Exposition of the Whole Bible

WD DN CoM CON quam pofueris delidum animam ejas, De Dieu, tium anima ejus, Cocceius; fi pofuerit deli€tum fua anima, Montanus.

“*.tiply fons and daughters;. they hall prolong ** their days:”, andfo Jben Ezra fays thefe words are {poken,.of the generation that {hall return to God, and to the true religion,,at the coming of the Meffiah. dnd the pleasure of the Lord foall profper in bis hand; the work of man’s redemption, put into the hands of Chrift, which he undertook. to accomplifh; which was with him, and before him, when he came into this world, and was his meat and drink to do; this he never left till he had finifhed it; fo that ic fucceeded and pro- {pered with him: and this may well be called the pleafure of the Lord; it was the good pleafure of his will; it was what he purpofed and. refolved, what his heart was fet upon, and was well pleafing to him,.as effected by his Son. Likewife the fetting up of the kingdom and intereft of Chrift»in the world, and the continuance and increafe of its the miniftry of the word, and the fuccefs of that as the means thereof, may be alfo, meant;, for;the gofpel will be preached, and a gofpel-church ftill continued, until all the elect of God are gathers ed in, ‘ y. 11. He fhall fee of the travail of his foul, and foall be fatisfied, &c.] The travail of bis foul,..is the toil and labour he endured, in working out the falvation of his people; his obedience and death, his forrows and jufferings; particularly thofe birththrows of his foul, under a denie of divine wrath, for the allufion is to women in travail; and all the agonies, and pains of death which he, went through. Now the fruit of ali this he jees with inexpreffible pleafure, and which gives him an-infinite fatisfaction, namely, the compleat redemption of all the chofen ones, and the glory of the divine perfections difplayed. therein, as well as his own glory, which follows upon it; particularly this will be true of him as.man and Mediator, when he fhall. have all his children with. him jin glory; fee Heb. xii. 2. The words are by fome rendered, /ecing bim/elf or his foul freed from trouble, he foall be fatisied*, fo he faw it, and found. it, when. he rofe from the dead, and was juftified in the Spirit; afcended to his God and Father, was fet down at.his right-hand, and was made glad-with his countenance,,enjoying- to the full eternal glory and happinefs with him: and by. others thus, after the travail * of his foul, he shail jee a feed, and foall be fatisied; as a. woman, after her travail and fharp pains are over, having brought forth.a fon, looks upon it with joy and pleafure, and is fatisfied, and forgets her former pain, and anguith; fo Chrift, after all his {orrows and -fufferings, fees a large number of fouls regenerated, fanctified, juftified, and brought to, heaven,,in confequence of them, which is a moft pleafing and fatisiaCtory fight unto him. By bis knowledge fhall my righteous fervent ju- Stify many, Chrift, as the fervent of the Lord; fee. the notes on ch..xiii. 1. and xlix. 3, and li 13... He is faid.to be righteous, becaufe of the holinefs of his nature, and the righteoufnefs of his life as man; and becaute, of his faithful difcharge of his work, and office as Mediator; and. becaufe he is the author and bringer in.of an everlafting righteoufnels, by which he ju/tifes his people; that is, acquits and abfolves them, pronounces them righteous, and frees them from condemnation and death; he is the procuring and meritorious caufe of '-* Ubi pofuit fatisfaionis pre. > OD “PAN? PU TIN’ videbit femen

196 rvs of their juftification; his righteoufnefS is the matter of it; in him, as their head, are they juftified, and by him the fentence is pronounced: for this is to be underftood not of making men holy and righteous inherently, that is fanctification; nor of a teaching men doétrinally the way and method of juftifying men, which is no other than minifters do; but it is a forenfic act, a pronouncing and declaring men righteous, as oppofed to condemnation: and they are many who are fo juftified; the many who were ordained to eternal life; the many whofe fins Chrift bore, and gave his life a ranfom for; the many fons that are brought by him to lory. This fhows, that they are not a few, which ferves to magnify the grace of God, exalt the fatisfaction and righteoufnefs cf Chrift, and encourage diftreffed finners to look to him for juftification of life; ‘and yet they are not all men, for all men have not faith, nor are they faved, tho’ all Chrift’s fpiritual feed and offspring fhall be juftified, and fhall glory: ‘and this is by or thro’ his knowledge, the knowledge of him, of Chrift, which is no other than faith in him, by which a man fees and knows him, and believes in him, as the Lord his righteoufnefs; and this agrees with the New Teftamentdoctrine of juftification by faith, which is no other than the manifeftation, knowledge, fenfe, and perception of it by faith. ‘For be fhall’ bear their iniguities; this is the reafon of Chrift’s juftifying many, the ground and foundation of it; he undertook to fatisfy for their fins; thefe, as before obferved, were laid on him; being laid on him, he bore them, the whole of them, and all the punifhment due to them; whereby he made fatistaction for them, and bore them away, fo as they are to be feen no more; and upon this juftification proceeds,

¥. 12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, &c.] The great ones of the earth, the kings and princes of the earth: thefe are the words of God the Father, promifing Chrift that he fhall have as great a part or portion affiened him as any of the mighty monarchs of the world, nay, one much more large and ample, that he would make him higher than the kings of the earth, and give him a name above every name in this world, or that to come; and all this in confequence of his fufferings, and as a reward of them; fee Phil. ii. 8, 9. and whereas the Lord’s people are his portion, and with which Chrift is well pleafed, and greatly delighted, Deut. xxxii. 9. Pf. xvi. 6. they may be intended here, at leaft as a part of the portion which Chrift has affigned him. For the words may be rendered *, therefore will I divide, affign, or give many to him, fo the Vulgate Latin veriion; and which is favoured by the Targum, ‘‘ therefore ‘© will I divide to him the prey of many people;” and by the Septuagint verfion, therefore be fhall inherit many, or poftefs many as his inheritance; fo the Arabic verfion. The elect of God were given to Chrift, previous to his fufferings and death, in the everlafting council of peace and covenant of grace, to ~ be redeemed and faved by him; and they are given to him in confequence of them, to believe in him, to be fubjeét to him, and ferve him; and fo it denotes a great multitude of perfons, both among

