Exposition of the Whole Bible

HIS chapter is a complaint and lamentation like the former, and on the fame fubject, only the prophet mixes his own afflictions and diftrefles with the public calamities; or elfe he perfonates the church in her complaints; and fome have thought him to be a type of Chrift throughout the whole; to’'whom various things. may be applied. It is indeed written in a different form from the other chapters, in another fort of metre; and tho’ in an alphabetical manner as the reft, yet with this difference, that three verfes together begin with the fame letter; fo that the alphabet is gone thro’ three times ih it. Here is firft a complaint of the afflictions of the prophet, and of the people, expreffed by a'rod, by darknefs, by wormwood and gall, and many other things; and efpecially by the Lord’s appearing againft' them as an enemy, in a moft fevere and terrible manner; fhutting out their prayer; being as a bear’and lion to them;

fe ene, yay prophet exprefles his fympathy wit ‘der affi€tion, and’ declares ‘what h my virgins and my Going men art-fallen by the OOD, by the fword of the Chaldeans, when they the city: show haft flain them in the day anger: thou boft killed, and not eed were only inftruments; ‘it wast; it was according to his’ will; it-was wi purpofed and decreed; what he had fo clared and threatened; and now in his’ brought about, for the fins of the Jews, — he was provoked to anger; and fo gave them up into the hands of their enemies, to flay thé | with out mercy; and which is here owned; “ti chur takes notice of the hand of God in all this.” sh tts

¥.22. Thou haft called as inva kite rors round about, &c.) Terrible enemies,“ the Chaldeans, thefe came at the call ‘of God,” as Tol: diers at the command of their generaly*and’ in ereat numbers, as men from all” pa flocked to Ferufalem on any of thé t feats, of paifover, pentecoft and tabernacles!! Targum paraphrafes it very foreign’ to’ the? fer ‘** thou fhalt proclaim liberty to A “ houfe of J/rael by the Mefiiah;’ as ‘thowdid by ‘© Mofes and Aaron'on ‘the ‘day of the“pafiover= fo that in the ‘day of the Lord’s angers none é or remained, in the city of Ferujalém, andi land of Fadea; either they'’wete’ put ‘to deathy"or were carried captive; fo that there was*fearce” inhabitant to be found, efpecially after Gedaliab was flain, and the Jews left in the land were carried into Egypt: -thofe that I have fwaddled, and brought up, bath mine enemy confumed; or, 2 om I could [pan, as Broughton, or handled; whofe limbs fhe had ftroked with her hands, whom the had fwathed with bands, and had carried in her arms, and had moft carefully and tenderly brought up: by thofe the had /waddled,' are meant the Tittle ones; and by thofe the had drought up, the greater ones, as Alen Ezra obferves; but both the enemy the Chaldeans confumed and deftroyed” without mercy, without regard to their ‘tender years,’ or the manner in which they were brought tp; but as if they were nourifhed: like lambs for the’ ay of flaughter. + ere

and giving them up to the cruelty and fcbrn of. their enemies, x. 1—21. then follows | e com- of fin is’ made, and their miferies dep bit dear reafon of the hidings of God’s face, and the fults of their enemies, ¥, 42—47. and the writh frou hi etlerbies, ape te pe ae ie no: aia gaat cette rst amu - ee anda pete oR a

‘LAMENTATIONS. Cheii: 9.3102.

livered him, y¥. 55—58. sondeccornaluses with a requeit that he would judge his caufe, and avenge him on his enemies, ¥. 59—066.

. ¥.1. Tam the. man that hath feen effliGion, &c.] Had a large experience of it, efpecially ever fince he had been a prophet; being reproached and ill ufed by. his own people, and fuffering with them in. their calamities;. particularly, as Jarchi, obferyes, his affliction was greater than the other prophets, who.indeed prophefied of the deftruction of the,city,and temple, but did not fee it; whereas he lived to fee it: he was not indeed the only man that endured affliGtion, but he was remarkable for his afflictions; he had a large fhare of them, and was. herein a. type of ‘Chrift, who was a man of forrows,, and acquainted with griets: dy the rod of his wrath, that\is, by the rod of the wrath, of God, for he is underftood; itis a relative without an antecedent, as in Cant, i. 1. unlefs the words are to be confidered in. connexion with the laft verfe ot the preceding chapter... The Targum is, ‘‘ by the ** rod of him. that chaftifeth in. his anger,” fo Farcht; but God’s chaftifements of his own peo- ' ple are in love, tho’.thought fometimes by them to be in wrath and hot difpleafure; fo the prophet imagined, but.it was not fo; perhaps.fome regard may be had.to. the inftrument of Ferujalem’s deftruction, the king of Babylon, called the rod of the, Lord’s, anger, Jf, x. 5. all this was. true of Chrift, as the furety of his people, and as fuftaining their perfons, and ftanding in their room,

