Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 1 · Chapter 48
CHAP. XLVIII. Verſ. 1. Behold, thy father is ſick]
ANd yet 'twas, Iacob have I loved. So, Behold, he whom thou loveſt, is ſick, Joh. 11.3. Si amatur, quomodò infirmatur? ſaith a Father. Very well, may we ſay. The beſt, before they come to the very gates of death, paſs oft thorough a very ſtrait, long, heavy lane of ſickneſs; and this in mercy, that they may learn more of God, and depart with more eaſe, out of the world. Such as muſt have a member cut off, willingly yeeld to have it bound, though it be painful; becauſe, when it is mortified and deaded with ſtrait binding, they ſhall the better endure the cutting of it off: So here, when the body is weakned and waſted with much ſickneſs, that it cannot ſo buſtle, we dye more eaſily. Happy is he, (ſaith a Reverend Writer) that after due preparation, D. Hall. Contemp.is paſſed thorow the gates of death, ere he be aware; happy is he, that by the holy uſe of long ſickneſs, is taught to ſee the gates of death afar off, and addreſſeth for a reſolute paſſage. The one dyes like Henoch, and Eliah; the other, like Iacob and Eliſha; both, bleſſedly.
Verſ. 2. And Iſrael ſtrengthened himſelf] Ipſe aſpectus viri boni delectat, ſaith Seneca; ſure it is, that the ſight of a dear friend reviveth the ſick. One man, for comfort and counſel, may be an Angel to another; nay, as God himſelf. Such was Nathan to David; B. Ridley to King Edward the ſixth; and that poor Prieſt to Edward the third, who (when all the Kings friends and favourites forſook him in his laſt agony, leaving his chamber quite empty) called upon him to remember his Saviour, Dan. hiſt. of Engl. 255.and to ask mercy for his ſins. This none before him would do, every one putting him ſtill in hope of life, though they knew death was upon him. But now, ſtirred up by the voyce of this Prieſt, he ſhew'd all ſigns of contrition; and at his laſt breath, expreſſes the name of Jeſu.
Verſ. 3. God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz] The truly thankful, keep calenders and catalogues of Gods gracious dealings with them, and delight to their laſt, to recount and reckon them up; not in the lump only, and by whole-ſale, as it were; but by particular enumeration, upon every good occaſion; ſetting them forth one by one, foreignas here, and Ciphering them up, as Davids word is, Pſal. 9.1. we ſhould be like civet-boxes, which ſtill retain the ſcent, when the civit is taken out of them. See Pſal, 145, 1, 2. Exod. 18.8.
Verſ. 5. As Reuben and Simeon, they ſhall be mine.] God hath, in like part, 2 Cor. 6.18.adopted us for his dear children; ſaying, I will be a father unto them, and they ſhall be my ſons, and my daughters, ſaith the Lord Almighty. This, S. Iohn calls a royalty, or prerogative, Joh. 1.12. ſuch as he elſewhere ſtands amazed at, 1 Ioh. 3.1. And well he may; for all Gods children are firſt-born, and ſo higher then all the Kings of the Earth, Pſal. 89.27. They, in the fulneſſe of their ſufficiency, are in ſtraits, Job 20.22. Whereas the Saints, in the fulneſs of their ſtraits, are in an All-ſufficiency.
Verſ. 6. After the name of their brethren] That is, of Ephraim and Manaſſeh; as if they were not their brethren, but their ſons. Thus Iacob transfers the birth-right from Reuben to Ioſeph, 1 Chro. 5.1, 2.
Verſ. 7. And I buried her there] He could not carry her to the cave of Machpelah; and he would not bury her at Bethlehem among Infidels. This he tells Ioſeph, to teach him and the reſt, not to ſet up their reſt any where, but in the land of Canaan.
Verſ. 8. Who are theſe?] Here Jacob ſeeing Ioſeph's two ſons, and now firſt underſtanding who they were, breaks off his ſpeech to Ioſeph, till the two laſt verſes of the chapter, and falls a bleſſing his ſons; Titus 3.1.teaching us to be ready to every good word and work; laying hold of every hint that God puts into our hands, accounting it a mercy that we may have opportunity.
Verſ. 9. They are my ſons, whom God, &c.] The Lord Chriſt in like ſort, preſents us to his heavenly Father with, Here am I, and the children whom thou haſt given me. Whereunto the Father replyes, as Iacob here, Bring them now unto me, and I will bleſs them.
Verſ. 11. I had not thought to ſee thy face] God delights to out-bid the hopes of his people, and to be better to them then their deſerts, then their deſires, yea then their faith, Eſay 64.2, 3, 12, 14. As it is ſtoried of a certain Fmperour, that he delighted in no undertaking ſomuch, as in thoſe that his Counſellors and Captains held impoſſible: And he ſeldom miſcarried. So God, Exod. 15.11.
