Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 1 · Chapter 21
CHAP. XXI. Verſe 1. And the Lord viſited Sarah]
GOd payes not his people with words onelyonly, Plutarch.as Sertorius did his Souldiers. He fools them not off with fair promiſes, as Ptolomee (ſirnamed therefore foreign) did his favorites. Pollicitis dives quilibet eſſe poteſt.But is real, yea, royal in his promiſes and perfomances. Of many promiſers it may be ſaid, as Tertullian of the Peacock, All in changeable colours; as oft changed as moved. Italians all; as Aeneas Sylvius ſaid of Italy, Novitate quadam, nihil habet ſtabile. Not ſo their Anceſtors, the Romans. They had a great care always to perform their word. Inſomuch, that the firſt Temple built in Rome, was dedicated to the godeſs Fidelity. Great mens words, ſaith One, are like dead mens ſhooes: he may go barefoot that waits for them. Not ſo good men, they will ſtand to their oath, though it tend to their loſs, Pſal. 15.4. They are children that will not lye, Iſai. 63.8. Tit. 1.2. Iſai. 65.16.Their Father is a God, that cannot lye. He is the God of Amen, as Iſaiah calleth him; and all his promiſes, are Yea and Amen in Chriſt Jeſus, the faithful and true witneſs, 2 Cor. 1.20. Revel. 3.14. Judah would not break promiſe with the Harlot, leſt he ſhould be ſhamed, Gen. 38.23. One of the laws of the Knights of the band in Spain was, That if any of them broke his promiſe, he went alone by himſelf, and no body ſpake to him, nor he to any. When God ſerves any ſo, let him be ſo ſerved. But the promiſes are ancient, Tit. 1.2. And not any tittle of them, as yet, ever fell to the ground. Wherefore, gird up the loyns of your mindes, and trust perfectly on the Grace that is brought unto you, 1 Peter 1.13. Faithful is he that hath promiſed, who alſo will do it. 1 Theſſalonians, chapter 5. verſ. 24.
Verſ. 2. For Sarah conceived] By the force of her Faith, though at firſt ſhe faltered, Heb. 11.11. [And bare Abraham a ſon, in his old age] Beatae ſenectutis & emeritae fidei filium, Buc hole.as One well calleth Iſaac. St. Paul for this ſaith, he was born after the Spirit, Gal. 4.29.
Verſ. 3. And Abraham called the name, &c.] A ridiculous name, but ſuch as God had impoſed. All Gods wayes are fooliſhneſs to the World, Chriſt and all. But (as old men uſe to ſay to young) They think us fools; we know them to be ſo. It will not be long ere they ſhall wail and howl out; Nos inſenſati, Wiſd 5.we fools held their life madneſs, &c. Say therefore with David, If this be to be vile, wee'l be more vile. God hath a barren womb for mocking Michal. He is a fool, we ſay, that would be laughed out of his coat; but he is a double fool that would be laughed out of his skin, that would hazard his ſoul, becauſe loath to be laughed at. Caligula ſocerum Scyllanum, moleſtum ei propter virtutem & affinitatem, ad mortem ſibi conſciſcendam ludibriis adegit. More fool him.
Verſ. 4. And Abraham circumciſed his Son] At Circumciſion (ſo as now at Baptiſme) names were given. Let them be ſuch as are ſignificant, and may immind us of ſome good, either perſon or thing; all will be found little enough, Optima nomina, Columel. …e re ruſt. l. 1. c. 7. Ho…at. Epod. 2.non appellando, mala fieri, Alphius foenerator dixiſſe veriſſimè fertur. We read of a good woman, that had named her three daughters, Faith, Hope, and Charity. And when ſhe was to be condemned by Bonner; My Lord, ſaid ſhe, If you burn me, I hope you will keep Faith, Hope, and Charity; no by my troth, will I not, quoth the Biſhop; Act & Mon. 1798.keep them who will, Ile take no charge of them. We read alſo of another, that courting an harlot, asked her name: ſhe anſwered, Mary; whereupon, remembring Mary Magdalen that penitent harlot, he repented him of his evill purpoſe; and adviſing the curtiſan, to repent by her example, departed, and lived honeſtly. St…a…ge Viney. in Paleſt.We cannot have too many monitors to mind us of our duty.