¥.2. He bath led me, and brought me into darkuefs, &cc.]. Which oftentimes fignifies diftrefs, ca- Jamity and affliction of one fort or another: thus the Fews were brought into the darknefs of captivity; Yeremiah to the darknefs of a dungeon, to which. there. may be an allufion; and Chrift his antitype was under the hidings of God’s face; and at the fame time there was darknefs all around him, and all over the land; and all this is attributed to God;.it being by his appointment, and by his diretion and permiffion.:: but not into light, profperity and joy; the affliction ftill continuing; tho’ God does in his due time bring his people to the light of comfort, and of his gracious prefence, as he did the above perfons; fee P/. xcvil. 11, and

¥. 3. Surely, againft me_is be'turned, &c.] As an enemy, who ufed to be.a friend; he has fo altered and changed the courfe of his providence, as if -his favour and affections were wholly removed; he has planted his artillery againft me, and made me the. butt of his.arrows: or, only againt me; fo Farchi; as if he was the only perfon, or the Fews the only people, fo afflicted of God: be turneth bis hand againift me a// the day, to mite with one blow after another, and that continually, without ceafing; fo the hand of juftice was turned upon Chrift, as the furety of his people, and he was {mitten and ftricken of God; whilft the hand of grace and mercy was turned upon them; fee Lech. xiii. 7. '

¥. 4. My fleh aid my fein bath he made old, &c.] His flefh with blows, and his fkin with finiting, as the Targum; his fiefh was fo emaciated, and his fkin fo withered and wrinkled, that he looked like an old man; as our Lord, when little more than ir years of age, what with his forrows and cool, looked like one about fifty: be bath broken. my bones; that is; his ftrength was. greatly weakened, which layin his bones; and he could not ftir to. help himfelf, any more than a man whofe bones are broken 3 and was in a3.much pain» and diftrefs, as if this had been his cafes otherwife: it was not. literally true, either of the Yews, or of Jeremiah, or of Chritt. j.

¥.5. He hath builded againft me, &cc.]' Fortrefies, as the Targum adds; as when forts and batteries were raifed by the Cealdeans againtt the city of Ferufalem, in which the» prophet was: and compafjed me with gall and travel; or wearine/s *; the fame with gall and wormwood, y¥. 19. as Farchi obferves. ‘Vhe ienfe is, he was furrounded with forrow, affliction and tmifery, which were as difagreeable as. gall; or like poifon that drank up his {pirits, and) made him weary of his life. Thus our Lord was exceeding forrowful, even unto death; wepsrurSe, encompafied with forrows, Matt.xxvi. 38.' The Targum, is, **: he hath furrounded the city; and “* rooted up the heads of the people, and caufed “* them to fail.”

¥.6. He hath fet mé in dark places, 8c.]: Inthe dark: houfe- of the prifon} as the Targum; in the dark. dungeon where ‘the prophet was put; or the captivity. in which the Zews, were, and which was like the dark grave or ftate of the dead; and hence they are faid to be in their graves, Ezek. xxxviis 12. Chrift was laid in the dark grave literally: as they that be dead of old, that\have been long dead, and are forgotten, as if they had never been; fee Pf, Ixxxviii. 5. or, as ‘the dead of the world‘, or age; who, being dead, are gone out of the world, and no more in it. The Targum is, ‘* as the dead *¢ who. go into another world.”

¥. 7. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot go cut, &c.] When in prifon, or in the dungeon, or during the fiege of Ferufalem; tho’ the phrafe may only denote in general the greatnefs of his troubles, with which he was encompafied, and how inextricable they were; like am hedge about:a vineyard, or a wall about a city; which could not eafily be got over: be haih made my chain heavy; his affliction intolerable. It is a metaphor taken from malefaétors. that have heavy chains put upon their legs, that they may not make their efcape out of prifon: or, my brafs*; that.is, chains, or a chain made of brafs; fo the Zarguin, ** he. hath made ‘“* heavy upon my feet fetters of brafs.”

