Exposition of the Whole Bible

in civil affairs, and to determine caufes relating to life and death; and none to inftru¢t them in religious matters, and deliver the mind and will of God to them; and before this time the Jews were under the Roman jurifdiétion, and had a Romen governor over them, and had not power to judge in capit cafes, in matters of life and death, as they faggett Fok. xviii. 31. and they fay *, that forty years” De fore the deftruction of the temple, this power was taken from them; and at the time that Yerufalem was befieged, and taken by the Romans, and before that, they had no prophets among them; for tho’ there were prophets in the chriftian churches, yet none among them; this fhows that this. prophecy cannot be underftood of the Babylonijh captivity, becaufe there were prophets then, as Yeremy, Ezekiel, and Daniel, but of Ferufalem’s deftruétion by the Romans: and the prudent and the antient, with whom are wifdom, and who are fit to give advice and counfel in matters of difficulty; but thefe would be removed by famine or fword. The firft of thefe words is ufed fometimes in an ill fenfe, for a diviner or foothfayer, Deut. xviii. 1o—14. T e Fewifh writers * interpret it of a king, according to’ Prov, xvi. 10..and it is certain they were without one at this time, and have been ever fince, Ho. iii. 4.

¥. 3. The captain of fifty, &c.] A femi-centurion, fuch an one as in 2 Kings i. g—11—13. So far fhould there be from being captains of thoufands, and of hundreds, that there fhould not be one of fifty: and the honourable man; by birth, breeding, and behaviour, thro’ riches and greatnefs; and one of power and authority among the people, and in their favour and efteem: and the counfellor; one able to give advice in matters of moment and difficulty, and in controverfy between man an man; it fuggefts that nothing fhould be done wi advice and counfel, with wifdom and difcretion, but all tumult and fedition, as the hiftory of thele times fhews: the Fews > interpret this of one that knows how to intercalate years, and fix the months; and the cunning artificer; in any kind of metal, gold filver, brafs, and iron, and in any fort of wood, and in any kind of manual and mechanical bufinefs; which would now be laid afide, fhops fhut up,. and all trade and bufinefs neglected and difcouraged, occafioned partly by the fiege without, ane chiefly by their inteftine divifions and robberies, anc by their zealots and cut-throats, which fwarmed among them, The Septuagint render it, the wife architeét, or mafter-builder; the fame word is uf by the apoftle in 1 Cor. iii. 10:, and the elogue orator; who has the tongue of the learned, a can {peak a word in feafon to the diftreffed, or wh is able to plead at the bar the caufe of the inp and oppreffed, the widow and the fatherlefs. Ezra interprets it of one that is fkilful_in inchanting ferpents; that charms wifely, as in P/- lviii. 5. i may be rendered, one that underftands inchantment * with the Septuagint it is a prudent bearer;. ad s th cafe of a nation when men of fo much | fe:

¥. 4. And will give children to be their princ S, &c.] Either in age, or in underftanding, whe really fo, or act like fuch; and in ei this is the cafe, it is an unhappinefs to a nation, Eccl. x. 16: and babes foall rule over them, which is the fame as before. ‘The Targum is, ** the weak fhall rule over them,” fuch who are weak in their intellectuals, or are of mean pufillanimous {pirits, effeminate, as the Vulgate Latin verfion ren- ers it; and fo as children are oppofed to the antient, that fhould be taken away, thefe are oppofed to men of might and courage, who would now be ‘wanting: or men of illy/ions, as in the margin; fuch as were fubtle as foxes, and fhould deceive them, and impofe upon them, and were audacious and impudent, and would mock at them, and defpife them. So Farchi and Abarbinel, and according to this fenfe of the word, the Sep/uagint, Syriac, and Arabic verfions render it, mockers fhall rule over

¥.5. And the people fhall be oppreffed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour, &c.] There being no governors, or fuch as were unfit for government, no decorum was kept and obferved, but a mere anarchy; and fo every one did as he pleafed, as when there was no king in J rael;

and every one rufhed into the houfe of his neighbour, and plundered his goods; this was the cafe of Ferufalem, at the time of the fiege, it abounding with robbers and fpoilers: the child fhall behave himfelf proudly againft the antient; thew no refpect to them, nor honour them, as the law requires in Lev, xix. 32. but behave infolently towards them; and fo the Fews fay 4, that when the fon of David is come, as he now would be, young men fhall make afhamed the faces of old men, and old men fhall ftand before young men: and the bafe againft the honourable, perfons of a mean birth and extract,. would rife up againft and infult fuch as were men of families and fortune, of noble birth and of high degree.

¥. 6. When a man fhall take hold of his brother, of the houfe of his father, &c.} One of the fame country, kindred, and family; for only one of their brethren, and not a ftranger, might rule over them, Deut. xvii. 15. this taking hold of him may defign not jo much a literal taking hold of his perfon, his hand or garment, much lefs ufing any forcible meafures with him;, tho’ indeed the Yews would have took Chrift by force, who was one of their brethren, and would have made him a temporal king, which he refufed, as this man did here fpoken of, Yobx vi, 15. but rather an importunate defire, and intreaty, urging him, as follows, faying, thou haft cloathing, be thou our ruler, that is, he had good and rich cloathing, fit for a ruler or civil magiftrate to appear in, which every one had not, and fome fcarce any in thofe troublefome times: and let this ruin be under thy band; that is, let thy care, concern, and bufinefs be to raife up the almoft ruined ftate of the city and nation; and let thy hand be under it, to fupport and maintain it. The Zarzum is, * and this power fhall be under thy hand;” thou fhalt have power and government over the nation, and the honour and greatnefs which belong unto it, and all fhall be fubjeét unto thee. The Septuagint renders it, let my food be under thee, or from thee, as the Aradic verfion.

¥.7. In that day fall he fwear, 8c.| Or lift up, that is, his hand *, which was a gefture ufed in fwearing, and therefore is fo rendered; the mean- ing is, that he fhall at once immediately give an anfwer, and for the folemn confirmation of it thal} annex an oath to it, faying, I will not be an healer, or a binder; that is, of wounds, of political wounds, made in the nation, and which were incurable. See J. i. 6. for the meaning is, that he neither was fit to be, nor could he be, a healer of the diftempered {tate of the nation, it was fo defperately bad. The Targum is, “* 1 am not fit to be an head or go- “* vernor;” and fo Kimchi explains it, of a governor, who, he fays, is fo called, becaufe he binds and imprifons thofe that tranfgrefs his commarids; and to this fenfe Yarchi and Abarbinel: for in my houfe is neither bread nor cloatbing; not a fufficiency of either to fupport fuch grandeur and dignity; not enough to keep a proper table, and a fuitable equipage: make me not a ruler of the people; this fhews that the ftate of the nation muft be very bad indeed, that men who are naturally ambitious of power and honour, fhould refufe government when offered to them.

