Isaiah 11 commentary

The Messiah is called a Rod, and a Branch. The words signify a small, tender product; a shoot, such as is easily broken off. He comes forth out of the stem of Jesse; when the royal family was cut down and almost levelled with the ground, it would sprout again. The house of David was brought very low at the time of Christ's birth. The Messiah thus gave early notice that his kingdom was not of this world. But the Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and graces, shall rest and abide upon him; he shall have the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him, Col. 1:19; 2:9. Many consider that seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are here mentioned. And the doctrine of the influences of the Holy Spirit is here clearly taught. The Messiah would be just and righteous in all his government. His threatening shall be executed by the working of his Spirit according to his word. There shall be great peace and quiet under his government. The gospel changes the nature, and makes those who trampled on the meek of the earth, meek like them, and kind to them. But it shall be more fully shown in the latter days. Also Christ, the great Shepherd, shall take care of his flock, that the nature of troubles, and of death itself, shall be so changed, that they shall not do any real hurt. God's people shall be delivered, not only from evil, but from the fear of it. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? The better we know the God of love, the more shall we be changed into the same likeness, and the better disposed to all who have any likeness to him. This knowledge shall extend as the sea, so far shall it spread. And this blessed power there have been witnesses in every age of Christianity, though its most glorious time, here foretold, is not yet arrived. Meanwhile let us aim that our example and endeavours may help to promote the honour of Christ and his kingdom of peace.

When the gospel should be publicly preached, the Gentiles would seek Christ Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, and find rest of soul. When God's time is come for the deliverance of his people, mountains of opposition shall become plains before him. God can soon turn gloomy days into glorious ones. And while we expect the Lord to gather his ancient people, and bring them home to his church, also to bring in the fulness of the Gentiles, when all will be united in holy love, let us tread the highway of holiness he has made for his redeemed. Let us wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, looking to him to prepare our way through death, that river which separates this world from the eternal world.

1. But there shall come forth a rod. As the description of such dreadful calamities might terrify the godly, and give them reason for despair, it was necessary to hold out consolation; for when the kingdom was destroyed, cities thrown down, and desolation spread over the whole country, there might have been nothing left but grief and lamentation; and therefore they might have tottered and fallen, or been greatly discouraged, if the Lord had not provided for them this consolation. He therefore declares what the Lord will afterwards do, and in what manner he will restore that kingdom.

He pursues the metaphor which he employed towards the conclusion of the former chapter; for he had said that Jerusalem would be destroyed, as if a forest were consumed by a single conflagration. (Isaiah 10:33,34.) Its future desolation would be like that of a country formerly covered with forests, when the trees had been cut down, and nothing could be seen but ashes. That those things which are contrasted may answer to each other, he says, that out of the stock will come forth a branch, which will grow into a tree, and spread its branches and fruits far and wide. I have therefore preferred translating גזע (gezang) a dry stock, rather than a root, though it makes little difference as to the meaning, but the former expresses more fully what the Prophet meant, namely, that though the stock be dry, the branch which shall spring from it shall be more excellent than all the forests.

Hence we infer that this prediction applies solely to the person of Christ; for till he came no such branch arose. It certainly cannot be applied to Hezekiah or Josiah, who, from their very infancy, were brought up in the expectation of occupying a throne. Zerubbabel (Ezra 3:8) did not attain the thousandth part of that elevated rank which the Prophet extols. We see, therefore, that to the wretched and almost ruined Jews, consolation was held out in the Messiah alone, and that their hope was held in suspense till he appeared. At the time of his appearance, there would have been no hope that the kingdom would be erected and restored, if this promise had not been added; for the family of David appeared to be completely extinct. On this account he does not call him David, but Jesse; because the rank of that family had sunk so low, that it appeared to be not a royal family, but that of a mean peasant, such as the family of Jesse was, when David was unexpectedly called to the government of the kingdom. (1 Samuel 16:1; 2 Samuel 7:8.) So then, having sustained this calamity and lost its ancient renown, it is denominated by the Prophet the family of Jesse, because that family had no superiority above any other. Accordingly, I think that here, and not towards the conclusion of the former chapter, the consolation begins.

Amidst such frightful desolation they might doubt who should be their deliverer. He therefore promises that one will spring even out of a dry trunk; and he continues, as I mentioned a little before, the same metaphor of a forest, because it is far more beautiful than if he had said in plain language that the Messiah would come. Having threatened that the forest would be entirely cut down, he adds, that still a branch will arise out of it, to restore the abundance and magnificence of the consumed forest; that is, Christ, who should be the deliverer of the people. How low his beginning was, it is unnecessary to explain. Undoubtedly, he was so far from having anything splendid or attractive, that with the exception of his birth, everything, to the view of the flesh, was inconsistent with the character of the Redeemer. Even his birth was almost obscured; for who would have thought that a poor carpenter (Mark 6:3) was descended from a royal family? Again, where was Christ born, and how had he been brought up? In short, his whole life having been mean and even contemptible, he suffered a most disgraceful death, with which he had to begin his kingdom. Yet he grew to an immeasurable height, like a large tree from a small and feeble seed, as he himself shows, (Matthew 13:31, 32; Mark 4:32,) and as we see by daily examples; for in the uninterrupted progress of his kingdom the same things must happen as were seen in his person.

