Exposition of the Whole Bible

laid it not to heart; thé Roman army fet fire firft to the lower part of the city of Feru/alem, and then the higher ‘, and wholly confumed it; has not to this day brought this people to lay it to heart, to confider and obferve the true reafon of it, and yet this ' their rejection of the Meffiah.

N this chapter the Lord comforts his own people under their afflictions, with many precious promifes; afferts his deity againft the idols of the nations; promifes deliverance from Babylon; and a greater redemption than that; one branch of which is forgivenefs of fin; and clofes the chapter with a prediction of the deftruction of the Fews by the Romans, for their iniquities. The Lord claims his intereft in his people, not only on the foot of creation, but of redemption and. vocation, and promifes them his prefence in the midft of afflictions, ¥. 1,2. puts them in mind of what he had done for them; and affures them of future favours, as the effect of his unchangeable love to them, y. 3, 4. and promifes the converfion of their feed and offfpring in the feveral parts of the world, ¥. 5, 6, 7. then challenges the heathen nations to give fuch proofs of the deity of their idols, as he was capable of giving of his, as his people were witnefles, taken from his eternity and immutability, as the alone Jehovah, and from his omnifcience and omnipotence, ¥. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. after which the deftruction of Babylon is prophefied of, and the redemption of his people out of it; which they are encouraged to believe from his being Jehovah, their fanctifier, creator, and king; and from what he had done formerly for them, when he brought;

them out of Egypt, ¥. 14, 15,16, 17. and which yet was not to be mentioned or remembered, in

- comparifon of what he wotild do in the world, a new thing, redemption by the Meffiah, and the converfion of the Gentiles to the glory of his grace, ¥. 18, 19, 20, 21. the fins of omiffion and commiffion the people of God had been guilty of, are mentioned, which are freely pardoned for Chrift’s fake, ¥. 22, 23, 24, 25. when the body and bulk of the Fewifh nation were given up to deftruction, becaufe of their fins, ¥. 26, 27, 28.

~ y.1. But now thus faith the Lord that created thee, O Facob, &c.] This prophecy is not concerning Cyrus, and the redemption of the ews by him, as fome have thought; nor of Sennacherid and his army, and of their deliverance from him, ‘as Kimchi and his father interpret it; but of the chriftian church, and the ftate of it, when Yeru-

_Jalem thould be deftroyed, as predicted in the preceding chapter; which goes by the name of Facod and J/rael, for the firft churches chiefly confifted of Fews, and both ews and Gentiles converted are the fpiritual [/rael of God: and he that formed thee, O Ijrael; this creation and formation are not fo much to be underftood of their being the creatures of God, and the work of his hands, in a natural fenfe; but of their new creation and regeneration; of their being the fpiritual workmanfhip of God, created in Chrift, and formed for his glory: fear not: for 1 have redeemed thee, tho’ Ferufalem fhall be deftroyed, and Yudea wafted, and tho’ fubject

_ to the perfecutions of wicked men in all places, yet fince redeemed by Chrift from fin, fatan, and the law, hell and death, nothing is to be feared from either of them; redemption by Chrift is an antidote againft the fear of any enemy whatfoever: J have called thee by thy name; with an effectual calling, which is of particular perfons, and thofe by name, even the fame that are redeemed by Chrift; for whom he has redeemed by his precious blood, they are called by the grace of God to fpecial bleffings of grace, with an high, holy, and heavenly calling; and have no reafon to fear any thing, fince they are the chofen of God; have 4 right to all fpiritual bleffings; all things work together for their good; they fhall perfevere to the end, and at laft be brought to glory, to which they are called: thou art mine; fuch as are redeemed by Chrift, and called by his grace, they are his Father’s gift, and his own purchafe; they voluntarily give up themfelves to him, under the influence of his Spirit and grace; they are his by profeffion and pofféffion; they are his portion, people, theep and fpoufe; and his intereft in them, and theirs in him, ferve to prevent fear’; fuch need not fear wanting any thing, nor any enemy, nor perifhing, or mifcarrying of heaven and happinefs, to which fears they are fubject. ¥..2. When thou paffeft thro’ the waters, I will be with thee, &c.] The Targum and Farchi apply this to the J/raelites: paflage thro’ the waters of the red-fea, as a thing paft; and Kimchi to Sennacherib’s army, compared to the waters of a river ftrong and many, ch. viii. 7,8. ‘ferom fays, that the Fewi/h writers by waters would have the Egyptians underftood; by the rivers, thé Babylonians; by fire, the Macedonians, and by the flame, the Romans; which is not amifs; but rather the afflictions of God’s people in general are meant by waters, as- by rivers alfo, in the next claufe: and thro’ the rivers, they foall not overflow thee; becaufe of the variety and multitude of them, as perfecutions from men, thofe proud waves that go over them; the temptations of fatan, that enemy who comes in like a flood, and various others; and becaufe of the rapidity and force of them, and their overflowing and overwhelming nature: now there are paths thro’ which the people of God pa/s; their way lies thro’ them to eternal glory; and tho’ they are of fome continuance, yet have an end, as paths have; and having a good ‘guide, and fufficient ftrength given them, they wade thro’ them fafely; for they do not, and fhall not overflow them, fo as to caufe their faith utterly to fail, or to feparate them from the love of God, or fo as to deftroy them; for tho’ they come nigh them, and upon them, and may greatly affect and diftrefs them, yet fhall not hurt them, but turn to their advantage; for their God is with them, to fympathize with them, to comfort and revive them, to teach and inftruét them by their afflictions, and to fanttify them to them, as well as ‘to fupport and bear them up under them, and to deliver out of them: when thou walkeft thro’ the fire, thou foalt not be burnt: neither fhall the flame kindle upon thee, affictions are compared to fire and flames, becaufe very ~< grievous grievous and troublefome to the fleth; and becaufe of the apprehenfions of God’s wrath in them fometimes; and becaufe of their trying nature; grace is tried by them as gold and filver in the fire; but yet the faints are not confumed by them, they lofe ‘ nothing but their drofs; their principles and profeffion are tried, and they are fupported thro’ all; which has been abundantly verified in the martyrs of Jefus; fee P/- Ixvi. 12. Zech. xiii. g.

y¥. 3. For Lam the Lord thy God, the holy one of Tirael thy Saviour, &c.] The Lord is the covenant-God of his people, holy in himfelf, and the fanétifer of them, and their Saviour in time of trouble; and therefore need not doubt of his prefence and fupport amidft all their affli€tions; and befides they fhould call to mind paft experiences of his goodnefs, to encourage their faith in him, as to prefent help and affiftance: I gave Egypt for thy ranfom; he facrificed the Egyptians inftead of the Ifraelites; he deftroyed the firft-born of Egypt, and faved D/rael his firft-born; he drowned the Lgyptians in the red-fea, when the J/raelites paffed fately thro’ it; and the deftruction of the former was to.

make way for the falvation of the latter, and fo faid to be a ranfom for them; fee Prov. xi. 8. and xxi. 18: Ethiopia and Seba for thee; this refers either to the rumour brought to Senacherib of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia coming againft him to war, which diverted him from the fiege of Feru/alem for a time, and caufed him to turn his forces upon the Ethiopians and Sabeans, whereby the Fews had a refpite, 2 Kings xix. 9. or rather to the overthrow of the Ethiopians in the time of Afa, 2 Chron. xiv. 9—13. or to the king of Afyria, perhaps Salmanefer’s being diverted from Paleftine and Judea, and turning his forces upon Egypt and Ethiopia, as in ch. xx. and the Lord by putting his people in mind of thefe inftances, fuggeits hereby that he will facrifice all their enemies, rather than they fhall be deftroyed, and therefore they need not fear.