¥.8. For Ferufalem is ruined, and Fudah is fallen, &c.] This is a reafon given why the government of them is refufed; they were fallen into fuch a ruinous condition, that there was no probability of recovering them. And the reafon of this their fall and ruin is, becaufe their tongue and their doings are againft the Lord; againft the Lord Jefus Chritt, whom they reproached and vilified as an impoftor, a blafphemer, and a feditious perfon; and whom they {pit upon, buffeted, fcourged, and crucified: to provoke the eyes of his glory, whofe glory, as feen by fome in the days of his humiliation, was as the glory of the only begotten of the Father; and upon his afcenfion, he was crowned with glory and honour: and as his eyes faw, as well as his ears heard, all their blafphemy and wickednefs; fo they refufing to have him to rei) over them, he was provoked to come in his kingdom with power, and. caufe his wrath to fall upon them to the uttermoft, in the deftruction of their country, city, and temple.

¥.9. The few of their countenance doth witnefs againft them, &c.| The word tranflated /hew, is only ufed in this place. Some derive it from 433, to know, in the conjugations Piel and Hiphil, and render it, the knowledge of their countenance‘, that is, that which may be known by their countenahces; the countenance oftentimes fhews what is in the heart, the cruel difpofition of the mind, the pride and vanity of it, the uncleannefs and lafcivioufnefs that is in it; to this our verfion agrees, and which is confirmed by the Chaldee paraphrafe, ‘‘ the know- “« ledge of their countenance in judgment doth “ teftify againft them;” as they appear there, fo it may be judged of them; their guilt flies in their face, and fills them with fhame and confufion; and fo the Septuagint and Arabic verfions render it, the /bame of their face, but others derive it from “43M, which has the fignification of hardnefs in the Arabic language, and as it is thought by fome to have in Hob xix. 3. and render it, the hardnefs of their countenance, {fo R. Fofeph Kimchi, and others *, meaning their impudence®; not only their words and aétions, but their impudent looks, fhew what they are; which agrees with what follows: and they declare their fin as Sodom, and bide it nol; Commit it openly, without fear or fhame;

glory in it, and boatt of it, as the Fews did in their crucifixion of Chrift, and their evil treatment of him: wa to their foul, for they bave rewarded evil unto themfelves; they have brought upon themfelves, foul and body, the juft recompence of reward, they have been the caufe of their own ruin, and have y. 10. Say ye to the righteous, that it thall be well with him, €%c.] The Lord always has fome righteous ones, in the worit of times, whom he can, and does diftinguifh, fingle out, and take care of; and it is his will that they fhould be comforted by his prophets and minifters, who feem to be the perfons to whom thefe words are directed, left they fhould be diftrefled with what is foid unto, and what they fee is coming upon, the world, or upon a nation in general: and it will be, and is well with fuch, when calamities are on a nation, in a time of famine, war or peftilence, under any affiction whatever, at death, and at judgment, and to all eternity; the Lord has the higheft regard for them; Chrift’s richteoufnefs, by which they are denoininated righteous, fecures them from wrath, and entitles them to glory; they are bleffed now, and will be happy hereafter. So the Targum, “‘ fay “¢ ye to the righteous, ye are bleffed,” pronounce them fuch as they are: fome render it,“/ay to the righteous, that be do good‘, exhort him, excite and encourage him to it; fuch who have believed in Chrift for righteoufnefs, ought to be careful to maintain good works: others, fay to the righteous, own him, fpeak well of him, for it is good; or fay to him, that be is good*, a happy man. The Sepiuagint and Arabic verfions, very foreign from the text, and fenfe of it, render the words, aying, let us bind the juft man, for be ts unprofitable to us; as if they were the words of the wicked Fews, refpecting Chrift, the juft one, fo called farcaftically by them; and the reafon of the righteous man’s happinefs follows: for they fall eat the fruit of their doings; both of what Chrift has done for them, as their head and reprefentative, by whofe righteoufnefs they are jultified, and of what they have done themfelves, under the influence of his fpirit and grace; which being done from a principle of grace, are rewarded with a reward of grace, and not of debt; fuch enjoy a confcience-peace now, which is the work and effect of righteoufnefs, and fhall receive the reward of the inheritance, which is not of the law, but by promife, and of faith, and fo by grace.

y¥. 11. Wo unto the wicked, it fhall be ii] with him, €c.] In time, and to eternity, in times of public calamity, and under all afflictions, and adverfe difpenfations of providence; he has no God to go to; all that befalls him is in wrath; at death he is driven away in his. wickednefs; at judgment he’ll_ be bid to depart, as curfed, and his portion will be-in the lake of fire, with, devils and damned {pirits for ever. Some 'render it, wo to the wicked, evil; or who is evil, who is exceedingly bad, a very great-finner, the chief of finners, fuch as the Sodomites were, finners before the Lord exceedingly, Gen, xiii. £3, to whom thefe men are’ compared, ¥.9. So the Targum, ‘wo to the ungodly, whofe “* works are evil:” the Jews, as they diftinguifh between a good man, and a righteous man, fo be-

‘pared ta a Vineyatd, in a following nie fay they", a righteous good man, and a righteous’ man that is not good; but he that is good toGod, ~ and good to men, he is a righteous good man; ‘he’ that is good to God, and not good to men,: he is a righteous man, that is not good; and there are a wicked evil man, and a wicked man that is not evil; he that is evil to God, and evil to men, he is a wicked evil man; he that is evil to God, and not evil to men, he is a wicked man that is not evil. See Rom.v. 7, 8. for the reward of his bands foall be given him, in righteous judgment, in ftrié juftice, as a juft recompence of reward; nor fhall » he have reafon to complain of unrighteoufnefs in’ God. ¥waG y. 12. As for my people, children are their op-” preffors, &cc.] Or rulers; for w3, in the Ethiopic’ language, fignifies a king: or exaéfors, asin Jf Ix. 17. princes are fo called, becaufe they exaét tri+’ bute of their fubjects, and fometimes in a tyran= nical and oppreffive manner, and fo get the name™ of oppreffors. The fenfe is the fame with W 4: The words may be rendered, as for my people, every one of their governors is a child", not in age, * but in underftanding: and women rule over them, or~ over him®; either over the people of I/rael, as Alexandra before Hyrcanus, and Helena queen of the Adia-~ benes; or over the child their governor, as women had great*influence over their hufbands, the gover-" nors of Fudea, in thofe times, as Herodias, Bernice, and Drufilla; or it may be underftood of men, weak, effeminate, and given to pleafure: O my people, they which lead thee, as the former may defign their political governors, this their ecclefiaftic rulers, who were to direct and lead them in’ the paths of religion and truth. Some render the” words, who praife thee, as the Targum; or blefs you, or call you blefed, as the Septuagint and Arabic verfions, tho’ guilty of the moft flagitious crimes: caufe thee to err, or wander from the way of God’s commandments, and deftroy the way of thé paths, by turning them out of the right way; by enjoining them the traditions of the elders; by taking away the key of knowledge from them, and” not fuffering them to go into the kingdom of heaven, or attend the miniftry of the gofpel and or- °) dinances; as did the Scribes and Phari/eés, who © were blind leaders of the blind. Filia tbs ¥.13. The Lord flandeth up to plead, 8c.] His own caufe, or the caufe of his fon againft the Jews that rejected him, and the Scrides and Pharifees that®-* led them to an ill opinion of him; and flandeth to judge the people. Both expreflions thew indignation”

and refentment; he rifes up out of his place, and ©» ftands up in defence of his caufé, and avenges him=) © felf on a wicked and ungrateful people: it feems i>" to have reference to the judgments of God on thes ~ people of the Fews, the tribes of J/rael, “o MA aks ¥.14. The Lord will enter into judzment withthe antients of his people, and the princes thereof, Bees ©