Verſ. 5. And Abraham was an hundred yeers old] After twenty yeers praying, and waiting the fulfilling of the promiſe; beſides, thirteen of thoſe yeers ſilence, for ought we read, after the promiſe of a childe. This was a ſore tryal; but God knew him to be armor of proof, and therefore tryed him thus with Musket-ſhot. Heb. 10.36.Well might the Apoſtle ſay, Ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God (and ſuffered it too) ye might receive the promiſe. The ſpoyling of their goods required patience: but this waiting much more. Good men finde it caſier to bear evil, then to wait till the promiſed good be enjoyed. This waiting is nothing, Importuno tempore poma decer…unt. Cyprian.but hope and truſt lengthened. Which they that cannot do, like children, they pull Apples afore they are ripe, and have Worms bred of them; as thoſe haſty Ephraimites, that ſet upon the Philiſtims, and were ſlain in Gath. They had indeed a promiſe of the Land, but the time was not yet come: See my Lovetokens, pag. 94.They were weary of the Egyptian bondage, and would have thus got out; but they were too haſty. Fugientes erg… fumum, incidebant in ignem, 1 Chronicles 7.21, 2…. Pſalm 78. v. 9.
Verſ. 6. Prov. 10.1.God hath made me to laugh] A wiſe ſon maketh a glad father. Monſtri autèm ſimile eſt, quandò pro riſu ſunt fletus, ſunt flagellum. And yet this is many a good mans caſe. How many parents are put to wiſh Moſes his wiſh, Num. 11.11. Lord, If I have found favor in thy ſight, kill me, that I behold not my miſery. Had he lived to have ſeen, what ways his grand-childe Jonathan took, what a grief would it have been unto him! Judg. 18.30. Ac proinde ſtudio inſeruiſſe literam Nun, ſuſpenſam tamen; in fignum, …am adeſſe vel abeſſe poſſe, ut fit & filius foreign vel foreign iſtius proſapiâ, hujus imitatione. Buxtorf. Tiber. foreign. Euſeb.Jonathan, the ſon of Gerſhom, the ſon of Manaſſeh, &c. In the beſt Hebrew Copies, Nun is ſuſpended in that name: whereupon the Hebrews deſcant, that this Gerſhom was the ſon of Moſes; but becauſe he and his poſterity walked not in the wayes of Moſes, but rather of Manaſſes, 2 King. 21. and did his works; therefore the Penman of this Book, would not ſo far diſgrace Moſes, as to make him his ſon, as indeed he was, Exod. 2.1 Chron. 23.14. but rather of Manaſſes, whom he imitated and reſembled. How much better and happier had it been for them both, if they had expreſſed their fathers maners, as Conſtantines ſons did: of whom it is ſaid, That they had put on whole Conſtantine, and in all good things did exactly reſemble him.
Verſ. 7. That Sarah ſhould have given children ſuck] So ſhe had a double bleſſing, of the belly, and of the breſts. Milk ſhe had at thoſe yeers, and great ſtore of it too: whence ſhe is ſaid to give children ſuck, not a childe onelyonly. She could have nurſed another for a need, beſides her own. Note, that though ſhe were a great Lady, yet, ſhe was a nurſe. Let it not be niceneſs, but neceſſity that hinders any mother from ſo doing; leſt ſhe be found more monſtrous then the ſea-monſters, that draw out their breſt, and give ſuck to their young, Lam. 4.3. If the childe muſt be ſet out, let a fit nurſe be looked after. Quidam ſcrofae lacte nutritus cum eſſet, Sphinx Philoſoph. p. 235.in coeno ſeſe identidem volutabar.
Verſ. 8. And Abraham made a great feaſt] A laudable cuſtome, ſaith Cajetan, That the beginning of the eating of the firſt-born, ſhould be celebrated with a feaſt. St. Auguſtine obſerveth here, That this ſolemnity at the weaning of Iſaac, was a type of our ſpiritual regeneration: at, and after which, the faithful keep a continual feaſt. Let us keep the feſtivity, or holy-day, ſaith Paul, foreign. 1 Cor. 5.7. foreign. Diog. ap. Plutarch.that feaſt of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined, Iſai. 25.6. proceeding from milk to ſtronger meat, Heb. 5.12. and being to the world, as a weaned childe. His mouth doth not water after homely proviſions, that hath lately taſted of delicate ſuſtenance.
