Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 5 · Chapter 32
CHAP. XXXII.
V. 1. GIve eare O ye heavens] q. d. Such is this peoples ſtupidity and obſtinacy, that I may as ſoon gain audience of theſe inanimate creatures, as of them. See Iſai. 1.2. Ioſh. 24.27. Ier. 22.29. We may cry, till we are hoarſe; ſpeake, till we ſpit forth our lungs, and to no more purpoſe, then Bede did, when he preached to an heape of ſtones. Holy Melanchthon, being himſelf newly converted, thought it impoſſible for his hearers, to withſtand the evidence of the Goſpell. But after he had been a Preacher a while, 'tis ſaid he complained, that old Adam, was too hard for young Melanchthon.
Verſ. 2. My doctrine] Heb. My taking, or winning doctrine: according to that▪ Prov…. 1.30. He that winneth. (Heb. taketh) ſouls, (as fowlers do birds) is wiſe. [Shall drop as the rain] Drop, not daſh; and as the rain, not as the ſtorme, or as the ſpout, as they call it at ſea. Evangelizatum non maledictum miſſus es, ſaid Oecolampadius, to Facellus, an excellent, but an over earneſt Preacher. And ſuch a one, ſay ſome, was Mr. Perkins in his younger time; able almoſt to make his hearers hearts fall down, and their haires to ſtand upright. The word Damne, he would pronounce with ſuch an emphaſis, as left a dolefull Eccho in his auditours eares, a good while after. True it is, that Preachers ſhould take the ſame liberty, to cry down ſins, that men take to commit them. Peccata tantâ ſeveritate arguebat, (ſaith one of Chryſoſtom,) acſi ipſe etiam per injuriam laeſus eſſet: But yet moderation muſt be uſed, and inſtruction dropmeale diſtilled, that it may ſoak and ſink; and ſo ſoften the heart, that all grace may abound, &c. Such ſweet drops were Mr. Bradford, Mr. Dod. Dr. Sibbes, foreign
Verſ. 3. Aſcribe ye greatneſs] i.e. Tremble at his word, and take it to heart. See 1 Theſſ. 2.13.
Verſ. 4. He is the Rock] A firme and everlaſting refuge, a rock of Ages, Iſai. 26.4. One age paſſeth away, and another, and a third, &c. but the rock remaines. The name of the Lord is a ſtrong tower, Prov. 18.10. munition of rocks, Iſai. 33.16. Rocks ſo deep, no pioner can undermine them; ſo thick, no Cannon can pierce them; ſo high, no ladder can ſcale them.
Verſ. 5. Their ſpot is not the ſpot] Saints alſo have their ſpots, but not ingraven, not Leopards ſpots, that are not in the skin only, but the fleſh and bones, in the ſinewes, and the moſt inner parts; and ſo cannot be cured by any art, or, waſhed away with any water. It is of incogitancy, that the Saints fall; put them in minde, and they mend all: It is of paſſion, and paſſions laſt not long. They are preoccupated, taken at unawares, &c. Gal. 6.1. They have ever God for their chief end, and will not forgoe him upon any termes: Only they erre in the way, as thinking they may fulfill ſuch a luſt, and keep God too: but there is no way of wickedneſs found in them. Though ſhaken, yet they are rooted as trees; and, though they wag up and down, yet they remove not, as a ſhip at anchour. Sin ſtings the wicked, as the fiery ſerpents did the Iſraelites: the ſins of the ſaints, are but like the viper on Pauls hand, that hurt him not. Sin makes wicked men the object of God hatred, the Saints, of his pity: as we hate poiſon in a toade, but we pity it in a man; in the one, it is their nature; in the other, their diſeaſe.
Verſ. 6. Do ye thus requite the Lord] Good turns aggravate unkindneſſes; and our guilt is increaſed by our obligations. Solomons idolatry was far worſe then that of his wives: he had been better bred, and God had appeared to him twice. It is the ingratitude, that makes the godly mans ſin ſo hainous; which otherwiſe, would be far leſs then other mens: ſith his temptations are ſtronger, and his reſiſtance greater. Hebricians obſerve, that in Halaihovah, there is in the text, one foreign greater then ordinary; to ſhew, that the wonder was the greater, that they ſhould ſo evill requite ſuch a Lord. Father, Redeemer, Maker, and Governour, by being ſo corrupt, perverſe, crooked fooliſh, and unwiſe: five oppoſed to live: foreign being uſed for the number of five.