Both civil and ecclefiaftical, the princes}: chief + ~ priefts, and elders of the people, who ee felves, and took counfel together againft the L K and his Chrift; would not fuffer the’ ple to be «* gathered to him; fought his life, ind a Taft t t! it away. For ye have eaten up the vineyards or * burnt it’; the houfe of //7ael, and of Judgh, com.

thefe.are the hufbandmen our Lord fpeaks of, that beat the fervants that were fent for the fruits of the vineyard, and at laft killed the heir, Mott. xxi. 34—41. Lhe fpotl of the poor is in your houfes, the Pharifees devoured widows -houfes, and filled their own with the fpoil of them, Matt. xxiii. 14. ¥.15. What mean ye, that ye beat my people to pieces, &c.] Reduce them to the utmoft poverty; fo the Targum, “* wherefore do ye impoverifh my “< people?” as they did by exacting tithes of all that they pofiefled, by requiring large fums for | their long prayers; and by various traditions, they enjoined them to obferve: and grind the faces of the poor; either by {miting them on the cheek, as Chrift, who became poor for our fakes, was {mitten by them; or by bringing them into fuch low circumftances, by their exorbitant demands, that they had not fufficiency of food to eat; by which means their faces became pale, thin, and meager. Suaith the Lord Ged of Hofts? who faw all their actions, and was able to plead his peoples caufe, and take vengeance on their opprefiors.

¥. 16. Moreover the Lord faith, becaufe the daughters of Zion are haughty, &c.} The wives or daughters of the rulers, princes, or elders; thefe were high, affected to look high and tall, and therefore ftretched out their neeks, and walked on tip-toes; or were lifted up with pride, which is the root and fource of all the vanity exprefied in their gefture and ornaments. nd walk with firetched-forth necks or throats, looking high, and above others, and upon them with contempt and difdain; this is a fign of pride: See P/.Ixxv.5: and wanton eyes; either winking with their eyes to others to follow them to their houfes, as Kimchi interprets it; fo Farchi thinks it is expreffive of their looks, as we, of wanton looks; and the Septuagint render it, with winking of eyes fo the Syriac and Arabic verfions, or painting their eyes; {0 the Targum, “ they walk with their eyes “© painted,” as Zezabel painted her face, 2 Kings ix. 30. Sée Fer. iv. 30. MYIp'D, in the Talmudic language, is ufed ‘ for vermilion, or red-lead, with which they painted their eyes, as they did alfo with mew § black-lead. Walking and mincing as they £0; jumping and dancing as children in the ftreets 5 or ufing the like gefture as thofe who beat upon’a drum; or walking in even paces, in a foft and delicate manner; all -which fenfes Kimchi * obferves in the word. The whole is rendered by the Septuagint, and in the walk of their feet, or as they walk together, drawing their coats upon the ground after them, which makes a noife. The Targum is,’ with hair rolled up, bound up and plaited. 4zd making a tinkling with their feet; having a fort of bells hanging’ on them, as Kimchi thinks, which made a noife as they went. Of the word here ufed, and the fenfe of it, fee more on ¥. 18. The Targum renders it, provoking with their feet, either the luft of men; or the anger of the Lord, as the Syriac verfion; the Septuagint and Arabic verfions, playing with the feet..

y¥. 17. Therefore the Lord will {mite with a fcab, the crown of the bead of the daughters of Zion, &c.

This is oppofed to the lifting up of their heads in that haughty manner they did, and to the binding, _ and plaiting, and curling of their hair, which now will fall off, thro’ the fcab or leprofy upon them, or muft’be obliged to be fhaven off. And the Lord will difeover their -fecret parts; the Vulgate Latin renders it, their bair, which is their glory, 1 Cor: xi. 6. The Zergum is, and the Lord fhall take away their glory.. Che Syriac and Arabic verfions render it their fex, that which’ diftinguifhes their féxy of which dben Ezra and Kimchi interpret ‘it; ‘than which nothing could be more diftreffing: and into: erable, being worfe than baldnefs of the head, and yet common with captives; and the Septuagint render it their habit: the meaning is, they fhall be firipped of their fine apparel, and be clothed in rags, fo that their nakednef§ fhall be feen: An enumeration of the feveral particulars follows,

¥. 18. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about the feet, &e.

With which they made a tinkling as they'went, y. 16. it being about the fhoe, and made a noife; ‘or feeing the word ufed fienifies focks, and is fo rendered, Pro. vii. 22. it may defign fome fort of attire about the feet, as golden chains, as the Ta/- mudifts fay *, which being faftened to both, direéted their motion in walking, and prevented them taking too large fteps: or rather thefe may intend fome ornaments of the feet, ufed by the eaftern nations; which, according to Golius, as related by De Dieu on the place, were plates of gold, one or two fingers broad, and fometimes four, which were put about the ankles of infants of rich families; not to make a tinkling, nor to direét their walk, but for ornament, and to diftinguifh them from the meaner fort. The Yargum renders it, the ornament of the fooes, thefe were put about the place where the thoes were tied; and in the Za/mud * the word is explained by. p37 1p, /boes; which the Glofs interprets of wooden fhoes: the. Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic -verfions, are the ornament of their cloathing; as if this was the general name for the particulars that follow: and. their cauls, -the attire of the head, of net-work: the word is ufed in the Mifna™, for the ornament of cauls; which was, as one of their commentators * fays, a picture made upon the caul for omament; it was placed upon the fore-head, and reached from ear to ear; and it was made by itfelf; fo that it might be removed, and put upon another caul. Under thefe cauls they plaited their hair; hence the Sep/uagint render the word the plaiting and the curls’; and to the fame purpofe the Syriae and Arabic verfions. | And their round tires like the moon; thefe were not tires for the head, as our'verfion fuggefts;\ much leis were they clafps, buckles, or ftrings for the fhoes, in the form of a half-moon; fuch as were the /unule which the Roman fenators had on their feet, to diftinguifh them from the common people; and were ufed by Evander and the Arcadians, to fhew that they fprung from the moon; which cuftom the noblemen of Rome followed; and fome fay ¥ they put them under their feet, fee Rev. xii. 1. but thefe were ornaments wore about the necks, fuch as thofé which were found upon the necks of the kings of Midian, and even upon the necks of their camels, Fudg. viil. 27, 26. where the fame word is ufed as here; they were no other than bracelets, necklaces, or golden chains, in the form of the moon; and the wordiis in the Talmud * rendered F>p3 iy, chains. See Bynus de Calceis Heb. |. t. ¢. 9. ' y¥. 19. Lhe chains, &c.] According to Kimchi and R. Levi ben Gerfon on Fudg. viii. 26. thefe were drop-bottles, or vefiels of gold, in which were put ftacte or balfam; and the former fays here, they were fuch, in which balfam was put, and women hung about their necks; tho’ he obferves, fome interpret them of chains, which were made of {mall ftones of Bdellium, hence pure Bdellium is called in the Arabic tongue NIN; and fo Farchi renders the word chains; and they are called by this name,

