Abraham v. 2. believe that the Lord was able to do what he saith in this verse that the Lord would do for Sion for that which he saith here that the Lord would do for Sion is in a manner the same that he saith the Lord did for Abraham vers 2. But if that which he saith the Lord would do for Sion here be in a manner the same as that was which he saith the Lord did for Abraham vers 2. why doth he not say the Lord will call Sion alone and bless her and encrease her as he said of Abraham vers 2. but saith The Lord will comfort Sion Ans Before this call of Abraham Abraham had been never called of God nor had he been blessed with that wealth which he afterwards enjoyed neither had he had any children at all so that he was not grieved for the loss of these things because he never had these things to lose But Sion had been called of God for she had been the wife of God but was put away and had been blessed with much wealth but was bereft of it and had had many children but was deprived of them by the Babylonians by reason of which she was in much sorrow and grief of heart at this time Therefore doth the Prophet say of Sion The Lord shall comfort Sion rather then as he did of Abraham the Lord shall call Sion alone and bless her and encrease her though her comfort consisted in a manner in the same things He will comfort all her waste places and he will make her wilderness like Eden and her Desart like the Garden of the Lord. These words are an amplification or declaration of those words which went immediately before to wit of those The Lord shall comfort Zion and tell how the Lord would comfort her He shall comfort all her waste places By the waste places of Zion are meant those dwelling places which the Babylonians had either broken down or made desolate without inhabitant these places he saith the Lord would comfort by building up those which were broken down and filling both the one and the other with children of Zion that is with Jews See cap. 49.9 If the Lord would fill the waste places of Zion with children of Zion then would God call Zion again though she were alone that she might have children by him and then would he encrease Zion with children as he did Abraham vers 2. And he will make her wilderness like Eden i. e. And he will make all the Land of Judah which lieth now untilled and neglected and fruitless as a wilderness like unto Eden for beauty fruitfulness by which she shall gather great store of wealth Like Eden Eden was the most fruitful and pleasant Country of the East in which the Lord planted Paradise Gen. 2.10 And her Desart like the garden of the Lord q. d. Yea he will make her Desart like the Garden of the Lord. By the Garden of the Lord is meant Paradise or that Garden which the Lord planted in Eden Gen. 2.10 Therein i. e. In Sion by reason of the comforts which the Lord will give her 4. Harken unto me This is spoken in the person of God to the Jews as if they were now in captivity in Babylon For a Law shall proceed from me i. e. For I will give a command concerning your delivery out of Babylon Note that the word Law among the Hebrews signifieth not onely a Law strictly taken but also any Word of God whatsoever See cap. 1.10 And I will make my judgment to rest Supple Upon Babylon which vexeth you and useth you cruelly in your captivity A judgment is said to rest upon a people when it remaineth long upon them For a light of the people i. e. That the Heathen may know by this my judgment which I will make to rest upon Babylon that I am the Lord. That is said to be a light to the people which is any way the cause to them of saving knowledge 5. My righteousness is neer i. e. My truth and fidelity is come neer unto you to make good that promise which I made to you concerning your delivery out of Babylon Righteousness is taken here for fidelity and truth of which he speaks as of a person by a Prosopopoeia My salvation is gone forth i. e. My saving power is gone forth to wit to save you out of the hand of the Babylonians Salvation is put here for Gods saving power as it is also put sometimes for God himself as cap. 12.2 per Metonymiam Effecti And he speaks of it as he did of righteousness as of a person yea as of a Champion by a Prosopopoeia And mine arm shall judge the people And I will punish and smite the Babylonians and other people that joyn with them to afflict you my servants the Jews The Isles shall wait upon me q. d. The Heathen when they shall see my judgment upon the Babylonians and those that joyn with them shall know that I am the true God and shall forsake their Idols and wait upon me for Salvation in their distress The Isles Concerning the meaning of this word Isles see cap. 49.1 And on mine arm shall they trust i. e. And they shall trust in me by reason of my power and strength The arm is put here for the whole man The arm I say which argues a mans power and strength This came to pass when many Heathen seeing what the Lord did to the Babylonians for his people the Jews sake forsook thâ—ir Idolatry and became Proselytes 6. My salvation shall be for ever i. e. My saving power shall never fail See v. 5. And my righteousness i. e. And my truth and fidelity by which I perform whatsoever I have promised 7. Harken unto me ye that know righteousness He speaks to the righteous among the Jews which feared him That know righteousness i. e. That love righteousness and make much of it The people in whose heart is my Law i. e. The people which love my Law Fear ye not the reproach of men neither be afraid of their reâ—ilings q. d. Though the Babylonians who hold you in captivity reproach you and revile you and call you by ignominious names yet being they are but men fear them not neither be afraid of them 8. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment i. e. For the sword or some plague or other shall consume them as the moth consumeth a garment See Cap. 50. vers 9. And the worm shall eat them like wool i. e. And the sword or some plague or other shall consume them as the worm eateth and consumeth the wool But my righteousness shall be for ever and my salvation from generation to generation i. e. But my Truth and my saving Power shall never fail and if they never fail then shall ye be safe when they which reproach you shall be consumed 9. Awake awake put on strength O arm of the Lord The Prophet speaks this to
that time which was between the building of the Temple and the deliverance out of the Babylonish Captivity was the middle time which is the most flourishing time of life For from the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt which time was as I may so call it the time of Israels birth for while Israel was in Egypt he was but as it were an embrio in the womb but when the Lord brought him out of Egypt he made him a People and Commonwealth of himself I say from the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt to the building of the Temple by Solomon were 480 years from the building of the Temple by Solomon to the end of the Babylonish captivity were 452 years from the end of the Babylonish captivity to the Incarnation of Christ 525 years So that that shame which he calls the shame of her youth here I take to be the same with the reproach of her widowhood mentioned in the next sentence for our Prophet is frequent in such repetitions And it is called the shame of her youth because it happened to her in her youth And shall not remember the reproach of thy Widdow-hood This is a repetition of the former sentence And what he calls the shame of her youth there he calls the shame of her Widdow-hood here Because this shame and reproach befell her when God had put her away from him from being his wife Cap. 50.1 which was all the time of the Babylonish captivity 5. For thy maker is thy Husband And therefore will doe the office of an Husband to thee in protecting thee and delivering thee and in givâ—ng thee children by which thy shame and â—eproach shall be taken away Ob. If the Lord were Sions Husband how could Sion be a Widdow Ans The Lord had married Sion and afterwards put her away and then tooke her to wife againâ—â— So that betweene the Lords putting her away and taking her againe Sion was a Widdow Ob. But a man when he had put away his wife and she became another mans could not take her for his wife again Deut. 24.4 Ans What man could not doe which was under the Law God might do which was above the Law Therefore thus we read Jer. 3.1 They say If a man put away his wife and she goe from him and become another mans shall he returne to her againe shall not that land be greatly polluted But thou hast played the Harlot yet return again to me saith the Lord. The Lord of Hosts is his name The Lord of Hosts is He And therefore he is able to subdue the Babylonians which cause thy feare and thy shame Thy Redeemer the Holy one of Israel i. e. And the holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer who as he is able so also is willing to Redeeme thee oâ—t of the hands of the Babylonians and to take away thy reproach because he is the Holy One That is because he is the God of Israel The God of the whole earth shall he be called To wit because he will make it manifest by his power which he will shew in your Redemption that he is Lord of all the earth and that he can doe therein whatsoever he pleaseth 6. For the Lord hath called thee i. e. For the Lord hath called thee Supple to his Bed or to be his wife againe These words relate to those words thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth and shalt not remember the â—eproach of thy Widdowhood any more vers 4. As a proofe thereof as the fifth verse was As a woman forsaken i. e. Who wa st or when thou wast as a woman forsaken of all her friends How Sion was forsaken See Lament 1.2 Note that this Particle As is not to be taken here as a note of Similitude but of Identity as it is often taken For Sion was not onely as a woman forsaken but a woman forsaken indeed And grieved in spirit i. e. And who wa st or when thou wast as a woman grieved in spirit and mourning because she was afflicted and had none to comfort her And a wife of youth i. e. Yea who wa st or when thou wast as a wife which had plaid the Harlot in her youth The Prophet may call her a wife of youth which is naught and played the Harlot in in her youth by the like Metonymie as he calleth the waters which drowned the world in the dayes of Noah the waters of Noah v. 4. A wife which is naught and playeth the Harlot in her youth proveth the most notorious strumpet of all For lust reigneth in her more than it doth in the aged and her affections are hotter and more unbrideled When thou wast refused i. e. When the Lord had refused thee and cast thee off from being his wife and therefore thou couldst not expect to be taken to be his wife againe That the Lord should call Sion when she was as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit speakes the great goodnesse and loving kindnesse of the Lord to her for such a woman seldome findeth friends But that he should call her again and make her his wife when she had played the Harlot in her youth and he had put her away for her whoredomes speakes yet his greater goodnesse and loving kindnesse And as to say that the Lord called her as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit And a woman of youth when she was refused speakes the loving kindnesse and goodnesse of the Lord to Sion So may it cheere Sion and make her more confident of the goodnesse and loving kindenesse of the Lord. For otherwise she had good cause to doubt whether the Lord would look upon her and call her to his bed when she was as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit And when she had played the Harlot in the dayes of her youth and had beene divorced for her whoredomes 7. For a small moment have I forsaken thee It was seventy yeares that the Lord forsook Sion Jer. 25.11 Yet this is but a small time and but as a very little moment in regard of that time in which he had or would have had mercy upon her if she had kept his Covenant v. 10. Have I forsaken thee Supple And given thee over to be afflicted by the Babylonians But in great mercy will I gather thee This is spoken in relation to the Jewes the children of Sion which as they were scattered here and there in many Countreyes in the time of their Captivity so did the Lord gather them together out of those Countreyes when he brought them back to Sion See Cap. 44.18 Note here that he speakes of the Jewes as of Sion her selfe And of Sion her selfe as of the Iewes when he saith I will gather thee And that because of the great relation and Iove which was between Sion and her children So Christ saith Saul Saul Why persecutest thou me Acts 9.4 when he persecuted onely those that believed in Christ because of the great affection and love which was
come within a short time hereafter And so do they here signi e in the first and meanest sence That the last daies may signifie that which is to come within a short time hereafter may be proved per argumentum a contrario For if the beginning may signifie that which was done not long since then may the last daies signifie that which is to come to passe within a short time For as the last daies being absolutely put do signifie the end of daies or the last daies in order of time so doth the beginning being absolutely put signifie the beginning of time or that time before which there was no time as may appear Isaiah 40. Vers 21. But that the beginning may signifie that which was done not long since is evident Isai 48 Vers 3 5 and 7. In which last place we read thus They are created now and not from the beginning The meaning whereof is this they are made known now and not at any time heretofore Note therefore that the Hebrewes are often Hyperbolicall in their expressions of times But you may say if the meaning of these words in the last dayes be hereafter or ere long be why did not the Prophet say And it shall come to passe hereafter ere long be but say And it shall come to passe in the last daies Answ Because the Prophet was in these words to prophesie not onely of what was to come to passe ere long but of what was to come to passe in the daies of the Messiah and time of the Gospel also And to signifie what was to come to passe in the daies of the Messiah and time of the Gospel he could not better do it then by saying And It shall come to passe in the last dayes Note here that when the Holy Ghost intendeth two several senses by one and the same words the words do for the most part declare the sublimer sense and that which concerneth the daies of the Messiah or of the Gospel in a full signification But the lower sense and that which concerneth the Jewes and the time of the Law in a signification not so full But in a jejune and as I may so say scantie and restrained signification in respect of the latitude of the words and that because of the scarcitie of words which cannot signifie both with the like propriety And the Holy Ghost condescendeth to use the words of men The Mountaine of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the Mountaines The â—emple of Hierusalem which is here called the Lords house was built upon mount Moriah which Mount was not a distinct Mountaine from Mount Sion But as sometime one Hill hath severall tops so were Mount Moriah and Mount Sion severall tops of the same Hill or Mountaine whence it cometh to passe that Mount Moriah is sometimes called Mount Sion And as the Temple of the true God was built upon an Hill or Mountaine so were the Temples of Idols and false Gods also for the most part And to these Temples so built doth the Prophet allude when he saith The Mountaine of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the Mountaine That therefore which the Prophet saith is this that the Mountaine on which the Temple of the Lord is built which is Mount Moriah or Mount Sion shall be set upon the tops of the Mountaines on which the Temples of the Idols are built And his meaning is this That the Temple of God shall surpasse all other Temples and be above them all in honour and esteem And shall be exalted above the Hills This is the same with the former sentence And all nations i. e. For many of many nations Note that All is not allwayes put for All without exception but sometime for Some or Many and so it is to be here taken as appeareth by these words Many people vers 3. And Nations and People do not allwayes signify whole Nations and whole People but Some or Many members of those Nations or People per Synecdochen integri and so must we take them here Shall flow unto it Here is a Metaphor taken from the flowing of waters in a River where because the waters flow downwards they flow naturally And so their flowing by a Metaphor sheweth a willingnesse and doing of a thing without compulsion And because waters in a River are many some continually succeeding others they signifie abundance too So that the meaning of this place is that many of many Nations and People shall come with chearfullnesse and in great abundance to the Temple of God in Hierusalem to worship the Lord there and it containeth a reason why the Temple of God should surpasse all other Temples and be above them all in honour and esteem and the reason is because all Nations shall forsake the Temples of the Idols and shall come willingly and in abundance to the Temple of the Lord to worship the Lord there This Prophesie in its first and meaner sense seemeth to have been fulfilled in the dayes of Hezekiah when the Angel of God had destroyed an hundred fourscore and five thousand in one night in the Campe of the Assyrians And when God that he might give to Hezekiah a signe of his recovery when he was sick brought the shadow of the Sun ten degrees backward by which it had gone down in the Diall of Ahaz For when these great miracles were heard of no doubt but many did enquire after the truth of them and finding the Truth to be according to the Report did conclude with themselves that the Gods which they worshipt were not like to the God of Israel who had done these great Things yea they were no Gods in comparison of Him therefore they would worship Him and He should be their God This is confirmed by that that these miracles were so taken notice of as that the Princes of Babylon sent Ambassadors to Hezekiah to enquire of the wonder of the Suns going back that was done in the Land of Judah 2 Chron. 32.31 And upon the cutting off of so many of the Assyrians in Sennacharibs Camp by the Angel it is said that many brought gifts to the Lord to Hierusalem so that he was magnified in the sight of all Nations from thenceforth 2 Chron. 32.23 But yet as I said in a second and more sublime Sense the Prophet without doubt doth here prophesie of the Glory of the Church of Christ in the time of the Gospel and the calling or coming in of the Gentiles to that Church 3. And many People i. e. And many men of many kind of People See Vers 2. Shall goe and say i e. Shall say supple one to another That word Goe is Redundant here The like we read Cap. 27. Vers 37. Where it is said Sennacharib King of Assyria departed and went and returned for departed and returned The like also is to be read John 15. Vers 16. He will teach us of his wayes i. e. He will teach us by
of bringing his hopes to passe He shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks and take away and cut down the branches By this He is meant Allegorically Esarhaddon the Sonne or the Lieutenant of Sennacherib King of Assyria who made head against Tirakah King of Aethiopia when he invaded Assyria whom he here compareth to a Gardner And a Relative is put here without an Antecedent By the Sprigs are meant the mean men and Common Souldiers of Tirakah's Army By the Branches the great men and Commanders and Officers thereof 6. They shall be left together i. e. And they both sprigs and branches shall be left all of them c. Together i. e. All of them as Chap. 1. v. 28. They shall be left together unto the foules of the Mountaines and to the Beast of the earth For what end they shall be left to them the next wordes signifie And the fowles shall summer upon them Birds use to feed upon the sprigs and branches of trees that therefore which he saith here is this that the Birds shall find meat for themselves upon the sprigs and branches of this Vine when they shall be cut down all the summer following And all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them Beasts use to browse upon the sprigs and branches of trees especially in Winter when grasse is short That therefore which he saith here is this that the beasts of Assyria shall brouse and feed upon the sprigs and branches of this Vine all the Winter And the meaning of these two Phrases is this that the Carkases of the Aethiopians shall be meat for the foules of the Mountaines and the beasts of the field a Summer and a Winter that is a whole year Where note that the Assyrians did cast out the Aethiopians which they had slaine and would not give them a buriall In that time i. e. Yet in that time He meaneth the time in which the aforesaid things should be done in Assyria that is in which the Army of Tirakah should be destroyed in Assyria in the absence of Sennacherib by the Assyrians Shall the present be brought unto the Lord of Hosts of a people scattered and peeled c. q. d. The Assyrians which are abroad with Sennacerib warring against Hierusalem shall be overthrown and part of their spoiles shall be brought by the men of Judah and Hierusalem as a Present to the Lord of Hosts He alludes here to the gift or present which was wont to be offered to the Lord out of the Spoiles and Prey which was taken in warre of which read Numb 31.28 and 2 Sam. 8.11 Of a people scattered and peeled That is of the Assyrians See v. 2. The Prophet here repeateth all those contumelious words which Tirakah King of Aethiopia used in the description of the Assyrians v. 2. approving them as true but yet such as might be better used by others than by the Aethiopians Therefore he repeates them with a kind of Sarcasme deriding thereby Tirakah and Aethiopia who first used them A Nation meted out These words are governed of those from a people terrible by Apposition Meted out i. e. Appointed by God himself to destruction Whose land the Rivers have spoiled See v. 2. To the place of the name of the Lord of Hosts i. e. To the Temple of God which is his place The name of the Lord is put here Periphrastically or Metonymically for the Lord himself Or To the place of the Name of the Lord of Host may signifie To the place which is called by the name of the Lord of Hosts which place is his Temple and is called the Temple of the Lord of Hosts The Mount Sion This is governed of the former words by Apposition Mount Sion was a Mount in Hierusalem upon which the Temple of God was built and may here be put for the Temple it self by a Metonymie ISAIAH CHAP. XIX THE Burden See Chap. 13.1 The Lord rideth upon a swift Cloud i e. The Lord will ride upon a swift Cloud as upon an Horse That is The Lord will come with spred into Egypt And the Idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence i. e. And the Idols of Egypt shall be moved with fear and trembling to see him come He speakes of Idols though they be but stocks and stones as of men by a Metaphor or Prosopopoeia And the heart of Egypt i. e. And the heart of the Egyptians Egypt is put by a Metonymie for the Egyptians the Inhabitants of Egypt The heart of Egypt shall melt See the meaning and reason of this Phrase Chap. 13. v. 7. In the middst of it i. e. In it or them A Periphrasis of the Hebrews 2. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians i. e. I will set the Egyptians at variance and at fighting one with the other The prophet speakes here in the Person of God This Prophesie relates near unto the same times to which the former Prophesies did For Sethon the Priest of Vulcan King of Egypt was Contemporary with Sennacherib King of Assyria for Sennacherib waged warre against Sethon After the death of Sethon Egypt was divided under twelve Kings whereof Psammitichus was one which Psammitichus the other eleven expelled and banished into the Marshes of Egypt but he at length got a power of men and made warre against all the other eleven Kings and overcame them and slew them and so came to rule all Aegypt over which he ruled Lordly at first that he might be feared as many Conquerours use to do and that he might suppresse them which had a hand in his banishment though the latter part of his Raigne was with much Clemency And Kingdome against Kingdome He speakes this by Anticipation for as yet Egypt was in one Kingdome 3. And the spirit of Egypt shall faile i. e. And the judgement or counsell of the Egyptians shall faile By the Spirit is meant here sound judgement or counsell For the Hebrewes among many significations which they have of this word spirit any habit or quality of the mind they call by the name of Spirit By Aegypt is meant the Aegyptians by a Metonymie In the midst thereof See v. 1. And thâ—y shall seek to Idols Supple For Counsell and direction in these their streights The Devils were wont to be in the Idols of the Heathen and give Answers to those that came to aske counsell of the Idols Hence Saint Paul speaking of Sacrificing to Idols saith that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice to Idols they sacrifice to Devills 1 Cor. 10.20 And to the charmers and to them which have familiar spirits and to wizzards Happily by these he meaneth the Priests and Mystae of the Idols But see Chap. 8. verse 19. 4. And the Egypians will I give over into the hand of a cruell Lord. By this Lord is meant Psammitichus who when he was in subduing the eleven Kings and their Party Lorded it with cruelty though when he had quitted all he Raigned mildly
in Jerusalem For the better understanding of this place note that the destruction which the Lord threatned against those which went down to Egypt for strength the Lord brought upon those men by the Assyrians whom he brought so suddainly upon them as that their destruction is said to have come upon them suddenly at an instant vers 13. And so being suddainly surprized and unprovided they became a prey to the sword of their enemies But though the Lord intended to bring ths Assyrians against Jerusalem as wel as against other parts and Cities of Judah yet he brought them not so suddainly against her as against other Cities and places for after the Assyrians came and entred into Judah and encamped against the fenced Cities thereof the men of Jerusalem had time to take counsel and to fortifie their City and to hunble themselves and in a solemn manner to commend themselves to Gods protection and rely upon him for safety before the Assyrians pitched against her 2 Chron. cap. 32. ver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. By which means they were able to hold out against the Assyrians untill the Assyrians themselves were destroyed Therefore because the Lord brought not the Assyrians so soon against the men of Jerusalem as he did against other the men of Judah but staid untill the men of Jerusalem had exceedingly well fortified their City and had humbled themselves and in a solemn manner committed themselves to the Lords protection The Lord is said here to waite And therefore c. Note that And is put here for Yet notwithstanding for he opposeth here the condition of the faithfull in Jerusalem to the condition of those which he hitherto spoke of Will the Lord waite i. e. Will the Lord stay till ye have fortified your City and put your selves in a solemn manner under his protection before he brings the Assyrians against you To waite is put here for to stay or to tarry because they use to stay and tarry which use to waite for any one That he may be gracious unto you i. e. That he may shew favour unto you for it was Gods favour and mercy to keep off the Assyrians from the men of Jerusalem till they had fortified their City and solemnly committed themselves to the Lords protection otherwise they might have been destroyed by the Assyrians as well as other the men of Judah Will he be exalted i. e. Will he defer his punishment intended against you that is He will defer the bringing of the Assyrians against you c. This sense this place requireth for this is a repâ—tition of the former sentence but how 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To be exalted should come to signifie to defer a punishment is a question Some think that the Prophet alludes to a man correcting his son or his servant with a rod who stretcheth out his arm and lifteth up his whole body and standeth on tip-toe that he may fetch the greater stroke but the higher he lifteth up himself and the further he stretcheth out his arm the longer he is before he strikes from whom to be exalted or to exalt himself may be taken say they for to defer a punishment or to be long before he strikes by a Metaphor Others say thus When God is about to punish he is said to come out of his place which is heaven as cap. 26.21 and Mic. 1.3 That therefore he might punish this people he came as it were out of heaven but because he would not then punish them but spare them a little longer he returned on high into Heaven to his place again Hence to be exalted that is to return on high or to go up to Heaven signifieth they say to deferre a punishment and to spare a while Others say thus When God doth any notable thing he is said to be exalted and glorified Per Metonymiam Effecti Because he doth that for which he may justly be exalted and glorified See cap. 12.4 and cap. 26.15 Now because God was willing to shew his long-suffering and forbearance a while longer to his faithful people which must needs redound to the praise and glory of God The Prophet saith he will be exalted for he will suffer them and spare them a little longer Per Metonymiam Effecti That he may have mercy upon you i. e. That ye may not be destroyed by the Assyrians This as I said is but a repetition of the former sentence already expounded For the Lord is a God of judgment i. e. For the Lord is a God of mercy and compassion Judgment is taken here for mercy or compassion and so it is taken Jer. 10.24 where it is said O Lord correct me but in thy judgment not in thine anger c. Where judgment is opposed to anger and is taken for mercy or pitty or compassion Or judgment may be taken here for discretion and God may be called a God of judgment because he knoweth how to punish one and how another how to shew favour to some and how to deny it to others That waite for him i. e. That waite for his aide and for his mercy and deliverance and run not to Egypt for strength c. 19. For the people Supple That waite for the Lord that is for the aide and mercy of the Lord at this time He makes good that here which he said in the former verse to wit Blessed are they which waite for him and he speaks of the faithful of Jerusalem here in the third person to whom he spoke a little before in the second Shall dwell in Sion at Jerusalem i. e. Shall dwell in safety at Jerusalem Supple when the Assyrians destroy all the Land besides Shall dwell in Sion Sion was an impregnable Fort in Jerusalem as appears 2 Sam. 5. v. 6 7 c. Wherefore to dwell in Sion may proverbially signifie to dwell in safety Thou shalt weep no more Supple After a while The Prophet turneth his speech again to the people of Jerusalem which did waite for the Lord. He will be very gracious unto thee i. e. The Lord will be very gracious unto thee and shew thee a great deal of favour At the voice of thy cry i. e. When thou criest to him for help against the Assyrians When he shall hear it i. e. When he shall hear thy cry that is when thou shalt cry unto him He will answer thee For God to answer us when we cry or pray is in the Scripture phrase for God to grant our request 20. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity i. e. Wherefore though the Lord give you the bread of adversity c. And for Wherefore Though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction q. d. Though the Lord suffer you to be besieged in Jerusalem by Sennacheribs Army during which time ye shall have but a little bread and a little water allowed you a is usuall in besieged Cities where every one hath his bread and his
general Then per Synecdochen generis an Assyrian and such as served the Assyrians in their Wars against Judah in particular He makes choyce of this word the unclean in this place rather then any other word thereby to signifie the Assyrians and other Enemies of Judah because he spoke of the Way of Holiness just before to which uncleanness is opposite It made much to the comfort of Gods people the Jews in the midst of their troubles to think That though they were heavily oppressed by the Assyrians yet they should ere long so far be delivered from the Assyrians which distressed them and besieged them in their own Land as that not one Assyrian or any other Enemy of theirs should be left in the Land to vex them which is signified by that that the unclean shall not pass over the way of Holiness But it shall be for those i. e. But it shall be onely for the Jews which are a clean and circumcised Nation that is for those Jews which the Lord shall preserve from the sword of the Assyrians to walk in By Those he meaneth the Jews where he put a Relative without an Antecedent as Vers 1. Note that the word Onely as it is often so it is here to be understood The wayfaring men though fools shall not err therein q. d. And they viz. the Jews which are a clean and circumcised Nation shall walk therein so dayly and so frequently and by their dayly and frequent walking therein make the way so beaten and plain as that wayfaring men which would travel in that Way cannot miss though they were fools 9. No Lion shall be there nor any ravenous beast go thereon By the Lion and the ravenous beast he meaneth metaphorically the Assyrian and such as served the Assyrian in his Wars against Judah And the sence of these words is the same with those The unclean shall not pass over it which he here amplifieth and which both are like to those Cap. 49.19 They that swallowed thee up shall be far away Because the Lion and the ravenous beasts are beasts of the wilderness and he had likened Judea to a wilderness vers 1 c. therefore doth he make choyce of the Lion and ravenous beast for his Metaphor Shall go up thereon He saith Shall go up thereon because the way was a causey elevated above the plain ground and therefore he which would walk thereon must ascend up or go up before he could walk thereon But the redeemed shall walk there i. e. But those Jews whom the Lord shall deliver out of the hand of the Assyrian they shall walk there 10. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return i. e. Those Jews which shall be dispersed upon the coming of the Assyrians into Judea into divers parts of the World as Assyria Egypt Pathros Cush Elam Shinar Hamah and the Islands of the Sea or which shall be carryed captive away by the Assyrians into Babylon shall return from thence into Judea See Cap. 11.11 Note that to redeem and ransom if they be taken strictly signifie to buy out with a price as slaves are bought out of the hands of the Turk but in a general notion they often signifie to deliver out of distress though without a price By the redeemed mentioned in the former Verse are meant those Jews which remained in their own Country in Jerusalem and were there saved by the hand of the Lord from the fury of the Assyrians By the ransomed mentioned in this Verse are meant those Jews which were either carryed captive into Assyria or fled into some other parts of the Earth to save themselves from the Assyrians and were saved there and brought back by the goodness of the Lord to them He calls them the redeemed and the ransomed by anticipation for as yet they were not redeemed and ransomed Shall return Supple Out of the several places where they have been as it were Exiles into their own Land the Land of Judah And come to Sion i. e. And they shall come Supple By that way or upon that way to the Temple of the Lord which is in Sion By Sion he meaneth the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem which was built there upon Mount Sion per Metonymiam subjecti With songs Supple Of rejoycing upon their solemn Feast days and upon other special occasions And everlasting joy upon their heads He saith And with everlasting joy upon their heads because he speaks of joy as of a crown which is wore upon the head Everlasting joy i. e. Joy which shall long continue and shall not be interrupted for many years Note that this word Everlasting doth not always signifie an infinite duration but very often a long time and yet not very long onely They shall obtain joy and gladness i. e. For they shall obtain such an happy condition as shall make them joyful and glad Understand For for these words contain a reason why they shall come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads And sorrow and sighing Supple Which the Assyrians have brought upon them through their Oppression and Tyranny ISAIAH CHAP. XXXVI NOw it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah These things which Isaiah foretold concerning the desolation of Judea and the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians under Sennacherib and the deliverance of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Assyrian Army by the Angel came to pass in the days of Isaiah therefore the Prophet makes a short History thereof and adds it to his Prophecies concerning the same that it might appear to all how the event of things answered his Prophecies Came up With an exceeding great Army And took them Jerusalem is here to be excepted What the Prophet speaks here he speaks by anticipation for many things which he mentioneth after this in this History were acted before Sennacherib came against and took all the Cities which he came against and took 2. Rabshakeh This Rabshakeh was Sennacheribs chief Captain From Lacish Lacish was a City of Judah which Sennacherib besieged at this time To Jerusalem Jerusalem was the Metropolis and chief City of the Kingdom of Judah where Hezekiah King of Judah was at this time God having promised by Isaiah to preserve that City from the Assyrians With a great Army To besiege Jerusalem and take it by force if Hezekiah would not yield it upon terms And he stood by the Conduit of the upper pool i. e. And Rabshakeh stood c. There were two pools about Jerusalem whereof one was called the upper the other the lower pool from their scituation Upon both these pools at least upon the upper pool there were Conduits made to conduct water from thence into the City In the high-way of the Fullers field i. e. In the high-way which went through or by that field which was called the Fullers field which field was called the Fullers field because the Fullers were wont to dry their clothes there when they had washed them in
Hostility against that City yet he came not thither he came no farther then Nob Cap. 10.32 And there he heard of that destruction of his Army which lay before Hierusalem which turned him with all haste and feare towards his owne Land and he staied not till he came to Nineveh v. 37. And return Supple upon hearing of that rumour Into his owne Land He returned to Nineveh verse 37. which was the chief City of Assyria And I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land Sennacherib was slaine with the sword by his two sons Adramelech and Sharezer as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his God v. 38. 8. So Rabshakeh returned c. This relates to the 21 or 22. verse of the former Chapter Note that though Rabshakeh returned himself yet he left his Armie before Jerusalem Against Libnah Libnah was a City of the Tribe of Judah belonging to the Priests Josh 21.13 9. And he heard say i. e. And the King of Assyria heard say He is come forth to make war with thee Tirakah King of Ethiopia came forth out of his own Countrey with an Armie not to encounter Sennacherib in Judea but to set upon Assyria the Kingdome of Sennacherib in Sennacherib's absence See cap. 18. He sent Messengers saying Sennacherib did not onely send a Message by those Messengers by words of mouth but he sent by them a Letter also to Hezekiah though it be here omitted for brevity sake verse 14. Sennacherib used all meanes possible to terrifie Hezekiah to a Surrender when he heard of the march of Tirakah King of Ethiopia that he might the better attend the motion of Tirakah's Armie 10. Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah c. The Assyrian doth repeat here and beat upon what he said Cap. 36.14 He doth not mention the weakness and perfidiousnesse of Egypt nor the scarcity of Souldiers in Jerusalem As he did Cap. 36. v. 6 8. because now he understood that Hezekiah did rely onely upon God and therefore he doth endeavour to afright him from that by telling him with what ill Successe others had relied upon their Gods Gozan By Gozan he meanes the people which lived near to the River Gozan which was a River of the Medes 2 Kings 17.6 Haran This seemeth to have been a City of Media near the River Gozan 1 Chron. 5.26 Though some make it a City of Mesopotamia Gen. 11.31 Rezeph There is no other mention of Rezeph in the whole Scripture but here and in the same Story 2 Kings 19.12 And therefore it is not easie to determine where it was seated Some therefore place it in Syria some in Mesopotamia others in Arabia The Children of Eden i. e. The People of Eden Eden was a Region of Mosopotamia in which Paradise was planted Gen. 2.8 Which were in Telassar It can hardly be gathered from Scripture where this Telassar was situate But it seemeth to have been a Region either of Syria or Mesopotamia Here upon some occasion or other did the people which were born in Eden dwell at this time 13. Where is the King of Hamath c. See Cap. 36.19 Henah This is thought to have been a City of the Medes Ivah This is thought to have been a Region of the Assyrians 14. And spread it before the Lord. Hezekiah did spread Sennacheribs Letter before the Lord for the Lord to seâ— it and to read it because the Contents thereof were chiefely against the Lord that he being moved with the blasphemies and indignities therein contained might take vengeance upon Sennacherib and defend his owne people against him And Hezekiah did this because the Lord doth often accommodate himselfe to the fashion of men and men are eagerly stirred up to revenge when they see that which offends them before their eyes 16. That dwellest between the Cherubins In the two ends of the Mercy-Seat there were two Cherubins or Angels made of Gold of beaten work And these Cherubins did stretch forth their wings on high and their faces did look one towards another Exod. 25. v. 18 19 20. Between these two Cherubins was the Lord wont to manifest his presence and to sit Exod. 25. ver 22. Numbers 7.29 Hence was the Lord said to dwell between the Cherubins Psalm 80.1 And to sit between the Cherubins Psal 99.1 Thou art the God even Thou alone of all the Kingdomes of the earth This acknowledgement or confession doth Hezekiah here make in opposition to the many gods of the Nations which Sennacherib mentioned Cap. 36.18 and Cap. 37.12 And in full beliefe of this doth he make his prayer to the Lord. Thou hast made heaven and earth By Heaven and Earth understand also all things which are therein contained by a Metonymie He sheweth by this that the Right and Title to all the Kingdoms of the earth is the Lords and there is no God truely so called but the Lord onely 17. And heare Supple The blasphemous words which Sennacherib hath written against thee It is likely that Hezekiah did not onely spread Sennacherib's letter before the Lord for the Lord to see the blasphemy therein written but did also read it himselfe unto the Lord and therefore he desireth the Lord to hear it while he reads it And see Supple The blasphemous words which Sennacherib hath written in this Letter And heare Supple And see q. d. yea hear I say and see c. The living God i. e. Thee Here is an Enallage of the Person 18. Of a truth Lord the Kings of Assyria have laid waste all the Nations c. i. e. Hezekiah confesseth it here to be true which Sennacherib said v. 12. but draws a better conclusion from thence then Sennacherib did Laid waste the Nations This phrase is like that Cap. 24.6 viz. They that dwell therein are desolate Look therefore upon the Notes there 20. Now therefore O Lord our God save us from his hand that all the Kingdomes of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord even Thou onely It might be known to all the Kingdomes of the earth that the Lord God of Israel was the onely Lord God if he would but save his people out of the hands of the Assyrians out of whose hands no God was able to save his people For all the Kingdomes of the earth were perswaded that the God of every people would do his uttermost to save his people whereas therefore other Gods did not save their People and the God of Israel did save his they would conclude that he was God alone That thou art the Lord. i. e. That thou onely art the onely Lord and God 22. This is the word which the Lord hath spoken i. e. This is the word which I the Lord have spoken He puts the third for the first person by an Enallage The Virgin the daughter of Sion So Cap. 1.8 He cals Sion or Jerusalem a Virgin for the same reason that he calls her a Daughter that is for her beauty Hath despised thee and
e. Abominable is he He puts an Abstract for a Concrete by a Metonymy That chooseth you Supple To be his gods 25. I have raised one up from the North and he shall come The Lord speaks this after an insulting manner as before to shew that He can do what the Idols of the Heathen cannot I have raised up i. e. I will raise up He puts a preterperfect tense here for a future to shew that what he saith shall come to pass as surely as if it were already done One from the North He meaneth Cyrus whom the Lord raised up that he might wage war against the Babylonians and overcome them and so free the Jews from the captivity in which they were in under them c. And he shall come Supple At my call From the rising of the Sun shall he call upon my Name i. e. He shall call upon me from the East Supple To know what my will and pleasure is for him to do The Name of God is put here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for God himself as Cap. 30.27 And the Prophet alludeth here to the manner of good servants who when they would have something to do call upon their Master to know what work he hath for them to do Note here that we must not think by reason of this that Cyrus did enquire of God while he was in the East what work it would please the Lord to employ him in for Cyrus knew not God cap. 45.5 But this is onely that which is meant by this place That Cyrus should do the will and pleasure of God as truly and as fully as if he had asked the Lord what his will and pleasure was For this speech is onely an allusion to what good servants do And he shall come upon Princes c. i. e. And he shall come from thence that is from the East by my direction and tread upon Princes A question will be here asked How God raised Cyrus out of the North and how he is said to come from the East or Sun-rising For are the North and the East all one Ans Cyrus was a Mede by his Mothers side for his Mother was Mandane Daughter of Astyages King of the Medes And he was a Persian by his Fathers side for he was the son of Cambyses King of the Persians and he succeeded his Grandfather in the Kingdom of the Medes and his Father in the Kingdom of the Persians and both out of Media and Persia did he raise Soldiers when he warred against Babylon As therefore he was a Mede and King of Media and raised men out of Media when he came against Babylon he may be said to come out of the North for Media lay North both of Judea and Babylon And as he was a Persian and King of Persia and levyed men out of Persia when he came against Babylon he may be said to have come out of the East as from the Sun-rising for Persia lies East both of Babylon and Judea And he shall come upon Princes as upon mortar i. e. And he shall come and tread upon Princes as men tread and stamp upon mortar By these Princes he meaneth more especially the King of Babylon and the Kings and Princes which were subject unto him and served him And as the Potter treadeth clay Supple So shall he tread upon them The Prophet seemeth to allude to the manner of ancient Conquerors who were wont to tread upon the necks of them whom they conquered See Joshua cap. 10. v. 24 25. Observe here that God doth clearer and clearer explain the manner how he would restore the Jews out of the Babylonish captivity 26. Who hath declared from the begining q. d. Who or which of all the Idols or of all the gods of the Heathen hath dâ—clared this heretofore or before it cometh to pass From the beginning From the beginning being put absolutely signifieth From the Begining of the World in the Grammatical sence but by a Rhetorical Hyperbole it signifieth any antecedent or foregoing time and signifieth here Heretofore That we may know Supple That he is righteous as it followeth in the next sentence And before times i. e. And heretofore or before the time that it cometh to pass q. d. And who hath told of this before it cometh to pass That we may say that he is righteous i. e. That we may confess that he is righteous and pronounce in judgment that he hath justly assumed to himself the Name of God The word righteous in this place is a Law-term and signifieth such a one as hath the best in a Controversie or Suit of Law Yea there is none that sheweth i. e. Verily there is none among you all O ye Idols of the Heathen which sheweth the thing that I say shall come to pass Yea there is none that declareth This is a repetition of the former sentence Yea there is none that heareth your words i. e. Yea ye are all mute so that no man can hear you speak a word concerning the Deliverance of the Jews which yet I have foretold yea no man can hear you speak any one word at all 27. The first shall say to Sion c. q. d. The Lord shall say to Sion by his messenger The Lord speaks here of himself in the third person and calls himself the First as he doth also vers 4. the Notes whereof read Yet by the first may be meant the first messenger that cometh from Babylon to Judea q. d. The first messenger that cometh from Babylon to Judea shall say to Sion c. So that by this is shewed that the Jews should speedily be delivered out of their captivity He still insulteth over the Heathen Idols Sion Sion was part of Jerusalem and is here put for the whole City And here he speaks to it as to a woman yea a mother by a Prosopopeia Behold behold them i. e. Behold behold the Jews thy children which are scattered all abroad in the Land of their captivity gather themselves together and come to thee See Cap. 49. vers 18. He puts a Relative here without an Antecedent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tydings For I the Lord will send to Jerusalem a messenger that shall bring good tydings to wit that her children the Jews are delivered out of the captivity in which the Babylonians held them and that they are upon their return to their own own Land again And is put here for For. 28. For I beheld and there was no man Between this and the former Verse we must understand these or the like words as spoken by God giving sentence in the Caâ—se between himself and the Idols of the Heathen viz. I therefore am God alone for as for the Idols of the Nations they are no gods q. d. I therefore am God alone for as for the Idols of the Nations they are no gods For I beheld and there was no man even among them and there was
