Exposition of the Whole Bible

mountains were feattered; or, were broken’, the perpetual bills did bow; the mountains and hills that were from the beginning of the creation, that were fettled upon their bafes, and never moved;

others did, at the prefence of the God of J/rael; fee Fudg. v. 5. Pf. Ixviii. 8, 16. or rather figuratively, thefe may defign the kingdoms and ftates, kings and princes, greater and lefler, belonging to the land of Canaan, which were fhaken, moved, and taken by the //raelites, and brought into fubjection to them; and in like manner kings and kingdoms, comparable to mountains and_ hills, thro’ the preaching of the gofpel, and the power of Chrift attending it, were brought to yield unto him, at the downfal of paganifm in the Roman empire: this is fignified by every mountain and ifland being moved out of their places, and kings and great men calling to the rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb, Rev. vi. 14—17: bis ways are everlafting; and what he has done in ages pait, he can do again; his power, his wifdom, and his grace are unchangeably the fame; and all he does in time, every ftep he takes, is according to his counfels, purpofes and decrees in eternity, which infallibly come to pafs; nor can he be hindred and fruftrated in the execution of them; as he has begun, he’ll go on; as he has fet up his kingdom in the world, he’ll fupport and maintain it; and tho’ there are many obftructions and remoras in the way of it, he’ll go on, and remove them, until he has thoroughly eftablifhed it, and brought it to its higheft glory, which he has defigned; all mountains and hills are nothing before him; he can foon make them a plain; fee Rev. xi. 15, 17: or, the ways of the world * are his; the world is under his government, and all things in it fubject to his providence; he can rule and over-rule all things for his own glory, and the good of his intereft, and he will do it; every thing is fubjeé to his controul, and under his direction; not a ftep) can be taken without his will. This the prophet obferves along with the above things, to encourage the faith and expectation of the faints, that the work of the Lord will be revived, and his kingdom and intereft promoted and eftablifhed in the world; tho’ there may, and will be, many difficulties and diftreffes previous to it, fy GK

¥. 7. I faw the tents of Cufhan in offiftion, &c.} The fame with Cub or Ethiopia; hence the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin-verfions render it, the tents of the Ethiopians; and thefe are the fame with the curtains of Midian in the next claufe, tents being made of curtains, and the. Ethiopians and Midianites the fame people; fo the daughter of the prieft of Aédian, whom Mo/és married, is called an Ethiopian woman, Exod. ii. 21. Numb. xii. 1. This feems to have refpect to that pannic which feized the neighbouring nations by whom the J/- raelites pafled, as well as the Canaanites, into whofe land they were marching, when they heard what wonderful things were done for them in Egypt, at the Red-fea, and in the wildernefs, which was predicted by Mo/fes in Exod. xv. 14, 15. and not only fulfilled in the Canaanites, as appears from what Rahab fays, Fob. ii. 9, 10, 11. but particularly other, and confulted together againft Z/rael; and: ee | 5 i3 by

Be pow m") he Oh ¢ SEpeisci

Chiu. ¥. 89.5 HABA by the advice of Ba/aam, found ways and means to draw them into fornication, and fo to idolatry; for which the J/raelites having fuffered, were ftirred up to avenge themfelves on them, and flew five of their kings, and a great multitude of their people; and fo the words may be rendered, for iniquity ';