Verſ. 12. from between his knees] That is, from between his fathers knees, that he might place them right, to receive the bleſſing, preſenting them again according to their age. This he did for the beſt; but God only wiſe had otherwiſe ordered it. We many times think we do well, when it proves much otherwiſe. Lean not therefore to thine own underſtanding, ſaith the Wiſe man, Prov. 3.5. but make out to him, that dwells with prudence, Prov. 8.12.
Verſ. 14. Guiding his hands wittingly] Cognoſcebat palpando manibus ſuis, ſaith Iunius: Intelligere fecit manus ſaith Parleus. An emphaticall Metaphor: As if he ſhould ſay: Iacob with his eyes, could not diſtinguiſh them, but his hands ſhall, therefore, Bartol. lib. 1. de ver. oblig.do the office of his eyes. Bartolus writes of Doctour Gabriel Nele, that by the only motion of the lips, without any utterance, he underſtood all men; perceived and read, in every mans countenance, what was their conceit. But that is far more credible, Hier. in Catalogo vitor. illuſhium.and no leſs admirable, that Hicrome reports of Didymus of Alexandria; that though he had been blind of a child, little; yet hew as excellently skilled in all the liberall arts; and had written commentaries upon the Pſalmes and Goſpels, being at this time, ſaith he, eighty three years of age.
Verſ. 15. God, before whom my fathers walked] This is the higheſt praiſe, that can be given to anceſtours: this is the crown of all commendation, to have walked with God, as a man walketh with his friend. This is better then a thouſand eſcucheons. [The God which fed me all my life long] As a ſhepherd tends and feeds his ſheep, Pſal. 23.1. & 80.1. Iacob looks beyond all ſecond cauſes, and ſees at once, at Bethel, God on the top of the ladder, Gen. 28.
Verſ. 16. The Angell which redeemed me] Chriſt the Angell of the Covenant, the Mediatour of the new Teſtament, the Redeemer, the Lamb ſlain, from the beginning of the world. For we were not redeemed with ſilver and gold, but with the blood of Chriſt, as of a Lamb undefiled, 1 Pet. 1.19. Paul by that freedome, Act. 22.28. eſcaped whipping: we by this, the pain of eternall torment. [And let my name be named on them] Leſt any ſhould think it to be ſome prejudice to them, that they were born in Egypt, and of an Egyptian mother, he adopts them for his own.
Verſ. 17. And when Ioſeph ſaw that, &c.] So great a Prophet and diviner, as Ioſeph was, in this was out in his judgment. He ſeeth not, that mans dignity is not by works, or nature, but grace and election, Rom. 9.7, 8, 11, 12.
Verſ. 18. Not ſo my father, &c.] Here are a couple of Holy Prophets, differing in their judgments; yet not about the ſubſtance of the bleſſing, but the circumſtance of it: wonder not though ſuch things ſtill fall out it in the true Church, and the Doctours be eft-ſoons divided, in points leſs materiall, and that touch not the foundation. Luther interprets thoſe words of Chriſt, this is my body. Synechdochiaelly; Calvin, Metonimically. Hence the Jeſuites ſtraight cry out; the Spirit of God diſſents not from it ſelf: but theſe interpretations diſſent one from another, See the peace of Rome.therefore they are not of the Spirit. Now it were eaſie, to ſtop their foul mouths, by telling them of their own, far worſe differences. But is it not a dolefull thing, that we ſhould, with thoſe birds, agnoſcere in noſtris vulneribus noſtras pennas. Brother goe to law with brother, and that before infidels? This is the divels malice, to ſow tares, &c. Chriſt came to deſtroy his works; yet never were ſo many poſſeſt, as about that time.
