Commentary on the Minor Prophets, Commentary 3 · Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
Verſe 1. THus hath the Lord God ſhewed unto me,] viz. in this fourth viſion, whereby (for better aſſurance, and to ſhake them out of their deſperate ſecurity) Iſraels utter ruine is again foretold, by a lively type, which is here, 1. propounded; 2. expounded, verſe 3, 5. that he may run that readeth it, and none may fall, but with open eyes.Hab. 2.2.
And behold a basket] made up haply in the form of a dog, as the word Calub ſeemeth to import.
of Summer-fruits,] Heb. of Summer; that is, of that which the ſummer affordeth: toward the end of it eſpecially, when fruits ripen, and even fall into the hand of the gatherer. The ſummer it ſelf hath its denomination from a root that ſignifieth to awaken: Schindler. Pagnin.becauſe then the fruits and flowers, that ſeemed to be aſleep all winter-long, do awake, as it were, and ſhew themſelves.
Verſe 2. Amos, what ſeeſt thou?] This the Lord asketh, to ſtir up attention and affection in the Prophet; who might haply need as much to be arrouſed, as Zachary in like caſe did, chap. 4.1. with whom it fared as with a drowſie perſon, who though awaked and ſet to work, is ready to ſleep at it.
and I ſaid, A basket of Summer-fruit,] Apples, ſaith Jerome, figs, ſay others: and why not as well grapes ripened in the Summer-ſun-ſhine?Rev. 14.20. & 19.15. Whereby the Holy Ghoſt in the Revelation, deſcribeth ſuch as are ready ripe for the wine-preſſe of Gods wrath? Nahum compareth them to ſtubble, laid out in the Sun a-drying, that it may burn the better,foreign Nah. 1.10.
The end is come upon my people,] An elegancy in the Originall beyond Engliſhing: the Latine Interpreters have (ſome of them) aſſayed the like, but they fall farre ſhort of it. The Old Teſtament is full of ſuch Agnominations: and God ſeemeth delighted with them. See Jer. 1.11, 12. & 48.2. & 47.43, 44. Lam. 3.47. Amos 5.5. Mic. 1.10, 14. Zeph. 2.4. Exod. 2.10. Gen. 3.20. & 4.1, 25. & 5.29. & 17.5. & 21.5, 6, &c. There is a pedantique ſtile, and a majeſtick: an effeminate eloquence, and a manly. This latter is lawfull, and may very well become the man of God; who yet muſt not wit-wanton it in weightieſt matters; but ſhun thoſe more gay and lighter flaſhes, and flouriſhes, wherewith the emptieſt Celles affect to bee moſt fraught: as they, who for want of wares in their ſhops, ſet up painted blocks to fill up vacant ſhelves, as One well expreſſeth it.
The end is come upon my people,] Exitus & exitium. As the ſummer is the end of the yeer, and the time of ripening fruits: ſo, now that this people are ripe for ruine, An end is come, is come, is eome, it watcheth for them, behold it is come, Ezek. 7.6, 7. even the preciſe time and terme of their finall overthrow.
I will not again paſſe by them any more.] See chap. 7.8. God can paſſe by, that is, pardon his people better then any other, Mic. 7.18.Epheſ. 6. (like as they that are born of God, and partake of the Divine nature, can bear wrongs beſt of any: compell them to go a mile, they'l be content, if it may do good, to go two: yea as farre as the ſhoos of the preparation of the Goſpel of peace will carry them.) But as the Saints of God may not be therefore injured (which was Iulians jearing cruelty) becauſe they are meek: ſo muſt not God be preſumed upon and provoked; becauſe he is mercifull. There is mercy with him, that he may be feared, ſaith the Pſalmiſt: for abuſed mercy turneth into fury: and opportunities of grace are oft ſo headlong, that if once paſt, they are irrecoverable. Wo be to that people, or perſon, to whom God ſhall ſay, I will not again paſſe by you any more.
Verſe 3. And the ſongs of the temple ſhall be howlings,] Heb. ſhall howle, ſhall be turned into the black-ſantis, as they call it, (cantus in planctum laetitia in lachrymas) ſuch as I hate, chap. 5.23. and feel it grating mine ears, as an harmonia diſcors.
there ſhall bee many dead bodies in every place.] Either through peſtilence, or ſword. Others read it thus. In every place it ſhall bee ſaid, Proijce, ſile, Out with them, Make no words: an earneſt Apoſiopeſis (See chap. 6.10. with the Note.) q. d. Patiently acquieſce in the juſt judgement of ſo mighty a God. Or, throw theſe dead bodies into pits, and ſay nothing: leſt we be ſequeſtred as unclean by the law. It is no ſmall miſery to be under hard and heavy croſſes, and yet to be forced to diſſemble and ſuppreſſe them; to bite in pain, and to diſgeſt grief, as horſes do their choler, by biting on the bridle. I was dumb with ſilence, ſaith David, I held my peace even from good, that is, from juſt defence, but my ſorrow was ſtirred thereby; my ſore was exulcerate, renewed, (as the Greek there ſaith) and increaſed, Pſal. 39.2. Give ſorrow a vent, and it will wear away.
