging that office which was committed vnto him plainely protests that hee vvill no vvay be idle in the performance of his dutie neither vvill he cease to speake till he hath cheered vp the hearts of the faithfull in the hope of their saluation to come that they might know and bee perswaded that God would deliuer his Church For himselfe good man might be discouraged in beholding the peoples incredulitie and might be driuen to forsake all in regard he knew things would grow euerie day worse and worse Adde also that he well foresaw this horrible vengeance to bee at hand But as one vtterly neglecting all these incumbrances hee notwithstanding vowes a constant perseuerance in his course to signifie vnto all that neither the common calamitie nor yet the peoples diffidence should be able to hinder God from the performance of his promises when the appointed time thereof was come Now it was needfull that these things should be often repeated vnto them because the peruersitie of our minde is such that we presently forget Gods promises In that he saith he vvill not hold his peace he therewithall admonisheth others also of their duties that they might be couragious and with assurance of faith to wait for their redemption though it were deferred for a time yea that their hope should not cease to answer Gods voice which sounds continually in their eares We haue daily experience of the necessitie of this dutie when Satan labours with might and maine to turne our feete out of the right way Thus then the Prophet not onely shewes what hee himselfe would doe but by his example teacheth what end all faithfull Ministers should propound vnto themselues to wit What ought to be our principall care wholly to imploy their vtmost indeuors for the benefit of the Church For when he saith for Zions sake it is to shew that our principall care ought to extend it selfe about the procuring of the perpetuall safetie and prosperous estate of the Church as also that such deserue not the titles of good and faithfull Pastors vnlesse they haue taken the care of her welfare so to heart that they refuse no paines whatsoeuer for the bringing thereof to passe Some referre these words to praiers but I had rather referre it to preaching and so the sense agrees best namely that the Prophet will not be discouraged for any incumbrance or iniurie that he should meete withall in the way neither would he suffer his zeale to bee cooled for any impediment whatsoeuer from pursuing his office of publishing that which God had inioined him touching the Churches deliuerance For had he liued vntill this wofull desolation fell out no doubt but hee should haue suffered many outrages by reason of the multitudes infidelitie as well as other Prophets did But what euer came hee protests that he is fortified with such inuincible constancie that he will neuer be ashamed for any disgraces that men shall offer him but will manfully hold on his course By this phrase of speech also he shewes that his prophecies are all true and therefore addes the more authoritie vnto them that after his death they might neuer cease to sound in the eares and hearts of the faithfull Hee takes righteousnesse for the Churches right which during the time of her affliction seemed to be condemned Her righteousnesse brake forth and appeared then when shee was restored vnto her perfection and had recouered her first estate for this righteousnesse was hid as long as they were captiues Saluation is coupled with righteousnesse for whom God iustifies or maintaines their right such recouer their saluation by the same meanes Hence we gather that wee are most miserable and succourlesse whilest God withdrawes his grace in regard of our frowardnesse The Prophet therefore in other places hath attributed that righteousnes vnto God which he now saith belongs vnto the church Wee are vndone then when we are depriued of Gods grace that is to say whilest wee lie snorting in our sinnes and God manifests his iust iudgement in punishing vs for them Moreouer the verbe to breake forth signifies that the righteousnesse of the Church was hidden and buried as it were for a time Truly shee deserued to haue been consumed and brought to nothing before God Nay more then that her great iniquities were come to such an height that there was nothing to be expected but the iust vengeāce of God Verily it was so in respect of men who gaue the Church thus afflicted for lost and by their pride and crueltie deiected her euen almost to the bottome of hell To be short he compares her with the world in respect whereof she is righteous when hauing been purged from her filthinesse God beginnes to take her cause into his owne hands By this then the Prophet aduertiseth vs alwaies to hope well touching the restauration of the Church though for a time she be plunged into an horrible darknes yea euen into death it selfe For howsoeuer for a moment she seemes to be ouerwhelmed and forlorne yet hath she God still for her defence in the heauens who after he hath corrected her in measure as it is in Chap. 27.8 will at last manifest the care he hath ouer her For it must needes be that his righteousnesse should breake forth and be manifested namely in the saluation of such as he hath chosen for his people and heritage Vers 2. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousnesse and all Kings thy glorie and thou shalt bee called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name NOw he shewes more fully The reason of the Prophets vehemencie in verse 1. why hee protested before that hee would not hold his tongue euen because the faithfull might bee assured that saluation was not promised them in vaine Glory is heere taken for saluation In this place
so auenge himselfe of the wicked and enemies of the Church that hee will thereby shew what care hee hath ouer her Now howsoeuer blood doth vsuallie spot and staine him that vanquisheth yet Jsaiah affirmes that God shall bee glorious in his apparell after he hath made hauocke of his enemies As in chap. 34.6 we haue seene that the slaughter of the wicked there was compared to the sacrifices in regard Gods glorie shined therein For what garment could hee put on more glorious then his iustice Therefore that he might speake honourablie of Gods iust reuengings hee shewes that the blood wherewith he is besprinckled by the slaughter of these desperate wicked ones is glorious and excellent As if hee had said Thinke not that God resembles any common person for though hee bee died ouer with blood yet shall not this hinder but that his Maiestie and glorie shall shine therein The Iewish expositors take the word vvalking diuerslie for some among them referre it to the people whom the Lord should bring backe from the captiuitie others to the nations whom the Lord would transport into other countries notwithstanding they then seemed to haue a setled habitation But I thinke it will better sute to the scope of the Prophets text if we take it absolutelie The Prophet then describes the glorious vvalking of God and his noble presence by which he will manifest his admirable power I am that speake The certenty of the prophesies noted The Lord himselfe answers which carries much more maiestie with it then if the Prophet had spoken in his owne person And herein he brings the faithful to the former prophesies to enforme them that not only Gods righteousnesse and goodnesse but also his faithfulnesse should appeare in these iudgements As if he should say Now you see the accomplishment of that which hitherunto I haue declared vnto you by my seruants For this effect of my promises plainely demonstrates that I am true of my word and that I speake from my heart without faining so as I will not by any meanes disappoint your expectations Now the vision of it selfe had not beene forcible enough vnlesse the Iewes had therewithall bin put in mind of the things they had heard of before Seeing the end thereof was to settle their hearts vpon the saluation of God hee therewithall attributes vnto himselfe an extraordinarie power and might to saue Vers 2. Wherefore is thine apparell red and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine presse HE prosecutes the same argument The former argument still prosecuted But because the bare recitall would not haue been of sufficient weight therefore he doth not at once manifest from whence this red colour in Gods garments did proceede but rather continues his Interrogation still that he might the better rouze vp their spirits to the consideration of so rare vnwonted a thing For his meaning is to say that this sprinkling with blood is a matter extraordinarie and not seene before And therefore the similitude of the presser of grapes sutes very well For Bozrah Vers 1. which hee mentioned in the first verse was situated in a countrie of vines as if he would haue said the grape gatherings shal be much differing frō the old wont for blood in stead of the iuice of grapes shall now bee squezed out Vers 3. I haue trodden the wine-presse alone and of all the people there was none with mee for I will tread them in mine anger and tread them vnder foot in my wrath and their blood shall bee sprinkled vpon my garments and I will staine all my raiment NOw the Prophet expounds the vision The vision expounded and shewes wherefore the Lord is thus died with blood Verse 1. namely because he must be auenged on the Idumeans and other enemies who haue vsed his people very inhumanely It should bee a thing ridiculous to referre this verse vnto Christ in regard he hath redeemed vs without the helpe of any man for the Prophets meaning is that the Lord will so punish the Idumeans that he shall stand in need of no mans helpe because himselfe will bee strong enough to roote them out Ans For the Iewes might obiect Obiect that the Idumeans were mightie that no warre was made vpon them but that they florished and liued at their ease But the Lord shewes that this shall not hinder him from smiting them when him listeth I grant he vsed mens helpe when hee auenged himselfe of the Idumeans but yet in such wise that it was apparant to all how the whole action was managed by his owne hand neither could any thing therein be ascribed either to the counsels or forces of men For they were surprized with a sudden and vnexpected destruction in respect whereof the people could not doubt but that God only was the author thereof seeing they had been so often aduertised of it before Where he saith And of all the people there vvas not one vvith him it is to shew that howsoeuer some should be raised vp to bring destruction vpon Edom yet Gods worke therein should be separate from theirs For the infidell enemies neuer dreamed of auenging the vniust cruelties of the Idumeans The Lord would then that his iudgement should shine and be considered of in the clattering of the harnesse and weapons and in these violent moouings I vvill goe vpon them For mine owne part I willingly retaine the future tence in regard the Prophet speakes of things to come and not yet accomplished For the Idumeans were to bee seuerelie punished for their crueltie though for the present they were at their case and in great tranquillity Wee haue alreadie in part touched the cause why the Prophet hath vsed the simililitude of a bloodie presser which is both a hideous and wofull sight yet therewithall he addes that the punishments and vengeances of God against his enemies are properly his owne as if himselfe had gathered them together when he shall either consume or scatter them Euen as in Chap. 34.6 such an execution is called a solemne sacrifice to teach vs that wee are no lesse to glorifie God when hee executes his iudgements then when hee manifests the tokens of his mercie In the meane while hee expresseth his singular loue towards the Iewes seeing for their sakes he vouchsafeth to sprinkle himselfe with the blood of his enemies so farre that hee vseth the verbe to staine or to defile In my vvrath The Prophet shewes that this alone sufficeth for the destruction of the Idumeans namelie that the Lord is angrie with them As if he should say No man shall be able to deliuer them when God shal haue to doe with them Hence we are to gather that mens ruine proceedes from no other cause but Gods vvrath as on the contrarie our saluation depends wholly vpon his meere grace To conclude Mens ruine proceedes from Gods wrath the Lord meant here to testifie that the Idumeans should not escape vnpunished seeing they
