Exposition of the Whole Bible

DIVO wu E: bh unchangeable grace 3 on Chrift, as their Redeemer | and: Saviour;°and in their thoughts and contem- plations on heavenly things, where Chrift is; -and particularly in the fpiritual reign of Chrift, after the deftruétion of antichrift, when fuch fhall dwell quietly, and fafely in God's holy hill, the church, which fhall be eftablifhed upon the top of the mountains: and it may alfo refpe& the ftate of the faints in heaven, which is a dwelling on high, and where they will be fate from everlafting burnings,

‘ports them under their prefent trials: thd? it be, that an enlargement of Chrift’s Kingdom" over the world, to the diftant’ parts of it, may” here meant; which may be called, as the words may be rendered, a land of diftances, or of far de that reaches far and near, from’ fea to’ fea, and from the river to the ends of the earth; which will be the cafe, when the kingdoms ot world fhall become Chrift’s, and the kingdor t and the greatnefs of it, under the whole heaven, and out of the reach of all enemies: #is place of hall be given to the faints of the Moft High ‘a

» defence fhall be the munitions of rocks, Chrift is the * place of defence to his people, againft avenging ju- {tice, the curfe and condemnation of the law, the wrath of God, fin and all its dreadful confequences, fatan and all enemies: and he is the munitions of rocks; he is a rock himfelf, for them to build upon, and fhelter in; and like fortre//es made out of rocks, which can never be undermined, blown up, or broke thro’: bread’ feall be given him, not only fhall he be in fafety, but fhall enjoy the greateft plenty of bleffings, particularly fpiritual ones; above all, Chrift, the bread of God from heaven, the true bread, the bread of life, which gives and fupports life, and fecures an eternal one; as alfo the word and ordinances, which are the provifions of Zion, and which all its inhabitants are favoured with; for thefe are all the gifts of divine goodnels. The Targum is, “ in the houfe of the fanctuary his “¢ foul fhall be fatisfied, his food fhall be fuff- “¢ cient:” bis waters fhall be fure; Chrift and his fulnefs, the Spirit and his grace, the gofpel-doctrines, and ordinances of it; the believer may be affured of a fupply from Chrift’s fulnefs; the grace of the Spirit is never failing, and is perfevering; and gofpel-doétrines and ordinances are not deceitful brooks, but yield comfort and refrefhment: compare with this Rev. vii. 15, 16, 17.

¥. 17. Thine eyes fhall fee the king in bis beauty, &c.] Not merely Hezekiah in his royal robes, and with a chearful countenance, having put off his fackcloth and his fadnefs, upon the breaking up of the fiege; but a greater than he, even the king Meffiah, in the glory of his perfon and office, e- {pecially as a king reigning glorioufly before his ancients in Ferufalem: the apoftles faw him in his glory, in the days of his flefh, corporally and piritually; believers now fee him by faith, crowned with glory and honour, as well as fee his beauty, fulnefs, and fuitablenefs, as a Saviour; and ’ere long, their eyes fhall fee him perfonally in his own and his Father’s glory, This is to be underftood of the eyes of good men, before defcribed. The Zargum is, ‘¢ thine eyes fhall fee the glory ** of the majefty of the king of worlds in his “ praife;” and Farchi interprets it of the glory of the majefty of God; fo, according to both, a divine perfon is meant, and indeed no other than Chritt: they /hall bebold the land that is very far off; not the land of hell, as the Zargum, which paraphrafes it thus, ‘* thou fhalt behold and fee thofe *¢ that go down into the land of hell;” but rather the heayenly country, the better one, the land of uprightnefs, typified by the land of Canaan, and may be faid to be @ land afar off, with refpect to the earth on which the faints now are, and with regard to the prefent fight of it, which is a diftant one, and will be always afar off to wicked men; this now the faints have at times a‘view of by faith, which is very delightful, and greatly fup-

“© thine heart, which was meditating tertor before this.”

glorious fight this will be. And this fenfe a with the context, and declares what will be after the deftruéction of antichrift. ie mat with, when furrounded and oppreffed by their ene following words, where is the fcribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers? axe taken to be either the words of the Jews in their’ diftrefs, calling for fuch and fuch officers to repair to their refpective pofts, and do their duty; as the Jeribe, or mufter-mafter, to fee that he has his full quota of men; the receiver or treafurer, and paymatter of the foldiers, to give the men money and wages, that they may be encouraged to fight; and the counter of towers, or engineer, to take care of the fortifications, and give direCtions about them’: or elfe, as now infulting the Arians after the defeat of them, enquiring where were now fuch and’ fuch officers in their army, whom before they dreaded, fignifying they were all perifhed and gone, The apoftle cites thefe words, or at leaft alludes to them, 1 Cor. i. 20. when he fays, where is the wife? where is the feribe? where is the difputer of this world? triumphing over the wife doétors’ of the Yews, and the philofophers of the Gentiles, as not being able to face and withftand the power and wifdom of the gofpel; fee the note there. So here, when the people of God will be recovered from their fright, and be brought out of their low eftate, and will have afcended into heaven, or be come into a glorious church-ftate, they will then triumph over their enemies, who will be no more, and fay, where are the pope and his clergy? his’ cardinals, archbifhops, bifhops, _priefts, monks, friers, &¢? what are become of them? they are all gone, and will be no more. The Targum is, “ thine heart fhall think of great things; where “¢ are the fcribes? where are the princes? “whe: “ are the counters? Jet them come, if they can count the numbers of the flain, the heads it mighty armies;” which, may well enough \ huftrated by Rev. xi. 13. and ig 18, hail Fngid ¥. 19. Thou fhalt not fee a fierce people, 8c.) ~ people of a fierce countenance, as in Daw. viil. ¢ fierce in their looks, furious in their temper, ‘¢ and blood-thirfty in their practices, ¢o hardened in their fins, whofe confciences as with a red-hot iron; @ charater & en of the papifts, 1 Tim. iv. 2. thefe fhall be no more nor feared: @ people of a deeper fpeech than thow. ml valigs f Oem © So Ben Melech int canft perceive; than the-people in common could, having their worfhip and devotion not in their mother-tongue, but in the Latin tongue: of @ jiammering tongue, that thou canft not waderfiand, meaning the fame as before, a barbarous language, as every one is to thofe who underftand it not, {0 the Syriac and Affirian languages were to the Jews, 2 Kings xviii. 26, and fo the Roman language to other nations; but now no more to be ufed in religious worfhip;. nor fhall the church of God be any more vifited by Turks or Papyfs, and be in any dread of them more.

