unclean see on chap. 7. 2. Levit. 11. 2. c. 21. And the Lord smelled †Heb. a savour of rest a sweet savour x i. e. Graciously accepted the Person and Faith and Praise-offering of Noah and was as well pleased therewith as men use to be with a sweet smell and the Lord said in his Heart y i. e. Determined within himself and expressed so much to Noah The Hebrew preposition el sometimes signifies in as Gen. 6. 6. 1 Sam. 27. 1. Others said to his Heart i. e. spake to the Heart of Noah who is mentioned ver 20. To speak to the Heart in Scripture use signifies to comfort I will not again curse the ground z i. e. The whole Earth with this kind of curse with another deluge Otherwise God doth not hereby tye his hands that he may not either destroy a particular Land by a deluge which hath been done since or destroy the World by Fire when he sees fit as he hath declared he will do any more for mans sake for the * Chap. 6. 5. Matth. 15. 19. imagination of mans Heart is evil a The reason is this since all mens Hearts are naturally corrupt and from that filthy spring wicked actions will be continually flowing forth into the World and consequently if I should be severe to punish men according to their sins I should do nothing but send one deluge after another Or these words may be joyned with the former and the sense may be this I will not again destroy the Earth with a deluge for mans sake or for mans sin or because the imagination c. i. e. because his heart is corrupt and his actions are agreeable to it which was the cause of the last deluge Or the particle chi may be rendred although as it is frequently taken as Exod. 5. 11. and 13. 17. and 34. 9. Ios. 17. 13. Psal. 25. 11. and 41. 5. and so the sense is plain I will not again destroy the Earth although the imagination c. i. e Although I have just cause to do so from his youth Neither will I again smite b i. e. Kill or destroy as the word smiting is taken Exod. 21. 18. Numb 14. 12. and 35. 16. Deut. 28. 22 27. Amos 4. 9. any more every thing living as I have done ‖ Or From his very childhood and infancy as the Chaldee and Greek interpreters Translate it 22. †Heb. as yet all the days of the Earth While the Earth remaineth c In this estate For though it seems probable that the substance of the Earth will abide for ever after the dissolution of the World by fire yet that will be in another manner and for other purposes and then there will be no need of Seed-time or Harvest c. Seed-time and Harvest and Cold and Heat and Summer and Winter and Day and Night d Which distinction in a manner ceased in the Ark the Heavens being covered and all its lights eclipsed by such thick and black Clouds as never were before noâ—… since shall not cease CHAP. IX 1. AND God blessed a i. e. Renewed the old blessing and grant made chap. 1. 28. which might seem to be forfeited and made void by mans sin and by Gods Judgment consequent upon it Noah and his Sons and said unto them * Chap. 1. 28. and 8. 17. be fruitful and multiply and replenish the Earth 2. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every Beast of the Earth and upon every Fowl of the Air upon all that moveth upon the Earth and upon all the Fishes of the Sea ‖ Before they loved and reverenced you as Lords and Friends now they shall dread you as Enemies and Tyrants into your hand are they delivered * For your use and service I restore you in part to that Dominion over them which you for your sins have forfeited 3. Every moving thing b Which is wholesome and fit for food and clean An exception to be gathered both from the nature of the thing and from the distinction of clean and unclean Beasts mentioned before and afterwards that liveth c This is added to exclude the use of those Creatures which either died of themselves or were killed by wild Beasts which is here forbidden implicitely and afterwards expresly See Exod. 22. 31. Levit. 22. 8. shall be meat for you d It is not a command that we must but a permission that we may eat of them A grant possibly given before the Flood but now expressed either because the former allowance might seem to be forfeited or because as men now grew more infirm and needed better nourishment so the Earth was grown more feeble by the Flood and its fruits yeilded less and worse nourishment even as the * Chap. 1. 29. green herb have I given you all things †Understand this with the limitation above mentioned The green Herbs were given before chap. 1. 29. 4. * Levit. 17. 14. Deut. 12. 23. Act. 15. 20. But Flesh with the †Heb. Soul Life thereof e i. e. Whilst it lives or taken from the Creature before it be quite dead Which was an antient practice and an effect either of luxury or cruelty which is the blood thereof f i. e. Which life or soul hath its seat in and its support from the blood and the spirits contained in it It is certain Blood is the thing which is here principally minded and forbidden and so the words may be thus translated and understood but flesh i. e. the Flesh of living Creatures hereby allowed you with the Life thereof that is to say with the blood thereof wherein its life consists Or But Flesh whilst it hath in it its Life or Soul or which is all one its Blood shall you not eat g God thought fit to forbid this partly that by this respect shewn to the blood of Beasts it might appear how sacred a thing the blood of man was and how much God abhorred the sin of Murther and principally because the Blood was reserved and consecrated to God as was the means of atonement for man which reason God himself gives Levit. 17. 11 12. and did in a special manner represent the Blood of Christ which was to be shed for the Redemption of mankind 5. And * Or For as the particle is oft taken This being the reason of the foregoing prohibition surely your blood of your †Heb. Souls Lives h Or Of your Souls i. e. Of your persons the word Soul being oft put for Person Or your Blood which is for your lives i. e. which by the spirits it generates is the great preserver and instrument of your lives and of all your vital actions and the great bond which ties your Souls and Bodies together The sense of the place is If I am thus carefull for the blood of Beasts
to defend what I have once said whether true or false but from an honest mind or what I verily believe to be true and from a sincere desire to do thee good and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly f I shall not speak my own fancies or devices but only that which by diligent study and divine inspiration I know to be true and this I shall do plainly and clearly 4. The spirit of God hath made me and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life g I am thy Fellow-creature made by God's Spirit Gen. 1. 2. and quickned by that Soul which God breathed into man Gen. 2. 7. and therefore fit and ready to discourse with thee upon even and equal terms according to thy desire 5. If thou canst answer me h I shall allow thee all freedom of discourse I cannot terrifie thee as God would I shall not reproach thee nor cavil at thee as thy Friends have done * 〈◊〉 3â—… 14. set thy words in order before me stand up i To contend with me as thine Adversary in this Cause 6. * 〈◊〉 â—… 35. 〈◊〉 Behold I am †〈…〉 according to thy wish in Gods stead k I will plead with thee in God's Name and stead and on his behalf which thou hast oft wished that God would do upon equal terms and laying aside his terrible Majesty c. Or I am as thou art with or towards God i. e. God's Creature like thy self as the next words explain it I also am †〈…〉 formed out of the clay 7. Behold * 〈◊〉 13. 21. my terrour shall not make thee afraid neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee l Which was the condition of that disputation which thou didst offer to undertake with God Chap. 9. 34. 13. 21. 8. Surely thou hast spoken †〈…〉 in mine hearing m I shall not charge thee with hypocrisie as thy Friends do which God onely can discern but with those words which I have heard from thee and I have heard the voice of thy words saying 9. * Ch. 9. 17. 〈◊〉 â—… 16 〈◊〉 23. 10 〈◊〉 27. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 31. 1. I am clean without transgression I am innocent neither is there inquity in me n Not simply and absolutely none for he oft confesseth himself to be a sinner as Chap. 9. 1 2 c. 14. 4. but no such transgression or iniquity as might give God just occasion to punish him so severely as is implied in the next Verse where he blameth God for finding occasions against him implying that he had given him none by his sins And thus far Elihu's chaâ—…ge was just and true and herein it differs from the charge of Iob's three Friends who oft accuse him and that in words much like these for asserting his own righteousness and innocency although they did it because they thought him a secret Sinner and an Hypocrite whereas Elihu doth it upon other grounds even because Iob's justification of himself was accompanied with reflections upon God as hath been said 10. Behold he findeth occasions against me o He picketh quarrels with me and watcheth over and searcheth after all my errours and frailties as Iob said Chap. 10. 6. 14. 16 17. severely marking what is amiss in me that thence he may take occasion to punish me worse than mine iniquities deserve * Ch. 16. 9. he counteth me for his enemy p Though I have endeavoured to be his friend and faithful servant all my days yet he treats me like an enemy This Job said Chap. 13. 24. 19. 11. 11. * Ch. 13. 27. 14. 16. He putteth my feet in the stocks he marketh all my paths q He narrowly pries into all my actions that he may find matter for further severities against me 12. Behold in this thou art not just r I do not accuse thee of hypocrisie nor rip up the former errours of thy life but in this thou art unjust and much to blame that thou boastest so much of thine own integrity and chargest God with rigorous dealing and callest him to an account before thy Tribunal and offerest to dispute the matter with him I will answer thee That God is greater s Not only in Power and Majesty which thou acknowledgest but also in Justice and Wisdom and goodness and therefore thou doest very foolishly and presumptuously and wickedly in contending with him and censuring his Judgments thou forgettest thy distance from him and castest off that awe and reverence which thou shouldest constantly maintain towards thy Soveraign Lord. than man 13. Why t Upon what grounds and for what ends What advantage dost thou expect from it dost thou strive against him u To wit in a judicial way See Chap. 13. 