Verſ. 8. He ſet the bounds of the people] Of the ſeventy nations reckoned, Gen. 10. and the ſeventy ſouls of Iſrael, Gen. 46.27. Deut. 10.22. The Iewes have a ſaying, that thoſe ſeventy ſouls were as much, as all the ſeventy nations of the world; as being the Lords portion, for whom he eſpyed out the land of Canaan, which is the glory of all lands, Ezek. 20.6.
Verſ. 9. For the Lords portion] Dear to God, though deſpiſed of the world. They are the Lords inheritance, Iſai 19.25. peculiar ones, Exod. 19.5. the people of his purchaſe, that comprehended all his gettings, 1 Pet. 2.9. his glory, Iſai. 46.13. his ornament, Ezek. 7.20. his throne, Ier. 4.21. his diadem, Iſai. 62.3. heires of the kingdome, ſaith Saint Iames, heads deſtinated to the diadem, Jam. 2.5.ſaith Tertullian,
Verſ. 10. And in the waſte howling wilderneſs] A figure of the cryes of a thirſty and troubled conſcience, and of infernall horrours. See Ezek 16.4. &c. [He inſtructed him] Both by his word and works, both of mercy and juſtice: for Gods rods alſo are vocall, Mic. 6.9. his houſe of correction, is his ſchool of inſtruction. [He kept him as the apple of his eye] The tendereſt peece of the tendereſt part: The chryſtall humour, as the Philoſophers call it. Heb. Iſhon, of Iſh; as Pupilla of Pupa; becauſe therein appeares the likeneſs of a little man: Or, becauſe a man is to be prized above all other creatures; ſo God eſteemeth his people, above all the world.
Verſ. 11. As an eagle ſtirreth up her neſt] So doth God ſtirr up his people, by his word of promiſe. [Fluttereth over them] By the motions of his Spirit, as Gen. 1.2 [Spreadeth abroad her wings] Hovereth and covereth them with his protection, Mat. 23.37. [Taketh them] With much tenderneſs, but nothing comparable to that of God. [Beareth them on her wings] Aquilae pullos ſuos in alis portant, alites reliqui inter pedes, ſaith Munſter here, out of Rabbi Solomon. See the Note on Exod. 19.4.
Verſ. 12. And there was no ſtrange god with him] Why then ſhould any ſhare with him in his ſervice? Be the gods of the heathen good-fellows, ſaith One? the true God will endure no corrival.
Verſ. 13. To ſuck honey out of the rock] Water, as ſweet as honey, in that neceſſity; So doth every worthy Receiver by faith, at the Sacrament: Whereas, who ſo comes thereunto, without faith, is like a man, ſaith Mr. Tindal, that thinks to quench his thirſt, by ſucking the Ale-powl.
Verſ. 14. With the fat of kidneys of wheat] With the very Beſt of the Beſt; figuring heavenly dainties, that full feaſt, Iſai. 25. Judaea, for its admirable fertilty, is called Sumen totius orbis: how baſely ſoever Strabo ſpeaks of it, as of a dry barren Country; wherein he ſhews leſs ingenuity, then railing Rabſhakeh did.
