Exposition of the Whole Bible

; Ch. il. y. 3-~6. ~ comes it to pafs that he hath taken away that which was my property, and given it to another! how ftrange is this! how fuddenly was it done! and by what means! furning away, he hath divided our fields; either God turning away from his people, beeaufe of their fins, divided their fields amon their enemies; inj/tead of reftoring ‘, as fome read it, he did fo; or the enemy the Afjrian, turning, away after he had conquered the land, and’abour to return to his own country, divided it among his foldiers: or, fo the perverfe, or rebellious one ® he divideth our fields; that is, the Lord divides them to the wicked, perverfe and blafpheming king of Affyria; fo the word is ufed of one that goes on frowardly, and backflides, J/. lvii. 17. Fer. iii.

¥. 5. Therefore thou fhalt have none that foall caft a cord by lot, &c. ‘This confirms what was before delivered in a parabolical way, and as a lamentation; and is fpoken either to the falfe prophet, as Kimchi; who fhould not be, nor have any pofterity to inherit by lot the land of /rael; or to thofe oppreffors that took away houfes and fields from others, thefe fhould have no part nor lot in the land any more; or rather to the whole people of I/rael, who fhould no more inherit their land after their captivity, as they have not to this day. The allufion is to the diftribution of the land by lot, and the dividing of it by a cord or line, as in Fofoua’s time; but now there fhould be no land, in the poffeffion of J/raelites to be divided among them; nor any people to divide it to, being feattered up and down in the world, and fo no need ef any perfon to be employed in fuch fervice; nor any Sanbedrim or court of Judicature to apply unto for a juft and equal divifion and diftribution, who perhaps may be meant in the next claufe: im ibe congregation of the Lord; unlefs this is to be underftood of the body of the people, who were formerly called the congregation of the Lord, Deut. xxiii. 1, 2. tho’ now they had forfeited this character, and are only called fo ironically, as fome think. dben Ezra interprets it, when the Lord returns the captivity of his people; and fo Kimchi, who applies it to the falfe prophet, as before obferved, who at this time fhould have no part nor Jot in the land.

¥. 6. Prophefy ye not, fay they, to them that prophefy, &c.} Or drop not *; fuck terrible words, ° fuch menacing things; let them not flow from your lips with fuch profufion and abundance; ceafe from {peaking in the name of the Lord, if we can hear nothing elfe but’ fharp reproofs, and fevere judgments: or the firft word refpects the true prophets of the Lord, and forbids their prophefyings and according to others, the next fhould be ren-_ dered, let them prophefy, or drop*; that is, the falfe prophets, that prophefy fmooth things; and fo the fenfe is, let the one prophefy, but not the other: they fhall not prophefy to them; thefe are the words of the Lord, in anfwer to the other, that fince they did not like his prophets; they fhould no more be fent to them, nor fhould drop or diftil the rain of doétrine upon them; but asa judg- — ment upon them, fhould be deprived of them: or, they foall not prophefy according to thefe*, as the falfe prophets do, not fuch things as they; or the

Ch. il. ¥. 7—10. M i ‘whole may be rendered thus, propbe/y not, or if they prophefy, let them not prophefy as thefe'; fach things as thefe; namely, that-/bame fhall not overtake them; that'is, as the falfe prophets, who faid that fhame and confufion fhould not come upon the people of J/rae/, or the wrath dense again{t them, but they fhould enjoy great peace and profperity: but the firft fenfe feems beft, and the meaning of this claufe to be, that the true prophets of the Lord fhould not prophefy any more to this people, fince they did not chufe they fhould: that foame might not come upon them; that the prophets might not be treated by them in a fhameful and ignominious manner: or, as others, /bame /hall not depart from them™,; tho’ they think to efcape it by forbidding the prophets prophefying terrible things to come, yet confufion will be their portion at lait.

¥. 7. O thou that art named the houfe of Facob, &c.] Called after that great and good man, and reckoned the people of God, and have the character of being religious perfons; but alas! have but a name, and not the thing, and are the degenerate offspring of that famous patriarch: 7s the Spirit of the Lord firaitened? or foortened", the fpirit of the Lord in his prophets, is it to be limited and reftrained according to the will of men? or if thefe prophets are forbid to prophefy, and they are filenced, is, not the refidue of the fpirit with the Lord? can’t he raife up others to prophefy in his name? or is the fpirit of the Lord confined, as a fpirit of prophefy, only to foretel good things, and not evil? may it not threaten with punifhment for fin, as well as promife peace and profperity? and is it to be reckoned narrow and ftrait, becaufe it now does not? the fault is not in that, but in you, who make it neceffary by your conduét, that not good, but evil things fhould be predicted of you: are thefe his doings? either Facob’s doings, fuch things as Facob did? did he ever forbid the prophets of the Lord from prophefying? or did he do fuch things as required fuch menaces and threatnings as now delivered by the prophets? or are thefe becoming fuch perfons as go by his name? or are fuch works as are done by you pleafing to God? were they, no fuch terrible meffages would be fent by his prophets: or are thefe the Lord’s doings? are judgments the works he is continually doing and taking delight in? are they not his acts, his ftrange acts? did you behave otherwife than you do, you would hear nothing of this kind: do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? that walks in a right way, and according to the rule of the divine word, in the uprightnefs and integrity of his heart, aiming’ at the honour and glory of God in all his ways? to fuch a man the words of the Lord by his prophets fpeak good things, promife him ‘good things here and hereafter, and do him good, exhilarate his {pirits, chear, refrefh, and comfort his foul.

