Exposition of the Whole Bible

Merodach, tho’ it is generally took to be a flip of the fcribes there, or a change of letter, as is common in names; he was either afterwards made a. god of, or he had his name from an idol of the Babylonians fo called, Yer. 1. 1. which fignifies 2 pure Lord. ‘Ferom obferves it, as the opinion of the Fews, that he was the father of Nebuchaduezzar, which is not probable. Kimchi takes him to ~ be the fame with E/arhaddon, the fon of Sennacherib, but he was king of Affria, not of Babylon; it is moft likely that he is the Afpriew king, whon Ptolemy in his Canon calls Mardocempad; his othe: name Baladan, which is compounded of two words, Bal and Adan, and both of them Pee he es from his father, for he is bree - Baladan, by Fofephus *he is called Baladas, who _ fays that Berojus the Chaldean makes mention of a king of Babylon by this name. Bifhop Ufher > thinks he is the fame that is called by prophane writers Belefis, and Beleffus, and Nabonafarus; his name confifts of the names of three idols, Merodach an idol of the Babylonians, as before obferved, and |.

Bal the contraction of Baal, and Adan the fame with Adonis: he jent letters and a prefent to Hezekiabh, by his embafiadors, which was always ufual in embaffies and vifits, and ftill is in the eaftern countries;, the purport of which embafly was to congratulate him upon his recovery, and to enquire concerning the miracle that was wrought in his land; either the deftruction of the Afyrian army in one night by an angel, or rather the fun’s going back ten degrees, 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. and ‘as Jo- Jephus © fays, to enter into an alliance with him; and this feems to be the true reafon of fending thefe embafladors; for the king of Babylon had lately falien off from the Affyrian monarch, and therefore was defirous of entering into a league with Hezekiab the king of Afyria’s enemy, in order to ftrengthen himfelf againft him, and fecure his liberty he had juft regained: for he had heard that he had been fick, and was recovered; which both gives a reafon of the embaffy, and points at the time when it was; very probably the fame year of his ficknefs and recovery. ¥.2. And Hezekiah was glad of them, &c.] Not of the prefents, for he was very rich, and ftood in no need of them, nor does it appear that he was coyetous; but of the embaffadors, and of the honour that was done him in having fuch fent to him from fuch a prince, his fin was vaih-glory; and becaufe he might hope that fuch a powerful ally would be a fecurity to him againft any after-attempt of the king of Afyria, in which he was guilty of another fin, vain confidence, or trufting in an arm of flefh; and being lifted up with pride that his name was become fo famous abroad, and that he had got fo good anally: and in order to ingratiate himfelf the more into his efteem and favour, he foewed thefe his embafladors, the boufe of bis precious things; where his jewels and precious ftones lay, and where were, the filver, and the gold; large quantities of it; not only which he and his predeceflors had laid up, ‘which had been very lately greatly exhaufted by the demand of three hundred talents of filver, and thirty talents of gold, by the king of Afjria; to anfwer which Hezekiah had given all the filver in the temple, and in the treafures of the king’s houfe, and was fo drove by neceffity, ‘that he cut off the gold from the doors and pillars of the temple, 2 Kings xviii. 14, 15, 16. fo that it might be reafonable to afk, how came he fo foon by all this treafure? it is poffible that fome part of the royal treafure might be unalienable, and he might have fince received prefents from his. own nobles, and from foreign princes; but this was chiefly from the fpoils found in the Afjrien camp, after the angel had made‘fuch’a laughter of them, 2 Kings xix. 35. as @ learfed * man obferves: and the fpices, and precious ointment; which, ‘as Farchi notes, fome fay were oil of ‘olives; others, the balfam which grew in Fericho; great quantities of “this, with other fpices, ‘were ‘laid in ftore for ufe, as occafion fhould require: # all the bhoufe of bis armour; where were all‘his military ftores, fhields, fwords, fpears, “arrows, €%c. and all that was found in bis treafures, in-other places: there

was nothing in his bonfe, in his royal palace: nor in all bis dominion, that was rare, curious, and valuable: that Hezekiah fhewed them not, even the book of the law, as Farchi fays.

¥. 3. Then came Ifaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiab, 8c.) Quickly after the embaffadors had been with the king, and he had fhewn them all his treafures; the prophet did not cofe of himéelf, but was fent by the Lord, tho’ he was not fent for by the king; in the time of his diftrefs and illnefs he could fend for him, but now being well, and in profperity, he forgot the prophet, to fend for him, and have his advice, how he fhould behave towards thefe men, as not to offend the Lord: and faid unto bim, what faid thefe men? what was their errand to thee? and their bufinefs with thee? what did they communicate to thee? or requeft of thee? and from whence came they unto thee? from what country? thefe queftions the prophet put to the king, not as ignorant of the men, and their bufinefs, and country, but in order to have every thing from the king himfelf, and to lead on to further converfation with him on thefe things: and Hezekiah faid, they are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon; he makes no anfwer to the firft queftion, but at once replies to the fecond, as being what his heart was lifted up with; that em-. baffadors fhould come to him from a very diftant country, and from fo-famous and renowned a placé as Babylon; which fhewed that his name was great in foreign’parts, and was in high efteem in diftant countries, and even fo great a prince. as the king of Babylon courted his friendthip.