his care and protection of them above others he may be said to sanctifie them and they which are thus separated may be said to be sanctified and holy See Notes cap. 4.3 As God therefore may be said to sanctifie a people when he separates them and puts a difference between them and others by his care and protection So when he deprives them of the care and protection which once he afforded them he may be said to profane them or pollute them The Princes of the Sanctuary By the Princes of the Sanctuary understand the chief Priests which ministred in the Temple and ordered things concerning the worship of God there who were called the Princes of the Sanctuary because they had inferior Priests and Levites and Nethinims to serve and attend them in their high Calling And given Jacob to the curse i. e. And have given the children of Jacob the Jews to destruction By Jacob understand the Jews the children of Jacob by a Metonymy And the curse here spoken of is such a curse whereby the thing accursed or the the thing given to the curse was to be destroyed as Josh 6.17 How Jacob that is how many of the Jews which were the children of Jacob were killed and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and his servants see 2 King 25. v. 7 21 c. And Israel i. e. And the Jews the children of Jacob who also was called Israel To reproaches i. e. To the reproach of their Enemies who in their captivity taunted them jeered them and reproached them ISAIAH CHAP. XLIV YEt now hear O Jacob c. This is to be continued with the former Chapter And the sence is q. d. But although I have profaned the Princes of the Sanctuary and have given Jacob to the curse and Israel to reproach because of their sins yet now seeing your repentance Hear O Jacob my servant O Jacob my servant By Jacob he meaneth the Jews which were the children of Jacob the same also he meaneth by Israel 2. That made thee and formed thee from the womb i. e. That made thee a people from the first time that thou wast a people He speaks not of the making and forming of any one particular man which is made and formed in his mothers womb but of the making of a company of men into a people or Body politique yet he aliudes to the making and framing of a man in the womb of his mother Which will help thee Supple In all thy misery and distress Fear not Supple The Babylonians and their gods though thou art a Captive and hardly used in the Land of thy captivity For I will deliver thee and they shall not be able to hinder me See vers 8. And thou Jesurun This name Jesurun is taken out of Deut. 32. vers 15. where Moses gives it to the people of Israel and it signifieth right And it is therefore given to that people because God called them to lead a right or upright life and conversation Yet some think it to be an Hebrew diminutive of the Hebrew word Israel and to signifie as much as Little Israel as though the Lord had called his people here by a diminutive name as Fathers use to call their little children 3. I will pour water upon him that is thirsty The four sentences contained in this Verse signifie all one and the same thing namely That though the Jews were at this time in a poor decayed estate yet God would so bless them as that they should be delivered out of it and should revive and flourish again As the dry and thirsty ground though it be unpleasant and ill-favored to see to while it is so yet being watered it is hereby refreshed and recovereth its greenness and is clothed again with its former lustre I will pour water c. by water is meant rain the plenty whereof is signified by the word pour Vpon him i. e. Upon every Jew He speaketh of a Jew here as of a ground Metaphorically Vpon him that is thirsty i. e. Upon him that is as a thirsty Land that is upon him that is in misery and wants comfort Note that the thirstiness here mentioned is not the thirstiness of a man which is hot and dry and desireth drink to quench his thirst but the dryness of the ground for a dry ground is also called a thirsty ground Cap. 35.7 And to such a ground is the Jew in the depth of his misery and captivity here compared And floods upon the dry ground This is a repetition of the former sentence I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed i. e. I will greatly bless thy children By the Spirit of God is here meant Gods blessing as may appear by the following words which are but a repetition of these And the blessing of God is called the Spirit of God by a Metonymy because it proceedeth from the Spirit of God or from God who is a Spirit By seed are meant here children per Metonymiam Materiae 4. And they shall spring up as among the grass i. e. They shall spring up as young Trees or Plants among the grass which have moysture enough to nourish them and make them flourish 5. One shall say I am the Lords c. q. d. Such blessings will I pour upon them as that they shall confess that I am their God and that they are my servants because of the care I have of them and the favors that I shew to them though now they say My way is bid from the Lord my judgment is passed over from my God as Cap. 40. v. 27. I am the Lords Supple Servant And therefore shall call himself the Lords servant because he shall be sensible of the care which God hath of him and the blessing which he bestoweth upon him and shall in way of recompence resolve to serve the Lord so long as he shall live Another shall call himself by the name of Jacob And therefore shall he call himself by the name of Jacob because he shall see that the Lord hath as great respect to him as he had to Jacob and because he shall resolve to serve the Lord for the blessings which the Lord hath bestowed upon him as Jacob vowed to serve the Lord and did accordingly Gen. 28.21 Another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord Supple That he is his servant and will serve him And sirname himself by the name of Israel Israel is the name of Jacob and it was given to him because of the power which he had with God and prevailed with him Gen. 32.28 For the same reason as one named himself by the name of Jacob in the former part of this Verse doth another sirname himself by the name of Israel in this latter part And for the same reason as one said I am the Lords for the same reason doth the other subscribe with his hand unto the Lord. 6. Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel That the Jews might the more firmly believe what the Lord had
there that he will not give his glory to another That is to Idols he would teach the house of Jacob that he is the onely true God And that the Idols of the Heathen are not gods that they may not give that glory which is due and proper to him to Idols q. d. I said I will not give my glory to another that is to Idols Being therefore I am so jealous of my glory hearken unto me O house of Jacob and know that not they but I am the true God Jacob Jacob is put here Per Metonymiam efficiâ—ntis for the Jewes the children of Jacob. And Israel Israel is put here for the Jewes the children of Israel Per metonymiam efficientis My called i. e. Whom I have called above all people of the world to serve me and to be a peculiar people to my selfe I am he i. e. I am he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is I am the most high and the most mighty God I am the first I also am the last q. d. I am he before whom none was and after whom none shall be Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth i. e. I have also laid the foundation of the earth with mine own hand He speakes of God here as of man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and puts the hand which is but part of man for the whole man The foundation of the earth He either speakes of the earth as of an house which hath a foundation by a metaphor Or we must take the foundation of the earth in the same kinde of speech as when St. Paul saith the signe of Circumcision Rom. 4.11 And so we must conceive that the world is as an house and the earth which is the lowest part of the world is as the foundation thereof And my right hand hath spanned the Heavens i. e. And I made the Heavens with my right hand He speakes of God as of a man Per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and alludes to a Carpenter or Architect which when he is to make any part of an house doth first measure it out with his rule or his span that he might make it in just measure And this his measuring is put here by a Syllepsis for the whole framing and making therâ—of See Cap. 40. v. 12. When I call unto them they stand up together i. e. When I command them to doe any thing they are ready to doe my commands He alludes here to the matter of dutifull Servants whom if their master calleth they stand up and are ready to doe what their master would have them to doe And indeed the earth and the heavens too are Gods servants Psal 119.91 This is an argument by which the Lord proveth himselfe to be the true God 14. All yee assemble your selves c. The Lord called here to the Gentiles or Nations which worshipped Idols and bids them come in in the sight of the house of Jacob to maintain the divinity of their Idols that the house of Jacob seeing that they were not able to maintaine the Divinity of their Idols against the Lord might not be led away to Idols but serve the Lord. Which among them i. e. Which among all your gods or all your Idols He puts here a relative without an antecedent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pointing as it were to their Idols Hath declared these things i. e. Hath declared these things which I have declared concerning the destruction of the Babylonians or Chaldaeans by Cyrus Here he puts againe a Relative without an Antecedent The Lord hath loved him c. i. e. The Lord hath loved Cyrus Note that the Lord speaks here of himself in the third person Note also that this Relative Him is put without an Antecedent but thereby is meant Cyrus Note again that because neither the Idolaters nor their Idols could say that they had declared the things concerning the destruction of Babylon by Cyrus The Lord doth here as it were insulting over them declare what Cyrus should doe to Babylon to shew that whatsoever had been declared concerning that he had declared it And this is an argument to shew the Jewes that the Idols of the Heathens were no gods And a second argument to shew that he was the onely God The Lord might be said to love Cyrus in that he gave good successe to his Armies and to his expeditions He will doe his pleasure on Babylon i. e. Cyrus shall doe upon Babylon what the pleasure of the Lord is to be done thereon It was the pleasure of the Lord that Babylon should be overthrown And his arme shall be heavy on the Chaldaeans i. e. And the Arme of Cyrus shall light heavy upon the Chaldaeans to afflict them and destroy them He alludeth to a man which striketh with a strong blow and the fall of whose Arme is heavy He mentioneth not here the delivery of the Jewes out of Babylon though that was part of those things which were declared but only the overthrow of the Babylonians Because all the doubt was of the overthrow of the Babylonians being they were so potent And none doubted but the Jewes might be delivered out of their Captivity if the Babylonians were overthrown I even I have spoken Supple it and therefore it shall come to passe Note the Enallage again of the person how he passeth from the third to the first person I have called him Supple To doe my pleasure I have brought him Supple Out of Persia in an expedition against Babylon A Praeterperfect Tense is put here for a Future And he shall make his way prosperous i. e. And whatsoever he undertakes shall succeed well 16. Come yee neer unto me Supple O yee Sonnes of Jacob. This the Prophet speakes in his owne person This from this place to the end of the Chapter may be well accounted as part of the former Sermon or at least it may be well joyned with it for the principall Subject of this is to shew what prosperity should befall the Jewes after the Arme of Cyrus had beene upon the Chaldaeans And the former Sermon ended with that that the Arme of Cyrus should be upon the Chaldaeans and prosper Heare yee this That I shall speake unto you verse 17 c. I have not spoken in secret from the beginning q.d. I have not spoken any thing in private at any time heretofore but have openly made knowne unto you all the minde of the Lord which hath been revealed unto me That which the Prophet speakes here from this place to the end of the verse is not that which he chiefly bids them heare for that followeth in verse 17. but it is a Prooemiall speech to win their attention and to make them the more to heed what he hath to speake The argument is not much unlike unto that which St. Paul useth to the Elders of Ephesus Acts 20.20 Yee know how I kept nothing backe with was profitable unto you but have shewed you and have taught you publikely
earth and lick up the dust of thy feet This as some think is not to be understood of the same Kings and Queens which were nursing fathers and nursing mothers to Sion But of others as of the Kings of Edom and of Moab whom the Jewes subdued after their return out of the Babylonish captivity for to bow down so low as to the earth and to lick the dust of the feet is not the gesture say they of Kings which are friends and benefactors but of enemies which are subdued and of such as worship rather out of feare and flattery than of love as will appeare Psal 72.9 Isaiah 60.14 Exod. 11.8 The sense therefore is say they q. d. And those Kings and Queens which will not be as nursing fathers and nursing mothers to thee shall bow down to thee with their face to the earth and shall lick the dust of thy feet for thou shalt subdue them and bring them under thee When therefore he saith They shall bow down to thee He doth as it were point at those which would not be nursing fathers and nursing mothers to Sion but would rather envy her and hate her But though these phrases taken in their prime and proper sense signifie as they aforementioned say yet by an Hyperbolicall Synecdoche putting one species of respect for any respect in generall they may signifie such respect as Kings which are friends and benefactors shew even to their inferiours And then the same Kings which are nursing fathers to Sion and the same Queens which are nursing mothers may be said to bow down to her with their faces towards the earth and lick up the dust of her feet because of that civil respect which they they gave unto her They shall bow down with their face towards the earth This sheweth respect and reverence to him to whom we bow but a submissive respect and reverence in the prime and proper sense of the words And lick up the dust of thy feet Many to shew their extream submission and reverence and respect to others have kissed the very footsteps where they have trod and licked up the dust which clove to their feet And thou shalt know that I am the Lord i. e. And thou shalt know by those things which I will doe for thee that I am the onely God for I will doe such things for thee as none but the true God can doe For they shall not be ashamed which wait for mee i. e. For they which wait with patience upon me in expectation and hope of salvation from my hand shall not be disappointed of their hope and expectation They which hope and look for great matters if they faile of their hope and expectation they are ashamed Hence he may be said not to be ashamed which obtaineth what he hopeth for 24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty q. d. The Babylonians are mighty in power and I and my children are their prey They have taken us by the sword and kept us captive and hath any one so great strength as to deliver us out of their hands This is spoken in the person of Sion who doubts of the Lords sayings concerning the coming of her children to her again of her own happiness after their coming to her because of the great power which the Babylonians had and therefore doth she object thus against the Lord Shall the prey be taken from the mighty That which made Sion doubt of the delivery of her children v. 14. was the distrust which she had of the love of God That which makes her doubt here was the conceit which she had of the great power of the Babylonians which she thought invincible Or the lawful captive delivered Supple From the terrible This is but a repetition of the former words The lawful captive That is called a lawful captive here which is taken in a lawful war and that is called a lawful war which is denounced between people and people according to the Law of Arms before it be begun though otherwise that same War may be very unjust and injurious in respect of the Law of God and of the Moral Law Now a Captive which is taken in such a war as is denounced before it be begun sheweth the power of the Conqueror more then that Captive doth which is taken in a war which was not denounced For in a war which is denounced before it is begun he that begins the war relieth upon the greatness of his own strength and believeth that he can master the Enemy by meer force and therefore is more terrible in power But he that wageth a war and denounceth it not hath more confidence in the unpreparedness of his Enemy and such like advantages then in his own power and therefore is not so much to be feared for his strength as the other is 25. But thus saith the Lord even the captives c. This is the Lords Answer to Sions Objection Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away i. e. Thou and thy children though ye be lawful captives of the mighty Babylonians yet shall ye be taken away out of their hands And the prey of the terrible shall be delivered q. d. And though ye be the pâ—ey of the Babylonians which are a terrible Nation yet shal ye be delivered from them For I will contend with him that contendeth with thee i. e. For I the Lord who am Almighty and can do whatsoever I please will fight against the Babylonians which fight against thee Concerning this phrase see cap. 41.12 and cap. 54.17 26. I will feed them which oppress thee with their own flesh they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine i. e. I will set the Babylonians which oppress thee with hard captivity one against another and they shall fight one with another and slay one another in great number The phrases here used are metaphorical taken from wilde beasts which fight with and kill one the other and when they have killed one the other eat the flesh and suck the blood one of the other Their own flesh Their own blood This is not to be understood of the flesh and blood of their own natural and individual bodies but of the flesh and blood of their Kinsmen and Country-men For these especially Kinsmen are said to be of the same flesh and of the same blood because they came out of the loyns of the same forefathers That which is here spoken might be fulfilled not onely by the Civil Wars of the Babylonians if any such were for we have not Records extant of all things memorable but also when many Babylonians served under Cyrus against other the Babylonians The mighty One of Jacob. i. e. The mighty One whom Jacob serveth and who protecteth Jacob. By Jacob he meaneth the Jews the children of Jacob. The Lord though he calleth himself most usually the holy One of Israel and the holy One of Jacob as cap. 29.23 yet here he calleth himself the
mighty One of Jacob to shew his power and that in opposition to the Babylonians whom Sion in her Objection called The Mighty ISAIAH CHAP. L. THus saith the Lord Where is the bill of your mothers divorcement whom I have put away This as I conceive must be continued with the former Chapter and be part of that Sermon For whereas the Lord speaketh there of what great things he would do for Sion and her children and that he would deliver them from the terrible and take them away from the mighty Babylonians who possessed them as captives and as their prey The Jews the children of Sion were ready to say If the Lord will do such great things for us and will now at length deliver us from the terrible and take us away from the mighty Why did he forsake us at the first when we deserved it not For why did he sell us which were his children when he had no reason to do it And why did he put away our mother to whom he was marryed as though she had been defiled and unclean whereas there was nothing to be blamed in her This Objection therefore of theirs the Lord prevents saying Where is the bill of your mothers divorcement whom I have put away Or which of my Creditors is it to whom I have sold you c. Where is the bill of your mothers divorcement whom I have put away This is spoken in the person of the Lord to the Jews which were in captivity in Babylon But who is meant here by the Mother of these Jews Ans Sion or Jerusalem whom Paul also intimateth to be the Mother of the Jews Galat. 4.25 And of this Sion or Jerusalem even the material City doth the Prophet speak as of a woman yea of a mother by a Prosopopoeia in chap. 3. vers 26. and in chap. 49. and so also doth he here in this place Where is the bill of yours mothers divorcement whom I have put away When any one did put away his wife he was by the old Law to give her a bill of divorcement to shew that she was divorced from her Husband Deut. 24.1 And in this bill were the reasons oftentimes set down why the man did put away his wife The Lord therefore who had been marryed to Sion and put her away again in allusion to this Law and in allusion to such a Bill in which the causes of divorce were set down calls to the Jews for the Bill of their Mothers divorcement that he might clear himself thereby and shew that he put her away not without cause as they surmized but for her uncleanness as the Bill would testifie Or which of my Creditors is it to whom I have sold you It was a Law or Custom at least among the ancient Hebrews that Parents if they grew poor and could not tell how to pay their debts might sell their children to their Creditors thereby to satisfie them as appeareth Exod. 21.7 To this Law or Custom doth the Lord here allude And to clear himself of that which the Jews which were captive in Babylon were ready to say to wit That he had sold them he bids them name the Creditor to which he had sold them that it might appear that he sold them not For your iniquities have you sold your selves Supple Into the hands of the Babylonians When the Lord had bid these Jews to name the Creditor to which he had sold them they named the Babylonian But when they had named the Babylonian the Lord shewed them that it was not he that sold them but that it was they who had sold themselves and that for their iniquities so that the Lord doth not onely clear himself of what they objected to him but layeth the fault of all wholly upon them themselves Quest But it may be asked how the Jews could be said to sell themselves to the Babylonians to be their captives for their iniquities Answ The Lord among other punishments threatened his people that if they sinned and did commit iniquity they should be carryed away captive into their enemies Land and should there pine away in their iniquity Levit. 26. v. 33 38 39. Yea he threatened the Jews by his Prophets that they should be carryed away by the Babylonians in particular if they sinned Now therefore if they would buy sin and the pleasure of it they knew the price they must sell their peace and liberty for it they must become captive to the Babylonians if they would have it Well sin they would because it was pleasant therefore having had sin they must pay for it they must go into the hands of the Babylonians for this was the price of their sins For as according to Pauls saying the wages of sin is death Rom. 6.23 so is death and captivity and all other miseries the price of sin also And for your transgressions is your mother put away Supple From me who was her Husband so that I put her not away without a lawful cause But a Jew might here say What justice or equity is in this that a Mother should be put away from her Husband for the trangressions of her Children Answ To put away a Mother for the transgressions of her Children if she be not thereby defiled and made unclean is against justice and equity but if she be defiled and made unclean by her Childrens transgressions it is not against justice or equity to put her away for a Husband might put away his Wife if he found any uncleanness in her Deut. 24.1 Now the case of Sion or Jerusalem was so that if the Children within her did transgress she her self was also defiled and polluted and became unclean by their transgressions For if the Land was defiled by the sins of them which dwelt therein as it was Isai 24.5 Jerem. 2.7 and 3.9 and 16.18 and Numb 35.33 34. Levit. 18.28 and if the Sanctuary of God was also defiled by the sins of the people which dwelt about it as it was Levit. 16.16 then surely was Sion and Jerusalem also defiled and made unclean by the transgressions of her Children that is by the transgressions of them which dwelt in her and therefore might Sion be justly put away for the transgressions of her children And for your transgressions is your mother put away Note that thâ—se words relate to those Where is the bill of your mothers divorcement whom I have put away And are grounded upon that That the bill was produced and read and that it was contained in the bill that Sion was put away for the uncleanness which she had contracted by the transgressions of her children for upon that doth the Lord conclude against them here saying Behold I have not put away your mother without a cause as ye say but for your transgressions is your mother put away 2. Wherefore when I came was there no man Supple To receive me When I called was there none to answer i. e. And wherefore when I called to you
up q. d. Some plague or other shall consume them and eat them up as the moth eateth up an old garment By the moth is meant some such plague or other as the Lord useth to send upon obstinate and rebellious sinners to consume them by a Metaphor taken from a moth which eateth woollen garments 10. Who is among you that feareth the Lord This Sermon begun as I said at the fifth verse and from that place hitherto the Prophet hath spoken of his own commendation partly by asserting the truth thereof partly by answering Objections made against it and this he did not out of vain-glory but to vindicate himself and his authority from contempt that his Ministry might be the more fruitful Here he having vindicated himself and his authority from contempt begins his message and first he addresseth himself to those which were obedient to Gods Word saying Who is among you which feareth the Lord That feareth the Lord i. e. Which feareth to offend the Lord. The fear of the Lord is put Synecdochicè for all manner of worship and honor due to the Lord. That obeyeth the voyce of his servant i. e. That obeyeth the Word of the Lord which he speaketh to him by his servant Of his servant By the Lords servant here may be meant Isaiah himself whom God sent with this message to his people That walketh in darkness q. d. Though he doth live in misery and affliction and sorrow Darkness is put often in the Scripture for misery and affliction and sorrow The Prophet speaketh to these Jews as if they were even now in misery and affliction by their captivity in Babylon And hath no light i. e. And hath no joy or comfort at all or hope of comfort that he can see As darkness is often put for misery and affliction and sorrow so light is put for prosperity and comfort and joy Let him trust in the Name of the Lord q. d. Let him trust in the Lord and he will deliver him and send him prosperity and joy In the Name of the Lord i. e. In the Lord. And stay upon his God i. e. And rely upon his God for deliverance for he will deliver him A Metaphor from a man leaning or staying himself upon a staff 11. But behold all ye that kindle a fire q. d. But behold all ye that sin against God He makes an Apostrophe here to the sinners and disobedient Sin is compared here to a fire and well it may be because as fire consumeth the wood in which it is so doth sin destroy the wicked man See cap. 9.18 That compass your selves about with sparks This is the same with the former sentence For sin is like sparks of fire which compass tow or some such combustible matter For as such sparks do quickly set the tow on fire and consume it so doth sin speedily consume the sinner whom it doth beset Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled q. d. Go on and sport your selves in the pleasure of your sins This is an Ironical concession like that of the Preacher Eccles 11.9 Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thine heart chear thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes But know thou c. As he resembleth sin to fire so he resembleth the pleasure of sin to the light of the fire because all light is pleasant and cheareth the spirits and to the sparks of the fire because children use to make their pastime and sport with the sparks of fire This shall ye have of mine hand i. e. But this shall ye have of me q. d. But take this from me or thus much I will tell you Of mine hand i. e. Of me A part put for the whole man by a Synecdoche Ye shall lie down in sorrow i. e. Ye shall dye in your sorrowful condition that is in the captivity under which ye groan for ye shall never be delivered out of it Ye shall lie down i. e. Ye shall dye See cap. 43.17 ISAIAH CHAP. LI. HArken to me ye that follow righteousness This is to be continued with the last part of the foregoing chapter as part of the Sermon there begun He turneth his speech again to the obedient and those which fear God to whom he addressed himself at the first Cap. 50.10 Look unto the Rock whence ye are hewn This is a proverbial kinde of speech the meaning whereof is explained in the second verse By the Rock therefore is meant Abraham and Sarah the Father and Mother of the Jews not Abraham alone for he is but a partial cause of children but Abraham and Sarah together For in procreation of children the man is not without the woman nor the woman without the man By those which are hewn out of the Rock are meant the Jews which were the children of Abraham and Sarah and which are here resembled to the stones which men hew out of a Rock And to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged i. e. And to the pit or quarry from whence ye are digged This is a repetition of the former sentence The hole of the pit The hole of the pit is put periphrastically for the pit or quarry it self which is an hole 2. Look unto Abraham your father and Sarah which bare you This is an explanation of those words which went immediately before For I called him alone i. e. For I called him out of Vr of the Caldees when he had no children Gen. 12.1 The Prophet speaks here in the person of the Lord. Him i. e. Abraham your father Alone i. e. When he was without children And blessed him He blessed him with abundance of wealth And encreased him He encreased him by giving him a seed as the Stars of Heaven for multitude When God called Abraham out of Vr of the Caldees Sarah went along with him Gen. 12.5 And when he blessed him and encreased him he blessed and encreased Sarah also But yet Sarah is not mentioned here in any of these particulars because God appeared onely to Abraham Gen. 12.1 and blessed him and encreased him principally and Sarah onely for his sake 3. For the Lord shall comfort Sion q. d. Look I say unto the Rock from whence you are hewn c. Look unto Abraham your father c. For as the Lord called Abraham alone and blessed him and encreased him So will he call Sion though she is now alone as cap. 54.6 and 49.21 and will bless her with abundance of wealth and will encrease her by giving her many children as cap. 49.20 By Sion is meant Jerusalem of which he speaks as of a woman by a Prosopopoeia Hence you may see to what end the Prophet did bid the righteous to look to the Rock from whence they were hewn c. and to look to Abraham their father c. v. 1 2. It was that they might by what he saith of
the Lord in his own person yet it may be understood of the Lords speaking thus to himself and stirring up himself for this work See the like cap. 63.11 Because the Lord had suffered his people to lie in captivity a long time and did not shew his power in their deliverance he might seem to be like a man asleep therefore he saith Awake awake put on strength O arm of the Lord Supple That thou mayst deliver thy people out of Babylon as thou hast promised Put on strength He alludeth to a mans putting on his garments when he awaketh which he did put off and lay aside when he went to sleep O arm of the Lord i. e. O powerful God He speaks of God as of a man by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and puts the arm which is but part for the whole man by a Synecdoche as Vers 5. As in the ancient days and in the generations of old Supple When thou didst bring the children of Israel out of the Land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage Art not thou it that hath cut Rahab i. e. Art not thou He which didst cut and hew the Egyptians to pieces It This relateth to that O thou arm of the Lord by which as I said is meant the Lord himself Rahab By Rahab is meant Egypt and by Egypt the Egyptians as Psal 87. v. 4. And Egypt was called Rahab because of her pride for Rahab signifieth one that is proud and Egypt carryed her self proudly at least towards Israel Exod. 18.11 And wounded the Dragon Supple Even to death By the Dragon he meaneth Pharaoh King of Egypt whom the Lord overthrew in the red Sea For the Prophet calls tyrants by that name See cap. 27.1 10. Art not thou it which hath dryed the Sea c. He meaneth by the Sea the red Sea which the Lord divided and through which he made a dry way for his people of Israel to pass when he brought them out of Egypt Exod. 14.21 The waters of the great deep q. d. Even the waters of the red Sea which was very deep For the ransomed to pass over i. e. For the Israelites which thou didst redeem out of Egypt from the bondage which they suffered there to pass over This is mentioned here to strengthen the faith of the people in God For if God had power to do such things heretofore he hath as much power to do the like now and to redeem his people out of Babylon now as he had to redeem them out of Egypt in times past 11. The redeemed of the Lord i. e. The Jews which are now in captivity in Babylon He calleth these Jews the redeemed of the Lord by anticipation for as yet they were not redeemed though afterwards they were Shall return Supple Out of Babylon where they are captive And come with singing unto Sion i. e. And come back with a great deal of joy to Jerusalem Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads He resembleth joy to a crown therefore he saith that it shall be upon their heads q. d. They shall be crowned with everlasting joy See cap. 35.10 And sorrow and mourning Supple Which they now suffer by reason of their captivity 12. I even I am he that comforteth you This is spoken in the person of the Lord to Zion who fearing the great power of the Babylonians could not receive that comfort from the promises of God as she should do I even I c. q. d. I the Lord who am the true and Almighty God even I am he that comforteth you c. That comforteth you i. e. That comforteth you now by my promises of your redemption and will comfort you hereafter by performing what I promise Who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall dye q. d. What a fearful woman art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of the Babylonians because they are many which yet are but men and shall dye This was that which made the Lords promise of the redemption of the Jews out of Babylon so hardly to be believed to wit the strength and abundance of men which the Babylonians had and therefore the Lord would take this Objection or stumbling block away Who art thou This in the Hebrew is of the Feminine gender and therefore is spoken to Zion whom he speaks to as to a woman or a mother by a Prosopopoeia as cap. 49.14 And of the son of man which shall be made as grass i. e. And of the son of man which shall be cut down and wither as the grass This is a repetition of the former sentence The son of man Every man livinâ— as he is man himself so is he the son of a man 13. And forgettest the Lord thy Maker i. e. And art not mindf ll of the power of the Lord which made thee who because he made thee will have mercy upon thee That hath stretched out the Heavens and layd the foundations of the Earth Supple And therefore is of exceeding great power power enough to turn the Babylonians to nothing Hath stretched out the Heavens i. e. Hath made the Heavens See Cap. 45. vers 12. And layd the foundations of the Earth See cap. 55.13 And hast feared continually every day Supple Lest thou and thy children should be destroyed by hard usage and by famine Because of the fury of the oppressor i. e. Because of the fury of the Babylonian which oppresseth thee and thy children As if he were ready to destroy i. e. As if he i. e. the Babylonian thy oppressor would instantly destroy thee and thy children by hard usage and by starving And where is the fury of the oppressor i. e. And what I pray you is become of the fury of the Oppressor This is to be pronounced with contempt to vilifie the power and fury of the Babylonian when Zion feared And he speaketh as if the Babylonians were already destroyed 14. The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed q. d. Behold notwithstanding all the fury of the Oppressor the captive Exile already hasteneth that he may be loosed The captive Exile i. e. The Jew which is captive in Babylon and liveth there as an Exile or banished man Hasteneth that he may be loosed i. e. Maketh haste already that he may be loosed supple out of prison that is out of the Land of his captivity from being a captive any longer He likeneth the Land of Babylon in which the Jews were captive to a prison and alludeth thereunto as cap. 42.7 He speaketh here as though the captived Jews were even then hastening to get out of their captivity But how did they hasten that they might be loosed Ans By sending Zorobbabel to Cyrus to entreat him to let them go free And this was after Cyrus had subdued Babylon so that the Lord might well say as he did Vers 13. And wheâ—e is the fury of the Oppressor And that he should not dye in the pit i. e. And that he
should not dye in the dungeon as many of his Brethren have dyed through such hardness as he hath there suffered heretofore and which you are now afraid of By the pit is meant that part of the prison which is called the Dungeon which is as a pit under ground But by this also he meaneth Babylon or the Land of the Jews captivity by a Metaphor Nor that his bread should fail i. e. And that he might not be starved in captivity for want of bread as many of his brethren have been and which you now fear Supple And he shall prevail 15. But I am the Lord thy God that divided the Sea c. The Lord prevents an Objection here which Sion might make For Sion might say But for all this I have cause to be afraid and to fear continually every day for the Babylonians are men which are maliciously bent against me and their fury is such as that it cannot be withstood To which the Lord here answers saying I 'l grant that the Babylonians are men maliciously bent against thee but yet I am the Lord who am more mighty then all the men of the Earth thy God who will have a care of thee and protect thee whose friendship is more to be esteemed of then their enmity to be feared who divided the sea whose waves roared and therefore am able to chastise them be their fury never so great and tumultuous against thee The Lord of Hosts is my Name therefore can I give victory to whom I please and trample under feet whom I will That divided the sea whose waves roared He alludes to the division which he made in the red Sea for his people Israel to pass through which he divided notwithstanding the roaring of the waves Exod. 14. v. 16 21. The Lord of Hosts is his Name i. e. The Lord of Hosts is my Name He putteth here the third for the first person for the Lord speaketh here of himself This Name The Lord of Hosts intimateth a great deal of power and the Lord mentioneth it here to uphold Sion against the conceit which she had of the great power of the Babylonians her Enemies or Oppressors 16. And I have put my words in thy mouth c. And that it may be known that I have not onely power to redeem thee O Zion and thy children the Jews but will also to restore all prosperity and joy to you and where power and will meet together the effect must needs follow I have put my words in thy mouth O Isaiah The Lord maketh a sudden Apostrophe to Isaiah And have covered thee with the shadow of mine hand See cap. 49.2 That I may plant the Heavens and lay the foundations of the Earth q. d. That I may plant the Heavens and lay the foundations of the Earth Supple As I have determined to plant and lay them upon the Jews repentance i. e. That I may make new Haevens and a new Earth according to what I have decreed when the Jews have repented That these words are not literally to be understood but onely Metaphorically is plain and manifest and denyed by none Quest. But what is it which is meant by them Answ The meaning is as if he should say that I may put a new face on things and make the Heavens to give their light and the Earth to flourish and be verdant as when they were at first created that is That I may bring back all joy and gladness into the Land of Judah where there is now sorrow and grief c. For the understanding of which sence note that the Scripture saith of the Heavens in times of great calamity that they are darkened and that the Stars of Heaven give not their light neither doth the Sun and the Moon cause their their light to shine as cap. 50.30 cap. 13.10 And on the contrary in times of great prosperity it saith of the Heavens that they give their light and that the light of ths Moon is as the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun is seven-fold as the light of seven days c. as cap. 30. v. 26. Therefore to make new Heavens is to make the Heavens to give their light as brightly and as clearly as when they were at first created and that signifieth to give or reduce great prosperity and great joy And as for the Earth during the time of the Babylonish captivity the Land of Judah was accounted as a Wilderness and as a Desart because of the barrenness and squalidity thereof vers 3. When therefore the Lord saith that he will lay the foundations of the Earth his meaning is that he will make the Earth to flourish and be as verdant as when it was at first created and that signifieth that he will take away that barrenness and squalidity under which the Land of Judah lay during the captivity and make it as Eden yea even as the Garden of the Lord as it was at the first Creation as is said vers 3. Where note that by the Heavens are particularly here meant the Heavens which were over the Land of Judah as cap. 5.30 And by the Earth is particularly meant the Land of Judah as cap. 24.17 c. and that by a Synecdoche By this therefore that the Lord saith That he will plant the Heavens and lay the foundations of the Earth is meant that he will make the Land of Judah a joyful and a fruitful Land But it may be here asked How it is to be understood that the Lord here saith that he put his words into Isaiabs mouth c. that he the Lord might plant the Heavens and lay the foundations of the Earth that is That he the Lord might give great prosperity and joy to the Land of Judah and make the Land of Judah a joyful and a fruitful Land Ans As the Lord took away all prosperity and joy out of the Land of Judah and made it a barren and a doleful Land because of the sins of the Jews which dwelt therein so he was determined to reduce all joy and prosperity into it and to make it a fruitful and a flourishing Land again if the Jews would repent them of their sins That therefore they might be induced to repent he put his words into Isaiahs mouth and covered him with the shadow of his hand that upon his words they might repent and upon their repentance he the Lord might bring back all joy and fruitfulness into the Land of Judah And thus is the Lord said to put his words into Isaiahs mouth that he the Lord might plant the Heavens and lay the foundations of the Earth That I may plant the Heavens Here is a Metaphor taken from a Gardiners planting Trees or Herbs And lay the foundations of the Earth Here is a Metaphor from a Builder And say unto Sion thou art my people This might the Lord say when he had brought back the Jews out of Babylon to Sion and clothed Sion with them as
of all the streets i. e. They lie some dead some ready to dye through famine and the sword at the entrance of every street Quest What streets of what City are here meant Ans The streets of the City of Jerusalem may be here meant But then understand this of that which happened presently after the taking of Jerusalem for not long after the Jews were carryed from thence captive to Babylon Or the streets of the City of Babylon may be here meant where no doubt but many Jews dyed in the streets in the time of their captivity for want of food and by reason of that cruelty which was used to them As a wilde Bull in a net Understand here they are q. d. They are as a wilde Bull in a net i. e. Some of thy sons have fainted others be dead or ready to dye at the head of every street And if any be in health and strength of body yet being he is in chains and in prison and captivity he is but as a wilde Bull in a net or toyl whose strength can avail him nothing so that none of thy sons are able to comfort thee Note that these words Thy sons have fainted they lie at the head of the streets they are as a wilde Bull in a net are not to be understood collectivè but disjunctivè or distributivè as I have expounded them They are full of the fury of the Lord i. e. They are full of the calamities and miseries which the Lord in his fury hath poured out upon them The fury of the Lord is put here by a Metonymy for calamities and miseries proceeding from the Lords fury The rebuke of thy God This is a repetition of the former sentence Rebuke signifieth properly a chiding but as Gods blessing is not meer verbal so is not his rebuke and his cursing but whom he rebuketh or curseth he afflicteth Therefore hear now this c. q. d. Though thy misery be thus great and thou hast none to comfort thee no not of all thy sons neither King nor Prince nor Priest c. yet notwithstanding I will comfort thee Therefore is put here for yet notwithstanding Thou afflicted i. e. Thou Jerusalem which art afflicted And drunken but not with wine i. e. And drunken but not with wine and strong drink which are pleasant to the pallate and with which most men are drunk but with a bitter potion a potion of poyson a potion which I the Lord mingled for thee to drink in my fury 22. That pleadeth the cause of his people Supple Against their Enemies And will now plead thy cause against the Babylonians which afflict thee and oppress thee He which pleads a mans cause for him in a Court of Justice is said to defend him and to contend for him and from hence to plead a mans cause is taken for to defend a man in any kinde whatsoever and to fight for him and be his friend Behold I will take out of thine hand the cup of trembling Supple Which I gave thee to drink vers 17. By this is meant that he would afflict Jerusalem no longer Even the dregs of the cup of my fury This is put by an Hypallage for Even the cup of the dregs of my fury For Jerusalem had left no dregs in the cup she had drunk them up clean as all Expositors expound the seventeenth Verse By the cup of the dregs of his fury is meant the cup in which were those dregs of his fury which Jerusalem drunk up and wrung out Thou shalt no more drink it again q. d. Thou shalt not be thus afflicted any more Note that these words no more do not always signifie Eternity but sometimes a long space of time onely as suppose time within the memory of man 23. But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee But I will fill it up again and put it into the hands of the Babylonians which afflict thee for them to drink The meaning is that he would deliver Jerusalem out of the hands of the Babylonians which afflicted her and would give the Babylonians into the hands of the Persians to be afflicted by them Which have said to thy Soul i. e. Which have said to thee Here is a synecdoche For the Soul which is but part is put for the whole woman for he spoke of Jerusalem as of a Mother Bow down that we may go over Supple Thee i. e. Lie down flat on the ground that we may trample upon thee And thou hast layd thy body as the ground and as the street to them that went over Supple Thee q. d. And thou hast been fain to lay thy body flat on the ground to them and they have trampled upon thee as upon the ground whereon they walk The Eastern Conquerors were wont to tread upon them whom they had conquered So Joshua and the men of Israel did put their feet upon the neck of the Kings whom they had conquered Josh 10.24 And in allusion to this it is said Psal 110.1 The Lord said to my Lord Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine Enemies thy footstool And some did thi◠with more pride and insulting then others did But whether our Prophet doth allude to this custom or no I cannot say onely I say that by those expressions he would shew the proud carriage and the cruelty of the Babylonians towards Jerusalem and the Jews ISAIAH CHAP. LII AWake awake This may be joyned with the foregoing Chapter He speaks here to Jerusalem as he did cap. 50. vers 17. and bids her awake out of her drunken sleep which was caused by the cup which she drank of cap. 51.17 intimating thereby that the end of her miseries was at hand Put on strength This strength is opposed to the trembling which the cup of the Lords fury wrought cap. 50.17 He speaks of strength here Metaphorically as of a garment and when he hath called to Jerusalem to awake he bids her put on her strength in allusion to a man which when he awakes in a morning puts on his garments O Zion i. e. O Jerusalem The Prophet speaks here in his own person Put on thy beautiful garments i. e. Put on thy best apparel such as thou usest to wear at festival times and times of joy He alludeth to the manner of women who have one garment for times of mourning others for times of joy and intimates that a time of joy was approaching to Jerusalem by her redemption and the redemption of her children out of captivity when he bids her put on her beautiful garments O Jerusalem the holy City Why Jerusalem is called the holy City see Cap. 48. vers 2. He speaks to Jerusalem as to a woman yea a mother by a Prosopopoeia as before From henceforth there shall come no more into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean i. e. The Babylonians shall no more come into thee who have of late come into thee and trod thee down By