. spe re~ Sale ie ‘Ch hit. ¥. 12. Fews and Gentiles, that fhould ‘be’ converted to Chrift, embrace him, profefs his gofpel, and fubmit to his ordinances; and which has been true — in fact, and took place quickly after his refurrec tion and afcenfion. And he /hall divide the [poil ti the firong, or, the ftrong as a fpoil, that is, h fpoil principalities and powers, deftroy fatan his angels, and make an entire cong mighty and powerful enemies. The’ Sate Vulgate Latin, and Arabic verfions, fender the words, be fhail divide the fpoil of the' fironr 5 of {atan and his principalities; thofe they make’a fpoil of he fhall take out of their hands, and them as his own. The beft comment on this verfion is Luke xi. 22. Or rather the words may’ be rendered, be /hall have or poffe/s for @ Jpoil or prey very many *, for the word for /rong has the “fignification of a multitude; and fo the fenfe is the fame as before, that a great multitude of fouls fhould be taken by Chrift, as a prey out of the hands of the mighty, and become his fubjeéts; and {© his kingdom would be very large, and he have’ gteat honour and glory, which is the thing promifed ‘4s a reward of his fufferings. Somme underftand by thie great and ftrong, the apottles of Chrift, to whom ‘he divided the gifts he received, when he led captivity captive; to fome apoftles, fome prophets, Ge. Eph. iv.1o, 11. and others the foldiers, anteng whom his garments were parted; but they are’fenfes foreign from the text. Becaufe be hath poured out bis foul unto death, as water is poured out, P/) xxii. 14. or rather as the wine was poured’ out in ‘the libations or drink-offerings; for’Chrift’s’ foul” was made an offering for fin, as before; and it’may be faid with refpeét to his blood, in which is the life that was fhed or poured out for the remifiion ’ fin; of which he was emptied, and made bare, as the word * fignifies, when his hands, feet, and fide, were pierced. The phrafe denotes the voluntarinefs of Chrift’s death, that he freely and willingly laid down his life for his people. And be was numbred with the tranfereffors, he never was guilty of any one tranfgreffion of the law; he indeed appeared in the likenefs of finful flefh, and was calumniated and traduced as a finner,’ and a friend of the worft of them; he was ranked among them, and charged as one of them, yet falfély; ‘though having all the fins of his people upon him, he was treated even by the juftice and law of God as if he had been the tranfgreflor, and fiiffered as if he had been one; of which his being crucified between two thieves was a fymbolical reprefentation, and whereby this fcripture was fulfilled, Mark xv. 28. And made interceffion. for the tranfgreffors; as he did upon the crofs, even for thofe that were the inftruments of his death, Luke xxiii. 949 and’ as he now does in heaven, for all thofe’ finners’ for whom he died; not merely in a petitic but by prefenting himfelf, blood, righteoufnefs, facrifice; pleading the merits of thefe, anc for, in a way of juftice and legal demand, bleffings which were ftipulated in an everlafh ng venant between him and his Father, to- be give t to his people, in confequence of his’ fufferings anc death; fee Rom. viii. 33, 34. Heb. vii. 25. and ix. 24. 1 Fobn ii. 1, 2. - an 1 4 ahem Teiiagpiaee 5 |

,: rie) way ee r; fees ne le pons i) ideo difpertiam ei plurimos, Vulg. Lat. propterea ipfi attribuam (vel addicam) petmaltos b f ti 2 bby pon CD18Y MN & plurimos (feu innumeros) habebit loco predz, vel plurimi obtingent ipfi pro preda, Bootius,

S the former chapter is a prophecy of the humiliation,and exaltation of Chrift, of his fufierings and death, and the glory that fhould follow,; this is a prophecy of that part of his glory,. which relates to the flourifhing eftate of his church, as the fruit of his death, and explains and enlarges upon the promife of his having a numerous feed... The prophecy reaches from the death and refurrection of Chrift to his fecond coming; and defcribés the ftate of the church during that time, which had been like a barren woman, but now _fruitful, which was matter of joy;. and would increafe, and have yet a more numerous iffue, thro’ “the converfion and acceffion of the Gentiles; and therefore is bid not to fear, fince fhé fhould not bear the fhame and reproach of widowhood, y. 1, 2, 3, 4. the reafon confirming which is, becaufe Chrift was her hufband, who was her maker and redeemer, the God of J/rae/, and of the whole earth, ¥. 5. and tho’ fhe might for fome time be under fome dark providences, and feem to be forfaken of God, and lie under his difpleafure; yet fhe is aflured of the love of God towards her, that it is conftant and perpetual; which is illuftrated by the oath and covenant of God with Noah, and by its being more immoyeable than mountains and hills, y¥. 6, 7, 8, 9,10. and tho’ fhe would fometimes be in a very afflicted and uncomfortable condition, yet fhould be raifed again to a ftate of great honour and fplendor, of fpiritual knowledge, peace, and fafety, ¥. 11,12, 13, 14, and that all her enemies, that gathered together againft her, fhould perifh, and all their attempts be unfuccefsful, fince the Lord was on her fide, and would defend her caufe, and protect her, ¥. 15, 16, 17.

y. 1. Sing, O barren, thou that didf not bear, &c.| The Zargum interprets this of Ferufalem, paraphrafing the words thus, “ fing praife, O Feru- <¢ falem, which wert as a barrew woman, that bears *¢ not;”? and fo the apoftle applies the words of the text to, the Yeru/alem above, the mother of us. all, the then prefent gofpel-church, Gal. iv. 26, 27. which, at the firft fetting of it up, in the times of Chrift, during his lite, and at the time of his death, aud before the day of Penteco/t, was like a barren woman; the number of converts were very {mall; few believed the report of the gofpel, profefled Chrift, and fubmitted to his ordinances; the names of the difciples were but an hundred and twenty. Tho’ fome underftand this of the Fewih church under the Old Teftament-difpenfation, whofe members were not many, and whofe profelytes from the Gentiles were but few; and others of the Gentile world, before the, coming of Chrift, and the preaching of the gofpel.in it; but the former fenfe is to be preferred, having the fuffrage of the apoftle: break forth into finging, and cry aloud, thou that didft not.travailwith child; among whom here were few inftances.of converfion, {carce any beso and born again of incorruptible feed by the word of God, and no figns thereof; but now it being otherwife, and multitudes being converted both in Fudea and in the Gentile world, the church and its members are called upon to exprefs their joy aloud in fohgs of praife, fetting forth the glory of efficacious grace, in the regeneration of men; for as this is matter of joy to the angels of heaven, fo to the faints onearth: for more are the children of the defolate, than the children of the married wife, faith the Lord; more fouls were born again, and added to the church, after the death of Chrift, when fhe was in a defolate condition, like a woman deprived of her hufband, and in a widowhood ftate, than there were whilft Chrift was here on earth, perfonally prefent with his people, and preaching the gofpel himfelf unto men; three thoufand were converted under one fermon, and great numbers afterwards were added, fo that the church at Ferufalem was in a much more flourifhing condition after the death of Chrift, than before; more fruitful when it was become like a widow, than when the bridegroom was with her; and the church of Chrift ftill increafed yet more - and more afterwards, as the following verfes predict. The Zargum is, ‘* more fhall be the chil- “ dren of Ferufalem, than the children of the ha- ** bitable city.” The edition of it, in the king of Spain’s bible, has it, ‘* than the children of Rome;” and fo it is quoted by R, Edas*, and by Buxtorf. The, Jews underitand this prophecy of their deliverance from their prefent condition by the Meffiah; and of the rebuilding of Ferufalem, and the profperity of it.

