Exposition of the Whole Bible

rhan; fo the prophet retired from the world, and gave himfelf up to meditation and prayer, and put himfelf in a waiting pofture;

the Lord, and expecting an anfwer to his expoftufaid, write the vifion, which the prophet now had from him, concerning the coming ot the Meffiah,; looking up to and the deftruction of the enemies Of the church and people of God: and this he has orders to write; not only to tell it to the people then pre- lations with him, concerning the fuccefs of the enemies of God’s people, and the calamities that were like to come upon them, that he might report it to them; fee I, xxi. 8: and fet me upon the tower; a place of eminence, from which he could fent, for their particular information and fatisfaction; but to write it, that it may be read over and over, and that it may remain, and be of ufe in times to come: and make it plain upon tables, en» grave it in plain legible letters on tables of wood;

behold an objeé&t at a diftance: it fignifies a trait on box-tree, as the Septuagint verfion;%on which place, in which he was as one befieged; and may: be an emblem of the ftraits and difficulties he was they ufed to write before paper was found out and ufed. - Writing-tables are of ancient ufe; the in, which he wanted to be extricated out of + the thoughts of his heart troubled him; he had a great many objections that rofe up in his mind, againft were ufed in and before the times of Homer, for he {peaks ° of writing very pernicious things on a twoleaved table; wherefore Jo/ephus mult be miftaken the providences that were like to attend his people; he was befet with the temptations of fatan, when he fuggefts:?, that letters were not found out in the times of Homer. ‘Thefe tables were made and furrounded with objectors to what he had delivered, concerning the Chaldeans being raifed up by of wood, fometimes of one fort, and fometimes of another; fometimes they were made of the pine-

God to the deftruétion of the Fewi/h nation; and amidft thefe difficulties, he fets himfelf to reading tree, as appears from Euripides 4; but, for the moft part, of box +, according to the Greek verfion the word of God, and meditation on it, to pray to God for inftruétion and information in this matter; as Afaph, in a like cafe, went into the fanctuary of the Lord, where he got fatisfaction, Pf Ixxiii. 2, 3. 16, 17. as well as it may be expreffive of the confidence he had in God, in his covenant and promifes, which were as a fortrefs and ftrong tower to him; in fhort, he kept his place, he was found in the way of his duty, in the performance of his office, and was humbly and patiently waiting on God, to know more of his mind and will, and acquaint the people with it. nd will watch to fee what he will fay unto me; or in me”; that is, what the Lord would fay unto him, either outwardly by an audible voice; or inwardly by impreffing things upon his mind; or in a ‘vifion by the Spirit of prophecy, as Kimchi, fo David, the Spirit of the Lord {poke by me, or in me, 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. he was determined to wait patiently for an anfwer, and to continue in the prefent pofture, and conftantly attend to every motion and dictate of the Spirit of God, and take particular notice of what fhould be fugeefted to him: and what I foall anfwer when I am réproved; either by the Lord, for ufing fo much freedom and boldnefs in expoftulations and reafonings with him, who is under no obligation to give an account of his matters unto the children of men; or by others, how he fhould be able to fatisfy his own mind, and remove the fcruples, doubts, and objections that arofe there againft the providence ef God, in profpering the wicked, and afflicting the righteous, and repel the temptation he was under to quarrel with God, and arraign his proceedings; and how he fhould anfwer the objections that his people made, both againft his prophecies, and the providence of God, for which they reproved him; or however he expected they would. The Targum is, *¢ and what will be returned to my as above; and confifted fometimes of two leaves, for the moft part of three or five, covered with wax *, on which impreffions were eafily made, Aae continued long, and were very legible; and thefe impreffions or letters were formed with an iron ftile or pen; fee Fer. xvii. 1. this the Greeks and Tu/- caus firft ufed, but was afterwards forbid by the Romans, who inftead of it ordered an inftrument of bone to be ufed': hence thefe tables were wont to be called wax, becaufe befmeared with it; and fo in wills and teftaments wrote on them, the heirs are faid to be written either in the firft wax, or in the bottom of the wax", that is, of the will, or in™ the loweft part of the table, or what we fhould call the bottom of the leaf or page: and it was a cuftom among the Romans, as Cicero™ relates, that the public affairs of every year were committed to writing by the Pontifex Maximus or high-prieft, and publifhed on a table, and fet to view within doors, that the people might have an opportunity and be able to know them; yea, it was ufual to™ hang up laws, approved and recorded, in tables of. bras, in their market-places, and in their temples, that * they might be feen and read; the fame we call annals. In like manner the Fewifh prophets ufed to write, and expofe their prophecies publickly on tables, either in their own houfes, or inthe temple, that every one that pafied by might read them. That he may run that readeth it; may run thro’ the whole without any difficulty, without making any ftop, being written in fuch large capital letters; and thofe cut fo well, and made fo:. plain, that a man might run it over at once with © eafe, or even read it as he was running; nor need he ftop his pace, or ftand to read. The Targum is, ‘‘ write the prophecy, and explain it in the ‘‘ book of the law, that he may haften to obtain

** requett.” ‘< wifdom, whoever he is that reads in it.”

y¥. 2. And the Lord anfwered me, &c.} As he does his minifters and people fooner or later, in one way or another, when they call upon him with hu-; mility and reverence, with faith and fervency: and

¥. 3. For the vifion is yet for an appointed time, &c.] Not the prefent vifion only, but vifion or prophecy in general: it was a doubt that arofé in. the minds of the prophet and other good men, upon.