by a Synecdoche for the Lord a part for the whole man for the Lord speaks here of himself as of a man by a Prosopopoeia ISAIAH CHAP. LIX BEhold the Lords hand is not shortened that it cannot save This may well cohere with the former Chapter For many incredulous Jews among the Babylonish captives considering that the Babylonians were mighty and powerful could not believe for all the Lords Promises that the Lord was able to deliver them out of their hands Such therefore might here say For all the Lords Promises the Lord is not able to deliver us out of the hands of the Babylonians for if he were able to deliver us why hath he not delivered us when we have called and cryed so often to him This Objection the Prophet here prevents saying Behold the Lords hand is not shortened that it cannot save The Lords hand is not shortened that it cannot save q. d. The Lord hath often saved his people out of the hands of their Enemies as out of the hands of the Egyptians and Midianites and Assyrians and since that time his hand is not shortened nor is his power abated that he cannot save therefore surely he is as able to save you now as he was then Note that the hand is often put for power and strength for a mans strength is seen by the strength of his hand and his arm Neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear i. e. Neither is he deaf or his ear stopped that he cannot hear The Prophet prevents another Objection here For they might say If it be so that the Lord can save us yet surely it is so that he is deaf and cannot hear us For certainly if he could save us he would if he could but hear the cries which we make to him This Objection I say the Prophet doth here prevent saying Neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear 2. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God i. e. But your iniquities have stood and made as it were a wall of separation between you and your God and have kept your cries and your prayers while ye have prayed for deliverance out of Babylon from coming to his ears Your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear i. e. Your sins have stood and do stand as a curtain or as a wall rather between him and you and have hid his presence from you so that he cannot hear your prayers because your voyce cannot enter through that curtain or wall to wit your sins into his presence His face Take the face here first for the whole head in which are all the senses of man and Hearing as well as Seeing then take it for the whole man by a Synecdoche That he will not hear i. e. That he cannot hear Note that this Particle will signifieth not any resolved act of the will but is onely a sign of the tense and is to be interpreted Potentially The Prophet speaks here of God as of a man by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by what he hath said he hath shewed that it is not by reason of any defect in God that he doth not deliver them or hear their prayers but the fault is in themselves by reason of their sins 3. For your hands are defiled with blood Blood may be taken here for murther or it may be taken onely for oppression used in Courts of Justice as Cap. 1.15 Because they might say that they are not guilty of such sins as might separate between them and their God and hide his face from them the Prophet prevents this their exception and accuseth them with their particular sins Your lips have spoken lyes i. e. You have born false witness against your neighbor and have wronged the poor with false accusations Your tongue hath uttered perverseness i. e. Ye have spoken all manner of wicked words and have used your tongue to all manner of evil practices Perverseness is taken here for wicked words and such words as a righteous man and a man which loved justice would not speak per Metonymiam Adjuncti In general that is called perverseness which is contrary to the Law of God and which is thereby forbidden and perverse words in general are naughty evil words such as God prohibiteth 4. None calleth for justice i. e. Whereas justice should finde friends every where none calleth upon the Judge in her behalf He speaks of justice as of a person by a Prosopopoeia Note that the Prophet speaketh here to the Jews as if they were even â—hen captives in Babylon Quest But how could these men or any of them be accused for not calling for justice and not pleading for truth in the time of their captivity whereas in the time of their captivity they had no Courts or Judges among them Ans It is not to be granted that the Jews had no Courts or Judges amongst them during the time of their captivity but it is rather to be presumed from this and other places that the Jews had power to judge of Jews and had authority and jurisdiction among themselves and that by the leave of the Babylonish Kings under whom they lived Nor any pleadeth for truth He speaks of truth here as he did of justice before as of a person by a Prosopopoeia They trust in vanity i. e. They trust in this That they are able by their wit and by their tongue to put a shew of justice and righteousness upon an unjust and unrighteous cause which confidence of theirs shall prove but a vain thing in the end This confidence of theirs that they could put a shew of justice upon an unjust cause he calleth vanity per Metonymiam Adjuncti that is a vain thing because it would prove vain and as an empty thing and a thing of nothing in the end and would not be able to justifie them against Gods proceedings when he should call them to account Speak lyes i. e. They speak that which they know to be false the Judges in their sentences which they give and the Advocates and Counsellors in the arguments which they bring in their pleadings They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity i. e. They devise mischievous devices and what they devise they put in execution This speech is Allegorical alluding to a womans conception and bringing forth 5. They hatch Cockatrice eggs i. e. They foment mischievous and villanous plots and devices and bring them into act A Cockatrice is a venomous kinde of Serpent and as she her self is such are her eggs venomous By the Cockatrice eggs therefore may be meant mischief and villany or mischievous and villainous plots and devices This seemeth to be a Proverb or proverbial kind of sentence And weave the spiders web i. e. And weave a web for the same end as the Spider weaveth her web For as the Spider weaveth her web to catch the smaller flies so do they lay their plots to take the poorer sort of people and
Kings 14.9 Psal 22.12 Ezech. 31.3 Shall come unto thee i. e. Shall be brought unto thee For what purpose the Cedar should be brought he tells towards the end of this verse Note that this is another reason why the gates of Ierusalem should stand open continually and hereby is intimated also that the Syrians which possessed mount Lebanon should be subdued by the Jewes or at least should so farre either stand in feare of them or respect them as that they should furnish them with all things for the use of the Temple which their Country could afford For it must be either by the good will or by a conquest of this people that the Jewes could have these Trees brought to Jerusalem but Strabo relates that the Jewes did subdue this people by the sword To beautifie the place of my sanctuary i. e. To adorne my Temple for the Temple was adorned by the wood of these Trees being curiously wrought And I will make the place of my feet glorious i. e. For I will make my Temple glorious The place of my feet By the place of Gods feet is meant the Arke then by the Arke which stood in the Sanctum Sanctorum is meant the Temple Per metonymiam contenti The Arke is called the place of Gods feet as appeareth 1 Chron. 28.2 And therefore was it called the place of Gods feet because in the two ends of the mercy seat which covered the Arke there were two Cherubins of gold looking one towards another and spreading out their wings one towards another and by the spreading out of their wings making as it were a seat to sit upon Upon the wings of the Cherubins so stretched out was the Lord supposed to sit in shape of a man and to rest his feet upon the Arke And therefore was the Arke called the place of his feet See Exod. Cap. 25. v. 17 18 19 20 21 22. 14. The sonnes also of them which afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee q. d. So glorious also shalt thou be that not onely they which were thy friends but they also which afflicted thee as enemies shall be moved with thy glory and come and honour and reverence thee if not for love yet for feare and sâ—e to thee for thy favour and for thy friendship This is another reason why the gates of Hierusalem should stand open continually to wit because the sonnes of them that had afflicted Sion should come bending to thee The sonnes of them which afflicted thee i. e. The children of those that afflicted thee Or they themselves which afflicted thee O Sion For the Hebrewes put the sonnes of such and such for such and such themselves Shall come bending unto thee Supple In token of honour and reverence towards thee See this fulfilled in part Ezra 4. v. 1.2 Shall bow themselves at the soles of thy feet i. e. Shall bow themselves down even to the ground in most humble manner in signe of the greater respects to thee And they shall call thee the City of the Lord q. d. And when they speake unto thee and call thee they shall say O thou City of the Lord And this they shall say to shew the great esteeme which they have of thee and that they greatly reverence thee Sion or Jerusalem might be called the City of the Lord aswell in regard of the love which the Lord had to her as of the Temple which was scituate in Jerusalem which was the Lords house The Sion of the holy one of Israel i. e. The Sion of the Lord who is the holy One of Israel 15. Forsaken Supple Of me as of thine husband and of thy children thinâ— Inhabitants during the Babylonish captivity Anâ— hated Supple Of me as of thine husband against whom thou hast plaid the whore And of the Babylonians as of my Instruments which I called to pâ—nish thee who out of hatred to thee have laid thee waste and desolate So that no man went through thee i. e. So that no man went through thy Streets I will make thee an eternall excellence i. e. I will make thee most excellent and glorious for a long time to come The Hebrewes when they would signifie a thing in the Superlative degree They use an Abstract for a Concrete so here when the Prophet would signifie that Sion should be most excellent saith that she shall be an excellency An eternall excellency i. e. Most excellent a long time The Hebrewes are somewhat hyperbolicall in their expression of time and duration and that that shall be eternall and everlasting which shall last onely a long time A joy of many generations i. e. Such a one as in which many generations successively shall rejoyce Note that joy is put here per Metonymium objecti for the thing in which we joy and many generations for the men of many generations per Metonymiam Efficientis When the Lord made Jerusalem an eternall excellency and a joy of many generations then did all men flock to her and tread her streets though none went through her before Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles i. e. Thou shalt draw the riches of the Gentiles to thy selfe and be enriched by them He useth a Metaphor taken from a sucking child milking his Nurses breasts and resembleth Riches to the milk which he drawes by sucking And shalt suck the breasts of Kings Hee persists in the Metaphor of a sucking child In the 49 Chapter vers 27. The Prophet saith That Kings shall be their i. e. the Jewes nursing fathers and that the same with this Thou shalt suck the breast of Kings Whe he saith The breast of Kings his Metaphor is Catachresticall For children use to suck not the brests of men but of women And thou shalt know i. e. For thou shalt know and that by experience And is put here for for Thy Saviour and thy Redeemer Supple which will save thee and redeem thee out of the hands of the Babylonians The Mighty one of Israel i. e. The mighty God whom Israel worshipped and who loved Israel By Israel may be here meant either Jacob himselfe who was named Israel Gen. 32.28 or the Jewes â—he children of Jacob. The Lord addeth this viz. The mighty God of Israel to shew that what he hath said here should surely be effected for there be but two things required to bring any thing to passe A power and a will to doe God sheweth his power in that he calleth himselfe the Mighty one his will in that he calls himselfe the Mighty one of Israel for by that he sheweth his love to the children of Israel 17. For Brasse I will bring Gold c. q. d. whereas now thou art poore I will make thee exceeding rich so as Gold shall be as plentifull with thee then as Brasse is now c. Thus rich God made Sion by the Gentiles whom he made as Conduit-pipes to convey these his favours to them so as these words are an explication of those Thou shalt
suck the milk of the Gentiles and shalt suck the breast of Kings I will also make thine Officers peace i. e. I will also give thee such Officers to beare rule in thee and govern thee as shall be meek and peaceable men This was fulfilled when the Lord made Ezra Zorobabel Nehemiah c. Rulers and Officers in Hierusalem Peace Peace is put here for most peaceable men as excellency was for most excellent Vers 15. And thine exactors righteousnesse i. e. And those which shall be appointed to leavie the Taxes and Tributes which are to be leavied in thee shall be righteous and just men such as will not impose nor exact more then they ought and is convenient and needfull God promiseth not Hierusalem that she shall be freed from Taxes for Taxes and Tributes must be leavied in all Kingdomes and Commonwealths as occasion requires for the pâ—blique good But he promiseth her here that they which impose or levy the Taxes or Tributes shall not be such as she felt during the Babylonish captivity who were cruell and unjust Extortioners but righteous Taxers which shall impose no more then necessity requireth and shall not exact what is imposed with rigour Righteousnesse i. e. Most righteous Righteousnesse is put here for most righteous as before peace for most peaceable and Excellency for most excellent Note that the Prophet preventeth an objection here for whereas he saith in the person of God in the former part of the verse For Brasse I will bring Gold and for Iron I will bring Silver and for Stones Iron Sion might say But what shall I be the better for this for if I had never so much such officers as I have now meaning those that ruled in Hierusalem under the King of Babylon during the Babylonish captivity and such exactors would wring it all from me This objection therefore the Prophet prevents in the person of the Lord saying I will also make thy Officers peace and thine Exactors Righteousnesse 18. Violence shall be no more heard in thy Land i. e. Nor shall violence be any more heard in thy Land for though there hath been much violence used in thy land by the Babylonians yet now thou shalt be free from the violence of all forraine enemies He seemeth to speak of violence as of a scolding woman by a Prosopopeia Wasting and destruction within thy borders Nor wasting and destruction within thy borders as they have been heard since the Babylonians first invaded these thy borders Here in this verse he promiseth security to Sion But thou shalt call thy walls salvation q. d. But thy walls shall be safe and shall keep all thy children within thee safe yea they shall be as safe as salvation and keepe thy children within thee as safe as salvation her selfe can keep them So that thou maist justly call thy walls Salvation He speaks of Salvation here as of a person or at least as of a thing subsisting by it selfe And what is more safe then salvation which if she could be hurt were not salvation and what can keep us more safe than Salvation For so long as salvation encompasseth us we must needs be safe otherwise salvation were not salvation And thy gates praise By praise he meaneth salvation for this is but as it were the former sentence repeated But how commeth praise to signifie salvation Answ Per metonymiam effectus for salvation produceth praise to God And Per metonymiam adjuncti for salvation is worthy of praise it selfe And not onely salvation but any other thing which doth either produce praise or is worthy of praise may be called praise Note that the Prophet presents another objection here in this verse for whereas the Lord had said That for brasse he would bring gold and so for Iron he would bring silver and for wood brasse and for stones Iron And had prevented an objection which Sion might have made saying But I shall be nothing the better for these for such officers and such exactors as I am now under will extort and wring all that I shall have away from me He prevents an other objection For Sion might say though I shall have peaceable officers and righteous exactors so that I may enjoy all that thou givest me for any thing I need feare from Officers within me Yet I have cause to fear the violent man and the destroyer I mean the forraign Souldier from without for I have felt them and their violence but lately for they have burnt downe my gates and broken downe my walls c. This objection therefore the Lord prevents and takes away in this verse Saying Violence shall be no more heard in thy Land wasting nor destruction within thy borders but thou shalt call thy walls salvation and thy gates praise 19. The Sun shall be no more thy light by day neither for brightnesse shall the Moon give light unto thee but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light q. d. The Lord shall give unto thee continually greater light by many degrees than the Sun doth give thee by day or the Moon by night For understanding of this place know first that the Hebrewes when they make comparison between two things and therein preferre one thing before another they affirme that which they preferre and deny that before which it is preferâ—ed So I desired mercy and not sacrifice is put for I desired mercy more than sacrifice Hosea 6.6 And I am a worme and no man is put for I am a worme rather than a man Psal 22.6 According to which rule these words The Sun shall be no more thy light by day neither for brightnesse shall the Moon give light unto thee but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light Are put to signifie That the Lord would give Sion more light conâ—inually than the Sun could give her by day or the Moon by night Note secondly that whereas the Lord is said to be Sions everlasting light By light is meant prosperity For as I have often said the Hebrewes call prosperity light by a Metaphor Note in the third place that when the light which the Lord will here be to Sion is compared with the light of the Sun light metaphorically taken is compared with true naturall light and so the Hebrewes often compare things only so called by a Metaphor or figure with things properly so called as you may see Cap. 58.8 Ecclus 23. v. 19. The Sun By the Sun is meant the Sun which is placed in the Firmament of the Heavens Thy light i. e. The giver of light to thee Light is taken here for the giver of light Per metonymiam efficientis Neither for brightnesse i. e. Neither in respect of any brightnesse which the Moon shall have For her brightnesse shall be eclipsed or obscured by the brightnesse of the Lord. Shall the Moon give light unto thee Supple By night But the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light i. e. But the Lord shall be unto thee a
giver of light such light as shall farre exceed the light of the Sun and of the Moon and that an everlasting light too Light is taken here for the giver of light Per metonymiam efficientis by which figure the Sun is also called a light as a little before so also Gen. 1.16 The Lord is called the everlasting light because he is a light that is a Sun which never goeth downe See Psal 84.11 Whereas the Lord is here said to be a light or giver of light By light understand prosperity And thy God thy glory This is a repetition of the Sentence going immediately before and what he called light there he calleth glory here For light is a glorious thing God therefore is said here to be Sions glory Per metonymiam efficientis Because he gave glory that is light that is prosperity to Sion which light that is which prosperity might be called glory Per metonymiam adjuncti because it was glorious and Sions glory Per metonymiam efficientis because it rendred Sion glorious The Lord is said in this sense to give glory Psal 84.11 Note here that St. John in his revelation Cap. 21. v. 23. alludeth to this verse of our Prophet but he doth not only allude to it as to words which he may turne to his purpose but he alludes to it also as to a place principally intended to set out the glorious state of Christs Church And indeed so these words are intended in the second and sublime sense For though in the first sense they speake only of the prosperity which the Jewes should have after their captivity in Babylon Yet in the second and sublime sense they speake the glory and Blisse which Christs Church should receive after her delivery from sinne and ignorance and the power of the Devill For those temporall and bodily blessings which God bestowed upon the Jewes after their captivity were a Type of those spirituall and eternall blessings which God would give unto Christs Church after their delivery from sinne and ignorance and the power of the Devill And these words being understood of that blisse which the Church of Christ shall enjoy in Heaven may be understood as they said without any figure for in Heaven the Sunne shall be no more thy light by day neither for brightnesse shall the Moon give light unto thee but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light c. 20. Thy Sun shall no more goe downe Thy Sun shall no more goe downe as the Sun in the firmament useth to goe downe and set daily Sions Sun went downe when God withdrew his favour from her and delivered her into the hands of the Babylonians to be afflicted and oppressed by them But it rose againe when he delivered them again out of the hands of the Babylonians by Cyrus and vouchsafed her his favour Neither shall thy Moon withdraw it selfe Neither shall thy Moon set any more as the Moon in the firmament useth to set when it goeth under the earth For the Lord shall be thine everlasting light i. e. For the Lord shall be thy Sun and thy Moon which shall be above thine Horizon and shine upon thee everlastingly without intermission By light understand here the Sun and the Moon which are called lights because they give light as Genes 1.16 But the Lord is called Sions Sun and Moon onely by a Metaphor because he gave light that is prosperity and joy day and night to Sion as the Sun imparts his light by day and the Moon imparts her light by night to the Inhabitants of the Earth And the dayes of the mourning shall be ended He speaks of that mourning which the Babylonians caused by their oppression and hard usage of her in her captivity By this we may understand what he meant by light to wit prosperity and joy 21. Thy people also shall be all righteous i. e. Most of thy children which shall returne out of Babylon and come and dwell in thee shall be righteous All is put here for the greater part not for All without exception The greatest part of those which returned to Sion out of captivity were righteous and good men though the most part of those which went into captivity were wicked because the Sword and the Famine and diseases had consumed the greatest part of the wicked and many of them which remained alive returned not but remained still in Babylon Cap. 57. v. 20 21. See the like Cap. 1.25 See also Cap. 4.4 Note here that in these words thy people also shall be all righteous the Verbe shall be is supplyed by the Interpreter so that the words of themselves are these thy people all righteous which may be as if he should say thy people to wit all the righteous so that the meaning of this plurall may be this q. d. Thy people that is to say all the righteous shall inherit the Land for ever c. They shall inherit the Land for ever i. e. And they shall inherit the Land of Judah for a long time The Branch of my planting q. d. Even the branch of my planting c. This is governed of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they to wit Thy people by Apposition And he calleth the people of Sion here the branch of his planting by Anticipation But the branch of his planting hee calls them because hee would though he had not as yet plant them in their own land and cause them there to take root downwards and beare fruit upwards as he speaks Chap. 37.31 The work of my hands This also is governed of the former words by Apposition God calls the people of Sion the work of his hands because he would bring them out of their miserable thraldome and give them great prosperity and joy yea because he would plant them as a young slip or Tree in their own land and there cause them to flourish That I may be glorified Supple for that which I will doe to them that is to thy people A little one shall become a thousand i. e. And so I will blesse them as that a little Family in or among thy people shall grow into a thousand families And a small one a strange Nation i. e. And a small familie shall become a mighty Nation This is a repetition of the former sentence I the Lord will hasten it in his time i. e. I the Lord will make hast to accomplish this which I have said that it may be fulfilled in the due time that I have appointed for it His time i. e. My time or the time that I have appointed for it Here is an Enallage of the person where the Lord on a sudden speaks of himselfe in the third person See the like Chap. 51.15 ISAIAH CHAP. LXI THe Spirit of the Lord is upon me i. e. By the Spirit of the Lord is meant that Spirit of prophecie which is the gift of God q.d. The Lord God hath endued me with the gift of Prophecie c. Note that among the
among the Gentiles i. e. And such shall be the prosperity of their children as that the Gentiles shall take notice of them for the pâ—osperity and happiness which they shall enjoy above other people That they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed q. d. Whereas the Lord blessed the seed of Abraham Gen. 26.4 all that see them shall know that they are the seed of Abraham whom the Lord blessed 10. I will greatly rejoyce in the Lord i. e. I will greatly rejoyce because of the goodness of the Lord towards me This is spoken in the person of Zion by a Prosopopoeia for Zion hearing these great things which the Prophet speaketh of and believing them breaketh out into joy and gladness saying I will greatly rejoyce in the Lord. In the Lord i. e. Because of the goodness of the Lord towards me in my children In is put here for For or Because of and is a sign of the Object and the Lord is put here for the goodness of the Lord per Metonymiam efficientis He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation i. e. For he hath redeemed me out of the Babylonish captivity He compareth the Redemption or Salvation by which they were saved or delivered out of the Babylonish captivity to a garment therefore he calls it the garment of Salvation He puts a preterperfect tense for a future He hath covered me with the robes of righteousness This is a repetition of the former sentence for by righteousness he meaneth salvation of which more in the following Verse As a Bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments i. e. As a Bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments on the day of his marriage on which day he is at the finest 11. So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth Supple In me or for me This is spoken still in the person of Zion who takes that which is done to her children the Jews as done also to her self Righteousness By righteousness he meaneth salvation that salvation by which the Lord redeemed Zion and her children out of the hands of the cruel Babylonians and this salvation he calleth righteousness per Metonymiam efficientis because God gave it to the Jews which were righteous as a reward of their righteousness as also because God gave it to the Jews according to his promise so that it was an effect of Gods righteousness that is of his fidelity or faithfulness in keeping promise Praise By praise he meaneth also salvation and redemption even the salvation and redemption of Sion and her children and that per Metonymiam effectus because that Salvation and Redemption bring forth praise to God for they which are saved and redeemed will praise God for his Salvation and Redemption Before all Nations i. e. In the sight of all Nations ISAIAH CHAP. LXII FOr Zions sake I will not hold my peace i. e. For the love which I bare to Zion I will not hold my peace but call upon God day and night to save Zion out of the hands of the Babylonians The Prophet speaks this as though the Jews were even then in captivity and neer to be delivered and as though he himself did see them in distress bodily And what he saith he would do here certainly many of the godly men and the Prophets which lived in the time of the captivity did do For Jerusalems sake I will not rest This is a repetition of the former sentence I will not rest Supple From calling upon God to hasten the salvation of Zion Vntil the righteousness thereof i. e. Until the salvation thereof that is of Zion By righteousness is meant salvation See cap. 51.11 Go forth as brightness i. e. Go forth as a light which dispelleth the darkness As brightness i. e. As a light He putteth brightness for light that is for a body which giveth light and shineth clearly per Metonymiam adjuncti He compareth the salvation of the Jews to a bright shining body because as such a body giveth light so would this salvation bring joy and prosperity with it which the Scripture doth often resemble to light and call by the name of light And the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth This is a repetition of the former sentence For the Lamp that burneth shineth 2. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness i. e. For the Gentiles shall see the salvation which God shall work for thee And is put here for For and righteousness for salvation as Vers 1. Thy glory i. e. The glorious estate with which God will bless thee He calleth the glorious estate which God would give her her glory per Metonymiam adjuncti The Prophet useth an Apostrophe here to Zion whom he speaks to as to a woman Thou shalt be called by a new name What this new name is by which Zion should be called we shall read vers 4. Which the mouth of the Lord shall name i. e. Which the Lord shall give unto thee The mouth of the Lord is put here by a Synecdoche for the Lord himself The name which the Lord shall give her shall consist rather in reality then in words for Gods word are operative and turn to deeds 3. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord i. e. Thou shalt also be as a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord that is Thou shalt also be precious in the eyes of the Lord. The Note of similitude As is here left to be understood and a substantive of the Genitive case viz. of glory is put for the Adjective glorious A crown is a rich and precious ornament of a King therefore he saith she shall be as a crown of glory or as a glorious crown to shew the happy and glorious estate which she shall attain to and how precious she should be And he saith In the hand of the Lord to shew that the Lord should delight in her and have a continual eye upon her For it is a sign that we delight in and take pleasure in a thing when we love to have it in our eyes and to look upon it And a royal Diadem in the hand of our God i. e. And as a royal Diadem in the hand of our God This is a repetition of the former sentence A Diadem was an Ornament or Crowne which Kings used to weare upon their heades It was made commonly of purple silke and beset with pearles and jewells and pretious stones 4. Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken i. e. Thou shalt be no more forsaken Note that to be termed or to be called so or so signifieth with the Hebrewes to be so and so for by being so or so they may be called so or so Sion was forsaken when God who was her husband left her for her whoredomes and had no pleasure in her Neither shall thy Land be termed any more desolate By the Land of Sion is here meant the Land of Judah whereof Sion or Jerusalem was the head The
Land of Sion or the Land of Judah was desolate when the Babylonians destroyed many of the Inhabitants and caused others to flye for feare into forraigne countries and carried away the rest captive into Babylon But thou shalt be called Hephzibah i. e. Thou shalt be called my delight is in her Hephzibah by interpretation signifieth my delight is in her which name being given her by God himselfe v. 2. signifieth that God should take delight in her and rejoyce over her and note that this name Hephzibah was given her in opposition to that that she was termed Forsaken For whereas God forsook her because he had no delight in her now he will delight in her againe And thy land Beulah Beulah signifieth by interpretation married therefore should the Land of Sion or the Land of Judah be called Beulah that is married because her Sons should marry her v. 5. Note that this name Beulah is given to the Land of Sion or the Land of Judah in opposition to that that she was termed desolate for being that her Sons should marry her Land it is intimated that there should be a kinde of indissoluble knot between them as is between a man and his wife and that her children should alwayes dwell with her Land as an husband dwelleth with his wife For the Lord delighteth in thee This is the reason why Sion should be called Hephzibah And thy Land shall be married i. e. And thy Land shall be married to wit to thy children the Jewes This conteineth the reason why Sion should be called Beulah So shall thy sonnes marry thee i. e. So shall thy sonnes marry thy Land Supple And when they have married it they shall alwayes live in it or with it as an husband liveth with his wife they shall not depart from it as they have done of late by meanes of the Babylonians who scattered some of them abroad and carried others captive into Babylon By Thee that is by Sion is meant the Land of Sion that is the Land of Judah by a Metonymie as will appeare vers 4. Note that these words As a young man marrieth a Virgin so shall thy sonnes marry thee relate to those words of the fifth verse And thy Land shall be married as a demonstration thereof As the Bridegroom rejoyceth over the Bride i. e. As the Bridegroom rejoyceth because of the Bride and taketh joy in her So shall thy God rejoyce over thee i. e. So shall thy God take joy in thee Supple and therefore he shall take thee to himselfe againe and not forsake thee as he hath done 6. I have set watchmen upon thy walls O Jerusalem i. e I have given thee Priests and Levites Note that this phrase is Allegoricall alluding to watchmen watching upon the walls of a City for the safety of that City For the Priests and Levites are often called by a Metaphor watchmen because they are set over Gods people for the safety and welfare of their soules as the watchmen of a City are set over the walls of a City for the safety thereof And therefore because the Priests and Levites are called watchmen by a Metaphor he alludes to those watchmen from whom the Metaphor is taken when he saith I have set watchmen on thy walls O Jerusalem whereby is meant nothing else but this I have given to thee spirituall watchmen O Jerusalem and I have given them to thee for thy spirituall safety The duty of the spirituall watchmen is to labour and promote the safety of that people over which he is set which he doth partly by advertizing them of their sinnes when he seeth them in danger thereof partly by praying to God for them They shall never hold their peace day nor night i. e. They shall pray unto me without ceasing that I would save thee and deliver thee out of the hands of the Babylonians Note that though the Prophâ—t did allude to the watchmen of a City when he said I have set watchmen upon thy walls O Jerusalem yet in this passage he doth not allude to them but speaks onely of the spirituall watchmen For it is usuall with the Prophet to confound that which is Metaphoricall and that which is not Metaphoricall together What is spoken from the beginning of this verse hitherto is spoken in the person of God who when he intends to doe a thing doth often set and appoint men himselfe to intreat him to doe it See Genes 20.7 Job Cap. 42.8 Yee that make mention of the Lord keep not silence q. d. Being it is so that God hath set you upon the walls of Jerusalem and hath said that yee shall never hold your peace day nor night keep not silâ—nce O yee Priests and Levites but call upon him without ceasing day and night c. Thsi the Prophet speakes in his owne person Yee that make mention of the Lord i. e. Yee Priests and Levites which are the Servants of the Lord as Psal 134. v. 1. He describeth the Priests and Levites by this that they make mention of the Lord because they were the servants of the Lord servants set apart in a peculiar manner for his service for to make mention of one in the Hebrew phrase is to be his servant of whom he maketh mention See Cap. 26.13 7. And give him no rest i. e. And give the Lord no rest by your continuall calling upon him Till he establish Supple Jerusalem in a firme state of prosperity A Praise i. e. Most praiseable or praise worthy scilicet by reason of his blessings to her A Substanttve abstract is put here for an Adjective of the Superlative degree Congrete as Cap 60. v. 15. Or Praise is put here by a Metonymium for the matter or subject of praise q.d. Such a one as may praise him her selfe and as others may praise him also for his exceeding goodnesse shewed to her by redeeming her out of the Babylonish captivity and setting her in perfect peace and prosperity In the Earth i. e. In sight of all the people of the Earth 8. The Lord hath sworne by his right hand and by the arme of his strength saying surely I will no more c The Prophet tells the Priests and Levites whom he called upon in the former verses to call upon God continually in the behalfe of Jerusaleâ— that the Lord had sworne to Jerusalem to be good to her and this he doth to make them more confident and faithfull in their prayers that they might not doubt of the issue thereof The Lord sweareth here by his right hand because that is an Emblem of Fidelity and by his Arme because that is the Emblem of power to signifie that he is able to doe what he sweareth and will therefore fafthfully performe it And God when he sweareth sweareth alwayes by himselfe because he hath no greater to sweare by Heb 6.13 By the arme of his strenght i. e. By his strong arme I will no more give thy corne to be meaet to thine
enemies q.d. Although I have heretofore given the meat which thou hast taken paines for to the Assyrians and to the Babylonians and other thine enemies yet now I will doe so no more The sonnes of the stranger shall ntt drink of thy wine for which thou hair laboured i. e. Strangers such as the Assyrians and the Babylonians are shall not take away thy wine which thou hast laboured for by force and drinke wtthout thee 9. But they that have gathered tt shall eate it i. e. But they that have been at the cost or at the paines to sow the corne and to reape it and to gather it into the Barne shall eate it Haâ—e gathered it By gathering the corn into the Barne understand by a Syllepsis all other costs and paines necessary for the having of corne It i. e. The corne v. 8. Shall eare it Supple In the courts of the Lords house to wit the Temple See Deut. 14. v. 23. But note that the Tithe onely of the corne c. was to be eaten before the Lord in the court of his house but their eating of the Tithe there according to the Lords command was as it were an earnest that they should peaceably eate the whole harvest at their own places And praise the Lord Supple For his bounty and goodnesse in giving them corne to eate They that have brought it together i. e. They that have brought the wine together into their cellars and store-houses out of their severall Vineyards c. It That is the wine v. 8. Shall drink it in the courts of my holinesse i. e. Shall drinke it in my courts as I have commanded Deut. 14.23 In the courts of my holinesse i. e. In my courts Gods holinesse is put here Per metonymiam adjuncti for God himselfe so that in the courts of my holinesse is q.d. In the courts of me that is in my courts 10. Goe thorow goe thorow the gates q.d. Make hast make hast and goe yee into your own Land O yee Jewes which have been held here in Babylon captives This is spoken in the person of Cyrus or some from Cyrus to the Jewes which were in captivity and signifieth to them that they might goe out of their captivity so soon as they would Prepare yee the way of the people i. e. Prepare yee the way of the Jewes by which they are to passe from Babylon to Judea that their way may be without let or hinderance This is spoken to the way-makers or those which were set to see to it that the wayes were good See Cap. 40. v. 3. This sudden turning from persons to persons is done as if the Jewes were even then hastening to depart out of Babylon to their own home by which is signified the certainty of their returne Cast up cast up the highway See Cap. 57.14 Gather up tho stones Supple Out of the way in which they must goe that they may no way trouble or hinder them in their way Lift up a standard for the people This is spoken to other persons then before And the sense is q.d. call the Jewes together from the severall places of their captivity that they may goe together to their own Land He alludeth to the manner of Souldiers for whom when they were to meet together a standard was set up for them to meet at 11. Behold the Lord hath proclaimed untâ— the end of the world supple saying i. e. Behold the Lord hath sent out his proclamation into all even into the uttermost parts of the world saying The proclamation here mentioned may relate to that proclamation which Cyrus made 2 Chron. Cap. 36. v. 22.23 For what Cyrus did by motion from the Lord the Lord himselfe may be said to doe Say yee to the daughter of Sion i. e. Say yee to Sion By the daughter of Sion is meant Sion that is Jerusalem As Cap. 1.8 And he speakes to Sion as to a woman by a Prosopopoeia And the sense of those words say yee to the daughter of Sion is q.d. Let the daughter of Sion know for these words say yee are to be taken indefinitely This and what followeth is the substance of the proclamation which the Lord proclaimed Behold thy salvation commeth i. e. Behold thy Saviour commeth even he which will save thee out of the hands of the Babylonians Salvation is put here for Saviour Per Metonymiam effectus The Saviour here meant is the Lord who saved the Jewes out of the hands of the Babylonians by Cyrus Behold his reward is with him i. e. Behold he hath brought with him the reward with which he will reward those Jewes which are meek and mourne and have not departed from him but have put their trust in him in the midst of their affliction which they suffered in captivity See Cap. 40.10 And his worke before him i. e. And his reward is in a readinesse This is a repetition of the former sentence By worke is meant the reward due to the work pe Metonymiam efficientis When he saith his worke or his reward is before him It may be that the Prophet alludeth to some such games as the Apostle alludeth to 1 Cor. 9.24 Where they that came to be Judges of the victory had the garland which was to be given to the victor carried before them to the Stadium or place of exercise and when they were there they had it lying before them ready to bestow upon him who deserved it best And they shall call them the holy people i. e. And they to wit the Jewes which are now in captivity shall be called the holy people They shall call them is put here for they shall be called The holy people i. e. The people whom God hath severed from all the people of the earth and preferred above them all by his blessings See Cap. 4.3 The redeemed of the Lord i. e. The people whom the Lord redeemed out of the hands of the Babylonians And thou shalt be called sought out i. e. And thou O Sion or O Jerusalem shall be sought out What it is for one to be called so or so See verse 4. Sought out i. e. Shee which was lost like a lost sheep but now is sought out and found againe See Ezek. Cap. 34.16 A City not forsaken See vers 4. ISAIAH CHAP. LXIII WHo is this that commeth from Edom The Lord appearing to Isaiah in a vision like a man of warre comming from Edom Isaiah asketh him who he is who receiveth his answer to this and other questions which he maketh in this and the verses following By this vision is signified the victory which the Jewes should have over the Edomites their enemies which victory was atchieved by the Jewes under Judas Machabaeus of which you may reade 1 Mach. 5.3 The Edomites were a people which did alwayes rejoyce at the afflictions and miseries of the Iewes Psal 137.7 Therefore it was very materiall for the Iewes to be acquainted with this victory which they should have over the