¥. 4. Since thou waft precious in my fight, &c.] As the faints are; not that they are valuable in themfelves; they have no intrinfic worth in them; they are in no wife better than others; they are of the fame mafs and lump with others; they are of the fallen race of dam, and are earthly and finful as he was; nor are they precious in their own fight, and much lefs in the eyes of the world; they are mean and defpicable: but they are precious in the fight of God and Chrift; in the fight of God the Father, who has chofen them, and taken them into his family, and bleffed them with all fpiritual bleffings; and in the fight of Chrift, who defired them, and betrothed them to himfelf, and undertook for them in eternity, and died for them in time; hence they are compared to things of value, to gold, to jewels, and precious ftones, to a pearl of great price, to rich trea{ure; and are reckoned by Chrift as his portion, and are as dear to him as the apple of his eye: thou haft been honourable; ever fince precious, and that was from all eternity; for tho’ they became difhonourable in themfelves, thro’ the fall of Adam, and their own tranfgreffions, and are difhonourable in the efteem of men, yet honourable in the efteem of God and Chrift; they appear to be fo, by their birth, by regeneration, being born of God; by their marriage to the Son of God, the Lord of the whole earth; by their characters of kings and priefts unto God;.and by their clothing, the robe of righteoufnefs, and garments of falvation, clothing of wrought gold; and by their being favoured with the prefence of God and Chrift, and their nearnefs to them: aad I have — loved thee, which is the fource and fpring of all; hence they became precious and honourable; ‘this is a paft act, an act in eternity; it is an act of complacency and delight; a continued one, God refts in his love; and it is an act of undeferved grace and favour, and unchangeably the fame; it never alters: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life; as of old, the Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Sabeans were given for the people of J/rael, as in the preceding verfe; fo in New Teftament-times, the enemies of God’s people fhould be given for them; that is, their enemies fhould be deftroyed, and they fhould be fpared and faved; fo that all Fews that rejeted Chrift, and perfecuted his people, were given up to deftruétion. The pagan empire was demolifhed, and fo will Rome papal too be deftroyed, and the church of God will be preferved, and his intereft revive, and all the kingdoms of the world become his; ‘of which the converfions among the Genfiles in the firft ages of chriftianity were a pledge, prophefied ‘of in the next words. The Ta/mudifts ® by Adam, rendered mon, underftand Edom, by which Rome is often meant in Fewih writings. 3

¥.5. Hear not, for I am with thee, 8ec.)) With thy minifters that preach the everlafting gofpel, to make it effectual to the converfion of many every where, as well as to bear thee up under all trials, and to caufe thee to ftand againft all oppofition: I will bring thy feed from the eaft, and gather thee from the weft; which is to be underftood not literally of the return of the Fews from the Babylonifh captivity; for thefe feveral quarters, eaft, weit, north and fouth, will hardly agree with that, tho? it may be fuppofed they were fcattered’ in feveral countries; but {piritually of the gathering in of God’s elect, whether Yews or Gentiles, which were {cattered abroad throughout the world; called’ the Jeed of the church, becaufe born to her, and brought up in her, and of which fhe confifts; and theretore fhe herfelf is faid to be gathered, converts being brought in from all quarters; from the ea/f, even from Jndia, where the apoftle Thomas is faid to preach the gofpel, and from other ea/term countries; and from the wef, from the European nations, good part of which lay weft of ¥udea. Our Lord feems to have refpect to this paflage in Matt. viii. 12.. 3

¥. 6. I will fay to the north, give up; and to the South, keep not back, &c.} That is, give up, and not retain thofé that belong to the Lord; here the winds are {poken to by a profopopeia; or the inhabitants of the northern and fouthern climates are called upon to deliver up the Lord’s people to him, for whofe fake the gofpel was fent into thefe parts, to find them out, and bring them home; by the zorth may be meant, the Goths, Swedes, Mujfcovites, and thofe northern ifles of ours, with others; and by the /outhy the Egyptians, Africans, and Ethiopians. Manaffeh ben Ifrael* thinks the paffage is thus expreffed, which he fuppofes refers to the univerfal gathering of the Yews in the latter day to the holy land; becaufe Media,

China lie to the eaft of it; Tartary and Scythia to ‘the north; the kingdom of the Adyfines to the fouth; and Europe to the weft: bring my fons from _ far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, fuch whom the Lord had predeftinated to the tion of children, and had taken into his f.

nad whom he regenerated by his Spirit and grace, of either fex; to whom he beareth the ftrongeft jove and affection, as a parent to his children; and ©: whom he takes the utmoft care, fo that not one frall be loft; let them be in ever fo diftant a part cf the world, hel! fend his gofpel to them, his trinifters after them, and his Spirit fhall accompany them, to bring them ‘to himfelf, his Son, and his churches. ManajJeb, before-mentioned, underfeands this of America, and of the Fews there; but ray be much better applied to converted Gentiles txere; for God has many fons and daughters in thofe parts. — re y. 7. Even every one that is called by my name, &ee,] That is called by the name of God, a fon ‘or daughter of his; or by the name of Chrift, a chriftian; whoever belongs to the Lord, whom he calls by his name; and who being called by his grace, call upon his name, make a profeffion of his name, and ferve and worfhip him: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him, yea I have made him, all which is expreffive of the power and grace of God, in the regeneration and converfion of his people; which is a creation, a formation, a making them for himfelf, for the elory of his grace, and to fhew forth his praife; and therefore he will gather them in, and bring tem into a body together, into a church-ftate, that iis end may be anfwered. |

¥.8. Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf thai have ears, &c.] TheTargum applies this to the bringing of the people of J/rae/ out of Egypt; ead others underftand it of their deliverance from the Babylonifh captivity; and fome of the exclufion of them from the kingdom of heaven, and cafting them into outward darknefs, according to Mati. viii. 12. but it is rather to be “underftood of the - eonviction of them; tho’ better of the Gentiles, end of the enlightening of them, who before were blind; and caufing them to hear, who before were deaf to fpiritual things, agreeable to what goes before. It feems beft to confider the words as a fummons to the heathens uncalled, to the Roman pagan empire, to come forth and appear, who were as blind and deaf as the idols they wor- Shipped, and plead their caufe, agreeable to what follows. _ y¥. 9g. Let all the nations be gathered together, and Tet the people be affembled, &c.] In one place, if it could be, in an open court of judicature; that their whole ftrength might be united together, and the moft cogent arguments any of them are able to produce might be brought out; and that all might have an opportunity of hearing the caufe fairly argued, and the point decided, and judge for themfelves, on which fide truth lies: who among them can declare this, and fhew us former things? what god or prophet of. theirs can declare any future event, fuch as this, the redemption of the Fews by Cyrus, foretold from the mouth of the Lord by Tfaiah, fo long before the accomplifhment of it? or any thing whatever before it comes to pafs? for this does not regard things paft, which might be fhown and declared;, but the things they are challenged with, are things future, to declare them firft, before they come into being, which would be a proof of deity; for none but God, who is omniicient, can foretel future events with certainty: let them bring forth their witneffes, that they may be juftified 5 let them produce witneffes that their gods he ha things before they came to pafs, and that they came to pafs juft as they foretold they would; that their caufe may appear a juft onc, and that they, their worfhippers, are right in ferving them: let them bear and fay itis truth; or let them hearken to the evidence againft them, and acknowledge that what I fay is true, and that I am the true God, and there is no other.

