Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Isaiah · Chapter 22
CHAP. XXII.
Ver. 1. THe burden] See chap. 13.1.
Of the Valley of Viſion] i. e. Of Zion or Jeruſalem (as the Septuagint expreſs it) which is called firſt a Valley (though ſet upon a knole) becauſe invironed with Mountains, Pſalm 125.2. ſecondly, becauſe ſhortly to be laid low and level'd with the ground; ita ut vallis aut vorago dici poſſet.
Of Viſion] So Jeruſalem is called, Firſt, Becauſe there … Gods viſible or aſpectable preſence. Secondly, Becauſe it was a Seminary of Seers (as Hierom elegantly termeth it) not without ſome alluſion, as tis thought, to Mount Moriah (whereon ſtood the Temple) which ſignifieth Viſion, q. d. O Zion, thou waſt Moriah, but now thou art Marah: thou waſt the Mountain of Viſion; but now thou art a Valley of tears and of darkneſs: thou waſt the Temple of God, but now thou art a den of thieves.
What ayleth thee now that thou art wholly gone up to the houſe-tops?] Luctus & ſalutis cauſa, ſaith Scultetus, there to lament thy diſtreſs, or elſe for ſafeguard in this deſtraction: Shouldeſt thou not rather go out to fight, then go up thus wholly and fully to the tops of thy Terriſies?
Ver. 2. Thou that art full of ſtirres] Clamoribus fragoſis: Screptra.how ſoon haſt thou changed thy chear and thy Note? thy joyful acclamations into doleful exclamations?
Thy ſlain men are not ſlain with the ſword] ſed mortui ex anxietate, but are fore-ſlain with fear, or as others, by the viſible vengeance of God, as Titus acknowledged at the laſt ſack of that City, and as the Poet ſang of Troy,Joſeph. lib. 7. cap. 16.
Non tibi Tindaridis facies inviſa Lacaenae,Virgil.
Culpatuſve Paris; verum inclementia divum
Has evertit opes.—
Ver. 3. All thy Rulers are fled together] As not knowing what to do,Vagantur. or whether to turn themſelves.
All that are found in thee, are bound together] Either in fetters, Jer. 52.11. or with fear, Pſalm 76.5.
Which have fled from far] Or, they flye far away, even as faſt and as far as they can out of danger.
Ver. 4. Therefore ſaid I, look away from me] Ʋt luctui & lamentis me totum dedam, that unſeen I may ſoak my ſelf in the ſalt-tears of ſorrow for Sion.
Ver. 5. For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down] Great is the wo of War: no words how wide ſoever, can ſet forth to the full, the diſtreſs and deſtruction thereof.
And of perplexity] Mebuſah ſamebucah, ſo the original elegantly, as in the laſt words of the verſe, rythmically.
Breaking down the walls] According to chap. 5.5.
Ver. 6. And Elam] i. e. The Perſians (great archers, as Corabo teſtifieth,Dominus exparietavit. Vatab. lib. 16.) as Kir ſtandeth here for the Medians, 2 King. 16.9. good at Sword and Buckler: called alſo Syromedians.
Ʋncovered the ſhield] Kept covered till then for fear of ruſting. Theſe were deſperate fellows, bloodily bent, skilful to deſtroy.
Ver. 7. Thy choyceſt Valleys ſhall be full of Chariots] Iron Chariots armed with Sythes: theſe were, ſaith Vegetius, firſt a terrour, and then a ſcorn.
In array at the gate] ſc. To force entrance into the City, as Judg. 9.44, 52.
Ver. 8. And he diſcovered the covering of Judah] That is,Zeged. Diodat. Oecolamp. he that is the enemy took the City: hoc enim ſignificat nudari operimentum, i. e. protectionem Judae; Or, as others ſence it, God took away his Protection, the Rampire and Defence of their Countrey. See Exod. 32.25. Numb. 14.9. Mic. 1.11. Or the enemy deſtroyed the Temple wherein the Jews ſo fooliſhly confided, Jer. 7.
To the armour of the houſe] To any thing but whom they ſhould have looked unto. Our hearts are top-full of harlotry, ready to ſhift and ſhark in every by-corner for comfort: to hang their hopes on every hedge rather then to roll themſelves upon God the hope of Iſrael.
Ver. 9. Ye have ſeen alſo—and ye gathered together, &c.] This they did, when in diſtreſs, to prevent the enemy, and provide for their own ſafety: and this they might well have done, had not God been neglected: This of all things he can leaſt endure. The wicked ſhall be turned into hell, and all the Nations that forget God, Pſalm 9.17. See chap. 30.1.
Ver. 10. And ye have numbred] This they did not till now, that they might make the City more defenſible, and the better keep out the enemy. General Vere told the King of Denmark, that Kings cared not for Souldiers and Warlike preparations, until ſuch times as their crowns hang on the one ſide of their head.