* Ergo tam dotte nobis periere tabella, a rs Non illas fixum charas effeceret aurum, as iz t ms Vulgari buxo fordida cera fuit. Propertius. i. ail y * or A _ Buxacrepent cerata Prudentius., on

the notice given that the Chaldeans would be raifed up to the deftruction of the Fews; that then the law of God would ceafe, his worfhip would not continue, vifion and prophecy would be no more; it would be all over with the doétrine of the law and the prophets: now in anfwer to this, and to remove this doubt, they are affured, that vifion or prophecy fhould yer, or ftill continue, and even to the appointed time, the time fixed for the continuance of it, notwithftanding the people of the Fews

” fhould be carried captive into another land: and accordingly fo it was; there were prophets, as Daniel’and Ezekiel, in the time of the captivity; and after it, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, yea, the law and the prophets were until Yobn; for vifion and prophecy were to be fealed up by the Meffiah, and not before; fee Luke xvi. 16. Dan, ix. 24. it

“was true indeed with refpect to the prefent vifion or prophecy concerning the Meffiah, that that was not to be fulfilled prefently; there was fome confiderable time firft to elapfe; there was a time appointed for the accomplifhment of it, and it would remain till that time, and then be moft furely fulfilled; which would be before the {cepter departed from Fudab, while the fecond temple was yet ftanding, and when Dawiel’s feventy weeks, or 490 years, were come; which were the limited, determined, and appointed time for the Meffiah’s coming, the time appointed of the Father, the fulnefs of time; fo there was an appointed time for his coming to take vengeance on the Yewi/h nation, for their rejection of him, to which the apoftle applies thefe words, Heb. x. 37. and alfo for his fpiritual coming, to vifit his people in a gracious way; there is a fet time to favour Zion and her children; as well as there is a day fixed for his fecond coming, or coming to judgment. But at the end it fhall fpeak, and not lie, or rather, be fall fpeak%; and {fo in the following claufes it fhould be rendered, not zt, but 4e; and fo the apoftle has taught us to interpret it of a perfon, and not a thing, Hed. x. 37. that is, at the end of the time appointed, or at the end of the Few ftate, both civil and ecclefiaftic, the Meffiah fhould appear, as he did, which is called the end of the world, 1 Cor. x. 11. Heb. ix. 26. when a new world began, the world to come, the gofpel-difpenfation, of which Chrift is faid to be the Father, in the Greek verfion of I/. ix. 5. fee Heb. ii. 5. and being come, he fhall /peak; or, as it may be rendered, at the end thereof thall be the /peaker, or preacher *; that fhall publifh and proclaim the glad tidings of the gofpel; and this agrees with Chrift, the Logos, or word of God, the great prophet that fhould be raifed up in the church, the teacher fent of God, the wonderful counfellor, and faithful witnefs; who fpoke out the whole mind and will of God; publifhed the everlafting gofpel; delivered out the doctrines of grace and truth; and fpoke fuch words of grace as never man did, and with fuch power and authority as the fcribes and pharifees did not. Some render the words, and he forall break forth as the morning*; fo the word is ufed in Cant. ii. 17. and iv. 6. and fo the Septuagint verfion, he foall arife at the end, \ike the rifing fun: this agrees with Chrift, the day-fpring from on high, and whofe coming is faid to be as the morning, Luke i. 78.2 Sam. XXiil. 4. Hof. vi. 3. and when he fhould thus appear and exercife his