¥. 22. The changeable fuits of apparel, 8c.| To put on and off upon occafion; Kimchi fays, the were beautiful garments, and fo they ftand op to filthy ones, Zech, iii. 3, 4. fee Fudg. xiv. 12, 1g. and the mantles; or cloaks, as the Targum, Farchi tranflates the word by Jed-cloaths, or coverings for the bed, fuch as tapeftry, rugs, quilts, @c. which were worked with purple; hence the Septua- becaufe they hang about the neck, and drop upon gint makes ufe of words to exprefs it by, of fuch a the breaft, and are in the form of precious ftones, bored and ftrung: and the bracelets; hand-bracelets, according to the Targum, fuch as Abraham’s fervant gave to Rebekah, Gen. xxiv. 22: and the muffiers; thefe were veils which covered the whole face, excepting the eyes, the fame that we call majks: it is faid? of the Arabian women, that they went out moydoy4; that is, as Bartenora explains it, they were veiled about the head, fo that the whole face was covered, excepting their eyes; tho’ Maimonides interprets them of little bells, which the Arabian women went out with; the Targum here explains the word by womens veils; tho’ fome think only the /pangles which were on them are meant, fo called from their trembling and fhaking miotion. ¥. 20. The bonnets, &c.| ‘This word is ufed fometimes for the tire of the heads of men, Ezek. Xxiv. 17, 23. and even for the bonnets of the priefts, Exod. xxxix. 28. Ezek. xliv. 18. the Zargum renders the word crowns; the Fewifh women wore golden crowns on their heads, in the form of the city of Ferufalem, with which they might not o out on a fabbath-day>: and the ornaments of the egs; and fo the Targum, ‘* the chains or bracelets ** of the feet;” with which Farchi and Kimchi agree; but the word is ufed for a bracelet on the arm in 2 Sam. i. 10. and Aven Ezra fo interprets it here: and the head-bands; the word is rendered altire in Fer. ll. 32. according to Farchi, they were fhort binders with which the hair was bound. up, and fome of them were wrought with gold; but with Aben Ezra they were binders about the neck or throat: and the tablets; in the Hebrew text, the houjes of the foul‘, and were, as Aben Ezra, Farchi, and Kimchi think, ornaments which women hung between their breafts on the heart, or over-againft it; they feem rather to be fmelling-bottles, as the

Vulgate Latin verfion renders the words, which they particularly new married women:

fignification: and the wimples, according to Farchiy thefe were ¢owe/s or linnen clothes, with which they wiped their hands; but according to Kimchi, they were veils with which women covered themfelyes 5 and fo the word is rendered in Raéh iii. 15. and elfewhere ¢ he obferves, that fome interpret it of gloves; fome think aprons are meant: our Engljh word wimples, comes from the Dutch word wimpel, a muffler, or plaited linnen cloth, which nuns wear to cover their necks and breafts; the word is alfo ufed for a ftreamer or flag: and the crifping pins; with which they ufed to part their hair, and curl their locks, and keep them fo: according to Kimchi, they were purfes; and fuch made of filk, and wrought with gold and filver, may very well be reckoned among the ornaments of women; and the word is rendered bags in 2 Kings v. 23. fome think needle-cafes are meant; the word by which the Yargum explains it, feems to defign hooks or claps, with which women clafped their garments, that they might be kept clofe about them.

¥. 23. The glaffes, &c.} Looking-glafies, by, which they dreffed themfelves, fee Exod. xxxviii. 8, and fo Kimchi explains the word; but elfewhere = he fays it fignifies thin garments, fo called, becaufe the flefh is feen thro’ them, being fo exceeding thin; which fenfe is favoured by the Septuagint verfion, — which renders it by ra daha Aoxwine, garments which the Lacedemonians wore, which were fo thin and tranfparent, that the naked body might be feen thro’ them: and the fine linnen; of which feveral of their garments and ornaments were made, and particularly their veils, with which they veiled themfelves, as Farchi obferves: end the hoods, the word. is ufed for a diadem and mitre, J/- Ixii. 3. Zech. iii. 5. the Targum renders it crowns; and iuch the, Fewifo women wore, fee the note on ¥. 20, and’ and the veils;

carried in their bofoms to refrefh the fpirits, and fo the word is rendered in Cant. v. 7. with which:

fetch back the foul or breath when fainting and almoft gone; the Targum renders it ear-rings, by which we render the following: and the ear-rings; fo Farchi and Kimchi, who fuggeft they are fo called, becaufe the ear is the place where whifpering and muttering is ufed, which this word has the fignification of; but, according to Aben Ezra, they were writings written in gold and filver, by way of the woman is covered.with;

inchantment or charm; and the Arabic verfion renders the word, boxes of amulets or charms 5 the word fignifies inchantments, fee Pf. \viii. 5.

Jweet fell, there focll be a ftink, &c.] Inftead

¥.21. The rings, &c.] On their finger, as Aben| Ezra obferves: and nofe-jewels, the fame with the pice, or in the place where they put; mufk, or had their fmelling-bottles,.

women covered their heads, either thro’ modefty,. or as.a token of fubjection to their hufbands, fee, Gen. xxiv. 65. 1 Cor. xi. 5—10. but according to the Targum and Kimebi, thefe were thin garments. which womeh wore in; {ummer-time; archi fays. they are the fame which the French call Fermelan,. and are of gold, which. they put about. the, cloak; erhaps they were a.

fort of umbrellas, to keep off me ee Bb) ¥. 24. And it foall come to pafs, “that inflead of of jewels on the fore-head or nofe, Ezek, xvi, 12. not that they hung upon the nofe, but were faftened upon the fore-head, and hung down to the nofe, feeGen. xxiv. 22. and the margin there; an allufion and aromatic ointment, balfam, and myrrh, and | fuch like things *, namely, in their bofoms, th fhould be a nk ot putrefaction, cers and difeafes of the body, Zech. xiv.

to this is in Pro. xi. 22. tho’ Aufin fays, it was a cuftom of the women of Mauritania, to put jewels in their nofe; and which is ftill kept in Perfa, Ara- Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic verfions, rend duff: or this may refer to the an hair with ointment of myrrh gia, and other countries, as travellers affirm.

