Exposition of Isaiah 9, Part 5
For the yoke of their burden, and the rodde of their shoulder, and the staffe of their oppresour hast thou broken, as in the day of Midian.
I thinke that none can more plainely interprete this place, than Paule doeth 1. Cor. 15, as we hauehave already declared, where he sayth: O death where is thy sting? O hel where is thy victorie? The sting of death is sinne, and the strength of sinne is the lawe. In which place Paule rehearseth thrée things whiche Christe hath conquered, and hath deliuered vsus from thē, namely death, sinne, and the law, euen as Esaye maketh mention of thrée things which God hath ouercome, ye he might make vsus ioyful and safe before him. Let vsus sée howe Esay and Paule agrée togither: for it cannot be that Esay shoulde speake of any other than of that wherof Paul speaketh,No true ioy or peace can be had, vnlesse death, sin and the lavv be ouercome. for as much as the people of God can hauehave no other ioye or peace, but whē these thrée be ouercome, namely death, sin, and the lawe. If these thrée should remaine, it should auaile vsus nothing, although he should giuegive vsus all things (if it could so be) and should bring vsus euen into heauen. Who can hauehave a ioyful & quiet heart, which hath & féeleth death, sinne, the law vponupon himself and against himselfe? For it is necessarie that there shoulde be life, a good conscience & libertie, where ioy must be. Now when Esay sayth that we reioyce before god, in as much as thrée thinges are ouercome and taken away, fayth herevpon concludeth, that he agréeth wholy with Paul, who comforteth Christians with such victory, and byddeth them agayne comforte one an other, agaynste death, sinne and the lawe.
The firste therefore is the yoke of theyr burden. Their burden, sayth the Prophet, that is of them, which reioyce in harueste, and in the diuision of the spoyle. They whiche know and receyue the Gospell, hauehave this the first cause of their ioye,By the yoke of their burden is signi…d death. that Christ hath broken the yoke of theyr burden, which yoke surely is death. O grieuous yoke, and intollerable burden, whiche euerye one is afrayde of, and flieth, and yet can not auoyde it, but must take it vponupon him and beare it. I speake nowe of that death which is felt as it is, whereby the conscience is dismayed, and féeleth both the wrath and iudgement of God by reason of the sinnes wherof it is guilty. Whiche assuredly is nothing else but death, which as yet beareth rule and flourisheth without the kingdome of Christ, euen as Adam and Eue felt it in Paradise.The vvicked feele not death, and vvhy. But the wicked doe not marke or consider of suche death, but when they must depart from hence. For as long as they féele no sinne, so long doe they not consider or regarde death. Wherefore Sainte Paule sayeth that the sting of death is sinne. That is, death shoulde hauehave neither strength nor power, neyther should be able to pearce, if al sinne being taken awaye, onelyonly innocencye were in vsus. For whom shoulde it kyll, the cause and fault beyng taken away? Moreouer, a good conscience neyther can feare death, neyther doth it knowe any thing of the sting, strength or power of death. But when the conscience findeth sinne in it, then death pearceth and preuayleth, for a sinnefull conscience is compelled to yéelde vntounto it, and to confesse that it hath so deserued. For as much therfore as it féeleth in it selfe the sting of death, that is sinne, neyther knoweth howe to encounter wyth it, it greatly feareth death.