¥. 8. Aifo when. 1 cry:and foout, &c.| Cry, becaufe of the diftrefs.of the enemy within; Zour, or cry aloud for help from others without; »as perfons in a prifon do, to. make them hear and pity their cafe: thus the prophet in his»affliction. cried aloud to God; was fervent,» earneft and importunate in prayer; and yet not heard: be /butteth out my prayer; fhuts the door, that it may not enter; as the door is fometimes fhut upon. beggars, that their cry. may not be heard.) The Targum is, ‘‘ the: ‘*¢ houfe of my prayer is fhut.”. Farchi interprets. it, of the windows of the. firmament being thut, fo that his:prayer could not pafs thro’, or be heard; fee y. 44..The phrafe defigns God’s difregard, or feeming difregard, of the prayer of the prophet, or of the people; and his fhutting his ears againft it. Of this, as the Meffiah’s cafe, fee P/ xxii. 2.

y¥.-9. He hath inclofed my ways with hewn fone, &c.] Not with a hedge of thorns, or mud walls, but with a fence of ftones; and thefe not rough, and laid loofely together, but hewn and put in order, and well cemented. The Targum is, with marble hewn ftones, which are harder than com-

_ mon ftones, and not fo eafily demolifhed; this may refpect the cafe of the prophet in prifon, and in the dungeon, and in Yerufalem, when belieged; or in general his afflictive ftate, from whence he had no profpect of deliverance; or the ftate of the Yews in captivity, from which there was no likelihood. of areleafe. He hath made my paths crooked; or, perverted my ways*; fo that he could not find his way out, when he attempted it; he got into a way which Jed him wrong; every thing went crofs and againft him, and all his meafures were difconcerted, and his defigns defeated; no one ftep he took profpered.

y. 10. He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, &c.] For its prey, which feizes on it at once, and tears it in pieces; fuch were the Chaldeans to the Hews by divine permiffion: and as a lion in fecret places; lurking there, in order to take every opportunity and advantage, and fall upon any creature that comes that way. The fame thing is fig- “nified here, as before; fee Hof. v. 14.

y. 11: He hath turned afide my ways, &c.} Or caufed me to depart or go back from the way I was in, and fo fall into the hand of the enemy that lay in wait, as before. archi interprets the word of thorns, and of fcattering the way with thorns, and hedging it up with them, fo that there was no pafling, Hof. ii. 6. the fenfe feems to be the fame with ¥. 9: and pulled me in pieces as any creature that falls into the hands of a bear or lion. Farchi fays, it fignifies a topping of the feet, fo that the traveller cannot go on in his way; and in the Talmudic language it is ufed for the breaking off of branches of trees, which being ftrowed in the way, hinder paflengers from travelling; and this fenfe agrees with what goes before: he hath made me defolate, or brought me into a defolate condition, into ruin and deftruétion, as the Jews were in Babylon.

¥. 12. He hath- bent bis bow, &c.] Which is put for all the inftruments of war; the Chaldeans were archers, and fhot their arrows into the city: and fet me asa mark for the arrow, asa butt to fhoot at; fignifying that God dealt with him, or his people, as enemies, the object of his wrath and ‘indignation; and if he direéted his arrow againft them, it muft needs hit them; there was no efcaping his vengeance; fee od vii. 20. and xvi. 12.

¥. 13. He hath caufed the arrows of bis quiver, &c.] Or, the fons of bis quiver’, an ufual Hebraifm; the quiver is compared, as Aben Ezra obferves, to a pregnant woman; and Horace has a like expreffion, venenatis gravidam fagittis pharetram*, the judgments of God are often fignified by this metaphor, even his four fore ones, fword, famine, peftilence, and noifome beaft, Deut. xxxii. 23,42. Ezek, v. 16. and xiv. 21. thefe, fays the prophet, he caufed fo enter into my reins; that is, into the midft of his land and people, -or into the city of Ferufalem, or thefe affected his mind and heart, as if fo many arrows had ftuck in: him, the poifon of which drank up his fpirits, fod vi. 4. Pf. xxxviil. 2:

¥. 14. I was a derifion to all my people, &c.] So Feremich was to the people of the ews, and efpecially to his townfmen, the men of Auathoth, Fer. xx. 7, 8. but if he perfonates the body of the people, others muft be intended; for they could | not be a derifion to themfelves, The Targum renders it, to the fpoilers of my people; that is, either the wicked among themielves, or the Obaldeans; and Aben Ezra well obferves, that Ammi is put for Ammim the people; and fois to be under- {tood. of all the people round about them, the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites, that laughed at their deftruction; though fome interpret it of the wicked among the Zews, to whom the godly were a derifion; or of thofe who had been formerly fubject to the Fews, and fo their peopic, tho’ not now: and their fong all the day, beating on their tabrets, and ftriking their.harps, for joy; for the word" ufed fignifies not vocal, but initrumental mufic; of fuch ufage of the Meffiah, fee Pf Ixix, T2.