¥. 10. Ye are my witneffes, faith the Lord, &c.] The people of J/rael, who could teftify that the Lord had foretold their affliction in Egypt, their coming from thence, and fettling in the land of Canaan, many hundreds of years before they came to pafs, and which were exactly fulfilled; and fo the apoftles of Chrift, and’ minifters of the word, and all chriftian people in all nations, are witnefles of the prophecies concerning Chrift, his birth, miracles, obedience, fufferings, death, refurrection, afcenfion to heaven, and feffion at the right hand of God, all which are exactly accomplifhed, Aés 1. 8: and my fervant whom I have chofen, meaning either the prophet J/aiab, or the prophets in general; or rather the Meffiah. So the Targum, ‘*. and ** my fervant the Meffiah, in whom I am well “ pleafed;” and who is called the faithful witnefs, Rev. i. 5. and ii. 14. and to whom the characters of a fervant, and the Lord’s chofen, well agree, ch. xlii, 1 that ye may know, and believe me, and underftand that Iam he;. by which teftimonies and evident proofs of deity, from the prediction of future events, and the accomplifhment of them, you may have a competent knowledge, a firm perfuafion, and a clear perception of this important truth, that the God of J/rae/, and of all: true. chriftians, is the one only Lord God: defore'me there was no God formed, neither fhall there be after me intimating that idols were’ formed by the hands of men, and yet none of thefe were formed ‘before him, and therefore could make no pretenfions to deity, or to an equality with him; nor fhould any be formed afterwards, that could be put in competition with him. In fhort, the fenfe is, there is no other God befide him; as the Targum, Septuagint, and Aradic verfions render it.

y. 11. I, even J am the Lord, &c.] Jehovah, the felf-exifting, eternal, and immutable being; this is doubled for the confirmation of it, and ta exclude all others: ‘ avd befides me there is no Saviour, either in a temporal, or fpiritual fenfe; the gods of the heathens could not fave them out of their prefent troubles, and’ much lefs fave them with an everlafting falvation; none but God can do this, and this is a proof that Chrift’is God, fince none but God can be a Saviour.

y. 12. I have declared, and I have faved, and I have foewed, &c.] The Targum is, * I have fhewed “¢ to Abraham your father, what fhould ‘come to “© pafs; I redeemed you out of Egypt, as I {wore <‘ to him between. the pieces; and I caufed you ** to hear the doétrine of the law at Sinai.” But the fenfe is, that God had declared by his prophets, long before the Meffiah came, that he would fend him; that he fhould come and fave his people by his obedience, fufferings, and death; accordingly he was come, and was the author of falvation; the Lord had wrought out falvation by him, as he had declared he would; and this he had fhewn, publifhed, and made known by the everlafting gofpel, preached among all nations: when there was no ftrange god among you; that affitted in this falvation; the arm of Chrift alone wrought it out: or, and this is not ftrange among you's this work of falvation wrought out, is not ftrange among you; it is well known unto you, being publifhed in the gofpel.

¥. 13. Yea, before the day was I am he, 8cc.] Before there was a day, before the firft day of the creation; that is, before time was, or from all eternity, I am he that refolved upon and contrived this method of faving men; and ever fince that day was *, as it may be rendered, I am he that have fpoke of it by all the prophets, from the beginning of the world, and now it is accomplifhed: and there is mone can deliver out of my hand; either fuch whom the Lord determines to punifh, or fuch whom he refolves to fave; none can {natch them out of his hands, there they are fafe: I will work, and who foall let it 2 as when he wrought the work of creation, there was no oppofition to it, or hinderance of him; and in providence all things are done as he pleafes; fo all his purpofes and decrees, which are his works within him, are exactly. accomplifhed according to his pleafure, and none can refift his will. The work of redemption is finifhed juft according to the draught of it in his eternal mind; and when he works upon the heart of a finner at converfion, whatever obftructions and difficulties are in the way, thefe are removed, and the work is begun, and carried on, and performed, until the day of Chrift. The work of the Lord in his churches, and the fetting up of his kingdom

-in the world, in a more vifible and glorious manner, fhall be done, and none will be able to hinder it: who can turn it back? either his work, or his hand in working; his purpofes cannot, be difannulled; his power cannot be’ controuled; his work cannot be made void, or of no effect; he always fucceeds, for he has no fuperior that can obftruct him.

y. 14. Thus faith the Lord, your Redeemer, &c.)} That redeemed J/rae/ out of Egypt, and would redeem the Hews from Babylon in a fhort time, and be the author of a greater redemption to his people than either of thefe, even a fpiritual and eternal one: the holy one of Ifrael; fee ¥- 3. holy in himfelf, holinefs to J/rael, and faithful to his promifes: for your fake I have fent to Babylon; Cyrus, and his army to take it, in order to deliver the Jews. from their captivity in it. The Targum wrongly paraphrafes it to the fenfé quite contrary, ** for your fins have I carried you captive unto ‘* Babylon:” and have brought down all their nobles; from their feats of honour and glory, ftripped them of all their grandeur and dignity, and reduced them to a low and mean eftate. ‘This is to be underftood of the princes and nobles of Babylon, who fell with the city, as their king did: or, their bars! for what bars are to houfes and cities, that princes fhould be to the people, the defence and protection of them. Tho’ fome think this refers to the gates of Babylon, and the ftrong bars of them, now broken; fee ch. xlv..2. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic verfions render it fugitives; and which fome underftand of the ews, who were as fuch in Babylon, but now fhould be brought out of it; which fenfe is countenanced by the above verfions, which render it, I will raife up, bring,

* St (D9 PN & non eft in vobis alienum vel peregrinum,

Gataker names of God, who from eternity to eternity is,

Pagninus, Montanus; fagientes omnes, Vitringa. bus ob quas jubilant, Pifcator; in naves ovationis ipforum, or bring back all the fugitives"; others of the Chal-. deans,who fhould be forced to fly upon the taking of — their city; but the firft fenfe feems beft, which di- ~ ‘ftinguifhes them from the common people in # next claufe: and the Chaldeans, whofe cry is in their rips 5 who ufed to glory in their thipping,they had in the river Euphrates, as the Vulgate Latin and Syriac verfions render it; and fo the Targum their fhips, /bips of their praife,; where, and of wl they ie i ing for joy: or rather, whofe cry is to the flips’ 5 as it might be, when they found Cyrus,and)his army. had’ got into, the city, then their.cry wasy fa the fhips, to the thips, that lay in, the river hard by, in order to make their efcape; or cheir cry was when they were iz the fhips, even in a way.of lamentation and diftrefs, becaufe they, could not gee — them off, Cyrus having drained the river; or it refers to their cry, when put aboard the fhips thas belonged to the Medes and Perfiazs, in order to therefore need not doubt of the performan fea, when he led Jjrae/ thro’ it as on dry land:

‘that are mentioned, could eafily, remove all diffi-

Jea, or it may be of Jordan; thro’ which the Jfoall not rife; they lay down in the.Red-fea, where d to make their ovations and, triumphs 5 and the word * ufed, has the fignification.of.

