Commentary on the Minor Prophets, Commentary 8

Commentary on the Minor Prophets · Commentary 8

p. 416A COMMENT OR, EXPOSITION Upon the Propheſie of HABAKKUK.

CHAP. I.

Verſe 1. THE burden] The Propheticall burden, ſaith the Chaldee Paraphraſt: the burdenous propheſic, ſaith Tremellius. See the Note upon Mal. 1.1.

which Habakkuk the Prophet did ſee] Amplexator ille, That Embracer, (ſo ſome interpret his name) yea, Optimus Amplexator (as they gather from the laſt Radicall emphatically doubled) That beſt Embracer. Et certè omen habet nomen, He hath not his name for nought: for (as Luther writeth) in this Propheſie he loveth, and huggeth his afflicted countrey-men: he ſuccoureth and ſolaceth them, as the mother doth her crying babe, to ſtill it. Hierom and Others, make Habakkuk to ſignifie Luctatorem amplex ſtringentem, a Wraſtler, that by cloſing ſtrives to prevail; that by might, and ſlight ſeeks to get the better. Such a One was Jacob, whoſe wraſtling was by weeping,Hoſ. 12.4.…Hos 12:4 and his prevailing by praying. Such another was Habakkuk, who argueth earneſtly with God about the ſtate of his people, and prayeth ardently for them; not doubting but that the Lord would preſerve the faithfull, Pſal. 31.23.Ps 31:23and plentifully reward the proud doer. A Prophet he is here ſtiled, and a Seer, and that's all is ſaid of him: nothing of his pedegree, or time of propheſying; that the Word (and not the man) might be glorified, Act. 13.47. Regis epiſtolis acceptis, ſaith Gregory; When a kings letters are brought to his ſubjects, it is a ridiculous thing for them to enquire with what Pen they were written; 'tis the matter muſt be minded. So here. A Prophet, Habakkuk was; and is therefore to be received into our hearts, if we look for a Prophets reward. He received heavenly viſions, whereunto therefore we muſt not be diſobedient, Act. 26.19. That memorable ſentence of his, The juſt ſhall live by faith, is more then once made uſe of by St. Paul, in that weighty buſineſſe of Juſtification, Rom. 1.17. Gal. 3.11. p. 417which proves the Canonicall authority of this propheſie. The preciſe time when it was uttered, is not known. In the dayes of Manaſſeh, moſt think: but ſome are of opinion, in Joſiah's time rather, or not long before: becauſe he foretelleth the Babyloniſh captivity, and ſeemeth to agree with Jeremy in many things. Sure it is, that this Prophet lived not after the captivity (ſee verſe 6.7. of this chapter) as Epiphanius and Hierom would have it:Hierem. in Prolog. grounding upon thoſe Apocryphal additions to Daniel, which either are falſe, or elſe there were two Habakkuks.

Verſ. 2. O Lord, how long ſhall I cry, and thou wilt not hear?] Lo, this is the confidence of a good conſcience towards God, 1 Pet. 3.21. when it is parling with him by prayers, and bold interceſſions, 1 Tim. 2.1. it dare plead, as Jer. 12.1.foreign. and interrogate, as Rom. 8.33, 34, 35. Eſay 63.15. and expoſtulate, as David often: when God ſeems to be aſleep, he wakes him: when to delay, he quickens him: when to have loſt his wonted kindneſſe, he finds it for him; ſo doth Habakkuk here: for he knew he might do it. See his holy boldneſſe beneath, verſe 12. and learn to continue inſtant in prayer, Rom. 12.12. crying, Quouſque Domine? Beza in vita.How long Lord? This was Mr. Calvias Motto; ever in his mouth, as D…o gratias was, in Auſtins.

even cry out unto thee of violence] i. e. Of all ſorts of hainous ſinnes, which I have long cryed out upon, and ſought by preaching and prayer to redreſſe, but cannot; ſo incorrigibly flagitious are they grown, that I have now no other way left, but to turn them over to thee, with a Non convertentur, They will not be converted. Shall they ſtill eſcape by iniquity? In thine anger caſt down the people, O God: Pſal. 56.7.Ps 56:7and let them feel the power of thy wrath, that will not ſubmit to the ſcepter of thy kingdom. Thus the holy Prophet (Elias-like, Rom. 11.2.)Impendam & expendar. maketh interceſſion to God againſt Iſrael (when once incorrigible, uncurable) for whoſe ſouls health he would have ſpent, and been ſpent.

Verſe 3. Why doſt thou ſhew me iniquity? &c.] Theſe were Hazai…s to Habakkuks eyes, he could not ſee them with dry eyes, he could not but vex his righteous ſoul from day to day, as Lot did at Sodom, with their unlawfull deeds, 2 Pet. 2.8. privately committed, (as here in their common commerce) and publikely, as in the next words, in Courts and Conſiſtories: for all was out of order.

and cauſe me to behold grievance] Moleſtation and miſchief done to thoſe that would live peaceably in the land (Confer Pſal. 7.14, 16. and 94.20. and 55.11.) to the poor that are fallen into their nets, debts, bonds, and morgages, Pſal. 10.9. It is as if the Prophet ſhould ſay; Why doſt thou not puniſh theſe enormous practiſes, but ſuffer evil-doers to abuſe thy long-ſufferance, to thy diſhonour? Averroes the Philoſopher, drew an argument from Gods patience to deny his providence. But what ſaith Auſtine? Some wicked, God puniſheth here,In Pſal. 30.Ps 30 leſt his providence; and but ſome, leſt his patience, and promiſe of judgement ſhould be called in queſtion.

for ſpo…ling and violence are before me] E regione m…i vaſtatio & violentia, ſo that I cannot look beſides them, I cannot but complain of them. Elias, and Jeremy were more paſſionate, 1 King. 19.4, 10, 14. Jer. 15.10. and 20.14.

and there are that raiſe up ſtrife and contention] Theſe are Satans ſeeds-men, and kindle-coals. He is an unquiet ſpirit, and ſtrives to make others ſo; loves to fiſh in troubled waters, doth all he can to ſet one man againſt another,Greg. that hee may prey upon both: as the Maſter of the pit ſuppeth upon the bodies of thoſe cocks whom he hath ſet to kill one another. Be not make-bates, ſeeds-men of ſedition.

Verſe 4. Therefore the law is ſlacked] Deſluit lex. An elegant Metaphor from the pulſe, which in a dying man beateth faintly. The law is the pulſe of the Common-wealth. If it ſtirre not at all, the Common-wealth is dead. If it have but ſlow motion, the Common-wealth is weak. But if it keep an equall courſe, the Common-wealth is in good conſtitution. Lex lux, the law is a light, ſaith Solomon: but the deluge of ſin had well-nigh put out this light in Iſrael; who was now grown in a manner lawleſſe, through long impunity.

and judgement doth never go forth] Or, it goeth not forth to the utmoſt, Ʋſ que ad finem. foreign.to victory: it is not carried on to a right upſhot, as the Septuagint, and Latine render it.

for the wicked doth compaſſe about the righteous] As a crown compaſſeth the p. 418head: He ſurroundeth and circumventeth him to his hurt. The children of this world are wiſer in their generation &c. The Midianites out witted the Iſraelites Num. 25.18. The Phariſees hemmed in our Saviour to enſnare him: but were diſappointed.

therefore wrong judgement proceedeth] Diſtorted judgement. So Ezek. 9.9. the city was full of Mutteh that is of (miſhpat din mitteh, foreign.as Kimchi expoundeth it) judgement turned from the biaſſe: the ballance of juſtice was tilted on the one ſide 1 Tim. 5.21. A judge is to retaine the decency and gravity of the law: to do nothing of partiality or popularity; to proceed, not according to opinion or appearance; but as a juſt law is an heart without affection, an eye without luſt, a minde without paſſion &c. ſo ſhould he. Elſe wrong and wreſted judgement will ſoon proceed, to the prejudice of the righteous.

Verſe 5. Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelouſly] Heb: Wonder, Wonder. This is Gods anſwer to the former expoſtulation, which he diſliketh not, but incourageth the reſt of his people to the like holy boldneſſe. It containeth a promiſe to the Prophet and the reſt that were like affected, that he would ſhortly vindicate his glory and be avenged of the wicked, though he bore long with them. This that he may the better aſſure, He proceedeth by an elegant Climax; wherein his ſpeech getteth ground and ariſeth higher and higher, that the D…ſp…ſers might be the more affected. Behold ye deſpiſers So St. Paul after the Septuagint (whoſe tranſlation, he here followeth as moſt received, and moſt making for his purpoſe) Act. 23.45. the ſenſe being one and the ſame.

for I will work a work in your dayes] This phraſe noteth the ſtrong intention of God upon it, as Ier. 18.18. to deviſe deviſes noteth ſtrong plotting to miſchief the Prophet. So Chriſt is ſaid to work a work Joh. 5.36. many do rather play their works, then work them. This is not God-like. He is ſerious and through in his workes

which ye will not beleeve, though it be told you] But put off all, as thoſe in the Goſpel did, with a God-forbid: and ſo go on in ſin, till wrath come upon you to the utmoſt. To this day, we cannot get men to beleeve the truth of Gods judgments, whileſt they hang in the threatenings: but one put-off or another they get, through ſelf-deluſion, or obſtinacy of heart Lam. 3.65. next unto which followeth, Thy curſe upon them.

Verſe 6. For loe, I raiſe up the Chaldaeans, that bitter, and haſty nation] The Chaldaeans were anciently the Philoſophers of the Babylonians: Babylon was a Province of the Aſſyrian Empire; but not the ſame with Niniveh, (only walled about by Semiramis and by her called Babylon) as Suidas noteth. Niniveh was the Metropolis, Babylon ruled by Prefects. One of whom, viz Merodach Baladan) rebelling againſt Eſar-haddon King of Niniveh, tranſlated the whole kingdome to the Babylonians,Gualth. uſing the help and counſell of the Chaldaeans, famous for their wiſdome and authority: which yet was not done without the Lord who then ſtirred them up, and now ſent them againſt the Jewes, to averge the quarrell of his covenant. In like manner God hath in theſe laſt times raiſed up the Turkes that bitter and haſty nation, bitter and bloody, haſty and headlong, foreign purſuing their victories and ſubduing in a ſhort ſpace many nations, and kingdomes to their Empire. Hence the Jews are in the former verſe called upon to view among the heathen what havock the Chaldaeans had made; that is, ſhould ſhortly make by overrunning Syria, the greater part of all Aſia, and ſome part alſo of Africa. In the greatneſſe of the Turkiſh Empire is ſwallowed up at this day both the name and Empire of the Saracenes, the moſt glorious Empire of the Greekes, the renowned kingdomes of Macedonia, Peloponneſus, Epirus, Bulgaria, Servia, Boſina, Armenia, Cyprus, Syria, Egypt, Judaea, Tunes, Argeirs, Media, Chaldaea, with a great part of Hungary; as alſo of the Perſian kingdome,Turk. Hiſt. pref. to the Reader. and all the Churches and places ſo much ſpoken of in ſcripture (the Roman only excepted, which yet he daily threateneth) and in briefe ſo much in Chriſtendome, as far exceedeth that which is thereof at this day left. In fine, no part of the world is left untouched by the Othoman monarchy, but America only;Turk. hiſt. 132. not more happy in her rich mines, then in that ſhe is ſo far from ſo great and dangerous an enemy. The King of Spaine, of all other Princes Mahometan p. 419or Chriſtian that border upon the Turk, is beſt able to wage war with him. How far and with what bitterneſſe and haſt he hath carried on his Catholike Monarchy, is better known then that it need here to be related. Q. Elizabeth put a ſtop to him.Cambd. Eliſab. 285. Captaine Drake and his ſouldiers when they took Sancto Domingo Anno. 1585. (where his arms were to be ſeen in the town-hall with this inſcription, Non ſufficit orbis) derided his avarice and ambitions: but the poor Indies groane heavily under his cruelty: and Grynaeus commenting upon theſe words that bitter and haſty nation, Tribuuntur illis duo, ſaith he, Two things are here attributed to the Chaldees bitterneſſe, and ſwiftneſſe in undertaking and diſpatching conqueſts: quibus dotibus Iberos noſtra aetate praeditos, proh dolor, experimur, this by wofull experience we find now adayes too much verified of the Spaniards.

Verſe 7. They are terrible and dreadfull] Or, horrible Such as were thoſe gyants called Emims Deut. 2.11. Gen. 14.3. and far more formidable then that Diſputant at Paris, who would needes be ſtiled Horribilis Sophiſta, De cauſ. cor. art. lib. 3.the Horrible Sophiſter, non minorem eam appellationem ratus (ſaith Vives) quam Africam aut Aſiatici taking it for as great an honour, as to be a Conquerour.

their judgement and their dignity ſhall proceed of themſelves] i. e. They ſhall do as they liſt; their luſt ſhall be their law, Pellitur è medio ſapientia, vi geritur res. See Pſal. 12.4, 5. Exod. 5.2. Theſe Chaldaeans will be their own carvers: miniſtring law according to their own pleaſures.Ipſa ſibi judicabit, et decretum ſuum exequetur: vel ex decreto ſuo exequetur. Sic Symmachus Vide Plin. lib. 8. cap. 17. and lib. 1. c. 10. cap. 73. foreign The honour alſo and dignity of this nation (now baſe and obſcure) ſhall grow up and appeare.

Verſe 8. Their horſes alſo are ſwifter then the leopards] Or Panthers, famous for their ſwiftneſſe: whence the proverb Panther â velocior. The horſe is ſo ſwift in ſervice, that the Perſians (as Pauſanias hath it) dedicated him to their god the Sun; as the ſwifteſt creature to the ſwifteſt god. See Iob. 41.20. Prov. 21.31.

and are more fierce then the evening wolves] Heb: more ſharp ſet, after that they have been held hunger bit, and empty all the day long. See Virg. Aeneid. lib. 9. ver. 59. &c. Oppian: lib. 1.3. Homo homini lupus, One man (left to himſelf) is a wolf, nay a devill to another. The Metaphor is here taken from ſharpeſt ſwords, which quickly cut.

and their horſemen ſhall ſpread themſelves] with incredible ſwiftneſſe, which in war is moſt neceſſary and uſefull, as Julus Caeſar experienced, and we in our late commotions.

and their horſemen ſhall come from far] The Jews were ſecure of the Chaldaeans, as being far remote: but that ſhall be no hinderance.

they ſhall flee as the Eagle that haſteth to eat] In ſingulis verbis pondus eſt, ſaith Druſius, Here each word hath its waight:Job. 9.26.Job 9:26 for he that haſteth on his way is ſaid to flie, and the Eagle is ſwifter of flight then any bird, and eſpecially when ſhe haſteth to eat. Of the Eagles ſwiftneſſe why and whence, See Ambroſe Hexam: l. 1. c. 14.