Verſe 4. Hear this, ye that ſwallow up the needy,] that ſoop them up, as drink, (our word ſoop, ſeems to come of the Hebrew Shaaph) that would make but a breakfaſt, nay but a bit of them: that would ſwallow them at once down their wide gullets, and do, for that purpoſe, pant and even faint, as well-nigh windleſſe, after them, to devour them. Hence they are called, Man-eaters, Cannibals, Pſal. 14.4. See chap. 2.7. with the Note.
even to make the poor of the land to fail.] Heb. the meek of the land. Poverty ſhould meeken and tame mens ſpirits: howbeit ſome are humbled, but not humble: low, but not lowly. Thoſe that are both, are oft oppreſſed by the Great Ones of the earth: and even devoured, as the leſſer fiſh are by the bigger. Ye have condemned and killed the juſt, ſaith St. Iames to the wicked rich men of his time, and he doth not reſiſt you, chap. 5.6. He onelyonly committeth his cauſe to him that judgeth righteouſly, 1 Pet. 2.23. and indeed he need do no more then ſo: for God is the poor-mans king, as James the fifth of Scotland was termed for his charity: yea, he is the worlds refuge, Awlen Penaugh, as the great Turk vaingloriouſly ſtileth himſelf, and would have the world to take notice, that ſuch poor people as lament to him, ſhall be relieved by him, although his miniſters fail them, or abuſe them, through their injuſtice, to make the poor of the land fail. For the oppreſſion of the poor, for the ſighing of the needy, now will I ariſe, ſaith the Lord. I will ſet him in ſafety from him that puffeth at him, Pſal. 12.5. Neither doth God ſay it onelyonly, (though that were ſufficient) but ſwear it too in this chapter, yea in this text (the two next following verſes are put in as by a parentheſis) and theſe Cormorants are called upon to hear it, and not to paſſe it by with a deaf ear, tanquam monſtra marina, as ſuch kind of creatures uſe to do.
Verſe 5. Saying, when will the New-moon be gone, &c.] O, what a wearineſſe it is I and ye have ſnuffed at it, Mal. 1.13. See the Note there. This ye have ſaid, or thought at leaſt: and God knoweth the language of your hearts. He preſſeth upon no man; neither will he accept of that ſervice that is preſſed, out of people, as verjuice out of a crab. All his ſaints are free-hearted Pſal. 110.3. all his ſouldiers volunteeres: The ſabbath they call Deſiderium dierum.they welcome the ſabbath, as that holy man did, who went forth to meet and ſalute it with Veni ſponſa mea, Come my ſweet ſpouſe, I have dearely longed for thee. They alſo paſſe it over with ſingular delight, Eſay. 58.13. walking into Chriſts garden of ſpirituall duties, whereof there is ſo great variety for the good ſoule to breath it ſelf in and not be ſated:Cant. 2. and then are taken into Chriſts wine-cellar, 1 Cor. 2.and (after an holy manner) inebriated with divine conſolations: ſuch as the cock on the dunghil knowes not, ſuch as paſs all carnall mens underſtanding. They find no more relliſh in holy dayes and duties, then they do in the white of an egge or in a dry chip: the work they do at ſuch times, for faſhion-ſake or feare of law &c. is dead work, as the Apoſtle calleth it: they ſit in the ſtocks when they are at prayers, and come out of the Church when the tedious ſermon runs ſomewhat beyond the houre, as priſoners do out of a jayle &c. they cannot tell how to weare out the ſabbath, which therefore they wiſh over, and conſtantly violate either by corporall labour, or elſe (which is as bad, or worſe) by ſpirituall idleneſſe. Full ill would theſe men addere de profano ad ſacrum, (as the Jewes ſay we ſhould do,)Buxtorf. Synag. Jud. pronouncing thoſe happy, that begin the ſabbath with thoſe of Tiberias, and end it with thoſe of Tſepphore (the former began it ſooner then others, the later continued it longer. Full ill would they have liked our King Edgars law,Act. & Mon. that Sunday ſhould be ſolemnized from Saturday nine of the clock till Munday morning. Full loth would theſe men be to beg Davids office out of his hand, of being a doore-keeper in Gods houſe: that is, to be firſt in and laſt out. And what would they do to keep an everlaſting ſabbath in heaven, that are ſo troubled, and even tired out with ſo ſhort an attendance on the Lords-day: not without a world of wilfull diſtractions, ſuch as ſpoyle and fly-blow their performances, ſo that they ſtink in the noſtrils of the Almighty.
