Commentary on the Minor Prophets, Commentary 1 · Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII.
Verſe 1. WHen Ephraim ſpake trembling,] Or, there was trembling, as there is among the beaſts of the field, when the Lion roareth. Ephraim whiles innocent of the great offence, ſpake with authority, and none durſt budge againſt him: for he had great power in his hand. Now, as the Philoſopher told Adrian the Emperour, who challenged him to diſpute; Difficile eſt ei contradicere qui poteſt aqua & igni interdicere: vel adverſus … …ſcribere, qui poteſt proſcribere. It is dangerous medling with the Lions beard. N…uchadnezzars Majeſty was ſuch, that all people, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him, Dan. 5.19. whereſoever his commands or armies came, there were very great heart-quakes and concuſſions of ſpirit. Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may ſay unto him, What doſt thou… Eccleſ. 8.4. Job was no king: and yet whiles hee was Jobab, that is, in a proſperous condition, The young men ſaw him,Gen. 36.34. and hid themſelves: the nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth, Job 29.8, 10 The people feared Joſhuah … chap. 4.14.) as they feared Moſes, all the dayes of his life: for why? the Lord had magnified him in the ſight of all Iſrael. Naturall conſcience cannot but ſtoop to the image of God in whomſoever. When Ephraim was firſt in the Throne, he became formidable: but when h…fell openly from God, he grew feeble: firſt he was a terrour, and then a ſcorn.
But when he offended in Baal, he died.] When by Jezabel (who did all under her husband, ſhe was King, and he Queen) Baal-worſhip was brought in, then Ephraim fell from his dignity: then every paltry adverſary trampled upon him, as the Hare will do upon a dead Lion. See how Benhadad inſulted over Ahab, 1 King. 20. Thy ſilver and thy gold is mine, thy wives alſo and thy children, even the goodlieſt are mine. And the king of Iſrael anſwered and ſaid, My Lord, O king, according to thy ſaying, I am thine, and all that I have. Look how the worried Curre falls upon his back, and holds up all four, as craving quarter: ſo did this ſordid Idolater, glad to crouch to his enemy: when God was departed from him; he was even as a dead carcaſſe. Morti vicinus jam magis atque magis. He that departeth from God (who is his life) by an evil heart of unbelief, Heb. 3.ſubiecteth himſelf to all ſorts of deaths, Naturall, Civil, Spirituall, and Eternall.
Verſe 2. And now they ſinne more and more,] Heb. They adde to ſinne: God in his juſt judgement hath given them up unto hardneſſe of minde, and to their hearts luſt: that for all this ſudden change, they repent not, but run more and more into Idolatry. Not content to worſhip Baal, and ſuch Heathen-Deities, They make them molten images of their ſilver,] they laid their monies together, to make the golden-calves, or ſilver-ſhrines, as Acts 19.24. and other idolatrous trinkets: they laviſhed ſilver out of the bag, and were at no ſmall charge. They multiplied their altars, chap. 10. and abuſed Gods gold and ſilver to myſticall adultery, chap. 2. All this they did Now, ſaith the Text: moſt unſeaſonably, and as it were in flat oppoſition to God; after he had ſought to reclaim them both by counſels, and corrections, and had hang'd Ahab and his houſe up in gibbets, as it were, before them, for their admonition. Surely it is a juſt both preſage and deſert of ruine, not to bee warned. See chap. 7.1. with the Note,
And idols according to their own underſtanding,] i. e. according to their own inventions, motu ſuo proprio; forſaking the Rule of the Word, they will needs be ſchollers to their own Rea2on, though they are ſure to have a fool to their Maſter. That's a good ſaying of Solomon, Prov. 3.5.Truſt in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own underſtanding, in matters of Gods worſhip eſpecially: for there Deus damnat quicquid arridet judicio hominum vel rationi, Calv. in loc.that which is highly eſteemed amongſt men, is abomination in the ſight of God, Luke 16.15.
all of it the work of the craftſmen,] And ſhould men worſhip the work of their own hands? what can be imagined more irrationall and ſottiſh? But it is a moſt righteous recompence of their errour. See Eſay 29.13, 14. God doth blinde and blaſt ſuch,Rom. 1.27. cauſing their madneſſe to appear to all, and that they are men compact of meer incongruities, ſolaeciſing in opinion, ſpeeches, actions, all: nothing is more irrationall then irreligion.
they ſay of it, Let the men that ſacrifice kiſſe the calves.] They, that is, the king and his counſellours, or the idolatrous prieſts by their appointment. Theſe were active to invite, and incite men to partake of thoſe idolatrons ſervices. Should we be leſſe diligent in calling upon others to kiſſe the Son, with a kiſſe of love and homage? ſhould we not be as ſerious and ſedulous in building ſtair-caſes for heaven, as the wicked are in digging d…nts to hell?
kiſſe the calves.] That the cuſtome of kiſſing in divine worſhip was uſed in all Nations, is evident. They kiſſed either the idols mouth, or their own hand (where the idoll ſtood on high, ſo that they could not come at it) in token of homage. See 1 King. 19.8. Job 31.27.Aderare est quaſi applicare manum ad os. So (after the example of Diocleſian) the Pope holds forth his foot to be kiſſed by the greateſt Potentates: whiles he ſitteth as God, in the Temple of God, &c.