¥. 4. Then faid be, what have they feen in thine houfe? &c.] Coming nearer to the point he had in view, and which was the thing that was difpleafing tothe Lord; not that he had received the embafiadors, and ufed them in fuch manner as perfons in fuch a quality ought to be ufed; but that he had ‘fhewn them what he ought not to have done, and efpecially from fuch a principle of pride and vanity as he did: and Hezekiah anfwered, without any referve, very-openly, not fufpecting that the. prophet was come with a reproof to him, or to blame him, or would blame him for what he had done: all that is in my boufe have they feen,; the feveral royal apartments, and the furniture of ~ them: thereis nothing among my treafures, that I have not foewed them; which were more fecret, laid up in cabinets, under lock and key; his gold, filver, jewels, and precious ftones, fpices and ointients. Ferom thinks he fhewed them the furniture and veflels of the temple; tho’ he does not mention them.;

¥. 5. Then faid laiah to Hezekiah, &c.] Now he begins to let him know that he came not of himfelf, and that he did not afk thefe queftions to gratify his own curiofity, but that he came from the Lord, and with a'word of rebuke from him: bear the word of the Lord of hofts; a greater king than thot’ art, who art fo elated with thy riches, and grandeur, and fame; or than the king of Babylon, whofe embaffadors thefe are; even the King of Kings;’and Lord of armies above and below, and who is able to make good every word that is ‘fpoken by him, and therefore fhould be folemnly attended to.’ =~“ * ing *; and which quickly came; atter a few reigns: Y more, more, even in Feboiakim’s time: that all that 1s in thine houfe, and that which thy fathers have laid up in fiore until this day, foall be carried to Babylon; as it was, when fehviakim king of Fudab, his mother, fervants, piinces and officers, were taken by the king of Babylon, and carried captive, and along with them the treafures of the king’s houfe, and alfo all the treafures of the houfe of the Lord, 2 Kings xxiv. 12, 13: nothing fhall be left, faith the Lord; this was, as Jarchi fays, meafure for meafure; as there was nothing that was not fhewn to the embaffadors, fo nothing fhould be left untaken away by the Babylonians..

y.7. And of thy fons that fhall iffue from thee, which thou foalt beget, foall they take away, &c.]| Manaffeh his immediate fon was taken and carried to Babylon, tho’ afterwards releafed; nor. does it appear that he was made an eunuch or an officer there; this had its fulfillment in Feconiah and his children, and in others that were of the feed royal, as Daniel, Hananiah, Mifhael, and Azariah, to whom the ewi/h commentators apply this; this is exprefled in different words, fignifying much the fame, to affect the mind of Hezekiah the more: and they fhall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon, or chamberlains,; and who very often were

HIS chapter treats of the comforts of God’s people; of the forerunner and coming of the Meffiah; of his work, and the dignity of his perfon; of the folly of making idols, and of the groundlefs complaints of the church of God. The confolations of God’s people, by whom to be adminiftered, and the matter, ground, and reafon of them, ¥. 1,2. Fobu the Baptif, the harbinger. of Chrift, is defcribed, by his work and office, and the effects of it; it iffuing in the humiliation of fome, and the exaltation of others, and in the revelation of the glory of Chrift, ¥. 3, 4, 5. then follows an order to every minifter of the gofpel what he fhould preach and publifh; the weaknefs and infufficiency of men to any thing that is fpi- _ ritually good; their fading and withering goodlinefs, which is to be afcribed to the blowing of the Spirit of God upon it; and the firmnefs and conftancy of the word of God is declared, y¥. 6, 7, 8. next the apoftles of Chrift in Yerufalem are_particularly exhorted to. publifh fervently and openly the good tidings of the gofpel; to proclaim the coming of Chrift, the manner of it, and the work he came about; and to fignify his faithful difcharge of his office as a fhepherd, ¥. 9,.10, 11. the dignity of whofe perfon is fet forth by his almighty power, by his infinite wifdom, and by the greatnefs of his majefty, in comparifon of which all nations and things are as. nothing, ¥. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,17. and then the vanity of framing any likenefs to God, and of forming idols for worfhip, is obferved, ¥. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,25. and from the confideration of the divine. power in creation and upholding all things, the hash of

God is encouraged to expect renewed ftrength and f perfevering grace, and is blamed for giving way

* So Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it, princes and governors. 2!)? © tovoer ae 3 O fi fieret pax, Foreriuss» precor ur fit pax, Vatablus 5 caftrated for that purpofe, tho’ it does not necef= farily fignify fuch, being ufed of officers in generals The Targum renders it, princes; and fuch am one was Dawiel in the court of the king of Babyloms. and his three companions were alfo promoted, Daas li. 48, 49. and iii. 30. i wangs? od

