Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 1 · Chapter 31
CHAP. XXXI. Verſ. 1. And he heard the Words of Labans ſons]
THeſe were chips of the old block▪ as they ſay: as like the father, as if ſpit out of his mouth. Avarice made them think, as Seja…us did, Tacitus.Quicquid non acquiritur, damnum; all loſt, that fell beſide their own lips. As a ſhip may be over-laden with gold and ſilver, even unto ſinking, and yet have compaſs and ſides enough to hold ten times more: ſo, covetous men, though they have enough to ſink them, yet have they never enough to ſatisfie them. [Hath he gotten all this glory] That is, all this wealth, which eaſily gets glory; and goes therefore joyned with it, Prov. 3.16. & 8.18. This regina pecunia doth all, Eccleſ. 10.19.and hath all here belowe, ſaith Solomon. Money beareth the maſtery, and is the Monarch of this world. None ſo admired, or ſo ſoon admitted, as he that is well moneyed. The Chaldee word for money, foreign, of foreign ſtrong, and foreign, to prepare. foreign. Plut. in Emyl. Manl.loc.com. P. 441.ſignifies to do ſome great work. It was commonly ſaid in Greece, that not Philip, but his money, took their Cities. And a certain Grecian coming to Rome, where the honour of a Lord was offered unto him, anſwered, foreign. Alli… had a Cardinals that there beſtowed upon him by the Pope: but becauſe his hat had ſo thin lining; he wanted wealth, I mean, to ſupport his ſtate, he was commonly called, The ſtarveling Cardinal; and no body cared for him.
Verſ. 2. And Jacob behelà the countenance of Laban] He ſaid little, for ſhame, but thought the more; and could not ſo conceal his diſcontent, but that it appeared in his lowring looks. That which he had parted with in his riches, was, as it were, raked out of his belly, Job 20.11. he had as lief have parted with his very heartblood. And this was plain to Jacob by his countenance, which had been friendly, ſmoothe, and ſmiling; but now was cloudy, ſad, ſpiteful. The young men were hot, and could not hold or hide what was in their heart, but blurted it out, and ſpake their mindes freely. This old fox held his tongue, but could not keep his countenance.
En, quàm difficile eſt animum non prodere vultu.
Verſ. 3. Return to the land of thy fathers] Labans frowns were a grief to Jacob; the Lord calls upon him therefore to look homeward. Let the worlds affronts, and the change of mens countenances, drive us to him, who changeth not; and minde us of heaven, where is a perpetual ſerenity and ſweetneſs.
Verſ. 4. And Jacob ſent, and called Rachel, &c.] He conſults with his wives; ſo ſhould we in matters of weight, of remove eſpecially. They are our companions, the wives of our covenant, Mal. 2.14. not our vaſſals, or foot-ſtools; and muſt therefore be both of our court and counſel.
Verſ. 5. I ſee your fathers countenance, &c.] Merces mundi. foreign. Pindar. Orat. pro Planc.This is the worlds wages. All Jacob's good ſervice is now forgotten. Do an unthankful perſon nineteen kindneſſes, unleſs you adde the twentieth, all's loſt. Perraro grati homines reperiuntur, ſaith Cicero. Nemo beneſicium in Calendarium ſcribit, ſaith Seneca. And the Poet Auſonius not unfitly,
Sunt homines humeris quos ſiquis geſt at ad urbem
Auſoniam, domiti quae caput orbis erat:
Nec tamen ad portam placide deponat eoſdem,
Gratia praeteriti nulla laboris erit.
