Paraphrase of the Hard Texts of Scripture, Scripture 19 · Chapter 63 – Chapter 64
CAP. LXIII.
WHo is this, (shall my wondring Church say,1 Who is this that commeth from Edom, with died garments from Bozrah, this that is glorious in his apparrell, travelling in the greatnesse of his strength, I that speake in righteousnesse, mightie to save. concerning her God, and Saviour) who is this that comes out from among the troupes of his enemies, with garments distained with blood, even this, that is decked with the glory of his victory and triumph? Dost thou aske, who I am (O my Church) shall he say, I am thy righteous, and holy redeemer, mighty to save, and deliver mine elect.
Wherefore then, O Saviour,2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparrell, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine fatte? art thou thus suited in crimson, & dyed red with blood? If thou be so powerful to save us, how hast thou not delivered thy selfe from this effusion of thine owne blood? Or is it the blood of enemies that hath thus drenched thy robes? so that thou lookest as one that hath been treading in the wine presse, all tainted with the blood of the grape?
3 I have troden the wine presse alone, and of the people there was none with me, for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall bee sprinkled upon my garments, and I will staine all my raiment.It is true, O my Church, I have beene indeed treading the wine-presse of my fathers wrath, I have beene crushing & trampling upon all the clusters of mine enemies; even I alone, by my mighty power, have trod them under my feet, without the supply of all other helps; the victory is mine alone, which I will in my good time fully accomplish; for I will, in my just anger, bee exquisitely avenged of all those that maliciously rise up against me; and will give proofes to the world of my vengeance, and their sufferings.
4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the yeare of my redeemed is come.For I have eternally decreed, and set the day, wherein I shall be perfectly revenged of the proud and wicked enemies of my Church, and wherein I shall fully redeeme my faithfull people.
5 And I looked, and there was none to help, & I wondered that there was none to uphold.I saw there was no helpe to be expected from any finite creature; and being much affected to see so remedilesse a desolation of my Church, I addressed my selfe to the work, and by my owne power wrought their deliverance, &c.
8 For hee said, surely they are my people, children that will not lie, for he was their Saviour.For he said, surely, these are my chosen ones, my peculiar people; they will stick fast to mee, and will not degenerate into wicked and leud courses; so he, who expected this holinesse and perseverance from them, was a Saviour unto them.
9 In all their afflictions he was afflicted, and the Angel of his presence saved them.In all their afflictions he pittied them, and did (as it were) suffer with them; and the Angell of his covenant (who still appeares before his face to intercede for his Church) saved them from the dangers of manifold destructions, &c.
11 Then hee remembred the daies of old, Moses and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the Sea, with the shepheard of his flocke; where is hee that put his holy Spirit within him?Then he remembred the daies of old; and those ancient passages, that were betwixt Moses and his people, whose posterity in their present distresses, are ready to say; Where now is that God, that did so powerfully bring his people through the sea, by the hand of Moses their leader? Where is he that did then put his holy spirit into that faithfull guide of his people?
He, that led them through the red sea, with no lesse security and confidence,13 That led them through the deepe as a horse in the wildernesse. then an horse walkes in an even and smooth downe, &c.
So verse 14.
15 The sounding of thy bowels, & of thy mercies toward me, are they restrained?The yearning of thy bowels, and thy tender compassions towards thy people.
O God, how boldly may we sue to thee,16 Doubtles thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not. since thou art our father; nothing in the world can strip us of this relation to thee; whatever become of all these termes of cognation, & consanguinity which the world can afford, surely nothing can hinder this our challenge of interest in thee, and however, we have made our selves by our sins unworthy to be owned by our father Abraham (if hee could take notice of these earthly things) yet doe not thou cast us utterly off, from the benefit of that covenant which thou madest with him, and his seed, &c.
O Lord, we know, if thou guide us not,17 O Lord, why hast thou made us to erre from thy waies, and hardened our heart from thy feare? we cannot but erre; why hast thou withdrawne thy spirit from us, upon the just desert of our sins, so as we have thereupon gone astray from thy lawes? why hast thou, in the punishment of our wickednesse, given us over to the hardening of our owne hearts before thee, &c.
It is but a little while (in comparison of the promise,18 The people of thy holinesse have possessed it but a little while, our adversaries have troden downe thy Sanctuarie. and covenant made to thy people) that thy peculiar, and select nation have possessed this good land, and now our adversaries have destroyed thy holy Temple.
They can challenge no part in thee; we are thine owne charge, and chosen inheritance;19 We are thine, thou never barest rule over thē, they were not called by thy name. thou hast given lawes to us, and hast exercised a speciall soverainty over us; thou hast not done so to them; they were never so indeared to thee, never so much graced by thee.
CAP. LXIIII.
OH that thou wouldest magnifie thy mighty power in the deliverance of thy people, and for that cause,1 Oh that thou wouldest rent the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the mountaines might flow downe at thy presence. that thou wouldst teare open the heavens before thee, that they may give way to thy comming downe; and the mountaines might melt, and flow like water, at the terror of thy presence.
Oh that thy presence to the world,2 As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boile, to make thy name knowne to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence. might bee as fire to metall, or to water; to melt the one, to cause the other to boile; that all the adversary powers might with horror and confusion know thy greatnes & omnipotence and that all the nations (which now forget thee, & sleight thy power) might tremble at thy presence.
Thou hast done many,4 For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard, nor perceived by the eare, neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. and great wonders for thy people of ancient times; such, as whereby thou hast approved thy selfe to be the only true God; so as the eare hath not heard, nor the eye seen the cleare demonstrations of any god, but thy selfe; of such infinite power and mercy, to provide so graciously, and miraculously, for those that depend upon thee.
5 Thou meetest him that rejoyceth, and worketh righteousnes, those that remember thee in thy wayes: behold, thou art wroth, for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.Thou hast heretofore given mercifull proofes of thy favour to our forefathers, who rejoyced in thee, and lived holily before thee; and so thou art ready to doe, to those that awfully and thankfully acknowledge thee, and adore thee, in the wayes of thy justice, and mercy; but as for us, thou art displeased with us, for wee have done wickedly before thee, whereas, if wee had the grace to continue in those wayes of thine, we should be sure to be saved.
6 But wee are all as an uncleane thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, & we all doe fade as a leafe, and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away.But we are all very abhominably sinfull before thee, and our very best services and obediences are full of odious and shamefull corruptions; and therefore, under this displeasure of thine, wee cannot but fall away, as a dry leafe from the tree, and the just punishment of our iniquities, like a winde, hath blowne us away, and dispersed us.