that when they were return home they whom they had subdued should rebel again and be no longer subject to them 19. Of Hamah and Arphad What Hamah and Arphad were see Cap. 10.9 Of Sepharvaim Some take Sepharvaim to have been a City of Syria neer the Sea others to have been a City seated upon the River Euphrates And have they Supple Which are the Gods of Samaria Here is a Relative put without an Antecedent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 20. That the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand i. e. That any one should say that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand 21. But they held their peace i. e. But the people which sat upon the wall to whom Rabshakeh directed this speech held their peace See 2 King 18.36 The Kings commandment was saying Answer him not Hezekiah being a more wise King foresaw that the Assyrian being proud by his own nature and more proud by reason of his Victories would carry himself proudly and insolently therefore he commanded the people which sat upon the walls if they should hear Rabshakeh speak proudly to them not to answer him a word lest they should by their Answer the more exasperate him if it were rough or terrifie the rest of the people if their Answer should savor of fear Again by enjoyning them silence Rabshakeh could not so well practise with them or know their mindes who would have done any thing to gain the City at this time 22. With their clothes rent The rending of their clothes was a sign of grief and sorrow among the Hebrews as Gen. 37.34 and 2 Sam. 1.11 Job 2.11 and particularly a sign of grief and sorrow together with an holy indignation for the blasphemy which they heard as Matth. 26.65 Acts 14.14 The reason of the rending their clothes for such occasions was to signifie thereby that their Soul was rent for very grief These men rent their clothes here both because of the blasphemies with which they heard Rabshakeh blaspheme God and also for sorrow and grief that they were like to make no peace with the Assyrians Cap. 33.7 ISAIAH CHAP. XXXVII HE rent his clothes To wit Because of Rabshakehs blasphemy which was related to him and for grief of what was like to happen by the breaking off of the Treaty by the Assyrians if the Lord did not avert it And went into the House of the Lord. i. e. Into the Temple there to call upon God for his ayd in this time of trouble 2. And he sent Eliakim c. unto Isaiah the son of Amos For what end Hezekiah sent to Isaiah we may gather from the fourth Verse he sent to him to pray for the remnant of the men of Judah which were left after the desolation which the Assyrians had made and he sent to him rather then to any other because he knew his holiness of life and that the gift of Prophecy was in him and that he had in fore-time delivered to him that the Lord would preserve Jerusalem from the Assyrians 3. This day is a day of trouble i. e. This time is a time of trouble a time of trouble because of the destruction of so many Cities of Judah and because of the siege and vexation of Jerusalem And of rebuke i. e. And a time of reproach in which we are reproached For Rabshakeh doth bitterly reproach and taunt both me the King of Judah and my people As for Rabshakehs reproach of the King see Cap. 36.14 15 16 18. This word Rebuke though it often signifies a reproving or chiding after a friendly manner yet here it is taken for reproaching and taunting in a spiteful way And of blasphemy i. e. And a day or time of blasphemy for Rabshakeh blasphemeth the living God Of Rabshakehs blasphemy see Cap. 26.15 20. For the children are come to the birth and there is no strength to bring forth Before these words understand those Lift up thy prayer for us For I conceive that the Prophet useth a Brachylogy and that these words Lift up thy prayer for us are to be understood from the following Verse for otherwise it will not be easie to finde on what this sentence doth depend except we take For for And or for Moreover The children are come to the birth and there is no strength to bring forth This is a Proverbial kinde of speech used when men are in extream danger or anguish and have no humane help to bring them out of it And it is taken from a woman in travel when the childe is come to the birth that is to the strait and narrow neck of the womb at what time she is in her greatest pain and the greatest danger and the womans strength then fails her so that she cannot bring her childe forth into the world that she might be eased of her pains and freed from her danger 4. Will hear the words of Rabshakeh i. e. Will take notice of the words of Rabshakeh And will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard i. e. And will punish Rabshakeh and his Master who sent him for those their words which the Lord thy God hath heard and taken notice of To reprove or rebuke when it is spoken of God is taken most often for to punish as 1 Chron. 