Verſ. 6. With all my power I have ſerved] The word tranſlated power, ſignifieth that natural moiſture of the body that maketh it lively and luſty, vigorous and valorous to do ſervice. So it is uſed, Gen. 49.3. Pſal. 22.15. Now if Jacob ſerved Laban with all his might, ſhould not we the Lord, a far better Maſter? Baruch repaired earneſtly, Nebem. 3.20. Caleb fulfilled after God, Num. 14.24 Nehemiah traded every talent, with which divine providence had truſted him: He worketh, warreth, watcheth, 2 Sam. 6.14.commandeth, encourageth, threatneth, puniſheth, &c. David danced with all his might, and did all the wills of God to his dying day; painfully ſerving out his time, to the laſt. Happie is he that can ſay, in a ſpiritual ſenſe, as it was ſaid of Moſes, that, after long profeſſion of Religion, he remits not of his zeal; his ſight is not waxed dim, nor his natural heat or force abated; that he is not ſlothful in buſineſs, but fervent in ſpirit, ſerving the Lord.
Verſ. 7. Changed my wages ten times] And ever for the worſe. The matter mended, with poor Jacob, as ſowre ale doth in ſummer. Laban the churl, the richer he grew by him, the harder he was to him: like children with mouthes full, and hands full, who will yet rather ſpoil all, then part with any. It is the love, not the lack of money, that makes men churls.
Verſ. 9. Thus God hath taken away, &c.] He is the true Proprietary, and gives and takes away theſe outward things at pleaſure; Pſal. 75.6.as Hannah …th it, 1 Sam. ….7. And, Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor west, ſaith David; nor yet from the ſouth, where the warm ſun-ſhine is: much leſs from the north; (for, Ab Aquilone nihil boni:) But God is the Judge; he puts down Laban, and ſets up Jacob: he ſpoiled the Egyptians, and enriched the Iſraelites with their jewels; which yet proved a ſnare to them, perhaps, Exod. 32.13.in the matter of the golden calf; as riches always do, when ſent in to men by Gods providence onelyonly, and not out of his favour, (as here to Jacob) and by vertue of the promiſe.
Verſ. 10, 11, 12. I ſaw in a dream, &c.] Of divine dreams, ſuch as this was, ſee the Notes above, upon Chap 20.3.
Verſ. 12. I have ſeen all that Laban doth] And am reſolved to fleece him for thy hire. Gain ill got, will burn mens fingers, and burn thorow their purſes. Yea, the greater wealth, the greater ſpoil awaits ſuch Miſers; as, a tree with thick and large boughs, every man deſires to lop him.
Verſ. 13. I am the God of Bethel, &c.] Here God pulls Jacob by the ear, as it were, and mindes him of his vow, which he had well-nigh forgotten: But the Lord looked for a performance, and afterward puniſhed him for his ſlackneſs. Moſt mens practice proclaims, that, having eſcaped the danger, they would willingly deceive the Saint. Sciapato il morbo, fraudato il Sante.And of thoſe that vow againſt ſin, how many have we, who, when temptations, like ſtrong Philistims, are upon them, break all bonds of God? whereby foul breaches are made into their conſciences, ſuch as nothing can cure, but the Blood of that great Votary, that Nazarite, Chriſt Jeſus. Vows are ſolemn ſervices; and they have much to anſwer for, that care not either to make or keep them; that dally and play with them, as children do with nuts and gawds. When the Cardinals meet to chuſe a Pope, they make a Vow, Whoſoever is choſen, Sleid. Comm.he ſhall ſwear to ſuch Articles as they make. And Sleidan ſaith, The Pope is no ſooner choſen, but he breaks them all, and checks their inſolencies; as if they went about to limit his power, to whom all power is given, both in heaven and earth. Is not this pretty colluſion? But God is the avenger of all ſuch.