prophetic office, he fhould wot Hie; this is the chaz racter of God himfelf, as oppofed to a mere man, who is fubject to lying and deceit; and fuits well with Chrift, who is truly God, and not a mere man; and anfwers to his character in prophecy and fact, that there was no guile in his mouth and lips, If, hii. 4. 4 Pet. ii. 22. and fitly defcribes him as a preacher, who is truth itfelf; taught the way of God in truth; fpoke the word of truth, the gofpel of our falvation; and no lie is of the truth; and who is infallible in all his doétrines, and does not, and cannot deceive any; all his words are to be depended upon as faithful and true. Though it tarry, wait for it, or though be tarry, wait for him, not that he really would or did tarry; but he might feem to do fo, not coming fo foon as the Old Teftament-faints expected, and as they wifhed for and defired; it was a long time from the firft promife of him; and fometimes the faints were ready to give it up, and their hearts to fink and faint, becaufe it was feemingly deferred. This fhows that this prophecy does not re- {pect the Babylonifh captivity; for that had no feeming delay, but as foon as ever the feventy years were up, there was a deliverance from it; but the Meffiah’s coming was long expected, and feemed to be deferred, and the patience of the faints was almoft wore out; but they are here encouraged, when this was the cafe, ftill to wait for him, as good old Simeon and others did, about the time of his coming; and {fo his fpiritual and fecond coming fhould be waited patiently for, tho’ they may feem to be delayed. Becaufe it will furely come, it will not tarry; or for he that is to come, or is coming, will come’, and not tarry, beyond the appointed time. This is a periphrafis of the Meffiah; for being fo often fpoken of as to come, it became a defcription of him, he that is to come; fee Matt. xi. 3. and as it was foretold he would come, fo affuredly he would come, and not ftay a moment longer than the time appointed of the Father; in which fulnefs of time God fent him, and he came, Gal. iv. 3, 4.. The perfon here prophefied of is not Feremiah, as Farchi, but the Meffiah; and this is acknowledged by fome Fewih writers, ancient and modern; and removes the doubt and objection that might arife, from the Chaldeans coming upon the Yews, and carrying them captive, as if the promife of the Meffiah would fail, whereas it would not. In the Ta/muds, they fay, ‘* God does not renew his world till after feven thoufand years; another fays five thoufand. R. Nathan fays, this fcripture penetrates and de- {cends into the abyfs; 2. ¢. fixes no particular time; the vifion is for an appointed time, &c. not as our Rabbins, who enquire the meaning of a time, and times, and half a time; what then is meant, dut al the end it fhail peak, and not lie? Let them burft that compute the times, who ufed to fay when the time comes, and he cometh not, he will never come; but wait for him, as it is faid, if he tarry, wait for bim: perhaps you'll fay, we wait, but he does not wait; this may be an inftruction to you what he fays, therefore the Lord waiteth to be gracious, 8c.” Maimonides fays *, their twelfth fundamental article of faith is, the days of the Meffiah; that is, to believe, and be firmly perfuaded, that he will come, nor will he tarry; if be tarry, wait for him: tho” he obferves, this fcrip- time of his coming. This they don’t chufe to own, tho” it does, becaufe the time is long ago elapfed. Abarbinel * owns, that this vifion. is different from that in. the preceding verfe, which concerns the fecond temple, but this another redemption; and would have it, that the words may be explained thus, he that fhall come, will come, at the time appointed, which is mentioned; and after his coming, the king Meffiah fhall.not tarry from coming to redeem you; which, tho’ a wrong fenfe, fhows his conviction of the prophecy belonging to the Meffiah. So Abendana ‘ ays, our Rabbins underftand this, at the end it foall fpeak, of,the end of our redemption from this captivity in which we now are; and in this way it appears right to explain it, for the prophet was complaining of the profperity of Nebuchadnezzar, and the Lord anfwers him, that he fhould’write the vifion of the deftruction of Babylon, which fhould be at the end of feventy years; and faid, do not wonder that I prolong to Babylon feventy years, for yet the vifion 1s for an appointed time; as if he fhould fay, yet there is a vifion for times afar off, and at. the end it fail {peak: in all which there are plain traces of the fenfe the ancient fynagogue put on this text, tho’ now perverted, to favour their hypothefis of | the Meffiah being yet to come and fave them, y. 4. Behold his foul which is lifted up, is not upright in him, &c.] This and the following claufe defcribe two forts of perfons differently affected to the Meffiah, and the promife of his coming. Here it points at fuch as were incredulous, as the Vulgate Latim verfion renders it; that difbelieved his coming, and mocked and fcoffed at the promife of it; as well as thofe that did not believe in him when he came, tho’ he had all the characterifticks of the Meffiah; and damnation was the certain confequence of their unbelief. The proud and haughty fcribes and pharifees are here plainly defcribed, whofe minds were elated with themfelves; whofe hearts were like bubbles, blown up, full of wind; whofe fouls {welled with pride and vanity, and a high conceit of themfelves; of their merit and worth; of their holinefs and works of righteoufnefs; and treated thofe they thought below them in thefe things with the utmoft difdain and contempt; and trufted in themfelves, and to their own righteoufnefs, to the great neglect of the true Meffiah and his righteoufnefs §. The word for. /ifted up, has in it the fignification of a hill, mountain, fortrefs, or tower; fee J xxxii. 14. Mic. iv. 8. as Aben Ezra obferves. So R. Mofes Kimchi interprets the paffage, ‘* he whofe foul is not right in “* him, places himfelf in a fortrefs or tower, to fet himfelf on high there from the enemy, and does not return to God, nor feek deliverance of him; but the righteous has no need to place himfelf on high in a fortrefs, for he thall live ** by his. faith.” Zion, on’which the temple was built; and Cocceius thinks there is a reference in the words to mount Moriah, on which the temple ftood: and in this fenfe the words aptly agree with the pharifaical jews, who boafted of their temple, and gloried in and fuch a one fball live, not oar

® So Kimchi and Ben Melech obferve the word has the fignification of haughtinefs of heart, pudence; and the Arabic word Muthapbilin in Schfndler, is rendered de/pifers. neglexit, Act. vi. 1. fubftraxit fe, Jud. xx. 36. and.fo it is ufed in the Alcoran, Surat. Jofeph. ¥. 13. and in the ture does not fix the certain time; nor is it to be fo expounded, fo as to gather from thence the exact