Verſ. 15. But Jeſhurun waxed fat, and kicked] Jeſhurun, h… eſt Integellus, ſaith One, as Shimſhon, or Sampſon, Solilus, a little Sun, but a type of the Sun of righteouſneſs, that hath health in his wings, that is, in his beams. Iſrael ſhould have been Jeſhurun, that is, Righteous, or upright before the Lord, Iſraelites indeed; but were nothing leſs. If ever they had been better in the time of their eſpouſals, when they went after God in the Wilderneſs, in a land that was not ſowen, Jer. 2.2. yet now that they were full fed, they kicked; as young mulets, when they have ſucked, matrem calcibus petunt, kick the dammes dugs. Fulneſſe breeds forgetfulneſs; and the beſt are but too prone to ſurfet of the things of this life; which, by our corruption, oft-times, prove a ſnare to our ſouls. I will lay a ſtumbling block. Ezek. 3.20. Vatablus his note there, is, Faciam, ut omnia habeant proſpera; calamitatibus us eum a peccato non revocabo; I will proſper him in all things, and not by affliction, reſtrain him from ſin. The moſt poiſonous flics are bred in the ſweeteſt fruit trees: how apt are the holieſt to be proud and ſecure: even as worms and waſpes eat the ſweeteſt apples and fruits! Salvian. lib. 1. ad Eccleſ. Catholic. In Benedict 4.Repugnante contra temet ipſam tua foelicitate▪ ſaith Salvian, to the Church in his time; thy proſperity is thy bane: And, cum ipſis opibus laſciv…re coepit Eccleſia, ſaith Platina; The Church began to be rich and wanton at once. Religio peperit divitias, & ſilia devoravit matrem: Religion brought forth riches, and the daughter ſoon devoured the mother, ſaith Auguſti…e. The much wool on the ſheeps back, is oft-times his ruine; he is caught in the thorns, and famiſhed. The fatter the ox, the ſooner to the ſlaughter. When the Proteſtants of France began to grow wanton of their proſperity, and to affect a vain frothy way of preaching, then came the cruel maſſacre upon them. The good Lord keep this Church of England from the like miſchief, much threatned by the Malignant party, who even wiſh with big-ſwoln Balaam, I would there were a ſword in mine hand; for now would I kill thee, Num. 22.29. A ſword they have lately gotten again into their hand in Wales, but with evil ſucceſs, Bleſſed be the Lord our ſtrength, which teacheth our hands to war, and our fingers to fight, Pſal. 144.1. Surely, he that, in ſo ill a cauſe, killeth with the ſword, muſt be killed with the ſword, Rev. 13.10. Thoſe ſworn ſwordmen of Satan, ſhall fall by the ſword; they ſhall be a portion for foxes, Pſal. 63.10. They ſhall be ſo, no doubt, if we hinder not our own happineſs by an unworthy kicking againſt the tendereſt bowels of Gods Fatherly compaſſions, ever earning toward us. Should we, with the fed hawk, forget our maſter? Or being full with Gods benefits, like the full-Moon, then get furtheſt off from the Sun; and by an interpoſition of earthly deſires, become dark? The cords of love, are called the cords of a man, Hoſ. 11.4. To ſin againſt mercy, is to ſin againſt humanity; it is beſtial, nay it is worſe. To render good for evil, is Divine; to render good for good, is humane; to render evil for evil, is bruitiſh; but to render evil for good, is devilliſh, as a Reverend man hath well obſerved. [Then he forſook God] Here Moſes, weary of ſpeaking any longer to a gain-ſaying and diſobedient people, turneth his ſpeech to the heaven and earth, whom he had called in to bear witneſs, verſ. 1. So, when a certain people of Italy had commanded the Romane Embaſſadour, ad quercum dic…r…, ſe interim alia acturos, to deliver his Ambaſſage to the great oak; for they had ſomewhat elſe to do, Liv.then to give him audience; he at ſwered, Et haec ſacrata quercus audiat foedus eſſe a vob… violatum, I will, indeed, direct my ſpeech to the Oke, and tell it in your hearing that you have baſely broken covenant, and ſhall dearly anſwer it.
Verſ. 16. They provoked him to jealouſie] See the Note on Chap. 31.29.
Verſ. 17. They ſacrificed unto Devils] See the Note on Levit. 17.7. [To new gods that came newly up] Such as are all Popiſh He-Saints, and She-Saints; concerning whom, Bellarmine himſelf cann…t but yeeld, that, Bell. de cultu ſanct. cap. 9.Cumſcriberentur Scripturae, nondum coeperat uſus vovendi Sanctis, There was no vowing (or bowing either) to Saints departed, when the Scriptures were written. And a loaf of the like leaven are thoſe Newlights, and all ſubtleties, whereby our Sectaries would diſtinguiſh themſelves from Browniſts. Are they not all, or moſt of them, borrowed out of Mr. H. Jacobs books, who was but of yeſterday? The Antinomians uſually call upon their hearers to mark; it may be they ſhall hear ſome new truth, that they never heard before: when the thing is either falſe, or (if true) no more then ordinarily is taught by others.
Verſ. 18. And haſt forgotten God that formed thee] Or, that brought thee forth. Here God is compared to a mother, as in the former clauſe, to a father. So, Jam. 1.18. Of his own will begat he us, foreign, He brought us forth, and did the office of a mother to us; which doth notably ſet forth his love, and the work of his grace.
Verſ. 19. Of his ſons, and of his daughters] Titular at leaſt; wherefore their ſin was the greater. What? Thou, foreign.my ſon Brutus? This cut Caeſar to the heart.
