Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Ezekiel · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII.
Ver. 1. MOreover the word of the Lord came unto me] Five or ſix years afore it fell out. God loveth to foreſignifie, to premoniſh, or ere he puniſh. Let us upon whom the ends of the world are come, take warning, and think we hear the trump of God ſounding, as here, An end is come, is come, is come, it watcheth for thee, behold it is come: ver. 2, 3, 6.
Ver. 2. An end, the end is come] Exitium & excidium. Great Kingdoms have their times and their turnes, their riſe and their ruine. The wickeds happineſſe will take its end, ſurely and ſwiftly.
Ʋpon the four corners of the land] Heb. the four wings: called alſo the four winds, Mat. 24.31, They had defiled the land from corner to corner, as Ezra 9.11. God therefore now would ſweep it all over, with the beeſom of utter deſtruction.
Ver. 3. Now is the end come upon thee] Even upon thee, O Iſrael: who would ever have thought it? Lam. 4.12.
And I will ſend mine anger upon thee] Reveal it from heaven, as Rom. 1.18.
And will judge thee according to thy wayes] i. e. I will puniſh thee for thy wayes, as Hoſ. 4.9. Obad. 15.
And will recompenſe upon thee] Heb. I will give or put upon thee all thine abominations, q. d. Thou haſt hitherto put them upon me, but I will have a writ of remove, and ſet them upon their own baſe, as Zach. 5.11.
Ver. 4. And mine eye ſhall not ſpare thee] Chap. 5.11. See on Jer. 13.14.
And thine abominations ſhall be in the midſt of thee] Ʋt quae antea latuerant, in apertum prodeant.
And ye ſhall know that I am the Lord] That ſmiteth you, ver. 9.
An evil, an only evil] viz. Without mixture of mercy: or that ſhall ſmite thee down at one only blow, as 1 Sam. 26.8. See on Nahum. 1.9. The Vulgar, after the Chaldee, rendreth it An evil after an evil, q. d. Lighter and leſſer judgements have done no good upon thee. Now I will finiſh the work and cut it ſhort in righteouſneſſe, Rom. 9.28. Ruinam pracedunt ſtillicidia.
Ver. 6. An end is come, the end is come] Still the Prophet ringeth this doleful knell in their eares, whom ſin and Satan had caſt into ſuch a dead lethargy, that they could not eaſily be arrouſed. Battologia eſt, ſed neceſſaria verborum redundantia, ſaith Pintus.
It watcheth for thee] Which hitherto lay at the door, Gen. 4.7. ſleeping dog-ſleep, as we ſay. In the Hebrew there is an elegant Agnomination between hakets an end, and hekits watcheth. See 2 Pet. 3.3.
Ver. 7. The morning is come unto thee] The morning of execution,Viſitaberis ſummo mane, id eſt mature. Piſcat. Florulenta felicitas occidit. Oecol. as Jer. 21.12. Pſal. 101.8. Confer Hoſ. 10.15. Gen. 19.23.24. worſe then the Sicilian Veſpers, or the French Maſſacre. Thine utter deſtruction, bene mane in te irruet, ſhall be upon thee betimes, as it was upon Sodom: and as the morning light breaketh in upon thoſe that are faſt aſleep. Sicut decoctores multa ſibi promittunt, interim pereunt: ſo it befalleth the wicked.
The day of trouble is near] Hajom mehumah, Day in Hebrew is thought to have its name from the ſtir and noiſe that is made in it, the humming noiſe and buſtle of buſineſſe. A troubleſome and tumultuous day is here forethreatned, ſuch as that Eſay 22.5. and Zeph. 1.14, 15, 16, 17.
Not the ſounding again of the mountaines] Not an empty ſound,Virgil. or an Echo (reſonabilis Echo] but a worſe matter, that ſhall do more then beat the aire.
Ver. 8. Now will I ſhortly poure out my fury] See on chap. 5.13.
And I will judge thee, &c.] See on ver. 3.
Ver. 9. I will recompenſe] The ſame as before. Nunquam ſatis dicitur, quod nunquam ſatis diſcitur.
That I am the Lord that ſmiteth] Think not that I am made all of mercy, or that I will ever ſerve you for a ſinning-ſtock. Ye ſhall know that I have verbera as well as ubera: and can ſo ſet it on as no creature can take it off.
Ver. 10. The morning is gone forth] Matutina ſententia, the decree bringeth forth, as Zeph. 2.2. See there.
The rod hath bloſſomed] You have had your Floralia, and ſhall ſhortly have your Funeralia. Nebuchadnezzar (that rod of my wrath) is at hand.
Pride hath budded] And will ſhortly bring forth: viz. the bitter fruit of your bold rebellion. Not much unlike to this was the Almond rod ſeen by Jeremy, chap. 1.11.
Ver. 11. Violence is riſen up into a rod of wickedneſſe] Their oppreſſions ſpeak them moſt wicked, and will make them moſt wretched.
Nor of their multitude] Or, their tumultuous perſons, their Thraſo's, ſaith Tremellius, quantumvis circumſtrepant famulitio numeroſo, with all their traine and retinue, that keep a clutter.
