Paraphrase of the Hard Texts of Scripture, Scripture 19 · Chapter 57 – Chapter 59
CAP. LVII.
1 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and mercifull men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evill to come.WHiles sensuall men doe thus please themselves, God takes away his godly & righteous servants from amongst them, and they have not the grace, or wit, to consider, that this is a presage of great judgement, which shall fall on the heads of those wicked ones, that are left behind.
2 Hee shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightnesse.But that just and upright man, who walked conscionably with God, howsoever the wicked thinke him a loser by his death, doth now enter into everlasting rest and happinesse; and shall sweetly sleepe in a bed of ease, till the morning of the resurrection.
But for you, ye wicked and rebellious seed,3 But draw neere hither, ye sonnes of the sorceresse, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. who are wont to bragge of your pedigree from faithfull Abraham, when as indeed yee are a degenerate, and adulterous issue, draw neare, and heare my just contestation.
Doe yee well consider,4 Against whom doe ye sport your selves? against whom make yee a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? that it is against the Almighty God yee have scornfully set your selves? that yee have jeered and flouted at his dreadfull judgements, &c?
Inflaming your selves with the abhominable lusts of your spirituall fornicatiō with your idols, in every grove,5 Inflaming your selves with Idols under every greene tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? and causing your children to be slaine in the valleys as sacrifices to your Moloch?
Thou choosest thee an idol out of the river;6 Among the smooth stones of the streame is thy portion. even from amongst those rockes, or stones, which the streame hath smoothed; and this must be thy God, &c.
Every hill hath beene an high-place,7 VponUpon a lofty & high mountaine hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifices. distinated by thee to thine idolatry; and thither hast thou climbed to offer thy sacrifices.
Every where, even behinde the doores,8 Behinde the doores also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thy selfe to another then me, and art gone up, &c. and posts of thine house, hast thou set up shamefull monuments of thine idolatry; For thou hast committed spirituall whordome with other gods; and hast yeelded thy selfe over, to be defiled with their beastly abhominations, even upon the first fight.
And thou madest meanes to the King of Assyria,9 And thou wentest to the King with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers farre off, and didst debase thy selfe even unto hell. and temptedst him with thy precious presents (which thou fearest to him in great abundance, by thine ambassadors) to commit spirituall fornication with thee; and didst abuse thy selfe too shamefully unto that idolatrous pagan.
The length of the way did not so discourage thee,10 Thou art wearied in the greatnesse of thy way: yet saidest thou not, there is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand: therefore thou wast not grieved. as to cause thee to desist from this journey of thine; thou wentest on, and, because thou foundest successe (as thou imaginedst) in thine enterprise, thou foundst no remorse for what thou hadst done.
Thou hast had no feare of me before thine eyes,11 And of whom hast thou beene afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembred me, nor laid it to thy hart? have not I held my peace, even of old, & thou fearest me not? else thou couldest not; thou durst not have lied unto me, and dissembled with me; no, thou hast not remembred my presence, nor feared my revenge: and all this is, because I have forborne to execute speedy judgements upon thy sinnes.
But now, I will lay thee open;12 I will declare thy righteousnesse: and thy workes: for they shall not profit thee. all the world shall see how just and righteous thou art; thy good carriage shall be discovered to thy shame and dishonor.
13 When thou cryest let thy companies deliver thee, but the winde shall carry them all away, vanity shall take them.When thou cryest out in thy distresse, let these thy goodly associates helpe, and deliver thee; but for them, I will blow them away, as winde doth the dust, they shall vanish to nothing, &c.
14 And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling blocke out of the way of my people.They shall againe inherit their old home, at Jerusalem, and shall returne to my Temple, and shall incourage and perswade each other to an holy, and conscionable profession of godlinesse, and to a removall of all impediments, that might hinder their pietie, and obedience.
16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be alwayes wroth: for the spirit should faile before me.I will not alwaies bee exercising my people with heavie afflictions; neither will I alwaies shew my selfe angry with them; for then the weake spirit of man must needs sinke under the burden, and be utterly daunted, &c.
17 I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.I was displeased with him, and withdrew my grace from him, and hee went on frowardly in those wicked waies which his owne heart suggested unto him.
I have well seene the courses, which he takes; and might take just occasion to be revenged of him;18 I have seene his wayes and will heale him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him, and to his mourners. but I doe rather pitty his perversenesse, and will help him (though undeservedly) and restore his wonted comforts to him, and to those that are compassionately affected with his sorrowes.
19 I create the fruit of the lippes: peace, peace unto him that is farre off, and to him that is neare, saith the Lord, and I will heale him.I doe put into the mouthes of my Prophets, those tidings of peace, whereby the hearts of my people shall be cheared; and have put the word of reconciliation into the mouthes of my Evangelicall preachers; whereby they may be saved; Both of these messengers shall come with the happy newes of peace, both unto Jewes and Gentiles.
CAP. LVIII.
2 Yet they seeke mee daily, and delight to know my wayes, as a nation that did righteousnesse.YEt, they doe, in an outward formality, make a goodly profession; as if they were zealous in seeking me, and delighted in knowing my Lawes, &c.
3 Wherefore have wee fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have wee afflicted our soules, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast, you find pleasure, and exact all your labours.Will you know the reason why your fasts are not accepted of me? Behold, whiles you make a shew of austerity therein, ye give your selves to carnall pleasures, and exact, on that day, which should be solemnely holy, the hardest labours, and most servile workes.