y. 2. Enlarge the place of thy tent, &c.] To which the church is compared, becaufe of its uncertain and moveable condition, being fometimes in one place, and fometimes in another; and becaufe of its outward meannefs and weaknefs, as well as its {mall extent; but now it is fignified, that it fhould be enlarged, and room be made for an acceffion of inhabitants to it; or in other words, that the gofpel-church-ftate fhould not be confined to Ferufalem, but fhould take place in other parts of Yudea, and in Galilee, and Samaria; hence we read of churches in thofe places, 4s ix. 31: and let them firetch forth the curtains of thine habitation; alluding to. the curtains of which tents or tabernacles weré made, which ufed to be ftretched out on poles or ftakes, in order to make more room, and hold, more people. This may refpect the {preading of the gofpel by the apoftles, who may be here meant, and the fuccefs of it, efpecially among the Gentiles; who may be {aid to ftretch out the curtains of the tent, the church, when, according to. their commiffion, they went and preached the gofpel to every creature. Firft they travelled as far.as Phanicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching to the Fews only; but when they wholly rejected the gofpel, they turned, to the Gentiles, and went every where preaching the word, és x1. 19. and xiii, 46. and their miniftry was blefféd to the converfion of multitudes, and gofpel-churches were fet up in all parts of the world. The apoftle Paul was an eminent inftrument of ftretching thefe curtains,» who went from Ferufalem, round about to Illyricum, fully preaching the gofpel of Chrift, Rom, xv. 19: pare not; any coft or pains, to {pread the gofpel, enlarge the intereft of Chrift, and increafe his church and people; as did not the apoftles of

Chrift, who may be fuppofed to be’ the perfons here uddrefied: Jengthen thy cords, and firengthen thy flakes; the curtains being ftretched out, it was neceffary the cords, to which they were faftened, fhould be lengthened, that they might’ reach. further, and take in a greater compafs; and the wider the tent is made by fuch means, the ftronger fhould be the flaves, and the more furely fhould they be. drove and fixed in the earth, to hold the cords with the curtains bound unto them; all which exprefs the enlargement of the church in the Gentile world, by imeans of the gofpel-miniftry and ‘difcipline. The Targum is, ** multiply the people of thy camp, “< and ftrengthen thy governors.” -

¥. 3. For thou foalt break forth on the right hana, and on the left, &cc.] To the fouth, and to the north, as the Targum, like an inundation of water, that breaks thro’ and overflows the banks of the river, and fpreads itfelf in the adjacent countries; or like a warehoufe over-ftocked with goods, burfts the walls in which they ate pent up; or rather as infants break forth from the womb at the time of birth, as Pharez did, from whence he had ‘his name, Gea. xxxviii. 29. fee Hof. xiii. 13. or as when a country is become exceeding numerous, the inhabitants break out, and go forth beyond their borders, and feek new fettlements, the place of their abode being too ftrait for them; fo it fhall be in the latter day, thro’ the vaft number of converts chat will be made; fee ch. xlix. 19,20: and thy fecd fhall inherit the Gentiles, where formerly only heathens lived, there the gofpel of Chrift fhall be carried by his apoftles and other minifters; and | being facceeded to the converfion of many fouls, thro’ the power of divine grace accompanying it, a fpiritual feed, the feed of the church, fhall take place, and dwell there: this was true in the firft ages of chriftianity, more efpecially in Conftantine’s time; and will be more fully accomplifhed in the latter day, when the fulnefs of the Gentiles fhall be brought in: and make the defolate cities to be inbabited, fach cities as were deftitute of the knowledge of Chrift and his falvation, and of all divine and fpiritual things, fhail now be inhabited by fpiritual men, fuch as believe in Chrift, and profefs his name; fuch cities as Rome, Corinth, Ephe/us, Coloffe, Philippi, Theffalonica, and many others.

¥. 5. Fear not, &c.] The fulfilment of thefe things; however unlikely and unpromifing they might feem, yet God was able to perform them; and therefore ‘way fhould not be given to a fearful, diftruftful, and unbelieving Fouts for thou foalt not be afbamed, as men are, when difappointed of what they have been hoping for and expecting; but fo it fhould not be with the church, fhe fhould not ‘be ‘afhamed’ of her hope, “faith, and confidence; for there would be a performance of all that the Lord had fpoken; nor fhould fhe be afhamed of her barrennefs, which fhould ceafe’; and of the fewnefs of her children or converts, which would be many; and of the ftraitnefs of the place‘of her tent or habitation, which would now be enlarged: neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not “be put to fhame, other words made ‘ule of to ex mation of it, that fhe needed not, and that fhe fhould not be put to the bluth, or to fhame and “confufion, on the above accounts: for thou fhalt forget

| widowhood any more; which fignifies much the as before, the feeming defolate eftate of the:church. upon the death of Chrift,; when the feemed tobe.

fuch; fo great and illuftrious a perfon is the:

prefs the fame thing, and for the further confirforfaken, and grieved in fpirit, 8cc/

‘one forfaken, and mourns for the lofs of is forfaken by a living hufband, rejected by f - IS ALIA HA Chiliviy. 3-6. — preaching of the gofpel; or. more efpecially that). there were fo few of the wife and learned, the rich. and noble, that embraced it, with which the firft\. chriftians were greatly upbraided; or thofe -perfet. + _ cutions which attended them the three firfk cen-) turies, which being now at an end, thall be for gotten: and fhalt not remember the reproach of.