and the word is often ufed for. idolatry; that is, for the fin they drew the J/raelites into, they were brought into trembling and great diftrefs, which the prophet faw, perceived and underftood by: reading the hiftory of thofe times; fee Numb. xxii. 3, 4,7, and xxv. 6, 17, 18. and xxxi, 2—8,. tho’ the ‘ewi/ commentators, and others, generally refer this to the cafe of Cufban-Rifbathaim: king of Mefopotamia, who carried J/rae/ into captivity, from whence they were delivered by Otbniel, who. prevailed againft Cu/bax, and into whofe hands he fell; and fo then he and his people were {een in:affliction, Fudg. iii, 7—10.: but Cufbaa here is not the name of a man, but of a country: and whereas it follows, the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble, this is thought) to refer to the times of Gideon, when the Midianites were overcome by him with three hundred men, and in their fright. fell upon and deftroyed each other; fignified by a barley-cake tumbling into the hoft of Midian, and overturning a tent, as reprefented in a dream to - one of Gideon’s men, Fudg. vii. 13, 21, 22. but the former reference feems beft; and it fhould be obferved, that Cu/h or Ethiopia, and Midian were parts of Arabia; for not only the dradians are faid to be near the Ethiopians, or at the hand of the Cufbites, 2 Chron. xxii, 16. but Sinai a part of Horeb, where Mofes fed the flock of his father-inlaw the prieft of Midian, is exprefsly faid to be in Arabia, compare Exod, iii. 1. Gal, iv. 25. and with thofe “vabians called Scentte, from their dwelling in tents, agree the characters in the text: now the people, inhabiting thofe places, the prophet forefaw by a fpirit of prophecy under vanity ™, as it may be rendered; that is, /udjec to it, as the whole Gentile world was, Rom. vili. 20. or under the power of idolatry; but it was foretold that thefe fhould be converted in gofpel-times, P/- Ixviii. 31. and Ixxxvii. 4. which was brought about, partly by the apoftles Matthew and Matthias, {aid to be fent into Ethiopia; and partly by the Erhiopian eunuch, converted and baptized by Péilip, who doubtlefs was the means of {preading the gofpel in his own country, when returned to it, és viii. 27. and chiefly by the apoftle Paz/, who went into Arabia, and preached there, quickly after his converfion; and here were churches in the firft times of chriftianity; fee the note on Gal. i. 17. and at this time Cu/han or Ethiopia was in affliction; and the Midianites trembled, fuch of them to whom the word came in power; and they were~ made: fenfible of their danger and mifery, as the apoftle did, the inftrument of their converfion, Ads ix. 6. once more, as an Ethiopian is an emblem of a man ina ftate of nature, and defcribes very aptly wicked and profligate perfons, apoftates from religion, and fuch as are perfecutors of good men, Fer. xiii. 23. Amos ix. 7. it may defign fuch here; and be expreflive of their diftrefs and trouble, the fear and dread they would be feized with on feeing chriftianity prevail, and paganifm falling in the Roman empire; which diftrefs and trembling

are*in avery lively manner fet forth in Rev. vi. 15, 16, 17. e, o¥. 8. Was the Lord difpleafed againft the rivers? was thine anger againft the rivers? &c.| Referring, as is commonly thought, either to the rivers in Egypt turned into blood, which was one of the plagues of that land, Exod. vii, 20, when the refentment of the Lord was not fo much againtt them, as againft the Egyptians, and as a punifhment of them for drowning the infants of the J/~ raelites in them, and in order to obtain the difmiffion of his people from that land: or elfe to the river Fordan, called rivers, becaufe of the large~ nefs of it, and the abundance of water in it; againft which the Lord was not angry, when he divided the waters of it, which was done only to make a paffage thro’ it for his people into the land of Canaan, Fofp. iii. 16, 17: was thy wrath againft the fea, that thou didft ride upon thine horfes, and thy chariots of falvation? the Red-fea, when a ftrong eaft—wind was fent, and divided the waters of it, which was no mark of difpleafure againft that; but for the benefit of the people of J/rae/, that they might pafs thro’ it as on dry land; and for the deftruction of Pharaoh and his hofts, who, entring into it with his horfes and chariots, were drowned; the Lord coming forth againit him, riding On his horfes and chariots, the pillar of fire and cloud, by which he defended J/rae/, and thro’ which he looked and difcomfited the hoft of the Egyptians, and wrought falvation for his people; fee Exod. xiv. 19—28. with which compare P/- cxiv. 3,5. The clouds are the chariots of the Lord, Pf civ. 3. fo angels, who are fometimes fignified by horfes and chariots, P/ xviii. 10, and Ixvili. 17. 2 Kings ii. 11. and vi. 17. Zech. i. 8. and vi. r—5. and here they may defign the angels of Michael, or Chrift, Rev. xii. 7, 8. the chriftian emperors, Conflantine and Theodofius, whom the Lord raifed up, and made ufe of as inftruments to demolith paganifm, eftablifh chriftianity, and deliver and fave his people from their perfecutors, who came in like a flood upon’ them; and who, for their number and -force, were comparable to rivers, yea to the fea; and upon whom the Lord fhewed fome manifeft tokens of his wrath and difpleafure; fo people, tongues and nations are compared to many waters, Rev. xvii. 15. and monarchs and their armies, J/. viii. 7, 8. and the Targum here interprets the rivers of kings and their armies: ‘and it may be obferved, that fome parts of the Roman empire are fignified by the fea, and rivers, and: fountains of waters, on which the blowing of the fecond and third trumpets brought defolation; as the antichriftian ftates are defcribed by the fame, on which the fecond and third vials of God’s wrath will be poured, when he will indeed be difpleafed and angry with the rivers and the fea, figuratively underftood, Rev. viii. 8, to, and xvi. 3, 4..