had bin persecutors of his Church Vers 4. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart and the yeere of my redeemed is come IN the first member of this verse Though God seeme for a time to deferre yet he will pay home at length the Prophet signifies that God will not cease to performe his office though he executes not his iudgements at the first but deferres them to a fit opportunitie which he foresees to bee best fitting Neither indeed ought wee to prescribe vnto him either the time when or the manner how he is to doe this or that but to commit it as well to his secret counsell as leaue vnto him the time when to execute all things according to his good pleasure Let vs not thinke then that hee sleepes or is idle when he deferres In the latter member hee shewes that all these things are done in respect of his loue to the faithfull when he speakes of the yeere of his redeemed Day and yeere are here taken for one and the same terme Onely the word yeere notes out the length of the banishment to the end the Iewes should neither despaire nor be discontent if their deliuerance was foreslowed Thus then the Lord punisheth and destroies the wicked for the deliuerance of the faithfull and for the redemption of his Church to which hee hath a speciall regard A consolatiō And this ought greatly to comfort vs that when the signes of Gods wrath against the wicked appeare wee may therewithall know that the fruit of the blowes which light vpon their backes shall be ours By this also wee may euidently perceiue that our gronings haue been heard namely because that when God is minded to succour the afflicted we see he armes himself with strength for the confusion of his Churches enemies Wherefore howsoeuer the crosse lie heauily vpon vs presseth vs downe with the weight thereof yet in vndergoing it patiently let vs learne by hope to raise vp our hearts to this yeere which God hath limited for the execution of his vengeance Vers 5. And I looked and there was none to helpe and I wondered that there was none to vphold therefore mine owne arme helped mee and my wrath it selfe sustained mee A further illustration of the former Doctrine ALbeit the Iewes were destitute of all helpe and that no man relieued them either by words or deedes yet he shewes that the onely arme of the Lord shall suffice to punish the enemies and to set his Church at libertie Hee teacheth them then to looke for saluation from God onely that they should not gaze heere and there but depend whollie vpon God who stands in no need of other mens helpe For this cause he brings him in wondering that no man reached him forth his hand when he was about to execute his iudgements the better to imprint this doctrine in the hearts of the faithfull namely that God needes no mans aid but is al-sufficient of himselfe to obtaine saluation for his people And by this circumstance he further illustrates that succour which he was determined to giue vnto the faithfull partly to correct their distrust and partly to exhort them to thankfulnesse for the time to come for when God saith he vvondred and was vtterly astonished hee puts vpon him another person because this astonishment was indeed properly in the Iewes who neither would nor could belieue more then what men were able to doe He therefore opposeth his arme to all meanes whatsoeuer shewing that hee will satisfie himselfe with the inuincible power thereof as well to manifest himselfe the Sauiour of his Church as to scatter and ouerwhelme all the wicked Vers 6. Therefore I will tread downe the people in my wrath and make them drunken in mine indignation and will bring downe their strength to the earth The conclusion FRom the former sentence hee concludes that Gods wrath is strong enough to confound the wicked without hauing aid from any other lest the power of the enemies might any way daunt the Iewes from conceiuing good hope To make drunken must heere bee taken in a contrary sense to that which it is in some other places which we haue expounded heretofore as in Chap. 29.9 one while we are said to bee drunke when God takes from vs our senses or smites vs with giddinesse or when as at length hee giues vs vp into a reprobate mind But it here signifies no other thing but to fill or to beate them to the full as we commonly say and this similitude is often vsed of the Prophets I vvill bring downe their strength that is to say though they thinke themselues inuincible yet will I bring them downe and confound them The summe is that the Iewes being afflicted ought not to despaire of their saluation as if God hated them neither to wax obstinate vnder his rods as if they were smitten at all aduenture because the rest of the nations who now oppressed them should be punished things should be changed and those that cried victory before the conquests should not escape in the end Now he culles out the Idumeans for a particular instance and example hereof because they dwelt neerest and were better knowne then others who also most molested them Vers 7. I will remember the mercies of the Lord and the praises of the Lord * Or as vpon according vnto all that the Lord hath giuen vs and for the great goodnesse towards the house of Israel which hee hath giuen them according to his tender loue and according to his great mercies ISaiah comforts the people in this so miserable and wofull a case and by his example commands the Iews that in time of their extreme affliction they should call to mind the former mercies of the Lord and should betake them to their praiers that so they might not resemble hypocrites who neuer haue any taste in Gods goodnesse but in time of prosperitie For in aduersitie they are so cast downe that all the promises in the Bible will not be able to comfort them What ought to be our meditation in the day of affliction Now when the Lord chastens vs we ought to remember his former benefits and to breake out into the extolling of them still hoping of better for the time to come for God is alwaies like himselfe and neuer changeth neither his counsell nor will And therefore if vve giue place to his mercy vve shall neuer be cast off This I take to be the context though others take it otherwise namely that the Prophet hauing spoken heeretofore of the peoples captiuitie comforts now himselfe by this assurance of Gods mercy because God was purposed to saue some But they are deceiued in regard they thinke that Isaiah hath hitherunto spoken of the Iewes as if God meant to punish none but them Whereas he on the contrarie testifies that other nations should also be chastised that the Iewes should not perswade themselues that God only hated them For which
cause he now exhorts them to celebrate the memorie of those benefits which God had bestowed vpon their fathers that by their example they might the better come to apprehend Gods loue towards themselues The scope of the text also shewes that the Iewes are conioined with their fathers to the end the couenant common to them both might encourage them to hope for better times According vnto all things He vseth this particle As to shew that in aduersitie these benefits of God giuen vnto his people should forthwith come vnto our remembrances no lesse then if they were present before our eies though otherwise they may seeme to be worne out with age For if they appertained not vnto vs it were but labor lost to remember them which the Prophet also confirmes by the particle Vs. Why so Because the Iewes being members of the same body he had good reason to account them as the right successors of their grandfathers and other ancestors Truly Isaiah felt not these benefits past which he heere mentions but in regard they had bin bestowed vpon the Church the fruit of them reached in part vnto him because he was a member of the same How wee ought to esteeme of the communioÌ„ of Saints And questionles this communion of Saints whereof we make profession ought to be of such value with vs as to thinke that whatsoeuer the Church receiues from the hand of God is also giuen to vs. For there is but one Church of God and that which is now hath nothing separate from that which was in times past Isaiah also expounds himselfe when hee addes for the great goodnes towards the house of Israel Seeing then the Lord shewed himselfe a liberall benefactor towards his people we ought at this day to expect the like in regard that we be of his houshold and members of his Church Wel then albeit we feele him angrie against vs for our sinnes yet must we cheere vp our spirits through a liuely hope and arme our selues against all distrust because God can not forsake his Church In the meane while we haue to note that the Prophet highly extols and magnifies Gods mercie heere thereby to teach vs that the foundation of our saluation The foundation of our â—â—luation and of all other benefits flowes from thence And this shuts out all merits of men that so no man may presume to attribute any thing at all vnto himselfe But to the end this doctrine may be the better vnderstood let vs consider the time whereof Isaiah speakes Religion and Iustice then principallie bare sway and florished for howsoeuer the people had corrupted themselues yet Moses Aaron and other holy personages shewed forth good testimonies of their innocencie and holines And yet the Prophet teacheth that all the good things which Moses and the rest receiued were not to be ascribed to their merits but to Gods mercies But what are we in comparison of Moses Vse that wee should thinke to merit ought at Gods hands Thus then as these repetitioÌ„s of Gods great goodnes tender loue and great mercies doe greatly serue for the raising vp on high the weake and broken hearted that they may ouercome their greatest temptations so ought the same to put to flight and to swallow vp all thought and conceit of mens merits Vers 8. For he said surely they are my people children that will not lie so he was their Sauiour HE speakes of the peoples election God lookes that our conuersation should answer our vocation and brings in God discoursing of it to put vs in mind of the end of our vocation namely that he will haue a people separated vnto him from the world in the midst of whom his name may be worshipped and called vpon And yet therewithall he accuseth the Iewes ingratitude who deceiued God of his expectation not that the Lord was indeed deceiued seeing he foresaw well enough what they would be which he had also testified by Moses Deut. 32.15.16 But the scripture speakes thus when men by their vnthankfulnes care not to defraud the Lord of his due as wee haue seene in Chap. 5. I looked that it should haue brought me forth grapes but behold vvilde grapes He speakes not of Gods secret counsel but speakes after the manner of men to set forth the mutuall consent which ought to be betweene God and the faithful that all those to whom he vouchsafes his presence as their father should be readie for their parts to answer when he calles vnto them for this foundation remaines sure namely that none of Gods elect can perish because God knowes who are his 2. Tim. 2.19 And yet we know that the end of our vocation is to liue in holines righteousnes as all the Scripture witnesseth and also according to that which hath bin often said in many places Chap. 43.21 55.5 The Lord had iust cause therefore to say that he had chosen the people to be holy and true and that he might haue children farre from lies and vanitie But the people did falsifie their promised faith and reuolted from that simplicitie of heart which they ought to haue followed for they were whollie replete with fraude and hypocrisie and yet the Prophet giues them hope of pardon if so be they would seeke the Lord and humble theÌ„selues before him with true repentance He also notes out that which is the principall in Gods seruice to wit that we bring with vs thereunto a pure and vpright heart Whence it also followes that the Lord neuer forsakes vs till we haue bin disloyall towards him in breaking our faith Seeing this people then pleased themselues in their vices it was needfull they should be first conuinced of their infidelitie that being conuerted vnto God they might in the end feele him their sauiour Vers 9. * Or in all their anguish there was no anguish In all their troubles he was troubled and the Angell * Or of his face of his presence saued them in his loue and in his mercie he redeemed them and he bare them and caried them alwaies continuallie The inestimable loue which God beares to his Church HE amplifies and sets forth Gods goodnes towards his people shewing that he bestowed benefits vpoÌ„ their â—athers whilest they suffred themselues to be conducted by him yea he had such care ouer them that himselfe was troubled in their troubles and bare their miseries and anguishes In speaking thus he notes out the inestimable loue which God beares towards his chosen And the Lord also the better to draw and allure vs to come vnto him speakes after the maner of men attributing vnto himselfe all the affection loue and fatherly compassion that can possiblie be in them No loue comparable to Gods loue And yet it is impossible to thinke of any loue or good will of men in this world which he farre surmounts not I vtterly reiect not the other exposition to wit that the people were not troubled in