Verſ. 15. Are we not counted of him as ſtrangers?] Iſidor. P…luſ. lib. 3. cp. 24. 1 Tim. 6.10.Well might that Father ſay, foreign. The love of money is the root of all evil, as the Apoſtle hath it. This Kyte-footed corruption, whereſoever it ſeizeth and domineereth, it blaſteth and baniſheth all nobleneſs of ſpirit, natural affection, humanity, reaſon, diſcretion, manlineſs, mutual entertainment, intercourſe of kindneſs and love: ſo that, for any fair dealing, a man had as good converſe with a Cannibal, as with a …ruely covetous caitiff. Well might the Apoſtle ſet covetouſneſs, and want of natural affection, together, as ſignes of a reprobate ſenſe, Rom. 1.29, 31. Laban ſells his own daughters here, and devours alſo their price. Match. 15.And the covetous Phariſees taught children to ſtarve their parents, to offer to the altar; that is, to their paunches and purſes.
Verſ. 16. For all the riches, &c.] Here they ſpeak the truth; but offend, 1. In that they utter it paſſionately, and with perturbation of ſpirit: 2. In that they ſeem ſomewhat to obſcure Gods bleſſing; as though it were but their due, as daughters. In dealing with thoſe that have done us wrong, it is hard not to offend, either in the matter or manner of our expreſſions. [Now then, whatſoever God hath ſaid, &c.] Thus they prefer an husband to a father. So did Michal, though there was no great ſtore of religion in her. And ſo Nature had taught that daughter of women to do, Dan. 11.17. Antiochus the Great gave Cleopatra his daughter to Ptolomee Epiphanes, thinking to uſe her as an inſtrument to deſtroy him: But ſhe, contrary to his expectation, clave to her husband.
Verſ. 19. Rachel had ſtollen the images] She was ſomewhat tackt with her fathers ſuperſtition, though ſomewhat reclaimed. Little children, keep your ſelves from idols, 1 Joh. 5. Nothing ſo natural to us, as Image-worſhip. Nothing ſo retained by us, when once entertained. After all that airing in the wilderneſs, Micah's mother ſmels of Egypt, and hath her molten & graven gods, Judg. 17.3 Rachel alſo had her Mawmets long time after this, Gen. 35.2, 4. The devil is foreign, ſaith Syneſius, and ſo he would have us. Fence we therefore our ſelves and ours, againſt this abomination: the itch of it, once got, is hardly ever cured and clawed off.
Verſ. 20. And Jacob ſtole away] Gods Saints are put upon the uſe of ſuch means ſometimes, for their own ſafety, as render them contemptible to worldly men. All whoſe contumelies they can bravely bear, ſo long as their conſciences clear and chear them: yea, then can rejoyce, and ſay, It is a mercy they know no worſe by me. It is a great work of nature, to keep the filth of the body, when it is in man, from being unſavoury to others. But it is a greater work of God to keep the filth of the ſoul, that is ſo unſavoury to him, from the knowledge of thoſe that wait all occaſions to blaze and blaſpheme us.
Verſ. 21. He paſſed over the river] Euphrates; and ſo declined the ordinary way, that Laban might not overtake him; which yet he did. So God would have it, that he might have the greater glory of Jacobs deliverance.
Verſ. 23. And he took his brethren] The wicked may band themſelves, and bend their ſtrength againſt the Saints; but they are bounded by God. He lets them have the ball on their foot, many times, till they come to the very goal, and yet then makes them miſs the game. He lets out their tedder, and then pulls them back again, to their task.
Verſ. 24. Take heed thou ſpeak not good or bad] That is, that thou ſeek not, either by flattery or force, by allurement or affrightment, to bring him back. They write of the Aſp, that he never wanders alone, without his companion with him. So the flattering promiſes of the Churches adverſaries, go ever accompanied with cruel menaces, their tiſing tongues with their terrifying ſaws, Heb. 11.37. None of them ſhall want their mate; as the Scripture ſpeaks of thoſe birds of prey and deſolation, Iſai. 34.16.