12.17 Psal 6.1 And to reprove words is to reprove or punish a man for his words as to punish sin is to punish a man for his sin Wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left Supple That God would punish the Assyrians and spare them For the remnant that is left By the remnant that is left he meaneth those men of Judah and Jerusalem which were left after that havock of men which Sennacherib and his Army had made in the Land of Judah 6. Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard wherewith the servants of the King of Assyria have blasphemed me q. d. Though Rabshakeh and his company did by the command of their Master blasphemously say cap. 36. verse 15 20. That I could not deliver you out of the hand of their Master the King of Assyria yet be not thou afraid by reason of these words for I will deliver you 7. Behold I will send a blast upon him q. d. I will send a blast of wind upon him which shall blow him out of this Land as the Dust or Chaff is blown before the wind This phrase shews how easily God could rid the Land of Sennacherib and his Forces And it is Metaphorically to be understood And what is meant by the Metaphor is explained in the next words And he shall heare a Rumour i. e. For he shall heare a rumour The rumour which he heard and which turned him into his owne Land was the rumour of the destruction of 185000 of his Army in one night For note that though Sennacherib himselfe was upon a speedy march with that part of his Army which was with him towards Hierusalem to put in execution all
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
Burrough with us called Alâ—er-men quasi Elder-men Yet he calleth these same men Children Vers 12. But it is not from their yeares or from their place but from their Ignorance and their carriage that he calleth them Children in that place For yee have eaten up the Vine-yard By the Vine-yard he meaneth the Poor of whom the Lord hath as great a care as a Master of a Vine-yard hath of his Vine-yard See Chap. 5. vers 7. Men eat onely the Grapes of the Vine-yard but the Beasts eat the Vines themselves To such therefore may these men be here compared except you take the Vine-yard by a Metonymie for the Grapes of the Vine-yard By eating up the Vineyard is meant the spoiling of the Poor of their money and goods by oppression And wonder not that this should so signifie when it is said in the same sense They eat up my People as they eat bread Psal 14 v. 4. Note here the Enallage of the Person how he passeth from the Third to the Second Person The spoil of the poor i. e. The goods which yee have spoiled the Poor of or which ye have wrung from the poor by oppression and extortion What mean ye that ye beat my people By my people are here meant the poor for the Lord doth often call the poor his people because of the care which he hath of them as Psal 14.4 and James 2.5 15. What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces and grind the faces of the poor q. d. What reason have ye thus to oppresse my people to witt the poor and to get their meanes and their substance from them by Oppression Those Phrases are both of them Metaphoricall alluding to wheat whose flower is gotten out by beating or by grinding For note that they were wont not one to grind their wheat in a Mill but also to bray it and beat it in pieces in a morter as appeareth Prov. 27. vers 22. that they may get the flower out of it Hence they which imprison the poor or use them hardly that they may get their money or meanes away from them are said to beat them in pieces and to grind them The like phrase we have among us which speakes of squeezing a man which phrase is Metaphoricall and taken from Grapes or such like fruits which we squeeze that we may get the juyce out of them But you will say that a Mans money or his meanes are not the same to a Man as the flower is to the wheat or the juyce is to the grapes Answer Nor need they be to make the Metaphor good for Similitudes run not upon four feet Yet the Scripture often speakes in this case of a poor mans money and goods as if it were part of the man yea the man himself see Micah 3. v. 2.3 Job 29. v. 17. Prov. 30. v. 14. Psal 14. v. 4. And grinde the faces of the Poor i. e. And grinde the poor He useth here a Synecdoche of the Part for the Whole And puts the faces of the Poor for the Poor themselves and the face rather than any other part in this Place Because this oppression of the Poor did shew it self in the Faces of the Poor when they went heavy and sorrowful through the manifold wrongs which they suffered And when the hunger which they susteined for want of their meanes to buy them bread shewed it self in their lean thin pined and starved faces 16. The daughters of Sion i. e. The women of Hierusalem Sion is taken for Hierusalem as Cap. 1. v. 8. And Hierusalem as any other