oppressed called to minde the ancient times in vvhich the Lord manifested his power for the preseruation of his people Whereas some referre this vnto God as if he had wrestled with their obstinacie and had rather gratified the vngratefull thē leaue that worke imperfect which hee had begun this seemes harsh and too far fetched The Prophet rather recites the sighes and complaints of this poore people after by chastisements they had learned how miserable a thing it is not to bee vnder Gods protection By the Shepheard he meanes Moses Neither see I any reason why it should be translated in the plurall number rather then in the singular He also expresseth the means by which he guided the sheepe namely in that hee was indued with singular graces of the holy Spirit for to put his Spirit in the middest of him is as much to say as to manifest the power of his Spirit Others had rather referre it vnto the people Neither contradict I their opinion but in regard that God had chosen and ordained Moses to be the conducter of his people it is he principally of whom it is said that the holy Spirit vvas put vvithin him Now this Spirit was giuen him for the good of the whole people that he might be an excellent Minister of Gods grace and might see them at libertie And so by consequence the power of the Spirit of God appeared in the middest of all the people Vers 12. Hee led them by the right hand of Moses with his owne glorious arme diuiding the waters before them to make himselfe an euerlasting name HEe heere prosecutes that miraculous deliuerance of the people He goes on in describing the peoples deliuerance out of Egypt who vnder the conduct of Moses were brought out of Egypt and also continues to recite the complaints which might happily come into the mindes of the faithfull We see heere two things ioined together to wit the right hand of Moses and the glorious arme of the Lord. Who so vseth mans trauaile that his praise and glory ought at no hand to be lessened or darkened for these things were so done vnder the conduct of Moses that they ought wholly to be attributed to the power of God As at this day when it is said that the Ministers of the Gospell remit sinnes which yet belongs to God onely doth this diminish ought from his authoritie and Maiestie 8. Cor. 3.5 Truly no for they are but instruments who bestow their paines for God to whom all the glory thereof must be attributed Alas what could the sillie hand of man haue done if the arme of the Lord had not fortified it For this cause in the end of the verse hee expresly addeth that God at that time wrought after so admirabe a maner to make himselfe an euerlasting name whereof seeing it is vnlawfull to despoile him so it shall bee no more lawfull to attribute the least part of praise vnto a mortall man Vers 13. Hee led them thorow the deepe as an horse in the wildernesse that they should not stumble 14. As the beast goeth downe into the * valley the Spirit of the Lord gaue them rest so didst thou lead thy people to make thy selfe a glorious name THis is added to amplifie and set forth so great a benefit These verses are added as an amplification of the former He also conioines similitudes thereto to expresse this so great and admirable a power of God namely as the horse in the desert and as the beast in the plaine that is to say hee led his people as nicely as one doth an horse vpon the downes For the word desert signifies not that desert of Param where the people were by the space of fortie yeeres but according to the common phrase of the Hebrew tongue it signifies the pastures where sheepe and heards of beasts walke at their pleasure Which yet better appeares by the verse following where in stead of desert he names the plaine And so one and the same sense flowes from them both namelie that the people walked ouer deepe pits vvithout stumbling as horses doe in the wildernesse In a word his meaning is to teach that the red sea did no more let or hinder the people from passing ouer through the middest of deepe places then if they had walked vpon a plaine and leuelled ground In v. 12 he called his name euerlasting and here he calles it glorious but the sense is one The people then obiect against the Lord that if hee once made himselfe a glorious name then he ought still to haue the same care Otherwise it will come to passe that the remembrance of the benefits which hee in former time bestowed vpon their fathers would vanish quite away Vers 15. Looke downe from heauen and behold from the dwelling place of thine holinesse and of thy glorie Where is thy zeale and thy strength the multitude of thy mercies and of thy compassions They are restrained from me The application of the whole HAuing mentioned the benefits of old in the name of all the people now hee comes to applie the same vnto his purpose and intreates the Lord that hee would looke downe from heauen vpon them Looke dovvne c. By these words hee signifies that the power of God is not diminished though it appeare not at all times alike For there must be an opposition supplied namely that God had then as it were hid himselfe neither shewed he himselfe such a one towards them as hee had done towards their fathers As if they had said Albeit O Lord that we see no tokens of thy presente but that thou hast withdrawne thy selfe from vs as if thou wert shut vp in heauen so as thou seemest vtterly to neglect vs yet vve beseech thee vouchsafe to looke dovvne once againe from heauen and from the dvvelling place of thine holinesse behold our miseries How to distinguish betweene vnbeleeuers and the faithfull See how we ought to separate the vnbeleeuers from the faithfull who acknowledge God to bee both mightie and mercifull yea euen then when they can discerne no signes at all either of his power or bountie And thus they cease not to call vpon him still though he hides himselfe farre away from them For the Lord neuer ceaseth to haue care ouer his people seeing without wearinesse hee orders and gouernes all the parts of the world VVhere is thy zeale By this interrogation it seemes the faithfull after a sort vpbraid the Lord in regard hee is no more touched with his vvonted zeale toward them or that his power is diminished But the Prophet hath another meaning For hee mentions these benefits as I haue said heretofore because he meant therby to confirme the harts of the faithfull in good hope thereby also teaching them that God is alwaies one and the same and neuer puts of the bowels of compassion towards his Saints And this will be euident enough by the which followes He takes the multitude of bowels
space seeing 863. yeres were expired since they began to possesse it and 1400. yeeres and more since Abraham entred into the land of Canaan But the promise must be considered in which it was said that Abrahams posteritie should inioy the land as an euerlasting possession Gen. 17.8 and 48.4 This was but a little vvhile therefore if it be compared vvith eternitie The people of God then obiect this short time vnto him not as accusing him of breach of promise but to put him in mind of his couenant and that he should rather haue respect to his owne goodnesse then to the chastisements which they had iustly deserued And after this manner the ancient Church complaines in Ps 102.23 24. that her strength was abated in the way that her daies were shortened and therefore praies that God vvould not cut her off in the midst of her daies because the fulnesse of time depended vpon the comming of Christ Our aduersaries This complaint was much more grieuous namely that the wicked prophaned that land which God had consecrated vnto himselfe And the truth is this went neerer to their hearts then all the rest of their miseries And good reason for we ought not so much to respect our selues as Gods seruice and religion And this is the end of deliuerance to wit that there might be a people which might praise and worship the Lord purely Vers 19. Wee haue been * Or a long time as they ouer whom thou neuer barest rule and vpon whom thy name was not called THe Prophets sense may admit two expositions For some take this place as if the people obiected vnto God that they were chosen when other nations were reiected and that this couenant was ratified from the time of old The other exposition which I rather follow is this that the people complaine and reply vnto God that there is no difference betweene them and the heathen in regard they had no succour nor refreshing at all in their aduersities which they hold to be an absurd and an vncomely thing This is a notable sentence and very worthy of memorie for heere wee see it is lawfull for vs to powre out our complaints vnto God when afflictions presse vs aboue measure and to set our calling before him to mooue him to succour vs thereby testifying what great difference hee makes betweene vs and strangers Ouer vvhom thy name is not called vpon This comes all to one sense For the peoples meaning is that Gods calling ought not to bee abolished And indeed it is not the Lords will that wee should call vpon him in vaine for praiers are vnprofitable and vanish in the aire vnlesse the Lord haue respect vnto vs. Heere note also one marke of the Church namely A note of the Church that Gods name is there called vpon The wicked cannot call vpon him because there is no accesse vnto him but by his word of which Faith brings forth praier they haue no knowledge and the refore faith is neuer separate from praier For where faith is there is also praier and if it be not there let vs know for a suretie that there is no faith nor hope at all Oh that thou wouldest breake the heauens and come downe Master Caluin makes this part of the 19. verse and that the mountanes might melt at thy presence OH that thou vvouldest breake The Hebrew particle as I take it comprehends a wish For though it hath many significations yet the scope of the text shewes that this agrees better to this place then any other For the faithfull heere enter into a more ardent praier as often it falles out when in the sharpest afflictiōs a set forme of words would want sufficient vehemencie to expresse our desires He saith that God breakes the heauens when hee suddenly shewes some memorable and rare signe of his power And the reason of this maner of speech is not onely in regard that men being in great distresse are wont to lift vp their eies to heauen from whence they expect helpe but because miracles also make way for them by breaking the ordinarie course of nature Now it seemes that God is shut vp in heauen whilest hee neglects to succour vs and lets all things in the world to goe at six and seuen For this cause then it is said that he opens and breakes the heauens vvhen he giues vs some signe of his presence at such a time as vve iudge him to be farre remote from vs. But these things are spoken according to our naturall reason as is also the clause That thou wouldest come downe for what neede is there that God should change his place Hee applies himselfe thus to our weakenesse that we might the better comprehend that which is said to vs of him That the mountaines vvould melt That is to say Oh cause thy Maiestie and glory to appeare in such wise as the elements being astonished at the feeling thereof might bow to giue way vnto thee as shall bee declared more at large by and by THE LXIIII. CHAPTER That which in our bookes is made the beginning of this 64. Chapter is in the Commentarie annexed to the last verse of the 63. Chapter where you shall find it expounded Vers 2. As the melting fire burned as the fire caused the waters to boile that thou mightest declare thy name to thy aduersaries the people did tremble at thy presence 3. When thou didst terrible things which wee looked not for thou camest downe and the mountaines melted at thy presence A confirmation of the former wish in this and in the verse following WEe may reade all this in the future tence or in the subiunctiue As if hee should say Lord if thou wouldest come downe the people would tremble at thy presence thine aduersaries would forthwith melt away But I thinke it to be more natiue as I haue turned it for it is very sure that the Prophet alludes heere to Mount Sinai Exod. 19.20 where the Lord manifested himselfe openly vnto the people Hence also it appeares how vnaduisedly this Chapter was distinguished seeing the contents thereof is recited for the confirmation of the former vvish which should haue been placed in the beginning We haue elsewhere seene that when the Prophets mention the reliefes which God hath giuen to his people they still bring in testimonies concerning the deliuerance out of Egypt Note And as oft as they speake of this historie they therewithall comprehend whatsoeuer benefits God bestowed vpon his people not onely when hee deliuered them from vnder Pharaohs tyrannie and appeared vnto them in mount Sinai but that also when by the space of 40. yeeres he furnished them in the desert with all things necessarie who hauing subdued and wasted their enemies did put them in quiet possession of the land of Canaan To bee short they comprehend all the testimonies whereby in times past he shewed himselfe gracious to his people and terrible to their enemies The Prophet saith that
