Commentary on the Minor Prophets, Commentary 3 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
Verſe 1. FOr three tranſgreſſions &c.] Or Malicious wickedneſſes with an high hand committed, and heaped up to that height. See chap. 1.3.
becauſe he burnt the bones of the king if Edom] A wicked man, but yet a man: foreign.and God (who is a lover of mankind) ſhewes himſelf ſenſible of the injuries and indignities done but to his dead body: ſuch an enemy he is to cruelty to his creatures. That Meſa king of Moab bore a ſpeciall edge againſt the king of Edom, ſought to break thorough the army to him but could not, and afterwards ſacrificed his ſon and heir whom he had taken in that ſally made upon the king of Edoms quarters, we read 2 King. 3.26, 27. There are ſome that think that at another time, overcomming the Edomites, he dig'd up the bones of that king out of his ſepulcher, he burnt them to lime, that is prorſus, perfectiſſimè & abſolutiſſimè as ſome ſenſe it, to aſhes and cinders as Eſay. 33.12. or (for greater revenge, and contempt,)Targnm. be whitelimed the walles of his pallace therewith, as Gen. 11.3. Pſal. 69.23. Eſay. 22.21. Thus, in that horrid maſſacre of Paris, they cut of the Admirall's head (whom before they had murthered) and preſented it to the Q. mother;Speed. 1161. who, balming it, ſent it for a preſent to the Pope, who thereupon cauſed the Maſſacre to be pictured in the Vatican hall: under one ſide is Colignij & ſociorum caedes, On the other, Rex Colignij caedem probat. Il Mercuri… Italico 92.The king himſelf (viz Charles 9.) beholding the bloody bodyes of thoſe then maſſacred: and feeding his eye on ſo wofull a ſpectacle, breathed out this bloody ſpeech Quam bonus eſt odor hoſtis mortui. How ſweet is the ſmell of a ſlain enemy:Spec: belli ſacri. another hel-hag ſaid upon a like occaſion, that ſhe never beheld ſo goodly a peece of tapeſſtry, as the faces of thoſe butchered Saints. This inſulting over the dead is, that peece of cruelty which the church complaineth of Pſal. 79.2. Cornelius a Lapide upon this text cryes out of it as an inhumane and ſhamefull thing both becauſe the honour of ſepulture is the laſt dues of the dead; and alſo becauſe this is to fight with dead carcaſſes.foreign, Juſta de functorum. Yet this hath been practiſed by one Pope againſt another, and by many of the Popes Champions here in England, who unburied and burnt the bodies of Paulus Phagius, Peter Martyrs wife, and many others: Cardinal Wolſey had a purpoſe (had he not been prevented by death) to have taken up King Henries body at Windſor, Act. & Mon. 1905.and to have burnt it. How much better Charles the fifth (yet no friend to the Reformation, but a prudent Prince) who entring Wittenberg as a Conquerour, and being importuned to dig up the dead bodies of Luther, and other Reformers, refuſed to violate their graves, and ſent away Melancthon, Pomeran, and ſome other eminent Preachers unhurt, not ſo much as once forbidding them to publiſh openly the doctrine that they profeſſed?Act. & Mon. 1784. Cambyſes heareth ill among all men for his digging up the dead body of Amaſis King of Egypt, and cauſing it to be whipt and brickt; and Sylla for the like cruelty to C. Marius. Of all fowl we moſt hate and deteſt the Crowes;Herodot. lib. 3. Plin. l. 7. c. 50. and of all beaſts, the Jackal's (a kinde of …oxes in Barbarie) becauſe the one digs up the graves, and devours the fleſh, and the other picks out the eyes of the dead. Hinc moraliter diſce, ſaith a Lapide, Learn hence alſo what a baſeneſſe it is to tear and deface the good names of thoſe that are dead: to fly-blow their names is worſe then to burn their bones to lime. And yet among many other men of mark that might bee inſtanced, Melancthon mortuus tantùm non ut blaſphemus in Deum cruci a…igitur, ſaith Zanchius: not Papiſts, but Lutherans laid blaſphemy to his charge after his death, whom all Chriſtendome worthily honoured for his learning and piety.Zanch. Miſcell.
Verſe 2. But I will ſend a fire,] See Chap. 1.4.
and it ſhall devour the palaces of Kerioth,] A city ſo fair and large that it hath a plural name, which ſignifieth cities, by way of excellencie: as Athens was called the Greece of Greece; foreign.Rome, the Epitome of the world, &c.
and Moab ſhall die with tumult,] with all theſe together, on an huddle, as it were: they are here ſet down by an elegant Aſyndeton, to ſet forth the ſuddenneſſe and terrour of the judgement threatned. They ſhall be ſtormed, and have no quarter given them. Here Oſiander noteth, that it is one of the many puniſhments of ſin, for a man not to die in his bed, but in battel. It was promiſed to Ioſiah, 2 Chro. 34.28he ſhould die in peace. True it is, he died in battel: but he died before that generall deſolation that followed ſhortly after. (for indeed, with him died all the proſperity of that people) And beſides, his weeping and humiliation had altered the very nature of the trouble, and made warre to be peace to him.