and the ſabbath] Not the ſabbath of the ſeventh yeare (called Shemittah Remiſſion Levit. 25.) as ſome would have it meant: but the weekly ſabbath, which the unrighteous Mammoniſts here cry out of, as if on that day the Sun proceeded a flower pace then on others; and they greatly grutcht lucellum ſuum Dei cultui cedere that God ſhould be ſerved, to their diſadvantage. Their fingers therefore itch to be ſetting out corn: and they as dearely deſire it as David did once to come and appeare before the Lord.O rus, quand… te aſpiciam? Horat. As He had his, when ſhall I come, by way of wiſh Pſal. 42.3. ſo they had their When ſhall we fell corn? when ſhall we ſet forth wheat? Surely as Davids ſoule longed ſore to go forth unto Abſalom 2 Sam. 13.39. ſo that he could have found in his heart, but for ſtark ſhame, to have gone himſelf and fetched him home: ſo was it with theſe gripple corn-maſters, theſe frumenti corraſores & veluti corroſores Prov. 11.26. They had a good mind to have been doing on the New-moones and ſabbaths,Exod. 20.8. & 34, 21. Lev. 23.3. Neh. 10.32. & 13.15. &c. Num. 10.1. 2 Sam. 20.5. but that they were flatly forbidden by the law, made on purpoſe for theſe lawleſſe and diſobedient, 1 Tim. 1.9. theſe maſterleſs monſters, theſe yokeleſs Belialiſts, to be to them as chaines and ſhackles, to confine them (as Solomons command did Shimei, that they may not leape over the pale after profit and pleaſure, or if they do, they may dye for it,) Eſay 66.23. it is prophecyed that, in the reſtitution of the church from one new-moon to another, and from one ſabbath to another (as oft as they come) without tire-ſomeneſſe, all fleſh ſhall come to worſhip before the Lord, they ſhall call the ſabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable, Eſay. 58.13. be rapt and raviſhed in ſpirit Rev. 1.10. be in the feare of the Lord and in the comfort of the holy Ghoſt all the day long, Epiſt. 3. ad Magneſ.foreign, as Ignatius hath it. Sabbatize ſpiritually, rejoycing in divine meditations. This well practiſed would take men off from the worlds taſteleſſe fooleries (as his mouth will not water after homely proviſions, that hath lately taſted of delicate ſuſtenance) It would alſo bleſſedly free them from thoſe many fooliſh and hurtfull luſts 1 Tim. 6.9. thoſe heavy ſorrowes and ſelf-created miſeries, wherewith covetous caytiffes pierce them ſelves thorough, gall and gore-their own hearts and trouble their own houſes verſe. 10. taking no more reſt, then if upon a rack, or bed of thornes.
making the Ephah ſmall and the ſhekel great] Selling by ſmall meaſures, but for great rates: which was directly againſt the law Deut. 25.13, 14. and that golden Rule of right, the ſtandard of equity, the royall law of liberty Mat. 7.12. Whatſoever ye would that men ſhould do to you, do ye even ſo to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets: this is the ſum of what they have ſaid, for duties of the ſecond table.
and falſifying the balances by deceit] Heb. preverting the ballances of deceit, that is (by a metonymie as Job. 22.6.) making thoſe that were right, deceitfull. See Prov. 20.10, 23. with the Notes there. Such falſifiers are counted no better then Canaanites Hoſ. 12.7. and ſhall have ſmall joy of their curſed hoards of evill gotten goods.
Verſe 6. That we may buy the poore for ſilver &c.] Thus the poore alwayes pay for it: the modeſt and mild poore, eſpecially as ver. 4. Hence Poore and afflicted are put for one and the ſame Zeph. 3.12. and to want, and to be abaſed Philip. 4.12. they that want ſhall be ſure to be abaſed and abuſed by the wretched rich, who will ever go over the hedge where it is loweſt, and catch the poore by drawing him into the nets Pſal. 10.9. that is into their debts, bonds, and mortgages, and at length making ſuch their bondmen, by abuſe of that permiſſion Lev. 25.39. See chap. 2.3.
yea and ſell the refuſe of the wheat] Quiſquilias, the husks, more fit for pigs or poultrey; hardly mans meate, and yet held good enough for the poore:deciduum p… gamenta, the offall. although their fleſh was as the fleſh of their brethren, and their children, as their children Neh. 5.5. however they uſed them. How farr were theſe rich wretches from conſidering the poore as Davids bleſſed man Pſal. 41.1. and as Dr. Taylour the Martyr did; whoſe cuſtome was once in a fortnight at leaſt to go to poore mens houſes, look into their cupbords, ſee how they fared, and what they lacked:Act. & Mon. that he might either make or procure them a ſupply from ſuch as were better able?