Ver. 11. Ye made a ditch alſo] A new ditch (leſt the old one ſhould not ſuffice) to hold water for the beſieged. All this was well and wiſely done: had not the main matter been left undone. See 2 Chron. 32.3, 5. with 2 King. 18.14, 16. The community of the Jews were carnal, and truſted in the arm of fleſh. Hezekiah alſo himſelf faltred, &c.
But ye have not looked unto the maker thereof] i. e. To the Author of that trouble, Oecolamp.treading down and perplexity, ver. 5. Or, to the Founder of Jeruſalem, which, ſay the Rabbins, was one of thoſe ſeven things which God had in his thoughts before he made the world.
Ver. 12. And in that day did the Lord God of Hoſts call to weeping] Ponit arma quibus civitates ab hoſtibus defenduntur, nempe arma poenitentiae. Theſe are the beſt defenſive Weapons, which therefore God of his goodneſs calleth people to, or ere he puniſheth them. He calleth them, I ſay, by his Word, and by his Works, both ordinary and extraordinary, that his Juſtice may be magnified, and every foul mouth ſtopped.
To weeping and mourning] The walls of Sion cannot but ſtand firm, if well temper'd with the tears of true penitents.
And to baldneſs] Forbidden in other caſes, Lev. 19.27, 28. and 21.5. Deut. 14.1. but here, and Mic. 1.16. called for in the practice of holy Repentance, which hath nothing to do with deſpair: See Ezra. 9 3.
Per omne foreign genus graſſabantur. Scult.Ver. 13. And behold joy and gladneſs] Or, But behold; ſee the madneſs of theſe croſs-grain'd creatures, who to thwart the Almighty, in laetitiam & luxum proſiliunt, take a clean contrary courſe to what he had preſcribed, as if they had don't on purpoſe.
Eating and drinking] This was all they minded, or were good ſo, as we ſay, Gulonum non alia eſt cura quam cibum ingerere, digerere, egerere, ſaith Bernard. The belly-god is ſet all on his panch; as the Aſs-fiſh hath his heart in his belly: as the Spider is little elſe but belly: as the Gulon (a beaſt ſo called) eateth that which he preyeth upon; if it be a horſe, till all be devoured; ever filling his belly, and then emptying it, and then falling to it again till all be conſumed: ſuch a delight hath he in his appetite.
For to morrow we ſhall dye] So the Prophets tell us, but we are wiſer then to believe them: ſo the enemy threateneth us, but we are too well fortified to fear him: ſo it may fall out, for we are all mortal; let us therefore make much of our ſelves whiles we may.
Perſ. Sat. 5.Indulge genio, carpamus dulcia: noſtrum eſt
Quod vivis: cinis & manes & fabula fies.
Saint Paul ſaith, that the Epicures of his time uſed the like Atheiſtical expreſſions, 1 Cor. 15.32. See there. It is the guiſe of graceleſs wretches to jeſt out Gods Judgements, and to jeer when they ſhould fear.
Ver. 14. And it was revealed in mine ears] It was told me for certain: God is abſolute in threatning becauſe reſolute in puniſhing: ſuch is his hatred againſt ſcoffing Epicures.
Surely this iniquity ſhall not be purged] Heb. If it be ever purged, let me be never truſted again.
Till ye dye] That is, Never: for ye ſhall dye in your ſin, dye Eternally: O fearful! Pavete, cavete.
Ver. 15. Go get thee unto this Treaſurer] This is Actio Jeſaiae in Shebnam, ſicut Ciceronis in Verrem. Shebna was a great Courtier and an ill member; advanced likely by King Ahaz, and tolerated for a time by good Hezekiah, as Joab was by David, becauſe he could neither will nor chuſe: or as Stephanus the Perſian was by Juſtinian the ſecond Emperour of Conſtantinople: who being praefectus aulae likewiſe, ſet over the houſe, grew ſo inſolent, that he ſpared not the Emperours mother though ſhe were Auguſta, Funcelus.but whipt her, as if ſhe had been his bondſlave: This Shebna is thought to have been an Aegyptian, a Sochite, and of mean Parentage; Aſperius nihil eſt humili cum ſurgit in altum.
Shebna likely, was one of thoſe jeering Epicures above-taxed and now particularly threatened: Some for Treaſurer render Fautor, adjutor, a favourer and helper, ſc. of thoſe prophane ſcoffers, ver. 13. or of the enemies, with whom he under-hand dealt and packt: he is therefore threatened to be ex officed, and ſent packing into a ſtrange Countrey.
Ver. 16. What haſt thou here?] What inheritance, poſſeſſion?