¥. 9. Thy bow was made quite naked, &c.] It was took out of its cafe, and arrows out of their quiver, and thefe made ufe of againft the enemies of his people: this is put for all weapons of war; the fword was unfheathed, and all military weapons employed, and the power of the Lord was exerted; or, as the Targum, ** the Lord was re- “* vealed in his power;” fighting the battels of his people, as in the times of Fo/hua: according to the oaths of the triles, even thy word. Selah; that is, to fulfil his word of promife, to which he had annexed his oaths, he at feveral times fwore to Abraham, Ifaac and Facob, and to the fathers of the J/raelites, that he would put them in poffeffion of the land of Canaan; and which being worthy of notice, and to be remarked, the word Selah is added. So the Targum, “ in revealing thou art *¢ revealed in thy power, becaufe of thy covenant «¢ which thy word made with the tribes for ever.” The dow here is an emblem of the gofpel, with which Chrift the captain of our falvation, the antitype of Fo/bua, went forth, more efpecially in the firft ages of chriftianity, conquering and to conquer, Rev. vi. 2. The arrows of this bow are the doétrines of the gofpel, which are fharp in the heart of Chrift’s enemies, his elect; who are fo in a {tate of nature, whereby they are brought into fubjection to him, Pf xlv. 5. and hereby the promifes of God confirmed by his oaths are accomplifhed, that the fpiritual feed of Chrift-thall endure for ever; or he fhall never want a feed to ferve him, Pf. Ixxxix. 35, 36: thou didft cleave the earth with rivers; which is generally fuppofed to allude to the fmiting of the rock, from whence waters gufhed out, and ran in dry places like a river; for which channels or canals were made in the earth, in which they flowed and followed the Lfraelites wherever they went, and fupplied man and beaft with water. So the Targum, ‘* for thou ** didft break {trong rocks, rivers came forth over- ** flowing the earth;” fee Pf cv. 41. 1 Cor. x. 4. but this feems to be going back in the hiftory; rather therefore this refers to the rivers formed in the land of Canaan, whereby it became fertile, hence it is called a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, that fpring out of vallies This may refpect in futurity, either the provifions of grace, and the large abundance of the bleflings of it, made for the fupply and fatisfa€tion of the children of God in times of diftrefs and difficulty, Jf xli. 17, 18. or that help and affiftance againft, protection and deliverance from, the flood of perfecution, caft out after the church by fatan, in order to overwhelm her, by the earth opening its mouth, and fwallowing up the flood, Kev. xii. 15, 16.

y. 10. The mountains faw thee, and they trembled,

&c.] At the power and prefence of God, as Sinai

‘of old; fee the note on y. 6. by which are fignified mighty people and nations, kings and great men, {truck with terror at the amazing providences of God in the world, on the behalf of his own people, and againft their enemies; fee Rev. vi. 14—17: the overflowing of the water paffed by, which is ufually referred to the overflowing of the river Yordan at the time of the pafflage of the J/- raelites thro’ it, when the waters above ftood and rofe up as an heap, and thofe below failed, and were cut off, and paffed away into the falt fea, Foo. iii. 15, 16. but perhaps it may refer to the times of David, when he conquered all his enemies round about, who were like an overflowing flood; but now pafled away, particularly the Philiftines, who had always been very troublefome to J/rael, but now were overcome by David at Baal-Perazzim, wheve the Lord, on the contrary, broke forth upon his enemies as the breach of waters, from whence the place had its name, 2 Sam. v. 20. and as this refpects time that was then to come, when this prayer was made, it may regard the flood of perfecution, which ceafed in Con/tantine’s time, when paganifm was abolifhed, and chriftianity eftabifhed; concerning which it might be faid, tbe winter is paft, the rain is over and gone, Cant. ii. 11. and the word " here ufed fignifies a. large fhower of rain, caufing an inundation, a ftorm, a tempeft; and fo fitly expreffes the violence of perfecution, now at an end: the deep uttered bis voice, and lift up bis hands on bigh, language very poetical, exceeding ftriking, very beautiful and elegant. It is generally underftood of the deep waters of the Red-fea, or of Fordan, or both, when divided for the J/raelites to pafs thro’; at which time, when they rofe up, they made a great noife, and ftood on an heap; and fo the phrafes are expreffive of the roaring and raging of them as ‘they rofe up, which was as if they had fpoken; and of the pofition in which they were, ftanding up on high, as if they had hands, and thefe lifted up: but rather they figuratively refer to the mighty nations conquered by David, who afked favour and mercy of him, and fignified their fubjection to him; and having refpect to times to. come, may denote the fubjection of the multitude of people and nations in the Roman empire to Chrift, when heathenifm - was abolifhed in it; and the joy and rejoicing of chriftians upon it, and the ceafing of perfecution in it, even high and low, rich and poor, all ranks and degrees of men; height and depth,-men in high or low circumftances, fignified by the depth uttering his voice, and the height lifting up its hands, in token of praife and thankfulnefs; for fo the latter claufe may be rendered, she beight lift up bis bands °, and anfwers to the deep in the preceding claufe; agreeable to this fenfe is Farchi’s note, ‘* the deep uttered bis voice, the inhabitants “< of the earth praifed him; the height lift up bis ‘* bands; the hoft of heaven confeffed unto him;” every creature in heaven, on the earth, and under the earth, and in the fea, afcribed bleffing, honour, glory, and power to the Lord on this occafion, Rev. v. 13. The Iargum is, ‘* the powers *¢ on high ftood wondring;” amazed at what was done, and lift up their hands with aftonifhment. y. 11. The fun and moon ftood fiill in their babitation, &c.] This is generally thought to refer to the miracle in the times of Fofhua, Fofb. x. 12, 13. but a different word is there ufed; efpecially of the ftanding ftill of the fun; nor are the fun and moon faid there to ftand in their habitation; nor will the feries of the hiflory of times paft, or the thread of prophecy of things to come, admit of this reference; nor do the words exprefs the clear fhining of the fun and moon at their ftanding ftill, but the reverfe; for the phrafe, iv their babitation, may be rendered, within their tent?, or pavilion; fee P/ xix. 4. and the note there; which is no other than their being incompafied and covered with clouds; which is juft fuch a pavilion as God is faid to be in, when darkne/s was his fecret place, © his pavilion round about him, dark waters and thick clouds of the fries, Pf. xviii. 11. and fo is expreffive of the dark times of antichrift, which followed, when the pagan perfecutions were over, chriftianity fupported by fecular powers, and the chriftian churches raifed to the height of riches and honour;