AN EXPOSITION OF THE Book of the Prophet ISAIAH By the endeavours of W. DAY M. A. late Fellow of King's Colledge in CAMBRIDGE AND NOW An Unworthy Servant of God in the Gospel at MAPLEDURHAM in the County of OXON Totum quod legimus in Divinis libris nitet quidem fulget etiam in Cortice S. HIERONYMUS Epist 13. ad PAULINUM LONDON Printed by G. D. and S. G. for Ioshua Kirton and are to be sold at his Shop in St. Pauls Church-yard at the Sign of the Kings Armes 1654. THE PREFACE TO THE CHRISTIAN READER THOU hast here Christian Reader An Exposition of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah The Endeavours of one who is conscious to himself of his own weaknesse upon him who as He is the most Eloquent so is He the most Evangelicall of all the Prophets But what He did He did for his own use and the use of his own Children if it should please God to bring them to the yeares of discretion without any thought of publishing it to the world But being perswaded thereunto by friends He hath now made it publique And if it may prove any way beneficiall to thee or profitable to any one whosoever he be which desireth the knowledge of the Scriptures it shall not repent him I called our Prophet as the most Eloquent So the most Evangelicall of all the Prophets For Our Prophet hath many excellent Prophesies of Christ and of those things which are contained in the Gospel And our Saviour and his Apostles have more Quotations concerning the Gospel and contents thereof out of our Prophet the Prophet Isaiah than they have out of any one nay I may say out of all the other fifteen Prophets besides Yet know that the Gospel and the contents thereof was a Mysterie and was hidden untill these latter dayes in which God spoke unto us by his Sonne Hence the Apostle calls the Gospel The wisdome of God in a Mystery even the hidden wisdome 1 Cor. 2.7 Hence he calls it also The Mystery of his will Eph. 1.9 And the Mystery of the Gospel Eph. 6.19 And the Mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ Colos 2.2 And a Mystery which was kept secret since the world began Rom. 16.25 And a Mystery which had been hid from Ages and Generations but now made manifest to the Saints Col. 1.26 I know that many understand this last place not of the whole Gospel but of part onely of it namely of the calling of the Gentiles But surely if the calling of the Gentiles was a Mystery which had been hid from Ages and Generations what part of the Gospel was not hidden For to goe no farther than our own Prophet what Prophesie was more frequent what more plain if any part of the Prophesies concerning the Gospel was plain than that of the calling of the Gentiles It shall come to passe in the last dayes that the Mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the Mountaines and shall be exalted above the Hills and all Nations shall flow unto it and many People shall goe and say Come yee and let us goe up to the Mountain of the Lord to the House of the God of Jacob and He will teach us of his wayes and we will walk in his paths For out of Zion shall goe forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Hierusalem and He shall judge among the Nations Isaiah Cap. 2. vers 2 3 4. In that day there shall be a root of Jesse which shall stand for an Ensigne of the People To it shall the Gentiles seek and His rest shall be glorious Isaiah Cap. 11. vers 10. In that day shall five Cities in the Land of Aegypt speak the Language of Canaan and swear to the Lord of Hosts One shall be called the City of Destruction In that day shall there be an Altar to the Lord in the Land of Aegypt and a Pillar in the border thereof to the Lord And it shall be for a signe and for a witnesse unto the Lord of Hosts in the Land of Aegypt And the Lord shall be known to Aegypt and the Aegyptians shall know the Lord Isaiah Cap. 19. vers 18 19 20. It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my Servant to raise up the Tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles that Thou mayst be my salvation to the ends of the earth Isaiah Cap. 49. vers 6. The Isles shall wait upon me and on my Name shall they trust Isaiah Cap. 51. vers 5. Behold my Servant shall sprinkle many Nations the Kings shall shut their mouthes at Him For that which had not been told them shall they see and that which they had not heard shall they consider Isaiah Cap. 52. vers 15. I will make an everlasting Covenant with you even the sure mercies of David Isaiah Cap. 55. vers 8. The abundance of the Sea shall be converted unto Thee the Forces of the Gentiles shall come unto Thee c. Isaiah Cap. 60. vers 5. c. I am sought of them that asked not for me I am found of them that sought Me not I said behold me behold me unto a Nation that was not called by my Name Isaiah Cap. 65. vers 1. It shall come to passe that from one new Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship before me saith the Lord Isaiah Cap. 60. vers 21. All these are Prophesies concerning the calling of the Gentiles and I know no Prophesies concerning the Gospel more plentifull and more plain than these are If therefore notwithstanding these and many the like Prophesies concerning the calling of the Gentiles the calling of the Gentiles was a Mystery hidden from Ages and Generations then certainly other parts of the Gospel were hidden too especially if we speak of the distinct knowledge thereof Object But you will say the Chaldee Paraphrast and many Jewish Doctors had knowledge of the Messiah before the dayes of the Gospel and understood many places of the Scriptures of the old Testament of the Messiah so that they very well knew the Gospel for what is the Gospel but the History of the Messiah that is the History of Christ and the benefits by him received Answ The Chaldee Paraphrast and other Jewish Doctors believed that the Messiah was to come having received it some way or other and having more than ordinary conceits of him understood many eminent places of the old Testament of the Messiah But yet they were farre from the knowledge of the Gospel For they understood little more of the Messiah than his name for they were altogether ignorant of his divine Nature and his Offices And though they thought that he should be a King yet they thought that he should be but a Temporall King so that they knew not the true Benefits and true Redemption and Salvation which is wrought by Christ
wooll A Question may be here asked How sin can be said to be white as snow or wooll when as sin is so essentially evill as that it cannot be good Answ Sinne may be here taken for the sinner per Metonymiam adjuncti that is By putting the Quality for the person in which the Quality is inherent Now though sin can never be made white that is good yet the sinner may Or we may say that this is an Allegoricall or Proverbiall kind of Phrase And such kind of Phrases are many of them to be glanced upon onely with a quick eye not too exactly to be pried into 19. If ye be willing Supple To obey me and keep my Commandements And obedient i. e. And are actually obedient to me Ye shall eat the good of the land i. e. Ye shall eat the good and pleasant fruits of the Land wherein ye dwell The enemy shall not destroy them and take them away from you Nor shall the sword destroy you and take you away from them 20. But if ye refuse Supple To obey me and keep my Commandements And rebell i. e. And be indeed disobedient to me Note that the Prophet opposeth Refusing here in this Verse To be willing to obey in the former Verse And to rebell in this Verse to to be obedient in the former Verse Ye shall be devoured with the sword Supple of Rezin King of Syria and Pekah King of Israel He speakes of the sword here Metaphorically as of a ravenous beast For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it i. e. For the Lord hath spoken it and therefore it shall come to passe For the Lord cannot lye and what he saith he is able to make good The prophet speakes here of God as of a man per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and puts the mouth which is but a part for the whole man by a Synechdoche And the mouth rather than any other part here because with the mouth we speak 21. How is the faithfull City become an Harlot How is Hierusalem which was once faithfull as a wife to her husband become now as an harlot committing adultery with her lovers The faithfullnesse here spoken of alludes to the faithfulnesse of a wife to her husband The Scriptures under the Metaphor of Adultery and Fornication do often signifie peculiarly the sin of Idolatry And under the Metaphor of an Whore or an Harlot an Idolater And so it may be here taken especially if we understand Also In the following words q. d. How is the faithfull City become an Harlot It was Also full of Judgement c. For the Prophet upbraids them with their Idolatry Vers 29. c. But as by the Metaphor of Fornication and Adultery the particular sinne of Idolatry is often understood So also may we by the same Metaphor understand disobedience and sinne against God in generall as may appear James 4.4 For the promise of obedience which the Jewes made to God either in their Forefathers as Exod. 20.19 Deut. 5.27 Or by themselves either in their Circumcision Galat. 5.3 or at any other time as 2 Chron. 15. Vers 12 15. and 2 Chron. 23.16 may be compared to the promise of a wife which she makes to to her husband at her marriage to be obedient to him and true to his bed And for this reason doth the Lord say to Sion that He is her husband Chap. 54. Vers 5. Wherefore as a Wife so long as she keepeth the promise which she made to her Husband is accounted Faithfull but if she breaketh that promise and falls in love with other men and followeth them becommeth a Whore or an Harlot So might Hierusalem be accounted Faithfull so long as she was obedient to God according to her promise But when contrary to promise she became disobedient to God and followed her own lusts she might be counted of as an Harlot and so be called by a Metaphor And thus not onely Idolatry but any other particular sinne may be called Adultery and not onely the Idolater but any other sinner be called an Adulterer And he which walketh uprightly according to his Covenant that is according to the Law of God which he promised to keep might be called Faithfull and among the rest He who executed judgement without respect of persons For which cause Sion also may be called Faithfull in this place How is the faithfull City c. This question speakes admiration and sorrow Note that this is the beginning of a new Prophesie Or a new Propheticall Sermon It was full of judgement By Judgement is meant Upright dealing in Courts of Justice and equall administration of Justice without partiality Righteousnesse lodgeth in it Righteousnesse signifieth the same as Judgement did And this is a repetition of the former sentence He speaketh of Righteousnesse as of a Person by a Prosopopocia Lodged in it i. e. Took sweet repose and rest in it To lodge in a place as it signifieth sweet repose and rest so it signifieth but a short abode and as it were but for a night But now Murderers i. e. But now unrighteous and unjust Judges who have put Righteousnesse out of her lodgings He calls Vnrighteous and unjust Judges which oppresse and wrong the poor in Judgement Murderers by an Hyperbole because they deprived the poor of their meanes which was their life and gave it away from them by their unrighteous sentence to them to whom it did not belong By reason of which many did perish not onely through griefe of mind but also through famine and hunger having no meanes left them to buy bread to sustaine nature 22. Thy silver is become drosse Under the Metaphor of silver understand Righteousnesse under the Metaphor of drosse understand Vnrighteousnesse q. d. The Righteousnesse in Judgement is turned into Vnrighteousnesse The Prophet useth an Apostrophe here to Hierusalem to whom he speaks as to a woman by a Prosopopoeia Thy Wine is mixt with water He speaks of wine so mixt with water as that it hath lost all its virtue by that mixture By Wine understand Justice By Water respect of persons or whatsoever is contrary to true Justice q.d. Thy Justice is mixed with respect of persons and is now so corrupted from that sincerity which once it had as that it is no more Justice 23. Thy Princes c. i. e. Thy Judges For Judges are Princes and Chief men in a Common-wealth per Metonymiam Generis Are Rebellious i. e. Are disobedient to the Commandements of the Lord who hath given this Commandement to Judges saying Ye shall not respect persons in Judgement But ye shall hear the small as well as the great Deut. 1.17 And Companions of Theeves They may be called Companions of other men which either did or suffered the like as other men did or suffered So saint John writing to the seven Churches in Asia called himself their Companion in Tribulation Rev. 1.9 Because he suffered like tribulation as they did though not with them or in their
The Jewes the Sonnes of Jacob which are thy People Because they be replenished from the East i. e. Because they abound Viz. with superstitious Rites and Ceremonies and are full of Magick and curious Arts which they have borrowed from the Eastern People which are great Magicians and judiciary Astrologers The Prophet tells us here in expresse words that the house of Jacob was replenished But with what he leaves us to understand And are sooth-sayers i. e. Diviners which observe Times and undertake to tell Fortunes This was forbidden Deut. 18. Vers 10. Like the Ph listines The Philistines dwelt on the West of Judaea and were given to Judiciary Astrology and such vain Arts as the Chaldaeans were which dwelt on the East And they please themselves in the Children of Strangers i. e. And they take delight and pleasure in the Children of Strangers whom they buy and abuse like catamites against nature So some But others had rather interpret it of the manners and customes of Strangers by a Metonymie q. d. And they please themselves in such naughty customes and manners as the Children of Strangers That is as the Nations or the Heathen which are Strangers to the Common-wealth of Israel use Others again take Children here for the Children not of the Body but of the Brain that is for Bookes made or Arts invented by Strangers q. d. And they dâ—l ght themselves in the Books which Strangers have made and the naughty Arts which they have invented Strangers All such as were not of the Seed of Jacob they counted Strangers Deut 17. vers 15. Note here that Children of Strangers as it may be taken for the Sonnes of the Strangers so may it be taken for Strangers themselves as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Sonnes of the Graecians is taken for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Graecians And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Sonnes or Children of Physitians for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 physitians 7. Their Land is also full of silver and gold It was expressely forbidden greatly to multiply silver and gold Deut. 17. Vers 17. Neither is there any end of their Treasure q. d. And their Treasures are so great as that there is no end of them These are the same with the former words Their Land is also full of Horses To multiply Horses was expressely forbidden Deut. 17. vers 16. Least they should trust more in the Strength and Power of them than of God Neither is there any end of their Chariots i. e. And their Chariots are so many in number as that they are in a manner numberlesse The Chariots which are here spoken of are such Chariots as they were wont to use in war Such as we read of Judg. 4. vers 3. See Psal 20. vers 7. 8. Their Land also is full of Idols To set up an Idoll was against the Command Exod. 20. vers 4. They worship the work of their own hands i. e. They worship the â—dols which they themselves have made with their own hands as if they were God which is uncreated 9. And the mean man boweth down and the great man humbleth himself By the Mean man and the Great man are meant by a Synechdoche all sorts of Men. q. d. All sorts of men high and low doe bow down to Idols and worship them Boweth down Viz. In the way of worship Humbleth himself i. e. Casteth himself down before the Idoll and so adoreth it Therefore forgive them not q. d. Therefore O God forgive them not but be avenged of them for these their sins and walking in darknesse The Prophet prayeth thus out of zeal to Gods Glory Yet this may be taken Prophetically for a Praediction q. d. Therefore because they commit these things Thou wilt not forgive them but be avenged of them For the Hebrewes doe often use an Imperative Mood for a Future Tense And thus He Prophesieth of their punishment 10. Enter into the Rock The Prophet speakes this by a Sarcasme i. e. Scoffingly q. d. Goe and hide your selves in the Clifts of the Rocks but it shall be to little purpose Rock is put here for Rocks whereof there were many in Judaea And he speaks to the Jewes here as though he had seen the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar by whom God intended to punish the Jewes for the sinnes aforementioned already entred into the Coasts of Judaea or ready to enter to execute Gods Judgements upon the Jewes wherefore he cries to the Jewes to go and hide themselves from their furies Graphically thereby describing in what great fear the Jewes would be in and how they would run and hide themselves when the Babylonians should invade the land indeed and Artificially shewing how God intended to punish them In the dust i. e. In the Caves of the earth The earth is but dust compacted For fear of the Lord. Supple Who commeth with a great and terrible army of Babylonians against you He speaketh of God as of the Generall of an Army And for the glory of his Majesty i. e. Because of the splendor and brightnesse of his Majesty which you shall not be able to endure The Majesty of the Lord signifieth by a Periphrasis the Lord himself for as when we say of a King the Kings Majesty we mean the King himself so when we say the Majesty of the Lord we mean the Lord himself And as in Generall that is called the glory of a thing which maketh or sheweth that thing to be glorious so in Particular the splendor and brightnesse with which God shall be clothed at this time may be called his glory As Exod. 33. Vers 18. Note here that when God doth execute judgement upon the wicked though he doth it not immediately by himself but mediately by his instruments as here he he doth it by the Babylonians yet the Scripture doth oftentimes so describe it as if God were immediately in the action himselfe as chief in a visible manner like a man yea sometimes as though the whole businesse were performed by him alone and this it doth that the praise may be given to God alone and not to his instruments Psal 115.1 And when the Scripture doth speak this of God and imply him in such an action it describes him after a glorious manner that he may appear to be more than man And in their descriptions the Scripture alludeth for the most part to those apparitions by which God did manifest himself and to those wonderous works which he wrought and those accidents which fell out and those judgements which he executed upon the enemies of Israel in their conduct from Aegypt to Canaan A short model whereof you may read Hab. 3.3 c. See for this purpose that Poeticall description which David makes of God Ps 18.7 c. and 2 Sam. 22.8 c. By which nothing else is meant but that God executed his judgements upon Davids enemies though he did not do it immediately and after the manner there described See also Job 40.10 c a place
it seemeth to use and wear mantles about their shoulders especially in cold weather and in journeys as many Eastern women doe at this day And the crisping pins With which they used to crisp and curle their hair 23. The glasses i. e. The Looking-glasses wherein they did contemplate and behold their beauty and dresse and prank themselves 24. Instead of sweet smells caused by the Spices and Perfumes which they carried about them There shall be stink Caused by noysome scabs and putrified Sores Or rather through want of change of clothing and good lodging for from the bodies of such proceedeth a noysome and stinking smell Instead of a girdle a rent Observe the Antithesis here a girdle is an Ornament added to and the above the whole and compleat garment A rent is a deformity and taking from the garment which was whole and compleat Well-set hair i. e. Hair set orderly and trimly by trim dressing Baldnesse This baldnesse might be caused either by some disease or scab which God might bring upon them Or by themselves tearing their hair off of their heads through grief and impatience Or by the Babylonians their enemies if at least they were wont to shave those which they conquered and made Captives as the Romans did Or by the servile work and the burthens which they bore on their heads in their captivity of which see Ezek. 29. v. 18. A stomacher Which useth to be more pretious and costly than any part of the garments beside A girding of sackcloth i e. Sackcloth girt upon their stomack Sackcloth as it is the coursest of clothes so is it also a badge of mourning Psal 30. v. 11. and 35.13 And burning i. e. A Face burnt with the Sun He puts an Abstract here for a Concrete Or by burning is meant Deformity and Vgliness caused by the burning of the Sun per Metonymiam Efficientis 25. Thy men shall fall by the Sword Viz. By the Sword of the Babylonians For the Judgements here threatned were performed by the Babylonians when Nebuchadnezzar came against Hierusalem and took it and carried the Jews into captivity The Prophet doth by an Apostrophe turn his speech to Hierusalem And thy mighty i. e. And thy strong and valiant men 26. And her gates i. e. And the Gates of Hierusalem He changeth the Person here speaking of Hierusalem in that third Person to whom he spoke in the 25. Verse in the second Person Her gates shall lament and mâ—run He useth a Prosopopoeia or a Metaphor here attributing that to inanimate creatures which is proper to man Note that within the Gates of the City not of Hierusalem onely but of other Citys also there were wont to be large and fair roomes where publique Assemblies of the Citizens used to be kept for matters of the Common-wealth that is for justice and judgement and the like Gen. 34.20 Deut. 17.5 and 22.15 and 25.7 Ruth 4.1 11 c. Now because the Gates being destinated and appointed for these Assemblies would have been glad and rejoyced when they were frequented by them but lamented and mourned at the slaughter and carrying them away which were wont to assemble there if they had had sence and understanding Hence it is that he saith here Her Gates shall lament and mourn because the Judges and Lawyers and others which used to meet there and frequent those places should be either slain by the sword of the Babylonians or carried away into captivity And she being desolate i. e. And Hierusalem her self being left as a widdow without an husband and a mother spoiled of her children Shall sit upon the ground Viz. As mourners were wont to do Ezra 9.3 Job 2.13 2 Sam. 12.16 He speaketh here by a Prosopopoeia or a Metaphor of Hierusalem as of a Mother or Matron full of grief and heavinesse Jeremie useth the same manner of speech concerning Hierusalem Lament 1. Vers 1. and our Prophet of Babylon Chap. 47.1 ISAIAH CHAP. IIII. AND in that day Supple In which God shall make such a desolation as is spoken of in the third Chapter This doth depend upon the foregoing Chapter And the Prophet here sheweth that there should be so few men left after the desolation and destruction there spoken of as that many women should scarce be able to get one man to be their husband Seven women i. e. Many women He puts a certaine number for an uncertaine Shall take hold of one man As having an earnest sute or request to him And as though they would not let him go untill he had condescended to their request The request that they should make to him is that he would be their Husband and marry them We will eat our own bread and wear our own apparrell The Husband was to find his Wife with food and raiment Exod. 21.10 Least therefore this man should deny their request and put them off with this that he was not able to find food and raiment for them therefore he would not be their husband They prevent him and tell him that they will not put him to that trouble and charge but will find their own food and their own apparrell Onely let us be called by thy name i. e. Onely let us be thine that is thy wives To be called by a mans name or to have a mans name called on a thing signifieth to be a mans own For every thing which is owned is called by the name of the owner as Davids Wife Salomons Sonne Pauls Cloak To take away our reproach â—t was a reproach and a shame among the Hebrews for a woman to be of ripe yeares and not to be married So also it was to be without issue Luke 1.25 Gen. 30 23. This reproach was one part of it certainely taken away and the other likely to be taken away by marriage 2. In that day Here is a Râ—lative put without an Antecedent But what day he speaketh of may be gathered from the fourth Verse It is the day or time when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the Daughter of Sion â—â—d shall have purged away the bloud of Hierâ—â—â—â—â—â— and so shall bring the residue of his Peâ— out of their Captivity Here the Prophet prophesiâ— of joyfull things for the comfort of those which were righteous after those grievous things which he foretold for the terror of the wicked Here should this fourth Chapter have begun Shall the branch of the Lord. The Prophet supposeth here that the Branch of the Lord would spring up as fore-seeing it in the Spirit therefore he speakes not of that that it shall spring up but cometh directly to speak of the Glory and Beauty and Excellency of it when it shall spring up Or else he includeth both by a Sylepsis q. d. And in that day there shall spring up a Branch of the Lord and that Branch of the Lord shall be beautifull c. The branch of the Lord. By the Branch of the Lord is meant the Salvation which God wrought for the Jews
Practise of men which set a Seal upon the Letters or Boxes which they would have kept close shut and not opened The Law By the Law he meaneth the same as he did by the Testimony and this is but a repetition of the former sentence Note that the word Law doth not alwayes signifie the Law as it is commonly taken but it oftentimes signifieth more generally and is taken for any Lesson or Doctrine or Instruction or Word of God whatsoever And so it is to be taken here and so it is taken cap. 1. v. 10. Among my Disciples q. d. And carrie it to and open it among my Disciples Here therefore are some words left to be understood Among my Disciples They are called Gods Disciples here which were willing to be taught of God that is which were willing to give eare to Gods instructions delivered by the Prophets to be ruled by them Note that these words hitherto were spoken in the Person of God the next words the Prophet speakes in his own Person 17. And I will wait upon the Lord. And is put here for Yet or Neverthelesse and the sense is q. d. Though the two houses of Israel and the Inhabitants of Hierusalem many of them believe not the promises of God which he hath made of defending Judah and Hierusalem from the power and intents of Rezin and Pekah nor will follow his instructions but are still afraid more of those two Kinge than of God and therefore endeavour to make a confederacie with those two Kings against their own King which hath kindled Gods anger against the house of Jacob and made him to take away his Testimony from them in displeasure yet will I wait upon the Lord in full assurance that he will performe what he hath promised I will wait upon the Lord. Supple For the performance of what he hath promised and behave my self accordingly The Prophet speaketh here in his own person That hideth his face from the house of Jacob i. e. Which is angry with the house of Jacob because they will not rely upon his promises but endeavour to make confederacy with Rezin and Pekah c. being more afraid of them than of Him That hideth his face c. To hide his face signifieth to be angry by a Metaphor from men who will not look upon them with whom they are displeased From the house of Jacob. i. e. From the Jewes which are Jacobs Children yet not from all the Jewâ—s but those who out of distrust of God and fear of Rezin and Pekah's forces would for their own safety make a league with them against Ahaz their King contrary to Gods command See v. 14 15. I will look for him Supple untill he comes and helpes us He speakes of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 18. Behold I and the Children which God hath given me are for signes and for wonders c. q. d. Behold I and my Children are for signes and for wonders to foretell and foreshew the goodness of God to us Jewes and that he will be with us to help us and aid us against our enemies that they shall not have their wills of us and utterly destroy us He giveth a reason here why he will wait upon God and look for him Viz. Because he believed the truth of those things which He and his Sonnes portend We may understand For in the front of this Verse For Wonders A Wonder is here taken meerly for a Sign or Token of a thing to come The Children of Isaiah were for Signe and Wonders onely by reason of their names because they had such names given them by Gods own appointment as did signifie things to come So Shear-jashub Isaiah's Sonne signified that a Remnant at least of the Jewes should return to their peace and happinesse and to their dwellings again when they were disturbed in the one and expelled from the other cap. 7. v. 3. So did Immanuel the Sonne of Isaiah signifie that God was with his People and would help them Cap. 7. v. 14. and cap. 8. v. 8 11. So did the name of Maher-shalal-hash-baz the sonne of Isaiah signifie the suddain destruction of the Syrians and Israeliteâ— and so by consequence that Judaea should be freed of the fear of Rezin and Pekah Cap. 8. v. 3. And â—saiah himself was for signes and wonders either as he was a Prophet and so uttered words which signified things to come or because of the Miracles which were done by him in confirmation of what he foretâ—ld as 2 Kings 20.11 Or because be took his Sons with him by Gods command when he went to prophesie and so prophesied by them as Cap. 7.3 Or because by his habit and going and gesture he signified things which should be as Cap. 20. v. 3. The Children which God hath given me Isai h might well say the Children which God hâ—â—â— given mee For the Children which he begat he begat by the precept of the Lord who directed him in his marriage c. In Israel i. e. Among the Jewes which were the Children of Jacob who was called Israel From the Lord of Hosts i. e. Given of or sent from the Lord of Hosts to his People to be signes and wonders to them Which dwelleth in Mount Sion God was said to dwell in Mount Sion because his Temple was built there which was his house and in which he was said to dwell Compare Exodus 25. v. 8. and 29. v. 45. with 1 Kings 8. v. 27. God was said to dwell in his Tabernacle first and then in his Temple afterwards not because he was there circumscribed but because of his speciall manifestation of himself in those places Note that Isaiah and his children mentioned here in this verse were a Type of Christ and of the faithfull which God gave him as Children as appeareth Heb. 1. v. 13. For as Isaiah and his Children did rely upon God when the Syrians and Israelites were joyned together to consume Judah So did Christ and the faithful which God gave him as Children put their trust in God when the Jewes and the Romanes were set on fire to destroy them 19 And when they shall say unto you q. d. And when you are in any distresse because of Rezin and Pekah and your brethren which are wicked shall say unto you c. Here is either a Relative put without an Antecedent or else They shall say is put impersonally for when it shall be said unto you These words are spoken in the person of God to the Prophet and they relate to those words of the eleventh Verse The Lord spake unto me c. q. d. The Lord spake thus unto me saying Say ye not a confederacie to all them to whom this people shall say a confederacie c. And thus when they shall say unto you seek unto them which have familiar spirits c. Seek unto them which have familiar spirits and to Wizards Viz. That you may know by them what will be the event and successe of
a Syllepsis understand this of the time past as well as of the present time For he saith And he saith For is put here for And. He saith Subaudi concerning Hierusalem which I will not have destroyed or overcome The Lord proveth here by a particular Argument that Sennacharib did not what he did in order to His Commands and in subordination to him For Sennacharib boasted that he would overcome Hierusalem which God gave him no command to do but onely to vex it Are not my Princes altogether Kings i. e. Are not the Captaines and chief Commanders of my Army all of them Kings and therefore able to subdue Hierusalem By Princes he meaneth the Captaines and Chief Commanders of his Army Sennacherib speakes this proudly as one who acknowledge no Superiour and therefore did not execute the Counsels of God as they were Gods counsels And he speakes it as though by his own power not by Gods he did what he did and as though his power were irresistable and such as Hierusalem in particular was not able to withstand So How wilt thou turne away the face of one Captaine of the least of my Masters servants said Rabshake to Hezekiah in the name of Sennacherib 2 King Chap. 18. v. 24. 9. Is not Calno as Carchemish q. d. Have I not brought Calno under me aswell as Carchemish Calno was a City standing upon Euphrates nere unto Babylon Gen 10. v. 10. and so was Carchemish 2 Chron. 35.20 Is not Hamah as Arphad q. d. Have I not subdued Hamah aswell as Arphad Hamah was a City of Syria not farre from Damascus See Gen. Chap. 10. vers 18. Arphad also was a City of Syria not farre from Damascus Jer. Chap. 49. v. 23. Is not Samaria as Damascus q. d. Have I not vanquished Samaria aswell as Damascus Samaria was the chief City of Israel and Damascus of Syria 10. As my hand hath found the Kingdomes of the Idols c. i. e. As I have subdued and gotten the Kingdomes of the Idols c. The hand is put here for the whole man by a Synechdoche And to find for to subdue conquer and get by force perhaps by a Metaphor from him which findeth a birds nest with eggs or young ones of which see vers 14. The Kingomes of the Idols By Idols he meanes here petty Idols and petty Gods such as were not to be compared with the Sun For otherwise the kingdome of the Assyrians was an Idolatrous kingdome for they worshipped the Sun and the Images of the Sunne and the Starrs And whose graven Images did excell them of Hierusalem and Samaria i. e. And these Kingdomes whose graven Images which they worshipped did excell the graven Images which Hierusalem and Samaria worship And so were more likely to protect the Kingdomes which worshipped them than the Images which Hierusalem and Samaria worship are to protect them 11. Shall I not as I have done unto Samaria c. Between this and the tenth verse there is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. A Defect or Gapp to be made up thus q d. So it hath already found out Samaria and it shall ere long find out Hierusalem For shall I not as I have done to Samaria and her Idols so do to Hierusalem and her Idols Shall I not as I have done to Samaria and her Idols c. It appeareth from hence that though Salmaneser vanquished Samaria yet Samaria did afterwards strengthen herself and rebell against Sennacherib Hierusalem and her Idols Samaria was full of Idols And because the ten Tribes whose Metropolis was Samaria and the Jewes whose Metropolis was Hierusalem were descended from the same Ancestors it might make Sennacherib to think that Hierusalem had her Idols to worship aswell as Samaria Or because Sennacherib might hear of the Idols of Ahaz King of Judah the Father of Hezekiah he might think that Hezekiah and Hierusalem had their Idols to worship aswell as Ahaz In that Sennacherib intended to subdue Hierusalem to himself as he had done Samaria and other places it sheweth as I said that he did not what he did in obedience to Gods will but onely to satisfie his own covetousnesse and ambition For though the Lord sent Sennacherib to distresse Hierusalem with his Armie yet he sent him not to vanquish it and subdue it to himself 12. Wherefore it shall come to passe q. d. Because Sennacherib thus vaunteth and thus doth therefore it shall come to passe c. The Prophet from the eighth verse hitherto did personate Sennacherib King of Assyria by a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Here he speakes again in the Person of God When the Lord hath performed his whole work upon Mount Sion and on Hierusalem i. e. When I the Lord have done what I intended to doe to Sion and Hierusalem by Sennacherib King of Assyria That is when Sennacharib hath besiedged Hierusalem with his Army and straightened it and vexed it as much as I the Lord think fit c. The Lord speaketh here of himself in the third person Mount Sion This signifieth the same as Hierusalem For Mount Sion was part of Hierusalem and was within the walls thereof and the part is often put for the whole I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the King of Assyria q. d. I the Lord will punish Sennacharib King of Assyria for this his vaunting and boasting This vaunting and boasting did proceed from the pride of Sennacharibs heart as fruit doth from the Tree Therefore the Prophet calls it the fruit of his stout heart Note here the confusion of Persons where the Third and the First Person are confounded in the same sentence And the glory of his high lookes i. e. And his high looks which he thinks to be a grace and glory to him The Prophet useth an Ironie here 13. For he saith i. e. For Sennacherib King of Assyria saith He addeth other reasons here why he will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the King of Assyria By the strength of mine hand i. e. By mine own strength and power The hand is put here for the whole person by a Synechoche And by his strength is meant his power and valour I have done it i. e. I have found and subdued the Kingdomes of the Idols c. and done what I have done He ascribeth that here to himself which was due onely to God and theâ—efore he did not act any thing in all this in obedience to God Note that this Pronoune I is to be read here and in the next Verse with an Emphasis as if he should say I have done it and I have been beholding to none but to my self in doing it c. I have removed the bounds of the People i. e. I have by mine own strength and wisedome brought these Kingdomes which were distinct and several and which used their own several Laws and Customes which were as distinct and several bounds to them into mine own power to be
the Land by an Hebraisme for in the Land 24. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Hosts c. This relateth to the 20. and 21. verse where the Prophet saith that a Remnant shall return For because a Remnant shall return he comforteth the Inhabitants of Sion and wisheth them not to be afraid of Sennacherib King of Assyria and his forces q. d Being therefore that a Remnant shall returne thus saith the Lord God of Hosts O my people that dwellest in Sion be not afraid of the Assyrians c. But you will say what comfort is it to the Inhabitants of Sion more than to any other that a Remnant shall return Answ If a remnant shall returne a remnant shall be saved to return and that remnant which was saved were they which were in Hierusalem at this time For they and they onely of all the Land were safe from Sennacherib That dwellest in Sion i. e. That dwellest in Hierusalem Sion is put here by a Synecdoche for Hierusalem Be not afraid of the Assyrian i. e. Though Sennacherib the Assyrian doth besiege thee and vex thee yet be not afraid of him He shall smite thee with a rod and shall lift up his staffe against thee after the manner of Aegypt i. e. He shall vex thee and oppresse thee indeed with Taxes and Tributes and with a siege as the Aegyptians did thy fore-fathers By the Rod and the Staffe is meant in generall any kind of Oppression and Vexotion by a Metonymie and a Synecdoche And by Aegypt is meant by a Metonymie the Aegyptians the people of Aegypt Yet Note that the Prophets meaning is not that Sennacherib vexed them and oppressed them after the same special manner as the Aegyptians vexed and oppressed their fore-fathers but onely after the same manner in generall For yet a little while i. e. But after a little while For for But as it is often in the old Testament The indignation Supple which I conceive against you and for which I have sent the Assyrians to vex you And mine anger Supple towards you In their destruction i. e. In that destruction of the Assyrians which vex and oppresse you The sence is q. d. After a little while I will be appeased with you and my fury shall breake out against them and destroy them which vex you 26. And the Lord of Hosts i. e. For the Lord of Hosts And for For. Note here the Enallage of the person from the first to the third Shall stir up a scourge for him i. e. Shall raise up a scourge for the Assyrians to whip them out of thy Land Note here the Enallage of the Number which hath been charged thrice in these three last verses By this scourge he meaneth Metaphorically the Angel which scourged yea destroyed fourscore and five thousand of the Army of the Assyrians 2 Kings 19. c. upon the seeing and hearing of which the rest which escaped took their heels and fled According to the slaughter of Midian q. d. Yea he shall slay him according to the slaughter of Midian i. e. Yea he shall make a slaughter among them like to the slaughter which he made among the Midianites of which see Judges Chap. 7. v. 22. Midian the Father of the Midianites is put here by a Metonymie for the Midianites themselves The slaughter of the Assyrians and the Midianites were alike in these respects First that as the hand of God was seen in the slaughter of the Midianites so it was in the slaughter of the Assyrians Secondly that as the Midianites were slaine without losse of any of the Israelites so were the Assyrians without any losse of the men of Judah and Hierusalem Thirdly that as the whole Army of the Midianites was over-thrown so was the whole Army of the Assyrians Fourthly that as the Midianites were overthrown on a suddaine when their thoughts were at the highest so were the Assyrians At the Rock Oreb The Rock Oreb was scituate in the Tribe of Ephraim and was called the Rock Oreb because Oreb one of the Princes of the Midianites was slaine there Judges 7. v. 25. And as his Rod was upon the Sea i. e. And as he smote the Red Sea with his rod by the hand of Moses and made it return to his strength and over-flow the Aegyptians in the middest thereof when they were pursueing after the Israelites thorow it Exod. 14. v. 26 27. So shall he lift it up Supple Against the Assyrians and overthrow them After the manner of Aegypt i. e. As he did lift it up against the Aegyptians at the Red Sea and over-threw them Aegypt is taken here for the Aegyptians the Countrey for the Men thereof Note that after the manner of Aegypt signifieth otherwise here than it did vers 24. For there of Aegypt was Genitivus Efficientis here it is Genitivus Patientis Note that though the Assryrians were overthrown and destroyed but one way yet the Prophet describes it many wayes in allusion to many overthrowes and destructions which God hath wrought upon the enemies of Israel For the Hebrews use to expresse like things by like and one victory and destruction and desolation by another as was observed Cap. 4.5 Sometimes by this sometimes by that 26. That his burthen i. e. That the Burden which Sennacherib layes upon your shoulders And his yoak i. e. And the yoak which he hath put upon your neck By Sennacherib's burden and yoak he meaneth the Tributes Taxes Siedge and other vexations with which he vexed the Jewes and especially the men of Hierusalem which vexations were to them as heavy as a burden is to the shoulder of the Porter or to the back of the Beast and as grievous as the yoak to the neck of the Heifer The affliction with which the Aegyptians afflicted the Israelites in Aegypt is also likened to a yoak Levit. 26. v. 13. And to a burden Exod. 1.11 and 66. and Psal 81. v. 6. To which happily the Prophet here alludes From off thy shoulder He useth an Apostrophe to the people of Judah Because of the annointing i. e. Because of the King namely King Hezekiah whom the Lord will favour and for whose sake he will doe this The annointing is put here for the annointed an Abstract for a Concrete per Metonymiam adjuncti And by the annointing or annointed he meaneth the King and it commeth so to signifie because the King of Israel and Judah were wont to be annointed with oyle at their taking upon them the kingly office 28. He is come to Aiah i. e. Sennacherib is come to Aiah Here is a Relative without an Antecedent yet the Antecedent is easie to be understood Aiah was the Region in which Ai stood Josh 8. It was in the Tribe of Benjamin neer Bethel and Bethaven What the Prophet speakes here he speakes in the Person of a Messenger or Scout which was sent to learn Sennacharibs motion who brings word thereof to the King which sent him The Prophet hereby describeth the marches
Shepheards and their dogs And I will kill thy root But I will kill thy principall men O Palestina with famine He puts And for But And by the root he meaneth the principall men by a Metaphor from a tree whose principall part is the root He speakes here in the person of God And he shall slay thy remnant i. e. And Hezekiah shall slay with the sword those that escape the famine By He he meaneth the Cockatrice and fiery flying Serpent that is Hezekiah whom he signifieth by those Metaphors 31. Howle O Gate q. d. Lament ye Cityes of the Philistines or Palestina for the miseries which shall come upon you He saith howle for lament by a Metaphor from doggs and wolves which howle and make a dolefull noise He saith O Gate for O ye Cityes or O ye which inhabite the Cityes of Palestina where first he puts a Gate for Gates A Singular for a Plural number Then by Gates he meaneth the Townes and Cityes which have Gates by a Synechdoche Then by the Townes and Cityes he meaneth the Inhabitants of those Townes or Cityes by a Metonymie Thou whole Palestina art dissolved i. e. All ye Inhabitants of Palestina shall faint and melt away with fear By Palestina he meaneth the Inhabitants of Palestina by a Metonymie And he saith that they are dissolved for they shall be dissolved after a Prophetique way Putting a Praeterperfect tense for a Future And he saith ye shall be dissolved or melted as he said and every mans heart shall melt Cap. 13.7 The Notes upon which place see For the Phrase and Metaphor is the same with this There shall come from the North a smoak By this Smoak he meaneth either Hezekiah whom he signifieth by smoak because as smoak is quick in its motion and hurteth the eyes So Hezekiah was quick in his expedition against the Philistines and was very hurtfull to them and did sore vex them Or by this smoak he meaneth a great Armie of the men of Judah marching against the Philistines by a Metonymie For great Armies in their march raise a dust which is seen a farre off like a Cloud or Smoak From the North. i e. From Judaea or the land of Judah which lay North of Palestina or the land of the Philistines But did not Palestina or the land of the Philistines lye West of Judaea or the land of Judah Cap. 11.14 How then is it here said that the land of Judah or Judaea lay North of the land of the Philistines or Palestina Answer Palestina did neither lie directly West nor directly South from Judaea but between the South the West points So that to speak without exactnesse and as they commonly speak it might indifferently be said to lye either South or West of Judaea and Judaea North or East of that And none shall be alone i. e. And none shall separate himself and abide apart from the rest of his brethren the Jewes but all shall march together as one man with one mind against Palestina He seemeth here to allude to a stragling sheep which separates herself from the flock and keeps alone In his appointed times i. e. In the times which Hezekiah shall appoint for a muster or for his expedition against Palestina By his times he meaneth the times of Hezekiah who was signified above by a Cockatrice and fiery flying Serpent that is the times which Hezekiah should appoint for his Armies mustering or marching Not his times who should be appointed to muster or march at such times 32. What shall one then answer the messenger of the Nation q. d. And at that time the Nation of the Philistines shall send Messengers or Embassadors into the Land of Judah to Hezekiah to make peace with him and his people and shall plead hard for peace putting Hezekiah and his People in mind of the uncertainty of warre but when they shall speak of the uncertainty of warre what Answer shall be given them What shall one then answer c. i. e. And what Answer shall be given them And seems to be left here to be understood Of the Nation i. e. Of the Nation of the Philistines That the Lord hath founded Zion i. e. To the messengers of the Nation i. e. Of the Philistines that shall come to entreat a peace and put Hezekiah and his People in mind of the uncertainty of warrs that thereby they may obtaine a peace This Answer shall be given Viz. That the Lord hath founded Zion The Lord hath founded Zion i e. The Lord hath given Zion a promise of certaine victory By Zion and Hill a part of Hierusalem is meant Hierusalem it self by a Synechdoche And by Hierusalem are meant the Inhabitants of Hierusalem by a Metonymie and by the Inhabitants of Hierusalem which were but part of the Inhabitants of Judah all the men or Inhabitants of Judah are meant by a farther Synechdoche And by the Inhabitants of Judah the hope of these men by another Metonymie God is said to found Zion that is to settle or build the hopes of Zion upon a sure foundation Because he gave her his promise upon which she built her hope as upon a firme foundation And the poor of his people i. e. And his poor People the Jewes which now are in a low and a poor condition This Phrase the poor of his people is like that of Saint Paul's the signe of Circumcision Rom. 4.11 For as the signe of Circumcision is no more than this Circumcision which is a signe So the poor of his people is no more than this his people which are poor Shall trust in it i. e. Shall trust in that foundation i. e. In that promise and build their hopes upon it The Antecedent Viz. Foundation which is the Antecedent to this Relative It is not formally and plainly here expressed But yet it may be plainly understood from the fore-going words The foundation which is here meant is as I said Gods Promise made to the poor Jewes of certaine Victorie over the Philistines upon which Promise the Jewes did rely and build their hope as it were a Superstructure upon a sure Foundation and therefore would not hearken to their mortall Enemies the Philistines when they desired peace by their Embassadors and pleaded for it by arguments fetcht from the uncertainty of warre The Promise that the Jewes should prevaile over the Philistines is contained in the 29 and 30 Verses of this Chapter ISAIAH CHAP. XV. THE burden of Moab What is meant by the burden here learn from Chap. 13. vers 1. Moab is put here for the Moabites the the Father for the Children Moab was the Sonne of Lot which he had by his eldest daughter Gen. 19. v. 36.37 Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste Here is somewhat to be understood Viz. Howle or lament ye Moabites So that the full sentence is this Howle O ye sonnes of Moab because Ar of Moab shall be laid waste in the night In the night That is suddainly and
