Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Jeremiah · Chapter 50
CHAP. L.
Ver. 1. THe word that the Lord ſpake againſt Babylon] Which was built by Nimrod: as Ninive was afterwards by his nephew Ninus, Gen. 10.11. Of the greatneſſe of this City, beſides what we read in holy writ, much may be read in Herodotus and Pliny. It was the head-City of the Aſſyrian and Chaldaean Monarchy, which laſted above 1700. years, till Cyrus the Perſian took the Kingdom. Eſay propheſied againſt it in ſeveral Chapters. Habakkuk maketh it his whole buſineſſe. Jeremy had ſet forth how Sheſhak, that is Balthaſar, ſhould drink the dregs of the cup of Gods wrath, chap. 25.26. Here, and in the next Chapter, he diſcourſeth it more at large, ſhewing how it was that Babylon was to drink of that cup; and for more certainty, it is ſpoken of in this propheſie as already done.
Ver. 2. Declare ye among the nations] Let all take notice of the good news: there ſhall be a general goal-delivery; ſing therefore Jo triumphe.
Say, Babylon is taken] So Eſay 21.9.
Bel is confounded] This Bel was Nimrod, whoſe nephew Ninus ſet him up for a god. Merodach (a reſtorer of their Empire, whereof Nimrod had been founder) was likewiſe idolized.Merodach foreign; ſive ſce t…ifer Chaldaicâ appellatione. They are called dirty deities (faeditates & ſtercora, a name good enough for them) and ſaid to be confounded. See Eſa. 46.1. Sorrows alſo: becauſe their ſorrows ſhall be multiplied that haſten after another God, Pſal. 16.4.
Ver. 3. For out of the North there cometh up a Nation againſt her] i. e. Out of Media and Perſia which lay Northward from Chaldaea. The Jews had their bane out of the North, (as had been foretold, Jer. 1.14, 15.) ſc. from Babylon. And now Babylon is to be baned from the ſame quarter. This was ſome comfort doubtleſſe to the poor Jews in captivitie.
Which ſhall make her land deſolate] This was not fulfilled, till many years after. Cyrus indeed began it: but Seleucus Nicanor finiſhed it,Plin. lib. 6. cap. 26. by building near unto it another great City called Seleucia.
Ver. 4. In thoſe dayes, and at that time] Deſtructio Babel ſalus eſt populo Dei: ſo ſhall it be at the ruine of Rome.
The children of Iſrael ſhall come and the children of Judah together] In better times they could not agree: but when they were both in a weeping condition, miſery bred unity: as it did alſo betwixt Hooper and Ridley, when they were both in priſon for the truth.
Going and weeping] Teares of ſorrow for their ſinnes; and teares of joy for their deliverance by Cyrus, but eſpecially by Chriſt.
They ſhall go and ſeek the Lord their God] Whom they had long been without: and do now long and linger after.
Ver. 5. They ſhall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward] As intent upon it, and minding nothing elſe in compariſon.Accurate ſciſcitabuntur. It is good for a man to have his face ſet towards heaven and to make Religion his buſineſſe: looking at other things by the by, and out at the eyes end, as it were.
Come and let us joyn our ſelves to the Lord] Be ſo joyned to the Lord,Iudivulſe adh…re…unt Domino. ſo glewed unto him, as to be one Spirit with him, in a conjugal perpetual covenant.
Ver. 6. My people have been loſt ſheep] Per avia peccatorum aberrantes, loſt in the maze of ſin and miſery.
Their ſhepherds have cauſed them to go aſtray] True alſo of Papiſts and Sectaries: miſerably miſled by their pretended Paſtours; Impoſtours rather.
Ver. 7. All that found them have devoured them] As ravenous creatures do wandring ſheep. Straglers are a fit prey for Seducers.
And their adverſaries ſaid, We offend not] i. e. God will have it ſo, Jer. 40.2. but this was no good plea; Jer. 2.3.
The habitation of juſtice] Or, in the habitation of juſtice: in a land of uprightneſs have they dealt unjuſtly, Eſa. 26.10. which was no ſmall aggravation of their ſin.
Even the Lord the hope of their Fathers] But theſe, as degenerate children, have no ſuch hope.
Ver. 8. Remove out of the midſt of Babylon] Ho, Ho, come forth, as Zach. 2.6. Away, this is not your reſt, for it is polluted, Mic. 2.10. See Eſay 48.20. Rev. 18.4.
Be as the hee-goates] That lead the flocks, generoſè & feſtinanter, freely and readily. Sheep are fearful, and therefore go behind: goates are not ſo, and therefore go before. There is good hope, ſaith one, that we are going out of Babylon, when the hee-goates go before the flock: when men of publick place and authority are active for reformation.
Ver. 9. From the North country] See on ver. 3.
Their arrows ſhall be as of a mighty expert man] Or, of a potent prosperous man, that can hit where he pleaſeth, and that without faile.