and then the man of fin fhewed himfelf, the pope of Rome took upon him the title of univerfal bifhop, and introduced falfe doctrines, ftrange worfhip, and bad difcipline into» the church, and obfcured the glorious light of it; and Mahomet alfo arofe with his locufts, the Saracens, out of the bottomlefs pit opened, from whence came a fmoke which darkened the fun and air, Rev. ix. 1, 2: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the fbining of thy glittering fpear, the commonly received fenfe of the words is, either at the light and fhining of the fun and moon, when they ftood {till in Fo/hua’s time; the arrows of the Almighty, and the lightning of his fpear, that is, hail-ftones mingled with fire, and thunder, and lightning, which the heathens call upiter’s arrows;) thefe fteered their courfe, being directed againft the enemies of the Lord’s people, and fought for them, Fo. x. 10, 11. or at the light of thefe, which looked very bright and dazzling thro’ the rays of the fun upon them, the J/rae/ites marched again{t their enemies, and avenged themfelves on:them’: but thefe bright arrows and glitering fpear, and the light and fhining of them, feem to defign no other than the weapons of the chriftian miniftry or warfare; the goipel, and the doétrines of it; the light of which broke forth at the reformation, the fame that is meant by the morning-flar, Rev. ii. 28. irradiated by which, the miniflers of it, efpecially went forth with courage againft their antichriftian enemies, and prevailed, and fpread the gofpel in many countries. It may be rendered as a petition, /et them walk at the light °, &c. a prayer of faith that it might be, and which is a prophecy that it would be.

y. 12. Thou didft march thro’ the land with indignation, &c.| Not the land of Canaan, fighting againft the inhabitants of it, difpoffefling them to make room for the J/raelites, whatever allufion may be to it; but the antichriftian land, the whole Romifh jarifdiction, and all the ftates of it, thro’ which the Lord will march in wrath and fury, when he pours out the vials of it upon them; or this is defired, and prayed for; for it may be ren-.

dered, do thou march thro’ the land ‘, &c. torefeeing and believing that he would: thou di/t threfh the heathen in anger; or, do thou threfh*, &c. thefe are the papifts, called Heathens and Gentiles in cripture, becaufe of the heathenifh cuftoms and practices they have introduced into the chriftian: religion, P/. x. 16. Rev. xi, 2. thefe are the nations that will be gathered together like fheaves of corn on a floor to be threfhed; and when Zion the church of Chrift, and. chriftian princes will be called upon to arife, and threfh them; and the Lord by them will do it, namely, feparate his own people from them, which are like wheat, and utterly deftroy them, as chaff and ftubble, Mic. iv.