y. 8. Even of late my people is rifen up as an enemy, 8cc.] Or yefferday °; meaning a very little while before this prophecy, the people of J/rael, thofe of the ten tribes, who were the people of God by profeffion, rofe up as an enemy, not only to God and true religion, worfhipping idols; but

1 Ne vaticinemini, aut fi vaticinentur, ne talia vaticinentur,

| tather to their brethren; thofe of the two tribes of Fudab and Benjamin, as they did in the times of Pekab king of Jrael, who flew a hundred and twenty thoufand of them in one day, 2 Chron: XXvili: 6. and which is here mentioned as a reafon why the fpirit of the Lord in his prophets threatened them with evil, and did not promife them good things: ye pull off the robe with the garment 3 the upper and nether garment, and fo ftripped them naked: or, they ftripped the robe from off the £arment, as fome °; they took the upper garment or cloak from them, and left them only the under garment: for them that pafs by fecurely, as men averfe from war, who were travelling from place to place about their proper bufinefs, and thought themfeives very fafe; were peaceable men themielves, and fufpected no harm. from others: or, returning from wer 4; fuch who efcaped in the battel, and fled for their lives; and when they imagined they were fafe, and out of danger, fell into the hands of robbers, who {tripped them of their garments: Gujetius * interprets it of fuch who were returning to the battel; and yet fo ufed. ¥. 9. Ihe women of my people have ye caf out from their pleafant houfes, &c.] Not content to flay their hufbands, they took their wives or widows captive, difpoffefied them of their habitations, where they had lived delightfully with their hufbands and children; fo we find that at the time before referred to, the people of J/rael carried captive of their brethren two hundred thoufand women, and brought them to Samaria, 2 Chron, xxviii. 8. Some underftand this of divorce, which thofe men were the caufe of, either by committing adultery with them, which was a juft reafon for their hufband’s divorcing. them; or by frequenting their houfes, which caufed fufpicion and jealouly: from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever; the which God would have had glory trom, and they would have given it to him on account of; as their being brought up in a religious way; their liberties, both civil and religious; their paternal eftates and inheritances, and the enjoyment of their own land; and efpecially the worfhip of God in the temple, of which they were deprived by being carried away from their own country: or it may be underftood of the glory that accrues to God by honourable marriage, and the bed undefiled; and the difhonour caft upon him by the contrary, as well as upon children, who may be fufpected to be illegitimate. ¥. 10. Arife ye, and depart, &c.] That is, out of the land; don’t think of a continuance in it, but expect a removal from it; prepare for captivity and exile; look for it every moment, to hear it faid to you, arife, and be gone from hence; for fince you have drove others out of their inheritances and poffeffions, this fhall be your cafe: for this is not your ref; the land in which the ten tribes then dwelt, and which was given to their fathers for an inheritance, and for a refting place, and had been fo for ages paft, now would be no more fo, becaufe of their fins and tran{grefiions; they muft not expect to abide here long, and enjoy reft and eafe; but to be turned out, and de- he of all the bleffings of it, and be carried into m PADD ION) non recedeat igro:

. into a foreign country, where inftead of reft and eafe they fhould be in flavery and bondage: ecaufe it is polluted, it fhall deftroy you, even with a fore deftruétion, becaufe the land that was given them to dwell in was defiled by their manifold iniquities, particularly adulteries before hinted at: all fin is of a defiling nature; it defiled the bodies and fouls of thefe men; defiled the eftates they were poflefled of, and the land on which they dwelt, and their fellow-inhabitants of it; therefore utter deftruction, even a fore and grievous one, fhould come upon them, by which their land fhould be laid wafte, and they confumed off of it: or, it foall corrupt you, even with a grievous corruption *; or you being corrupt upon it, it fhall fpew you out as a corrupt thing, as it did the Canaan- é¢es, the ancient inhabitants of it; when you will appear to be as you are, extremely corrupt:.or, it foall be in pain, even with fore pains‘; fuch as thofe of a woman in travail, not being able to bear them any longer, but eafe itfelf of them, thro’ the judgments of God upon them. This may be applied to the prefent ftate and condition of the people of God in this world, which is not. their reft; there remains one for them in another world, but they are not yet come to it; for whilft here they are in trouble, thro’ indwelling fin, the temptations of fatan, divine defertions, and various fears that attend them, fo that they have little reft;_befides, this is a warfare-ftate, and they are engaged with many enemies; and at beft are but travellers pafling thro’ this world to their father’s houfe: this is alfo their working time, and they are attended with a variety of afflictions within and without; and fince there are fo many corruptions and pollutions in the world, thro’ luft, which makes it that it can be no refting place for a good man; it becomes them not to take up their reft here, but feek after it elfewhere; and to live in an expectation of being called out of it, and to be in a readinels to depart when the Lord fhall call for v.11. Uf a man walking in the {pirit and falfbood, do lie, &c.] Who pretends to be a prophet, and a fpiritual man, and to be under the infpiration and influence of the Spirit of God,’ but utters nothing but lies and falfhoods; or who is acted by a {pirit of falfhood and lying; or, as in the margin, walk with the wind, and lie falfly *; is full of wind and vanity; or, after the wind“; and follows the dictates of his vain mind, and coins lies, and peaks falfe things: faying, I will prophefy unto thee of wine and of firong drink, or drop a word unto thee*; that there will be good times, and nothing but good eating and drinking; and that men need not tear fuch difmal things befalling them as the prophets of the Lord fpoke of; but may be chearful and merry, and drink wine and ftrong drink, and not be afraid of their evil tidings: or, for wine and Strong drink ’, fo Kimchi; and the meaning is, that if they would give him a cup of wine, or a draught of ftrong drink, he would prophefy good things to them; the reverfe of what is before faid, as that they fhould continue in their land, and not depart from it; that this fhould be their reft, and they fhould remain therein, and ‘not be deftroyed in it, or caft out of it: be shall even be the prophet

* So Aben Ezra and Kimchi in Sephér Shorafh. rad. y).

of this people; a dropper * to them; fee y'. 6. fuch a one fhall be acceptable to them, they’ll carefs him and prefer him to the true prophets of the Lord; which is mentioned to fhew the temper of the people, and how eafily they were impofed upon, and their difrepect to the prophets of the Lord, as in ¥. 6, 7. to which fubject the prophet here returns, as Kimchi obferves. ar.

¥. 12. Iwill furely affemble, O Facob, all of thee, &c.] Thefe words are cither the words of the falfe prophet continued, that prophefied of wine and ftrong drink, as Aben Ezra, promifing great plenty and profperity, and that the remnant of the ten tribes carried captive by Tiglath-Pilefer fhould be returned, and they fhould all live together in fafety and plenty, and rejoice becaufe of their numbers: or elfe they are a denunciation of threatnings and judgements, as Kimchi, that the J/raelites fhould be gathered indeed together, but as theep for the flaughter, even thofe that remained, not as yet carried captive; thefe fhould be fhut up, and clofely befieged in their cities, and make a noife, and cry for fear of their enemies, and becaufe of the great number of them: or rather they are a comfortable promife of the gathering of the people of J/rae/ in the times of the Meffiah, in the laft days of the gofpel-difpenfation, even all of - acob, all the then pofterity of J/rae]; for then all,

Ifrael fhall be faved, Rom. xi. 26. and this is introduced, tho’ abruptly, as often fuch promifes are, for the comfort of the Lord’s people, amidit forrowful and fad tidings brought to the people in general: I will furely gather the remnant of Ifrael the remnant according to the election of grace, whom the Lord will referve for himfelf, thofe that are left of them in the latter day; thefe fhall be gathered effectually by the grace of God unto Jefus the true Meffiah, they fhall now feek after; and into his church, to join themfelves to his people, embracing his gofpel, and fubmitting to his ordinances; when there fhall be one fold for Jews and Gentiles, and one fhepherd over them, the Lord Jefus Chrift: I will put them together as the foeep of Bozrab, a place famous for flocks and paftures; fignifying that they fhould be took care of by the great and good fhepherd, have a good fold, and good paftures provided for them, where they fhould. teed comfortably together, in great unity and affection: as the flock in the midjt of their fold; lying ~ down fafely, and refting quietly; fee Ezek. xxxiv. 13, 14: they foall make great noife by reafon of the multitude of men; a joytul noife, becaute of their own numbers being increafed with men likea flock, and fo numerous, that the place will be too ftrait for them; and becaufe of the number of good and - faithful fhepherds under Chrift, to feed and proteé& them, even paftors after God’s own heart, given | them to feed them with knowledge and under-

Not the enemy, either the, Afyrian or Chaldean army, or any part thereof, going up before the ~ reft, breaking down the walls of the city, either of Samaria or Ferufalem, fo making way for entrance therein; nor Zedekiab, as Yofeph Kimchi, who made his efcape thro’ the wall broken down 5 /nor the Maccabees, who were inftruments of great

¥. 13. Lhe breaker up is come up before them, 8c.)