Verſ. 9. And Sarah ſaw the ſon of Hagar mocking] At that myſtical name Iſaac, as a gaud, or laughing-ſtock. At the feaſt alſo, made upon ſuch a frivolous occaſion. As who ſhould ſay, What care I, though this ado be made now about Iſaacs weaning? I am the firſt-born, and beloved of my Father, who will not deny me the inheritance. This Sarah had ſoon ſpyed, or over-heard, Liberorum curioſi ſunt parentes. The mother eſpecially obſerveth the wrong done to the childe. And beſides, Diſlike ſoon ſpies a fault. Textor. epiſt.A fault it was no doubt, and a great one too. Otherwiſe, the Apoſtle would not have called it perſecution: Gal. 3.nor God have puniſhed it with ejection. Machiavel, that ſcoffing Atheiſt, rotted in the priſon at Florence. Jearing Julian had his payment from Heaven. Sir Thomas Moor (qui ſcopticè & ſcabioſe de Luthero & Religione Reformata loquebatur) loſt his head. Another loſt his wits for mocking at James Abbes Martyr, as a mad man; for that, Act. & Mon. fol. 1904.having no mony, he gave his apparel to the poor; ſome to one, ſome to another, as he went to the ſtake. What's truth? Joh. 18.38.ſaid Pilate to our Saviour, in a ſcornful prophane maner. Not long after which, he became his own deaths-man. Appian ſcoffed at Circumciſion, Joſeph….and had an Ulcer at the ſame time, and in the ſame place. Surely, God is the avenger of all ſuch: he calls it blasphemy in the ſecond Table, and ſhews his wrath from Heaven againſt it, as that which proceeds from the very ſuperfluity of malice (as here in Iſmael) and tends to murther. The Hebrew word here uſed, ſignifies, that he not onelyonly mocked Iſaac, but alſo made others to mock him.
Verſ. 10. Caſt out this bond-woman] Who had been (likely) either an Author or Abbettor of her ſons ſin, in ambitiouſly ſeeking the inheritance. Out they muſt therefore together: as all Hypocrites one day muſt be caſt out of Gods Kingdom. Heaven is an undefiled inheritance: no dirty dog ever trampled on that Golden pavement. There is no paſſing è coeno in coelum. Heaven would be no Heaven to the unregenerate. Beetles love dunghils better then oyntments; and Swine love mud, better then a garden. Paris ut vivat, Horat▪ epiſt. 2.regnetque beatus Cogi poſſe negat.—
Verſ. 11. And the thing was very grievous, &c.] See; there's grief ſometimes betwixt the beſt couples, as aboveſaid, Chap. 16.5. But why was it ſo grievous to caſt out Iſmael, when in the next Chapter, it ſeems no ſuch grief to him, to ſlay Iſaac? Surely for that, here, he hears onelyonly his wives voyce: there he well underſtood it to be the will of God. Baldaſſar in epiſt. ad Oecolamp.Veniat, veniat verbum Domini, & ſubmittem… illi, ſexcenta ſi nobis eſſent colla, ſaid that Reverend Dutchman. When Abraham came to know is was Gods will, as well as Sarahs, he ſoon yielded.
Verſ. 12. In all that Sarah hath ſaid unto thee, &c.] The wife then is to be harkned to, when ſhe ſpeaks reaſon. Sampſons mother had more faith then her husband: And Priſcilla is ſometimes ſet before Aquila. Pauls hearers at Philippi, were onelyonly women at firſt, Acts 16.13. And Saint Peter tells Chriſtian wives, that they may win their husbands to Chriſt, 1 Pet. 3.1.by their chaſte converſation coupled with fear. The Scripture is ſaid to ſay, what Sarah here ſaith, Gal. 4.30.
Verſ. 13. Becauſe he is thy ſeed] So bountiful a maſter is God, ſo liberal a Lord; that he bleſſeth his ſervants in their ſeed too. We count it a great favor, if an earthly lord give an old ſervant a countrey cottage, with ſome ſmall annuity for life; but Gods love extends beyond life: as Davids love to Jonathan preſerves Mephib…ſheth from the Gallows, yea, promoteth him to a princely allowance, Act & M…. …ol. 1481.and reſpect at court. Your children ſhall finde and feel it, double and treble, (ſaid that Martyr) whatſoever you do or ſuffer for the Lords ſake.