Verſe 3. And I will cut off the Iudge,] i. e. the king, who ſometimes ſits himſelf in Judgement,Acts & Mon. as K. Hen. 8. did here, at the condemnation of Lambert Martyr: as the King of Perſia doth oft at this day.The Preachers Travels. 63. I have ſeen him (ſaith a traveller) many times to alight from his horſe, onelyonly to do juſtice to a poor body. The Grand Signior himſelf ſits one day in the week to receive the poors petitions, and puniſh the faulty Grandees about him. For as he ſtiles himſelf, Awlem Pe…awh, that is, the worlds refuge: ſo he would have the world to take notice, that ſuch as lament unto him,The Grand Sign. Serag. pag. 148. ſhall be ſure to have redreſſe and ſuccour from him, although his Miniſters fail them, or abuſe them, through their injuſtice: Hence, few Viſiers die in their beds.
from the middeſt thereof.] i. e. of Kerioth, the chief city where the Court was kept, as Kimch… ſaith, with a great deal of pomp and pride. We have heard of the pride of Moab. See Ier. 48.7, 11, 14, 18. Zeph. 2.8, 10. It was their nationall ſin, and fore-runner of their fall.
Verſe 4.Ideò deteriores quia meliores eſſe debebant. Zach. 1.19. For three tranſgreſſions of Judah,] who were therefore worſe then the above-mentioned Nations, becauſe they ought to have been better. Beſet they were with enemies round about, who dealt cruelly with them: and this ſhould have made them to cleave more cloſe to God: theſe hornes puſhing and ſcattering them, ſhould have puſhed them home to him: but it proved otherwiſe. For Judah alſo is found to to be incorrigibly flagitious, guilty, as the former, of three transgreſſions and of four, &c. worſe in them then in others, becauſe in Judah was God known, and to them were committed the Oracles of God, whom they might hear eftſoons ſcreeking out unto them, when they were putting forth their hands to wickedneſſe, Oh do not this abominable thing. But they tanquam monſtra marina, as One ſaith,Jer. 44.4. like ſo many Sea-Monſters paſſed by Gods words with a deaf ear.
They deſpiſed the law of the Lord,] They would none of his counſell: they liked well to live in Gods good land, but not to live by Gods good lawes: like thoſe in the Goſpel, they rejected the counſel of God within themſelves, Luk. 7.30.and that with ſcorne and disdain, as the word here uſed ſignifieth. See the Note on Hoſ. 6.6.
and have not kept his commandements,] though holie, juſt, and good, though ſuch, as if a man keep them, (be it but Evangelically, ſi faciat, etia…ſi non perficiat) he ſhall live in them, by a life of grace, as the flame lives in the oyle, or the creature by his food: Though in keeping thereof (how much more for keeping thereof?)Liv. 18.5. there is great reward, Pſal. 19.11.
and their lies cauſed them,] that is, their idols (as the Vulgar well rendreth it) and their will-worſhips: their new inventions, and good intentions, thereby to ſerve and pleaſe God. Theſe are properly called lies: becauſe contrary to the law of truth (whereto they are here oppoſed) and to Davids practiſe, who did the truth, 1 Ioh. 1.6. and could ſafely ſay, I hate and abhorre lying: but thy law do I love, Pſal. 119.163. and ver. 104. Through thy precepts I get underſtanding: therefore I hate every falſe way.
after the which their fathers have walked.] So that they are a race of Rebels, a ſeed of evil-doers, and do fill up the meaſure of their fathers ſins, till wrath come upon them to the utmoſt. This is no ſmall aggravation, Ezek. 20.30. Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations. See Acts 7.51. Muſt I bee provoked by you from one generation to another.
Verſ. 5. But I will ſend a fire upon Judah.] They ſhall alſo bear the puniſhment of their iniquities, yet is it not ſaid as ver. 2. that Judah ſhall die with tumult, &c. God will make a difference in his dealings with his own and others, his ſonnes and his ſlaves, theſe ſhall totally and finally be conſumed at once, Nah. 1.9. not ſo the Saints. The remnant of the Philiſtins ſhall periſh, Am. 1.8. But of Judah a remnant ſhall be ſtill reſerved, for royall uſe, Iſai. 11.11, 16.