Verſe 7. The Lord hath ſworn by the excellency of Jacob] i. e. by himſelf the matter of Jacobs chief boaſting, there being no God like unto their God (their enemies themſelves being judges Deut. 32.31.) neither any nation ſo great as to have God ſo nigh unto them as Iſrael had, in all things that they called upon him for, Deut. 4.7. So that this oath of God grates upon their Ingratitude for ſuch imparallel priviledges, and it is uttered in great wrath, as appeareth by the following angry Apoſiopeſis (wherein the Apodoſis is not ſet down but underſtood.)
If I ever forget any of their workes] forget to puniſh them. Theſe oaths cum reticentia are very dreadfull.Pſal. 95. Take heed leſt by ſtubbornneſſe we provoke God to ſweare in his wrath that we ſhall not enter into his neſt. Take heed leſt a promiſe of entring being left us, and a profer made us, we ſhould ſeem to come ſhort of it,Heb. 4.1. foreign to come lag or late, a day after the faire, an houre after the feaſt. God is now more quick and peremptory then ever in rejecting men that neglect ſo great ſalvation Heb. 2.3. the time is ſhorter, he will not wait ſo long as he was wont to do.Mar. 16.16. He that beleeveth and is baptized ſhall be ſaved: he that beleeveth not, ſhall be damned. Surely God will finiſh the work, and cut it ſhort in righteouſneſſe: Rom. 9.28.becauſe a ſhort work will he make in the earth. The time is ſhort, ſaith the Apoſtle 1 Cor. foreign7.29. a metaphor (ſay ſome) from a piece of cloth rolled up, only a little left at the end. Let us therefore feare (as the ſame Apoſtle inferreth upon the conſideration of Gods oath Heb. 3.18. with 4.1.) and let our feare not weaken but waken our diligence in well-doing, leſt he ſweare and repent not, leſt be come to a reſolution and decree (Gods oath is nothing elſe but his inviolable and invariable decree) to caſt us off, as he did Saul, for his wilfull diſobedience 1 Sam. 15. Saul lived long after his utter rejection, and men could ſee no alteration in his outward condition: but God had ſworn, as here, never to forget any of his works. Now ſaith Samuel to him (and it is fearefull) the Eternity of Iſrael (the Excellency of Jacob) will not lie, nor repent: for he is not a man that he ſhould repent. 1 Sam. 15.29.Do not think this a caſe that ſeldome comes: it is done every day upon ſome or other, ſaith a great Divine: but woe be to that man upon whom it is done: it had been much better for him that he had not been born, Mat. 26.24. Oh conſider this all ye that forget God. leſt he ſwear by his excellency, Surely I will never forget any of your works.
Verſe 8. Shall not the land tremble for this?] q. d. So great are the oppreſſions here exerciſed, that the very axletree of the earth is even ready to crack under them. Amaziah, that hedge-prieſt of Bethel, had ſaid of our Prophet, that the land was not able to beare all his words, chap. 7.10. but Amoz more truely affirmeth, that the land trembled under their many and mighty ſins, and could beare them no longer: the earth-quake fell out about this time Am. 1.1. and it was a juſt wonder, that the earth had not opened her wide mouth, and ſwallowed them all up quick into hell as Numb. 16.31, 32.Called therefore foreign. and as it did a great part of the city of Antioch Anno. 527. for their horrible hereſies and blaſphemies there held and broached by her biſhops.
and every one mourn] i. e. ſmart, till they mourn. Nationall ſins bring nationall plagues. The Hebrewes hold that there is not a worſe ſin then Oppreſſion: St. James ſaith, that it it cryes to heaven, and entreth into the eares of the Lord of ſabbath Jam. 5.4. who will not fa…le to heare, for the is gracious Exod. 22.
and it ſhall riſe up wholy as a ſlood] i. e. The land ſhall riſe up, ſhall ſeem to do ſo, when it is ſloated and over-covered with water: as the ſluggards field is ſaid to riſe up or aſcend with thornes, that is to be overgrown therewith. Here then is threatened an overflowing ſcourge, an univerſall deſtruction covering the face of the countrey, as Nilus doth a great part of the land of Egypt every yeare, leaving much mud behind it: whereof ſee Pliny and other Authours. Mercer thinks the words would be beſt read by interrogation, as the former, thus, and ſhall it not riſe up wholy as a flood? q. d. ſhall it not be turned into a large lake, as once Sodom and her ſiſters were for like cruelties to the poore? Ezech. 16.