Ch. 11. ¥. i. falvation and deliverance to the Fews aftet the captivity, and before the coming of Chrilt. Kimchi makes mention of an expofition, which interprets the breaker of Elias, that was to come before the Meffiah; and their king, in the latter part of the text, of the branch the fon of David; that is, the Meffiah; which fenfe Mr. Pocock thinks may be admitted of, provided by Elias we underftand ‘fobn the Baptift, the forerunner of Chrift, who is the true Efias that was to come; who broke, prepared and cleared the way for Chrift by his doétrine and baptifm; fee Lwke i. 16, 17. and iii. 4, 5. but it is beft to interpret the breaker of Chrift himfelf; and fo I find it explained * by the ews alfo, to whom this and all the reft of the characters in the text agree; and who may be fo called with refpect to his incarnation, being the firft-born that opened the womb, and broke forth into the world in a very extraordinary manner; his birth being of a virgin, who was fo both before and after the birth; thus Pharez had his name, which is from the fame root, and is of a fimilar found with Phorez -here, from his breaking forth before his brother, unawares, and contrary to expectation, Gen. xxxviii. 29. this agrees with Chrift, with refpect to his death, when he broke thro’ and vanquifhed all enemies, fin, fatan, the world and death; broke thro’ all the troops of hell, and fpoiled. principalities and powers3 and thro’ all difficulties that lay in the way of the falvation of his people; he broke down the middle wall of partition, the ceremonial law which was between Few and Gentile; and broke off the yoke of fin, fatan, and the law, under which they were, and fet them at liberty; and at his refurreétion he broke afunder the cords of death, as Samp/fon did his withs as a thread of tow; and at his afcenfion he broke his way thro’ the regions of the air, and legions of devils there, leading captivity captive, and entered into heaven; and was pandens iter, as the Vulgate Latin verfion here renders it, opening the way for his people into it; by the miniftry of the word, he broke his way into the Gentile world, conquering and to conquer, which was mighty thro’ God, for the pulling down of {trong holds, and reducing multitudes to his obedience; at the converfion of every finner he breaks open the everlafting doors of their hearts, and enters in; he breaks their rocky hearts in pieces, and then binds up what he has broken;

N this chapter the prophet reproves and threatens both princes and prophets, firft feparately, and then conjunétly; firft the heads and princes of the people, civil magiftrates, for their ignorance of juftice, and hatred of good, and love of evil, and for their oppreffion and cruelty; and they are threatened with diftrefs when they fhould cry unto the Lord, and fhould not be heard by him, ¥. 1, 2, 3, 4. next the prophets are taken to tafk, for their voracioufnefs, avarice and falfe prophefying; and are threatened with darknefs, with want of vifion, and of an anfwer from the Lord, and with fhame and confufion, ¥. 5, 6, 7. and the prophet being full of the fpirit and power of God, to declare the fins and tranfgreffions of Facob and Trael, ¥. 8. very freely declaims againft princes, and in the latter day he’ll break in pieces all his enemies as a potter’s veffel; yea he’ll break in pieces and confume all the kingdoms of the earth, which will become like the chaff of the fummer threfhing-floors: and now he is afcended, or gone up to heaven to his father there, and defore them his fheep, his people, faid to be affembled, gathered and put together; he is afcended as the fore-runner of them, to receive gifts for them, and beftow them on them, and to prepare heaven for them, and to make interceffion on their behalf; and as fure as he is gone up, fo fure fhall they alfo follow: they have broken up, and have paffed thro’ the gate; and are gone out by it; not either the Affyrians or Chaldeans; nor the people that fled with Zedekiah; but the fheep of Chrift following him their fhepherd; who, in the ftrength of Chrift, and the power of his grace, break out of their prifon-houfes; and break off the yokes and fetters in which they have been detained, and all allegiance to former lords; and break thro’ their enemies, and become more than conquerors thro’ him that has loved them; and pa/s thro’ him the gate; the {trait gate, and narrow way that leads to the Father, and to the enjoyment of all the bleffings of grace; and into the fheep-fold, the church, and the privileges of it; and even into heaven it~ felf, eternal life and happinefs: and by which alfo they go out, for he is a door of efcape unto them out of the hands of all their enemies, and from wrath to come; and he is a door of hope of all good things unto them, and which leads to green paftures, and by which they go in and out, and find pafture: and their king fhall pas before them, and the Lord on the bead of them’ not the king of Afyria or Babylon, before their refpective armies, the Lord God himfelf being in a providential way at the head of them, and fucceeding them; nor Hofhea or Zedekiah, going before their people into captivity, the Lord having forfaken them; but the king Meffiah, who is king of Zion, king of faints, that goes before his people as a king before his fubjeéts, and as a fhepherd before his flock; and who is the true Jehovah, the Lord our righteoufnefs, who is at the head, and is the head of his church; the captain of their falvation, that is at the head of his armies, his chofen and faithful ones, they following and marching after him, Rev, Xvii. 14. and xix. 14, priefts and prophets all together; who, tho’ guilty of very notorious crimes, yet were in great fecurity, and promifed themfelves impunity, y. 9, 10, 11. wherefore the city and temple of erufalem are threatened with an utter defolation, y¥. 12.