¥. 15. He bath filled me with bitternefs, 8c.) Or with bitterneffes ™; inftead of food, bitter herbs; the allufion perhaps is to the bitter herbs eat at the pafiover, and fignify bitter afflictions, fore calamities, of which the prophet and his pecple had their fill. The Targum is, ‘* with the gall of fer- “© pents;” fee Fob xx. 14. He bath made me drunken with wormwood; with wormwood-drink; but this herb being a wholefome one, tho’ bitter, fome think that hen-bane, or wolfs-bane, «is rather meant, which is of a-poifonous and intoxicating nature; it is no unufual thing for perfons to be reprefented as drunk with affliction, J/ li. 17, 21. Ser: msev i Ay. ei y¥. 16. He hath alfo broken my teeth with gravelfones, &c.} With gritty bread, fuch as is made of corn ground with new milftones, the grit of which mixes with the flour; or with ftony bread, ‘as Se-. neca® calls a benefit troublefome to others; with bread that has little ftones mixed with it, by eating of which the teeth are broken, as Farchi obferves: the phrafe fignifies affictions and troubles, which are very grievous and difagreeable, like gravel in the mouth, as fin in its effeéts oftem proves, Prov. xx. 17. He hath covered me with Goes; as mourners ufed to be; the word rendered covered is only ufed in this place. bem Ezra renders it, be hath defiled me, and ‘farchi and Ben Melech, fron the Mifuah, be hath preffed me, without meafure; fee. Luke vi. 38. and fo the Targum, “ he hath ‘¢ humbled me:” but the Septwagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic verfions, render it, be bath fed me with afbes; which verfion is defended by Caftel » and No/dius *, and beft agrees with the preceding claufe; and the fenfe is the fame with P/: cii..

y¥. 17. And thou haft removed my foul far off front. peace, &c.] From the time the city was befieged - by the Chaldeans, and now the people was carried ~ captive; who could have no true peace, being in 2 foreign land, in an enemy’s country, and out of their own, and far from the place of divine worfhip; nor could the prophet have any peace of foul, in the confideration of thefe things, the city,” temple, and nation being defolate, tho’ he himéelf. was not in captivity. I forgat profperity; or good?; he had been fo long from the enjoyment of that hehad loft the idea of it, and was th lefs about it, never expecting to fee it any 1 uniter, Cocceius, Michaelis.

¥. 18. And I faid, my firength and my bope are perifhed from the Lord.| The forther of thefe words fignifies, according to Aben Ezra, my ftanding, my fubfiftence, my continuance in being, or my perpetuity; according ‘to Farchi, my abiding * in this world; it is rendred dood in Jf. Ixiii. 3. which is the fupport of life; and which when gone, or ceafes to~ circulate, a man ceafes to be: the fenfe is, that the prophet, or thofe he perfonates, looked upon themfelves as dead men, at leaft of a fhort continuance; their natural ftrength was exhaufted, and they muft quickly die, and had no hope of living, or of enjoying the divine favour, or good things, at the hand of God. Some underftand it of fpiritual ftrength to do good, and of hope of having good things, or deliverence from the hand of God, which they were defpairing of; for the words are the language of defpondency, and betray great weaknefs and infirmity; for in the Lord is everlafting ftrength, and he is the hope of his people, and the Saviour of them in time of trouble, Jf xxvi. 4. and xlv. 24, Fer. xiv. 8:

¥. 19. Remembering mine affiittion, and my mifery, &c.] The miferable affliction of him and his people; the remembrance of which, and poring upon it continually, caufed the defpondency before exprefied: tho’ it may be rendered imperatively, remember my affittion, and my mifery*; fo the Vulgate Latin and Syriac verfions; and Aben Exra obferves, that the words may be confidered as a regueft to God; and fo they feem to be; the prophet, and the people he perfonates, were not fo far gone into defpair, as to caft off prayer before God; but once more looked up to him, befeeching that he would, in his great mercy and pity, remember them in their diftreffed condition, and deliver out of it; for none could do it but himfelf: the wormwood and the gall, figurative expreflions of bitter and grievous afflictions, y¥. 5, 15.

y¥. 20. My foul bath them fill in remembrance, &c.] That is, according to our Verfion, affliction and mifery, compared to wormwood and gall: but the words, my foul, are fetched from the next claufe, where they ought to ftand, and this to be rendered, in remembring thou wilt remember‘; or, thou wilt furely remember; and fo exprefies the confidence of the prophet, and his firm belief, his faith and hope increafing in prayer, that God would in much mercy remember his people, and their afflictions, and fave them out of them: and is humbled in me, both under the afflicting hand of God, and in view and hope of his mercy: tho’ rather it fhould be rendered, and or for my foul meditateth within me”; fays or faggefts fuch things to me, that God will in wrath remember mercy; fee Pf. Ixxvii. 7.. So Farchi makes mention of a Midrofb, that interprets it of his foul’s waiting till the time that God remembers.