Verſe 9. And it ſhall come to paſſe in that day &c.] Here the Lord threateneth (ſaith Mr. Diodate) to encumber the land with horrible and mournfull calamities, when it ſhall be leaſt thought of. Earthquakes, inundations, ſuddaine and dreadfull darkneſſes are ſure effects and ſignes of Gods heavy diſpleaſure againſt mens ſins Pſal. 18.8, 12.Lively. Mat. 24. Luk. 21. Jocl. 2.10. as Another noteth. See a like text, Jer. 15.8, 9. and promiſe contrary to this threat Job. 18.5, 6.
I will cauſe the ſun to go down at noon] A ſuddain change, as was at Sodom: the Sun was faire riſen upon it that very day that it was deſtroyed in, Gen. 19.23, 24. as at Babylon, when ſurprized by Cyrus, they could not at firſt beleeve their own calamity: as it was with Jeruſalem often, and ſhall be with Rome Rev. 18.7, 8. She ſaith in her heart, I ſhall ſee no ſorrow. Therefore ſhall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine &c. to confute their fond conceit of an eternall Empire. For when they ſhall ſay Peace and ſafety, then ſhall ſudden deſtruction come upon them, as travaile upon a woman with child, and they ſhall not eſcape, 1 Theſ. 5.3. Philoſophers ſay, that before a ſnow, the weather will be warmiſh: when the wind lies, the great raine falles: and the faire weather made before him, till the inſtant that he was drowned in the ſea. Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, and other tyrants were ſmitten in the height of their pride, and ruffe of their iollity. Jeruſalem had three yeares great plenty before her laſt deſtruction, of which ſome interpret this Text. Thoſe ſeven once flouriſhing Churches of Aſia, how glorious and reſplendent were they till they had ſinned away their light? The ſame might be ſaid of many others: and who knowes how ſoon it may be ſaid alſo of us? who knowes whether we be not even now, upon the very Tropikes and turning-points of time? Surely Gods patience towards us quò diuturnior eò minacior, the longer it laſteth the more evill is toward us, if we abuſe it. If in a land of light we love darkneſſe better then light, we may ſoon have enough of it. Solem in Britannia non occidere nec reſurgere retulii Tacitus. In vit. Agricol.Tacitus telleth us that at ſome time of the yeare, the Sun ſeemeth neither to riſe nor fall in this country: but ſo lightly to paſs from us in the night, that you can ſcarce diſcern day from night. Of England for this many yeares it may be ſaid, as Solinus doth of the Rhodes, Polyhiſtor.that it is ſemper in Sole ſita ever in the Sun. How long it ſhall be ſo, He alone knowes that knowes all. Walk whiles ye have the light: and pray that God would diſcloud theſe gloomy dayes with the beames of his mercy, and not cauſe our Sun to go down at noon, nor our land to be darkened in the clear day. Oh ſtop this Sun of righteouſneſſe poſting (as it may ſeem) from us (when the blind man cried luſtily, Jeſus though journying ſtood ſtill) ſtay him by your importunities, as thoſe two did at Emaus and ſay,
Veſpera jam venit; nobiſcum, Chriſte maneto,
Extingui lucem nec patiare tuam.
Verſe 10. And I will turn your feaſts into mourning] Whether your idolatrous feaſts and temple-muſick whereby you vainely conceit to be ſecured from danger, ſaying, Is not the Lord amongſt us? what evill can come unto us. Or your common feaſts, whereat you have ſongs to cheer you up, and ſo to put ſorrow from your hearts, and evill from your fleſh, nouriſhing your ſelves as in a day of ſlaughter, or good cheer Jam. 5.5. All ſhall be turned into mourning, funerall mourning, ſee ver. 3.
and I will bring up ſack-cloth upon all loynes] for a token of your great grief, as the cuſtome then was, and is ſtill for mourning-weedes. The Hebew word ſack is the ſame in almoſt all languages: which ſheweth that the Hebrew is the mother of all the reſt, ſaith Mercer.
and baldneſſe upon every head] you ſhall pull off your haire for grief; Or, becauſe they had learned of the Heathens their neighbours, in token of lamentation, to ſhave their heades Ezech. 7.18. Jer. 48.37. and beards too Iſa. 15.2. which yet was forbidden them to do, Lev. 19.27. and 21, 9. unleſſe it were to ſhew their ſorrow for ſin Eſa. 22.12.
and I will make it as the mourning of an only ſon] which was very bitter Jer. 6.26. Zech. 12.10. The loſſe of a loving yoke fellow is more grievous then that of a ſon: but to father and mother together nothing more bitter then luctuoſa foecunditas (Laeta's caſe in Hierome) to bury many children, and eſpecially to bury all in One.
and the end thereof as a bitter day] Thereof, that is, either of that land, or of that lamentation, there ſhall be bitterneſſe in the end. So the Poet
Nunc & amara dies, & noctis amarior umbra eſt;Tioul. lib: 2.