6. for †Heb. he answereth not he giveth not account of any of his matters x He neither useth nor is by any Law obliged to give an account to any of his Creatures of the grounds and reasons of his Judgments or dispensations as being the Supream and absolute Governour of all Persons and Things in whose will and pleasure it becometh all Men to acquiesce And therefore O Job thou exceedest all bounds of modesty and humility and reverence and submission which thou owest to thy Maker in that thou presumest to demand a reason for his dealings with thee and to quarrel with him for not giving it to thee at thy desire Or he answereth not all his words i. e. He doth not say or hath not said all that he can to justifie his actions which he can do many more ways than we can imagine but hath revealed so much of his will and ways to Mankind as he hath thought meet and as their narrow capacity can comprehend as he declareth in the following Verses 14. For y Or Nevertheless as this Particle is sometimes used Although God doth not give men an account of his matters yet he doth that for them which is much better and which is sufficient for them God speaketh z To wit unto men by way of instruction or admonition as appears from the following Verses once yea twice a i. e. Again and again or oftimes this number being sometimes put indefinitely as below v. 29. 2 King 6. 10. Psal. 62. 11. When one speaking doth not awaken men God is graciously pleased to give them another admonition So God though he will not gratifie mens curiosity in enquiring into his hidden Judgments yet he will supply their necessity and acquaint them with their duty and interest so far as is fit and they are concerned to know yet man b Which is easily and fitly understood here from the former branch of this Verse as being the Person to whom God speaketh as appears from the next Verse And such supplements are not unusual in the Hebrew Language and especially in these Poetical Books where the Stile
speak to you not by an interpreter as hitherto I have done but immediately and in the Hebrew Language 13 And you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt and of all that you have seen and ye shall haste and * Acts 7. 14. bring down my father hither 14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamins neck and wept and Benjamin wept upon his neck 15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren and wept upon them and after that his brethren talked with him r To wit freely and familiarly being encouraged by his kindness 16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaohs house saying Josephs brethren are come and it †Heb. was good in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 pleased Pharaoh well and his servants s Because they all owed their lives unto Ioseph and his favour was now fresh and present and therefore he had more influence upon them and they more kindness for him 17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph Say unto thy brethren This do ye Lade your beasts and go get you unto the land of Canaan 18 And take your father and your housholds and come unto me and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt and ye shall eat * chap. 27. 28. the fat of the land t The choicest fruits of the land Fat oft is put for the best of any sort as Numb 18. 12 29. Deut. 32. 14. Psal. 63. 5. and 147. 14. 19 Now thou art commanded u Besides that absolute power which I have given thee to dispose of all things as thou pleasest I do particularly and especially command thee to do this thing this do ye Take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives and bring your father and come 20 Also †Heb. let not your eyes spare c. regard not your stuff x Heb. Let not your eye pity or spare any part of your stuff as loath to leave it behind you or afraid to lose it Sparing or pitying is an act of the mind but it is ascribed to the eye here as also Ezek. 7. 4 9. and 16. 5. partly because there it discovers it self by tears or otherwise and partly because the sight of the eye doth oft affect the heart and move pity for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours 21 And the children of Israel did so and Joseph gave them wagons according to the †Heb. mouth commandment of Pharaoh and gave them provision for the way 22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment y New and handsome garments which upon their coming into Pharaohs presence and on other occasions they might wear in stead of those more old and homely ones which they brought with them from Canaan Compare Iudg. 14. 12 19. 2 King 5. 5. but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of raiment 23 And to his father he sent after this manner z Heb. according to this What Either what went before changes of raiment or what follows ten asses c. ten asses †Heb. carrying laden with the good things of Egypt and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way 24 So he sent his brethren away and they departed and he said unto them See that ye fall not out a Or contend one with another each vindicating himself and laying the blame upon his brother by the way 25 And they went up out of Egypt and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father 26 And told him saying Joseph is yet alive and he is governour over all the land of Egypt And †Heb. his Jacobs heart fainted b Or was weakned or failed he fell into a swoon as it is ordinary because of the greatness and suddenness of the news and the conflict of contrary and violent passions raised hereby grief at the remembrance of his former loss and excessive joy for Iosephs recovery and felicity hope that this might be true and fear lest it should be but a fiction of theirs any one of these passions are able to cause a fainting of the Spirits but much more when all meet together especially in an aged person for he believed them not c Partly because of the greatness and strangeness and desireableness of the thing compare Psal. 126. 1. and partly because they were by this very relation convicted of one lye about Ioseph in saying that he was dead and therefore might easily be thought guilty of another 27 And they told him all the words of Joseph which he had said unto them and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him the spirit of Jacob their father revived 28 And Israel said It is enough d I desire no more no greater happiness in this world than to see him Which when I have done I am willing to die Joseph my son is yet alive I will go and see him before I die CHAP. XLVI 1 AND Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices a Both in thankfulness to God for former favours and especially for Iosephs preservation and happiness and by way of supplication to God for his direction in this great case whether he might leave the promised land of Canaan and go into the idolatrous and impious land of Egypt and for his protection and blessing as well in his journey as in Egypt unto the God of his father Isaac b Whom Isaac honoured and served and who had constantly protected and provided for Isaac and confirmed his covenant with him He mentions Isaac rather than Abraham partly for Isaacs honour to shew that though Isaac was much inferiour to Abraham in gifts and graces yet God was no less Isaacs than Abrahams God and therefore would be his God also notwithstanding his unworthiness and partly for his own comfort because Isaac was Iacobs immediate Parent and had transferred the blessing of the Covenant from Esau to Iacob and the validity of that translation depended upon Isaacs interest in God 2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night c i. e. In that way or manner of visions which God affordeth to men by night and in their sleep See Gen 20. 3. Iob 33. 15 16. Mat. 1. 20. and 2. 13 19. Act. 16 9. and 18. 9 c. and said Jacob Jacob d He doubles the name both in token of his friendship and familiarity with him and to raise Iacobs attention Compare Gen. 22 11. 1 Sam. 3. 10. And he said here am I. 3 And he said I am God the God of thy father fear not e For here were many causes of fear lest he should do evil in forsaking the promised and blessed land and going to a place which had been incommodious to his grandfather Gen. 12. 15. and forbidden to his father
friend with Pharaoh in this and upon all other occasions and we will be Pharaohs servants * To manage his land for him upon the terms which thou hast proposed 26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day that Pharaoh should have the fifth part f That the propriety of the land should be Pharaohs and that in token thereof the people should pay the fifth part of the products of it to Pharaoh except the land of the ‖ Or Princes Priests only which became not Pharaohs 27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt in the country of Goshen and they had possessions g i. e. Lands not for the dominion or propriety of them for that rested in Pharaoh but for the use and profit of them for their present subsistence therein and grew and multiplyed exceedingly 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years so †Heb. the days of the years of his life the whole age of Jacob was an hundred fourty and seven years 29 And the time drew â—…igh that Israel must die and he called his son Joseph and said unto him If now I have found grace in thy sight * chap. 24. 2. put I pray thee thy hand under my thigh h i. e. Swear to me as ver 31. that thou wilt do what I am now desiring of thee See the notes on Gen. 24. 2. He requires this not out of any distrust of Iosephs promise but partly as a more solemn protestation of his right to and affection for that promised land partly as a motive to all his children to have their minds and hearts there even when their bodies were in Egypt and partly to give Ioseph an argument and excuse to Pharaoh that he might more willingly permit Ioseph to fulfil his fathers desire because of his own oath and deal i Or that thou wilt deal as the Hebrew Vau joyned with the future tense is elsewhere used as Psal. 24. 