reuolting from the true religion And besides for that they had maliciously followed their owne inuentions so farre forth that they commanded such to bee packing as soothed them not vp therein For this word Goe backe signifies nothing else but get thee hence as if they should say We will not meddle vvith such as shew vnto vs the vvay to life and saluation Vers 6. Behold it is written before me I will not keepe silence but will render it and recompence it into their bosome THe Prophet alludes to the custome that is among Iudges who haue lying by them vpon record the informations testimonies acts and other pieces of euidences that when neede requires the offender may bee easily conuicted for we vse to leaue those things in vvriting which we would haue posteritie to remember The Lord then testifies that these things can neuer bee forgotten because they bee vvritten before him For howsoeuer hee winkes at things for a time yet shall not the wicked escape vnpunished but shall well perceiue in the end that hee is a iust Iudge Doctrine Hence let vs gather that wee ought not to abuse Gods patience if he forbeares vs long and lifts not vp his hand by and by to inflict his iudgement vpon vs Gods patiēce must not be abused for he ceaseth not for all that to keepe a register of all our faults for which we may be sure he will one day punish vs vnlesse we repent I grant the Lord hath no neede to vvrite for his memories sake but it pleaseth him to vse this phrase of speech that wee should not imagin him to be forgetfull of any thing when he deferres the executiō of his iudgements Nay in Ier. 17.1 he saith yet more expresly that the sinne of Iudah was vvritten vvith an yron pen and vvith the point of a diamond To render into their bosome is a phrase of speech much vsed in the Scriptures Psal 79.12 Ier. 32.18 because men thinke their sinnes are either couered or that they shall not come into account And thus either they lay the raines of their concupiscences in their owne neckes or in attributing their faults to others they become vtterly fearelesse This is the cause why God theatens to recompence their sinne into their bosome to the end they may bethinke themselues what Iudge it is with whom they must haue to doe Vers 7. Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers shall bee together saith the Lord * Or for they which haue burnt incense vpon the mountaines and blasphemed mee vpon the hilles therefore will I measure their old worke into their bosome HEere he amplifies that which hee said in few words in the former verse The former verse amplified For hee shewes that it was not of yesterday that the Iewes were guiltie of such a disloyaltie but that it is the example of their fathers whose steps they now followed euen as heeretofore the Lord complained that he had a long time forborne this people and was so wearie at last that hee could beare them no longer Thus then the Prophet aggrauates their sinne when he tels the Iewes that they haue followed the example of their fathers As if he should say such birds such egges For if men haue been often and diligently admonished their obstinacie is so much the more to bee condemned if they repent not Heere we see that after they had reiected all admonitions and threatnings they perseuered many yeeres in their corruptions and impieties which is heere laid to their charges that they should no longer plead their excuses to couer their faults withall but that they should rather labour to confesse themselues worthy of most exquisite torments Heere also wee may perceiue it to be so far off The bad example of our fathers not to be followed that the corruption issuing from the fathers should any way excuse the children as the ignorant are vsually wont to make this a buckler for their defence that it rather serues as a meanes to pull vpon them a more heauie punishment Are together As if the Lord should haue said that hee gathered and bound vp in one bundle both the iniquities of the fathers and of the children that in the end he might reuenge himselfe of them not that the children are guiltie or punished for the fathers wickednesse Ezech. 18.20 but in regard that they followed the wicked course which their fathers liued in Therefore it is iust with God to wrap them vp with them in the same guiltinesse and to condemne them according to the same sentence especially seeing their diseases were growne incurable For they haue burnt incense The Prophet heere recites one particular vnder which he also comprehends all other kindes of vices For hee signifies all such reuolts as whereby the people were gone backe from Gods pure worship and had giuen and dedicated themselues vnto strange gods See here the height of iniquitie for when the feare of God is stollen out of the heart then is there no soundnesse nor vprightnesse left behind He heere points out vnto vs then the fountaine of all disorders which wee are diligently to obserue in regard that men flatter themselues thinking themselues worthy of great praise when they serue God after their owne fantasies and in the meane while consider not that there is nothing more abominable in his sight than such a seruice as is deuised according to the appetites of our carnall imaginations And no doubt but the people heerein desired that God should accept them whilest they burnt incense vpon the mountains But we must not iudge of their worke by their deliberation or good intention as they call it God reiects our good intentions if we haue not his word to warrant them Wee must hearken to Gods voice who protests that he is this way greatly dishonoured rather than to all the men in the world lest otherwise by seeking to rest vpon our intents we make our selues double guiltie before his Maiestie J will measure their vvorke The word old may be diuerslie expounded either I will measure againe with their oldnesse or In the first place or In times past or from the beginning But the circumstance of the place must be considered For by that we shall the better attaine to the Prophets meaning You know he spake ere-while touching the works of their fathers there is no doubt thē but he here derides the children who placed their defence in them For it is but a silly and vaine shift to oppose against God the customes of our fathers that is to say a corruption of great antiquitie Why so Because in thus doing we pull downe a more heauie iudgement vpon our owne heades And yet many are so bewitched with this excuse as they thinke a man ought not at all to reiect the same neither can you get them an inch further Note Truely antiquitie is honourable But no man is so to prize it that he should therefore in the least thing diminish
in regard the Iewes sinned of a set malice and rather against knowledge then of ignorance For they had been often taught and instructed but they insolently reiected all admonitions In which respect they were much lesse excusable then those to whom the Prophets were not sent For as no man aliue can pretend any cause of ignorance No man can pretend ignorance so yet the Iewes much lesse and those to whom the word of the Lord hath been published who for this cause shall haue a sharper sentence of condemnation pronounced against them then and shall be more seuerely punished then any other Hee sets downe the meanes of this call namely that hee had exhorted them by his Prophets For by the clause I spake hee repeates one and the same thing twice according to the custome of the Hebrewes as wee noted before To hearken to the Lord is to obey his word for it were to little purpose to lend an eare vnlesse vvee follow that which the word propounds vnto vs. For otherwise what difference is betweene vs and the Asse who wags his eares God will be heard with the heart Prou. 23.26 As for a fained audience he vtterly reiects it Now he shewes the cause why they would not come at his call surely they stopped their eares against wholsome doctrine For the beginning of obedience is to bring with vs a desire to learne Before mine eies is as much to say as before my face which phrase of speech he vsed a little before Euery man sinnes before the eies of the Lord neither can any auoid his presence But it is properly said that we sinne before his eies Who is said to sinne in Gods eies when being called by him wee stand not in awe of his sacred presence for he is neerest to those whom he calles by his Prophets yea to such it may be said that he shewes himselfe visibly Therefore so much the more detestable is their impietie and worthy of the more stripes who as it were with whorish foreheads despise God who in such familiar manner summons and calles them vnto him Now by the latter end of the verse it appeares that the Iewes are not condemned for any enormous sinnes but chieflie in respect of their new found deuotions by which they corrupted the seruice of God For albeit they were forward enough in hunting after their forged sacrifices thinking thereby to obtaine Gods fauour yet himselfe pronounceth that he abhorres all such endeuours because there is nothing but pollution therin It is not permitted to euery one then to follow that which seemes good in his owne eies We must not follow that in Gods seruice which seemes good in our eies but we must haue an eie to that which God approues of and not turne therfrom no not an haires breadth Well we see that this vice hath not raigned in one age onely namely that men haue followed their fond appetites and haue worshipped their owne inuentions in stead of God when the question hath been touching his pure seruice But how great delight soeuer men take herein sure it is the Lord protests that hee contemnes and abhorres it Vers 13. Therefore thus saith the Lord God Behold my seruants shall eate and yee shall bee hungrie Behold my seruants shall drinke and yee shall be thirstie Behold my seruants shall reioyce and yee shall be ashamed 14. Behold my seruants shall sing for ioy of heart and yee shall crie for sorrow of heart and shall houle for vexation of mind Hypocrites distinguished from the faithfull THe Prophet here distinguisheth yet more clearely hypocrites which hold a place in the Church only from his true and lawfull children For though all will needs take vnto them the title of Gods children yet he shewes that many were to be chased out of the house that those who proudlie insulted ouer Gods people should be frustrated of their hope because it was vaine false And we are to note well the remarkable opposition which is here put betweene Gods seruants and those that falsely glorie in his name For he shewes that their vaine titles their boasting and false perswasions should stand them in no stead These words they shal eate and drink signifie felicitie and a prosperous estate in this present life For it is as if he had promised to haue such care ouer the faithfull that they should want nothing Obiect But it seemes the Lord here promiseth his seruants more in words then he performes in deedes For are they not often hungrie and thirstie whilest the wicked ouerflow in all sorts of good things and abuse them to excesse and riot I answere Ans that Christs kingdome is here noted out vnto vs vnder these figures for otherwise we cannot comprehend it For which cause the Prophets are wont to borrow similitudes fom earthly kingdoms in which when the subiects flow in wealth and in the inioying of all blessings there Gods liberalitie is to be espied by which also wee ordinarily iudge of his fatherly loue towards vs. Note But because it is not expedient that the faithfull should fixe their hopes vpon earthly commodities it is enough for them that they take onely some little taste of them the better to vphold their faith And if it so fall out that they bee now and then pressed with wants yet by feeling the benefit of contentation with a little they cease not for all that still to acknowledge God for their father and to taste of his liberalitie Nay The faithfull richer in their pouertie then the greatest Kings in their superfluitie shall I say more euen in their very pouertie they are oftentimes richer indeede then Kings and great Lords of the earth But although the wicked enioy neuer so much yet are they the only miserable people in the world because they cannot enioy their wealth with a good conscience The Prophet therfore hath respect to the right vse of Gods gifts For such as serue him purely receiue from him as children from the hand of their father all things needfull for this life present But the rest as vsurpers and theeues take whatsoeuer they possesse by stealth and robberie No riches nor abundance can satisfie the wicked No â—iches can satisfie a wicked man they are alwaies in distrust and trembling their consciences will neuer giue them rest The Lord you see then promiseth no more here then hee truely performes neither must we iudge of this felicitie by outward appearances This wil be better perceiued by the words following where hee speakes of reioycing and giuing thankes For no doubt the Prophets meaning is to say that contentment consists not in the inioying of abundance Contentment consists not in abundance but in tranquillitie peace and gladnesse of mind because all things are vnsauorie to the vnfaithfull But the godly take more pleasure in the feeling of Gods fatherly loue then in all the pleasures of the world Our chiefe felicitie In the meane