y¥. 21. This I recal to my mind, &c.] Not affliction and mifery, but the Lord’s remembrance of his people; what he had been ufed to do, and would do again; and particularly what follows, the abundant mercy of God, and his great faithfulnefs; thefe things the prophet fetched back to his mind, and revolved them in his heart, aad therefore, fays he, bave I hope; this revived his hépe, ‘which he was ready to fay was perifhed from the Lord, and there was no foundation for it; but now he ‘faw there was, and therefore took heart, eae oe himfelf in the grace and mercy of

¥. 22. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not

confumed, &c.] It was true of the prophet; that he died not in prifon, or in the dungeon; and of the people of the ews, who ‘tho’ many of them petifhed by the fword, famine, and peftilence, yet God did not make a full end of them, according to his gracious promife, Yer. xxx. 11. but lete them a feed, a remnant, from whence the Meffiah, the mercy promifed, fhould come, and to which it was owing they were not utterly cut off for their fins: nor are any of the Lord’s fpecial people ever confumed; their eftates may be confumed, and fo may their bodies by wafting difeafes, and at laft by death; but not their fouls, not only as to their being, but as to their well being, here and hereafter; tho’ their peace, joy, and comfort, may be gone for a while, thro’ temptation, defertion, and the prevalence of corruption; and they may be in declining circumftances, as to the exercife of grace, yet the principle itfelf can never be loft; faith, hope, and love, will abide; nor can they eternally perifh, or be punifhed with an everlaiting deftruction: all which is to be afcribed not to their own ftrength to preferve themfelves, nor to any want of defert in them to be deftroyed, or of power in God to confume them; but to his mercies and goodneffes, the rhultitude of them; for there is an abundance of mercy, grace, and goodnefs in God, and various are inftances of it; as in the choice of his people to grace and glory; in the covenant of grace, and the bleffings of it they are interefted in; in redemption by Chrift; in regeneration by his Spirit; in the. forgivenefs of their fins; and in their complete falvation; which are all fo many reafons why they are not, and fhall not be confumed. The words may be reridered, the mercies or goodneffes of the Lord, for they are not confumed; Or, that the mercies of the Lord, &c™. Farchi obferves, that Tamu is as Tammu; the nun being inferted, according to Aben Ezra, inttead of doubling the letter mem; and the former makes the fenfe to be this, in conriexion with the preceding verfe, this I recal to mind— the mercies of the Lord, that they are not confumed, to which agrees the Targum, “* the goodneffes of the Lord, for “« they ceafe not; and fo the Septuagint, the mer-. cies of the Lord, for they have not left me; and to the fame fenfe the S)riac verfion is, the mercies of the Lord, for they have no end; and Aben Ezra’s note on the text is almoft in the fame words, ‘“‘ for ‘«¢ there is no end to the mercies of God.” Becaufe bis compaffions fail not; or, bis tender mercies *; of which he is full, and which are beftowed in a free and fovereign way, and are the fpring of alk good things, and a never-failing one they are; and ‘this is another reafon why the Lord’s people are not confumed, and never fhall, becaufe of the mercies of the Lord, fince thefe fhall never fail; for though they are, yet fhould they fail, they might be confumed; but thefe are from everlafting to everlafting, and are kept with Chrift, their 4 9mx%9 duratio mea, Montanus; perennitas mea. Cotceius. _* "\Dt recordare, Munfter, Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Cocceius, Michaelis. © DIN VND recordando recordaberis, Luther, Michaelis.

i$: 33. They are new every morning, &c.] That is, the tender mercies or compaffions of God are, which prove that they fail not; there are inftances of them every day, not only in,a temporal, but in a fpiritual fenfe; they are ever new, always frefh and vigorous, conftant and perpetual; fuch are the love, grace, and mercy of God, tho’ of old, yet daily renewed in the manifeftations. thereof; and which make a morning of fpiritual light, joy, and comfort; and whenever it is morning with the faints, they have new difcoveries of the love of God to them; and thefe indeed are a bright morning to them, a morning without clouds. Great is thy faithfulnefs; fome render it, thy faith concerning thee ¥; this is a great grace, it is the gift of God, the operation of his Spirit, and to exercife it is a great thing; to this purpofe is Farchi’s note, ** great “* is thy promife, and a great thing it is to believe “<-in thee, that it fhall be performed, and that thou “< wilt obferve or keep what thou haft promifed to “us;” but the attribute of God’s faithfulnefs is rather meant; which is another reafon why the people of God are not confumed, fince that never fails; God is faithful to himfelf, and cannot deny himfelf; he is faichful to his counfels and purpofes, which fhall be truly accomplifhed; and to his covenant and promifes, which fhall be fulfilled, and to his Son, the furety and faviour of his people.