Ver. 9. They ſhall come all for violence] that by force and violence they may carry all before them. Fit via vi, Cedit viribus aequum. They are ſet upon't and will have it ſo.

their faces ſhall ſup up as the Eaſt-wind] that ventus urens & exiccans, they ſhall blaſt all they look upon: Euroclydon-like, they ſhall overturn all Act. 27.14.Lib. 2. c. 28. Navigantium peſtem the Mariners miſery Pliny calleth this wind, for the hurt it doeth by ſea. Some read it, Their faces ſhall look towards the Eaſt, viz. towards Babylon, whither they carry the booty they get.

and they ſhall gather the captivity as the ſand] So many ſhall be their captives, and ſo little accounted of, as the duſt or ſand they tread upon. Thus the Turks carry out of Hungary and other Chriſtian countries neer unto them, innumerable booties and captives, 15000. at a time. And ſo the Spaniards, when they had taken the Iſland Hiſpaniola in the Indies, within a few moneths they rid it cleane of the inhabitants and natives, whileſt they gathered unto themſelves captives and ſlaves.

Verſe 10. And they ſhall ſcoff at the kings] Heb. He ſhall ſcoff, i. e. Nebuchadnezzar ſhall, and that not once only, but often: ſhall make a practiſe of it,Hithpael uotat aſſiduam illuſionem. as the Hebrew word ſignifieth. Thus Adonibezek dealt by the kings he took: the p. 420Philiſtines by Saul 1 Sam. 31. Nebuchadnezzar by Zedekiah Ier. 25. and 29. 2 King. 25. as alſo by the kings of Egypt, Tyre, Arabia, and others whom he had taken, and uſed them haply, as Tamerlan did Bajazet, or thoſe other captive kings whom he cauſed as horſes, to draw his charret. How much better Evilmerodach, who, (mindfull of the inſtability of all humane affaires) lifted up the head and ſpake to the heart of his priſoner Jehojakin king of Judah Ier. 52.31. Cyrus who honoured his captive Craeſus, Herod.and made him of his Councell? (neither was he leſſe iuriched by the good counſell Craeſus gave him, then by all the wealth he had from him) Our Edward the third, who having the king of Scotland and the French king his priſoners here in England both together at one time,Speed. gave them ſtately entertainment, and made them princely paſtime, by holding royall juſts in Smithfield for their delight?

and the princes ſhall be a ſcorn unto them] Through the juſt judgement of God, who ſcorneth the ſcorners Pro. 3.34. that is, ſaith Rabbi Levi, facit ut aliis ſint ludibrio he maketh others mock them in their miſery, who in proſperity ſcoffed at thoſe that were better then they. Now therefore be not ye mockers, leſt your bands, be made ſtrong &c. Eſa. 28.22.

they ſhall deride every ſtrong-hold] as that which cannot long hold out againſt their aſſaults, how ſhould they, when God breaketh the barrs and ſetteth open the gates to them Am. 1.5. and 9.3. Pro. 21.30.

for they ſhall heap duſt and take it] i. e. by caſting up mounts and ramparts, take it with as much eaſe,Turk. hiſt. fol. 317. as if they were in ſport. The Turks have their Aſapi or, common ſouldiers, of whom they make no great reckoning, but to blunt the ſwords of their enemies, and to fill up ditches with their dead bodyes, that they may the better come at the town or fort, which they would take.

Verſe 11. Then ſhall his mind change] For the worſe: in pejus proficiet, his good and his blood ſhall riſe together, as the proverb hath it: he ſhall be puft up with his victories. Luxuriant animi rebus plerunque ſecundis. Pride compaſſeth proſperous perſons as a chain Pſal. 73.5, 6. Iob 15.25, 26, 27. their hearts are lifted up with their ſucceſſes, as a boat that riſeth with the riſing of the water. Evagrius noteth it for a ſpeciall commendation of Mauricius the Emperour, that notwithſtanding his great proſperity, he retained his ancient piety.

and he ſhall paſſe over] Or tranſgreſſe all the bounds of modeſty. Pride was anciently pourtraited with three crownes on her head. Upon the firſt was written Tranſcendo, upon the ſecond Non obedio, upon the third Perturbo. David calleth wicked men Effractores breach-makers.

and offend imputing this his power to his god] Bel, or Iupiter Belus. This was a wickedneſſe with a witneſſe; thus to transferr the glory of victory due to God alone, upon an Idol. When Nebuchadnezzar offended in this ſort, God turned him a graſing, till he had learned better, Dan. 4.37. For, be the gods of the heathen goodfellowes ſaith One: the true God is a jealous God, and will not ſhare his glory with another Eſay 42.8.

Verſe 12. Art not thou from everlaſting, O Lord my God?] Art thou not Jehovah the unchangable, and ſhall we poor ſons of Jacob be utterly conſumed by theſe Chaldees?Mal. 3.7.Mal 3:7 Art not thou my God, my Judex & Vindex, who haſt hitherto judged and revenged my cauſe? and wilt thou now abandon me to the fary of ſuch an enemy? Art not thou mine Holy One, whom I have hitherto ſanctified in mine heart and life Eſay. 5.16. and whom I have avouched for mine Deut. 26.17. denoting my ſelf wholy to thy feare and ſervice? Art thou not all this and more then this, ſaith the Prophet, in the name and behalf of the Church here? Well then:

we ſhall not die] I am confident, and dare be bold to ſay it. Loe here the triumph of faith, and the top-gallant of it, We ſhall not die, (ſaith ſhe) abruptly but ſweetly that's ſure enough. She drinkes to the diſconſolate ſoule in a cup of Nepenthes, and ſaith, Courage my heart; Why art thou caſt down, O my ſoule! p. 421and why art thou diſquieted within me? hope in God. If hee be everlaſting ſo ſhalt thou, If he be thy God, and thine Holy One, thine in an inviolable covenant, in a league defenſive, and offenſive, ſhalt thou die? Lo tamuth, Thou ſhalt not die, (ſo ſome ſay, this text was anciently read) Lo Namuth, We will not die. So the Church promiſeth her ſelf upon the former promiſes: and ſuch an anſwer ſhee receiveth in her own heart to her former prayers. And whereas it might be objected, that they were likely to be little better then dead in the Babyloniſh captivity (for Mortis habet vices quae trahitur vita gemitibus, an afflicted life, is a lifeleſſe life) the Prophet anſwereth;

O Lord, thou haſt ordained them for judgement] i. e. the Chaldeans, (our oppreſſours) for puniſhment, for deſtruction, to burn thy rod, when thou haſt therewith whipped thy children. See Exod. 9.16.

and, O mighty God, (Heb. O rock) thou haſt eſtabliſhed them for correction] Heb. thou haſt founded them, ſc. thy people Iſrael: thou haſt thereunto appointed them, 1 Theſ. 3.3. thou haſt both founded and fitted them for thy fatherly chaſtiſements, who are therefore chaſtened of the Lord, that they may not be condemned with the world. See here the different kinds, and ends of good and bad mens ſufferings. It hath been noted before, that Almighty God as he is Piorum rupes, a rock of refuge to the truely religious, ſo he is Reorum ſcopulus, a rock of revenge, to daſh in pieces the impenitent: as Valer. Max. ſaith of L. Caſſius his tribunall.

Verſe 13. Thou art of purer eyes then to behold evil] ſc. with patience, and without puniſhing it. This I am right ſure of: and therefore cannot but conclude, that thou wilt take an order with our oppreſſours, thou wilt one day pay them home, for the new and the old, though for a time they ruffle, and revell in our ruines. God, as he is foreign, All-eye, neither can we be at any time from under his view: ſo foreign; He hath an Holy eye, that cannot behold evil, and bear with it. Hence that of Joſhuah to the people, chap. 24.19. Ye cannot ſerve the Lord, ſc. unleſſe ye firſt throw all your luſts out of ſervice: for hee is an holy God, he is a jealous God: he will not forgive your tranſgreſſions, nor your ſinnes. Now therefore, if Cave, ſpectat Cato, was ſuch a forcible watch-word among the Romans, and a Retentive from evil; Take heed, Cato ſeeth you, and will puniſh you; How much more ſhould this prevail with Chriſtians, Cave, videt Dominus, Take heed, the Lord beholdeth? Ne pecees, Deus ipſe videt, bonus Angelus aſtat, &c. Surely, as they were wont to ſay at Rome concerning cowards, that they had nothing Roman in them: ſo may it be ſaid of ſuch as ſtand not in awe of Gods pure eyes, and dreadfull preſence, that they have nothing Chriſtian in them, what ever they pretend: ſith it is every godly mans care, and comfort to be in the fear of the Lord all the day, to walk evermore in the ſenſe of his preſence, and light of his countenance.

and canſt not look on iniquity] Heb. And to look on iniquity thou canſt not do it. Lo, this is one of thoſe things that God cannot do: as he cannot he: hee cannot die, he cannot deny himſelf: ſo here, he cannot look on iniquity, ſc. with approbation, or delight. He cannot but hate it: and (as the next thing to hatred, is revenge) he cannot but puniſh it, ſuch is the holineſſe of his nature, Pſal. 5.4, 5, 6. He hateth ſinne naturally, as we hate poiſon for it ſelf: and therefore let it be in a toad, or in a Princes cabbin, we hate it ſtill. Nevertheleſſe, it muſt be remembred for our comfort, that like as we hate poiſon in a toad, but pity it in a man, becauſe in the one it is their nature, in the other their diſeaſe: So ſinne, maketh wicked men the object of Gods hatred, but the ſaints, of his pity: and accordingly, he chaſtiſeth the one, but plagueth the other.

Wherefore lookeſt thou upon them that deal treacherouſly] And yet, ſuch is thy tolerance, ſeemeſt to take no notice of their treſpaſſes, and treacheries; which I am ſure thou hateſt with a perfect hatred. Here then the Prophet diſceptat potius ſecum, quam cum ipſo Deo, ſaith Calvin, conteſteth, rather with himſelf then with God, aboutthe ordering of thingshere below. He doth not queſtion the divine providence, becauſe good men ſuffer, bad men proſper, as Ariſtotle did. Hee doth not ſay p. 422with Pompey, when diſcomfited by Caeſar, that there was a miſt, at leaſt, over the eye of providence: ſo blaming the Sun becauſe of the ſoreneſſe of his own blear eyes. Hee doth not impatiently cry out with Brutus defeated, foreign O wretched Vertue, or, O hard fortune. But he modeſtly expoſtulateth with the Lord about his proceedings, having before juſtified him: and now dareth not reprehend what he cannot yet ſo fully comprehend: but putting his mouth in the duſt, concludeth with David, after ſome conflict with his own doubtings, I know, O Lord, that thy judgements are right, and that thou in faithfulneſſe (non ad exitium, ſed ad exercitium, and that thou mighteſt be true to my ſoul) haſt afflicted me, Pſal. 119.75.

and holdeſt thy tongue] And ſo,Quitacet, conſentire videtur by ſilence, ſeemeſt to conſent (as the Civilians rule is) but thou ſeemeſt ſo onelyonly, Pſal. 50.21. Or, Art thou deaf? Nor ſo neither, Pſal. 50, 3.

when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous then hee] i. e. The Chaldees deſtroy the Jewes, which were ſome of them better then they: and the reſt were therefore the worſe, becauſe they ought to have been better. The truth is, none are ſo bad as they that either have been good and are not; or that might have been better, but would not.

Verſe 14. And makeſt men as the fiſhes of the ſea] that are eaſily drawn out with hook or net. So doth Nebuchadnezzar with little adoe, bring whole Nations under his power, and pleaſure. Here therefore, ſaith Druſius, Nebuchadnezzar is the fiſher, the world is the ſea, men are the fiſhes, the armies and arts of the Chaldees, are called the net, drag, hook, to the which Nebuchadezzar aſcribed his victories, and not to God. Whereas he ſhould have written upon them, as the Ancients did upon their greateſt exploits,Pauſan. foreign, and have ſaid, as Titus did, when ſome cried him up for his ſacking the city of Jeruſalem; I onelyonly lent mine hand to God, who did the work by me.

as the creeping things] Or, the leſſer fiſhes: for in the ſea alſo are creeping things innumerable, Pſal. 104.25. See Levit. 11.46.

that have no ruler over them] to right and revenge them: and are therefore devoured, the leſſer by the greater, without remedy. And what will men imagine, but that thy people have no ruler over them, no God to take care of their comfort, or to protect them from their enemies? How will they conclude them to be in as bad condition, as thoſe of Braſile, who are ſaid to be, Sine rege, ſine lege, ſine fide, &c. Or, the old Nomades, ſub regno Cyclopico?

Verſe 15. They take up all of them with the angle] No leſſe then all will ſerve their turns, or ſatisfie their ambition: as we read of Alexander, who wept that there was but one world for him to conquer: Julius Caeſar, who would be aut Caſar, aut nullus: this Nebuchadnezzar in the text, ſitly compared to a greedy fiſher-man, who could wiſh to encloſe, and catch all the fiſhes in the river, Covetouſneſſe is boundleſſe; and ambition rideth without reins. The curſe of unſatisfiableneſſe, the diſeaſe of a ſpiritull dropſie, is upon all carnall hearts: ſo that though one man ſhould ingroſſe a Monopoly of all the wealth in the world, and heap up his hoards, and his honours to the ſtarres: yet would his heart be as hungry after more, as if he had nothing.

therefore they rejoyce and are glad] This is worſe then all the reſt, that they pleaſe and applaud themſelves in their wickedneſſe, that they hug and ſtroke themſelves on the head, as Doeg did, Pſal. 52.2. and thoſe Sodomites, Eſay 3.9. This ſhews that men are arrived at that dead and dedolent diſpoſition ſpoken of, Ephoſ. 4.19. and are even ſtradling over hell-mouth, which gapeth for them.

Verſe 16. Therefore they ſacrifice to their net] Thus wicked men grow worſe and worſe: their ſinne is infinite,, what marvail then, if their puniſhment bee alſo infinite in hell?Sejanus ſibi ſacrificabat. Deo. To all other their iniquities theſe Caldeans adde this of abominable idolatry, they ſacrifice to themſelves, as Sejanus did, to their net, drag, &c, that is, to their weapons, as Ajax called his ſword, his god; and thanked it for all his brave atchievments. And as Mezentius (another Atheiſt) is brought in, ſaying; Dextrae mihi Deus,Virg. Aeneid. lib. 10. & telum quod miſſile libro. p. 423So Seſoſtris, king of Egypt (in Sampſons dayes) would needes be called foreign Lord of the whole world: and when he had conquered any countrey, he cauſed theſe words to be engraven there upon marble pillars, This countrey I gained by mine own ſtrength &c. So Antiochus, foreign. Herod. l. 2.(that little Antichriſt) is ſaid to worſhip his God Mauzzim, that is, his forces and armies Dan. 11.38. It was Nebuchadnezzar that was here pointed at: and how he deified himſelf and his own doings ſee Eſ. 10.13. Dan. 4.26.

and burn intenſe to their draggs] whiles they aſcribe to the inſtrument, that which is due to God alone, the chief Agent. Hold out net, ſaid they: well done dragge &c. Hoc ego primus vidi, ſaid Zabarell, Hoc ego feci ſaith Another. But what ſaith Luther? By mens boaſting in this ſort, Haec ego feci, haec ego feci, Luth. in Pſal. 127.Ps 127they become nothing better then mere Faeces, dreggs and lees.

becauſe by them their portion is fat] By them, that is, by their net and dragge, they think that their condition is well mended, and their meat is fat, opimus & optimus. God (the giver of all this) is not in all their thoughts: but as the moon, the fuller it is of light, the further it getts from the Sun the fountain of her light: ſo deale men with God.

