Exposition of the Whole Bible

of hots; the king of the whole world, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; and therefore to be honoured and reverenced fuitable to his dignity and greatnefs: and my name is dreadful among the heathen, becaufe of his judgments executed among them; or rather, becaufe of his gofpel preached unto. them; for this may be confidered as a pro-

HIS chapter contains a reptoof both of | priefts and people for their fins. It begins with the priefts, ¥..1. and threatens in cafe they attend not to glorify the name of the Lord, they and their bleffings fhould be curfed, their feed corrupted, dung {pread upon them, and-they took away with it, y. 2, 3. and the end of this commandment: being fent them, of giving glory to the name of God, was that the covenant might appear to be with Levi, or him that was typified by him, y¥. 4. of which covenant fome account. is given, with the reafon why the bleffings of it were given to him, with whom it was, ¥. 5. who’ is defcribed by the true doétrine he preached; by the purity of his lips; by the peaceablenefs and righteoufnefs of his walk and converfation; and by his ufefulnefs and fuccefs in turning many from fin, y. 6. and it being part of the prieft’s office to preferve true knowledge, and communicate it, it is the duty of the people to feek to him for it; fince he is the meflenger of the Lord, y. 7. but as for the priefts of thofe times the prophet refpects, they were apoftates from the way of the Lord; made others to ftumble at the law, and corrupted the covenant; and therefore became contemptible, bafe,.and mean in the fight of the people, ¥. 8, 9. who are next reproved-for their marrying with thofe of other. nations, idolatrous’ perfons; and ufing polygamy and divorces, which were a profanation of the covenant of their fathers; a piece’ of perfidy and treachery among themfelves; an abomination tothe Lord; a profanation of his holinefs; and led to idolatry, ¥. 10, 11. Wherefore they are threatened to be cut off from the tabernacles of Facob, and their facrifices to be rejected; infomuch that the altar is reprefented as covered with weeping and tears, becaufe difregarded, ¥. 12, 13. The reafon of which was, becaufe marrying more wives than one, and thefe ftrange women, was dealing treacheroufly «with their lawful wives; was contrary to the firft creation of man, and the end of it; and therefore fuch praétices ought to be avoided; and the rather, fince putting away was hateful to the Lord, y. 14, 15,16. and the chapter is concluded with a charge againft them, that they wearied the Lord with their wicked words; affirming that the Lord took delight in men that did evil. and that there were no judgment, truth, nor righteoufhefs in him, y. 1. And now, O ye priefs, &c.] That defpifed and’ profaned the name of the Lord; that fuffered fuch corrupt and illegal facrifices to be brought, and offered up: his commandment is for ou; of giving glory to the name of God; of

Salts care of his worfhip; of teaching the peo- phecy of what would be when the gofpel fhould be fpread in the Gentile world; and therefore if they; when he was made known to them, would fear and reverence him; then the J/raelites, to whom he had given fuch.inftances and proofs of his love, ought to have fhown a greater regard unto him, ple knowledge, and direéting them in the way if which they fhould walk; as‘ tollows: Bi ida

¥.2. If ye will not bear, &ce.] The com: mandment enjoined them; or the gofpel preached to them by Chrift, and his apoftles: and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, faith the Lord of hofts; which they had defpifed and profaned before; if they did not take care-of his worfhip and fervice, and honour the Meffiah fent unto them, in whom the name of the Lord was: I will even fend a curfe upon you; both upon prietts and people; thofe that bring the bad offerings, and thofe that receive them; as Kimchi; tho’ Abarbinel reftrains it to the priefts: and I will curfe your blefings; either with which the priefts blefled the people; or with which both they and the people were bleffed; namely, their temporal bleffings, fuch as their corn, and wine, and oil: and what wicked men have of this world, they have it with a curfe; and not a bleffing, as the righteous have 3 and therefore a little which they have, is~better than much enjoyed by the wicked, P/. xxxvii, 16: yea, I have cursed them already; that is, from thé time they began to defpife his name, and not give him the glory due unto him, as Kimchi and Abarbinel-explain it: becaufe ye do not lay it to heart; to glorify God..