V. 14. And Abraham roſe up early] He was not diſobedient to the heavenly viſion, but ſet upon the execution of Gods will with expedition. Voluntas Dei, neceſſitas rei. A godly man ſayes Amen to Gods Amen, go it never ſo much againſt the hair with him: He puts his Fiat, his Placet to Gods; and ſaith, as Acts 21.14. The will of the Lord be done, which was Vox verè Chriſtianorum, as One ſaith.
Verſ. 15. And the water was ſpent in the bottle] All creaturecomforts will fade and fail us; as the brook Cherith dryed up whiles the Prophet was drinking of it; as thoſe pools about Jeruſalem, that might be dryed up, with the tramplings of horſe and horſemen, 2 King. 19.24. But they that drink of Chriſts water, ſhall never thirſt: For it ſhall be in them (as the widows oyl, or Aarons oyntment) a well ſpringing up to eternal life, Joh. 4.14. [She caſt the childe, &c.] Whom till then, ſhe had led in her hand, faint, and ready to dye for thirſt; who erſt lived at the full in his fathers houſe, but could not be contented. God loves to let us ſee the worth of his favors by the want of them: Carendo p…tiùs quàm fruend….To chaſten mens inſolency with indigency, as he did the prodigal in the Goſpel.
Verſ. 16. Let me not ſee the death of the childe] This, Babington.ſaith an Interpreter, was but poor love. Give me a friend that will not leave in the inſtant of death, Gen. 46.4. [She lift up her voyce and wept] As Hinds by calving, ſo we by weeping caſt out our ſorrows, Job 39.3.
Expletur lathrymis, egeriturque dolor.
Verſ. 17. And God heard the voyce of the lad] Weeping hath a voyce, Pſal. 6.8. And as Muſick upon the Waters ſounds farther and more harmoniouſly then upon the Land, ſo Prayers joyn'd with Tears. Theſe, if they proceed from Faith, are ſhowres quenching the devils cannon-ſhot; a ſecond Baptiſm of the ſoul, wherein it is rinſed anew, nay, perfectly cured: As the tears of Vines cure the Leproſie, as the lame were healed in the troubled waters. Whether Hagars and Iſmaels tears were for ſin, Lachrymas anguſtiae, exprimit crux; Lachrymas poenitentiae, peccatum.or for the preſent preſſure onelyonly, I have not to ſay. But God is ſo pitiful, that he hears and helps our affliction, as he had done Hagars once afore, Gen. 16.11. And as our Saviour raiſed the young man of Nains, though none ſought to him, meerly becauſe he was the onelyonly ſon of his mother, a widow, the ſtay of her life, and ſtaff of her old age. See a ſweet place, 2 King. 14.26, 27.
Verſ. 18. For I will make him a great nation] A Nation by himſelf, as he had promiſed to Abraham. This had not come to paſs, had not ſhe miſſed of her way to Egypt, and wandred in this wilderneſs. God, by his providence, ordereth our diſorders to his own glory. Gregor.Divinum conſilium dum devitatur, impletur: Humana ſapien…ia dum reluctatur, comprehenditur.
Verſ. 19. God opened her eyes▪ &c.] The well was there before; but ſhe ſaw it not till her eye, were opened. So till God irradiate both the Organ and the Object, we neither ſee nor ſuck thoſe brests of conſolation, Iſai. 66.11. We turn the back, and not the palm of the hand, to the ſtaffe of the promiſes.
Verſ. 20 And God was with the lad, &c.] The fountain of Hagar (ſaith a Divine) lying between Bared and Kadeſh-barnea, was afterward called the well of the living God; and ſeemeth my…ically to repreſent Baptiſm, the laver of regeneration. For the Church like Hagar, with her ſon Iſmael, travelling through the wilderneſs of this world, is preſſed with a multitude of ſins and miſeries, &c. Wherefore they joyning together in Prayer, crave to be refreſhed with the water of life. For Hagar ſignifieth a Pilgrim. Itinerar. ſcript. fol. 95.Iſhmael, a man whom the Lord heareth; who travelling together with her Mother the Church in this World, fighteth againſt the enemies thereof, and ſhooteth the Arrows of Faith againſt all infernal and cruel beaſts and luſts. Thus he.