Ver. 6. For three transgreſſions of Iſrael, &c,] The ten Tribes come in laſt: leſt they (with whom his main buſineſſe lay, and to whom he will hence-forth apply himſelf) ſhould conceit themſelves priviledged, becauſe for preſent proſpered: leſt they ſhould read, or hear the menaces of Gods mouth, as men do the old ſtories of forrein wars, that nothing concern them.
becauſe they ſold the righteous for ſilver,] Even Gods own paſture-ſheep, that had golden-fleeces, precious ſouls: theſe they made ſale of for a little money, which ever was, and ſtill is a common medler; and drives the bargain, and buſineſſe to an upſhot. Money, ſaith One, is the worlds great Monarch, and bears moſt Maſtery: whence it is, that the Hebrew word Adarcon, uſed for money, 1 Chron. 29.7. Eſay 8.27. comes of Adar, ſtrong, or mighty, and Con, to prepare: to ſhew that a moneyed man is a mighty man, as this world goes. Unleſſe we may ſay of money, as one doth wittily of Sardanapalus, the laſt of the Aſſyrian. Monarchs: Sardanapalus, ſaith He, had a terrible name. Sar noteth a Prince, Dan a Judge, Niphal an overthrower, or Conquerour: no otherwiſe appliable to him, but that his Luxury was the overthrow of both Soveraignty and Judgement. So is money mighty and well prepared, but it is to blind the eyes of the wiſe, and to pervert the matters of the righteous, Deut. 16.10. who becauſe not ſo well underlaid as his adverſary, lies long languiſhing many times at Hopes hoſpital; as that lame man did at the pool of Betheſda, but might not be ſped, becauſe (for want, belike, of ſtirring Angels) he could get none to put him into the Pool immediatly after the Angel had ſtirred it. That was a ſad complaint made by the Prophet Habakkuk, chap. 1.4. Behold the law is ſlacked, and judgement doth never go forth: for the wicked doth circumvent the righteous, viz. by his bribery and baſeneſſe, therefore wrong judgement proceedeth. A Judge is to retain the decency and gravity of the Law; yea of the Law-maker, with whom their is none iniquity, nor reſpect of perſons, nor taking of gifts, 2 Chron. 19.7. Nec prece, nec precio, ſhould be the Magiſtrates Motto: he ſhould be above all price or ſale.
and the poor for a pair of ſhooes,] For a cup of wine, Joel 3.3. for handfulls of barley, or peeces of bread, Ezek. 13.19. for a thing of nothing, ſo baſe they were grown at length: a very ſmall deal of gain would win them over. See chap. 8.6. At firſt, a little matter would not hire them: it muſt bee ſilver, and a conſiderable ſumme too; as an harlot, that requires at firſt no ſmall reward: but afterwards proſtituteth her ſelf light-cheap to all commers. Sinne ſeemeth modeſt and maidenly at firſt: but meddle not, for it ſooneth woadeth an impudency in mens foreheads, and debaucheth them.
Verſ. 7. That pant after the duſt of the earth on the head of the poor:] Covetouſneſſe is craving, and cruel: it rides without reins, as Balaam did after the wages of wickedneſſe; and cares not whoſe head it rides over, to compaſſe commodity. Yea it panteth after the duſt of the earth, on the head of the poor, as deſirous not onelyonly to lay them in the duſt,Anhelant. but to lay them a-bleeding, and a-dying there. They gape over the head (or life) of the poor, in the duſt of the earth (ſo ſome read the words) as deviſing to deſtroy them. A poor mans lively hood is his life, Mar. 12. ult. Luke 8.43. for a poor man in his houſe is like a ſnail in a ſhell; cruſh that and you kill him. Theſe cormorants earneſtly deſired, and indeavoured to bring duſt upon poor mens heads (the garb of thoſe that were in heavineſſe, Iob 2.12. Ezech. 27.30. Lam. 2.20.) by their oppreſſions and injuſtice; yea to bring them down to the duſt of death, to ſet them as farre under ground, as now they were above. Lo this they do as greedily, and as greatly deſire, as ſerpents and other hot creatures covet the freſh air, to cool their ſcorched entrails. See Ier. 14.6. Job 5.5. and 7.2. It is ſaid of Saul the perſecutour, that he breathed out threatnings againſt the Church, Acts 9.1. as a tired Wolf, that wearied with worrying the flock, lieth panting for breath. So Bonner whipt the poor Martyrs, till he was breathleſſe. Some Interpreters note out of Joſeph Ben Gorion, Gorionides hiſt. c. 44.that there was an old cuſtom, that thoſe that were accuſed before the Judges, ſhould be arrayed in black, and have their heads covered with duſt. And hence they conceive the ſence to be this. That pant, i. e. that earneſtly deſire that ſuch poor men may be accuſed by the rich,Druſius. Mercer. of whom they may receive gifts to pervert judgement. And this they think to be confirmed by the following words.