to understand by that for what end the Pillar also was erected For both were erected for one end For they shall cry unto the Lord. i. e. And they shall cry unto the Lord. He puts For for And. They. i. e. Those five Cityes that is the Inhabitants of those five Cityes which shall speak the language of Canaan in Egypt and which shall erect an Altar in the middest of the Land of Egypt and a Pillar in the borders thereof Shall cry unto the Lord because of the Oppressors i. e. Shall cry unto the Lord for his help against the Assyrians that he would keep the Assyrians off from Egypt who were likely perhaps had threatned to invade it and destroy it so soon as they had laid waste the land of Judah Because of the Oppressors i. e. Because of the Assyrians who were likely and perhaps had threatned to make warre upon Egypt so soon as they had vanquished the Land of Judah The Assyrians deserved the name of Oppressours because they did oppresse all adjoyning Nations with Tribute with the sword or with some one kind of oppression or other And therefore is the Assyrian called the Oppressour Cap. 14.4 And the treacherâ—us dealer Cap. 21.2 And the Leviathan and the piercing Serpent Cap. 27.1 And the Lyon and the ravenous beast Cap. 35. v. 9. And the Spoiler Cap. 33. v. 1. He shall send them a Saviour and a great one and shall deliver them By this Saviour is meant the Angel which destroyed in the Campe of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand in one night Cap. 37.36 By which destruction of the Assyrians the Egyptians were delivered from the fear which they were in of the Assyrians This Angel he may well call a great one for it was a great work of Salvation and deliverance which he wrought and the power and strength of an Angel is by many degrees greater than the power and strength of any man And a great one i. e. And that a great one to 21. And the Lord shall be known unto Egypt And the Lord shall be yet farther known unto Egypt and more Egyptians shall serve him For when it shall be heard in Egypt that the Lord destroyed an hundred fourscore and five thousand of the Assyrians in one night by his Angel the Egyptians shall begin to consider who the Lord is which is able to do this and so many knowing his power shall cleave to him and serve him who before worshipped Idols The word known is not so to be taken here as though the Lord should now be first known to Egypt for he was known to Egypt before this Saviour was sent as appeareth vers 18 19 20. But it signifieth a farther knowledge which Egypt should have of the Lord and that more particular Egyptians should come to have knowledge of him And the Egyptians shall know the Lord. This is a Repetition of the former sentence And shall do sacrifice and oblation No Sacrifice and oblation could be lawfully done or offered but in Hierusalem thither therefore they should have come if they would have offered to the Lord as the Eunuch of the Queen of Candace did Act. 8. v. 27. But by doing Sacrifice and Oblation to the Lord we may by a Synechdoche understand the worship of God in generall And then to do Sacrifice and Oblation to the Lord will signifie any kind of worship of the Lord whatsoever Yea they shall vow a vow unto the Lord. A vow made unto the Lord was an Act of Religion and shewed him to be the Lord's Servant who made it yea it argued more devotion towards God than barely to do Sacrifice and Oblation For many Sacrifices and oblations were of bounden duty but a Vow was left to the liberty and choice of him that vowed it And performe it This he adds because it is better that thou shouldest not vow than thou shouldest vow and not pay Eccles cap. 5. vers 5. 22. And the Lord shall smite Egypt q. d. And in those daies or after those daies the Lord shall smite Egypt and vex it with civill warres The smiting which he here speakes of is the burden or calamity which he prophesied of against Egypt from the first verse to the fifteenth He shall smite and heal it q. d. But though he shall smite Egypt yet he shall heal it againe He speakes of the calamities and miseries which the Lord would send upon Egypt under the Metaphor of a wound made by striking And of the deliverance from those calamities under a Metaphor of healing that wound And they shall return i. e. For they shall return And for For. They. i. e. The Egyptians yet not all â—he Egyptians but they which shall know the Lord c. Here is a Râ—lative againe without any â—ormall Antecedent Return Supple With weeping fasting â—nd prayer Even to the Lord. He saith even to the â—ord Emphatically Because there might otherwise be some doubt of the Egyptians returning to him from whom they had gone so farre by worshipping such base things as â—hey had worshipped And he shall be intreated of them i. e. And â—e shall hear their prayer And shall heal them i. e. And shall deiver them from their affliction and calamity A Metaphor of which we spoke but now 23. In that day About the time that these things shall come to passe or somewhat after There shall be an high-way out of Egypt to Assyria q. d. There shall be such travelling of the Egyptians into Assyria and of the Assyrians into Egypt as that they shall make an high-way or beaten road by their travelling to and fro from Egypt to Assyria The meaning is that when Psammitichus should have full possession of Egypt there should be a firme peace and great Commerce between the Assyrians and Egyptians though they had been long enemies before And the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians Who the Egyptians and Assyrians should serve is not here expressed but may be understood by the next verse They should serve Israel that is the men of Judah which were the Children of Israel And this is a great wonder that the Egyptians and Assyrians which had been so great enemies to Israel should now serve Israel They shall serve To serve signifies here to do well to and to endeavour to pleasure and to exercise acts of civillity and love to See Gal 5.13 24. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria i. e. For in that day Israel shall be the third with Egypt and with Assyria He gives a reason here why he said that the Egyptians should serve Israel with the Assyrians Israel shall be the third with Egypt and with Assyria i. e. Israel shall be joyned in league and amity with the two People of Egypt and Assyria By Israel understand the Jewes the sons of Israel as Cap. 1.3 This league and amity of Israel with Assyria lasted all Hezekiah's time See 2 Kings 20. v. 12.19 Even a blessing in
and all the honourable men of Tyre shewed that the pride of all the glory and all the honourable men of the whole earth could be pulled down as easily and therefore that their lofty estates were but fickle and uncertain which was a blot and a staine to them and made them contemptible and to be despised Here he sheweth not onely that this affliction of Tyre was from God but the end also why he afflicted her 10. Passe through thy Land as a River O Daughter of Tarshish These words are Ellyptiall or defective and thus to be made up q. d. Passe through the sea from Tyre to thine own land with all speed O Daughter of Tarshish As a River i. e. Speedily for a River is speedy in its course and stayeth not O Daughter of Tarshish i. e. O ye Citizens of Tartessus He speaks to such Tartessians as were in Tyre when it was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar By Tarshish he meaneth Tartessus as before vers 1. and 6. And by the Daughter of Tarshish he meaneth the City of Tartessus as cap. 1. v. 8. And by the City of Tartessus the Citizens and Merchants thereof as Kir is taken for the Inhabitants of Kir Cap. 22.6 So that by the reason of the Merchants of Tartessus which were at Tyre the daughter of Tartessus might be said to be at Tyre and be admonished to flee from thence as Tyre by reason of her Inhabitants might be said to travell a farre off upon her feet to sojourn abroad v. 7. There is no more strength Supple Left in Tyre to withstand or drive away her enemies and so by consequence it will not be safe to stay there We may guess by this that Tyre and her friends the Tartessians made all the strength they could to oppose the Babylonians and did encounter them but in the encounter were worsted yea broken to peeces and not able to make any head against them again 11. He stretched out his hand over the Sea Supple To smite it By He is meant the Lord of Hosts by the Sea is meant Tyre as vers 4. and so the Tyrians And when he saith he stretched out his hand over the sea he alludes to a man which stretcheth out his hand that he might strike He shooke the Kingdoms i. e. He shall make the neighbouring Kingdomes which shall hear what he doth to the Tyrians to shake and tremble for fear for they seeing or hearing what God doth to Tyre the strength of the sea shall justly fear lest the like should befall them The Lord hath given a Commandement against the Merchant City to destroy the strong Holds thereof God is brought in here as a General or Commander in chief commanding such and such a Regiment or Companie of Soldiers to storme or pull down such and such Forts of the enemy What Commandement God gave here he gave to the Babylonians which he sent against Tyre which yet is not so to be understood as though God gave them any open or express command for this speech is but metaphoricall but onely so as that God by his secret providence did direct the Babylonians to the pulling down of these strong Holds of Tyre and enable them for it The Merchant City i. e. Tyre The strong holds thereof i. e. The strong Holds and Walls and Bulwarks thereof 12. Thou shalt no more rejoyce i. e. Thou shall not rejoyce yet a while Note that the Hebrews are often very Hyperbolicall in their expressions of times as was observed cap. 2. v. 2. And so is the Prophet here for though these words may seem to signifie as much as never and to exclude all time yet they signifie only not for a while and exclude but onely some time as may appear by the seventeenth verse So we read 2 Kings 6.23 That the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel yet in the very next verse it followes And it came to passe after this that Benhadad King of Syria gathered all his Host and went up and besieged Samaria which was the chief City of the Land of Israel Virgin He calls Tyre Virgin either because of her worldly beauty and glory by a Metaphor from Virgins which are the fairest and most beautifull of their Sex Or because she was never subdued and ravished as it were before with Forreign forces The Daughter of Sidon By the daughter of Sidon he meaneth Tyre which he calls the Daughter of Sidon because it came as it were out of the bowells of Sidon as the Daughter doth out of the bowells of her Mother For Tyre was a Colonie of the Sidonians built by the Sidonians and peopled at first by the people which came out of Sidon Where note that the Daughter of Sidon signifies otherwise here then when it is said the Daughter of Tarshish vers 10. and the Daughter of Sidon cap. 1.8 and the Daughter of Jerusalem cap. 37.22 Passe over to Chittim i. e. Passe over the sea to Cyprus Chittim is Cyprus so called from Chittim the Son of Javan See verse 1. He mentioneth Chittim because of thr neer alliance which was before the Cypriots and Tyrians There also shalt thou have no rest q. d. But there shall thou have but little rest and quiet These words shew that the former were spoken by a Rhetoricall concession q. d. Go passe over to Chittim thy dear friend that there thou maist be at quiet but for all that when thou comest thither thou shalt have but little rest The Babylonians had taken Cyprus at the time here prophesied of and Lorded it there which was the reason that the Tyrians could have no rest or joy there 13. This people Supple Which once dwelt in the Wilderness but now dwelleth in that Land to wit the Land of the Caldeans Was not Supple In the Land of the Caldeans where now they dwell Till the Assyrians founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness i. e. Till the Assyrian gave it to them which dwelt in the Wilderness to dwell in who now dwell in it and inhabit it There is a Metaphor in the word founded for because a house is built and the foundations thereof laid that it might be an habitation for man Therefore is the Assyrian said here to found that is to lay the foundations of the Land of the Caldeans for these men to dwell in because he provided it for them and gave it to them for a dwelling place Note that it was the manner of the Assyrians when they vanquished any Land to remove the old Inhabitants thereof out of it into some remote Countries and to bring farre dwellers to dwell there See 2 Kings cap. 17.24 The Assyrians therefore when they had vanquished the Land of the Caldeans did remove the antient Inhabitants thereof and brought them which dwelt in the Wilderness before to dwell there in their roome Them that dwell in the Wilderness i. e. Them which dwelt in the Wilderness Dwell is put here for dwelt By these words
Moon which may be called the Sun and the Moon as the picture of a man is called a man and as Idolaters call their Idols by the name of those which they represent These he saith shall be confounded and ashamed by a Metaphor because they could not save the Assyrians which worshipped them and relyed upon them for their good success Some again take the Sun and the Moon for the Sun and Moon indeed which he saith shall be confounded by the like Metaphor because they should not save the Assyrians which worshipped them as their gods See Notes vers 22. The Caldee takes the Sun and the Moon by a Metonymy for the Assyrians themselves which worshipped the Sun and the Moon And indeed those Assyrians which survived the slaughter made by the Angel 2 King 19.35 might well be said to be confounded and ashamed because they saw their great hopes and confident boasting which they made cap. 36.14 c. and 37.10 cut off by the slaughter of 185000 in one night Shall be confounded i. e. Shall be ashamed When the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Sion and in Jerusalem i. e. When the Lord of hosts shall shew that he is the King of Sion and Jerusalem and that he protects it which is the duty of a King by destroying the vast Army of the Assyrians which did besiege it And before his ancients And aboundeth or it is put for And that q. d. And that before the Ancients of his people which are in Jerusalem who shall glorifie his Name and praise him for it Gloriously i. e. After a glorious manner or after such a manner as shall bring him glory and renown ISAIAH CHAP. XXV O Lord thou art my God c. In this Chapter and the Chapter following are contained the praises of God to be sung as it were when those things shall come to pass which the Prophet prophecyed of in the former Chapter I will praise thy Name i. e. I will praise thee This Psalm or Song is penned and to be sung in the person of a man of Judah or Jerusalem For thou hast done wonderful things What wonderful things the Lord had done of old see Psal 105 106 107. But the wonderful things which he had done of late which moved the men of Judah and Jerusalem to praise and exalt him were the destruction of Samaria of which vers 2. and the miraculous preservation and deliverance of his poor people which were besieged in Jerusalem of which Vers 4 c. Thy counsels of old i. e. That which thou hast determined and foretold by thy Prophets of old Of old i. e. From the beginning of the World hitherto Are faithfulness and truth i. e. Are faithful and true He puts faithfulness and truth for faithful and true Abstracts for Concretes per Metonymiam Adjuncti Therefore are Gods counsels called faithful and true because they were performed according as he decreed and foretold 2. For thou hast made of a City an heap Supple Of rubbish q. d. For as thou didst determine and as thou didst foretell by thy Prophets thou hast overthrown and ruined the City of Samaria The Prophet proves here by an instance that the counsels of God are faithfulness and truth and that he hath done wonderful things and gives a reason also why the men of Judah should praise him Of a City By this City he meaneth Samaria the chief City and Metropolis of the Kingdom of Israel Of a defenced City a ruine This is a repetition of the former sentence He calls Samaria a defenced City because it was well fortified so well fortified as that Salmaneser was three years before he could take it 2 King 17.5 A ruine i. e. A ruinous heap of rubbish and stones He saith a ruine for a ruinous heap per Metonymiam Efficientis A palace of strangers By these words he means Samaria as he did before Samaria was the royal City of the Kings of Israel and is called here A palace of strangers because of the strange gods which were worshipped and had Temples there such as Baal was who had an Altar and a House there and was there worshipped 1 King 16.32 Of strangers i. e. Of strange gods It shall never be built Note that this word Never doth not always exclude all time to come but sometimes a good while onely so that the sence of this place may be It shall not be built or brought to its former splendor for a long time again 3. Therefore shall the strong people glorifie thee By the strong people understand those people which wtre Enemies to the Jews and were mighty in strength to oppress them these people are said to glorifie God because they were afraid of him and did fear him because of his great power which they could not but acknowledge when they saw that he had overthrown Samaria and destroyed the Kingdom of Israel as he had determined and as he had threatened by his Prophets These men therefore glorified God though against their wills The City of the terrible Nations shall fear thee He puts City for Cities A sâ—ngular for a plurall number And by the Cities of the terrible Nations Hâ— meanâ—th the Cities of those Nations which dwelt nigh unto Judah and which were a terrour to the Jewes because of their great power and implacable malice These Cities hearing of the destruâ—tion of Samaria which God destroyed for the Jewes sake cap. 17.14 might justly fear least that as God had destroyed Samaria for their enmities to the Jewes so he might destroy them also 4. For thou hast bin a strength to the poâ—r i. e. For thou hast strengthened the poor and delivered him when he was distressed by his enemy the Assyrian as thou hadst decreed and foretold Note that this particle for relates not to the third but to the first verse and here is contained another reason why a man of Judah should exalt and praise the Lord and another instance to prove that the Lord doth wonderfull things and that his Counsels are faithfulness and truth A strength i. e. He puts a strength per metonymiam effecti for the giver of strength To the poor i. e. To the Jew when he was in a poor despicable condition He considereth the Jew in the condition he was in when Senacheribs Armies had destroyed all the Land of Judah but onely Hierusalem and had brought Hierusalem to great streights A strength to the needy This is a repetition of the former words In his distress He speaks of the distress which the Jews were in when Senacheribs Army had wasted Judah and besieged Hierusalem A refuge from the storm i. e. A place to fly to from the storm This speech is metaphoricall and signifies that the Lord did defend the Jews from the fury of the Assyrians as a refuge or covert doth defend a man from the storm A refuge from the heat This is metaphoricall and the same for sence with the former sentences He compares the Assyrians here
to the heat and God to a shadow for as the shadow of a Cloud or an house or Tent or Tree doth defend a Traveller from the scorching heat of the Sun in hot Countries so did God defend the Jews in Hierusalem from the fierce anger and fury of the Assyrians When the blast of the terrible onâ—s i. e. When the fury of the Assyrianâ— c. The Assyrians were at this time terrible to all that dwelt about them especially to the men of Judah and Hierusalem whose fury and anger against them and their City He compares to a blast of winde which is violent for the time bâ—t yet it was but as a blaâ—t and for a time because God soon brought it to an end As a storm i. e. Was as a violent and fierce storm for a storm though it be there yet it is fierce and violent Is for Was. Against the wall i. e. Against the walls of his City to wit Hierusalem which thâ— Assyrians desired to ruine He saith Wall for Walls a singular for a plural number 5. Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers i. e. For thou shalt pull down and abate the wrath of the Assyrians By a noise he meaneth wrath per metonymiam effecti for angry men brawl and make a great noise and stir in their passion wherefore this is given as a sign of a meeke man that he doth not cry nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets cap. 42.2 I conceive that this and that which followeth is not part of the Song but that the Prophet speaks this by way of prophecy to shew that the Jew in that day may justly and truly sing that Song or that part of the Song which is contained in the fourth verse for the matter thereof shall prove true And therefore I understand that causall Particle For in the beginning of this verse But if this be to be taken for part of the Song then is a future tense put here for a praeterperfect tense and the Tenses are here much confounded Of strangers They were accounted all strangers to the Hebrews which were not the Sonnes of Abraham Isaac and Jacob But he meanes not here any strangers in generall but the Assyrians in particular Per synecdochen Generis And the Assyrians were such strangers to the Jews as that the Jews understood not their Language Cap. 28.11 Cap. 33.19 As the heat in a drie place Supple is abated and brought down He speaks of the heat of the Sun which if it be excessive is grievous in all places but especially in a place of drought Even the heat Supple in a dry place By the shadow of a Cloud i. e. By a shadow caused by a Cloud He sheweth here how the heat of the Sun is abated or brought down The branch of the terrible ones i. e. The branches of the Assyrians He puts branch for branches a singular for a plurall number And by the terrible ones he meaneth the Assyrians as verse 4. This Genitive Case is a Genitive of Identity And therefore when he saith the branch or branches of the Assyrians it is as if he should say the Assyrians which I call branches because I compare them to the branches of a Tree see cap. 10.33 where he hath the same comparison Shall be brought low i. e. shall be cut down 6. And in this Mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a feast of all things c. The Mountain here meant is Mount Sion in Hierusalem the place where God dwelt What a mighty slaughter the Lord made of the Assyrianâ— whâ—n they besieged Jerusalem is well known 2 Kings 19.35 And what a joy it was to all the Neighbouring Nations to hear of this slaughter we may easily conceive because the Assyrians were mighty hunters and oppressors of men subduing all people which dwelt near unto them to themselves and making them their vassalls and tributaries that therefore the Prophet might express the joy which all people shoâ—ld conceive at the slaughter which the Lord would make of the Assyrians about Jerusalem he doth by way of allegory make the Lord like the Master of a Feast inviting all people to his house to feed upon the flesh of their enemies which he would slay and to drink and make themsâ—lves merry with their blood which he would shed for feasts are to make them merry which are invited thereunto A feast of fat things i. e. A feast of fat Cattle as Rams and Lambs and Goats and Bullocks by which are metaphorically meant the Assyrians which God would then slay for those which God slaies in his wrath are often likened to fat Cattle as Cap. 34.6 Ezek. 39.18 A feast of wines on the Lees i. e. A feast in which there is variety and plenty of wine well setled and purged from the Lees or grounds He saith Wâ—nes on or upon the Lees for wines purgâ—d from the Lees because as the wine growes clâ—aâ— and is purged from the Lees the Lees fall to the bottom of the Vessel and so the wine is above the Lees. Well refined i. e. Well purâ—ed There are a Repetition and exposition of those words Wines â—n the Lees. As by fat things were metaâ—horically meant the Assyrians which were slain so by wine on the Lees is meant the blood of the Assyrians which was shed in that slaughter 7. He will destroy in this Mountain the face of the covering cast over all people Here is an Hypallage in these words for he saith He will deâ—troy the face of the Covering for he will destroy the covering of the face And by the Covering of the face he meaneth such a Covering as they were wont to weare over the face therewith to hide it Note that they which were heavy and sorrowfull were wont to cast a vail or covering over their faces in the time of their sorrow and heaviness as may appear 2 Sam. 15.30 19.4 and Hierem. 14.3 and Esther 6.12 Hence may the vail or covering of the face be taken Per metonymiam adjuncti to signifie sorrow and heaviness it self Wherefore when the Prophet saith that the Lord will destroy the face of the coverâ—ng cast over all people his meaning is That he would take away sorrow and heaviness from all people by destroying the Assyrians which made all people which lived about them to droop and to be of a sorrowfull heart because of the cruelty and daily oppression which they used towards them The Lord is said to destroy the face of the covering of all people in Mount Sion because from thence he destroyed the Assyrians and thither he did invite them and there interteine all people Yet note that a singular number may be put for a plurall and Mountain for Mountains both in this and the former verse And then by the Mountains may be understood those Mountains about Hierusalem on which the Assyrians were slain by the Angell And the vail that is spread over all Nations This is
number and fort for forts Note here the Enallage of the person and number for he speaks to Moab by an Apostrophe in the singular number whereas he spoke of the Moabites just before in the plural number Shall he bring down i. e. Shall he cast down or break down 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ISAIAH CHAP. XXVI IN that day i. e. At that time in which the Assyrians shall be destroyed by the Angell of God This song shall be sung i. e. Let this Song bee sung for the Hebrews use a Future tense for an Imperative Mood or this Song may be sung We have a strong City He meaneth Jerusalem Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks i. e. God will appoint salvation it selfe in stead of walls and bulwarks to defend it and protect it And where salvation it self is in stead of walls and bulwarks that City must needs be safe Salvation may be taken here either actively or passively or neutrally if actively then by salvation may be meant Gods saving power which is the cause of salvation per metonymiam efficientis If passively or neutrally then by salvation is meant that by which a thing is said to be formally safe and which way soever it be taken he speaks here of salvation either as a person by a Prosopopoeia or at least as of a thing by it selfe subsistent Note that he useth a Future for a Praeterperfect tense 2. Open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in q. d. O ye Citizens of Jerusalem open ye the gates of your City and take in those godly men and constant professors of the truth which come to you for a refuge against the Assyrians The righteous Nation He meaneth by these those godly Jewes which lived in other Cities and Towns of Judah and Benjamin and ran to Jerusalem to save themselves from Sennacheribs Armie and would not comply with Sennacherib and forsake their Religion to save themselves as others did and he saith the righteous nation for those of the nation which are righteous by a Synecdocâ—e Integri Note that those which were righteous and upright in heart when they heard that God had appointed salvation for walls and bulwarks to Jerusalem that is that God would defend Jerusalem and preserve it against the Assyrian they believed Gods Word and hasted thither for safety Note also that though this song was to be sung after the Assyrian was destroyed by the Angell yet he speakes of those things which went before it as though they were then to come the better to set out what he speaks of to the life A thing usuall in such subjects Which keepeth the truth i. e. Which are constant in the profession of their Religion which is the true Religion and change it not to curry favour with the Assyrians May enter in And so be safe from the fury and violence of the Assyrians 3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on thee He useth here an Apostrophe to God Although these words are occasioned by that peace and safety in which God kept the Inhabitants of Jerusalem and others which relying upon Gods protection ran thither for relief against Sennacherib Yet I take the words generally of Gods presering all which trust in him for the Divine Singers use to arise from Particulars to Generalls in the praises of God as may be observed in the Song of Hannah 1 Sam. 2. verses 8 9. And in the Song of the Virgin Mary Luke 1.50 c. In perfect peace i. e. In perfect safety The Hebrews by the word peace mean all and every kinde of prosperity or good Whose mind is staied on thee i. e. Who trust in thee and rely upon thee The minde is put for the whole man and in the word staied there is a Metaphor from a man leaning upon a staffe which staies him up that he falls not 4. Trust ye in the Lord for ever This is an Apostrophe to the men of Judah and Jerusalem drawn as an inference from and used by occasion of those words Thou O God wilt keep him in perfect peace whose minde is staied on thee because he trusteth in thee q. d. Being therefore that the Lord will keep him in perfect peace whose minde is staied on him because he trusteth in him Trust ye in the Lord for ever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength Supple And therefore he is able to save you and preserve you alwayes 5. For he bringeth down c. i. e. For he casteth down c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The connexion is q.d. Trust in the Lord trust not in the strength of any fenced City for he bringeth down c. Them that dwell on high i. e. Those which dwell in Castles and Forts which are built upon rocks and high places and which are built with walls and so are both by nature and art more impregnable then others by reason of which they trust more in the strength of the place then they do in God The lofty City he layeth it low i. e. The City which is built upon an high rock or mountain or the City which is fortified and encompassed about with high walls and towers and so maketh the Inhabitants thereof more to trust in the strength thereof then in God he demolisheth and bringeth to ruine This Relative It is redundant The foot shall tread it down even the feet of the poor i. e. They which are weak and of no account for warlike forces shall cast it down as easily as a man treads down a flower of the field with his foot The foot c. The foot is put here for the whole man by a Synecdoche and the foot rather then any other part because with that we tread c. Shall tread it down i. e. Shall easily and without much adoe beat it down a Metaphor The poor By the poor he meaneth by a Metaphor those which are contemptible and contemptible in particular in the matter of warlike strength And the steps of the needy By steps he meaneth the feet per Metonymiam Effecti This is a repetition of the former Sentence 7. The way of the just is uprightnesse i. e. The actions of the just man are upright c. The Prophet useth here again his Apostrophe to God which he interrupted in the two former verses by an Apostrophe to the men of Judah and Jerusalem And by the just man he meaneth those godly and religious men which were in Jerusalem when Sennacheribs Army did besiege it as appears by the next verse whom he called the righteous nation vers 2. These he sheweth here to be no hypocrites but truly godly and religious men whose sincerity he here mentioneth that he may shew that they are such as are worthy of the salvation of God The way i. e The actions The Hebrews often put the way for the actions of man by a Metaphor because we
people i. e. For the Assyrians which are Lords of Babylon are a people c. Here is a Relative without an Antecedent Of no understanding The Assyrians are said to be a people of no understanding because they understood not that they were but Gods Instrument in punishing those which he would punish by them and therefore they did lift up themselves and think that what they did they did by their own power and wisdome c. And so they oppressed even the Lords people to their own ruine See Cap. 10. from verse 5. to verse 19. He that made them i. e. God who made them into so great and powerfull a Kingdom And he that formed them This is a repetition of the former sentence Note that these words making and forming are usually spoken of making and forming a man naturally in the womb or rather of making and forming a pot but our Prophet doth often use it metaphorically for the making and bringing of a people into one civill body Kingdom or Common-wealth 12. It shall come to passe in that day i. e. It shall come to passe at that time in which Babylon shall be thus wasted made desolate The Lord shall beat off from the channel of the River unto the stream of Egypt i. e. The Lord will by the hand of the Medes which shall wast Babylon make all that have any reference to the Assyrians and dwell between the River Euphrates and the River of Egypt to flee and leave their dwellings Shall beat off i. e. Shall drive away Supple from their dwellings This phrase is metaphoricall taken from Olives or other fruit which are beaten from their trees with cudgells c. From the channel of the River i. e. Them that dwell from the Channell of Euphrates c. To the stream of Egypt That is even to Nâ—lus And ye shall be gathered one by one i. e. And ye shal be carefully gathered together and brought safe into your own Land c. When the people which had relation to the Assyrians fled by reason of the Medes the Jews or Children of Israel which they had in captivity and bondage had occasion and opportunity to return into their own Land again These words are Metaphoricall and are taken from Olives or Apples or the like fruits which are gathered one by one and so laid up in some place appointed which Olives or Apples or other fruit so gathered last better then they which are beaten off or shook down from the tree and more care there is taken about such as are so gathered then there is about that which is beaten or shaken down He seems to oppose this gathering one by one to that beating off mentioned in this verse O ye Children of Israel Supple Which are or shall be captives to the Assyrians between this time and that 13. And it shall lome to passe in that day that the great Trumpet shall be blown Supple in Jerusalem And they shall come c. q. d. And it shall come to passe at that time at which the Lord shall beat off from their dwellings all that live from the Channel of the River to the stream of Egypt that it shall be with the Children of Israel as it is with Soldiers when the great Trumpet is blown for as when the great Trumpet is blown all the Souldiers gather themselves together so shall all the Children of Israel which were in captivity to the Assyrians or which were in exile in any place from Euphrates to the streame of Egypt retreat and return home and gather themselves together to Jerusalem The great Trumpet He saith the great Trumpet alluding to some great Trumpet waiting upon the Generall which was greater then those which did wait upon ordinary Captains or else he saith a Great Trumpet because a great Trumpet is heard farthest off and they dwelt farre off from Jerusalem even in Assyria and Egypt which were to hear it And they i. e. And they of the Children of Israel Shall come Into their own Land Which were ready to perish Through hard usage In the Land of Assyria Where they were Captives When the Assyrians were so hard put to it as that they were fain to flee themselves to save their lives their Slaves and Captives had opportunity to escape and return into their own Country again And the out-casts in the Land of Egypt i. e. Those of the Children of Israel which ran through fear for safety into Egypt when Salmaneser first and Sennacherib afterwards invaded the Land of Israel and were there as exiles from their own home shall come to their own home again That which brought these out-casts back out of Egypt was the report of those great things which the Lord had done for the Jews and the prosperity which he had given them in their own Land yet if any were in hard bondage in Egypt on this side Nilus they had opportunity to escape when all were beat off from the channel of the river to the stream of Egypt vers 12. And shall worship the Lord As they were wont In the Holy Mount i. e. In Mount Sion where the Temple stood i. e. In the Courts of the Temple ISAIAH CHAP. XXVIII WO to the crown of pride c. In this verse there is a great transposition of words and sentences which being ordred according to their construction run thus q. d. Wo to the crown of Pride whose glorious beauty is a fading flower To the Drunkards of Ephraim which are in the head of the fat vallies of them that are overcome with wine Wo to the Crown of Pride The Crown which he here speaks of was such a Crown or Garland of Roses and other fair flowers as Drunkards were wont to use and to wear upon their heads in their drinkings which crown he cals here a Crown of Pride that is a proud Crown by a Metaphor because of the beauty and gaynesse of it This was first invented and used by the Heathen and of them did the Israelites learn it Of Pride That is Proud or gay He puts here a Substantive of the Genitive case for an Adjective By this Crown he means those Drunkards of Ephraim of whom he here speaks and that either because they wore such a crown as the Heathen did in their drinkings or because as the Crown is wore upon the head so were they seated upon the head of the fat vallies To the Drunkards of Ephraim i. e. To the Drunkards of Israel He explains here what he meant by the Crown of pride Of Ephraim i. e. Of Israel or of the Ten Tribes How Ephraim comes to be taken for Israel or the Ten Tribes See Cap. 7. v. 2. Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower These words relate to those viz. The Crown of pride whose glorious beauty he saith is a fading flower because it was made of the flowers of the field or of the gardens which are fading by nature By this is signified that the estate of these
men which here he speakes of though it might seem glorious yet should quickly decay with all its glory Which are on the head of the fat vallies c. These words relate to those viz. Wo to the Drunkards of Ephraim and are words of limitation and restriâ—tion limiting and restringing what he said in generall of the Ten Tribes to those which lived in Samaria For by those which are on the head of the fat vallies he meaneth those which lived in Samaria By the head of the fat vallies he meaneth Samaria which was scituate on a Mountain or Hill beneath which were most fruitfull vallies abounding with Vineyards and Olive-yards A mountain or high hill may be said to be the head of the vallies which are about it for where the earth riseth up into a mountain it is said to lift up its head and if the mountain be a head it must be the head of such parts of the earth as are below it and such are vallies In the word head he seemeth to have an allusion to the Crown of Pride which he spoke of which was wore on the head by which Crown also he meant the Drunkards of Ephraim Of those which are overcome with wine Of those which are daily drunk with wine This is the common interpretation of these words by which he doth obliquely tax other of the Ten Tribes then those which dwelt in Samaria for their drunkenness But what if we should interpret them which are overcome with wine of such as had so much wine in the grape as they could not make Surely such may be said to be overcome with wine for we have more work then we can do we say that we have more work then we can overcome and that our work hath overcome us and this interpretation will very well agree with this place and will shew the fatness and fruitfulness of these vallies in that they bring forth more grapes then the husband-man is able to press and make wine of 2. Behold the Lord hath a mighty and a strong one q. d. The Lord hath in store a mighty and a strong one By this strong and mighty one understand Salmaneser who with his strong and mighty Army besieged Samaria three years and took it and carried Israel away captive into Assyria 2 Kings 17. v. 5 6. Which as a tempest of haile and a destroying storme Supple Which breaks down the trees and smiteth the plants and destroyeth the corn of the field As a flood of mighty waters overflowing Supple And drowning al the grounds about it the cattle which are therein destroying the corn and fruits of the earth and carrying all things before it Shall cast down to the earth Supple The crown of Pride the Drunkards of Ephraim With the hand i. e. With meer power and might The hand is often put for power and might by a Metonymy 3. The Crown of Pride the Drunkards of Ephraim See v. 1. Shall be troden under feet As straw is troden for the dunghill Cap. 25.10 by Salmaneser King of Assyria 4. And the glorious beauty i. e. And that gay and glorious Crown mentioned v. 1. He puts the glorious beauty per Metonymiam Adjuncti for the glorious beautiful Crown by which he means the drunkards of Ephraim which wore that Crown See notes vers 1. Which is on the head of the fat valley See notes ver 1. He puts valley for vallies a Singular for a Plural number Here it appears that when he saith the head of the valleyes he saith head in allusion to the Crown which is wore on the head as we observed v. 1. Shall be a fading flower i. e. Shall prove as a fading flower indeed As the hasty fruit before the summer i. e. It shall be as the rath-ripe fruit which is ripe before the summer Such fruit as this is early ripe or ripe before the summer is much desired and greedily eaten Which when he that looketh upon it seeth it while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up i. e. Which when he which looketh upon it seeth to be ripe layeth not up to spend hereafter but eateth it presently while it is in his hand The meaning is that as a man which hath early fruit which he seeth to be ripe layes it not up but eats it presently So should Salmaneser consume and destroy the Drunkards of Ephraim and the Crown of Pride presently and make no delay therein 5. In that day Supple In which the Lord shall destroy the Ten Tribes of Israel by Salmaneser for the whole Ten Tribes shall be destroyed with the Drunkards of Ephraim The Lord shall be for a Crown of glory and for a Diadem of beauty i. e. The Lord shall give a glorious Crown and a beautiful Diadem to the residue of his people that is he shall make the residue of his people honorable and glorious as if they were all Kings He saith a Crown of glory for a glorious Crown and Diadem of beauty for a beautifull Diadem and puts a Substantive of the Genitive Case for an Adjective The Crown which he here speaks of was not such a Crown as he spoke of vers 1. for that was a Crown of Flowers this is a Crown of Gold that was such as Drunkards wore at their drinkings this is such as Kings use to wear at the day of their Coronation and he opposeth this Crown to that though he doth in some way allude to it A Diadem A Diadem was a kinde of Crown which Kings used to wear upon their heads made of purple-silk and beset with pearles and jewels Vnto the residue of his people i. e. To the other two Tribes namely the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin which Salmaneser touched not 6. And for a spirit of judgement to him that sitteth in judgement And he will give the spirit of judgement to him which sitteth in judgement The spirit of judgement By judgement is here meant the practicall knowledge of the law by which he that is a Judge may know how and be willing to judge aright And as for the word spirit among many significations which it hath among the Hebrews it signifieth sometimes the habit of the mind which is a spirit per Metonymiam Subjecti and here it signifieth an habit of the minde To him that sitteth in judgement i. e. To Hezekiah King of Judah whose Office it is to sit in judgement and judge between man and man and cause and cause as being King And for strength i. e. And he will give strength To them that turn the battle to the gate i. e. To the men of Judah who have turned or shall turn the battle to the gates of cities of their enemies That is who have made or shall make their enemies to fly before them and have pursued or shall pursue them to their own Cities and there besiege them That turn i. e. That have turned or shall turn What Judah did in this kinde by Hezekiah See 2 Kings 18.
in saying We have made lyes our refuge and under falshood have we hid our selves he speaks rather as the Truth was and as he interpreted it then as they spoke for they would not have called their specious doings lyes and falsehood Note again that it is plain from hence that many which were in Jerusalem and they chief men too because they believed not the Word of the Lord spoken by Isaiah concerning the safeguard of Jerusalem when the Assyrians should come against Judah and because they feared the power of the Assyrians and thought that Jerusalem would not be able to stand out against it betook themselves to humane policy and leaving Jerusalem thought to comply with the Assyrians and to make their peace with them who nevertheless failed in their purpose and were destroyed when as they might have been safe if they had never stirred out of Jerusalem 16. Therefore thus saith the Lord God i. e. Yet thus saith the Lord God Take Therefore for Yet and put an emphasis upon the words The Lord God for he opposeth these to those words Because or Though ye have said Vers 15. q. d. Though ye have said c. yet thus saith the Lord c. Behold I lay in Sion c. q. d. Behold I lay indeed in Jerusalem a foundation for those which believe but yet I lay judgment to the line for the wicked which believe not c. This is the sence in brief of this and the following Verse Sion i. e. Jerusalem See cap. 1.8 I lay in Sion for a foundation a stone a tryed stone a precious corner stone a sure foundation By the foundation and stone here mentioned may be meant the Word of Promise which God made to the inhabitants of Sion that is to the inhabitants of Jerusalem that notwithstanding the threatenings of the Assyrians they should be safe For as a house which is built upon a strong foundation is safe notwithstanding the blowing of the winds and the falling of the rain and the beating of the floods because it is founded upon a strong foundation So were as many safe as were in Jerusalem and relyed upon the Word of Promise which God made notwithstanding the fury and threatenings of the Assyrians because they relyed upon the Word of God which is as a sure foundation and which endureth for ever See the like Metaphor Cap. 14.32 Yet because in the second and more sublime sence this foundation is interpreted of Christ 1 Pet. 2.6 We may interpret and perhaps with more probability this of Hezekiah who as in other things and elsewhere he is a Type of Christ so may he be in this and here And Hezekiah may be said to be layd in Sion for a foundation because he was the foundation of safety against the Assyrians to all which remained in Jerusalem For God promised to save Jerusalem and all that kept themselves within her for his sake and he might be well called the foundation of that safety of which he was so principal a Cause by a Metaphor A stone He means such a stone which used to be layd for a foundation of a building which is great and durable A tryed stone i. e. A stone tryed and found fit for such an use as to lie for a foundation A precious corner stone i. e. A corner stone or chief stone of great worth And Hezekiah might be called a precious corner stone because of his great vertues In the Hebrew dialect the corner signifieth that part of a building which by its own strength alone sustaineth and upholdeth the whole structure Hence Magistrates and Princes which are the props and upholders of the Commonwealth are called the corners Judg. 20.2 1 Sam. 14.38 Isai 19.13 The corner stone therefore in the Hebrew phrase is as much as a sure foundation-stone So that all these words A stone a tryed stone a corner stone signifie but one and the same thing A sure foundation Hezekiah might be called a sure foundation because as a sure foundation cannot easily be shaken or overthrown so Hezekiah could not be shaken in his faith by the threats of the Assyrians nor could the Assyrians with all their power overthrow him or Jerusalem which God had given him by force of Arms. He that believeth Supple That which I say or that Promise which the Lord hath made Shall not make haste Shall not need to make haste or will not make haste Supple Out of Jerusalem to run into Egypt or Pathros or Cush or Elam or into any other far Country to save himself as many which believed not did at the hearing of Sennacheribs coming against Judah with a mighty Army nor will he make haste to comply with the Assyrians and make his peace with them as many others did but will abide in Jerusalem and shall be safe there What is spoken here of Hezekiah in the first sence is spoken of our Saviour Christ in the second and more sublime sence as appears 1 Pet. 2.6 and Rom. 9.33 For as we have often observed and shall often observe the temporal deliverance of the Jews was a type of the spiritual deliverance of the Christians As therefore the temporal deliverance of the Jews was a type of the spiritual deliverance of the Christians So they which were any way the cause of the temporal deliverance of the Jews were a type of Christ our Saviour so far forth as they were the causes of that temporal deliverance And the Holy Ghost while it speaks of them doth so order the words of the Scripture as that the same words which are spoke of them may oftentimes be applyed to Christ also yea oftentimes be more properly applyed to Christ then to them 17. Judgment also will I lay to the line q. d. But yet judgment also will I lay to the line and bring desolation and destruction upon you according as I have threatened you By judgment is here meant that desolation and destruction which God brought upon the men of Judah by Sennacherib and by the line is meant the threats of that judgment which God gave out by his Prophets by whom he threatened a great desolation and destruction of all in the Land of Judah excepting those which believed and were in Jerusalem onely Now as a Carpenter frames his Work to his Line so God saith here that he would bring his judgments to pass according to those his threats And righteousness to the Plummet This is a repetition of the former sentence And as by judgment he meant the desolation and destruction which the Lord brought upon the Land of Judah by Sennacherib so also doth he mean by righteousness And that desolation and destruction he calls judgment and righteousness per Metonymiam adjuncti because it was just and right and no other then the men of Judah deserved To the Plummet By the Plummet understand the line also to which the Plummet is appendent by a Syllepsis And the hail shall sweep the refuge of lyes The sence is q. d.
