Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 1 · Chapter 27
XXVII. Verſ. 1. Iſaac was old, and his eyes di… ]
OLd-age is of it ſelf a diſeaſe, and the ſink of all diſeaſes. This Solomon ſweetly ſets forth, Eccleſ, 12. by a continued allegory, Ʋbi quot lumina imò flumina orationis exſerit? ſaith One. In general, he calls it The evil day, Eccleſ. 12.2, 3. &c. expounded.the yeers that have no pleaſure in them. In particular, the Senſes all fail; the hands tremble; the legs buckle; the teeth cannot do their office, as being either loſt or looſened; the ſilver cord, that is, the marrow of their backs, is conſumed; the golden ewre, that is, the brain-pan, broke; the pitcher at the well, that is, the veins at the liver; the wheel at the ciſtern, that is, the head, which draws the power of life from the heart: all theſe worn weak, and wanting to their office: So that ſleep faileth, deſire faileth *Sept. foreign, quum & …ppetitum & Veuerem irritat.; neither ſpring nor ſummer (ſignified by the almond-tree and graſhopper) ſhall affect with pleaſure: the daughters of muſick ſhall be brought lowe, as they were in old Barzillai: the ſun, moon, and ſtars are darkened, for any delight they take in their ſweet ſhine: yea, the clouds return after rain; a continual ſucceſſion of miſeries, like April-weather, as one ſhower is unburthened, another is brewed, and the skie is ſtill over-caſt with clouds. Lo, ſuch is old age: and is this a fit Preſent for God? wilt thou give him the dregs, the bottom, the very laſt ſands, thy dotage, Mal. 1.8.which thy ſelf and friends are weary of? Offer it now to thy prince, will he be pleaſed with thee? The Circaſſians (a kinde of mongrel-Chriſtians) as they baptize not their children till the eighth yeer, ſo they enter not into the Church (the Gentlemen eſpecially) till the ſixtieth yeer, Brerewoods Enquires, 135.but hear Divine Service ſtanding without the Temple; that is to ſay, till, through age, they grow unable to continue their rapines and robberies, to which ſin that Nation is exceedingly addicted: ſo dividing their time betwixt ſin and devotion; dedicating their youth to rapine, and their old-age to repentance. But God will not be ſo put off: He is a great King, and ſtands upon his ſeniority, Mal. 1.14. In the Levitical Law, there were three ſorts of firſt-fruits: 1. Of the ears of corn, offered about the Paſſeover. 2. Of the loaves, offered about Pentecoſt. 3. About the end of the yeer, in Autumn. Now of the two firſt, God had a part; but not of the laſt: to teach us, that he will accept of the ſervices of our youth or middle-age: but for old-age, vix aut ne vix quidem. Beſides Abraham in the Old Teſtament, and Nicodemus in the New, I know not whether we read of any old man ever brought home to God.
Verſ. 2. I am old, I know not the day of my death] No more doth any, though never ſo young. There be as many young ſculls as old, in Golgotha. But, young men, we ſay, may die; old men muſt die. To the old, Death is projanuis; to the young, in inſidiis. Senex, quaſi ſeminex. Old men have pedcm in cymba Charontis, one foot in the grave already. Our decrepit age both expects death, and ſollicites it: it goes groveling, as groaning for the grave. Ter. in Adelph. Vel quod curvus ſcilices cernat; vel quòd mox ſilentibu… umbris cer…end… ſit. foreign.Whence Terence calls an old men Silicernium; and the Greeks, foreign, of looking toward the ground, whither he is tending; or (as others will have it) of loving earth and earthly things; which old folk greedily graſp at, becauſe they fear they ſhall not have to ſuffice them while alive, and to bring them honeſtly home (as they ſay) when they are dead; foreign.as Plutarch gives the reaſon.
Verſ. 3. Take me ſome veniſon] It is ſome blemiſh to holy Iſaac, that he ſo over-loved Eſau, and that becauſe he did eat of his veniſon, or becauſe veniſon was in his mouth, Gen. 25.28. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under of any thing. 1 Cor. 6.12.It is a ſhame to a Saint, to be a ſlave to his appetite; that it ſhould be ſaid of him, as it was of Epicurus, Ennius.Dum palato quid ſit optimum judicat, coeli palatium non ſuſpexit.
