Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 5 · Chapter 33 – Chapter 34
CHAP. XXXIII.
Verſ. 1. BEfore his death] The words of dying men, are living oracles; they ſhould therefore be pious and ponderous.
Verſ. 2. Went a fiery law for them] This fire, wherein the law was given, and ſhall be required, is ſtill in it, and will never out: hence are thoſe terrours which it ſlaſheth in every conſcience that hath felt remorſe of ſin. Every mans heart is a Sinai, and reſembles to him both heaven and hell. The ſting of death is ſin, and the ſtrength of ſin is the law.
Verſ. 3. Yea, he loved the people] With a general love, with a common Philanthropie. But the love of God in Chriſt is that we muſt all labour after; ſuch a love, as doth better for a man, then reſtore him to ſight, or raiſe him when bowed down, Pſal. 146.8. [Are in thy hand] And ſo in a ſafe hand, Ioh. 10.29. [And they ſate down at thy feet] As attentive, and tractable Diſciples. See Act. 22.3. Luk. 10.39 & 2 King. 2.5. Knoweſt thou not, that the Lord will take thy maſter from thy head? A phraſe taken from their manner of ſitting, at the feet of their Teachers.
Verſ. 4. Moſes commanded us a law] Theſe are the words of thoſe Saints above-mentioned, expreſſing their good affection to the law, and to Moſes, by whoſe mediation they received it. [Even the inheritance] For perpetual uſe to us and our poſterity. Indeed the law lyes not upon the righteous, (foreign, 1 Tim. 1.9.) nor urgeth them, as it doth upon the wicked. To thoſe, the law is as chains and ſhackles; to thoſe, as girdles and garters, which gird up their loyns, and expedite their courſe the better. It confines them to live in that element where they would live; as if one ſhould be confined to paradiſe, where he would be, though there were no ſuch law.
Verſ. 5. And he was King in Jeſharu…] An herrick King, raigning by vertue and juſtice only, not by force and violence: One that ſaid not, foreign, but foreign; This I can do, but This is fit for me to do. [When the heads of the people, and the tribes] Here was a government made up of King, Lords, and Commons. The beſt of governments, doubtleſs, ſo that the boam be kept right betwixt Soveraignty and ſubjection. The contention (now again flagrant in England) between Prince and people, about command and obedience, ceaſed not, till the Magna Charta (firſt obtained of King John; after, of his ſon Henry 3. though obſerved truly of neither,) was, in the maturity of a judicial Prince, Edward the firſt, freely ratified, after fourſcore years.
Verſ. 6. Let Reuben live, and not dye] Let him have a nail, and a name in Gods houſe, notwithſtanding the hainouſneſs of his ſin, and the ſeverity of Iacobs ſentence, Gen. 49.4. See the Note there.
Verſ. 7. And this is the bleſſing] Simeon is not mentioned, but implyed in Iudah's bleſſing; in the midſt of whoſe inheritance, lay his portion, Joſh. 19.1. Beſides, that tribe was exceedingly defiled with fornication, ſpiritual and corporal; and by that means much decayed and diminiſhed, Numb, 26.14. [Hear, Lord, the voyce of Judah] Putting thy promiſes, Gen. 8.9, 10, 11. into ſuit by his prayers, and preſſing thee for a performance.
Verſ. 8. Let thy Thummim and thy Ʋrim] Sincerity of life, and ſoundneſs of doctrine. See the Note on Exod. 28.30. There is great cauſe, That Miniſters, of all men, ſhould be much pray'd for.
Verſ. 9. Who ſaid unto his father] In that heroical fact, Ezod. 32.26, 29. Not to be wryed or biaſſed by reſpect to carnal friends, is a high and hard point of ſelf-denial. Mark was Barnabas his ſiſters ſon; hence he ſtood ſo ſtiffe for him againſt Paul, his faithfull fellow-traveller, Act. 15.37. Coloſ. 4.10. Moſes to pleaſe Zipporah, diſpleaſed God, and it went hard with him, Exod. 4.24. Eli was too indulgent to his wicked ſons; and ſo perhaps was Samuel too, 1 Sam. 8.1, 3.