¥. 20. Look upon Zion, &c.] Inftead of fuch terrible objets as before defcribed, a very amiable and lovely one is prefented to view; even Zion, the church of God, beloved by him, chofen for his habitation, a ftrong city, a perfection of beauty, and the joy of the whole earth. The Targum is, “« © Zion, thou fhalt fee their fall;” the fall of her enemies before-mentioned; as at this time, the church will fee the fall both of the eaftern and weftern antichrift. But the words are an exhortation to the faints and people of God, to behold the fafety, peace, and profperity of the church, now freed from all its enemies: she city of our folemnities; a city, for its fituation, foundation, walls, and building; for its number and forts of inhabitants; for its wholefome laws, and choice privileges: a city of folemnities, where the faints folemnly affemble together for réligious worfhip; where the word of, God is folemnly preached, and where the ordinances are folemnly adminiftered, and the facrifices of prayer and praife are folemnly offered up: shine eyes fhall fee Ferufalem a quiet habitation, or the church of God in gofpel-times, and particularly in the latter day; fee Heb. xii. 22. Gal. iv. 26. and by which name the church is Called in its more glorious ftate, Rev. xxi, 2, 10. which is the haditation of God, Father, Son, and Spirit; and of faints, where they dwell, or however will in, the latter day, fafely, quietly, pleafantly, and comfortably; for then will it be, and be /een and enjoyed as a guict one; for now will the faints live in peace one with another; there will be no more envy, vexations, animofities, and divifions; this will be the Philadelpbian church -ftate, when brotherly love fhall every where prevail, and when they fhall alfo _ be entirely free from the perfecutions of enemies; none fhall hurt and deftroy in all the holy mountain, J/. xi. 9. Some render it a fheep-fold‘; Chrift is the fhepherd, the faints are his fheep, the church is the fold, where they are gathered, tec, and preférved, and lie in fafety and peace: and a tadernacle that fhall not be taken down, as the tabernacle of Mofes was; or the tents of fhepherds, foldiers, and fojourners are, to which the allufion may be; and fo is expreffive of the continuance of the church, which fhall not now be removed from place to place, as it has been, but fhall be fixed and fettled all over the world, and fo remain to the end. of time, an immoveable tabernacle; and efpecially fo it will be, when the tabernacle of God is,with men, and he fhall dwell with them, Rev. xxi, 3.: not one of the fiakes thereof fball ever be removed, neither foall any of the cords thereof be broken, uding to tents and tabernacles made of curtains, ened by cords to ftakes, by which they are fup- Not only minifters of the gofpel, te. believer is as a ffake or pillar in the church of God, which fhall néver be removed;

Rev: iii. 12. never removed from the heart and love of God; nor out of the hands of Chrift, and an intereft in him; nor out of the family of God, or from the privileges of it; mor from Chrift’s » body, the church, which is his fulnefs. The cords with which thefe are all held together, which fhall never be broken, are the everlaiting love of God, electing grace, the covenant and its promifes, the word and ordinances, which always remain firm and fure, and fecure the ftability’and continuance of the church of God.; ¥. 21. But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers, and ftreams, &c.| Egypt had its Nile, and Babylon its Euphrates, but Ferufalem had. no fuch river for its convenience, commerce, and de= fence; but God promifes to be that to his Ferufulem, his church and people, as will anfwer to, and be infiead * of a river that has the broadett ftreams 3 which is expreffive of the abundance of his grace,’ and the freenefs of it, for the fupply of his church, as well as of the pleafant fituation and fafety of it; fee Pf, xlvi. 1, 2, 3, 4.' Ezek. xvii. 1, 0; 3504) where the Lord appears glorious 3 where he difplays the glorious perfections of his nature, his power; faithfulnefs, truth, holinefs, love, grace and mercy; where his glorious gofpel is preached; where he grants his gracious and glorious prefence; and where faints come to fee his glory, do fee it, and fpeak of it; fee 2 Sam. vi. 20. Pf. Ixiii, 1, 2. and xxix. 9: wherein fhall go no galley with oars, neither joall gallant foips pafs thereby, this advantage literal Ferujalem had, that though it had no river for its pleafure, profit, and protection, yet no enemy could come up to it in that way; and the Lord; tho’ he is indeed inftead of a broad river to his people for their fupply and fafety, yet fuch a one as will not admit any enemy, great or fmall; fignified by the galley with oars, and the gallant fhip, to come near them; and in the new Feru/alemchurch-ftate, when there will be new heavens and a new earth, there will be no fea, Rev, xxi. 1. and fo no place for thips ‘and galleys. The des fign of thefe metaphors is to fhew, that the church of Chrift at this time will be fafe from all enemies whatfoever, as they muft needs be, when the Lord is not only a place of broad rivers, but a wall of fire round about them, and the glory in the midft of them, Zech. ii. 5. yi 22. For the Lord is our judge, &c.] The Lord Chrift, who has all judgment committed to him by the Father, who will judge his people, right their wrongs, and avenge their injuries: the Lord is our lawgiver; who has enacted wholefome laws for his church, writes them on their hearts, and puts his fpirit within them, to enable them ‘to keep them: the Lord is our king; king of faints, king of Zion; made fo by his Father, owned by his church, under whofe government it is in fafety: he will fave us; from all fin, and from all enemies, with an everlafting falvations The church here fpeaks with great pleafure of her intereft in Chrift under every character, and of her fafety as depending upon him. The Targum is, ** the Lord ‘* is.our judge, who brought us by his power out “< of Egypt; the Lord is our teacher, who gave “¢ us the doétrine of the law from Sinai; the Lord is our king, he will redeem us, and take vengeance of judgment for us on the army of Gog;”? =| which fed faltem ut fignificet loco ac vice, Deus ecclefia eft pro fluminibus, Guffet, Ebr, Comment:

which thews that the ancient Fews underftood this ophecy as referring to times yetto come. te it Thy rabbis ard lated &e.}- Ory are} © fible left; forfaken by the mariners, as ‘being of no ufe and-fervice: they could not well Strengthen their moft; with ropes to make it ftand upright: they could not fpread the foil; upon the maft, without which they could not proceed. ‘This is fpoken to, and of the enemies, of the church: moft interpreters underftand it of the Affyrians, who are pared to a fhip in great diftrefs at fea, when its tacklings are fhattered, the maft is fplit, and the fails cannot be fpread. The metaphor is taken and carried on ftom y. 21. where mention is made of a galley with oars, and a gallant fhip.. Tyrannical governments are thought by fome to be compared to fhips; a king to the maft; princes to ropes, cords, and tackling and their army in battel-array to fails fpread; but here all is in confufion, diftrefs, and unavoidable ruin: this may | very well be applied to the antichriftian ftates, when the vials of God’s wrath fhall be poured out upon them’; -efpecially when the fecond vial fhall be poured out upon the fea, and all fhipping’ will fuffer, as under the fecond trumpet, the third part of fhips were deftroyed, there being a correfpondence betwéen the trumpets and the feals, Rev. viit. 8, 9. and xvi.-3: then is the prey of a great fpoil divided, as the {poil of the Afjrian camp was by the Jraclites, fo will the fpoil of the Papifts by the Proteftants; particularly when the kings of the earth fhall be filled with an averfion to the whore of Rome, and fhall deftroy her, and make her dare and defolate of all her riches, and hall eat ber fie, or feize upon her fubftance, which will become the prey. of a great fpoil unto them: and zbe lame take the prey; which denotes both how eafily it fhall be taken, and what a plenty there fhall be, that even fuch, and who come late, fhall have a fhare in it. The Targum of the whole is, “* at “‘ that time (when vengeance fhall be taken on ‘“* Gog) the people fhall be broken with ‘theirown “< ftrength, and they fhall be like to a fhip whofe Jk enbes ase beclieny 3 and: th |" ir malt, which is cut down, that it to fpreadia fail on its, then fhall the. “‘ of Lrael divide the. fubftance of the: people, the °° multitude of a prey and fpoil; and altho’ t - ** blind: and the lame are left among. them, the: “ alfo fhall divide the multitude of the prey and “‘ {poil.”” healt. 05:5 ( Jee

¥. 24. And the inhabitant frall not fay, I am com- Jick, &c.]. That is, the inhabitant of Zien, © 7erufalem, the church of Chrift, ¥. 20: and fiich are they that are born again in Zion, and broug UP there; who are made free thereof by Chriit;, are brought to dwell here by the Lord himfelf; and under the influence of divine grace afk their way hither, and come willingly and chearfuily, and Jettle here: thele at this.time the prophecy refers to, even the latter day, fhall not be heard to fay, not one of them, Jam fick 5 either with the ficknefs of fin, fo as to fay theré is no cure for them,,or that they fhall die of it, or even to complain of 1¢ 5 for all their ficknefies and difeafes of this kind will be healed by the -rifing of the fun of righteoufneis upon them, with healing in-his wings; or /with the ficknefs of affliction, efpecially outward affliction of perfecuting enemies, which will be at an end; and fuch Joy will attend them, on account of their deliverance from them, that all their former forrows and fufferings will be forgot; and in the new ‘feru/alem-church-ftate there will be neither one ficknefs nor another; no more forrow, pain, or deaths the leaves of the tree of life will be for the healing of the nations, Rev. xxi, 4, and xxii. 2: the people that dwell therein fhall be forg/vew their imquity, this fhews that fin is the ficknefs meant; the manner in which fuch a difeafe is cured, by forgivenefs; and the perfect health and foundnefs, as well as joy, and peace, and comfort, which follows upon an application of p ing grace and mercy. The Targum refers this to the time when the J/raelites fhall return to their own land; and Kimchi owns that fome of their imterpreters apply it to the times of the Meffiah. 5.

. if Qe Lo aad aR CPE AMP TV. 2

; q: 7 }: - Yess. HIS chapter is a prophecy of the deftruction “of ail the antichriftian nations of the world, | a and particularly of Rome, fignified by Jdumea; which is introduced with a call to a general‘attention to it, it being a very awful and folemn affair, ys. 1. utter and univerfal deftruction is declared, as the effect of God’s wrath, y..2. which is expreffed by a dreadful fcene of blood, to the melting of the mountains with it, and by the diffolution of the heavens, and the hofts of them, ¥. 3, 4. particue larly the deftruction of Idumea is denounced by the {word of the Lord being on it, and bathed with the blood, both of the common people,.and of their princes, fignified by various forts of creatures, ¥. 5, 6, 7. the caufe of which is the Lord’s vengeance for the controverfy of his church and people, injured by Edom or Rome, y¥.8. whofe defolate and calamitous ftate is reprefented as being like that of Sodom, ¥.9, 10. and fhould be no more inhabited by men, nor governed by princes, but be the dwelling of wild beafts, and unclean! birds, ¥. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. all which is confirmed by the word and {pirit of God, ¥. 16,17. ' y.1. Come near, ye nations, to bear, and bearken: / ye people, &c.] Not the people of the Jews, as fome, whofe utter deftruction, after, their rejection of the Mefliah, is-here thought to be prophe: of; and. much lefs are thefe people called upon to hear the gofpel preached to them, as Cocceius think for not good, but bad news they are called t hearken to, even the account of their»utter ruins /et the earth bear, and all that is therein; not the land of 7udea, but all the earth, and the inhabi tants of it: the world, and all things that come forth of it; which may either be underftood of thoie that dwell in it, as. the Targum interprets it: _ of the people that are in it, as the Septuagint and the Oriental verfions; and fo the phrafe n the original of them, being of the eart and to which they muft return again:

be defigned to humble men, and -h them; or elfe the fruits of the ea every thing that {pring ilbsnf; igi upon to hear the voice of the Lord, would not; and fo is defigned to rebul pidity and fluggifhnefs of men,

» So the word is interpreted by Kimchi and Ben Melech, is faid to them, even from the Lord, when upon tree when fhaken by a violent wind; the fame me- the brink of deftruction. taphor is ufed in Rev. vi. 13.

¥.2. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all; hations, &c.] All the nations of the earth, which have committed fornication with the whore of Rome, or have given in to her falfe worfhip, fuperftition, and idolatry; which is the reafon of God’s wrath and indignation againft them, and of fuch fevere punifhment being infli¢ted on them; fee Rev. xviii. 3: and his fury upon all their the armies of the kings of the earth, gathered together at Armageddon, to make war with Chrift, | and thofe that follow him; fee Rev. xvi. 14, 16. and xix. 19: be hath utterly deftroyed them not only devoted them to deftru¢tion, but actually deftroyed them, with Cherem, an utter deftruction; one of the words of which Armageddon is compounded, and {0 points at the place, as well as the nature and manner of the deftruction: delivered them to flanghter, to be flain with the fword of him that fitteth on the white horfe, which proceeds out of his mouth, Rev. xix. 21.