Verſe 3. Therefore they ſhall be as the morning cloud,] They ſhall vaniſh and come to nothing: the morning cloud irradiated by the Sun, ſeems very gay at firſt, but is ſoon diſpelled by it, the dew lies very lovely upon the graſſe, and ſeems to impearl it: but is ſoon dried up. See chap. 6.4. The chaff lies hollow and high, but is ſoon diſperſt before a whirl-wind. See Pſal. 35.5. Dan. 2.35. Pſal. 1.5. The ſmoke rowls out of the chimney, as if it were ſome ſolid ſubſtance, and would mu…e the whole heavens, but is preſently ſcattered; Evaporat & evaneſcit, the higher it aſcendeth, the ſooner it vaniſheth. See here how that is verified chap. 12.10. I have uſed ſimilitudes by the miniſtery of my Prophets, (four in a breath wee have here) and be hereby advertiſed. 1. Of mans weakneſſe. 2. Of Gods power. 3. Of the ſwiftneſſe of Ephraims enſuing miſery. 4. The ſeverity of Gods dea… ing with Idolaters, he will leave no ſigne nor remaine of them: he will utterly remove them as a man takes away dung,foreign. till it be gone, 1 King. 14.19. Sic tranſit gloria mundi. Life it ſelf is but a ſhadow, a dream, yea a dream of a ſhadow, Pſal. 144.4. profit, an uncertainty, 1 Tim. 6.17. pleaſure, a ſpirt, honour a blaſt, pomp a phancy, Act. 25.23. the whole world a ſcheme, or notion that hath nothing in it of any firmneſſe, or ſolid conſiſtency. Why then ſhould wicked worldlings brag,1 Cor 7.31. and look ſo big?? Why ſhould the Saints be affected either with it's allurements, or affrightments, and not cry out with that heroicall Luther, Contemptus eſt a me Romanus & favor & furor, I care neither for Romes favour, nor fury; I am neither fond of the one, nor afraid of the other, for all is but fumus aut funus vanity and vexation?
Verſe 4. Yet I am the Lord thy God, &c.] Yet for all the ſorrow: and though, I thus threaten thee: for ſince I ſpake againſt thee, I do earneſtly remember thee ſtill, &c. Jer. 31.20. It is eaſie to obſerve, all along this Chapter, an interchange of menaces and mercies, as in the preceding verſe and this; ſo verſe 8. and 9. verſe 13. and 14. verſe 16. and chap. 14.1. to ſhew how ſoon the Lord repents him of the evil, and how ready to ſhew mercy to the worſt that return. If men could but finde a penitent heart, he would eaſily finde a pitying heart: like as David would have been friends with Abſalom after all the unkindneſſe, would he have been but better at laſt. To reduce Ephraim it was, that this Chapter, like checquer-work, is made up of promiſes and threatnings; that the tartneſſe of the one might make him the better to taſte the ſweetneſſe of the other.
Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt,] See the Note on Chap. 12.9. He was their God before, Gen. 17.7. but then he mainly manifeſted himſelf ſo to be, when he brought them thence with a ſtrong hand, and ſo declared himſelf to be Jehovah, Exod. 6.2. yea I am ready to ſhew thee the like mercy ſtill: for I remember (ſaith he) the kindneſſe of thy youth, the love of thine eſpouſals, when thou wenteſt after me in the wilderneſſe, in a land that was not ſowen, Ier. 2.2.
and thou ſhalt know no God but me,] i. e. Effectually acknowledge, worſhip, ſerve, love, none ſave me, Deut. 13.2. Gal. 4.9. Thou ſhalt experience none other: it is a bleſſed thing to be ignorant of falſe-worſhip; and not to be inſighted into, or verſed in the depths of Satan, Rev. 2.24. Thou ſhalt not enquire how theſe Nations worſhipped their gods, Deut. 12.30. Ahaz got hurt by ſeeing the Altar at Damaſcus: Many that will needs ſee the Popiſh-ſervice, are enſnared thereby.
for there is no Saviour beſide me. [This is a Title that God much glorieth in. See Eſay 60.16. and 63.1. Act. 5.31. and we ſhould go oft to him in this Name, as Ier. 14.8. ſith he is able to ſave them to the utmoſt that come unto him, Heb. 7.25.foreign. to ſave them perpetually, and perfectly. He is a ſole Saviour, a thorow Saviour, a Saviour in ſolidum: and doth not his work to the halves, as Papiſts make it. How blaſphemous is that direction of theirs to dying men, to ſay, Joyn, Lord, mine obedience with thoſe things which Chriſt ſuffered for me, &c.
Verſe 5. I knew thee in the wilderneſſe, in a place of great drought,] In terra torridiſſima, where I gave thee pluviam eſcatilem & petram aquatilem as Tertullian phraſeth it, where I gave thee bread from heaven, ſet the flint abroach,Tert. de patientiae. Pſal. 78.20, 24 kept thy clothes whole and fit, kept back thine enemies, led thee by a pillar of cloud, ſent thee in fleſh at Even, and bread in the Morning, ſerved thee as never Prince was ſerved in his greateſt pomp. And wilt thou yet kiſſe the calf, qui te nec ſervat, nec ſatiat, ut ego? who neither ſaveth thee, nor ſatisfieth thee, as I have done? not ſuffering thee to lack any thing, Deut. 2.7? but crowning thee with loving kindneſſe, and tender mercies: inſomuch as Moſes ſtands amazed at it, and cries out, Happy art thou O Iſrael! who is like unto thee, O people ſaved of the Lord, &c. Deut. 33.29.