City may is taken here by a Prosopopoeia for a Mother her Inhabitants all for Children the Men for her Sonnes the Women for her Daughters see Chap. 1. v. 27. Are haughty Some understand this not onely of the haughtinesse of the mind which certainly is chiefly here intended but of the Stature of the body also As though these women to make themselves more tall and stately used high-sole Shooes or stately Buskins And walked with stretched forth necks Like Cranes or Swans The Prophet useth a kind of Sarcasme in this description It is the manner of proud Ones to goe as loftily as they can but humble Men and Women look low And wanton eyes i. e. Lascivious eyes which they cast wantonly and lasciviously upon young Men thereby to allure them to their embraces Walking Supple Abroad in the streets which is not so seemly for them as to keep at home And mincing as they goe i. e. Mincing and cutting their steps and strides as it were into little pieces and taking but a piece of a stride at a time as they goe And making a tinckling with their feet How this tinckling was made with their feet as they went no man can certainly know being utterly unacquainted with the dressings and fashions of the women of that time But some conjecture that they were bells about their feet by the tinckling of which the measure and composure of their steps might be taken notice of Others conjecture that they were Jewels and Pearles in their Shooes and Plinie writes of such lib. 9. cap. 35. and that the hitting and striking of these together as they went mincing made this tinckling Others have other conjectures but they wore some kind or other of tinckling Ornament about their feet v. 18. 17. The Lord will smite with a Scab the Crown of the head This Scab might come either immediately from God or by carrying burthens upon their heads as captives are put to all hardnesse Or by pulling of their hair by the roots which they were wont to doe in their Lamentations And the Lord will discover their secret parts This was when they had not any clothes left them to cover their nakedness For the Babylonish Souldiers under Nebuchadnezzar pilladg'd them of their long trained gownes and scarce left them or allowed them a rag to wear 18. In that day i. e. In the day in which the Lord shall punish this pride of theirs by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar He puts a Relative here without an Antecedent as the Hebrews often use to doe Or else this relateth to the day mentioned chap. 2. v. 12 19. The tinckling Ornaments about their feet See vers 16. The chaines Which they wore about their necks And the bracelets Which they wore about their wrists And the Nose Jewels i. e. Jewels hanging down from the forehead as low as the Nose Some say that the Eastern women were wont to were Jewels in their noses as well as in their eares by boring a hole in their nose as they did in the eare and that the Prophet speaketh here of such jewels or rings 22. The changeable sutes of apparell Changeable Sutes of Apparell were many Sutes of Apparell whereof they wore one one day and another another and another a third day which change and variety of Sutes and of Apparell was accounted a piece of the Luxury of those times And the mantles They were wont
would without fear Far Supple From Jerusalem where they were shut up and as it were imprisoned Of the earth By the earth he meaneth the Land of Judah per Synecdochen Integri as cap. 24.17 c. 16. In trouble i. e. When the Assyrians afflicted and distressed them Have they i. e. The just and righteous men which were in Jerusalem Have they visited thee i. e. Have they come into thy Temple which is thy house and there visited thee and offered up their prayers to thee See 2 Kings 19. v. 14 15. He speaks here of things then to come as if they had been then already past and that for the certainty of them 17. Like as a woman with child that draweth neer to the time of her delivery is in pain and crieth out in her pangs so have we been Supple In great paine and anguish of heart and so have we cryed out for very grief because of the oppressions wherewith the Assyrians do oppresse us Note here how he changeth persons from the third to the first 18. We have been with child q. d. Yea we have been yet more like to women with child for we have been as it were with child with the hopes of deliverance from the distresse wherewith the Assyrians do distresse us We have been in pain i. e. We have been in pain and anguish of spirit because of our oppressions from which we desired to be delivered We have as it were brought forth wind But yet when after all our pain and anguish of spirit we thought we should have brought forth deliverance according to our hopes we did not bring forth deliverance as we hoped To bring forth wind is to bring forth that which is contrary or at least not according to our hopes and expectation The