Exposition of the Whole Bible

and fupplies them with every thiitg neceffary, fo that thenert like a. watered cation, white {prings So eee xi, uy.» This paage is applics: Fesws to the times: of the Meffiah "5.5 © ‘00? over, proteéts and defends, and this title is af med for the'comfort of them, Rata ic is. king by | over-all the: ratios of the World, yet in an eH nent and peculiar fenfe their king; and he doe!

sid Qoeals% not ftile“himfelf the God of Yacob, tho’ he was will plant-in the wildernefs the cedar, the | cE yr in 3 - becaufé this was the thing in controverfy, and th é caufe to’be decided, whether he was the true G

Jon Where -fach trees had not ufed the or the gods of the Gentiles; and the duit butyim Lebanon, and fuch: like places.

itp oro thought to bea kind of cedar | itis the,fame of which is the Jhittim wood menioned. in.Awed, xxv. 5,.and xxxy.'7, 24, and is fo: called. by, the Targum here:\.and-the myrtle, and the ilatree,s rabout the former there is no difficulty, and.one,would think there, fhould be none about the-atter,-and..that. the. olive-tree is meant;-but Knchithinks that.is- not certain, and fuppofes the pine-treeis;meant 5,and,,ebferves, thatthe olivetree. is«liltingnifhed from.this oil-tree in Ned. viii. i 5..aS,indeed,it i8g,and\is by our tranflators there rendered.the-pine-trees which they take to be meant by another.word.in the next,claufe: J will fet-in the-defert the. fir-tree, and the pine, and the box-tree together 3 wehat we here render,the pine, the Targum interprets. it;of..the elm, and fo. the Vulgate Latin verfion: now.by all. thefe are figuratively, meant converted perfons’ in. the Gentile. world, in whom as. great a, change” was, wrought, as if, inftead. of briars and thorns came up fuch trees as thefe;, and caufé them to come nigh, let them appear in court,- ee, si what is clearly and plainly foretold, and agreeable to the prediétion comes'to pafs, is 4 proof of deity. and as fuch is here challenged. “The ‘zy here, and the we in the following’ clanfes, either defion God, and the chriftians, the: true 'worfhippers’ of him; or rather the three divine perfons’ in the Godhead, Father, Son,.and Spirit, the one true God, in oppofition to the gods of the‘heathens. "T’ Say win renders it, ** what fhall ‘happen to as:” Ver them foew the former things what they be; either what’ were before the: creation’ of ‘the world, as Farchi; what were “purpofed,- decreed, ‘and determined’ fo early to be done'y or let then? write, or infpire their prophets’ to write, ‘a ‘hiftory of the creation, and’ of the tranfactions of former times, as Mo/es did, under ithe infpiration of God; or let’ them fhew whatthings before’ predicted by them have come to pafs, cagreeable to their predictions; “or rather, ibe firficthings, which ulay be; feet 5 what will firft or prefently ‘come to pafs, ‘that’ fhéw unto us if you can: ‘that we wiay confider'thém, and know the latter end of: them’; ot; ‘and weill fet our hearts uy them 75 weigh’ them well' in our minds, and diligently:and attentively confider them, how dnd in’ what: manneriit‘is foretold they fall cémé to pats, and take:notice*and obferve the iffue ‘of them, and whether: the ‘everit ‘atifwers to thé” prediGtion: or declaré us things \for to comes which are at ‘a’ ‘great diftance;tell ‘us*nor-only what'fall be done’in the’ prefentiage;>‘but onward to thé end of the’ > | wale gbShew the things that-aré to come be reap! &c.] From henceforward: toi the *confammiati deen on what fide truth,lies:, bring forth your strong’ realons, faith.the king.of Facob.5. or, king the erue J/rgel of God, who. acknowledge thé,Lord) as their king and their. God,.and,;whom he. wales ota vd qed ai ot sete Isqion 2ui3 otdted bart ofsfaintsy | ing hearand-afar off ‘The:7:

‘ is any profit;” as if the words were {poken not to the idols, but to the worfhippers of them: yea, do good, or do evil; not in a moral, but in a civil fenfe; do good to your friends, to your worfhippers; beftow favours upon them, as Ido on mine; or inflict punifhment on your enemies, fuch as de- {pile your deity, and will not worfhip you, as I do on thofe that defpife me, and will not regard my fervice and worthip: that we may be difmayed, and behold it together 5, that when we fee your deity, arid are convinced of it by the above proofs, we may be amazed and aftonifhed as not expecting fuch proof, and be confounded, and have no more to object unto it. The Targum is, ‘ that we may ‘* confider and reafon together;” and bring the matter in controverfy to an iffue, as it is in the next verte.

¥.24. Bebold, ye are of nothing, &c.] Not as to the matter of them, for they were made of gold, filver, brafs, ce. but as to the diviiity of them; there was none in them, they were of no worth and value; they could do nothing, either good or evil, either help their friends, or hurt their enemies; yea they were lefs than nothing; for the words may be rendered by way of comparifon, ehold, ye are lefs than nothing *, fee.ch. xl. 17: and your work of nought; the workmanfhip beftowed on them, in cafting or carving them, was all to no purpofe, and anfwered no end; or the work they did, or pretended to do, their feigned oracles, and falfe predictions: or, worfe than nothing; fome render it, worfe than a viper»; a word like this is ufed for one, ch, lix. 5. and fo denotes thé poifonous and pernicious effects of idolatry: az abomination is he that chafeth you y as the object of his’ worfhip; he is not only abominable, but an abomination itfelf to God, and to all men of fenfe and religion; for the choice he makes of an idol to be his God, fhews him. to..be a man void of common fenfe and. reafon, and deftitute, of all true religion. and godlinefs, and mutt be a ftupid fottifh creature,. The Targum is, “¢ an abomination ‘* is that which ye have chofen for yourfelves, or *¢ in which ye delight,” meaning their idols. This is the final iffue of the controverfy, and the judgment. pafled both upon the idols and their worfhippers.