Verſe 6. According to their paſture ſo were they filled:] Saturity bred ſecurity; fulneſſe, forgetfulneſſe. This was a foul fault, and is much complained of, Deut. 32.13, 14, &c. Pſal. 78.10, 11, &c.Acts 14.17. God had brought them out of a place of great drought into large and fat paſtures, a land flowing with milk and honey, where he filled their hearts with food and gladneſſe, where he fed them among the …i…ies, daily and daintily. But they, as if God had hired them to be wicked, baſely abuſed his bounty to luxury, and having fulneſſe of bread, and abundance of idleneſſe, grew proud as Sodom, and out of meaſure ſinfull; forgetting God and his will,Ezech. 16.49. themſelves and their duties, and running out into all exceſſe of riot, though they had been fairly warned, and commanded to the contrary, Deut. 8.10, &c. Their heart grew fat as greaſe, and became as a foul ſtomach, which the more you fill it, the more you ſpill it: or like fed horſes, they grew fierce and filthy, Jer. 5.7, 8.foreign. Hippoc. there was no hoe with them. See Ezek. 34 16, 18, 20. Whiles they were in the wilderneſſe God knew them, yea he knew their ſouls in adverſity: They both knew God, and were known of him. But now, God neither knew them ſo much, nor they him: they lived not upon him now, as once in the wilderneſſe;Gal. 3. but being filled, yea filled (you have the word here twice together) to note how they fell upon thoſe allowed delights, and even glutted themſelves, gorg'd themſelves, they flew upon them, as thoſe in Sauls time did upon the ſpoil of the Philiſtines: they fed without fear, as thoſe Pſeudo-Chriſtians in Jude verſ. 12. they gormandized as thoſe fleſh-mongers afore the floud, more like beaſts then men,foreign. as the Greek word ſignifieth, Luke 17.27. And hereupon their hearts were exalted,] P…oſperity and plenty will eaſily blow up ſuch a blab as pride, in the beſt hearts, if care be not taken to the contrary, as Agur knew, and therefore prayed, Give me a mediocrity, leſt I be full and deny, and proudly ask, W… is the Lord? and as Solomon felt, whoſe wealth did him more hurt then his wiſdome did him good, Eccleſ. 2.Prov. 30.9. and as Hezeki…h experimented to his coſt, Eſay 3…. …ndeed of Iehoſaphat it is noted, 2 Chron. 17.3. that he walked in the ſ…ſt wayes of David his father. (for the truth is, Davids firſt wayes were his beſt wayes: neither was he ever ſo good and tender. as when he was hunted as a Partridge in the mountains) and of Veſpaſian it is ſtoried,Verſpaſianus unus accepto imperio melior factus. that he was made the better man by being made Emperour: but he was a rare bird, and had ſcarce his fellow again. It is the property of proſperity to tumour the heart: and ubi uber, ibi tuber. See Pſal. 73.3, 6. & 1 Tim. 6.17. they eat and are ſwelled as being poyſoned with pride: they are are fatted, but it is for the ſlaughter.
therefore have they forgotten me,] Non tam theoreticè quàm practicè, they remember there is a God, but they honour him not as God: they forget their ingagements to him, and through the pride of their countenance, they ſeek not after him, Pſal. 10.4. they conſider not their diſtance, their dependance, &c. Now of all things God cannot abide to be forgotten, Eſay 1.2, 3. it is a ſin that he can hardly pardon, Ier. 5.7, &c. See the Note on chap. 8.14.
Verſe 7. Therefore will I be unto them as a lion, as a leopard, &c.] Thus ſtill God proceedeth to uſe ſimilitudes by the miniſtery of his Prophets, as he did before verſe 3.Exod. 19.4. Dent. 32.10, 11. Mat. 23.37. He here compareth himſelf (who otherwhere is compared to an Eagle, bearing her young upon her wings; to a Hen hovering over chickens, to a father cheriſhing his children, &c) to a lion, yea to an old lion, which taketh the prey but ſeldom, and therefore is more ravenous of it, when taken; (See chap. 5.14.) to a leopard, or panther, that diligently obſerveth by the way, and lieth in wait for his prey, and uſeth ſubtilty, as not being ſo ſwift of foot: confer Ier. 5.6. To a Bear robbed of her whelps,Plin. lib. 10. cap. 57. Scal. exere. 208. which are very dear to her. To any other cruell creature, verſe 8. as the Tiger that flieth upon the very picture of a man, and teareth it, or if he cannot come at it, teareth himſelf for anger. Neither is it for nothing (ſaith Rivet) that God compareth himſelf here to all theſe together: but to ſhew that there was no hope of eſcape, neither could he that had avoided one danger, be ſafe from another. So dreadfull a thing is it to fall into the puniſhing hands of the living God. Oh conſider this ye that forget God: leaſt he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you.