deprived of her hufband, and forfaken by him,» and left as a widow, and without children,” barren. ~ and unfruitful; which was reckoned reproachful with the Jews, Luke i.'25. bo Rieti ¥. 5. For thy maker is thine hufband, 8c.) That is, Chrift, the hufband of the church, and-of every true believer; who fecretly betrothed them to him. felf in eternity, having afked them of his Father; and being given to him, openly efpoufes) them im — converfion, one by one, as a chafte virgins which he will do more publickly in a body atthe lait day, when the marriage of the lamb will become, when he will appear as the bridegroom of his people; and to-which character he aéts up, by loving them with a love of complacency and delight, affectionately and conftantly; by fympathizing with » them in all] their troubles; by nourifhing and ches rifhing them as his own flefh, and interefting them in all he is and has. It is in the Hebrew text *). thy makers, thy bufbands, Father, Son, and Spirits — tho’ the relation of an hufband is more peculiar). to Chrift; and the words are a reafon. of the. church’s fruitfulnefs, and why fhe need not fear. the performance of what was promifed her; and which is wonderful and amazing; he who ftands ~ in fuch a near and indearing relation to his church ~ and people, is the maker of all things, yea their maker, both as creatures, and as new creatures © (the Lord of hofts is bis name); of armies above and: below, in ‘heaven and in earth; how great» therefore muft this their hufband be! to what ho-) nour and dignity are they advanced! how fafe muft - they be under his protection! nor need ‘they fear any enemy: thy Redeemer, the holy one of Iraéls he who is the church’s hufband is her Redeemer; and who fo fit as he to redeem her from fin, fatan, — and the law, and every enemy; who is of the fame | nature with her, fo dearly loves her, and fo able. to fave her? for which he is alfo tly qualified, being o/y in both his natures, in his and offices, in his birth, life, and deaths for this feems. greatly to refpect him as man, as’ he was a. defcendent of the Z/raeliti/h nation, and of the feed © of Abraham: the God of the whole earth hall be be called; not of J/rael only, but of all the nations of the world, of the Gentiles as well as of the Fews; the earth was made by him; the world and» all that are in it are his; he is the governor among the nations; and in the latter day will appear to be the king over all the earth, es will be owned as hufband. ‘Thefe words are applied the times of the Meffiah |. Mogae y. 6. For the Lord hath called tk ce her hufband by death, ‘is folitary upon it, is 1 ibe foame of thy youth; by which may be meant either the {mall number of converts at the firft having a bill of divorce from him, ‘and fo.grieves at his unkindnefs to fa€tores tui, Pifcator; qui crearunt te, habent te in matrimonio, Cocceiues

caft: upon her; as furch an one, was the church, when it was firit:conftituted; when the members of which it-confifted were called out of the world by the grace of God, and formed into a church-ftate; almoft as foon as ever they were thus embodied ether, Chrift was taken from them by) death, they were left alone, and filled with grief and ouble: the apoftles and firft preachers of the gofpel were perfecuted from place to place, and all of them loft their lives for the caufe in which they were engaged; and the church endured grievous perfecutions during the three firft centuries, when the feemed to be forfaken of God, and was greatly opprefied and grieved in fpirit. Some underftand this of the Gentiles, and of their ftate and condition when called, as defcribed in EpA. ii. 10. but rather it may be interpreted of the Fews, now cut off and forfaken; and who, when they. come to be fenfible-of their cafe, will be grieved and mourn, even when. they fhall be called and converted in the latter day; but I think the firft fenfe is beft: and a wife of youth, when ihou waft refufed, faith thy God; or, and as a wife of youth™, whom a man marries in his youth, and fhe a young woman herfelf, which makes it the more grievous to be defpifed, refufed, and forfaken, or to feem to be fo. ‘The words may be rendered thus, avd, or but, a wife of youth thou art, tho’ thou waft defpifed *, or refufed, faith thy God; that'is, tho’ thou haft been feemingly defpifed and caft off, my providential difpenfations towards thee may be fo interpreted by thyfelf and others; yet I am thy God, thy maker, redeemer, and hufband, and thou art as dear to me, as the wife of a man’s youth, for whom he has the moft paffionate love; and which agrees with what follows.

&c.] The people of God feem to be forfaken by him, when he hides: his face from them, as it is afterwards explained; when they are in diftrefs, and he does not immediately appear for them; when they are affiiéted in body and mind, tho’ thefe afflictions are but for a moment; nor are they really forfaken, not as to things temporal or fpiritual; God never forfakes the work of -his own hands, nor his people, at leaft for ever, or fo as that they fhall perifh.. Some interpret this of the feventy years captivity of the Fews in Babylon, which was but a very fhort time; others of the times of ignorance in the Gentile world, before the coming of Chrift, which God winked at, when he overlooked them, and took no notice of them;_ but I chufe to underftand it of the time and ftate of the chriftian church, during the ten perfecutions of Rome pagan, when it feemed to be forfaken of God, and to: be triumphed over by her enemies: but with great mercies will I gather thee; they had been feattered about by perfecution, but now fhould be gathered together in bodies,. and have their public affemblies, and worfhip God. openly, none making them afraid; which was fulfilled in Conftantine’s time, when paganifm was abolithed, and chriftianity eftablifhed: throughout the Romaz empire; when public places. for chriftian worfhip were opened every where, the gofpel was freely preached, and multitudes were gathered by effectual calling, and brought into the gofpel-church, which was now in a very flourifhing condition; *i'? OF Hee. ~- wae sate wit COPA Abe] Pen oa: re: ry tng - Mask ee

L3Ao Ft: 4.99 for this is not to be underftood of the gathering of the captive Fews from Badylon, nor of the calling of the Gentiles by the miniftry of the apoftles, nor of the reftoration and converfion of the Fews in the latter day, tho’ this is more eligible than the former, and much lefs of the gathering of the faints at the laft day.

¥. 8. Jn a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, &c.| This fignifies much the fame as before, when God hides his face from his people, withdraws his gracious prefence, and does not grant the difcoveries of his love; or they are under the frowns of his providence, and have not the fmiles of his face, and the light of his countenance, as formerly, then they think they are forfaken by him; tho’ all this is but for a moment, a {mall period of time; and tho’ it feems to be in wrath, it is but 4iztle wrath and this wrath is no other than the difpleafure of a loving and tenderhearted father. The Syriac verfion renders it, great wrath; and fo Schultens ° thinks the wotd fignifies, overflowing wrath’, and the velemency of its to which agrees R. Menachem 3, who interprets it, the beat of wrath fo the Lord’s fuffering fuch a fcene of bloody perfecutions to attend his church in the firft ages of chriftianity, might feem to be: but with everlafiing kindnefs will [ have mercy on thee, faith the Lord thy Redeemer; all the dealings of God with his people, however dark and difmal they be, whatever appearances there are in them of wrath and difpleafure, they are all agreeable to, and do not contradict his everlafting love; and fooner or later he will make it maniteft; he has mercy in ftore for his people, which he does, and will exercife towards them; this mercy fows from his love and kindnefs to them, which kindnefs is everlafting, and continues in and thro’ all ftates — and conditions into which they come; the confideration of which is very comfortable and encouraging, and of which they may be affured from the relation the Lord ftands in to them as. their Redeemer. for having redeemed them at the expence of his blood, he will effectually gather them by grace in calling; and will never lofe them, or {uffer them to perifh here or hereafter.