7. and 35. 24. and 51. 15. kindly and truly k Kindly in promising and truly in performing thy promise with me * See chap. 50 25. bury me not I pray thee in Egypt 30 But I will lie with my fathers l Abraham and Isaac in Canaan See Gen. 23. 19. and 25. 9. and 35. 29. Which he desired not so much for himself as knowing that wherever he was buried he should rise to Glory as for his children to shew his own and confirm their faith in Gods promise of Canaan to discover his high valuation of that land not onely for it self but as it was a type and pledge of the heavenly inheritance to keep his childrens minds and hearts loose from Egypt a place of so much sin and danger and fixed upon Canaan that they might be more willing to go thither when God called them by vertue of that inclination which is in most persons to be buried with their Fathers and in the mean time to declare his detestation of Idolaters with whom he would have no communion either in life as far as he could avoid it or in the place of burial and on the contrary to profess his communion with his godly Ancestours by his desire to be joyned with them in burial And for the same reasons Ioseph desired the translation of his bones thither Gen. 50. 25. and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying-place and he said I will do as thou hast said 31 And he said Swear unto me and he sware unto him And * Heb. 11. 21. Israel bowed himself m Not to Ioseph who being now not upon his throne nor amongst the Egyptians but in his fathers house was doubtless more ready to pay that reverence as he did chap. 48. 12. than to receive veneration from him which he owed to his father but to God who is here to be understood as he is in the same phrase 1 King 1. 47. whom with this gesture he worshipped and praised as for the promise of Canaan and the assurance which he had now received from Ioseph of his being buried there so for all his favours to him and to Ioseph and by him to all his family upon the beds head n Iacob at this time was bed-rid through age and infirmity but being now to give God solemn thanks though the words and manner of it be not here expressed he raised himself and sâ—…t upon the head or uppermost part of his bed as he did also Gen. 48. 2. that he might express his reverence to God as much as he could by bowing when he could not do it as much as he would being unable to do it kneeling Others for bed read staff the discussion whereof I refer unto its proper place Heb. 11. 21. CHAP. XLVIII 1 AND it came to pass after these things that one told Joseph Behold thy father is sick and he took with him his two sons a To obtain his venerable and religious fathers blessing for them Manasseh and Ephraim 2 And one told Jacob and said Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee and Israel strengthned himself b He got new strength his spirits being quickned and refreshed by the tidings of Iosephs approach and he put forth all the strength which he had and sate upon the bed 3 And Jacob said unto Joseph God Almighty appeared unto me at * chap. 28. 13. and 35. 6. Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me 4 And said unto me Behold I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee and I will †Heb. make thee a multitude of peoples make of thee a multitude of people and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an evelasting possession 5 And now thy * chap. 41. 50. and 46. 20. Iosh. 13. 7. two sons Ephraim and Manasseh which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt are mine c By Adoption I shall own them as if they were my immediate children and each of them shall have equal share both in my present estate and future inheritance of Canaan with the rest of my children Thus Iacob transfers the double portion which was the right of the first-born from which Reuben by his transgression fell Gen. 49. 4. upon Ioseph 1 Chron. 5. 1. as Reuben and Simeon d Which two he names as the eldest who if any might seem to claim a greater priviledge than the rest they shall be mine 6 And thy issue which thou begettest after them shall be thine e Shall be reputed as thy children and my grandchildren and shall not have any distinct share in my present or future inheritance but shall have a part of their brethrens lot in such manner and proportion as thou shalt think fit or as their succeeding Parents or Governours shall determine But it doth not appear nor doth Scripture any where mention that Ioseph had any other sons
they used to do at Funerals See Ier. 16. 5. Ezek. 24. 17. 36 And all the people too notice of it and it ‡ Heb. was good in theâ—…r eyes pleased them g They were satisfied concerning David's Integrity and the method he used here for his own just vindication as whatsoever the king did h Either in this matter or rather in all things following this Action The meaning is By his carriage herein he gained so great an Interest in the hearts of his People that they judged most favourably of and put the best construction upon all his words and actions as on the contrary when people have a prejudice against or an ill will towards their Prince they are apt to judge most harshly of all his Counsels and Doings pleased all the people f Observed what the King said and did 37 For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the King h Not done by his design or good will to slay Abner the son of Ner. 38 And the king said unto his servants Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man i Both for his Illustrious Quality and for his high Courage and wise Conduct and especially now for his great usefulness and serviceableness to me in giving me the intire and peaceable Possession of all Israel But still observe David's Prudence and Piety that he doth not commend him for his Vertues and Graces as men of vendible Consciences and Tongues use to do upon Funeral-occasions but onely for that kind of worth which was really in him Compare 2 Sam. 1. 23. fallen this day in Israel 39 And I am this day ‡ Heb. tender weak k Or tender in the Infancy of my Kingdom not well rooted and settled in it The Metaphor is taken from a young and tender Child or Plant. though anointed king and these men the sons of Zeruiah l Ioab and Abishai the Sons of my Sister Zeruiah be * Chap. 19. 7. too hard for me m i. e. Too powerful They have so great a command over all the Soldiers and so great favour with the People that I cannot Punish them without apparent hazard to my Person and Kingdom especially now when all the Tribes except Iudah are yet in a state of Opposition against me But this although it might give some colour to the delay of their Punishment for a season yet it may seem to have been one of David's infirmities that he did not do it within some reasonable time both because this Indulgence proceeded from a distrust of Gods Power and Faithfulness as if God could not or would not make good his Promise of the Kingdom to him without and against Ioab and all his Confederates and because it was contrary to Gods Law which severely requires the Punishment of Wilful Murderers Gen. 9. 6. Exod. 21. 14. Numb 35. 21. which David had no power to dispence with And David might and should have remembred how dear Saul pay'd for this very thing that he dispensed with Gods Command and spared those whom God commanded him to slay 1 Sam. 15. And it seems David's Conscience oft smote him for this which made him watch for a fit opportunity to remove and then punish him and having neglected it till Death he declareth his sorrow for that neglect by giving Solomon a charge to execute it after his Death 1 King 2. 5 6 34. * See Chap. 20. 10. the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness 1 King 2. 5 6 33 34. CHAP. IV. AND when Sauls son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron his hands were feeble a His Spirit and Courage and Strength failed him This Phrase is used in the same sence Ezra 4. 4. Neh. 6. 9. Isa. 13. 7. and 35. 3. and all the Israelites were troubled b Because now they were unable to oppose David and doubtful of obtaining his favour now Abner their peace-maker was dead 2 And Sauls son had two men that were Captains of bands the name of the one was Baanah and the name of the ‡ Heb. second other Rechab the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite of the children of Benjamin c Of Ishbosheth's own Tribe whom therefore he trusted the more and this gave them opportunity to execute their wicked design for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin d This is added as the reason why he called them Beerothites because though Beeroth was now in the hands and Possession of the Philistines 1 Sam. 31. 7. yet of right it belonged to the Benjamites Iosh. 18. 25. 3 And e Or Yet or But. For this comes in to anticipate an Objection against what he had now said It is true saith he the Beerothites fled as others did upon the overthrow of Saul and his Army 1 Sam. 31. 7. to a place called Gittaim 2 Sam. 4. 3. not that in Benjamin Nehem. 11. 33. but some other place of that name more remote from the Philistines and so they were Gittaimites by their present Habitation but Beerothites by their Original and place of their Birth the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and were sojourners there until this day 4 And Jonathan Sauls son had a son that was lame of his feet f This History is inserted as that which encouraged these men to this wicked Murder because Saul's Family was now reduced to a low ebb and if Ishbosheth was dispatched there would be none left but a lame Child who was altogether unfit to manage the Kingdom especially in so troublesome a time as this was and therefore the Crown must necessarily come to David by their act and deed for which they promised themselves no small recompence and was five years old when the tidings came of ‡ The slaughter of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel g The place of that last and fatal Fight 1 Sam. 29. 11. and his nurse took him up and fled and it came to pass as she made haste to flee that he fell and became lame and his name was ‖ Merib-baal 1 Chr. 8. 34. and 9. 40. Mephibosheth h Called also Merib-baal 1 Chron. 8. 34. See the notes on Chap. 2. 8. 5 And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite Rechab and Baanah went and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth who lay on a bed at noon i Either from discontent of mind as Ahab did 1 King 21. 4. or from sloth and sensuality as David seems to have done Chap. 11. 2. 6 And they came thither into the midst of the house k Or into the house for the midst is not always taken exactly and Mathematically but for any part within as Gen. 48. 16. Exod. 8. 22. Iosh. 3. 17. as though they would have fetched wheat l Which was laid up in publick Granaries in the King's House and was fetched thence by the Captains and Commanders of the Army