y. Ai Thou wenteft forth for the falvation of thy people, even for falvation with thine anointed, &c.| Or, thy Mefiah; which Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret of Mefiah the fon of David; and read and give the fenfe of the words thus, ‘“ as « thou wenteft forth for the falvation of thy peo- “* ple, by bringing them into the land of Canaan, *© fo do thou go forth for falvation with thy Mef- «< fiah.” God of old went forth in his power and providence for the falvation of his people, whom he chofe above all people to be his fpecial and peculiar people; making ufe of Mofes and Aaron in bringing them out of Egypt, and leading » them thro’ the wildernefs, and of ‘Fo/hua to introduce them, and fettle them in the land of Canaan;" who were all types of Chrift in the falvation of the chofen people. ‘fo/hua particularly was a type of Jefus; they agree in their name, which fignifies a Saviour, the falvation of God, or God the falvation; and in their character, office, and ufefulnefs to the people of God. Jefus is the Lord’s anointed; anointed with the Holy Ghoft, the oil of gladnefs, above his fellows, which he received without meafure; anointed to the office of prophet, prieft and king; and from whom his people receive the unction, and are denominated chriftians, or anointed ones: and the people of God, for whofe falvation he went forth with him, are not all mankind, who are not all faved; nor the people of the Fews only, or all of them; but a peculiar people, out of Fews and Gentiles, loved with a fpecial love; chofen to falvation, fecured in the covenant of grace, and given to Chrift as his portion and people, and fo faved by him, Matt.i. 21. The /alvation of them is a fpiritual one, a falvation from all their fins; from the power and dominion, pollution and guilt, the damning power of them, and at laft from the very being of them; as well as from fatan, the law, death, hell, and wrath to come: it is perfect and complete, and endures for ever. Jehovah the Father went forth with Chrift his Son for this falvation, in his purpofes and decrees concerning it; in his council and covenant relating to it; in the miffion of him into this world to effect it; and by helping and affiiting him in it, as man and Mediator. The words may be rendered, thou wenteft forth, or, thou goeft forth, thou wilt do fo; and mayeft thou do fo, to fave thy people, to fave thy anointed‘; and fo refpect not the falvation of J/rael by Mojfes or Fofhua, nor the fpiritual and eternal falvation of God’s elect by the Meffiah; but the falvation of the Lord’s people from myftical Babylon, from the oppreffion and tyranny of antichrift, and from all his falfe doctrines, fuperftition and idolatry, and ruin by them; and particularly the falvation of the two witnefleés, the two olive-trees, the two anointed ones that ftand before the Lord of the whole earth; the fingular being put for the plural, anointed for anointed ones; and fo the Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint verfion, and the Arabic verfion render it, thy Chrifts, or thy anointed ones; now this will be done when the Lord fhall go forth in his power and providence, and quicken and raife their dead bodies, when they have lain three days and a half, and fhall caufe them to afcend to heaven in the fight of their enemies; fee Zech. iv. 14. Rev. xi. 3, 4, 11, 12: thou woundedft the head out of the boufe of the wicked, not the princes of the families of the land of Canaan, as fome; nor the firft-born of Pharaok’s family in Egypt, or him and his hoft at the Red-/ea, as others; nor Goliah of Gath, mitten by David, as Burkius, nor fatan and his princi- | palities and powers by Chrift on the crofs; but antichrift the man of fin, that wicked and lawlefs one, who is at the head of a wicked houfe or family, the antichriftian party; who received a wound at

Tt? AN puny ov yer ad falutem populi tui, ad fervandam unfum tuum, at the reformation; and ere long the kings of the earth will hate the whore, eat her flefh, and burn her with fire; and Chrift will utterly confume and deftroy this wicked one with the breath of his mouth, and the brightnefs of his coming, Rev. xiii. 9. and xvii. 16. 2 Theff. ii. 8. fee P. cx. 6.

Kimcbi and Ben Melech interpret this of the head of the army of wicked Gog, the king of Magog, taking it to belong to future time; and fo fome render all thofe phrafes, shou wilt go forth, thou wilt wound *, &c. by difcovering the foundation unto the neck; or razing the foundation, as in P/. cxxxvil. 7. There feems to be a double metaphor in. the words, expreffing the utter ruin and deftruction of antichrift and his party; who, being compared to a building, will be demolifhed, and razed to the. very foundation; that will be dug up, and laid bare, and no trace of an edifice to be feen, any more;.and being compared to an human body, will be plunged into fuch diftreffes and calamities, as to be as it were up to the neck in them, from whence there is no efcape and deliverance. Some urderftand this of the princes of this head, er of his friends, and thofe of his family that are neareft to him, as the neck is to the head; or of the whole body of the people under him, of which he will be deprived; and fo be as a head without a body, and who cannot long furvive them. Se/gd is, added as a mark of attention, fomething of moment, and importance being obferved. —.