¥.25. Lhave raifed up one from the north, &c.] - Either one people, or one perfon; a mighty king, as the Targum; meaning either Cyrus, who might of all, as moft agreeable to the {cope and tenor of the prophecy, to underftand it of Con/fantine, who, as reported, was born in Britain, in the northern -

‘part of the world; but when called to the empire, was in the eaftern parts of it; and fo with great propriety it is exprefféd here, and in the following claufe: and from the rifing of the fun he fball cali upon my name; which thofe that apply the prophecy to Cyrus, explain by Ezra i. 1, 2, 3. but is much more applicable to Con/tantine, who was a worthipper of the true God, which invocation of his name is expreffive of; and who opénly profefléd the name of Chrift, and encouraged thofe that did, and fpread his name and fame, his gofpel and his glory, throughout the empire, eaft and weft: and he /ball come upon princes, as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay; that is, he fhall come upon them with his army, and conquer them, and tread them down, and trample upon them, as morter is trodden upon; or mire in the ftreets; or as the clay is trodden by the potter, who does with it as he pleates; which thofe who interpret it of Cyrus, underftand of Afyages, Crafus, Belhhazzar; and others fee ch. xlv. 1. and is as true of Conj/tantine, who fubdued the emperors of Rome, trod them under his feet; as Maximius,; Maxentius; Licinius, 8cc. moreover the word Saganin here ufed, is a word ufed by Fewifh writers for priefts, for fuch who were the deputies of the high-prieft; and it may defign here the pagan priefts, and the deftruction of them, and of paganifm “in the Roman empire by Conftantine.

¥. 26. Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? &c.] Who of the idols, or of their priefts, that have déclared things future before they came to pafs, or ever predicted fuch an event as this before-mentioned; which, if underftood-of Cyrus, was an hundred and fifty years before it came to pafs; and if of | Conftantine, near a thoufand years: and before-time, that we-may fay, he is righteous 2. that.is, who hath declared things ‘before the time of the accomplifhment of them, ahd they have come to pafs, as they have been declared? by which it. may be known that they are gods, or the priefts of fach that! aré fo, by their having preicience.of future events, of the {pirit of prophecy; and fo-it may be faid of them, that they aré juft in: their. pretenfions, and have a rightful claim to deity, or are true prophets; fo the Targum, ** that ** we may fay it is true:” yea, there’ is none that be faid to.come.from the north, and from the rifing /beweth, yea, there is none that declareth, that fhews of the fun, or the eatt, as in. the next claufe; fince he was by birth. a Medo-Perfian, hence called a mule; by. his mother a Mdede, and the. country of Media lay rather to’ the north of Babylon; and’ by his, father a Perfan, and Pexjfia lay to) the, eaft. of it; and the forces he brought with him againft it, were partly Medes, and partly Perfians 5 tho’ fome, as Jarchi obferves, think, two perfons ate. meant in who came from Badylox, which lay north of Fudea, to invade it; and im the.other Cyrus, who came from the eaft,. and proclaimed, the name of the Lord,,.and. liberty to. the captive Jews.. Kimchi and his.father, both interpret. it of the king Met fiah, as: do alfo more ancient Fewi/h writers °, of wwhom Cyrus was a types, but-to me. it. feems beft me vos mints quam nihil efit, Junius & Tremellius, Pifcator:

8 TT eS ego primus fum qui dico hec Sioni, Tigurine verfion,

and. declares thing's to comie, of fuch as the true God fliews and declares: yea, there is mone that heareth your words 5 none of your worfhippers that ever heard’ you fpeak a word, who, when they have prayed to, you, could never have an anfwer; and therefore you havé no juft claim to deity; or ever heatd any of your ptophets fay fuch a thing fhould come to pafs, and it did.

y. 27. The firft thall fay to Zion, behold, behold them, 8cc:} Or, I the firft fay to’ Zion, I who am the farft and- the laft, ¥. 4. which» fome ancient Fewifh writers ‘ obfervé is the name of the Meffiah, and.apply the paffage to him; or; Iam the firf that-fay thefe things to Zion *, bebold, behold them, behold fuch and fuch things fhall come to pafs,. and accordingly they have come: to pafs; or, debold, the good tidings of falvation, as follows. The | Targum’ js, * the words of confolation which the | *« prophets prophefied from the beginning con- | * cérnin& Sion, behold they come;”” they come to pafs; which is fuch a proof of deity, the idols and their worfhippers cannot give: and I will give to Ferufalem one that bringeth good tidings, which fome interpret of J/aiab; others of Cyrus; others’of Chrift; and others of ‘ob the Bapiift. I fuppofe the fingular is’ put for the plural, one that bringeth good ticings, or, an evangelift for evangelifts; and» may be underftood of gofpel-teachers, ‘whom the Lord* gave. to his church and people, and by means of whom ‘he {pread his gofpel, not | only in Fudea, but in the Gentile world, to the | y¥. 28. For I beheld; and there was no man, &c.] Among all the pagan’ priefts and prophets that | could toretel things to come; or could prove that their idols did or could fay any thing in favour of them: even amongft them, and there was mo counfellor; none that could be advocates for thefe idols, and plead their caufe,; or could give any good ad- ‘vice and counfel to perfons that needed it, and who applied to them, or their idols for it: that when I éfeed of them, could anfwer a word, when afked

“WAHIS chapter begins with a prophecy concerning the Meffiah, ‘under -the-character of the fervant of the Lord, and his ele¢t, whom he fupported, and was well pleafed with; whofe work is pointed at; and for which he was ‘qualified with the Spirit without meafure, ¥. 1. and is. defcribed by his humility and meeknefs, ¥. 2. by his tendernefs. to weak. and ignorant perfons, ¥. 3. and by his courage’ and refolution, ¥. 4. then follow his call'to his-work, andthe feveral parts of it, introduced with fetting forth the greatnefs of God that called him, as the creator of the heavens, and of the: earth, and of men upon it, ¥. 5, 6, 7. whofe’ naine’ is Febovab, ‘and. whofe: glory is’ incommunicable to a creature, and whofe knowledge reaches ‘to’ future things, which are predicted by him, ¥.:8, 9. and then Gentiles are called upon to praife the Lord, and’ give glory to him) partly’ for. the above promifes concerning’ the Meffiah, | ys 10, 14,420 and partly for the deftruction of his; enemies, “¥..93, 14, 15. and-alfo for his’ gracious regard to fuch who had been. blind and ignorant, y. 16. the confufion of ‘idolaters is ptophefied of, and an exhortation is given ‘them to''make ule of the means of light and knowledge, ¥.-17; 18. and the blindnefs, ignorance, and ftupidity of the Fes. are expofed, ‘tho’ there was a remnant among.them) with whom’ the Lord. was well pleafed, for the fake of the righteoufnefs of his Son, ¥.19)/20,°2'1. but as for the body of the people, they were'to be given up to the fpoilers and robbers for their fins _ and difobedience, and be the butt of the divine. wrath and vengeance, *y. 22, 23, 24, aigt199 lel ¥.1. Bebold my Servant whom I uphald; &c.] The Targum is, * behold my fervant the Meffiah;”

what they had to fay on behalf of. their gods.they worfhipped, were dumb and [peechlefs; moreover all this may be faid of the idols.themfelves, that there was none among them that. could foretel a future event, or give any wholefome counfel to their worfhippers, or could fay any thing-in their own defence; and therefore to clofe the controverfy, the following fentence is pronounced,