y¥. 1. And faid, hear, I pray you, O beads of Facob, and ye princes of the houfe of Ifrael, &c.] This feems to be a new fermon or difcourfe, delivered at another time, and to another people than the preceding; for as that chiefly concerns the ten, tribes, this the two tribes of Fudab and Benjamin, and was fpoken to them in the times of Hezekiah, as appears from Yer. xxvi. 18. for tho’ Facod and Tfrael generally defign the ten tribes, yet here the other two, as is manifeft from the above-cited place, place, and alfo from ¥. 9, 10, 12. and not only | heads of families, but fuch as were in the higheit pofts under the government, the Sanbedrim of the nation, judges, rulers and nobles, are here addreffed; and who had a great fhare in national guilt, being ring-leaders in fin, who ought to have {et good examples to others; and thefe are not to be {pared becaufe of their grandeur and dignity, but to be faithfully reproved for their vices, and which they fhould diligently attend unto; tho’ they are to be addreffed in a refpectful and honourable manner, and be intreated to hearken to the word of the Lord by his prophet; all which was carefully obferved by Micah; and it was with pleafure he could reflect upon his plain, faithful, and affectionate reproof of thofe great men: is it not for you to know judgment? what is juft and right to be done by men, and what fentence is to be paffed in courts of judicature, in cafes brought before them; and not only to know in a fpeculative way, what is equitable, but to practife it themfelves, and fee that it is done by others; and when they duly confidered this, they would be able to fee and own that what the prophet from the Lord would now charge them with, or denounce upon them, was according to truth and juttice,

¥. 2. Who hate the good, and love the evil, &c.] Inftead of knowing and doing what was juft and right; or directly contrary to their light and knowledge, and the duty of their office, they hated that which is good, which is agreeable to the law, nature, and will of God, and loved that which is evil, which is contrary thereunto; or they hated to do good, and loved to do evil, as the Targum; as men do who are averfe to good, and prone to evil; or they hated a good man, as Aben Ezra, and loved the evil man; not only delighted in committing fin themfelves, but took pleafure in thofe that did it; and could not endure the company and converfation of holy and good men: who pluck off their fein from off them, and their fleh from off their bones; like wild beafts that tear off fkin and flefh from the bones, and then devour them; or like cruel fhepherds, that not content to fleece their flocks, fkin them, and take their flefh alfo, and feed themfelves, and not the flock; or like butchers, that firft take off the fkin off a beaft, and then cut up its flefh. The defign of the expreffions is to fhew what rigour, cruelty and oppreffion thefe rulers exercifed on the people; and by their heavy taxes and levies, and exorbitant mulcts and fines, pillaged and plundered them of all they had in the world, and left them quite bare, as bones ftripped of their fkin and flefh. So the Targum, ‘ feizing on their fubftance by vio- “* lence, and their precious mammon they take “S away.”

¥. 3. Who alfo eat the flefo of my people, and flay their fhins from off them, &c.] Like Cannibals flay them alive, and then eat their flefth: this fignifies, as before, devouring their fubftance, only expreffed in terms which Fil more fet forth their favagenefs, inhumanity, barbarity and cruelty. So the Targum, ‘* who fpoil the fubftance of my peo- ** ple, and their precious mammon they take from *¢ them;” and what aggravated their guilt. was, that they were the Lord’s people by profeffion and religion they fo ufed,; whom he had committed to their care to rule over, proteét and defend: and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces as Sor the pot, and as flehh within the cauldron, did with them as cooks do, who not only cut fleth off the bones, and into flices, but break the bones, themfelves, to get out the marrow, and chop them fmall, that they may have all the virtue that is in them to make their foup and broth the richer;. by which is fignified, that thefe wicked and avaricious rulers took every method to fqueeze the

‘people, and get all their wealth and riches into their harids, that they might live in a more riotous and luxurious manner.