¥. 8. Ihen faid Hezekiah to Ifaiah, good is. tbe word of the Lord, which thou baft fpoken, Sec.) Hezekiah was at once convinced of his fin; acknow-~. ledged it, and repented of it, and owned that the ifentence pronounced was but juft and right; and that there was a mixture of mercy and goodnefs in it, in that, time was given, and it was not immediately executed: be /aid moreover, for there fhall be peace and truth in my days; or a confirmed peace; lafting profperity, peace in the ftate, and truth in the church, plenty of temporal mercies, and the truth of doctrine and worthip, which he under- {tood by the prophet would continue in his days, and for which he was thankful; not that he was unconcerned about pofterity, but inafmuch as it muft be what was foretold, and which he could not objeét to as unjuit, he looked upon it.as a mercy to him that there was a delay of it to future times;—or, it may be confidered as a wilh, O that there were peace *, &c. +O. eaNsT

¥, 1. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, faith your God.| The: Badylonifh captivity being predicted in the preceding chapter; for the comfort of God’s people a deliverance is promifed, exprefied in fuch terms, as in the cleareft and ftrongeft manner to fet forth the redemption and falvation by Jefus Chrift, of which it was typical. Here begins the more evangelical and {piritual part of this prophecy, which reaches to, and includes the whole gofpel-difpenfation, from the coming of Fobn the Baptift to the fecond coming of. Chrift. It begins with comforts, and holds on, and ends with them; which confolations, Kimchi obferves, are what fhould be in the times of the Meffiah; and the word comfort is repeated, he fays, to confirm the thing. Ic is God that here fpeaks, who is the God of all comfort; the perfons whom he would haye comforted are his people, whom he has chofen, with whom he has made.a covenant in Chrift, whom he has given to him, and he has redeemed by. his blood, and whom he effectually calls by his grace; thefe are fometimes difconfolate, by reafon of the corruptions of their nature, the temptations of fatan, the hidings of God’s face, and the various afflictions they meet with;..and it is the willof God they fhould be comforted, as appears by fending his fon to be the comforter of them, by giving his Spirit.as another comforter, by appointing, ordinances as breafts of confolation to Stadeeabe promifes he has made to them, and the confirmation of them by an oath, for their ftrong confolation; and. particularly by the word of the the -minifters of it, who are confolation, who are fent with a comfo:

fage, and.are encouraged in their work confideration of God being their God, wh with them, affift them, and make their tions, fuccefsful; and to thefe are | dreffed; which: are repeated, not to fuggeft any backwardnefS in gofpel-minifters, who are ready to go on fuch an errand, however reluctant they may be to carry-bad tidings; but rather to fignify the peoples refufal to be comforted, and therefore muft be fpoken to again and again; and alfo to fhow the vehement and hearty defire of the Lord to have them comtorted. The Targum is, *‘ O ye pro- ‘* phets, prophefy comforts concerning my peo- «¢ ple.” And the Septuagint and Arabic verfions infert, O ye priefts, as if the words were directed to them. The preachers of the gofpel are meant, and are called unto; what the Lord would have faid for the comfort of his people by them, is exprefied in the following verte.

y. 2: Speak ye comfortably to Ferufalem, and cry unto her, &c.| Or, fpeak to or according to the heart of Ferufalem” 3; to her very heart, what will be a cordial to her, very acceptable, grateful, and comfortable; and let it be proclaimed aloud, that fhe may hear and underftand it. By Yeru/falem is meant the gofpel-church,- and the true members of it. Aben Ezra interprets it of the congregation of J/- rael; fee Heb. xii. 22: that her warfare is accom- lifbed; this life is a warfare; faints have many enemies to engage with, fin, fatan, and the world; many battles to fight, a great fight of afflittions, and the good fight of faith: this is accomplifhed, or filled up'; not that it is at an end before this life is, whilft that lafts there will be a continual conflict; yet alt enemies are now conquered by Chrift; and in a fhort time will be under the feet of his people; the captain of their falvation, who has got the victory, is gone before them; the crown is laid up for them, and is fure unto them. Some interpret it, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, ber fet or appointed time *,; and compare it with Fob vii. 1. and may be underftood either of the time of deliverance from. captivity; fo the Targum, ** that her captivity by the people is filled up::” or of the time of the Meffiah’s coming, the fulnefs. of time, when he fhould appear, afterwards prophefied of; or of the fervitude and bondage of the law being at an end, and of all the fatigue, labour, and trouble of that difpenfation; and of the gofpel-difpenfation taking place: it follows, that her iniquity is pardoned; which is God’s att, flows from his free grace, is obtained by the blood _ of Chnit, is full and compleat, and yields great relief and comfort to guilty minds: or, is accepted‘ that is, the punifhment of it, as bore by her furety; fee Lev. xxvi. 43. The allufion is to the facrifices being accepted for the atonement of fin, Lev. i. 4. and may have refpect here to the acceptation of Chrift’s facrifice, for the expiation of the fins of his people. ‘archi interprets the word appeafed, and fo it may be applied to the reconciliation for fin, made by, the blood of. Chrift. The Targum underftands it of forgivenefs, as we do: for foe hath received of the Lords hand double for all ber fins; which may be underftood either. of a fufficiency of chaftifements for fin; tho’ they are not more, but lefs, than are deferved, yet are as much as their heavenly Father, in his great tendernefs and compaffion, thinks are enough; and tho’ they are in meafure, and-don’t exceed, yet are in large meafure often, at leaft in their own. appre-

