Paraphrase of the Hard Texts of Scripture, Scripture 35 – Scripture 36
MALACHI.
CAP. I.
2 I have loved you, saith the Lord: yet ye say, wherein hast thou loved us? was not Esau Iacobs brother, saith the Lord, yet I loved Iacob.I Have loved you, O my people Israel, saith the Lord, ye that are returned from the late Babylonish captivitie, I have loued you and done great things for you; yet ye (unthankfull as ye are) will not acknowledge it, but are ready to say; wherin hast thou loved us? let me then convince you of my favours. Were not Esau and Jacob brothers, did they not both proceed from one wombe, & from one loines? yet without all merit of yours, or his, I loved Jacob freely, and graciously.
3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountaines, and his heritage waste, for the dragons of the wildernesse.And in comparison of you, hated Esau, and his posterity the Idumeans, so, as that I have, for your sakes, laid wast those cities, which they inhabited in the mountaines, and desolated his heritage by the sword of the Babylonian unrecoverably; so as it is turned desert, and fit only for wilde beasts, and dragons; whereas I have returned you to your old inheritance, in peace.
And howsoever these sonnes of Esau, say;4 Whereas Edom saith, we are impoverished, but we will returne, and build the desolate places; thus saith the Lord of hostes, they shall build but I will throw downe; and they shall call them the border of wickednesse, and the people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever. wee are indeed brought downe, and our cities are spoiled, but why should not we returne (as well as ye the sons of Jacob) and build up our ruined townes also; yet, thus saith the Lord; In vaine shall they attempt to repaire their wasted cities; for, if they build, I will pull downe; and I will cause them to be branded with the sensible marke of my displeasure; so as, all the regions about, shall call them; The countrey noted for wickednesse; and the people against whom the Lord hath conceived an everlasting indignation; whereas you, O Israel, are embraced with mercy and compassion, and restored to your ancient territories.
And behold your very eyes shall be witnesses,5 And your eyes shall see, and yee shall say, the Lord will bee magnified from the border of Israel. both of these my favours to you, and of this my severity to the sons of Esau; and ye shall be forced to say, the Lord hath well deserved to be praised and magnified, from all the coasts of Israel.
This indeed I have deserved from you;6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master, if then I be a father, where is mine honour, and if I be a master, where is my feare, saith the Lord of hosts, unto you O Priests, that despise my name, and ye say, wherein have wee despised thy name? but how is it performed on your part? A sonne is wont to honour his father, and a servant his Master; yee call mee your father, your selves my sonnes, ye call me your master and your selves my servants, if then I bee your Father, &c. saith the Lord of hosts, even to you, the guides of my people, O ye the Priests of my sanctuary; for even yee, who should be exemplarily holy; even ye have despised my name; and yet ye stand in your owne justification, and say, wherein have we despised thy name?
Let me tell you then, and convince you of your sinne;7 Yee offer polluted bread upon mine altar, and ye say, wherein have wee polluted thee, in that yee say, the Table of the Lord is contemptible. ye have cast contempt upon mee, in that ye have offered base, and unworthy oblations upon mine altar, yet still ye stand upon your innocence, and say; wherein have we cast contempt upon thee? I tell you againe, in that yee have a base opinion of the table of the Lord, and thinke any thing good enough for it.
Hath not the Law of God expresly forbidden you to offer the blinde, or lame, or sicke beasts,8 And if ye offer the blinde for sacrifice, is it not evill? and if ye offer the lame and sicke, is it not evill? offer it now unto thy governour, will he bee pleased with thee, or accept thy person, saith the Lord of hosts? in sacrifice to God? and is there not good reason? goe ye and present such like gifts to your very governours (men like your selves) will they take them well from your hands; and not rather thinke that you put a scorne upon them; will they not accordingly send you away with a just scorne, saith the Lord of hosts?
9 And now I pray you beseech God, that he will be gracious unto us, this hath been by your means, will he regard your persons, saith the Lord of hosts?And now, if ye like well of these courses, goe on to offer these unmeet and disgracefull oblations to God; and call to him, notwithstanding, that he will bee well pleased with them, and with you, for them, (thus ye have done hitherto, and have provoked God against us) see yet whether he will accept of such offerers, and sacrifices; saith the Lord of hosts.