Omnia jam triſti tempora felle madent.
How could it be otherwiſe then extream bitter with this people, when heaven and earth conſpired to puniſh them? neither had they the good word of God (called the word of his patience, Rev. 3.10.written on purpoſe that we through patience and comfort of the ſcriptures might have hope Rom. 15.4. that out of thoſe breaſts of conſolation we might ſuck and be ſatisfied, Eſa. 66.11.) to ſuccour them and keep from ſwooning Pſal. 119.92. And this was the greateſt plague of all the reſt: and is therefore reſerved to the laſt place, deterrima tanquam colophon, as a moſt ſad cataſtrophe.
Verſe 11. Behold the dayes come] Behold it; for it is a juſt wonder: the Lord createth a new thing in the earth, when Iſrael ſhould want the word; Iſrael to whom were committed the oracles of God, Iſrael to whom God had ſpoken by the mouth of his holy Prophets, which had been ſince the world began,Luc. 1.70. in a ſweet ſucceſſion: See my True treaſure pag. 3.4. He made known his wayes to Moſes, his acts and monuments to the children of Iſrael.Pſal. 103.7. Yet even theſe who had the cornu-copia of Gods word ſhall now ſuffer a famine of it: they ſhall have cauſe to …ry out, We ſee not our ſignes, there is no more any Prophet, neither is there amongſt us any that knoweth how long, Pſal. 74.9. the word of God ſhall be pretious, 1 Sam. 3.and they ſhall be hard put to't to come by it; Amaziah and his complices ſhall not need to pack away the Prophets, as chap. 7.12. and to bid them go preach elſewhere: the law ſhall be no more, the Prophets alſo ſhall find no viſion from the Lord Lam. 2.9.
that I will ſend a famine in the land] Heb. I will let it out (ſc. out of my treaſury of plagues where I have it ready, and deſirous to be a broad) and turn it looſe,foreign Septuag. which before I kept up, as a wild beaſt, that it might not hurt nor deſtroy in all mine holy mountaine: now it ſhall out amongſt you, and the devill with it, Rev. 12.12. with hell at the heeles of it.
not a famine of bread] though that's very grievous, Lam. 1.11, 19. and 2.12, 20. and 4.4, 9. and 5.16. and puts people to many hard ſtraits and extremities (as were eaſie to inſtance) even to the eating of one another.
nor a thirſt for water] a torment more intolerable then the former. Lyſimachus to ſave his life parted with his kingdom for a draught of water.
But of hearing the word of the Lord,] which is pabulum animae the ſouls proper food, ſuch as ſhe cannot live without: but when God ſeeth his oracles vilipended and lying under the table, 'tis juſt with him to call to the enemy to take away. It was ſo with thoſe ſeven churches of Aſia among many others; as alſo with thoſe of Africa that vaſt Continent (thrice as large as Europe) in all which there is not any region intirely poſſeſſed by Chriſtians, but the kingdom of Habaſſia: for as for the large region of Nubia, which had from the Apoſtles time (as 'tis thought) profeſſed the Chriſtian faith, it hath again above an hundred yeers ſince forſaken it, and embraced inſtead of it, partly Mahumetaniſme, and partly Idolatry; and that by the moſt miſerable occaſion that might be, viz. famine of the word of God, for lack of Miniſters. For, as Alvarez hath recorded, at his being at the king of Habaſſia's court,Hiſt. Ethiop. cap. 37. there were Ambaſſadours out of Nubia, to intreat him for a ſupply of miniſters to inſtruct their nation, and to repair Chriſtianity, gone to ruine amongſt them; but they were rejected.