Army which besieged Jerusalem in which were many men of many Nations With the sieve of vanity i. e. With a vain sieve A substantive of the Genitive case is put here for an Adjective What he calls a sieve of vanity or a vain sieve I have declared a few lines before And there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people Note that the word people is of the plural number and it signifies those of divers people which were in Sennacheribs Army Note also that whereas Sennacherib himself though he was upon his way so far as Nob Cap. 10.32 yet because neither he himself came to Jerusalem to the siege nor that part of his Army which was with him I understand by the people here that part of Sennacheribs Army which was with Sennacherib when that part of his Army which lay before Jerusalem was destroyed And these had a bridle in their jaws for whereas they were hasting to Jerusalem to strengthen the siege the Lord did put a hook into their nose and a bridle into their lips and turned them back Cap. 37.29 See cap. 31.8 9. Causing them to err i. e. Making them to flee as a chased Roe and as a sheep which no man taketh up as the Prophet speaks Cap. 13.14 which err and wander they know not whither until they fall into some pit or other or be devoured by some ravenous beast or other It is likely that when the news came to the ears of Sennacherib and those which were with him of the slaughter of an hundred fourscore and five thousand of the Assyrians in one night that this turned them back from Jerusalem and so affrighted them that they ran confusedly some one way and some another they knew not whither and that many of them came short home they which hated them having opportunity to slay them as they found them wandering and discomfited Note that when the Prophet saith The bridle in the jaws of the people shall cause them to err he alludeth to that which was signified by the bridle rather then to the bridle it self for bridles cause not to err but to go right rather But the news of an hundred fourscore and five thousand being slain in one night which is that which was signified by the bridle because it turned Sennacherib from Jerusalem as a bridle doth an Horse did make Sennacherib and those which were with him to disparkle and run as chased Roes or wandering sheep they knew not whither That the Prophet doth sometime allude in similitudes to the thing signifying and sometimes to the thing signified See Cap. 16.8 and 22.24 Or when he saith There shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people causing them to err it is as if he should say There shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people but a bridle of a strange nature for whereas other bridles cause the beasts in whose jaws they are to go aright this shall cause them in whose jaws it shall be to err See the like Notes Cap. 33.20 29. Ye shall have a song c. i. e. But ye shall have cause to sing for joy because of your deliverance from Sennacherib and the destruction of his Army He useth an Apostrophe here to those which were besieged in Jerusalem As in the night when an holy Solemnity is kept Some say that when the Hebrews were to offer a sacrifice in the morning they were wont to pass the night before with songs and a great deal of mirth and that the Prophet alludes to this in this place Others say that the Hebrews were wont to begin their solemn Feasts with a song and a great deal of mirth and joy and that the Prophet alludes to this For they began their Feasts in the Evening by the Prescript of the Law Others say that after a solemn Feast day they were wont to sup liberally and to sing and use all kinde of mirth at this their supper and that the Prophet alludes to this As when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountains of the Lord i. e. As when one goeth with a pipe to the Temple of the Lord. The Temple of the Lord was scituate upon Mount Sion therefore the mountain is put for the Temple of the Lord per Metonymiam Subjecti He saith Goeth to come periphrastically for cometh or goeth The Hebrews which went to the Temple to pay the vows which they had made or or to sacrifice to do any solemn service there were wont to go thither with pipes and musique See Psal 42.4 c. and to this doth the Prophet here allude This Verse may be read with a Parenthesis 30. And the Lord shall cause his glorious voyce to be heard By the glorious voyce of the Lord is meant Thunder which was heard at the destruction of the Assyrians It is usual with the Scripture to call thunder the voyce of the Lord as Psal 18.13 and 46.6 and 77.18 and 104.7 c. as if it had proceeded from the mouth of the Lord of whom the Scripture often speaks as of a man by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Verse hath its connexion with vers 28. the 29th being brought in by the By and to be read as it were with a Parenthesis And shall shew the lighting down of his arm Supple Upon the Assyrians i. e. And he shall smite the Assyrians in the sight of all the people The Prophet alludes here to the gesture of a man which striketh for a man when he striketh first lifts up his arm and then lets it down again With the indignation of his anger i. e. With exceeding great anger With the flame of devouring fire q. d. That is With the flame of devouring fire or with lightning c. The Particle And is put here for a Note of Exposition or Explication The Hebrews gather from this and the like places that the Assyrians which the Angel of the Lord destroyed 2 King 19.35 were destroyed by fire and that at that time there was dreadful thunder and lightning and tempest sent amongst them though many others interpret this and the like places metaphorically as though thereby were onely signified an horrible and sudden destruction With scattering i. e. With storms which scatter abroad hay straw leaves of trees c. Metonymia Effecti 31. For through the voyce of the Lord i. e. For by thunder See vers 30. Shall the Assyrian Supple Which besiegeth Jerusalem Which smote with a rod. i. e. Which punished you and distressed you O ye Inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah and not you onely but many other Nations also A Metaphor 32. Where the grounded staff shall pass i. e. Where the report of the grounded staff shall pass He puts the staff for the report of the staff per Metonymiam subjecti The grounded staff By the staff is meant the strokestruck with the staff per Metonymiam Efficientis And by the stroke is meant Metaphorically the calamity which God inflicted upon
his goodness towards us Among many significations of this word spirit it is often taken of the Hebrews for any quality or passion of the minde and here it is taken for goodness or love He likeneth here the blessings of God and the works effects of his mercy and goodness to plenty of waters because of the abundance thereof when he saith the spirit shall be poured forth Vpon us viz. Jews From on high i. e. From Heaven And the Wilderness be a fruitful Field i. e. And our enemies the Assyrians which are exalted like a Wilderness be brought low like a fruitful Field or Valley which lyeth low See notes cap. 29.17 The fruitful Field be counted for a Forrest i. e. And the Jews which at this time shall be in a low condition and oppressed by their enemies the Assyrians and therefore like a fruitful Field which lyeth low be delivered from their low condition and exalted as a Forrest yea as the Forrest of Lebanon which was on high on an high hill See cap. 29.17 Be counted for a Forrest i. e. Become as a Forrest even the Forrest of Lebanon See cap. 29.17 Note that Wildernesses and Forrests are for the most part the barrenest places of the earth and therefore are scituate upon Hills and Mountains and the highest parts of the earth which are least fruitful as being furthest from springs and streams to water them however sure we are that the Wildernesses and Forrests about Judea and which were best known to the Jews were seated on Hills as the Forrest of Lebanon to which the Prophet seemeth chiefly to allude 16. Then judgement shall dwell in the Wilderness i. e. Then will God inflict his judgments or punishments upon our enemies the Assyrians and make them as it were to dwell among them Judgment is put here for judgment which produceth punishment By the Wilderness he meaneth the Forrest or Hill of Lebanon and by that the enemies of the Jews the Assyrians who were lifted up with pride and who were at this time high in power and wealth c. See v. 15. and cap. 29.17 He saith judgment shall dwell in the Wilderness to shew that it shall not be a light judgment which passeth away but such as shall continue upon them till it hath consumed them The effects of this judgment were inflicted by the Angel of God 2 Kings 19.35 And righteousness remain in the fruitful Field i. e. And the goodness and mercy of God shall shew it self to the Jews which were at this time like a fruitful field or valley which lyeth low in respect of their low condition by the effects thereof By righteousness is meant goodness and mercy to wit the goodness and mercy of God for righteousness is taken sometimes for goodness and mercy as Psal 112. v. 3 9. and 2 Cor. 9.9 10. In which sence also Joseph as called a just or righteous man Mat. 1.19 By the fruitful field is meant metaphorically the Jewes in their low condition as v. 15. The righteousness here spoken of is said to remain in the fruitful field because of the continuance of it to the Jews as judgment was said to dwell in the wilderness because of the continuance thereof among their enemies the Assyrians Note that he speaks of judgment and righteousness here as of two persons by a Metaphor or Prosopopoeia 17. And the work of righteousnes shall be peace i. e. And the effect or fruit of the aforesaid righteousness which shall remain in the fruitful field shall be peace and prosperity And the effect of righteousness c i. e. This is a repetition of the former words Assurance Viz. Of peace and prosperity For ever i. e. For a long time 18. My people See v. 13. In sure dwellings i. e. In dwellings which shall be safe 19. When it shall hail coming down on the Forrest i. e. When on the contrary the wrath of God shall come down and fall upon their enemies the Assyrians like storms of hail Hail doth often signifie by a Metaphor the wrath and anger of God and the effects thereof as cap. 28.2 and elsewhere By the Forrest are meant metaphorically the Assyrians which were the enemies of the Jews as v. 13. and cap. 27.10 c. Coming down i. e. The hail coming down with much violence And the City shall be low in a low place That is And Babylon shall be brought down to a low condition By the City is meant Babylon which was the greatest or one of the greatest Cities which were under the Assyrians and this City was brought low soon after the defeat of Sennacheribs Army before Jerusalem for soon after that it was taken by the Medes See cap. 13 Yet by Babylon we may understand here not the material City of Babylon but the Assyrians who were the Lords of Babylon and who at this time warred against Judah and perished before Jerusalem as by Kir a chief City of the Medes was meant the Medes which served under Salmaneser against Samaria cap. 22.6 20. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters that send forth thither the feet of the Oxe and the Asse q. d. O ye men of Judah ye shall also at that time be happy for ye shall sow your seeds in grounds which shall be watered and therefore very fruitful and the Corn which you sow shall yield such increase and be so rank as that ye shall be fain to send in your cattle to eat it down All waters i. e. Abundance of waters or many waters All for Many Thither Supple Where ye have sowed your seed The feet of the Ox and Asse i. e. The Ox and the Asse there to feed and eat down your over-rank Corn. He puts the feet of the Oxe and Asse by a Synechdoche for the Oxe and the Asse themselves ISAIAH CHAP. XXXIII WO to thee that spoylest This place is also to be understood of Sennacherib to whom the Prophet makes this Apostrophe That spoylest Supple The Land of Judah and all other Lands And thou wast not spoyled i. e. When thou wast not spoyled by them whom thou hast spoyled whereby thou shouldst be provoked to spoyl them again And dealest treacherously Supple With the Jews and other people See Cap. 21. vers 2. And they have not delt treacherously with thee i. e. When they with whom thou hast delt treacherously have not delt treacherously with thee whereby they should provoke thee to deal treacherously with them When thou shalt cease to spoyl i. e. When thou shalt have spoyled so much and so long time as God will suffer thee to spoyl others and the time appointed for that is come to an end c. that is as the Prophet speaks Cap. 10.12 when the Lord hath performed his whole work which he will perform by thee upon Mount Sion and on Jerusalem c. Thou shalt be spoyled Understand this of Sennacherib in respect of his Army which was destroyed by the Angel 2 King 19.35 and the spoyls thereof taken
force of Arms but they should not prevail against it or take it The ground of the Proverbs seem to be taken from a woman who having companyed with her husband thinks she hath conceived by him and is in hope that she shall bring forth a man-childe into the world but she is deceived for her conception was a false conception and she bringeth forth nought Chaff and stubble are as nought and so to be here taken Your breath as fire shall devour you q. d. Your wrath and indignation against my people shall be your ruine and destruction By their breath he means their anger per Metonymiam Effecti because anger makes a mans breath hot See cap. 30.33 And their breath that is their anger is said to devoure them as fire because their anger towards the Jewâ— should provoke God to destroy them by his Angel in revenge of his people whom they oppressed 12. And the people q. d. And the people which ye have gathered together to serve you in your siege against Jerusalem Shall be as the burning lime i. e. Shall be as chalk which men burn in a Kilne to make lime of Therefore shall they be like to such chalk because they shall be burned in the fire as such chalk is burned Of lime That is Of chalk of which they make lime The burnings of lime are put here per Metonymiam Adjuncti for lime or chalk that is burned As thorns cut up shall they be burnt in the fire We have often observed that this destruction of the Assyrians is described as done by fire whether is was accomplished by fire indeed as the Hebrews think or whether it was said to be done by fire because it was as suddain and as fearful as if it had bin done by fire 13. Hear ye that are a far off what I have done c. This is an Epiphonema to exhort and stirre up all people to praise God for this his marvelous act of destroying the Assyrians where the Lord is brought in speaking of a thing to come as if it were already past 14. The sinners in Sion are afraid By these sinners he means those which would not beleeve Isaiahs Prophecy concerning the Lords delivery of Jerusalem from the Assyrians and the Assyrians destruction of whom also we read cap. 29. v. 9 10. And therefore were afraid of the Assyrians and took secret counsel either to surrender all into the Assyrians hands or otherwise to comply with the Assyrians that so the Assyrians might spare them and would not trust in the Lord their God for safety As for the connexion of these words with the former it is q. d. I have told you that the Lord will preserve Jerusalem and destroy the Assyrians yet will not the sinners in Sion beleeve it but are afraid of the Assyrians and say who amongst us shall dwell with the devouring fire c In Sion i. e. In Jerusalem A Synecdoche of a part for the whole Are afraid Viz. Of the Assyrians Fearfulness hath surprized the Hypocrits By the Hypocrits he meaneth those sinners which he spoke of in the fore-going sentence whom he calls Hypocrits because they did frequent the Temple and served God with their mouths but would not beleeve his word which he spake by Isaiah in their heart nor trust in him See Cap. 29.13 Or he calls them Hypocrits because they dissembled by their countenance and carriage what they had in their minde and thoughts Who amongst us Supple Say they Who amongst us c. q. d. Who even amongst us say they which dwell in Jerusalem though a fenced City Who amongst us shall dwell with the devouring firâ— q. d. The Assyrians have now possessed all the Land and they which will dwell in the Land must dwell with them but who even amongst us of Jerusalem can dwell with them in the Land in safety so long as he is out of friendship with them for they are as a devouring fire and everlasting burnings to all that are out of friendship with them and will not in time submit to them say they Shall dwell i. e. Shall dwell safely They liken the Assyrians to devouring fire because as the devouring fire consumeth all combustible matter which is near it so did the Assyrians destroy all the neighbouring people and all people which they approached to with their forces which would not submit to them and make their peace with them Who amongst us shall dwell with everlasting burnings This is every way a repetiti of the former sentence By burnings he means fire Per Metonymiam Adjuncti and by everlasting burnings he meanes unquenchable fire or fire that cannot be quenched untill it hath consumed all Note that the Hypocrits did not speak these words openly but they said them in their heart where God took notice of them and revealed them to his Prophet Isaiah Note also that they spoke them in their heart out of the fear that they had of the Assyrians and out of a desire they had to make their peace with them 15. He that walketh righteously The Prophet here answers the question which the sinners in Sion make in the former Verse As if he should say to those sinners Ye ask saying Who amongst us shall dwell with the devouring fire Who amongst us shall dwell with the eâ—erlasting burnings As though it were so that none could dwell in the Land no not in Jerusalem in safety by reason of the Assyrians but such as had made their peace with them But I will tell you who shall dwell with the devouring fire I will tell you who shall dwell with the everlasting burnings Even he that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly By these which walk righteously and speak uprightly the Prophet meaneth such as did believe his words concerning the preservation of Jerusalem against the Assyrians and did trust in God whom he here describes by their Adjuncts Note that the Prophet describes these men which believed his Prophecy concerning the preservation of Jerusalem from the Assyrians by signs and attributes contrary to those by which he described those which would not believe this his Prophecy and trust in God for delivery from the Assyrians Cap. 29.20 21. For they which would not believe his Prophecies there did not onely not believe what he said but did persecute him and seek to take away his life and took bribes some of them for that end contrary to what they did which believed his sayings here for they here hated all such wicked doings He that despiseth the gain of Oppressions i. e. He that despiseth gain gotten or to be gotten by Oppressions and therefore will not for gain oppress the Lords servants as they did Cap. 29.21 That shaketh his hands from holding of bribes i. e. He that will not take a bribe to do any wrong but hateth it He alludeth here to the manner of men who if they touched by chance any foul or unclean thing shake their hands that they may cast it off if
laughed thee to scorn i. e. Shall despise thee and laugh thee to scorn A Preterperfect for a Future Tense The Jews might well despise Sennacherib when all his Army was slain and his forces and strength destroyed and laugh at him when he fled for fear to his strong Holds See cap. 31.8 9. and cap. 33.18 The Daughter of Jerusalem i. e. Jerusalem See cap. 1.8 Hath shaken her head at thee i. e. Shall deride thee and mock thee He alludes to the gesture of those which mock and deride who shake their head at those whom they deride and mock as Mat. 27.39 And he puts a Preterperfect Tense for a Future 23. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed c. He giveth a reason here in this and the six verses following why the condition of Sennacherib should be made both despicable and ridiculous and the reason is this to wit because Sennacherib had reproached and blasphemed the Lord and arrogantly assumed that to himselfe which was the Lords doing and had boasted that he would take Jerusalem by force which the Lord had said that he would preserve for which reasons the Lord would pull him down and make him an object of contempt and laughter This speech is directed to Sennacherib by an Apostrophe And lifted up thine eyes on high i. e. And carried thy selfe proudly He alludes to the gesture of proud men who lift up their eyes and their head and scornfully look upon those whom they despise Even against the Holy One of Israel i. e. Even against the Lord the only God whom the Children of Israel worship as the holy and onely God 24. By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord c. i. e. By Rabshakeh and his companions whom thou sentest to Hezekiah hast thou reproached the Lord. And hast said What followeth in this and the next verse is spoken in the person of Sennacherib by a Mimesis By the multitude of my Charets am I come up to the height of the mountains c. Sennacherib speaks here as he did cap. 10.13 attributing that which he had done wholly to himselfe and not acknowledging the hand of God therein though what he did he did by the hand of God as Gods instrument which was a reproach to God and a blaspheming of his name By the multitude of my Charets am I come up to the height of the mountains q. d. I am come up to the height of the Mountaines by mine own power and strength which is great and which none is able to resist To the height of the mountains Judea was very mountainous and hilly and most of the Cities thereof were seated upon hills and mountains By the height of the mountaines therefore we may understand either the most inaccessable places of Judea or 〈◊〉 may understand the Cities thereof and in particular Jerusalem which was the chiefest City of that Land and the greatest seated as is probable To the sides of Lebanon q. d. Yea to the Walls of Jerusalem Lebanon was a famous Forrest in the North of the Land of Canaan which was set not onely with ordinary Trees but was famous also for tall Cedars and choice Firre-trees And from this Forrest is Jerusalem here called Lebanon by a Metaphor Because Jerusalem was inhabited by much people as Lebanon was beset with many ordinary Trees and because the King and the Nobles and the Princes of the Land most of them dwelt there as many tall Cedars and Firre-trees grew on Lebanon Therefore doth he liken Jerusalem to Lebanon For it is usuall to compare a City to a Forrest and the multitude of the people to the multitude of the ordinary trees and the King and Nobles to the tallest trees thereof Aad I will cut down the tall Cedars thereof and the choice Firre-trees thereof i. e. Of Lebanon q. d. And I will destroy the Nobles and Princes of Jerusalem I will enter into the height of his border i. e. I will enter into the very highest part of Lebanon i. e. of Jerusalem Note that these words The height of his border are as if he should say The very height of his highest part For The Border signifieth the utmost part of a thing On the highest places of Jerusalem stood the Temples of the Lord and the Pallace and stately buildings of the Kings of Judah which Solomon built for they were built upon Mount Sion Into the Temple therefore and into the Pallace of the King of Judah doth Sennacharib threaten to enter or boast that he will enter when he saith I will entter into the height of his Border And into the Forrest of his Carmel He saith And into the Forrest of his Carmel For And into the Carmel of his Forrest By an Hypallage or Hyperbaton And the sense of this place is q. d. I will enter into the height of his Border yea into the Carmel of his that is of Lebanon's Forrest That is into the Carmel of Lebanon which is a Forrest Note here that And is put for Yea and is a note of asseveration or confirmation of what he said just before Carmel was a most excellent and pleasant Hill of which see cap. 33. v. 9. and cap. 35. v. 2. And it is here taken figuratively for Mount Sion which was scituate within Jerusalem and on which the most pleasant objects of Jerusalem were seated as the Temple the Kings Pallace and nigh unto that those goodly Gardens and Orchards which the Preacher speaks of Eccles 2. ver 4 5. I say Carmel is taken here figuratively for this Mount Sion as Lebanon is taken for Jerusalem it self a little before Of his border of his Carmel The Antecedent to this Relative His is Lebanon and His is as much as It s and the Carmel of his or its Forrest is no more then His or Its Carmel For the Forrest of Lebanon is but a periphrafis of Lebanon which was a Forrest 25. I have digged and drunk water q. d. For so great an Army have I as that when I have come into dry places where there hath bin no more water to be had I have digged Wells by the multitude of my Soldiers and have come at water enough to suffice me and my whole Army for drink and other necessaries Sennacherib may seem here obliquely to slight that policy of Hezekiah in cutting off the waters about Jerusalem hereby to distresse him when he came to besiege it 2 Chron. 32. v. 3 4. And with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the Rivers of besieged places Understand this place so that Sennacherib boasteth here that whensoever he came to besiege any place he came with so great a number of Soldiers as that they did presently drink all the Rivers of the place dry as if he should say So soon as ever I come to besiege any place and set my foot neer to the rivers thereof I have with the multitude of my men drunk them up dry immediately A Thrasonicall expression With the sole of my feet
calls that his age here which he calls the residue of his yeares there He speaks metaphorically of his age though it be a thing successive and exists onely by the present instant as of a thing whose parts are all together and as it were at once before our eyes And is removed from me i. e. And is removed out of my sight As a Shepheards tent i. e. As a Shepheards tent which to day we see pitcht in such a place and to morrow is removed from that place and pitcht we know not where He saith a shepheards tent because that represents the inconstancy and uncertainty of our life more then any other Tent for the souldiers tent may stand pitcht long in a place as in sieges and the like but Shepheards change the place of their Tent every day because of the opportunity of fresh pasture for their Cattle I have cut off like a weaver my life i. e. I have caused the Lord to cut off my life as if a Weaver should cut off his web from the thrum before it be finished He saith I have cut off for I have caused the Lord to cut off Supple by my sin Per Metonymiam Effecti He will cut me off i. e. The Lord will cut off my life He saith Me for my life by a Metonymy With pining sickness i. e. With a grievous sickness which maketh my flesh to consume and pine away From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me i. e. I said all the day long that is From morning even till night thou wilt make an end of me before the night commeth Here is an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of those words I said all the day long which may be understood partly from the beginning of the tenth and eleventh verses and partly from this place And the day is here put for the morning which is but part of the day Per Synecdochen Integri Here is also an Enallage of the person where he passeth from the third to the second person 13. I reckoned till morning q. d. When night came I reckoned and made an account with my self every hour and minute till the morning That as a Lion so will He break my bones i. e. That as a Lion breaketh the bones of a Lamb or a Sheep which he maketh his prey so will the Lord break all my bones before morning and so kill me Hence it is conjectured that Hezekiahs sicknesse was a most vehement feaver for other sicknesses affect onely particular parts but a feaver torments the whole body Note here again an Enallage of the Person from the second to the third From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me q. d. And when morning came again I said all the day long from morning even till night that thou wilt make and end of me before night commeth See vers 12. For these words I said all the day long are to be understood here as they are there By these sayings Hezekiah sheweth in what great pain he was in 14. Like a Crane or a Swallow so did I chatter q. d. I made a doleful noise through the extreamity of my pain like the noise of a Crane or a Swallow Or thus q. d. My strength was so spent with the extremity of my disease and my pain as that I could not speak plainly and articulately but did seem to chatter like a Crane or Swallow rather then speak like a man I did mourn as a Dove i. e. I did make a mournfull noise or groan like a Dove saying c. Mine eyes fail with looking upward i. e. Saying for this word is to be understood I have lifted up mine eyes towards heaven in prayer to thee O Lord and so long have I lifted them up that they wax weary and dim with looking up By this is meant that he had prayed to God for ease and expected ease from him but had not received it The zealous and faithful people of God were wont in their prayers to lift up their eyes towards heaven which is Gods dwelling place and to continue them in that posture as long as they prayed and when they had obtained what they prayed for they ceased to pray for what they had obtained and so let down their eyes but if they obtained not they still prayed and continued looking upward till their eyes were weary and dim Hence commeth the phrase Mine eyes fail with looking upward or I have prayed but obtained not what I prayed for This phrase doth the Psalmist also use Psal 69.3 and Psal 119.82 I am oppressed Supple By my disease He speaks of his disease metaphorically as of a cruell Creditor which oppresseth his Debtor and casts him into prison or delivereth him to the tormentors as Mâ—tth 18.34 Vndertake for me q. d. Give me ease from this my disease and release me from my pain He persisteth in the Metaphor of a cruell Creditor for such a Creditor though he oppresseth his Debtor and casts him into prison and delivereth him to the tormentors yet if a sufficient man will undertake for his Debtor to pay him his debt he will release him out of prison and deliver him from the tormentors 15. What shall I say q. d. What shall I say and how shall I be able to expresse the loving-kindness of the Lord. He is here suddainly rapt from the expression of his great misery to the consideration of the great mercie and loving-kindness of the Lord and these words are to be conceived as uttered from the thought and meditation of that which Isaiah said to him v. 15. that the Lord would adde to to his dayes fifteen years He hath spoken unto me and himself hath done it i. e. The Lord hath both spoken unto me by his Prophet saying that he will adde to my dayes fifteen years v. 5. and he will also do what he hath spoken In the last of these words a Preterperfect is put for a Future Tense to shew the certainty of what he speaks of as it is often put I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul q. d. I will be sorry all the dayes of my life that I have offended so good and gracious a God as the Lord is to me I shall go softly i. e. I will mourn Metonymia Adjuncti He alludes here to the gesture or pace of those which are penitent and sorrowfull and mourn for their sins for such go softly and slowly See 1 Kings 21.27 All my years i. e. All my years which the Lord hath added to my dayes v. 5. Note here that for all this we must not think that Hezekiah did nothing else but mourn and go softly all the rest of his life for this phrase is to be understood like those which Paul useth Rejoyce evermore pray without ceasing 1 Thess 5. ver 16 17. Without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day 2 Tim. 1.3 Praying alwayes with all prayer Eph. 6.18 Rejoyce
Cap. 4.5 And see Cap. 52. v. 12. where he saith to the Jews The Lord will go before you and the God of Israel will be your rearward For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it i. e. For the Lord hath spoken it who cannot lye and therefore what he hath spoken shall come to pass The Prophet speaks of the Lord as of a man by a Prosopopoeia and puts the mouth which is but part for the whole man by a Synecdoche 3. The voyce of him that cryeth in the wilderness What is meant by these words as they are taken in the first sence and as they concern the Redemption of the Jews out of Babylon ye have heard Now in the second and more sublime sence by the voyce of him that cryeth in the wilderness the Holy Ghost meaneth John the Baptist Mat. 3.3 For as the Cryer here cryeth to the people to prepare the way of the Lord so did John the Baptist cry to the people of his time to repent and so to prepare a way for the coming of the Lord Christ And as the voyce of this Cryer was heard in the wilderness which lay between Babylon and Judea so was the voyce of John heard in a wilderness too to wit the wilderness of Judea Matt. 3.1 Where note that as by the captivity of the Jews in Babylon is signified our spiritual captivity and misery under sin and Satan so by the deliverance of the Jews out of that their captivity is signified our spiritual Redemption by Christ Jesus In the Prophecy therefore of the deliverance of the Jews out of the captivity of Babylon there be many passages which as in a first sence they concern things which appertain to the deliverance of the Jews so in a second sence they concern things which appertain to the Redemption which was wrought by Christ Jesus 6. The voyce said Cry i. e. A voyce said to me Cry And he said what shall I cry i. e. And I said what shall I cry The Prophet speaks of himself here in a third person The like may you read of one speaking of himself in the third person cap. 21. vers 12. All flesh is grass and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field i. e. And the voyce said unto me cry and say with a loud voyce thus All flesh that is all men which are made of flesh are as the grass and all their glory and goodliness is as the flower of the field The Note of similitude is here left to be understood 7. The grass withereth and the flower fadeth because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it As when a red burning wind bloweth upon the grass or upon the flower the grass withereth and the flower fadeth because thereof Even so for the Apodosis is left to be understood when God is angry with all or any kinde of flesh that is when he is angry with any men whatsoever they are he can easily consume them even with the breath of his nostrils and they shall perish By the Spirit of God is meant the wind which he brings out of his treasures when he would have it blow Psal 13.7 and yet not any wind but that which the Country-man calls a red wind which bliteth Trees and Herbs and Flowers Surely the people is grass q. d. Surely therefore the people that thou art afraid of even the people of the Babylonians are as grass 8. But the Word of our God shall stand for ever q. d. But the Word of our God shall never fail And therefore the Word whereby he hath spoken comfort to you and promised you deliverance out of the Babylonish captivity shall stand firm and come to pass maugre the Babylonians You may gather by what hath been said what coherence these three last Verses had with the former The coherence is this In the five first Verses the Prophet prophecyeth to the Jews Deliverance out of the Babylonish captivity but the Jews being at this time sore oppressed and seeing themselves weak and the Babylonians strong and mighty in power were like to give but little credence to the Prophets words and despair of ever being delivered That therefore they might lift up their heads and hope for deliverance according to the Word of God and might not fear the strength and mighty power of the Babylonians the Lord did for their sakes by way of prevention shew the Prophet a Vision in which the voyce of the Lord bids the Prophet to tell his Country-men that all flesh and the Babylonians as well as others were as grass therefore they need not fear them or any other men 9. O Sion that bringest good tydings i. e. O Jerusalem that bringest good tydings to the other Cities of Judah c. This seems to begin a new Sermon Sion is taken here for Jerusalem a part for the whole And he speaks to the material Jerusalem as if she were a person indeed as he doth often elsewhere by a Prosopopoeia The good tydings which Sion here brings are mentioned in the tenth and eleventh Verses Get thee up into the high mountain Supple and there proclaim the good tydings which thou bringest that they may be the Father-head O Jerusalem that bringest good tydings c. This is a repetition of the former sentence with which repetition the Prophet is much delighted Say unto the Cities of Judah i. e. Say unto other the Cities of Judah He speaks here of the Cities of Judah as of women by a Prosopopoeia as he did of Sion or Jerusalem Behold your God i. e. Behold your God cometh unto you See Vers 3. 10. Behold the Lord will come with a strong hand Behold the Lord himself will come with a strong hand against the Babylonians who hold us captive and will deliver us out of their hands And his arm shall rule i. e. And he shall now rule He shall rule over us as a King over his Subjects though till now the Babylonians have had dominion over us And he shall rule over the Babylonians as a Lord over his Vassals and a Conqueror over his Enemies though hitherto they have reigned as Conquerors and Lords themselves He speaks here of God as of man by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and puts a part to wit the arm for the whole man by a Synecdoche the arm I say wherein the strength of man is most seen For him These words are redundant by an Hebrew elegancy Behold his reward is with him Supple To reward all such of his people as have waited for him And his work i. e. And his reward Work is put here for the reward of a work by a Metonymy And this is a repetition of the former sentence Is before him i. e. Is in a readiness See Cap. 62.11 11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd q. d. He shall bring his people out of Babylon into their own Cities And while he bringeth them he shall be to them as a shepherd is to
never flourish or attain to any honorable condition so long as they live though they were born of honorable Parents to honorable places Yea they shall not be planted c. Yea if he please they shall be as plants which shall never be planted they shall be as seeds or kernels which shall never be sown they shall be as stocks of trees which shall never take root in the Earth For as Plants which shall never be planted must needs wither away and by little and little become as dry sticks and as seeds and kernels which are not sown cannot grow up and flourish and as a stock of a Tree though it be set in the Earth yet if it takes no root dries away and rots So shall those Princes and Judges whom God would not have to flourish be in a contemptible condition from the very Cradle He shall also blow upon them and they shall wither He persists still in the Metaphor of Plants which if they lie out of the Earth in the open ayr and wind are quickly dryed up and wither The Prophet speaks all these glorious things of God that the Jews may have no thoughts of God but such as are worthy of God and that they might not think of making God like to any Idol or any Idol like unto him and by the way intimates that he is able to bring down the King and Princes of Babylon that the Jews might not despair of their delivery 25. To whom then will ye liken me or shall I be equal See Notes Vers 18. Saith the Holy One i. e. Saith the Lord which is the Holy One even the Holy One of Israel 26. Lift up your eyes on high i. e. Lift up your eyes towards Heaven And behold who hath created these things i. e. Behold and tell me who hath created the Stars By these things he means the Stars which he speaks of as though he pointed at them at this time That bringeth out their host by number q. d. Who is he which brings them out by number dayly while he makes them to arise at their determined times Their host i. e. Them to wit the Stars which are as an Host or Army for number and order By number He may be said to bring out the Stars by number because all the Stars rise not at a time but onely a certain number of them or because they arise in their order this first that second that third c. He calleth them all by their names q. d. Our God knows them all and all their names perfectly And he calleth them all by their names to come forth as a Master calleth his Servants by their names and they come at his Call and obey his Will The Call whereby God calleth his Stars by their names to come forth is an effectual Call and therefore is a sign of great power and might in God who by calling them to come forth giveth them power to come forth at his Call By the greatness of his might Supple Doth he do this that is doth he call them and they obey Not one faileth i. e. Not one Star faileth to come forth when he calls it by name either through impotency or disobedience or any other cause Here again the Prophet speaks gloriously of the Lord as he did vers 21 22 23 24. and he doth it for the same end as he did it there viz. That the Jews might have no thoughts of God but what were glorious and that they might not liken him to an Idol or an Idol to him and that they might not despair of being delivered out of captivity by their distrust of Gods power 27. Why sayst thou O Jacob i. e. Why then dost thou say O Jacob And speakest O Israel Supple Saying Israel is taken here for the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin as Cap. 1. v. 3. My way is hid from the Lord i. e. The Lord looks not upon my sad condition but it is as hid from his eyes he takes no notice of the troublesom way wherein I walk And my judgment is passed over from him Here seems to be an Hypallage in this sentence And my judgment is passed over from him seems to be put for He is passed over from my judgment Supple as he that will not cast an eye upon it or take any notice of it but purposely goeth away as though he would not see it I take judgment here for punishment or affliction and misery as it is taken 1 Pet. 4.17 This complaint is to be taken as proceeding from the Jews when they had layn a long time in the Babylonish captivity and it is grounded upon that That they thought that God was weary of delivering and doing for his people as he had done for them and their fathers informer time as appears by the Answer which the Prophet gives to this their Complaint in the next Verse though it be omitted here for brevity sake 28. The Creator of the ends of the Earth i. e. The Creator of all the Earth Here is a Synecdoche of the parts for the whole There is no searching of his understanding But yet there is no searching of his understanding to tell why your way is hid from him or why your judgment is passed over from him The Prophet doth here meet with a tacite Objection of the Jews for they might say If God did not faint nor was weary of fighting and pleading for us and delivering us out of our afflictions and of doing for us as he hath done heretofore surely he would not suffer us to lie helpless in the depth of this our captivity so long a time To this the Prophet answers That if God lets them lie so long in their captivity and hath not yet delivered them it is not because he is faint or weary but it is for some other reason The Jews ask For what reason The Prophet answers That he knoweth not for what particular reason for there is no searching of Gods understanding yet for what reason soever it be it is not for that that God fainteth or is weary for God giveth power to the faint c. 29. He giveth power to the faint c. i. e. He refresheth those which be faint This the Prophet brings as an argument to prove that God fainteth not For how can he faint which giveth power to the faint Or how can he be weary which giveth strength to the weary The Psalmist useth such a kinde of argument Psal 94.9 saying He that planted the ear shall not he hear and he that formed the eye shall not he see To them that have no might i. e. To them whose strength faileth through weariness 30. Even the youth shall faint and be weary These words contain not a prediction but a concession q. d. Though even youths which are strong and lusty by nature faint and be weary c. yet c. Or thus Even youths which are strong and lusty by nature may faint and be weary But they that
to punish any one man or people It must follow that the Lord is God and God only He hath not his equall The Lord intimateth here by the By for the comfort of the Iewes which were held Captive by the Babylonians that he would surely destroy the Babylonians by Cyrus and that no power should be able to deliver the Babylonians out of his hands I will work i. e. I will doe what I please 14. Thus saith the Lord your redeemer The Prophet returneth here to the Subject which he treated of in the beginning of the Chapter to wit the redemption of the Iewes out of the Babylonish Captivity which he intermitted at the eighth verse to argue against Idols and Idolatry upon the occasion there spoken of For your sakes I have sent to Babylon i. e. For your sakes I will send Cyrus with an Army to Babylon to fight against it and take it He puts here a preterperfect Tense for a future to signifie the certainty of what he speakes of This sending of Cyrus with an Army against Babylon was advantageous to the Iewes which were in Captivity for by this meanes the Babylonians who held them Captives were destroyed and they were delivered And have brought downe all their Nobles i. e. And will bring downe all the Nobles of the Babylonians which doth oppresse you and keep you in an hard Captivity and will tread upon them as mortar See Cap. 41.25 And the Chaldaeans In the Babylonish Empire the Chaldaeans were the chiefe of any other people the Emperour himselfe being a Chaldaeans and Babylon the head City of the Empire being in Chaldaea And hence it may be that he mentioneth the Chaldaeans by name in this place Or therefore may he mention the Chaldaeans here because they had more of the Captive Iewes then any other people under them and used them more hardly Whose cry is in the ships q.d. Who shall be heard to cry and howle in the ships He puts a Present Tense for a Future here as he puts a preterperfect tense for a Future a little before Babylon and Chaldaea have two great Rivers Tygris and Euphrates running through them or close to them navigable Rivers and certainely as able to beare as great Vessels as our Thames which beares Vessels of the greatest bulke yea Chaldaea reacheth to the Persian Gulfe where the greatest ships may ride and saile At the time which Babylon was taken by Cyrus no doubt but every Babylonian and Chaldaean endeavoured to escape as well as he could And as some endeavoured to escape by Land so others attempted to escape by water in ships and of these latter may he say Their cry is in the ships Or he may say that their Cry is in the ships or shall be in the ships not because they which cryed were or should be in the ships but because their cry should be so great as that it should be heard to the Sea of those which sailed in their ships Againe it was the custome of the Eastern people when they subdued a Nation to transplant the Inhabitants thereof an example whereof you may see 2 Kings 17.6 Cyrus therefore might send many of the Babylonians away in ships and they as they were in the ships might howle and cry for the misery which was come upon them 15. Your holy One i. e. He whom you have made choyce of to be your God and whom alone you worship and therefore will preserve and blesse you Your King See Cap. 33.22 This verse relates to that which went before in the fourteenth verse and containes a reason of what is there said q. d. For your sake I will send to Babylon and will bring downe all their Nobles For I am the Lord your Holy One the Creatour of Israel your King 16. Thus saith the Lord q. d. Yea thus saith the Lord. Which maketh a way in the Sea Rather which made a way in the Sea for this must be understood in the Preterperfect Tense God made a way for his people in the red Sea when he brought them out of Egypt Exod. 14. v. 21 22. And of this it is which he makes mention in this place And a Path in the mighty waters The Lord when the children of Israel passed over Jordan divided the River Jordan and made a way for them to passe over dry foot even when Jordan was so high as that it overflowed all his Banks Iosh 3. v. 15 16 17. Some therefore understand this place of this dividing Jordan and of the way which he made in it at this time But I rather take this to be a Repetition of the former Sentence Because our Prophet delighteth in such Repetitions and because in the next words he mentioneth that which fell out at the dividing of the red Sea and making a way for his people through it when their enemies were drowned 17. Which bringeth forth the Charet and Horse the Army and the Power Rather which brought forth the Charets and the Horses the Army and the Power supple of Pharaoh to their destruction When the Lord brought the children of Israel out of Egypt he hardened Pharaohs heart so that Pharaohs heart and the heart of all his people was turned against the children of Israel and they said why have we done this that we have let Israel goe from serving us And Pharaoh pursued after the children of Israel with 600. chosen Charets and all the Charets of Egypt and in the pursuit followed the children of Israel into the midst of the Sea and there were drowned Exod. 14. This is that which the Lord here mentioneth and these things doth he mention in this place to wit His dividing of the Sea for the Israelites and his drawing out of Pharaohs host that he might drown it in the red Sea to put the Jews in minde of his power which is such as that no difficulty can hinder him from redeeming or delivering his people at any time and of that love which he bore to his people that they remembering these things might the more easily be induced to believe those things which he said he would do for them namely That he would deliver them out of the Babylonish captivity and destroy the Babylonians their Enemies They shall lie down together i. e. The Nobles of Babylon and the Caldeans shall lie down all of them in the dust of the Earth that is they shall be all brought down to the Grave Death is both in sacred and profane Writers often likened to a sleep and the Grave to the Bed in which we sleep and the Prophet alludes to the same here when he saith They shall lie down together for he alludeth to men lying down in a bed to sleep But his meaning is that they shall be slain and brought down to the pit They shall i. e. The Nobles of Babylon and the Caldeans shall lie down c. of whom he spoke vers 14. They shall not rise q. d. They shall not awake and rise any more
Armies For by the River Euphrates and the Rivers thereof may be meant the King of Bâ—byl n and his Armies as by the River and â—s watâ—rs is meant the King of Assyria and thâ— gâ—eâ—t mâ—ltitude of men which the King o Assâ—ria brought â—p with him against Iudah Cap. 8.7 Againe we may observe that many take this place lâ—terally and interpret it of that Stratâ—gem which by the Lordâ— providence Cyrus used when he tooke Babylon for when Cyrus tooke Babylon he divided the waters of the River Euphâ—ates and divided them into certaine deep pits and great hollow places which he had made for that purpose by which meanes the Channell of Euphrates was passable by foot through which he led his Army into Babylon and so tooke that great City Which when he had took he set the Iewes free and did accommodate them in a most honourable manner for their returne into their own Land 28. That saith os Cyrus he is my Shepheard Cyrus is called here the Lords Shepâ—eaâ—d because the Lord appointed him to be as a Shepheard to gather his dispersed Sheep of the house of Iudah together and bring them home into the Land of Iâ—dah as into their owne Sheep-fold And this did Cyrus not by his own labour and paines but by his command and authority Ezra 1. And shall performe all my pleasure Supple Concerning the delivering of my people the Iewes out of Captivity and bringing them back into their own Land Even saying to Hierusalem i. e. That even say to Hierusalem Thou shalt be built That Hierusalem was ruined by the Chaldees or Babylonians we read 2 Chron. 36.19 and that it was built againe by the Iewes we read Nehem. 2. And to the Temple thy foundation shall be laid That the Temple of the Lord which was at Hierusalem was qâ—ite destroyed we read 2 Chron. 36.19 2 Kings 25.9 And that it was built againe by the Iewes we read Ezra Cap. 4.5 6. The foundations shall be laid i. e. Thou shalt be built For by the Foundations understand the whole building by a Metonymy ISAIAH CHAP. XLV THus saith the Lrd to his annointed Cyrus is here called the Lords annointed because the Lord intended to make him a King yea a great King And by calling him His annointed he alludeth to the Kings of Israel and Iudah who at their Inauguration were wont to be annointed with oyle And were therefore called the Lords annointed as 1 Sam. 26.16 c. Or Cyrus might be called the Lords annointed because of those eminent gifts which God gave him as memory wisedome courage c. by which he surpassed ordinary men For such gifts by which one man surpasseth another may be well compared to Oyle which being mixt with other liquours alwayes floateth at the top Or when he saith Thus saith the Lord to his annointed it may be as if he should say Thus saith the Lord to his sanctified one as Cap. 13.3 That is to him whom he hath separated and set apart for this service To wit to subdue and destroy the Babylonians and to deliver the Iewes out of Captivity and bring them into their owne Land againe And him whom the Lord hath Sanctified That is He whom he hath or separated and set apart may be called The Lords annointed in allusion both to those Persons and those things which were Sanctified that is which were separated and set apart for Gods service in the Temple For they were so separated and set apart both persons and things were consecrated by Annoinâ—ing Exod. 40. verse 9.13 To Cyruâ— i. e. Even to Cyrus This Cyrus was King of Persia and he is here and in other places of this Prophet called by this name a long time yea above 200. yeares before he was borne the like we reade of Iâ—siah he was called Iosiah long before his birth 1 Kings 13.2 Cyrus is a Persian name and in the Persian Language signifieth the Sunne so that this name did portend the great glory which Cyrus should be in For he which gave him this name was able to give him glory also sutable to his name Note that in these words Thus saith the Lord to his annointed the Lord speaketh and he speaketh of himselfe in the third person Whoâ—e right hand I bave holden i. e. Whose right hand I will hold Note here that he puts a Praeterperfect Tense for a Future To hold ones right hand may signifie to preserve or keep safe by a Metaphor from a man which layeth hold on a Childs arme or hand when he is in any danger to keep him safe therein and bring him out thereof Or from a man which taketh hold of the arme or hand of an old feeble man that so he may sustaine him and keep him up from falling And indeed the Lord did preserve Cyrus and keep him safe in the midst of all dangers even untill he had wrought the whole work which he had for him to worke Or to hold ones right hand may signifie to strengthen a man by a Metaphor from a man taking hold of the hand of a Child when he striketh that he may adde vigour thereto and make his blow or stroke the greater To subdue Nations before him i. e. That I may subdue many Nations before him That is That he may subdue many Nations by my helpe Cyrus did Conquer and subdue many Nations for he Conquered and subdued the Syrians and Assyrians and Arabians and Cappadâ—cians and Phrygians and Lydians and Carians and Phaenicians and Babylonians c. see Zenoph 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lib. 1. And I will loose the Loines of Kings i. e. And for whose sake I will strike feare and terrour into Kings Feare looseth the Loines and the joynts of those which are terrified or put in feare as appeareth Dan. 5.6 Therefore he saith I will loose the Loines of Kings for I will strike feare and terrour into Kings To open before him the two-leaved Gates i. e. That they may open to him the Gates of their Cities and take him in as their Conquerour The two-leaved Gates By the two-leaved Gates he meaneth the Gates of Fenced Cities for the Gates of such Cities doe usually consist of two leaves And the Gates shall not be shut q.d. And the Gates of their Cities shall be surely opened to receive him they shall not be shut against him 2. I wil go before thee This is that which the Lord saith to his annointed even to Cyrus And the Lord speakes here in the person of a way maker which is sent sometimes before a King and his Court sometimes before a General and his Army to make their wayes even and straight that they may finde no rub or hinderance in their way And make the crooked places straight i. e. And make the crooked wayes straight that thou mayest passe by them with the greater speed See Cap. 40.3 I will breake in pieces the Gates of Brasse q.d. I will breake in pieces the Gates of those Cities which shut their Gates