which gave an agreeable fcent; but in there would be a fcab, giving an ill f{cent; y. 17. and infead of a girdle, arent; fuch as is made in times of mourning and diftrefs, or by the enemy. The Septuagint and Arabic verfions render it, a repe, inftead of fine curious girdles, wrought with gold and filver, they fhould have nothing but a rope about their loins. The Targum is, “* in the ‘* place where they bind the girdles, fhall be marks “< of {miting;” ftripes, cuts, fee J/. x. 34. as either by blows from the enemy, by whom they fhould be taken, or by the hand of God, being {mitten with fores and ulcers, fo that they fhould not be able to bear girdles upon them; or Aoles, in their cloaths or fkin: and inflead of well fet hair, baldnefs; inftead of plaited hair, and’curled locks, kept in order, there would be fcabs, ulcers, leprofy, or fuch difeafes, as would caufe the hair to fall off, and leave a baldnefs. ©The Septuagint and Arabic verfions render it, inffead of the golden ornament of the head, thou fhalt have baldne/s for thy works; and the Syriac verfion, inftead of gems, incifions: and inftead of a ftomacher, a girding of fackcloth; the word for a fiomacher, is only ufed in this place; according to Kimchi, it fignifies a very broad girdle; but “den Ezra fays it was a thin garment embroidered, which was put over all the reft of the cloaths; perhaps fomething like a mantelet. ‘The Septuagint verfion renders it, inftead of the garment worked with purple; and fo the Syriac verfion, infread of their hyacinths, or purples; and the Aradic verfion, infread of thy filken garment, thou fbalt be girt with fackcloth; which was ufually done in times of diftrefs and mourning: and burning inftead of beauty, either thro’ the fcorching beams of the fun, being ftripped of their hoods and veils; or rather this is to be underftood of carbuncles, and fuch fike hot burning ulcers in their faces, which once were beautiful, and they prided themfelves in; tho’ the Hebrew word ‘5, feems rather to be a prepofition, than a noun; fo Farchi, whofe note is, - ** for this is fit to be unto them inftead of beauty, ¢¢ with which they have prided themfelves,” or have lifted up themfelves; and fo in his glofs upon the Talmud *, where this claufe, with the context, is cited and paraphrafed, “for all thefe things hall

“* come unto thee inftead of thy beatity;* and this claufe may be read in connexion with the following, Jecauje of beauty, or inftead of beauty, thy men foall fall, 8c. ‘and fo the Zargum, ** this ven- ** geance fhall be taken on them, becaufe they have “* committed fornication in their beauty; thy beau- **'tiful men fhall be killed by the fword.” The Syriac verfion is, becaufe their beauty hall be corrupted; and thofé verfions which feem to have left out this claufe, yet retain fomething of it in the beginning of the next verfe. ‘The Vulgate Latin verfion is, “thy moft beautiful men alfo foall fall by the fword. The Septuagint and Arabic verfions begin it thus, and thy beautiful fon, whom thou loveft, Jeall fall by the fword.

¥.25. Thy men fhall fall by the fword, &c.] OF the Romans; which would be a punifhment to the women for their pride and luxury, being deprived thereby of their hufbands: aid thy ‘mighty in the war; of Vefpafian and Titus, and which the Fews * call DINDDDN Sw oibdiD the war of Velpafian: in which great multitudes of men, even of mighty men, were flain.

¥. 26. And ber gates fall lament and mourn, &c.] Thefe being utterly deftroyed; or there being none to pafs thro’ them, meaning the gates of the city of Ferufalem: and foe being defolate; clear of inhabitants, quite emptied, and exhaufted of men; being laid even with the ground, and her children within her, Luke xix. 44. /hall fit upon the ground; being levelled with it, and not one ftone caft upon another; alluding to the pofture of mourners, Fob ii. 13. Lam.i. 1, and ii. 9, 10. Our countryman, Mr. Gregory *, thinks that the device of the coin of the emperor Ve/pafian, in the teverfe of it, upon taking adea, which was a woman fitting’ on the ground, leaning back, to a palm-tree, with this infcription, Fudea Capta, was contrived out of this prophecy; and that he was helped to it by Fofephus, the Few, then in-his court. ‘The whole prophecy had its accomplifhment, not in the Badylonifb captivity, as Farchi fuggefts, much lefS in the times of Abaz, as Kimchi and Abarbinel fuppote, but in the times of Feru/falem’s deftruction by the Romaus.

HE fir verfe of this chapter feems more properly to belong to the preceding chapter, which declares fuch a {carcity of men, thro’ the deftruétion of them in war, there predicted, that there fhould be feven women to one man; who, contrary to their natural modefty, would make fuit to him; and contrary to cuftom, propofe to provide their own food and raiment, only defiring to be called by his name. After which, y. 2. follows a prophecy of Chrift, who is defcribed by his names, the branch of the Lord, and the fruit of the earth; and by proper epithets of him, as fuch, beautiful, glorious, excellent and comely; and by the perfons to whom he is fo, the efcaped of L rael, to whom various bleffings are promifed; as the fanGtification of them, the fource of which is their eleétion, and the means of it the fpirit of judgment and burning, ¥. 3. 4. and the protection and prefervation of them, by the Lord’s creating, as for Hrael of old, a cloud of fmoke to reft upon them by day, and a fhining of flaming fire by night, y. 1. And in that day, feven women fhall take bold of one man, &c.] Not in the days of d4baz, when Pekab, fon of Remaliah, flew in Fadab an hundred and twenty thoufand men in one day, 2 Chron. xxviii. 6. as Kimchi thinks; for tho’ there was then fuch a deftruction of men, yet at the fame time, two hundred thoufand women, with fons and daughters, were carried captive by the J/raelites, y. 8. but in the days of Ve/pafian and Titus, and in the time of their wars with the ews; in which were made fuch flaughters of men, that there were not énow left for every woman to have an hufband; and therefore feven, or a great many, fue to one man to marry them, contrary to their natural bafhfule nefs. It is a tradition of the Jews, mentioned both by Farchi and Kimchi, that Nebuchadnezzar ordered his army, that none of them fhould marry another man’s wife; wherefore every woman fought to get a hufband; but the time of this prophecy does not agree with it: /aying, we will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; which ufed to be provided for wives by their hufbands, and that according to law, Exed. xxi. 10. but rather than be without an hufband, they promife, in order to engage him to marry them, to provide food and raiment for themfelves, by their own labour. The Arabic verfion adds, “‘ neither in any thing will << we be troublefome:” only let us be called by thy name; \et us be married to thee, let us become thy wives; for upon marriage the woman was called by her hufband’s name: to take away our reproach, of being unmarried, and having no offspring: or it may be rendered in the imperative, fake away our reproach'; fo the Targum, Septuagint, and Oriental verfions. The words may be accommodated in a fpiritual fenfe to fome profeffors of religion, who lay hold on Chrift in a profeffional way, but fpend their money for that which, is not bread, and live upon their own duties and fervices, and not on Chrift, and wear their own rags of righteoufnefs, and not his robe; only they defire to be called by the name of chriftians, to take away the reproach of being reckoned pagans or infidels.