to forget their deliuerance but in regard that the one compared with the other Simile did darken it as the Sunne doth the brightnesse of the starres Let vs remember then that these things are fulfilled in vs as oft as we be regenerated but we are regenerated onely in part Our regeneration onely in part and therefore as yet we cannot attaine the sight of this new heauen and new earth What meruaile is it then if wee sigh and mourne seeing wee haue not yet vtterly put off the old man but many remainders of sinne doe still sticke fast in vs This renument must begin at vs who hold the first ranke for the creatures in regard of our offences grone and are subiect to vanitie as Saint Paul speakes Rom. 8.20 But after vve shall bee perfectly renued heauen and earth shall be renued also and shall recouer their first estate Hence we may gather that which wee haue often mentioned namely that the Prophet hath an eye to the vvhole kingdome of Christ euen vnto the end thereof which for this effects sake is called the day of restauration and refreshing Act. 3.19.21 Vers 18. But bee you glad and reioice for euer in the thing that I shall create for behold I will create Ierusalem as a reioicing and her people as a ioy An exhortatation to reioice added by way of amplificatioÌ„ HEe exhorts the faithfull to reioice with condigne ioy for so excellent a benefit of God And this was added for amplifications sake because men neuer esteeme of the graces of God according to their worth amongst the which this heere mentioned is the chiefe and most excellent for they prize them at a very low rate It is needfull therefore that the faithfull should be rouzed and quickened vp by such exhortations as these to the end they should shew theÌ„selues neither vnthankfull nor forgetfull as also that they should not lightly passe ouer this benefit namely that being redeemed by the hand of Christ they might beare the remembrance thereof in their hearts as the earnest pennie of eternall life This is the cause why Isaiah teacheth that the deliuerance is not acknowledged with such thankfulnesse as is meete vnlesse the faithfull continue on their ioy the whole course of their liues exercising themselues in singing the praises of God Whereas Ierusalem is called gladnesse and the people thereof reioicing it may seeme somewhat harsh at the first blush yet we may thence gather a good exposition namely that in the deliuerance of the Church there shall be such cause of ioy that it shall abolish all matter of sorrow And surely when our miseries themselues doe tend to our saluation wee haue therein no small occasion giuen vs of reioicing Vers 19. And I will reioice in Ierusalem and ioy in my people and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying THe Prophet expresseth somewhat more then in the former verse A liuely descâ—iption of that gâ—eat loue which â—od beares vs. For in this his meaning is to say that the Lord will not onely giue matter of reioicing but also that himselfe shall bee partaker with them in this ioy For so great is his loue to vs that he takes no lesse pleasure in our prosperitie then if he himselfe inioied the same with vs. By which our faith ought to be much confirmed namely when wee heare that God beares vs such an ardent loue Are we afflicted or scattered He saith that this grieues troubles him Contrariwise doe we florish and prosper He professeth that he takes great pleasure therein According as wee haue seene in Chap. 63.10 that the Spirit of God was vexed when that order which he requires and approues is ouerthrowne and confounded As also in Chap. 62.5 he takes vnto him the person of a bridegroome who findes no other contentment then in his wife Vers 20. There shall bee no more there a childe of yeeres nor an old man that hath not filled his daies for hee that shall bee an hundred yeeres old shall die as a young man but the sinner being an hundred yeeres olde shall bee accursed SOme thinke the difference betweene the Law and the Gospell is heere noted out What blessings belong to them â—hat are in the kingdome of Christ in his and in the rest of the verses following because the Law is as a schoolemaster who held his schollers vnder the first rudiments but the Gospell brings vs to a perfect age Others vnderstand it that there should bee no more any difference of age for wheâ—e eternall life is there needes no dispute about youth or age But thus I expound the Prophets words Be they young or old they shaâ—l come to a perfect age so as they shall euermore be strong euen as in the flower of youth yea they shall bee alwaies lustie and strong for wee wax old and feeble by reason of our sinnes VVhen thou art angry saith Moses Psal 90.9 10. all our daies are gone as a tale that is told The time of our life is threescore yeeres and ten and if they bee of more strength fourscore yeeres yet is their strength but labour and sorrow for it passeth away suddenly Our life passeth like the shadow but in Christ we haue stabilitie and vvee flee away But Christ is come to strengthen vs and to vphold vs in a perfect estate Yet we must distinguish betweene the two members For after he hath said that the Citizens of the Church shall liue long so as none of them shall be taken out of the vvorld till they be full of daies nor till they haue finished their perfect course he therewithall addes they shall be strong euen in age it selfe Now howsoeuer the greater part of the faithfull are hardly able to indure in respect of their weakenesse and that others of them grow feeble before the time yet is this no vaine promise For if Christ did truly and fully raigne in vs it is certaine that his strength would flourish in vs and would fortifie both our bodies and soules Let vs then thanke our owne corruptions that wee are subiect to so many sicknesses The cause of languishing sicknesse and vntimely death in our selues sorrowes to age and other incumbrances Why so Because we will not suffer Christ quietly to raigne in vs. As also for that we haue not so fructified in newnesse of life as vtterly to haue put off the old man From this place also let vs note that corporall and spirituall blessings are onely to bee found in the kingdome of Christ Corporall and spirituall blessings onlie found in Christs Church that is to say in the Church For out of it there is nothing but accursednesse Nothing but accursednesse out of the Church Whence it followes that all such as are out of this kingdome are most miserable And albeit they seeme lustie and strong yet are they nothing in Gods account but rotten and lothsome carions Vers 21.
condemnes not the sacrifices but the corruptions mingled therewith namely in that the Iewes thought that God contented himselfe with vaine appearances and themselues in the meane while neglected his feare and the hauing of a good conscience Hee speakes not of the thing it selfe then but taxeth the persons who abused the sacrifices For in thus doing they offered him no better then the emptie shels His meaning brieflie is to say That God approoues of none other sacrifices but such as proceede from a pure heart and a sincere affection In the meane while it is very likely the Prophet alludes to those horrible and monstrous sacrifices of the Gentiles For they sacrificed men aliue or buried them quicke in the earth And the Romanes who thought themselues more deuout then others yea and the Iewes also abstained not from so horrible and execrable a crime Nay which more is these men in their inconsiderate zeale defiled themselues with the murthering of many children thinking therin forsooth to imitate their father Abraham Gen. 22.10 And Isaiah therfore saith that in sacrificing an oxe it was al one as if they had cut a mans throate And thus he shewes that albeit the Iewes had a religiō apart by themselues and such a one as was ordained by God yet were they esteemed no better then the prophane heathen among whom all things were filthie and vncleane Also that God approued no more of the one then of the other in regard his name was no lesse profaned by their hyprocrisie then by the superstitions Gods name no lesse prophaned by hypocrisie then by superstition of the Gentiles But in another place we haue shewed how needfull this admonition was For though the Iewes were sufficiently conuinced of all manner of abominations yet they iudged themselues in good case as long as they might lie lurking vnder this couerture The Prophet therefore meets with them in their turnings and affirmes that they shall gaine no more by thinking thus to pacifie God then if they offered vp vnto him the sacrilegious abominations of the heathen When in the end of the verse he saith yea or in truth the place may be translated two waies because the relatiue may agree as well to the Gentiles as to the Iewes namely that the Iewes had mingled intangled themselues in the idolatries of the Gentiles or that they followed theit owne inuentions The first exposition is not much amisse were it not constrained for he spake not of the Gentiles before And the height of the Iewes impietie consisted in this that besides the abuse of Gods pure worship and contempt of the law they had prophaned the Temple and all other places with wicked and cursed superstitions They set vp Altars they planted groues they set foorth plaies and sights so as they walked after euery thing that was set vp to corrupt their minds Thus there was a mingle mangle of all superstions betweene them and the heathen such as is at this day to bee seene in the papacie Where wee behold many fragments patched together of all sorts of superstitions not only Jewish and heathinesse Popish superstitions Iewish Heathenish and diuellish but also newly inuented by the diuell himselfe that by meanes thereof they might vnder such goodlie shewes the more easily cosen and deceiue the world The Prophet then meant to say that both themselues and their companions deserued double condemnation because whilest they gloried in the name of God and made profession of his seruice they were not ashamed to pollute the same with the sacrileges of idolatrous nations The other exposition is not obscure and it also sutes well namely that the Iewes were addicted to follow the vanitie of their owne inuentions and so followed their abominations And thus he affirmes that such serue not God with a pure affection who at their pleasure despise him Not onely in respect that they are stuffed full of auarice hatred ambition guile crueltie and robberies but in regard that by their inuentions they had corrupted Gods seruice And albeit the relatiue ought to bee vnderstood of the Iewes yet the Prophet therewithall condemnes all the superstitions which they had borrowed from prophane nations Thus there is no great difference in respect of the thing it selfe For he only teacheth that whatsoeuer proceeded from them was filthie and abominable because they had malepertly and rebelliously shaken off Gods yoke so as impiety raigned among them in euery place Simile For how can those riuers be pure and cleane which receiue nothing but mier and durt from an impure fountaine Their choice and desire did more manifestly discouer their obstinacie for hauing wittingly cast Gods commandements behind their backes they applied their minds vnto things vtterly contrarie thereunto as if of set purpose they had determined to reiect whatsoeuer proceeded from God that they might yeeld obedience to their owne peruerse lusts Vers 4. Therefore will I chuse out their delusions and I wil bring their feare vpon them because I called and none would answere I spake and they would not heare but they did euill in my sight and chose the things that I would not THe Prophet meant to say that the Iewes should gaine nothing by seeking out goodly pretences and starting holes because God cannot bee deluded by the fained and coloured words of men For what reason is it indeede that wee should measure God according to our blind reason neither is it meete he should stand to mans arbitrement but wee must iudge of his workes by his word Gods works must be iudged of by his word J will chuse out That is to say I will so disperse the fogges and mists which they labour to spread abroad that all shall be able to discerne of the illusions They seeme now to steale away in their darke but a time will come wherein they shall bee laid open as at noone day The summe The summe is that in regard the Iewes were addicted to such a licentiousnesse that they preferred whatsoeuer pleased them before Gods commandements it shuld also come to passe that God would also take his turne at his pleasure to discouer all their iuglings Vnder the word feare he repeates one and the same thing according to the custome of the Hebrues thus I will cause them to know that they haue erred in such wise that that which they feared shall fall vpon their owne heads Whereby you see that their turnings and windings should stand them in no stead in confounding the truth with lies or to cloake their superstitions and all because the Lord hath skill enough to separate the one from the other For J haue called The Prophet doth againe condemne the obstinacie of the Iewes who could not abide that the Lord should correct them There is but on onely remedy left to tame our vices But one remedie left to tame our vices that is to hearken vnto God speaking when hee labours to bring vs into the right way But if we