Ophel was part of the hill of y.. K KU K. * Chip sigh * it, and trufted in the fervice and facrifices of its and betook themfelves to the obfervance of rites and ceremonies, and the traditions of their elders; and to their moral works of righteoufnefs, for their juftification and falvation, as their tower of fafety, and place of defence; neglecting the Meffiah, the rock of falvation, the rock of J/rae/, the munition of rocks, the ftrong-hold and tower, where: only fafety and falvation are. The apoftle, following the Greek verfion, renders the word in Hed. x. 38. if any man draw back, &c, and De.Diew* obferves, that theword in the Arabic language fignifies to neglect or withdraw the mind from a. perfon or thing; and may be fitly applied to the fame perfons, who neglected Chrift, and the great falvation by him; hid their faces from him; would not look at him, nor converfe with him, nor attend — his miniftry, nor fuffer others to do it; they with— drew from his apoftles and minifters, and the chriftian: churches, and perfecuted them both in Fudea, and in the Gentile world; and many of the Jews that did make a profeffion, and joined themfelves to chriftian churches, after a time feparated from them; being fenfual, and not having the Spirit, went out from among them, not being truly of - them, and forfook the affembling of themfelves together with them; and to thefe the apoftle applies the words in the fore-mentioned place. -Now of every fuch perfon it may be faid, bis foul is not. upright in him, either in himfelf, as the Vulgate Latin verfion, and fo Kimchi; he is not a juft man, not truly upright and righteous, tho’ he may think he is, and may be thought fo by others; yet he is. not in the fight of God; his heart is not finceres _. he has not the truth of grace in him a right fpirit is not created and renewed in him; he never was convinced by the Spirit of God of fin and righteoufnefs, or he would not be thus elated with himfelf: his foul is not upright towards God; he feeks himfelf, and his.own applaufe, in all he does, and not the honour and glory of God, and the magnifying of his grace and goodnefs;. he has no. right notions of the righteoufnefs of God, and of his holy law; nor of Chrift, his perfon, and’ offices; nor indeed of himfelf. Or Ais foul is not right in him‘; that is, in Chrift, who was to come, nor when he was come;: that is, he is not rightly, fincerely, and heartily affected to him; he has ° no true knowledge of him, real defire unto him, hearty affection for him, or faith in him, or regard unto him, his gofpel and his one 3 alk which was moft clearly true of the carnal Yews, and is of all felf-righteous ‘perfons.. The apoftle in Heb. x. 38. feems to underftand it of the foul.

‘of God, that that, or he, was not affected to, and — pleafed with, perfons of fuch a charaéter and complexion; fee Luke xiv. 11. and xviii. 14. But the jut foall live by faith; the ju? man is the reverfe of the former; he is one that believed in the coming of Chrift, and believed in him when come; who has no over-weaning opinion of himfelf, and of his own righteoufnefs.; nor does he truft in it for his juftification before God, and acceptance wi him; but in the righteoufnefs of Chrift imputed to. him, from whence he is denominated a juft man:

life, for righteous men die as well as others; nor an eternal life, tho’ fuch fhall live. this life, and have it now in fome fenfe, for this life is enjoyed not by faith, but by fight; but a fpiritual life, begun in regeneration, and maintained by the Spirit and grace of God; fuch live a life of juftification.on Chrift, of fanétfication from him, and of communion with him; they live chearfully, comfortably, and delightfully, a life of peace, joy, and comfort; which is greatly the fenfe of the word here, as in Pf. xxii. 26. Jf |v. 2. and this is dy his faith; his own faith, and not another’s; which tho’ for its kind is the fame in all, alike precious faith, yet as to its actings is peculiar to one, and is not another’s: or by the faith of God; that is, by that faith which is the gift of God, and of his operation, and has him for its object; fuch live by faith upon a promifing God, and fo live comfortably:: or by the faith of Chrift, promifed to come in the preceding verfe; by that faith, of which he is the object, author, and finifher: juit men live not upon their faith, but by it on Chrift, as crucified for them, as the bread of life, and as the Lord their righteoufnefs; and fo have joy and peace in believing. There is a different accentuation of this claufe. Some put the ftop after ju, and read the words, the juft, by bis faith foall live, that is, he who is a juft man, in an evangelical fenfe, te fhall live by his faith, in the fenfe before explained, not that he is a juft man that lives righteoufly and unblameably before men, but who lives a life of faith on Chrift, and whofe hope of eternal life is not founded upon his holy life and converfation, but upon the righteoufnefs ef Chrift, which he by faith lives upon; for neither eternal life, nor the hope of it, are to be afcribed to faith in itfelf, but to the object of it. But the moft correct Hebrew copies unite by the accent mérca, the words by bis faith, to the juft man; and fo they ate to be read, the juft dy bis faith, he feail live, that is; the man who is jutt, not by the works of the law, but by faith in the righteoufnefs of Chrift, or thro’ the righteoufnefs at Chrift received by faith; for it is not faith itfelf, or the act of believing, that is a man’s juftifying righteoufnefs, or is imputed to him for righteoufnefs, or denominates him righteous, but the righteoufnefs of Chrift he lays hold on by faith, and fuch a man fhall live both fpiritually and eternally. And this manner of accenting the words is approved of by Wafmuth*, and by Reinbeck'. Burkius, a late annotator, thinks, it might be fafeft to repeat the word that is controverted, and read it thus, the jut in or by bis faith 5 in or by bis faith be foall live; which takes in both fenfes, and either of which rightly explained may be admitted. 7unius, with whom Vaw Till agrees, is of opinion, that refpect is had to the example of Abrabam, of whom we read Gen. xv. 6. and he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to bim for righteoufnefs, not his faith, but the objeét of it, or what he believed, the promifed feed. And fo the ancient Yews compare this faith with Abrabam’s, for mentioning the text in Gew. xv. 6. fay they ", “ this is the “* faith by which the J/raelites inherit, of which <* the feriprure lays, and the juft by his faith frail “¢ ive.” And they have-alfo a faying *, that the law,, and all the precepts of it, delivered to Mo es on mount Sinai, are reduced by Habakkuk to one, - namely this, the juft by bis faith fhall live; which is true, if rightly underftood; for the righteoufnefs of Chrift, the juft man becomes fo by, and which by faith he lives upon, is anfwerable to the whole law. The apoftle produces this paffage three times to prove, that the righteoufnefs of Chrift revealed in the gofpel is to faith; that no man is juftified by the law in the fight of God; that the juft man fhall live, and not die; fhall not draw back to perdition, but believe to the faving of the foul, Rom. i. 17. Gal. iii. rr. Heb. X. 38, 39. which fhows, that it belongs to gofpel-times and things. The Targum of the whole is, ‘* behold the wicked fay, all thefe ** things /hall not be, but the righteous fhall re- *¢ main in their truth.” K/mchi interprets the former part of Nebuchadnezzar and Belfbazzar his fon; and the latter part of the J/raelites carried into captivity with Zedekiah; but very wrongly. ¥. 5. Yea alfo, becaufe be tranfgreffeth by wine, &c.] Or rather, bow much lefs or more °, wine dealing treacheroufly,; or a man of wine, as Aben Ezra fupplies it; that is, a wine-bibber, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it: and the fenfe in connexion with the preceding verfe is; if a Few, elated with his works of righteoufnefs, his foul is not right in him, bow much lefs a drunken, treacherous, proud, and ambitious heathen; if the fcribes and pharifees, who expected the coming of the Meffiah, yet withdrew from him, and oppofed themfelves unto him when come, Low mach more will fach perfons fet themfelves againft him and his intereft, thus defcribed; by whom are meant, not the Badylonian monarchs, Nebuchadnezzar and Belbazzar, and the Chaldeans, as ufually interpreted, though there are many things in the account applicable to them; but this is breaking the thread of the prophecy, which carries on the account of the enemies of Chrift, and of his kingdom, from his firft to his fecond coming; whereas to interpret this prophecy of the Chaldeans, is to go back to times before the firft coming of Chrift, nor does it feem neceflary to fay any thing more concerning them, fince the people of God might be fatisfied that thefe would be in their turn deftroyed, and they delivered from them; and that they, the Jews, could not be cut off as a people, fince the promife of the Meffiah, as fpringing from them, is firmly eftablifhed; and it is fo ftrongly afferted, that he fhould come at the appointed time, and not tarry: after which the prophet goes on to obferve two different forts of people among the Jews; one fort proud and vain-glorious, who oppofed themfelves to Chrift when he came; the other fort true believers in him, who lived by faith upon him: fo things would ftand among the ews when Chrift came, and fo they did; there was a feparation among them on his account: next the prophet proceeds to obferve another fort of enemies to Chrift and his intereft among the heathens, which was not to be wondered at, and therefore introduced by a comparative particle, how much moré or /efs; and who muft be removed to make way for his kingdom and glory in the latter day, manifeftly pointed at in ¥. 14, 20. now who can thefe be but the Romans, both pagan and papal in fucceffion? and with thefe and their rulers, civil and ecclefiaftical, do the characters given a“ we well agree, as with the Babylonian monarchy, and the Chaldeans, or better; and therefore, after Cocceius and Van Till, I fhall choofe to interpret the whole of them; and it is well known, that fevetal of the Roman emperors were greatly given to luxury and intemperance, the firft character they ftand defcribed by in the text. Tiberius was greatly addiéted to this vice; and becaufe of his greedinefs after wine?, ufed to be called Biberius Caldius Mero, inftead of Tiberius Claudius Nero: his facceffor Caligula, {pent the immenfe riches Tiberius had gathered together, in lefs than a year’s time in luxury and intemperance; and Claudius that fucceeded him, fcarce ever went out of his doors but he was drunk '; and Nero who came after him to the empire, was of unufual luxury and fumptuoufnefs, ss the hiftorian fays *; he ufed to keep on his banquets from the middle of the day to the middle of the night '; to fay nothing of Domitian, Commodus, and other emperors that followed after them: and thefe men were deceitful and treacherous, both to their friends and enemies; and it is no wonder that fuch as thefe fhould oppofe themfelves to the kingdom and intereft of Chrift, as they did. Kimchi interprets this of Nebuchadnezzar, and ‘Yarchi of Belfhazzar, and moft interpreters think it refers to his drinking in the vefléls of the temple, Dan. v. 2, 3: he is a proud man, the Roman emperors were exceflively proud, like the unjuft judge, neither feared God, nor regarded man; nay, fet up themfelves for gods, and required divine worfhip to be given them. Cazus Caligula claimed divine majefty to himfelf, and fet up himfelf to be worfhipped among his brothergods; he built a temple to his own deity, and appointed priefts and facrifices; and placed a golden image of himfelf in it, and clothed it every day with fuch a garment as he himfelf wore "; he alfo fet up his own image in the temple at eru/alem. Nero fuffered himfelt to be called lord and god by Tiridates king of the Armenians, with bended knees and hands lift up to heaven. Domitian and Aurelianus took the fame titles as Nero did; and Diotlefian would be worfhipped. as a god, and called himfelf the brother of the fun and moon; and no marvel that fuch men as thefe fhould be enemies ‘to Chrift, and perfecutors of his people: mezther keepeth at home; or, dwells not in the fold™ in the fheepfold of Chrift, in his church, being none