¥. 29. Bebold, they are all vanity, 8ec.] Both the idols and the worfhippers of them; in vain j they claim the title of deity, to which they have no right; ‘and in vain do men worfhip them, fince they receive no benefit by them: their works are nothing; they can do. nothing, neither ‘good- nor evil; nothing is to be hoped or feared from them, and the worfhip given them is of no avail; nothi is got by it; it is all ufelefs and infignificant, yea, pernicious and hurtful: their molten images are wind and confufion, tho’ they are made of caft metal,

| yet fetting afide the coftly matter of which they are made, they are of no more folidity, efficacyy and ufe, than the wind; and are like the chaos of the firft earth, mere Johu and Bobu, one of which words is here ufed, without form and void, hav~ ing no fori of deity on them; and therefore men are directed to turn themfelves from them, and behold a moft glorious perfon, worthy of worfhip and praife, defcribed in the beginning of: the next chapter, behold my fervant, &c. ») A eo 8 and “Kimchi on the ‘place fays, this is ‘the ‘king Meffiah; and fo Abarbinel ‘ interprets it of him, and other Jewi/> writers, and which is ‘rights for the prophet {peaks not of himfelf, as Aben Ezra thinks nor of Gyras, as Saadiah Gaon; nor of the people of Jrael, as Farchi, but of Chrift, as it is applied, Mart. xii. 17, 18. who is'fpoken of under the character of a /ervant, as he is; not as a'divine perfon, for as fuch he is the Son of God; but as man, and in his office as mediator; a fervant of the Lord,-not. of angels, or men, but of his di+ vine Father; who chofe him, called and fent him, and affigned him his work; which was principally the redemption of his people, and-whieh he diligently, faithfully, and fully performed; in which he.was upheld as man and. mediator by his Father; not only in his’ being as man, but was ftrengthened and helped in his mediatorial fervice, 6 that he did not fink under the mighty weight of the fins of his people, or of the wrath of God: ory whom I lean upon®; as a’mafter on his fervants fo Kimchi she relied on him ‘to do. the werk “he undertook’; he trufted him with his own glory, -and the falvation of his people. This prophecy is*ufhered in with a debeld exciting ‘attention’ to what is laid concerning Chrift, -as'of: the’ greateft importance’ directing ‘the eye of faith to him for righteoufnels and falvation; and as’expreffive: of admiration at him, that he who—was the Son of: fhould become a fervant, and undertake the falvation”-o! men: mine elec in whom my~foul dehighteth, th character of ele may refpect the choice redemption of man, and appointed to glory; and likewife the choice of Chrift to office, to be the’

Mediator between God and man; to be the Saviour and Redeemer of the Lord’s people; to be the head of the church, and to be the foundation and corner-{tone of that fpiritual building; and to be the judge of quick and dead: and with him, as fuch, was the Lord well! pleafed, or delighted, with his perfon, as the Son of God; and with all his chofen, as confidered in him; with what he did as his: fervant; with the righteoufnefs he wrought out; with ‘the facrifice he offered up; and with his fufferings and death, through which peace and reconciliation were made with God for finners:\ J have put my Spirit upon him, my holy Spirit, as the Targum; not on him as a divine perfon, as fuch he needed him not; but as man, with which he was filled without meafure at his incarnation, and which refted upon him, and qualified him for his work and office, as prophet, prieft, and king: he fhall bring forth judgment to tbe Gentiles; the gofpel, the produce of divine wildom; the gofpel of God, whofe judgment is according to truth; the rule of human judgment in things fpiritual and faving, and by which Chrift judges and rules in the hearts of his people; this he brought forth out of his Father’s bofom, out of his own heart, and publifhed it in perfon to the ews, and by his apoftles,to the Gentiles, who being converted by 4t, became fubject to his rule and government.

y. 2. He fhall not cry, &c.] According to Aben Ezra and Kimchi, asa -judge in court is obliged to extend his voice that he may be heard: the evangelift Matthew renders it, be fall not firive; or contend in a difputatious way, about mere words and things to no profit, or litigate a point in law; he fhall bring no complaints, or enter an action againft any, but rather fuffer wrong, ag he advifes his followers; Matt. v. 40. for this ‘doesnot refpe& the lownefs of his voice in his miniftry; in this fenfe he often: cried, as wifdom: is faid to do, Prov. i. 20, 21. and viii. 1, 2, 3. fee Fob vi. 37: nor lift up that is, his voice, as Farchr, Kimchi, and Ben Melech fupply it; or, as others; he fhall not lifty up faces, or accept perfons; ‘and fo the Vulgate Latin verfion renders it, neither fhall he accept any perfon; or the perfon of any man, which ‘is true of Chrift; but the’ former fenfe feems beft, which agrees with what goes -before, and follows after: wor caufe bis voice to be heard in the ftreet, his voice was heard in the ftreet in a minifterial way; he fometimes preached in the ftreet, as in many other public places; Luke xiii. 26, but not ina clamorous contentious way; not in an opprobrious and menacing manner; nor in’ a way of miracles, but behaved with great humility and meeknefs; his kingdom.) was without pomp and noife, which worldly princes are attended: with; but this was not to be, the note on Matt, xii. 19...

oy. 3. Adbruifed reed foall he nat break, 8c.) The tendernefs of Chrift to'weak ‘and ignorant perfons is here, and in the next claufe exprefied; by whom young,converts or weak believers, feem to be defigned; whe are compared to a reed, becaufe worthlefs with. refpectto God, whom, they cannot profit 3» and.in the view of men; who reckon them as nothing; and-in themfelves, and in their.own view, nor was it his:cafe:; fee:

| the fins of ‘his people upon him; and with afenfe.