y. 24. The Lord is my portion, faith my foul, &c.] The prophet, or the church, whom he perfonates, rifes and increafes in the exercife of faith; from confidering the mercies, compaffions, and faithfulnefs of God, concludes a fure and firm intereft in him, as a portion and inheritance. The Lord is the portion of his people, in life and in death, in time and to eternity; all he is, and has, is theirs; they are heirs of him, and fhall enjoy him for ever, and therefore fhall not be confumed; he is a portion large and full, inexpreffibly rich and great, a foul-fatisfying one, and will laft for ever. And happy are thofe, who from their hearts, and with their fouls, under a teftimony of the Spirit of God to their fpirits, and thro’ a gracious experience of him, can fay he is their portion and exceeding great reward, as the church here did; and thefe may fay with her, as follows: therefore will I hope in him; for deliverance from all evils and enemies; for prefent fupplies of grace; and for the enjoyment of future glory and happinefs.

¥. 25. The Lord is good to them that wait for him, &c.} For the enjoyment of him as their portion in this world, and in that to come; for his prefence here and*hereafter; which they are fometimes now deprived of, but fhould wait patiently for it; fince he has his fet-time to arife and favour them with it; to fuch is he good communicatively, and in a fpecial way and manner. They that wait for him fhall not be afhamed, or difappointed of what they expect; they fhall renew their fpiritual ftrength, and grow ftronger and ftronger;_ they fhall inherit the earth, the new heavens and the new earth; enjoy many bleflings now, and have good things laid up for them hereafter, eye has not feen, nor ear heard, Jf. xlix. 23. and xl. 31. and Ixiv. 4. Pf. xxxvii.'g. perhaps fome regard may be had to the coming of Chrift in the flefh, which the faints then expeéted, and were waiting

2 Doorn Sonnet expectet et filens, -Pagninus, Montanus;

expectabit et filens erit, Schmidt.

for in faith and hope; to whom the Lord was good and gracious in due time, by performing the

mercy promifed them, J/. xxv. 9. To the foul that

Jeeketh him, that feeketh him aright; that feeks him by prayer and fupplication; that feeks him in his houfe and ordinances, where he is to be found; that feeks him early, in the firft place, and above’ all things elfe; that feeks him earnettly, diligently, with his whole {pirit, heart, and foul; that feeks his face, his favour, grace, and glory, and all in Chrift, thro? whom all are to be enjoyed. God is good to fuch fouls; he is a rewarder of them in a way of grace; with himfelf, as their fhield and exceeding great reward; with his Son, and all things freely with him; with his Spirit and graces, and with eternal glory and happinefs; fuch find what they feek for; -Chrift, his grace, and eternal life; the Lord never forfakes them, nor the work of his hand in them, and they fhall live fpiritu— ally and eternally; fee Hed. xi. 6. Prov. Viii. 17. Matt, vii. 7. Rom, ii. 7. Pf..ix. 10. and ix,..32.. # | ¥. 26. It-is good that a man fhould both hope, and quietly wait, &c.] This-follows from the former; for if God is good to fuch, it muft be good for them to hope and wait for him; it is both their’ duty and their intereft: and it may be obferved, that hope is the ground of patient waiting, and is here promifed to it; where there is no hope of a thing, there will be no waiting for it, much lefs quietly: hope is of things unfeen, future, difficult, and yet poffible, or there would be no hope; and where there is that, there will be waiting; for if we hope for that we fee not, then do-we with patience wait for it, Rom. viii. 25. here, in the original text, it is, hope, and be filent*; or, a good man will both hope or wait, and be filent*, that is, under the prefent difpenfation, tho’ an afflictive one; men fhould be ftill, as David exhorts, and be dumb, as he was; and hold their peace, as Aaron did, at fuch feafons; not that they fhould indulge a f{toical apathy, or be infenfible of their condition, and difregard the rod, and him that has appointed it, or be altogether filent and fpeechlefs; but fhould own the hand of God, and their deferts; cry to him for deliverance, be thankful it is no worfe, and fpeak of the gracious dealings of God with them; yet fhould not murmur and complain, or charge God foolifhly; but be refigned to his will, and wait the iffue of providence quietly, even wait for the falvation of the Lord, for temporal deliverance from outward evils and prefent afflictions, and for fpiritual and eternal falvation. The faints, under the Old Teftament, waited for Chrift, the author of falvation, appointed and promifed by the Lord. He is come, and has obtained falvation, — which is publithed in the gofpel. _ Senfible finners are made acquainted with their need of it, and fee the fulnefs and fuitablenefs of it, and are earneftly defirous of knowing their intereft in it; this is not immediately had; it is good to wait quietly for it, in an attendance on the word and ordinances; and this being come at, {till the complete enjoyment is yet behind: faints are now heirs of it, are kept unto it; it is nearer them than when they believed; Chrift will appear unto it, and it becomes them to wait patiently for it; which will be a falvation from the very being of fin; from the temptations. of fatan; from all troubles inward ab i? "hae m qui et expetat et filet, Pifcator.