Verſ. 4. That my ſoul may bleſs thee, before I die] The words of dying men, are living oracles. It was the Patriarchs care, and muſt be ours, to leave a bleſſing behinde us; to ſeek the ſalvation of our children whiles we live, and to ſay ſomething to ſame purpoſe when we die, that may ſtick by them. So, when we are laid in our graves, our ſtock remains, goes forwards, and ſhall do, till the day of doom.
Verſ. 5. Eſau went to the field to hunt, &c.] But before he returned, the bleſſing was otherwiſe beſtowed. The hope of the hypecrite ſhall periſh. How many lie languiſhing at hopes hoſpital, as he at the pool of Betheſda, and no help comes! Joh. 5.they repair to the creatures, as to a Lottery, with heads full of hopes, but return with hearts full of blanks. Or, if they draw nigh to God, they think they take hold of him; but it is but as the childe that catcheth at the ſhadow on the wall, which he thinks he holds faſt in his hand; but it vaniſheth. The common hope is ill bottom'd. Hope unfailable, Rom. 5.5, is founded upon faith unfeigned, 1 Tim. 1.5. Deo conſiſt nunquam confuſi. Hoſ. 2.13.He ſpeaketh ſweeteſt comfort to the heart, in the wilderneſs.
Verſ. 6. I heard thy father] She over-heard what Iſaac ſpake ſecretly. Women will be liſtening, as Sarah behinde the door; when ſhe laughed, and little thought to be queſtioned for it.
Verſ. 7. That I may eat, and bleſs thee] Being cheared up by thy good cheer and wine, I may be the fitter inſtrument of the Spirit of God. So the Prophet called for a minſtrel, 2 Kings 3.14, 15. Plato called Wine and Muſick foreign, the mollifying medicines of humane miſeries. Chearfulneſs is called for in all ſervices.
Verſ. 8. Now therefore, my ſon, obey my voice] Which yet he ought not to have done, becauſe ſhe commanded him that which was evil: and they that do thus, are peremptores, potius quàm parentes; rather parricides then parents, as ſaith S. Bernard.
Verſ. 9. ſavoury meat for thy father, &c.] She knew his diet, and could fit his tooth. The wife is to take care to pleaſe her huſband; foreign.to uſe her wits, and buſie her thoughts how to give him content in diet, and other things of the world, as the Apoſtle hath it, 1 Cor. 7.34. It was devilliſh policie in Agrippina, (the mother of Nero; Dixit Nero boletos foreign, quòd Claudius boleto in numerum Deorum relatus eſſes. Dlo.and it came home to her) to temper the poiſon that ſhe gave her husband Claudius the Emperour, in the meat he moſt delighted in, and then to make a jeſt of it. Let us be ſure to bring God ſuch ſervice as he loveth: He will eat, not onelyonly our honey, but our honey-comb: he will drink, not onelyonly our Wine, but our milk, Cant. 5.1. take in good part unperfect performances, ſo the heart be upright: But diſpleaſing ſervice is a double diſhonour. The fat of rams was rejected with infinite diſdain, Iſai. 1.11, 15.where the hands are full of blood, the heart of ſin. The Philoſopher could complain of his country-men, D…g. Laert.that when they went to offer ſacrifice to Health, they did then banquet moſt riotouſly againſt Health.
Verſ. 10. And thou ſhalt bring it to thy father] Though this action, in the general intendment, was good, yet the execution of it wanted not particular errour. Her courſe had been, rather, to have minded her husband of Gods promiſe to Jacob, and gently to have exhorted him to do nothing againſt it; and then, to have intreated the Lord, to bend his minde to the obedience of his divine will, though to the croſſing of his own. But the Saints righteouſneſs (while here) is mixt; as light and darkneſs, dimneſs at leaſt, in a painted glaſs, dyed with ſome obſcure and dim colour: it is tranſparent, and giveth good, but not clear and pure, light.