¥.2. In that day fhall the branch of the Lord be

beautiful and glorious, &c.] When the beauty of the Fewi/h women fhall be taken away, and their men fhall be flain; by whom is meant, not the righteous and wife men left among the Yews, as Farchi, and Aben Ezra; nor Hezekiah; which is the fenfe of fome, as the latter obferves: but the Meffiah, as Kimchi, and fo the Targum, which paraphrafes the words thus, ‘* at that time fhall the “¢ Meffiah of the Lord be for joy and glory;” and the Septuagint underftand it of a divine perfon appearing on earth, rendering the words, for in that day God fhall fhine in counfel with glory upon the earth; and fo the Arabic verfion. Chrift is called the branch, not as God, but as man, not as a fon, but as a fervant, as mediator; and it chiefly regards his defcent from David, and when his family was very mean and low; and a branch, being but a tender thing, it denotes Chrift’s ftate of humiliation on earth, when he grew up as a tender plant before the Lord, and was contemptible in the eyes of men: and he is called the branch of the Lord, becaufe of his raifing up, and bringing forth. See Zech. iii. 8. and vi. 12. Fer. xxiii. 5. Jf, xi. 1. and yet this branch became deautiful, being laden with the fruits of divine grace, fuch as righteoufnefs, reconciliation, peace, pardon, adoption, fanctification, and eternal life; as well as having all his people, as branches growing on him, and receiving their life and fruitfulnefs from him: and glorious, being the branch made ftrong to do the work of the Lord, by his obedience and death; and efpecially he became glorious, when raifed from the dead, when he afcended up to heaven, and was exalted there at the right hand of God; and when his Gofpel was fpread, and his kingdom increafed in the Gentile world, as it did, both before and after the deftruction of Ferufalem, the time here referred to; and which will be in a more glorious condition in the laft days; and now he is glorious in the eyes of all that believe in him, and is glorified by them; and when he comes a fecond time, he will appear in his own and his father’s glory, and in the glory of the holy angels, ud the fruit of the earth Shall be excellent and comely; not the chil- dren of the righteous, as Farchi; nor MN k TAY the doers of the law, as the Targum. See Rom. ii. 13. © but the Meffiah, as before, as Kimchi well obferves; called the fruit of the earth, to thew that he is not a dry and withered, but a fruitful branch, and which fhould fill the earth with fruit; and becaufe he fprung from the earth as man, and was the fruit. of a woman, that was of the earth, earthly, < fo this, as the former, denotes the meannefs of Chrift in human nature, whilft here on earth; and. yet he became as thefe words foretold he fhould, excellent: he appeared to be excellent in his perfon as the fon of God, and to have a more excellent — name and nature than the angels, and fairer than the fons of men; to be excellent as the cedars, and more excellent than the mountains of prey; to have obtained a more excellent miniftry than daron and his fons; to be excellent in all his offices of prophet, prieft, and king; ‘and particularly in the fruits. and bleffings of grace, which grew upon him, and came from him, See Deut. xxxiil. 13-16: and comely, in his perfon, as God and man, in: perfections of his divine nature, and in the fullnef of his grace; and fo are his people, as confidered in him, who are made perfectly comely, thro’ the comelinefs he puts upon them: and fo he is for them that are efcaped of Ifrael; not beautiful and glorious, excellent and comely, in the view of all men, only them that believe, who. have feen his glory, and have tafted that he is gracious; thefe are the remnant according to the election of grace, the -preferved of J/rael, the chofen of God, and precious, who were faved from that untoward generation, the Fews, and efcaped the deftruction of Ferufalem, and were faved in the Lord with an everlafting falvation. 4 ¥. 3. And it fhall come to pafs, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Ferufalem,, &cc.| Thefe are the perfons to whom Chrift appears beautiful and glorious, excellent and comely, who will be left, and remain in Zion and Ferufalem, by which is meant the gofpel-church, or church as in the latter day; in which thefe fhall continue, abide by the truths and doétrines of the gofpel,; and the ordinances thereof, and perfevere unto the end; even when Chrift fhall take his fan in his hand, and purge his floor of the chaff; when the filth of the daughter of Zion fhall be wafhed away by the {pirit of judgment and burning, as in the following verfe;~when it fhall be a fhocking and fhaking time in the churches, and the hour of temptation fhall come, that fhall try thofe that dwell upon, earth; thefe fhall be pillars in the temple of God, that fhall never go out. The doétrine of the faints final perfeverance is held forth in thefe words, as their fanétification and election are in the following claufes, which fecure it to them: they /hall be e holy; in the original text it is added, unto him; ei- - ther the perfon left, it thall be faid to him, that he is holy; or rather the branch; and Kimchi interprets it, becaufe of him; for thefe are accounted holy, th imputation of the holinefs of Chrift unto them; they are really and inherently holy, thro’ the gra Chrift implanted in them, they are called to to be faints, and they are called with an holy and unto holinefs; and in effectual vocation ciples of grace and holinefs per nh and which appear in their lives and The principal m.

eaning feems to be, that thofe wl 0 fhall hold faft their profeffion, and hold out, and perfevere thro’ the trying difpenfation in the day, they fhall be remarkably holy; they fhall fhine in the beauties of holinefs; holinefs fhall be upon their horfes bells, and they themfelves hall be holinefS unto the Lord, Zech. xiv. 20, 21. Tf, xxxv. 8. and Ix. 21. Yoel iii. 17. even every | one that is written among the living in Ferufalem; or every one that is written unto life™, that is, unto eternal life, as the Zergum paraphrafes the words; and it is the fame with being ordained unto eternal lite, As xiii. 48. or predeftination unto life, which is a writing of the names of God’s elect in the book of lite: this writing is God’s writing, it is his act and deed, the aét of God the Father, and an eternal one, flowing from his fovereign will and pleafure, and is fure, certain, and intruftrable; what is written is written, and can never be altered; and election being fignified by writing names in a book, fhews it to be particular and perfonal, not of nations, churches, and bodies of men, but of particular perfons; and that it is irrefpective of faith, holinefs, and good works, and entirely unconditional; it is of naked perfons, and not as fo and {o qualified; and that it is diftinguifhing of fome, and not others, whom God has an exact knowledge of, and calls by name: and this writing is unio life, or dives, as in the original text; not to a temporal life, but to a fpiritual and eternal one; in coniequence of which, fuch become living, holy, and perievering chriftians in Feru/alem, in the church of God, and fhall be admitted into the new Ferufalem, and none elfe, Rev. xxi..27. and fo Farchi interprets it, every one that is written to the life of the world to come, or to eternal life, fhall be in Ferufalem;, and the Targum adds, “ and he fhall * fee the confolation of Ferufalem;” from hence it appears, that election is the fource and {pring of holinefs, and the fecurity of the faints final perfeverance, Rom. viii. 30. and is not a licentious doctrine, but a doctrine according to godlinefs; holinefs is a fruit and evidence of it; whoever are written or ordained to life, become holy; and thefe being brought to Zion, remain there, and perfevere unto the end. ¥.4. When” the Lord fhall have wafbed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, &c.] By Zion is meant the church of Chrift in general, his myftical body, the general affembly and church of the firit born, written in heaven, Hed. xii. 22. and by her daughters, particular churches, that go by the name of chriftian churches, who are called the reformed churches, being fuch as are feparated from the church of Rome; among whom there is a great deal of filth, and which will be removed in the latter times of the gofpel difpenfation; by which are defigned, all falfe doctrines, fuch as are contrary to the deity and fon-fhip of Chrift, and the perfonality of the holy Spirit; which derogate from the grace of God in election, juftification, pardon, and falvation; which detraét from the blood of Chrift, and deny his imputed righteoufnefs and fatisfaftion; and which exalt the power and free-will of man, and tend to impurity and licentioufnefs; thefe will all be removed, and the true doctrine, which fecures the glory of each divine perfon, afferts the free grace of God, falvation by Chrift,. the operations of the fpirit, and influences and ento holinefs of life, will take place. This filth likewife includes all falfe worfhip; all- ordibg fo;