Verſ. 25. Iacob had pitched his tent] Seeing Laban ſo neer, he ſet himſelf in as good order as he could, fearing the worſt, ſaith Muſculus. But God was better to him, then his fears. He ſpake for him; and ſo he can, and doth oft, for us, in the hearts of our enemies. See Iſai. 41.9. Charles the fifth, (then whom, all Chriſtendom had not a more prudent …rince, Act. & Mon. fol. 1784.nor the Church of Chriſt almoſt a ſorer enemy) when he had in his hand Luther dead, and Melancthon, Pomeran, and certain other Preachers of the Goſpel alive, he not onelyonly determined not any thing extremely againſt them, or violated their graves; but alſo, intreating them gently, ſent them away, not ſo much as once forbidding them to publiſh openly the doctrine that they profeſſed.
Verſ. 26. As captives taken with the ſword] No ſuch matter; but that the old churl muſt have ſomewhat to ſay: for Jacob had their good-wills to go with him: and beſides, they were now his, more then Labans. Jacob had them in Marriage, and not in bondage: he carried them not as his captives, but companions.
Verſ. 27. That I might have ſent thee away with mirth] A likely, matter: but 'tis the hypocrites beſt now, to ſay the beſt. He durſt do no other; for God had over-awed him, Iſai. 58▪5.and put his hook into his noſtrils. Hypocrites are likened to bull-ruſhes, which are green and ſmoothe; and he is curious to a miracle, that can finde a knot in them: but within is nothing, but an uſeleſs and ſpongie pith. Compared they are alſo to vipers, that are painted, Matth. 3.7.as it were, without, but poiſonful within: they have their teeth alſo buried in their gums, ſaith Pliny, ſo that one would think him to be harmleſs beaſts, and that they could not bite: So hypocrites ſeem moſt innocent. Who would have thought otherwiſe of Laban, that had not known him; conſidering his conteſtation here with Jacob, his proteſtation, afterwards, of deep and dear love to his daughters; and laſtly, his atteſtation, and taking God to witneſs for their good uſage, and his heap of ſtones to witneſs (together with his heap of words to ſmall purpoſe) calling it firſt Jegar-ſahadutha, as a witneſs betwixt man and man; and then Mizpeh, as a watch-tower or witneſs betwixt God and Man. Who could take Laban for leſs now, then a loving father, yea, and an honeſt man? But, as the Hiſtorian ſaith of another, ſo may we of him; Palàm compoſitus pudor, intùs ſumma adipiſcendi libido. Tacit. de Sejano. 1 Theſſ. 2.5. Perſ.All this was but blanched hypocriſie, and coloured covetouſneſs, as Saint Paul calls it.
Aſtutam vapido ſervat ſub pecctore vulpem.
Verſ. 28. Thou hast done fooliſhly] And yet he had done no more then God bade him do. Wretched men dare reprehend that, which they do not comprehend. But if a wiſe man ſpeak evil of thee, or to thee, endure him; if a fool, pardon him. Shake off reproaches, and hard cenſures, as Paul did the viper; yea, in a holy ſcorn, laugh at them, as the wilde aſs doth at the horſe and his rider. Diotrephes prates againſt us, ſaith Saint John, 3 Epiſt. 10. In the Greek it is, trifles againſt us with malicious words. foreign.Although his words were malicious, and he a great man, yet all was but trifles, to a clear conſcience.
Verſ. 29. It is in the power of my hand] It was, he might have ſaid, till God forbade him: though indeed it never was, (as our Saviour told Pilate, upon a like bravado, Joh. 19.10, 11.) further then given him from above. To God belong the iſſues of death, whatever tyrants dream they can do. Rideo, dicebat Caligula, Conſulibus, quòd uno nutu meo jugulare vos poſsim, & uxori tam bona cervix, ſimul ac juſſero, demetur. And Caeſar told Metellus, that he could as eaſily take away his life, as bid it be done. But what ſaith our Saviour? Matth. 10.28.Fear not them that kill the body; to wit, by divine permiſſion He ſaith not, them that can kill the body, have power to do it at their own pleaſure: for that's a royalty belongs to God onelyonly. [But the God of your fathers ſpake unto me, &c.] Hypocrites forbear ſin, as dogs do their meat; not becauſe they hate the carrion, but fear the cudgel. Theſe are as wicked, in their fearful abſtaining from ſin, as in their furious committing of it. Lupus venit ad ovile: Aug. de verb. Apoſt. ſerm. 21quaerit invadere, jugulare, devorare. Vigilant paſtores, latrant canes—Lupus venit fremens, redit tremens: lupus eſt tamen, & fremens & tremens, ſaith Auguſtine.