against the Holy Ghost That they might be guilty of many other hainous Crimes which God and the Prophet knew and were guilty of Idolatry which by Gods Law deserved death that the Idolatrous Parents were punished in their Children and that if any of these Children were more innocent and ignorant of what they said God might have Mercy upon their Souls and then this death was not a misery but a real blessing to them that they were taken away from that wicked and Idolatrous Education which was most likely to expose them not onely to Temporal but to an Eternal destruction in the Name of the LORD m Not from any carnal or revengeful passion but by the motion of Gods Spirit and by Gods command and commission as appears by Gods concurrence with him Which God did partly for the terror and caution of all other Idolaters and prophane persons who abounded in that place partly to vindicate the Honour and maintain the Authority of his Prophets and particularly of Elisha now especially in the beginning of his Sacred Ministry And this did beget such a confidence in Elisha that he durst venture to go into Bethel after this was done and such a terror in the Bethelites that they durst not avenge themselves of him and there came forth two she-bears n Possibly robbed of their Whelps and therefore more fierce Prov. 17. 12. Hos. 13. 8. but certainly acted by an extraordinary fury which God raised in them for this purpose out of the wood and tare forty and two children o This Hebrew word signifies not onely young Children but those also who are grown up to maturity as Gen. 32. 22. and 34. 4. and 37. 30. Ruth 1. 5. of them 25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel p Partly to decline the fury of the People of Bethel partly that he might retire himself from men and converse more freely with God and so fit himself more for the discharge of his employment and partly that he might visit the Sons of the Prophets who lived in that place or near it and from thence he returned to Samaria q By the direction of Gods Spirit for the service which he did chap. 3. 11 c. CHAP. III. NOw Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah a Quest. How can this be true when Ahaziah Iehoram's predecessor who Reigned two Years began his Reign in Iehoshaphat's 17th Year 1 King 22. 51 Ans. Either Ahaziah Reigned the greatest part of two Years to wit of the 17th and 18th Years of Iehoshaphat parts of Years being oft called years in the computation of times both in Scripture and other Authors and Iehoram began his Reign towards the end of his 18th Year or Ahaziah Reigned part of this two Years with his Father and the rest after him and reigned twelve years 2 And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD but not like his father and like his mother for he put away the ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 image of Baal * 1 King 16. 31 32. that his father had made b Not from any principle of Conscience for that would have reached the Calves also but either because he was startled at the dreadful Judgments of God inflicted upon his Father and Brother for Baal-worship or because he needed Gods help to subdue the Moabites which he knew Baal could not do or to gratify Iehoshaphat whose help he meant to crave which he knew he should never obtain without this and for this reason it seems Iezabel was willing to connive at it as a trick of State 3 Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam c i. e. The worship of the Calves which all the Kings of Israel kept up as a Wall of partition between their Subjects and those of Iudah Thus he shews that his Religion was over-ruled by his Interest and Policy the son of Nebat which made Israel to sin he departed not therefrom 4 ¶ And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master d A man of great wealth which in those times and places consisted much in Cattel which enabled and emboldned him to Rebel against his Sovereign Lord. and rendred unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs and an hundred thousand rams with the wool 5 But it came to pass when * Ahab was dead that the king of Moab rebelled e See of this ch 1. 1. It is here repeated to make way for the following Story Ahaziah did not attempt the recovery of Moab either because he was a man of a low spirit and courage or because his Sickness or the shortness of his Reign gave not opportunity for it against the king of Israel 6 ¶ And king Jehoram went out of Samaria f To some place appointed for the Rendezvous of his people the same time and numbred all Israel g To wit such as were fit for War 7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah saying The king of Moab hath rebelled against me wilt thou go with me against Moab to battel and he said I will go up I am as thou art my people as thy people and my horses as thy horses h Of which see on 1 King 22. 4. He joyns with him in this War partly because the War was very just in it self and convenient for Iehoshaphat both in the general that Rebels and Revolters should be chastised and suppressed lest the example should pass into his Dominions and the Edomites should be hereby encouraged to revolt from him as they did from his Son and in particular that the Moabites should be humbled who had with others Invaded his Land before this time 2 Chron. 20. 1. and might do so again if they were not brought low for which a fair opportunity was now offered to him and partly because Iehoram had reformed some things and Iehoshaphat hoped by this means to engage him to proceed further in that work 8 And he i Either Iehoshaphat or rather Ioram for the following answer may seem to be Iehoshaphat's said Which way shall we go up And he answered The way through the wilderness of Edom k Which though it was much the longer way yet they thought it best partly to secure the King or Vice-Roy of Edom of whom they might have some suspition from that passage 2 Chron. 20. 22. and to carry both him and his Soldiers along with them into the War both to get their assistance and to prevent them from making a War of diversion against Iudah whilst Iehoshaphat was engaged against Moab and partly that they might invade Moab on their weakest side and where they least expected them God also thus disposed their hearts to make way for the following miracle 9 So the king of Israel went and the king of Judah and the king of Edom l i. e. The Vice-Roy under Iehoshaphat 1 King 22. 47.
can work a Miracle by the most unlikely and contemptible means as he did by a Rod Exod. 14. 16. and a Mantle 2 King 2. 8. 30 And the mother of the child said As the LORD liveth and as thy soul liveth I will not leave thee q Until thou goest home with me For she had no great confidence in Gehazi nor was her Faith so strong as to think that the Prophet could work so great a Miracle at this distance and by his Staff which possibly was one reason why this did no good Compare Matth. 9. 18. and 13. 58. and 17. 20. And he arose and followed her 31 And Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff upon the face of the child but there was neither voice nor ‡ Heb. attention hearing r i. e. Neither speech nor sense nor any sign of life to wit in the Child Which disappointment might proceed from hence that Elisha having changed his mind and yielded to her importunity to go with her did alter his course and not joyn his fervent prayers with Gehazi's action but reserved them till he came thither wherefore he went again to meet him and told him saying The child is not awaked s i. e. Not revived death being oft and fitly compared to a sleep as Psal. 76. 5. Dan. 12. 2. because of the Resurrection which will in due time follow it and here followed speedily which makes the expression most proper in this place 32 And when Elisha was come into the house behold the child was dead and laid upon his bed 33 He went in therefore and shut the door upon them twain t Upon himself and the dead Child that he might pray to God without distraction and might more freely use all those gestures and means which he thought fit and prayed unto the LORD 34 And he â—…ent up and lay upon the child u And although some ceremonial uncleanness might seem to be contracted by the touch of this dead Body yet that was justly to give place to a Moral Duty and to an action of so great Piety and Charity as this was especially when done by a Prophet and by the instinct of Gods Spirit who can dispence with his own Laws and put his mouth upon his mouth and his eyes upon his eyes and his hands upon his hands x One part upon another successively for the disproportion of the Bodies would not permit it to be done together Compare 1 King 17. 21. Act. 20. 10. and he stretched himself upon the child and the flesh of the child waxed warm y Not by any external heat which could not be transmitted to the Childs Body by such slight touches of the Prophets Body but by a Natural heat proceeding from a principle of Life which was already infused into the Child and by degrees enlivened all the parts of his Body 35 Then he returned and walked in the house ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 â—…ther 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to and fro z He changeth his postures for his own necessary refreshment and walked to and fro exercising his mind in Prayer to God and Faith for the accomplishment of this work and went up and stretched himself upon him a Repeating his former actions to teach us not to be discouraged in our Prayers if we be not speedily answered but to wait with patience and continue and be instant in Prayer till we obtain what we seek for and the child neesed seven times and the child opened his eyes b So the work begun in the former Verse is here perfected Although Miracles were for the most part done in an instant yet sometimes they were done by degrees as here and 1 King 18. 