Verſ. 11. Eſau my brother is an hairy man] This, Rebeccah thought not of. Plus vident oculi, quam oculus. Two is better then one; but wo be to him that is alone. We want much of our ſtrength, in the want of a faithful friend, who might be our monitor: Whence David ſo bemoans the loſs of his Jonathan; and S. Paul counted it a ſpecial mercy to him, that Epaphroditus recovered, Cyprian. epiſt.Phil. 2.27. This the Heathen perſecutors knew, and therefore baniſhed the Chriſtians, and confined them to Iſles, and mines, where they could not have acceſs one to another. Doctor Taylor rejoyced that ever he came into priſon, there to be acquainted with that Angel of God (ſo he calls him) John Bradford. While Ridley and Latimer lived, they kept up Cranmer from entertaining counſels of revolt. It was not for nothing, ſurely, that our Saviour ſent forth his diſciples by two and two: He knew by experience, that Satan is readieſt to aſſault, when none is by to aſſiſt. Aaron may be for a mouth to Moſes, Exod. 4.16.Moſes for a God to Aaron.
Verſ. 12. My father peradventure will feel me] Our heavenly Father will certainly feel us, and better feel us; and we ſhall feel him too, in his fatherly corrections, before he bleſs us. Suffer we muſt, or ere we reign: no coming to the Crown, but by the Croſs. Chriſt himſelf was perfected by ſufferings; Heb. 5. Rom. 8.29.and we muſt be conformed to his image. When Ignatius came to the wilde beaſts, Now, ſaith he, I begin to be a Christian. Qui non eſt Crucianus, non eſt Chriſtianus, ſaith Luther, on the 29 of Geneſis: And in another place; I have no ſtronger argument, ſaith he, Luth. T.2.againſt the Popes kingdom, then this, that he reigneth without the Croſs. [And I ſhall ſeem to him as a de…eiver] So ſhall all complementing hypocrites to God, that pretend his ſervice to their wicked or worldly ends and aims. They think, belike, Sa…iens nummularius D…us eſt nummum fictum non recipiet. Bern. Job 36.13. Bern.to deceive him; but therein they are fairly deceived, (for he ſearcheth the hearts) and bring a curſe, in ſtead of a bleſſing, upon themſelves and their poſterity. The hypocrite in heart heaps up wrath. Nemo enim magis iram meretur, (ſaith a Father) quàm amicum ſimulans inimicus. Where ſhall we read of an hypocrite received to mercy.
Verſ. 13. Ʋpon me be thy curſe, my ſon] A bold ſpeech: but ſhe reſpected the promiſe by faith; ſhe relied on that oracle, Gen. 25.23. which Iſaac might miſ-interpret, underſtanding it not of the perſons of his ſons, but of their poſterity. Bernardus non vidit omnia. Iſaac was not more blinde in his eyes, then in his affection to his firſt-born; and that might miſlead him. But Rebeccah ſaw further then he, and therefore made this bold adventure (not without ſome mixture of infirmity) to procure Jacob the bleſſing, againſt her husbands will and intention. A wife is not to perform ſuch blinde obedience to her husband, as Plutarch preſcribeth; when he layeth it as a Law of Wedlock, on the wife, Plut. Moral. 318.to acknowledge and worſhip the ſame gods, and none elſe, but thoſe whom her husband honours and reputes for gods. Men be they pleaſed or diſpleaſed, God muſt not be diſpleaſed.
Verſ. 15. And Rebeccah took goodly raiment] The Prieſtly garments (ſome think) proper to Eſau, had he kept his birth right; but kept, not by Eſau or his wives, but by the mother of the family. The Hebrew calleth them, Vestes deſiderabiles, garments of deſires, goodly, ſweet, precious; yet far inferiour to that rich and royal robe of Chriſts righteouſneſs, that garment of our elder brother; wherewith arayed, we obtain the bleſſing. We read of Solomons bravery, Athenaeus.of Herods cloth of ſilver, of Alciſthenes the Sybarite's cloke, ſold to the Carthaginians by 'Dionyſius, for 120 talents; Propter invidioſam impendii magniſicentiam.of Demetrius his robe of eſtate, which, for the exceeding coſtlineſs of it, no Prince that came after him would ever put on. But all theſe were but rags to the robe of righteouſneſs, that fine White linen, and ſhining, Rev. 19.
Verſ. 16. And ſhe put the skins of the goats] This, by ſome, is excuſed, as if it were onelyonly dolus bonus, to keep her husband from wrong-doing; as, when the Phyſitian deceives his Patient, that he may heal him. But howſoever that ſhe did may be extenuated, it can hardly be juſtified, albeit God ordered it to his own purpoſe.