y. 4. Then fhall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them, &c.] When all the above evils threatened them in the preceding chapters fhall come upon them; when the enemy fhall invade their land, befiege their cities, and take them, and they, their families and fubftance juft ready to fall into their hands, they fhall cry unto the Lord; or pray unto him, as the Zargum, in the time of their diftrefs; but he will not hear their prayer, fo as to anfwer it according to their defire; that is, he. will not fave them from imminent danger, but deliver them up, them, and all that belong unto them, into the hands of fuch that fhall ufe them as they have done others: he will even bide bis face from them at that time; turn his back upon them, and a deaf ear to them, and fhew them no favour, nor grant them any help and _ protection: as they have behaved themfelves ill in their doings; he'll punifh them according to the law of retaliation; as when the poor cried unto them, when they were {tripping them of their fubftance, and they would not hearken to them, fo now when they cry unto the Lord in their diftrefs, he’ll not hearken to them; and as they turned their backs, and hid their faces from thofe that were afflicted by them, and would fhew them no favour, fo will the Lord deal with them; and as they exercifed the utmoft cruelty and barbarity that could be done, they will now be given up into the hands of cruel and mercilefs men, that will ufe them in like manner: or, Zecaufe they have done ill in their doings + to the poor, whofe caufe God will defend and vindicate.

¥. 5. Thus faith the Lord, concerning the prophets that make my people err, &c.] The falfe prophets, as the Targum; and as the defcription given of them fhews; who inftead of directing the people in the right way, as by their office and cha- - racters as prophets they fhould have done; they Ied them into miftakes about matters of religion and civil government, and out of the way of their duty to God and men, and expofed them to great danger and diftrefs; and this was the more ageravating, as they were the Lord’s people by name and profeffion, whom they caufed to err from his ways and worfhip, which brought his difpleafure upon them: that bite with their teeth, and cry, peace; prophefy fmooth things, promife all kind of profperity and plenty, and bite their lips, and keep in thofe diftrefles and calamities which they could but fee coming upon the people; or while they are prophefying good things, they gnafh their teeth againft the prophets of the Lord, and bitterly inveigh againft them for threatning with war, deftruétion and captivity; or by flattering the ple with their lips, they bite them, devour their fubftance, and are the caufe of their hurt and ruin; or rather, fo long as the people fed them well, — and they had a fufficiency to bite and live upon, they foretold happy days unto them. So the Targum, ** he that feeds them with a feaft of flefh, S¢ they

‘* they prophefy peace to him;” which fenfe is confirmed by what follows, aud he that putteth not into their mouth, they even declare war againft bim; who don’t give them what they afk, or don’t feed them according to their defire, don’t keep a good table for them,:and cram and pamper them, but neglect them, and don’t provide well for them; thefe they threaten with one calamity or another that fhall befal them; and endeavour to fet their neighbours again{ft them, and even the government itfelf, and do them all the mifchief they can by defamation and flander.

¥. 6. Therefore night thall be unto you that ye foall not have a vifion, &c.] Not that thofe outward gifts and illuminations, and that prophetic light they had, or feemed to have, fhould be taken away from them, and it fhould be quite night with them; becaufe thefe men were never fent of God, or received any meffage from him, or had any prophetic talents at all, and therefore could not be taken away from them, and they be benighted in this fenfe; tho’.it is true, fuch might be the circumftances they would be brought into, that it fhould appear to the people that they are the dark perfons they were, that they have no vifion, nor never had any; but rather the fenfe is, that fuch dark providences and dreadful calamities fhould come upon the people in general, and upon thofe prophets in particular, often fignified by might in {cripture, that they would not have the face to pretend any more that they had any vifion from God of good times and things. It may be rendered, therefore night fhall be unto you becaufe of vifion “; calamity fhould come upon them becaufe of their falfe and pretended vifions of peace and profperity they deluded the people with: and it foall be dark unto you, that ye fhall not divine; fuch darknefs of affliction fhould be upon them, that they would not offer to deliver out any divination or prediction of good things coming upon them; or fuch darknefs and diftrefs would be their portion, decaufe of divination *, on account of their lying divinations they had impofed upon the people: and the fun fhall go down over the prophets; and the day fhall be dark over them, their time of profperity will be over, and they fhall be no more in favour with the people, or courted and feafted by them; but fhall be had in the utmoft contempt and abhorrence. The Zargum of the whole is, ‘« therefore ye fhall blufh at prophefying, and be «¢ afhamed of teaching; and tribulation as dark- << nefs fhall cover the falfe prophets, and the time ‘* fhall be darkened upon them.”