Neither ſhall there be wailing for them] Their deareſt friends ſhall not dare to lament the loſs of them, for fear of the enemyes who are preſent would puniſh it. We read in the Roman hiſtory of one Vitia who was put to death by the command of Tiberius, for that ſhe had lamented Geminus her ſon, executed as a friend to Sejanus.Tacit.
Ver. 12. The time is come, the day draweth near] Let this voyce ever ſound in the ears of thoſe negligent ſpirits who cry Cras Domine: Advenit illud tempus, pertigit illa dies.whiling away their time as ſhe, Rev. 2 21. and ſo fooling away their own ſalvation, as thoſe Virgins, Mat. 25.
Let not the buyer rejoyce] He ſhall have no ſuch great joy of his purchaſe: ſith the enemy ſhall ſhortly take all, & qui latifundia habuerunt, ne latum pedem retinebunt, and no man ſhall be maſter of his own, nay not of a molehill.
For wrath is upon all the multitude thereof] Or, upon all the wealth thereof. To like purpoſe the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 7.29. This then I ſay brethren, The time is ſhort, or truſſed up, contracted, Let them that have wives be as though they had none; they that weep as though they wept not; they that rejoyce as though they rejoyced not; and they that buy as though they poſſeſſed not, &c. Rebus non me trado ſed commodo, Sen.ſaid the wiſe heathen. Hang looſe to all things here below: and labour after that undefiled and unfadable inheritance, 1 Pet. 1.4.
Deut. 25.10.Ver. 13. For the ſeller ſhall not return,] ſc. At the year of Jubilee, by reaſon of the lands deſolation.
Which ſhall not return] Or rather, it ſhall not return, ſc. void and ineffectual: but ſhall be accompliſhed.
Neither ſhall any ſtrengthen himſelf in the iniquity of his life] That's but an ill defence. The ſpirit of power and of a ſound mind are fitly ſet together, 2 Tim. 1.7. Mens iniquity will be their ruine. Munſter rendreth the text thus, For that when as the viſion was to the whole multitude thereof, no man returned, neque ullus propter iniquitatem ſuam pro anima ſua ſe roborabat, neither did any one (by reaſon of his iniquity) ſtrengthen himſelf for his own ſoul, i. e. uſe means to eſcape the juſt puniſhment of it.
Ver. 14. They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready] But all to no purpoſe; ſith God hath diſpirited them (as he did the old Canaanites, the Saxons and Picts in that Victoria Hallelujatica, the Germans againſt the Huſſites in Bohemia, &c.) and ſtruck them with a Panick terrour, with utter deſpondency; ſo that they were feeble and faint-hearted, and the ſtrong were become as tow, Iſa. 1.31.
Ver. 15. The ſword is without, and the peſtilence, &c.] No ſafety can be to ſuch as are purſued by the divine vengeance;foreign. called therefore by the Greeks foreign, becauſe there is no outrunning of it. Of theſe three judgements (ſeldom ſeparated) ſee chap. 4.
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Ver. 16. But they that eſcaped of them] Here we have the mournful repentance of them that eſcaped, Fere autem fit ut, malo demum accepto, oculos aperiamus, ſaith Lavater here.
Heb. foreign ejulantes ut pueri ſolent qui virgis coercentur.All of them mourning, every one for his iniquity] Thus Hezekiah mourned as a dove, Eſa. 38.14. And we mourn ſore like doves, ſaith the Church, Iſa. 59.11. happy if it be every man for his iniquity, and not for the puniſhment of it only or mainly. See that it be a ſorrow according to God, a ſorrow to a tranſmentation, 2 Cor, 7.10, 11.
Ver. 17. All hands ſhall be feeble] As after ſome grievous diſeaſe, or as in extream cold weather: ye ſhall not be able to handle your armes, wherein ye ſo truſt. God ſtrengtheneth or weakeneth the armes of either party, Ezek. 30.24.
Vulg. Hieron. Septudg.And all knees ſhall be weak as water] Fluent aquis: put a ſudore ex gravi anguſtia, vel potius urina, ex pavore. Not ſo thoſe that wait upon God, Eſa. 40.30, 31. Let wicked Thraſo's think on this.
Ver. 18. They ſhall alſo gird themſelves with ſackcloth] They ſhall be a miſerable mourning people for a long while.
Horrour ſhall cover them] Such heart-quake as is in earth quakes: horripilatis.
Scal.Shame ſhall be upon all faces] Pudor à rebus putidis: aſhamed they ſhall be of their doings, aſhamed of their diſappointments.
And baldneſſe upon all their heads] A ſign of ſorrow among the Jews. The Romans (contrariwiſe) in times of ſorrow ſuffered their hair to grow, ſaith Plutarch: ſo did Mephiboſheth in Davids dayes.
Ne ſit ponderi quod prius fuit luxuriae. Hieron.Ver. 19. They ſhall caſt their ſilver in the ſtreets] As burdenſom, and not beneficial to them. Thus Judas threw away his wages of wickedneſſe: and many on their death-beds deteſt their curſed hoards of evil-gotten goods: ſaying unto them as once Charles the fifth did, Abite hinc, abite longe, away from me, away, away.