destruction with others Hee saith also that all shall feele that the propriesies which are come out of the mouth of God shal not bee pronounced in vaine And by the word To know which is to bee referred to experience it selfe hee priuily taxeth their infidelitie as if hee should say Because I speake but to deafe eares and to such as make none account of my admonitions experience shall make you wise but yet too late Which say Heere the Prophet inueighes against the obstinacie and rebellion of this people who hauing been chastised many times with the rods of God and that very sharpely were yet notwithstanding so farre off from repentance that they hardened their hearts more and more as if they had been made fat with blowes Truely those who mocke thus proudly at the Lord cannot bee brought within compasse till they be wholly ouerwhelmed Now such a conspiracie doth manifestly prouoke God to anger and that of set purpose This is the cause why the Prophet saith that this proceeds from pride and presumption whence it followes that it is iust with God to apply to hard and knottie wood hatchets harder then it Vers 10. The brickes are fallen but we will build it with hewen stones the wilde figtrees are cut downe but we will change them into Cedars THese were the words of the rebellious and despisers of the calamitie which was befallen them as though it had bin for their profit because they take occasion thereby to decke their houses and fields the more richly We will build more stately ones say they The houses of bricke are fallen that we may dwell in excellent palaces The trees are cut downe but we will plane them with more fruitfull ones The state of Europe This vice hath not raigned in one age alone for wee see the like obstinacie euen now in the world With how many calamities hath Europe been afflicted within these foure hundred yeares with how many scourges hath it been called to repentance and yet notwithstanding wee perceiue not that any one of them hath done it any good but excesse contrariwise increaseth day by day the voluptuous inflame themselues mē perseuere in their vices and wickednesse with greater boldnesse then euer before In a word it seemes that afflictions are euen prouocations to pride and excesse what must we looke for then but to be broken with harder blowes then any of the former Vers 11. Neuerthelesse the Lord will raise vp the aduersaries of Resin against him and * Or gather his c. ioyne his enemies together BEcause the Israelites were puffed vp with the confederacie which they had with Syria and thought that all things should fall out according to their wish Isaiah threatens a sudden change which should cut off all their hope and should wholly ouerthrow all their plots For the Assyrians rose vp soone after and made warre with the Syrians And Rezin being slaine the estate of that kingdome was wholly ouerthrowne He amplifies the matter when hee addes he will gather together For his meaning is that the Lord will assemble and mingle diuers enemies together whom he will send to destroy the King of Syria as indeed the army of that great Monarch of the Assyriaus was composed of diuers nations Vers 12. * Or Syria Aram before and the Philistims behind and they shall deuoure Israel * Or with all the mouth with open mouth yet for all this his wrath is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still 2. King 16.9 THe Prophet shewes what this change shall be and what shall come to passe after the death of Rezin who banded himselfe with Israel against Iudah to wit that whereas the Syrians were friends to the Israelites before 2. King 17.3 they should presently after the death of their King become their enemies and make warre vpon them which also came to passe And this is his meaning when he saith that Syria shall be before For their exposition who by Syria vnderstand them of the East and by the Philistims them of the West is not agreeablee The plainest sense is that the enemies shall nuiron and assaile them on all sides becau e those whom they thought to enioy as faithfull friends should rise vp round about them to ouerthrow them Where he saith before and behind it answers to the common maner of speech so as we need not seeke a new or strange exposition What it is to put confidēce in confederacies Let vs learne by this example what it is to put confidence in the power of men and in confederacies with Princes and especiallie when we wax secure being snared with vnlawfull bands for whē the Lord will those who before were on our side in an instant shall band themselues together for our destruction and the remedies which we shall take to be profitable shal be hurtfull vnto vs and shall compasse vs round before and behind We must also obserue that God manifests not his plagues all at once but when we rush against him obstinately and prouoke him more and more then he augments and redoubles also his blowes and sends new chastisements to the end he may tame and breake our rebellion and stubbornes With all the mouth signifies the same which wee haue in our common phrase of speech With full mouth as if he should say Israel shall be exposed as an open pray vnto his enemies so as he shall be deuoured with open mouth as of the Syrians so of the Philistims Yet for all this This is a harder sentence then all the rest and ought to haue terrified the vnbeleeuers more then any thing whatsoeuer For although they haue suffred many punishments yet are they not at an end he hath still new rods readie prepared againe for them because by going on in their rebellion they draw the wrath of God more and more downe vpon them For men take occasion to become vtterlie obstinate and to ouerflow in all euill whilst they suffer but some light punishment thinking they shall suffer no more and so become the more stiffenecked They also perswade themselues they shall be deliuered from the iudgement of God imagining that all his rods are spent or worne so as they giue themselues the bridle and shake off the yoke as if they were whollie escaped out of his hands For this cause Isaiah threatens that the hand of the Lord is stretched forth still that they should not suppose they were able to escape the same Now he rather vseth accusation then doctrine although the threatnings tend also to this end that the doctrine may be the better vnderstood But because he had to deale with desperate people who had profited nothing at all for any blowes they had receiued therfore it is that he shewes the end of their calamities is not yet accomplished so that although God seemed to cease striking for a time yet notwithstanding he had not spent all his scourges but had his hand still stretched
out to afflict them with a new plague Vers 13. * Oâ— but yet For the people turneth not vnto him that smiteth them neither do they seeke the Lord of hostes THey expâ—und this as if the Prophet yeelded a reason why God ceased not to strike them blow vpon blow with new chastisements to wit because the people are so obstinate and stifnecked that they will not come to an acknowledgment of their faults nor to amendment For wherefore should God giue place to the obstâ—nate in whom he sees no repentance so it might seeme they were stronger thâ—n he This is the cause then why he continues to smite them more sharply And seeing Israel amended not for any correction whatsoeuer his destâ—uction was iust such was their extreme obstinacie that not so much as any one of them were moued or turned any whit although they had been chastised and beaten so often This forme of chiding is terrible For when the Lord not only admonisheth vs with words but pricks vs forward and constreines vs by his works namely by diuers chastisements and yet we remaine obstinate not enduring that hee should pluck vs from our wicked delights is it not a signe of a desperate malice and can one thinke or speake of a thing more horrible It is too much when men submit not themselues to his doctrine as soone as it is propounded vnto them but the sinne is yet greater when they are not moued by any reprehensions but greatest of all is their sinne when they haâ—den themselues against the rods of God yea kick and wince or by their brutishnes inflame the wrath of their Iudge more and more against them neuer calling themselues to account wherefore they are smitten nor what it is to which the Lord thereby calles them When the remedies then profit nothing what should we thinke but that the malice of such is become incureable and past all hope of amendment Now this reprehension appertaines not to the Israelites only but to vs also For the Lord hath alreadie chastised all the world in such wise by diuers plagues and calamities that there is almost no part thereof free And yet notwithstanding it seemes that all haue obstinately coÌ„spired against God in so much that albeit he do his vtmost yet they are alwaies like themselues neuer ceasing to goe on still in their leaudnes The Lord then may iustly take vp this complaint against vs. And the truth is that he speakes now to vs by his Prophet Isaiah neither ought we to looke for another Prophet which should threaten new chastisements seeing our case differeth in nothing from that of the Israelites being guiltie of the same iniquities with them When he saith that they haue not sought the Lord he therein expounds the first member of the verse for God smites to draw such vnto him as recoile back from him And yet it seemes notwithstanding that by this meanes he driues men farre off from his presence but because his propertie is to draw those out of their graues whom we thinke he hath ouerwhelmed with his chastisemeÌ„ts he humbleth poore sinners by fearing them only to the end they should returne vnto him And truly the beginning of our conuersion yea the only rule of good life is to seeke God If we seeke any other way we goe vtterlie awrie But let vs now see what it is to seeke God or how we ought to do it For hypocrites will alwaies alledge this for themselues that they carefullie humble theÌ„selues before the Lord to obteine remission of sinnes by prayer fasting teares How the Lord will be sought and other outward shewes of sorrow But God will be sought farre otherwise to wit The Sinner being humbled before him in good earnest must willinglie receiue the yoke of obedience which before he had shaken off and whollie imploy himselfe in his seruice whom he before despised Vers 14. Therefore will the Lord cut off from Israel head and taile branch and rush in one day 15. The ancient and the honorable man he is the head and the prophet that teacheth lies he is the taile HIs meaning is that the vengeance of God shall be vniuersall and that it shall wrap all estates in it for the whole people was corrupt and the contagion thereof had so inuaded the whole countrie that there was nothing whole nor sound amongst them Now then when impietie hath thus gotten the swinge men begin to flatter themselues and euery one thinks to frame goodly excuses when they haue many to beare them companie and imagine that they haue sufficient reasons to dâ—fend themselues withall when they make comparison of themselues with others This is the cause then why he denounceth this vengeance against all in generall because they were all alike infected with a common disease By branch he vnderstands the mightie and strong by rush or râ—ede the weakest that is the people of base estate who in a maner had no wealth at all He shewes then that the wrath of God is readie prepared which shall spare neither weake nor strong neither small nor great because there was none which were pure and cleane from the common contagion of filthinesse But in the next verse hee expounds that which he spake allegorically of head and taile plainely and without figure and saith that the antient and honourable which swayed the common affaires and had the managing of the Commonwealth are the heads to whom he ioynes the false Prophet which he comprehends vnder the word taile Now he explaines both the first part of the former verse making no mention at all of branch and rush But wee may yeelde a good reason why hee omitted this For his meaning was to presse them chiefely which sinned most and thereby drew others to sin also by their example because they were respected in regard of their estates Hee brands the Prophets with this name of taile not that they were abiects and contemptible as some thinke but his meaning is to expresse the lowest part of the body The magistrates and Iudges are in the head or highest ranke because they are promoted to the chiefest place he puts the false Prophets in the taile because they abused the people by their cunning and hypocrisie as if hee compared the one to lyons or beares and the others to foxes We are heere admonished not to sleepe in our vices although iniquitie raigne in all estates yea although there should not be a man left that were pure and vpright For by how much the more wickednesse increaseth so much the more will the wrath of God bee kindled both against small and great Which wee ought to take good heede of in this deluge of all mischiefes which wee see at this day namely lest when the wrath of God shall once beginne to burne that all things bee not vtterly consumed by it Vers 16. For the leaders of the people cause them to erre and they that are led by them are duoured OThers translate They which