Verſ. 21. And his mother took him a wife] Adeò eſt juris non gentium, ſed ipſius naturae, ut parentes matrimonia liberis procurent. Children are a chief part of their parents goods; therefore to be diſpoſed of by them in marriage. When Satan had commiſſion to afflict Job in his goods, he fell upon his children: Yet in the Church of Rome, Parents conſent is not much regarded.
Verſ. 22. God is with thee in all that thou doeſt] Natural conſcience cannot chuſe but ſtoop to the Image of God ſtamped upon the Natures and Works of the godly. When they ſee in them that which is above ordinary, they are afraid of the name of God called upon by them. Deut. 28.9, 10.Their hearts even ake and quake within them.
Verſ. 23. Swear unto me here by God, &c.] This viſit, we ſee, was more of fear then of love (there can be no hearty love indeed, but between true Chriſtians.) Kings then have their cares, Crowns their croſſes: Thiſtles in their arms, and Thorns in their ſides. This made one cry out of his Diadem, O vilis pannus, &c And Canutus ſet his Crown upon the Crucifix. Frederick, the Elector of Saxony, is ſaid to have been born with the ſigne of a Croſs upon his back: S…et. Aunal.and the next night after that, Rodulphus Rufus was crowned Emperor of Germany, An. Dom. 1273. over the Temple, where the Crown was ſet upon his head, a golden Croſs was ſeen to ſhine, like a Star, to the admiration of all that beheld it. Theſe were the ſame Emperors Verſes concerning his Crown Imperia…,
Nobil…s es fatcor, rutiliſque onera a lapillis:Don. Pa…e. hiſt pro…an. medulla. 7 23. & 728.
Innunieris curis ſed comitata venis;
Quod benè ſi noſſent omnes expendere, nemo
Nemo foret, qui te tollere vellet humo.
Verſ. 24. I will ſwear] Abraham quickly conſents to ſo reaſonable a requeſt, from ſo honorable a perſon. The wiſdom from above is eaſie to be intreated. The churl Nabal holds it a goodly thing, Jam. 3.17. Matth. 6.to hold off. It is but maners to reciprocate: very Publicans can finde in their hearts, to do good to thoſe that have been good to them.
Verſ. 25. And Abraham reproved Abimelech] Inferiors may reprove their ſuperiors, ſo they do it wiſely and modeſtly.
Verſ. 26. I wot not who hath done this thing] A fault it might be in Abraham, not to complain to the King. For many a good Prince, is even bought and ſold by his Officers and Councellors, as it was ſaid of Aurelian the Emperor; who might know nothing but as they informed him. As of another German Prince it was ſaid, Eſſet alius, ſi eſſet apud alios.Bucholc.
V. 27. Abraham took ſheep and oxen] In token of true and hearty reconciliation. Reconciliatio…es, ſaith Menander, Menander.ſunt lupina amicitiae Let it be ſo among heathens. But we have not ſo learned Chriſt.
Verſ. 31. They ſware both of them] Or, they were ſworn. foreignThe Hebrew is paſſive: To ſhew, that an oath is not raſhly to be undertaken, but by a kinde of neceſſity impoſed. It comes of a root that ſignifies to ſatisfie; becauſe he, to whom we ſwear, muſt therewith be contented. An oath is an end of ſtrife, Heb. 7.ſaith the Apoſtle: The Greeks call it foreign quaſi foreign, a hedg, which a man may not break.
Verſ. 32. A Covenant] Foed…s foreign.Sic fidus foreign
Verſ. 33. Abraham planted a grove] That he might have a private place, for prayer and meditation. And thus he improved and employed that late place, he had made with Abimele…h. Oh that God would once more try us, and truſt us with the bleſſing of peace! How ſhould we now prize it, and praiſe him for it. Bona à tergo formoſiſſima.
Verſ. 34. Many days] Twenty five yeers at leaſt: for ſo old was Iſaac when he went to be ſacrificed. Some Halcyons God vouchſafes to his afflicted, and toſſed with tempeſt: Iſai. 54.1….Some reſt and repoſe to his poor Pilgrims. Laus Deo.