Verſ. 19. And his father refuſed, and ſaid] Here are father and ſon devided, in matter of ceremony; as Biſhop Babington obſerveth. This hath been an ancient quarrell, from the very cradle of the Chriſtian Church. The Iewiſh converts ſtood hard for a mixture, of Chriſt and Moſes: their rites they called the rudiments of the world, Coloſſ. 2.8. Becauſe they held them as needfull, as the four elements of the world; or as the firſt letters of the book, to ſchool Gods people: Soon after, what a coyle was there, among the Primitive Chriſtians, even unto blows, and blood-ſheed, Queritur. Aug. ſuo tempere Eccleſiam, quam miſerecordia dei eſſe liberam voſuit, &c. Pareus in Mat. 15.2.about the time of keeping Eaſter; and other like trifles, and niceties. Saint Auguſtine complains, that in his time the Church (which the mercy of God would have to be at liberty,) was wofully oppreſt, with many burthens and bondages this way; ſo that the condition of the Iewes was, in this reſpect, more tolerable; for that they were held under, by legall injunctions, and not by humane preſumptions. What would this Father have ſaid, to the following times, under the riſe and raign of Antichriſt? wherein the formality of Gods worſhip, had utterly eaten up the reality of it, (as Pharaohs lean kine did the fatter) and gotten out the very heart, and life of it; as the ivy dealeth by the oake it grows on. Our Heroicall reformers; Luther, Zuinglins, &c. pruned and pared off theſe luxuriancies, for the moſt part; which cauſed Iohn Hunt a Roman Catholike, in his humble Appeale to King Iames, thus to blaſpheme. The God of the Proteſtants, is the moſt uncivile, D. Sheldons Ma…k of the Beaſt. op. ded. Scultet. Annal.and ill-mannered God of all thoſe, who have born the name of gods, upon the earth; yea worſe then Pan, god of the clowns, which can endure no ceremonies, nor good manners at all. But yet, what a grievous ſtirr was there, about theſe indifferents, Alſted. Chron. pag. 559.between Luther and Caroloſtadius, at Wittenberg; between the Doctours of Magdeburg and Leipſwick, Anno Dom. 1549. and between Calvin, and his Auditours of Geneva, about wafer-cakes, at the communion; inſomuch as he was compelled to depart the city, till he had yeelded they ſhould be uſed, though he never liked them, B…za in vitabut could have wiſhed it otherwiſe. Who knows not what jarrs and heartburnings were here between Ridley and Hooper, two godly Biſhops, in King Edward the ſixths time, about cap and ſurpliſs. They could never agree, till they met in priſon; and then miſery bred unity; then they could heartily bewaile their former diſſentions, about matters of no more moment. Epiſt. 36. ad Reg. Elizabeth.Peter Martyr commends it to the care of Queen Elizabeth; that Church-governours indeavour not to carry the Goſpell into England, upon the cart of needleſs ceremonies. By his advice (among others,) in King Edward the ſixths day…s, ſome people contending for one image, ſome for another; the King took down all thoſe Bal…ams-blocks. And the very ſelf-ſame day and hour, wherein the reformation enjoyned by Parliment, was pat in execution at London, by burning of idolatrous images; the Engliſh put to ſlight their enemies, Act. & Mon. …in Muſcleborough field, is Mr. Fox hath well obſerved. We had Images and other like pop…ſh paltrement, preſſing in upon us again, and amain, not long ſince: till God ſtirred up the ſpirit of our religious Nehemi ths, to ſtep between, and ſtop the torrent: whom therefore God, I doubt not, will crown with conqueſt, over all their and his Churches enemies.
Verſ. 20. And he ſet Ephraim before] God, many times, ſets the yonger, before the elder; makes the laſt to be firſt; and the firſt, laſt; to ſhew the freedom of his grace, and that, he ſeeth not, as man ſeeth, 1 Sam. 16, 7. The maids were firſt purified, and perfumed, before Ahaſhueroſh choſe one: But Chriſt firſt loves, and then parifies his Church, Eph. 5.25, 26. and loves, becauſe he loves, Deut. 7.7, 8. And hath mercy, on whom he will have mercy, Rom. 9.18.
Verſ. 21. Behold I dye] This was a ſpeech of faith, uttered without the leaſt fear, conſternation, or diſmayment, As it was no more, betwixt God and Moſes, but goe up and dye, ſo betwixt God and Iacob; but behold I dye. Death, he knew, to him ſhould neither be totall, but of the body only; nor perpetuall of the body, but for a ſeaſon only. See both theſe ſet forth, by the Apoſtle; Rom. 8.10, 11.
Verſ. 22. I have given thee one portion] Ioſeph had the double portion, (as Iudah the dignity) from Reuben; who had forfeited both, by his inceſt. And here it appeareth, that the right of the firſt-born, to a double portion, was in force, and in uſe, before that law, Deut. 21.17. as was alſo the Sabbath, circumciſion, and the raiſing up ſeed, to a deceaſed brother [With my ſword, and with my bow] That is, with the warlike weapons of my ſons, Simeon and Levi, whoſe victory he aſcribeth to himſelf; not as it was wickedly got by his ſons; (for ſo he diſavows and deteſts it, Chap. 49.) but as by a miracle from heaven, the Canaanites were held in from revenging that ſlaughter, and made to fear his force and valour. The Chaldee Paraphraſt expounds it metaphorically; I took it with my ſword and my bow, hoc eſt, oratione & deprecatione mea, ſaith He, by my prayer and ſupplication. Prayers, indeed, are bombardae & inſtrumenta bellic a Chriſtianorum, ſaith Luther, a Chriſtians beſt Arms and Ammunition. The Jeſuites pretend and proteſt, that they have no other weapons, or wayes to work, but preces & lachrymas. Whereas, it is too well known, that they are the greateſt Incendiaries and boutefeau's of Chriſtendome; and their faction a moſt agile ſharp ſword, whoſe blade is ſheathed, at pleaſure, in the bowels of every Common-wealth; but the handle reacheth to Rome and Spain.