Verſ. 30. Why hast thou ſtollen my gods?] Goodly gods, that could not ſave themſelves from the thief. See Jer. 10.5, 11, 15. But Iacob, a juſt man, is here made a thief of. The beſt muſt look to be blaſted; as deceivers, and yet true, 2 Cor. 6.8. Wicked mens throats are open ſepulchres, 2 Cor. 6.8.wherein the good names of Gods innocent ones too oft lie buried: their breath, as fire, ſhall devour you, Iſai. 33.11.ſaith the Prophet. Ioſeph ſuffered as a diſhoneſt perſon; Eliſha, as a troubler of the State; Ieremiah, as a traitor; Luther, as the trumpet of rebellion. Tuba rebellionisNay, in one of his Epiſtles to Spalatinus, Prorſùs Satan eſt Lutherus, ſaith he; ſed Chriſtus vivit & regnat, Amen. He addes his Amen to it; ſo little was he moved at it. He had learned, and ſo muſt we, to paſs thorow good and evil report, 2 Cor. 6.8.with Paul. Epiphanius ſaith, ſomewhere, that the Jews give out, that Saint Paul turned Chriſtian for ſpite, becauſe he could not obtain the high-prieſts daughter in Marriage. We are made the filth of the world, foreign.the ſweepings of all things, ſaith Saint Paul of himſelf and his companions; who yet were the very glory of Jeſus Chriſt, 2 Cor. 8.23. Phagius reports a ſtory of an Egyptian, who ſaid, The Chriſtians were a company of moſt filthy lecherous people. And for the keeping of the Sabbath, he ſaith, they had a diſeaſe upon them, and were therefore fain to reſt the ſeventh day.
Verſ. 31. Becauſe I was afraid] Note the Patriarch's ſimplicity and veracity, without cunning or colouring. Truth is like our firſt parents; moſt beautiful, when naked. It was ſin covered them, and ſo this, for the moſt part.
Verſ. 32. Let him not live] This was a raſh ſentence. Haſtie ſpeech may work much wo. How ſorry would Jacob have been, if Laban had found the images under Rachel, and taken him at his word! What a ſnare befel Jephtah, by his raſh ſpeaking … It is a Proverb among the Arabians, Scal. Prov. Arab. Cent. 1. Prov. 75. James 3.2, 8.Cave ne feriat lingua tua collum tuum. He is a perfect man, that offends not in word, ſaith Saint James: for the tongue is an unruly evil. Sooner may a man teach a Camel to dance upon a rope, then bridle his tongue from evil-ſpeaking. Pareus reckons up five vertues of the tongue, Veracitas, Conſtantia, doeilitas, taciturnitas, urbanitas. Pareus in Jac. 3.5. Perald. tom. 1. pag. 264.that perfect a man: but Peraldus recounts four and twenty ſeveral vices of it, that, if not reſtrained, will work his ruth and ruine. It ſhould ſeem by that of our Saviour, Matth 12.37, that a mans moſt and worſt ſins, are his words. And Saint Paul, making the anatomy of a natural man, ſtands more upon the organ of ſpeaking, then on all the other members, Rom. 3. Let therefore thy words be few, true, and ponderous. An open mouth is a Purgatory to the maſter. Carry a pair of balances betwixt thy lips. Caſſiod. lib, 10. Ep. 4.Neſcit poenitenda loqui, qui proferenda priùs ſuo tradidit examini, ſaith Caſſiodore. Jacob might have learned of the Heathen Romanes, to ſpeak warily in paſſing ſentence on, or giving teſtimony of another. Romani ſemper Videri in ſententiis, in teſtimoniis Arbitrari, dicebant, ſaith Cicero.