they turn aſide (or pervent) the way of the meeke,] that is, the cauſe, buſineſſe, judgement of the modeſt, and ſelf-denying poor, the ſubject of rich mens injuries, (for moſt part) and unreaſonable oppreſſions, Jam. 2.6. A crow will ſtand upon a ſheeps back, pulling off wool from her ſide: ſhe durſt not do ſo to a wolf, or a maſtiffe. Even reaſonleſſe creatures know whom they may bee bold with: ſo do wicked oppreſſours.Veterem ferendo injuriam invitas novam. The meek by pocketting up one wrong, invite another. Ye have condemned and killed the juſt: and he doth not reſiſt you, Jam. 5.6. Ye not onelyonly rob, but raviſh the poor, that are faln into your nets, Pſal. 10.9. ye do even whatſoever you pleaſe to them, as One Martyr ſaid of John Baptiſt, that he was put to death,Acts and Mon. as if God had been nothing aware of him.
and a man and his father will go in, &c.] by an horrible (if not inceſtuous) filthineſſe; ſuch as Heathens by the light of nature condemned and execrated, 1 Cor. 5.1. The Indians abhor it; ſhewing themſelves in reſpect of the inceſtuous Spaniards amongſt them, as the Scythians in reſpect of the Grecians, whom they ſo far excelled in life, as they were ſhort of them in learning. Am I a dog, ſaid Abner to Iſbboſheth, 2 Sam. 3. that is, ſo impudently and exceſſively luſtfull as a dog is, ſo ſcalded in his own greaſe, Rom. 1.27. Some libidinous ſenſualiſts put off all manhood, become dogs, worſe then dogs: following their harlots, ſtiled in Scripture, ſaltbitches, Deut. 23.18. ſuch as having abandoned both the fear of God, and ſhame of the world, care not whom they admit, father, ſon, any one, every one.
to profane my holy name.] As if I were Authour, or Fautour of ſuch cruelties and villanies. This is to take Gods name in vain, Prov. 30.9. yea this is to blaſpheme, 1 Tim. 1.20. by breaking down the banks of blaſphemy, and cauſing the enemies of the truth to ſpeak evil with open mouth, as they did in Davids dayes 2 Sam. 12.14. And in Pauls dayes, Rom. 2.24. And in Origens dayes, Nunc male audiunt caſtiganturque vulgo Chriſtiani; De opiſicio. Dei prooem.quòd vitia ſub obtentu nominis Dei celent, &c. ſaith He, Chriſtians and their religion heareth ill among Heathens, by reaſon of their impious and impure lives, and their converſation not becoming the Goſpel of Chriſt, Philip. 1.27. Of ſuch carnall Goſpellers it may be truly ſaid, as Diogenes ſaid to Antipater (who being vitious wore a white cloke, the enſigne of innocency) that they do virtut is ſtragulam pudefacere put honeſty to an open ſhame, bring contempt upon God and his wayes &c.
Verſe 8. And they lay themſelves down upon clothes] i. e. table-carpets, or bedcoverlets layd under thoſe that ſit at meat: whether on the ground, with their legs gathered under them (as the Turkiſh Baſhawes do to this day, and the Trojans of old-ſtratoque ſuper diſcumbitur oſtro) or at beds or tables,Turk. hiſt. fol. 231. Virg. Enead. lib. 1. Horat. 1. Car. od. 27. Vide Lambin. ad loc & Lipſ. lib. 3. Antiq. lection. leaning on the left elbow Eſth. 1.6. and 7, 8. Ioh. 13.28. Et cubito remanete preſſo.
laid to pledge] Theſe ſhould have been reſtored and not detayned beyond the time preſcribed Deut. 24.12, 13. Exod. 22.26, 27.
by every altar] It was their faſhion to feaſt in their Idol-temples 1. Cor. 8.10. and 10.21. See Horat. Oda. 37. lib. 1. And this in imitation, belike of Gods people, who were commanded to feaſt before the Lord, in the place that he ſhould chuſe to place his name in. See Deut. 14.23.26. 1 Sam. 1.3, 4. &c. And here Paucis verbis multiplex ſcelus arguit, ſaith Gualther, in few words he accuſeth them of much wickedneſſe.