10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought, neither doe ye kindle fire on mine altar, for nought; I have no pleasure in you.I have not dealt thus with you; but have abundantly recompensed all your services; which of you is there among all the Levites of my Temple that hath shut the doores of my house, unrewarded? which of you is there that hath so much as kindled a fire on mine altar, for nought? yet ye have had no regard unto me againe; I will be affected to you accordingly; behold, I have no pleasure in you, &c.
11 For from the rising of the Sun, even to the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering.Neither shall my worship, and service be confined to you; but I will hereafter enlarge it to all the ends of the world; for, from the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, my name shall be honoured, and adored of the Gentiles (who are as yet without God in the world) and they shall in every place (not in my Temple onelyonly) offer pure and holy sacrifices unto me, &c.
12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, the table of the Lord is polluted, and the fruit thereof, even his meat is contemptible.But, as for you, yee have profaned, and abused my name, in that ye have entertained base conceits of my sacrifices; and have held the oblations offered unto mee, as meate vile, and contemptible, and unworthy of any other respects than scorne.
13 Ye said also, behold what a wearines is it, and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts, and yee brought that which was torne, and the lame, and the sicke.Ye said also, what a toile is this we are put unto, in killing, and dividing these base, and worthlesse sacrifices? whereas, would ye but have signified the least dislike of these unmeet oblations, they would have beene exchanged for better; but all was alike to you, ye were willing enough to take what was brought you, and to offer that which was torne, and lame, and sicke, &c.
14 But cursed bee the deceiver which hath in his flocke a male, and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing, for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadfull among the heathen.But, cursed be that hollow, and falsehearted Jew, who having in his flocke a male, without spot, or blemish, fat, and well liking; yet (after his vow) sacrificeth unto the Lord a leane, blemished, unsound female; for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts; I looke for the best, who have made all; and my name is great and dreadfull in all the world; the Gentiles shall adore, and magnifie it, how ever it be sleighted of my unworthy people of Israel.
CAP. II.
BEhold, I will punish you with dearth;3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread doung upon your faces, even the doung of your solemne feasts, and one shall take you away with it. your seed shall corrupt; and your fields shall yeeld you no increase; and I will scornefully cast the dung of your sacrifices (in your solemne feasts) upon your faces, and so cover you over with it, that ye shall be carried away, as an heape of compost; so basely will I cause you to be reputed of my people.
And ye shall know that I have decreed,4 And yee shall know that I have sent this commandement unto you, that my covenant might bee with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. and commanded this contempt to be powred upon you; that ye might repent of your sins, wherewith ye have provoked mee, that so, I might continue that covenant, which I made with the tribe of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.
I covenanted with my priesthood of that Tribe, to give them preservation, and welfare;5 My covenant was with him of life and peace yea the life of grace and true spirituall peace, &c.
For it is required,7 For the Priests lippes should keepe knowledge, and they should seeke the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. and expected of the Priests of Gods Sanctuary, that they should be men of knowledge, and heavenly wisedome; so as their breasts should keepe, and their lips should expresse to the people, the right understanding of divine things; and to them should the people resort for their information in the law of God; for God hath appointed them to be his messengers, to deliver his will to men.
Why doe ye taxe us for our unlawfull marriages with infidels? was not Adam one common father to us all?10 Have we not al one father? hath not one God created us? why doe wee deale treacherously every man against his brother, by prophaning the covenant of our fathers? hath not one God created us all? why doe ye therefore charge us with treacherous dealing with our brethren, and profaning the covenant of our forefathers in that we doe promiscuously match with our heathen neighbours?
Yes, O ye Jewes thinke not to evade thus,11 Iudah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel, and in Ierusalem: for Judah hath prophaned the holinesse of the Lord, which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strang god. Judah hath dealt treacherously with God, and with those lawfull wives whom they had formerly taken; and an abomination is committed in Israel, and in Jerusalem it selfe; for Judah hath profaned the holy institution of marriage, which the Lord hath both made, & highly respected; and hath taken (as an addition of a second marriage) unto his bed, the daughters of Pagans and Infidels.
The Lord will not suffer these wicked conjunctions to prosper; he will cut off the man that doth this,12 The Lord will cut off the man that doth this, the master of the scholler out of the tabernacles of Iacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts. together with his posterity; and his abettors, out of the congregation of Israel; and though he should thinke to pacifie God with offerings, yet God will not accept them, or spare him.