y. 5. For my fword fhall be bathed in heaven, &c.] That is, the fword of the Lord,as it is called in the next verfe, and it is he that is fpeaking; it defigns the vengeance of the Lord, the punifhment he will infliét on the wicked, faid to be bathed in heaven, becaufe detérmined and prepared there; the allufion may be to the bathing of fwords armies, in fome fort of liquor, to harden or brighten them. and fo fit them for ufe. Kimchi renders it, my word,. which is in heaven, foall be bathed, that is, in the blood of the flain; heaven may denote the whole Roman papal jurifdiction, as it does the whole Roman pagan empire in Rev. xii. 71 and may defign the principal men in it, thofe that are in the higheft places and offices, in whom the fword of the Lord fhall be firft drenched, and’be as it were he bath j fatiated and inebriated’ with the blood of them: Lebold, it fhall come down upon Idumea 5 with great weight, force, and vengeance, having a. commiffion from heaven to execute. Idumea is here particularly mentioned, becaufe the Edomites were implacable enemies to the Fews, and fo are here put for all the enemies of God’s church and people, all the antichriftian ftates, particularly Rome, which the and their flinks Fews, as ‘ferom obferves, underftand by Edom of Idumea here: upon the people of my curfe to judg~ ment; a very defcriptive character of the Papi/ts, the people of God’s curfe, and righteoufly fo; thofe who have ‘anathematized his people, and curfed them with bell, book, and candle, are anathematized by him, devoted to deftrution, and doomed to be accurfed, fentenced to ruin, and on whom judgment fhall pafs, and fhall be executed $ they fhall hear, go ye curfed, both here and hereafter, at the fall of Babylon, and at thé general judgment. The Targum is, “ becaufe my fword “ is revealed in heaven; behold upon Edom it is and upon the people whom I have ** condemned to judgment.”

¥. 3. Their flain alfo fhall be caft out, &c.] Upon the open fields, and there lie unburied, and be-j come meat for the fowls of heaven, who are invited to them as to a fupper, even the fupper of j the great God, Rev. xix. 17, 18:

foall come up out of their carcafes; fo that they thallbecoine loathfome and abominable to the living, and noné fhall care to come near them to bury them; an emblem of their loathfome andj abominable fins, the caufe of this deftruction: avd the mountains foall be melted with their blood; an hyperbolical expreffion, denoting the great number of the flain upon the mountains, and the great quantity of blood fhed there; which fhould run down in large ftreams; and carry part of them along with it, as large and hafty fhowers of rain wafh away the earth, and carry it along with them; fuch an hyperbole fee in Rev. xiv. 20. revealed;

¥. 4. And all the hofts of heaven fall be diffolved, &c.] Pine away', as with ficknefs, grow languid, become obfcure, lofe their light, and be turned] &c. into blood’and darknefs; this figure is ufed to exprefs the horror of this calamity, as if the very heavens themfelves, and the fun, and moon, and ftars, were affected with it; fee Jf xiii. 10: and _ the heavens foall be rolled together as a feroll; a book, or volume, which when rolled up, one letter of it could not be read; and it was the manner formerly, of making and writing books in the form of a roll, hence the word, volume; and here it fignifies that there fhould be fuch a change in the heavens, as that not a ftar fhould be feen, much lefs the fun or moon; and may fignify the utter removal and abolition of all dignities and offices, fupreme and fubordinate, civil and ecclefiaftical, in the whole Roman jurifdiction; thus the deftruction of Rome pagan is defcribed in Rev. vi. 14. as the deftruction of Rome papal is here; from whence the language feems to be borrowed: and all their boft foail fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig-tree,; the ftars fhould fall down; by whom may be! meant perfons in office, that made a confiderable figure, who fhall fall from their ftations, in which they fhone with much fplendor and grandeur, as leaves fall from trees in autumn, particularly the vine; or as unripe and rotten figs fall from the fig- y¥. 6. The fword of the Lord is filled with blood, Multitudes being flaih by it; the Lord Here is that divine perfon that is defcribed as a warrior, as a general of an army, with a fharp fword, by whom many are flain, fuch a number as that it is filled with the blood of them, Rev. xix. 11—16, 21: it is made fat with fatnefs; not only filled with blood, but fattened by it; the allufion is, to ravenous creatures gorged and fated with the blood of others, and thereby made fat; perhaps this may refer to chriftian princes, the fword in the hand of the Lord, who fhall be enriched with the plunder and fpoil of the antichriftian ftates: and with thé dood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. The Targum is, “ with the blood of “« kings and governors, with the fat of the kid- “ neys of princes;” and Farchi interprets them of princes and rulers; but rather the common people are defiened, or the common foldiers in thie army, or however, the inferior officers of it; kings, princes, and generals being intended in the following that is,!verfe. It denotes the great carnage of all forts and ranks of men made at this time, and which is defcribed in Rev. xix. 18: for the Lord hath a facrifice in Bozrab, and a great flaughter in the land of Idumea; there feems to be two Bozrahs the fcripture fpeaks of, the one in Moad, Fer. xlviii. 24. and another in Edom, J/. \xiii. 1. which is here meant, and was a chief city of the Edamites, and fignifies a fortrefs, being.no doubt a place well fortified; this is the Bujira of Ptolemy *, and which he places in Arabia Petrea. Aben Ezra {ays that fome interpret it of Conftantinople, the metropolis of the Ottoman empire; but it is beft to underftand it of Rome, as Menaffeh ben Lfrael' does, and Idumea of the whole Roman jurifdiction; Rome being the chief city of the antichriftian ftates, that great city, which ohn in his Revelation defcribes as reigning over the kings of the earth; here.and in all the antichriftian kingdoms will be a great flaughter of men, called a facrifice of the Lord,. becaufe by his order and direction, and for the honour of his juftice, and being acceptable to him; and perhaps there may be an allufion to the blood and facrifices being the Lord’s; this flaughter and facrifice is called the fupper. of the great God, Rev. xix. 17.» y¥. 7. And the unicorns foall come down with them, &c.] With the lambs, goats, and rams; that is, either the.Rhinocerotes, as fome, there being no fuch creature as the unicorn; or the Buffaloes, as”

others; thefe /hall fall, as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic verfions render it, they fhall be flain, as well as the reft; meaning, that along with the common foldiers, and inferior officers, the general officers fhould fall); and fo the Targum, “* and the ‘¢ mighty fhall be flain with them.” 2. dbrabam Seba fays*, he read in a certain book, that the word here fhould not be read [59985 wnicorns, but moi the Romans fhall come down, &c. and the bullocks with the bulls; or as the Targum, “ and “© the rulers with the princes;” the fame with the kings, captains, and mighty men in Rev. xix. 18: and their land fhall be foaked with blood, and their duft made fat with fatnefs; or, their land fhall be inebriated °, or made drunk with blood; and the duft thereof thickened by it, and made clods of with it, as the parched earth is watered with a plentif fhower, and the duft laid with it: this is a juft retaliation to the whore of Rome, who has been made drunk with the blood of the faints, and now blood fhall be given her to drink, even her own, with which fhe fhall be filled, and welter, and wallow in the clodders of it, Rev. xvii. 6. and xvi. 6.