Prophet seemeth here to allude to those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or those windy egges which naturalists speak off of which cometh no bird nor chick but they prove addle Nor doth it hinder the allusion that in the former part of this similitude he alludes to a woman with child who is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Not such a one as layeth egges but bringeth forth her young alive for the Prophet doth often mingle Metaphors and Allegories and allude now to one thing now to another in the same sentence We have not wrought any deliverance in the earth i. e. We have not hitherto procured from thee any deliverance from the oppression of the Assyrians which oppresse us in our Land He sheweth here what he meaneth by the fore-going words and what it was with which they were with child they were with child with hope of deliverance and with hope that the Assyrians should be destroyed but they brought not forth this child The means by which they would have wrought this deliverance was by prayer which hitherto God had not heard Note that the Prophâ—t leaveth his former allegory here which if he had followed he should have said we have not brought forth deliverance In the earth He takes the earth here for Judea as verse 15. Neither have the Inhabitants of the world faln Neither hast thou as yet smitten the Assyrians which now vex us as thou didst the Egyptians and Moabites which vexed our fore-fathers that they might fall The Inhabitants of the world By the Inhabitants of the world he meaneth the Assyrians per Synecdochen Integri And the Assyrians might be called at this time the Inhabitants of the world rather then any other people because of their large dominions in the world 19. Thy dead men shall live This is the answer of God to that complaint which the Prophet made just before in the person of the just nation Thy dead men i. e. Thy men which are but as dead men in thy esteem and in the esteem of the world because no man can see how they can possibly escape the sword of the Assyrians Shall live i. e. Shall live again i. e. Shall escape death and flourish again He persists in the allusion to dead men Together with my dead body shall they arise i. e. Together with my holy City Jerusalem which is accounted but as a dead carcase shall they arise from the dead He speaks here of Jerusalem as of a woman which first he calls His in respect of the love which he did bear to her for he loved the gates of Sion more then all the dwellings of Jacob Psal 87.2 Yea in respect of the marriage by which he had married her for he was her husband Cap. 54.5 Then he calls her his dead body in respect of the opinion of men which made no other account but that the Assyrians would destroy her as they had destroyed other Cities of Judah their power being so great and their wrath so hot against her and in allusion to that that Jerusalem was to God as a Wife and as his Love these words my dead body sound somewhat amorously or love-like This which is here spoken of was fulfilled when God destroyed the Army of the Assyrians which did sorely distresse Jerusalem and the men within her by which they in Jerusalem were relieved Ye that dwell in the dust By them that dwell in the dust are meant dead men whom he describeth by that that they dwell in the dust because the dead are bruied in the dust of earth And by dead men he meaneth metaphorically those Jewes which were in Jerusalem when Sennacheribs Army besieged it whom he cals dead men because every one thought them to be in so great danger of death as that they could not possibly escape it and Jerusalem was then but as a Grave or Sepulchre because the Jewes while they were besieged therein could no more go out nor were they like to go out thence any more then a dead man could or was likely to go out of his Grave or Sepulchr The Lord therefore cals them dead men not in his own sense for he knew how to deliver them but in the sense of others See the like cap. 41.14 Thy dew is as the dew of herbs i. e. The blessing which shall light upon thee shall be as the dew which falls upon herbs for as the dew which falls upon herbes refresheth them and makes them to flourish so shall the blessing which shall light upon thee refresh thee and make thee flourish again He calls the blessing of God here by the name of dew because it should be like unto dew and he calls it her dew because it should light upon her i. e. Upon Jerusalem as he calls the dew which falls uon the herbes the dew of herbes And the earth shall cast out the dead i. e. And ye which are accounted as men which are dead shall rise out of the earth where ye are buried He seemeth here to compare the earth or the grave to the wombe which concurreth actively and vigorously to the casting out of the dead child which is therein These words are