.of his fheep, an alien from the commonwealth of

_Jfrael; and fo it denotes an infidel, an heathen; _ a fit character for the pagan emperors, who had no habitation in the houfe of God. Kimchi interprets it of.Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom not being continued; or of his being driven from his habitation, his palace, from among men to live with beatts; but it is the character; and not the punifhment of the perfon that is here pointed at: who enlargeth his defire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be Jatiffied, death and the grave, tho’ fuch vaft numbers are continually flain by the one, and laid in the other, yet are never fatisfied; fee Prov. xxvii. 20. and xxx. 15, 16. thirft of the Roman emperors after honour, riches, and univerfal monarchy; who were never fatisfied with what they obtained: but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people, that is,

Drafias, Burkius; & interpretatio erit anigmeta ipfi, Cocceius; cujus explicatio illi erit enigmatum loco, Van’ od * Xpuras Tor xorg ars, xas opyvpos, Naumachius.apud Grotium in loc.;.

This defcribes the infatiable

* ™ FNI ENV7) qui non habitat; quod de manfionibus ovium imprimis dicitur, Cocceius; qui non inhabitat grata, fubdued them, and made them provinces of the Roman empire, and tributary to it, even almoft all the then known world; hence the Reman empire is called the whole world, Luke u. 1. fo Agrippa in his orations to the Fews, mentions all nations as fubject to the Romans *. a -¥. 6. Shall not all thefe take up a parable againft him? &c.] A proverbial expreffion, a fhort fentence, a laconic fpeech, delivered in a few words, which contains much in them, concerning the vices of thefe emperors, and imprecating judgments upon them for them; took up and expreffed by te ne tions brought into fubjection unto them, and efpecially by the chriftians in thofe nations fpoiled and perfecuted by them: aad a taunting proverb againft him; or, whofe explanation are riddles to him*®;, the proverb, when explained, would be a riddle to him, which he could not underftand, nor would give any credit to; taking it not to belong to him or them, and in which they had no concern; tho’ afterwards would find they had to their great mortification: axd fay, wo to him that increafeth that which is zor bis; fubftance or goods, not his own, as the Targum explains it; which they had no right unto, nor property in, but were another’s; and therefore guilty of great injuftice in taking it from them, and. might juftly expect vengeance would purfue them for it; fuch were the goods they {poiled the chriftians of for not worfhipping their: idols, and for profeffing and abiding by the chri- {tian religion: bow Jong? that is, how long fhall they go on increafing their fubftance by fuch unjuit and unlawful methods? how long fhall they keep that which they have fo unjuftly got? this fuggefts as if it was a long time, which, as Cocceius obferves, does not fo well agree with the Babylonian, as the Roman empire, which ftood much longer: and to him that ladeth bimfelf with thick clay; fuch is gold and filver, no other than yellow and white duit and dirt; and may be called cay, becaufe dug out of the earth, as that; and as clay is defiling, fo are gold and filver, when ill gotten, or ill ufed, or the heart fet too much upon them; and as that is very ponderous and troublefome to carry, fo an abundance of riches bring much care with them, and often are very troublefome to the owners of them, and frequently hinder their fleep, reft and eafe; and as clay when it {ticks to the heels hinders walking, fo riches, when the affections are too much fet on them, are. great obftacles. in the way of true religion and godlinefs; hence our Lord obferves, Aow hard it is for them that trujt in riches to enter into the kingdom of God, Mark x. 24. they are even a weight, a clog to good men. he phrafe feems to point at the meannefs of them, as well as the hurt that fometimes comes by them, and the contempt they fhould be had in, in comparifon of the true riches; hence, agreeable to this way of {peaking, a good man Drufixs makes mention of ufed to call gold yellow earth, and a certain Greek writer * fays, gold is afhes, and fo is filver. The word ufed is a compound; and, as Kimchi obferves, fignifies an abundance of riches; but our countryman Mr. Fuller *, chufes rather to render it, an abundance of pledges; and thinks it has refpect to the many pledges which the perfon here fpoken of, by whom he duppofes is meant the t Ib, Vita Claudii, ¢. 33. u Ib, Vita Caligula, 22. n Till; y 15 myn pas" b1 & interpretationem cnigmata ei,

Babylonian monarch, had in an unjuft manner took of feveral nations, and heaped up like an ufurer; and which fhould in due time be taken from him, by thofe whom he had plundered of them: but this expreffes the greedy defire of the Romans after money, as well as the unlawful methods they took to acquire wealth, and the vaft fums they became mafters of, fo that they were even loaded with it; but getting it in an unrighteous manner, it brought the curfes and imprecations of the people upon them, efpecially thofe they defrauded of it. Fo- Jeph Kimchi, as his fon David obferves, interprets it, ‘* he fhall make thick clay lie heavy on his “¢ grave;” and it was a cuftom with the Romans, as Drufius » relates, that when one imprecated evil upon another, he ufed to wifh a heavy load of earth upon him, that is, when he was dead; as on the contrary, when one was wifhed well after death, it was defired he might have a light earth upon him: fo Yz/ian the emperor, {peaking of Confrantius, {ays *, ** when he is become happy, or “* departs out of this life, may the earth be light ** upon him;” which is wifhing all felicity, and freedom from punifhment; whereas the contrary, to have a load of earth or thick clay, is an imprecation of the heavieft punifhment.