henfion: or elfe of the large and copious bleffings of grace and goodnefs received, inftead of punifhment for fins, that might be expected: or rather of the compleat fatisfaction made by Chrift for her fins, and of her receiving at the Lord’s hands, in her furety, full punifhment for them; not that more was required than was due, but that ample fatisfaction was made, and being infinite, fully anfwers the demerit of fin; and this being in the room and ftead of God’s people, clears them; and yields comfort to them.

¥. 3. The voice of him that crieth in the wildernefs, &c.] Not the voice of the Holy Ghoft, as Farchi, but of Fobn the Bapiift, as is attefted by all the evangelifts, Matt. iii. 3. Mark i. 3. Luke iii. 1, 5, 6. and by Fob himfelf, Fobu i. 23. who was a voice not like the man’s nightingale, vox @ preterea mbil, a voice and nothing elfé; he had not only a fonorous, but an inftructive teaching voice; he had the voice of a prophet, for he was a prophet: we read of the voices of the prophets, their doétrines, and prophecies, és xiii. 27. his voice was the voice of one that ¢rie‘h, that publifhed:and proclaimed aloud, openly and publickly, with great eagernefs and fervency, with much freedom and liberty, what he had to fay; and this was done in the wilderne/s, in the wildernefs of udea literally taken, Matt. iii. i. and when Fudea was become a Roman province, and the Yews were brought into the wildernefs of the people, Ezek. xX. 35. and when they were, as to their religious affairs, in a very forlorn and wildernefs-condition ™: what ob was to fay, when he came as a harbinger of Chrift, and did, follows, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make firaight in the defert a high way for our God; by whom is meant the Meffiah, to whofe proper deity a noble teftimony is here bore, being called Jehovah and our God; whofe way Fokn prepared himfelf, by preaching the doétrine of répentance, adminiftring the ordinance of baptifm, pointing at the Meffiah, and exhorting the people to believe in him; and he calléd upon them likewife to prepare the way, and make a plain path to meet him in, by repenting of their fins, amending their ways, and cordially embracing him when come, laying afide all thofe fentiments which were contrary to him, his gofpel, and kingdom. The fenfe of this text is fadly perverted by the Targum, and feems to be done on purpofe, thus,.‘* prepare the “¢ way before the people of the Lord, caft up ways “ before the congregation of our God;" whereas. it is before the. Lord himfelf. The allufion is to pioneers, fent before fome great perfonage to remove all obftructions out of his way, to cut down trees, level the way, and clear all before him, as in the following verfe.

y. 4. Every valley fhall be exalted, and every mountain and bill foall be made low, &c.] Which is not to be underftood literally, but as Kimchi fays parabolically and myftically: thé meaning is, that in confequence of Fobn’s miniftry, and out Lord’s ‘coming, fuch, ‘who were depreffed and bowed down with the guilt of fin, and were low and humble in their own eyes; fhould be raifed up and comforted; and that fuch, who were elated with themfelves, and their cwn righteoufnefs, fhould be humbled; their pride and haughtinefs fhould be ‘ ne. broughr

Tempus prefim Tho’, according to the accents, g the phrafe, in the wilderne/s, Belo to what follows, in the wilderne/s prepare ye the way of the Lird; where it is placed by brought down, and they treated with neglect and contempt, whilft great notice was taken of lowly minded ones; fee Luke xiv. 11. and Xvi. 14: and the crooked foall be fircight, and the rough places plain, what before was dark and intricate in prophecy, fhould now become clear; and fuch doctrines as were not: fo well underftood, thould now become plain and eafy.

y¥. 5. And the glory of the Lord foall be revealed, &c.] Chrift himfelf, who is the brightnefs of his

Father’s glory, and his own glory, as the glory of the only-begotten of the Father; the glorious perfections of his nature, feen in the miracles wrought, and in the doétrines taught by him; the glory of the divine Father, in the face or perfon of Chrift; and the glory of his attributes, in the work of falvation by him; all which is moft clearly difcerned in the glafs of the gofpel, or in the miniftry of the word, by Yobn, Chrift himiéelf, and his apoftles: and all flefh fhall fee it together; not the Yews only, but Gentiles alfo; not with their bodily eyes, but with the eyes of their underftanding; even the falvation of the Lord, and

~ his glory, as difplayed in it, being fet forth in the everlafting gofpel to the view of all; fee Luke iii, 6: for the mouth of the Lord bath fpoken it; that his glory fhould be revealed, and be vifible to all, and therefore fure and certaih; for what he has faid he does, and what he has fpoken he makes good. ‘The Zargum is, ‘‘ for by the word of the ** Lord it is fo decreed;” and therefore fhall be fulfilled.