44 45. Mark 8. 24 25. 36 And he called Gehazi and said Call this Shunammite So he called her and when she was come in unto him c Heb. come to him to wit to the Door of his Chamber where probably he met her with this joyful message he said Take up thy son 37 Then she went in d Into his Chamber and after she had done him honour to the Bed where the Child lay whence she took him and went her way and fell at his feet and bowed her self to the ground and took up her son and went out 38 ¶ And Elisha came again to Gilgal e When he came with Elijah chap. 2. 1. where was a School of the Prophets whom he designed to comfort concerning the present Dearth and their other discouragements and to confirm in the profession and practise of Religion and to instruct in the Duties of the present season and there was a dearth in the land and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him f At his Feet as Scholars to be taught by him See chap. 2. 3. Act. 22. 3. and he said unto his servant Set on the great pot and seethe pottage g He provides no delicious Meats but meeâ—… necessaries to teach them the contempt of worldly delights for the sons of the prophets 39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine h A Plant called Coloquintida whose Gourds or Leaves resemble the Leaves of a Vine and are very bitter and pernicious to the eater and gathered thereof wild gourds his lapâ—…l and came and shred them into the pot of pottage for they knew them not 40 So they poured out for the men to eat and it came to pass as they were eating of the pottage that they cried out and said O thou man of God there is death in the pot i i. e. Some deadly thing which they gathered from its excessive bitterness by which possibly some of them might discern what it was and they could not eat thereof 41 But he said Then bring meal and he cast it into the pot k Together with the Pottage which they had taken out of it and he said Pour out for the people that they may eat and there was no ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 thing harm in the pot l The Meal took away that hurful quality not by its natural power which could do little in so short a time but by the Supernatural Blessing of God upon it 42 ¶ And there came a man from Baal-shalisha and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits m Which were the Priests due Numb 18. 2. but these and probably the rest of the Priests dues were usually brought by the Pious Israelites according to their ability and opportunity to the Lords Prophets partly because they did a great part of the Priests office and partly because they were not permitted to carry them to Ierusalem and they might reasonably think that their circumstances being extraordinary would warrant their giving of them â—…o extraordinary Persons and that those ceremonial Justitutions ought to give place to the greater Laws of necessity and mercy to the Lords Prophets And this passage seems to be noted here not onely on
Persons then eminent for Birth and Quality for Wisdom and Knowledge and for the Profession of the true Religion being probably of the posterity of Abraham and akin to Iob and living in the same Country with him for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him 12. And when they lift up their Eyes afar off t To wit at some convenient distance from him whom they found sitting upon the ground either in the open Air or within his own House and knew him not u His Countenance being so fearfully changed and disfigured by his Boils they lift up their voice and wept and they rent every one his Mantle and sprinkled Dust upon their Heads toward Heaven x Either upon the upper part of their Heads which looks towards Heaven or cast it up into the Air so as it should fall upon their Heads as they did Act. 22. 23. See Ios. 7. 6. Nehem. 9. 1. Lam. 2. 10. 13. So they sat down with him upon the ground y In the posture of Mourners condoling with him Seven Days and Seven Nights z Which was the usual time of mourning for the Dead Gen. 50. 10. 1 Sam. 31. 13. and therefore proper both for Iob's Children who were dead and for Iob himself who was in a manner dead whilst he lived But we must not fancy that they continued in this place and posture so long together which no Laws of Religion or Civility required of them and the necessities of Nature could not bear but only that they spent a great or the greatest part of that time in sitting with him and silent Mourning over him And so such General Expressions are frequently understood as Luke 2. 37. and 24. 53. Acts 20. 31. Either 1. About any thing Or rather 2. About his Afflictions and the causes of them The Reason of this silence was partly the greatness of their grief for him and their surprize and astonishment at his Condition partly because they thought it convenient to give him some further time to vent his own Sorrows and partly because as yet they knew not what to say to him for though they had ever esteemed him to be a truly wise and godly Man and came with full purpose to comfort him yet the prodigious greatness of his Miseries and that Hand and Displeasure of God which they manifestly perceived in them made them at a stand and to question Iob's Sincerity so that they could not comfort him as they had intended and yet were loth to grieve him with those Convictions and Reproofs which they thought he greatly needed And here they stuck till Iob gave them occasion to speak their Minds and none spake a word to him for they saw that his Grief was very great CHAP. III. 1. AFter this opened Job his Mouth a He spake freely and boldly as this Phrase is used Prov. 31. 8 9. Eph. 6. 19. and elsewhere and cursed his day b To wit his Birth-day as is evident from v. 3. which is called simply a Mans day Hos. 7. 5. which also some others through the same Infirmity and in the same Circumstances have cursed as we see Ier. 20. 14. In vain do some men endeavour to excuse this and the following Speeches of Iob who afterwards is reproved by God and severely accuseth himself for them Ch. 38. 2. and 40. 4. and 42. 3 6. And yet he doth not proceed so far as to curse or blaspheme God but makes the Devil a Lyar in his Prognosticks But although he doth not break forth into direct and down right Reproaches of God yet he makes secret and indirect Reflections upon Gods Providence His Curse was sinful both because it was vain being applied to an unreasonable thing which was not capable of blessing and cursing and to a day that was past and so out of the reach of all Curses and because it was applied to one of Gods Creatures all which were and are in themselves very good and pronounced blessed by God and so they are if we do not turn them into Curses and because it casts a blame upon God for bringing that day and for giving him that Life which that day brought into the World He pronounceth that day an unhappy woful and cursed day not in it self but with respect to himself 2. And Job * Heb. 〈◊〉 spake and said 3. †Ch. 10. 1â—… 19 Iâ—… 20. 1â—… Let the day perish wherein I was born c Let the remembrance of that day be utterly lost Yea I heartily wish that it had never been Such Wishes are apparently foolish and impatient and yet have been somtimes forced from wise and good men in grievous Distresses not as if they expected any effect of them but only to shew their abhorrency of Life and to express the intolerableness of their grief and to give some vent to their passions and the night in which it was said d With Joy and Triumph as happy tidings Compare Ier. 20. 15. There is a Man-Child conceived e Or rather brought forth as this word is used 1 Chron. 4. 17. For the time of conception is unknown commonly to Women themselves and doth not use to be reported among men as this day is supposed to be 4 Let that day be Darkness f I wish the Sun had never risen upon that day to make it day or which is all one that it had never been and whensoever that day returns I wish it may be black and gloomy and uncomfortable and therefore execrable and odious to all men let not God regard it from above g i. e. From Heaven either 1. By causing the Light of the Sun which is in Heaven to shine upon it So it agrees both with the foregoing and following Branches of this Verse Or 2. By blessing and favouring it or by giving his Blessings to men upon it Let it be esteemed by all an unlucky and comfortless day Oh Let not God require it i. e. bring it again in its course as other days return in this sense God is said to require that which is past Eccles. 3. 15. Compare v. 3. 6. neither let the Light shine upon it 5. Let Darkness and the shadow of death h i. e. A black and dark shadow like that of the place of the dead which is a Land of Darkness and where the Light is Darkness as Iob explains this very Phrase Ch. 10. 21. 22. Or so gross and palpable Darkness that by its horrours and damps may take away mens Spirits and Lives ‖ Or 〈◊〉 stain it i i. e. Take away its beauty and Glory and make it abominable as a filthy thing Or challenge it i. e. take and keep the entire possession of it so as the Light may not have the least share in it let a Cloud dwell upon it * Or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it as 〈◊〉 who have 〈◊〉 â—… â—… let the blackness of the day terrifie it