putting Rock in the singular number collectivè for Rocks in the plural or whether he meaneth the inhabitants of Arabia Petraea in particular whose chief City was called Petra which signifieth a Rock 12. And declare his praise in the Islands i. e. And declare his praise in remote places as occasion serves 13. The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man Here is the news which the Prophet spoke of vers 9. And here is the Reason also why he invites those people to rejoyce and sing for he tells them that the Lord would go forth against the Babylonians who had oppressed them as a mighty man of war This did the Lord do when he stirred up Cyrus against the Babylonians and assisted him to their overthrow Note here that though the Lord doth war against his Enemies by his instruments and servants and so subdues them yet by a kinde of Poetical Fiction the Prophet brings him in like a man warring himself c. See Cap. 2.10 He shall stir up jealousie i. e. He shall stir up his wrath and indignation against the Babylonians Because jealous men are angry men and hardly to be appeased Prov. 6.34 hence jealousie may be sometimes taken for wrath and indignation Anger and indignation do whet a mans valor hence it is that he saith He shall stir up jealousâ—e like a man of war He shall cry yea roar He alludes here to the ancient custom of Soldiers which at the instant of their on-set and joyning of battel with their Enemies did use to give a shout and cry aloud And this they did partly to encourage themselves partly to terrifie and daunt their Enemies and the louder their Cry was the more effectual it was for these ends This shout and cry was so esteemed and regarded among Soldiers as that they would judge of the event of a Battel by it Cato said Verba plus quam gladium voces quam monum hostes territare in fugam veriere i. e. That words did more affright the Enemy then the sword and the voyce and cries more then force and strength and make them fly Against his Enemies i. e. Against the Babylonians who were the Enemies of his people the Jews and so his Enemies God accounts the Enemies of his people his own Enemies See Acts 9.4 14. I have a long time held my peace Supple Saith the Lord for this is spoken in the person of God The sence is q. d. I have been patient a long time and not so much as said any thing to the Babylonians which have afflicted my people Now will I cry like a travelling woman q. d. Now will I fall furiously upon mine Enemies the Babylonians which hold my people captive He alludes to Soldiers who cry out and give a great shout when they set upon their Enemies And by the loudness of the cry he sheweth the fierceness of the assault or on-set and puts the cry for the assault it self Like a travelling woman A woman especially a woman which hath hard travel useth to cry aloud yea to roar when she is in her sharpest pain that is when the childe is in the birth Hence it is that the Lord saith that he will cry like a travelling woman when he would signifie that he would cry aloud yea roar as it is said v. 13. But probably this is not all which is signified by this similitude But as a woman when she is in her travel is in great pain and grief and desires to be delivered So may the Lord signifie by this that he is in great pain and grief to see his people so oppressed and that that pain and grief would make him to cry out as a travelling woman and take vengeance of his Enemies speedily that so he might ease himself by their destruction I will destroy and devour at once q. d. I will destroy all mine Enemies in a moment He alludes to an hungry Lion or other ravenous beasts which sets upon the first prey it seeth and when it hath killed it forbears not to eat it but eats it greedily yea swalloweth it down without chewing for very greediness 15. I will make waste mountains and hills By the Metaphor of mountains and hills he meaneth the Babylonians who were mighty in power at this time excelling therein all other people See the same Metaphor Cap. 41.15 And dry up all their herbs i. e. And I will put an end to all their glory As by mountains and hills he meaneth the Babylonians which did excel in power so by the herbs or grass growing upon the hills and mountains he meaneth the glory of the Babylonians and whatsoever they esteemed as a glory or ornament to them For herbs and grass are the glory and ornament as of fields so of hills and mountains Turpis sine gramine Campus and Turpes sine gramine Montes As a field so hills and mountains are unsightly if not clothed with grass and herbs And I will make the Rivers Islands i. e. I will dry up the Rivers and turn them into dry ground What he meant by Mountains before that he meaneth by Rivers here for Rivers and great Waters may Metaphorically signifie great and powerful Princes and People as well as mountains and hills See Cap. 8.7 And I will dry up the pools This is a repetition of the former