Verſe 8. I will meet them as a Bear bereaved of her whelps,] Surgit hic oratio. The Bear is more cruell then the Lion: for the Lion is ſaid to ſpare the proſtrate: but the Bear falleth foul upon all, yea upon dead carcaſſes. See Amos 5.9. and confer 2 Sam. 17.8. Prov. 17.12. See alſo what work the two Bears made upon the two and fourty children, 2 King. 2.
and will rent the caul of their heart,] The pericardium, that fat heart of theirs, verſe 6. that hoof upon their hearts which the word could not pierce thorow, that filthy fore-skin that grew to their uncircumciſed hearts.
there will I devour them like a lion,] Once more like a lion, ut immanis Ieo, for the word is not the ſame as before,foreign. as a lion, that is, in heart, and that loves to ſuck the blood, and the fat that is about the heart. There will I devour them, that is, in their cities, and houſes, where they hold themſelves ſafeſt: as the lions dealt by thoſe mongrell-Colonies that made a mixture of religions, 2 King. 17.25.
the wild beaſt ſhall tear them.] when they but ſtirre any where abroad; ſo that there ſhall be no ſafety, no peace to him that goes out, or to him that commeth in, 2 Chron. 15.5. but
—crudelis ubique
Luctus, ubique pavor, & plurima mortis imago.
Let us therefore have grace, whereby we may ſerve God with reverence and godly fear: for even our God (and not the God of the Jews onelyonly) is a conſuming fire, is a devouring Lion, is a furious Leopard, a raging Bear: yea put all the dreadfulneſſe of all the creatures in the world together,Heb. 12.28, 29 it is all to be found in the wrath of God, even the quinteſſence of all. hence that of the Pſalmiſt, Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, ſo is thy wrath, Pſal. 90.11. as who ſhould ſay, Let a man fear thy diſpleaſure never ſo much, he is ſure to feel thee much more, if once he fall into thy fingers. Now a fearfull man can fancy vaſt and terrible fears, as ramping lions, ravenous leopards, fire, ſword, racks, ſcalding lead, burning pitch, running bell-mettle, all this in extremity, and that to all eternity: and yet all theſe are but as a painted fire, in compariſon of the unconceiveable and unſupportable wrath of God.
Verſe 9. O Iſrael thou haſt deſtroyed thy ſelf,] Heb. He, or, It hath marred thee, O Iſrael: that is, either thy ſin of ſelf-exaltation, and forgetfulneſſe of me, as verſe 6. Or ty King, in whom thou truſtedſt, as verſe 10. Or thy Calf, whom thou worſhippedſt, hath been the cauſe of thy confuſion. Or thy fained comforts,Conſolatie fictlitia. as Aben-Ezra will have it; thy ſoothing up thy ſelf in ſinfull practiſes. Or, One …ath deſtroyd thee: Or, Somewhat hath undone thee, but not without thee. Whatever it is that hath done it, it is not I, what hard thoughts ſoever thou mayeſt have of me, becauſe I appear thus dreadfull to thee, as in the former verſe. Fury is not in me, but thou mayeſt thank thy ſelf, and fault thy ſinne as the mother of thy miſery, as the cauſe of thy calamity; thou haſt deſtroyed thy ſelf,foreign. Hom. Odyſſ. foreign. and thine own heart may ſay to thee, as the heart of Apollodorus ſeemed in a dream, to ſay to him, when he was tortured by the Scythians; It is I that have drawn thee to all this. It is the obſervation of a great Politian; England is a mighty Animal, which can never die except it kill it ſelf. Anſwerable whereunto was the ſpeech of the Lord Rich, to the Juſtices in the reigne of Edward 6. Never forraigne power could yet hurt, or in any part prevail in this Realm, but by diſobedience, and miſorder among our ſelves: that is the way wherewith God will plague us,Intereſt of Princes. p. 55. if he minde to puniſh us, &c. We uſe to ſay, No man is hurt but by himſelf: Ye have not injured me at all, ſaith S. Paul to the Galathians: you cannot do it, unleſſe I will.Act & Mon. fol. 1186. Gal. 4.12. The devil can do nothing at us, if we give not way to him. And though there were no devil, yet our corrupt Nature would act Satans part againſt it ſelf; it would have a ſupply of wickedneſſe (as a ſerpent hath of poyſon) from it ſelf; it hath a ſpring of its own to feed it. Nemo igitur ſibi palpet de ſuo: quiſque ſibi Satan eſt, ſaith an Ancient. And it was no ill wiſh of him, that begged of God,Domine, libera me a malo homine, meipſo… foreign. to deliver him from that naughty man, Himſelf: for he knew, that as in that firſt Chaos, Gen. 1.2. were the ſeeds of all creatures: ſo in mans heart, of all ſinnes, and miſeries that follow thereupon. God made man upright: but they have ſought out many inventions, Eccleſ. 7.29. many ſhifts and ſharking tricks. Sinne and ſhifting came into the world together, Gen. 3.12. The woman whom thou gaveſt me, &c. God muſt bear the blame of Adams ſin: ſo muſt his Decree of Reprobation, ſtill be alledged as the cauſe of mans perdition. But this covering is too ſhort: for no man is deſtroyed becauſe he is reprobated, but becauſe he is a ſinner: neither are any damned becauſe they cannot do better, but becauſe they will do no better. If there were no will, there would be no hell: and this indeed will be the very hell of hell,Ceſſet voluntas propria, & non erit infernus. that they have been ſelf-deſtroyers. The worme of conſcience (ſay Divines) that never-dying worme, is nothing elſe but a continuall remorſe, and furious reflection of the ſoul upon it's own willfull folly, and now wofull miſery.