And whom haſt thou here?] ſc. of thy ſtock and kindred?Terrae filius. Art not thou a forraigner, a new man, an upſtart muſhroom? why then doſt thou cut thee out ſuch a coſtly and ſtately Sepulchre in Jeruſalem, as if thou wert of the ſtock-Royal? or as if thou wert ſure to dye here in thy neſt? Will it not prove a true foreign, as the Greeks call it? Some conceive that for the ſafeguard of his Tomb, and other trinkets, Shebna was one of thoſe Princes, 2 King. 19. that gave the King counſel to fortifie ſo ſtrongly. The Hebrews ſay, that he likewiſe ſecretly kept correſpondency with the enemy, that he might have a ſtake in ſtore, which way ſoever the dice chanced to turn: yea that he treacherouſly agreed with the enemy to deliver the City into his hands: and therefore it was but time to take him a link lower, as Hezekiah did upon this Prophecy of Iſaiah. Some add, that for betraying the City he hoped to be made King there till his death; and therefore hewed him out a Mauſolaeum or Royal Sepulchre there, and that among thoſe of the Houſe of David, ſay the Rabbins.
Ver. 17. Behold the Lord will carry thee away, &c.] Or, is caſting thee out with caſting, O thou mighty man: Not, God will carry thee away as a cock is carried, ſo the vulgar Tranſlator hath it: which cauſed a learned Interpreter to ſay, he wondred whence this cock flew into the Text.
And will ſurely cover thee] As they uſed to do to condemned perſons unworthy any longer to ſee the light; they covered their faces, as Job 9.24. Eſt. 7.8. See the Note there.
Ver. 18. He will ſurely turn and toſs thee] Turn thee like a bowl, and toſs thee like a ball. How and when this was fulfilled, the Scripture relateth not: But the Talmudiſts tell us, that Shebna revolting to Sennacherib was by him (after the execution done by Gods Angel upon his Forces) carried to Niniveh, there tyed to an Horſe-tail, and drawn through bryars and brambles till he dyed.
There ſhalt thou dye]—Ingloria vita recedet. Spotſwood Arch-Biſhop of St. Andrews, who had diſcouraged and by degrees extirpated many faithful Miniſters of Scotland, thought it ſeaſonable, Anno 1639. to repair into England, Myſt. of Iniq. pag. 15.where he dyed: and ſo was fulfilled upon him the prediction of Mr. Walſh a famous Scottiſh Miniſter, who in a Letter to the Biſhop written long before, told him, he ſhould dye an out-caſt.
And there the Chariots of thy glory] Thy ſtately Chariots wherein thou delighteſt to be hurried up and down, theſe ſhall alſo dye or ceaſe; O domus regiae dedecus! O dedecus domus domini!O optimi regis opprobrium! (for ſo ſome read the words by an Apoſtrophe to Shebna) O thou that art ſuch a blur to thy good Maſter, and ſuch a diſgrace to his Houſe. Shebna affected to bear as great a port almoſt as the King himſelf did: ſed paſſus eſt manes ſuos, but he came to an ill end. So did the Duke of Guiſe in France: and ſo did here Cardinal Woolſey, Sir Thomas Moor, Sir Francis Bacon, &c.
Ver. 19. And I muſt drive thee from thy ſtation] This was done in part, when as of a great maſter of the Court, Chancellour, Lord Marſhall, or Lord high Treaſurer, (for ſo many wayes the word Sochem, ver. 15. is rendred) he was made Scribe or Secretary, chap. 36.3. (which was a far inferiour place) but much more when all that befell him that is threatned ver. 17.18. as it did no doubt.
Ver. 20. I will call my ſervant Eliakim] Such as honour God, ſhall ſurely be honoured: He will call them to it, who elſe would chuſe to live and dye in their ſelf-contented ſecrecy: like as the ſweet Violet grows low to the ground, hangs the head downward, and beſides, hides it ſelf with its own leaves.
Ver. 21. And I will cloath him with thy Robe] i. e. Veſt him in thine Honours and Offices, thy ſelf being laid by, and lookt upon as an Officiperda.
And he ſhall be a Father] A fit Title for a Ruler: as this Text is a fit Looking-glaſs for a good Counſellour.
Ver. 22. And the Key of the Houſe of David will I lay upon his ſhoulder] Rulers have their back-burdens.
Fructus honos oneris: fructus honoris onus.
The meaning is, he ſhall have chief authority under the King, together with dexterity and diſcretion to manage it aright. And herein Eliakim was a Type of Chriſt, Rev. 3.7. Let us pray for ſuch Eliakims as a common bleſſing.
Sit princeps miſeris paxillum, cui appendeant urceolos ſuos. Scult.Ver. 23. And I will faſten him as a nail] Paxilli ſimile & concinnum & amabile eſt. On a nail are hung Utenſils of the houſe: any ſuch thing as cannot ſtand by its own ſtrength. Eliakim was to be a common ſupport to the people; but eſpecially to his fathers houſe.
And he ſhall be for a glorious Throne] He ſhall enoble his whole ſtock and kindred.
Ver. 24. And they ſhall hang upon him] As upon a nail.
The ofſpring and the iſſue] All his Allyes both great and ſmall ſhall be the better for him: he ſhall employ and prefer them. And this Shebna is told the more to ſpight him.
Ver. 25. Shall the nail that is faſtened] So Shebna once ſeemed to be, but now it ſhall appear to be otherwiſe: for he ſhall fall, and with him all his dependants ſhall be ruined.