¥..9. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me, &c.] Some copies, as Kimchi and Ben Melech obferve, read thefe two words %% ‘D as one, thus, 993 as the days of Noah; and this is followed by the Targum, Vulgate Latin, and Syriac verfions; both readings may be kept, and joined in one, and the fenfe be, for this is as the waiers that were in the days of Noah unto me; fo Kimchi and. Menachen join them. -The meaning is, that God’s difpenfation towards his people, at the time the prophecy refers to, is like that of his to Noah and his. family; and the love he bears to them is like. that which he bore to him; and the covenant he, has made with them is as that he made with him; for as I have fworn that the waiters of Noah fhould no mnore go over the earth he gave his word for it, which is as firm as his oath; he. made a covenant with Noah, and confirmed it by a rain-bow, that the waters fhould no more go over the earth as they had,,and that the world fhould be no. more. deftroyed by a flood, Gen. ix. g—17: fo bave I fworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee, for tho’ the Lord’s people are by nature children; d-eapi of of wrath, as others; he has not appointed them to it, nor will he fuffer it to fall upen them, but faves them from it, thro’ the righteoufnefs of Chrift, who has borne it for them 5 and tho’ he rebukes by his Spirit, by his word and minifters, and by his providenees, yet not In wrath, but in love; and of this he has given the ftrongeft aflu- ‘rances; he has not only faid it, but dwore to it in covenant, Pf. Ixxxix. 3, 33> 34535. The Jews" refer this prophecy to the times of the Meffiah.

y¥. 10. For the mountains foall depart, and, the bills be removed, &c.] As fometimes by earthquakes, and’as they will at the laft day, when the earth fhall be diffolved, and all in it, things the moft folid, firm, and durable: it may be under- {tood comparatively; fooner fhall thefe depart and be removed, than the kindnefs and covenant of God: it may be interpreted, figuratively of revolutions in kingdoms and ftates, and particularly of the abolition of paganifm. in the times of Conjtantine; and which is exprefied in much fuch language; the heaven departed as a fcroll, when it 4s rolled together, and every mountain and ifland were moved out of their places, Rev. vi. 14. Kimchi obferves, that mountains and hills may be interpreted of the kings of the nations; with this compare Rev. vi. 15,16, 17: but my kindnefs foall not depart from thee; the love of God to his people is an everlafting love; it always continues; it never did, nor never will depart, notwithftanding their fall in Adam, their depraved ftate by nature, their actual fins and tranfgreffions, their many revoltings and backflidings; tho’ the Lord may hide his face from them, and afflict them, {till he loves them; whatever departs from them, his kindnefs {hall not; tho’ riches may flee away from them, friends {tand aloof off from them, health may be taken away, and life itfelf, yet the love of God is always the fame; and fo whatever providences may attend his church and intereft in any period of time, he has the fame paternal care for it, and kindnefs for his people as ever: neither fhall the covenant of my peace be removed; the covenant of grace made with Chrift and his people in him from everlafting, fo called, becaufe peace is a confiderable article of it; even that peace which was upon the heart and thought of God from everlafting; the fcheme of which was drawn by him; all things relating to it were fettled in this covenant, as that Chrift fhould be the maker of it, and that it fhould be made by his blood; befides peace includes all the bleffings of grace which that covenant is {tored with; and the covenant is the {pring and fource of all peace, fpiritual and eternal: moreover,.as this refers to gofpel-times, the new covenant is here meant,, and the publication of it, in which the cofpel of peace, or peace by Jefus Chrift, is preached unto men; to which may be added, that one part, at leaft, of the fenfe of the pafiage may be, that notwithftanding: all the troubles and exercifes the church of Chrift fhould meet with from Rome pagan or papal, yet the promife and covenant of God that it fhould enjoy peace and: profperity in the latter day fhould never be made void, but fhould have its fure and certain accomplifhment: faith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee, for all {prings from the mercy of God, and not the merits of men; and therefore the fulfilment of the covenant and promifes may be depended upon.

* 5 A: —— ¥. 11. O thou affiiGed, toffed with tempefts, and not comforted, &cc.| Or, O' thou poor * church; — for the firft chriftian churches chiefly confifted of poor perfons, not many mighty and noble bein called; and which were greatly affliéted with fille teachers, who broached errors) and -herefies, made fchifms among them; and toffed with te like a fhip at fea; or formed * with the rage fury of violent perfecutors, fuch as the Roman emperors were; and not comforted, having nene* to adminifter any external comfort or relief to them; none of the kings or princes of the earth, orvany civil magiftrate to protect and defend them; what comfort they hagas internal and fpiritual; what they had from:Chrift and his Spirit, and by the word and ordinances; or rather this may deferibe the ftate of the church under papal: tyranny and perfecution,, which brings it nearer to the times of peace and profperity after promifed: debold, I wilt lay thy fiones with fair colours; or, with paint”; fuch as women ufed to paint their faces or ‘eyes with, 2 Kings ix. 30. Fer. iv.-g0.. The Targum is, ‘* behold I will lay with paint thesftones of ‘* thy pavement;” and the words feem plainly to defign the ftones, of a pavement, and perhaps an hypallage or tranfpofition may be rendered, ‘I will lay thy pavement with ghiftering fowes s fo the word is tranflated 1 Chron. xxix. 2. or, with froves of paint; which are of the colour of the fibium or paint before mentioned, and which was of a black colour; and Aben Ezra fays, the word here fignifies a precious {tone of a black colour; perhaps black marble is meant, a ftone fit for pavements; but be thefe {tones what they will, they defign in the fpiritual fenfe the materials of a gofpel-church, thofe ively fiomes which are built up a@ J{piritual houfe, and which are beautified with the gitts and graces of the Spirit of Gods and may alfo denote that the loweft and meaneft of the Lord’s people pointed out by ftones of the pavement fhould be thus adorned: and Jay thy foun dations with faphires; a precious ftone of a white colour, according to R. Saadiah Gaon; but according to Alen Ezra, of ared colour; tho? the ’faphire is ufually faid to be of a fky colour, thining with fpecks of gold. The Zargum renders it, with precious flones; and fo the foundation of the walt of the new Yerufalem is faid to be garnifhed with all manner of precious ftones, Rev, xxi. 19, 20; this may refpect Chrift, the fure foundation God has laid in Zion, the foundation of the a and prophets; the one and only foundation of the church of Chrift, and all true. believers, who» is more precious than faphires, or all the moft preapn daoen, he always has been the foundation of his church in all.ages; but the meaning is, that he fhall now appeal mott clearly and mani ae to be the foundation, and to be a firm, rich, and sete