but in me is thy help.] Heb. In me, in thy help, that is, (ſaith Druſius) I am in thy help, and thy help is in me: whatſoever help thou haſt, I am in it. We can eaſily undo our ſelves; as a childe can eaſily break a glaſſe, that all the men in the countrey cannot piece up again. But God both can and will help his, though never ſo ſhattered: and repair that image of his, loſt in Adam, that One that deſtroyed Iſrael. Lord, ſaith Auguſtine, Ego admiſi unde tu damnare potes me: ſed tu non amiſiſti unde ſalvare potes me: that is, I have done enough to undo my ſelf for ever, but with thee there is enough for my ſafety here, and ſalvation hereafter. God as he both can and will help his, that cry, Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man: ſo he will then chiefely do it, when they ſeem to themſelves and others,Pſal. 60.11. to be in an undone condition. Thou haſt deſtroyed thy ſelf, in me is thy help: His holy hand is reſerved for a dead lift.
Verſe 10. I will be thy king,] Thine eternall king, ſo Pagnine. As I have been thy Prophet, verſe 4.5. ſo I will be thy king; I will alſo be thy Prieſt, and thy Redeemer, verſe 14, that ſo thou mayeſt hear my voice, ſubmit to my ſcepter, and apply my death for thy deliverance from deaths dominion. Or, I will be thy king, and not be born down by thy boyſterouſneſſe, who calleſt for another king, and repineſt againſt my righteous regiment. Thou wouldſt caſt off mine authority, but I will maintain it. The Lord is king, be the people never ſo unquiet, Pſal. 99.1. he will raigne over rebels in ſpite of their hearts: and thoſe that will not be his ſubjects, his willing people, ſhall be his ſlaves, his footſtool. The Geneva Bible reads it thus,Pſal. 110.1, 3. I am: Where is the King that ſhould help thee in all thy cities? R. Aben-Ezra, Calvin, Oecolampadius, and others go the ſame way: onelyonly they render it, Ero, I will be one and the ſame (according to that name of mine, I am that I am, Exod. 3.14. and before Abraham was, I am, Ioh. 8.58.) though you be off and on with me, though you change often, yet I am Jehovah, I change not. I will be: What will he be? The ſame that I ſaid, I would be, thy Saviour, thine Helper: Or, I will be a ſtander-by, to ſee what will become of thee, and how thy king (in whom thou truſteſt) will help thee: this laſt is R. Solomon Jarchi's interpretation. Pareus will have it run thus, I will be, what? a lion, a leopard, a bear, &c. and nothing ſhall alter my reſolution.
Where is any other that may ſave thee in all thy cities?] Thou ſayeſt (but they are but vain words) I have counſell, and ſtrength for warre; I have a King, and Princes, and ſtrong cities. But alaſſe, where are they? Let them encreaſe their Army, and come forth as he once ſaid, Judg. 9.29. Ʋbi eſt Rex tuus? ubinam? nunc ſervit te, &c. Where is the king? where is he? let him now ſave thee in all thy cities, ſo Polanus rendreth it. Can they ſave thee, who cannot ſave themſelves? It is a Sarcaſticall conceſſion. See the like Deut. 32.37, 38. Judg. 10.4. Am. 4.4. And obſerve that Gods to deride and inſult over men in their carnall confidence; and his people are licenced to do ſo too, ſo it be out of pure zeal, Pſal. 52.6, 7. and not out of private revenge.
and thy judges,] Or chief Officers, Princes, that are neceſſary to a King, and are called his Comites, couſins, and counſellours.
whereof thou ſaidſt,] and waſt ſet upon it: thou wouldſt needs have them, contra gentes, as they ſay, and hadſt ſoon enough of them. Strong affections bring ſtrong afflictions.
Give me a king and princes.] It was partly their ambition, and partly diſcontent with the preſent government (as the preſent is alwayes grievous) that prompted them to this requeſt;foreign. Thucyd. and they had it, but for a miſchief. It is not alwayes in mercy that prayers are anſwered: for Deus ſaepe dat iratus, quod negat propitius, God oft throwes that to his enemies, when they are over-importunate, which he denies to his friends, in great mercy to their ſouls. They do beſt, that acknowledging him the onelyonly wiſe God, pray, Not our, but thy will be done, &c.
Verſe 11. I gave thee a king in mine anger,] As once before he gave them Quails to choak them. A king, that is, all thoſe kings they had ſince they fell off from the houſe of David. Theſe were Gods gifts, but giftleſſe-gifts, which hee caſt upon them in his anger,foreign. for a puniſhment both of the ſinnes of Davids ho uſe, and likewiſe of the peoples rebellion. It was ab irato potius quam ab exorato Deo. Take him, (ſaith He, ſith you will needs have him) with all that ſhall follow after. The hypocrite ſhall raigne, that the people may enſnared, Job 34.30. Set thou a wicked man over him, (ſaith the Pſalmiſt) and let Satan ſtand at his right hand, Pſal. 109.6. See Dan. 8.23 Saul was an hypocrite, Jeroboam a wicked man, ſo were all his ſucceſſours in that Throne. Levit. 26.17. it is written as an heavy curſe of God; If you ſtill treſpaſſe againſt me, I will ſet Princes over you that ſhall hate you, miſchievous, odious princes: odious to God, malignant to the people.