Ps the tranfporting them into other countries.

y. Is. Zam the Lord, your holy eng: Seer lade 3 thofe promifes: the creator of Tfracl, your king s mi)

therefore both able and willing to proteét-them, ~ y¥. 16. Thus faith the Lord, which maketh a way in the fea, &c.| Who did make a way, in the Red- this, with what follows, is obferved to encoutage the faith of the Lord’s.people in the, performance of what he had promifed, to. bring them out of Babylon; for he that had dane this,-and the reft culties that lay in the way of their deliverance ¢ and a path in the mighty waters; either,of the Red> raclites pafled into the land of Cangaa. | - iepiaal

¥. 17. Which bringeth forth the chariot and the borfe, the army and the power, &c.| Who brought forth the chariots and horfes, and the mighty army of Pharach, out of Egypt, to purfue the J/raelites into the Red-fea, where they were drowned. The prefent tenfe is put for the future, as in the pre+ ceding verfe; the future is put for the paft tenfe in the next claufe: sthey jhall lie down together, they they funk to the bottom, and perifhed, and never rofe more, at leaft to life, nor never will, till the general refurrection: they are extin, they are quenched as tow; or flax, or as the wick of acam= dle’, when put into water, is quenched at once;

fo the Egyptians became extinct in the Red. 7. Some obferve an allufion to the commodity of flax, for which Egypt was famots. Kimebi ine ir terprets the whole of the army of Sennacherib, which was brought out of their own land to Jee rufalem, and was deftroyed in one night by-an an- — gel..dben Ezra, of the Cheldeans being brought out to fight with the Perfans. But others rather of the army of the Medes and Perfians being brought againft them, by whom they became extinct as. tow or flax, - 1, Jehan aa oa

H may be confidered here as one of the in navibus ovatio eorum, Forerius; cum na

° Ad naves clamor eorum, Grotius, Gatake

¥. 18. Remember ye not the former things, &c.] Juft now referred to, the bringing of J/rae/ out of Egypt, and thro’ the red-fea, and the drowning of Pharaob and his army in it; for tho’ thefe things were worthy to be remembered with thankfulnefs and praife, and to the glory of God, and for the encouragement of faith, yet not in comparifon of what was hereafter to be done; meaning, not the redemption from Baéylon, unlefs as a typeof fpiritual and eternal redemption by Chrift; for otherwife there were greater and more wonderful things done when J/rael were brought out of Egypt, than when they were brought out of Babylon; but the great falvation by the Meffiah, which exceeds both the deliverances out of Egypt and Babylon, is meant: neither confider the things of old; unlefs as figures of thenew, but not to be put upon a foot with them, much lefs to the undervaluing of them, and indeed to be forgotten in comparifon of them; fee Fer. xxiii. 7, 8... The Talmudifis.s, by the former things, underftand fubjection to kingdoms; and, by the things of old, the going out of Egypt; as they do by the new thing, in the following verfe, the war of Gog and Magog.

¥. 19. Bebold, Iwill do a uew thing, &c.] A wonderful and unheard of thing, and therefore introduced with a debold, as a note of admiration; the fame with the new thing created in the earth, Fer. XXxi. 22. the incarnation of the Son of God; who took flefh of a virgin, appeared in the likenefs of finful flefh, and was made fin, and a curfe for his people, in order to obtain eternal redemption for them; which bleffing, though not newly thought of, refolved on, contrived, and agreed upon, that being from eternity; nor newly made known, or as to the virtue and efficacy of it, which had been from the beginning of the world, yet new as to the impetration of it by the blood and {acrifice of Chrift; and may be alfo called new, becaufe excellent, it being of a fpiritual nature, compee and eternal, and having: fo many valuable leffings in it, as juftification, pardon, and eternal life: now it fhall foring forth; or bud forth as a branch, in a very fhort time, fuddenly, and at once; one of the Meffiah’s names is that of the branch; fee Zech. iii. 8. and vi. 12: jhall ye not know it? the Redeemer, and the redemption by him. It was known to them that looked for it, and to whom the gofpel is fent, and the Spirit reveals and applies it; thefe know the nature of it, own it to be of God, and know their intereft in it, and know the author of it, in whom they have believed, by the characters given of him: and as this may have refpect to the redemption of Chrift, fo to the converfion of the Gentiles, and to the grace of God difpenfed thro’ Chrift to them; when old things paffed away, and all things became new; a new covenant of grace was exhibited, a new church-ftate fet up, new ordinances appointed, and a new people called to partake of all this, on whom was a new face of things; and wonderful and excellent things were done for them, as follows: I will even make a way in the wilderne/s; as there was a way made for the J/raelites thro’ the wildernefs, which lay between Egypt and Canaan, and thro’ another, which lay between Badylon and Fudea; fo the Lord would alfo make a way in the Gentile world, comparable to a wildernefs for its barrennefs and unfruitfulnefs, for the gofpel to enter into it, where it fhould run, and be glorified; where ae eg 4 T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 13. 1. Vou. L N°. 8.

Chrift, the way of falvation, fhould be made known; and where there fhould be a way for chriftians to walk together, in the féllowfhip of the gofpel: and rivers in the defert; the doctrines of the gofpel, and the ordinances of it, which fhould be preached and adminiftered in the Gentile world, before like a defert; and the graces of the Spirit, which fhould be brought into the hearts of men by means of them; and the large communications of grace from Chrift; and the difcoveries of the love of God, with the bleffings of it; compared to rivers for their abundance, and for the comforting, reviving, and fructifying nature of them.

¥. 20. The beaft of the field fhall honcur me, the dragons, and the owls, &c.] Which is not to be underftood literally of thefe creatures, who as they - had honoured the Lord, when J/rael paffed_thro’ the wildernefs, fo would again in theit way praife the Lord, when they came thro’ the deferts from Babylon, for giving them water to drink in fuch dry and thirfty places, to which there may be an allufion; but fpiritually of the Gentiles, compared to thofe creatures for the favagenefs, fiercenefs, and ftupidity of them, and who were reckoned by thé Jews no other than as the beafts of the field; who fhould honour and glorify God for the gofpel brought unto them, and for his grace and mercy beftowed on them: becaufe I give waters in the wilderne/s, and rivers in the defert; as before; fee the note on the preceding verfe; becaufe of the plenty of divine grace, and the means of it: fo give drink to my people, my chofen, to refrefh and comfort the hearts of his people, whom he had chofen out from among the Gentiles, and now would call them by his grace, and fet them a thirfting after Chrift, and falvation by him.

¥.21. This people have I formed for myfelf, &c.] The Gentiles, compared to a defert and wilderneis, wild and uncultivated, diftinguifhed from Faced and J/rael in the next verfe, and the fame. with the chofen people before-mentioned; who being chofen. of God, and redeemed by Chrift, are formed anew by the Spirit of Chrift, made new creatures, regenerated, and transformed by the renewing of their minds, and conformed to the image of Chrift, and having him formed in their fouls, and principles of grace and holinefs wrought in them; in confequence of which they reformed in their lives and converfation, and were alfo formed. into a gofpel. church-ftate, and all this done by the Lord for himfelf, his fervice, and his glory. The Targum is, ‘* this people have I prepared for my ‘© worfhip:” they fhall foew forth my praife;: with their lips, by afcribing their formation to the power and grace of God, and even their whole falvation to it, and: exprefs their thankfulnefs for the fame; and likewife by their actions, by a fubjeétion to the ordinances of the gofpel, and by their lives and conyerfations being agreeable to it. ofeph Kimchi, as Abendana obferves, interprets this people of the beafts of the field, fpoken of in the preceding verfe, that fhould honour the Lord, and. here faid to be formed for himfelf, and fhould fhew forth his praife; and which is taken notice of to aggravate the fins of the people of the Fews, who called not on the Lord, &¢. as in the following verfes; fo the ants and conies are called a people not ftrong, and the locufts a people great and ftrong, Prov. xxx. 25, 26. Joel ii. 2.