to wit light and darkness peace and evil It may be asked Why the Lord doth here mention this That he is the Author of prosperity and adversity c. Ans He doth it that that which he promiseth in the next following Verse may be received with the greater credit and that it may be known that he is able to do what there he promiseth 8. Drop down ye Heavens from above What the Lord would have the Heavens to drop down is mentioned in the words following to wit Righteousness By the Heavens are meant the Skies Under this commâ—nd which he gives to the Heavens and to the Skies there lieth a divine promise for what the Lord commands the Heavens and the Skies to do that he will bring to pass himself Let the Skies pour down Righteousness q. d. Yea let the Skies pour down Righteousness And is put here for Yea and in the word pour down there is an emphasis And thâ—se words seem to be a correction of the former By this the Lord sheweth the abundance of righteousness which he would send which he compareth here to rain in abundance Righteousness By righteousness is meant the deliverance and salvatiâ—n whereby the Jews were delivered and saved out of the hands of the Babylonians and other the blessings which he bestowed upon them after their delivery and salvation And this deliverance and salvation and these blessings thâ— Lord calls righteousness per Metonymiam Efficientis because they were an effect of his righteâ—usness that is of his fidelity or faithfulness in keeping promise for God had promised to deliver the Jews and to save them out of the hands of the Babylonians and to bless them exceedingly Again This deliverance and salvation and these blessings might also be called righteousness because they were an effect of the righteousness that is of the justice of God for it was a righteous and just thing with God to comfort his people and to deliver them and to bless them and to destroy their Enemies when they had received at his hands double for all their sins as Cap. 40. vers 1 2. See 2 Thess cap. 1. vers 6 7. Note that when he saith Let the Skies pour down righteousness he compareth righteousness to the rain And though righteouâ—ness be the fruit which should spring out of the Earth by this rain yet he calls this rain by the name of righteousness because righteousness was produced thereby So we usually say of a sweet showre that it raineth grass because it causeth the grass to grow out of the ground in great abundance But you will say What is then meant by the Heavens or the Skies and their rain and what is meant by the Earth Ans Similitudes and Metaphors must not be racked and every part examined but enough it is if we understand the whole meaning by the whole but yet by the Heavens and by the Eâ—rth Cyruâ— may be understood here who delivered the Jews out of the Babylonish captivity and enriched them greatly and gave them many priviledges and by the rain may be mâ—â—nt those means which Cyrus usâ—d fâ—r this purpose Let the Earth open i. e. And let the Earth open to receive what the Skieâ— pour down This Conjunction And is here to be understood And let them bring forth Salvation i. e. And let the Skies and the Earth togethâ—r bring forth salvation as the Earth and the Heavens by their showres bring forth grass By salvation understand here meerly the delivery of the Jews out of tâ—e hands of the Babylonians by Cyrus And let righteousness spring up together i. e. And let righteousness spring up by their concourse that is by the concourse of the Heavens and of the Earth together with it that is together with salvation That rigâ—teousness and salvation may not signifie the same thing in this place I conceive that righteousness is to be taken here in a more strict signification then it was taken before in this Verse and that here it signifieth onely those blessings which the Lord bestowed upon tâ—e Jews by Cyrus after he had delivered them or saved them out of the hands of the Babylonians whereas in the former part of the Verse it signified both that salvation or deliverance and those blessings too I the Lord have created it i. e. I the Lord have appointed it to bâ— so or I the Lord will create that is I will bring it to pass or I will have it so In this last sence a preterperfect is put for a futâ—re tense 9. Wo unto hiâ— that striveth with his Maker This is spoken to the unbelieving and murmuâ—ing Jew For the unbelieving and murmuring Jew hearing God say Drop down ye Heavenâ— and let the Skies pour down righâ—â—ousâ—â—ss might out of an unbelieving heart murmur against God and say to him Thou sayst Drop down ye Heavens from above c. but thou art not able to make the Heavens drop down or the Skies to pour down righteousness as thou sayst Wherefore the Lord doth by way of prevention first reprove those men for their sauciness and murmuring against him in Vers 9 10. and then in vers 11. he assureth them that are believing of his power and love to them and that he can and will deliver them and save them and bless them as he said Vers 8. Vnto him that striveth with his Maker i. e. Wo to him that speaketh against God to his face even against God which made him for God will rebuke him for it This strife is a strife of words Let the potsheard strive with the potsheard of the Earth q. d. Let one potsheard strive with another and let it not strive with the Potter and let one man strive with another and not with God who made him Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it What makest thou i. e. Shall the Clay contemn the Potter and say to him in contempt What makest thou If he should say so to the Potter the Potter would break it presently in pieces What makest thou This is spoke with contempt as though the Potter could not make an handsom pot q. d. What goest thou about to make dost thou go about to make a neat or handsom pot that 's past thy skill Or thy wâ—rk Or shall thy work O Pâ—tter say of thee He useth an Apostrophe here to the Potter He hath no hands Supple Able or cunning enough to make an handsom vessel When he saith He hath no hands he doth not say absolutely that he hath no hands but relatively that is he hath not hands fit or cunning enough to make an handsom vessel 10. Wo to him that saith to his Father What begettest thou q. d. Wo to him that being born lame or blinde or deformed saith to his Father What begettest thou Thou hast begotten a lame or blinde or deformed childe but thou canst not beget a well-favored and perfect childe Or to the Woman Supple Which brought him forth that is to his Mother What hast thou
former words 20. Assemble your selves and come draw neer together yee that are escaped of the Nations q. d. All yee Nations and Heathen which have escaped the Sword of Cyrus Assemble your selves and draw neer together to me Supple that yee may understand the vanity of Idolaters and their Idols This is spoken in the Person of God and is spoken by occasion of that that God said that he was the Lord and that there was no God else They have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven Image i. e. They are but fooles and men of no understanding who set up a graven Image of Wood to worship it as ye doe This the Lord speakes as it were to the escaped of the Nations being Assembled together 21. Tell yee and bring them neeâ— i. e. Tell yee your selves and bring your Idols neere that they may tell What it is which they should tell followes in a few words after They should tell Who hath declared this from ancient time c. Bring them neere By them understand here the Idols which Idolaters set up and worshipped as Cap. 41.22 Yea let them take counsell i. e. Yea let the Idols take counsell together that if one knowes what the other knowes not he may informe him and then let them tell Who hath declared this from ancient time Who hath declarâ—d this that Cyrus hath done for my people in delivering them out of Câ—ptivity with all the circumstances thereof from ancient time He speâ—kâ—s here as if Cyrus had even then dâ—livered the Jewes out of Captivity From tâ—at time i. e. From that time in which it was not knowne or heard of see Cap. 48.8 A Relative is put here without an Antecedent Have not I the Lord Supple And no God else told of this from ancient time which Cyrus hath done for my people with all the circumstances thereof And there is no God else Here is an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of those words I therefore am God q. d. I therefore am God and there is no God else beside me If it appeare that the Lord fore-told this which Cyrus did for the Jewes in delivering them out of the Babylonish Captivity plainly and distinctly with all the circumstances thereof long before it came to passe And that the gods of the Heathen and their Idols knew it not nor spoke of it it must needs be that their gods must be pronounced as no gods and that the Lord be acknowledged for the only God A just God Supple Which keepes his word and performâ—s what he promiseth as the Lord did to his people A Saviour Supple Which saveth them which serve him out of the hands of their Enemies as the Lord saved the Jewes out of the hands of the Babylonians 22. Looke unto me and be yee saved all the Earth i. e. Wherefore all yee people which live upon the face of the Earth even from one end thereof to the other Looke unto me as to the onely true God and forsake your Idols and yee shall be saved from your enemies That which the Lord here speakes to the Inhabitants of the Earth he speakes by occasion of those words in the former verse There is no God else besides me c. q. d. There is no God else besidâ—s me wherefore looke unto me and be yee saved all the ends of the Earth c. Be yee saved i. e. Ye shall be saved And Imperative mood is put here for a Future Tense as Gen. 42.18 Doe this and live for Doe this and yee shall live 23. The word is gone out of my mouth in righteousnesse i. e. I have spoken in truth and will performe what I have spoken And shall not returne i. e. The word which is gone out of my mouth shall not returne Supple without effect or voyd but shall be performed See Cap. 25. v. 11. He seemes to speake here of the word going out of the mouth and returning voyde as of an Ambassadour which is sent in an Embassy and returneth with his businesse undonâ— These words The word is gone out of my mouth in righteousnesse and shall not returne must be read as with a Parenthesis That unto me every knee shall bow Referre this to these words viz. I have sworn by my selfe q.d. I have sworne my selfe that unto me every knee shall bow c. Vnto me every knee shall bow i. e. Every one shall worship me And every tongue shall sweare Supple to me that I am the Lord and onely God Or shall sweare Supple by me And so honour me as the onely God To sweare by God is part of Gods worship and a thing to be done to none but to the true God This part of worship in speciall therefore is put here for any the worship of God in generall It may be asked when that which the Lord saith here was or should be fulfilled That is when every one did or should worship the Lord and acknowledge him to be the true God Ans That which the Lord here speaketh of every ones worshipping him and acknowledging him to be the true God was not neither shall it be accomplished or fulfilled untill the last day but then it shall At which day they that have not willingly worshipped him shall worship him whether they will or no Rom. 14.11 It may be asked againe to what end the Lord mentions this Ans He doth it to perswade all the ends of the Earth to looke unto him in this present time For if all men shall be forced to look unto him and worship him whether they will or no at the last day It is better for them to doe it willingly before that day commeth These words containe a threatning which God useth because the ends of the Earth seemed to be backward in forsaking their Idols and looking unto him 24. Surely shall one say in the Lord have I righteousnesse and strength i. e. Surely many a one of every Nation shall say I have found or I have seen Righteousnesse and Strength in the Lord Righteousnesse in that the Lord is true in all his words and in all his promises And Strength in that he is able to doe for his servants whatsoever he hath a minde to doe And so shall they confesse to the Lord That he is God Shall one say i. e. Shall many a one say For this is a kinde of Hebraisme which useth to be rendred by an Impersonall thus It shall be said as Cap. 25.9 Which is all one with this Many one shall say That which the Prophet spake in the former verse he spake in the person of the Lord But that which he speaketh here and to the end of the Chapter he seemeth to speak in his own person and what he speaketh here he speaketh to perswade all the ends of the Earth to looke unto the Lord that they may be saved and not to looke unto Idols as he did in the former verse But the Arguments which he here useth are not so
to them all as if they had all so sinned for so it is that a people or aggregate body as it may have titles or attributes given to it which are verified of it in respect of the whole considered generally so may it have titles or attributes given to it which are not verified of it considered generally but onely in respect of some parts Hence one and the same people may in respect of some of its parts be called good and in respect of others be called evil Which swear by the Name of the Lord i. e. Which sware by the Lord. To swear by the Lord is an honor and worship of the Lord for he that sweareth by him acknowledgeth his Omniscience and that he seeth all transgressions and he acknowledgeth his power and that he is able to punish all offenders c. And make mention of the Lord of Israel Supple In your Oaths when ye swear But not in truth and righteousness i. e. But not sincerely and with an honest intent to honor God but hypocritically that ye may seem onely to honor him Or thus But not in truth and in righteousness that is But not truly and justly for when ye use an Assertory Oath ye swear not in truth because ye swear that which is false and when ye use a Promissory Oath ye swear not in righteousness because ye do not perform what ye promise 2. For they call themselves of the holy City i. e. Though ye call your selves Citizens of the holy City Jerusalem and would be thought therefore to be holy your selves Note that this Particle For must be expounded by though according to the frequent use of that Particle which is here used in the Hebrew Text. Note also that here is an Enallage of the person and that the third person is put for the second Note thirdly that by the holy City is here meant Jerusalem and Jerusalem was called the holy City because of the Ark on which God sat and of the Temple in which he dwelt both which were there Note fourthly that these words are to have their immediate connexion with the last words of the former verse namely with those But not in truth and in righteousness And stay themselves upon the God of Israel i. e. And though ye do rely and trust on the God of Israel Supple as ye say and boast The Lord of Hosts is his Name i. e. Whose Name or who is the Lord of Hosts A prepositive Pronoun is here put for a subjunctive 3. I have declared the former things i. e. He calleth those the former things which came first to pass in order of time before other and in particular those calamities and that captivity which befell this people of the Jews by the Babylonians For note though the Prophet spoke this long before the Babylonish captivity yet he speaks to the Jews as though they were then captive in Babylon by a Prophetique Spirit This is that which he bids them hear Vers 1. From the beginning i. e. Before they came to pass See Cap. 46.10 And they went forth out of my mouth i. e. And I spoke of them And I shewed them i. e. And I told of them I did them suddenly i. e. I did bring those calamities and that captivity which I foretold of upon you when you little thought of them 4. Because I knew that thou art obstinate The Lord sheweth a reason here why he told those former things that is why he spoke of those calamities before they came to pass I knew that thou art obstinate i. e. I knew that thou art refractory and that thou wouldst not give place to my sayings to believe them And thy neck is an iron sinew i. e. And that thou wouldst not bow down thine ear to hear me We cannot ordinarily bow down the ear to hear or harken unto any one but by bending of the neck and if the nerves or sinews of the neck which are the instruments of motion are iron or of iron the neck cannot bend And thy brow brass i. e. And that thou art impudent And therefore if I had not told of these things before they came to pass thou wouldst have been so impudent as to say that I did them not Thy brow bâ—ass It is said of an impudent man that his brow that is that his face taking the brow for the whole face per Synecdochen partis is brass or that as we usually say he is brazen-faced The ground of the phrase is this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist Ethic. l. 4. c. 9. They that are ashamed blush or look red and the reason why thâ—y blâ—sh and look red is because in that passion the blood flyeth into the face and dyeth the skin But now if the face were brass the blood could not fly into it for want of veins and pores neither could it alter the colour thereof because of its thickness and solidity 5. From the beginning i. e. Before it came to pass as the next Verse sheweth which is but a repetition of this Declared it to thee i. e. Told thee that which I have done Mine Idol hath done them i. e. Not the Lord the holy One of Israel but the Idol which I worship hath done it Hath commanded them i. e. Hath done these things He alludes to the power of the true God who when he would have any thing done doth but speak in way of command and say Let it be done and it is done as Gen. 1. v. 6 9 11 14 20 24 c. 6. Thou hast heard Supple Of me all this which is come to pass before it came to pass See all this Viz. That it is come to pass as you heard And will ye not declare it i. e. And will ye not now declare that I therefore am the true God Here is a Relative without an Antecedent I have shewed thee new things i. e. I have told of things which thou never heardst of before The new things which he speaks of are the things which concerned the Jews Delivery out of Babylon by Cyrus From this time i. e. Things which I now first spoke of and of which I spoke not from the beginning that is of which I spoke not of heretofore Even hidden things i. e. Things hidden heretofore from thy knowledg And thou didst not know them Supple Before I now told thee of them 7. They are created now i. e. They are now revealed to thee by me He saith They are created now for They are now revealed by a Metaphor because as things have a Being by Creation which they had not before so they have a kinde of Being when they are first revealed which before they had not And not from the beginning i. e. And not heretofore Even before the day Supple That thou knewest of them When thou heardest not of them i. e. When thou hadst not heard of them were they created or revealed to thee Lest thou shouldst say Supple When they came to pass Behold
I knew them Supple Before they they came to pass for mine Idol told me of them 8. Yea thou heardest not Supple Of them before I told thee Yea thou knewest not Supple Of them before I made them known unto thee Yea from that time that thine ear was not opened i. e. Yea I told thee of them at that time that thou hadst heard nothing of them To open the ear or to have the ears opened is put here for to hear as Psal 34.15 For I knew thou wouldst deal very treacherously with me q. d. And this I did because I knew thou wouldst deal very treacherously with me and say when they came to pass That thine Idol had done them and that thine Idol had told thee of them in fore-time It is treachery in us when we profess in words that we are Gods servants and ought to worship him if we give in deed that to Idols which is due to God And wast called a transgressor from the womb i. e. And wast a transgressor from the womb To be called is put here for to be A nominal word for a real See the like cap. 9. vers 6. From the womb i. e. From the first time that I made thee to be to my self a people A Metaphor of which see Cap. 46. vers 3. Concerning the transgressions of Israel from the womb read Psal 78. 9. For my Names sake will I defer mine anger q. d. Yet for all this though thou wast a transgressor from the womb I will defer mine anger towards thee for my Names sake For my Names sake i. e. For mine own sake lest the Babylonians should blaspheme and say that I was not able to deliver my people if I should not deliver them out of their captivity See vers 19. Will I defer mine anger i. e. Will I slack mine anger for anger deferred slacketh and waxeth cold And for my praise will I refrain for thee i. e. And for thy sake and for my praise sake that I may be praised for my mercy towards thee will I refrain and keep in mine anger For two ends doth the Lord say here that he will refrain his anger towards the Jews The first is for the Jews good for is it not good for them if God sheweth mercy to them The second is for his own praise sake that men may praise him for his mercy And of these two ends the praise of God is the chiefest and ultimate end and the good of the Jews is but subordinate to this That I cut thee not off Supple Totally or wholly 10. Behold I have refined thee but not with silver i. e. Behold I have put thee into the furnace of affliction to refine thee and I have refined thee but not as silver is wont to be refined Note that the Preposition With is put here for a Note of Similitude or Comparison and in the word Refined is included both the intent of the Lord in putting them into the furnace and also the event and the sence of the words is this q. d. I have put thee into the furnace of affliction and I have refined thee but not with that exactness as men refine silver for they which refine silver keep it in the furnace till all the dross of it be wholly consumed But I have not nor will not keep thee in the furnace of affliction while all thy dross is taken away lest I should wholly consume thee while I refine thee but I have dealt and will deale more moderately than so with thee Note that this verse is an answer to a Tacite Objection which a Iew might make For whereas the Lord said in verse 9. That he would refraine his anger for their good and for his own Praise that he cut them not off A Iew might object and say If thou didst not intend to cut us off why didst thou put us into the furnace of affliction To which the Lord here answers that he did it to refine them and he did refine them but not as they refine silver By this therefore was the iniquity of Iacob to be purged and this was all the fruit to take away his sinne as Cap. 27.9 I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction q.d. Though I have put thee into the furnace of affliction yet I did it onely that I might make thee pretious and I have made thee pretious I have chosen thee i. e. I intended and have made a choyce one or pretious one of thee more choyce and more pretious a great deale than thou wast To choose is put here for to make pretious Per metonymiam effecti for that which is made pretious every one will be ready to choose See Cap. 49.7 Note here that in these words I have chosen thee is included both Gods intent in putting them into the furnace and the Event answerable to the intent In the furnace of affliction By the furnace of affliction is meant those miseries which the Iewes endured in Babylon which he compareth here to a furnace in which silver is tryed and refined By a Metaphor 11. For mine own sake q. d. For mine honours sake that my name be not polluted and dishonoured and that my glory be not given to another c. Note that those words relate immediatly to the ninth verse and that the tenth verse was brought in by the by to answer a Tacite objection of the Jewes Even for mine own sake q. d. I say even for mine honour sake This repeating of his words shew how jealous God is of his honour Will I doe it i. e. Will I deferre mine anger and refraine it from cutting thee off verse 9. For how should my name be polluted i. e. For how would my name be blasphemed and mine honour stained and polluted Supple If I should not deferre mine anger and refraine it from cutting thee off totally If the Lord should have persisted in his anger untill he had utterly cut off the house of Jacob The Gentiles would have blasphemed him and spoke evilly and disgracefully of him and have said that he was not able to deliver his people out of the hand of the Babylonians And I will not give my glory to another q.d. And if I should not doe it I should doe that for which the Gentile would give my glory to their Idols but I will not have my glory given to another To give is put here for to have given If God should not refraine his anger that he cut not off the house of Jacob the Gentiles would say that the gods of the Babylonians were more powerful then he and that he was not able to save his people out of their hands and so would give that glory and worship to them which is due only to him the Lord as being the only true God 12. Hearken unto me O Jacob This hath its immediate connexion with the foregoing wordes viz. I will not give my glory to another That is to Idols For the Lord having said
the Lord hath forsaken me c. In the former verse it was said that God would comfort his people and would have mercy upon his afflicted but Zion when she heard of it did hardly believe it but saith she here surely that is not so for the Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me And this she saith in a kind of despaire having been sorely oppressed by the Babylonians But it may be asked what it concerned Zion to heare that God would comfort his people and shew mercy upon his afflicted and what she should be the better for it that she should say when she heard of it in despaire Surely it will not be so for the Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me Answ The comfort and mercy which is here spoken of was the bringing in of the afflicted Jewes into their own Land again and to Sion the holy City And if they were once brought into their own Land again and to Sion the holy City then should Sion have joy in their prosperity as a mother in the prosperity of her children and then should her walls and her houses which the Babylonian had broken down be builded up again And then should her inhabitants be to her again as the ornament of a bride V. 18. But Zion said c. But Zion hath said heretofore and saith still c. This word said denoteth a continuall saying and signifies not onely the time past but also the present time by a Syllepsis The Lord hath forsaken me aad my Lord hath forgotten me i. e. The Lord hath cast me off and will take no more care of me nor any way pitty me How then can he comfort his peoplâ— and have mercy upon his afflicted for their comfort is my comfort and their joy is my joy When the Lord hath cast any one off so that he will take no more care of him or shew him any pity he is said in the Scripture-phrase to have forsaken him and forgot him 15. Can a woman forget her sucking childe The Prophet speaketh this in the person of God and answereth to the complaint of Sion and sheweth that the Lord hath not forgotten her Or the Sonne of heâ— wombe i. e. Or her Sâ—cking child which is a Sonne and a Sonne of her owne wombe Yea they may forget q. d. Verily though it be unlikely yet women may forget their Sucking children and the Sonnâ—s of their wombe Note here the Enallage of the numbâ—r how he passeth from a Singular to a Pâ—urall number 16. I have graven thee upon the palmes of my hands i. e. I have writ Sion upon the palme of my hands that it may bâ— to me as a memoriall of thee and so often as I see or read it I may remember thee By this he would shew that he is alwayes mindfull of Sion And he alludeth to those who that they may remember some one thing or businesse which they would not forget put some signe or memoriall thereof upon their hands which some doe by tying a thred about their fingers Others by writing the thing or name of the thing which they would remember upon some part of the hand either backe or palme c. See Exod. 13.9 I have graven c. That is I have written thy name upon the palmes of my hand so that it cannot be blotted out He useth a Metaphor from a Graver in Stone or Brasse or the like whose engravings are not easily blotted out or defaced Thee i. e. Thy name viz. Sion Thy walls are continually before me i. e. Thy ruined walls are continually in my thoughts yea in my sight and it pittieth me to see them in the dust 17. Thy children shall make hast q. d. Therefore thy children which shall build up thy walls againe shall make hast to come unto thee By the children of Sion are meant the Jewes which were in Captivity in Babylon or else where in exile Thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall goe forth of thee i. e. The Babylonians which destroyed thee and laid thee waste shall goe forth of thee and give place to thy children Note that when the Iewes were carried away Captive into Babylon many Babylonians inhabited their Cities either of their own private voluntary minde or by the publike authority of their King who when he conquered a Countrey and carried away the Inhabitants thereof sent other of his own Subjects to Inhabit there And these saith the Lord to Sion shall goe forth of thee 18. Cast up thine eyes round about i. e. Looke towards the East and towards the West towards the North and towards the South He speakes still to Sion And behold He speakes as though the Jewes which were scattered abroad by the comming of the Babylonians into Judaea were even then gathering themselves together to returne into Judaea againe in kenne of eye All these gather themselves together and come to thee q. d. All these whom thou seest are Jewes which gather themselves together to come to thee He speakes as though he pointed at them with his finger In the former verse he said to Sion that her children should make hast to come to her here he saith that they are comming already Thou shalt surely cloth thy selfe with them all as with an ornament q. d. They shall all come and when they are all come they shall be as great an Ornament and a glory to thee by reason of their multitude as the Robe is to a King or Queene He alludeth to a glorious Robe wherewith a King or Queene is clothed when he saith Thou shalt cloth thy self with them all as with an Ornament When he saith Thou shalt surely cloth thy selfe with them all as with an Ornament He speaketh not so much of their quality as of their number as may appeare by the content For the glory of a City consisteth also in the number and multitude of the Inhabitants And binde them on thee as a Bride doth Supple Her Jewells or Bracelets or her head attire q. d. And they shall be as great an Ornament to thee by reason of their number as the Jewells or Bracelets or Head attire which shee bindes on her are to a Bride These are the same for sense with the former words only the Metaphor or Allusion is different 19. For thy waste and thy desolate places and the Land of thy destruction shall even now be too narrow by reason of the Inhabitants q. d. For they which shall come and inhabite thee shall be so many in number and their multitude shall be so great as that thy waste and thy desolate places and the Land of thy destruction shall even now be too narrow to containe the Inhabitants thereof because of their number and multitude Thy waste and desolate places i. e. Those places which lay waste and desolate in thee for want of Inhabitants The Land of thy destruction i. e. Thy Land which is destroyed by the Babylonians He saith the
Land of thy destruction for thy Land which is destroyed putting a Substantive of the Genitive Case for an Adjective or a Participle after the Hebrew manner Even now i. e. So soon as ever they to wit thy children which gather themselves together to come to thee shall be come to thee And they that swallowed thee up i. e. And the Babylonians which destroyed thee and now dwell in thee c. See verse 17. He saith swallowed thee up for destroyed thee by a Metaphor from a Lion or Beare or some such ravenous Beast or other which is wont to swallow downe his prey And they that swallowed thee up shall be farre away Read these words as with a Parenthesis 20. Thy children which thou shalt have i. e. These words have their immediate connexion with the formost words of verse 19. viz. with those Thy wast and thy desolate places and the Land of thy destruction shall even now be too narrow by reason of the Inhabitants And are for sense the same with them The children which thou shalt have Supple Even now He speakes as though the Jewes which were in Captivity in Babylon and dispersed elsewhere were even now comming to Sion or Hierusalem their mother After thou hast lost the other Supple Which thou hadst before the Babylonians besieged thee who slew some and carried others of thy children away Captive and made others to flye into forraigne Lands Shall say againe in thine eares i. e. Shall say againe to thee or in thine hearing Againe This relates to such time or times before the Babylonish Captivity in which Hierusalem was very populous so that many of the people thereof were faine to dwell in other Cities and Villages of Judah For they which did so did in effect say The place is too straight for mee The place is too straight for me i. e. The place wherein we dwell is too little for us we must seeke us a dwelling elsewhere For me i. e. For us For here is an Enallage of the number The Singular being put for the Plurall Give place to me that I may dwell q.d. Give me a place elsewhere that I may have a place to dwell in 21. Then shalt thou say in thine heart i. e. Then when thy children shal come to thee and they shall be straightned for want of roome to dwell in thee thou shalt wonder to see that they are so many and shalt say within thy selfe Who hath begotten me these i. e. By whom have I these so many children Seeing I have lost my children Supple Which I had Shee lost her children when the Babylonians slew many of them made many to flye away for feare of their lives and carried the rest away Captive into Babylon And am desolate i. e. And am without an husband The Lord was her husband and had married her but had put her away Cap. 50.1 So that shee was at this time desolate and without an husband A Captive and removing to and fro And shee which is a captive removing to and fro hath but little propension to the procreation of children A Captive Supple to the Babylonians Removing to and fro Conquerours use to hurry their Captives from place to place and City to City at their pleasures and seldome suffer them to abide long in one place Ob. It may be here objected that Sion being a City could not remove from place to place to and fro Ans What is said in this Chapter of Sion and attributâ—d to her is spoken of her and attributed to her by a Prosopopoeia by which figure shee may be made aswell to remove from place to place to and fro as to speake But what is spoken of Sion in this Chapter and attributed to her is spoken of her and attributed to her to set forth the condition of the Jewes as it was at that time as I said before And who hath brought up these And who hath nourished and brought up all these Behold I was left alone Supple without children and none of them all were with me therefore I could not nourish them and bring them up These where they had been q. d. Where have all these been wheresoever they have been they have not been with me so that I could not bring them up 22. Thus saith the Lord God behold I wil lift up mine hand to the Gentiles q. d. Moreover thus saith the Lord God Behold c. In the 18 19 20 verses the Lord assured Sion that her children should come to her to comfort her Here that he may yet further comfort her and shew her how mindfull he was of her she sheweth the manner how they shall come to her and how happy she shall be when she hath received them I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles i. e. I will call the Gentiles to me He alludeth to one man beckning to another with his hand to come to him And set up my Standard to the people i. e. And I will gather the people or Nations together For what end he will call the Gentiles to him and gather the Nations together he sheweth in the next following words This phrase is the same for sense with that which went immediately before but he alludes herein to a Captaine which sets up his Standard for his souldiers to come together and to be in a readinesse for what march or service he shall appoint them And they shall bring thy sonnes in their armes i. e. and they shall bring thy sonnes to thee in their armes as nurses use to carry their little ones And thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders i. e. And they shall carry thy daughters to thee upon their shoulders Supple on soft beds or pallate as they which are weak were wont to be carried Mark 2.3 The meaning is that the Gentiles shall carefully provide and accommodate the Jewes with all things necessary and convenient for their return from Babylon and other parts of the world to their own Land How this was fulfilled in part read Ezra 1. 23. And Kings shall be thy nursing fathers and Queens thy nursing mothers i. e. And after thy sonnes and daughters are brought to thee Kings and Queens shall be as carefull to provide and shew kindnesse to thee as nursing fathers and nursing mothers are to their Foster-children Kings shall be their nursing fathers This was fulfilled in Cyrus Darius Artaxerxes whose good deeds to the Jewes are mentioned in the book of Ezra and Nehemiah and Assuerus of whom we read Esther 8.7 c. And Alexander the Great and his successors and especially Demetrius whom Josephus writeth of All which were exceeding good to the Jewes and to Hierusalem and to the Temple and gave them many gifts and priviledges And thâ—ir Queens thy nursing mothers This was fulfilled in the Queenes of some of those forementioned Kings and particularly in Ester as may be seen in the book which beareth her name They shall bown down to thee with their face towards the
mother by a Prosopopoeia Thy God reigneth God is said to reign in general when he doth shew by any act worthy his greatness that he is King and in particular here he is said to reign because he shewed his Kingly Power in the delivery of his people out of the hands of their Enemies the Babylonians That which Isaiah speaketh here of a Messenger bringing good news of peace and salvation befaln the Jews in Babylon Saint Paul speaks of the Apostles and Ministers of Christ preaching peace and salvation by Christ and this may both do Isaiah in the first Saint Paul in the second and sublime sence For as I have often said as the temporal miseries of the Jews under their Enemies were a type of our spiritual miseries under Sin and Satan that grand Enemy of mankinde so were the Deliverances of the Jews out of those miseries types of our deliveries by Christ and of that Salvation which we have by him And the Holy Ghost doth often so order the words of the Prophets that they shall signifie as well one as the other word by word in particular 8. Thy watchmen shall lift up the voyce i. e. Thy watchmen which shall stand upon thy towers shall lift up their voyce and cry and shout aloud for joy O Sion He alludeth to the Watchmen which use to stand upon the Towers of great Cities to give notice of any danger or any great company approaching to the City See cap. 21.5 Why these Watchmen shall lift up their voyce he tells a little after viz. because they shall see when the Lord bringeth again Zion But why doth hâ— mention the Watchmen here rather then any other Ans Because they shall see when the Lord bringeth Siâ—n again before any other as being placed in the high Towers and set purposely to watch what companies approach to the City With the voyce together shall they sing i. e. They shall sing with a loud voyce Together This word signifieth All. For they shall see Supple From the Towers whereon they stand They shall see eye to eye i. e. They shall see very plainly and evidently and not be deceived in their sight When the Lord shall bring again Sion The Preposition To is here to be understood as also it is left to be understood in the Hebrew Text cap. 35.10 and cap. 51.11 though it is there expressed in our Translation and not here The sence therefore of this place is this When the Lord shall bring again to Sion that is When the Lord shall bring his people back again out of Babylon the place of their captivity to Sion their own City Here is such an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in those words cap. 49.8 To cause to inherit the desolate heritages Yet by Sion may be here meant the Jews the children and inhabitants of Sion either as the same Jews are called Jacob because they are the children of Jacob cap. 41.14 Or as Kir is taken for the Citizens and Inhabitants of Kir cap. 22.6 9. Ye waste places of Jerusalem See cap. 51.3 The Lord hath comforted his people Supple Which were in captivity in Babylon by setting them free again He hath redeemed Jerusalem Supple Out of her captivity For she also was a captive vers 2. and cap. 49.21 He speaks of the City of Jerusalem as of a captive He speaketh also as if the Lord had comforted his people and redeemed Jerusalem already at this time And so do the Prophets often speak before the thing they speak of is come to pass to signifie that it shall as surely come to pass as if it were already come 10. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm i. e. The Lord hath shewed his peerless power viz. in overthrowing the Babylonians whose power was thought invincible and in delivering and bringing back again his people out of captivity Note here that the arm of the Lord is put for the power of the Lord and therefore is it put for the power of the Lord because the Prophet speaks here of the Lord as of a man by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the strength and power of a man is seen in his arm Again because that a man when he would shew his arm must strip up the sleeve of the arm and make it bare he puts the making bare of the Lords arm for the shewing of his power His holy arm i. e. His matchless arm his peerless power For the word holy signifieth that which is separated from other things by way of excellency See Notes cap. 6.3 And all the ends of the Earth i. e. All they which dwell at the ends of the Earth that is All the Heathen Shall see the salvation of our God i. e. Shall see the Salvation which our God hath wrought for his people which were captive to the Babylonians by Cyrus 11. Depart ye depart ye This is spoken in particular to the Levites which were in Babylon intimating that they might go freely thence out of captivity and it is spoken as if Cyrus had already subdued Babylon and vanquished the Babylonians and given the Jews leave to depart thence to their own Land Go ye out from thence i. e. Go ye out from Babylon Here is a Relative put without an Antecedent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Touch no unclean thing q. d. Touch no unclean thing thereby to defile your selves and make your selves unclean The unclean things here mentioned were such as caused legal uncleanness in those that touched them or such as those were which we read of Levit. 11.24 25 26 c. and Lev. 22.4 c. which uncleanness was not to be upon the Levites when they did any way minister about the vessels of the Lord that is about the vessels of the Temple or Sanctuary because they were holy things Go out of the midst of her i. e. Go out of her that is out of Babylon Be ye clean i. e. If ye are clean keep your selves clean If ye are not clean but are defiled by touching some unclean thing be ye cleansed and purified that ye may be clean That bear the vessels of the Lord. i. e. O ye Levites By the vessels of the Lord are here meant the vessels of the Sanctuary or of the Temple which were consecrated to the service of the Lord which kinde of vessels the Levites were appointed to carry Numb 1.50 and 2.8 c. By these therefore which bore the vessels of the Lord are meant the Levites which were appointed to carry those vessels See Ezra 8.30 Note here that when the Babylonians had taken Jerusalem Nebuzaradan one of the Captains of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon carryed the vessels of the Temple away into Babylon 2 King 25. vers 14 15 c. These vessels there continued during all the time of the Jews captivity and when Cyrus delivered the Jews out of captivity he gave them also these vessels of the house of the Lord which were brought from Jerusalem to carry to Jerusalem back
report i. e. Bâ—t who supple among you O ye men of Iudah and Ierusalem have believed what I Isaiah and other the servants of the Lord have reported to you supple concerning your delivery out of the Babylonish Captivity The Prophet here foreseeing that the Nations and Kings would reverence Ieremy and believe what he prophecyed to them concerning their happy success takes occasion from their readiness to believe what Ieâ—emy prophecyed to them of their good success to complain of the Iews slowness to believe what he and other servants of the Lord prophecyed to them concerning the happy event of their captivity out of Babylon q. d. The Gentiles will believe Ieremy prophecying to them of their good success but ye Iews will not believe me nor any other servant of the Lord prophecying to you of your deliverance out of Babylon And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed i. e. And who among you O ye men of Judah and Jerusalem hath believed that the power of the Lord is such as I and other the Lords servants have delivered to you that is That it is such as that he is able thereby to deliver you out of the hand of the Babylonians be the strength of the Babylonians never so great To whom Supple Of you O ye men of Judah and Jerusalem The arm of the Lord i. e. The power of the Lord. The arm of the Lord is put here for the power of the Lord by a Metonymy as cap. 52.10 That which made the Jews to despair and not to believe what the Prophets prophecyed concerning their delivery out of Babylon was the great strength of the Babylonians and that world of men which were under them and ready to serve them wherefore to remove this obstacle out of their mindes the Prophets often alledged the power of God and put them in minde of that though they did not listen to it with that ear as they should have done nor believe it Revealed i. e. Revealed with effect that is with that effect which was intended which was that they should believe what was revealed Thus much of the first or meaner sence of this Prophecy as it concerned Jeremy I return now to the second or sublime sence as it concerneth Christ CHAP. 52. Vers 13. Behold my servant These are the words of God the Father concerning his Son Jesus Christ Christ Jesus though he were the Son of God yet might God call him his servant in respect of that work which he gave him to do Joh. 4.34 9.4 and in that that Christ took upon him the form of a servant Philip. 2.7 Shall deal prudently Supple In the managing of that work which I shall give him to manage He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high These words signifie all one and the same thing viz. That Christ should be exalted both in Heaven and Earth for the wise managing of his Fathers work 14. As many were astonied at thee i. e. As many shall wonder at him He puts a preterperfect tense for a future and thee for him by an Enallage of the person His visage was so marred more then any man This was fulfilled in Christ when he was buffeted spit upon scourged crowned with thorns c. Matth. 27. For the sufferings of Christ after this manner could not but maâ— his visage though it were in it self very comely And his form more then the sons of men This is a repetition of the former sentence 15. So shall he sprinkle many Nations Supple With admiration The Kings shall shut their mouths at him q. d. The Kings of the Gentiles shall be even silent and not able to speak for wondering at him For that which had not been told them shall they see i. e. And that which had not been told them by any other then by Christ and his Apostles and Servants which shall be inspired by him shall they see and believe Shall they see i. e. Shall they believe See cap. 6. v. 10. That which he saith here that the Gentiles and their Kings should believe was the Gospel of Christ which was preached unto them in its due time and which they believed being preached unto them See Rom. 15.21 And that which they have not heard Supple From any other then from Christ and his Apostles and Servants Shall they consider Supple With faithful and believing hearts This last is a repetition of the foregoing sentence Note here that the Holy Ghost hath so ordered the words of the Prophet as that they do not onely signifie what Jeremy prophecyed of in the first and meaner sence and what the Babylonians believed but they signifie also what Christ and his Apostles preached to the Gentiles and they received Note again that the prosperous success of the Babylonians over the Jews which was here especially meant in the first sence seems to have been a type of that happy and prosperous estate which the Gentiles should enjoy and do enjoy by Christ over their spiritual Enemies which is here meant in the second and sublime sence For probable it is that the temporal happiness which the Nations enjoyed and the success which they had in their worldly affairs was sometimes a type of the spiritual happiness which the Gentiles were to have by Christ CHAP. 53. 1. Who hath believed our report q. d. But who among you O ye Jews hath believed our report That is q. d. But though the Gentiles have believed the Gospel and will believe it yet who among you O ye Jews hath beleeved the Gospâ—l which we have preached unto you We understand Tò But here as many Interpreters also do This is spoken in the person of Christ and his Apostles to the Jews and hereby the unbelief of the Jews is foretold and prophecyed of Joh. 12. vers 38. Rom. 10. vers 16. And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed i. e. And to which of you O ye Jews is the Gospel so revealed by us as that he doth believe it This is a repetition of the former sentence and by the arm of the Lord is meant the Gospel oâ— Christ But how cometh the arm of the Lord to signifie the Gospel of Christ Ans The arm of the Lord signifieth the power of the Lord as was said in the first Exposition of this place And therefore because the Gospel is called the power of God unto salvation Rom. 1.16 may the arm of the Lord be put to signifie the Gospel which is the power of God by a Metonymical Metaphor Note that Isaiah and other Prophets of the Lord preaching to the Jews of their delivery out of the Babylonish captivity and the Jews of that time not giving credit to what Isaiah and the other Prophets preached were a type of Christ and of his Apostles and Disciples preaching to the Jews the Gospel in the time of the Gospel and of the infidelity of the Jews then living in not believing the Gospel which was preached to them And that which