¥. 3. Bebold, I will corrupt your feed, &c.| Or; the feed for you"; that is, for your fake, as Kimchi and Ben Melech explain it; meaning the: feed they caft into the earth, which the Lord threatens to corrupt and deftroy; fo that it fhould not pring up again, and bring forth any increafe: or, re+ buke * it, as the word fometimes: fignifies; and fo the Targum, ** behold, I will rebuke you in the ‘* increafe, the fruit (fon) of the feed.” The fenfe is the fame; corrupting the feed being a rebuke to them; and rebuking the feed being a corruption of that, or hindring it from growing up. - It is a threatning of a fore famine that fhould be in the Fewifh nation; and which Cocceius thinks was that which happened in the days of Claudius Cefar, Ads xi. 28, 29. The Septuagint verfion. renders - it, bebold, I feparate to you the fooulder, the Arabic verfion, the right-hand, or arm; and the Vulgate Latin is, bebold, I will caft forth to you the arm, the right-fhoulder of the facrifice, which was given to the priefts,, and here threatened to be caft to them with indignation, Lev. vii. 32, 34. Deut. xviii. 3. but the former fenfe is beft: and fpread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your folemn. feafts; that is, the dung of their beafts which were flain for facrifice at their folemn feafts: fo this word 3m is ufed for a beaft offered for facrifice at a feftival, Pf. exviii..27. The fenfe is, that their facrifices and folemn feafts were fo far from being acceptable to God, that he would reject both them and their. perfons, perfons, and would:caft the very dung of the creatures brought for facrifice into. their faces, and fpread it over them::\a phrafe expreflive of the utmoft contempt of them, and of.expofing them to the greateft fhame and confufion for their fins. So the Targum, “* I will make manifeft the fhame “¢ of your fins upon your faces; and will caufe to ‘¢ ceafe the magnificence of your feafts.’ The Septuagint render it, the ventricle, or mew; which was given to the priefts, Deut. xviii. 3..and in which the dung was contained: and one fhall take you away with it; with the dung fpread upon them; they looking like an heap of dung, being covered with it, and had in no more account than that: or,.éo it '; that, is, as Farchi explains it, to the dung of the beafts of your facrifices, they fhall carry you; or you fhall be carried, to it, that ye may be rejected and defpifed as that. -Kimchi’s note is, ‘¢ the iniquity (you are guilty of) fhall carry © you to this, contempt; meafure for: meafure; ** you have defpifed me, and ye fhall be defpifed:” or with him, or to. himfelf*; meaning;he, or it that fhall take them away; either the wind or dung; or the enemy, as Aben Ezra. interprets it 5 by whom the Romans may be defigned,;who \took them away out of their own land, and.carried them captive. According to the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic verfions, this is to be underfteod of God, who render the words, J will take you together, or with it. vy. 4. And ye fhall know that I have. fent. this commandment unto you, &c.] | See the note on ¥. 1: that.my. covenant might.be with Levi, faith the. Lord of hofts; not that the ceremonial law might be _ confirmed and eftablifhed, on which the Leyvitical priefthood was founded; for it was the will of God that that fhould be abolifhed, becaufe of the weaknefs and unprofitablenefs of it; but that the covenant of grace made with Chrift, the antitype of Levi, with whom. the true Urim and Thummim are, Deut. xxxiii. 8. who has a more excellent miniftry and priefthood than. his, might take place, be made manifeft, and be exhibited under the gofpel-difpenfation; of which, and of the perfon with whom it is, an account is. given in the following verfes. ¥. 5.-My covenant was with. him of life and peace, 8ec.] Not with Aaron, nor with, Phinebas; nor is it to be underftood of a covenant, promifing temporal life and outward. profperity.to-,either, of them; Aeron living an hundred. andthirty-three years, Numb. xxxiii. 39. and Phinebas;,. according to fome.Fewsb writers, above three hundred years, which they gather from Fudg. xx, 28. but of the covenant made with Chrift from everlafting, called a covenant of lifes. becaufe it was made, with Chrift the word of life, who was with the.Father from all.éternity, and in-time was made-manifeft in the flefh and was made\in behalf of perfons ordained to eternal life,.and.in.. which that!,was.promifed and given to them in, him; and,in which it was agreed; that he fhould become man, and-lay down his life as fuch,.. that.they might enjoy.it: and it iscalled a covenant of peace, becaufe, the fcheme of peace and reconciliation was drawn in it, and agreed unto;, Chrift was appointed) in. it to, be the peacemaker; and in confequence of which. he was fent to procure peace, and he has made it-by the blood of his. crofs:-and this covenant may;be- faid to have been, and to be with him, becaufe) it was made with him from all eternity, as the head and