Verſe 12. And they ſhall wander from ſea to ſea,] Trouble themſelves to no purpoſe, take pains (as Eſau did for veniſon, but loſt his labour) run to all coaſts and quarters to ſeek the word of the Lord.
and ſhall not find it] And why, they deſpiſed it when it was in their power; they rejected the counſel of God againſt themſelves with thoſe Lawyers, Luk. 7.30. He would have gathered them, but they would not be gathered; he would have purged them, but they would not be purged; Ezek. 24.13, 14. they are therefore miſerable by their own election: as Saul was, who ſlighted Samuel whiles he was alive, and would have been full glad of his counſel when he was dead. He that would not once worſhip God in Samuel, worſhips at length Samuel in Satan; and no marvel. Satan was now become his refuge, and preacheth his funeral: his Ʋrim now was darkneſſe, his Prophet a ghoſt: O woful condition. But what ſhould a parent do when the child loaths and ſpils his victuals? ſnatch it from him, and lay it out of his reach. Samaria felt this worſer famine, when carried captive eſpecially: ſo did Jeruſalem, after Malachi, whoſe prophecy the Jews fitly call Chathimath Chazon the ſealing up of viſion. Bath Chol, or the Eccho from heaven they had now and then after this time, Mat. 2.17. Joh. 12.28 they had alſo the writings of Moſes, and the Prophets interpreted after a ſort by the Scribes and Phariſees, whom (whiles they ſat cloſe in Moſes chair, and kept it warm) men were bound to to hear, Mat. 23.2, 3. which becauſe Dives did not, he ſuffered hunger and thirſt in hell for ever, Luk. 16.24. And had he been granted the liberty of hearing again upon earth but one more ſermon, how farre would not he gladly have gone for it? and how, as for life, would he have liſtned to it? But this could not poſſibly be, for out of hell there is no redemption, Pſal. 49.8, 9. and when the night of death once comes, men can work no more. Night is a time not of doing work, but of receiving wages; up therefore and be doing, whiles it is yet day, Joh. 12.35, 36. ſeek ye the Lord while he may be found, Eſay 55.6. ſeek him ſeaſonably, ſeek him ſeriouſly: Then ſhall ye ſeek me and find me, when ye ſhall ſearch for me with all your heart, Jer. 29.13. That was a diſmall doom that our Saviour paſſed upon thoſe ſtiffe-necked Jewes and uncircumciſed in heart and ears, (as Saint Steven rightly ſtiles them, Act. 7.51.) that were as good at reſiſting the Holy-Ghoſt as ever their fathers had been before them. Ye ſhall ſeek me, and yet ſhall die in your ſinnes: whither I go ye cannot come, Joh. 8.21. Ye ſhall wander up and down for meat, making a noiſe like an hungry dog, and grudge that ye be not ſatisfied, Pſal. 59.14, 15. Do not the miſerable Jewes do ſo all the world over to this day, expecting their Meſſias? quem tantis ululatibus expoſcunt, throwing open their windows to behold him, and praying for the rebuilding of their Temple thus, Templum tuum brevi, valde citò, Buxtorf. Synag. Ind. cap. 13.valde citò, in diebus noſtris citiſſimè, nunc aediſica templum tuum brevi, &c. Merciful God, great God, bountiful God, beautiful God, ſweet God, mighty God, thou God of the Jewes, now build thy Temple, do it ſhortly, ſuddenly, quickly, very quickly, very quickly, very quickly, even in our dayes, now, this day before the next, &c. Ah poor creatures! they would not, when time was, know in that their day the things which belonged to their peace; therefore to this day they are hid from their eyes, and wrath is come upon them to the utmoſt.Luk. 19.42. Alterius perditio tua ſit cautio, Let their harmes be our warning, not to ſtand out the day of grace, not to ſurfeit of the word, leſt we ſuffer a famine of it; not to retain the ſnuffes of our ſinnes, leſt they dim our candleſtick: a removal whereof, except we repent, may be as certainly foreſeen and foretold, as if viſions and letters were ſent us from heaven, as once to Epheſus telling them ſo, Rev. 2.5. And indeed it hath been the opinion, and is ſtill the fear of ſome not unconſiderable Divines, that Antichriſt, before his abolition, ſhall once again overflow the whole face of the Weſt, and ſuppreſſe the whole proteſtant Churches. Now if ever this come to paſſe, (as juſtly we may fear it will) what may we thank but our deteſtable lukewarmneſſe and loathing of the heavenly Manna, our not receiving the love of the truth, that we might be ſaved? for which cauſe if God ſhall ſend us ſtrong deluſions,2 Theſſ. 2.10, 1…. even the efficacy of errour, that we ſhould believe a lie, that being infatuated we ſhould be ſeduced, and being ſeduced be damned, as Auſtin gloſſeth that text, whom can we blame for it?
Verſe 13. In that day ſhall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirſt,] When God depriveth a people of his Ordinances, and ſo withdraweth his gracious preſence from them, what wonder though temporal judgements come ruſhing in as by a ſluce? Perſecute and take him, (ſaid Davids enemies) for God hath forſaken him, and there is none to deliver him, Pſal. 71.11. The Philiſtins are upon me, ſaith Saul, for God hath forſaken me. Behold, I am caſt out from thy preſence, ſaid Cain (that is, from my fathers houſe where thine ordinances are adminiſtred) and therefore every one that findeth me ſhall ſlay me, Gen. 4.14. In that day of the want of the word, in the day of ſpiritual famine and thirſt, behold aliud ex alio malum, another thirſt ſhall ſeiſe upon the choyceſt and faireſt; as flies ſettle upon the ſweeteſt perfumes, when they are cold, and corrupt them.