y. 6. The voice faid, cry, 8&c.] Not the fame voice as in y. 3. nor the voice of an angel, as Aben Ezra; bat a voice from the Lord, as Farchi; the voice of prophecy, fays Kimchi; it is the Lord’s voice to the prophet, or rather to any and every gofpel-minifter, giving them an order to prophefy and preach, without which they cannot preach regularly and lawfully;-it is the fame as, go, teach all nations, &c. preach the gofpel to every creature, &c. Matt. xxviii. 19. Mark xvi. 15: and be faid, what fhall I cry? publith, proclaim, or preach? fora minifter of the gofpel is to preach not out of his own heart, or of his own head,. or -what is of his own devifing and framing, but what is agreeable to the mind of Chrift, as revealed in his word; he is to fpeak according to the oracles of God, the proportion and anal of faith; he is to enquire there, and of Chritt, what he fhall fay.. The Targum is, ** the voice of

“«< and faid, what fhall I prophefy?” The reply is, all flefh is grafs, declare the frailty and mortality of men; which fome think is mentioned, to in-' creafe the wonder of Chrift’s incarnation, after’ prophefied of, as the forerunner of it.is before; that Chrift fhould condefcend to take upon him fuch.frail, mortal flefh; that he fhould becorhe flefh, and be manifefted in it: or rather this is to be faid, to put men in mind, and to prepare them to think of another world, ahd. how they fhall appear before the judgment- feat; feeing, if they have not a better righteoufnefs than their own,’

_and except they are born again, they fhall neither fee nor enter into the kingdom of heaven; which is one of the firft things to be publifhed in the’ gofpel-miniftry; as alfo how weak, impotent, and.

infufficient men are, ‘to that-which.is good,. which may be meant by this phrafe; being as weak as a {pire of grafs; notable to do any good. a¢tion,.

much lefs to fulfil the law, or to regenerate them-

|to juftify, fanctify, and fave, and wereWies ‘tinue: and all the govdline/s thereof is as the’

« and their ftreneth as the ftubbke and this mutt be faid, to abate the pride of met to fhew the neceffity of divine power in reger tion; to inftruét men to feek for the prace of

God, as to convert them, {> to help and them in all they do; and to direét them to aftribe all they have, and are, to the grace of God; to this purpofe the apoftle Peter quotes this paffa

1 Pet. i. 23, 24,24. It may be applied to the" dinances of the legal difpenfation, and’all th vileges of it, which are faid to be carnal; trufting in them, was truiting in the flefh, Phil. 4, 5. Heb. ix. 10. thefe were weak and inf riches, honours, ftreneth, beauty, wifdom, knowledge; yea, all his feeming holinefs and Hg teoufnefs; which are all fading and p Tike. a gay flower, which appears lovely for a: and on a fudden falls of or is cropped, or trampled upon; to which a flower of the field is more liable than that of the garden. This may be plied,to the fplendor of the legal pei ga which is done away by. a more excellent glor taking place, “2 Cor. ifi.’10,°1 a ¥.7. The grafs withereth, the flower fadeth, Bcc.} And fo does man, and all his glory and goodlinefs: Lecaufe the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon i; alluding to fome impetuous and blafting, wind blow. ing upon herbs and flowers, to the withering and fading of them; fee'Pf. ciii. 15, 16. Tegal orttinances ceafed upon the’ pouring forth of the Spi? rit. The external excellencies.of men, Or thei outward advantages, perith at the breath of God, at the blaft of his noftrils, when taken away” death; and at converfion, the Spirit of the Lo blows a blaft upon all the goodlinefs of man; the operations of the Spirit are compafed to wind, Jobs iii. 8. which, like that, are free, and, as he pleafes, are invifible and imperceptible, and powerfuland efficacious, and thefe caufe a withering in men’s goodnefs; the Spirit of God fhows that their helinefs is not true holinefs; that their righteouf: nefs has only the appearance of one before men; and their religion and godlinefs a mere form; “and their good works, /plendida peccata, fhining fins; that thofe are infufficient to juftify and fave, and bring to heaven; upon which they fade away and” die in their efteem, who now reckon them lofs and dung, Phil. iii. 6, 7, 8: furely the people is grafs,; the people of the ews, with all their external advantages; yea, all people, with all the excellencies of human natufe, or cor desert their beft eftate, poffefed of all that is reckoned good ‘and great, being but mere natural men. The Targum reftrains this to the ungodly, as 1 does the former verfé, rendering it, “* a8 prafs the * wicked among the people’ are éefteerhed 3” as does'the former, thus, \“* the wick

So Kimchi interprets them of the nations t with Geg and Magog; and Jarehi of ° of the Kingdoms, but very ¥ true of all flefh, or of all manki y. 8. The grafs withereth, the flower fad

‘Which. is repeated, to raife attentie ing a matter of importance, and for

felves, renew their hearts, or cleanfe their natures:

Babylon to Zion, or Ferufalem, and to the Targum, which paraphrafes the words thus, ‘“ O ye pro-' tion, and this is the word, which by the gofpel is preached unto you; who feems to diftinguith the word from the gofpel, by which it is preached, and to intend Chrift the effential word; who ftands or abides for ever as a divine perfon; in his office as Mediator, being prophet, prieft, and king for ever; in the efficacy of his blood, righteouinefs, and facrifice; and in the fulnefs of his grace: it is true of the written word or gofpel, which remains, is everlafting, and will ftand and continue, notwithftanding the perfecutions of tyrants, the craft of falfe teachers, the reproach of ungodly men, and the death of the beft of men, even of minifters; tho’ all flefh is grafs, fading and withering, the word of God is frefh and lively, firm and durable; and fo it is as tranfcribed into the hearts of men, where it becomes the ingrafted word, and iffues in everlafting life. It may be applied to ‘God’s word of promife, which is for ever fettled in heaven, and is always fulfilled,

¥. 9. O Zion, that bringeft good tidings, &c.] Or, O thou that bringeft good tidings to Zion"; which rendering of the words is more agreeable to the latter part of the verfe, /ay unto the cities of Fudab, &c. and to fome parallel places, J/ xli. 27. and lii. 7. and to the type, the deliverance of the Fews from Babylon, the tidings of which came from