y¥. 14. Thou didft ftrike thro’ with bis faves the head of his villages, &c,.| Of his warriors, mighty men, princes; fo the Vulgate Latin, Septuagint; Syviac and Arabic verfions; or of his armies, as Farchi and Kimchi; which fome interpret of Pharaoh and his hoft, who were deftroyed by the fteps and methods which they themfelves took, going into the fea of themfelves, and fo were ftruck thro’ with their own ftaves: others of the princes and armies of the Canaanites, who deftroyed one another with their own weapons of war, as the M/- dianites did; tho’ we have no inftance of it on record: others of Goliab, as Burkius, called. before the head out of the boufe of the wicked, with refpect to his rife from Gath; here, the head of his pagans, as he renders it, or. Gentiles, with refpect to his pre-eminence over the common foldiers, and all the Philifitnes: others of Sennacherib and his army, as Farchi; but Kimchi’s fenfe is much better, who interprets it of Gog and his army; and which, if underftood of the Turk, the eaftern antichrift, is not amifs; and fo as the weftern antichrift and his deftruction are pointed at in the preceding verfe, the ruin of the other is intimated here; whofe armies are exprefled by a word which fometimes has the fignification of villages; becaufe he faid, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages, Ezek. XXXviil. 12. in the land of Judea about Ferufalem, where he will diftribute and quarter his foldiers; and where he and they at the head of them in thefe villages will be cut to pieces with their own weapons; as it is faid, every man’s fword fhall be againft his brother, Ezek. xxxviii. 21. Cocceius and Van Till render the words, thou haf? defigned, marked out, or exprefied by name, in bis tribes, the head of bis villages, and underftand them, not of the enemy, but of Chrift the anointed one, and his people;. the proteftants or reformed churches, who luto aquarum multarum, Burkius,

Tigurine verfion; calcafti lotum aquarum multarum, Cocceius, Van Till; Iutam, aque multe,;:? 4 tia being feparated from antichrift, are reprefented as divided into tribes, and as dwelling in villages alone, and in feparate ftates and kingdoms; and fuppofe that God has defigned in his purpofes and decrees fome particular place, ‘called the ‘head or beginning of thefe villages, where his great and glorious work in the latter day will firit appear; but what and where that place is, is not faid: sbey came out as a whirlwind to fcatter me; the prophet perfonating the true J/rael, or the whole church of Chrift: it is not unufual for mighty armies to be compared to a whirlwind coming forth with great force, fuddenly and fwiftly; fee Fer. iv. 13. and particularly it is faid of the army of Gog or the Turk, which fhall invade Fudea, in order to difpofflefs the Jews of their land, when converted and returned to it; thou fhalt afcend and come like a form, thou fhalt be like a cloud, to cover the land, thou and all thy bands, and many people with thee, Ezek. xxxviii. 9. who will think to featter the — people of the ews again among the nations, as they have been: their ‘rejoicing was to devour the poor fecretly; the poor people of the ews, to ftrip them of their fubftance, to carry off their gold

_and filver, their cattel and their goods; and which they thought they fhould as eafily accomplifh, as a rich man gets the maftery over a poor man, and ruins him, that has none to help him; and that they fhould do this in a ftill, private, fecret manner, fovas that the chriftian princes:fhould have no~ knowledge of it, and come in to their affiftance 5 and this they rejoiced at in themfelves, and pleafed der this claufe as a prayer, Jet them tremble for fears or be filled with horror, who come to /catter me, whofe rejoicing is as to devour the poor in fecret, which is interpreted of the papifts being terrified by fome chriftian princes fince the reformation, from carrying fome of their defigns into execution; and of the clandeftine arts and fecret methods. the Fe/uits particularly ufe to do injury to the intereft of Chrift and true religion.

y. 15. Thou didft walk thro’ the fea with thine borfes, &c.}] And as thou didft of old, fo'do again; as Jehovah walked thro’ the Red-/ea in a pillar of cloud and fire, which were his horfes and chariots, and deftroyed the Egyptians; fo may he - walk thro’ another fea by his inftruments, and deftroy the enemies of his church and people; fee the note on ¥. 8. The /ea here’ fignifies the world, compared to it for the multitude of its people; the noife, fluctuation and uncertainty of all things in it; and ‘particularly the Roman empire, the fea. out of which the antichriftian beaft arofe, Rev. xiii. 1. The horfes are the angels of chriftian princes, with whom the Lord will walk in majefty, and in the greatnefs of his ftrength, pouring out the vials of his wrath on the antichriftian ftates: thro? the heap of many waters; or the clay, or mud of many waters”; that lies at the bottom of them 3, which being walked thro’ and trampled on by horfes, is raifed up, and ¢roudles them, as the Septuagint and Arabic verfions render it: thefe many waters are thofe on which the whore of Rome is. faid to fit; and which are interpreted of people, multitudes, nations and tongues, Rev. xvii. 1, 15.