Verſ. 32. And Laban Went into Jacobs tent] Hypocrites are ſuſpicious of others, better then themſelves; and impudently inquiſitive: Curioſi ad cognoſcendam vitam alienam, deſidioſi ad corrigendam ſuam; as S. Auguſtine hath it Thoſe that are moſt inquiſitive about other mens manners, are moſt careleſs of their own.
Verſ. 34. Put them in the camels furniture, and ſat upon them] Preſumptuous ſinners deal as homely with the dear mercies of Almighty God, pleading and pretending them to their wicked courſes; and ſo kicking againſt his bowels; which are therefore faſt cloſed againſt them.
Verſ. 35. For the cuſtom of women is upon me] A ſubtil, but ſinful excuſe, to ſhift a ſhame. Womens wits, we ſay, are beſt at … pinch: but they muſt take heed they be not as C. Curio the Romane, Velleius.ingenioſe nequam, wittily wicked. Wit will not bear out ſin.
Verſ. 36. And Jacob was wroth, and chode] An angry expoſtulation; but not without ſome errour, in the heat of altercation. Be angry, and ſin not, is (ſaith One) the eaſieſt charge, under the hardeſt condition, that can be. It is difficult to kindle and keep quick the fire of zeal, (which is the beſt kinde of anger) without all ſmoke of ſin.
Verſ. 37. Set it here before my brethren] See the confidence of a clear conſcience! Happie is be, that can be acquitted by himſelf in private; in publike, by others; in both, by God. Lucrum in arca, ſaepè facit damnum in conſcientia. But all ſuch as conceive with guile, by that time they have reckoned their moneths a right, though they grow never ſo big, ſhall bring forth nothing but winde and vanity. Yea, they that ſowe the winde, ſhall reap the whirlwinde. Let that thou haſt, be well gotten, and thou needſt not care whom thou lookſt in the face; thou ſhalt not be aſhamed to ſpeak with thine enemies in the gate.
Verſ. 38. The rams of thy fleck I have not eaten] A lively picture of a careful Paſtor. He fats not himſelf, but feeds the flock: he ſeeks not theirs, 2 Cor. 11.(neither fleece, nor fleſh) but them, and their welfare. He takes not to him the inſtruments of a fooliſh ſhepherd, Zech. 11.15. that is, forcipes & mulctram, that he may carry away lac & lana…; but feeds the flock of God, and takes care of the cure, 1 Pet. 5.2.as Peter bids; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready minde, &c. About the yeer of Chriſt 1260, the People and Clergie of England (the Popes Aſs, as it was called) oppoſed themſelves to the Legat's exactions. And when Ruſtandus the Legat alleadged, that all Churches were the Popes; Leonard, a learned man of thoſe times, Jac. Revius, de vitis Pontif. pag. 178.anſwered, Tuitione, non fruitione; defenſione, non diſſipatione.
Verſ. 39. Of my hand didst thou require it] Which was againſt all right and reaſon, Exod. 22.10, 13. but that weighed little with this covetous cormorant. God ſmites his fiſts at ſuch diſhonest gain, as Balak did at Balaam, in token of extreme indignation, Ezek. 22.13. And leſt Laban, or any like, ſhould object, that theſe were but great words, The Lord would not do it, They would deal well enough with the Lord for that matter; he addes, in the ne… verſe, Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be ſtrong, in the day that I ſhall deal with thee? I the Lord have ſpoken it, and I will do it; verſ. 14.
Verſ. 40. Thus was I in the day, &c.] Non-reſidents do none of all this, thoſe Idol, and idle ſhepherds: they cry out, as he, Vi…g.Pan curet oves, oviúmque magiſtros; foreign. Odyſſ. ℥.being herein not onelyonly worſe then this good ſhepherd in the text, but alſo then Ʋlyſſes his ſwinehord, in Homer, who would not lie from his charge.