sentence 16. And I will bring the blinde by the way they knew not i. e. And when I have done this I will bring my people the Jews out of the Land of Babylon where they are captive into their own Land of Judea by a way which they knew not The blinde He calls the Jews which were in the Babylonish captivity The blinde because at this time when the good news of their delivery out of captivity was first told them they would not believe it So they which would not believe the like message are called blinde cap. 29.18 That Vnbelief is called Blindness see Rom. 11.25 Joh. 12.49 As to perceive to believe Cap. 6.9 I will make darkness light before them i. e. I will turn their adversity into prosperity so some But I had rather understand it thus q. d. In the night time when it is dark I will give them light so that the darkness shall be no hinderance to them in their journey When the Lord brought the children of Israel out of Egypt he went before them by night in a Pillar of Fire to shew them light and the way wherein they should go Exod. 13.21 Nehem. 9.19 To this the Prophet doth here allude and describes Gods bringing the Jews out of the Babylonish captivity by what he did when he brought them out of Egypt for the Prophet doth often express like things by like as we said Cap. 4.5 And crooked things straight i. e. And I will make the crooked ways straight that they may sooner come to their journeys end See Cap. 40.4 He saith crooked things for crooked ways putting a general term for a special by a Synecdoche 17.
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
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
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
highly honour him and reward him But if you would know what particular honour and reward the Lord gave his Sonne and Servant Christ Iesus read among other places Ephes 1. v. 20 21 22 23. and Phil. 12. v. 1.81 91 101.11 But for the understanding of this That these words I will devide him a portion with the great signifie no more than this I will highly honour him and reward him know this that those places of Scripture which carry two senses in them are Historicall as I may call it and a Mysticall though they carry the Historicall sense word for word yet they carry the Mysticall sense for the most part but in Grosse though here and there there be sometimes such sentences interserted as apperteine according to the words themselves not onely to the Historicall but also to the Mysticall sense of which I spake more at large in the Preface And he shall divide the spoile with the strong This is the same for sense with former words Because he hath poured out his soul unto death i. e. Because he hath not spared his life but parted with it to the uttermost By His soule is here meant His life by a Metonymie for Life is nothing else but the Union of the soule with the body which Union is mainteined by the apt dispositions of the body to reteine it When he saith he hath poured out his soule he useth a Metaphor taken from the powring out of water out of Buckets He saith He hath poured out his soule unto death in pursuance of that Metaphor Of powring out of water out of a Bucket where the water is so poured out to the last drop as that there is not a drop thereof remaining And he was numbred with the transgressours i. e. And because he was accounted as a Transgressour though he were innocent and was put to death amongst Transgressours This was fulfilled when he was crucified between two Thieves Mark 15. v. 27 28. And he bare the sinne of many i. e. And he bare what the malice of the Jewes and the Gentiles under Pontius Pilate could lay upon him See Acts Cap. 4.27 By Sinne understand here the Torments and Afflictions which were the effect of the sinne That is of the malice and envy of the Jewes c. By a Metonymie And made intercession for the transgressours i. e. And because he made intercession for these who through envy and malice did put him to death ISAIAH CHAP. LIV. SIng O barren thou that didst not bear i. e. Sing for joy O Sion or O Jerusalem thou which hast been like a barren woman and bore no children He prophecyeth here of the joyful deliverance of the Jews out of the Babylonish captivity as he did cap. 49.51 52. and elsewhere And he speaks to the material City of Sion or Ierusalem as to a woman by a Prosopopoeia whom he calleth barren and one that did not bear because all the time of the Babylonish captivity she was empty of Jews which were to her as children for they were all carryed away into Babylon and there was none left in her to encrease the Nation See cap. 49.21 Cry aloud Supple For joy Thou that didst not travel with childe This is a repetition of those words Thou that didst not bear For more are the children of the desolate i. e. For more shall thy children be O thou which wast desolate and as a widow and as one forsaken of her Husband