Gospell is called the sword of the Spirit dedicated for the killing of the sacrifices but the latter part of the verse requires another sense And yet notwithstanding if any bee minded to vse a distinction heere the smiting of the earth shall be referred as well to the elect as to the reprobate Heb. 4.12 because the Gospel is a two edged sword piercing into the inmost and darkest corners of the heart and discerning the thoughts and affections but it wounds one of them after one maner and the other sort after an other For in mortifying the vitious nature of the elect it kils their lusts that they may be a liuing sweet smelling sacrifice before God but it smiteth and killeth the reprobates outright because they rot in their perdition yea it is made vnto them the sauour of death vnto death as the Apostle speakes 2. Cor. 2.16 And I could easily grant that he speakes here of both effects in deed were it not that the vse of the Hebrew tongue doth contradict it because the Hebrues doe often repeate one and the same sentence in diuers words Now it followes by and by after that Christ is armed with the breath of the lips to slay the wicked withal vnlesse some wil say that Isaiah added this second member for amplifications sake And in very deed it is much more to slay then to smite only Seeing then it is the propertie of the Gospel to humble all men generallie it is a thing accidentall in the reprobate when he strikes them with a deadlie wound Thus the Prophet should conioine the speciall to the generall thereby shewing that the wicked fall vpon the sword of Christ vnto eternall destruction because they are not consecrated to be acceptable offrings How euer it be vndoubtedlie this last member ought to be whollie restrained and referred to the wicked and therefore it was added in as much as this efficacie appeareth not at the first in the preaching of the Gospell The wicked may for a time take pleasure in contemning the word of the Gospel but in the end the Gospel shal smite them thorow vnto endlesse perdition and contrariwise many despise and â—est at it holding whatsoeuer Iesus Christ hath said in his word to be no better then a fable But howsoeuer they feele not his power by and by yet can they not escape it but at the last they shall be smitten to death therewith And yet it seemes the Prophets meaning should not be sufficientlie explaned because he not only speakes heere of the inward feeling wherewithall the wicked are touched whether they will or no but also euen of that impietie it selfe which shall be scattered and abolished by the vertue and efficacie of this scepter as the Apostle Saint Paul expoundeth it in the 2. Thess 2.3 who questionles had respect vnto this place when he spake of the ruine of Antichrist and in that place he opens vnto vs the meaning of the Prophet He shewes then that Iesus Christ shall neuer be without enemies which shall indeuor to ouerthrow his kingdome to abolish or stop the free passage of his Gospell otherwise the Prophet had said this without cause but Iesus Christ shall destroy them by the sound of his word as well euery one of them in particular as all of them in generall with their head and Captaine also Thus S. Paul sets before vs a double vse of this doctrine in an other place requiring this of a Pastor that he be not only fit to teach but also that he conuince the gainsayers Tit. 1.9 For the Pastor ought not only to feede the flock but also to keepe and maintaine it against all harmes Christ performes all these things and therefore he is furnished with force of armes fit and necessarie to surmount the lies of Satan the crueltie of tyrants and all sorts of enemies It hereby appeares False doctrines can no otherwise be put to flight but by the power of the Gospel preached that false doctrines can not otherwise be abolished but by the Gospel for the Magistrate shall vse the sword in vaine which yet must be vsed notwithstanding to represse false teachers and false prophets all this I say will serue to no purpose vnlesse the sword of Gods word be first walking which we ought diligentlie to obserue against the Papists who being destitute of the word of God haue their refuge to new weapons by meanes wherof they thinke to make their partie the strongest And which is worse they are so impudent to brag that heretikes can not be ouercome by the word although both the Prophet and the Apostle Paul also establisheth none other meanes but it When the Prophet saith by the spirit of the lips we must not restraine it to the person of Christ only For this is to be referred to the word which is preached by the ministers of it because Christ works so in them that his will in their mouth should be reputed his mouth and their lipâ— as his owne lips Luk. 10 1â— that is to say when they speake by his mouth and preach his word faithfully On the other side the Prophet sends vs not heere to secret reuelations that Christ might reigne in vs but he openlie extols the outward preaching of the word and teacheth that the Gospel preached and sounded forth is a royall scepter in the hand of Christ otherwise he had vnfitlie made mention of the mouth and of the lips Whence it followeth that all those which reiect the outward preaching of the Gospel do as much as in them is to shake off or at thâ— least would pluck from Christ the scepter which he holds in his hand not that the efficacie whereof the Prophet speakes depends vpon the voice of men but in regard that Christ himselfe works by his ministers who will not haue their labour to become vaine or vnprofitable but that they should bring in the elect vnder his obedience and kill the reprobates as S. Paul glories in a certaine place that he hath vengeance readie against all vnbeleeuers and rebels 2. Cor. 10.6 Heere we must againe remember what is the nature of the kingdome of Christ The nature of Christes kingdome for as he hath neither crowne vpon his head nor yet materiall armor vpon his back no more doth he rule in the world by force of armes neither gets he himselfe authoritie by shewes and great preparations nor yet brings he his people to his obedience either by feare or constraint but the doctrine of the Gospel is his kinglie banner vnder which he assembleth the faithfull to his seruice Wherefore in what place soeuer the doctrine of the Gospel is preached Notâ— there it is certain the Sonne of God reignes but where it is reiected there is his rule and dominion abolished by the same meanes Whence it appeares how ridiculous the bragging of the Papists is when they say that the Church is amongst them only when as yet in the meane while they
he will make himselfe felt of vs when he dwelles with vs that is to say wee shall not onely reuerence his Maiestie wherewith wee are by and by ouerwhelmed but that we shall be also fully assured that hee hath a fatherly care ouer vs albeit wee be separate from the rest of the whole world For he calles him the holy one by the effect because by gathering vs vnder his wings and sauing vs by his grace he sanctifies vs as a thing consecrated for his owne vse And therefore if God be with vs the feeling of his gratious presence will fill our hearts with ioy vnspeakeable By reioycing and singing he signifies that when God displayeth his power in the midst of vs wee haue occasion to reioyce greatly Also speaking directly to the inhabitants of Zion he shewes that all are not capable of so great a benefit and hee therewithall closely exhorts vs to perseuere in the vnitie of faith that being knit vnto the Church we may reioyce with this happie and blessed ioy From the first Chapter hitherto the Prophet hath denounced iudgement against the two Kingdomes of Iudah and Israel from the beginning of the Chapter following to the 24. the Prophet foretelles what horrible calamities should befall the enemies of the Church And thus God iudgeth his owne house first as Peter speakes 1. Pet. 4.17 THE XIII CHAPTER Vers 1. The burden of Babel which Isaiah the sonne of Amoz did see Seuen reasons shewing the cause why God caused the ruine of the Churches enemies to be foretold FRom this Chapter vnto the 24. the Prophet foretelles the grieuous and horrible calamities which should befall the Nations and Countries then knowne to the Iewes either because they were neighbours vnto them or else in regard that they had traffique or leagues with them And this he doth vpon good reasons for when diuers changes happened some thought that God did sport himselfe as it were and tooke pleasure to bring base things to confusion others thought that all things were guided by a blind violence of fortune of which profane histories giue sufficient testimonie and verie few there were who could be resolued that these casuall mishappes were ordained and gouerned by the counsell of God For no one thing is so hardly beaten into mens heads as this namely that the world is gouerned by the prouidence of God Many indeed wil confesse this with their mouth but the number of them is verie small which haue it truely engrauen in their hearts We neede but one little puffe of wind to trouble vs and behold we are vndone then fall wee to searching the causes of it as if this depended vpon the will of men What will we doe then when all the world is in an vproare and that all things are so changed in diuers places that it seemes they must needes shiuer into peeces Well we see then it is very profitable that Isaiah and the rest of the Prophets should speake of such calamities to the end that all might vnderstand that they come not to passe but by the secret and wonderfull counsell of God For if they had prefixed no prophecie touching this matter things being thus suddenly confused it might easilie haue troubled and appalled the hearts of the faithfull But when they knew long time before that this should come to passe they had therein a mirour wherein to behold Gods prouidence touching the things that happened After that Babylon was taken vse and experience taught them that those things which they had learned in times part from the mouth of the Prophets had not been foretold at random nor in vaine Notwithstanding there was an other cause why the Lord commanded that the ruine of Babylon and other places with it was foretold not that the Babylonians had any profit at all by these prophecies neither yet the other Nations as though these writings came to them Another cause then was this God meant by this consolation to asswage the sorow of the faithfull lest they shold grow out of hert as if their estate had bin worse then that of the heathen if they should haue seene them escape the hand of God altogether without punishment For if so be the monarchie of Babylon should haue continued safe the Iewes would not only haue thought they had serued the Lord in vaine and that the couenant which he had contracted with Abraham had been to no purpose seeing strangers and wicked men were better dealt withall then the elect people of God but they might also haue entred into a worse suspition to wit that God had fauored these cursed theeues who trod all iustice and equitie vnder their feet by their robberies and seditions truely they might by and by haue thought either the God had had no care of his people or else that he wanted power to succor them in their need or that all things were turned vpside downe by the confused mouing of fortune To the end then they should not be too much appalled nor become vtterlie desperate the Prophet preuents this by the consolation of this prophesie shewing therein that Babylon also shall be punished Moreouer this comparison did admonish them how grieuous the chastisement should be which they of set purpose had pulled down vpon their owne heads for if God threaten the vnbeleeuers and prophane nations so sharplie who yet haue erred in darknes how much more seuere ought his anger to be against his people who had wittinglie he rebelled against him Luk. 12.47 Iust it is that the seruant which knew his masters will and did it not should be beaten with more heauie stripes When God then denounceth such rough punishments against poore blind wretches he therein did set a looking-glasse before the Iewes who had been trained vp in the law what chastisement they had deserued And yet the chiefe marke that Isaiah aimes at in these prophesies is to shew the Iewes how deare and pretious their saluation was in Gods eyes when they saw that he tooke their cause into his owne hand and executed vengeance vpon the wrongs which had been done them Now in the beginning the Prophet spake of the destruction and wasting of the kingdomes of Iuda and Israel as we haue seene which was to come When God corrects he alwais begins with his owne because iudgement must first begin at the house of God 1. Pet. 4.17 for the Lord hath a speciall care of his owne and chiefly regards them Wherefore euen as often as we reade these prophesies let vs learne to applie them to our vse True it is that the Lord doth not by piecemeale foretell all things which come to passe at this day in kingdomes and amongst nations and yet notwithstanding hath he not resigned vp the administration of the world which himselfe keepeth in his owne hand to another When we then see the ruin of cities the calamities which befall nations and the change of kingdomes let the things aforesaid come vnto our minds to the end