The second is the rod of their shoulder, that is, sinne,By the rod of their shoulder … ment sinne, vvhichwhich is the sting of death. which giueth strength vntounto death, and maketh it grieuous, as it is sayde. For vnlesse sinne be first ouercome, Death can not be ouercome or subdued. Neyther can death be without sin, nor sin without death. For this cause could doth not abide stil in Christ, although he had power ouer him a litle while for our cause. For in Christ there was no sinne besyde our sinne, whyche he tooke vppon himselfe. So neyther can death abyde in Christians, after that they are iustifyed in Christe, and hauehave now no syn, although for a short tyme it hath power ouer them. For thys is properlye to ouercome Death and Synne, not that they are sodaynely and in a moment taken awaye by force, so that they are no more felte, but that firste rule and power is taken from them, and they are condemned by iustice and iudgemente, that they shall be brought vntounto nothyng. If they doe as yet in the meane season exercise theyr tyrannie, and make themselues as yet to be felte, before they be destroyed, that maketh no matter. For sentence is giuen vponupon them, not that they shall hauehave power and might so to rage, but rather that they shall forthwith ceasse and hauehave an ende. Euen as the case standeth with a mighty enimy,A similitud… who is not put to death as soone as he is taken, but his life is prolonged, vntill being condemned in open iudgement, he be executed by the sentence of the iudge. Now that life which he liueth in the flesh, is life in déede, but surely a miserable life, which hath no power or abilitie either to hurt, to beare rule, or to oppresse the aduersaries, in as muche as it is reserued to death. Neyther doeth he nowe liue that he may rule, but that he maye be condemned and putte to death.
In like maner is it with death, & sin, Christ hath conquered & taken thē captiue,Christ hath conquered death and sinne. that they can no more beare rule ouer vsus, or ouercome vsus as before, as it is sayde in the 68. Psalme: Thou arte gone vp on high, thou hast led captiuitie captiue. But he dayly giueth iudgement of them, and pronounceth sentence vppon them and condemneth them by the Gospell, that they can hauehave no rule or power ouer vsus, but must shortly ceasse and come to their ende. According as Paule sayeth Rom. 8. that by sinne he condemned sinne. As for the remnantes of sinnes whiche do as yet worke, and shewe out themselues, they are nothing. For they are condemned, and both theyr power and rule beyng loste, they can not hurt: neyther is there nowe anye more remayning, but that comming to theyr ende they shoulde be abolished and perish. What then doth it hurte mee,It hurteth not the godly that they feele sinne and death for a vvhile. if I féele eyther death or sinne a little while as it were bearing rule, when as I knowe that they beare not rule, but are condemned? Whereas they are moued and felt, it is nothing else but that they feare and tremble at the sight of their destruction. As on the other side,It auaileth not the vvicked that for a time they feele not sin and death. what doth it auayle the wicked, that they doe not féele sinne and death for a little whyle, as though death were taken awaye by force, when as notwithstanding there is rule and power ouer them lefte vntounto sin and death, and they wil forthwith come vpō them, and continually raigne ouer them.
Hereof it is that Esay and Paule doe vse such words, as shewe that sinne and death hauehave lost their power and rule, and shall shortly hauehave an end,Death and Synne hauehave loste their rule and povver. although for a while they make a shew as though they ruled, for Paule saith not: Death, where abidest thou? Hell, where doste thou remaine? but after this sort: O Death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victorie? As if he said, O Death and Hell, ye are present onelyonly for a shorte time, and not long: your rule, might, victory, sting, and all power are loste. Ye are offended against me, I confesse, but I pray you do not bite me, neither doe greatly moleste or trouble me. In déede I féele you, notwithstanding I am nothing afrayde of you, for yee hauehave no more power or strength left, and without long delay ye shal be destroyed & brought to nothyng. Whereas they dydde mocke and scorne Christe on the Crosse, as thoughe he had bin destitute of all strength and power, and shold be forthwith enforced to yelde vp the ghost: nowe the case is cleane altere…, so that wee maye glorie agaynste sinne, and death, mocking and scornyng them, and speaking ignominiously and reprochfully of thē, for that we are certaine that they can nowe do no more, but that they must yéeld and giuegive ouer. Wherefore death and synne are so condemned among Christians, and fastned to the Crosse, that if there bee anye remnants remaining of them, they profitte them nothing, but that they are compelled to heare howe they are scorned and despised: O Death where is thy sting? O Hell where is thy victorye? ye were not so mightie, but ye are now as weak and destitute of strength.Death and Synne hauehave moste grieuously raged, but novve they are subdued O wicked and shamefull thyng, howe hauehave you huge and stoute Champions Death and Sin moste horribly ruled in the worlde, triumphyng ouer all, and grieuously troubling them? Go to, descende nowe from the Crosse, if yee bee stoute and valiant champions, nowe shewe it foorthe. Yee are there fastned to the Crosse of Christ where ye must be forthwith destroyed. He whom you hong there, is deliuered from thence, with all vsus that depende of him, so that that is come to passe whiche Salomon sayeth: 1. Pro. 11. The righteous shalbe deliuered out of trouble, & the vngodly shal come in his steade.