Verſ. 19. I am Eſau, thy firſt born, &c.] Here he utters three lyes in a breath; beſides his intitling God to that he did, verſ. 20, ſo taking that Reverend Name in vain. This was his ſin, and he ſmarted for it, to his dying day: for he had ſcarce a merry hour after this; but God followed him with one ſorrow upon another, to teach him and us, Jer. 2.19. Ariſt. Ethic. lib. 4. c. 7.what an evil and bitter thing ſin is, and how it enſnares and enſnarls us. Ariſtotle could ſay, that a lye is in it ſelf evil and wicked. The Hebrews call it Aven, a great iniquity. And the Scripture reckons it among monſtrous ſins, Rev. 21.8, and condemns it to hell; whether it be the officious, merry, or pernicious lye. Indeed every lye is pernicious to our ſelves, or others, or both; becauſe flatly forbidden of God, and becauſe it is againſt the order of nature, 1 Joh. 2.21. Joh. 8.44.and for that no lye is of the truth, (as S. John hath it) but of the devil, who began, and ſtill upholds his kingdom by lyes. Contrarily, God is Truth, and his children are all ſuch as will not lye, Iſai. 63.8. Rev. 14.5. at leaſt, not get a haunt and a habit of lying, which David calls a way of lying: Remove from me the way of lying, ſaith he, that I make not a trade or common practice of it. We finde, that, 1 Sam. 21.2, he very roundly telleth two or three lyes together, (as Jacob here did;) and all deliberate. 1 Sam. 27.8, …10, 11.So that tale he told Achiſh, of invading the South of Judah, when he had been upon the Geſhurites and Gerarites, I know not how it can be excuſed. But this was not Davids way, his common courſe; pity it ſhould. Honeſt Heathens condemned lying: The Perſians puniſhed it ſeverely in their children: Xenoph. Cytop. lib. 1. foreign. Hom. Cor. Nepos, in vita Epam.Homer cenſures it in Dolon, Ʋlyſſes, and others. Clitarchi hiſtorici (ſaith Quintilian) ingenium probatur, ſides infamatur. Nepos reporteth of Epaminondas, that he ſo loved truth, that he would not once lye, no not in jeſt. A ſhame to many Chriſtians, who think the officious and ſporting lye to be nothing. Whereas, Gal. 1.10. we muſt not ſpeak the truth to pleaſe men, much leſs lye. And for ſaving our ſelves, we muſt rather die, then lye: elſe Peter had not ſinned, in denying his Maſter. As for profiting others, Job 13.7, 8, 9.we may not lye, though it were to ſave a ſoul, Rom. 3.7. We may as well commit fornication with the Moabites, to draw them to our Religion; or ſteal from rich men, to give to the poor; as lye to do another man a good turn.
Verſ. 20. How is it that thou hast found it ſo quickly] A man may very well ask our common Proteſtants this queſtion, concerning the Faith they ſo much boaſt of, but came by it too quickly, to be right. They were never yet in the furnace of Mortification, felt the ſpirit of bondage, the terrours of God in their conſciences. Their Faith is like Jonah's gourd, that grew up in a night; or a bullet in a mould, that's made in a moment. Let ours be like the water of Bethlehem, much longed for, and hardly come by, &c.
Verſ. 21. That I may feel thee, my ſon] Here Iſaac uſed all his Senſes, and yet is cozened. There is neither Wiſdom nor counſel againſt the Lord. Gaſp. Ens.Mihi hominum prudentia ſimilis videtur talparum labori, non ſine dexteritate ſub terra fodientium, ſed ad lumen Solis caecutientium.
Verſ. 22. The voice is Jacobs voice] Jacob muſt name himſelf Eſau, with the voice of Jacob. It is hard, if our tongues do not bewray us, in ſpite of our habit, as it did the wife of Jeroboam.
Verſ. 24. Art thou, &c. and he ſaid, I am] Thus one ſin entertained, fetcheth in another; a lye eſpecially, which, being a tinkerly bluſhful ſin, is either denied by the lyer, who is aſhamed to be taken with it; or elſe covered by another and another lye, as we ſee here in Jacob; who being once over ſhooes, will be over boots too; but he will perſwade his father, that he is his very ſon Eſau.