¥.8. For it.is the day. of the Lord’s vengeance, &c.] ‘The time which he has appointed to take vengeance on antichrift, his one thoufand two hundred andi fixty days, or years, being up, in which he is to reign; thefe being expired, the time is come for the Lord to avenge the blood of his faints; fee Rev. xviii. 20. and xix. 2: and the year of recompences for the controverfy of Zion; the church of God, which has been for many ages abufed and injured by the antichriftian powers, for which the Lord will have a controverfy with them; he will appear in favour of his people, and plead the caufe of Zion, and recompenfe their enemies for all the injuries they have done them; then they that have led into captivity, fhall go into captivity, and they that have killed with the fword, fhall be killed with it, Rev. xiii. 10. this will be a time of double recompence; and therefore perhaps the word is ufed in the plural number; it will be the time of rewarding. antichrift, as he has rewarded others’; and it will be the time of the dead, that they fhall be judged, and rewards given to God’s fervants the prophets, Rev. xviii. 6. and xi. 18. The Tar- gum is, ** the year of recompence, to takerven= “* geance of judgment for the injury of Ziom.?94 ¥.9. And the fireams thereof fall be turned inte pitch, 8c.| The Septuagint render it, the vallies > the word fignifying both rivers and vallies,; moft render it rivers or ftreams. The Targum is ex= prefs, ‘* the rivers of Rome thall be turned into ** pitch;” by which may be meant, the maritime places belonging to the Romifh jurifdiétion, the fame on which the third vial. will be poured, by which the rivers and fountains of waters will be~ come blood; and which refers to this very time) when blood fhall be given to the whore of Reme to drink, Rev. xvi. 4,5, 6.° The allufion in this and fome following claufes, is to the deftru@tion of Sodom and Gomorrba; fee Fer. xlix. 17,187 and the duft. thereof into brimftone, and fo eafily take fire: and the land thereof fall become burning pitch 5 plainly pointing to the deftruction of Rome by fire, Rev. xvii. 16, and xviii. 8. ¥..10. It foall not be quenched night nor day, 8.4 It will be long burning, and fhall not be extinguifhed, until it is utterly confumed. The burning of Rome will continue long, efpecially the fmoke of it; the kings of the earth, and others, are reprefented as ftanding and looking at it, and la~ menting for it, Rev. xviii. 9, 18: the fimoke thereof foall go up for ever; this very phrafe is what will be ufed by the faints, in their allelujabs, at the burning of Rome, Rev. xix. 3. with which compare Rev. xiv. 11: from generation to generation it foall lie wafte; the land fhall be no more manured and cultivated, nor the city rebuilt; when Badbylox is once fallen, it {hall never be raifed up again, but always remain defolate, Rev, xviii. 2, 21: one foall pafs thro’ it for ever and ever; no inhabitant in it, nor traveller thro’ it; it will be fo horrible: and terrible,’ as none will care to dwell there, yea) not fo much as to travel thro’ it; fee Fer. xlix. 18. y. 11. But the cormorant and the bittern hall pof- Jefs it, 8c.) The word for cormorant is rendered a pelican in Pf. ci. 6. they were both unclean fowls, according to the law, of which fee Lev. xi. 17, 18. and the note on ch. xiv. 23: the owl alfo and the raven foall dwell in it; which were likewife unclean creatures; and thefe, with the former, and other creatures after-mentioned, delight to dwell in defolate and ruinous places; and fo Babylon or Rome being deftroyed, will become a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, Rev. xviii. 2: and be fhall Jtretch out upon it the line of confufion, and the fiones of emptine/s; be, that is, God, as Kimebi inter it; the allufion is to builders, that make ufe of the line and plummet, as to build, fo to pull down, that they may know what is to be pulled down, and how far they are to go; fee 2 Kings xxi. 13. © and hereby it is fignified, that as the deftruétion fhould be entire, nothing fhould be left but confufion and emptinefs; and all fhould become Tobe and Bobu, which are the words ufed here; and are the fame that are ufed to exprefs the confufed chaos, the unformed and empty earth, Gey. i. 2. fo li wife that it fhould be by line and leve' and meafure; or according to the rules” and equity. ‘ * ai ¥. 12. They foali cail the nobles thereo kingdom, but none thall be there, &c.] Ther call them to take upon them the kingdom and government, and there fhall be none to do it, or

P-9 ® So Gulfetius underftands it of alarger that will care to do it; or rather there Will: be no kingdom to take unto them. ‘The words may be rendered either, as for the nobles thereof, not there a@ kingdom fhall they be called”, or, the nobles frail call; or, they foall call the nobles, and there shall be no kingdom*; the kingdom of the beaft, as it is called, Rev. xvi. 10. fhall be no more; and tho’ the cardinals, who are like to nobles, may call for it, and expect it, or be'called to it, yet to no purpofe; this kingdom will not only be full of darknefs, but utterly deftroyed: and all her princes foall be nothing; fhall come to nothing; the abovementioned cardinals, who are clothed, and live like princes, thefe fhall be no more; the fame with the merchants of the earth, which like the merchants of Tyre are princes, Rev. xviii. 3, 11. Jf. xxiii. 8. _ ¥.13- And thorns fhall come up in her palaces, &c.]. Where their kings and princes dwelt, and kept their courts, popes and cardinals; here will be the tokens of God’s curfe, as thorns are, thefe being the people of his curfe, as in ¥..5: nettles and. brambles in the fortrefes thereof, alluding to Bozrab, which fignifies a fortrefs; referring to the towers and fortifications of the city of Rome, and all other fortified cities within its jurifdiction: and 3t foal. be an habitation of dragons; literally, as it figuratively had been the feat of the old dragon, the devil, and of the beaft to whom the dragon gave his power, feat, and authority; and who, tho’ he looked. like a lamb, fpoke like a dragon, Rev. xii. 3. and xii. 2; 11: and 2 court for owls; or, daughiers of the owl, or oftriches, as tome render it. 9 y¥.14. The wild beafis of the defert foall alfo meet with the wild beajfts of the iflands, &c.] In Rome, and take up their abode there; of thefe creatures, the firft. of which the Zargum renders monftrous ones, and the latter wild cats, fee the note on eh. xiii. 22: aad the fatyr fhall cry to his fellow; or, the airy one"; from which word the goat has its name; and thefe creatures are defcribed by the antients as half goats and half men; of which fee the note on ch. xiii. 21. The Targum renders it, demons; and with this well agrees the account of Babylon or Rome as fallen, that it fhall be the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul fpirit, Rev. xviii. 2: the fcreech-owl alfo fhall reft _ there, and find for berfelf a place of reft; there being no inhabitants to difturb her. By the name Lilith, it appears to be a night-bird, which flies, and is heard in the night. The Jews call a fhe-demon by this name, which, they fay’, has an human face, and has wings, and deftroys children as foon as born; and therefore the Yews, efpecially in Germany, write upon the four corners of the bed of a with the Lamia of the Romans; and fo the Vulgate Latin here renders it.

