Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 1 · Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII. Verſ. 1. And Abram went up out of Egypt]
THere muſt be likewiſe daily aſcenſions in our hearts, out of the Egypt of this world, to the heavenly Canaan, where Chriſt our altar is. The Church is compared to pillars of ſmoke aſcending, Cant. 3.6. Black ſhe is as ſmoke in regard of infirmities, yet hath a principle to carry her upwards. Who is this that aſcends out of this Egypt below with pillars of ſmoke, elationibus fumi, that is, with her affections,, thoughts, deſires, upward, heavenward? Our Edward the firſt had a mighty deſire to go to the holy land; Act. & Mon.and becauſe he was hindred, he gave his ſon a charge upon his death-bed, to carry his heart thither, and prepared 32000. pound to that purpoſe. The children of faithfull Abram, though their bodies be on earth, yet they take much pains, and are at great charge to get up their hearts to heaven. Matth. 14.28. Cant 7 4.Hence they are called Eagles for their high-ſoaring, and are ſaid to have noſes like the tower of Lebanon. for their ſingular ſagacity in reſenting and ſmelling after Chriſt the true all quickning carcaſſe.
Verſ. 2. And Abraham was very rich] All rich men therefore are not rejected of God, though it be hard for ſuch to hit on heaven. Poor Lazarus …lyes in the boſome of rich Abraham there. Riches neither further nor hinder in themſelves, but as they are uſed: As a cypher by it ſelf is nothing, but a figure being ſet before it, it encreaſeth the ſumme. Wealth, if well uſed, is an ornament, an incouragement to duty, and an inſtrument of much good: All the danger lyes in loving theſe things. Have them we may, and uſe them too as a traveller doth his ſtaffe to help him the ſooner to his journeys end; but when we paſſe away our hearts to them, they become a miſchief, and (as the word here rendred rich, ſignifies in the originall) a burden. Let not therefore the bramble be King: let not earthly things bear rule over thy affections; fire will riſe out of them that will conſume thy Cedars; Judg 9.15.emaſculate all the powers of thy ſoul, as they did Solomons, whoſe wealth did him more hurt then his wiſdome good. How many have we now adayes, that when poor, could pray, read, &c who grown rich, reſemble the Moon, which grown full gets furtheſt oft from the Sun, never ſuffers eclipſe but then, and that by earths interpoſition. Socrates diviti…s comparabat tunicis talaribus. Quis generum meum ad gladium alligavit? Cic. Dio in Auguſto. Herodot.Let rich men therefore take heed how they handle their thorns; let them gird up the loyns of their mindes, leſt their long garments hinder them in the way to heaven: Let them ſee to it, that they be not tyed to their abundance, as little Lentulus was ſaid to have been to his long ſword: that they be not held priſoners in thoſe golden fetters, as the Kings of Armenia was by Anthony, and ſo ſent by him for a preſent to Cleopatra; leſt at length, they ſend their Mammon of unrighteouſneſs, as Craeſus did his fetters, for a preſent to the Devill, who had deluded him with falſe hopes of victory.
Verſ. 3. And he went on his journeys] Many a weary ſtep, and reſted not, till he came to his old altar at Bethel. Lo here a patern of great piety and ſingular zeal, in Father Abram. Egypt with all her plenty and pleaſure, had not ſtoln away his heart ſo as not to hold his own in the promiſed Land. Neither had he ſo laden himſelf with thick clay, but that he went from ſtrength to ſtrength (as thoſe good ſouls did, Pſal. 84.7.) he took long ſtrides, perexit per profectiones ſuas, as it is here, He went journey after journey, till he appeared before God at his altar, there to ſanctifie that good he had got in Egypt, and to give God thanks for it; yea to conſecrate all to him the beſtower of it. Oh let us ſhew our ſelves children of Abraham indeed, by walking in theſe ſteps of our father Abraham, Rom. 4.12. Otherwiſe our outward profeſſion and priviledges will profit us no more then it did Dives in hell, Luk. 16.that he could call Abraham, Father.
Verſ. 4. Ʋnto the place of the altar, &c.] There he had found God to his comfort, and there he looks now to finde him ſo again. It will be ſome help to us, for the ſtrengthning of our faith in prayer, to hol… our ſelves to the ſame place, to have a ſet Or…ory.