¥.12. And I will make thy windows &c.] Some fort of which ftones, Pliny * valued for their clearnefs like glafs; but which bears this name with’ us is lucid enough to make windows: of. gint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic der it, of ja/per, a ftone more fit for th and it is interpreted of the jafper in th fo the light of the new Ferufalem is fai unto the ja/per-ftone, Rev.

orxfal to be meant, which fuirs well with @in dows the word * for which has its name from the fun,: becaufe by means: of them the rays and light of the fun are let into a houfé, and’ illtiminate it;

nances adminiftered by them, by means “of ‘which the light of fpiritual knowledge, joy, atid comfort’

is. Jetinto the churches, and into the fouls’ of men’ from Chrifty the fin of -righteoufnefs: ‘The phrafe fignifies, thatsin the’ latter-day their miniftrations’ ihould -besvery clear and» bright, and ‘be’ éfeatly: owned, andpbe very fuccefsful': and thy*gares of car baneles, Precious ftones fo-called from their fiery’

faining colours “The gates ‘of the new Ferafalem' arefaid to'be fo many’ pearls; Rev. xxiv 21. which there, as here, fi¢nify the entrance into the church into it, and thro’ faith’ ini him, which -works by love;*thefe gates will be opén in thé Jatter day to receive ‘many, who will’ ‘come in great’ numbers, and are called praife, If \x? rr, 18. which will be exprefied in very. warm‘ and) lively ftrains ‘of love’ and. affection) of which’ the \carbunclé'‘may be a fymbol?.and all thy borders of pleasant fiones; true believers, ‘called */ively:/iones; and’ who are pleafant inthe fight: of Godvand Chrift; and are taken pleafure in‘ by One andther’; “fee Pf. cii. 14. °' The Septuagint and) Arabic vérfions’ render it, thy wall, which agree with Rev. xxi! r8.* where the wall of themnew* Ferufalem is {aid to be of jafper.. 0%. 23. And all-thy children fhall be taught of the Lord; 8c.) The children of the church,’ who are born in-her, and’ nurféd up at her fide, and who are the children of God by adoption, which is made. manifeft by regeneration; thefe ‘the Lord will take care’ of that they be taught, even all of them, ‘from the leaft to ‘the gteateft, “Fer. xxxi. 34. they fhall be taught of the Lord himfelf, by ‘his minifters, word, and ordinances, as’ means, and by his Spirit, as- the efficient; by whom they are taught to know themfelves, their vilenefS and ‘finfulnefs, their folly and weaknefs, their want of right counfels, and the infufficiency of their own to know Chrift, and the way of falvation by him 5‘ him “as the only» Saviour, able and willing, fo to know him, as to believe in him, receive him, and walk on in him; this had anaccomplifhment in the firft times of the gofpel;\ fee Yobn vi. 45, and will have a further one in the latter day, when’ there will be a greater effufion of the Spirit, when the doétrines of the gofpel will be taught and underftood more clearly, fully, and largely: aad great fhall be the peace of thy children, the inward peace of ‘their minds, in, and from Chrift, arifine’ from a view of their juftification by his righteoufnefs, from the fprinklings of his blood upon their’ cohfciences, and from the difcoveriés of his love to theit fouls, enjoyed in away of believing, and by ‘means of the word and ordinances’; alfo ‘peace among themfelves, harmony and concord, and no more ftrifes, contentions and-animofities$ likewife outward peace from enemies, no more perfecution ‘or war, “This word includes all kind of ‘profperity, external and internal; temporal and fpiritual’’ This, ‘with’ the following verfes, explain the figurative phrafes ufed eee P mol ctr YY eu) dal ’ ’ Pts r ‘ ‘? é 4 it yf ue va radice, quze folem fignificat, Sanétius.

YA 50x inthe fotéeding,” Thele words aie applied’ by thé” Fetws’* to the ines of thé Meffiah, When “all J+-ael, fhall Jéarn'the law from the Lords fo thé Targum,

‘all thy children fiiall know the law of thé Lord,” but it’is' much better undetftood ‘of all the children of ‘the church; “the” true Irae of God, “whether | Jews or Gentiles; leatning the gofpel of Chrift. S14 Tn righteonfne/s [halt thon’ be eftablifbed, ° &¢e.] “Inthe righteoufnefs of Chrift,’ from’ whence’ flows ‘the'peace before fpokén’ of; ‘and Which is the’ ftability of the church of Chrift; ‘andthe fecurity~ of it; ‘arid-its members from condemnation: The dogtrine of juftification by Chrift’s rightéouthels is,: as’ Enrher calls it, articalas ftansis ‘vel cadentis ‘eccléfiey thé artitle of the church; by whith) as itis held’ faft or neglected, it ftands or falls?"Or be efta- ' eftabhiihment of a kifedom “atd’ fate, “fo of the chureh*;’ for if purity ‘of manners, ‘Holinefs and righteoufhefs are neglected,’ a church foon comes’ to decay and ruin; but fuch will be’ the holinefs’ of the proféflors of religion in the latter day, that every pot and veffel’in it fhall be holinefS to the Lord, Zech. xiv. 20: thoa foalt be far’ from oppreffion, for thor halt not fear fo far from’ it, that thou fhalt not be in theleaft afraid of it, neither from within, nor ftom‘ without; not from falfe teachers that opprefS ‘the mind with legal’ doétrine; nor from perfecutors that opprefs ‘and “injure in perfon and’ property *, the“church ‘wilf be now free from the oppreffion and ‘tyranny of Rowe, or my- {tical Babylon, which will now fall, and from the perfecution of the ‘antichriftian “ftates,”"on ‘whom the vials of God’s. wrath will be poured, ‘and’ fo” the «church® will ‘be no more’ in fear of them; the ‘words may be rendered, therefore thou Jhalt not fear *; thete:will be'no caufe for it, no o¢chfion of it: and from terror, it fhall not come near thee, the terror of the antichriftian beaft and powers, which fhall be no more, after their laft effort next mentioned. | 8s ¥. 15. Bebold, they’ foall furely’ gather ‘together, but’ not’ by me,’ &c:] ‘Not by the Lord, by his command or order to do his will; and“execute his pleafure, which fometimes was the cafe, as in’ Seinacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, and others; but. fo it fhall not be, when the enemies of Chrift and his people gather’ together againft them in the latter day; this will be by the means of thtee unclean fpirits like frogs that will come out ‘of the mouth of the dragon, beaft, and falfe prophet; even fpirits of devils, popifh priefts, and jefuits,- who will inftigate; ftir up, and get together the antichriftian kings of the earth to the battel of almighty God, Rev. xvi. 14, 16. Abeh Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Me= lech interpret thetn’ of Gog’ and Magog: <wbhofoever hall gather together againft thee, fhall fall for thy fake 3 becaufe of the love that I bear to thee, they fhal ‘not fucceed, or do theé any hurt, but fhall perith; of, foal fall to thee“; fo far from doing’ thee any hurt, they fhall come over to thee, ‘and be on thy fide; be joined to thee, as the Vulgate’ Latin verfion; that is, the remnant that fhall efcape, and be converted, and os glory to God, “Rev..xi: 13, or rather, fhall fail before thee *, in thy fight; or, as the Targum, in the midft of thee, which Strate ee / ‘ _ ably