and took him away in my wrath.] Heb. In mine immoderate wrath, that paſſed the bounds. This is ſpoken of God after the manner of men; for he cannot exceed or over-do: fury is not in him, Eſay 27.4. but here he threateneth to take away king and kingdome together: as he did Hoſea, by the Aſſyrian that carried them all captive. Obſerve here, that better a bad Magiſtrate then none, for this latter is the fruit of Gods utter indignation. Thoſe Anabaptiſts that from this Text inferred, that no Chriſtian can with a good conſcience take upon him kingly dignity, ſhould have obſerved, that as an evil king is reckoned as a plague to a people, ſo a good king is to be held a ſpeciall bleſſing to them.
Verſe 12. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up,] ſc. in a bundle, or fardle, or fagot, as the French hath it. And like as all fardles are opened on a Fair-day, ſo ſhall Ephraims iniquities be brought to light, and puniſhed at the laſt day: As the houſholder bindeth up the tares in bundles at harveſt and burneth them: ſo ſhall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man ſhall ſend forth his Angels, and they ſhall gather out of his kingdom all ſcandals, and them which do iniquity: and ſhall caſt them into a furnace of fire, &c. Matth. 13.30, 41, 42. As the Clark of Aſſizes bindes up the inditements of malefactours in bundles, or ſeals them up in a bag for more ſurety: and at the Aſſizes, brings his bag, takes them out, and reads them: ſo will it be at that laſt and great day. My tranſgreſſion is ſealed up in a bag, ſaith Iob: and thou ſoweſt up mine iniquity, viz. as the writings, or informations of a proceſſe, which is ready to be ſentenced. See Deut. 32.34. Ier. 17.1. Hoſ. 9.9. Sinners ſhall one day know, that Gods for bearance is no quittance;Job 14.… that however he is ſilent for a ſeaſon, and thereupon they are apt fondly to conceit him to be ſuch another as themſelves, yet He will confute them, and ſet their ſins in order before their eyes, Pſal. 50.21. Their actions are already in print in heaven: and God will one day read them aloud in the ears of all the world. And then though their ſinne be hid for preſent, all ſhall out to their utter ſhame and everlaſting contempt, Dan. 12.2. that laſt light of the day of wrath ſhall reveal all, Rom. 2.5. puniſh all, Hoſ. 9.9. Whatever God hath threatned, ſhall then be inflicted: whatever arrowes are in the bow-ſtring, ſhall then flee, and hit, and ſtick deep. And the longer the Lord is in drawing, the heavier they will light: Morae diſpendium foenoris duplo penſabitur, the longer He forbeareth, the heavier He puniſheth: So that there ſhall be no cauſe, why ſinners ſhould ſay, Where is the God of judgement? Mal. 2.17. See the Note. God will enquire after their iniquity, and ſearch after their ſin, Iob 10.6.
Verſe 13. The ſorrows of a travailing woman ſhall come upon him,] This Common-wealth was before compared to a mother, chap. 1. & 3. And as a woman that hath conceived, is not for a while diſcerned to be with child, till ſhe biggen, and burniſh, and grow near her time: ſo is it with ſinners: ſee it elegantly ſet forth by S. Iames, chap. 1.14, 15. The ſorrows of a travailing woman are known to be unexpected, exquiſite, and inevitable: ſo ſhall Gods judgements be upon the workers of iniquity, ſuch as they ſhall never be able to avert, to avoid, or to abide. This is ſet forth by an apt ſimilitude, ordinary in holy Scripture, Mic. 4.9, 10. Pſal. 48.7. Ier. 49.29. and 50.43, &c. And whereas ſome might ſay, A travailing woman is ſoon delivered; her pain is ſharp, but ſhort: ſhe hath hope, not onelyonly of an end but of a birth; the joy whereof maketh her remember her anguiſh no more, Ioh. 16.21. The Prophet replieth, that it is otherwiſe with Ephraim.
he is an unwiſe ſonne,] that will be the death both of his mother and of himſelf. He hath no liſt to help himſelf, and to get free of the ſtraights and petils of the birth, by paſſing thorow the narrow womb of Repentance, and being born anew, God ſtands over him, ſtretching out his hands all the day long, to do a midwives office, to take him out of the womb, as Pſal. 22.9. to cut his navell, and waſh off his blood, to ſalt him, and ſwaddle him, as Ezek. 16.4. but he hath no minde to come out of the filth of his ſins, or to be waſhed from his wickedneſſe. Rather then be regenerated (without which there is no heaven to be had, Ioh. 3.5. or freedom from deadly dangers upon earth) he will venture to ſtay a while at leaſt (as the Text here hath it) in the mouth of the matrix.] though it coſt him a choaking.foreign Such Ephraims we have not a few, that proceed no further then to conviction; debarring themſelves of the benefit of a thorow converſion. Theſe go as far as Kadeſh-barnea, they are nigh to Gods kingdom, they are almoſt perſwaded to be true Chriſtians, they are come as far as the place of the breaking forth of children, but there they ſtick and are ſtifled: they are never brought forth from darkneſſe to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remiſſion of ſinnes, and inheritance among the ſaints and ſonnes of God, Acts 26.18. Oh make much of the leaſt beginnings of grace (ſaith a Reverend man) even thoſe called repreſſing: ſince they prepare the heart for converſion. There is a faith in the true convert, of no better perfection then that in the Temporary, though he ſtay not there, as the other (being an unwiſe ſot) doth &c. And although we bring forth good things (ſaith Another) as Sarah's dead womb brought forth a child; it was not a child of natures, but of the meer promiſe, yet it cannot be denied, that a naturall man (though he be Theologically dead, yet he) is Ethically alive, being to be wrought upon by arguments; and that grace doth for the moſt part prepare naturals before it bring in ſupernaturals: and if we hide our talent, we are not allowed to expect the ſpirit of Regeneration; As if we die in the wilderneſſe of preparatory antecedaneous works, we never get to Canaan.