Verſ. 5. And Lot alſo which went with Abram] So he loſt not all, by leaving friends and means, to go with Abram. They that fide with the Saints, ſhall thrive with the Saints. God had promiſed to bleſs Abram, and he did it; for it is the bleſſing of God that maketh rich. God had promiſed again, to bleſs them that bleſſed Abram, or wiſhed well to him, and did him any favour or furtherance. foreign pecudes, & poſteà ſynecdochicōs opes ſignificant.Let Lot ſpeak now whether this were not made good to him in thoſe flocks and herds of his (that is, in all kinde of riches) and tents, that is, ſervants dwelling in tents? Jer. 49.29. 1 Chron. 4.41.
Verſ. 6. And the land was not able to bear them] This was ſowre ſawce to their ſweet meat, leſt they ſhould ſurfet of their abundance. All earthly comfort… are diſſweetned with croſſes, and there are pins in all the worlds roſes. It is ſeldome ſeen that God allows any, though never ſo dear to himſelf, a perfect contentment. Something they muſt have to complain of, that ſhall give an unſavoury verdure to their ſweeteſt morſels, that they may long after heaven. It could not but be a great cut to this good couple, to be now at length ſundered, and deprived of mutuall ſociety.
Verſ. 7. And there was a ſtrife between] How oft do ſervants ſet maſters at variance? But the devill is in it, when good folk fall out eſpecially. He is reſtleſs himſelf, and doth what he can to diſquiet others. He loves to fiſh in troubled waters; and well knows out of his diveliſh wiſdome (ſaith St. James) that where envying, and ſtrife is, Jam. 3.15, 16.there is confuſion, and every evill work. But what was it that made the herdſmen fall out, but penury of paſture? and what bred penury of paſture, but plenty of cattle? Great riches many times breed great brabbles. This the Heathen found, and therefore feigned that Mars was the ſon of Juno, Natalis Comes.becauſe Juno is the goddeſs of riches, which prove the cauſe of ſtrife, and ſtirs amongſt many. [And the Canaanite and the P…rizite was then in the la…d] This is added, either as a cauſe of their being ſtraitned of fit paſture, becauſe the Canaanites poſſeſſed the better grounds: Or elſe, to ſet forth how unſeaſonable and unſavoury it was, for ſuch men to jar, and ſo to expoſe themſelves to the ſcandall and ſcorn of ſuch wicked neighbours, Niſi Lyra …y raſſet. &c.as deſired no better ſport then to ſee them falling out. This latter is Lyra's gloſſe, and I like it well. One of the main ſcandals the Jews take at this day from Proteſtants, is their diſſentions. Scultet. Annal. Cyprianus inexpiabilem diſcordia maculam martyrii ſanguine ablui, & paſſione purgari negat.Error condonari poteſt, modo fides adſit in Chriſtum: diſcordiam, ne que ſi ſanguinem fundamus, expiabimus, ſaid Reverend O…lampadius in a letter to the litigious Lutherans of Sueveland.
Verſ. 8. And Abram ſaid to Lot] Speech endeth anger, Silence nouriſheth it. Much malice and grudge would be avoided, and the very poyſon of it drawn out, did we but give it a vent at firſt, by reaſoning with the party that wronged us, and expoſtulating the injury, which, moſt times, is but a meer miſtake. Now many (on the contrary) harbour this viper in their boſomes, till it hath eaten to their hearts; Eph. 4.26.they not onelyonly let the Sun go down, but go its whole round upon their wrath, and cannot finde time from one end of the year to the other, to utter their mindes, and compound their diſcords. Not onelyonly Abraham, but Ariſtippus ſhall riſe up in judgement againſt ſuch Pſeudo-Chriſtians, and condemn them. For when Aeſchines and he had been at long debate; and there was, I ſtout, and thou ſtout, and neither could find in their hearts to go to other; Aristippus went at length to Aeſchines, and ſaid unto him, Shall we not agree to be friends, Plutarch. de cobib. ira. Laer. l. 2.before we make our ſelves a common ſcorn to the whole Country? Whereunto when Aeſchines anſwered, that he was content to be friends with all his heart; Ariſtippus replied, Remember then, that although I were the elder, and the better man, yet I firſt ſought unto thee. In very deed, ſaid Aeſchines, Thou art a far better man then I; for I began the quarrell, and thou haſt been firſt in making up the breach. And thus, theſe two became faſt friends for ever. [For we are brethren] This is a cooler; and ſhould be like the Angell that ſtaid Abrams hand, when the blow was comming.