a = 45 quicunque fuerit feriptus ad vitam, Pifcator. Omnis fcriptus ad vitarn, Cocceius, Be AO 28 aida in Hie, Concha. Park

Sor the Lord fiall wvafh away 5 {o nances and inftitutions of men; all corruptions in the ordinances of Chrift, baptifm, and the Lord’s fupper; all forms and modes of worfhip that are not of God; all offices and officers, except bifhops and deacons, which are of the man of fin; and all immorality and prophanenefs; and all wicked men, even all that offend and do iniquity, fhall be taken out of Chrift’s kingdom and churches; there will be a thorough clearing of his floor of all filth, dirt, and chaff. And jhall have purged the blood of Ferufalem from the midft thereof, that is, of the daughters. of Yerufalem, particular churches, of which the Ferujalem above is the mother; for this is not to. be underftood literally of the city of Ferufalem, nor of the blood of Chrift, and his {ervants, fhed in it, purged away by the burning of it by the Romans; but of the bloodfhed and perfecution in proteftant churches; for a {pirit of perfecution has prevailed in fome of them, but this fhall be no more feen in the latter day; Chrift’s kingdom will be a peaceable kingdom, and of the peace of it there will be no end; as there will be no war in a civil fenfe, fo neither in a religious fenfe; all animofities, difputes, and contentions will ceafe. See Jf. ix. 7. and xi, 6, 7,8—13. and much lefs will there be any effufion of blood on account of religion, nor any that fhed it; as the Targum paraphrafes the words, ‘‘-and they that fhed in- *¢ nocent blood in Feru/falem, fhall be removed out “© of it:” it is added, dy the fpirit of jucgment, and by the fpirit of burning, the Targum is, ** by the “* word of judgment, and by the word of confiim- *¢ mation or perfection,” by the former is meant, a judicious fpirit, which the Lord will give to his churches and minifters; a fett of minifters will be raifed up, having the everlafting gofpel, which they fhall freely, fully, and openly preach unto all men; by which means, the churches will be cleared of all falfe doétrines; clear and diftiné light will be given to all the preachers of the word; the watchmen fhall fee eye to eye; and all Zion’s children be taught of God, and this fhall be univerfal all the world over; there will be a difcerning of fpirits of men and doétrines, whether of God, or no; by which good doétrines will be diftinguithed from bad ones, and good men from the wicked; and this will be part of the judgment which will be given to the faints of the moft high, and will proceed from the {pirit of God; who will be poured out in a plenteous manner to guide the churches into all truth, as it is in Jefus: and by the latter, the fpirit of burning, is meant a burning Se zeal; a zeal according to knowledge, againft a falfe doétrine and worfhip, and for the pure doctrine and worfhip of Chrift,; which will appear in chriftian minifters and churches, and alfo in chri- {tian magiftrates, who will hate the whore, and burn her flefh with fire; and who will be ftirred up by the preachers of the gofpel, to pour out the plagues on the anti-chriftian ftates, Rev. xv. 6, 7. and xvii. 16. and when the fire of God’s word will burn up all the wood, hay, and ftubble, which the day will declare; and then will be the trying, winnowing time, and thofe that are left will be holy unto the Lord.

_¥. 5. And the Lord will create on every dwelling place of mount Zion, 8&c.]} That is, on every particular church of Chrift in gofpel-times, and efpecially Or, p. 88. N°. 428. which gives a reafon, why he that is left in

“Lion, &c. foall be called holy; becaule the Lord, &c. fo the Septuagint verfion, ers «xmaws; and Aben Ezra objerves, that » 5 ‘; - cially in the latter day; which are the dwelling places of Father, Son, and Spirit, and of believers in Chrift. ‘The word ® ufed fignifies, a place well fitted up, and prepared, and eftablifhed, and fettled; and fuch will be the chutches of Chrift in the latter day-glory; they will be fitly framed together and built up, an habitation for God, thro the Spirit; they will be beautified, and made glorious, and will be eftablifhed upon the top of the mountains, and be tabernacles that fhall not be taken down, whofe ftakes and cords fhall not be removed and broken, Epb. ii. 21, 22. If, lx. 7—13. and ii: 2. and xxxiii. 20. and fo will be fure dwellings, and quiet refting places; and happy will thofe be, who will be the inhabitants of them, fince they will have the beft of company, the beft of provifions, and all health and profperity, J xxxii. 18. and xii. 6. and xxxiii. 24: and upon her affemblies,; or ber convocations ®; in allufion to the holy convocations, and folemn affemblies of the J/raelites at their feftivals, Lev. xxiii. 2, 3,.4—7, 8—21—24—27—36. which are the churches of Chrift, as before, confifting of men called by the grace of God, with an holy calling; called tobe faints, and fo are an affembly of faints, P/- lxxxix. 7. called by means of the gofpel, as the [raelites were by the blowing of the trumpets, to aflemble together, to hear the word, and attend every part of divine worthip, Numb. x. 2, 3. and as the invifible church is called Zion, and the general affembly, Hed, xii. 22. fo particular vifible churches are called affemblies, Eccl. xii. 11. Fam. ii. 3, and which will be very numerous in the latter day, and well attended. 4 cloud and fmoke by day, and the fhining of a flaming tire by night; alluding to the Lord’s going before the children of J/rae/ in the wildernefs, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night; and to their being upon, and covering the tabernacle, when it refted; and alfo to the cloud and fmoke that were upon mount Sizai, when the Lord was prefent there, Exod. xiii. 20, 21. and xix. g—18. Numb. ix. 15, 16. and as a cloud was frequently a fymbol of the divine prefence, both in the Old and in the New Teftament, 2yxod. xix. 9. and xl. 34, 35. Lev. xvi. 2. 1 Kings vill. 10. Matt. xvii. 5. fo it may here fignify, that the prefence of God with his churches in the latter day will be very manifeft and remarkable; he’ll be feen over them, and be the glory in the midft of them, Zech. ii. 5. and ix. 14. and it may alfo denote the gracious proteCtion of the churches by Chrift from all their enemies; as the cloud ftood between the J/raelites and the Egyptians, when they pafied thro’ the red fea, and fecured them from them, Exod. xiv. 19. as well as a cloud, is refrefhing and protecting from heat, as Chrift then will be from heat of every kind. See the note on the following verfe. And as the pillar of fire was to give light to the chil-