who judge.themfelves unworthy of the leaft of mers cies; and becaufe they are weak, not only as all men are, of which weaknefs they are fenfible, but they are weak in grace, efpecially in faith, and have but little hope, their love is the ftrongeit; and becaufe they are wavering like the reed, toffed to and fro with every wind of doétrine, and fhaken with the temptations of fatan, and difturbed with many doubts and fears; and are like a druifed reed that is f{queezed, and almoft broke to pieces; and fo of no ufe; thefe are broken in heart; under.a fenfe of fin and unworthinefs; whofe fpirits are bruifed and wounded with it, and whofe hearts are contrite on account of it. not lay his iron rod, but holds out the golden {ceptre of his grace to them; he does not call them to iervice and fufferings beyond their ftrength; but {trengthens, fupports, and upholds them with the right hand of his righteoufnefs; he binds up their broken. hearts, having poured in the balm of Gilead, his own blood, and the wine and oil of his love; he encourages them in their application to him for falvation, and manifefts his pardoning grace, and reftores comforts to them, and revives their fouls: and the fmoking flax fhall he not quench; or, the wick of a candle”; which juft going out, has fome heat, a little light, fmokes, and is offenfive; fo the perfons intended by it, are fired or lighted with the divine word; have fome Heat of affection in them to {piritual things, but- have but little light; into the corruption of nature; into the glories of Chrift’s perfon; into the doétrines of the gofpel; into the everlafting love of God, and the covenant of grace; and but little light of joy and comfort;

and this almoft gone, and feemingly ready to go out; and yet Chrift will not extinguifh it, or fuffer it to. be extinct; he doesnot difcourage fmall beginnings of grace, or defpife the day of fmall things;- he blows up their light into a flame; he increafes their fpiritual light and knowledge; fupplies them with the oil of grace; trims, fnuffs;

and caufés their lamps to burn brighter. The Targum is, *“* the meek, who are like to a bruifed ** reed, fhall not be broken; and the poor, who ** are as obfcure flax. (or a lamp ready to go out) ** fhall not be extinét:” he jhall bring forth judgment unto truth, which fome underftand of Chrift’s feverity to wicked men, in oppofition to his tender= nefs to his own people;' fee J/i xi. 4. others of the goipel, as preached: by him in truth, asin y. 1.

but rather it defigns the power of his Spirit ‘and grace’ accompanying the word, to the carrying on of his own work in the hearts of his people; which, tho’ attended with*many difficulties and difcouragements, fhall go on, and be performed; grace will break thro’ all: obftructions, and prove victorious at laft; fee Mat. xii. 20.

¥. 4. He fhall not fail, &c.| For want of ftrength to go thro’ the work of redemption: or, grow dim ‘ and dark, as a lamp for want of oil, or‘as-the wick of a candle ready to go out. Hence the Septuagint.verfion, be foall faine “; in the glory of his perfon, as the Son of God in the fulnefs of his grace, as Mediator, which fhal! never fail; and in the hearts of his people by his Spirit 5. arid in his gofpel publifhed to the world: nor be diftouraged, at the number, power, and menaces of his enemies, he had to grapple with, fin, fatan, the world, and” death »-or;::ter be broken'., with the weight of all of divine wrath; and with the whole punifhment.} due unto them inflicted on him, enough to have broke the backs and fpirits of men and angels; but he ftood up under the mighty load, and did not fink beneath it, but endured all with an invincible courage and refolution of mind: “il be have fet judgment in the earth, fully fatisfied the juftice of God for the fins of his people, and performed the work of their redemption in righteoufnefs; and then he fent and fettled his gofpel in the world, proclaiming the fame; and fixed a fett of gofpel-ordindnces to continue the remembrance of it, till his fecond coming, M©aimenides ® produces this paflage to prove, that the Meffiah fhall die, becaufe it is faid, be /halt not fail—till, 8c. but this does not fignify that he fhould fail afterwards, but that he fhould continue always: and the ifles foall wait for bis law, his doétrine or gofpel, the law or doctrine of faith, particularly that of juftification by his righteoutneis, with every other; this the inhabitants of the lands, or diftant countries, the Gentiles, fhould be defirous of hearing, readily embrace and receive, and truft in Chrift, made known to them in it. The Septuagint verfion is, and in his name feall the Gentiles truft; and fo in Matt. xii, 20. fee As xxviii. 28. and xii. 42,

¥. 5. Thus faith God the Lord, &c.|. The God of the world, as the Targum. This,.with what follows, is a preface to the call of Chrift, to the great work of redemption; fetting forth the greatnefs of God as a Creator, that calls him to it, and thereby encouraging him as man and Mediator in it, as well as the faith of his people, to regard him as their Saviour and Redeemer, and believe that this work he was called unto, fhould be, performed by him; for what is ic that'God, the Creator of all things, cannot do? he that created the heavens, and firetcheg them ont; he firft: made them out of nothing, and -ftretched out the firmament of them as 4 curtain and canopy over the earth, and them as a tent for himfelf to dwell in, ch. xl. 22: be that fpread forth the earth; into the length and breadth it has, for man and beaft to dwell. on it: and that whith cometh out of it, grafs, herbs, and trees, which he has fpread: all over it: be that giveth breath unto the people upon it; ashe did-to man at firft, he breathed into him the breath of life, and as he. gives, to all fince, Gem. ii. 7. ABs XVil. 25:, and [pirit to them that walk therein; not only breath in, common-with the beafts of: the | field, and;other creatures, but a rational fpirit, or a reafonable foul, an intellective faculty, a capacity of underftanding things, as brutes have not. Jorchi interprets this of the Holy Spirit, which God gives, to them, that- walk before him,