Verſ. 25. Bring it neer to me] Divinum conſilium dum devitatur, impletur: humana ſapientia, dum reluctatur, comprehenditur, ſaith Gregory, Here Iſaac doth unwilling and unwitting juſtice.
Verſ. Ariſt. lib. de mirab. auſcult.27. As the ſmell of a field] Compare Cant. 2.13. & 4.12, 13, 14. Ariſtotle writes of a parcel of ground in Sicily, that ſendeth ſuch a ſtrong ſmell of fragrant flowers, to all the fields and leazes thereabouts, that no hound can hunt there, the ſcent is ſo confounded with the ſweet ſmell of thoſe flowers. Labour we ſo to reſent heavenly ſweetneſſes, ſo to ſavour the things above, that we may have no minde to hunt after earthly vanities, &c. Alexanders body is ſaid to be of ſuch an exact conſtitution, that it gave a ſweet ſcent where it went. Chriſt (the true carcaſe) ſmells ſo ſweet to all heavenly eagles, Matth. 24. Joh. 12.that, being now lifted up, he draws them after him.
Verſ. Eſau likewiſe hath the like, but not with a God give thee.28. God give thee of the dew] For that country was dry and thirſty: They had rain, ſay ſome, but twice a yeer; the former in ſeed-time, and the later rain in May. The bleſſings here beſtowed, are plenty, victory, domeſtical preeminency, and outward proſperity. But beyond all theſe, ſome better thing was provided and promiſed. Erant enim ſpeculum, & pignus coeleſtium. The Church of Rome borrows her mark from the market-plenty, or cheapneſs, &c. ſhe vaunts of her temporal felicity, and makes a catalogue of the ſtrange victories which the Catholikes have had. Immò vix unquam fuerunt Haeretici ſuperiores quando juſto praelio dimicatum eſt, Bell. tom. 2. lib. 4. cap. ult.ſaith Bellarmine. Upon one of the Eaſter-holydays, ſaith George Marſh, Martyr, Maſter Sherburn and Maſter More ſent for me, perſwading me much to leave mine opinions; ſaying, All the bringers up and favourers of that Religion, had ill luck, Act. and Mon. fol. 1421.and were either put to death, or in priſon, and in danger of life. Again, the favourers of the Religion now uſed, had wondrous good luck, and proſperity in all things. Theſe wizards, theſe diſputers of this world, as the Apoſtle calls them, 1 Cor. 1.20, either knew not, Eccleſia baeres Crucis.or believed not, that the Church is the heir of the Croſs, as an Ancient ſpeaketh; that Oppoſition is (as Calvin wrote …o the French King) Evangelii genius, the bad genius that dogs the Goſpel; Veritas odium parit. Ter.that Truth breeds hatred, (as the fair Nymphs did the ill-favoured Fawns and Satyrs) and ſeldom goes without a ſcratcht face. Some Halcyons the Church hath here, as in Conſtantines time, (Repugnante contra temetipſam tua foelicitate, ſaith Salvian, in his firſt book to the Catholike Church;) but grace ſhe ſhall be ſure of here, with perſecution; and glory hereafter, without interruption. As for outward things, aut aderunt ſanè, aut non oberunt; either ſhe ſhall have them, or be as well without them. God ſhall be her Cornu-copia, her All-ſufficient, her ſhield, Sine Deo, om…is copia eſt egeſtas.and exceeding great reward.
Verſ. 29. Let thy mothers ſons bow down to thee] That is, thy brethren; which are therefore denominated from the mother, quòd certior eſt a matre progenies, quàm a patre, Caſtalio in Annotat. ad locumſaith an Interpreter. But this bleſſing is pronounced in an higher ſtile then ordinary; therefore ſentences are doubled; and that kinde of ſpeech is here uſed, which, with us, is either Poetical, or not far from it.