¥. 22. But thou haft not called upon me, O facob, &c.} The Fews, tho’ they were the pofterity of Facob, a praying perfon, yet did not tread in his fteps, but were mote like the heathens that called not on the name of the Lord; tho’ there is no neceffity of reftraining this to prayer, it may regard the whole worfhip of God, which is fometimes included in the invocation of his name; and fo the Targum, “* and yé come not to my worfhip, “© ye of the houfe of Facob.” The Fews, in Chrift’s time, did not call upon his name, nor believe in him, nor receive his gofpel, nor fubmit to him and his ordinances; they rejected him and his fervice, therefore the Lord rejected them, and called the Gevtiles, as before prophefied of: dut thou haft been weary of me, O Ifrael, of the word, worfhip, and ordinances of God; fee Mal. i. 13. Amos vill. 5.

¥. 23.. Thou haft not brought me the fmall cattel of thy burnt offerings, &c.| ‘The kids and the lambs, which, according to the law, fhould have been brought for burnt offerings daily, morning and evening; and much lefs did they bring the larger cattel of burnt offerings, as oxen and bullocks.

The Targum and Vulgate Latin render it, the rams of thy burnt offerings; the Septuagint verfion, the foeep; and the Syriac and Arabic verfions, the lambs; and thefe were not brought t6 him, but to their idols; or however, were not brought in a right way and manner, and from right principles, and with right views. Kimchi thinks this refers to the times of Abaz, when the fervice of God ceafed in the temple, and idolatry was practifed at Feru/alem; but it feems to refpect later times, nearer the times of Chrift; fee Mal. i. 13, 14. and iii. 7, 8: neither haft thou honoured me with thy facrifices,; what facrifices they did offer, were not offered to God, but to their idols; or they were fuch as were not according to the law of God; or they were not offered up in the faith of the Meffiah, nor with a true fpirit of devotion, and with a fincere view to the glory of God, and in the exercife of repentance for fins; but rather as an atonement for them, and that they might go on in them with eafe of mind; fee J. 1. 11—15: I have not caufed thee to Jerve with an offering; the minchah, a meat-offering or bread-offering, which was a free-will offering, and they were not obliged to it; it ‘was at their own option whether they would bring it or no, and which was not very chargeable to them: wor wearied thee with incenfe; or frankincenfe, which was put upon the meat or bread-offeting; fee Lev. ii. 1. Some underftand this of all offerings in general, that they were not fo many that were commanded them, as to be a burden to them; nor fo expenfive, but that they were able to bear the charge of them, confidering the fruitfulnefs of the land of Canaan, and efpecially the numerous and coftly facrifices of heathen idolaters: and others think it has reference to the time of J/rae/’s coming out of Egypt, and the covenant of God with them, when no mention was made of factificés, nor wére they enjoined them, Yer. vii. 21, 22.

¥.24. Thou hajt bought me no fweet cane with money, &c.] Or calamus*, which was ufed in the anointing oil, and for the perfume or incenfe, Exod. xxx. 7, 23. this they thought too chargeable, and fo left it out of the compofition, 6r ‘neglected the whole, this being put a part for the whole, Farchi gives it as the fenfe, that they had no need to buy it, fince it grew in great plenty in the land of Jfrael, which he took to be cinnamon; tho’ this is diftinguifhed from calamus, or the fweet. cane, Cant. iv. 14. wherefore Kimchi much better obferves, that it was not to be had in the land of Trael, but came from a land afar off, and therefore muft be bought; fee Yer. vi. 20. hence grudging to give the price for it, and to be at the expence of it, bought it not, and difufed it: wether haft thou filled me with the fat of thy facrifices, they did not multiply their facrifices, offered only juft what the Jaw required, if fo many, and of the leaner fort; and whereas the fat of the facrifices was the Lord’s, there was little of it for him in thefe: dat thou baft made me to ferve wih thy Sins, thou haft wearied me with thine iniquities, they were fo many, and fo aggravated, that he could not bear with them any longer, his patience was worn out; they were an uneafinefs to him, as it were a burden upon him, and therefore would eafe himfelf, as he fometimes does, by avenging himfelf, ch. i. 24. but here by pardoning them, as in the following verfe. Some think that thefe are the words of Chrift, the furety of his people, who took upon him the form of a fervant for the fake -of them, and had all their fins laid upon him, and which he bore, and made fatisfaction for; and were to the human nature a burden, and a wearinefs to it; fee Pf xl. 12. This muft be under- {tood of the remnant according to the election of grace, among thefe people fo fadly corrupted, for whofe fins of omiffion and commiifion Chrift made atonement; and upon the foot of his fatisfaction, remiffion of fins proceeds, as in the next verfe.