Their gold ſhall be removed] Shall be for a dunghil, ſaith the Vulgar: it ſhall be eſteemed, as it is, the guts and garbidge of the earth.
Their ſilver and their gold] See Prov. 11.4. Zeph. 1.18. Eccleſ. 5.8. with the Notes.
They ſhall not ſatisfie their ſouls] Silver and gold are not eatable, as Midas found, and the great Chaliph of Babylon, whom Haalon the great Chan of Tartary affamiſhed to death in the midſt of his infinite treaſures;Turk. hiſt. 113. Plato in Cratylo ſcribit Tantalum dictum eſſe quaſi foreign. i. e. infeliciſſimum. which though they were in valour great, and with great care laid together, yet ſerved they him not now to ſuffice nature beſt contented with a little.
Becauſe it is the ſtumbling blok of their iniquity] Their wealth is the occaſion of their wickedneſs: and they are much the worſe men for their worldly ſubſtance. See Pſal. 52.7. with the margin. Jer. 5.27, 28. Luk. 16.9, 13.
Ver. 20. As for the beauty of his ornament] That is mine Ark, ſaith Junius: or my ſilver and gold, ver. 19. as others.
He ſet it in majeſty] In ſuperbiam poſuit, ſo ſome render it, they were proud of their abundance: their good and their blood roſe together, as the proverb is.
Therefore have I ſet it far from them] I will (for their ingratitude and abuſe of my good things) take away mine own and be gone, as Hoſ. 2.8, 9.
Ver. 21. And I will give it into the hands] So he did the pleaſant land to be plundered, the Sanctuary alſo to be rifled and raſacked by the Babylonians, Syrians, Romans, &c. See Lam. 1.10. with the Notes.
And to the wicked of the earth] Sept. to the Peſts of the earth.
Ver. 22. My face will I turn alſo from them] From the Chaldees, that they may ſpoile at pleaſure: or from the Iſraelites, that they may periſh without ſuccour.
And they ſhall pollute my ſecret place] Even the Holy of Holyes, whereinto none was to enter but the high Prieſt once a year: yet (beſides theſe Babylonian burglers) Heliodorus and Pompey did, but the one fell mad, and the other never proſpered after it.
For the Robbers ſhall enter into it] Effractores, by this name Breaechmakers, the Jews at this day term our Nobles and Grandees.
Ver. 23. Make a chain] Which is an emblem of bondage.
For the land is full of bloody crimes] i. e. Capital crimes, unjuſt ſentences and other deadly evils.
Ver. 24. Wherefore I will bring the worſt of the heathen] velut carnifices, who may plunder you to the life, and take away your lives, Hab. 1.6, 7, 9. The Jews were bad enough, but the Chaldees were worſe, if worſe might be; Malignants above meaſure, Poneropolitans, breathing devils. A hard knot muſt have a harder wedge, as the Proverb is.
I will alſo make the pomp of the ſtrong to ceaſe] I will cruſh the creſts of thoſe Potentates, and lay them low. See Eſa. 14.11, 12.
Their holy places ſhall be defiled] Sacella & lararia corum, their Chappels or Oratories made in or near unto their houſes for divine worſhip.
Ver. 25. Deſtruction cometh] Not, mercy ſhall come, foreign.as the Septuagint ill render it) but utter exciſion: as when a weaver cutteth the web he hath finiſhed, out of the loom, Iſa. 38.12.
They ſhall ſeek peace] Of God, but all too late: of the Chaldees, but all in vain: for they were Cockatrices, and would not be charmed, Jer. 8.17.15. & 12.12. & 16.5. Note here how Jeremy and Ezekiel ſay the ſame thing; as being acted by the ſame ſpirit.
Ver. 26. Miſchief ſhall come upon miſchief] Aliud ex alio malum. I will heap miſchiefs upon them, Deut. 32.23. War is called evil or miſchief by a ſpecialty, Eſa. 45.7.
And rumour ſhall be upon rumour] ſc. Of Nebuchadnezzars advance, acts and atcheivements.
Then ſhall they ſeek a viſion of the Prophet] As a drowning man catcheth at the ſprig of a tree, which before he ſlighted.
But the Law ſhall periſh from the Prieſt] Not only Prophecy, which is an extraordinary gift, ſhall fail them, but alſo the ordinary preaching of Gods Word, and all good advice and proviſion of humane wiſdom. And yet this fooliſh people were wont to ſooth up themſelves and ſay, The Law ſhall not periſh from the Prieſt, nor wiſdom from the Ancient, Jer. 18.
foreign.Ver. 27. The king ſhall mourn] With a funeral mourning, as the Sept. expreſſe it: with a continued mourning, as the Hebrew importeth.
The Prince ſhall be clothed with deſolation] Opplebitur triſtitiâ ad ſtuporem.
And the hands] Which they had ſo oft lifted up to vanity.
According to their deſertes] See ver. 3, 4, 8, 9.