Verſ. 30. Eſau his brother came in] All-too-late. Detained he was by the devil, (ſay the Hebrews) who not ſeldom makes a fool of hunters, and leads them about. A ſweet providence of God there was in it, certainly, that he ſhould come in as ſoon as Iſaac had done, and Jacob was gone, and no ſooner. Like as there was in that which Maſter Fox reports of Luther, that on a time, Act. & Mon. fol. 793.as he was ſitting in a certain place upon his ſtool, a great ſtone there was in the vault, over his head, which being ſtaid miraculouſly ſo long as he was ſitting, as ſoon as he was up, immediately fell upon the place where he ſate, able to have cruſhed him in pieces. A Warrant once came down, under Seal, for the execution of the Lady Elizabeth; Steven Gardiner was the engineer, and thought he had been ſure of his prey: But God pulled the morſel out of his mouth; Englands Elizabeth, by Heywood.for one Maſter Bridges, miſtruſting falſe play, preſently made haſte to the Queen, who renounced and reverſed it. Another time, while Sir Henry Benning field her Keeper was at Court, one Baſſet, a Gentleman, and a great favourite of Steven Gardiners, came, with twenty men well appointed, to Woodſtock, to have murthered her: But, by Gods great providence, Sir Henry had left ſo ſtrict a charge behinde him, that no living ſoul might have acceſs unto the Princeſs, upon what occaſion ſoever, till his return, that they could not be admitted; whereby, their bloody enterpriſe was utterly diſappointed. The Lord knoweth how to deliver his: Pſal. 34.he keepeth all their bones, not one of them is broken.
Verſ. 31. And he alſo had made ſavoury meat] Eſau's works here, are better then Jacobs. Election is not of works, but of grace, Rom. 9.11. Quis te diſcernit? ſaith the Apoſtle. Cor. 4.7.Greevinchovius the Arminian ſawcily anſwers, Ego meipſum diſcerno. And ſurely, had the cauſe of our election been either by our faith, or good works foreſeen (as the Papiſts and Arminians would have it) Saint Paul might have ſpared his queſtion, or ſoon received a ready anſwer.
Verſ. 33. And Iſaac trembled very exceedingly] The fear of God reined him, in that he durſt not reverſe the bleſſing, (though haply he had a minde to it;) nay, he ſtabliſhed it to Jacob here, and more adviſedly, in the next Chapter. Noli peccare: nam Deus videt, Angeli aſtant, diabolus accuſabit, conſcientia teſtabitur, infernus cruciabit. A reverend and religious man had this written before his eyes, in his Study, ſaith M. Gataker.
Verſ. 34. He cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry] Not for his ſin, Non dolet de peccato venditionis, ſed de damno perditionis. Par. Hoſ. 7.14.in ſelling the birth-right; but for his loſs, in miſſing the bleſſing: though, having ſold the birth-right, he had no right to the bleſſing. This is the guiſe of the ungodly. He cries Perii, not Peccavi. If he howl upon his bed, it is for corn and oil, as a dog tied up howls for his dinner, It never troubles him, that a good God is offended, which to an honeſt heart is the prime cauſe of greateſt ſorrow.
Verſ. 35. Thy brother came with ſubtilty] Junius obſerves, that Iſaac here, to pleaſe his ſon, committeth ſome over-ſight, in transferring the fault upon Jacob. He might have ſeen how God chaſtiſed his ſeeking to croſs the Oracle, in the ſin of Rebeccah and Jacob, who beguiled him. But our mindes are as ill-ſet as our eyes, neither of them apt to turn inwards.
Verſ. 36. Is he not rightly named Jacob] He cavils and quarrels at his brothers guile, at his fathers ſtore; (Hast thou but one bleſſing, &c.) but not a word we hear of his own profaneneſs. How apt are men to miſtake the cauſe of their ſufferings, and to blame any thing ſooner then their own untowardneſs!
Verſ. 38. Eſau lift up his voice, and wept] Yet, found no place for repentance, Heb. 12.17. that is, he could not, by his tears, prevail with his father, to reverſe the bleſſing. See the fruit of Gods holy fear. Moſes his rod was not ſo famous for being turned into a Serpent, (for even the Magicians did as much) as for devouring the Magicians rod: So the true fear of God is moſt eminent and effectual, when ſet in emulation or oppoſition to other fears, or carnal aims and affections.