¥. 25. J, even J am be, that blotteth out thy tranfgrefiions for mine own fake, 8&c.] The fame with fis in the ‘next claufé; original fin, and actual fins; which are tranfgreffions of the law of God, of which the law accufes, for which it pronounces guilty, curfes, and condemns; which are contrary to the nature of God, ftrike at his deity, and muft be abominable ‘to ‘him; they are many, yea infinite, and yet all pardoned ‘for’Chrift’s fake; which is here exprefied by a d/otting them out, in allufion to the blotting of a debt book: fins are debts, and thefe are many, and which cannot be paid by the finner’; Chrift has made full payment; as the furety of his people; upon this the debt-book is crofied; thefe debts are remitted for his fake: or as a cloud is blotted out, difpelled by the wind, or {cattered by the fun; ‘fee ch. ‘xliv. 22. fo as to be feen no more with the eye of avenging juftice, or to be charged againit the finner to his condemnation. The author of this bleffing of grace is the Lord, J, even I am be; who had been fo i ufed, and male-treated, as before declared; whofe law had been broken in fuch a manner; and who is the lawgiver that is able to fave and to deftro and who hates and abhors fin, and is ftriCly juft and yet, notwithftanding all this, forgives it; an which he ‘repeats for the confirmation of it, feems to exprefs it with the utmoft pleafure, as glorying in it, and as if it was an honour to him, and a jewel in his crown; and indeed it is his fole prerogative; none can forgive fins but him: and this he does for his own fake; it is not procured ‘by any thing of the creature, not by riches, nor by righteoufhefs, nor by repentance, nor by faith, nor by obedience to any ordinance, it is not for the fake of thefe that the Lord forgives fin, but for his own fake, and his Son’s fake, which is the fame; it is an inftance of unmeri and diftinguifhing grace; it flows from the free grace of God; it is a branch of the covenant of grace; it is through the blood of »Chrift, and yet according to the riches of grace; and it is for the glory of all the divine perfections, juftice, truth, and faithfulnefs, as well as grace and mercy; and after fuch:a lift of fins of omiffion and commiffion, to hear fuch language as this, is furprifing grace indeed! and will not remember thy fins; God forgives and forgets; God will not remember the fins of his people againft them; having forgiven them, he’ll never punifh them for them, which is meant by remembering them; fee Fer. xiv. 10. Rev. xviii. 5. ¥. 26. Put me in remembrance, &c.|) Of this gracious promife of free remiffion of fins, and of all others of the fame kind; not that God ever forgets any of his promifes, but he may fometimes feem to do fo; wherefore he would have his people put him in mind of them, that he may by his good Spirit make a comfortable application of them to them: Jet us plead together, or come together in judgment, as God and the finner may upon the, foot of remiffion of fin, thro’ the blood, facrifice, and fatisfaction of Chrift; which may be pleaded, | and will be allowed, in the court of juftice: de-| clare thou, that thou mayft be jupified; declare the promife before made; declare the grace that is expreffed in it; plead the blood and righteoufnefs of) my fon, that thou mayeft be juftified by it, on, which account remiffion of fin is: or it may be) rather, thefe words are directed to another fett of men among the ews, who rejected the doétrine of | forgivenefs of fin by the grace of God, thro’ the’ blood of Chrift; fuch as were the Scribes and Pharifees in Chrift’s time, thofe felf-jufticiaries, who’ fought to be juftified by the works of the law; | -{etting at nought the grace of God, and righte-| oufnefs of Chrift: now thefe the Lord calls upon' in a way of derifion, to put him in mind of any of their good attions they had done, and he had forgotten, for the fake of which they expected pardon, and not for his name’s fake; and to come into open court, and plead their own righteoufnefs, and fee whether they could carry their caufe upon the foot of their own merits; and declare publickly what thefe merits and good works were, that they | might be juftified by them, if they were fufficient for fuch a purpofe; but alas! thefe would not bear examination at the bar of ftri€t juftice, and would be far from juftifying them in the fight of God; and as their own works would be infufficient, it would be a vain thing to have recourfe to the works and merits of their forefathers; for it follows, ¥.27. Thy firft father bath finned, 8&c.] Either Adam, as Kimchi, in whom all have finned, and from whom all derive a finful and corrupt nature; or Abraham, as Farchi, the father of the Fewifh nation, of whom they boafted, and in whom they trufted, as being of his feed, and thro’ whofe merits and worthinefs they expected great things, yet he was but a finful man, tho’ a good man, and a great believer; of whofe infirmity and frailty many inftanees are on record. Some have thought Terab the father of Abraham is defigned, who was an idolater; others think fome particular king is meant, the father of his people; ex Ezra fuppofes Feroboam to be intended, the firft king of the ten tribes, who made Jjrae] to fin; but Kimchi obferyes it is better to underftand it of Saul, who was the firft king over all J/rae/; others interpret it of Abax, and others of Manaffeh, Vitringa of Uriah the prieft, in the times of Abaz; but it feems beft to take the fingular for the plural, as the “abie -verfion does, which renders it, your fir t fathers have finned; all their forefathers had finned, from their'coming out of Egypt to that day 5 and therefore it was in vain to have refpect to them, or plead any worthinefs of theirs in their fayour; befides they imitated them in their fins, and were filling up the meafure of their iniquities: and thy teachers bave tranfereffed againft mes or interpreters*; of the law to the people, the Priefts and Levites, Scribes and Pharifees; fuch who fhould have taught the people, and inftructed them in the knowledge of divine things, and interceded with God for them; thefe were tranferefiors of the law themfelves, as well as defpifers of the gofpel; thefe rejetted ‘the counfél of God againft themfelves, difbelieved the Meffiah, and diffuaded the people from receiving him; they were ovasors', as the word is by fome rendered; and they ufed afl the oratory they were matters of againft Chrift, and to perfuade the people into an ill opinion of him, and at laft to infift upon his crucifixion.

¥. 28. Therefore I have prophaned the princes of the fanéiuary, 8c.} Or will do it; the paft tenfe for the future, common in prophetic writings; thefe are not Mo/fes and Aaron, or the kings, but the priefts of the temple, who had the care and government of things there, and therefore called princes; thefe, when this prophecy was fulfilled, were treated as common perfons, and divefted of their office, and laid afide; their priefthood and the honour of it were taken from them; facrifices were abolifhed, and the law concerning them; this was more efpecially true when Yeru/alem was deftroyed, the temple -burnt, and the daily facrifice made to ceafe, by the Romans: and have given Facob to the curfe, and Ifrael to reproaches, to be curled and reproached, as the Fews are in all places to this day, wherever they be, and that very righteoufly, and in juft retaliation for-their behaviour to Chrift, and their ufage of his followers; for they both hung him upon the accurfed tree, and imprecated his blood on them and their children, and anathematized, or delivered to an anathema ", as the word here ufed fignifies, and caft thofe who profefied his name out of their fynagogues, as well as reproached and blafphemed him, his perfon, offices, miracles, and doctrines, and therefore have been juftly given up to the curfe of God and man, and to be a taunt, proverb and by-word throughout the world, Fer. xxiv. 9.

N this chapter the Lord comforts his people I with the promife of the effufion of his Spirit, and the bleffings of his grace upon them; the confequence of which would be fruitfulnefs in them, and the converfion of others, who fhould: profefs themfelves the Lord’s people, ¥. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. he proves his deity in oppofition to all falfe gods from his eternity, omunifcience, and foretelling future events, y. 6, 7, 8. expofes the ftupidity of idolmakers, and the worfhippers of them, ¥. 9—20. makes gracious promifes of the remembrance of his people, the remiffion of their fins, and their redemption by Chrift, ¥.21, 22,23. of which redemption from Babylon was a type; and of that -affurance is given, from the Lord’s creating all things by his power; from his fruftrating and infatuating diviners and wife-men; from his. fulfilling his predictions delivered by his prophets; and from his mentioning by name the inftrument of their redemption, Cyrus, ¥.24—28. which makes way for a particular prophecy concerning him in the next chapter.

‘1. Yet now bear, O Facob my fervant, &c.] Thefe words are directed to a remnant according to the election of grace among the Yews, about the time when their princes fhould be’ profaned, and the body of the people fhould be given to curfe and reproaches; and who are diftinguifhed’ from them by the title of the Lord’s fervants; who being called by grace, were made willing to ferve him in righteoufnefs and holinefs, either by preaching his gofpel, and fo had the title of the fervants of the moft high God, which fhew unto men the way of falvation; or by obferving his commands’ and ordinances, and walking agreeably to his will, ferving him acceptably with reverence and godly fear; as they are alfo in the next claufe diftinguifhed from the reft by their being cho/en of God: and thefe having ears to hear, are called upon to hearken to what the Lord had to fay unto them; for notwithftanding the forrowful things delivered out in the latter part of the preceding chapter, threatening deftruction to the nation of the Fews, yet he had fome comfortable things to fay to this remnant, and therefore would now have them hear them, and attend unto them for their ufe and comfort: and Ifrael whom I have chofen, an Ifrael out of J/racl; a feed the Lord had referved for himfelf, whom he had chofen in Chrift before the world was; to. be holy and happy, to grace here, and glory hereafter, to believe in him, and profefs his name, and to ferve him in their day and generation, either in a more public, gr in a more private way; chofen veffels they were to bear his name, and fhew forth his praife. What they were to hear and hearken to, is as follows,

¥.2. Thus faith the Lord, that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, &c.| Which is not to be underftood of the forming of the people of J rael into a commonwealth or church-ftate, for this is not faid of the body of them; nor of the natural creation and formation of thefe individuals, but of their new creation, regeneration, and fpiritual formation; which, as it was owing to the grace and power of God, by which the Lord defcribes him- he is upright among the people.