Verſ. 9. Is not the whole land before thee] Abraham chuſeth rather to take wrong then to ſtrive for his right, which he here parts with for peace ſake. They that do otherwiſe, though they think they do bravely, and get the …tter of their adverſary, yet (if St. Paul may judge) they ſit down by the loſs. For he purpoſely diſgraceth their contentious courſes, in ſtanding for their utmoſt right, without reſpect to peace and quietneſs, by a word that ſignifieth diſgrace, foreign.or loſs of victory, 1 Cor. 6.7. Now therefore there is utterly a fault, or a d…fect of true manhood amongſt you, becauſe yee goe to law one with another: Why doe yee not rather take wrong? foreign E…hic.why do ye not rather ſuffer your ſelves to be defrauded? Ariſtotle by the dim light of nature, could ſee and ſay, that it is better to ſuffer wrong then do it. It was a brave ſpeech of Calvin, Though Luther call me Devill, yet I will honour him as a ſervant of God. And when a fierce Frier, in diſpute with Beza and his colleagues, called them Foxes, Apes▪ Aſſ…s, &c. Beza anſwered no more but this, Nos non magis credere, quàm Tranſubſtantiationem. In rixa is i…ferioreſt, quì victor eſt ſaith Baſil. And Demoſthenes when he was reproached by One, thought it ſufficient to ſay, Interdum diſjunctio meliu… alit amic…iam, &c. Buchol….Nolim tecum in hoc genus certaminis deſcendere, in quo quivincitur ipſo victore eſt melior. [Separate thy ſelf I pray thee from me] Sometimes, and betwixt ſome natures, ſeparation one from another better nouriſheth friendſhip then nearer familiarity. There are that can never fadge together. [If thou wilt take the right hand, &c.] As who ſhould ſay, We will not be far aſunder, though we cannot be together) but ſtill helpfull one to the other, Pe…erius.as the right hand is to the left.
Verſ. 10. And Lot lifted up his eyes] This was the luſt of the eye, The leper ſhaved …his eyebrows to teach us to mortifie the luſt of the eyes.St. John ſpeaketh of, 1 Ep. 2.16. as he afterwards fell into the luſt of the fleſh, Chap. 19.33. his inceſtuous poſterity into the pride of life. We have heard of the pride of Moab, and the ambition of Ammon, Jer. 48, and 49. Lot might not be ſuffered ſo much as to look at Sodome, whiles it was burning, as Abram might. God knew his weakneſs, and ſo prevented the temptation. He ſhould have had the good manners to let his Uncle chuſe firſt; but the duſt of covetouſneſs had put out his eyes, that he ſaw not what beſeemed him for preſent▪ as afterwards he did, when God ſo croſſed him, De Triboniano, Procopius.in that which he choſe and ſo bleſſed Abram in that which was left him. Lot was a good man, but this, foreign, ſomewhat obſcured his vertues. [That it was well watered every where] And ſo fruitful. Hence the inhabitants, Pſal. 66.12. Pſal. 107.33.35.through abuſe of their plenty, became wholly drowned in fleſhly delights. It faring with them in this reſpect, as with the Inhabitants of Oenoe, a dry Iland beſides Athens, who beſtowed much labor to draw into it a River to water it, and make it more fruitful. But, when all the paſſages were opened, Una eſt ex tetrapoli Attica. Steph. 1 Tim. 6.9. foreign. It… immergunt, ut in aquae ſummitate curſu… …on …bulliant.and the receptacles prepared, the water came in ſo plentifully, that it over-flowed all, and at the firſt tide, drowned the Iland, and all the people. They that will be rich, ſaith the Apoſtle (that are reſolved to riſe in the world, by what means it matters not, theſe) fall into temptation, and a ſnare, as Lot, (that's the leaſt evil can come of it) and into many fooliſh and noyſom luſts, as his neighbors the Sodomites did, which deſperately drown men in double deſtruction. [Like the land of Egypt.] Which was called of old publicum orbis horreum; The worlds great granary. A Country ſo fair and fertile, that the Egyptians were wont to boaſt, they could feed all men, and feaſt all the gods without any ſenſible diminution of their proviſion.