13 And this have yee done againe, covering the altar of the Lord with teares, with weeping and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.And this ye have added unto your other sinnes; yee have dealt so cruelly, and unjustly with your wives, as that ye have caused them to wash the altars of God, with the teares of their weeping, and complaints, so as that God (who hateth all iniquity) regardeth not the offerings you present unto him, any more, &c. Yet yee stand stiffely upon the justification of your innocence, and say, What have we done, or wherein have we deserved this disrepect to our sacrifices? Know then, that it is for your treacherous and unjust dealing with the wife of your youth, with whom you were lawfully married; of which solemne contract, the Lord himselfe (the institutor of mariage) hath beene witnesse; even those your lawfull wives have ye abused; yet they are ordained of God for the comfortable companions of your life; and by a firme, and indissoluble covenant, conjoyned unto you.
14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath beene witnesse betweene thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt trecherously, yet is shee thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.Your selves, if ye shall but look backe to the first originall act of God, shall necessarily be convinced: for did not God make one woman onelyonly for one man? yet hee had power (who was, and is the God of the spirits of all flesh) to have made more; this had beene as easie for him; wherefore did he therefore conjoyne one woman onelyonly to that one man, and why doth he still continue his ordinance of the same single copulation? but, that herein he tooke care that the children (the issue of such wedlocke) should be holily, and lawfully begotten: Take heed to your selves therefore, and keepe your selves within the compasse of Gods ordinance, and suffer not your unbridled spirits to breake forth into these inordinate desires, and wicked concupiscences; let no man offer wrong to the wife of his youth, in taking in a stranger unto his bed.
16 For the Lord the God of Israel saith, that he hateth putting away, for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts, therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deale not treacherously.For the Lord God of Israel (howsoever yee may unjustly pretend his allowance of this common dimission of your wives, upon every fleight occasion) professeth to hate these your causelesse repudiations of them; and whosoever doth this (what colour soever he set upon it) yet doth but cloake a violence, and wrong, which God will revenge, &c.
17 Yee have wearied the Lord with your words; yet ye say, Wherin have wee wearied him, when yee say, every one that doth evill, is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them, or where is the God of judgment?Moreover, besides all these actuall wickednesses, yee have extreamely urged the patience of the Lord, with the words of your blasphemies; yet ye are ready to face out this sinne also, and say, Wherein have we thus offended in our speeches? Know then, that yee have shamefully blasphemed God, in that ye say; It is all one whether a man be good, or evill; every one that doth evill, speeds as well at Gods hands as the best; and he delights in wicked doers; else they should not so prosper as they doe; Where is the justice of God in the meane time? or how is he a God of such integrity and unpartiall retribution, as he is reported?
CAP. III.
BEhold,1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his Temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom yee delight in, behold, hee shall come saith the Lord of hosts. I will stoppe the mouthes of all such blasphemous cavillers; I will, in my appointed time, send my messenger John the Baptist, and he shall prepare the way before my personall and visible comming; Loe the Messiah, even the Lord, whom ye waite for, shall ere long come into his Temple; that great messenger of the Evangelicall covenant, whom with joy of heart yee, my faithfull ones, have long expected, behold, he shal come, saith the Lord of hosts.
But how shall the guilty and wicked ones of the world abide the day of his comming?2 But who may abide the day of his comming, & who shall stand when hee appeareth, for he is like a refiners fire, & like fullers sope. how shall they be able to stand before him, when he appeareth? for hee shall come to purge, and refine his Church.
And he shall addresse himselfe zealously, and exquisitely,3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purifie the Sonnes of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousnesse. to rid his Church of all that corruption of doctrine, and manners, wherewith it is defiled; and especially, he shall reforme the Priests of the new Testament, and quit them of that drosse of errour, and unrighteousnesse, wherewith that holy calling hath beene formerly impured; that they may with cleane hands offer up holy sacrifices unto their God.
Then shall all the services of his holy Church be pleasing, and acceptable unto the Lord;4 Then shall the offerings of Iudah and Ierusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the daies of old and as in former yeares. no lesse then the best sacrifices of Abel, and Melchisedech, and of all the holy fathers in the old Testament.
And whereas ye lately said,5 And I will come neere to you to judgement, and I will be a swift witnes against the Sorcerers. Where is the God of judgement? behold, now ye shall see, and finde where he is; I will come close to you in judgement, and will take a speedy course of vengeance against the sorcerers, &c.
FINIS.
A PARAPHRASE VPONUPON THE HARD TEXTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
By Jos. Exon.
LONDON, Printed by M. Flesher, for Nathaniel Butter. Anno Dom. 1632.