during the Babylonish captivity c. He changeth the person here and speaks of Sion or Jerusalem in the third person to whom he spoke in the foregoing words in the second and he useth a present for a future tense Sion or Jerusalem was called desolate and as one forsaken of her Husband because God who was her Husband vers 5. and cap. 62.5 had forsaken her cap. 50.1 And therefore as a woman which is desolate and forsaken of her Husband beareth not children so was Ierusalem barren and without children while God had forsaken her who might be called her Husband as in other regards so in this that while he had a favor to her he did encrease her children within her as a woman multiplyeth her children by her Husband Then the children of the marryed wife i. e. Then thy children were when thou hadst an Husband any time heretofore and wast a marryed Wife The meaning is that Jerusalem though she had been afflicted and brought into captivity by the Babylonians and had her Children or Citizens carryed away from her yet now she should be more populous then ever she was at any time before that her captivity Note that when he saith More are the children of the desolate then the children of the marryed woman he speaks as though he spoke of two several persons but he speaks but of two several states or conditions of the same person So we say of a man that is changed from what he was that he is another man though not his substance but his condition onely is changed This which I have given is the first sence of this place But Sion here as she became fruitful after her widowhood was a Type of the Church of Christ So that in the second and sublime sence this place is to be understood of the Church of Christ as will appear Gal. 4.27 For as Sion while God had put her away from being his Wife and had given her over to be spoyled by the hands of the Babylonians was barren and brought forth no children but when he took her to him to Wife again she encreased in children as the Stars of Heaven for multitude So the Church of Christ while she was a stranger to the bed of Christ and was without the seed of his Word that is while all Nations were suffered to walk in their own ways Acts 14.16 and were given over to the god of this World to be blinded by him Acts 17.30 brought forth no children unto God But when Christ took her to his bed Ioh. 3.29 and redeemed her out of the hand of Satan and gave her the seed of his Word she so encreased in children as that all the ends of the Earth were full of her issue So that she far exceeded the Synagogue of the Iews when it was most populous Note here that Sion as she was considered before the Babylonish captivity was a Type of the Synagogue of the Iews but as she was considered after the Babylonish captivity was a Type of the Church of Christ As therefore Sion was more populous after the Babylonish captivity then ever she was before so was the Church of Christ more populous then ever the Synagogue of the Iews was Wonder not that I make Sion a Type of the Synagogue and the same Sion a Type of the Church upon divers considerations For Saint Paul makes her a Type of the Synagogue Gal. 4.25 and a Type of the Church Rom. 9.33 It may be objected here That the Church of Christ was not the Church
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
his people the Jews with all cruelty when they were in captivity and upon whom he poured out vengeance when he delivered his people by Cyrus Before she travelled she brought forth i. e. The Jews which were in captivity were delivered out of captivity and brought back to Sion sooner then any one could expect This is the meaning of the words which are proverbial and where Sion is compared to a teeming woman yea to a woman bringing forth before her pains came upon her and the Jews which were in captivity and brought home again to the children brought forth by such a woman Note that by she is meant Sion or Jerusalem of which he speaks as of a woman by a Prosopopoeia But the Relative She is put without an Antecedent which is a thing ordinary with the Hebrews Before her pain came she was delivered of a man-childe This is a repetition of the former words Of a man-childe The birth of a man-childe makes the joy the greater Joh. 16. vers 21. But whom doth he mean by this man-childe Ans He meaneth the whole people of the Jews for he speaks often of a people as of one individual man as Cap. 17.4 Or a man-childe may be taken collectivè for man-men-children q. d. Before her pain she was delivered of many man-men-children 8. Who hath heard such a thing q. d. Who ever heard or saw such a thing Who hath seen such things i. e. Supple as this That a woman should bring forth before she travelled and that she should be delivered before she was in pain as Sion was that is That a City should be so suddenly redeemed out of so great captivity and so suddenly filled with