Verſ. 10. They ſhall teach Jacob] Apt and able to teach muſt all Miniſters be, as Paul, Act. 20. Praedicationis officium ſuſcipit, quiſquis ad ſacerdotium accedit, ſaith Gregory: Hee's no Miniſter, that's no teacher. Aidanus the firſt Biſhop of Durham, Anno Dom. 636. neglected no duty of a good Paſtour, travelling up and down the country, even on foot, Godw. Catalog.to preach the Goſpell; giving whatſoever he could get, unto the poor; and by the example of his own vertues inſtructing, as well as by word and doctrine. Amongſt the Greeks, Tragedians and Comedians were ſaid, foreign, to labour in teaching the people: What ſhould Miniſters then do?
They ſhall put incenſe before thee] i.e. Pray for the people, as well as preach to them. So Act, 6.4. Auſtins wiſh was, that Chriſt when he came, might find him, aut precantem aut praedicantem, praying or preaching. Benè oraſſe eſt benè ſtuduiſſe, ſaith Luther.
Verſ. 11. And of them that hate him] Miniſters ſhall be ſure of many enemies: They hate him, that reproveth in the gate. Ʋeritas odium parit; praedicare nihil aliud eſt quam derivare in ſe furorem mundi, ſaid Luther, to preach, is to get the worlds ill-will. Ye are the light, ſaith our Saviour, which is offenſive to ſore eyes: ye are the ſalt of the earth, which is bitter to wounds, and cauſeth pain to exulcerate parts.
Verſ. 12. The beloved of the Lord] The Lords corculum, deliciae, darling, as their father Benjamin was old Iacobs, Gen. 42.4.
And he ſhall dwell between his ſhoulders] Theſe ſhoulders are thoſe two holy hills, Moriah and Zion; whereon the Temple was built, four hundred and forty yeares after this prophecy.
Verſ. 13. And of Ioſeph] See the Note on Gen. 49.2.
Verſ. 14. And for the precious fruits] So Saint Iames calleth them, the precious fruits of the earth, Iames 5.7. Diogenes juſtly taxed the folly of his countrymen, quòd res pretioſas minimo emerent, venderent que viliſſimas▪ lurimo, becauſe they bought pretious things, (as corn) very cheape; but ſold the baſeſt things, (as pictures, ſtatues, &c.) extream dear; fifty pounds or more a peece: though the life of man had no need of a ſtatue, but could not ſubſiſt without corn. May not we more juſtly tax men, for undervaluing the bread of life, and ſpending money for that which is not bread? Iſai. 55.2.
Verſ. 15. And for the chiefe things] Metalls and Minerals uſually dig'd out of mountains, which are here called ancient and laſting, becauſe they have been from the beginning, and were not firſt caſt up, (as ſome have held) by Noahs flood, Pſal. 90.2.
Verſ. 16. And for the good will of him, &c.] See the Note on Exod. 3.2. The burning buſh, (the perſecuted Church) was not conſumed, becauſe the good-will of God (whereof David ſpeaks, Pſal. 106.4.) was in the buſh. So it is ſtill with his in the fiery triall, in any affliction, Iſai. 43.1. [That was ſeparated from his brethren] To be a choiſe and chief man amongſt them. De doct. Chriſt l. 4. c. 6.Nobilis fuit inter fratres (ſaith Auguſtine) vel in malis, quae pendit, vel in bonis quae rependit.
Verſ. 17. Adverſ. Tryph. Tertul. adverſ. Judaeos, cap. 10. Ambroſe de benedict. Pat.His hornes are like the hornes of Vnicorns] Iuſtin Martyr, and ſome other of the Ancients, have ſtrangely racked and wreſted this text, to wring out of it the ſign of the croſs, reſembled and repreſented by the horns of an Vnicorn. At nihil hic de Chriſto, nihil de cruce. [He ſhall puſh the people together] As Generall Joſhua (of this tribe,) did notably; ſo that, Phaenicians ran away into a far country, and renowned his valour by a monument, ſet up in Africk. Howbeit, gratius ei fuit nomen pietatis, quam poteſtatis, as Tertullian ſaith of Auguſtus; he is more famous for his piety, then for his proweſſe.