¥. 7. Then fhall the feers be afbamed, and the diviners confounded, &c.] When the events of things will make it moft clearly appear to all that their vifions, divinations and prophefies are falfe; they’ll not be able to lift up their heads, or fhow their faces, but fhame and confufion will cover them: yea, they foall all cover their lips, ftop their mouths, hold their tongues, and be entirely and totally filenced; they’ll not pretend to utter any other vifion or prophecy; nor be able to fay one word in defence of themfelves, and of what they have before prophefied; every thing in providence being contrary to what’ they had faid, and agreeable to the words of the true prophets; or they fhall cover their lips as mourners, as the Targum adds, by way of explanation; fee Ezek. xxiv. 17,22. It is faid °, there were two gates in Solomon’s temple; one as YIM propter vifionem, Muntter, Pifcator.

called the gate of the bridegroonis, the other the gate of mourners; to thofe that entered the latter, if their lip was covered, it was faid, he that dwells in this houfe comfort thee: and fo the lips of the falfe prophets being covered, may fignify that they were now forry for what they had done, at leaft becaufe of the calamities on them and the people; tho’ the former fenfe feems beft: for there is no anfwer of God not that they fhall be afhamed and filenced, becaufe they fhall now have no anfwer of God, for they never had any, which this would. imply; but that it fhall now be moft plain and clear to all that the Lord never fpoke by them, and they never had any anfwer from him; all their vifions, divinations and prophecies were of them-: felves, and not of him; what they delivered was not the word of the Lord, but their own; and this now being difcovered and manifeft to every one, will put them to utter filence and fhame. The Yargum is, <* for there is not in them a fpirit: ‘© of prophecy from the Lord.”

¥. 8. But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, &c.] Or, full of power, even the Spirit of the Lord, as Guffetius ‘, by way of appofition, and as explaining what is meant by power; for fo the Spirit is fometimes called from his gifts and graces, which are powerful in men; fee Luke xxiv. 47. Ads i. 8. and vi. 5, 8. Thefe.are the words of Micah concerning himfelf, in oppofition to the falfe prophets, who are deftitute of the Spirit of God; men of mean fordid difpofitions, that had nothing but finifter and felfith ends in view, and not in the leaft qualified for the office and character they bore whereas he could fay of himfelf with truth, that he was poffeffed of fufficient abilities for fuch an employment; and which he had, not of himfelf, but from the Spirit of God, who gives gifts to men, and divides them feverally as he will; fo that this was no vaunt and vain boaft, or a piece of arrogance and oftentation in the prophet; fince he only oppofes himfelf to the falfe prophets, and afcribes his endowments and qualifications, not to himfelf, but to the Spirit of God; he had, tho’ they had not, anfwers from the Lord, vifions and prophecies from him, with a commiffion and abilities from him to execute the office of a prophet, being under the infpiration of the Spirit of God, and full of him and his gifts: and of judgment, and of might, or of the judgment of truth, as the Targum; being able to difcern truth and error, between what comes from the Spirit of God, and what from a lying fpirit, or a fpirit of divination and falfhood; what is proper to be fpoken, when the right time, and to whom; and having courage and greatnefs of mind, fearing no man’s perfon or face, but bold to declare unto Facob bis tranfgreffiion, and to Ifrael bis fin; freely and openly to fet it before them in a true light, with all aggravating circumftances, and reprove them for the fame; arid threaten them’ with the judgments of God in cafe they repented. not; fee Jf lviii. 1. and as a proof of all this fays what follows:.

¥. 9. Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the houfe of Facob, and princes of the houfe of Ifrael, &c.] As an inftance of his boldnefs, courage and impartiality, he begins with the principal men of the land, and charges them with fins, and reproves for them, and denounces judgments on account of them; fee the note on ¥. 1: that abbor Be fais an and pervert all equity; a fad character of princes, rulers and judges, who not only ought to know, but to love judgment, juftice and equity, and do them; even take delight and pleafure in the diftribution of them to every one, and in every caufe that came before them; but inftead of this, hated to do that which was right and juft; and perverted all the rules and laws of juftice and equity, clearing the guilty, and condemning the innocent.

y¥. 10. They build up Zion with blood, and Ferufalem with iniquity.| Or, O thou that buildeft up *, &c. or, every one of them that buildeth up”, &c. for the word is in the fingular number; but be the words rendered either of thefe ways, they refpect the heads and princes of the people; who either repaired the temple on Zion, or ornamented the king’s palace, or built themfelves fing ftately houfes in Feru/alem, or large ftreets there, by money they took of murderers to fave them, as Kimchi; or by money got by rapine and oppreffion, by {poiling the poor of their goods and their livelihood, for them and their families, which was all one as fhedding innocent blood; and by money obtained by bribes, for the perverfion of juftice, and fuch like illegal proceedings, truly called iniquity. The Targum is, ‘* who build their houfes in Zion with ‘* blood-fhed, and Ferufalem with deceits.”