Verſ. 39. Anſwered and ſaid unto him] Dixit, non benedixit, quia p…tiùs fuit praedictio futurae conditionis, quàm benedictio, ſaith Pareus. And whereas we read, Behold, thy dwelling ſhall be the fatneſs of the earth, and of the dew of heaven; Castalio renders it thus: Tua quidem ſedes a terrae pinguitudine, & a ſupero coeli rore aberit. For Miſhmanne, ſaith he, ſignifieth ab pinguitudine, ſive ſine pinguitudine; as it doth alſo, Pſal. 109.24. Sic dicimus Ab re, foreign, & compoſitè, Amens, abeſſe, foreign.My fleſh faileth from fatneſs, (that is, for lack of fatneſs;) or, Without fatneſs. So the ſence he ſets upon this Text, is; Thou ſhalt dwell far from the fatneſs of the earth, in a barren country, &c. For Iſaac could not give Eſau what he had given Jacob afore: and this was that, that Eſau ſo grieved at, and threatned his brother for. Or if he could, what cauſe had Eſau ſo to take on? why ſhould it trouble me, that another partakes of the ſun-light with me, when I have never the leſs? &c. Object. But the Apoſtle ſaith, Heb. 11.20.Iſaac bleſſed Jacob and Eſau. Sol. It was a bleſſing, no doubt, that Edom ſhould ſhake off Iſraels yoke; as it follows, verſ. 40. and fell out, 2 Kings 8.20.
Verſ. 40. When thou ſhalt have the dominion] Cùm planxeris, ſaith Junius; when thou haſt, for ſome time, undergone hard, troubleſom, and lamentable ſervitude, the grief whereof thou doſt greatly groan under; as in Davids time, who caſt his ſhoe over them, Pſal 60.8. The Sodomites, thoſe worſt of men, 2 Sam. 8.14.were the firſt that we finde in Scripture brought in bondage to others, Gen. 14.4. When the Danes and other forraigners domineer'd in this Kingdom, was it not a lamentable time? were not mens deareſt lives ſold as cheap, as ſparrows were among the Jews, five for two farthings? Did we but live a while in Turkie, Perſia, yea, or but in France, (ſaith One) a dram of that liberty we yet enjoy, would be as precious, as a drop of cold water would have been to the rich man in hell, when he was ſo grievouſly tormented with thoſe ſlames. Take we heed, leſt for the abuſe of this ſweet mercy, God ſend not in the Midianites to threſh out our corn, the Aſſyrians to drink up our milk, to make a ſpoil of our cattel, Jer. 49.32, and to cauſe us to eat the bread of our ſouls in the peril of our lives, as our fathers did in Queen Maries days.
Verſ. 41. And Eſau hated Jacob, &c.] Becauſe God ſaid, Jacob have I loved. And, as all hatred is bloody, he reſolves to be his death. The righteous is abomination to the wicked, ſaith Solomon. Prov. 29.27.Moab was irked becauſe of Iſrael, or, did fret and vex at them, Num. 22.3, 4. who yet paſſed by them in peace. But the old ſerpent had ſet his limbs in them, transfuſed his venom into them: hence that deadly hatred, that is and will be betwixt the godly and the wicked. Pliny ſpeaks of the Scorpion, that there is not one minute, wherein he doth not put forth the ſting: So doth that ſerpentine ſeed, acted by Satan. The Panther ſo hates man, that he flies upon the very picture of a man, and tears it to pieces. So doth Satan and his imps upon the image of God, in whomſoever they finde it. Pſal. 35.19. Scito quia ab aſcenſore ſuo daemone perurgetur. Bern.They Satanically hate me, ſaith David of his enemies. And ſeeſt thou thy perſecutor full of rage? (ſaith Bernard) know thou, that he is ſpurr'd on by the devil that rides him, that acts and agitates him, Eph. 2.2. [And Eſau ſaid in his heart] Effutiverat etiam minaces voces; he had alſo bolted out ſome ſuſpicious ſpeeches, (as our Gunpowder-traitors did) whereby he was prevented. [The days of mourning for my father] No matter for his mother: Levit. 19.3.yet God ſaith, Ye ſhall fear every man his mother and his father. The mother is firſt mentioned, becauſe uſually moſt ſlighted. Vindicab… me afferendo Patri luctum, caede fratris. Luth.Luther thinks, he threatneth his father alſo, in theſe words; as if he ſhould ſay, I will be avenged, by being the death of my brother, though it be to the breaking of my fathers heart. A bloody ſpeech of a vindictive ſpirit, whom nothing would ſatisfie, but to be a double parricide. [I will ſlay my brother] But threatned men live long: for even Iſaac, who died ſooneſt, lived above fourty yeers beyond this. Pſal. 31.15.My times are in thy hand, ſaith David.