¥. 6. I the Lord have called thee in righteoufnefs, &c.] Not: the: prophet Jaiah, as Farchi. and: Aken Ezra interpret it; nor the people of IJfrael, as Kimchi; but the Meffiah,. whom. Jehovah, called to the office of Mediator, in a righteous way and manner, confiftent with: his. own perfections-; and. not againft the will. of Chrift, but with: his: full confent: or, unto righteoufne/s, as:fome™; fo the Arabic verfjon.; to fulfil His righteous purpofes, concerning the welfare and falvation of his people; to perform his righteous. promifes; of his coming, and, of good things-by him;. to-fhew:his; ftriGe vins dictive juftice againft fin, in the punifhment of ity and: to: bring! in an, everlafting righteoufnefs for hig people: or, it may be rendered, I have called thee with righteoufne/s°, Chrift came a righteous perfon, holy in his nature, harmlefs in his life, and truly deferved the character of Jefus Chrift the righteous: and will bold thine band; denoting his prefence with him, and nearnefs unto him his favour and affection for him; his counfel and direction of him; the fupport and affiftance he gave him; and the ftrength he received from him as man, to go thro’ his work: and will keep thee; as the apple of his eye, being dear unto him; from being hurt by his enemies, till the time came to be delivered into their hands; and from mifcarrying in his work; and from the power of the grave, fo as to be long detained in it: and give thee for a covenant of the people; Chrift is a covenantee, a party concerned in the covenant of grace; the reprefentative of his people in it; the furety, mediator, meflenger, and ratifier of it; the great bleffing in it; the fum and fubftance of it; all the bleffings and promifes of it are in him, and as fuch he is given; it is of God’s free grace that he was appointed and entrufted with all this in eternity, and was fent ‘in. time to confirm and fecure it for the people; given him of his Father, redeemed by him, and to whom the Spirit applies the bleffings and promifes of the covenant; even the elect of God, both among Yews and Gentiles, efpecially the latter, as follows: for a light of the Gentiles; who -were in the dark as to the true knowledge of God and Jefus Chrift, and the way of righteoufnefs and {falvation ‘by him, and of all divine and fpiritual things;.now.Chrift, thro’ the miniftry of the word: by his Spirit, was a light unto them; by which they were enlightenéd into their own ftate and condition: by nature, and:into the knowledge of himfelf, and the myfteries of grace. ¥. 7. To open the blind eyes, &c.| Of the idolatrous Gentiles, who were fpiritually blind, and knew not the wretchednefs. of. their cafe; the exceeding finfulnefs of fin; their need of a Saviour, and who he was; as: they did, when their eyes were opened by means of the gofpel fent among, them, thro’ the energy of the divine Spirit; for this is a work of almighty power and efficacious grace: ta bring out the prifouers from. the prifon, who. were “concluded in fin, fhut up in unbelief, and under the law, the captives of fatan, and held faft prifoners by him, and their own lufts, under the dominion ot which they were: and them that fit mm darkuefs out of the prifon-houfe; of fin, fatan, and the law; being wnder'which, they were in a ftate of darknefs. and ignorance’ as to things’ divine and fpiritual. The allufion is to prifons, which are commonly dark places. Vitringa, by the prifoners, underftands: the Yews fhut wp under the law; and by thofe in darkne/s, the Gentiles, deftivate of all divine |

¥. 8. Lam the Lord, thatis my tine, Be} Fen nity,: and: immutability;..a name by whieh he made himfelf known to [rae! of-old, and which is pecu~ liar to: him, and does not belong to another, and fo diftinguifhes hiny fron all-falfe gods; fee Exod.

and this is one of the names of God: with the Jews. 1; as How is with the Turks to which, in Arabic, fignifies Bimy that-is, God. as

Monfieur Thevenoi.’ obferves; fee ch. xlviii. 12: aud my glory will I not give to another, that is, to arother god, to a ftrange god, to an idol; as that has not the nature, it ought not to have the ram> of deity, nor divine worfhip given to it: this th: Lord will not admit of, but will punifh thofe, b: they heathens, or _are called chriftians, that give the glory to idols, that is due unto his name. This is not,to be tinderftood to the exclufion of the Son and Spirit, who are with the Father the one Jehovah, and fhare in the fame glory; the Son is the brightnefs of his Father’s glory, and the Spirit is the Spirit of glory, Hed. i. 3. 1 Pet. iv.14. nor will he fuffer the glory of the juftification, falvation, and converfion of men, to be given to their works, will and power, which is entirely due to his own grace, to the blood and righteoufnefs of his Son, and to the energy of the divine Spirit: meither my praife to graven images; which ferves to explain the former claufe, what is meant.by his glory, and who by another, to whom he will not give it. Papifts fhould obferve this, for it refpeéts not merely or only the graven images of the heathens, but chiefly thole among them that bear the chriftian name; for this relates to New Teftament-times. The Jargum is, “* and my glory, in which I am re- ‘«« vealed to you, I will not give to another peo- «¢ ple; nor my praife to worfhippers of images.” ¥. 9. Bebold, the former things are come to pafs, éc.] Which the Lord had foretold in former times, as to Abraham, concerning the affliction of his pofterity in Egypt, the bringing them out from thence, and fettling them in the land of Canaan; and other things by Mo/es and Fo/hua, and other prophets, and by J/aiah, and particularly the captivity of the ten tribes, which was now come to pafs in the times of Hezekiah: and new things do I declare, as the captivity of Judah and Benjamin, and their reftoration by Cyrus; and ‘more efpecially the miffion and incarnation of Chrift, his fufferings and death, and redémption and falvation by him; which were not only things to come, but new things, famous and excellent ones: before they fpring up I tell you of them, or, before they bud forth"; while the feeds. of them were under ground, fown in the purpofes and decrees of God, he {poke of them in prophecy; and now former prophecies being fulfilled, and new ones delivered out, con- ‘cerning things of which there was no appearance, and yet there was the greateft reafon to believe their accomplifhment, from the fulfilment of the former; this mutt be a ftrong proof and confirmation of the Lord being the true God, and the. only one.

x. 10. Sing unto the Lord a new fong, &c.].On account of the new things before prophefied of, and now done; on account of redemption and falvation by Chrift, and the converfion of the Gentiles thro’ the light of the gofpel. brought among them; the fong of redeeming Icve, and for the gofpel, and regenerating grace; and not the Jews only, but the Gentiles alfo are called upon to fing this fong, as having a fpecial fhare in the bleffings, the fubje&t of it: hence it follows, and his praife from the end of the earth, thither the gofpel being fent, and there made effectual to the converfion of many, thefe are exhorted to fing and fhew forth the

; 226 praifes of him who had called them out of heathenifht blindnefs and darknefs into the marvellous light of the gofpel and grace of God: ye that go down into the fea; in fhips, that trade by fea; fuch as the Phanicians, Tyrians, and Sidonians, to whom the gofpel came, and where it was preached with fuccefs, to the converfion of many of them, and therefore had reafon to join in this new fong; fee Ads Xi, 19. and xxi. 3, 4. or fuch that went by fea to diftant parts, on purpofe to publifh the gofpel, as Paul, Barnabas, Silas, arid Timothy; and who fucceeding in their work, had reafon to re joice; fee és xiii. 4; and xvi. rt. and xx. 13. and xxi. 1: and all that is therein; ot, the fulnefs of it* 5 meaning not the fifhes in it, but the iflands of it; as next explained: the ifles, and the inhabitants thereof; as Cyprus; Crete, and other ifles,: which heard the joyful found of the gofpel, and embraced it; és xiii. 4. Tit: i. g. and as the fea often denotes the weftern part ot the world from Judea, this may defign the European parts of it, and the iflands in it, particularly ours of Great- Britain and Ireland; whither the gofpel came very early.