None ſhall return in vain] No ſhaft ſhall: or no ſouldier ſhall miſſe of booty, for whereas Babylon, like a ſea, had taken in the wealth of all Nations; ſo it was meet that it ſhould be exhauſted: like as Rome was by the Gothes and Vandals, and as Conſtantinople was by the Turks and Tartars.
Ver. 10. And Chaldaea ſhall be a ſpoyle] See on ver. 9.
Ver. 11. Becauſe ye were glad, becauſe ye rejoyced] ſc. In a thing of naught,Cauſam ponit petulantiam & dicacitatem. Oecol. as Am. 6.13. and in the miſeries of my people ye were madly merry: therefore ſhall ye be let blood in the vena cava.
Becauſe ye are grown fat] Ye have laughed your ſelves fat, you have fatted your ſelves as in a duy of ſlaughter, or of good chear. It was at a feaſt that Babylon was taken.
And bellow as bulls] Or, neigh as ſteeds, luſty ſteeds.
Ver. 12. Your mother ſhall be ſore confounded] i. e. Babylon your mother-City: or Babylonia your countrey: or your Monarchical greatneſſe, which being in the laſt place laid waſte after other Nations, as Jer. 25. was foretold, ſhall with ſhame cry out, Hui tam cito me qua primas obtinebam, &c. How is it, that I, who was the head of Nations, am now the taile, &c?
Ver. 13. It ſhall not be inhabited, but be wholly deſolate] Babylon ſtandeth not now in the ſame place as of old: not is there hardly any ruines of the old City remaining, as travellers tell us. Pauſanias ſaith, that in his time, there was naught to be ſeen of it but the walls only:Lib. 8. In Iſa. 13. and Hierom ſaith, that in his, it was turned into a park for deare. Omne in medio ſpacium ſolitudo eſt. See on ver. 3.
Ver. 14. For ſhe hath ſinned againſt the Lord] Yea ſhe is a ſink of ſins, the contagion of the world, the ſhop of Satan, the adverſary of the Saints, &c. So, and much more then ſo is ſpiritual Babylon, cito itidem caſura, ſi eſſetis viri (ſaid Petrarch long ſince) that groaneth for a downfal.
Dedi…ionis eſt ſ…gnum. Dare manus eſt fateri ſe victum; victum …eadere palmas Auſoniividere. Virg.Ver. 15. Shout againſt her round about] As they did once at Jericho; ſhe ſhall come down aſſuredly.
She hath given her hand] i. e. She hath yeilded and cryed quarter: add hereunto, that two Princes of Babylon being diſpleaſed by Baltaſhar, ſent for Cyrus to take the City, and ſhewed him how he might beſt do it. This was giving the hand ſaith Calvin.
As ſhe hath done, do unto her] — Neque enim lex juſtior ulla eſt. See Judg. 1.5. with the Note.
Ver. 16. Cut off the ſower] Leave not ſo much as an husbandman alive: who yet are generally ſpared as harmleſſe, and uſeful: they were left and let alone by the Chaldaeans when they carried away the Jews, 3 King. 25.12. But here is enjoyned a more ſevere execution.
Ver. 17. Firſt the King of Aſſyria hath devoured him] Many Aſſyrian Kings ſucceſſively; but eſpecially Sennacherib.
Hath broken his bones] Heb. hath boned him: hath left nothing of him but the bare bones.
Ver. 18. As I have puniſhed the King of Aſſyria] And accordingly ſo he did: for as Sennacherib firſt loſt his army, and then his life; and then ſoon after, that Monarchy was diſſolved: ſo after that Baltaſar was ſlain, the Empire was tranſlated unto the Perſians.
Ver. 19. And I will bring Iſrael again to his habitation] Or to his fold, or his pastures: See ver. 6, 17.
Ver. 20. The iniquity of Jacob ſhall be ſought for, and there ſhall be none] Becauſe to the juſtified no ſin is imputed. Nihil obliviſci ſolet praeter injurias, He forgetteth nothing but injuries only, ſaid Cicero of Ceſar flatteringly, ſay we of God truely. This to have known, is to feed in thoſe ſoul-fatting paſtures, ver. 19.
For I will pardon them whom I reſerve] Tegam quod fuit; quod erit, regam.
Ver. 21. Go up against the land of Merathaim—and againſt the inhabitants of Pekod] Two Babylonian Provinces, Ezek. 23.23. Calvin rendreth it The land of exasperators, and the inhabitants of viſitation, i. e. that deſerve to be puniſhed. This is Gods commiſſion to Cyrus.
Ʋtterly deſtroy after them] i. e. Their poſterity, as Dan. 4.11.
Ver. 22. A ſound of battle is in the land] Barritus militaris: this is (not the joyful but) the woful ſound:Sequitur executie. Oecol. for war is a woe, which no words, how wide ſoever, can ſufficiently ſet forth.
Ver. 23. How is the hammer of the whole earth out aſunder?] Babylon was the mawle of many Nations. Nimrod began it, and his ſucceſſours took after him. Charles Martel King of France, was ſo called for like cauſe. Augustine alſo was worthily ſtiled Haereticorum malleus the hammer of hereticks: and Mr. Arthur Hilderſam Schiſmaticorum malleus, the mawle of Schiſmaticks.