Verſe 14. I will ranſom them from the power of the grave, &c.] Some read it thus,Calvin. Tigurin. Iſid. Clar. Danaeus. Druſius. I would have ranſomed them, &c. I would have redeemed them, &c. had they been wiſe, or oughts, (as we ſay) had not their incurable hardneſſe and obſtinacy hindered; had they put forth into my hands, as unto a midwife, &c. But (alas) it is no ſuch matter: therefore that that will die, let it die.
repentance ſhall be hid from mine eyes.] I am unchangeably reſolved to ruine them: Or, repentance ſhould have been hid from mine eyes, my goodneſſe toward them ſhould never have altered, &c. But let us rather look upon the words as a moſt ſweet and comfortable promiſe of a mighty redemption, and glorious reſurrection to the Remnant, according to the election of grace, whom God would not have to want comfort, I will ranſom them. Here therefore he telleth his Heirs of the promiſes, that he will bring them back out of captivity wherein they …ay for dead, as it were: and that this their deliverance ſhould be an evident argument and ſure pledge of their reſurrection to life eternall. To which purpoſe the Apoſtle doth aptly and properly alledge it, 1 Cor. 15. and thereupon rings in Deaths ears (out of this Text, and Eſay 25.8.) the ſhrilleſt, and ſharpeſt Note, the boldeſt and braveſt challenge, that ever was heard from the mouth of a mortall; Death, where is thy ſting? Hell where's thy victory, &c? Oh thanks be to God, who hath given us victory through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and thereby hath made us more then conquerours, that is, Triumphers, 2 Cor. 2.14. But to return to the Text. Be it, ſaith the Prophet, that the Common-wealth of Iſrael, both mother and child muſt periſh for want of wiſdom, as was threatned in the foregoing verſe: yet let not the penitent among them deſpair: for I the Lord Chriſt, will ranſom them, by laying down a valuable price (ſo the word ſignifieth) from the power,]Ephdem. Heb. hand: of the grave, or of hell, that though hell had laid hands on them, yea cloſed her mouth upon them, as once the Whale had upon Jonas, yet I would open the doors of that Leviathan, and fetch them thence with a ſtrong hand.
I will redeem them from death,] by becoming their near kinſman according to the fleſh, whereby I ſhall have the next right of redemption. But how ſhall all this be done? After a wonderfull manner.
O death I will be thy plagues,] Not one, but many plagues, even ſo many, as ſhall certainly do thee to death. The Vulgar rendreth it, Ero mors tua, O mors, morſus tuus, O inferne. The Apoſtle for plagues hath ſting: for the plague hath a deadly ſting, and ſo hath ſinne much more; the guilt thereof is by Solomon ſaid to bite like a ſerpent, and ſting like a cockatrice, Prov. 23.32. Now Chriſt by dying put ſinne to death, Rom. 1.25. Epheſ. 1.7. Heb. 2.14. We read of a certain Cappadocean, Sphinx. Phil. pag. 750.whom when a Viper had bitten, and ſuckt his blood, the Viper her ſelf died, by the venemous blood that ſhe had ſuckt. But Chriſt (being life eſſential) prevailed over death: and ſwallowed it up in victory, as Moſes his ſerpent ſwallowed up the ſorcerers ſerpents, or as Fire ſwalloweth up the fuell that is caſt upon it: yea by death, he deſtroyed him that had the power of death, the devil; whoſe practiſe it was to kill men with death, Rev. 2.23. this is the ſecond death.
O grave (or, O hell) I will be thy deſtruction,] thy deadly ſtinging diſeaſe, joyned with the peſtilence, Pſal. 91.6. Death to a beleever is neither totall, nor perpetuall, Rom. 8.10, 11. Chriſt hath made it to him, of a curſe a bleſſing, of an enemy a friend, of a puniſhment an emolument, of the gate of hell the portall of heaven, a poſtern to let out temporall, but a ſtreet-door to let in eternall life. And to aſſure all this; Repentance ſhall be hid from mine eyes,] i. e. there ſhall be no ſuch thing as repentance in me, for all things that are at all are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do, Heb. 4.13. The meaning is, I will never change my minde for this matter, my covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.Pſal. 89.34. Confer Pſal. 110.4. Rom. 11.29. Some render it (but not ſo well) Conſolation is hid from mine eyes, and ſo make them to be the words of the Church, q. d. I ſee not this promiſe with mine eyes, but I receive it, and accept of it by my faith.