and they drink the wine of the condemned in the houſe of their God] A God they have of their own deviſing, a wodden God, and ſuch as if he had but a paire of hornes clapt on his head, might make an excellent devill, (as the Major of Dancaſter told the wiſe men of Cockram in Q. Maries dayes, that came to complaine of the Carver for making them an ugly Crucifix) Next they drink wine in the houſe of their God,Act. and Mon. beſides their drink-offerings (which Davids ſoule hated Pſal. 16.4.) they had their drunken compotations in their Idoll-temples,Heyl. Geog. 449. as now they ſay in the Iſle of Sardinia after maſſe done, they fall to drinking and dancing in the middeſt of the Church: ſinging in the mean time ſongs too immodeſt for an Alehouſe. Laſtly,
they drink the wine of the condemned] or of ſuch as they have fined or mulcted, for not comming along with them to the Idol-temples. Diodate rendreth it, the wine of the amercements, that is bought with ſuch mony as they have unjuſtly amerced and condemned the innocent in. There are that here underſtood that wine that was wont to be given to malefactors led to execution Prov. 31.6. to cheer them up: but theſe wretches drank it off from them. The former ſenſe is the better.
Verſe 9. Yet deſtroyed I the Amorite before them] It is not uſuall with God to hit men in the teeth with what he hath done for them Jam. 1.5. unleſſe in caſe of unthankfulneſſe, as here. Then indeed people ſhall hear of what they have had; and be taught the worth of good turns by the want of them. Good turns aggravate unkindneſſes: and our offences are not a little increaſed by our obligations. Hence this approbation; and it is as if God ſhould ſay: This people hath not only done the evills afore-mentioned, but alſo after the receipt of mercies without meaſure and many miraculous deliverances; as if I had even hired them to be wicked: and as if that were to paſs for truth which the ſnake in the fable ſaid to the country man, that had ſhewed it kindneſs, Summum praemium pro ſummo beneficio eſt Ingratitudo. Speed 622. ex Pariſien.In the yeere 1245. the Pope was denied entrance into England: it being ſaid that the Pope was but like a mouſe in a fachell, or a ſnake in ones boſome, who did but ill repay their hoſteſs for their lodging. God had done exceeding much for this perverſe people: and this they now heare of with ſtomack enough, as well they deſerved. At Athens, if a ſervant proved ungratefull, for his manumiſſion, his maſter had an action foreign againſt him:Val. Max. lib. 2. cap. 1, and might recover him again into bondage. Lycurgus the Lacedemonian law-giver would not make a law againſt Ingratitude: as holding it monſtrous not to requite a kindneſs, not to acknowledge a good turn. The old Romanes decreed that ſuch as were found guilty of this fault, ſhould be caſt: alive to the Cormorant, to be pulled in peeces and devoured. Our Saviour f…ly yokes together the evill, and the unthankfull Luk. 6.35. and God here ſumms up all this peoples ſins in this One, as the Epitome of all the reſt.
yet I deſtroyed the Amorite] when once his iniquity was full Gen. 15. when he had filled the land from corner to corner with his uncleanneſſe Ezrh. 9.11. then ſent I my hornets before them, which drove them out before them. But not with their ſword nor with their bow. Ioſh. 24.12. See this thankfully acknowledged by this Church, after ſhe had payed for her learning, Pſal. 44.2, 3. with 9.10.
whoſe height was like the height of the Cedars &c.] For ſtature and ſtrength they ſeemed inſuperable, Num. 13.28. &c. But God ſoon topt them and tamed them, he took them a link lower, and made them know themſelves to bee but men. Pſal. 9.20. or if trees, cedars, oakes (as Plato ſaith of man, that he is but arbor inverſa) yet,
I deſtroyed his fruit from above, and his root from beneath] I left him little enough to be proud of: leſſe then Nebuchadnezzar, who had a ſtump left, and was reſerved for royall State againe Dan. 4.15. God cut off theſe Amorites, that is, all the ſeven nations, head and tayle, root and branch, old and young together Deut. 7.2. Ioſh. 6.21. (Behold the ſeverity of God,) as if he had forgotten that forepart of his back-parts Jehovah, Jehovah, gracious, mercifull &c. and had taken up that Emperours Motto, Fiat juſtitia, pereat mundus, Let Juſtice be done, though never ſo many be undone.