Verſe 17. Shall they therefore empty their net?] That they may fill it againe anew, and ſo draw to themſelves as to a pond or pool, the wealth and power of the whole Eaſt? Interrogatio precationis ſpeciem habet, ſaith Gualther. This queſtion is an effectuall prayer: and it is as if the Prophet ſhould thus ſay, If, as hitherto, thou go on to wink at their wickedneſſe, O God, will they not grow more audacious every day, and miſchievous to mankind? Ariſe therefore O Lord of recompences to the help of thy people. Set up and ſhew thy ſelf above the heathen, that they may know themſelves to be but men.

and not ſpare continually to ſlay the nations?] q. d. This cannot hold long: and that it may not, is mine earneſt ſuite and ſupplication. Lord when thou makeſt inquiſition for blood, remember their blood-guiltineſſe,Pſal. 9.12.Ps 9:12 and forget not the cry of the humble. Theſe cruell Chaldeans do not only ſubjugate, but ſlay, not a few, but whole nations and that continually, and that without mercy. Is it not high time for thee to ſet to thy hand, O preſerver of men &c. Note the Prophets ardency in prayer: and learn of him to get upon the battlements, and look up, to ſee what comes of it, chap. 2.1. This was alſo Davids practiſe, Pſal. 5.3. where he uſeth the ſelf-ſame military word atſappeh: importing that he would be as a Spy upon a tower, to ſee whether he prevailed with God, whether he got the day.

CHAP. II.

Verſe 1. I will ſtand upon my watch] To ſee what becomes of my prayer, and what will be the iſſue of my doubts and temptations about Gods providence, ruling the affaires of the world. See the Note on chap. 1.17. There are ſpaces betwixt our prayers, and Gods anſwers. God harkens what Habacuc ſpeakes: and Habacuc muſt harken another while what God ſpeakes. This he had learned of David Pſal. 85.8. Prayer is a Chriſtians angel, ſeed, dove, meſſenger: and muſt be looked after. Who ſhootes an arrow, or caſts a boule, and takes not notice where it lights? They that obſerve not the anſwer of their prayers, do as ſcoffing Pilate, who asked in ſcorn of Chriſt what's truth? but ſtaid not for an anſwer.

and ſet me upon the tower] Heb: ſet me firme and faſt (as a Champion that will keep his ground) upon the tower or fortreſſe of divine meditation, upon Gods word,Neſcio quomodo imbecillior eſt medicina quam morbus. which alone hath virtutem pacativam a ſettling property to compoſe the ſoule when diſtempered, and to lodge a bleſſed calme, a ſabbath of reſt in it, far above all Philoſophicall Conſolations: whereunto when Cicero had aſcribed very much, yet he is forced to conclude, that the diſeaſe was too hard for the medicine. And this well appeared both in Socrates who died doubtingly; and Cato, who deſperately ſlew himſelf, after he had firſt read Plato's diſcourſe concerning p. 224the immortality of the ſoule. So fooliſh a thing it is, to flie in diſtreſſe of mind ad conſolatiunculas creaturulae, as Luther ſpeaketh: and not to run to the Name of the Lord, that ſtrong tower Prov. 18.10. R. Kimchi reades the text thus, I have ſet me in a circle q. d. I will not out, till I have an anſwer, why thou deferreſt to puniſh the wicked.

and will watch to ſee what he will ſay unto me] Or, in me, viz. by a Prophetick ſpirit by internall revelation. 2 Sam. 23.1. Zach. 1.9. and 2.2. Preachers muſt ſtill hearken what the Lord God ſaith unto them, and in them; ſpeaking as the oracles of God 2 Pet. 4.11. and able to ſay with St. Paul, I have received of the Lord that which alſo I deliver unto you 1 Cor. 11.23. For, ut drachmam auri ſine imagine Principis, ſic verba Praedicantis ſine authoritate Dei, contemnunt homines ſaith Lipſius. Bring ſcripture, or elſe you do but throw forth words without wiſdome, and to little purpoſe, becauſe they come not Cumprivilegio.

and what I ſhall anſwer, when I am reprooved] Heb: upon my reproof or arguing. Increpationis nomine tentationes intelligit, ſaith Gualther. Under the name of reproof, he underſtandeth thoſe temptations whereby his faith was aſſaulted, when he ſaw bad men proſper, good men ſuffer. Satan and the world do uſually ſet upon Gods ſervants with this weapon to unſettle their faith, and to make them fall from their own ſtedfaſtneſſe. Doſt thou ſtill retain thine integrity? ſaid Jobs wife to him. Seeſt thou not how little good there is to be got by Gods ſervice? that all things are in a huddle here below, that they run on wheeles, and have no certain courſe? Thus the devill and his imps ſuggeſt to the godly, and thereby greatly diſquiet them: ſetting their thoughts all on an hurricomb. It was the caſe of David Pſa. 73. of Jeremy chap. 12.1.5. Of Baſil under the heat of the Arrian perſecution, An Eccleſias ſuas prorſus dereliquit Dominus? ſaith He; what? hath the Lord caſt off all care of his churches? Is it now the laſt houre? &c. Of many good people in Salvians time, for whoſe ſatisfaction he was forced to write thoſe eight excellent bookes De Gubernatione Dei; as likewiſe Auſtin (upon a like occaſion) did thoſe two and twenty elaborate bookes De Civitate Dei: and as the Prophet Habacuc here doth the following viſion which he had for ſome time waited for, and now receiveth as a gracious anſwer to his prayer chap. 1. for his own and others ſettlement, in the doctrine of Divine Providence.

Verſe 2.Jam. 1.5.Jas 1:5 And the Lord anſwered me and ſaid] Wiſdome he had ſought of God, who giveth liberally; and wiſdome is granted him without hitting him in the teeth with his bold expoſtulations, and conteſtations about providence. Faithfull prayer never miſcarrieth, but is ſure of an anſwer, either before, as the prodigal; See Eſa. 65.24. Or in the act, as Dan. 10.12. I am come for thy words, with an anſwer thereunto. Or ſo one after, as here. If it come not all out ſo ſoon as we would have it, know that ther's water enough in the ſpring, but the pipes are ſtopped or broken.

write the viſion] that is, the following admonition: write it for the uſe of all poſterity. Note this againſt thoſe Opinioniſts, that ſay that the Word of God was not written by his command:Bell. lib. 4. de V. D. Cap. 4. Or that it was written only for the uſe of the preſent ages, and of thoſe particular Churches, to whom it was directed or declared.

and make it plaine upon tables] Boxen tables (as the Seventy render it) for on box, for the firmeneſſe of the matter, were the ancients wont to write.

that he may run that readeth it] That though he be no great Clerk, or in never ſo great haſt of buſineſſe, yet he may read it, being written in great letters and very legible. See Deut. 27.8. Eſa. 8.1. and 30.8. Gal. 6.11. you ſee how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand, foreign.the Greek ſignifieth with what good great text-letters I have written &c. God hath written for us the great things of his law Hoſ. 8.12. and with much perſpicuity and plainneſſe in things needfull to be known: he hath written them as it were with the beames of the Sun: that none may plead difficulty or obſcurity: See Pſal. 19.9. & 119.105. Pro. 6.23. 2 Pet. 1.19. Of the ſcripture it may be ſaid, & latet & lucet: the knowledge thereof doth even bow down to us as trees do that are laden with fruits, ſo that a child may gather them.

Verſe 3. For the viſion is yet for an appointed time] This he is commanded to p. 225write, that Gods people may learn to wait. He that beleeveth maketh not haſt, he can both wait (as knowing that many of Gods promiſes beare a long date) and alſo want; go without the good he deſireth: being well content that God is glorified, though himſelf be not gratified. And this is the work of effectuall faith, which is herein like unto Chriſtall, of which it is reported, that the very touching of it quickens other ſtones, and puts a luſtre and lovelineſſe upon them.

but at the end it ſhall ſpeake] Effabitur, It ſhall ſpeak confidently, boldly and freely, to the great comfort of thoſe that antedate not Gods promiſes, but patiently abide the accomphſhment thereof. If any ask when this ſhall be? it is anſwered, In the end, that is, in Gods good time. Shall he loſe his right, becauſe he hath it not by the day ſet down in our Kalender? Poſſibly the Kalender of heaven hath a poſt-date to ours. Sure it is, that as God ſeldome comes at our time: ſo he never failes at his own. Gods Expectants ſhall ſhortly clap their hands for joy: and cry out with that holy Martyr, Hee's come, Auſtin, Hee's come, Mr. Glover. Act. & Mor.Hee's come.

and not lie] that is, not diſappoint: as the earth is ſaid to lie when it yeelds not her expected increaſe. God is faithfull, and cannot lie. Chriſt hath a rainbow on his head Rev. 10.1. to ſhew that he is faithfull and conſtant in his promiſes, and that tempeſts ſhall blow over the skie be cleared. He hath hitherto kept promiſe with nights and dayes, that the one ſhall ſucceed the other, Ier. 33.20, 25. and ſhall he break with his people? How then ſhould he be Amen, the faithfull and true witneſſe Rev, 3.14? &c. Every man is a liar either by impoſture, and ſo in purpoſe, or by impotency and ſo in the event deceiving thoſe that rely upon him Pſal. 62.9. But God is a God of truth, and without iniquity, juſt and right is he Deut. 32.4.

though it tarry wait for it] This is the duty, wait: and becauſe it is a very difficult duty (the Hebrews found it eaſier to beare evill, then to wait for the promiſed good Heb. 10.36.) therefore is the promiſe heere not delivered only, but doubled, and trebled. It ſhall ſpeake, it will come, it will ſurely come: nay doubled againe for more ſurety; It ſhall not lie, it will not tarry. It is as if God had ſaid, Do but wait, and you ſhall be delivered, you ſhall be delivered, you ſhall be delivered, you ſhall, you ſhall. Oh the Rhetoricke of God! and oh the certaintie of the promiſes!

It will not tarry] ſc. beyond the time appointed of God. In ſe non tardat, carni tardare videtur. Gods help ſeemes long, becauſe we are ſhort. A ſhort walk is a long journey to feeble knees. But that God tarries not beyond his appointed time, See Exod. 12.40, 41. at midnight were the firſt-born ſlaine, becauſe then exactly the 400 yeers were up. And Dan. 5.30. In that night was Belſhazzar ſlaine; becauſe then exactly the 70. yeeres were ended.

Verſe 4. Behold his ſoule which is lifted up] Ebulat, protuberat, which ſwelleth like a bubble, and breaketh thorough its own weakneſſe:foreign Heb. 10.37. Ecce quiſemu. nit. Gualth.Heb 10:37 he that by unbeliefe or carnall ſecurity withdraweth from God, and confideth in the creature; ſeeking to ſhift and ſave himſelf ſome other way, as he is a proud preſumptuous perſon, ſo let him know that,

his ſoule is not upright in him] that is, it is very corrupt and crooked, ſtark naught: and Gods ſoule can take no pleaſure in him; but he will puniſh him as a run-away, as one that hath fled from his colours, forſaken his captaine, revolted to the enemy Heb. 10.37, 38. Transfugas ubicunque inventi fuerint, quaſi hoſtes interficere licet, was the old law of armes. What God will do to ſuch, See Pſal. 125.5.

but the juſt ſhall live by his faith] This is an anſwer to thoſe that would ask what ſhall we do till the viſion ſpeake? how ſhall we hold out till it come? till the ſeventy yeers of captivity be expired? The juſt ſhall live by faith ſaith He, and ſhall make a good living of it too: He ſhall live and be ſafe by the ſame faith, whereby he is juſt. He ſhall feed upon faith, as ſome read that Pſal. 37.3. And whereas we find in thoſe Apocryphal additions to Daniel, that Habakkuk brought a p. 426meſſe of pottage to that Prophet in the Lions den; as it ſeems to be but a Jewiſh fable, ſo the Jew that invented it, grounding his conceit upon this text, would expreſſe thus much,Keck. Phyſ. that as pottage (that ſuccus benignus, as Keckerman calleth it) preſerveth this naturall life from periſhing: ſo doth faiths acting upon the promiſes, and extracting nouriſhment from the ſame, maintain life ſpirituall: and thereby it was that Daniel ſtopped the mouthes of the Lions, Heb. 11. How Habakkuk taketh out this his own leſſon of living by faith, and not by ſenſe, ſee chap. 3.17. Although the fig-tree ſhall not bloſſome, &c.] See here the life of faith, in the fail of outward comforts, ſo true is that of Solomon, Prov. 2.7. The Lord layeth up ſound wiſdom for the righteous: When he is in greateſt ſtraits, then he hath ſuch quietneſſe, ſoundneſſe, and preſence of minde, as bears him up above all troubles: like as blown bladders do the body aloft all waters. Faith furniſheth him with ſtrongeſt and moſt ſatisfying joyes; ſuch as the flames cannot dry up, nor rivers of blood drown: faith actuated upon the promiſes maketh the beleever walk above the middle region of the air (as it were) in a continuall ſerenity, as Henoch did: and ſealeth him a double charter of privative, and poſitive priviledges. See it ſet down 1 Cor. 3.21, 22, 23. Faith makes him live in the mouth of death, by ſtrengthening him againſt the horrours of it Pſal. 23.4. Rom. 8.38. Heb. 11.31. 1 Cor. 15.55, 56, 57. and by ſhewing him heaven beyond it, Heb. 11.13. and therein freedome from all evil, fruition of all good.