¥. 7. Shall not they rife up fuddenly that fall bite thee? &c.}] Or, thy ufurers, or creditors *, as fome render it; the chriftians, whofe money, goods and fubftance they had fpoiled them of, but now fhould be repaid with great ufury and gain; thefe, that is, their princes and emperors, as Conflantine and Theodofius, rofe up fuddenly, and conquered the heathen emperors, and took away their power and authority from them, and their wealth and riches, and gave them to the chriftians, what they and thofe under them had plundered them of: and awake, that fhall vex thee? or move thee *; the emperor, from the throne of the empire; and other fubordinate magiftrates from their places of dignity, truft and profit; the priefts out of their temples; and change the face of things every where; ‘and which is exprefied in language agreeable to this, in Rev. vi. 14. and has refpect to the fame times and things, and the heaven departed as a fcrowl evhen it is rolled together, and every mountain and ifland were moved out of their place; which is to be underftood of the fall of the pagan Roman empire: and thou Jhalt be for booties unto them? the wealth and riches found in the Roman empire, as it fell into the hands of Con/tantine, were converted to the ufe of the chriftians for the building of their temples, and the maintenance of their minifters, the relief of their poor, and for the reparation of loffes others had fuftained under the perfecutions: thus the chriftian emperors rofe up at once, and exerted themfelves; and who before feemed to be afleep awoke, and feized upon the empire, and the riches of it, and divided the fpoil among themfelves and their people.

y. 8. Becaufe thou haft fpoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people fhall [poil thee; &cc. ‘Thofe that furvived the perfecutions of the Roman emperors; thofe that were left of the great numbers put to death by them; thofe under Con/tantine rofe up, and by juft retaliation fpoiled them of all their power and wealth: decauje of mens blood, the blood of the faints and martyrs of Jefus, of thofe called heretics and {chifmatics, with their anathema under the altar, whofe blood cried for vengeance}

Rev. vi. 9, 10. which was fhed under the ten bloody perfecutions: or becaufe of the blood of a.

man, of Adam ', as it may be rendered;. the blood of Chrift the fecond Adam, which, tho’ fhed at the inftance of the Fews, yet by the order of Pontius Pilate the Roman governor: ‘and for the violence of ° the land, and of the city; and of all that dwell therein that is, for the violence and injuries done td the land of Irael and city of Ferufalem, and the’ inhabitants thereof, as the Targum, and fo Farchi; and which were done by the Romans to thofe places and people, under Titus Ve/pafian, when he invaded the country of Fudea, and made it defolate; befieged and took Yerufalem; and burnt it with fire; deftroyed great numbers of its inhabitants, and carried them captive, and fent great multitudes of them to the mines; as well as for what were done to the chriftians in every country and city where they dwelt; and to the city of the living God, the church, the heavenly Feru/alem, and the citizens of it, who were ufed by them in a very cruel and inhuman manner, and for which vengeance would be, and was taken upon them.

¥. 9. Wo to him that coveteth an evil covetoufnefs to bis boufe, &c.] The bifhops of Rome being entiched by the donations of Con/tantine, were not fatisfied, but coveted more; thefe are the greedy dogs J/aiah {peaks of, that could never have enough; J. lvi. 11. but were ftill feeking and gaping after more for themfelves and families, and for their own houfe or church; which, from the time of their apoftacy, became their own houfe, in diftinction from, and in oppofition to, the houfe or true church of God; and of thofe covetous bifhops, or Rome papal, are thefe and the following words to ¥. 14. to be underftood: that he may fet his net on high; in allufion to birds; efpecially the eagle, which builds its neft in high places, that it may be fecure from any that would otherwife difturb it, or take it away: fo thefe covetous and ambitious bifhops, getting great wealth and riches, and large dominions into their hands, fecular power and authority, as well as ecclefiaftical; fet themfelves up, and advanced their fee and feat, not only above all other bifhops, but even above the kings and princes of the earth, above all that are called gods, 2 Theff. ii: 4. and by fuch means endeavoured to gain their point, the main thing they had in view: that he may be delivered from the power of evil; that they might be fafe and fecure againft all worldly power, and be out of the jurifdiction of the princes of the earth, and in no danger of being difpoffeffed or crufhed by them.

¥. 10, Thou haft confulted foame to thy house; &c.} Inftead of bringing real honour and glory to their church, and that into the efteem of men, by fuch covetoufnefs, ambition and arrogance they brought it into fhame and difgrace, efpecially with-all good men; and which they as effectually did, as if they had ftudied it, and as if this was the thing they had in view in all their fchemes and’ meafures? this they procured dy cutting off many people; by making war with the faints, and killing great multitudes of them with the fword, as the Walden/e3 and Albigenfes, and many of the proteftants by fire and faggot; and alfo by cutting off all fuch they and excommunications;, neither of which were to their honour, but to their eternal infamy: aud bajt finned againft thy foul, and expofed it to eternal damnation; that is, they finned againft the light and diétates of their own confciences, which is an ageravation of their fin, and might juftly caufe face and confufion of mind.