So Esay also speaketh of Sinne and Death, not simply, but that their dominion is ended, and how that dominion, that is mighte, rule and power, is broken. For he sayeth not simply, their burden, but the yoke of their burden. By the worde Yoke,By the vvorde yoke vvhat is signified. he declareth that we were subiecte to Deathe, to beare the burden thereof, and that it had rule ouer vsus, as the husbandman hath ouer the beast, on which, when he hath yoked it, he layeth a burden, as hauing rule and power ouer it, when it is so enclosed and bound in ye yoke: For ye burdē which one of his own accord layeth vponupon himself, is not called the yoke of a burthen, but simply a burden. But the yoke of a burden, or a burden vponupon one that is yoked, comprehendeth a certaine subiection in it, whereby one is compelled to beare the burthen.
So it behoued that we shold bear death, being a heauy burden, euen against our willes, as they whiche throughe synne were subiect to death, and to the power and rule thereof, and that it should hauehave dominion ouer vsus. Whyche dominion Christ hath broken for vsus, and hath redéemed vsus from suche power, although Death lieth vpō vsus for a little while, yet is it without al power and rule ouer vsus, euen vntill suche tyme as it ceasse.VVhy hee saith not simply, the rod, but the rod of their shoulder. The same meaning also hath this, where hée sayeth not simply, the rod, but the rod of their shoulder, as if he saide: the rod is not a common rod, which is voluntarily borne and laied on their shoulders, but such a rod, as wherewith we are striken and beaten on the shoulders, that so wée may be enforced to beare the burden, so that thys rod is the dominion and rule wherevnto we are subiect. For as it is saide, vnlesse sinne didde beare rule ouer vsus, Death shoulde hauehave no power ouer vsus at all: howbeit forasmuch as we are vnderunder the dominion of sinne, and subiect and captiue vntounto it, we against our wils beare the burden of Death, desiring to be deliuered from it. But Synne is alwayes ready as a rod, driuing vsus, and compelling vsus to beare the burden, that is, Sinne enforceth vsus to be subiecte to Death, and to dye.
The third is the staffe of their oppressour, which is the Law, as Paule saith:By the staffe of the oppressour vvhat is to be vnderstoode. The strength of sinne is the Law: Now I speake of the Law, vnderstoode according to the Spirite, which reuealeth sin, as it is saide Rom. 3. and .7. By the Law commeth the knowledge of sinne: Not being vnderstoode according to the flesh, when it maketh men flatter themselues through workes. Rom. 2. For they that vnderstād not the law according to the spirite, doe not féele the rod, that is syn, vponupon theyr shoulders. The rod is presente indéede, but it pincheth not their shoulders, that is, they hauehave sin, but they neither féele it, nor perceiue it. Euen as the burden, yt is, death also presēt, but they hauehave not y• is yoke of the burden. For they do not perceiue how death hath subdued thē vntounto it selfe, & beareth rule ouer thē. So ye staffe also is presente, but they heare not the voice of the oppressour, so that these are two diuerse things, the staffe and the oppressor: euen as the rod, and to lay it vppon the shoulders, are two, so are also the yoke and the burden. For death, sin, & the law, hauehave to do with vsus all, but we doe not féele the sting and victorie, that is, the power and rule of death, sin, and the lawe ouer vsus, vntil the houre come. The staffe therfore is the lawe, the oppressour, the power and dominion of the lawe. For if there were no lawe, neither shoulde there bee anye synne lefte. But séeing that the Lawe is presente, wee wyshe to bee delyuered from synnes, but that cannot bee, for the Lawe is at hande, whyche exacteth of