Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Isaiah · Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
Ver. 1. THe word that Iſaiah the ſon of Amos ſaw] An auguſt Title or inſcription, ſuch as is not to be found in the whole book again, unleſs it be in the former Chapter. There alaſs he had laboured in vain, and ſpent his ſtrength for nought, and in vain, as chap. 49.4. Howbeit he will try again; as conſidering that he had loſt many a worſe labour: and although his Report were not believed, chap. 53.1. yet he would beſtow one more Sermon upon them, the ſhort Notes and general Heads whereof we have in this and the two following Chapters: I ſay, the general Heads. For Calvin in his Preface to this Book telleth us, that it was the manner of the holy Prophets to gather a compendious ſumm of what they had preached to the people, and the ſame to affix to the gates of the Temple, that the Propheſie might be the better viewed and learned of all, after which it was taken down by the Prieſt, and put into the Treaſury of the Temple, for the benefit of after-Ages.
Ver. 2, 3, 4. And it ſhall come to paſs, &c.] See for theſe three Verſes what I have noted on Micah 4.1, 2, 3. where we ſhall find that that Prophet hath the ſelf-ſame words with this foreign. So hath Obadiah the ſame with Jeremy, St. Mark with St. Matthew, St. Iude with St. Peter, the bleſſed Virgin in her Magnificat with holy Hannah in her Canticle, &c.
Ver. 5. O houſe of Jacob] So Mic. 2.7. O thou that art called the houſe of Jacob; and the houſe of Iſrael, Iſa. 5.7. Thou that art called a Jew and makeſt thy boaſt of God,Per aemulaticnem provocat. Oecolamp. Rom. 2.17. This, Rupertus maketh to be the voyce and advice of the converted and Chriſtian Gentiles to the Iews: others, of our Prophet to his perverſe Country-men, to joyn with the Gentiles, or rather to go before them as worthy Guides in Heaven-wayes; and not to lie behind thoſe whom they have ſo much ſlighted.
Let us walk in the light of the Lord] that is, in the Law of the Lord (for Lex eſt Lux, Prov. 6.23.) and not by the ſparks of our own Tinder-boxes, Iſa. 50.11. not by the Ruſh-candle of Philoſophical preſcriptions. Let us walk in the fear of the Lord,foreign eſt in Apoſtrophe. and in the comfort of the Holy Ghoſt, as Acts 9.31.
Ver. 6. Therefore thou haſt forſaken thy people] Or, But thou haſt, &c. By a ſad Apoſtrophe to God, he ſets forth the Iews dereliction and deſtruction irrecoverable, together with the cauſes of it, their impiety, cruelty, &c. but eſpecially their contempt of Chriſt and his Kingdom. Let us beware, and be warned by their example, Rom. 11. To be forſaken of God is the greateſt miſchief. Lay hold upon him therefore with Mary Magdalen, and ſay—nobiſcum, Chriſte, maneto: Extingui lucem nec patiare tuam.
Becauſe they be repleniſhed from the Eaſt] Or, they are fuller then the Eaſt; that is, more ſuperſtitious then the Syrians and Meſopotamians, Balaams Country-men. Ethniciſmum illis improperat. Antiq. lib. 16. cap. 10.Joſephus telleth us that a little before Chriſt came in the fleſh, Herod had brought into Judea many ſuperſtitions of the Gentiles: and it appeareth by the firſt of Macchabees, that the Greeks had their Schools at Ieruſalem: and by the Goſpel, that the Phariſes held Pythagoras his tranſanimation, and many other Paganiſh Traditions.
Augurium qua…i avigerium.And are Southſayers like the Philiſtins] Theſe were Weſt of Judaea, chap. 9.12. The Syrians before, and the Philiſtins behind. Theſe were great Southſayers & Sorcerers, and the Jews were tainted with that Contagion, as ſin is more catching than the plague. The vanity of this practice Cicero ſaw, when he ſaid, Poteſt Augur Augurem videre & non ridere?
Adhaeſerunt, Vulg. In uſu habent, Ch…ld.And they pleaſe themſelves in the children of ſtrangers] They applaud and approve of their cuſtoms & commerces. Some think they are there taxed of Paederaſtie, or Sodomy, and that they boaſted of it, as that odious Johannes a Caſa did in print.
Ver. 7. Their land alſo is full of ſilver] They had forſaken the Fountain of Living Waters, and now they hew them out broken Ciſterns: they have made their gold their God, which is a more ſubtile kind of Idolatry, Col. 3.5. dum ſibi ipſis numen quoddam lararium conflant. But though their houſes were full of ſilver and gold, their hearts were not: for they were vext with the curſe of unſatisfiableneſs, Eccleſ. 5.10.
Auri nempe fames parto fit major ab auro.Prudentius.
Neither is there any end of their Treaſures] Joſephus ſaith that there was a world of money found at Ieruſalem when taken by the Romans: ſo there was at Conſtantinople when taken by the Turks; and therefore taken, becauſe the Inhabitants could not find in their heatts to part with it, though for their own defence.
Their land alſo is full of horſes] and their hearts of creature confidence, truſt in the arm of fleſh as Joſephus teſtifieth, that the Jews were this way very faulty, about the time of the laſt devaſtation.
Ver. 8. Their land alſo is full of Idols] As Babylon a land of Idols, Jer. 50.38. As Athens wholly given to Idolatry, Act. 17.16. As China is ſaid to have in it at this day an hundred thouſand gods. And what ſhall we think of Popiſh mawmets? the word here rendred Idols, ſignifieth Nihilitates nothingneſſes: for an Idol is nothing in the world, 1 Cor. 8.4.
They worſhip the work of their own hands] Sceleſtum & immane facinus, dirum ſcelus & execrandum; effraenata & praeceps amentia. See chap. 44.15, 18.
Ver. 9. And the mean man boweth down] There is a general conſpiracy, and they are altogether become abominable. Lords and loſels, Kings and caytifes, all ſorts were Idolaters. Some render it, ſhall be brought down, and ſhall be humbled: God loveth to retaliate, to abate and abaſe mans pride, by pulling down whatſoever height or ſtrength they confide in.
Therefore forgive them not] A pious prayer doubtleſs, proceeding from true zeal, which is an extream heat of all the affections for Gods glory. Ʋt pius ſit in Deum, durus ſit in proximum, ſaith Oecolampadius. Like another Elias he maketh Interceſſion to God againſt Iſrael, Rom. 11.2. whom he ſaw to be incorrigible, and their ſin to be irremiſſible, their Judgement unavoidable.
Ver. 10. Enter into the Rock and hide thee] q. d. Do if thou canſt: go where thou thinkeſt thou mayeſt be moſt ſecret and ſecure: but Gods hand will ſurely find thee and ferret thee out, as it did the five Kings of Canaan, hid in the cave of Makkedah▪ Joſh. 10. and as it did the wretched Jews, who were by the Romans pulled out of their privies and other lurking-holes to the ſlaughter, at the laſt deſtruction of Jeruſalem. Hoc autem perpetuo invenies apud peccatores, ſaith Oecolampadius here: This is ever uſual with ſinful perſons, to deſire to flie from God, but he meeteth them at every turn, as he did Adam, Cain, Jonas, Dr. Rain.&c. The ſafeſt way is to flie fron Gods anger to Gods grace. Blood-letting is a cure of bleeding, and a burn a cure againſt a burn: and running to God is the way to eſcape him; as to cloſe and get in with him that would ſtrike you, doth avoid the blow.
For fear of the Lord and for the glory] Heb. from before the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his Majeſty: ſo the Chaldaean and Roman forces are called. See 2 Theſſ. 1.9. which ſeemeth to be taken from this Text.
Ver. 11. The lofty looks of man ſhall be humbled] Ipſi antea tumidi & cervicoſi Deum ultorem agnoſcent. God ſhall bring down the haughty from their lofty tops where they have perked themſelves, and ſhall take them a link lower, as they ſay, Pride muſt have a fall; and no wonder: for whereas other ſins flee from God, pride lets flie at him; and hence it is, He is ſo utter an enemy to it.
And the Lord alone ſhall be exalted] This, the Heathens alſo underſtood:De conſen. Evang. lib. 1. cap. 18. and therefore the Romans would never receive the God of Iſrael, ſaith Auſtin, becauſe they underſtood that, He would be worſhipped alone. Let the gods of the Heathens be good fellows: the true God is a jealous God, and will not ſhare his glory with another.
In that day] Nempe ſtatis quaſi comitiis, ver. 17. at the ſet-time in it implyeth alſo▪ ſaith One, that God will keep his time to a day; we have a ſaying like our ſelves, A day breaks no ſquare: but it is not ſo with God, Exod. 12.40, 41. the firſt born were ſlain at mid-night: becauſe juſt then, the 400. or 4…0. years of their ſojourning in Aegypt were expired, Dan. 5.30. In that night was Belſhazzar ſlain: becauſe then exactly the Seventy years of their Captivity were ended.
Ver. 12. For the day of the Lord of Hoſts ſhall be upon every one that is proud] Theſe he knoweth afar off, Pſalm 138.6. theſe he reſiſteth as it were in battel-array, Jam. 4.6. theſe he caſteth down to the ground, Pſalm 147.6. One of the ſeven Wiſe men of Greece ſaid, that God made it his buſineſs, to humble the proud, and to lift up the lowly.
Ver. 13. And upon all the Cedars of Lebanon] which was to the North: Ab Aquilone nihil boni.
That are high and lifted up] No mans might or height, whether of State or of Stature, can ſecure him in the day of Gods diſpleaſure.
And upon all the Oaks of Baſan] which was to the Eaſt: by which way the Chaldees were to come upon them.
Ver. 14. And upon all the high Mountains] Optimates & dynaſtas deſignat: Hereby he meaneth the Grandees and Magnificoes, and all that are puft up with an opinion of their own power or policy.
Ver. 15. And upon every high Tower] In theſe the Jews truſted, as ſure ſuccours in time of diſtreſs: but all in vain.
Ver. 16. And upon all the ſhips of Tarſhiſh] Or of the Mediterranean ſea; the ſhips whereof were of great bulk and burden; and perhaps were garniſhed and inlaid with curious pictures, called here Pictures of deſire; Virg.Pictaſ que innare carinas.
Ver. 17. And the loftineſs of man ſhall be] This is oft inculcated; and all little enough to abate and abaſe the pride of people, and to bring down every high thought that exalteth it ſelf againſt the Knowledge of God, and the Obedience of Jeſus Chriſt, 2 Cor. 10.5. This holy fiſher-man, that he might catch ſouls, ſpreads his Net, dilates his diſcourſe: telling the proud perſon over and over what to truſt to.
Ver. 18. And the Idols he ſhall utterly aboliſh] Their names ſhall be cut off out of the Land, and they ſhall no more be remembred, Zech. 13.2. unleſs it be with ſhame and deteſtation, as Ezek. 16.61. Pſalm 16.4. Hoſ. 14.8. Iſa. 30.22.
Ver. 19. And they ſhall go into the holes] See ver. 10.
Ver. 20. In that day a man ſhall caſt his Idols] Though never ſo much worth either for weight or workmanſhip, for value or elegancy: he ſhall pollute what before he had perfumed, Iſa. 30.22.
To the Moles and to the Bats] Coeci coeca coecis, having their eyes opened in that extream danger: as the Mole hath they ſay, when the pangs of death are upon her. Theſe aſhamed of their vain confidences, and haſting to hide themſelves, ſhall caſt their Idols into by-corners, ſaying as chap. 30.22. Get you hence. Moles do all their miſchief by working under ground; ſo ſaith Epiphanius do Hereticks: but if once they be above ground, they are weak and contemptible creatures. Bats have wings as a Bird, and teeth as a Beaſt: being both, and yet neither. Such are our Veſpertilian Profeſſors, time-ſerving Goſpellers, who ſhould do well to caſt away either their wings or their teeth: and loathing this bat like Nature, be what they are, either birds or beaſts.
Ver. 21. To go into the clefts of the Rocks] See ver. 10. Only here the double repetition of this dreadful Judgement is very Emphatical: and may ſerve to teach Preachers to inculcate upon their Hearers Gods ſeverity againſt ſinners, and to remind them much of thoſe laſt things, Death, Judgement, Hell. Ʋtinam ubi que de his diſſereretur, ſaith Chryſoſtom that excellent Preacher. O that theſe things might reſound from all Pulpits!
Ver. 22. Ceaſe ye from man] Man or means, humane helps and creature comforts; think not that theſe can ſecure you from an angry God, or moat you up againſt his fire; Put not your truſt in Princes, nor in the ſon of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his duſt: in that very day his golden thoughts periſh, Pſalm 146.3, 4. See the Notes there.
Whoſe breath is in his noſtrils] Every moment ready to puffe out: as the Emperour Jovinians did; a good Emperour, but he raigned only ſeven months, being ſtifled (as tis thought) with the ſmell of his bed-chamber newly white-limed,Eutrop. Oroſ. wherein he had commanded a great fire to be made in a cold night. Hence Hierome, Jovinian who ſucceeded Julian the Apoſtate in the Empire,In epitap. Nepotian. when as yet he had ſcarce taſted of the goodneſs of it, faetore prunarum ſuffocatus interiit, died ſuffocated with the ſtench of hot-burning coals, declaring to all men what a poor thing man is in his greateſt power. The Cardinal of Lorrain, was lighted to his Lodging,B…vlus de vit. Pen. and to his long home both at once by a poiſoned Torch: Pope Adrian 4. was choaked by a flie getting into his Wind-pipe, Anno Dom. 1159.
For wherein is he to be eſteemed?] All his power without God is but weakneſs, all his wiſdom folly, all his plenty poverty. What is man, ſaith a Father,foreign. Greg. Naz. but Soul and Soyl? Breath and Body; a puff of wind the one; a pile of duſt the other; no ſolidity in either. Abſtinete ergo vos ab ipſo homine — nam quanti eſt? what reckoning is to be made of him?