hast redeemed this mount Zion k Which is oft put for the Temple or the Hill of Moriah on which it was built wherein thou hast dwelt 3 Lift up thy feet l i. e. Come speedily for our rescue and do not sit or stand still as hitherto thou seemest to do unto the perpetual desolations m Or rather Because of as this Prefix oft signifies the perpetual Desolations So it is a powerful Motive to God to come to their Help because otherwise our Destruction is everlasting and irrecoverable even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary n Or against thy Sanctuary Of which see v. 7. 4 Thine enemies roar o i. e. Make loud Out-cries Either from their Rage and Fuâ—…y against the Conquered and captivated Israelites now in their Power Or rather in way of Triumph for their Success and Victory in the midst of thy congregations p In the places where thy People used to assemble together for thy Worship whereby they designed to insult not onely over us but over thee also as if their God's had been too strong for thee they set up their insigns for signs q Or Trophees or Monuments of their Victories obtained over God and over his People as Conquerors used to do in like Cases 5 A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees r So the meaning is this The Temple was so noble a structure that it was a great Honour to any man to be imployed in the meanest part of the work though it were but in cutting down the Trees of Lebanon And this Translation may seem to be favoured by the opposition in the next Verse But now c. But others understand the Words thus translated in another Sence That every one of the Enemies got Renown accordingly as they shewed most barbarous Rage in destroying the thick Wood-work which in the next Verse is called the Carved work of the Temple But this seems not to suit well with the opposition between this work and that of the next Verse which is ushered in by But now The words therefore may be and in part are by some rendred thus It is known or manifest Heb. It will be known It will be published to all Posterity as matter of astonishment and admiration That as one lifteth up his Axe Heb. Axes the plural Number for the singular as it is elsewhere upon thick Trees to cut them down This is the first part of the similitude called the Proâ—…asis Then follows the latter part of it called the Apodosis in the next Verse So Heb. And. Which is sometimes put for a Note of similitude as in that passage of the Lords Prayer Mat. 6. 10. as it is in Heaven and oft in the Book of the Proverbs now For though this Psalm was Composed after the thing was done yet he speaks of it as if it were now in doing as the manner of the sacred Writers frequently is that it may be more Lively represented to mens Minds They break down the Carved work c. The meaning is they neither regard the Sacredness of the place noâ—… the exquisite Curiosity and Art of the work but cut it down as indifferently and rashly as men cut down the thick and intangled boughs of the Trees of the Forest. 6 But now they break down the carved work thereof at once s See the Note on the former Verse with axes and hammers t It hath been ingeniously observed that these two Words are noâ—… Hebrew but Chaldee or Syriack Words to point out the time when this was done even when the Chaldaeans brought in their Language together with their Arms among the Israelites 7 * 2 Kin. 25. 9. †Heb. They have sent thy Sanctuary into the Fire They have cast fire into thy sanctuary they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground u First they polluted it and then they burnt it and broke it in pieces 8 They said in their heart Let †Heb. Break. us destroy them together x they have burnt up all the synagogues of God in the land y i. e. All the publick places wherein the Iews used to meet together to Worship God every Sabbath day as is noted Aâ—…t 13. 27. and upon other occasions That the Iews had such Synagogues is manifest both from these and other places of Scripture and from the Testimony of the Hebrew Doctors and other Antient and learned Writers who affirm it and particularly of Ierusalem in which they say there were above four hundred Synagogues and from the Nature and necessity of the thing For seeing it is undeniable that they did Worship God publickly in every Sabbath and other Holy times even then when they neither did nor could go up to Ierusalem both Conscience and Prudence must needs direct them to appoint Convenient places for that purpose ae Root and Branch one as well as another or all at once So they desired and many of them intended although afterwards it seems they changed their Counsel and carried some away Captives and left others to manage the Land 9 We see not our signs z i. e. Those Tokens of God's gracious Presence which we and our Ancestors formerly used to enjoy Either 1. Miracles wrought for us which are called Signs Psal. 78. 43. and 135. 9. Or 2. The Ordinances of God the Temple and Ark and Sacrifices and solemn Feasts all which were signs between God and his People * 1 Sam. 3. 1. Amos 8. 11. there is no more any prophet a Either 1. Any Teacher We have few or no Teachers left to us Or 2. Any extraordinary Prophet who can foretel things to come as the next Words explain it For as for Ezekiel and Ieremiah they might be dead when this Psalm was Composed and Daniel was involved in Civil affairs and did not teach the People as a Prophet and the prophetical Spirit which sometimes came upon him and made those great discoveries to him which we read in his Book might possibly at this time suspend his influences Besides it is not unusual in Scripture to say that there is none of a sort of Persons or Things when there is a very great scarcity of them But others make this their great Argument that this Psalm speaks of that Persecution in the time of Antiochus when indeed there was no Prophet at all neither is there among us any that knoweth how long b Either 1. How long their Captivity should continue For though seventy years were determined yet there might arise doubts among them as there now are among us whence they were to be Computed which might make their â—…nd uncertain Or 2. How long they should lye under Reproach as it follows v. 10. Which they really did and might foresee that they should even after the Expiration of their Captivity Nehem. 1. 3. 10 O God how
enemy hath persecuted my soul e i. e. My life for nothing less will satisfie him he hath smitten my life down to the ground f He hath beaten me down to the ground where I lie strugling for life he hath made me to dwell in darkness g He hath forced me to have mine abode in dark vaults and caves as those that have been long dead h Where I am out of sight and memory and in as â—…orlorn and hopeless a condition in the eye of man as those that have â—…ain long rotting in the grave 4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me i See on Psal. 61. 2. 14â—… 3. my heart within me is desolate k Deprived of all hope and comfort Or is astonished 5 I * Psal. 77. 5. 11. remember the days of old l i. e. What thou hast done for thy servants in former times Which he mentions either 1. as matter of terror to consider how unlike God now was to himself and to his former dealings or 2. as matter of support from former experience because God was still the same Either way it drive him to his prayers which here follow I meditate on all thy works I muse on the works of thy hands 6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee m I pray to thee â—…ervently See on Psal. 141. 2. * Psal. 63. 1. my soul thirsteth after thee n After thy favour and help as a thirsty land o To wit thirsâ—…eth for rain Selah 7 Hear me speedily O LORD my spirit faileth hide not thy face from me * Psal. 28. 1. ‖ Or for I am become like c. lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit p That are dead and buried of whom there is no hope 8 Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning q i. e. Early as this phrase is taken Psal. 90. 14. and elsewhere seasonably and speedily for in thee do I trust cause me to know the way wherein I should walk r So as to please thee and to secure my self for * Psal. 25. 1. I lift up my soul unto thee 9 Deliver me O LORD from mine enemies I †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with thee flee unto thee to hide me s Without whose care these caves and rocks can give me no protection 10 * Psal. 25. 4 5. 139. 24. Teach me to do thy will t To continue in faithful obedience to thee notwithstanding all tempâ—…ations to the contrary for thou art my God thy spirit is good lead me u Or rather as it is exactly in the Hebrew and as many both ancient and modern Translators render it Let thy good Spirit lead me Leave me not to my own blind and vain mind or corrupt affections neither give me up to the evil Spirit as thou didst Saul â—…ut conduct me in all my ways by thy good i. e. gracious and holy Spirit into the land of uprightness x Or in plain or even land or ground in a straight and smooth path that I may not stumble nor fall either into sin or mischief This is opposed to the crooked and rugged ways in which sinners are said to walk See Psal. 125. 5. Prov. 2. 15. Isa. 40. 4. 11 Quicken me O LORD for thy Names sake for thy righteousness sake bring my soul out of trouble 12 And of thy mercy y Out of thy mercy to me whose life they seek cut off mine enemies and destroy all them that afflict my soul for * Psal. 16. 16. I am thy servant PSAL. CXLIV A Psalm of David The matter of this Psalm is partly gratulatory for mercies received and partly petitionary for further blessings It seems to have been composed after Sauls death and in the beginning of Davids reign when he was exposed to many perils both from his own rebellious Subjects and from the Philistins and other foreign enemies yet so that he had a good prospect and assurance of a more compleat and established felicity 1 BLessed be the LORD †Heb. â—…y rock my strength * â—… Sam. 22. â—…5 which teacheth my hands †Heb. to the war c. to war and my fingers to fight a Who hast given me that skill in military conduct and that dexterity in the management of my weapons which was wholly unsuitable to and much above my education and former course of life 2 * 2 Sam. 22. 2 3 40. 48. ‖ Or my mercy My goodness b Or my mercy or the God of my mercy as God is called Psal. 59. 10 17. the Name of God being eaâ—…ily understood from the foregoing verse Or he who is exceeding good or merciful to me as good as goodness it selâ—… the abstract being put for the concrete as it is frequently in speeches of God who is called wisdom Truth Goodness c. and sometimes of men as Psal. 12. 2. Prov. 10. 29. where faithfulness and uprightness are put for faithful and upright men and my fortress my high tower and my deliverer my shield and he iâ—… whom I trust who subdueth my people under me c Who hast disposed my peoples hearts to receive and obey me as their King 3 * â—…ob 7. 17. Psal. 8. 4. Heb. 2. 6. LORD what is man d He aggravates Gods goodness to him expressed v. 2. by the consideration of his own meanness Though I am King over my people yet alâ—…s I am but a man a base sinful mortal and miserable creature if compared with thee less than nothing and vanity that thou takest knowledge of him e i. e. Hast any care and kindness for him as words of knowledge commonly imply in Scripture or the son of man that thou makest account of him f The same thing repeated in other words 4 * 〈◊〉 14. 2. 〈◊〉 39. 5. â—… 9. Man is like g In his nature and continuance in the world to vanity h Or to a vapor or a breath as Isa. 57. 13. which is gone in an instant his days are as a shadow that passeth away i Or that declineth as Psal. 102. 11. 109. 23. that groweth less and less till it be quite out of â—…ight and lost 5 * 〈◊〉 18. 9. Bow thy heavens O LORD and come down k To help me before it be too late remembring what a srail and perishing creature I am * 〈◊〉 104. 32. touch the mountains and they shall smoke l Or that they may smoke or and let them smoke as Sinai did at thy glorious appearance Exod. 19. 18. This is a figurative and Poetical description of Gods coming to take vengeance upon his enemies which is continued in the next verse 6 * 〈◊〉 18. 13 〈◊〉 Cast forth lightning and scatter them shoot out thine arrows m Thy thunderbolts which oft accompany the lightnings and thunder and destroy