. ¥. 15. There foail the great owl make her neft, &c.] Farchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech fay, that Kippoz here is the fame with Kippod, rendered bittern in ¥.11. but Aben Ezra takes them to be two different birds; it is hard to fay what is defigned by it. Bochart thinks that one kind of ferpent is here meant, fo called from its leaping up, and which may be faid to make nefts,. lay eggs, and hatch them, as follows: and lay, and hatch, aud gather under her fhadow; lay its eggs, PANTP? IDI me seh ete 4 ae Tigurine verfion.

PS FAN nobiles ejus, & non ibi regnum vocabuntur,’ Foreérius.

fit upon thém, and hatch them; ot dreak them *; that is, the egos, by fitting on them, when the young ones fpring out of them; and then being hatched, and running about, gather them under their wing, efpecially when in any danger: there foall the vultures alfo be gathered, every one with ber mate, which creatures ufually gather together where dead carcafes lie. ¥. 16. Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read, &c.] Fofeph Kimchi interprets this of the book of the law of Mofzs; which being confulted, it will appear that punifhment was threatened to be inflicted on the enemies of God’s people, particularly the Edomites. arcbi thinks the book of Genefis is intended; in which we may read, how every creature with its mate, at the time of the flood, was gathered to Noah inthe ark. ben Ezra fuppofes the book of God’s decrees is meant; in which, could it be feen, might be. réad all the particulars of this prophecy. But it feems beft to underftand it of this book of the prophecy of J aiah;

which being fought to, and read at the time when thefe predictions will be fulfilled, it will be eafily feen, by comparing events with prophecies, how every thing will be exactly accomplifhed; from whence may be concluded, this book being called the book of the Lord, that it was written by divine infpiration, as all other parts of the bible are; which is a recommendation of them, and is a reafon why they fhould be conftantly applied unto, and diligently read. -It may deferve fome confideration, whether the book of the Revelation may not be defigned; which, at the deftruction of Babylon or Rome, will be proper to be looked into afrefh, to fee the agreement between the prophecies in it, and the then ftate of things refpecting it, when it will be an habitation of devils and unclean birds: not one of thefe foall fail, not one of thefe beafts or birds before-mentioned, fhall be wanting here, or be deprived of its prey: none shall want ber mate; the fatyr, or vulture, or any other, which will engage their continuance, and by which means there will be a frefh brood of them in fucceffion for after ages: for my mouth, it bath commanded them; thefe beafts and birds, to afflemble in the abovementioned place: and bis Spirit, it hath gathered them; the Spirit of the mouth of the Lord, his power, and his providence; as he gathered all creatures to Adam, to give them names; and: to Noah, to be preferved with him in the ark; fo, by a fecret inftinct, will he gather together thefe creatures, to inhabit the defolate places of Edom or Rome. The Targum is, “ for by his word they ‘¢ fhall be gathered, and by his will they fhall draw “© near.” So Ben Melech interprets it of his will and pleafure. _ ¥.17. And he hath caft the lot for them, &c.] The Targum adds, ‘‘ by his word:” and his hand hath divided it unto them by line; the fame adds, *¢ by his will.” The allufion is to the dividing of the land of Canaan by lot and line, to the children of I/rael, for their inheritance and poffeffion; and in like manner it is fuggefted, fhall Rome and its territories be diftributed to thofe wild beafts and birds of prey, and every one fhall know and take its proper place and portion: ‘hey /hall poffefs it for ever; as their inheritance, allotted and appointed to them: from generation to generation fhall they dwelt 4 Ingenuos ejus F=yyy pilofus, a \yyy capillus. * T. Bab. 8 PPI’ & fcindet, Pagninus, Montanus a dwell therein, fee.the note on y. 10. where Farchi, out of the Dera/h, has this note, ‘‘ this is the curfe << of Mojfes; the war of the Lord pint Amalek, *< from generation to generation; from the gene-

*T SHIS chapter is a prediction of the glory and “BL flourithing eftate of the gofpel-church, and of the bleffings received by it from Chrift. — Its flourifhing ftate is expreffed by the fruitfulnefs of the defert, being made like to Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon; and by the inhabitants of it feeing the glory and excellency of Chrift, y. 1,2. the mini- {ters of the word are direéted and exhorted to ftrengthen the weak, and comfort the feeble-minded, by affuring them of the coming of Chrift to fave them, ¥. 3, 4. when miracles, both in na- ‘ture and grace, fhould. be wrought; and great alterations fhould be made in the wildernefs, by the power of God, ¥. 5, 6, 7. when a way fhould be caft up, defcribed; and the perfons that fhould walk in it are pointed at; and the end it fhould bring them to, everlafting joy and happinefs, y. 8, 9, 10.

¥. 1. Lhe wildernefs, and the folitary places, fball be glad for them, &c.} Either for the wild beafts, fatyrs, owls, and vultures, that fhall inhabit Edom or Rome, and becaufe it’fhall be an habitation for them: or they fhall be glad for them, the Edomites, and for the deftruétion of them; that is, as the Zargum paraphrafes it, ‘* they that dwell in the “¢ wildernefs, in the dry land, fhall rejoice;” the church, in the wildernefs, being obliged to fly there from the perfecution of antichrift, and thereby become defolate as a wildernefs;. and fo called, in allufion to the J/raelites in the wildernefs, és vii. 38. fhall now rejoice at the ruin of Rome, and the antichriftian ftates, by which means it fhall come into a more flourifhing condition; fee Rev. Xli. 14. and xviii. 20. and xix.-1, 2: and the defert fhall rejoice, and bloffom like the rofe.; or as the — Lily, as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic verfions; and fo the Zargum, *‘* as the lilies:” not Judea or Ferufalem, as the Fewifh writers, become like a defert, thro’ the devaftations made in it by the. king of Afyria’s army; and now made glad, and become. flourifhing, upon the departure of it from them: rather the Gentile world, which was like a wildernefs, barren and unfruitful, before the gofpel came into it; but by means of that, which brought joy with it, and was attended with fragrancy, it diffufing the favour of the knowledge of Chrift in every place; it became fruitful and flourifhing, and of a fweet odour, and looked delightful and pleafant: tho’ it feems beft to underftand it of the Gentile church in the latter day, after the deftruction of antichrift, when it fhall be ina moft defirable and comfortable fituation. Thefe words f{tand in connexion with the preceding chapter, and very aptly follow upon it.