from all troublefome perfons and things; from all doubts, fears, darknefs, and unbelief; and will confift in perfect happinefs and glory, and is worth waiting for,

¥. 27. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.| Either the yoke of the commandments, as the Zargum, or of correction, as Aben Ezra; of afflictions, as fatherly chaftifements; both fenfes may be retained. It is good to bear the yoke of the moral law, or the commandments of God, as they are in the hands of Chrift, a rule of walk and converfation, a yoke obliging all mankind, and efpecially faints; it is the duty of all to fubmit their necks to this yoke; it is but their reafonable fervice to love the Lord their God, and their neighbour as themfelves; as muft be judged by all but fons of Belial, who are without this yoke, having caft it off; and efpecially itis good to bear the yoke of Chrift, to embrace his doctrines, and profefs them, and fubmit to his ordinances, fince his yoke is eafy, and leads to true reft, Matt. xi. 29, 30. it is commendable fo to do; fince it is a following Chrifl, and thofe who thro’ faith and patience have inherited the promifes; and befides, is both pleafant and profitable, being the means of increafing fpiritual ftrength, light, and joy: and it is right to do this in youth; which is the choiceft time of life, and moft acceptable to Chrift, and when a man is capable of doing him moft fervice; and efpecially, if men do not take upon them this yoke in the day of their efpoufals, and while their firft love lafts, it is much if they ever do it after, and therefore fhould not neglect it: and fo it is good to bear the yoke of afflictions, tho’ difagreeable to flefh and blood, to take up the crofs, and bear it after Chrift, willingly, and chearfully, and patiently; this is good, for hereby fouls are brought to a fenfe of fin, to be humbled for it, and confefs it; it isa means of purging from it, and preventing it; hereby the graces of the Spirit are tried, exercifed, and become brighter; faints are inftruéted in many ufeful leffons in the word of God, in humility, faith, and fear; herein they enjoy much of the prefence of God, and all work for their good, fpiritual and eternal. And as there is a clofe connexion between a profeffion of faith in Chrift, and fubmiffion to his ordinances, and fufferingr eproach and perfecution for the fame; it is good for a man to bear the one, as well as the other, i bis youth; this will ferve to keep him humble, and hide pride from him, which youth are addicted to; to wean him from the world, the jufts and pleafures of it, which are enfnaring to that age; to prevent many fins and evils, fuch might be tempted to go into; and to inure them to hardfhips, and make them good foldiers of Chrift.

y. 28. He fitteth alone, &c.] Retires from the world, and the men of it, who takes upon him the yoke of Chrift, tho’ he is not alone, but God, Father, Son, and Spirit, are with him; and he is with the faints, the excellent of the earth, and has communion with them; and fo he is, that under the afflicting hand of God bears it patiently, and does not run from place to place complaining of it, but fits ftill, and confiders the caufe, end; and ufe of it. Some render the words in connexion with the preceding, it is good shat be fit alone”, it is good for a man to be alone; in his clofet, praying to God; in his houfe or chamber, reading the word of God; in the field, or elfewhere, meditating upon it, and upon the works of God, of nature, providence, and grace: and keepeth filence, becaufe he hath born it on him; or, took it on him; either becaufe he took it upon him willingly, and therefore fhould bear it patiently; or becaufe he (God) hath put it upon him ‘, and therefore fhould be filent, and not murmur and repine, fince he hath done it, Pf xxxix. 9.

¥. 29. He putteth his mouth in the duft, &c.] Of felf-abhorrence; fenfible of his own vilenefs and nothingnefs, his unworthinefs, and the unprofitablenefs of all his duties; afcribing the whole of his falvation to the free grace of God, Fob xlii. 6. humbling himfelf under the mighty hand of God; not daring to open his mouth in a complaining way againft him; but proftrating himfelf before him to the earth, as the manner of the eaftern people in prayer was, to which the allufion is; licking as it were the duft of the earth, under a fenfe of the diftance and difproportion between God and him, who is but duft and afhes; fo the Targum adds, ‘* and is proftrate before the Lord:” if fo be there may be hope; or, peradventure there is hope“; for as fome interpreters obferve, thefé words do not exprefs hefitation and doubt, but hope and expectation of help, to beat the yoke of God’s commandments, and in due time to be delivered from affliction and diftrefs.