4 Behold, yee fast, for strife & debate, & to smite with the fist of wickednesse, ye shall not fast as yee doe this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.Behold, though ye doe formally fast, yet you doe still give your selves to strife, and contention, to cruell extortion, and oppression; and colour these wickednesses, with a shew of mortification, and holinesse; such a fast as this is, is not that, which shall winne any favour or acceptation to you, or to your devotions.
Then shalt thou be blessed with an happie renewing of all comforts upon thee;8 Then shall thy light breake forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousnesse shall go before thee, the glory of the Lord, shall be thy reward. thy prosperity shall be suddenly restored; then shall all beholders acknowledge thee for just and righteous; and whereas now, thy shame is too apparent, then, the glory of the Lord shall encompasse, and deck thee.
If thou shalt take off thine hand from oppressing thy poore brethren, and abstaine from all injurious actions,9 If thou take away from the middest of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanitie. which may be to their prejudice, and shalt refraine thy tongue from speaking vainly, or leudly.
If in a feeling compassion of the miseries of the needy, thou shalt inlarge thy bounty, and reliefe to him:10 And if thou draw out thy soule to the hungrie, and satisfie the afflicted soule, then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darknesse bee as the noone day. and shalt yeeld comfort to the afflicted soule; God shall turne thy sorrow and calamity, into joy and happinesse.
And those that shalbe of thee, shall build againe the old neglected walls of the citie; and Temple of Jerusalem, and raise up those foundations which shall continue for many ages after, &c.12 And they that shall be of thee, shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations.
If thou shalt refraine thy foot from walking (farre or servilely) on the Sabbath; and refraine thy selfe from doing thine owne workes, or taking thy owne carnall pleasures on my holy day; and shalt, contrarily,13 If thou turne away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable, and shalt honour him. take delight in a conscionable sanctifying of that day of the Lord, as that, which is by thee accounted a day of Consecration to thy God, and worthy of great reverence, and honor, &c.
Then shalt thou find unspeakeable cōfort in the Lord; then I will cause thee to possesse, and rule over that highly situated, and fruitfull land of Judea,14 Then shalt thou delight thy selfe in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Iacob thy father, for the mouth of the Lord, &c. and will maintaine thee with that inheritance, which thou hast now from thy forefathers.
CAP. LIX.
ALl their projects and actions are either vaine,5 They hatch Cockatrice egges, and weave the spiders web: he that eateth of their egs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. or wicked; full of deadly poison; to the invenoming of all that deale with them; whosoever therefore medleth with them cannot bee free from the danger of infection, and death.
Their works, & designes, which are least harmefull,6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their workes; of iniquitie, and the act of violence in their hands. are yet utterly vaine, and unprofitable; how ever they may undertake much, their labours come to nothing, either for the benefit of others, or their owne safegard, &c.
Whosoever walketh in them, shall never have and enjoy true peace in his soule;8 Whosoever goeth therein, shall not know peace. nor expect to bee blessed, and prospered from above.
9 Therefore is judgement farre from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we waite for light, but behold obscurity: for brightnesse, but wee walked in darknesse.Therefore hath God withdrawne the hand of his mercifull protection, and gracious administration, from us; and we are yeelded up to be a prey of rapine and injustice; Wee wait for comfort and prosperity, but wee finde nothing but sorrow, and misery.
All the light of our former comfort is taken from us, and we are so affected with the judgements God, as that we know not how to guide our selves in our present condition;10 Wee grope for the wall like the blinde, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noone day as in the night, we are in desolate places as dead men. we cast about for helps, and directions in vaine, and miscarry in the use of them, we are carried captive into desolate places, out of the society of men, as if we were dead carcasses, cast aside for the grave.
We doe in all fashions of sorrow, bemoane our selves; either roaring out in the extremity of our griefe,11 Wee roare all like beares, and mourne sore like doves. as beares in a forrest, or more silently murmuring our complaints, as doves on the house top, &c.
15 Yea, truth faileth, & he that departeth from evill, maketh himselfe a prey.Yea, truth and honest sincerity is failed amongst men; and hee that will not runne with men, into the same excesse of riot, but maketh conscience of their evill wayes, is exposed to the scorne, and spoile of the world, &c.
16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondred that there was no intercessour: Therefore his arme brought salvation unto him, and his righteousnes, it sustained him.And he saw that there was no man that would interpose himselfe, and labour for the reforming of these foule corruptions, and wondred to see so generall a barrennesse of grace, as that there was not one man to stand out for his Church, either to sue for it, or to indevour the redresse of it; Therfore God resolved, since there was no helpe, or hope in humane meanes, to take the cause into his owne hand; and to worke mightily the deliverance and salvation of his people, by his owne power, and justice.
17 For he put on righteousnesse as a brest-plate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head, and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was cad with zeale as a cloak.To which purpose, the Almighty hath compleately armed himselfe, with righteousnesse, and salvation, and zeale, and meanes of vengeance upon his enemies, that his people may well see, how both forward, and powerfull hee is, to rescue them, and to plague their oppressours.
19 When the enemie shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.When the enemie shall come furiously upon them, like a raging and impetuous flood, the Almightie shall wage warre with him, and joyne battle accordingly against him to his destruction.
20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turne from transgression in Iacob, saith the Lord.The Redeemer of the world shall, in his due time, be revealed, and shall personally come to mount Zion; and shall save all penitent sinners in his whole Church upon earth.
Amongst,21 My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart not of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth, and for ever. and above all other testimonies of my favour to thee, my Church, this shall bee most remarkable; that I will give thee my word, and my spirit, for instruction, for sanctification; the one shall not depart out of thy heart, nor the other out of thy mouth; but shall perpetually continue to thee, and to thy seed after thee, unto the end of the world.