¥. 2. It fhall blofom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and finging, &c.| A redundancy of words, to exprefs the very flourifhing eftate of the church, and the great joy there fhall be on that occafion, ration of Mofes; to the generation of Saul; frony thence, to the generation of Mordecai; and from

‘* thence,. to the generation of the king Mefce fiah.”? o am ts vey a church of God, which had been in a defolate con dition, fhould abound with choice and excellent chriftians, comparable to the cedars of Lebanon, Jarchi interprets it of the fanctuary or ‘temple 5 which may be fo called, becaufe built of the wood of Lebanon. This was an emblem and type of the gofpel-church; and the glory of it lay not only in its outward form and building, but in thofe thin which were in the holy places of it, efpecially the moft holy, which were all typical of fpiritual things: in gofpel-times; fo that all the glory of the Fewi > church-ftate and temple, is brought into the Gentile church, into the chriftian or gofpel-church- {tate; and which will ftill more appear in the latter day, when the temple of God will be opened in heaven, and. the ark of the teftament; fee Rev. xi. 19: the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, two places in the land of Fudee, famous for fruitfulnefs and pafturage; and {fo denote the very great fruitfulnefs of the gofpel-church; the word and ordinances of which are as green paftures for the fheep of Chrift to feed upon, and by which they become fat and flourifhing: they fhall fee the glory of our Lord, and the excellency of our God, the Targum introduces this claufe thus, ** the houfe of J rael,

‘“< to whom thefe things are faid, they fhall fee, “ &e.” but not Jrae/ in a literal fenfe is here meant, but the Gentile church, formerly in the wildernefs; or however, converted’ perfons, be they Fews or Gentiles, in the latter day, who fhall fee’ the glory of divine power, in the deftruction of their enemies; and the excellency and beauty of divine grace, in the bleffings of it beftowed upon them; they fhall fee the glory of the Lord, which fhall then be rifen upon them, J/ Ix. 1, 2. the Lord our God is the Lord Jeius Chrift, who is Lord and God; the glory and excellency of whofe perfon and offices, and of his righteoufnefs and falvation, is feen in the gofpel, by thofe whofe eyes are enlightened by the Spirit of God; ‘and will be- more clearly difcerned, when there will be a greater effufion of the Spirit, as a Spirit of wif= dom and revelation in the knowledge of him; and to this fight of the glory and excellency of Chrift, the joy and fruitfulnefs of the church will be greatly owing. The Septuagint and Arabic verfions render it, my people fhall fee, 8c. en ¥. 3. Strengthen ye the weak hands, &c.|) Thefe are the words of the prophet, as the Targum, “* the prophet faid, ftrengthen the weak hands;”” or rather of God, by the prophet, to the converted Gentiles, to thofe who faw the glory of the Lord; particularly to the minifters of the gofpel, who have to do with weak and feeble perfons, “who: an {carcely lift up their hands, or ftand upon their legs, under a fenfe of fin, in a view of wrath, a immediate ruin and deftru@tion, ready to fink and faint, becaufe of their enemies, or thro” want: food; and their bufinefs is to comfort and ftreng as well as. becaufe of the deftruction.of their enethem, by preaching the gofpel, and inting out _ mies, and deliverance from them: the glory of Lebanon fhall be given unto it; a mountain in Fudea, famous for its choice and tall. cedars, which were the glory of it; fignifying hereby, that the the promifes of it to them: and the feeble” knees; that fo they may keep their ground again, their enemies; fhake off their fears and trembli go on their way courageoufly and rejoicing 5 rv and not be weary; walk, and not fait: Lands and knees are mentioned particularly, becaufe a man’s ftrength lies greatly in them 5 and his weaknefs is feen, by the languor and trembling of them.

¥. 4. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, &cc.

‘Or, bafly of heart *, are at once for flying from ‘the enemy; 4a/fy in drawing black conclufions upon themfelves and their ftate; inconfiderate of ‘the promifes made unto them; ready to doubt of, and call in queftion, the performance of the above things, refpecting the fruitful and flourifhing eftate of the church: wherefore it mutt be faid to. them, be ftrong, fear not; be ftrong in faith, fear not the enemy, nor doubt of the fulfilment of divine promifes, relating to their ruin and your fafety: dehold, your God will come with vengeance; Chritt, who is God in our nature, God manifeft in the fiefh, and who came by the aflumption of human nature; and when he firft came, he came with vengeance, and took vengeance on fatan and his works; on him, and his principalities, and powers, whom he {poiled and deftroyed, as well as. made an end of fin, and abolifhed death; fee Jf Ixi. 2. and Ixiit. 4. fo likewife he came in his kingdom and power, and took vengeance on the Fews/h. nation, tor their difbelief and rejeCtion of him; and which time is exprefsly called the days of vengeance, Luke xxi. 22. and at the time of his fpiritual coming, he will deftroy antichrift with the brightnefs of it, and avenge the blood of his fervants, Rev. xviii. 20. and xix. 2. and at his perfonal coming; he will take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not his gofpel, 2 Leff. i. 8. and the words are fo exprefied, as to take in the feveral times of his coming: and fince he has already come, and taken vengeance in fome inftances, this may ferve fo encourage, and perhaps the defign of it is to encourage the faith of God’s. people, with refpect to his future coming, and the end and iffue of it: even God with a recompence 5 or, the God of recompence*; and fo the Targum,:** the Lord of recom- «< pences;”? both to the wicked, a juft recompence of reward or punifhment for their fins, it being juft with him to recompenfe tribulation to them that trouble his people; and to the faints; the time of his fpiritual reign being the time, as to.deftroy them that deftroy the earth, fo to give a reward to his

-fervants the prophets, and to the faints, and to them that fear his name,. Rev. xi..18:he will come and fave you, the end of his firft. coming was to fave his people from fin, the curfe and condemnation of the law, from hell, wrath, ruin, and deftruétion; and the end of his fpiritual coming, at the latter day, will be to fave his people from their antichriftian enemies, from idolatry, fuperttition, and flavery.

y. 5. Then the eyes of the blind fhall be opened, &c.] Which was literally fulfilled in the firft coming of Chrift, Mast..ix.27, and xiiv 22. and xx. 30. Fobn ix. 1, 30. and {piritually, both among nefg of all that is good, and their impotency to do any thing that is {piricual, their want of righteoufneis; their need of Chrift, and the fulnefs and fuitas blenefs of him as a Saviour; and to have fome light into the truths of the gofpel, and a glimpfe of heaven and eternal glory: and this will {till have a greater accomplifhment in the latter day; when the blind Fews are converted, and the fulnefs of the Gentiles brought in: and the ears of the deaf joall be unftopped, which was literally true of fome, when Chrift came in the flefh, Ma/t. xi: 5. Mark vii. 32, 35. and fpiritually of many, who had not ears to hear in a {piritual fenfe; ftopped-what ¢ars they had, to the charming’ voice of the gofpel; and tho’ they might externally hear, did not underftand it: yet thefe having ears given them to hear, and their ears and hearts opened by the Spirit: of God, heard the gofpel fpiritually, profitably, pleafantly,-comfortably, and with wonder and aftonifhment;-and a multitude of fuich inftances therewill be in the latter day-glory, ‘ferchi interprets it of fuch who were blind as to the knowledge of the fear of God, and deaf to the voice of the prophets. ¥. 6. Then foall the lame man leap as an bart,