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. He now begins to speak of Christ plainly and without a figure; for it was enough to have represented the consolation under that figure, in order that the full contrast between the burning of the wood and its springing up anew might be made manifest. Two states of the people are described by him; for, after having explained the calamity, he next added the hope of restoration, though the commencement of it was from a slender branch. But now he plainly shows what will be the nature of the redemption, and what will be the condition of Christ and of his kingdom.

Some think that this should rather be viewed as referring to Hezekiah; but how groundless that opinion is we have already shown; See page 372. for when he was born, David had still a flourishing reputation, and the rank of royalty belonged to his descendants; and Hezekiah was very far from attaining that greatness which is shortly afterwards described. Now, hence we infer that the spiritual kingdom of Christ was formerly promised to the ancient people, because his whole strength, power, and majesty, is here made to consist in the gifts of the Spirit. Although Christ was not deficient in gifts of this kind, yet as he took upon him our flesh, it was necessary that he should be enriched with them, that we might afterwards be made partakers of all blessings of which otherwise we are destitute; for out of his fullness, as John says, we must draw as from a fountain. (John 1:16; 7:37, 38.)

The Spirit of the Lord We must keep in view what I mentioned a little ago, that this refers to Christ’s human nature; because he could not be enriched with the gift and grace of the Father, except so far as he became man. Besides, as he came down to us, so he received the gifts of the Spirit, that he might bestow them upon us. And this is the anointing from which he receives the name of Christ, which he imparts to us; for why are we called Christians, but because he admits us to his fellowship, by distributing to us out of his fullness according to the measure (Ephesians 4:7) of undeserved liberality? And undoubtedly this passage does not so much as teach us what Christ is in himself, as what he received from the Father, that he might enrich us with his wealth.

The spirit of wisdom and understanding. Though it is not necessary to bestow great attention on single words, yet if any person wish to draw a slight distinction between wisdom and understanding, I consider it to be this, that the word wisdom comprehends generally all that relates to the regulation of the life, and that understanding is added for the sake of explaining it; for if we are endowed with this wisdom, we shall have sagacity enough. Counsel means that judgment by which we can thread our way through intricate affairs; for understanding would not be sufficient, if there were not also counsel, that we might be able to act with caution in doubtful matters. The word might is well enough known. Knowledge differs little from understanding; except that it relates more to the act of knowing, and thus declares what has taken place. The fear of the Lord means a sincere desire to worship God.

The Prophet does not here enumerate all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as some have thought. Out of this passage the Papists have foolishly and ignorantly drawn their sevenfold grace, and some of the ancients fell into a similar blunder. He enumerates only six kinds; but they have added a seventh out of their own head. But as one error commonly follows another, they have chosen to limit the gifts of the Spirit to the number seven, although in other parts of Scripture (John 14:17; 2 Timothy 1:7) he receives numerous and lofty commendations drawn from the variety of the effects which he produces. Besides, it is very evident that it is through the kindness of Christ (Galatians 5:22, 23) that we are partakers of other blessings than those which are here enumerated, of meekness, chastity, sobriety, truth, and holiness; for these proceed from none else than from Christ. He does not mention, therefore, all the gifts which were bestowed on Christ, for that was unnecessary; but only shows briefly that Christ came not empty-handed, but well supplied with all gifts, that he might enrich us with them.

If these things had not been added, we might have supposed, as the Jews commonly do, that the restoration of this kingdom was carnal, and might have imagined that Christ was poor and destitute of all blessings. Accordingly, the Prophet afterwards shows that the gifts of the Spirit are laid up in him, first, generally, and next, particularly; that we may go to him to obtain whatever we want. He will enlighten us with the light of wisdom and understanding, will impart to us counsel in difficulties, will make us strong and courageous in battles, will bestow on us the true fear of God, that is, godliness, and, in a word, will communicate to us all that is necessary for our life and salvation. All gifts are here included by the Prophet, so that it is excessively foolish to attempt to conceal those which do not belong to the present enumeration.