¥. 11. Let the wildernefs and the cities thereof lift up their voice, &Fc.] The eaftern part of the world; Arabia Deferta, and the inhabitants of the cities which were in it: the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; or the courts‘, or tents; the Kedarenes inhabited, who were Arabians, and dwelt in tents, which they pitched here and there, for the conveniency of their flocks; and fo the Zargum, “ the ** Arabians that inhabit the wildernefs fhall praife:” let the inhabitants of the rock fing; or of Petra, which Ferom fays was a city of Paleffine. It was the metropolis of Arabia Petrea, which whole country may be here meant, and the inhabitants of it, who had reafon to fing for joy, when the gofpel was preached unto them; as it was by the apoftle Paulin Arabia, Gal. i. 17: let them fhout From the top of the mountains; the wild, favage, and barbarous people that dwell there, but now become civilized, as well as evangelized by the gofpel; or the meffengers and minifters of the word, whofe feet on thofe mountains were beautiful, bringing the good tidings of peace and falvation by Chrift. The Zergum interprets this of the refurrection of the dead, ‘* the dead, when they fhall go out of ** the houfe of their world, from the tops of the ‘¢ mountains fhall lift up their voice **”

¥. 12. Let them give glory unto the Lord, &c.] For all the great and good things he has done for them, in fending his gofpel to them, calling them by his grace, enlightening their minds, and revealing his Son in them, and making them partakers of the bleffings of his grace, and entitling them to eternal glory and happinefs: and declare bis praife in the iflands,; as on the weftern continent, and the ifles of it; fo on the eaftern continent, and the iflands of it, the iflands of Greece, the iflands in the Aigean fea.

y. 13. The Lord fhall go forth as a mighty man, &c.] Inthe miniftry of the word, conquering and to conquer, girding his /word on his thigh; caufing his arrows to be fharp in the hearts of his enemies;_ clothing the word with power; making the weapons of warfare put into the hands of his mini-

2 wo) et plenitudo ejus, Muntter, * Ben Melech interprets the rocks and mountains, of towers built on rocks and mountains, where men dwelt.

ftring fervants mighty, to pull down the frrong holds of fin and fatan, to caft down the proud imaginations of mens hearts, and to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of himfelf: or in the army of Coafantine, whom he ufed as his inftrument for the deftruétion of the pagan empire, and of paganifm in it, and for the eftablifhment of chriftianity: be frall ftir up jealoufy like a man of war, or, @ man of wars*; that has been ufed to fight battels; Chrift is reprefented as a warrior, Rev. xix. 11. his church is in a warfare-ftate; his’ fubjeéts are foldiers; his minifters are his generals under him, and with them he goes forth, and ftirs up his own jealoufy, his wrath and fury againft his

Vi. 14,15, 16: and dry up all their berbs5othe common people, and common. foldiers that were with them, and on their fide; comparable} for {mallnefs, weaknefs, and number, to the grafsi of the mountains and hills: and I will make thé rivers enemies, and takes vengeance on them, and the jealoufy of his minifters and people, for his own glory: he /ball cry, yea roar; not only fhout aloud, as foldiers do, when they make an onfet, but make a hideous noife, as the old Romans did, to frighten Chrift, in the miniftry of the word, not only cries, and calls, and invites and difpirit their enemies.

fouls, fenfible of themfelves and their condition, to come unto him, and partake of his grace; but he roars as the lion of the tribe of Fudah; and threatens impenitent and unbelieving finners with his wrath and vengeance: be jhall prevail againft bis enemies 5 he fhall conquer and fubdue them by his Spirit and grace, and make them his willing people in the day of his power; and fuch who will not have him to reign over them, he will rule them with a rod of iron, and break them in pieces as a potter’s vefiel.

v.14. I have long time holden my peace, &c.]

For many hundred years the Lord fuffered the

Gentile world to walk in their own ways, to worfhip their idols, and took no notice of them; he winked at, and overlooked their times of ignorance, and did not bring down his vengeance upon them, nor ftir up all his wrath; nor indeed did he fend any among them, to reprove and convince them of their errors, and threaten them with ruin, in cafe of their continuance in them: J have been fiill, and refrained myfelf; had been filent, and faid nothing againft them in a providential way, but curbed and kept in his wrath and difpleafure at their idolatry, as a woman in travail bolds-iny her breath as long as fle can; to which the allufion is, as appears by what follows: now wil I cry like a travailing woman; when fharp pains are upon her, and juft going~to be delivered; and that fo loud, as to be heard all over the houfe. This may be taken in a good fenfe; the minifters of the gofpel travail in birth, and Chrift in them, until he is formed in the hearts of men by regenerating and converting grace, Gal. iv. 19. Rom. viii. 19, 20. and in an ill fenfe, for fwift and fudden deftruction, which fhould come on his enemies, as travail on a woman with child. So the Zargum; ‘* as pains on a wornan with child, my judg- “«¢ ment fhall be revealed (or expofed) upon them.” I will defircy and devour at once; all enemies that fhould oppofe him in the fpread of the gofpel, in the deftruétion of pacanifm, and eftablifhment of chriftianity in the Romana empire, who are de- {cribed in the next verfe.

v.15. Twill make wafte mountains and bills, 8c.} Kingdoms, greater and lefler; kings and’ governors, as Yarchi interprets it; and fo Kimchi pied ftands it of the kings of the nations; by them are halitum fcemine parturientis, Grotius, ties: thefe things will I do unto fake them; which may be depended 1 iflands, and dry up the pools; extirpate all. the remains of idolatry, rivers and fountains being) facred with the heathens, as mountains and hills -were places where facrifices were offered to idols.. Unlefs by it rather fhould be meant, that the Lord would remove all impediments out of the way of his people, or which were obftacles of their converfion; juft as he dried up the waters of the red-fea’ and Fordan, to make way for the people of J/rael oto which the allufion may be, and which agrees with the following words,.. ae y. 16. And Iwill bring the blind by a way that they knew not, &c.] The Targum interprets this of the people of Jrael thus, ‘‘ I will lead the houfe “© of J/rael, which are like to the blind,’ in a way «¢ which they knew not.” But it is better to underftand it of the Gentiles, who, before the light of the gofpel came among them, were blind as to the true knowledge of God, and efpecially ag in Chrift; and of Chrift, and the way of peace, life, and falvation by him; and of themfelves, and their miferable eftate and condition; and of the Spirit - of God, and his operations; and of the feriptures, the gofpel, and the doctrines of it; and which i the cafe of all men in a ftate of nature: but the Lord, by his Spirit, opens the eyes of their underftandings, and fhows them thofe things they were blind in, and ignorant of, and brings them by a way they knew not before; which way ds Chrift, the only way to the Father; the way of. peace, righteoufnefs, and life; the way to heaven, and eternal happinefs: this they knew not before, ” but thought they muft make their own) way to God, and their peace with him; muft be juftified by their own works, and work out their own falvation; but in converfion, this way to Chrift is made known and plain unto, them; and in» this way the Lord brings all his people to eternal glory: Iwill lead them in paths that they have not known; in the paths of duty and truth; in the’ paths of faith, righteoufnefs, and holinefs, and in the ordinances of the gofpel; which they were aliens and ftrangers to before: I will make a light before them; by going before them 4 as before the children of J/rae/ in a pillar of fire by night; by giving his word to enlighten thems by granting his good Spirit, as a Spirit of illamination tothem; and by liiting up the countenance on them: and crooked t. remove all obftructions, bear them* difcouragements, and carry them tht promifed by him that is able to perform, is true, and faithful, and changes not; and W nen. doy