| in -the:difcharge of all religious,

reprefentative of his people, and: he shad all the bleffings and promifes of it puc into his hands, and it ftands faft with him, and-will do. fo for evermore. dud I gave them to him; namely, the bleifings of life and peace; eternal life is the. gift of God; and not only the promife of it, but that its felf was given to Chrift in covenant for his people; and a power to give it to as: many as the Father gave to him, P/ xxi. 4. 2 Zim. i. 1. 1 Fobmy. 12. Fobn xvi. 2. he gave him alfo peace to make, put this work of peace-making into his hand; and he allows it to be made by him, and that it is rightly effected; and from his blood and righteoufnefs peace fprings to his people; and they enjoy peace in him for the fear wherewith he feared me; becaule of his obedience to the precept and penalty of thelaw;. becaufe of his righteoufnefs, and: fufferings, and death, by means: of which lite and, peace came to his people, and, in which he fhewed great fear and reverence of God, Heb. v..7. the word for is not in the original text,, and. may be left out.ina verfion, or fupplied with zd; and ‘the ferife be, befides the, bleflings of life and peace; J alfo, gave him: the fear with which he tearedsmes which muft be underftood of the grace of fear beftowed on him as man: fo the Sep‘uagint verfion, Lgave unto kim in fear to fear me; and the Vulgate Latin ‘

verfion, and I gave him fear, and he feared me; and

the Arabic verfion, 1 gave bim fear, that he might fear.me: the Targum. is, ‘* I gave him the pertect

* doctrine of the law, or the doétrine: of the per- “* fect law (fee Fam, ic 25,) that he might fear ‘© before me.” nd he was afraid before my names when in the garden, and he began to. be heavy and fore amazed, Mark xiv..33. or he was broken and bruifed, as Kimchi interprets the! word -here ufed, becaufe of the name of the Lord, to fatisfy his juftice, fulfil, his law, and glorify.all his. perise don

¥. 6. The law of truth was in bis mouths &e.}

The gofpel, the word and doétrine of truth; which comes, from the God of truth; is concerning Chrift the truth; and men are guided:into itiby, thesSpis | rig of truth; it/contains moft glorious truths, and.

nothing but truth:: and this was: in the mouthof

Chrift, being put: thete by his Father; who gave. him what he fhould fay, and what he:thould {peaks and which,was preached by him in the moft:faith> ful manner, and fo.as it never was. by any other, for-which he was abundantly qualified:,. and ini+ quity, was not found in-his lips; there was’ none itt his nature; nor in his heart; norin his lifes; nor in his! lips; none could be found there’by men or devils; there was no. falfhood in his:doétrines;-no deceit in. his promifes 5:.no -diffimulation in his ex< preffions, of love to. men; _ nothingyvain, light, frothy; and unprofitable, dropped from» him jim common conyertation; no reviling in retutin. to! dhis enemies; nor any impatient expreffions»or. murmur ings at the time of his fafferings and peers Pet,

ii, 22, 23: he walked with me in peace and equity;

he walked with God,» he had..comimunion with | ablesto his will;.and\ walked.according tolsiah obedience to his» law,/smoral; crt and 7 uties >, he wal, with God in peace, without quarrelling with any copa waft wo7, agent wom 1 4 Ad fe, Pagninus, Montanus, Muntter, ey | ah oa