Verſ. 20. I will ſee what their end ſhall be] This is ſpoken after the manner of men; as likewiſe that, verſ. 27. [In whom is no faith] i. e. fidelity; as Matth. 23.23. there's no truſting them, or taking their words.
Verſ. 21. And I will move them to jealouſie] Thus God delights to retaliate and proportion jealouſie to jealouſie, provocation to provocation; So, frowardneſs to frowardneſs, Pſal. 18.26. contrariety to contrariety, Levit. 28.18, 21, &c.
With a fooliſh nation] With the converſion of the Gentiles, Rom. 10.19. which the good Jews could not eaſily yeeld to at firſt, Act. 11.2, 3. And the reſt could never endure to hear of it. See 1 Theſſ. 2.15, 16. At this day they ſolemnly curſe the Chriſtians thrice a day in their Synagogues, with a, Maledic Domine Nazarais. They have a ſaying in their Tulmud, Optimus qui inter gentes eſt dignus cui caput conteretur, tanquam ſerpenti; The beſt among the Gentiles is worthy to have his head broke, as the Serpent had. Yea they think they may kill any Idolaters: Therefore Tacitus ſaith of them, There was miſericordia in promptu apud ſuos, ſed contra omnes alios hoſtile odium, mercy enough toward their own, but againſt all others they bare a deadly hatred.
Verſ. 22. For a fire] See the Note on Chap. 10.4.
Verſ. 23. I will ſpend mine arrowes] Which yet cannot be all ſpent up, as he feared of his Jupiter, Si quoties peccent homines, &c.
Verſ. 24. Burnt with hunger] Which makes mens viſages blacker then a coal, Lam. 4.8. [with burning heat] i. e. With the burning carbuncle, or plague-ſore. See Haba…. 3.5.
Verſ. 25. And terrour within] Warring times are terrible times. By the civil diſſentions here in King Iohn's time, all the Kingdom became like a general ſhambles, or place of infernal terrours and tortures. War, ſaith One, is a miſery which all words (how wide ſoever) want compaſs to expreſs. It is ſaith Another, the ſlaughter-houſe of mankind, and the hell of this preſent world. See the Note on Gen. 14 2.
Verſ 27. Were it not that I feared] See verſ. 20.
Leſt their adverſaries] This is that (likely) that moves the Lord, hitherto, to ſpare England. God hath dealt with us, not according to his ordinary rule, but according to his prerogative. England (if it may be ſo ſpoke with reverence) is a paradox to the Bible. Pererius, the Jeſuite, commenting upon Gen. 15.16. If any marvel, ſaith He, why England continueth to flouriſh, notwithſtanding the cruel perſecution (juſt execution he ſhould have ſaid) of Catholikes there: I anſwer, Becauſe their ſin is not yet full. Sed veniet tandem iniquitatis complementum, &c. We hope better, though we deſerve the worſt that can be▪ But ſomewhat God will do for his own great Name; and leſt the enemy exalt himſelf, Pſal. 140.8. and ſay, Our hand is high, the Lord hath not done this.
Verſ. 28. For they are a nation] See the Note on Chap. 4.6. It was Chryſippus that offered that ſtrict and tetrical diviſion to the world, Aut mentem, aut reſtim comparandum.
Verſ. 29. Oh that this people were wiſe] Sapiens eſt, cui res ſapiunt prout ſunt, ſaith Bernard. [That they would conſider their latter end] This is a high point of heavenly wiſdome. Moſes himſelf deſires to learn it. Pſal. 90.12. David alſo would fain be taught it, Pſal. 39.4. Solomon ſets a Better upon it, Eccleſ. 7.2. Ieruſalems filthineſs was in her skirts, becauſe ſhe remembred not her latter end; therefore alſo ſhe came down wonderfully, Lam. 1.9, The kite, by the turning of his tail, directs and winds about all his body. Conſideratio fini… tanquam caudae, ad vitam optimè regendam confert, Mr. Ward's Sermons.ſaith Berchorius. I meet with a ſtory of one that gave a prodigal a ring, with a deaths-head, with this condition, that ſhe ſhould one hour daily, for ſeven dayes together, look and think upon it; which bred a ſtrange alteration in his life; like that of Theſpoſius in Plutarch; or that more remarkable, of Waldus, the rich Merchant of Lions, &c.