&c.]-As the lame man: did healed by Peter, fs iii. 1; 8, there were many inftances of fuch pet fons cured by Chrift, when here on earth, AZa/t. XV. 30, 31. and xxi. 14. Fobu v. 7, 8, 9. and in a fpiritual fenfe this was verified im many, who were impotent to that which is goods had neither will nor power to go to Chrift for life and faivas tion, nor to walk by faith in him, nor to wall in his ways; who yet, by the mighty power of the Spirit and grace of God, became able\and willing to go to him, and venture their fouls on him, walked ‘on in him, as they had received him; and not only walked in his ways, but ran in the ways of his commandments, and leaped for joy for what they faw and heard of him, and receivedfront him; and) innumerable sill be! the inftances.of fuclt mighty prace, at the fpiritual coming and reign of Chrift:: and: the\tongue of the dumb fhall fing 3 this had its accomplifhment, ina literal feniey at the firlt.coming of Chrift, Matt. ix. 32) 33.:.and: xii, 22. and xv. 30; 31) and in a fpiritual fenfe in many, who betore:‘had nothing to fay to God in prayer, nor in praife nothing to fay of Chriit, or tor him; or Of the bleffed Spirit, and his divine: operations; but now, by divine: grace; are made! to. fpeak unto God, both in\a petitionary. way, and> in. a way of thankfulnefs; and of Clirift, and of the blefléd Spirit;-arid: of the preat things each -+have! ‘done for them; and: evento fing for joy, becaufe: of the wondrous bleffings of grace they were made partakers. of;)and! many more fuch there wilh bé, in the latter day; when ithe Spirit is poured dowm from on, high. Kirche interprets! alb this of the Tiraelites,. who wete, in captivity:asbhnd, deafy lame, and dumb; So the Jargum-of this and the preceding verfe, ‘* then thall the eyes of the houfe Jews and Gevtiles; efpecially the latter, under the miniftry of the apoftles, when thofe, who were blind as to fpiritual things, had no knowledge of' God in Chrift; nor of the way of falvation by him; nor of the plague of their own hearts; nor of the work of the Spirit of God upon the foul; nor of the truths of the gofpel; thro’ the power ef divine ‘‘.of. Z/jrael be opened; who were as blind men: as! <‘.to the law; and the ears of them that are as. ‘‘:deaf men, to attetid: to the words of the: pro~)!*‘ phets.fhall hear; then-when they fliall: fee. the! “¢ captives of Jrdel gathered to go up to their own: '*¢ land, as the fwift -harts, and not tarry, Se.” but: it may be better applied to their prefent ftate, and grace, iad the eyes of their underftariding opened, to their cafe whenthey fhall be turned to the Lord:

‘in-the-latter day: for in the wildernefs foall waters

Break out, and\ fireams-in the deferts not literally, i but ‘myftically 5 "and: may bé*underftood both ‘of the ‘dottrines of the gofpel breaking out in the'miniftry’of them, in fuch places’ as ‘were like -unto the'wildeimefs and’ defert, quite barren, and ‘deftitute of the ‘knowledge, grace, and-fear of God; fee: Yoel iii. 18.’ Zerb. xiv. 8.-and of the abundance of! grace, “and the efficacy of it, making the word effe@tual to the converfion and fruitfulnefs of mul- ‘titudes\of fouls, bringing along with it a'vaft variety of fpititual bleffings; fee ‘Fobn vii. 37, 38. to both which, the one as the: means, and the other as the caufé, all the above wonderful things are owing.

“\y.7, And the parched ground foall become a pool, and the thirfly land fprings of water, &c.| “Such perfons who have been like the parched earth, bar-_ ren and unfruitful, or like the earth feorched with the fun, filled with a fenfe of divine wrath, and thirfting, like the dry earth, after the grace of

God, Chrift and his righteoufnefs, fhall be comforted and refrefhed, and filled with the grace of God: or fuch who have-been feorched and parched with the heat of perfecution, from the antichriftian party, and have been’ thirfting after deliverance trom it, fhall now enjoy peace and profperity: iz the habitation of dragons, where each lay, in kingdoms, cities, ‘and towns, inhabited by men, comparable to dragons for their poifon and cruelty; where the great red dragon fatan had his feat, and the pagan emperors, and papal powers, who have exercifed the authority, power, and ‘cruelty of the dragon, dwell; fee Rev. xii, 3, 4, 9, 15, 17. and Kili. 2, 11, 12: fhall be gra/s, with reeds and rufhes, perfons fhall {pring up, partakers of the grace of God, who for their number, and flourifhing eftate, fhall be like the green grafs; and others, ftil! more eminent for their gifts and ufefulnefs, like reeds or canes, and rufhes; fee J/ xliv. 3. Rev. ix. 4,

¥. 8. And an high way fhall be there, and a way,

&c.] Not two ways, but one; the way fhall be an high way, a way caft up, raifed, and elevated’: this is to be underftood principally of Chrift, the only way of life and falvation; and of the lefér paths of duty and ordinances and the meaning is, that in thofe defert places, where Chrift and. his gofpel had’not been preached, at leaft for many ages, here he fhould be made known, as the way, the truth, and the life; his gofpel preached, and his ordinances adminiftered; and multitudes, both of Fews and Gentiles, fhould be direéted and enabled to walk’ here. Chrift is an high way to both; a way caft up by fovereign grace, which is raifed above the mire and dirt of fin, and carries over it, and from it; a way vifible and manifeft, clearly pointed to, and defcribed in the everlafting gofpel; it is the king’s high way, the high way of the King of kings, which he -has ordered and appointed, and is common to all his fubjects, high and low, rich and poor, ftronger or weaker befievers, all may walk: in this way it is an old beaten path, which faints in all ages, from the beginning of the world, have* walked in; it is the good old way, the more excellent, the moft excellent one; ‘all obftructions and impediments are removed, caft in’ by: fin, fatan, the law, andthe world; nor is any one to be {topped and molefted | in this way, and all.in it) fhall’ come ‘fafe to their journey’s end: and it fhall'be\called'the way of boli nefss or, an boly way * 3 Chrift is perfectly holy in