Verſe 5. Yea alſo becauſe he tranſgreſſeth by wine] Or, How. Much more becauſe he is a a wine-bibber, perfidious, proud, neither keepeth at home, &c. Theſe four faults the Prophet here layeth to the charge of the Babylonian, and there-hence inferreth for the comfort of the diſtreſſed captives, that his deſtruction cannot be farre off: and therefore the juſt ſhould mean-while, live by faith, and bear up under affliction. For if thoſe that beleeve not the promiſes, but ſhift and ſhark for help and comfort elſewhere, ſhall ſmart for their unbelief, as verſ. 4. where ſhall thoſe appear that are here deſcribed? ſhall theſe bipedum nequiſſimi, worſt of men eſcape by iniquity? Never think it. Firſt, their drunkenneſſe alone would undo them; as it did Amnon, foreign. Ariſt. Ethic. l. 3. c. 3. foreign. Aelian. lib. 2. cap. 41.Elah, Nabal, Belſhazzar, Bonoſus, &c. Ariſtotle ſaith, that double puniſhments are due to drunkards: firſt, for their drunkenneſſe, and then for other ſinnes committed in and by their drunkenneſſe. Nebuchadnezzar (or, as ſome will have it, Belſhazzar) is here called wine, or, (by an ordinary ellipſis) a man of wine: not onelyonly Meribibulus, but a deep and deſperate drunkard, a very tundiſh (as Diotimus of Athens was called,) a hogſhead, as young Cicero. No wonder therefore though he were all the reſt that followeth. 1. Perfidious, to thoſe that committed themſelves to his truſt, or made leagues with him, which he kept no longer then ſtood with his profit. 2. Proud, or Arrogant, Prov. 21.24. See Dan. 4.30. how he ſpreads his peacocks tail, and prides himſelf in it: his great wealth tumoured him up with great ſwealth. 3. He keepeth not at home] Non habitabit, his own countrey will not contain him, but he encloſeth all nations in his draw-net, chap. 1.15.Sheol. 4. He enlargeth his deſire as hell] which hath its name in Hebrew, from its unſatiableneſſe, Prov. 30.15, 16. and in Latine it is called Infernus ab inferendo, ſay ſome, from the devils continuall carrying in ſouls thither, and yet it is not filled.

and is as death] which is the end of all men, Eccleſ. 7.2. the way of all fleſh, 1 King. 2.2. of all the earth, Joſh. 23.14. the houſe appointed for all living, the great Congregation-houſe, Job 30.23.

and cannot be ſatisfied] Luſt is unſatisfiable, and whatſoever it getteth, is but as fuell to the fire. Ambition groweth as the Crocodile doth, as long as he liveth. It rideth without reins, and there is no hoe with it.

but gathereth unto him all nations, &c.] All that he could come at; All Aſia, and a great part of Africa; and could never have enough, till his mouth was filled with a ſpade full of mould. Therefore, he ſhall not keep home, (ſo ſome read the words above in this verſe) Ideo non manebit in habitaculo His kingdome ſhall not long continue, but after a few years be over-turned by the Perſians: this golden head (as Daniel calleth the Babyloniſh Monarchy) held not up above 170 years, if we reckon from Merodach-Baladan the firſt founder, to Belſhazzar, ſlain by cyrus, who tranſlated the kingdome to the Perſians, Dan. 5.

Verſe 6. Shall not all theſe take up a parable againſt him?] Shall not the Babylonian, p. 427who is now a terrour, be ere long a ſcorn? ſhall he not inherit with ignominis, reproach?

and a taunting proverb againſt him] Heb. An interpretation, and riddles: For example, Woe to him that increaſeth that which is not his: that is both a proverb (becauſe in many mens mouthes) and an interpretation, becauſe it is plain and perſpicuous. But that which followeth is a riddle. That ladeth himſelf with thick clay. This Nut muſt be broken up, ere the kernell can be come at. See Judg. 7.15.

Woe to him that i…creaſeth that which is not his] Heb. Lo, lo. Some render it,Veſhibhro. Hoe, he that multip lieth not for himſelf, but fro another, ſc. for the Medes and Perſians, not Woe, but Hoe, a note of inſulting, and upbraiding, anſwerable to the Latine Vah, Vah, tune ille es, &c. Ah ſirrah, are you he that increaſeth that which is not yours, &c. Euge, foreign.

how long?] This is the common complaint of the oppreſſed nations, groaning out their grievances, and longing for deliverance from thoſe troublers of the world. Neither is this vſque quo in vain; for God is gracious: and may better ſtile himſelf then the great Turk, Awlem Penawh, that is, The worlds refuge: the poor mans King, as James 4. of Scotland was called.

and to him that ladeth himſelf with thick clay] With gold and ſilver, that guts and garbage of the earth; fitly called clay, becauſe of the clogging and polluting property: and ſaid to load people, as a ſumpter-horſe laden with treaſure all day, but at night turned into a ſtinking ſtable, with his back full of gauls, and bruiſes. He that firſt called Riches, Bono, Goods, was miſtaken; the Scripture calleth them, Thorns ſnares, thick clay, &c. a great burden to the owner, according to the proverb, Magna navis, magna cura, A great ſhip is a great care: and the lading oft proves no better then that which Captain Forbiſher brought back with him, after his Voyage to diſcover the Straits, viz. a great quantity of ſtones, which he thought to be Minerals: from which,Camd. Eliſab. 189. when there could be drawn neither gold nor ſilver, nor any other mettall, they were caſt forth to mend the high-wayes. This was labour in vain, preſſure to no purpoſe: and no leſſe is theirs that heap up riches without right, Jer. 17.11. or, if by right means, yet ſet their hearts upon them, Pſal. 62.10. ſtill ſtriving (as they ſay the toad doth) to die with as much earth in their mouthes as may be; till at length their Never-enough, be quit with fire-enough in the bottom of hell. Neneſſan the Lawyer was wont to ſay, He that will not venture his body, ſhall never be valiant: he that will not venture his ſoul, never rich. O curvae in terras animae, & coeleſtium inanes. Is it nothing to loſe an immortall ſoul? to purchaſe an everlaſting death? to ſink into the bottomleſſe lake under this thick clay.

Verſe 7. Shall they not riſe up ſuddenly that ſhall bite thee?] Rent and tear thee, as hunting-dogs do the beaſt they purſue. See Eſay 13.14, 21. Jer. 58. and 51. The interrogation here uſed, importeth both the certainty of the thing, and their ſecurity: as if no ſuch thing could poſſibly befall them: Suddenly therefore, ſaith the Prophet, ſhalt thou be ſurprized, and ſpoyled by the Perſians, when thy city Babylon is held impregnable, and boaſteth of proviſion enough laid in for twenty years ſiege. Security is the certain Uſher of deſtruction; as we ſee in Benhadads army, and thoſe Midianites, Judg. 7. and the Amalekites, 1 Sam. 30. and Pompeyes marching againſt Caeſar; and the French at the battle of Agincourt: ſo confident they were of a victory, that they ſent to our King Henry 5.Speed. 795. who was then in the field againſt them, and gat the day, to know what ranſom hee would give, &c.

Verſe 8. Becauſe thou haſt ſpoyled many nations] God loves to retaliate (as hath before been oft obſerved) to ſpoil the ſpoilers, by a remnant of the people, by ſuch as were of no note, and much unlikely to do ſuch exploits. Thus he ſpoiled theſe Babylonians by Cyrus, and his Medes; the Perſians, by Alexander and his Macedonians (whom they ſo ſlighted, that Darius in his proud Embaſſie to him, called him his ſervant, but himſelf the King of kings, and Couſin of the gods.) So the Roman Empire was miſerably rent and torn by the Gothes, Vandals, Hunnes, Lombards, people not before heard of: and the Greek Empire, by Turks, Tartars, Saracens, Scythians, &c. taht it might the better appear, haec non ſine numine fieri, that it was the Lords own doing: who often ſuffers his enemies, like Adoniah's p. 228gueſts, to feaſt and frollick in a jocund ſecurity and promiſe of continued proſperity: But at laſt, when they are at the height of their joyes and hopes, he confounds all their deviſes, and layes them open to the ſcorne of the world, and the ſpoyle of the remnant of the people whom they vilified.

becauſe of mens blood] Heb. bloods, every drop whereof had a tongue to cry to God for vengeance ſaying,Rev. 16.6. Pſal. 55.23.Rev 16:6Ps 55:23 Give them blood to drink, for they are worthy, Oh let not bloody and deceitfull men live out half their dayes. That ſouldier can never anſwer it to God that hath not a good cauſe, and ſtriketh not rather as a Juſticer, then as a ſouldier.

and for the violence of the land] Heb. of the earth, though principally of that land of deſires the promiſed land, and the inhabitants thereof whom he that touched, touched the apple of Gods eye, …hon.that little man in the eye that may not be medled with Zach. 2.8.

of the city] Jeruſalem, called the city by an excellency, and by a better right then ever Rome was. See Lam. 1.1. and Jeremies elegie there over it, when captivated by theſe Chaldees.

Verſe 9. Wee to him that coveteth an evill covetouſneſſe] For there is a good covetouſneſſe (which few are guilty of) 1 Cor. 12.31. Covet earneſtly the beſt guifts: And yet ſhew I unto you a more excellent way: Covet earneſtly the beſt graces, ſuch as are faith, hope and charity, theſe better then gifts. A ſhop full of barrells enrich not, unleſſe they be full of commodities. Gifts (as to heaven) are but the lumber of a Chriſtian: 'tis grace makes him rich toward God, and of that he cannot be too covetous. But the covetouſneſſe of the Caldeans here threatened and thundered againſt, was of another nature. It is called an evill covetouſneſſe, and hath its name in the Originall of piercing or wounding, as Joel 2.8. and fitly, both in reſpect of a mans ſelf 1 Tim. 6.10. and others Prov. 1.19. Am. 9.1. and here. Woe to ſuch, and deſtruction too, as Hoſ. 7.13. The Lord to ſhew his juſt indignation againſt Covetous perſons ſmiteth his fiſts at them, as Balac did at Balaam Num. 24.10. See Ezek. 22.13. Behold, I have ſmitten mine hand at thy diſhoneſt gaine which thou haſt made, and at thy blood which hath been in the middſt of thee. Now leſt people ſhould object or conceive that thoſe were but great words: and that the Lord would not do ſo as he ſaid; or that they ſhould deale well enough with Him: therefore it followeth verſe 14. Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be ſtrong in the dayes that I ſhall deale with thee? I the Lord have ſpoken, and will do it,

to his houſe] i. e. his family and poſterity, which he intends to advance, but indeed undoes them, by leaving them a curſed hoard of ill-gotten goods: wherein they do them a greater diſpleaſure then Joab, and Gehezi, did in leaving their children the leproſy for a legacy. Iob ſpeaketh chap. 15.34. as though the wicked, when they ſet up their houſes by pilling and polling, by getting riches without right, did but make a ſtack of wood, and then comes a ſpark of Gods wrath, and makes an end of all. As in another place, Brimſtone, ſaith He, ſhall be ſcattered upon his habitation chap. 18.15. ſo that if the fire of Gods diſpleaſure do but light upon it,De vita Conſtant: lib. 5. &c. Thus Diocleſian that cruell perſecutour had his houſe wholy conſumed with lightening, and a flame of fire that fell from heaven upon it, as Euſebius tells us. Add hereunto, that many times there comes a ſon that is as good with a fork, as his father was with a rake: as great a ſpend-all, as his father was a get-all.

that he may ſet his neſt on high] and there feather it at his pleaſure (ſee Obad 4.) and ſecure his children, like as the Eagle builds on high, to ſave her yong from the ſerpent that ſeekes to deſtroy them.

that he may be delivered from the power of evill] which he hat cauſe to feare from others, to whom he hath been ſo injurious and oppreſſive. But how will he be hid or freed from the terrours of his own guilty conſcience: well he may build cities with Cain, and ſet up high towers with Phocas, but what ſaid the oracle to him? Though thou ſet up thy ſtrong-holds as high as heaven, yet ſin at the foundation thereof, will ſoon overturn all, and lay it levell with the ground.

Verſe 10. Thou haſt conſulted ſhame to thy houſe &c.] Thou haſt taken a wrong courſe both for thy houſe of the kingdome (ſo the Perſians called the kings palace p. 229Dan. 4.27.) which ſhall be blown up: and for thine own private family and poſterity: it is not all thy care, paines, plotting and practiſing, that can preſerve it from ignominy and utter ruine. God will turn thy glory into ſhame, and make thy name to rot and ſtink as putrified fleſh Prov. 10.7. and ver. 9. He that perverteth his wayes ſhall be known. And when ſuch a man is raked up in the duſt, his evill courſes ſhall be caſt as dung in the faces of thoſe whom he leaveth behind him. What fooles then are Extortioners, Muckwormes and Cormorants, that live miſerably and deale unjuſtly, opening the mouthes of all to cry out upon their cr…tineſſe, covetouſneſſe and cruelty, and yet think to raiſe up their houſes and advance their names, and adorne their children with glory and eſtimation?

by cutting off many people] A poore glory it was to Sylla to have made ſuch a mercileſſe maſſacre at Athens: and after that, to have proſcribed and ſlaine 4700.foreign. citizens of Rome, as he cauſed it to be publikely recorded, videlicet ne memoria tam praeclarae rei dilueretur, ſaith mine Authour.Johnſt. de Nat. Conſt. So for Julius Caeſar to have been the death of a million of men, Mahomet the great Turk, of 800000. So for Stokeſly biſhop of London to boaſt upon his death-bed, that he had in his time brought to the fire fifty heretikes, as he called them: or for the bloody Spaniards, that they have murthered fifty millions of Indians in 42. yeers, as Acoſta the Jeſuite teſtifieth.

and haſt ſinned againſt thy ſoule] The worth whereof is incomparable, the loſſe irreparable, as Chriſt (who only went to the price of ſoules) telleth us Mat. 16.26. It was therefore no ill counfell that Francis Xaverius gave Iohn 3. King of Portugall to meditate every day a quarter of an houre on that divine ſentence, What ſhall it profit a man to win the world, and loſe his ſoule? Neither was it any evill anſwer that Maximilian (King of Bohemia, afterwards Emperour) gave the Pope, who perſwaded him to be a good Catholike with many promiſes of profits and preferments: the king anſwered, I thank your holineſſe: but my ſoules health is dearer to me then all the things in the world.Hiſt. of Counc. of Trent. 429. Speed 496. This pleaſed not the Pope, who ſaid that it was a Lutheran form of ſpeech. and yet that of Lewis king of France about the yeer 1152. pleaſed him much worſe, who caſt his Bulles (whereby he required the fruites of vacancies of all Cathedrall Churches of France) into the fire, ſaying, I had rather the Popes bulles ſhould roaſt in the fire, then that my ſoule ſhould fry in hell.

Verſe 11. For the ſtone ſhall cry out of the wall, and the beame out of the timber ſhall anſwer it] Here are wofull Antiphonies ſcreech-owles of woe cry aloud from the beames of the oppreſſours chambers, and make moſt hideous noiſes in the eares of their conſciences. So that although none other ſhould dare to mute againſt them, or accuſe them of wrong-dealing; yet their very houſes built by rapine and blood ſhall teſtifie againſt them: ſo ſhall other creatures that grone under their abuſes Rom. 8.19, 20, 22. They ſeeme all to ſay unto us thoſe 3.Lib. 2. de Arcap. 3. words, ſaith Hugo, Accipe, Redde, Fuge; Accipe beneficium, Redde Officium, Fuge Supplicium.

Now if we harken not to them but do the contrary, they ſhall be one day as ſo many ſwift witneſſes againſt us.

and the beame out of the timber ſhall anſwer it] Tignum è ligno reſpondet ei.] An alluſion to reſponſores, as in Quires and muſick: And perhaps the Prophet here tacitely taxeth the Babylonian luxury in keeping Quiriſters and Muſicians for their ſinfull delight. God, ſaith he, will fit you with other ſingſters ſhortly, that ſhall twit you by turns with your murthers and ravages: for the ſtone ſhall cry out of the wall, Woe to him that buildeth a town with bloods: and the beame out of the timber ſhall anſwer it, And wo to him that ſtabliſheth a city by iniquity.