people which was so utterly desolate before as Jerusalem was when she was redeemed by Cyrus Shall the Earth be made to bring forth in one day i. e. Shall a Land be made to bring forth in one day people enough to inhabit it The whole Earth is put by a Synecdoche for one Land and Country Or shall a Nation be born at once Or shall a whole Nation be suddenly born at one birth For as soon as Sion travelled she brought forth her children i. e. Yet Sion did all on the sudden bring forth all these her children which are more then enough to inhabit her cap. 49.20 By this Metaphor of Sion travelling and bringing forth the Prophet meaneth that Jerusalem was replenished in a moment with inhabitants which was desolate before multitudes of people returning on a sudden out of Babylon into her as if a whole Nation had been born in her in one day For is put here for Yet A question may here be asked How he can say As soon as Sion travelled she brought forth when as he said vers 7. Before she travelled she brought forth Ans These two phrases are both proverbial To bring forth before she travelled and To bring forth as soon as she travelled and both these may signifie one and the same thing viz. To bring forth of a sudden And this is all which is intended by this place to wit to shew the suddenness of Sions bringing forth her children And therefore he may say As soon as Sion travelled and Before Sion travelled she brought forth without any contradiction or contrariety So Cap. 65.24 The Lord saith Before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear By which phrases is onely meant that the Lord would be forward to help them when they stood in need of him So we read Matt. 10.10 that our Saviour whâ—n he sends forth his Disciples bids them carry no staves yet Mark 6.8 our Saviour tells them that they should take nothing for their journey save a staff onely in which words there is no contradiction if we look to the sence for by both phrases our Saviour intendeth that his Disciples should have nothing but what was necessary for the present and that Matthew signified when he said no staves for every poor man hath a staff And Mark when he said nothing save a staff onely for he that hath onely a staff hath nothing superfluous 9. Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth q. d. Shall I cause Sion to conceive and shall I perfect her fruit within her and bring it to the birth and shall I not cause her to bring it forth that is Shall I give Sion hopes of having her children return to her out of captivity and shall I not bring it to pass Shall I cause to bring forth and shut the womb q. d. Shall I cause all mothers to bring forth and be fruitful and shall I shut the womb of my beloved Sion so that she shall not bring forth No I will not but I will open her womb and make her more fruitful then any mother in the world besides for I will make her very populous Or thus q. d. Shall I say that I will cause Sion to bring forth and yet shut her womb I will not do it To cause to bring forth in this last interpretation is taken for To say that he would cause to bring forth and To shut her womb for To suffer her womb to be shut 10. Rejoyce ye with Jerusalem and be glad with her all ye which love her Supple Because of the happiness and prosperity which she shall enjoy He speaks to the captive Jews which sought the Lord and served him who therefore loved Jerusalem because the Lord had chosen it for the place of his worship And hereby he prophecyeth both of theirs and of Jerusalems prosperity All ye that mourn for her Supple Now in the time of her affliction and desolation because she lieth waste and desolate without Altar and without Temple to serve God in 11. That ye may suck and be satisfied with the brest of her consolation i. e. For though ye be now afflicted ye shall be partakers of her comfort This phrase is Metaphorical and alludeth to children which when they cry and weep the mother to quiet them and comfort them layeth them to the brest to suck Note that the Particle that signifieth here as often elsewhere either the connexion and consequence or else the cause of rejoycing That ye may milk out i. e. For ye shall milk out of her brests abundance of glory And be delighted with the abundance of her glory i. e. Ye shall eat and be delighted with the abundance of her glory that is of her prosperity and happiness By glory he meaneth prosperity and happiness per Metonymiam Effecti or Adjuncti because prosperity and happiness make him glorious who hath them And he compareth this glory that is this prosperity and happiness here to the milk of the brest 12. I will extend peace to her like a river i. e. I will give her that is Jerusalem abundance of prosperity and happiness The word peace signifieth in the Hebrew language all manner of prosperity and happiness And the word extend noteth abundance and continuance of