~ ® Midrath Tillim, apud Yalkut in Pf. xxi. 3. quate ne-timeas, Forerius. mene egy poy ad ably paraphrafes the words thus, ‘ at the end the “« kings of the nations, which are gathered toge- << ther to affli@t thee, O Feru/alem, fhall fall in the “« midft of thee;” for the kings of the earth that fhall be gathered together againft Chrift and his. church fhall fall in battel before them, and their flefh fhall become meat for the fowls of the heaven; the beaft and falfe prophet, in company with them, will be taken and caft alive into the lake of fire, and the remnant be flain with the fword of Chrift, Rev. xix. 17-21. ¥. 16. Bebéld, I have created the fimith that bloweth the coals in the fire, &c.] Into which he puts his iron to foften it, that he may beat it, and form it into what fhape he pleafes.; which defcriptive claufe is added to fhew that it is a blackfmith that is intended, and to diftinguifh him from the carpenter and mafon, of whom this word is alfo ufed, who deal, the one in wood, and the other in ftone, and neither of which requires'fire: now the Lord obferves, to the comfort of his people, furrounded by enemies with inftruments of war in their hands, that he made the fmith that made thefe, not only as a man, but as an artificer gave him all the fill he has in making military weapons; and therefore could take away his fkill, or hinder him from making any, or deftroy and defeat, and render ufelefs thofe that are made; and therefore they had nothing to fear from warlike preparations. Some underftand this of the devil, that great incendiary of mankind; and others of a council of war, that forms the defign, blows up the coals of contention, _and brings forth the plan of operation in war: it follows as a farther defcription of the {mith, and that bringeth forth an inftrument for his work; who takes the iron out of the fire which he blows, as an inftrument to work upon, and which he forms into a military weapon, as an arrow, a fword, a fpear, or fhield; or, for their work *; for the ufe of the enemies of Chrift and his church: and J have created the wafter to deftroy; military men, foldiers that ufe the above weapons of deftruction for that purpofe; thefe are God’s creatures, and he can deftroy or difappoint them, fo that their hands cannot perform their enterprife. Some underftand this alfo of the devil, who is by way of eminence the wafter of mankind; others of tyrannical prin- ‘ces; I fhould chufe to interpret it of the Romifh antichrift, that wafter and deftroyer of the fouls of men, and of the antichriftian ftates that deftroy the earth, and fhall be deftroyed themfelves; or of the Turk, the locuft, whofe king is called pollyon and Abaddon, which fignifies a wafter and a deftroyer, Rev. xi. 18. and ix. 11. Thefe are faid to be created by the Lord, not only becaufe they are his creatures, the work of his hands, but becaufe they are raifed up by his providence, according to his fecret purpofe, as Pharaoh was, to thew his power in them; and are permitted by him to continue for a while to fulfil his will, being entirely dependent upon him, and fubjeé to his influence, direction, and over-ruling providence; and therefore his people had no reafon to be afraid of them.. ¥.17. No weapon that is formed againft thee foall profper, &c.] All weapons of war, as the Targum, which are made with a defign to hurt and deftro the people of God, fhall be rendered ufelefs; not one of them fhall profper to the advantage of their enemies, or fo as to anfwer their defign; nor to the hurt and prejudice, ruin and deftruction of the

Y A 4 Chait. % 16,291 faints: and every tongue that fhall rife againft thee in judgment, that fhall raife any calumny upon thee, or bring any charge againft thee, or enter into a law-fuit with thee, litigate a point with thee in any court of judicature, or claim in right law, a power, authority, and dominion over as the pope of Kome does over the conicien men: thou fbalt condemn, difprove and rolb off the calumny, refute the charge and accufation,y put ito filence the clamours and pretences of wicked men, carry the caufe againft them, and fhake off the yoke of bondage they would bring them unders andoinftead of being condemned by them, condemn them, By weapon may be meant all the attempts made by force to ruin the intereft and church of Chrift in the world, fuch as the bloody perfecutions of «the Roman emperors, who, tho’ they made fad havock of the profeffors of chriftianity, and: defigned hereby to have rooted it out of the world, and thought they fhould have accomplifhed it,:yet could notdo it; fo far from it, that the chriftians yet: more and more increafed, infomuch that it became a common faying, that the blood of the martyrs was the feed of the church; alfo the wars of -the papifts with the Albigenfes and Waldenfes, and all the cruel methods they have taken by fire and faggot, and the bloody inquifition, to hinder the growth of what they call herefy; yet all have been in vain, a reformation has taken place, and many nations have embraced the truth, and fhook off the yoke of popery; together with all their efforts fince to crufh the proteftant intereft; and tho’ the kings of the earth will be ftirred up, and gather together tothe battel of the Lord God Almighty, they will not fucceed, but be overcome and flain, and the beaft and falle prophet at the head of them will be taken and caft alive into the lake of fire: and by the songuemay be defigned the edicts of the pagan emperors, forbidding the exercife of the chriftian religion, and threatening the preachers and profeffors of it with imprifonment, confifcation of goods, and death itfelt; and the anathemas, bulls, and interdiéts: of the popes of Rome, as well as the reproaches, fcandals, and calumnies uttered by the emifiaries of that church againft all that depart from it; together with the errors and herefies of falfe teachers of all forts in all ages of the world, which, tho’ levelled againft the faith and doétrine of the church of Chrift, have not been able to fubvert it, nor ever will: ¢his is the heritage of the fervants of the Lord this, with all that is faid in this chapter, is the part, portion, and privilege that fuch fhall enjoy who fervesthe Lord Chrift, and not antichrift; they thall be treated rather as fons than as fervants, and have an inheritance affigned them; not only proteétion from all enemies, and abfolution: from all ‘ges, but they fhall receive the reward of the i ance in heaven, that which is incorruptible and undefiled, and referved there, fince they ferve the ie and their righteoufne/s is of me, faith the Lord’, the vindication of their righteoufhefs, of their caufe, and of their character; or the reward of: their righteous works in a way of gtace; even allthat righteoufnefs and true holinefs that is inthemy ‘and that righteoufnefs which is imputed to’ them, and by which they are juftified, are from the Lord, y | by which they are fecured from all the law and juftice, and fromvall the accufatio: 1s OF 7 en and devils, and which will anfwer for them in a'time to come, and acquit them at the bar of before i S the two preceding chapters are prophecies FA of Chrift and his church, ‘this treats of his word and ordinances, and of the nature, ufe and efficacy of them. It begins with an invitation of thirfty fouls to them, y. 1. an expoftulation with them for taking wrong methods, and a diffuafive from them, ¥. 2. which is followed with an exhortation to hear the word of Chrift, attend on his ordinances; to which they are encouraged with promifes of life and covenant-bleflings, y. 2, 3. Chritt is prophefied of in his offices; and the converfion of the Gentiles to him is foretold, ¥. 4, 5. men are called upon to feek the Lord, where and whilft he might be found; and both wicked andunrighteous perfons, forfaking their ways and thoughts, are encouraged to turn to the Lord, in hopes of pardon, and in confideration of his ways and thoughts not being like theirs, ¥. 6, 7, 8, 9. the nature and efficacy of the word of God are exprefled and illuftrated by the fimilies of rain and fhow, 10, tr. and the converfion of the Lord’s people, in confequence of the word being made effectual, is predicted; the iffue of which is the glory of God, y¥. 12, 73.