Verſ. 42. And theſe words of Eſau, &c.] For he could not hold, as Abſalom did; who, intending to murther Amnon, ſpake neither good nor evil to him. Theſe ſtill revenges are moſt dangerous, as a dog that barks not. That Eſau vented himſelf in words, was a great mercy of God to Jacob. He thought nothing, (good man) but followed his calling, not knowing his danger. But his provident mother hearkened it out, and took courſe to prevent it. So doth the ſweet fatherly providence of God take care and courſe for the ſafety of his ſervants, when they are either ignorant or ſecure. Maſſes were ſaid in Rome, for the good ſucceſs of the Powder-plot; but no prayers in England, for our deliverance: and yet we were delivered. A ſeven-fold Pſalmody they had framed here, which ſecretly paſſed from hand to hand, with tunes ſet, to be ſung for the chearing up of their wicked hearts, with an expectation (as they called it) of their day of Jubilee. The matter conſiſteth of railing upon King Edward, Queen Elizabeth, and King James; Spec. bell. ſacri.of petition, imprecation, prophecie, and praiſe. This Pſalter is hard to be had: for they are taken up by the Papiſts, as other books be, that diſcover their ſhame. But Mendoza, that lyer, (conveniunt rebus nomina ſaepè ſuis) ſounded the Triumph before the Victory. That blinde Letter of theirs brought all to light, by the meer mercy of the Father of lights, who was pleaſed to put a divine ſentence into the mouth of the King. Sorex ſuo perit indicio. Hunc tibi pugionem mittit Senatus, dixit ille: detexit facinus fatuus, & non imple vit. So here. See the like, 1 Sam. 19.2. Acts 9.24. & 23.16. [And ſhe ſent and called Jacob] Why did ſhe not call both her ſons together, and make them friends, by cauſing the younger to reſigne up his bleſſing to the elder? Becauſe ſhe preferred heaven before earth, and eternity before any the worlds amity or felicity whatſoever. The devil would fain compound with us, when he cannot conquer us; as Pharaoh would let ſome go, not all; or if all, yet not far. Religioſum oport et eſſe, ſed non religentem. He cannot abide this ſtrictne's, &c. But we muſt be reſolute for God and heaven. It's better flee, with Jacob, yea, die a thouſand deaths, then, with the loſs of Gods bleſſing, to accord with Eſau.
Verſ. 43. Flee thou to Laban] Flee then we may, when in danger of life; ſo it be with the wings of a dove, not with the pinnions of a dragon. God muſt be truſted, not tempted. Means muſt be neither truſted, nor neglected.
Verſ. 44. Tarry with him a few days] Heb. unos dies. Sed facti ſunt viginti anni. She reckoned upon a few days; but it proved to be twenty whole yeers: and ſhe never ſaw Jacob again, as the Hebrew Doctors gather. Thus Man purpoſeth, God diſpoſeth. Some think ſhe ſent Deborah her nurſe, to fetch him home, who died in the return, Gen. 35.8.
Verſ. 45. And he forget, &c.] Whiles wrongs are remembred, they are not remitted. He forgives not, that forgets not. When an inconſiderate fellow had ſtricken Cato in the Bath, Sen. de ira, lib. 1.and afterwards cried him mercy; he replied, I remember not that thou didſt ſtrike me. Our Henry the ſixth is ſaid to have been of that happie memory, that he never forgat any thing but injuries. Eſau was none ſuch: He was of that ſort, whom they call foreign, ſoon angry, but not ſoon pleaſed. His anger was like coles of juniper, Pſal. 120.4. which burn extremely, laſt long, (a whole twelve-monethmonth about, as ſome write;) and though they ſeem extinct, revive again: Flamma redardeſcit, quae modò nulla fuit.Ovid.
Verſ. 46. I am weary of my life, &c.] A wiſe woman (ſaith an Interpreter) not willing to grieve her husband, ſhe conceals from him Eſau's malicious hatred of Jacob, and pretends another cauſe of ſending him away, to take him a fit wife. Let women learn, not to exaſperate their husbands with quick words, or froward deeds; but ſtudy their quiet. Livia, wife to Auguſtus, being asked how ſhe could ſo abſolutely rule her husband, D…o in Aug.anſwered, By not prying into his actions, and diſſembling his affections, &c.