Verſe 12. Wo to him that buildeth a town with blood] This ſeemeth to be the ſenſeleſſe creatures black Cantus (as they call it) chaunted out againſt the wrong-doer, by Gods own appoinrment, cui obſcura clarent, muta reſpondent, ſilentium confitetur, ſaith an Ancient, —cui ſervi ut taceant, jumenta loquentur,Juvenal. The very beaſts have a verdict to paſſe upon oppreſſours; as the dumb Aſſe did upon Balaam: yea the lifeleſſe creatures ſhall ring a dolefull knell of Woe and p. 430alaſſe in their eares, and cry them guilty: as the earth did Cain, and the heaven did Phocas; and as the tignum è ligno doth here Nehuchadnezzar. His town of Babylon was built in blood by Seminamis who ſlew her husband, ſo was Rome by Romulus, ſo was Alexandria in Egypt by Alexander that great man-ſlayer, the founder of populous No, of whoſe Woe reade Nah. 3.8, 10. with the Note. And for Alexander himſelf,Speed. he lay unburied thirty dayes together, neither did his bloody conqueſt above ground purchaſe him any title for an habitation under ground. The like befell our Conquerour William, who laid his foundation here upon fire-works: and was puniſhed in his poſterity for his depopulations at Newforreſt, and elſewhere.

and ſtabliſheth a city by iniquity] That thinketh ſo to ſtabliſh it, but it proveth otherwiſe. Joſephus telleth us that Nebuchadnezzar ſet three ſeverall walles of brick about his Babylon,Joſeph. lib. 10. chp. 11. one within another: but all would not do, when once God took it to do. Oppreſſion is a bony ſin Am. 5.12, 13.

Verſe 13. Behold is it not of the Lord of hoſts, that the people ſhall labour in the fire] Labour in vaine to quench the fire, wherewith Babylon ſhall be burnt, Jer. 51.58. Or have laboured to no purpoſe in building that city, and enlarging that Empire, which now God will have down. Is it not evident, that they have loſt oleum & operam, yea hazarded their own lives, as thoſe do that ſt…ive againſt a flame. What profit hath he that laboureth for the wind Eccleſ. 5.16. much leſſe he that laboureth in the fire, that devouring element. See Eſay 33.14. Poſſibly he may beſaved himſelf, yet ſo as by fire, but his work ſhall be burnt, that loſſe he ſhall ſuffer 1 Cor. 3.15. As they that ſeek after the Philoſophers ſtone labour in the very fire to as little purpoſe as may be: for they muſt uſe ſo much gold, and ſpend ſo much gold, and then perhaps they can turn as much into gold by it, as they have ſpent in making of it. Hence One calles Alchymy A multiplying of ſomething by nothing; Another, an Omne, Aliquid, Nihil. Another an art without art, never taught by Moſes and Miriam, as ſome have doted, and delivered, that this was a peece of their Egyptian learning. But it is certain that thoſe holy ſoules never either learned or taught any ſuch laborious loſſe of time and money. Demetrius Phalereus complaineth of theſe Alchymiſts long agone not without indignation quod certis conſumptis incertorum gratiâ, Athenaeusquae ſe capturos ſperabant, non ceperunt, quod verò habebant abjecerint, that they caſt away certainties for uncertainties, that they attained not what they hoped for, but caſt away what they had. Julius Scaliger alſo Fornaculas iſt as odi, Ad Cardan. exerc. 83. p. 100.ſaith He, odio plus quam Vatiniano. Sunt enim noctuae ad aucupia crumenarum. I cannot abide thoſe fornaces: indeed they are pick-purſes &c. know there is a true Alchymy called by ſome the Spagirick art, being in great uſe in phyſick. This I condemne not, ſo it be warily and wiſely dealt in. But this by the way only. It ſeemed to ſome an impoſſible thing that Babylon ſhould ſo ſuddenly be deſtroyed as was foretold verſe. 7. It will be done certò, citò, penitùs, ſuddenly, ſurely, ſeverely, ſaith the Prophet, for the Lord of Hoſts hath undertaken the doing of it. Annon ecce à Domino exercituum? (ſo the Hebrew hath it by an emphaticall Apoſiopeſis) Is it not, (look you) of the Lord of Hoſts? The people ſhall labour in the very fire,

the nations alſo ſhall weary themſelves for very vanity] Viz. in ſeeking to ſave Babylon, which by a divine decree is to be deſtroyed without remedy, Pſa. 137.8. So is Rome that other Babylon Rev. 18.2. citò itidem caſura, De rem. ut. fort. dial. 118.ſi vos eſſetis viri, ſaid Petrarch long ſince. It would ſoon be down, would you but ſtand up as men. Neither ſhall the Jeſuites (that ultimus diaboli crepitus) be able to uphold it: there is a cold ſweat upon all the limbes of Antichriſt already.

Verſe 14. For the earth ſhall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord &c.] He ſhall make himſelf a glorious name among the nations of the earth, by executing vengeance upon Babylon, and ſo pleading the cauſe of his oppreſſed people (whom he ſeemed, during their captivity there to neglect) that men ſhall have cauſe to ſay, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth, Pſal. 58.11.

as the waters cover the ſea] the chanell of the ſea: that is plentifully, and abundantly, See a like promiſe, Iſay 11.9. but to another purpoſe. That's a famous promiſe of the comming and kingdome of Chriſt: and ſo ſome Interpreters apply p. 431this. Wherein though they ſeem to be miſtaken, conſidering the context: yet the Ancients rightly here-hence argued, that Chriſt would certainly come again to judgement, becauſe many wicked men eſcape in this world without condigne puniſhment, which then they ſhall be ſure of, 2 Theſ. 1.6, 9. Then all ſhall be ſet to right, though now they may ſeem leſſe equally carried: and the reaſon of Gods proceedings with men ſhall be cleared up, which now alſo we are bound to beleeve to be (ſometimes ſecret, but) ever juſt. At the day of judgement we ſhall ſee an excellent harmony in this diſcord of things: and all obſcure paſſages ſhall bee made as plain to us, as if they were written with the moſt glittering Sun-beam, upon a wall of Chryſtall. Then ſhall this ſweet promiſe have its full accompliſhment. The earth ſhall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the ſea, in greateſt abundance, and redundancy.

Verſe 15. Wo unto him that giveth his neighbour drink] The Babylonians (among other their flagitious practiſes afore-mentioned) were much addicted to drunkenneſſe, as is recorded by Herodotus, Cteſias, and others. Their land was ſick of drink, and would therefore ſpew them out: Themſelves were men of wine, verſe 5. (See the Note) and ſhould therefore drink deep of the wine of Gods fierce wrath. They drank to their neighbours, or companions, not in a way, either of curteſie, or charity, but purpoſely to intoxicate them, to make them drunk, that they might either deride them, or abuſe them to filthy pleaſure, or both: they buckt them with drink, and then laid them out to be ſunn'd, and ſcorned, as Noah was by his grace…eſſe ſonne. Therefore as he curſed Ham (though Scaliger excuſe him) and it ſtuck to his poſterity for ever: ſo doth God here denounce a woe to drunkards, and ſo ſets it on, as no creature ſhall ever bee able to take it off.

that putteſt thy bottle to him] Not thy bowle onelyonly, but thy bottle, that he may drink, and be drunk, and ſpew, and fall, &c. Jer. 25.27. This is ordinarily practiſed by our Roaring-boyes, (as they will needs be called by a wofull prolepſis, Here for hereafter) in their Cyclopicall, foreign. Either by perſwaſions, or threats, the bottle is ſet to the mouth, and muſt be emptied, ere it come thence. The civil, ſober, and temperate man is urged, and it may be forced to ſwallow down long and needleſſe draughts (as a horſe doth a drench) by domineering drunkards, that they may ſee his nakedneſſe, triumph over him, as laid up, or (as the new terme is) ſatisfied. Their courſes are here graphically, and in lively colours deſcribed by the holy Ghoſt; to ſet forth the hatefulneſſe thereof, and how wofull will be the iſſue. There are that read the words thus. That putteſt thine anger to him, thy fervour, and thy fury, viz. if he pledge thee not whole-ones, and drink not all the Outs, as they call them. Domitius, the father of Nero, ſlew Liberius, Sueton.an honeſt Roman, becauſe he refuſed to drink ſo much as he commanded him. Others read it, That putteſt thy poyſon to him: and indeed, Ebrietas eſt blandus daemon, dulce venenum, ſuave peccatum, &c. Drunkenneſſe is a fair-ſpoken devil, a pleaſant poiſon, a ſweet ſinne, which he that hath in him, hath not himſelf, and which he that runs into, runs not into a ſingle ſinne, but is wholly turned into ſinne. How often, (ſaith a grave Divine) have I ſeen vermine ſucking the drunkards blood, as faſt as he, that of the grape, or mault, yet would he not leave his hold, or loſe his draught? Gualther reads it, Conjungens fervorem tuum, Joyning thine heat, inflaming thy ſelf, that thou mayeſt drink him under the board.De ſua bobacitate librum conſcripſit ſeu potius evomuit. …erod. This was great Alexanders ſinne, and ruine: ſo it was M. Anthonies, (who wrote a book of his abilities to drink down others) and before them both Darius's, as Athenaeus hath left recorded. How much better his ſucceſſour Ahaſhueroſh,, who made a law at his great feaſt, that every man ſhould drink according to his pleaſure, Eſth. 1.8. So Minos, king of Creet ordered, that his ſubjects ſhould not drink one to another, foreign, unto drunkenneſſe.

Quinetiam Spartae mos eſt laudabilis ille,

Ʋt bibat arbitrio pocula quiſque ſuo.

Among the old Germans, diem noctemque continuare potando, nulli probrum, ſaith Tacitus, It was no diſgrace to drink night and day together. It is ſtill the ſinne p. 432of that nation, as Gualther upon this text heavily complaineth; and it is grown to a proverb, the Drunken Dutch-man. Of them, the Engliſh, much commended for their ſobriety, learned in the Netherland-warres, to drown themſelves by immoderate drinking:Cam…d. Eliſ.231. and by drinking to others healths, to impair their own: ſo that in our dayes came forth the firſt reſtraint thereof by ſeverity of lawes, ſaith Camden: who yet, being ſo great an Antiquary, could not but know, that in the year 959. Edgar king of this land, made an Ordinance for putting pinnes in cups, that none ſhould quaſſe whole ones.

And makeſt him drunk alſo] Robbeſt him of himſelfe, and layeſt a beaſt in his roome. The ſame Hebrew word Zolel ſignifieth a drunkard and a vile perſon: filthy venemous creatures breed in thoſe fenniſh grounds Ich 40.21. Behemoth lieth in them; which Gulielmus Pariſienſis applyeth to the Devil in drunken hearts: whereas in dry places, ſober ſouls, he walketh about ſeeking reſt but ſindeth none Mat. 12.43.Natal. Comes E…iſt. 84. daemon meridianus The very Heathen in hatred of this ſinne fained that Cobali (an hurtfull and pernicious kind of Devils) accompanyed Bacchus: and that Acratus, or the intemperate Devil was their Captain. Seneca calleth it a voluntary madneſſe, another a noon-day Devill, no more a night-walker, as once, 1 Theſ. 5.7. The Lacedemonians puniſhed it ſeverely; ſo do the Turks at this day, powring ladle-fuls of boyling lead down their throats ſometimes: and at leaſt baſtinadoing of them on the bare feet, till they are diſabled for walking in haſte again to their conventicles of good-fellowſhip.Heyl. Geog. 793. Morat Baſſa commanded a pipe to be thruſt thorow the noſe of a Turk, which was found taking Tobacco: and ſo in deriſion to be led about Constantinople. Let men ſhun this ſhamefull ſinne; and be farre from drawing others to it: for have they not ſins enough of their own to anſwer for? Muſt they needs go to hell in company? Dives deſired that his brethren and companions in ſinne, might not come to that place of torment. Luke 16.Luke 16This he did, not out of any good will to them, but becauſe he knew, if they were ever damned, he ſhould be double-damned.

That thou maist look on their nakedneſſe] Thoſe parts that nature would have covered are called nakedneſſe per Antiphraſin. To look on them with delight, is by ſome held a ſinne againſt Nature: the ground of their opinion is Gen. 3.7. To make men drunk for that purpoſe, is worſe. But if for further abuſe of their bodies to uncleanneſſe, (as Attalus the Macedonian dealt by Pauſanias a young Courtier, who afterwards ſlew King Philip, Panſudam ſo…um mero Al…lus non …uae tantuin verim & convivarum libi… velut ſcor…m. vrle ſubject, ludi… … theat. … vi…uti ſun…limus & rigidae inn … tiae. Vell. lib. 2.becauſe he would not puniſh Attalus, for ſo doing) that's worſt of all: and hath a woe, woe, woe, hanging at the heeles of it.

Verſe 16. Thou art filled with ſhame for glory] Or, more with ſhame then with glory. That is thou ſhalt be filled ſhortly with ignominy for that glory wherein thou preſently prideſt thy ſelfe: thy drunkeneſſe ſhall redound to thine utter diſgrace, as it was to Darius, Alexander, Autoninus, Bonoſus, Trajan (a good Emperor otherwiſe, but a drunkard, and a pederaſt, as Dio Caſſius reporteth him.) Yea Cato, that moſt ſevere cenſurer of other mens manners; to whom it was ſometime objected (how deſervedly I know not) quod nocturnis potationibus indulgeret, that by night he would drink ſoundly. This is a blurre to him, if true, and confutes that elogium given him by Paterculus, that he was omnibus humanis vitiis immunis, free from all vices, and as like vertue her ſelfe as might be. In Scripture, the drunkards ſtile begins in lawleſneſſe, proceeds in unprofitableneſſe, ends in miſery; and all ſh…t up in that denomination of his pedigree, A ſonne of Belial.

Drink thou alſo] Sith thou art ſo able at it (ſith thou haſt ſo well deſerved that infamous Epitaph of a certain drunkard.

Heus, hic ſitus eſt Offellius Buratius Bibulus,

Qui dum vixit, aut bibit aut minxit. abi praeceps)Jo…nſi. de Natur. conſtant.

Drink another while of the cup of ſhame and ſorrow: take thy part of all manner of miſeries Jer. 25.26. Obad. 16. Snares, fire and brimſtone, and an horrible tempoſt ſhall one day be the portion of thy cup: For the righteous Lord loveth righteouſneſſe Pſal. 11.6.7. Yea he loveth to retaliate and will therefore make theſe drunkards drink alſo: and thoſe that made others drunk that they might look on their nakedneſſe, to lie with their fore-skins uncovered to their perpetual reproach. Uncircumciſion was a ſhameful ſpectacle indeed among that people.

p. 433The cup of the Lords right hand ſhall be turned to thee] Heb. turned about, or ſhall turn it ſelſe, quia rerum omnium viciſſitudo: thy turn is now come to take off the dregs of Gods cup of calamity Ier. 25.15. that hath eternity to the bottome.

And ſhamefull ſpewing ſhall be on thy glory] Kikalon a compound word, the vomit. of ignominy; a fit puniſhment for filthy drunkards, who break their heads as ſwine do their bellies, over-charge their ſtomacks as dogges do their gorges, and then diſgorge themſelves in a ſhamefull ſort, as Antonius did at Narbon amidſt his gueſts at a feaſt: and as Eccius, Luthers great adverſary, whom he merrily called Ieccius from his caſting: as Tiberius was nicknamed Biberius.