a Rich man Againe certaine it is that our Saviour Christ suffered upon Golgotha which was the publike place of execution where all Malefactors which were condemned to death suffered And being that Golgotha was the place where Malefactors which were condemned to death suffered it is not to be doubted but the Malefactors which were put to death were buried either there or nigh thereunto For such is the custome of all places even at this day to bury those which are put to death either in or nigh to the place of their suffering except some friend beg their bodies of the Magistrates to dispose of them elsewhere As therefore the place in which the Malefactors were buried was in or nigh to the place of their suffering So was thâ— Sepulcher in which Christ was buried nigh to Golgotha where he suffered Iohn 19. v. 41 42. So that Christ though he were not buried in the place where Malefactors were buried he was buried nigh â—nto it And therefore we may interpret this place thus viz. He was buried nigh to the wicked yet with the rich when he was dead taking the first Praeposition and with for nigh to And the conjunction And for Yet Because he had done no violence neither was there deceit in his mouth i. e. Because he had done no evill either in word or deed Referre this Clause to the words immediately going before namely to those with the rich in his death For the cause why Pilate granted the body of Jesus so speedily to Joseph of Arimathea was certainly because he took Jesus to have been a just man and a man without fault John 19.6 And for the same reason also did Joseph desire the body of Jesus and lay it decently in his own Sepulcher 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to griefe q. d. But though he had done no violence neither was any deceit in his mouth yet hath it pleased the Lord to suffer him to be bruised and put to griefe When thou shalt make his soul an offring for sinne i. e. Yet when thou hast made him a Sacrifice for the sinne of thy people q.d. yet when thou hast delivered him up to death for us as Rom. 18.32 He either confoundes Tenses Or puts a Future for a Praeterperfect Tense by an Enallage His Soule His soule is put by a Synecdoche for him And the Prophet maketh here his Apostrophe to God He shall see his seed i. e. He shall have many children borne to him and shall see them and enjoy them By Seed he meaneth Children and those spirituall Children such as they are which are faithfull and believe for such are called his Children Hebr. 2.13 If I be lifted up from the earth saith our Saviour of himselfe I will draw all men unto me Iohn 12.32 Our Saviour therefore had more which believed in him after his death then he had while he lived among men and this is that which the Prophet here foretells He shall prolong his dayes i. e. After he hath been made an Offring for sinne that is After he hath been delivered over to death he shall rise againe and live for ever to make intercession for his Seed See Hebr. 7.25 And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands This is the will of him which hath sent me saith our Saviour that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life Iohn 6.40 And he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them saith the Apostle Heb. 7.25 The will therefore and pleasure of the Lord must needes prosper in his hands Note here the Enallage of the Person how he passeth from the second to the third person 11. He shall see of the travaile of his soul He shall see the fruit of all his travaile and paines and griefe which he hath susteined His soule The soul which is but part is put here for the wole man His travaile i. e. The fruit or effect of his travaile A Metonymie And shall be satisfied i. e. Aed shall take full content and delight in seeing the fruit of his travaile A Metaphor of which before By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many The knowledge here spoken of is a knowledge joyned with power Such a knowledge as St. Peter speakes of 2 Pet. 2.9 When he saith the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation Or particularly the knowledge here spoken of is that knowledge whereby Christ knew how to obey and was obedient even unto death the death of the Crosse Phil. 2.8 for the Apostle teacheth us that Christ learned obedience by the things which he suffered Hebr. 5.8 As therefore a Physitian is said to heale a sick man by his skill because he knoweth what is good to take away his disease and knoweth how to temper and apply it and doth temper it and apply it accordingly So may Christ be said to justifie many by his knowledge because he knew that by his patient suffering man might be justified for by his stripes are we healed v. 5. And knew how to suffer obediently and patiently Note that this is spoken in the person of God of Christ his Sonne and Servant Shall my righteous servant i. e. Shall Christ my Sonne and Servant who is just and righteous in all his wayes Iustifie many viz. As many as shall believe in his name For he shall beare their iniquities i. e. For he shall take away their iniquities This thus expounded relates to that word Iustifie as shewing what that meanes Or thus He shall beare their iniquities i. e. He shall beare the punishments which are due unto them for their iniquities Supple By which meanes he knowes that he shall free them from their sinnes This last way Iniquities are put for the punishments due to iniquities By a Metonymie 12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great i. e. And therefore will I divide him a portion c. Understand And here And I will divide him a portion with the great How these words may be applyed to Ieâ—emy I shewed before but how they can be applyed to Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is word for word I know not For who are those great ones with whom he should have a portion divided I therefore take it that these words as theâ— are here read are not to be interpreted of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. word by word but onely in grosse And though they shewed of Ieremy particularly how God did honour and reward him yet they shew onely in Generall and in Grosse of Christ that God would honour and reward him without mentioning any particular or speciall manner how he would do it So that speaking of Christ these words I will divide him a portion with the great signifiâ— no more than this I will
whereas they were not carried into captivity till many yeares after and this the Prophet doth often by a prophetique spirit I hid me God speakes of himselfe here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as of a man that is so angry as that he will not be seene or spoken with And was wroth i. e. And continued my wrath Or and was yet more wroth And he went on frowardly in the way of his heart q. d. Yet although I smote him and was wroth with him he repented not but went on still with a great deale of frowardnesse in his wicked way even the way which his owne heart found out and delighted in And is to be taken here for Yet Frowardly i. e. Perversly and crossely towards me In the way of his heart i. e. In the way which his wicked and perverse heart found out 18. I have seen his wayes But now I have seen his wayes Supple that he hath amended them and repented him of the wicked wayes of his heart By wayes are meant metaphorically the course of a mans life and his actions And will heale him i. e. And because I see that he hath amended his wayes I will deliver him out of his affliction and captivity which he suffers under the Babylonians He said in the former verse that he smote him by which he meant that he delivered him into the Babylonians hands to be afflicted by him In allusion therefore to that that he said he had smote him he saith here that he would heale him to wit of those wounds which he made in him by those stroaks that is that he would deliver him out of that affliction which he suffered by the Babylonians where note that he compareth affliction to a wound which a man makes with a rod or a staffe I will lead him also i. e. I will also lead him safe from Babylon to his own Land the Land of Judah And restore comforts unto him i. e. And will comfort him againe for the discomforts which he hath met with in his captivity And to his mourners q. d. That is to his mourners or such of his that are of a contrite spirit and mourne for their sinnes Or by his mourners may be meant such as mourned by reason of their hard usage in their captivity And is put here as a note of explication and signifieth as much as that is 19. I create the fruit of the lips q.d. I am he which create peace and none else Note here that by the fruit of the lips are meant in generall words which proceed from the lips as fruit proceedeth from the Tree by a Metaphor then by a Synecdoche by words are meant words of praise or praises and thanks-givings Then because the subject of praises and thanks-givings is peace by praise and thanksgivings is meant peace by a Metonymie This the Lord saith that they might not doubt but that they shall have peace if he saith it for if he saith it he is able to give it as being the onely giver thereof Peace peace to him that is farre off and to him that is neere i. e. Therefore peace Supple shall be to him that is afarre off and to him that is neer Peace i. e. By peace understand all manner of prosperity and good for so the Hebrewes use to call peace Peace peace The word is doubled the more to confirme what is said To him that is afarre off and to him that is neere i. e. To all that are in captivity whether they be in captivity farther off or neerer home The Jewes while they were in captivity to the Babylonian were dispersed farre and neer into their dominions so that some were in captivity very farre off from their own home and others were captives neerer hand And I will heale him i. e. For I will deliver him out of his affliction See vers 18. 20. But the wicked are like the troubled Sea c. i. e. But the wicked Jewes which will not repent them of their sinnes they shall not enjoy peace but shall be tossed to and fro on the Land of their captivity as the Sea is tossed to and fro with winds and tempests A Praesent Tense is put here for a Future The troubled Sea The Sea which is tossed to and fro with stormes and winds Which cannot rest i. e. Which cannot lye still and enjoy a calme by reason of winds and tempests Whose waters cast up mire and dirt This is an amplification of what he said for a troubled sea and a sea that cannot rest casteth up mire and dirt upon the shore with her waves 21. There is no peace saith my God to the wicked q. d. Though they that are of an humble and contrite spirit shall enjoy peace yet to the wicked and irrepentant Jew there shall be no peace saith my God There is no peace i. e. There shall be no peace that is there shall be no prosperity A Praesent is put here for a Future Tense as in the verse before Saith my God Supple Who is able and will performe what he saith The Prophet speaketh this in his owne person ISAIAH CHAP. LVIII CRy aloud spare not c. This the Lord speakes to his prophet as if he were the present with the Jewes in the Babylonish captivity And this chapter may well be continued with the former for because the Lord promised his favour and deliverance out of captivity to those which were of a contrite and humble spirit Cap 57. v. 16. c. He foreseeing that many of the obstinate Jewes would be ready to contradict what he said and to say that he had no respect to those which were of a contrite spirit and humble heart for they had fasted and yet he regarded them not but suffered the Babylonians to prevaile against them and keepe them still captive he sheweth that that Fast which they kept and as they kept it was no signe of an humble and contrite spirit and that he could not be pleased with such a Fast as that was c. Lift up thy voyce like a Trumpet i. e. speak unto them aloud that they may heare thee The voice or sound of a Trumpet is loud and may be heard afarre off Therefore he bids him lift up his voyce like a Trumpet And they had need to lift up their voice like a Trumpet and speak aloud to sinners who are to tell them of their sinnes For sinners are deafe on that eare And the house of Jacob i. e. and the Jews which are of the house or family of Jacob as his children and descended from him Yet they seek me daily Between this and the former verse there is something left to be understood as this or the like For they are a wicked generation walking in the waies of their own heart c. So that the sentence compleat is this For they are a wicked Generation walking in the waies of their own heart yet as though they were holy and righteous men They seek me daily They
bread to the hungry i. e. To feed the hungry according to their necessities And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house i. e. And that thou shew hospitality and receive them into thy house and there entertain them which have no house to dwell in That are cast out i. e. That are without an house as those are which are cast out of house and home for rebellion Thou cover him i. e. Thou clothe him And that thou hide not thy self i. e. And that thou be not unkinde and unmerciful to thine own kinsman when he hath need of thee This speech That thou hide not thy self alludeth to the fashion of those men who when they would not own a man or take notice of him in his misery to relieve him slip out of the way and hide themselves from him and will not so much as be seen by him From thine own flesh i. e. From thine own kinsman which is a son of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob as well as thou and is therefore of the same flesh and blood as thou art of He saith Thine own flesh that it may be an argument to stir them up to pity 8. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning q. d. When thou fastest after this manner and dost the things which I spoke of vers 6 7. then shall thy prosperity arise after thine adversity as the light of the morning ariseth after the dark of the night But a man may ask here how the Jews being in so poor a condition all of them in their captivity could do such works as the Lord here requireth for such works require riches to do them Ans It is not to be doubted but that the Jews were in a condition good enough to shew such works of mercy as are here named in some good measure For many of them were in such a condition as that they were contented to stay in Babylon when they might have returned into Judea Again Suppose that the Jews while they were in captivity were all of them in a mean condition and not able to do these works of charity yet the Lord would accept of these works as done if there were in them but a minde ready to do them when they had opportunity and all things fitting for these works Again when the Lord saith If thou do these things then shall thy light break forth as the morning By these things may be meant not these things in special but these things in general So when Saint Paul had commanded Servants to be obedient to them that are their Masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling c. he adds Ye Masters do the same things to them Eph. 6.9 where we cannot understand the same things of the same things in special but of the same things in general The like we read Rom. 2. vers 1. Thy light By light is meant prosperity which the Hebrews often call by a Metaphor light because as light is pleasant to the senses so is prosperity to the heart Thine health shall spring forth speedily By health he meaneth their deliverance out of captivity of which he speaks here as of a plant which springs out of the Earth Note that as our Prophet doth often liken adversity and oppression to a disease or to a wound so he doth the delivery from adversity and oppression to health Thy righteousness shall go before thee i. e. The Lord which is the Rewarder of thy righteousness shall go before thee See Cap. 52.12 Righteousness is put here for the Lord the Rewarder of their righteousness by a Metonymy The glory of the Lord shall be thy reerward i. e. The glorious Lord will be thy reerward See cap. 52.12 The glory of the Lord is put here per Metonymiam Adjuncti for the glorious Lord. 9. Then shalt thou call and the Lord will answer thee i. e. Then if thou callest upon God he will hear thee Thou shalt cry i. e. If thou cryest unto him saying Lord where art thou He shall say here I am i. e. He will answer thee and be ready to help thee If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke What is meant by the yoke see vers 6. where the bands burthens and yoke signifie all one and the same thing From the midst of thee i. e. From among you This is an Hebrew Idiotism The putting forth of the finger i. e. The mocking of the servants of the Lord for they were wont to mock them See cap. 57.4 Mockers do oftentimes put out their finger at him whom they mock in way of jeering and contempt therefore he puts the putting forth of the finger for the jeering and mocking which they used by a Metonymy And speaking vanity i. e. And speaking such things as are vain and profit not By speaking vanity may be meant jeering and jibing speeches yea there may be meant by that wrangling and jangling and the worst speeches that can be by a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 10. If thou draw out thy Soul to the hungry If thou bring out thy food and thy victuals freely and cheerfully to him which is hungry By the Soul are here meant first pity and compassion which are passions of the Soul by a Metonymy Then there are meant the effects of that pity and compassion by the like Metonymy Or then we may be said to draw out our Souls that is our pity and compassion when we shew it in ample manner by the works and effects thereof as by giving food to the hungry and clothes to the naked c. If thou draw This is a Metaphor and the Metaphor is taken from drawing of waters which useth to be in abundance for waters are common and plentiful And satisfie the afflicted Soul i. e. And satisfie the man which is afflicted with hunger with food convenient The Soul is put here by a Synecdoche for the whole man and the afflicted Soul for the man which is pinched with hunger Then shall thy light rise in obscurity i. e. Then shall light rise to thee which art in darkness that is Then shall prosperity come to thee which art in adversity As by light is meant prosperity as I said vers 8. So by darkness and obscurity is meant adversity And thy darkness be as the noon-day i. e. And thy darkness shall be turned into exceeding great light such as is the light of the noon-day when the Sun is at the highest The meaning is That then he should enjoy exceeding great prosperity in stead of his adversity 11. And the Lord shall guide thee continually i. e. And the Lord shall be thy Guide from Babylon to Jerusalem all the way through yea the Lord shall be thy Guide at all times whithersoever thou goest I know not whether the Prophet may allude here to that place of Exodus or no Exod. 33.3 where the Lord saith I will not go up in the midst of thee where the Lord threatened the children of Israel
Land an Island which is quite invironed with waters but that also that lyeth by the Seas or Rivers sides Yea they call every particular Nation an Island so that by Islands here may be meant all those Nations which were subject to the King of Babylon taking Island Per metonymiam continentis for Islanders or Inhabitants of Islands as I said This is also a Repetition of the former sentence 19. So shall they feare the name of the Lord from the West So shall all the people of the Western parts of the world feare the Lord when they shall see or heare how he hath recompenced the Babylonians for their cruelty to his people The name of the Lord is put here for the Lord himselfe Per metonymiam adjuncti And his glory from the rising of the Sun i. e. And all the people which live in the Easterne parts of the world shall likewise feare him His glory i. e. The glory of the Lord that is the glorious Lord. The glory of the Lord is put for the glorious Lord Per metonymiam adjuncti By these words So shall they feare the name of the Lord from the West and his glory from the rising of the Sun is meant that they shall feare the Lord all the world over Two parts of the world to wit the West and the East being put for the whole world by a Synecdoche When the enemy shall come in like a floud q.d. Cyrus shall come with the Medes and the Persians in upon the Babylonians like a Floud or overflowing River and when he shall so come c. Like a Floud He alludeth to the overflowing of the River of Euphrates whereon Babylon stood which overflowing did by its Inundations mightily annoy and endammage the Babylonians The spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him q.d. Then shall the Lord himselfe in his fury beare the Standard before Cyrus and the Medes and Persians against the Babylonians and fight for Cyrus and Medes and Persians against them By the spirit of the Lord is meant the Lord himselfe but as he was enraged with fury Per metonymiam adjuncti For note first that the Prophet speaketh here of God as of a man by an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Then note that the word spirit among other significations which it hath among the Hebrewes signifieth the motions and passions of the Soul as love anger or wrath or fury c. And here it signifieth anger or wrath or fury as it signified love Cap. 48.16 If you aske how this word spirit commeth to be taken for the motions or passions of the soul some answer Per metonymiam efficientis because the motions or passions of the soul arise from that soul which is a spirit and Per metonymiam subjecti because they are received in the foul as in their subject others answer that therefore the motions and passions of the minde are called a spirit because the word spirit intimateth that which hath motion and the motions or passions of the soul stirre the man in whom they are and move him to action Note that in the particle him a Singular number is put for a Plurall by an Enallage 20. And the Redeemer shall come to Sion And then the Redeemer to wit Cyrus shall bring redemption to Sion that is to Hierusalem Cyrus came not to Sion in person but she came even to Sion by his favours to her and by the effects of his victory over the Babylonians In Jacob i. e Among the Jewes which were the children of Jacob. 21. As for me i. e. For as for my part Vndâ—rstand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for here This is my covenant to them i. e. This is that which I promise to doe for them by the Covenant which I make with them To them i. e. To those which turne from transgression in Jacob. My spirit that is upon thee i. e. Those words which thou hast uttered by vertue of that spirit which is upon thee O Isaiah The Lord makes an Apostrophe here to Isaiah By the Spirit is here meant first the gift of Prophecy for such gifts of God are by the Hebrewes called the spirit of the Lord see Cap. 61.1 Then by the gift of Prophesie is meant the Prophecy or Speeches or Words of God proceeding from or uttered by vertue of that gift of Prophecy by a Metonymy And my words which I have put into thy mouth q. d. That is to say The words concerning that which I will do for them which turn from transgressions in Jacob which I have sent thee to speak and to make known This Conjunction And is a note of explication and signifieth as much as That is to say For note that these words My words which I have put into thy mouth are an explication of those My Spirit which is upon thee Shall not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy seed i. e. Shall never be forgotten but shall so be fulfilled as that thou and thy children and thy childrens children after thee shall always speak of them saying The Lord hath said thus and thus by his Servant Isaiah and he hath made good what he said for whatsoever he said by him he hath performed The meaning of this place is this as if the Lord should say This which I have said shall certainly come to pass for what I have said I will covenant to perform The words which Isaiah spoke are therefore said not to depart out of his mouth nor out of the mouth of his children or childrens children because he and his children and childrens children should always make mention of those words and talk of them and of the goodness of God in fulfilling them and that with praise and thanksgiving saying The Lord said by the mouth of his servant Isaiah that he would send a Redeemer to Sion and to them that turn from transgression in Jacob c. And what he said by the mouth of Isaiah he hath performed c. Blessed therefore be the Name of the Lord for ever Yet note that these words do not signifie that the words which the Lord had put into the mouth of Isaiah should never actually depart out of his mouth and out of the mouth of his seed but that the Lord would do such things as should deserve the perpetual remembrance of those words and that those words should never depart out of their mouths ISAIAH CHAP. LX. ARise c. i. e. Arise out of the dust or from the ground whereon thou hast sat mourning during the time of thy captivity See cap. 3.26 and 52.2 This the Prophet speaketh by his Prophetique spirit to Sion or to Jerusalem as though shee were in captivity and the time of her captivity were expired telling her that now she should be redeemed out of captivity and he speaks to Sion or Jerusalem which was a City as to a woman by a Prosopopoeia Shine Receive that light which is cast upon thee and shine by the
reflexion of that light The meaning is q. d. Be thou happy and glorious through that happiness with which thy God will bless thee The Prophet seemeth to allude here to the Moon or to some Star which is enlightened by the Sun and compareth the Lord to the Sun and Sion to the Moon or Star enlightened by the Rays of the Sun It is a common thing with the Prophet to put light for prosperity and happiness By light therefore received understand the prosperity and happiness which the Lord would vouchsafe Sion by his favor And because the Moon and the Stars do shine by the reflexion of that light which they receive from the Sun understand by Sions shining the glory which Sion should have by the happiness which the Lord would vouchsafe her For thy light is come i. e. For thy God which will give thee light that is Prosperity and Redemption is come supple to give thee light By light understand God who is here likened to the Sun which is called a light because it giveth light Gen. 1.16 Because the Prophet doth often call prosperity light and God was to be the Author of Sions prosperity and redemption he likeneth God here to the Sun which giveth light to the Moon and to the Stars when he saith Thy light is come And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee i. e. And the glorious Lord is risen upon thee as the Sun riseth upon the Moon and the Stars by casting his rays upon them By the glory of the Lord understand the glorious Lord himself as cap. 58. vers 8. which he saith is risen upon thee by a Metaphor drawn from the Sun in which he persists 2. The darkness shall cover the Earth By darkness is understood misery and calamity by the Earth is understood the Land of Babylonia by a Synecdoche the whole Earth being put for a part thereof and by a Metonymy the inhabitants of that earth to wit the Babylonians And gross darkness the people i. e. And exceeding great misery and calamity the people which inhabit Babylonia This came to pass when Cyrus conquered and subdued Babylon He prophecyeth misery to the Babylonians because the Babylonians did mightily oppress Sion and her children the Jews in their captivity 3. But the Lord shall arise upon thee i. e. But the Lord shall arise upon thee by casting the beams of his favor upon thee as the Sun ariseth upon the Moon and the Stars by casting his rays upon them And his glory shall be seen upon thee i. e. And he shall be seen upon thee Supple by the light and brightness of the beams of his favor which he shall cast upon thee He compareth here the Lord to the Sun and the redemption and prosperity which he gave to Sion to the beams and brightness which proceedeth from the body of the Sun Then did the Lord arise upon Sion when Cyrus did vanquish the Babylonians and set the Jews free and do such great things for them as we read of in the book of Ezra His glory i. e. He. See vers 1. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light i. e. And so great shall thy glory and thy prosperity be as that the Gentiles shall come to thee because of the greatness of thy glory and prosperity to joy thee and to be partakers with thee of that thy prosperity or at least to behold it and admire it To thy light By light as I said is meant prosperity c. But he alludeth here to the light of the Moon or some glorious Star to which he here resembleth Sion And Kings to the brightness of thy rising i. e. Yea Kings shall come to thee by reason of thy brightness when thou shalt rise for brightness like to the Moon or some glorious Star enlightened by the beams and rays of the Sun The brightness of thy rising is put per Metonymiam Adjuncti for Sion her self rising in brightness 4. Lift up thine eyes round about i. e. Behold and look towards all the parts of the Earth Here he beginneth to shew in particular what the light and brightness that is what the prosperity and glory of Sion should be All they gather themselves together they come to thee i. e. All they which thou seest gathering themselves together in all the parts of the Earth are Jews thy children and they gather themselves together to come to thee He speaks here to Sion as if he had her in an high Watch-tower from whence she could see all the quarters of the Earth Thy sons shall come from far i. e. Thy sons shall come to thee from far even from Babylon where they were captive and from other parts of the world whither they fled when the Babylonians invaded thy Land The Jews which were captive in Babylon returned to Jerusalem by the favor of Cyrus which conquered Babylon and set them free The Jews which were in other parts of the Earth when they heard what Cyrus had done for their Countrymen were invited by their good success to return home and did return and take part with them of their happiness And thy daughters shall be nursed by thy side q. d. And thy daughters shall be no more taken away from thee but they shall be nursed up by thy side or in thy presence He speaks to Sion as to a most indulgent Mother 5. Then shalt thou see and flow together i. e. Then shalt thou see supple thy sons and thy daughters in thine own house and shalt flow together with them with abundance of joy and riches Shalt thou see Supple Thy sons and thy daughters within thine own walls And flow together i. e. And thou shalt flow together with them or thou and they together with thee shall flow with abundance of joy and riches Flow There is a Metaphor in this word taken from a river which floweth with abundance of waters to which waters he likeneth the joy and riches of Sion and her children And thine heart shall fear and be enlarged because the abundance of the Sea shall be converted unto thee i. e. And thou shalt fear and rejoyce because of the abundance of people that shall come to thee A question will here be asked How the Prophet can say that she shall fear and rejoyce for these two are contrary passions and cannot happen upon the same occasion in the same person at the same time Ans The Prophet here alludeth to the manner of men who when they see a great company approaching toward them and toward their dwellings and knowing not what they are are dismayed and fear that they are some Enemies especially if they have been frighted before with companies of Enemies as Sion had been with the Babylonians but when they perceive upon their neer approach by their carriage and by their words that they are friends come to serve them their fear is turned into joy Sion then might fear when she saw so many coming to her while they are yet afar off
many significations which this word Spirit hath in the Hebrew language it signifieth any quality of the mind whether it be permanent or whether it be transeunt And if the quality be good and given of God as this of Prophecie is it is called the Spirit of the Lord. And such a quality as it may be called a Spirit per Metonymiam subjecti because it is received in the soule which is a spirit so it may be called a spirit per Metonymiam efficientis because it is given of God who is a Spirit This the Prophet speakes in his own person of himselfe Yet in this he was an eminent Type of Christ of whom in the second and sublime sence these words also are to be understood See Luke 4.18 Because the Lord hath annointed me to preach good tydings i. e. because the Lord hath designed and separated me to preach good tidings c. He alludeth to that ceremonie of the Law whereby they which were designed and separated me to the office of a Prophet were designed and separated thereunto by the Ceremony of Anoynting See 1 Kings 19.16 By the same Ceremony of Anoynting were they separated to the Office of a Priest Exod. 29.21 And by the same were they separated also to the Office of a King 1 Sam. 16. v. 12 13. 2 Sam. 2.4 1 King 1.45 2 Kings 9.3 To preach good tydings to the meek The meeke to which Isaiah was to preach good tydings were those of the captive Jewes which were meek in heart and humble in Spirit and the good tidings which he came to preach was the good tidings of their delivery out of Babylon by Cyrus These good tidings did Isaiah preach to them by his Writings though he himself dyed before the captivity Note here that as these good tydings in their first sence do signifie the tydings of the delivery of the Jews out of the Babylonish captivity by Cyrus So in the second and sublime sence they signifie the good tydings of mans salvation whereby he is saved from the captivity of sin and of the Devil by Christ of which latter that former was a type He hath sent me to binde up the broken-hearted i. e. He hath sent me to comfort the sorrowful heart by my Prophecies This is a repetition of the former sentence and the Prophet useth here a Metaphor taken from a leg or an arm of a man which is broken which while the Chyrurgeon healeth he swadleth and bindeth up after he hath set the bone He hath sent me c. These words shew what these words mean viz. He hath anointed me To proclaim liberty to the captives i. e. To declare to the Jews which are captive in Babylon that they shall be delivered out of that their captivity And the opening of the prison to them that are bound i. e. And the enlarging of them which lie in prison bound in chains This is for sence the same with the foregoing words Note that the Jews which were carryed captive into Babylon were not chained and put up in prison as great Malefactors were wont therefore that which is here spoken is to be taken metaphorically For because the Jews could not go out of those Cities and places at large which were assigned them in their captivity therefore doth he by a metaphor call them prisoners and the places of their captivity prisons 2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord i. e. He hath sent me to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord For these words are either to be referred to them to wit He hath sent me or they are to be repeated here To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord Supple To the Jews which are in captivity that is to proclaim that the time in which the Lord will redeem is at hand The acceptable year i. e. The year or time in which the Lord is well pleased and in which he will dispense his favors and shew his magnificence by giving gifts as a King unto his people and by delivering those which had offended out of prison This speech is metaphorical but concerning the Metaphor see Cap. 49.8 And the day of vengeance of our God i. e. And the time in which the Lord will pour out his vengeance upon his Enemies that is upon the Babylonians which have held his people in an hard captivity One and the same time may be an acceptable time and yet a day of vengeance an acceptable time in respect of the Kings subjects and a day of vengeance in respect of his Enemies whom he may put to death having taken them captive on that solemn day and the more to celebrate the day and the more to shew his love and care to his people To comfort all that mourn i. e. To comfort all that mourn by reason of their hard usage in Babylon if they mourn likewise for their sins 3. To appoint to them that mourn in Zion i. e. To tell that the Lord will appoint to them that mourn among the people of the Jews which are in Babylon Note that the Prophet suspends this sentence till the next words and there perfects it That mourn See Vers 2. In Zion i. e. Among the people of the Jews supple which are in Babylon Zion is often put by a Prosopopoeia as a woman yea as the mother of the Jews and it is put here by a Metonymy for the Jews themselves To give unto them beauty for ashes Here the Prophet doth perfect the sentence which he left imperfect and in suspence in the former words so that those words and these together are thus to be read or construed q. d. To tell that the Lord will appoint to them that mourn in Zion that is that he will give to them beauty for ashes c. Beauty Beauty is put here per Metonymiam Adjuncti for beautiful garments such as they were wont to wear in times of joy For ashes By ashes is here meant sackcloth basked in ashes such as they were wont to wear in times of mourning for in times of mourning they were wont to put on sackcloth and sit in ashes Or by beauty may be meant the beauty of the face which they were wont to wash and make as beautiful as they could in times of solemn joy and by ashes are meant the ashes which stuck upon the face and made it ill-favoâ—ed in the time of sorrow and mourning and publique calamities for at such times they were not onely wont to sit in ashes but to sprinkle ashes upon their heads If you ask how the Prophet did appoint or give to them which mourn in Zion beauty for ashes I answer He did it by prophecying to them that God would give them beauty in stead of ashes as Jeremy is said to root out and to pull down and to destroy and to throw down to build and to plant Cities because he foretold and prophecyed that they should be rooted out and pulled down and destroyed and thrown down and builded and
deliverance They did comply with the Babylonians in their Religion and their abominations And because the Babylonians did sacrifice in Gardens and burn Incense upon Altars of brick they also would sacrifice in Gardens and burn Incense upon Altars of brick Cap. 65.3 And because the Babylonians did prepare a Table and furnish a drink-offering to the Host of Heaven they also would prepare a Table to that troop and furnish a drink-offering to that number Cap. 65.11 And because the Babylonians did use Sorceries and Necromancy they also would do the like Cap. 65.4 And because the Babylonians did eat all unclean meats they also would eat them Cap. 65.4 thinking by this means to gain the favor of the Babylonians and to prevent the miseries which they feared Because the Babylonians promised them that they would deal better with them if they would comply with them in these things then they would with other Jews which would not comply with them Therefore the Lord threateneth them with this That by doing this wickedness they should gain nothing but should be deluded by the Babylonians For notwithstanding this their complying with the Babylonians in these their abominations and the Babylonians promise the Babylonians should afflict them and should deal as bad with them as with others I will choose their delusions i. e. I will choose this That they shall be deluded by the Babylonians How they should be deluded by the Babylonians I said immediately before Note that this word Delusions is to be taken here not in an active but in a passive sence or signification And they are called their delusions not because they did delude others thereby but because they were thereby deluded themselves And will bring their fears upon them q. d. And whereas they are afraid that they shall never be delivered out of Babylon and that their misery will be day by day greater in the Land of their captivity and therefore they strive to prevent these their fears by complying with the Babylonians in their abominations they shall not prevent them but for all their abominations I will bring their fears upon them I will bring their fears upon them i. e. I will bring those things upon them which they are afraid of and then their delight shall come to an end Note that the word Fears is to be taken here objectivè for the things feared And where such things befall a man he can have no pleasure or delight in any thing Because when I called c. He adds another reason here why he would chuse their delusions and bring their fears upon them When I called none did answer See cap. 65.12 5. Hear the Word of the Lord ye that tremble at his Word q. d. But as for you which tremble at the Word of the Lord hear the word of comfort which the Lord speaks unto you Ye that tremble at his Word See Notes vers 2. Your Brethren that hated you By these their Brethren he meaneth those ungodly Jews to whom and of whom he spoke in the four first Verses whom he calleth their Brethren because they were all brethren according to the flesh and were all descended from the same Fathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob who for all this did hate these their brethren which feared the Lord. That cast you out c. Viz. Of their company as though ye were impure and would defile them if you drew nigh to them and did converse with them See Cap. 65.5 For my Names sake i. e. For my sake that is because ye cleave to my Commandments and live according to them Said Supple In derision and mockery of you Let the Lord be glorified Though the ungodly party of the Jews did not believe that the Lord could deliver those which were in captivity in Babylon out of their captivity yet most of the godly party did and out of the fulness of their heart did often say that the Lord would be glorified in their deliverance according to what the Lord said by his Prophet cap. 44.23 and cap. 60.21 The ungodly party therefore which hated the godly party as for other things so for this that they believed that the Lord would deliver them out of the hands of the Babylonians because they themselves could not think it were wont to mock the godly party with this saying Let the Lord be glorified Supple In your deliverance as though they believed and looked for that which God could not do But he shall appear to your joy i. e. But he shall shew himself in your deliverance to your joy And they shall be ashamed To wit That they mocked you with this saying Let God be glorified when they shall see that God hath delivered you to his glory 6. A voyce of noise from the City a voyce from the Temple q. d. I hear a voyce of a noise of rejoycing from the City of Jerusalem and a voyce of singing and thanksgiving from the Temple The Prophet speaks this as if he had heard on a sudden a noise of rejoycing made by the Jews from Jerusalem and a noise of praise and thanksgiving made by the Levites from the Temple for their redemption out of the Babylonish captivity By which he signifieth that the godly Jews should be certainly redeemed and brought to their own Land again and that they should build again the waste places of Jerusalem and that they should raise up the Temple which the Babylonians had destroyed and rejoyce in all this A voyce of the Lord that rendreth recompence to his Enemies q. d. I hear the voyce of the Lord who recompenceth his Enemies according to their deserts In those Psalms of praise and thanksgiving which were wont to be sung in the Temple many passages were made and sung in the person of God triumphing over his Enemies and threatening them with due vengeance as Psal 68.22 23. 132.18 81.14 c. 89.23 c. And to such passages as these may the Prophet allude when he saith A voyce of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his Enemies Yet that which followeth in the three next Verses may be the voyce and song of rejoycing which the Prophet heard which song is sung in the person of the Lord or at least part thereof as appeareth vers 9. And those words That rendereth recompence to his Enemies may be added here not to denote any passage in the song but as an Epithite of the Lord an Epithite opportunely added because the wicked part of the Jews thought that God was not able to punish the Babylonians But if the song here sung was not sung in the person of God yet the subject thereof was the acts of the Lord whatsoever the song was And those words Of the Lord may as well signifie the subject matter as the Author of the voyce or song which uttereth the voyce or singeth the song That rendereth recompence to his Enemies This is meant especially of the Babylonians whom the Lord accounted his Enemies because they did use
e. Nor shall a man though he be come to the verge of old age be carryed out of Jerusalem to the grave until he hath come to the extremity of old age that is neither shall a man dye in Jerusalem though he be old before he be exceeding old An old man Note that the old man here is opposed to an Infant and so signifieth not a very old man but one that may be called an old man in respect of an Inâ—ant or one that is on the verge onely of old age That hath not filled his days He calleth those a mans days which are requisite to the making up of a good old age and which a man might reach to by the course of Nature if no casualty did cut him off which ordinarily are an hundred years as the next words shew For the childe shall dye an hundred years old i. e. For the childe shall live an hundred years before he dyeth But the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed He prevents an Objection here For whereas God promiseth here the blessing of long life onely unto his servants and would have it taken as a peculiar blessing to them so that the sinners should have no part in it It might be objected That this is not such a peculiar and special blessing of the righteous or of his servants as he would make it to be for the sinners also fulfil their days and live an hundred years The Lord therefore prevents this Objection saying that though the sinner liveth till he be an hundred years old yet he shall be accursed and therefore accursed because in his life time the plagues of God shall fall upon him and in his death he shall be taken away with an unusual destruction See Job 21. v. 7 8 c. to vers 20. Note therefore that it is not onely a long life which the Lord here promiseth to his servants but a blessed long life a life which shall be accompanyed with length of joy and happiness And they shall build houses i. e. And my people shall build houses And inhabit them i. e. And shall live to inhabit them And eat the fruit thereof i. e. And shall live to eat the fruit thereof 22. For as the days of a tree are the days of my people i. e. For my people shall live as long as the tree which they shall plant so that they which plant the tree shall live to eat all the fruit thereof Are the days of my people i. e. The days of my people shall be A present is put here for a future tense Mine Elect See Vers 9. Mine Elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands i. e. Mine Elect shall live long that they may long inhabit the houses which they shall build 23. They shall not labor in vain i. e. They shall not build houses which they shall not enjoy nor plant Vineyards which they shall not eat for this would be labor in vain which was a curse which God threatened to the wicked Levit. 26.16 and Deut. 28.30 Nor bring forth for trouble i. e. Neither shall they bring forth children whose untimely death shall bring them sorrow and trouble of minde This is a short repetition of what he said in the three foregoing verses They are the seed of the blessed of the Lord i. e. They are the true children of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob whom the Lord blessed in themselves and in their seed as well as in themselves And their off-spring with them q. d. And so are their children as well as they wherefore they also shall live to build and to plant and to enjoy what they builded and planted 24. And it shall come to pass before they call I will answer i. e. And if any evil befall them I will take it away before they complain This is another blessing which the Lord promiseth his people after their return out of captivity 25. The Wolf and the Lamb shall feed together See cap. 11.6 The Lion shall eat straw like the Bullock See cap. 11.7 And dust shall be the Serpents meat i. e. And the Serpent shall live upon the dust onely so that he shall be contented with that and shall not fasten upon man to do him any harm nor yet upon any beast That Serpents live upon the dust see Gen. 3.14 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain See cap. 11.9 This Verse containeth another blessing which the Lord promiseth his people after their captivity which is this That they shall live peaceably and quietly in their Land without any fear of violence there shall be no robbers no man-slayers there ISAIAH CHAP. LXVI THus saith the Lord The Heaven is my throne and the Earth is my footstool where is the house that ye build for me This may be very well continued with the former Chapter For whereas the Lord found fault with the wicked and hypocritical part of the Jews which were in captivity for that they forsook him and forgot his holy mountain c. Cap. 65.11 and threatened them grievously in the former Chapter They were ready to clear themselves and to plead not guilty and to shew that they were faithful servants of the Lord and to say That whereas they did frequent the Temple and did offer their due sacrifices while the Temple stood and they were suffered to live in the Land of Judah So if ever they should come into that Land again they would build up the Temple which the Babylonians had destroyed and would offer sacrifices to the Lord as they were wont to do The Lord therefore in the beginning of this Capter takes away these vain arguments of theirs and shews that to build him a Temple was not such an acceptable piece of service as they deemed nor would he take pleasure in their sacrifices being they were such men as they were that is Idolatrous and wicked men The Heaven is my throne The Heaven is my Chair of state whereon I sit And the Earth is my footstool i. e. And the Earth is my stool on which I rest my feet When he saith The Heaven is my throne and the Earth is my footstool he alludeth to the manner of earthly Kings who as they had glorious thrones to sit on so had they their footstools though not so glorious to rest their feet upon And the Lord is here compared to a man of an immense greatness for he must needs be of an immense greatness who is so big as to sit upon the Heavens as his seat and to rest his feet upon the Earth as his footstool for so his upper parts must be higher by much then the highest Heavens Where is the house that ye build unto me i. e. Where then shall that house be which ye say you will build for me for Heaven and Earth are not able to contain an house big enough to contain me Here is a present tense twice put for a future This people which said that
if they did ever return into their own Land the Land of Judah they would build the Lord an House or Temple because the Babylonians had burned down the first first Temple which Solomon built being inured to Idols and Idolatry conceived that the Lord would be contained in his House or Temple as their Idols were in their Houses or Temples Therefore the Lord saith thus unto them The Heaven is my throne the Earth is my footstool where therefore is the House that ye build unto me c. And where is the place of my rest i. e. And where shall be the place of the Temple which ye said ye would build unto me This is a repetition of the former sentence And as there so here a present is put for a future tense By Gods rest is meant the Temple of God which may be so called in allusion to that that it is called Gods rest Psal 132.8 and it is there called Gods rest in opposition to the Tabernacle of the Lord which moved up and down whereas the Temple stood firm and fixed in one place In allusion I say to that place of the Psalms Psal 132.8 may the Temple be called Gods rest and because the Temple is so called in the Psalms this people might call the Temple which they said they would build Gods Rest and the Lord in imitation of them might by a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 say as he doth here And where is the place of my Rest 2. For all these things hath mine hand made i. e. Moreover all these things supple which ye see have I made For is put here for Moreover and the hand which is but a part is put here by a Synecdoche for the whole man for God speaketh here of himself as of a man by a Prosopopoeia And all those things have been i. e. And all these things have continued from the Creation Supple by the supportment of my hand If the Lord made all things and sustained them ever since then cannot man make a Temple to the Lord of any thing which was not his own before then can he not make him a Temple worthy of his honor then doth not the Lord need any Temple of mans building And so their work woâ—ld not be so acceptable to the Lord as they imagined nay the Lord would not regard a Temple of their building being they were wicked men and delighted in their abominations But to this man will I look even to him that is of a poor and contrite spirit Between this and the former Verse understand these or the like words I will not therefore have any regard to you though ye do build me a Temple q. d. I will not therefore have any regard to you though ye do build me a Temple but to him onely will I look even to him that is of a poor and a contrite spirit To this man will I look Supple With a pleasing and delightful countenance That is of a poor and contrite spirit See cap. 57.15 But what he calls poor here he calls humble there for the humble man is always poor in his own conceit And trembles at my Word i. e. And trembleth at those words of threatening wherewith I threaten the transgressors of my Law and so is afraid to transgress my Law 3. He that killeth an Ox is as if he slew a man q. d. They say that when they come into their own Land that Land of Judah again and have built me a Temple there that they will serve me with their sacrifices again as they were wont But whosoever he be among them that killeth an Ox in sacrifice to me shall be to me as abominable as if he slew a man which to do is plain murder which I will not suffer to go unrevenged Note here the Enallage of the person for he speaks of them here in the third person to whom he spoke in the second Vers 1. He that sacrificeth a Lamb as if a he cut off a dogs neck A dog was accounted so unclean and base a creature among the Hebrews as that the price of a dog was not to be brought into the House of the Lord Deut. 23.18 Abominable therefore must he needs be that would cut off a dogs neck thereby to sacrifice to the Lord. He that offered an Oblation as if he offered Swines blood By the Oblation here mentioned is meant a meat-offering which was of meal either raw or dressed of which Levit. 2. To offer Swines blood for an Oblation was unlawful and so abominable two ways first as it was blood secondly as it was Swines blood for no blood was to be offered as an Oblation for Oblations were to be onely of meal wine and oyl Levit 2. And the blood of every beast which a man killed was to be poured on the ground Levit. 17.13 And as for Swine they were neither permitted in Gods publique service or mans private use Levit. 11.7 He that burneth Incense as if he blessed an Idol i. e. He that burneth Incense to me shall be as abominable as if he blessed an Idol That burneth Incense He alludeth to that burning of Incense or Frankincense which is mentioned Levit. 2.2 As if he blessed an Idol i. e. As if he did burn Incense and sing praises to an Idol Note that Idolaters at the time that they burned Incense to their Idols did sing hymns and songs in praise of their Idols which is called blessing their Idols and is that to which the Prophet here alludeth Yea they have chosen their own ways i. e. Because they have forsaken those ways which I commanded them and have chosen them ways of their own which they think best of to walk in such ways as are mentioned Cap. 65.3 4 5. Note that Yea is put here for Because for this containeth a reason why any of them if he killed an Ox should be as abominable as if he should slay a man And their Soul delighteth in their abominations i. e. And they delight in their abominable sins such as those are which are mentioned Cap. 65.3 4 5. 4. I also will choose their delusions and bring their fears upon them q. d. But because they have chosen their own ways I will chuse also but I will chuse their delusions And because their Soul delighteth in their abominations I will cross their delight and bring their fears upon them For understanding of these words know this that the Babylonians did promise those captive Jews which would comply with them in their wicked Religion and their abominations more favor then they would shew to others whereupon the ungodly party of the Jews fearing that they should never be delivered out of captivity and that the Babylonians would oppress them every day more and more because the Lord sent his Prophets to the Jews to tell them that he would deliver them out of Babylon as Pharaoh did the more afflict the Israelites in Egypt because Moses came with a message from God concerning their