V. 18. In thy going out] To trade and traffique by ſea, Gen. 49 13. Peterent coelum navibus Belgae, ſi navibus peti poſſet, ſaith one. The low-country men are ſaid to grow rich by warr; 'tis ſure they do by trade at ſea. [And Iſſachar in thy tents] i.e. In thy quiet life, Virgil.and country imployments. O fortunatos nimium, &c. Regum aequabat opes animis, ſeraque reverſus
Nacte domum, dapibus mcrſas onerabat inemptis: ſaith the Poet, of a well contented country-man.
Verſ. 19. They ſhall call the people to the mount] i.e. To Gods houſe, ſcituate on mount Zion. Though they be Littorales, men dwelling by the ſea-ſhore, which are noted to be, duri, horridi, immanes, omnium denique peſſimi, the worſt kind of people; and though they dwell further from the Temple, yet are they not fartheſt from God; but ready with their ſacrifice of righteouſneſs, as thoſe that have ſucked of the abundance of the ſea, and of treaſures hid in the ſand; which though of it ſelf it yield no crop, yet brings in great revenues, by reaſon of ſeatrading.
Verſ. 20. He dwelleth as a Lyon] That ſhould make his partie good with the enemy, upon whom he bordereth, and by whom he is often invaded. See Gen. 49.19. Iudg. 11. & 1 Chron. 12.8.
Verſ. 21. In à portion of the law-givers] That portion that Moſes the Law-giver aſſigned him, on the other ſide Iordan, Num. 32.33. [He executed the juſtice of the Lord] viz. Upon the Canaanites; which is ſo noble an act, that even the good Angels refuſe not to be executioners of Gods judgments, upon obſtinate Malefactours.
Verſ. 22. He ſhall leap from Baſhan] i.e. He ſhall ſuddenly ſet upon his enemies; as Achitophel counſelled Abſolom, 2 Sam. 17.1, 2. (and this is called good counſell, verſ. 14.) and as Caeſar ſerved Pompey—Caeſar in omnia praeceps, nil actum credens, Lucan.dum quid ſupereſſet agendum, Fertur atrox—
Verſ. 23. Satisfied with favour, and full, &c.] Fulneſs of bleſſing is then only a mercy, when the ſoul of a man is ſatisfied with favour: when from a full table, and a cup running over, a man can comfortably infer, with David: Surely, goodneſs and mercy ſhall follow me all the dayes of my life, and I ſhall dwel in the houſe of the Lord for ever, Pſal. 23.6. One may have outward things by Gods providence, and not out of his favour. Eſau had the like bleſſing as Iacob, but not with a God give thee the dew of heaven, as he, Gen. 27.28. Or, God may give temporals to wicked men, to furniſh their inditement out of them: as Ioſeph put his cup into their ſack, to pick a quarrell with them, and to lay theft to them.
Verſ. 24. Let Aſhur be bleſſed with children] Let his wife be as the vine, and his children as olive-plants, Pſal. 128.3.two of the beſt fruits; the one for chearing the heart, the other for clearing the face, Pſal. 104.15. the one for ſweetneſs, the other for fatneſs, Judg. 9.13. [Let him dip his foot in oyle] Like that of Iob, Chap. 29.6. Confer Gen. 49.20. See the Note.
Verſ. 25. Thy ſhooes] Thou ſhalt have ſtore of mines. [And as thy dayes, ſhall thy ſtrength be] i. e. Thou ſhalt (as Eliphaz ſpeaketh, Iob 5.26.) Come … luſty old age to the grave. This the Greesk call, foreign: And the Hebrews made a feaſt, when they were paſt ſixty, if any whit healthy.
Verſ. 26. Who rideth upon the heaven] Having the celeſtial creatures for his Cavalry; and the terreſtrial for his Infantry: how then can his want help?