ſhall be on thy glory] The Hebrew word for glory, properly ſignifieth weightineſſe: as the word twice here uſed for ſhame, ſignifieth lightneſſe: an elegant oppoſition, ſhewing that whatſoever the Babylonians gloried in, and held themſelves honourable for, ſhould be lightly accounted of, and lie buried in the ſheet of ſhame, as in a dung-hill of filthy vomit.

Verſe 17. For the violence of Lebanon ſhall cover thee] Here, for the comfort of Gods people (which is the main ſcope of this propheſie) he repeateth the chief cauſes of Babylons calamity: viz. her cruelty to Lebanon, that is, to all Judaea (a part being put for the whole.) Or elſe he ſpeaketh of the violence done to the Temple, which was built of the cedars of Lebanon; as was likewiſe the Temple of Diana at Epheſus made of Cedar-wood. The devil loves to be Gods ape. This violence in firing the Temple, and deſolating the countrey, ſhall cover thee all over, as a garment doth the body: yea, it ſhall be as the ſhirt, made for the murthering of Agamemnon, where the head had no iſſue out.

and the ſpoil of beaſts which made them afraid] Men are here called beaſts, as the land, Lebanon: theſe were ſpoiled and terrified, theſe were murthered and maſſacred by the Chaldeans, who ſhall therefore be ſeverely puniſhed, and this written, as it were, over their heads, to ſignifie for what they ſuffer. Becauſe of mens blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. See the Note on verſe 8.

Verſ. 18. What profiteth the graven image] The Chaldees promiſed themſelves much help againſt their enemies from their idols: and were ready to ſay, as that Roman Emperour Antoninus the Philoſopher did, when he was to meet his enemie,Ita refer.- Vulcat. Galliz. in Avid. Caſſ. Non ſic deos coluimus ut ille nos vinceret. We have not ſo ſerved the gods, as that he ſhould overcome us. The Prophet here rejecteth their confidence, and layeth open their folly. See the like, Jer. 10.8, 14, 15. Zech. 10.2. Eſay 44.16, 17, &c. Confer Jer. 51.47, 52. Ezek. 20.30, 32.

that the maker thereof hath graven it] And can he hope for help from the work of his own hands? can the image give that to others, which it hath not for it ſelf? In Henry the eights time, one Mr. Cotiſmore was accuſed of hereſie, for ſaying,Act & Mon 763. that Images were but Carpenters chips; and that when men go to offer to them, they did it to ſhew their new gear. The men of Cockram, not pleaſed with their new Rood, quarrelled with the joyner, and refuſed to pay him: he complained to the Major of Doncaſter, who gave them this counſell; Pay the poor man his money, and go your wayes home, and look on it, and if it will not ſerve for a god, make no more ado, but clap a pair of horns on his head, and ſo he will make an excellent devil. This the Pariſhioners took well in worth: the poor man had his money, and diverſe laughed well thereat: but ſo did not the Babyloniſh prieſts,Ibid. 1340, ſaith Mr. Fox. Horace brings in Priapus, that ridiculous garden god, ſaying, thus, Olim truneus eram ficulnus, &c. He thought no otherwiſe of the Images of Jupiter, and the reſt: but durſt not ſay ſo, for fear of the people So that of him it might be ſaid, as Auguſtine doth of Seneca, who wrote a book againſt ſuperſtitions, but colebat quod reprehendebat, De civ. D…i. lib.6. c. 10.agebat quod arguebat, quod culpabat, adorabat, he reproved them, but yet uſed them.

the molten image, and a teacher of lies] Pictura falſa veritas eſt, ſaith One. It is but a ſhadow of the perſon that it repreſenteth. God cannot be pictured, or expreſſed p. 434by any image. Images of Chriſt are not onelyonly defects, but alſo lies, ſaith the Homily againſt perill of idolatry, ſet forth in Queen Elizabeths dayes. Irenaeus reproveth the Gnoſticks for carrying about the images of Chriſt, made in Pilates time, after his own proportion, Lactantius ſaith, that there is no religion where there is an image. Varro had ſaid the ſame long before him, as Auſtin reciteth him. Plutarch ſaith, it is ſacriledge to worſhip by images, &c. and telleth us, that Numa forbad the Romans the uſe of images in temples; neither had they any for the firſt 170. years together, no more had the Perſians, ſaith Strabo, nor the old Germanes, ſaith Tacitus. The old Britones indeed had their idols, Portenta diabolica (ſo Gildas calleth them) penè numero Aegyptiaca vincentia, ugly for ſhape, and almoſt as many as the Egyptians for number. Theſe all fell down together, when Chriſt was firſt known here (as they ſay the Egyptian idols did, when Chriſt with his parents fled thither, for fear of Herod) but Antichriſt ſoon ſet up others in their ſtead, and taught the people that they were Lay mens books. But if they be lying teachers, (as here they are called) they muſt be lying books too; and therefore not to be read by any that would receive the love of the truth, that they may be ſaved. Bern in Swiſſerland, was the firſt town, that after the Reformation, was purged of images; making a bone-fire of them, on an Aſhwedneſday. The like was done here in England, in King Edward 6. his raigne, on that very day wherein the victory was gotten at Muſcleborough in Scotland: and now I hope we are rid of them for ever. The Turks will not endure them, no not upon their coynes; becauſe of the ſecond Commandement: for they alſo do ſo honour Moſes his writings,Par. Porleg. in Geneſ. that they kiſſe any piece of Paper, wherein any thing of his is written, and do exceedingly hate Papiſts for their abominable idolatry: as do likewiſe the Jewes.

that the maker of his work truſteth therein] Which he would never do, if not bewitcht, and bereft of his right mind. To truſt in a god of a mans own making, is a prodigious errour, a ſtupendious ſtupidity.

to make dumb idols] In the Hebrew there is an elegant Agnomination, Elilim illemim, ſpeechleſſe, No-gods, that give no anſwer to their ſuitours, and —quorum ſunt numina nomina tant ùm.

Verſe 19. Woe unto him that ſaith to the wood, Awake] It is wood ſtill, and yet he ſaith to it, Awake, Ariſe, &c. as if he would deny his own reaſon, and un-man himſelf. When Hezekiah ſaw that ſuch was the venome of the Iſraelitiſh idolatry, that the brazen-Serpent ſtung worſe then the fiery, he pulled it down, and in contempt called it Nehuſhtan, that is, a piece of braſſe, 2 King 18.4. Pagnins rendreth it,Theſ. Ling. ſanct. aenuſum. Marinus, aeniculum, that is, parum quid aeris, a little piece of ſorry braſſe. The Jewes at this day ſay, that as long as they ſee the Preacher direct his ſpeech and prayer to that little wooden crucifix, that ſtandeth in the pulpit by him, to call it his Lord, and Saviour, to kneel to it, to embrace it, to kiſſe it, to weep upon it,Spec. Eur. (as is the faſhion of Italy) this is preaching ſufficient for them: and perſwadeth them more with the very ſight of it to hate Chriſtian religion, then any reaſon that the world can alledge to love it. Woe therefore to thoſe Popiſh Idolaters, becauſe of offences: deſtruction to them, that thus ſay to the wood, Awake, and to the dumb ſtone, Ariſe] A prayer, fit to be preferr'd to God onelyonly, (as Pſal. 35.23.) who giveth not his glory to any other, nor his honour to graven images.Eſay 42.8.Isa 42:8 He that is the right object of mens prayers, muſt be omnipotent, omnipreſent, omniſcient, a God alſo in covenant with us, &c. Is any wood or ſtone ſo? Is it not inutile lignum a dead ſtock? Eben dumam, a dumb ſtone? Our Engliſh ſeems to come of the Hebrew.

It ſhall teach] Dumb, and yet teach? Others read it queſtionwiſe, Ipſe doceat? Can it teach? What better leſſon can ye learn from it then a lie, as verſe 18? Bid adieu to it therefore, as King Hen. 8. did to the Pope (if he had done ſo to Popery too, it had been better for him) in his Proteſtation againſt him. England is no more a babe, to be led and fed with lies—. Surely except God take away our right wits,Act. & Mon. 990. not onelyonly the Popes authority ſhall be driven out for ever, but his name alſo ſhortly ſhall be forgotten in England. We will from henceforth ask counſell of him p. 435and his when we liſt to be deceived, when we covet to be in errour, when we deſire to offend God, truth and honeſty &c.

behold it is laid over with gold and ſilver] q. d. Come and ſee, beleeve your own eyes at leaſt, behold the matter, form, workmanſhip of this new-made god,Ibid. 1084. and grow wiſer. The Rood of Grace with all its trinkets, the blood of Hales (that notable impoſtor) was laid open at Pauls croſſe by Cromwell, and there viewed and torn in peeces by the people.

there is no breath at all in the middeſt of it] No ſoule,Aeſop. not ſo much as that of a beaſt. O pulchrum caput, ſed cerebrum non ineſt, ſaid the ape (in the fable) comming once into a ca…vers ſhop. The beſt thing that an image can teach a man is, that it ſelf is dumb and dead: and that the maker thereof cannot give life and breath to it, much leſſe a deity.

Verſe 20. But the Lord is in his holy Temple] It is not enough to condemne ſuperſtitions: but we muſt know and ſerve the true God in a true manner. Tully wiſhed that he could as eaſily find out the true religion, as diſprove the falſe ones.De nat. deos. Cambyſes deſtroyed the Egyptian idols, rather in ſcorne of all religion, then hatred of idolatry. Lucian ieared the heathen-gods: and yet was an enemy to Chriſtianity. Eraſmus was no Papiſt, nor yet good Proteſtant. Henry the 8. deſpiſed the old religion, and yet envied the new. There are many (ſaid He in Pa…liament) that are too buſy with their new Sumpſimus: and others that dote too much upon their old Mumpſimus &c. Hence it is that the Prophet here to thoſe dunghill-deities of the heathens, thoſe dead idols, oppoſeth the living and onelyonly true God, Jehovah, ſaith he, is in his holy Temple: that Eſſentiator who hath his being of himſelf, and gives beeing to all things elſe foreign as St. Paul elegantly expreſſeth it Act. 17.25. He is in his holy Temple, ſc. in heaven by his power and glory and in his Church on earth by his grace and goodneſſe. The uſe of which doctrine followeth.

let all the earth keep ſilence before him] Heb. ſc. or be ſtill, all the earth &c. Reverentiae cauſe ſilete, Tremble at his judgements, truſt in his promiſes, wait upon him in his ordinances, walk before him in obedience, ſpeake not of him or to him, but as knowing your diſtance, your infancie. In ſpeaking of God, our beſt eloquence is ſilence, ſaith Mr. Hooker. In ſpeaking to him, quanta cum reverentia, quanto timore, quanta humilitate, Bern. de diverſ. 25.accedere debet è palude ſua procedens & repens vilis ranuncula, ſaith Bernard? with what reverence and godly feare, with what humility, ſhould a poor ſmall frog, creeping out of his mud, draw neer unto this great God, before whom Angels appeare with greateſt ſelf-abaſements? what abhorrency then and ſelf-annihilation can be ſufficient to accompany our approaches to this great God of heaven? And how ſhould the enemies of the Church ſtand in aw, and even quake before him, wriggling into their holes, as wormes do, when it thundreth, and beeing all huſht, as ſheep are before the wolfe, birds before the hawk, all the beaſts of the field before the lion when he roareth.

CHAP. III.

Verſe 1. A prayer of Habbakkuk the Prophet] Habakkuk ſignifieth a Wraſtler, that by cloſing ſtriveth to get the better, as hath been before noted on chap. 1.1. To cloſe with the adverſary is the beſt way to ſupplant him, or to avoid the blow: ſo is running in to God, the way to eſcape him. The Prophet had heard Gods ſpeech and was afraid verſe 2. He ſaw his wrath ready to break forth, and therefore gets in with him by this prayer. He knew that, Flectitur irat us voce rogante Deus.Ovid. God ſuffereth himſelf oft to be overcome by the prayers of his people: and yeeldeth much unto them, when moſt bitterly bent Mat. 24.20. he therefore ſers ſhoulders and ſides to work, and wreſtle luſtily in this chapter. He knew it was a Prophets work, to pray as well as preach: and between theſe two, to divide his time. God forbid (ſaith Samuei, who is reckoned the firſt of Prophets) p. 436that I ſhould ſin againſt the Lord in ceaſing to pray for you: I will alſo teach you the good and right way 1 Sam. Act. 3.24.Acts 3:2412.23. So doth this Prophet: he both preferreth a prayer (the word,foreign ſay ſome, ſignifieth ſuch a prayer as is made by a Mediatour before a judge; we have an advocate with the Father 1 Ioh. 2.1.) and dedicated the ſame to the people, to be uſed by them in the time of the captivity: which yet they ſhamefully neglected to do, as Daniel acknowledgeth chap. 9.13. or if they did any thing towards it, they merely ſought themſelves in it, and ſo loſt their labour, Zech. 7.5. whereas had they prayed as here is preſcribed, confeſſing their ſins,Lam. 3.Lam 3 and beſeeching God not to deale with them after their deſerts, but according to his ancient loving kindneſſes that never faile, they might have found mercy. The Altar of incenſe ſtood againſt the Mercy-ſeat: and Rev. 9.13. the prayers of the Saints from the foure corners of the earth ſound and do great things in the world, make it ring. It was the ſpeech of a learned man: If there be but one ſigh come from a gracious heart, it fills the eares of God, ſo that God hears nothing elſe.

upon Sigionoth] Vocabulum Muſicum eſt, cujus ratio Hebraeis ignota, ſaith Buxtorf: it is a Muſical terme, the reaſon whereof is unknown to the Hebrew-Doctours at this day. Yet Rabbi Salomon (and with him the moſt Interpreters) rendreth it pro ignorantiis, for ignorances, or as touching his own and his peoples errours; which the prophet here (convinced by Gods former anſwer to his expoſtulation) confeſſeth with confuſion of face. Ignorance ſurely is a bluſhfull ſin; eſpecially if affected and delighted in (as the Hebrew word ſeemeth to imply, confer Prov. 5.19. and 20.1.) Privative ignorance, though it do ſomwhat excuſe a man (ſc. à tanto, foreign.not à toto, Luk 12.47.) yet is it a ſin to be confeſſed and bewailed: for Chriſt died for the not-knowing of the people Heb. 9.7. and deſtruction is threatened pr… non-ſcientia, or lack of knowledge Hoſ. 4.7. But Calvin well obſerveth here, that the Prophet by begging pardon for i…norances, doth not omit his own and the peoples more grievous ſins: but ſheweth, that men muſt alſo be ſenſible of their leſſer lapſes, and cry out with David (after whoſe example this whole ſong is framed) Who can underſtand his errours (or ignorances unwitting and inconſiderate ſins?) O clenſe thou me from ſecret faults. Pſal. 19.12.

Verſe 2. O Lard I have heard thy ſpeech and was afraid] Audivi auditionem tuam. I have heard (not thy fume, or thy report, as ſome render it, unleſſe it be in the Prophet Eſays ſenſe, chap. 53.1. but) thy preceding diſcourſe, in anſwer to my diſceptation. I have heard that the Babylonians will come, and that my people muſt into captivity. This was no pleaſant hearing: for we all naturally ſhrink in the ſhoulder, when call'd to carry the croſſe: but thoſe that do what they ſhould not, muſt look to hear and feel too, what they would not.

and was afraid] Fear is conſtrictio cordis exſenſu mali inſtantis, a paſſion of the ſoule ſhrinking in it ſelf from ſome imminent evill. The wicked heare and jeere: or their feare driveth them from God, as it did guilty Adam. Contrarily, the godly tremble at Gods judgements, whiles they hang in the threatenings: and draw nigh to him with intreaties of peace. In this feare of the Lord is ſtrong confidence, and his children have a place of refuge, Prov. 14.26.

O Lord reviue thy work in the middeſt of the yeares] i. e. Preſerve alive thine Iſrael, that work of thine hands Eſay. 45.11. together with thy work of grace in their hearts: keep that ſpark alive upon the ſea of tribulations and temptations. The Angels (ſaith a Reverend man) are kept with much leſſe care, charge, and power, then we: becauſe they have no biaſſe, no weights of ſin hung upon them &c. There is not ſo much of the glory of God (ſaith Another) in all his works of Creation and Providence, as in one gracious action that a Chriſtian performeth.

in the middeſt of the yeares make known] ſc. thy power in perfecting thy glory, and not forſaking the work of thine own hands Pſal. 138.8. It was Luthers uſuall prayer,Act. & Mon. Confirm, O God, in us, that thou haſt wrought: and perfect the work that thou haſt begun in us, to thy glory. So be it. So Q. Eliſabeth, when priſoner at Woodſtock, pray'd thus: Look Lord upon the wounds of thine hands: and deſpiſe not the work of thine hands. Thou haſt written me down in thy p. 437book of preſervation with thine own hand: O read thine own hand-writing,Engl. Eliſ. pag. 134. foreign. and ſave me, &c. But what meant the Seventy here to tranſlate, In the middeſt of two beaſts: which whiles Ribera ſtriveth to defend, he tells us a tale of the babe of Bethlehem, born in a ſtable, and laid in a manger betwixt two beaſts, an oxe and an aſſe. It may very well be, that the Church here prayeth for Gods grace and favour, during the time of her captivity.

In wrath remember mercy] In commotione irae: when thou art moſt moved againſt us, and haſt as much adoe to forbear killing of us, as thou hadſt to forbear Moſes, when thou metteſt him in the Inne, then remember to ſhew mercy, call to mind thy compaſſions which fail not. Look then upon us, and be mercifull unto us, as thou uſeſt to doe unto thoſe that love thy name, Pſal. 119.132. The wicked are threatned with an evill, an onelyonly evil, without any mixture of mercy:Ezek. 7.5.Ezek 7:5 this the Prophet here deprecateth, and beggeth mercy. Per miſerere mei, tollitur iradei.

Verſe 3. God came from Teman] The Prophet alludeth to that of Moſes in his Swan-like ſong Deut. 33.2. and alledgeth Gods benefits of old, for his own and their preſent confirmation of faith: without which prayer would be to no purpoſe: hence effectuall prayer is called the prayer of faith, Jam. 5.15. Faith is the foundation of prayer, and prayer is the fervency of faith. Whatſoever ye ask beleeving, Mar. 7. Pſal. 55.Mark 7Ps 55yee ſhall receive, ſaith our Saviour. Caſt thy burthen (or thy requeſt) upon the Lord ſaith David. To help us ſo to doe, it is of ſingular uſe to conſider what God hath done heretofore: for thou haſt, thou wilt, is an ordinary medium of Scripture Logick, ſee Pſal. 85.1, 2, 3, 4. There be ſix Haſts drawing in the next, Turn us again &c. ver. 4. See alſo 2 Cor. 1.10. Gods Majeſty & might when he gave the Law in Sinai, is here ſet forth, to ſhew how eaſily he can, if he pleaſe,Pſal. 126.4.Ps 126:4 turn again the captivity of his people, as the Streams in the ſouth.

And the holy One from mount Paran. Selah] He that is Holineſſe it ſelf (a title farre too good for that man of ſinne, that Merum Scelus, the Pope, Philip the Faire of France did him right, in writing to him thus Sciat tua maxima Fatuitas &c. Be it known to your Fooliſhneſſe, not to your Holineſſe) and that muſt be ſanctified in righteouſneſſe Eſay 5.16. mount Paran was contiguous to the mountains Sinai and Teman, otherwiſe called Seir for its roughneſſe Deut. 33.2. Selah. This the Seventy make to be a muſical notion, rendring it Diapſalma. It ſeemeth to import an aſſeveration of a thing ſo to be, and an admiration thereat. The Iews at this day uſe it in their prayers for Legnolam i. e. For ever, or Amen. It is probable, that the Singers of the Temple came to a Selah (which word is uſed 92 times in Scripture, and onelyonly in Pſalmes and Songs) they made a pauſe, that the hearers might ſtay their thoughts awhile upon the preceding matter, worthy of more then ordinary obſervation. Hence Tremellius and Iunius expreſſe Selah by the adverbs Summe Maximè, Vehementiſsimè, Excellenter. It was doubtleſſe a ſingular mercy of God to his people of Iſrael, that he came from Teman &c. to ſpeak with them from heaven: and there to give them right Iudgements, and true Lawes, good Statutes and Commandements, Neh. 9.13.14. This when he did.

His glory covered the Heavens and the Earth was full of his praiſe] The Law was given in a moſt majeſtick manner (ſee Exod. 19.) partly to procure reverence to the doctrine of it, partly to ſet forth the nature and office of it, which is to terrify Offenders, and to drive them to Chriſt: and partly alſo to ſhew that God hath power, and weapons enow, to defend thoſe that keep his Law, and to puniſh ſuch as would draw them off from their obedience thereunto. That's a pious meditation of a Reverend Writer, if the Law were thus given, how ſhall it be required?Dr. Hall If ſuch were the Proclamation of Gods Statutes, what ſhall the Seſſions bee? I ſee and tremble at the reſemblance. &c.

Verſe 4. And his brightneſſe was as the light] The glory of the Lord was as a devouring fire on the top of the mountain. Exod. 24.17. the noon-day light, the Sun in his ſtrength was nothing to this incomparable brightneſſe, which was as the light, foreignor as the Sun: ſ…e Iob 31.26. and 37.20. Hence the Heathens called Apollo or the Sun Orus, (which is the word here uſed) Hence alſo the Greek foreign to ſee.

He had … coming out of his hand] Or, bright beams out of his ſide, as the Sun hath: The … the Lord are in every place Prov. 15.3.Rev. 4.6.Rev 4:6 and every man before him is all … Iob 34.22. the whole world is to him as a Sea of glaſſe, a clear p. 438tranſparent body, he ſhines and ſees throw it. Gods hand or ſide is ſaid to be horned in the ſenſe, that Moſes his face was. Exod. 34.30.

And there was the hiding of his power] Not the revealing of it, but velamen, ſymbolum, integumentum, the veil, the cover, ſuch as God put over him when he ſhewed Moſes his glory. He could ſee but his back parts, and live: we need ſee no more, that we may live. God is inviſible, incomprehenſible, and dwelleth in light unapproachable. How little a thing doth man here underſtand of God, Iob 26.14. the greateſt part of that he knoweth, is but the leaſt part of that he knoweth not. Surely as a weak eye is not able to behold the Sun, no nor the ſtrongeſt eye without being dazled: we cannot look upon it in rota, but only in radiis: ſo here we cannot ſee God in his Eſſence, but onelyonly in his effects, in his works and in his Word, where alſo we have but a ſhew, but a ſhadow of him, we ſee but his train in the Temple as Eſay: the holy Angels cover their faces with their wings as with a double ſcarfe before Gods brightneſſe, which would put out their eyes elſe …ſ. 6.3. ſee Pſal. 104.2.1 Tim. 6.16.

Verſe 5. Before him went the peſtilence) Dever the word ſignifieth ſuch a diſeaſe, as cometh by a divine decree.foreign So Hypocrits call the peſtilence foreign, becauſe ſext by God in a ſpiritual manner, a ſtroke of his own bare hand as it were. Here it is made one of his Apparitours or purſivants, ſent before him to deſtroy the Canaanites, as it had done the Egyptians.

And burning coals went out at his feet) Or, the carbuncle burning bile Deut. 32.24 The Vulgar tranſlateth it the devil, Others foreign a deadly inflammation, whereof good Oecolampadius died, and was lamented by Melancthon. But Luther very uncharitably (the beſt have their failings) wrote that he beleeved Oecolampadixm ignitis Satanae telis & haſtis confoſſum, Lib. de Miſſae privat.ſubitanea morte peri…ſſe, that Oecolampadius died ſuddenly, being ſtabb'd to death with the fiery darts of the devill.

Verſe 6. He ſtood and meaſured the earth] Not Joſhuah but God brought his people into the promiſed land, and divided it amongſt them, Pſal. 78.55. Like as alſo he had divided the whole earth by bounds and borders to the ſeveral Nations Pſal. 74.17. and doth ſtill appoint men the bounds of their habitations Act. 17.26.

He beheld and drove aſunder the Nations] He did it with his looks, as it were: that is, with very little adoe. Let the Lord but ariſe onelyonly, and his enemies ſhall be ſcattered,Camd. Eliſ. let him but frown, and they fall before him: If Auguſtus could frown to death Aſinius Pollio: and Queen Elizabeth her chancellour Hatton, what ſhall we think of Gods bended browes?

And the everlaſting mountains were ſcattered] i. e. thoſe kingdomes of the Can…anites that were held firm and unmoveable as the mountains, yea rivetted as it were upon eternity, ſee Num. 13.21.31, 22. Theſe were ſcattered, diſſilierunt fell in peeces, and leapt this way and that way, as ſtones broken with a great hammer. God threſhed theſe mountains, and beat them ſmall, he made the hills as chaſſe Iſay 41.15. No worldly height could ſtand before him. By mountains here ſome underſtand Kings and Princes, as by hills, thoſe of inferiour rank.

His wayes are everlaſting) Heb. his walks or journies, that is, his government of the world by his power and wiſedome is perpetual, he never caſteth off the care thereof: There are that referre the word his to the Canaanites, foreignwho had of old poſſeſſed the land without diſturbance; But the former ſenſe is the better.

Verſe 7. I ſaw the Tents of Cuſhan) King of Meſopotamia, who tyrannized over Iſrael eight years, after Joſhua's death: God ſelling his people to him for naught, and not increaſing his wealth by their price, Pſal. 44.12. Judg. 3.8. But delivering them in the end by that valiant Othniel, who brought the tents of Cuſhan under affliction or vanity. Some render it propter iniquitatem, becauſe of iniquity, and ſet this ſenſe upon it: It was for ſinne that God ſold his people into the hands of Cuſhan Riskathaijm, and yet afterwards ſent them a Saviour: why then ſhould they now deſpair of a ſeaſonable return out of captivity, though by their ſinnes they have provoked the Lord to wrath: ſith if they returne unto him and ſeek his favour, there is yet mercy with the Lord that he may be feared? Loe, this is the right uſe of hiſtories: and this is our duty to make obſervations to our ſelves, as did the Prophet here, I ſaw the tents of Cuſhan: I conſidered the thing that hath been, it is the ſame which p. 439ſhall be, and that which is done, is that which ſhall be done &c. Eccleſ. 1.9. Hiſtoriae fidae monitrices. Dicuntur foreign.

And the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble] Cortinae vel pelles &c. When by the ſword of the Lord and of Gideon they were cut off and diſcomfited Judg. 7.7. &c.

Verſe 8. Was the Lord diſpleaſed againſt the Rivers?] As Xerxes, that brutiſh man, was againſt the Helleſpont, for battering his bridge of boates, beating it and caſting a pair of fetters into it? Was God thus angry againſt Jordan, and againſt the red-Sea? No ſuch matter. If God ſeem angry at any time againſt the reaſonleſſe, or liveleſſe creatures, it is for a puniſhment of mans ſin. But here his end and purpoſe was to ſhew; that he did ride upon thoſe horſes and charets (the rivers, and ſea) for the ſalvation of his people. He did ſo when time was: and that he will do ſo again, when time ſhall ſerve, this queſtion in the text ſhews, that there is no queſtion to be made of it.

Verſe 9. Thy bowe was made quite naked] ſc. Out of the caſe. He meaneth, thy power was clearly manifeſted, and powerfully exerted againſt the nations above mentioned: ſo that all men might ſee plainly, that thou wert that man of warre, Exod. 15.3. which ſhooteſt thine arrowes at a certainty, and never miſſeſt thine enemies, thy but-mark. See Job 16.12.

according to the oathes of the tribes, even thy word] i. e. according to thy promiſes to thy people, confirmed with oathes, even thoſe ſure mercies of David, or aſſured to David. Some render it, according to the oathes, thoſe props of thy word. His word is ſure and ſufficient of it ſelf: but, for our better ſettlement, and as a prop to our faith, He hath bound it with oathes: that by two immutable things, in which it was impoſſible for God to lie, we might have ſtrong conſolation, Heb. 6.18. For now we may ſay with Solomon, For thy words ſake, nay more, For thine oathes ſake, and according to thine own heart haſt thou done all this, 2 Sam. 7.18, 21. Thy love moved thee to make promiſe, yea, to give oath: and now thy truth bindeth thee to performe. All thy pathes to thy people now are mercy and truth, Pſal. 25.10. not mercy onelyonly, but mercy and truth: not by a providence onelyonly, but by vertue of a promiſe, ratified with an oath: This is ſweet indeed; this deſerves a Selah] to be ſet to it.

thou didſt cleave the earth with rivers] Exod. 17.6. Pſal. 78.15, 16. Deut. 8.15. Neh. 9.15. This cleaving the hard Rock, and ſetting it abroach, this turning of the flint into a fountain, Pſal. 114.8. was a work of Omnipotency, and is therefore ſo much celebrated. It maketh much to the miracle, that the earth was cleft with rivers: this importeth both the plenty and the perennity thereof: for the Rock, that is, the river out of the rock followed them, 1 Cor. 10.4. leſt in that dry and barren wilderneſſe they ſhould periſh for want of water. The ſame God alſo who had given his people petram aquatilem, gave them pluviam eſcatilem, Tertul. de patientia.(as Tertullian phraſeth it) Manna from heaven, Quails in great abundance, and never was Prince better ſerved in his greateſt pomp. He alſo defended them from the fiery ſerpents, and delivered them from a thouſand other deaths, and dangers: all which mercies are here implied, though one onelyonly be inſtanced: and all to aſcertain the Saints how much God ſetteth by them, and what he will yet do for them, as occaſion requireth. As he made the world at firſt, that he might communicate and impart himſelf to his Elect: ſo for their ſakes doth he ſtill preſerve and govern it, ordering the worlds diſorders by an over-ruling power, for his own glory, and their eternall good.

Verſe 10. The mountains ſaw thee, and they trembled] ſc. At the promulgation of the Law, Exod. 19.17. Pſal. 114.4, 6. when God came with ten thouſand of his Saints, Deut. 33.2. and ſo terrible was the earth-quake, that it wrought an heart-quake, even in Moſes himſelf, Heb. 12.21. It is the office of the Law to do ſo: and happy is he, who terrified, and thunder-ſtruck by the threats thereof, runnes to Chriſt for refuge, as to One who is able to ſave to the utmoſt them that come unto God by him, Heb. 9.25. Some take mountains metaphorically, for the Mighties of the earth, and read it thus. The mountains ſaw thee, and they grieved. See Num. 22.3. Joſh. 2.9, 10, 11

The over-flowing of the water paſſed by] the inundation of Jordan paſſed into p. 440the dead-ſea, the lower part of it, I mean: like as the upper ſtood, and roſe up upon an heap,Gualth. Joſh. 3.16. being bounded and barred up by the Almighty power of God.

the deep uttered his voice; and lifted up his hands on high] i. e. ſummo conſenſis ſuffragatus eſt, &c. It voiced, and voted for Gods judgements; helping forward the execution thereof.

Verſe 11. The Sun and Moon ſtood ſtill in their habitation] viz. In the dayes of Joſhuah, and upon his prayer, chap. 10.12, 13. whereupon One crieth out, O admirabilem piarum precum vim ac potentiam quibus etiam coeleſtia cedunt, &c. O the admirable power of prayer,Buchol. that worketh wonders in heaven! and oh the heroicall faith of Joſhuah, the trophees whereof hee ſet in the very orbes of heaven.

at the light of thine arrowes, they went] By theſe ſhining arrowes, and glittering ſpears, ſome underſtand that terrible lightening, mixt with that horrible hail, Joſh. 10.11. with Exod. 9.23. and then it is figura planè poetica, a Poeticall expreſſion: for the poets call lightening foreign,As the ſword of the Lord and of Gideon. Judg. 7. 18.Judg 7:18 Joves arrow. See the like Pſal. 18.14. The huge hail-ſtones were Gods glittering ſpears, wherewith he ſlaughtered his enemies. Others ſuppoſe, that theſe things are meant of the arms and weapons of the Iſraelites, called Gods arrowes and ſpears, becauſe uſed at his command, and ordered by him. This ſence Gualther liketh better, as moſt comfortable to Chriſtian warriours, who fight the Lords battels.

Verſe 12. Thou didſt march thorow the land in indignation] Heb. Thou didſt walk in pomp, as a Conquerour, thorow the land, ſc. of Canaan, in contempt of the oppoſite forces, treading upon the neeks of thine enemies, Joſh. 10.24.

thou didſt threſh the heathen in anger] See Amos 1.3. Mic. 4.13. God, by the hands of Joſhuah, did all this. The moſt of the old inhabitants were deſtroyed. Some few fled into Africk, and left written upon a pillar for a monument to poſterity; We are Phoenicians, that fled from the face of Joſhuah the ſon of Nave.

Verſe 13. Thou wenteſt forth for the ſalvation of thy people] q. d. Thou waſt Generaliſſimo in …our expeditions, in the dayes of the Judges, who therefore were ſo ſucceſſefull. How could they be otherwiſe, when God came with them into the field?Camd. Eliſab. If Q. Elizabeth could take for her Motto, Cui adhaereo, praeſt, He to whom I adhere, prevaileth, how much more may Almighty God ſay as much?

even for ſalvation with thine anointed] i. e. with David, 1 Sam. 16.12, 13. 2 Sam. 5.3, 16. and 19.22. and 22.51. Pſal. 20.7. a lively type of Chriſt, that Meſſiah the Prince, the myſtery of which promiſed Saviour, the ancient Jew-Doctours confeſſed to be contained in this text, It is not altogether unlikely, that the Prophet might intend here to point at Jeſus Chriſt, when he ſaith, for ſalvation (Jeſhang, whence Jeſus) for thine anointed, or thy Chriſt. There are that read the words in the Future-tenſe, thus: Thou ſhalt go forth for the ſalvation of thy people, ſc. when Meſſiah that great Soſpitator cometh: thou ſhalt wound the head of the wicked, ſc. of the Devil, Rom. 16.20. Thou ſhalt make naked the foundation of his kingdom, unto the neck. Selah: thou ſhalt utterly deſtroy ſin, death, and hell. A remarkable mercy indeed, a myſtery of greateſt concernment, and moſt worthy to be conſidered. Gualther carries the ſence this way: and yet addeth, that if any pleaſe to refer the words to the hiſtory of the old Teſtament, they muſt be underſtood of thoſe tyrants that perſecuted the true Church, and whom God for Chriſts ſake ſubdued and ſubverted, together with their kingdomes.

Verſe 14. Thou didſt ſtrike thorow with his ſtaves, the heads of his villages [Heb. thou didſt pierce, or bore thorow, as with an awger, with his ſtaves (a Metaphor from ſhepherdy, according to that, Pſal. 23.3. thy rod and thy ſtaffe, &c.) or, with his tribes (the foreign) that entred the land of promiſe:Acts 26.7.Acts 26:7 with theſe men, or with theſe weapons, though never ſo unlikely, thou diddeſt by the hand of David, wound the hairy ſcalp of thine enemies, thoſe Pagans and perſecutours: and much more wi…, by the Son of David, ſubdue Satan and his Complices.

they came out as a whirl-winde to ſcatter me] Heb. they tempeſted, they raiſed an hurly-burly, being turbulent ſpirits, as the devil is, to diſperſe me, as the duſt of the mountains is ſcattered before a whirle-winde.

their rejoycing was as to devour the poor] i. e, Poor me, they devoured in ſecret, as if God had been nothing aware of their doings: and this was their exultation, p. 441or rejoycing: they took pleaſure in their cruelty, and promiſed themſelves impunity.

Verſe 15. Thou diddeſt walk thorough the ſea &c.] q. d. Shall they thus prevaile by iniquity? and did they carry the ball upon the foot till they had gotten the goale? Hath ever any waxed fierce againſt God, and proſpered, Iob. 9.4? I trow, not. Thou that of old didd'ſt walk through the red ſea, did'ſt tread it, or,Pſal. 56.7.Ps 56:7 foot it, and that moſt ſwiftly, as if thou had'ſt had thy change of horſes.

thorow the heap of great waters] which thou laid'ſt on heaps for thy peoples ſake, ſo that, inſtead of being ſwallowed up, they were preſerved thereby: Thou Lord, I ſay, haſt many times ſince, (when all hope failed) opened a faire way for thy ſervants to eſcape out of greateſt dangers: and ſo I truſt thou wile againe, when they moſt ſtand in need of thine heavenly help. Cum res eſt in acie novaculae &c. God will be ſeen of his in the Mount.

Verſe 16. When I heard, my belly trembled &c.] Heard what? That ſpeech of thine, verſe. 3. whereunto the Prophet now returneth (after a long digreſſion for the peoples ſupport and comfort; Digreſſions in divine diſcourſes are not alwayes and abſolutely unlawfull. God ſometimes draweth aſide the doctrine, to ſatisfie ſome ſoule which the preacher knowes not: and, ſparingly uſed, it quickeneth attention.) O Lord I have heard thy ſpeech (touching Iſraels captivity, chap. 1. and after that, the Chaldeans calamity, chap. 2.) and was afraid verſe 2. Neither was this a ſlight or ſudden pang, and ſoon put over: but ſuch as ſoaked to the very roots, ſo that my belly, or my heart in my belly trembled; See Prov. 20.27.

my lipps quivered] through want of naturall heate, which in this fright was gone inward to ſuccour the heart: as ſouldiers upon the approach of an enemy run into the caſtle.

at the voice] at the dreadfull denunciations of judgements.

rottenneſſe entred into my bones] Poetico more ex ſignis deſcribit, ſaith Gualther. The Prophet, in manner of a Poet, deſcribeth his great feare, by the gracious effects and ſignes thereof in his body.

that I might reſt in the day of trouble] This was the fruit of his holy feare of Gods imminent judgements, and that contrition of ſpirit that followed thereupon: viz. that both Hee, and all that took part with him in thoſe pious practiſes of ſenſibleneſſe and ſelf-abaſement, ſhould have peace with God, and be able to call their ſoules to reſt in the evill day.

when he commeth up &c.] i. e. The Chaldean ſpoiler.

he will invade them with his troops] Or, cut them in peeces. And that this was done, See 2 King. 25. and the book of Lamentations thorowout. Howbeit in judgement God remembreth mercy, as the Prophet had pray'd: for beſides the favour that the Jews found at Babylon by meanes of Daniel and others, Cyrus having taken that city gave commandment, that no Jews, or any that ſpake the Syrian tongue ſhould be hurt, as Xenophon relateth: and after this he gave them free leave to return home.

Verſe 17. Although the figtree ſhall not bloſſom] Here the Prophet ſheweth a well ſettled and a ſedate mind indeed: that he had attained, and by prayer waded unto a bleſſed compoſedneſſe and ſabbath of ſpirit, ſuch as the cock on the dunghill medled not with, neither knoweth the worth of: it being the moſt precious and peerleſſe jewel that ever the heart of man came acquainted with. It hat been before noted, that the Prophet here taketh out his own leſſon of living by faith in the faile of outward comforts. Origens teaching and living were ſaid to be both alike: Habakkuks were ſo. Divinity is practicall: If ye know theſe things, happy are ye if ye do them: As leſſons of Muſick muſt be practiſed, and a copy not read onelyonly, but imitated: ſo is it here. It is a bluſhful thing quando dicta factis erubeſcant, as Tertullian hath it;Plus ſanctimoniae conſpicitur in ipſo libello, quàm in libelli Auihore. when mens lives put their words to the bluſh, when Sanctiores ſunt aures plebis quàm corda ſacerdotum, there are more heavenly doctrines in the peoples cares, then ever were in the preachers heart, as Hilary hath it: when (as One ſaid of Eraſmus his Enchiridion) there is more holineſſe in an Authours book, then in his boſom: p. 442Exemplis ſanè qui docet, ille docet. Ariſtotle requireth in a Teacher,Ariſt Rhetor. Epiſt. ad Epbeſ. that he ſhew himſelf a patern of his own rules: and it is a good thing to teach (ſaith Ignatius, foreign if thou practiſe the ſame that thou teacheſt. That is an excellent commendation indeed that is given to a late eminent Divine amongſt us,Mr. Sam. Crook. that his life was but one continued Commentary upon his doctrine: and an exemplary ſermon conſiſting of living words, or of words tranſlated into works. The juſt ſhall live by his faith, ſaith Habakkuk: and that I do ſo, it ſhall well appear by my living upon God, when I have nothing elſe to ſubſiſt with; by beleeving him upon his bare word, and that againſt ſenſe in things inviſible, and againſt reaſon in things incredible.

Although the figtree &c.. q d. Let warr come on, and with warr famine; as it befell Ieruſalem at the laſt ſiege in the dayes of Zedekiah, 2 King. 25.3. Ier. 52.6. Lam. 2.11, 12. there was no relief left for the people, the enemy had eaten up all, as Joel 2. and made cleane work, ſo that faithleſſe men were woe-begone, and ready to run mad for the ſight of their eyes Deut. 28.24. with 51. and to devour their own fingers, as Pope Boniface 8. did, when ſhut up cloſe priſoner in St. Angelo and ſorely ſtraitened.

Verſe 18. Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my ſalvation] This joy of the Lord was the Prophets ſtrength, Nch. 8.10.and kept his head above all waters of affliction. So it was Davids at the ſack of Ziglag 1 Sam. 30.6. when Saul at the ſame time for want of it ran firſt to the witch, and thence to the ſwords point. A Good man hath God for his portion: and if any occaſion of diſcontent or trouble befall him, he retireth into his Counting-houſe, and there ſeeth himſelf ſo well ſtored with unlooſable graces and invaluable priviledges, that he cannot be greatly moved Pſal. 62.2. His ſoule in greateſt ſtraights can magnifie the Lord, and his ſpirit rejoyce in God his Saviour. Diſquieted he may be ſometimes for a ſeaſon, till he hath recollected and better bethought himſelf, we are ſtaggering ſaith the Apoſtle, but not wholy ſticking 2 Cor. 4.8. for not the eveneſt waights but at their firſt putting into the ballance do ſomwhat ſway both parts thereof, not without ſome ſhew of inequality, which yet after ſome little motion do ſettle themſelves in a meet poiſe and poſture.

Verſe 19. The Lord God is my ſtrength] And hence his joy of ſaith, and ability to beare up under preſſures of afflictions as a man that is well lined within, and hath abundance of good blood and freſh ſpirits, can endure to go with leſſe cloths then another &c.

And he will make my feet like hindes feet] As theſe do ſwiftly and ſuddenly run up to the top of inacceſſible rocks, ſo ſhall I quickly eſcape out of trouble, and walk upon mine high places againe in the holy land: Yea as Jacob after he had converſed with God at Bethel,Gen. 29.1.Gen 29:1 lift up his feet and went luſtily on his way to Padan-Aram, ſo ſhall I go lightly on my long journey to heaven; and, having my ſoule ſuppled with the oyle of ſpirituall joy, I ſhall find it made more lith, nimble and ready to every good work.

to the chief-muſitian on my ſtringed inſtruments] This is David-like indeed, as in the whole prayer or long he reſembleth that ſweet ſinger of Iſrael: and the verſe hath cauſed a cloud. Euthymius ſaith of David, that he was Primi regis & linguae & cor & calamus, the tongue, hart, and pen of almighty God. In the primitive times, happy was he held that could repeate aliquid Davidicum, any thing of Davids doings. Our king Alured tranſlated the Pſalter himſelf into his own Saxon tongue. Andromicus the Greek Emperour made it his manuall, his Vade-mcum. It appeareth by the contexture of this whole chapter, that the Prophet Habakkuk was well verſed in the Pſalms, which is a ſweet field and Roſary of promiſes, a Summary of the old Teſtament ſaith Luther: the good ſoules Soliloquie, ſaith Another; wherein are Amulets of comfort p. 443more pleaſant then the pooles of Heſhbon, more glorious then the tower of Lebanon, more redolent then the oyle of Aaron, more fructifying then the dew of Hermon &c. Moſt worthy to be laid up in that Perſian casket embroydered with gold and pearle which Alexander reſerved for Homers Iliads. Our Prophet as he partly imitated, and partly tranſcribed them in this Canticle, yea in this verſe (Confer Pſalm. 18.33, 34.) So he concludeth as David many times beginneth, To the chief-chaunter or Muſick-maſter, or To him that excelleth, ſc: in the art of ſinging and playing on Inſtruments, thoſe holy Levites whoſe charge it was 1 Chron. 9.33. and for whom he doubted not but God would afford and provide new matter of Pſalmody, by compaſſing his people about with ſongs of deliverance, Selah Pſal. 32.7.