Verſ. 13. But the men of Sodom were wicked, &c.] See their chief ſins ſet down, Ezek. 16.49, 50. The Chaldee Paraphraſt here tranſlateth, they were firſt unrighteous with their Mammon, and ſecondly, ſinners with their bodies, before the Lord. foreign.That unnameable ſin had its name from them, who againſt nature were ſcalded in their luſt, one toward another, Rom. 1.27. The Apoſtle there gives it in of the Heathen Philoſophers, many of whom were patrones of this abhorred filth; Sen…ca delectabatur exol…is, &c. Dio in Nerone. Jam. 1.17.as Cicero complains of Plato; and Socrates was ſhrewdly ſuſpected, to be no honeſter then he ſhould be with Alcibiades; nor Seneca with Nero. The wiſdom from above is pure, ſaith Saint James; and in this wiſdom is truth and purity, ſaith Solomon, Prov. 8.7. whereas all worldly wiſdom is ſtained with error or leudneſs. God puniſheth the pride of all fleſh with ſome foul ſin, and ſo ſets a Noverint univerſi, as it were, upon the worlds wiſards, That all men may know them to be but arrant fools. [And ſinners before the Lord exceedingly] They were grown ſo debauched, and impudent in evil, That neither fear of God, nor ſhame of men could reſtrain them. Though God looked on, they were no whit abaſhed or abaſed before him. God found not out their ſins by ſecret ſearch, Jere. 2.34. he needed not to ſearch them with lights. Zeph. 1.12. For the ſhew of their countenance did witneſs againſt them; they could bluſh no more then a ſackbut: ſhameleſneſs ſat in their foreheads, they declared their ſins, even to a proverb, Iſai. 3.9. They ſe… them in open view upon the cliff of the rock, Ezek. 24.7. They faced the Heavens, and held their heads aloft, as if they deſerved commendation, rather then elſe. This is a high degree of ſin, and an immediate forerunner of deſtruction.
Verſ. 14. After that Lot was ſeparated from him] Till Lot was departed and the ſtrife ceaſed. God appeared not. He is the God of peace; and hates contention; which as it indiſpoſeth us to holy duties, 1 Pet. 3.7. ſo it keepeth God from us by his comforts and influences. They ſay of Bees, that ſtir and ſtrife amongſt them, is a ſigne their King is about to remove, to leave the hive, and to be gone ſome where elſe. God refuſeth to be ſerved till the matter be agreed, Matth 5.24. [Lift up now thine eyes,] Gods comforts are therefore moſt ſweet, becauſe moſt ſeaſonable. Abram had now parted with Lot, to his great grief. God makes up that loſs to him in his own gracious preſence and promiſe: which he here repeateth, to teach us moreover, that the countinual weakneſs of man needeth continual comfort from God.
Verſ. 15. For all the land which thou ſeeſt is thine.] God gave him no inheritance in it, Acts 7.5.no not ſo much as a foot bredth; yet he promiſed, that he would give it to him: And that Abram took for good free-hold. Men uſe to reckon their wealth, not by what ready money they have, onelyonly, but by the good Bonds and Leaſes, they can produce. A great part of a Chriſtians eſtate lyes in Bonds and Bills of Gods hand.
Verſ. 16. And I will make thy ſeed as the duſt of the earth] Afterwards, Gen. 15.5. God promiſeth that his ſeed ſhall be as the ſtars of heaven. Moſes his choice by Mr. Burr.Abrahams ſeed, ſaith One, are of two ſorts: Some are viſible members of a Church, yet have earthly hearts: Others are as the ſtars of Heaven, for ſpiritual Light, motion, and influence.
Verſ. 17. Ariſe, walk through the Land.] Thus God rewards contented Abram with the whole Countrey. He never ſuffers any man to loſe by an humble remiſſion of his right, in a deſire of peace. Matth. 5.5.The meek ſhall inherit the earth, and have Heaven to boot; which was the cheif thing here promiſed to Abraham, in this ſurvey, Heb. 11.10, 16.