y.1t. For the ftone foall cry out of the wall, &c.] Of their own houfe; fome from among themfelves, that truly feared God, feeing the evil practices done among them, and abhorring them, fuch as their covetoufnefs, ambition, murders, excommunications and anathemas, fhould cry out againft them in their fermons and writings; fuch as were lively ftones, eminent for religion and godlinefs, as Bernard, Wickliff, Hufs, and others: and the beam out of the timber fhall anfwer it, fach as were of eminent note in things civil, as beams and rafters in the houfe; emperors, and governors of provinces, who obferved the complaints of godly minifters and people, anfwered to them, and checked the evil bifhops and clergy, and hindered them in the purfuit of their fchemes, and fo brought them to fhame and confufion. Aben Ezra obferves, that the word fignifies the hard place in the wood; or the harder part of it, the knotty part, or the knot in it; and which is confirmed by the ufe of the word in the Arabic language, as Hottinger * obferves; and fo may have refpect to fuch perfons as were raifed up at the beginning of the reformation, who were of rough difpofitions, and hardy {pirits, fit to go thro’ the work they were ealled to; fuch as Luther, and others, who anfwered and were correfpondent to the doctrines of thofe before-mentioned, who preceded them: for not a beetle, as the Septuagint verfion, which breeds, and lives not in wood, and fo reprefents heretics, as Yerom; much better, as fome other Greek verfions, a worm; tho’ rather the word may fignify a brick, as it is ufed by the Ta/mudifts *, for one of a fpan and an half, which anfwers well enough to a ftone in the former claufe; nor is it unufual with heathen writers ‘ to reprefent ftones and timber fpeaking, when any criminal filence is kept; fee Luke xix. 40.

¥.12. Wo to him that buildeth a town with blood, and efablifbeth a city by iniquity.| This is what the {tone and beam fhould fay, if others were filent. The town and city are the church of Rome, myttical Babylon, the great city, called {piritually Egypt and Sedom; the builder of this is the pope of Rome, the bifhops of it in fuceeffion, who built it with blood: the pope of Rome received his title as head of the church from Phoecas, that murdered the emperor Mauritius; the foundation of the church of Rome is the blood of the faints, fhed in perfecutions and wars; hence fhe is faid to be drunk with the blood of them, and to have the blood of prophets and faints found in her, Rev. xvii. 5. and xviii. 24. and it is eftablifhed by unjuft exactions of tribute from all countries fubject to it, and by indulgences, proceffions, and various methads taken to extort money from the people, to fwpport. its pageantry, pomp and grandeur; but there’s a we denounced againft fuch that are concerned herein, and which will take place in due time, nor can it be awarded, as follows:

¥. 13. Bebold, is it not of the Lord of bofts? &c.] That which follows, the judgments of Gad upon the bloody city, which they that labour to prevent labour in vain. So the Targum, “‘ lo ftrong *¢ and mighty blows or judgments come from the “© Lord of hofts;” the mighty God, the Lord of armies, whofe hand when ftretched out none can turn back; he does what he pleafes, and none can Kinder him; when the decree is gone forth from him, it is in vain to attempt to ftop it: that the

‘people foall labour in the very fire, and the people halt

weary themfelves for very vanity? words of the fame import, and expréffed in much the fame language, were ufed of the deftruction of literal Babylon by fire, and of the vain attempts of the Chaldeans in labouring and wearying themfelves to quench it, Fer. li. 58. and here of mytftical Babylon, and the vanity of the people of it, in Jabouring to fupport it by their wars, for recovering the holy land from the Turks, and againft the Walden/es, LHuffites, and Bobemians; for notwithftanding all their fuccefies, and the vaft number of perfons flain by them, yet they could never prevail fo as to root out the kingdom and intereft of Chrift: and their city and ftate fhall fall, and they will not be able to up-

‘hold it; and a confiderable blow and fhock it received at the time of the reformation; and this great city Babylon will be deftroyed by fire, which its beft friends cannot prevent; even the ten kings that have given their kingdom to the beaft, will hate the whore, and burn her with fire; and thofe ‘

| antichriftian kings that will continue friends to her, when they fee her burning, will find it in vain to attempt to help her, and will ftand afar off lamenting her cafe, Rev. xvii. 16 and xviii. 9, 10. Kimchit begins here to fee that this fection and paragraph does not belong to Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, but to the times of the Meffiah; and interprets it of the vengeance of God that fhalf come upon al} the nations that come along with

Gog againft Ferafalem im the latter day; but he miftakes: it defigns what will come on myftical Babylon; fo Abarbinel owns, that from ¥. 12. what is faid belongs to the Roman empire, which he calls the kingdom af Edow.

y¥.14. For the earth fhall be filled with the knawledge of the glory of the Lord, &c.} Of the glory of the Lord Jefus Chrift; of the glory of his perfon, as the Son of God, and truly God; which is. eflential to him, and underived; the fame with his Father’s, and what tranfcends the glory of all cre+. ated beings; and of the glory of his office as Mediator, which itfelf is glorious and honourable: and this his glory lies in bis fitnefs for it; in his faichful performance’of it, and the honour given him by his Father upon it; as well as in the fulnefs of grace in him, which makes him appear glorious to his people: and who are continyally giving glory to him as the Lord their righteoufnefs, by exercifing faith on his righteoufnefs, and gloryi in it; and as their only Saviour and Redeener by looking to him, and believing in him as fuch and as the only head of the church, by owning. and holding to him; and as the only Mediator between God and man, by making ufe of him for that purpofe, and not angels and faints; and as their prophet, by hearkening to his voice, yieldin a fubjection to his gofpel, and fubmiffion toordinances; and as their prieft, by dealing his blood and facrifice for the atonement and 1