Verſ. 30. How ſhould one chaſe a thouſand] i.e. Howſhould one of the enemies chaſe a thouſand Iſraelites, (who had a promiſe of better things, Levit. 26.8.) but that having firſt ſold themſelves for nought, Iſai. 52.3. they were now ſold by God; who would own them no longer, Pſal. 31.7, 8.
Verſ. 31. For their Rock is not as our Rock] We may well ſay, who is a God like unto thee? Mic. 7.18. Contemno minutulos iſtos deos, modo jovem (Jehovam) mihi propitiumc habeam; I care not for thoſe dunghill-Deities, ſo I may hav… the true God to favour me. [Even our enemies] Exod. 14.25. Num. 23.8, 12. 1 Sam. 4.8.
Verſ. 32. For their vine is of the vine] Vitis non vinifera, ſed venenifera. The vine is the wicked nature, the grapes are the evill works. So Iſai. 59.5. They hatch cockatrice egges, and weave the ſpiders web; (vanity or villany, is their whole trade;) he that eateth of their egges, dyeth, &c. Look how the bird that ſitteth on the ſerpents egges, by breaking and hatching them, brings forth a perilous brood to her own deſtruction: ſo do thoſe that are yet in the ſtate of Nature; being the heires of Original, and the fathers of Actual ſins; which when they are finiſhed, bring forth death, Jam. 1.15.
Verſ. 33. Their wine] i. e. Their works, yea their beſt works prove pernitious to them; not their own table only, but Gods Table becomes a ſnare to the unprepared communicant; he ſucks there the poyſon of aſpes, &c. Iob 20 16. he eats his bane, and drinks his poyſon: as Henry 7. Emperour, was poyſoned in the Sacramental bread by a Monk; Pope Victor 2. by his Sub-deacon in his challice, and one of our Biſhops of York, by poiſon put into the wine at the Euchariſt.
Verſ. 34. Is not this laid up in ſtore] To wit, for juſt puniſhment, though for a while I forbear them. The wicked man is like a thief, which having ſtollen a horſe, rides away well mounted, till overtaken by hue and cry, he is apprehended, ſentenced, and executed. Your ſin will find you out, as a blood-hound; et patientia Dei erga impios quò diuturnior, Hioron. in Jerem.eò minacior. Morae diſpendium foenoris duplo penſatur; the longer God forbeareth, the heavier he puniſheth.
Verſ. 35. To me belongeth vengeance and recompence] The Hebrew word for vengeance, foreignſignifies comfort alſo; for God will be comforted in the execution of his wrath, Ezek. 5.13. See the Note on Chap. 28.63. He ſhew; ſuch ſeverity ſometimes, as if he had blotted that out of his title, Exod. 34.6. and now took up that Emperours Motto, Fiat juſtitia, pereat mundus.
Their foot ſhall ſlide in due time] They are ſet in ſlippery places, Pſal. 73.18. they ever walk as upon a mine of gun powder, ready to be blown up: Nemo crimen gerit in Pectore, qui non idem Nemeſin in tergo. Nemeſis dicitur, foreign, quòd foreign. Gods wrath is ſuch, as none can avert or avoid.
Verſ. 36. And repent himſelf for his ſervants] Thus God mingleth and allayeth the rigour of his juſtice, with the vigour of his mercy.
Verſ. 37. And he ſhall ſay] i. e. He ſhall upbraid them with the inability of their idols to do for them.
Verſ. 39. I, even I am he] I, is emphatical and excluſive.
Verſ. 41. If I whet my glittering ſword] God firſt whets, before he ſmites; and firſt takes hold on judgement, before his judgments take hold on men. Eſt piger ad poenas, ad proemia velox. See the like, Pſal. 7.12. God was but ſix dayes in making the whole world, yet was he ſeven dayes in deſtroying that one city of Iericho, as Chryſoſtome obſerveth. Fury is not in me, Eſay 27.4. As a bee ſtings not, till provoked; ſo God puniſheth not, till there be no other remedy, 2 Chron. 36.16.
Verſ. 43. Rejoyce, O ye Nations] Give God the glory of his juſt ſeverity, which is no leſs commendable in a Judge, then ſeaſonable clemency.
Verſ. 47. For it is not a vain thing] Gods favour is no empty favour; it is not like the Winter-Sun, that caſts a goodly countenance when it ſhines, but gives little comfort and heat.