¥. 30. He giveth his check to him that fmiteth him, &c.| Either to God that afflicts him, and patiently bears it; fee J/ ix. 13. or rather to men. To be {mitten on the cheek is always reckoned a very great affront; to turn thé cheek to an injurious man, is to give him an opportunity and leave to fmite, and fignifies the taking of it patiently, and agrees both with our Lord’s advice and example, Matt. v. 39. If, 1. 6. - He is filled full with reproach, has many reproaches, and the reproaches of many upon him; as fuch muft expect, that take Chrift’s yoke upon them; fee P/- cxxiii. 3, 4. and yet revile not again, but efteem reproaches for Chrift’s fake great riches, and wear them as crowns, and bind them about their necks as chains of gold; efteeming it an honour, and an happinefs, to fuffer fhame for his name.

¥. 31. For the Lord will not caft off for ever.] Which is not to be underftood of all ‘his creatures; for there are fome he does caft off for ever, as the angels-that finned; reprobate men, profligate and abandoned finners, that live and die impenitent and unbelievers, carnal profeffors, and apo- {tates; but not his own fpecial and peculiar people, the people whom he has foreknown and loved with an everlafting love, his {piritual J/rael; or, as the Targum fupplies it, bis fervants; fee Pf. xciv. 14. Rom. xi. 2. Fer. xxxi. 37. and xxxiil. 25, 26. he may féem for a while to rejeét them, but not in reality and for ever; as, when he hides his face from them, lays his afflicting hand on them, or fuffers them to be afflicted by others, and defers his help, and does not immediately appear to their deliverance and falvation; but in reality he never rejects them froin being his people, his fervants, and his fons; they have always a place in his heart, and are ever under his eye and care; they continue in his covenant, and abide in his family; and tho’

‘they may be caft down in their fouls, and caft out by men, yet are. not caft off by God, neither in youth nor old age, in time or eternity; his love is unchangeable; his purpofes firm-+and unalterable; his counfel, covenant, oath and promife, im~ mutable; and they are his jewels, his portion, and inheritance; and this is a ground and reafon of bearing patiently all afflictions, injuries, and re-, proaches; for tho’ men caft off, God will not.

y. 32. But though he caufe grief, &c.) As he fometimes does in his own people; by convincing them of fin, and producing in them godly forrow, which worketh repentance unto life, not to be repented of; by correcting and chaftizing them for it, and by hiding his face from them; all which are grievous to them: yet will he have compaffion according to the multitude of his mercies; his mercies are many, both temporal and {piritual, and his compaffion is anfwerable; which he fhows to his people by an application of pardoning grace, thro’ the blood of Chrift; by fympathizing with them under their afflictions, and delivering from them; by granting them his gracious prefence, and reftoring to them the joys of his falvation; all which is not according to their merits, but his mereies.

¥. 33. For be doth not afflic willingly, &c.] Or, from his heart *; he does afflict; for all afflictions are from God; but they don’t come from the mere motion of his heart, or are the effects of his fovereign will and pleafure, as the good things he beftows upon his people do, without any refpeét to any caufe or occafion in them; but fin is the caufe and occafion of thefe, as Zarchi well obferves: it is with reluctance the Lord afflicts his people; he is as it were forced to it, fpeaking after the manner of men; fee Hof. xi. 8. he does not do it with delight and pleafure; he delights in mercy, but judgment is his ftrange act; nor does he do it with all his heart and foul, with all his might and ftrength; he does not ftir up/all his wrath; for then, the fpirit would fail before him, and the fouls that he has made; and efpecially he does not do it out of ill-will, but in love, and for their good: nor grieve the children of men, that is, he does not from his heart, or willingly grieve the children of men, by afflicting them; which mutt be underftood of thofe fons of men whom he has loved, and made his fons and heirs; thofe fons of men, that wifdom’s delights were with from everlafting, Prov. viii. 31.

¥. 34. Lo crufh under his feet all the prifeners of the earth, &c.] Thefe words, with what follow in the two next verfes, either depend upon the preceding, and are to be connected with them, be doth not afflit, &c. tho’ he lays his hand on men, he don’t crufh them under his feet, or break them in pieces, and utterly deftroy them, even fuch, and all fuch, as are bound in affli€tion and iron; or in a fpiritual fenfe, fuch as are prifoners to fin, fatan, and the law, as all men by nature are; he does not crufh thefe to pieces, tho’ they deferve it, at leaft not a// of them; for he proclaims in the gofpel liberty to the captives, and fays, by the power of his grace, to the prifoners, go forth, and encourages the prifoners of hope to turn to their ftrong-hold: and alfo, tho’ he afflicts, he does no injuftice to them, does not, turn afide their right, or fubvert their caufe, Yd viii. 3. and xxxiv. 5, 12. or rather, thefe depend upon, and are to. be con- inftances of Ye/eph’s brethren, im their uf him; and of the Jews, in the crucifixion of Chri Prov. xvi, 9. and xix. 21. The Targum is, “ *¢ is the man that faith, and evil is done it