felf, who is fpeaking to them, the confideration of © it might ferve to encourage their faith and confi- — dence-in the performance of the promifes about to be made to them; fee P/. c. 3. Gal. i. 15. and iv. 19: which wil] help thee, in the exercife of — grace, in the performance of duty, in. fuffering for his name’s fake, in every time of trouble, and out — of all trouble, and that right early, and when noné ~ elfe can: fear not, O Facob my fervant, and thon Fefurun, whom I have chofen, the titles are as be= — fore, only inftead of Irael is Fefurun, which is a name of the people of J/rael, Deut. xxxii. 15. and Xxxiii. 5. and here the Targum inftead of it puts Ifrael; and fo the Syriac and Arabic verfions. The Septuagint verfion renders it, beloved Ifrael; the word fignifies upright, and fo the Vulgate Latin verfion tranflates it, O thou moft upright one”; and well agrees with this little remnant of Jraelites indeed, in whom there was no guile. Some derive the word from one that fignifies to fee, bebold, con= template*; and fo it may be rendered, the feeing ones whom I have chofen; fach whofe eyes the Lord opened to fee their own vilenefs and finfulnefs, and the glory of Chrift, and falvation by him: thefe - are bid not to fear; not any of their enemies, tho? they themfelves were but worms and. tho’ their number was fmall, and they weak and feeble, and their enemies numerous, ftrong, and mighty;. and tho’ their country-men would, reproach, revile, and perfecute them for Chrift’s fake, and they fhould be obliged to turn to the Gentiles, and carry the’ gofpel among them, when thofe of their nation” would reject it, which would iffue in the ruin of it, as before predicted; fee ch. xli. 10, 13, 14. and lili: 15/25 sas Ta

¥.3. Hor I will pour water on him that is thirfly, &c.] Or rather upon the thirfty land, as the Tar; gum; and fo the Syriac verfion, in a thirfly places. as a dry land is a thirfty land; it thirfts for water, gapes and opens for it; fee Pf. lxiii..1: and floods upon the dry ground; large quantities of rain to” moiften it, and make it fruitful; thefe figurative expreffions are explained in the next claufes: J will pour my Spirit upon thy feed, and my blefing upon thine offspring; by which feed and offspring are meant the fpiritual feed of this remnant or little church of Chrift among the Fews, in the firft times” of the gofpel; fuch as fhould be regenerated and converted in it, and who are fignified by the dry and thirfly ground; for being made fenfible of their defolate condition, their barrennefs and unfruitfulnefs, they hungred and thirfted after righteoufnefs; were defirous of Chrift and his grace, and more knowledge of him, and eagerly fought after them; and to thefe are promifed the Spirit, and his gifts and graces, compared to water, for its purifying, foftening, fruétifying and_refre nature, and for extinguifhing thirft, and | areal pleafure and delight; fee Ezek. xxxvi. 25. Fobn iii. 5. and the abundance thereof is: d by floods of water; for in firft converfion there is an abounding, yea a fuperabounding ¢ the grace of God; it is a well of living water; yea out of the believer flow rivers of — iving wa i. 14. and this grace of the Spirit is

J/g; and indeed all the bleffings of grace go along with it, as to the manifeftation and application of them, as juftification, pardon of fin, adoption, Ge. here perhaps a more {pecial regard is had to the extraordinary effufion of the Spirit on the day of

Penteco/t, when the apoftles of Chrift, being furnifhed with his gifts and graces, were fitted to go forth with the fulnefs of the bleffing of the gofpel of Chrift. The Targum of the whole is, ‘* for as ‘* waters are given upon the thirfty land, and they “* flow upon the dry land, fo will I give my holy “* Spirit on thy children, and my bleffing upon “© thy childrens children;” a fucceffien of converts in the chriftian church.

¥. 4. And they fhall {pring up as among the grafs, &c.} That is, fuch on whom the Spirit of the Lord fhall be poured with his gifts and grace, and with the bleffings of it: by the gra/s may be meant common believers, comparable to green grafs, for their numbers, being many; for their weaknefs in themfelves; for their flourifhing condition; like erafs for its greennefs and verdure, and its fpringing up by clear fhining after rain; fee P/ Ixxii. 6,16. and by thofe that /pring up among them are intended the apoftles and minifters of the word, who exceed common chriftians in their gifts, and grace, and ufefulnefs, grow up higher and taller than they, like palm-trees and cedars in Lebanon; and as fuch exceed private faints-as tall trees exceed the grafs they grow among: as willows by the water-courfes; a fort of trees wel] known, and which delight in watery places, and grow beft on banks of rivers, and fhoot up apace in a very fhort time, and fpread their branches; fo the apoftles, after the effufion of the Spirit on them, grew faft in gifts, and grace, and evangelic knowledge; and their ufefulnefs fpread far and near. The Zargum is, “ the ** righteous fhall grow tender and delicate as the *© flowers of the grafs, as a tree that fends forth ** its roots by flows of water.”

¥. 5. One foall fay, Iam the Lord’s, &c.] This exprefies the fuccefs of the apoftles miniftry, not only among the ews, but more. efpecially among the Gentiles, who were not called by the name of Facob and I/rael; but now fhould call themfelves by thofe names, as the following claufes thew, being called by grace and converted; when they fhould openly profefs their faith in Chrift, claim their intereft in him, and acknowledge his property in them, and not be afhamed of the name of chriftians; and this one, and another, even many fhould do. The Lord has a people who are his fpecial and peculiar people, his beloved ones, the objeéts of his delight and pleafure, his chofen and covenant-ones, his adopted ones, his treafure and his jewels; and hence he has taken fuch care of them; he has put them into the hands of Chrift for their fecurity; given him to be an head, Redeemer, and. Saviour of them; beftows every bleffing of grace on them; will not fuffer any to hurt them; and keeps them by his power: and having given them to Chrift, they are his people, his portion, his fpoufe and bride, his children, and the fheep of his hand; hence he became incarnate on their account; laid down his life’ to fave them; fends his gofpel, and along with it his Spirit, effeétually to call them; and hence all that‘he has is theirs, and he will keep them, and not lofe any of them: and being called by grace, they are the workmanfhip of the Spirit; his temples in which he dwells, and in whom he is as the earneft and pledge of their eternal glory: and this intereft the ebb NS, 8.