He shows that they dwell in Christ, in order that they may be communicated to us. We are also called his fellows, (Psalms 45:7,) because strength proceeds from him as the head to the individual members, and in like manner Christ causes his heavenly anointing to flow over the whole body of his Church. Hence it follows that those who are altogether barren and dry have no interest in Christ, and falsely glory in his name. Whenever therefore we feel that we are in want of any of these gifts, let us blame our unbelief; for true faith makes us partakers of all Christ’s benefits. We ought therefore to pray to the Lord not to permit the lusts of the flesh to rule in us, that Christ may wholly unite us to himself. It should also be observed, that we ought to ask all blessings from Christ alone; for we are mistaken if we imagine that anything can be obtained from the Father in any other way.

3. And will make him sagacious. And shall make him of quick understanding. (Heb. scent, or smell.) — Eng. Ver. The verb ריח, (riach,) which is here put in the Hiphil conjugation, signifies literally to smell; but may also be explained in an active sense, as meaning to give a keen smell; which agrees better, I think, with this passage, so that this sagacity may be also included among the gifts of the Spirit. And this effect is peculiarly applicable to the person of Christ, namely, that far beyond what the godly are able to conceive, he is endowed with shrewd discernment for governing his people. We ought to attend, first of all, to the metaphor in the verb smell, which means that Christ will be so shrewd that he will not need to learn from what he hears, or from what he sees; for by smelling alone he will perceive what would otherwise be unknown. “And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah. His delight, הריחו, (haricho,) his snuffing up with pleasure, his pleasurable sensations. So the verb רוח (riach) signifies, when followed by the preposition ב, as in Leviticus 26:31, Amos 5:21. The expression is equivalent to, but stronger than that of David in Psalm 1:2, בתורת יהוה חפצו, (bethorath Yehovah Chephtzo,) in the law of the LORD is his delight.” — Stock

In the fear of the Lord. This phrase is viewed by the greater part of commentators as meaning that all the feelings of the heart will be manifest to Christ, so that he will easily judge who are the sincere worshippers of God. But let the reader inquire if it be not a more appropriate meaning, that the fear of God denotes a fixed rule of judging. He expressly distinguishes between the heavenly judgment of Christ and earthly judgments, in order to inform us, that the outward mask of holiness or uprightness is of no avail in his presence.

And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes. The meaning is, “When we come to the judgment-seat of Christ, not only will outward actions be brought to trial after the manner of human governments, but the life of men will be examined by the standard of true godliness. It does not belong to man to penetrate into the hearts; and those whom we suppose to be very excellent men have frequently nothing but a hollow mask; but Christ judges not from outward appearance, (Luke 11:17; John 2:25,) for he thoroughly knows and searches our inmost thoughts. His judgment, therefore, is quite different from that of men, who, with all their acuteness and quick sagacity, fall into the most shameful mistakes.” Hence it follows that none can be the true worshippers of God but those whom Christ approves. They cannot obtain his approbation, unless they offer a pure and upright mind; for a false and hollow mask cannot deceive him.

4. For he will judge the poor in righteousness. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor. — Eng. Ver. Here he shows that Christ will be the guardian of the poor, or, he points out the persons to whom the grace of Christ strictly belongs, namely, to the poor or meek; that is, to those who, humbled by a conviction of their poverty, have laid aside those proud and lofty dispositions which commonly swell the minds of men, till they have learned to be meek through the subduing influence of the word of God. He therefore declares that he will be the protector and guardian, not of all men whatsoever, but of those who know that they are poor, and destitute of everything good. This was also declared by Christ to John’s disciples, when he said that the gospel is preached to the poor. (Matthew 11:5.) Who are they that are capable of receiving this doctrine? Not all men without exception, but those who, having laid aside the glory of the flesh, betake themselves to that heavenly protection.

There is, therefore, an implied contrast, namely, that Christ does not rule over the rich, that is, over those who are swelled with a false opinion of themselves. Though he invites all men to come to him, still the greater part refuse to submit to his government. The poor alone allow themselves to be governed by him. This passage teaches us, that if we are desirous to be protected by the power of Christ, we must lay aside all pride, and put on the spirit of meekness and modesty. That spiritual poverty which the Prophet recommends to all the members of Christ is, to have no lofty views, but to be truly humbled by a conviction of our poverty and nakedness, so as to depend on Christ alone. When we have been brought to this state of mind, the faithful King and Guardian will undertake to secure our salvation, and will defend us to the last against all our enemies. We also learn whom Christ invites to come to him: Come to me, all ye that labor and are burdened. (Matthew 11:28.) We must, therefore, labor and be pressed down by the weight of our burden, if we wish to feel and know his assistance.

