Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 2 · Chapter 5
CHAP. VII. Ver. 1. And the Lord ſaid unto Moſes]
IN anſwer to his laſt exception, which yet hee had anſwered before. chap. 4. ver. 16. God bear's with our infirmities. A God to Pharaoh] Armed with mine autoritie, a Vice-God. Shall bee thy Prophet] i. e. Thy ſpokeſman, and interpreter.
Verſ. 2. Thou ſhalt ſpeak] Gods word muſt bee ſpoken however it bee taken.
Verſ. 3. And I will harden] See the Note on chap. 4.21. The Dutch have a proverb, Quem Deus excaecaturus eſt, huic primum oculos claudit. When God will blinde a man, hee firſt cloſeth up his eies.
Verſ. 4. And Pharaoh ſhall not hearken] This judgment God layeth upon manie of our hearers at this daie, of whom, after much paines taking, wee may well complain as the herdſman did in the Poet.
Heu mihi! quàm pingui macer eſt mibi …urus in aruo.
Verſ. 5. And the Egyptians ſhall know] To their coſt, when the Lord's hand that is lifted up in threatning, ſhal fall down in puniſhing. Lord (ſaith the Prophet) when thy hand is lifted up they will not ſee, but they ſhall ſee, &c. Iſai. 26.11. God will unſeal their heavie eies with ſcorching plagues, and rouſ them with horror enough.
Verſ 6. Did as the Lord commanded them] Mallem obedi…e, quàm miracula facere, faith Luther. Their obedience yielded them more comfort, then their working of wonders.
Verſ 7. Fourſcore years old] And ſo might ſaie to his countrie-men and others, as old Auguſtus did to his mutinous ſouldiers, Audite ſenem inuenes, quem invenem ſenes audierunt.
Verſ 9. Shew a miracle for you] A perſwading wonder, an admirable work, above the power of nature, as beeing a kinde of creation, and, ſuch as requireth omnipotencie. But Pharaoh's heart was ſuch a nether milſtone, as neither miracle, nor miniſtrie, nor miſerie, nor merciemercy could poſſibly mollifie. At the burning of Bainham the Martyr, when his arms and legs were half conſumed, hee cried out to the ſtanders by and ſaid, O yee Papiſts, behold you look for miracles, here now you may ſee a miracle: Act. and Mon. …l 9 40.for in this ſire I feel no more pain, then if I were in a bed of doun, or of roſes. Thus hee: ſed ſurdis fabulam.
Verſ 10. And it became a ſerpent] Or, a dragon, in token of deſolation, if they diſobeied; and that their countrie ſhould becom a d…n of dragons. Iſai. 13.22.
Verſ 11. The wiſe men, and the ſorcerers] Magick is either pure and natural, or impure and diabolical; which implyeth a compact with the devil, either overt or covert. The chief of theſe juglers here were Jannes and Jambres. 2 Tim. 3.8. Whoſe names are alſo mentioned in the Talmud.
Verſ 12. And they became ſerpents] Not really ſuch, but in appearance onelyonly. The devils miracles are mere impoſtures, phantaſms, deluſions. And this was the firſt plague that God inflicted upon Pharaoh. Swallowed up their rods] That is their dragons. ſo hath Chriſt (who is life eſſential) ſwallowed up death in victorie. 1 Cor. 15.55.
Verſ 13. And hee hardened Pharaoh's heart] Not by bare preſcience, or permiſſion onelyonly, but by withdrawing his grace, directing the Tyrant's actions to his own glorie, irritating his corruptions by oracles and miracles, and delivering him up to Satan to bee …urther hardened.
Verſ 14. Pharaoh's heart is hardened] Heb. heavie, clogg'd with corruption, and held down by the devil: as on the contrarie, Jehoſaphat's heart was light and lift up in the waies of the Lord. 2 Chron. 17.6. So were Doctor Taylor's, and George Roper's the Martyrs: Act and Mon. 1386. and 1629.the former fetch't a frisk, the later a great leap, when they came to the ſtake.
Verſ 15. In the morning] It was in the night then that God appeared to Moſes. But afterwards mouth to mouth apparently, by ſpecial privilege. Num. 12.6, 8. Exod 33.11. As a man ſpeaketh with his friend.
Verſ 16. Hitherto thou would'ſt not hear] Indeed hee could not hear; as little as thoſe Jews could believ Chriſt's miracles. Joh. 12.37. Therefore they could not believ (ſaith the Text) becauſ that Iſaiah had ſaid, hee hath blinded their eies, and hardened their hearts, &c.
Verſ 17. In this thou ſhalt know] q. d. I ſhall really anſwer thee to that ſtomachfull queſtion of thine. cap. 5.2. See the Note there.
Verſ 18. Shall loath to drink of the river] Nilus. God will confute them in their confidences. Ezek. 29.3, 9 Iſa. 19.5, 6.The Egyptians uſe to brag of their river, and in mockerie to tell the Grecians, that if God ſhould forget to rain, they might chance to periſh for it: The rain they thought, was of God, but not the River: Hee therefore threateneth to drie it up, and here to bereav them of all comfortable uſe of it.
Verſ 19. Ʋpon their ponds] Fiſh-ponds are in Hebrew called Berechoth, Bl…ſſings. But how ſoon can God curſour bleſſings. Mal. 2.2. And deſtroie us, after that hee hath don us good. Joſh. 24.20.
Verſ 20. Were turned into blood] To ſhew them (as in a mirror) their blood-guiltineſs: Theſe bloodie and deceitful men had blood to drink, for they were worthie. Revel. 16.6. See the Note there.
Verſ 21. And the Fiſh] That was their common food. Num. 11.5. The fleſh of manie beaſts they (through ſuperſtition) would not eat of, as One well noteth from Exod. 8.26.
Verſ 22. Did ſo with their inchantments] With their ſecret ſlights and juglings, they ſeemed to do ſo. (See verſ 12.) for Pharaoh's further hardening.
Ver. 23. Neither did hee ſet his heart] But to his iron ſinews hee added browes of braſs. Iſai. 48.4. To his natural and hereditarie hardneſs, adventitious and habitual.
Verſ 24. Digged round about] If by drawing the waters they might purifie them, but they looked not to the maker thereof, they returned not to him that ſmote them. Iſa. 22.11. and 9.13.
Ver. 25. And ſeven daies were fulfilled] So long, the plague continued that they might bee ſenſible of it: and not do as the dog, who getting out of the water, ſhakes his ears and there's an end. Surely if theſe Egyptians had believed the prediction of this plague, they would have don as Plinie ſaith Camels do. Plin. lib. 8. cap. 18.Implentur cameli, cùm bibendi eſt occaſio & in praeteritum & in fu…urum, they would have drunk for hereafter alſo.