¥. 11. The heads thereof judge for reward, &c.] That is, the heads or principal men of Zion and Ferufalem, the kings, or Sanbedrim, according to Kimchi; but as this prophecy was delivered in the times of Hezekiah, Fer. xxvi. 18. he who was fo good a king muft be excepted from this charge; perhaps it was delivered in the beginning of his reign, before a reformation was made, and might be the occafion of it: the former reign was a very wicked one; and very likely the public officers, judges and civil magiftrates were as yet continued, and who went on in the fame courfe of injuttice, giving the caufe not on the right fide, but to them that gave them moft money, or bribed highett, contrary to the Jaw of God, Deut. xvi. 19: and the priefts thereof teach for hire; for tho’ they had a fufficient and honourable maintenance provided by the law of God for them, yet not content with this, they took a price of the people for teaching them; and that not fuch things as were agreeable to the will of God declared in his word, which they ought to have done freely; but fuch do¢trines as were moft pleafing to carnal men, and indulged them in their lufts, prefumption and vain confidence: and the prophets thereof divine for money; tell men what fhould befal them; what good things they fhould be poffeffed of; what plenty and profperity they fhould enjoy; and this they did according to the fum of money given them, more or lefs. This muft be underftood of the falfe prophets: yet will they lean upon the Lord; on his care, providence and protection, as if they were entitled to thefe things, and might fecurely rely and depend upon them; tho’ by their fins and tranfereffions they had forfeited all the benefits and privileges thereof. To lean by faith upon the Lord; or in his word, as the Zargum,; and to truit in his promifes, in his power, and faithfulnefs, and goodnefs; when this fprings from an honeft and upright heart, and is attended with the fruits of righteoufnefs and holinefs, it is well pleafing to God, and highly regarded by him, and

! Aratrum vetuftis urbibus inducere, Seneca de Clementia, 1. 1. c. 26. Imprimeretque muris Hoftile aratrum exercitus infolens.

Ch. lil. y. I o—T a.; fuch may depend upon his bleffing and protection; | but to talk of faith in him, and reliance upon him, when the whole courfe of the converfation is wicked, this is abominable in the fight of God, and difpleafing to him: and fay, is not the Lord among us? trufting to this, that the temple of the Lord was among them, and that the temple of God were they; that the moft holy place was there, where were the fymbols of the divine prefence, the ark, cherubim, and mercy-feat; and fo concluding from hence their fafety and fecurity,; putting their confidence in outward places and things; in external worfhip, facrifices, rites and ceremonies, when they neglected the weightier matters of the law, juftice, truth and mercy: and fo none evil can come upon us; as peftilence, famine, fword, and captivity, the prophets of the Lord had threat~ ened them with. ¥. 12. Therefore foall Zion for your fake be plowed as a field, &c.| That is, for your fins, as the Targum; for the bloodfhed, injuftice and avarice of the princes, priefts and prophets; not that the common people were free from crimes; but thefe are particularly mentioned, as being ring-leaders into fin, and who ought to have fet better examples; as alfo to take off their vain confidence in themfelves, who thought that Zion and Ferufalem would be built up-and eftablifhed by them, and preferved for their fakes; as well as to fhew the prophet’s boldnefs and intrepidity in his rebukes and menaces of them: now this was prophefied of in the days of Hezekiah, before the invafion of Judea and fiege of Ferufalem by Sennacherid; it was deferred upon the repentance and reformation of the people; and was fulfilled in part.at the de- {truction of Ferujalem by the Chaldeans, when the city was reduced to an heap of rubbifh; and more fully, when it was deftroyed by the Romans, and plowed up by Yerentius, or Turnus Rufus, as the Jews fay; fo that there was not a houfe or building left upon it, but it became utterly defolate and uninhabited, efpecially in the reign ot Adrian: and Ferufalem foall become heaps, not only the city of David, built on mount Zion, fhould be demolifhed, but the other part of the city called 7+ rufalem thould be thrown down, and its walls and houfes lie in heaps, like heaps of ftones in the midft of a plowed field: and the mountain of the houfe as the high places of the foreft; mount Moriah,. on which the temple was built; hence called here by the Zargum, the mountain of the houfe of the fanctuary; the temple upon it fhould be deftroyed, and not one {tone left upon another; and the place on which it ftood be covered with grafs and trees, with briers and thorns, as a foreft is, all which have been exactly fulfilled. The Fews fay * of Turnus Rufus before-mentioned, that he both plowed’ up the city of ‘eru/alem, and the temple, the ground on which they {tood; and Ferom * affirms, the temple was plowed up by Titus Annius Rufus 5. which, as it literally fulfilled this prophecy, de~ notes the utter deftruction of them: for, as it was ufual with the ancients to mark out with a plow the ground on which a city was defigned to be built; fo they drew one over the fpot where any had ftood, which was become defolate, and to fignify that the city was no more to be rebuilt and inhabited: thus Seneca’, Horace ™, and other writers exprefs the utter deftruction of a city by fuch phrafes. | | CHV AMPS » Quifque eorum edificat, Vatablus, Pifcator, Drufius.; k