5. and Iacob is called as many think by the name of his Grand-Father Abraham Act. 7. 16. and the name of Isaac is given to his Posterity Amos 7. 9. So here the name of Israel may not unfitly be given to Christ not onely because he descended from his Loins but also because he was the true and the great Israel who in a more eminent manner prevailed with God as that Name signifies of whom Iacob who was first called Israel was but a Type And as the name of Christ the Head is sometimes given to the Body the Church as 1 Cor. 12. 12. So it is not strange if on the contrary the name of Israel which properly belongs to the Church be given to Christ the Head of it But this Word may be otherwise rendred being joyned Either 1. with the foregoing words Thou art my servant unto or in or for Israel i. e. to bring them back unto me from whom they have revolted Or 2. with the following words it is Israel in whom I will glorify my self by thee in whom I will be glorified 4. Then I said l By way of Objection Lord thou saiest thou wilst be glorified by my Ministry but I find it otherwise I have laboured in vain I have spent my strength for nought m Without any considerable Fruit of my Word and Works among the Israelites and in vain yet surely my judgment n My right the reward which by his Promise and my Purchase is my right Iudgment is oft put for that which is just or right as Exod. 23. 6. Iob 8. 3. and in many other places And so this Clause agrees with the next and the Sence of both is this Though I see no fruit of my Labour among the Iews and meet with nothing but contempt and reproach and ill usage from them yet God sees my fidelity and diligence in my Work and he will give Judgment for me and my reward is laid up with and by him which he will give me in due time is with the LORD and ‖ Or 〈◊〉 râ—…ward my work with my God 5. And now saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob again to him o To Convert the Wicked and Apostate Israelites unto God Though Israel be ‖ Or that Israel may be ga thered to him and I may c. not gathered p Not brought home to God by my Ministry This Word implies That the Israelites were divided and scattered from God and divided among themselves as they were in an high degree when Christ came into the World and Turned every one to his own way as is said Isa. 53. 6. and therefore needed to be gathered Either it is a Metaphor from wandring Sheep which the good Shepherd diligently seeketh and bringeth home to the Fold Or it is an Allusion to the state of the Israelites who either now were or shortly were to be dispersed into several parts of the World from whence God had promised to gather them and bring them into their own Land and unto his Temple Isa. 43. 5 6. and elsewhere The Sence is Though Israel God's own and onely People reject me which will be an occasion of great wonder and scandal yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD q God will not despise me for the unsuccessfulness of my Labours but will honour and glorify me both with himself and in the face of the World in crowning my Indeavours with glorious Success among other People and my God shall be my strength r To support and strengthen me under this and all other discouragements and difficulties in the discharge of mine Office 6. And he s The Lord expressed both in the forgoing and following verses said ‖ Or 〈◊〉 thou 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then 〈◊〉 thou 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. It is a light thing t This is but a small favour in comparison of 〈◊〉 follows that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob u That remnant of them which shall surviâ—… all their 〈◊〉 and desolations and to restore the Or desolative preserved oâ—… Israel I will also give thee for a * Chap. 42. 6. light to the Gentiles that thou mayest be my salvation x I will make thy labour 〈◊〉 for the illamination and conversion and salvation of the Gentilâ—…in all the parts of the World Which cannot be said of Isaiah with any truth or colour and therefore must be understood of Christ by whom this was literally and fully accomplished By my Salvation he means the great Instrument and Author of that eternal salvation which I will give to the Gentiles unto the end of the earth 7. Thus saith the LORD the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One y The Holy One of Israel as he is frequently called ‖ Or to him that is despised in soul. to him whom man despiseth z To Christ to whom as he was in the dayes of his Flesh this description doth most truly and fully agree being the same in effect with that Isa. 5â—… 3. for men both Iews and Gentiles among whom he lived did despise him from their very hearts and souls as is here implied and the whole Nation of which he was a member and among whom he conversed and preached abhorred both his Person his Doctrine and he was so far from being a great temporal Monarch as the Iews vainly imagined that he came in the form of a Servant and was a Servant of Rulers professing subjection and paying tribute unto Caesar Mat. 17. 24 25. 22. 21. and being treated by the Rulers both of the Iews and of the Romans like a Servant being despitefully used and Crucified which was the proper Punishment of Servants to him whom the nation abhorreth to a servant of rulers Kings a Though for a time thou shalt be despised yet after a while thou shalt be advanced to such Royal Majesty and Glory that Kings shall look upon thee with admiration and reverence shall see and arise b From their seats in token of reverence as was usual Levit. 19. 32. Iudg. 3. 20. Iob 29. 8. or to worship thee as the next clause explains it shall see and arise may be put for when they see thee they shall arise to thee which is a common Hebraism Princes also shall worship because of the LORD that is faithful c Because God shall make good his promise to thee concerning thee raising thee from the dead and concerning the effusion of his Spirit upon thy Disciples by whose assistance they shall preach most powerfully and confirm their Doctrine by evident and glorious miracles and concerning the giving unto thee the Heathen for thine Inheritance and the uttermost parts of the Earth for thy possession as he promised Psal. 2. 8. These and such like considerations were the great motives which prevailed with the Princes and People of the
testimony and the law or doctrine for so this Word is frequently taken he understands one and the same thing as he doth also v. 26. to wit the Word of God and especially that which is the main Scope and Substance thereof the Doctrine of the Messias which though now professed by all the Israelites shall be disowned by the generality of them when the Messiah shall come Bind up and seal are to be understood Prophetically Declare and prophesie that it shall be bound up and sealed as Isaiah is said to make fat and to blind c. Isa. 6. 10. and Ieremy to root out and pull down c. Ier. 1. 10. when they foretell these Events Moreover bind up and seal design the same thing and that is either 1. Security and Certainty as things are bound up or sealed that they may not be lost So he signifies That although this Doctrine would be lost among the Body of the Israelites yet it should be preserved among his Disciples Or 2. Secresie as many things are bound up or sealed that they may be hid from the Eyes of others And so he informeth them that this Doctrine now was and should be hid in a great measure among all God's People even till the Accomplishment of it and that even when it was accomplished it should still continue to be as a Secret and Mystery known indeed to his true Disciples but hid from the Body of the Nation who would not see it and therefore should be blinded by God's just Judgment that they should not 〈◊〉 as was prophesied Isa. 6. 9 10. Or 3. both Security and Secresie signifying That it should certainly be fulfilled yet withall kept secret from the unbelieving Iews For why may not these two be joyned in the Exposition of this Text as they were in the Event By God's disciples he means those who were taught of God as it is expressed Isa. 54. 13. where this very Word is used or every one that hath heard and learned of the Father and therefore cometh unto Christ as it is explained Iohn 6. 45. 17 And x Or as this Particle is rendred Ier. 2. 32 35. and elsewhere Yet notwithstanding this dreadful Prophecy concerning the Unbelief and Rejection of Israel I will wait upon the LORD y I will refer my self and this Matter unto God casting my Care upon him and expecting the Accomplishment of his Promise in sending the Messiah and in conferring upon me and all believing Israelites all his Mercies and Blessings to be procured by and through his Blood and Merits that hideth his Face z That now doth and threatneth that he will hereafter withdraw his Favour and Blessing as this Phrase signifies Psal. 10. 