Verſe 10. Alſo I brought you up from the land of Egypt] which lies lower then Judaea: as doth alſo myſticall Egypt then Ieruſalem, which is above, which is the mother of us all. To what great preferments and priviledges Gods people are now brought up by Chriſt, See Heb. 12.22, 23, 24. and cry out with that noble Athenian foreign from how great miſeries to what great mercies are we advanced? Act. 26.18.Even from darkneſſe to light, from the power of Satan to God: that we may receive forgiveneſſe of ſins and inheritance among the Saints &c. And ſhall we then againe break Gods commandements? Ezra, 9.14. Or ſay, We are delivered to do all theſe abominations Ier. 7.10. Would not the heaven ſweat over us, and the earth cleave under us, yea hell gape for us upon ſuch an entertainement of divine bounty.
and led you forty yeares through the wilderneſſe] led you all along in my hand as an horſe in the wilderneſſe, that ye ſhould not ſtumble Iſay. 63.13. Led you, and fed you, dayly and daintily, ſending you in Angels food, and then ſetting the flint abroach that you might not pine and periſh in that vaſt howling wilderneſſe Deut. 32.10.foreign. Beſides that, I there bore with your evill manners, Act. 13.18. as a mother beares with her childs frowardneſs, or as an husband beares with his wives croſſeneſſe, which he knowes he muſt either tollere, or tolerare, cure or cover.
to poſſeſſe the land of the Amorite] to fit you for ſuch a mercy, to humble you, to prove you, and to do you good at the latter end, Deut. 8.16. God knowes the height of our ſpirits, and the naughtineſſe of our natures &c. how ill able mens braines are to beare a cup of proſperity: and how ſoon their hearts are lifted up with their eſtates, as a boat that riſeth with the riſing of the water. God therefore uſually brings his people into the wilderneſſe, and there ſpeaketh to their hearts: he holds them firſt to hard meate,Hoſ. 2.14. and then puts them into full poſſeſſion.
Verſe 11. And I raiſed up your ſons for Prophets] The Miniſtery is worthily inſtanced,foreign. as a ſingular mercy Pſal. 147.19, 20. Other nations had their Prophets ſuch as they were Tit. 1.12. Tragedians and Comedians were ſaid foreign to labour in teaching the people, and were highly eſteemed of the Athenians: inſomuch as that after their diſcomfit in Sicily, they were relieved out of the publike ſtock,Rous his Archaen. 90. foreign. 2 Pet. 1.21. who could repeate ſomewhat of Euripides. But what were theſe to Iſraels Prophets, thoſe holy men of God who ſpake as they were moved, acted, and as it were carried out of themſelves by the holy Ghoſt, to ſay and to do what God would have them? yea thoſe holy children, ſuch as Samuel and Jeremy (for of them eſpecially the Rabbines underſtand this text) who devoted themſelves to the work betimes, being more forwardly then either Athanaſius the boybiſhop, or Cornelius Mus, who (if we may beleeve Sixtus Senenſis) was a Preacher at twelve yeare old: and ſuch one an as with whome all Italy was in admiration.
and of your young men for Nazarites] The Chalde hath it Doctours or Teachers; it being the office of theſe holy Votaries, to teach the people. Heathens alſo had a kind of Nazarites, as Lucian ſetteth forth in his Dea Syria (Habent & veſpae favos, ſimiae imita…tur homines) and the Turks at this day have their Dermiſlars, Turk. hiſt. fol. 473.and their Imailers, whom they call the religious brothers of love: Epicurus his hoggs they might better tearme them, ſaith the Hiſtorian.Bellarm. lib. 2. de Monach. cap. 5. The Papiſts would prove their Monkes to be Chriſtian Nazarites: but the aboliſhing of that order is declared Act. 21.25. and Monks are ſo farr from the abſtinence of the Nazarites, that they eat of the beſt, and drink of the ſweeteſt that Sea and Land can afford. So farr alſo from the ſingular ſanctimony of the Nazarites, whereof ſee Lam. 4.7. that the Poet ſung truly of them,
Non audet Stygius Pluto tentare quod audet
Effraenis Monachus.—
They may better profeſſe themſelves ſucceſſors to the Scribes & Phariſees; who may ſeem (ſaith One) to have fled and hid themſelves in the Monks and friers.Vitae ſanctimonia & vo…o ſingulari ab aliis Separati. Now the Phariſees pretended to ſucceed the ancient Nazarites, as their very name imports, but they were (as likewiſe the Popiſh Monks) a generation never inſtituted by God nor brought in by the Prophets, but only a humane invention, and through their own boldneſſe: whence Chemnitius upon the tenth of Iohn takes theeves there to be the Phariſees. An Interpreter here ſheweth, how God hath now made all his people Nazarites i. e. ſeparated and ſanctified unto himſelf by making them paterns of piety, as the Rechabites holy, harmeleſſe, undeſiled of dead works, and evill works,Eph. 5.18 1 Theſſ. 5.22. Jude 23. from whom they are bid to ſtand off, 1 Tim. 6.5. as alſo not to be drunk with wine wherein is exceſſe, but to be filled with the Spirit: abſtaining from all appearance of evill, hating the garment ſpotted with the fleſh &c. See the Notes on Numb. 6.