N this chapter, under the parable of a vineyard and its ruins, the Yews and their deftruction are reprefented; the reafons -of which are given, their manifold fins and tranfgreffions, particularly enumerated, with the punifhment threatened to them, and which is delivered in form of a fong. The vineyard is defcribed by the owner of it, a wellbeloved one; by the fituation of ‘it, in a fruitful hill; by the fence about it, and care and culture

OPE» iy Ui saath Hs ce oe hie dren of J/rael, and direct them in their paffage thro” the wildernefs in the night-time; fo Chrift will be the light of his people, by the very great illumi+ nations of his fpirit, and the clear, preaching of the gofpel, which will give both light and heat 5 and. from both which will arife fuch a bright’ fhin-. ing light, as fhall drive away the night of affliction, darknefs, defertion, and fleepinefs, which fhall pr cede this glorious day. See //: lx. 1, 2. and this wi be all the Lord’s doing, a work of his almighty power, and therefore fignified by a creation; it will be a new, itrange, and marvellous work; wo r ful in the eyes of the faints, and in the eyes. of the world, that thofe who have been forfaken and hated, fhould be made.an eternal excellency, and -the joy of many generations, J/ Ix. 15. and Ixy.17,.18: for upon all the glory fhall. be @ defences the glory of the churches in the latter day, will greatly con=. fit in the prefence of God and, Chrift;, in the pouring forth of the fpirit. upon them-; in the ~ purity of gofpel-doctrine, worfhip, and difcipline - among them; in the holinefs of their lives and converfation; and in the peace, harmony, and unity that fhall fubfift with them; and the defence of this glory will be partly the minifters of the gofpel, in the pure adminiftration of the. word and ordinanees, as means, but principally the Lord himfelf, who will be a wall of fire about them, and will appoint falvation, as walls and bulwarks to them, Zech. iis 5: dfs KBVLLT. ‘ar or. ¥.6. And there fall be a tabernacle, &c.} Chrift who tabernacled in our nature, and is the minifter of the true tabernacle, which God pitched, and not man; who will be fpiritually prefent in the word and ordinances, where the fhepherds pitch their tents; and who will be that to his people as fhepherds tents are to them, to which the allufion is: for a foadow in the day-time from the beat, from the heat of a fiery law, which works wrath; from the flaming fword of juftice, which calls for vengeance; from the wrath of God, which is poured forth like fire; from fatan’s temptations, compared to fiery darts; and from the violence of perfecution; for there will be no more after the laft ftruggle of the beaft, and the flaying of the witneffes: and for a place of refuge, until the indignation.be over and paft: as Chrift is a refuge for fenfible finners to flee unto for fafety, from avenging juftice, and the wrath of God; fo he is a place of fecurity, and has his chambers of fafety for faints, from all dangers, and from every enemy, J/: xxvi. 20,21: and for a covert from ftorm and from rain; from the blaft of the terrible ones, the antichriftian powers, which will be as a ftorm againft a wall, I. xxv. 4. this will be the hour of temptation, which will come upon, and try them that dwell upon the earth, from which Chritt will preferve his faithful ones, Rev. iii, 10, fee J/. xxxii. 2. Sige | ae es ay hevt, of it; and by its not anfwering the expecta the owner, it bringing forth wild grapes in good ones, ¥. 1, 2. wherefore the men of and Ferufalem are made judges between the and his vineyard, what more could to it, or rather what was now to be done to i this was the cafe; and the refult is, that it { be utterly laid wafte, and come to ruin; and the whole is applied to the houfe of Jjrae/, and men of

Fudab, ¥. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. whofe fins, as the caufe of their ruin,are mentioned in the following verfes; their covetoufnefs, with the punifhment of it, y. 8, 9, 10. their intemperance, luxury, and love of pleafure, with the punifhment threatened thereunto, ¥. 11,12, 13, 14. whereby haughty men fhould be humbled, the Lord be glorified, and at the fame time his weak and innocent people would be taken care of, W..15, 16, 17. next, other fins are taken notice of, and woes pronounced on account of them, as, an impudent courfe of finning, infolent impiety againft God, confufion of good and evil, conceit of their own wifdom, drunkennefs, and perverfion of juitice, ¥. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. wherefore for thefe things, and for their contempt and rejection of the law and word of the Lord, utter deftruétion is threatened them, y. 24. yea, the anper of God had been already kindled againft them, and they had felt it in fome inftances, y. 25. but they are given to expect feverer judgments, by means of foreign nations, that fhould be gathered againft them; who are defcribed by their fwiftnefs, ftrength, and vigilance; by their armour, horfes, and carriages; and by their tertor and cruelty; the confequence of which would be utter darknefs, diftrefs, and calamities, in the land of Fudea, y. 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.

¥. 1. Now will I fing to niy well beloved, &c.] Thefe are the words of the prophet J/aiah, being about to reprefent the ftate and condition of the people of J/rael by way of parable, which he calls a fong, and which he determines to fing to his beloved, and calls upon himfelf to do it; by whom he means either God the Father, whom he loved with all his heart and foul; or Chrift, who is often called the beloved of his people, efpecially in’ the book of Solamon’s fong; or elfe the people of Jrael, whom the prophet had a great affection for, being his own people; but it feems beft to underftand it of God or Chrift: @ fong of my beloved, which was infpired by him, or related to him, and was made for his honour and glory; or @ fong of my uncle 4, for another word is ufed here than what is in the preceding claufe, and is rendered wacle elfewhere, fee Lev. xxv. 49. and may defign king Amaztab, for, according to tradition, Amoz, the father of Jfaiah, was brother to Amaziah king of Fudab, and fo confequently Anaziab muft be uncle to Saiah; and this might be a fong of his compofing, or in which he was concerned, being king of Fudab, the fubjeé&t of this fong, as follows: touching bis vineyard; not his uncle’s, tho’ it is true of him, but his well-beloved’s, God or Chrift; the people of Trael, and houfe of Fudab, are meant, comparable to a vineyard, as appears from y. 7. fee P/- Ixxx. 14, 15. being feparated and diftinguifhed from the reft of the nations of the world, tor the ufe, fervice, and glory of God. My beloved hath a vixeyard in a very fruitful bill, or in an horn, the fon of oil‘; which defigns the land of J/rael, which was higher than other lands; and was, as fome obferve, in the form of a horn, longer than it was broad, and a very fruitful country, a land of oil-olive, a land flowing with milk and honey, Deut. viii. 7, 8, Exod. iii. 8. The Targum is, “ the prophet faid, “ J will fing now to J/rael, who is like unto a vine- “ yard, the feed of Abraham, my beloved, a fong *< of my beloved, concerning his vineyard. My