1. 27. 9. and oft elsewhere from the house of Jacob a From the Family or People of Israel and I will look for him b With an Eye of Faith and Expectation till his time cometh 18 * Heb. 2. 13. Behold c It is worthy of your observation and admiration These Words are literally spoken by Isaiah concerning himself but withal mystically concerning Christ of whom he speaks more frequently and fully than any other Prophet and of whom he was an evident Type and therefore they are fitly applied to Christ Heb. 2. 13. I and the children d Either 1. his natural Children whose very Names were Prophetical and Signs of future Events ch 7. 3. 8. 3 4. or 2. his spiritual Children whom he had either begotten or brought up by his Ministry For the Prophets were called fathers not onely with respect to the young Prophets who were commonly called the sons of the prophets but also in relation to others as 2 Kings 2. 12. 13. 14. And this sence seems more probable than the former because it agrees best 1. with the following Words which seem to be too lofty and emphatical to be used concerning his natural Children for their Prophetical Names which if they were Signs could not properly be called Wonders 2. with the Context and scope of the Place which is to set forth the Incredulity of the Israelites and their Contempt and Rejection of Christ and of all his faithful Messengers both the Prophets who were sent as Harbingers before his coming and the Apostles who were Witnesses of his coming 3. with Heb. 2. 13. where they are expounded of spiritual Children whom the LORD hath given me are * Psal. 71. 7. Zech. 3. 8. for signs and for wonders e Are a Gazing-stock to and admired by them for our Folly in believing God's Promises For so the believing Iews now were to Ahaz and the generality of the People who thought it their Wisdom and Interest to procure Aid from Assyria and esteemed those Fools who upon pretence of relying upon God would neglect so great an Advantage And so the Prophet foretells that they should be when the Messiah did come which is the mystical as the other is the literal sence and so both of them may be meant in this place in Israel f Even amongst the Israelites who have been taught and do profess better things from the LORD of hosts g Which comes to pass by the wise Counsel and Providence of God in which I willingly acquiesce which dwelleth in mount Zion h Where the Temple now was and where the Messiah was to set up his Kingdom 19 And when they i The Israelites to whom I and my Children are Signs and Wonders who are fallen from God and his true Religion and Worship into Superstition and Idolatry and will endeavour to seduce you into the same impiety shall say unto you k My Children whom the Prophet here arms against the common Temptation seek unto them l For Advice and Help and seek no more to the Prophets who have hitherto deluded you with vain Words This was the Counsel of the ungodly and unbelieving Iews that have familiar spirits and unto wizards m Of whom see Levit. 19. 31. 20. 27. Deut. 18. 11. that * Chap. 29. 4. peep and that mutter n That speak with a puling and low Voice as these two Words signifie which they affected to do speaking rather inwardly in their Bellies than outwardly and audibly with their Mouths and Voice as the Title of Ventriloqui commonly given to them signifies should not a people seek unto their God o This Answer the Prophet puts into their Mouths to the foregoing Counsel Doth not every Nation in Cases of Difficulty or Distress seek to their own Gods for relief Much more should we do so that have the onely True God for our God for the living to the dead p Shall they seek which Words are easily understood out of the foregoing Clause for the living c. That Living Men should enquire of the Living God is proper and reasonable but it is highly absurd for them to forsake him and to seek to dead Idols either to the
Images or to the Spirits of dead Men which are supposed to dwell and speak in them 20 * Luk. 16. 29. To the law and to the testimony q Let this Dispute between you and them be determined by God's Word which is here and in many other places called the law to signifie their Obligation to believe and obey it and the testimony because it is a Witness between God and Man of God's Mind and Will and of Man's Duty and so these two Titles contain two Arguments against these Idolatrous Practices if they r Your Antagonists that â—…eek to pervert you v. 19. speak not according to this word it is because there is †Heb. no morning no light in them s This proceeds from the darkness of their Minds because they are blind and will not see and God hath shut their Eyes that they cannot see But these Words are by divers Learned Interpreters understood not as a Declaration of their Ignorance but a Commination and Prediction of their Misery light being most commonly used in Scripture for Comfort and Happiness and darkness for Sorrows and Calamities And this sence seems to be much favoured by the following Passages And then the Words may be thus rendred Assuredly for the Hebrew Particle asher is frequently used as a Note of Asseveration as 1 Sam. 15. 20. Psal. 10. 6. 95. 11. c. as hath been more than once observed before no light or morning-light shall be for that may as well be understood as is to them a Night of Misery shall come upon them and they shall never have a Morning of Deliverance from it they shall be swallowed up in endless Calamities 21 And they t The Idolatrous and Apostatical Israelites shall pass through it u Or iâ—… it to wit their own Land which is easily understood out of the Context and from the Phrase it self the Pronoun Relative being put without an Antecedent as it is in other Places which have been formerly noted They shall either pass through it into Captivity or wander hither and thither in it like distracted men not knowing whither to go nor what to do whereas if they had not forsaken God they might have had a quiet and setled abede in it hardly bestead x Sorely distressed as this Word is used Gen. 35. 16. Iob 30. 25. and hungry y Destitute of Food and of all Necessaries which are oft signified by Food and it shall come to pass that when they shall be hungry they shall fret themselves and curse their king z Either because he doth not relieve them or because by his foolish Counsels and Courses he brought them into these Miseries and their God a Either 1. the True God or rather 2. to Idols to whom they trusted and whom they now find too late unable to help them and look upward b To Heaven for help as Men of all Nations and Religions in great Calamities use to do 22 And * Chap. 5. â—…0 they shall look unto the earth c Finding no help from Heaven they turn their Eyes downward looking hither and thither for Comfort and behold trouble and darkness dimness of anguish and they shall be driven to darkness d Many Words expressing the same thing are put together to signifie the variety and extremity and continuance of their Miseries CHAP. IX NEvertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation a The Words thus rendred contain a Mitigation of the foregoing Threatning And so the sence of the Verse may be this The Calamity of this Land and its Inhabitants shall be great yet not such as that which was brought upon the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes by the King of Assiria who at first indeed dealt more gently with them but afterwards quite rooted them out and carried them away into a dreadful Captivity from whence they were not to return no not when the Messiah came into the World for after this Darkness of which I have now spoken there shall come a glorious Light as it follows in the next Verse The Dutch Interpreters take it in the same sence and render the Words thus But the Land that was distressed shall not be utterly darkned To the same purpose they may be thus rendred according to the Hebrew But darkness shall not be i. e. shall not abide or continue for to be is sometimes put for to abide or continue to be as 1 Sam. 12. 14. Prov. 23. 5. Mat. 17. 4. Heb. 8. 4. unto her to wit the Land which by the consent of Interpreters is understood here as it was ch 8. 21. to whom this distress is or shall be She shall be distressed and darkned as I said before ch 8. 22. but not irrecoverably nor for ever Some understand the Words to be an aggravation of the Darkness or Misery threatned ch 8. 22. rendring the Words thus for the dimness shall not be c. And so the sence is This shall not be so sleight an Affliction as that which besâ—…l them by Pul 2 Kings 15. 19. nor as that which succeeded it by Tiglath-Pileser who at the desire of Ahaz did about this time make another Invasion into the Land of Israel 2 Kings 15. 29. and was an heavier Stroke than the former but this shall be far heavier than either of them But the former sence seems better to agree both with the following Verse and with Mat. 4. 13 14 15. where these Words are expoanded as a Promise and said to be fulfilled by Christ's preaching the Gospel in these Parts when at the first b In the first Invasion which the King of Assyria made upon Israel he c To wit God who is oft understood in such Cases and who is here supposed to be the Author or Inflicter of this Judgment Or it is an Impersonal Speech he afflicted for was aflicted than which nothing is more common in the Hebrew Language lightly afflicted d Either 1. by Pul or rather 2. by Tiglath-Pileser who at this time invaded and subdued these Parts as is expressed 2 Kings 15. 29. the land of Zebulun and the land of Nephtali e These Parts are particularly mentioned because this Storm fell most heavily upon them but under them the other Parts of the Land are understood by a common Figure called Synechdoche and afterward did more grievously afflict her f Either 1. by Tiglath-Pileser or rather 2. by Shalmaneser who took Saâ—…aria and carried Israel into Captivity 2 Kings 17. 5 6. Of which Calamity though yet to come the Prophet speaks as if it were past as the manner of the Prophets is by the way of the sea g In that part of the Land which bordereth upon the Sea to wit the Lake of Genesareth which is very commonly called a sea as Mat. 4. 18. Ioh. 21. 1. c. and upon which the Portions of Zebulun and Nephtali bordered ‖ Or on