‘< phets, that bring good tidings to Zion;” and fo may be applied to gofpel-minifters, who bring the good tidings of the good will, grace, and favour of God, to men, thro’ Chrift; of the grace of Chrift, in his furetyfhip-engagements and performances; in his incarnation, fufferings, and death, and in his advocacy and interceffion; and of the good things that come by him, as peace, pardon, righteoufnefs, falvation,.and eternal life: get thee up into the bigh mountain; to declare thefe good tidings, in the moft open and public manner, that all might hear and receive them, and rejoice at them; it may alfo point at the place, the church of God, comparable to a high mountain for its vifibility and immoveablenefs, where the gofpel is to be publifhed: O Ferufalem, that bringeft good tidings; the church of God fo called, to whom the faith of the gofpel is delivered, which is the pillar and ground of truth; which receives, retains, and maintains it, and fends forth minifters to proclaim it; particularly the firft church at Feru/alem, where it was firft preached, and from whence it went forth into other parts of Fudea, and into all the world; here the apoftles of Chrift were, and from hence they fet out, and publifhed the gofpel all the world over, and who feem to be chiefly meant; for the words may be rendered, as the other claufe, O thou that bringeft good tidings to Ferufalem®, fo the Targum: lift up thy voice with flrength, or preach the gofpel with a ftrong voice, {peak it our; don’t mutter it over, or whifper it in a corner; proclaim it on the houfe-tops, cry aloud that all may hear; lift up thy voice like a trumpet; blow the trumpet of the gofpel with all the ftrength thou haft, caufe the joyful found to be heard tar and near: Uift it up, and be not afraid, of the reproaches and revilings of men, on account of it, or of their perfecutions for it; or left it fhould not be welcome, or be received as truth: jay unto the cities of Fudeh;, the inhabitants; of thent literally underftood, and to the feveral churches and congregations of the faints every where: behold your Ged; that divine perfon is come, that was promifed, prophefied of, and expected; even, Jmmanyel, God with us, God in our nature, God manifeft in the flefh, God your Saviour, and wha being God, truly God, is able to fave to the uttermoft; look to-him with an eye of faith, and be faved; behold the Son of God, the Lamb of God, that has bore your fins, and took them away; behold him now, as your King and your God, on the throne, made and declared Lord and Chnift, crowned with glory and honour, on the fame throne with his divine Father, having all power in heaven and earth; and let the eccho of your faith be, my Lord, and my Ged. Vhe Targum is, ‘© the kingdom of your God is revealed;” fee Matt, iii. 2. é y¥. 10. Bebold, the Lord God will come with a Jirong hand, &c.] Some underftand this of the fecond coming of Chrift, which coming is certain, fuch affurances being given’of it by promife and prophecy; and will be attended with power, which will be requifite to raife the dead, fummon all nations before him, and pafs and execute the proper fentence on them; when his arm fhall openly bear rule, he’ll take to himfelf his great power, and reign; when his reward will be with him, to give to every map according to their works; and his own work will be before him, to judge the world in righteoufnefs: fee Rev. xxii. 12. but it is more agreeable to the context, which foretells the coming of Fobu the Bapiyt, points out the minifters of the gofpel, and defcribes Chrift in his office, as a fhepherd feeding his flock, to underftand it of his firft coming; for not God the Father, but the Son of God is meant by the’ Lord God, who is truly God, and fo able to fave, and which was the end of his coming. He is faid to come with g jirong hand, or with great power, which his work required; which was to fulfil the law, fatisfy divine juitice, atone for fin, grapple and confli& with innumerable enemies, undergo the death of the crofs, bear the curfe of the law, and the wrath of God, and all in order to obtain eternal redemption for his people; for this he came from. heaven to earth, not by change af place, but by affumption of nature. Some render it, againft a firong one?, the ftrong man armed, the devil, whole head he came to break, whofe works he came to deftroy, with whom he fought, and whom he conguered and. deftroyed. Farchi’s note is, ‘* againit the wicked, to take vengeance on them;” but den Ezra and Kimchi fupply the word hand, ‘as we do: and his arm fball rule for him; or he fhall have fufficient power of himfelf, to do the work he comes about; his own arm or power wrought falvation for him, and for his people; fee I/. Ixiii. 5. Some render it, over him; that is, over the ftrong and mighty one, againft whom he came, whom he conquered, fubdued, and ruled over: Jdebold bis reward is with him; to give to thofe that truft.in him, as Kimch:; or to thofe that do his word, as the Targum; that believe in him, embrace his gofpel, and act according to it: or this may refpe¢t his own reward, which fhouid follow his work; which he was as dure of, as if it was © bem Mwy, 0 que _ 2 DIMA, contra robuitum, Junius & Vrenyellus, Pilcator, was in his hands; namely, his: exaltation in his human nature, his glory with his Father, and the enjoyment of his fpiritual feed to all eternity: and his work before him the work of redemption and falvation, which he was called unto, fent to do, and which being given him, he agreed to do, was very toilforme and laborious, yet he took great delight in it, and has finifhed it; this is faid to be defore him, being propofed in council, and cut out in covenant for him, was well known unto him, and in his power to effect, and what he could eafily do, and did) The Yarguim underftands this of the works of men being before him, for whom he has a reward. y.t1. He fhall feed his flock like a foepherd, &c.] Chrift has a fock, a flock of men, a diftinét and peculiar people, and it is but one, and that a little one, and yet a beautiful one, ‘tho’ often a flock of laughter; which is his by his father’s gift, and his own purchafe, and appears manifeft in effectual vocation, when he calls them by name; to thefe he {tands in the relation of a fhepherd, being fo by his father’s defignation and appointment, and his own confent; and a good fhepherd he is, as is manifeft by his laying down his life for the fheep; and a preat one, being Jehovah’s fellow, and the chief fhepherd, under whom all others are; yea, he is the one, and only one; and a very careful, compaffionate, and faithful one he is; who performs his whole office as a fhepherd, not only by providing food for his flock, by leading them into green and good paftures, his church and ordinances; by appointing under-fhepherds to feed them with the doctrines of the gofpel, the wholefome words of the Lord Jefus; and by feeding them himfelf, with himfelf, the bread of life, and hidden manna, whofe flefh is meat indeed, and whofe blcod is drink indeed; but alfo by protecting them from all their enemies, the roaring and devouring lion, fatan, and wolves in fheeps cloathing, falfe teachers; and by taking fuch notice and account of them, as that none of them fhall be loft; and by doing all that is exprefled, Ezek. xxxiv. 16. feeking that which was loft; bringing back that which was driven away; binding up that which was broken; and ftrengthening and healing the fick, as well as watching over them night and day, left any hurt them: he foall gather the lambs with his arm; the weaklings of the flock; the fame with babes and fucklings, new-born fouls, weak believers, mean and low in their’ own eyes, the fmoaking flax, and bruifed reed, the day of {mall things, the poor of the flock; thefe he gathers with his arm of power, and by the miniftry of the gofpel, both to himfelf, his perfon, righteoutfnefs, grace and fulnefs, and to his church, to partake of the word and ordinances of it, and to nearer communion with him in them; he gathers them up into his arms in a way of protection, when liable to fall into the hands of powerful enemies, and to be hurt by them, and in order to carry them, they not being able to go of themfelves, as it follows: and carry them in bis bofom, which is expreffive of very great affection to them, fuch being greatly loved as are ‘put into the bofom, as Obed by Naomi, the poor man’s ewe-lamb, and a wife of youth; as alfo of great nearnefs to him, being in his bofom muft lie near his heart, and are indeed upon it; likewife it denotes the moft intimate communion with him, and a being privy to his fecrets, as Chrift in the bofom of his Father is to his; as well as it implies an enjoyment of reft in him, and cual fafety by him; for what can difturb or hurt fach ~ " as are in the bofom of Chrift? and joall gently lead thofe that are with young; who have the feed of ~~ grace in them, have fpiritual principles wrought ~ in their fouls, Chrift tormed in their hearts, are aed big with defires after him and fpiritual things, a + carry a burden, that of their fins, under whi they groan; thefe he leads out, and off of - felves to himfelf, his blood, righteoufiefs, and fa- — crifice, into green paftures, into his Father’s pres fence, and at laft to glory; and he leads them ‘on gently, gradually, ftep by ftep, to fee their own vilenefs and fintulnefs, to look, go to, lay hold on him, and retain him; he leads them into the truths aa of the gofpel, and the deep waters of the fanétuary, ~~ and Se Ratly to their ftrength as they are. able to bear, either the doétrines of the gofpel, or the duties of religion, or afflictions and fufferings 5 fee Gen, Xxxiii. 14. ree ¥.12. Who hath meafured the waters in the bollow of bis band? &c.] The following account of the power, wifdom, and all-fufficiency of God, and which is to be underftood of Chrift, is to fhew that he is equal to the work of redemption’ and falvation he has engaged in, and was about to come and perform, and that he is able to do it, as well as to execute his office as a fhepherd; and alfo'to obferve, that tho’ of his rich grace and goodnefs he ~ had condefcended to take upon him the work of a Saviour, and the office of a fhepherd, yet this was not to be interpreted as if he had loft his dignity and glory as a divine perfon, or as if that was in the leaft diminifhed; for he was no other than — that infinite being, who bas meafured the waters in the hollow of his hand; the waters of the feas, for which he has provided a receptacle, where he has colleéted and put them together; the dimenfions of which are exactly known to him, and the vaft confluence of water is no more in his hands than fo much water as a man can hold in the hollow of his hand, in his fift, or hand contraéted: and meted out heaven with the fpan, which he has ftretched out as a curtain, ¥. 22. and the meafure of which is but one hand’s breadth with him; and is no more to him than ftretching out a carpet or ‘canopy; and as eafily meafured by him as a piece of cloth is by a man with the {pan of his hand, or any meaturing rule or yard: and comprehended the dujt of the earth in a meafure, the word * ufed fignifies the third part of fome larger meafure, as of a fextarius, as fome; or of an Ephah, or Bath, as others; or of fome other meafure not known; fee the note on Pf. xxx. 5. The Vulgate Latin verfion renders it, with three fingers; and the fenfe maybe, that the duft of the earth, or the earth idle’ which’ is but duft, is no more with the Lord, than fo'much earth or duft as a man can hold between his thumb and two fingers; and in like manner is the whole earth comprehended by the Lord: and weighed mountains in fcales, and the hills in a b. eafily as a man can throw in his goods of fcales, and take the true weight of thet equal eafe did the Lord raife the mountaii hills in a proper proportion, and has poifed them, as if he had weighed t I of fcales; this feems ‘to hint at the ule of mou tains and hills to be a fort of ballaft to ‘the earth, and fhews the original formation of them from the beginning. The anfwer to the above that it was the fame divine perfon of w faid, debold your God, and who fhould come with a Strong hand, and feed bis flock.