and the mud of them is expreflive of their pollu- ~— tion and corruption, with her falfe dotrines, idolatry, fuperftition and immoralities; and of their difturbed ftate and condition, thro’ the judgments of God upon them, fignified by his horfes walking thro’ them; trampling upon them in fury; treating them with the utmoft contempt;. treading them like mire and clay, and bringing upon them utter ruin and deftruction.

y.16. When I beard, my belly trembled, &c.) His bowels, his heart within him, at the report made of what would come to pafs in future time; and not fo much at hearing of the judgments of God that fhould come upon the enemies of his church, antichrift and his followers; tho’ even thefe are awful and tremendous to good men; fee P/. cxix. 120. but upon hearing what troubles and diftreffes would come upon the churches of Chrift, previous to thefe, afterwards called a day of trouble in this verfe, and more particularly defcribed in the next: my lips quivered at the voice; at the voice of thefe words, as the Targum, at the voice of the Lord, expreffing and foretelling thefe calamities, thro’ fear and dread, confternation and amazement; under which circumftances, the natural heat of the outward parts of the body retires to defend the heart, and leaves them trembling and quivering, particularly the lips, fo that they Jofe their ufe for a time; anda perfon in fuch a cafe can hardly fpeak: rottenne/s entered into my bones; he became weak and ftrengthlefs, as if he had long been in a wafting confumption; or was at once deprived of all his ftrength, and it was turned into corruption; fee Dan, x, $: aud I trembled in myfelf, within himfelf, in all his inward parts, as well as in his outward parts: or, under myfelf *; was not able to keep his place, could not ftand upon the ground that was under him; his knees trembled, as the Syriac verfion: that I might reft in the day of trouble, rather, as Noldjus ¥ renders the particle, yet, or notwithftanding, I foall reft in the day of trouble, which had been reprefented to him in vifion; and which he had a fight of by a fpirit of prophecy, as coming upon the church of Chrift, and had given him that concern before exprefled. The Syriac verfion of this and the next claufe, which it joins, is, Le /hewed me the day of calamity, which is about to come upon the people. Were begins the prophet’s expreffion of his ftrong faith and joy in the midft of all the diftrefles he faw were at hand; herein perfonating the church, and all true believers helped to exercife faith in thofe worft of times. This day of trouble is the fame with the hour of temptation, that fhall come upon all the earth to try the inhabitants of it; the time of the flaying of the witnefles, which will be fuch a time of trouble as neyer was in the world; fee Rev. iii. 10. Daw. xii. 1. The ref, the people of God will have then, which the prophet had faith in for them, will lie in the Lord’s proteCtion and ke¢ping of his people; his perfections, power and providence are the chambers of reft and fafety he will call them unto, and the fhadow of his wings, which they will make their refuge till thefe calamities and indignation be overpatt, J/. xxyi. 20. Pf. lvii. 1: when be cometh up unto the people, be will invade them with his troops; or rather dim, not the people, the people of God, 4e the Lord or Chrift comes unto; of Devid and Micah, Pf. xii. 1. Mic. vii. 1. and - but the enemy of them: this is the ground,of the prophet’s faith and confidence before exprefied, or of the church’s he perfonated; namely, that when Chrift, Michael the great prince fhould come up to his people, appear for them, and ftand on their fide, he would lead his troops, and match his army againft their grand enemy antichrift; and: cut him to pieces *, as fome render the word: fo Chrift is reprefented as a mighty warrior, marching at the head of his troops, the armies of heaven following him upon white horfes, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, who are the called, chofen and faithful; and with thefe he will fall. upon the beaft, the falfe prophet, and the kings of the earth, gathered together at Armageddon, and utterly deftrey them, Rev. xvi. 14, 16. and xyii. 14. and xix. 14-21..