Shall the fair virgins] whom all men favour for their comelineſſe, foreign, beauty is of it ſelf lovely and attractive, it needeth no letters of commendations: but God is no reſpecter of perſons, and beauty abuſed is like a fair houſe with an ill inhabitant, ſaid Diogenes: like a jewel of gold in a ſwines ſnout, ſaid Solomon, Prov. 11.22. Some are Helena's without, but Hecuba's within, painted ſepulchres, Egyptian temples; like Aurelia Oreſtilla, of whom Saluſt ſaith, that ſhe had nothing in her praiſe-worthy but her beauty: Fair ſhe was and fooliſh, not foreign, beautiful and wiſe, as it is reported of Aſpaſia Cyrus his concubine.Athenaeus. Now theſe fair maids, together with the choice young men, beſt able to endure thirſt a long ſeaſon,
ſhall faint for thirſt,] Heb. ſhall be over-covered with grief, ſhall be troubled and perplexed, ſhall faint and ſwoon, ſhall find by experience that all fleſh is graſſe, and the glory thereof as the flower of the field, that even the youths ſhall faint and be weary, and the young men ſhall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord ſhall renew their ſtrength, they ſhall mount up with wings as Eagles, they ſhall run and not be weary, and they ſhall walk and not faint. Eſa. 40.30, 31.
Verſe 14. They that ſwear by the ſin of Samaria] i. e. by the calfe ſet up at Bethel, not farre from Samaria. This calfe is called the ſin or guilt of Samaria, Eſa. 40.6, 7.to ſhew the abomination of it; for which cauſe alſo Paul cals it ſinful ſin, Rom. 7.13. as not finding for it a worſe Epithite: and Antichriſt for like cauſe he calleth That man of ſin, 2 Theſſ. 2, 3. to note him Merum ſcelus, ſaith Beza, meerly made up of ſin. Now to ſwear by this of Samaria, was to deifie it: to ſwear by any thing beſides the true God, is to forſake him, Jer. 5.7. which is an hateful wickedneſſe, Jer. 2.12, 13. as in Papiſts who familiarly ſwear by their Hee-Saints, and She-Saints; and ſo ſacrilegiouſly transferre upon the creature that which pertaineth to God alone.
and ſay, Thy god, O Dan, liveth,] God onelyonly liveth, to ſpeak properly, 1 Tim. 6.17. but to ſay that Dan's Deunculus lived, (being no better then a dumb and dead idol) and to ſweat by the life of it,Spec. Eur…p. (as the Spaniards do now in the pride of their Monarchy, by the life of their king) this is horrible impiety. As for that of Abigail to David, 1 Sam. 25.26. Now therefore my Lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy ſoul liveth, the former was an oath, the latter was not an oath, but an aſſeveration or obteſtation onelyonly, conjoyned with an oath.
and the manner of Beerſheba liveth] that is, the formes and rites of worſhipping in Beerſheba (another neſt of idolatry, Chap. 5.5. and Hoſ. 10.13.) as the Chaldee paraphraſeth it. Durandus hath written the Romiſh Ritual, the way of worſhip uſed in that Synagogue of Satan: Mercer rendreth it, Vivet peregrinatio Beerſeba, the way or paſſage of Beerſeba liveth. Beerſeba had an idol, and was the way to Dan and Bethel: hence this ſuperſtitious oath drawn out to the full length, By the ſin of Samaria, by the god of Dan, and by the manner of Beerſheba: like as the great Turk Mahomet promiſing his ſouldiers the ſpoyle of Conſtantinople for three dayes together, if they could win it, for confirmation of his oath ſolemnly ſwore by the immortal God, and by the four hundred Prophets, by Mahomet, by his fathers ſoul, by his own children,Turk. hiſt. 345. and by the ſword wherewith he was girt, faithfully to perform whatſoever he had to them in his proclamation promiſed.
even they ſhall fall and never riſe up again] Fall, fatally, ferally, irrecoverably, as old Eli did when his neck was broken, but firſt his heart. The ten tribes for their idolatry and contempt of the word never returned out of captivity. From the famine foretold what could follow but irreparable ruine, though for a time they might flouriſh, See Prov. 29.1. with the note. Of that ſpiritual famine let us be moſt impatient, and ſay as Luther did, I would not live in Paradiſe without the word: but with it I could make a ſhift to live in hell it ſelf.