Verſe 15. Though he be fruitfull among his brethren,] In alluſion to his name Ephraim, which ſignifieth fruitfull and flouriſhing, Gen. 41.52. Confer Gen. 48.16, 19, 20, &c. & 49.22. See the like alluſions, Am. 5.5. Mic. 1.10.
An Eaſt-winde ſhall come,] which is violent and hurtfull to the fruits of the earth.
the winde of the Lord,] a mighty ſtrong winde: meaning that moſt mercileſſe and impetuous enemy the Aſſyrian, ſent by the Lord to avenge the quarrell of his Covenant.
ſhall come up from the wilderneſſe,] where the winds blow moſt fiercely, becauſe they meet with no reſiſtance.
and his ſpring ſhall become dry, &c. This is a deſcription of extreme deſolation, and it is explained and amplified in the next words.
he ſhall ſpoil the treaſure of all pleaſant veſſels.] He, that is, the Aſſyrian, not Chriſt (as Hierom, Mercer, and Ribera will have it) who ſhall take away from Death and Hell all matter of glorying. Not the fire of the laſt day, as Lyra. No, nor Ephraim, as Pareus, and Tarnouius carry it: as if it were a promiſe of their conqueſt in Chriſt over all their enemies, corporall, and ſpirituall, dividing the ſpoil of the converted Gentiles, who ſhall come in to them with all their deſireable things, as ſome read that Text, Hag. 2.7. Confer Am. 9.11, 12. Obad. 18. Zech. 14.14, 16, 20, 21. That this whole verſe containeth a promiſe of Ephraim's reduction to the Church of God, I could eaſily yeeld; reading it eſpecially, as many good Interpreters do. For he ſhall fructifie among his brethren, after that an Eaſt-wind coming, a wind of Jehovah coming up from the deſert, his ſpring ſhall become dry, and his fountain ſhall dry up: the ſame ſhall ſpoil the treaſure of all pleaſant veſſels. This is a ſimilitude (ſay they) from a piece of ground all dried up and parched, that nothing is able to grow: notably expreſſing the miſerable and diſtreſſed eſtate of this people; that as an eaſterly wind, and a tempeſtuous ſtorm, hath dried them quite, and ſpoiled all their delightfull treaſures, made them the vileſt, and moſt contemptible of the earth. (Marcellinus tells of an Emperour,Am. Marcel. lib. 2. that meeting with ſome of this Nation, and annoyed with the ſight and ſtench of them, cryed out, ô Marcommani, ô Quadi, ô Sarmatae, &c. O Marcoman's, Quades, and Sarmatians, I have found at length a more loathſome and ſordid people then you.) All which notwithſtanding, Ephraim ſhall flouriſh again, and hold up their head among their brethren, ſc. by the merit and ſpirit of Him who ranſometh them from the power of the grave, from the dint of death. This ſence of the words, is confirmed by that which followes in the next Chapter verſ. 5, 6, 7.
Verſe 16. Samaria ſhall become deſolate,] Here many begin the fourteenth Chapter, but not ſo well: for this verſe evidently cohereth with the former, and ſheweth that Ephraim ſhall not onelyonly be plundered,rea peragetur. but butchered by the Aſſyrian by their own default. Samaria ſhall become deſolate, or be found guilty (as the Chaldee hath it, and the words may bear.) How can ſhe be otherwiſe, when as ſhe hath rebelled againſt her God,] ſhe hath imbittered him, or bitterly provoked him to wrath, (as chap. 12.15. See the Note there) who therefore ſent in the Aſſyrian to deſolate her: that bitter and haſty Nation to march thorow the breadth of the land, to poſſeſſe the dwelling places that were not theirs.Hab. 1.6. This was a bitter affliction, but behold a worſe:
they ſhall fall by the ſword,] they ſhall loſe not their land onelyonly, and the treaſures of all their pleaſant veſſels, as verſe 15. but their deareſt lives, which to ſave a man will gladly part with all that he hath, Job 2.4. or ſubmit to any ſervile employment, as the Gibeonites in Ioſhuah's dayes did; who were willing to take hard on as ſlaves and underlings, rather then to be cut off with the reſt of the Canaanites.
their infants ſhall be daſhed in pieces,] Sept. foreign, their ſucklings, that are ordinarily ſpared for their innocencie, ignoſcency, &c. See chap. 10.14. with the Note: and conſider that infants are not ſo innocent (though they have yet done neither good nor evil) but that God may juſtly inflict upon them all torments here, and tortures in hell, for the guilt of originall ſinne that cleaveth to their natures. Howbeit this excuſeth not the barbarous cruelty of his executioners, who ſhall be ſurely and ſuitably puniſhed, Pſal. 137.8.
and their women with childe ſhall be ript up.] Of this kinde of ſavage inhumanity, ſee Am. 1.13. 2 King. 8.11. & 15.16. where you ſhall finde that the tyrant Menahem ript the infants of Tiphſah out of their mothers bellies, becauſe their fathers opened not the gates unto him. The like cruelty was exerciſed in the Sicilian Veſpers, and Pariſian Maſſacre, by thoſe Romiſh Edomites: maugre whoſe malice Ephraim is yet fruitfull, the Church flouriſheth.
Sanguine fundata eſt Eccleſia, ſanguine creſcit.