Verſ. 41. I ſerved thee fourteen yeers, &c.] If all this, to be ſon-in-law to Laban; what ſhould not we do, or ſuffer gladly, to be the ſons of God?
Verſ. 42. The Fear of Iſaac] God, the proper object of fear; whence he is abſolutely called, the Fear: Pſal. 76.12. Bring preſents to Fear; that is, to him, to whom all dread is due. The Cha… dee Paraphraſt rendeth Teraphim, (verſe 32 of this Chapter) Labans fear. It was an atheiſticall ſpeech of Statius, Primus in orbe deos fecit Timor. But it was a true ſaying of Varro, Qui primi deorum ſimulachra induxeru…, err…rem auxerunt, metum dempſerunt. Va….as Calvin cites his words; They that firſt brought in Images of the gods, increaſed mens errour, but took away their fear.
Verſ. 43. Theſe daughters are my daughters, &c.] All this is a flaunt, or rather a flattery. Now he ſeeks to curry favour, where he could not exerciſe cruelty; ſmoothing over the matter, as if he meant them no hurt: when he was meerly bridled, and could not do them that hurt that he deſired. This is ſtill the guiſe of hypocrites, and falſe brethren; they would be taken for friends, and ſeek to build up themſelves upon better mens ruines: as here Laban would render Jacob ſuſpicious to his daughters, as one that would hereafter deal hardly with them, if not bound by him, in a covenant, to his good abearance toward them.
Verſ. 44. Now therefore come thou, &c.] A fool is full of words, ſaith Solemon. Which odious cuſtom of his, is expreſſed foreign, in his vain tautologies: A man cannot tell what ſhall be; and what ſhall be after him, who can tell? Eccleſ. 10.14. Laban likewiſe talks a great deal here; and is up with the more, and down with the leſs, (as they ſay.) A Covenant he will have, a pillar he will have, and a heap he will have; and that heap ſhall be a witneſs, and that pillar a witneſs, and God a witneſs, and a judge too, Qui nou quid, ſed quantum dicat, ponderare com…vit. Hic…on. in Apol. ad Domnion.&c. there's no end of his diſcourſe; as if, 'Domnio-like, he cared not ſo much what, as how much he ſpake. The baſeſt things are ever moſt plentiful. Hiſtory and experience tells us, that ſome kinde of mouſe breedeth an hundred and twenty young ones in one neſt: whereas the Lion and Elephant bears but one at once. So the leaſt worth, yeelds the moſt words.
Verſ. 53. And Jacob ſware by the fear of his father] The Chaldee Paraphraſt ſometimes uſeth the word Fear, or Terrour, for God, for the reaſon above-given, verſ. 42. Hence Jacob, coming from Syria, and being to ſwear to a Syrian, ſwears here by the Fear of his father Iſaac. Where note, that he riſeth up no higher then his father; whereas Laban the Idolater pretends Antiquity, appeals to the Gods of Abraham, of Nahor, and of their father Terah, who ſerved ſtrange gods, Joſh. 24.2. Papiſts boaſt much of Antiquity, as once the Gileonites did of old ſhooes, and mouldy bread. A Gentleman being importuned by a Popiſh Queſtioniſt, to tell where our Religion was before Luther; anſwered, That our Religion was always in the Bible, foreign Ignat.where your Religion never was. Mine Antiquity is Jeſus Chriſt, ſaith Ignatius, and we with him.
Verſ. 54. Called his brethren to eat bread] And ſo overcame evil with good; which is the nobleſt of all victories. God cannot but love, in us, this imitation of his mercy; and that love is never fruitleſs.
Verſ. 55. Laban roſe up] Laban leaves him, Eſau meets him, and both with a kiſs. When a mans ways pleaſe the Lord, &c.