¥. 1. Ho, every one that thirfteth, come ye to the waters, 8cc.] Thefe are the words not of the prophet, but of the Lord, as what follows throughout the chapter fhews; and are directed to the

Gentiles, as Aben Ezra thinks: and indeed their converfion is manifeftly fpoken of in it; and who, Kimchi fays, after the war of Gog and Magog, thall know that the Lord reigns, and fhall come and be defirous of learning his judgments and laws, The word 4o is expreflive of calling, as the Fewi/h commentators rightly obferve; and carries in it an invitation, in which there feems to be a commiferation of the cafe of the perfons called; and it is delivered in indefinite terms, and very openly and publickly; and has in it the nature of a gofpel-cal! or invitation, to perfons defcribed as thir ty;

- not in a natural, much lefs in a finful fenfe, but in a fpiritual one; thirfting after forgivenefs of fin by the blood of Chrift; after juftification by his righteoufnefs; after falvation by him; after more knowledge of him, more communion with him, and more conformity to him; and after the milk of the word, and breafts of ordinances; being fenfible of fin and danger, and having a fpiritual appetite, and a defire after {piritual things. Such as thefe are perfons made alive; are in diftrefs, and fenfible of it; and have defires formed in them after divine things: and thefe are invited and encouraged to come to the waters; by which are meant not Chrift, tho’ he is as rivers of water; and fenfible finners are directed to come to him, and that as in a ftarving and famifhing condition, and having nothing to help themfelves with; and fuch things are to be had of him, which like water are refrefhing and reviving, as his grace, and the bleffings of it; and which ferve to extinguifh thirft, and free from it; yet not he, nor the grace of the Spirit, are intended, which is often fignified by water in fcripture; but rather the ordinances of the, which are the means of conveying grace, and of refrefhing and comforting diftreffed | ' minds; in order to which, fuch may. come and | hear the word, come and partake of all ordinances, The allufion feems to be to fuch places by the water-fide, where fhips, laden with provifions, come and unlade; and where perfons, by a public crier, are informed of it, and are called to come and buy. So water means the water-fide, Fudg. vii, 4. Aben Ezra, Farchi, and Kimchi, interpret them of the law, and the do@trines of it; and fo the Targum, ‘* ho, every one that would learn, let him ** come and learn;” but the gofpel, and the doétrines and ordinances of that, feem rather defigned: and he that bath no money; not in a natural, but in a fpiritual fenfe: unconverted perfons have nothing to fupport themfelves or pay off their debts with, tho’ they fancy they have, and that they are rich, and ftand in need of nothing; but fenfible fouls know they have none, and that they are poor and needy; yet thefe are invited to come where provifions are to be had, fince they are to be had at free coft: come ye, buy and eat, come to the ordinances, partake of them freely, and feed upon the ercritiens therein made: come, buy wine and milk, without money, and without price; by wine and milk are meant the gofpel and its doétrines, compared to good old generous wine, for the antiquity of them, and for their being of a reviving and refrefhing nature; and to milk, for its purity and fweetnefs, and for its cooling and nourifhing nature, and becaufe eafy of digeftion; thefe are to be bought, and not to be fold, Prov. xxiii. 23. but not in a proper fenfe; no valuable confideration can be given for them, for they are of more worth than thoufands of gold and filver; nor have we any thing to give to God for them, and the bleffings of grace conveyed by them, which is not his own, or can be profitable to him; but in an improper fenfe, when fomething thought valuable is parted with for them, as finful and righteous felf, and even every thing in life, when called for, and that itfelf; thefe are bought without any money or price on our part; they are freely given and received; and on this foot may men expect them, and have them. The Targum is, ** he that hath no filver, come, hear ‘* and learn; come, hear and learn, without price ‘* and money, doétrine better than wine and *¢ milk.” ¥. 2. Wherefore do ye [pend money for that which is not bread? &c.| Lavifh away time, opportunities, and ftrength, in reading and hearing falfe doétrine, which is not bread, but chaff; is not wholefome, does not nourifh, but is hurtful and deftructive;. eats, as does a canker, inftead of feeding and refrefhing; fuch as the vain philofophy of the Gentiles, the traditions of the ‘Fews, and the errors and herefies of falfe teachers: and your labour for that which fatisfieth not? labouring to feek for happinefs in worldly things, which is not to be had; or to obtain righteoufnefs by the works of the law, which is not to be attained to in that way; all fuch labour is in vain, no fatisfaction is enjoyed, nor peace and comfort had, nor any folid food; thefe are hufks which fwine eat: hearken diligently unto me; not the prophet, but the Lord himéfelf. The Targum renders it, ‘‘ my word;” the effential word, Chrift Jefus, hearken to his doctrine, which is bread, and of a fatisfying nature: and eat ye that whick is good; not the law, as the Fewi/ commentators 5