vsus, vrgeth and pursueth vsus, witnesseth agaynste vsus, and conuinceth vsus to bee synners, and doeth perforce bryng vsus vnderunder synne: then is there the voyce of the oppressoure: then the Lawe hathe rule and power ouer vsus, and maketh vsus the seruantes of synne. For therfore the power of the lawe is called an exactor or oppressour,VVhy the povver of the lavve is called an oppressor. for that it doeth alwayes require obedience of vsus, and leaueth no peace or quietnesse to the conscience, by reason of such exaction and requiryng of obedience. When as therefore wee are able neyther to satisfie such exaction, nor to yelde due obedience, it by and by bringeth vsus vnderunder synne, and pronounceth vsus the seruauntes of synne, and synne doeth incontinentlye delyuer vsus vntounto death. Then as bondslaues wee are in subiection and thraldome vnderunder deathe, synne, and the lawe,Frō vvhēc… Esay borovveth hys speeche. that is vnderunder the yoke of the burden, vnderunder the rodde of the shoulder, and vnderunder the staffe of the oppressour. We sée here how Esay hath borowed his spéech either frō a keper of horses, or from some cruel tyranne, for the burdē, rod, and staffe, are things ready for the miserable beaste. Nowe wée woulde willingly be released from thys burden, but we are helde captiue vnderunder the yoke, that is, we are so vnderunder the power and dominion of Deathe, that we are compelled to beare the burden therof, and to be subiecte vntounto it. We desire also to be deliuered from the rod, but it lieth alwaies vppon vsus, which rod is the power and dominion of Sin, which perforce holdeth vsus subiect vntounto it. We do moreouer moste earnestly wish to be set frée from the staffe, but the oppressor is at hande, and will not suffer that, which oppressour is, the voice and strength of the Lawe.
Thus we hauehave hearde what Esay meaneth by these thrée, that it is not in our power to breake them, but that wée are compelled to be subiect to them, and to beare their dominion, and obey the rule which they hauehave ouer vsus. Hereof now it followeth, that we are able to do no good, but onelyonly all kinde of euill,VVe …e able to doe nothing that is good, but Christ doth al for vsus. and that wee hauehave no frée will. For it is Christ, who alone ouercommeth these by himselfe for all vsus, and diuideth rich spoiles, that we being …eliuered and set at libertie, might praise and extoll hym wyth all ioy and quietnesse. Of thys Christe the prophet saith: Thou haste broken, &c. But how doth he breake them? so, that they muste néedes cease to beare rule any more, as Paule sayth of death: 1. Cor. 15. The last enimy that shal be destroyed is Death. As for Sin, it ruleth no more ouer vsus. But how is the lawe broken? Sin and Death, hauehave lost their strength and power, as we hauehave said, so that they cannot any more hurte vsus, neither hold vsus any longer vnderunder theyr power and rule, but they must of necessitie vtterlye cease, and be brought to nothing. Now the lawe is so broken, that it doeth no more vrge vsus,Hovve the lavve is broken. for we are made frée frō the exactiō and vrging therof, inasmuch as we satisfie it thoroughe Christe oure Lord and Sauiour, by whose grace wee nowe liue, and by the spirite doe fréely, whatsoeuer the law wil exact or require of vsus. Wherfore we hauehave now no more néede of any lawe. For as muche as it ceasseth to exact or require any more of vsus, all the power, rule, and cause thereof are taken away, and nowe we so leade our life, as they that are without the lawe and ignorant therof: euen as a mā that is in good health, liueth, eateth, and drinketh without any lawe and exaction, so that he hath no néede of any lawe herevnto, wherof I hauehave else-where intreated more at large. It followeth moreouer in the text: