Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Isaiah · Chapter 57
CHAP. LVII.
Ver. 1. THe righteous periſheth] So the world deemeth, but not rightly: for the righteous hath hope in his death, when the wicked dying is driven away in his wickedneſſe, Prov. 14.32. (by him that hath the power of death, even the devil, Heb. 2.14.) having been through fear of death all their life-time ſubject to bondage. The Lacedemonians all the time of their life adored death. The righteous can defie death with Paul, and ſing, Death, where's they sting? Hell, where's thy victory? he is not killed with death, as Jezabels children were, Rev. 2.23. but dyeth in peace, though he dye in battle, as Joſiah did: of whom ſome interpret this Text.
And no man layeth it to heart] Heb. upon his heart, that it may ſink and ſoak into it; ſo as to be ſoundly ſenſible of Gods holy hand and end in ſuch a providence. See chap. 5.12. There is a woe to oſcitancy and ſtupidity of this kind.
And merciful men] Heb. men of piety or pitty, ſuch as all righteous perſons are: they have received mercy, and they can ſhew it, Coloſ. 3.12. they have ſteept their thoughts in the mercyes of God, which have dyed theirs, as the dye-fat doth the cloth.
A… men gather flowers, and candy them, and preſerve them by them, ſo doth God his pious ones.Are taken away] Heb. gathered, as corn is into the garner, or fruit into the ſtore-houſe; ſo they into Abrahams boſom.
No man conſidering] None of thoſe debauched ones, chap 56.12. to be ſure of; Theſe are glad to be rid of the righteous, as the Sodomites were of righteous Lot; as the Heathen perſecutors were of the Martyrs, whom they counted foreign, 1 Cor. 4.13. the ſweepings of the world and the off-ſcourings of all things.
That the righteous is taken away from the evil to come] As was Methuſelah a year before the flood; Jeroboams beſt ſon, before the downfal of his Fathers family, 1 King. 14.12, 13. Joſiah before the captivity, and firſt deſtruction of Jeruſalem, 2 King. 22.23. James before the ſecond, Act. 12. Auſtin a little before the ſack of his City Hippo by the Vandals. Felix Nepotianus qui haec non vidit, ſaith Hierom. Stilico ſaid,Calvin in hunc locum. that when Ambroſe was dead, Great changes would follow: and it fell out accordingly. Luther was taken away in peace, a little before the calamity of Germany, which he foretold for contempt of the Goſpel. Pareus dyed a little before Heydelberg was taken, futuro malo ſubſtractus. Mr. Brightman was buried a day or two before the purſevant was ſent for him. God had houſed him, as he had Lot before the ſtorm: hid him as he had done Moſes in the hole of the Rock, till the tempeſt was blown over: dealt by him, as once by Daniel (chap. 12, 13.) who was hid to go away and reſt before thoſe great claſhings and confuſions ſhould come, which had been foreſhewn to him. Howbeit this is not generally ſo: for Jeremy lived to ſee the firſt deſtruction of Jeruſalem: John the Evangeliſt, the laſt Mr. Dod, and many other holy men outlived our late unhappy wars, and deeply ſhared in them: But uſually God taketh away his moſt eminent ſervants from the evil to come: as when there is a fire in a houſe or Town, men carry out their jewels;Dion Pruſ. orat 28. foreign, ſaith an Ancient; the beſt dye firſt, commonly: The comfort is, that though as grapes they be gathered afore they be ripe, and as lambs ſlain before they be grown, yet this benefit they have, that they are freed from the violence of the wine-preſſe that others fall into, and they eſcape many ſtormes that others live to taſte of.
Ver. 2. He ſhall enter into peace] i. e. Into heaven, where the righteous (however looked upon as loſt, ver. 1.) ſhall have life and peace, Rom. 8.6. joy and bliſs, Mat. 25.21, 23. reſt and peace, Rev. 14.13. and this foreign amodo, ſtrait upon't ſo ſoon as ever they are dead; from henceforth, forthwith their ſouls have happineſſe unconceivable. As for their bodies,
They ſhall reſt in their beds] So their graves are called, by an elegant Metaphor: like as the bier that carrieth to it, is called Matteh, a couch,foreign. 2 Sam. 3.31. the burying-place a dormitory, or place to ſleep in, and the Reſurrection an awaking, Pſal. 17. ult. To this bed Moſes went up, when his Father bad: he dyed ad …s Jehova, Malmould.Deut. 34.5. which the Jew-Doctors expound, as though God did take away his ſoul with a kiſſe: like as the loving mother kiſſeth the child, and then layeth it down to ſleep. Rhodingus, a Dutch Divine, when he perceived he ſhould dye,Melch. Adam. deſired to be laid in another hed which he called his bed of reſt, and upon which he had long before written this verſe, Ʋt ſomnus mortis, ſic lectus imago ſepulchri.
In this ſhort bed of the grave ſhall be laid up the infinite miſeries of many years; the bodies of the Saints ſhall by rotting, be refined, their precious duſt preſerved, till at laſt it ariſe incorruptible. O dieculam illam!
Each one walking in his uprightneſſe] Or, walking before him, or right over againſt him: that is, keeping equipage with him; as when one friend walketh with another.
Ver. 3. But draw near hither ye ſons of the ſorcereſſe] Here Eſaias is very bold, (as the Apoſtle ſaith of him in another caſe, Rom. 10.20.) and maketh it appear, that he was none of thoſe dumb dogs he had rated as, in the former Chapter. The Jews gloried much in their pedigree and deſcent from Abraham, and that they were born of the free-woman: he telleth them flat and plain, that they were witches children, whores-ſons, foreign.a baſtardly brood (as our Saviour afterwards called them) a race of rebels, a ſeed of ſerpents, ſhamefully degenerate from their praiſe-worthy Progenitours.
Ver. 4. Againſt whom do ye ſport your ſelves?] You that are the wits, the merry Greeks of the times, that inſtead of trembling at Gods Word, and humbling before him, hold it a goodly thing to gibe and jear at it, to mock and ſcoffe at thoſe that preach it, 2 Chron. 36.16. See chap. 5.19. and 22.13. and 28.14, 22. Theſe were their game-ſtocks, and the matter of their mad mirth; neither is it any otherwiſe to this day: for the world ever was, and will be ſtill, beſide it ſelf in point of ſalvation.Mundus anti… quum obtinet ridendo verbum Dei. Not the ſinful Sodomites only, but Lots ſons-in-law, who ſhould have learned better, laughed him to ſcorn for his good counſel, Gen. 19.14. Ridetur cum ſuo Jehova: Lot is counted but a Iob, and bid to keep his breath to cool his broth. Eraſmus is blamed for his dry ſcoffes at Capi…e and other Reformers: but Parſons the Jeſuite is able to put Rabſhaketh, Therſites and Lucian himſelf to ſchool, for railing, deriding and ſcurrilous language.
Againſt whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue?] By ſuch baſe geſtures did they ſhew their contempt of the Prophets, as they thought: but indeed (and as it was conſtrued) of God himſelf. See Exod. 16.8. Num. 16.11. Luk. 10.16. 1 Theſ. 4.8. Look how unskilful hunters, ſhooting at wild beaſts, do ſometimes kill a man: ſo profane perſons, ſhooting at Gods Miniſters, hit him. If we be ſerved in like ſort as thoſe of old were, if we be for ſignes and for wonders in Iſrael, as Iſaiah and his fellows were, chap. 8.18. If in mockage they imitate our language, as they did good Jeremies, crying at him, The burden of the Lord, the burden of the Lord, chap. 23. If they blow their noſes at us, as they did at our Saviour,foreign. Luk. 16.14. taunt and reproach us, as they did Paul, Act. 17.32. ſet us upon a ſtage to be laughed and hooted at, as they did thoſe worthies of whom the world was not worthy,foreign, In theatrum producti pro ſpectaculo. Heb. 10.33. 1 Cor. 4.9. let us not ſtrange or ſtartle at the matter, as if ſome new thing had befaln us; but rejoyce and be exceeding glad: for ſo perſecuted they the Prophets that were before us, Mat. 5.12. See 1 Pet. 4.14. with the Note.
Ver. 5. Enflaming your ſelves with idols] That it might appear that there was good cauſe of ſo much ſharpneſs, and that he did them no wrong, he painteth them out in their colours, to the life: Incaleſcitis, id eſt concumbitis, whileſt ye commit folly and filthineſs with your idols, ye are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker: your baker ſleepeth all the night, in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire, Hoſ. 7.4, 6. And as the love of Harlots is oft hotter than that of husband and wife, ſo ſuperſtition many times out-doeth true religion.
Slaying the children] A barbarous practice, taught them by that old man-ſlayer. Careleſs parents do little leſs: whom therefore Bernard calleth peremptores potius quam parentes, rather Parricides than Parents.
Ver. 6. Among the ſmooth ſtones of the ſtream is thy portion] Pars & ſors tua: a poor portion it is, but ſuch as thou art well apaid of (viz. thine altars and thine idol-ſervice) and ſetteſt up in my place: how exceeding devout in their way are ſome miſled and muzzled Papiſts (thoſe of the weaker ſex eſpecially) in the ſervice of their god Mauzzim, in the honour of their over-admired reliques, which they eſteem no leſs than the people of the Iſle Zeiilon in the Eaſt-Indies did their conſecrated Apes-tooth; which being got from them, they offered an incredible maſſe of treaſure to recover it.
Should I receive comfort in theſe] Or, ſhould I not eaſe my ſelfe of theſe? as Jer. 5.9.
Ver. 7. Ʋpon a lofty and high mountain] In all places haſt thou poured out thy whoredoms, ſetting thy ſin upon the cliffe of the rock, as it were a ſunning: ſo ſhameleſs art thou grown.
Thy bed] i. e. thy Temples and Altars; as likewiſe do the Maſſe-mongers at this day.
Ver. 8. Behind the doors alſo and the poſts] Where my Law ſhould have been written, Deut. 6.9. and 11.20.
Haſt thou ſet up thy remembrance] Thy mawmets and monuments of Idolatry: ſuch as Papiſts now call Memories, and Lay-mens books.
Thou haſt diſcovered thy ſelf] Thy nakedneſs like a meretrix meretriciſſima, divaricaſti tibias, as Ezek. 23. Omnibus modis t… comparans ut impudentiſſimum ſcortum, proſtituting thy ſelf as a moſt impudent Harlot, prodigiouſly laſcivious.
Ver. 9. And thou wenteſt to the King] The King of Aſſyria, who ſtiled himſelf the great King, to whom Ahaz both ſent and went, 2 King. 16.8, 10.
With ointment] Heb. with oyle, that is, with balſam, ſuch as Judea only afforded, and was therefore highly eſteemed in other countries.
And didſt debaſe thy ſelf even unto hell] By crouching and cringing to thoſe forraign ſtates, in a moſt ſubmiſſe and ſervile way, as Ahaz had done with his, I am thy ſervant and thy ſon, 2 King. 16.7. to the diſhonour of God, and to the reproach of Iſrael, who was Gods firſt-born, higher than the Kings of the earth, Pſal. 89.27.
Ver. 10. Thou art wearied in the greatneſſe of thy way] Great paines thou haſt taken to ſmall purpoſe, and yet thou thinkeſt and hopeſt (but groundleſly) that.
Thou haſt found the life of thy hand] A ſure way of ſubſiſtence; thy deſired help and ſafety.
Ver. 11. And of whom haſt thou been afraid or feared?] q. d. Not me ſurely as thou oughteſt: but thy fellow-creatures, whom thou ſhouldeſt have looked upon as ſo many mice.
That thou haſt lyed] i. e. So baſely flattered the Aſſyrian.
Have I not held my peace] i. e. Born with thee, more than any elſe would ever have done? and yet my lenity is even worſe than loſt upon thee.
Ver. 12. I will declare thy righteouſneſſe] i. e. Thine unrighteouſneſſe, by an Irony: Antiphraſis Ironica.or thy righteouſneſs ſecundum dici, non ſecundum eſſe, thine hypocriſie.
For they ſhall not profit thee] Nay they ſhall undo thee.
Ver. 13. When thou cryeſt, let thy companies (Heb. thy gathered ones or troopes) deliver thee] See Deut. 32 37, 38. Judg. 10.13, 14. with the Note.
But the wind ſhall carry them all away] The wind of Gods power ſhall ſcatter them, quiſquiliarum in morem.
Ver. 14. And he ſhall ſay] Or, and it ſhall be ſaid: This is further added, for the comfort of thoſe that truſted in God, that they ſhall have a ſmooth and clear paſſage home. This is literally meant of their return from Babylon: but myſtically of the recollection of the Church out of the captivity of the devil, and power of ſinne.
Ver. 15. For thus ſaith the high and lofty one] Higher than the higheſt: ſo high, that he is ſaid to abaſe himſelf to behold things done in heaven, Pſal. 113.6. to look out of himſelf upon the Saints and Angels there. He is a God, ſaith one, whoſe nature is Majeſty, whoſe place is immenſity, whoſe time is eternity, whoſe life is ſanctity, whoſe power is omnipotency, whoſe work is mercy, whoſe wrath is juſtice, whoſe throne is ſublimitie, whoſe ſeat is humility.
That inhabiteth Eternity] Gigas ſaeculorum, ſaith the Syriak. The Apoſtle Paul hath a like ſtately deſcription of Almighty God, 1 Tim. 6.16. who yet is above all Name or Notion, and muſt be thought of as one not to be thought of. Herein he is moſt unlike to men, who the higher they are, the leſs they look after the poor afflicted.
I dwell in the high and holy place] In the light which no man can approach unto, 1. Tim. 6.16. In the holy place (of the material Temple) which was without windows, there burned lights perpetually; to repreſent the celeſtial lights: but in the moſt holy place, there was no light at all; to ſhew, that all outward light is but darkneſs being compared with that light which God inhabiteth, and which is inacceſſible.
With him alſo that is of a contrite and humble ſpirit] In the loweſt hearts he dwelleth, as well as in the higheſt heavens. A broken heart is Gods leſſer heaven: here he dwelleth with delight. Not that the affliction of a mans ſpirit is pleaſing to God, but the ſeparation of ſin from the ſoul: when the ſoder that joyneth a ſinful action and the heart together, is diſſolved, this pleaſeth the Lord.
To revive the spirit of the humble] As this very text hath done many a one.
Ver. 16. For I will not contend for ever] It ſoon repenteth the Lord concerning his ſervants: Et pro magno peccato parum ſupplicii ſatis eſt patri. Terent.See Pſal. 103.9.
For the ſpirit would fail before me] Heb. would be overcovered, ſc. tenebris a… terroribus, it would even ſink and faint away. When the child ſwoones in the whipping, God lets fall the rod, and falls a kiſſing it, to fetch life into it again, Jer. 31.20. As the rule in Phyſick is ſtill to maintain nature, ſo doth he their ſpirits, by Cordials.
Ver. 17. For the iniquity of his Covetouſneſſe] Or of his Concupiſcence, the ſin of his nature. But covetouſneſſe is a wickedneſſe with a witneſſe; the root of all evil, 1 Tim. 6.10. Timon could ſay, that there were two ſources of all ſin, viz. foreign covetouſneſſe and vain-glory.
And he went on frowardly in the way of his own heart] i. e. Exco…atus ſequitur animalem ſuum spiritum, he blindling blundered on, without fear or wit, croſs-grained and irreclaimable.
Ver. 18. I have ſeen his waies] His waies of covetouſneſſe, croſſneſs, &c. I could be as croſs as he for the heart of him, Pſal. 18.26. But,
I will heal him] q. d. I ſee theſe froward children will ſay nothing to heart: frowns will not humble them, blows will not benefit them: if I do not ſave them, till they ſeek me, they'l never be ſaved. Therefore I will work for mine own name ſake. See Ezek. 20.8, 14, 22, 44.
And reſtore comforts unto him, and to his mourners] To thoſe that mourn in ſecret for his ſins and miſeries, Ezek. 9.4. Matth. 5.4. and to others for their ſakes, ratione conſortii.
Ver. 19. I create the fruit of the lips] i. e. I ſpeak peace to my people by the mouths of my faithful Miniſters, applying and ſetting home the promiſes: And this I doe moſt magnificently and mightily.
Peace, peace] See on chap. 26.3.
Ver. 20 But the wicked are like the troubled ſea] Whoſe ſurges are not more lofty, then muddy. The ſea is of it ſelf unquiet and troubleſme: much more when toſſed with winds and tempeſts: So wicked men, when tis at beſt with them, are reſtleſs; but under terrours and temptations, they caſt up the mire and dirt of deſperation and blaſphemy; as did Cain, Judas, Julian, Latomus, &c. God in afflictions marks men out: and then, conſcience will prey upon them, as Simeon and Levi did upon the Shechemites, when ſore: then, as Prov. 5.12, men ſhall cry out, How have I hated inſtruction, and my heart deſpiſed reproof! Then, as Gen. 42.21. Afflictions are to the ſoul, as ſtorms are to the ſea, or as earthquakes to the ground, which diſcover a great deal of filth. Vatablus rendreth the text thus, Imp…i autem Euripi inſtar fremunt. Now Euripus ebbeth and floweth ſeven times a day,His life in. Mr. Clark. and muſt needs therefore be in continual motion and agitation. Mr. Dod was wont to compare wicked men to the waves of the ſea; thoſe which were of a great eſtate were great waves, ſaid He; thoſe that were of ſmall eſtate, were ſmall waves: but all were reſtleſs as waves, Job. 20.20.
Ver. 21. There is no peace] a truce there may be for a time, and a ſeeming peace: but it is pax infida, Liv.pax incerta, a peace no peace. The ſea may ſeem ſometimes ſtill, but it is never ſo: no more are the wicked. And this is twice here affirmed for more aſſurance: like as he had twice ſaid I will heal them, ver. 18.19. and as he had promiſed peace peace to the mourners … ib. who, having ſoaked themſelves in godly ſorrow, are waſhed from their wickedneſſe by the blood of Jeſus Chriſt, and being juſtified by faith have peace with God: This is a peerleleſſe pearl, which no cock on the dunghil ever knew the worth of.