\fhall not be the laft done for them; he will never » leave them, nor forfake them, till he has brought “them fate to glory. ¥.17. They foall be turned back, &c.] Either from their former courfe, from their idolatry and their idols, and be converted, and turn to the living God; or it may be underftood of fuch Gentiles as were not converted, when others were, who fhould ‘be put to flight, and fhould fly to the rocks and » mountains to hide and cover them from the wrath of God; for this. phrafe is ufed of the overthrow of enemies, of their being obliged to turn their backs and flee: they fhall be greatly afbaméed that trujt in graven images; as converted perfons when they come to be convinced of the folly of their *idelatrous practices are; and if not converted, yet are confounded when they find their idols cannot help and affift them, nor deliver them out of their trouble: that fay to the molten images, ye are our gods, as the J/raelites did to the molten calf made by Aaron; and the ftupidity of the one and the other is much alike; this of the Gentiles, and that of the J/raelites. ¥. 18. Hear ye deaf, and look ye blind, that ye may fee.| Farcki and Kimchi think thefe words are fpoken to I/rael, who, as Aben Ezra fays, were deaf and blind in heart; but they are rather an exhortation to the Geni#les that remained impenitent and unbelieving, and who were deaf to the voice of the gofpel, and*blind as to the knowledge of it; and the purport of the exhortation is, that they would make ufe of their external hearing and fight, which they had, that they might attain to a {fpiritual hearing and underftanding of divine things; for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, Rom. x. 17. to hear the gofpel preached, and to look into the fcriptures, and read the word of God, are the means of attaining light and knowledge in fpiritual things, and thefe are within the compafs of natural men, who are internally deaf and blind. ‘$19. Who is blind but my fervant 2 &c.| Kimchi taking the former words to be fpoken to the ews, thinks this is their reply; who will fay in anfwer to it, why do ye call us blind and deaf? who fo blind ‘and deaf as J/aiab the prophet, the fervant of the Lord, his meflenger, and a perfect one as he is called? but as the preceding words are fpoken to the Gentiles, here the Lord does as it were corte&t himfelf, as if he fhould fay, why do I call the Gentiles blind and deaf, when the people of the fers, ~who call themfelves my fervants, and pretend to ferve and worfhip me, yet there are none fo blind as they in {piritual things? tho’ they have fo many opportunities and advantages of light and knowledge, yet fhut their eyes wilfully againft the light; hence the people and 'their guides, ‘the Scribes and Pharifees, are often called d/ind by our Lord, to whofe times this paffage refers, Matt. xv. 14. and xxiii. 16, 17,19, 24: of deaf, as my meffenger that J fent? not the prophet J/aiah, but fome other, who did’ not attend to’ what he was charged with, and did not perform his Office aright; it may defign in general the priefts and Levites, who were the meffengers of the Lord of hofts to inftruct the peoples “and yet thefe’ were ‘deaf to the meflages that God gave them, and they were to deliver to ’ the people: or it may be rendered, or deaf, but, or as, to ewboin I fend my meffenger *; or mefiengers, as the Vulgate Latin verfion; and fo the Targum; *¢ and finners to whom I fend my prophets;” and fo it may refpect the body of the people as before, who were deaf to Yobn the Baptift, the meflénger fent before the Lord; to Chrift himfelf, and his miniftry, and to his apoftles, who were. firft fent to them: who is blind as he that is perfec? who pretended to be fo, as the young man who thought he had kept all the commandments, and as Sau/ before converfion, and all the Pharifees, thofe elf. righteous perfons, who needed no repentance, and yet who fo blind as they? and indeed had they not been blind to themfelves, they could never have thought themfelves perfect; and yet when they were told they were fo, could not bear it, Matt: xix. 20. Phil. iii. 6. Luke xv. 7. Fohn ix.41: and blind as the Lords fervant? which is repeated for the further confirmation of it, and more clearly to thew whofe fervant is meant.

¥. 20: Seeing many things, but thou obferveft not, &c.] The Scribes and Pharifees faw Chrift in the flefh; they faw the miracles he did; they faw the blind receive their fight, the lame walk, the lepers cleanfed, the deaf hear; and the dead raifed; yet they did not advert to thefe things, and keep them in their minds, and regard them as clear proofs of his being the Meffiah: opening the ears, but he heareth not, they heard Fobn Baptift preach, the fore-runner of Chrift, and the teftimony he bore of him; they heard Chrift himfelf, and his apoftles; they fometimes opened their ears, and feerned to liften and hear with attention, and wonder at what they heard; and fome would own, that never man fpake like Jefus; and yet underftood not his fpeech, and hardened their hearts againft him; they faw many things with their bodily eyes, but perceived them not with the eyes of their underftandings; they heard with their ears, but under- {tood not in their hearts; for their eyes were fhut, and their ears heavy, J/- vi. 9. Matt. xiii. 14, 15.