Is it not even thus, O ye children of Iſrael?] If it be not teſtified againſt me, as Mic 6.3. and if ye cannot, then read the ſentence againſt your ſelves,Mat. 27.4. as Judas did, that ye may appear to be ſubverted and ſelf-condemned Tit. 3.11. God loveth to fetch witneſſe from mens own conſciences for the juſtifying his proceedings: and to convince them cleerly, that he is no way wanting to them, but they to themſelves. A cunning carver can cut the ſimilitude of any creature, but not on a rotten ſtick. What could god do more to his Vineyard then he had done (Eſ. 5. How oft would I have gathered thy children, as an hen her chickens &c. Mat. 23.27. How long ſhall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? Ier. 4.14. God is ſo farr from being guilty of Iſraels miſery as that (beſides other undeniable arguments of his love, as bringing them out of Egypt, deſtroying the Amorite &c.) he had raiſed them up Prophets and Nazarites, given them his word, Sacraments, all good helps to mollify their hearts; and then appealeth to their conſciences by this Rhetoricall interrogation, Is it not even thus? ſo to wring from them a confeſſion of the truth, in ſpite of their teeth.
Verſe 12. But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink] Opponit jam Propheta peſſimam gratiam &c. ſaith Gualther. Here was the ill requitall they made the Lord for all his benefits; they corrupted his young Nazarites (as Buzzards ſnatch up yong lapwings) and ſilenced his Prophets, or enjoyned them at leaſt to meddle with toothleſſe truths only, to preach placentia: threatening them if they did otherwiſe (for ſo the Original importeth) that ſo they might ſin without controule, and go to hell without hinderance. This God heavily here complaines of, as an horrible Ingratitude. To render good for evill is divine, good for good is humane: evill for evill is brutiſh, but evill for good is diveliſh.
Verſe 13. Behold I am preſſed under you &c.] A countrey compariſon (ſuch as this Prophet is full of) plaine but pithy; to ſhew how God is preſſed and oppreſſed with peoples ſins, wearied as it were Eſay. 43.24. and his patience even worn out; ſo that he can forbeare them no longer, Iſay. 42.14. but like a travelling woman, that bites in her paine, as long as ſhe is able, at length cryes out; ſo here, God hath much adoe to forbeare killing men in their ſins: as he was ready to have a blow at Moſes, when he met him in the Inne, and could hardly hold his hands; he even grones under the preſſure as a cart ſeemes to do under an extraordinary loade laid on it, till it creake and crack againe: He ſeemes to ſcreeke out to ſinners as Jer. 44.4. Oh doe not this abominable thing? And (when he cannot be heard) to ſigh out, Ah ſinfull nation, a people laden with iniquity &c. Eſay. 1.4. as Faſciculus temporum Anno. 884. bitterly bewailing the iniquities of thoſe times cries out, Heu, heu, Domine Deus &c. That ninth age is much complained of by many Waters. God hath as much, nay more cauſe to complaine of ours, conſidering his paines with us and patience towards us, to ſo little purpoſe and profit. See the Note on Mal. 1.1. many Interpreters make theſe words not a complaint, but a communication; rendring it thus, I will preſſe or ſtraighten your place as a cart full of ſheaves preſſeth, ſc. either the ground whereon it goeth, or the corn which it threſheth out of the husk Eſa. 28.27, 28. or as the creature that lieth under the wheeles of it is cruſht in pieces. It was a memorable ſaying of Mr. Bradford Martyr, He that will not tremble in threatening, ſhall be cruſht in peeces in feeling. Theſe perverſe Iſraelites would not be warned by any threatening, therefore they were preſſed to ſome purpoſe in that ſore famine, and ſtraight ſiege of Samaria. Obſidione vos premam ſaith the Chalde here,Samariana. I will ſo beleaguer your city, that there ſhall be no eſcaping. Look how a laden cart onuſtum ſibi, ſo laden that another ſheaf can hardly be laid on, ſo ſticks in ſtraight places, that it can neither go forward nor backward: ſo will I bring you into thoſe diſtreſſes, that you ſhall not know how to avoid or abide them.foreign. (Confer Pſal. 4.2. Prov. 4.12. 2 Cor. 4.8.) I will diſtreſſe my diſtreſſers: and preſſe with ſuch piercing afflictions, as ſhall make you ſigh and ſcreech out another while, Oh it is an evil thing and a bitter to forſake the Lord &c. Jer. 2.19. Oh he is worſe then mad, that would buy the ſweeteſt ſin, at ſo deare a rate.