he notes out the inhumanitie rapines violence and outrages which the hypocriticall sort exercised ouer the poore and such as were not able to resist We must not thinke he had to deale with notorious murtherers or theeues but with the King and States-men who were honoured and respected in regard of their great places These are they whom he calles men of blood in that they cruellie vexed poore innocents and in that by force and violence they wrung vnto themselues other mens goods For this cause in the next place hee puts iniquitie in stead of blood And howsoeuer hee seemes to extend his speech further off yet it is but a repetition or redoubling of the words which the Hebrewes often vse for amplifications sake For he expresseth more by the fingers then by the hands As if hee should haue said There is not the least part of your bodies which is not stained with extortion Next hee toucheth another kind of wickednesse to wit when one of them circumuented another by subtilties periuries and treacheries For iniquitie by which we wrong our neighbours is fortified with crueltie Iniquitie fortified by crueltie or lies and deceit as with the court gard Now the Prophet in this place insists vpon matters belonging to the second table and by the sinnes which they had committed against the commandements therein contained hee shewes that they were wicked persons and vtterly void of the true feare of God For that barbaritie and disloyaltie which violates humane societie meerely proceeds from the contempt of God Violating of humane societie proceeds from the contempt of God See here the reason then why from the hands that is to say from extortions and outrages hee descends to lying wicked practises periuries and other diuellish subtilties whereby wee circumuent our neighbours Vers 4. No man * Or crieth calleth for iustice no man contendeth for truth they trust in vanitie and speake vaine things they conceiue mischiefe and bring foorth iniquitie THe Prophet meant to say It is not enough that we abstaine from offering violence vnlesse we hinder it in others that there was no regard of equitie or vprightnes among theÌ„ That no man opposed himselfe against the iniuries which the great ones practised against the weake And that all licentiousnesse grevv and increased because all looked through their fingers thereat and no man did set his heart to maintaine iustice Now it is not enough that we only abstaine from violence our selues vnlesse as much as possiblie we can we therewithall endeuour to hinder men from doing the same to others Truely who euer he bee that permits that which he may hinder the same may be said in a sort to command it For silence is a kind of consent And to this appartaines the second member Some take the verb Nâ—shpat in the passiue signification and thinke the Prophets meaning is That none is iudged iustly For the whole State is ful of corruptions and yet no man opposeth himselfe against them But the actiue signification agrees better in respect of the answering of these two points one to another No man calles for iustice No man contends for truth For whereas some translate No man iudgeth himselfe in truth it is a little too nice Besides in as much as this verb To crie is taken to contend the scope of the text seemes here to runne better No man sets himselfe to maintaine the right with a loud voice freely to maintaine and defend iustice In a word to contend against the wicked Vnlesse we had rather refer this crying for iustice to the miserable who were vniustly oppressed As if he should say These poore wretches held their peace because they gained nothing by their cries But this sense would be somewhat too harsh Well if such as are carelesse in defending of mans right and such as relieue not the afflicted are thus rigorouslie condemned by the Lord what shall become of vs Note if our zeale in maintaining the glorie of God prouokes vs not to crie without ceasing against iniquities if we winke at the scoffes wherewith the wicked deride the doctrine of saluation and prophane the name of our God or if wee set light by the plots wherewith they goe about to ouerthrow the Church shall not our silence deserue to be condemned of disloyaltie and high treason I trow yes To be short Jsaiahs meaning is that all good order falles to ruine by our fault if we resist not the wicked as much as in vs lies Secondly that there is an extreme confusion when no man stirres his foote to vphold iustice When he saith that they trust in vaine things it is to signifie that they heaped vp multitudes of peruerse counsels by meanes whereof they became vtterly obstinate Will you see the height of iniquitie The height of iniquitie then Surely wee may then be said to be come vnto it when in seeking out sweete allurements heere and there we accustome our selues with a setled malice to contemne God for by such meanes Satan inueigles the reprobates till hee hath wholly bewitched them So as hauing first of all shaken off all feare of God they come by degrees to reiect all wholsome admonitions and at last with an insupportable pride and sawcinesse to deride and scorne them Because arrogancie then transports vs when wee oppose our vaine hopes against Gods iudgement it is not without cause that our Prophet brands this trust vnder which scorners hide themselues with a note of despaire For a man may see well enough that the maladie is growne incurable when the wicked make no bones to flatter themselues in all mens sight and when being built as it were vpon their owne frowardnesse they thinke they haue licence to doe whatsoeuer they list Hee addes that one might discerne a farre off what their thoughts and maners were in their speech according to the common prouerbe Prouerbe The tongue is the messenger of the heart And yet this particle may be expounded two waies either that they vttered nothing that was good but that their tongues were framed to deceiue without ceasing or that their wickednesse brake forth into manifest swaggering And this second exposition pleaseth me better then the first They shall conceiue mischiefe and bring forth iniquitie These similitudes are elegant Simile For by them he compares the wicked to women who nourish their fruit in their wombe and afterward bring it forth Likewise hee saith that the wicked are like great bellied women whilest they are plotting their treacheries in their breasts euen till the full time approch in which they must be deliuered namely as soone as they haue found fit opportunities Now hee saith that they conceiue hurtfull counsels to the end they may afterward oppresse the innocent without cause As if hee should say They plot their mischiefes long afore hand and are alwaies readie to execute some outrage for they cease not heere and there to search out close conueiances to trouble such as
onely desire to bee at peace Vers 5. They hatch Cockatrice egges and weaue the spiders webbe he that eateth of their egges dieth and that which is troden vpon breaketh forth into a Serpent THe Prophet passeth on further comparing the Iewes not onely to vvomen A comparison taken fâ—om venomous beasts but also to venomous beasts the better to signifie that whatsoeuer proceeded from them was dangerous and deadly First then hee saith that they hatched Cockatrice egges Simile As a Viper then cannot but hatch a venomous egge so were they so defiled and stuffed with iniquitie that they brought forth nothing but poison By the Spiders vvebbe he meanes that they were so fruitlesse and emptie of goodnesse that by the onely appearance of goodnesse they beguiled euery one And thus he paints out the wicked with two colours as it were First that all their works manifested the corruption of their nature Secondly that they were profitable for nothing neither were they readie to shew themselues louing amiable charitable and faithfull to those with whom they conuersed I am not ignorant that this place is otherwise expounded by some namely that whilest the wicked are weauing the webbe of other mens destruction they ouerthrow themselues and thinking themselues very wise doe notwithstanding plot their deuices in vaine And thus are caught in their own nets and fall into the pit which they digged for others Psal 7. 9. But mee thinks the Prophet meant to expresse that which I haue touched to wit that the wicked alwaies euery vvhere and in all things are mischieuous and neuer profitable to any Whosoeuer shall haue to doe with them shall taste their venome and that they sting to death Heereunto belongs that which hee saith namely that deadly poison is in their egges and that if one doe but tread vpon them a Serpent by and by issueth forth Vers 6. Their webbes shall be no garments neither shall they couer themselues with their labours for their workes are workes of iniquitie and the worke of crueltie is in their hands A repetition and confirmation of the former similitude HEe both repeates and confirmes one and the same thing namely that they euermore are hurtfull to mankind whatsoeuer they enterprize or execute because of set purpose they haue all duties of charitie in abomination Heere then is a signe of a nature wonderfully corrupted namely to be so wholly giuen vp to commit euill that no hope is left of reaping any fruit from their life who desire to be vtterly void and stripped of all iustice Others expound that they striue to get riches and to be aduanced to honors but all to no purpose Yet I had rather plainly expound it thus that none of them should couer himselfe vvith his vvorkes because his vvebbe is altogether composed of rotten and vnseruiceable stuffe Now hee repeates one and the same thing in diuers phrases of speech to shew that theit vvorkes should be vtterly fruitlesse Wee are borne to doe our neighbours good according to our power and to be doing of somewhat that may serue for the common good These are wild beasts then and not worthy the names of men seeing they are so industrious to hurt and so prouident as to do nothing that is of any worth Last of all without any figure hee addes that they are giuen and as it were dedicated vnto iniquitie Vers 7. Their feete runne to euill and they make haste to shed innocent blood their thoghts are wicked thoughts desolation and destruction is in their pathes HE here diuers waies describes vnto vs an image of an hatefull impietie Namely when men are so farre past grace and destitute of all feare of God that they rush into all kind of wickednesse as the horse into the battell and ouerflow in cruelties roberies and outrages They râ—nne saith he because they are strong and ouerbold to commit wickednesse Now hauing spoken before of the hands and tongue now he also addes the feete to shew that they are their crafts Masters in all sorts of mischiefe So as no member of their bodies was exempt from acting some iniquitie For some vse violence but they can restraine their tongues Others againe who resemble a certaine rauenous bird called an Harpie A bird called an Haâ—pie content themselues with the first pray they meete withall The Prophet then confesseth that those of his nation were light of foote to spoile and rob By the word desolation hee signifies that wheresoeuer these cormorants came they fared like sauage and wild beasts who rauin and deuoure all they meete withall and leaue nothing remaining So as by their terrible course they scatter and cause all beasts to flee which dare not come neere them Plinie Plinie takes vp the like similitude touching Domitian Domitian who tyranized like a cruell beast And the same may we see to be in all these blood thirstie ones whom all the world flees as from furious and vntamed wild beasts And thus their waies become desolate and solitarie when they will suffer none to haue any fellowship with them Vers 8. The way of peace they know not and there is none equitie in their goings they haue made them crooked paths whosoeuer goeth therein shall not know peace SOme take this word peace too nicely for peace of conscience in respect that the wicked are euermore vexed But the Prophet so brings them to Gods iudgement that yet in the meane while by transgressing the second table he shewes that there was neither faith nor charitie in them In a word that they were void of affection The way of peace saith he they know not Why so Because their wooluish minds had bereaued them of this Justice and equitie which two vertues vphold humane societie and cause men to dwell quietly and friendlie one with another For iustice and integritie nourisheth peace Iustice and integritie nourishe peace But if euery one with furie rusheth violently vpon his neighbour in offering them open wrong there open warre is proclaimed For wee can by no meanes maintaine peace in the midst of vs vnlesse euerie one in particular squares al his doings by the rules of equitie He expresseth this more fully by the word iudgement As if he should say Peace cannot be maintained without equity wheresoeuer they came they were a terror to all because they had cast off all vprightnesse The last member may be taken two waies either that whosoeuer walkes in them shall also be farre off from peace Or He which falles into the hands of the vvicked shall feele their cruelty and murtherous minds Both expositions may agree well and as I thinke we need not much contend about it And therefore after the Prophet hath spoken generally before and shewed that the fault was not in God that the Iewes prospered no better in their enterprises now he descends to the particulars wherein he more fully declares how they had reuolted from God and so made themselues vnworthie of