Ver. 24. I have laid a ſnare for thee] Thou wild-bull, ver. 27. Babylon was unexpectedly taken by a ſtratagem, whiles they were in the midſt of their revels.
And thou w…ſt not aware] The palace was ſuddenly ſeized upon: but ſome parts of the City knew not that the enemy was entred, till three dayes after: for it was the greateſt City that ever the Sun beheld,Ariſtot. Pollt. Pauſ. Arcad. ſaith Pauſanias; and the moſt ſuddainly ſurprized.
Becauſe thou haſt ſtriven againſt the Lord] Heb. haſt mingled thy ſelf with the Lord, incertamen ſcilicet, to wreſtle and fall with him, and to try maſteries.
Ver. 25. The Lord hath opened his armory] Heb. treaſury. Now Gods armory is omne id ſub caelo uſque ad diabolos, all things both in heaven and under the cope of heaven, as far as the very devils; whereby he is able to ſubdue his enemies, and to bring them to nothing. Out of this treaſury God took Darius and Cyrus with their forces, and ſet them upon this expedition.
Ver. 26. Come againſt her] This he ſpeaketh to the Medes and Perſians; who though they were farther remote then they that could heare the Prophet; yet God, who ſpake by him, could and did ſpeak home to their hearts, ſtirring them up by a ſecret inſtinct to do this execution.
Ver. 27. Slay all her bullocks] Heb. ſword them, ſheath your ſwords in their ſides. See ver. 24.
Ver. 28. The vengeance of his Temple] Spoiled and burnt by the Chaldeans, thoſe waſters, as their name alſo ſignifieth. Woe then to ſuch as deſtroy Gods living Temples.
Ver. 29. According to all that ſhe hath done] See ver. 15.
For ſhe hath been proud againſt the Lord] Who ſetteth himſelf in battle array againſt the proud, 1 Pet. 5.5.
Ver. 30. Therefore ſhall her young men] See on chap. 49 26.
Ver. 31. Behold I am againſt thee O moſt proud] Heb. O pride, in the abſtract, i. e. O Balſhazzar; as of a certain Pope was ſaid, Conditur hoc tumulo & ſcelus & vitium.
Ver. 32. And the moſt proud ſhall ſtumble] Heb. Pride, or that man of pride. Praefractarius ille, ſo Oecolampadius rendreth it, that ſtubborn man, who will do wickedly againſt conviction of conſcience.
Ver. 33. The children of Judah, and the children of Iſrael were oppreſſed together] Or, were oppreſſed alike, ſc. In their ſeveral deportations; and God mindful of his Covenant, ſheweth himſelf ſenſible of it; though for preſent he ſeemed not to care what became of either of them; Ille dolet quoties cogitur eſſe ferox.
Ver. 34. Their Redeemer is ſtrong] Or, But their ſtrong Avenger, whoſe name is the Lord of hoſtes, he ſhall thoroughly plead their cauſe, i. e. right their wrongs.
That he may give reſt to the land] See on 2 Theſ. 1.8, 9.
Ver. 35. A ſword is upon the Chaldaeans] Thoſe ſworn ſwordmen of the Devil.
Ver. 36. A ſword is upon the lyars] i. e. The prognoſticators and wizzards. Mendaces nominat divinos, as it was wont here to be ſa…d A friar, a lyar.
Ver. 37. A ſword is upon their horſes] Upon all their military preparations; whereof ſee Herodot. lib. 1.
They ſhall become as womer] Elumbes, cowardly, and creſtfaln.
A ſword is upon her treaſures] Which how ineſtimable they were, ſee Strabo lib. 15. and Plin. l…b. 33. cap. 3.
Ver. 38. A drought is upon her waters] Which Cyrus did ſo drain by many outlets, that without any great difficulty he took the City: aſſ…ulting it on two ſides.Lib. 3. cap. 7. Frontinus ſaith that thrice Babylon was taken by this ſtratagem. 1. By Semiramis. 2. By Cyrus. 3. By Alexander the Great.
And they are mad upon their idols] Deos terrificos & truces, foreign.ſtatues of their Kings and Worthies which were of a huge vaſt ſtature. See Dan. 3.1.
Ver. 39. Therefore the wild beaſts of the deſart] See Eſa. 13.21.
Ver. 40. At God overthrew Sodom] See Eſay 13.19. and chap. 49.18.
Ver. 41. Behold a people ſhall come from the North] As ver. 3.9. See chap. 6.22.
Ver. 42. Againſt thee, O daughter of Babylon] In like ſort as thou didſt once againſt Gods Iſrael, chap. 6.23. Now thou ſhalt meet with thy match.
Ver. 43. The King of Babylon, &c.] See chap. 6.24. Dan. 5.6.
Ver. 44. Behold he ſhall come up] See chap. 49.19.
Ver. 45. See on chap. 49.20.
Ver. 46. See on chap. 49.22.