Verſe 14. Therefore the flight ſhall periſh from the ſwift] men are apt to bleſſe themſelves when God curſeth Deut. 29.19. and to bind upon impurity in a common calamity; to make faire weather when ſuch a tempeſt is up, as ſhall never be blown over. Or, if worſe come, then, as all creatures run to their refuges Prov. 30.25. Pſal. 104.18. Prov. 18.11. Dan. 4.14.11. Judg. 9.50, 51. (the hunted hare runns to the forme, to the buſhes that ſhe formerly haunted, but now thoſe cannot ſave her) ſo men in miſery bethink themſelves of and betake themſelves to creature-comforts, and refuges, either naturall or artificiall as here, but theſe all ſerve them as Abſoloms mule did her maſter, hanging betwixt heaven and earth, but rejected of both. Let a man be as ſwift as Aſahel, God can eaſily overtake him;Life of Edw. 6. by St. Ioh. Heyw. his ſin will find him out, and he ſhall but in running from his de… run to it: as the Hiſtorian ſpeaketh of thoſe Scots defeated by the Engliſh at Muſcleburough fled, that they ſo ſtrained themſelves in running for their lives, that, they fell down breathleſſe and dead. Surely as the coney that flies to the holes in the rocks doth eaſily avoyd the dogs that perſue her: when the hare that truſts in the ſwiftneſſe of her legs is at length overtaken and torne in peeces: So thoſe that truſt in God ſhall be ſecured: whereas thoſe that confide in themſelves or the creature, ſhall be ſurprized, and come to an ill end. David ran to God in diſtreſſe and was releeved. Saul goes to the witch, and from thence to the ſwords-point, Judas to the Phariſees, and thence to the halter.
the ſtrong ſhall not ſtrengthen his force] but be made weake as water. None of the men of might have found their hands Pſal. 76.5. their hands are palſied, their ſinews crackt and cripled. It is God that both ſtrengtheneth and weakneth the armes in the day of battle Ezek. 30.24.
Verſe 15. Neither ſhall he ſtand that handleth the bow] Arcitenens, though he can do it never ſo dexterouſly: yet if he truſt in his bow Pſal. 44 6. God will break it Ier. 49 35.Herodot. Aug. de civ. Dei l. 5. c. 26. or otherwiſe render it unuſefull: as it befell the army of Senacherib in Egypt, of Maximus againſt Theodoſius, and the French in the battle between our Edward the third, and their king Philip: who being enraged with a defeat,Daniels hiſt. 237. reſolved preſently to revenge it: being elevated with an aſſured hope of triumphant victory. But it fell out otherwiſe: for there fell at the inſtant of the battle a piercing ſhowre of raine which diſſolved their ſtrings, and made their bowes unuſefull &c.
neither ſhall he that rideth the horſe] though it be as good an one, as Cain is fained by Dubertas to have mannaged, or as Alexanders Bucephalus, or Julius Caeſars great horſe, ſerviceable, and full of terrour. A horſe is ſo ſwift, that Iob ſaith he eateth up the ground: foreign Panſan.and the Perſians dedicated him to their God the Sun, as the ſwifteſt creature to the ſwifteſt power-divine. But as the ſun in heaven can neither be out-run, nor ſtopt in his race: ſo neither by men nor meanes can God be fruſtrated, or his anger avoyded. the Canaanites had both horſes and charrets, the Iſraelites had neither: and yet they found an horſe a vaine thing for victory &c. Pſal. 33.17. and 147.10.
Verſe 16. And he that is couragious] Heb. ſtrong of his heart, a Cucurdelion, as one of our kings was called, Egregie cordatus homo, one of a Roman reſolution to vanquiſh, or die: they were wont to ſay of cowards in Rome, that there was nothing Romane in them. But let a man be as bold as Brutus, whom One pronounced, Romanorum ultimum, the laſt of the Romanes, as if after, Rome had brought forth no couragious man and worthy of her ſelf. Let him be couragious among the mighty, ſuch as were thoſe Lion-like chieftaines among Davids worthies, Scanderbeg, Ziſca, Huniades, who was in that unhappy battle at Varna (by a juſt hand of God upon him for joyning with that perjured Popiſh king Ladiſ…aus) beaten out of the field.
and forced to flee away naked in that day] eſcaped narrowly with his life: as he did alſo another time, when after a ſlaughter of 34000. Turks, he was compelled to ſave himſelf by flight: and all alone by uncouth wayes to travell three dayes and nights, without meat or drink: and afterwards being on foot and diſarmed (which is here meant by naked: confer Eſay. 20.3. Mich. 1.8. 1 Sam. 19.14.Turk. hiſt. 310. Mr. Clarks Life of Hunniad. pag. 98. he fell into the hands of two notable theeves, who deſpoiled him of his apparrel &c. and on the next day he light upon a ſhephard of whom he for Gods ſake craved ſomething to eat, and obtained bread and water and a few onions, as the Turkiſh hiſtory hath it.