things in nature, Baise and grace; all things

Lord has in his people may be known by them, {fo as that they may be able to fay, one and another, I am the Lord’s,-as many of them have done; fee Pf. cxix. 94. Cant. ii. 16. Affs xxvii. 23. they may know they are the Lord’s beloved ones, by his drawing them with his love, by the communhications of his grace to, them, by the communion with himfelf he indulges them with, and by what he fhews unto them, and by the fheding abroad of his love in them; and that they are his chofen ones, by the gofpel coming in power to them, by their effectual calling, by the fanctification of the Spirit, and their faith in Chrift Jefuus; and that they are his covenant-ones, by the application of covenant- grace and bleffings to them; and that they are his adopted-ones, by the fpirit of adoption fent down into their hearts, witneffing it unto them; they may know that they are the redeemed of the Lamb, by their having his Spirit, and by his being formed in their hearts; and they may know that they are the temples of the Holy Ghoft, by his own work upon them, and his dwelling in them: and knowing this, they fhould and will declare, and ay they are the Lord’s, and none others; that they are not their own, nor fatan’s, nor the fervants of men, but the Lord’s, to whom they devote themfelves, and whom they defire to ferve; and therefore join themfelves to his churches, and walk in his ordinances, publickly confeffing their faith in him, which is telling all the world whofe they are; and this they fay with the utmoft joy and pleafure, in an exulting, yea even boafting way and manner. The Targum is, ‘* this fhall fay, I am of them “¢ that fear the Lord:” and another fhall call himfelf by the name of Facob; reckon himfelf of the pofterity of Facod, in a fpiritual fenfe; count it an honour to be called a wreftling Facob, and a prevailing D/raelite; fo the Targum, “ this fhall pray “¢ in the name of Yacod;” either in the name of the God of Facob, the Meffiah, or as Facob did: and another fhall fubfcribe with his hand to the Lords fhall give his hand and feal to ferve the Lord; fhall efteem it his high and great privilege to be written among the living in Feru/alem, and to have his name regiftered among the faints, and in their church-book. The Targum is, ‘* and this fhall ‘© offer his oblation before the Lord;” himfelf and his facrifices of prayer and praife: and furname himfelf Zy the name of Ifracl, fhall value himfelf upon this, that he is an //raelite indeed, and fhall chufe no other name to be called by than that of a chriftian. The Targum is, ‘‘ in the name of J/rael “¢ he fhall draw near;” and worfhip with them; all thefe phrafes are expreflive of a fincere and hearty profeffion of faith in Chrift, and of the chri— ftian religion, in terms borrowed from the people of Ifrael, fee Adis ii. 41, 47. and v. 14. 2 Cor. viii. 5.

y. 6. Thus faith the Lord, the king of Tfrael, &c.} The king of the whole world, and governor among the nations; and in a peculiar manner king of Tfrael, that nation being a theocracy; and efpecially king of fpiritual J/ree/, or king of faints, be they of what nation they will: end bis redeemer, the Lord of hofts; who redeemed I/rze/ out of Egypt, from the houfe of bondage, and would again re~ deem them from the Badylonifo captivity, and the whole J/rael of God from fin, fatan, and the law, which he was able to do, being the Lord of bo/ts, of the armies above and below: Jam ¢he firft, and Iam the laff, the firft caufe, and laft end of all a. ae ey Ors tye oreo. are of him, thro’ him, and from him; all t ings were made by him in» creation, and for his pleafure they are and wete created; and all Sina are a ofed of in his providence for his own glory 5 he is the firft in reconciliation, juftification,

: a falvation, and all are to the glory c of his grace:, or this is a periphrafis of his eternity, who is from everlafting to everlafting, without beginning or end, the Alpha and Omega;; the fame is faid of Chrift, Rev. i. 8, 11, 17. and all the other cha- raters before- mentioned agree with him: and befides me there is no God; “all others are only gods by name, not by nature, mere nominal fictitious deities, not real ones; and “tis to the exclufion of thefe from the rank of deity, thefe words are aid, but not to the exclufion of the Son of God, ie, the holy Spirit, who with the Father, are the one

¥.3. And who as I feall call, &c.) Which of the idols’ of the Gentiles can do as the king of Irael, the Lord of hofts has done? call things that are not, as tho’ they were? call all creatures into being? call men by their names before they were born, as Haac, Fofiah, and Cyrus, of whom mention is made in the latter end of this chapter? and call them to fervice and ufefulnefs in their day and generation? and call whom he pleafes by his and fhall declare it; the things future that are yet to come to, pals; or the purpofes and decrees of God, his counfel and covenant, his mind and will? and fet it in order for me, give an exact and orderly account of things that fhall be throughout the fuc- as Jehovah did with: refpect | to the people of Ifrael, whofe God and king he grace to eternal glory? end from the beginning, was.; he foretold to Abraham their going into Egypt, and bondage there, their deliverance from thence, and fettlement in the land of Canaan, and now their deliverance from Baédylon, and by name who fhould be the inftrument. of it; none of the gods of the Gentiles could do this, or any thing like it, or order and difpofe all occurrences in providence for his own glory, and the good of men: fince I appointed the ancient people? meaning either the ancient patriarchs, Abrabam, Ifaac and Jacob, and their pofterity, the children of /rae/, who were early formed into a body politic, and into a church-ftate; fee Deut. xxxii. 6, 7, 8. or rather the firft man, road the firft race of men that inhabited the world before the flood, called the old world; and fo the fenfe is, who ever did the things I have done, from the time I made man, and other creatures, and placed them on the earth, or from the creation of the world? fo Aben Ezra, ‘Farchi, and: Kimchi. interpret it; tho’ it is beft of all to underftand_ this of the people of God, the church of the. firft born, whofe names are written in heaven, in the lamb’s book of life, from the foundation of the world; who are, as the words may be-rendered, she ‘people of eternity”; and may be {fo called, becaufe they were in fome fenfe a people, that. were from eternity, as the Targum paraphrafes it; not that they had an actual perfonal being fo early, for they are but creatures of time, raifed up in fucceflive genefations, and but of yefterday, and of a fhort continuance; yet they had from all eternity a reprefentative being in Chrift, as their federal head; they were chofengin him. before the foundation of the world, and had gens given them in him before pulum rternitatis, Gataker,

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‘thee from that. time, and baie declared. it 2 what ‘fhould come to pafs, before it did, even every - tion, and afcenfion to heaven, Aas i lle Ephe in 35 4. 2 Tite is grothey fA COvenanigny?y early.) e.covenant of grace made with Cheiltuss and them inhim; they, ftood fo early related to God, as) his) children, ‘and to. Chrift as his {poufe and. bride;.do,earlywere they on. thoughts.of God, ss oe Che, - in, ‘his feCtions, as they were. alfo.upo: and in his hands, and their names fo.early r ed in his. book: of life; fo that they m be indeed, an ancient people, ora people. 3) and they, may be called, fo,.becaufe they, wi tinue for ever,, as, the days of heaven, and z fun and moon before the Lord, Pf. 1\xxxix.2 everlafting habitations are. provided for pei they thall | be for ever with the Lord;, fo the Syriac; verfion renders it, @, people for eternity: now thele are appointed by the. Lords to.come into, aétual being at the time, and in, the place he has fixed 5 they are appointed to many things in —— wrath, either here or hereafter, but..to. afflictions and to death itfelf: and they are appo oe |many, good things, to, be called ican faved with an, everlafting falvation,, —— with Chrift in the new Ferufalem-Ltare x: fee ch. xxiv. 23. where they are called ancients, a here 3\ and, to be glorified with Chrift for. ever, ‘it. follows:: and the “things that are coming, and. Joell: come?-det them fhew unto them; let the. idols thew to,their worfhippers if they can,, she things that are comings Jult coming, n thas are near at wan etree.

fhall come to pais, yy which Pein caress co but the idols of the Genéiles.can de eae the accomplifhment of prophecies and, promifes, and ef profefling the true God, and of.

to Jefus Chrift, the only. Redeemer and. — or of the gods of the heathens, and of favour of their idolatrous religion: have not It thing that has fince the appointment of the ancient _ people;;, and particularly what troubles, and. perfes cutions the apoftles,. minifters of the word, the firft chriftians, fhould meet with among the hea~— thens, for profefling and propagating the g and what fucceis, they. fhould, meet hip came to pafs accordingly: ye are evem my 4 as efpecially the apoltles were, who.-had: i Chrift’s own mouth, that they fhould be h perfecuted for, the fake of the gofpel,. and fh be fuccefsful wherever they came; as. th were his witnefles i in Jerufalem,. and Fud maria, and unto the uttermeft partasgia of his perfon, doétrine, miracles, dea