¥. 17. Altho’ the fig-tree foall not blofom, &c.} Or rather, as the Septuagint verfion, Jhall not bring forth fruit; fince the fig-tree does not bear bloffoms and flowers, but puts forth green figs at once. This was a tree common jn the land of Canaan, and its fruit much in ufe, and for food; hence we read of cakes of figs among the provifions bigait brought to David, 1 Sam. xxv. 18. fo that when: there was a fcarcity of thefe, it was a bad time: weither fhall fruit be in the vines; no grapes or clufters of them, out of which wine was preffed 5 a liquor very refrefhing and reviving to nature; and 1s faid to cheer God and man, being ufed in facrifices and libations to God, and the common drink of men, Fudg. ix. 13. fo that when it failed, it was a public calamity: she labour of the olive feall fails or le*; difappoint the expectation of thofe who planted and cultivated it with much’toil and labour, it not producing fruit as looked for. This tree yielded berries of an agreeable tafte, and out of which oil was extracted, the Fews ufed inftead of butter, and for various purpofes; fo that when it failed of fruit, it was a great lofs on many accounts: and the fields fhall yield no meat; the grafs-fields no herbage for beafts; the cornfields no corn for man; the confequence of which muft be a famine to both; and this muft be very difmal and diftreffing: the flock fhail be cut off from the fold; flocks of fheep; either by the hand of God, fome difeafe being fent among them; or by the hand of man, drove off by the enemy,’ or killed for their ufe; fo that the folds were empty of them, ahd none to gather into them: and there fhall be o herd in the fialls; or oxen in the ftables where they are kept, and have their food; or ftalls in which they are fattened for ufe; and by all thefe are fignified the neceffaries of life, which, when they fail, make a famine, which isa very diftreffing cafe; and yet, in the midft of all this, the prophet perfonating the church, exprefles his faith and: joy in the Lord, as in the following verfe; tho’ all this is to be underftood, not fo much in a literal, as in a figurative fenfe.

cious perfons, Cant. ii. 13. Pf lii. 8. partly: becaufe of their fruitfulnefs in grace and good works, and partly becaufe of their perfeverance therein; all thefe trees being fruitful ones; and fome, as the olive, ever green: of fuch perfons there is fometimes a fcarcity, as is complained of in the times

Fig-trees, vines, - and o/ives are often ufed as emblems of truly: gra+

63D. efpecially ‘there will be in the latter day; for righteous and merciful men will be taken away from the evil to come, J/ lvii. 1. and however there will be very few, lively, fpiritual and fruitful chriftians, fuch as abound in the exercife of grace, and are diligent in the difcharge of duty; for when the fon of man cometh, he will not find faith on the’ earth;-and he will find the virgins fleeping, Luke xviii. 8.. Matt. xxv. 5. The fields not yielding meat, may fignify that the provifions of the houfe of God will be cut off; there will be no miniftration: of the word, or adminiftration of ordinances; the word of the Lord will be fcarce, rare and precious; there will be a famine, not of bread and of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord; one of the days of the fon of man will be defired, but not enjoyed; fo no fpiritual food in the ufe of means to be had; a very uncomfortable time this will -be, Amos viii. 11. Luke xvii. 22. The flock being cut off from the fold, may denote that the fheep of Chrift will be given up to the flaughter' of the enemy, or be fcattered abroad in this dark -and cloudy day of perfecution; fo that there will be no fold, no flock, no fheep gathered together, and perhaps fuch will be the cafe, that there will not be one vifible congregated church in due order throughout the whole world; all will be broke up, and difperfed here and there: xo herd or oxen in the ftall, may fignify that the minifters of the -gofpel, compared to oxen for their {trength, induftry, and laborioufnefs.in the work of the Lord, will be removed, or not Wiffered to exercife their miniftry, nor be encouraged by any in ‘it: this will be the cafe at the flaying of the witneffes, and a mott diftreffing time it will be; and yet the prophet, or the church perfonated by him, exprefles an uncommon frame of fpirit in the following verfe: The Yargum interprets all this figuratively, of the feveral monarchies of the world, which fhould be no more; ‘¢ the kingdom of Babylon fhall not *© continue, nor fhall it exercife dominion over J -

** rael; the kings of the Medes fhall be killed; and ** the mighty men of Greece fhall not profper; and «© the Romans fhall be deftroyed, and fhall not col- ‘¢ lect tribute from Ferufalem;, therefore for the ‘*, wonder, and for the redemption, thou fhalt work “< for thy Mefliah; and for the reft of thy people ‘¢ who fhall remain, they fhall praife, faying: the ‘< prophet faid;” as follows:

y¥. 18. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, &c.] In the word of the Lord, as the Targum; the effential word of the Lord, the Lord Jefus Chrift; in his perfon, the greatnefs and glory of it; in his offices, as prophet, prieft and king, the only Mediator and Saviour; in his relations, as head and hufband, father, brother, friend; in his fulnefs, grace and righteoufnefs; in his fpiritual prefence, and comfortable communion. with him, which may be expected in a remarkable manner, after the above day of trouble is over; and in his perfonal appearance, which will fhortly be, and when his tabernacle will be with. men on earth: J wall joy in the God of my falvation, in Chrift who is God, and fo able to fave his people; to make every ching he did and fuffered in human nature effectual and available to them; to fupply all their wants, and to keep what they commit unto him, and to preferve them fafe to his kingdom and glory: and who alfo joy in the-falvation of their God, or which he is the author of, both temporal and {pi-