y¥.21. The Lord is well pleafed for bis righteoufnefs-fake, &c.] This may be either underftood of what the Lord had done for thefe people in time paft, and which is mentioned as an ageravation of their ftupidity, difobedience, and ingratitude; he had delighted in them, and chofe them above all people upon the earth, and diftinguifhed them with his favours, which he did for the fake of his own tighteoufnefs or faithfulnefs, to his promifes made to their fathers; he magnified them with the Jaw, and made them honourable*; gave them a law, which made them great and honourable in the efteem of others; fee Deut. x. 15. and vii. 6, 7. and iv. 6, 7, 8. or it may be interpreted of what the Lord would do hereafter, either in a way of grace and favour; that tho’ they were now fo ignorant and difobedient, yet in the times of falvation, in the days of the Meffiah, thefe blind fhall fee, and deaf fhall hear, not for their fakes, but for his righteoufnefs-fake; when he will magnify his law, and make it honourable, and the earth thall be filled with the knowledge of him; this way go the Yewifh commentators: or rather in a way of judgment, that the Lord would be well pleafed in glorifying his juftice or righteoufnefs, in the rejection of fuch a blind and itupid people, who refufed to receive the Meffiah, againft fo much light and evidence; and would magnify the law,: and fupport the authority of it, and make it honourable, ad quem, vel ad guos) angelum, five nuncium meum miffurus fum, Foe noarable, by punifhing the tranfgreffors of it; but I am inclined to think that this has refpeét to a rémnant among thefe people, according to the election of grace; or to the Lord’s people in common, whether Fews or Gentiles, with whom he is well pleafed, or in whom he delights. “The Lord is well pleafed with his Son, and with him as his fervant, as mediator, for his righteoufnefs-fake, as in y. 1. to which there may be fome refpecét.; and he is well pleafed with all his people, as confidered in him; the love he bears to them is a love of complacency and delight: the choice he has made of them; the things he has laid up for them; the care of their perfons in Chrift, and falvation by him; the marrying of them to him, and the taking ‘them into his family, fhew how well pleafed he is with them: he delights in them, as they are regenerated and fanctified by his Spirit; the exercife of their graces, and the performance of their duties and fervices, are acceptable to him, thro’ Chrift; his prefence with them, the fellowfhip with himfelf he grants unto them, the account he makes of them as his jewels, fully demonftrate his wellpleafednefs in them: but this is not on their own account; for they are polluted and loathfome creatures in themfelves, guilty of fin, deferving of wrath; and not for any righteoufnefs of their own, which is imperfect, filthy, and not anfwerable to the law; which, inftead of being made honourable, is difhonoured by it; there is no juftification. by it, and no acceptance with God thro’ it; but for the fake of the righteoufnefs of Chrift, which is perfect, pure, and {potlefs; which juftifies from all fin, and makes comely and beautiful, and glorifies the juftice of God, as well as his righteous law, as follows: he will magnify the law, and make it honourable; that is, he, for whofe righteoufnefsfake God is well pleafed: the law of God is great and honourable in itfelf, from the author, matter, and ufefulnefs of it; and it becomes more fo by Chrift the Son of God being made under it; by his perfect obedience to it, and by his bearing the penalty of it, in the room and ftead of his people;_ and by holding it forth in his hands, as a rule of walk and converfation to them; by all which it receives more honour and glory, than by all the obedience of creatures to it, angels or men, tho’ ever fo perfect.

¥. 22. But this is a people robbed and fpoiled, &c.

The Jewi/h people, who fhut their eyes againft the clear light of the gofpel, and turned a deaf ear to Chriit, and to his minifters, rejeted him, and perfecuted them; thefe were robbed and plundered by the Roman foldiers of all their riches and treafures, when the city of Ferufalem was taken: they are all of them fuared in boles; fach of them as efcaped and hid themielves in holes, and caverns and dens of the earth, were laid in wait for and taken, and dragged out, as beafts are taken in a pit, and with a fnare. ‘Fofephus ® fays, fome the Romans killed, fome they carried captive, fome they fearched out lurking in holes under ground, and breaking up the ground, took them out and flew them: and they are hid in. prifon-houfes, being taken by their enemies out of their holes, they were put in prifons, fome of them, and there Jay confined, out of which they could not deliver themfelves: and they are for a prey, and none delivereth; when they

Roman foldiers: and it hath fet him on fir about, yet he knew not, and it burned were taken by the Chaldeans, and became a prey to them, in a tew years they had a deliverer, Cyrus, but now they have none: for a /poil, and none faith; reftore; thete is none to be an advocate for them; no one that afks for their reftoration; for almoft feventeen hundred years they have been in this condition, and yet none of the kings and princes of the earth have iffued a proclamation for their return to their own land, as Cyrus did; and no one moves for it, either from among thémfelves,

¥. 23. Who among you will give ear to this? Be.) To this prophecy of your deftruétion, and to what follows concerning it: who will bearken and bear for the time to comme? and receive inftruction from hence, and repent and reform; none at all; fo blind, and deaf, and ftupid, were they both before, and at their deftruction, and even ever fince; they take no notice of the hand of God upon them, nor hearken to the rod; any more than to the word of God; which feems to be what is meant by the time to come, or hereafter; and this will be their cafe till the veil is taken away, and then they fhall ieé and hear, and turn to 'the Lord...

¥.24. Who gave Facob for a fpoil, and Irael to the robbers? &c.] ‘To the Roman foldiers, to be {poiled and robbed by them? this was not owing to chance and fortune, or to the fuperior {kill and” power of the Roman army: did not the Lord, he againft whom we kave finned? he did, but not without caufe; he was juitly provoked to it by the fins of the Yews, which were the meritorious and procuring caufes of it; yet the Roman. army could not have taken their city and plundered it, had it not been the will of God, who for their fins delivered it up to them; ‘even Titus, the heathen emperor, himfelf faw the hand of God in it, and — acknowledged it; ‘* God favouring us, fays he s ** we have made war; it is God that drew the “¢ Fews out of thofe fortrefies; for what could ‘* human hands and machines do againft fuch ** towers?” for they would not walk in bis ways; in Chrift the way, the truth, and the life; nor in the ways of his commandments; or in the ordinances of the gofpel; all which they rejected: either were they obedient unto his law; or doéirine*;

the doctrine of the gofpel, particularly the doétrine of juftification by faith in the righteoufnefs of Chrift; they went about to eftablith their own righteoufhefs, and did not fubmit to his; and alfo every other doctrine refpecting the perfon, office, and grace of Chrift, whom they difbelieved, and refufed to receive.

¥. 25. Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, &c.] The Lord was angry with thefe people for their rejection of the Mefliah, and con— tempt of his gofpel; and therefore his wrath came’ upon them to the uttermoft, not in fome fmall drops, but in great abundance, to the utter ruin of their nation, city, and temple. Fo/éphus fays *. “< the Romans came’to fubdue Paleftine, ‘© coming was the pouring out of the heat ‘¢ wrath of the Lord:” and the firength of 6 or war; all the miferies and calamities that; effects of war. The Targum is, *‘ he hath ** upon them the ftrength of his warri