Verſ. 27. The Eternal God] Heb. The God of Antiquity, that Ancient of dayes, that Rock of ages, who is before all things, and by whom all things conſiſt, Col. 1.17. who is the firſt, and the laſt; and beſides whom, there is no God, Eſay 44.6.
And underneath are the everlaſting armes] A Saint cannot fall ſo far, as to fall beneath the ſupporting armes of God, Cant. 2.6. his hand is reſerved for a dead lift.
Verſ. 28. Iſrael then ſhall dwell, &c.] See the Note on Num. 23.9. [The fountain of Jacob] Or, as ſome read it, The eye of Jacob. The ſame word ſignifies both an eye, and a fountain. He that, with Mary Magdalen, can make his eye a fountain to waſh Chriſts feet in, ſhall be ſure to have that fountain of Chriſts blood opened, to waſh his ſoul in, Zech. 13.1.
Verſ. 29. Happy art thou, O Iſrael] Or, Oh the happineſſes of thee, O Iſrael! the foreign, the heaped up happineſs!
Who is like unto thee?] The Saints are the worlds Paragons, yea ſuch, as the world is not worthy of, Heb. 11. that is, ſaith Chryſoſtome, Take all the men of the world, they are not worth one of the people of God, though never ſo mean, in regard of outwards. [Shall be found liers] Shall feign to be friends, for fear, and ſhall yeeld a forced obedience. See Pſal. 18.45.
CHAP. XXXIV.
Verſ. 1. ANd Moſes went up] With as good a will to die, as ever he did to dine; for it was but (as that Martyr ſaid) winking a little, & he was in heaven immediately.
Verſ. 2. Ʋnto the utmoſt ſea] The Mediterranean.
Verſ. 3. The City of palm-trees] So called, even by Heathen-Authours alſo.
Verſ. 4. I have cauſed thee to ſee it] By an extraordinary power; for in an ordinary way, Moſes could never have taken ſo large a proſpect at once. Faith puts a mans head into heaven, and gives him a view of far better things; neither viſion only, but fruition alſo, which Moſes had not.
Verſ. 5. So Moſes the ſervant of the Lord dyed] It was no more betwixt God and Moſes, but, Go up and dye; he changed indeed his place, but not his company; death was to him but the day-break of eternal brightneſſe.
Verſ. 6. And he …uried him] Either the Lord, or Michael, Jude. 9. There lyes the body of Moſes, as in a chamber of reſt, or bed of down, Iſa 57.2. His very du… being precious; for Chriſt is not perfect without it. Epheſ. 1.2…. [But no man knoweth of his ſepulchre] Though the Devil made much adoe about it, Iude. 9. as deſirous thereby, to ſet up himſelf in the hearts of the living.
Verſ. 7. Nor his natural force abated] Hierome reads it, foreign gena, maxilla.Nor his teeth looſed. And the uſe of Manna might be ſome reaſon; it being an exquiſitely pure kind of food, of an aereal, and not very corruptible ſubſtance.
Verſ. 8. And the children of Iſrael wept] And were ready to wiſh, (likely) as the Romanes did of Auguſtus, that either he had never been born, or never dyed.
Verſ. 9. And Ioſhua the ſon of Nun] Sic uno avulſo, non deficit alter Aureus. The Duke of Florence gave for his Enſign, Pintus in Dan. 4.a great Tree, with many ſpreading boughes, one of them being cut off, with this above-ſaid Poeſie: As one is broke off, another riſeth up in the room.
Verſ. 10. And there aroſe not] This teſtimony, and indeed this whole Chapter is thought to have been added by Joſhua, or Eleazar, being Divinely inſpired, for the compleating of the hiſtory, famous throughout the world; approved and expounded by all the holy Prophets, and Apoſtles; who out of this fountain, or rather, Occan of Divinity, (as Theodoret calleth Moſes,) Theodoretus Moſem appellat; foreign.have watered their ſeveral gardens: yea in preſſing moral duties, what do they elſe but explain the Pentetench? What do they but unfold, and draw out that Arras, which was folded together before?
Soli Deo Gloria.
FINIS.
End of the text · John Trapp, Commentary on the Pentateuch (1650)