¥..13. Who hath diretted the Spirit of the Lord, &c.}, In the creation of all things, in garnifhing the heavens, and moving upon the face of the waters? not any one, angel or man; there were none, with him, nor did he need any to guide and direct him what to do*: or being bis coun/ellor, hath taught him? or, the man of bis counfel'; there was no other than the wonderful counfellor, the angel of the great council, the effential word of God, whofe Spirit is here fpoken of.

¥.14. With whom took be counfel, and who infiruéied bim, 8cc.] ‘This is the fame as before, only repeated in other words, the more ftrongly to deny that any mere creature counfelled, taught, and inftruéted the Spirit of Chrift, in the ordering and managing the works of creation: and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and fhewed to him the way of underftanding? or gave him that judgment, knowledge, and underftanding in framing the world, and all things in it, in that beautiful and regular manner that it is; which fhews it to be a work of wifdom, more than human or angelical, and to be purely divine; no one, angel or man, could have ftruck out fuch a path of judgment, fuch a way of underftanding, or fhewed fuch exquifite fkill and knowledge, as appear in the works of creation; fee P/. civ. 24.

¥.15. Bebold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, &c.| Not only the Chaldeans and Baby- lonigns, and other nations moft known, and moft ee ral to the Fews, but all the nations of the world; thefe in comparifon of God, of his infinite and immenfe being, are but as a drop of water that hangs upon the bucket, or falls from it, when water is drawn by it, or is left in it, when poured out of it; which is nothing in comparifon of the well out of which the water is drawn, or even of the water in the bucket drawn out of it: and are accounted as the fmall duft of the balance. that is, they are accounted nothing of with God, comparatiyely fpeaking, any more than the fmall duft which hangs upon the balance, and gives it no weight, nor turn, one way or another, and fo is of no confideration. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac and Arabic verfions render it, as the turn of the fcale,; and fo the Targum, but the other verfion more ftrongly exprefles the fenfe: bebald, he taketh up the ifles as a very little thing; by which are meant not merely iflands, properly fo called, which are encompafled by the fea, but all fuch countries which the Hews ufed to go to by fea, for all fuch they called ifles; thefe the Lord can take up, or cafe away", as fome render the word; tots them about, overturn and. deftroy, as a man may take up the moft minute thing, and caft it from him, The Zargum renders it, ‘* as chaff which “© flies away;” or as others tranflate it, ‘* as the «© afhes of a coal which fly away.” The word may fignify any light thing, as chaff, ftraw, ftubble, feathers, down of thiftles, which are eafily carried away with the leaft force; and fo Vitringa renders the words, dehold, the ifles are as fome litile thing which flies away.

_¥.16, And Lebanon is not fufficient to burn, &c.] The trees of it, as the Targum; thefe are not fut-