And will reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. We must attend to the order which is here observed by the Prophet. He places poverty first, and then meekness; because we must first be poor before we become meek. So long as we think that we are somebody, (Acts 5:36,) and are carried away by a vain confidence in ourselves, our heart is filled with pride and self-conceit, and cannot yield or submit; but when we are convinced of our poverty, we lose courage, and, subdued and overpowered, begin to groan under the burden. The condition of Christ’s people, therefore, is here described, as he had formerly illustrated the nature of the king himself. Hence also we ought to learn, that those precious gifts of the Spirit with which we saw a little before that Christ was furnished, See page 374. are not bestowed by him on all men whatsoever, but on the poor and the meek; for the word judge denotes government, a very important part of which is, that Christ imparts to us the gifts which he received from the Father, that he may live in us, and that we may live in him.

And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth. The Prophet here extols the efficacy of the word, which is Christ’s royal scepter. By the rod of his mouth is meant a scepter which consists in words, and in the second clause he repeats the same idea by the phrase, the breath of his lips; as if he had said, that Christ will have no need to borrow aid from others to cast down his enemies, and to strike down everything that opposes his government; for a mere breath or a word will be enough. The statement may be general, since believers also must die, so as to be renewed to a spiritual life; and in this sense the gospel is called a sword appropriated for the slaying of sacrifices. (Romans 15:16.) But the latter part of the verse calls for a different interpretation. If any one choose to make a distinction, the striking of the earth will apply equally to the reprobate and the elect; as the gospel is

a two-edged sword, piercing even to the most hidden and secret feelings of the heart, and discerning the thoughts and affections. (Hebrews 4:12.)

Yet it wounds the former in a very different manner from that in which it wounds the latter. By mortifying in the elect a sinful nature, it kills their lusts, that they may become a living sacrifice, and a sacrifice of sweet-smelling savor; but it strikes the wicked in a manner altogether destructive, for they rot and die, and to them it is even, as Paul says, a savor of death to death. (2 Corinthians 2:16.) I should be willing enough to consider both effects as described here at the same time, were it not that it is opposed by the custom of the Hebrew language; for the Hebrew writers often repeat the same sentiment in different words.

And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Christ is armed with the breath of his lips to slay the wicked. But perhaps this second clause was added by Isaiah for the purpose of amplification; and, indeed, to slay is much more than to strike. As it belongs to the gospel to cast down all men without exception, its effect on the reprobate may be said to be accidental, to slay them with a deadly stroke. In this way the Prophet would add a particular case to the general statement, intimating that the wicked fall under the sword of Christ to their everlasting destruction, because they are not set apart to be sacrifices. The force of these repeated allusions to Romans 15:16 will be best understood by consulting the Author’s Commentary on that remarkable passage. — Ed. However this may be, this latter clause must undoubtedly be limited to the wicked alone; and it is added, because that efficacy does not immediately appear in the preaching of the gospel, but, on the contrary, many ridicule, and jeer, and treat as a fable all that is said about Christ and his word. But though they do not immediately feel its power, yet they will not be able to escape it, and will at length be slain by a deadly wound.

But the Prophet’s meaning, I think, is not yet fully explained; for he does not speak only of the inward feeling by which wicked men are moved, whether they will or not, but of the wickedness itself, which will be removed and driven away by the power and efficacy of this scepter, as Paul also explains; for he undoubtedly alludes to this passage when he speaks of the destruction of Antichrist.

And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. (2 Thessalonians 2:7,8.)

Thus he explains to us the meaning of the Prophet; for he shows that Christ will never be without enemies, who will endeavor to overturn his kingdom, and to hinder or retard the course of the gospel; otherwise these words of the Prophet would have been spoken in vain. But Christ will drive away some of their number, and the whole of them together, and their very head and leader, by the sound of his doctrine.

Thus also Paul recommends a twofold use of doctrine, demanding from a pastor that

he shall be qualified not only to teach, but likewise to refute those who oppose. (Titus 1:9.)

A pastor ought not only to feed his flock, but also to protect and guard them against every injury. This is what Christ performs, and therefore he is provided with necessary armor, that he may contend successfully against the falsehoods of Satan, and the cruelty of tyrants, and every kind of enemies.

Hence it is evident that wicked doctrines cannot be driven away by any other method than by the gospel. In vain will the magistrate employ the sword, which undoubtedly he must employ, to restrain wicked teachers and false prophets; in vain, I say, will he attempt all these things, unless this sword of the word go before. (Deuteronomy 13:5.) This ought to be carefully observed in opposition to the Papists, who, when the word fails them, betake themselves to new weapons, by the aid of which they think that they will gain the victory. They are even so impudent as to boast that heretics cannot be refuted by the word, though both the Prophet and Paul lay down no other method.

When the Prophet says, by the breath of his lips, this must not be limited to the person of Christ; for it refers to the word which is preached by his ministers. Christ acts by them in such a manner that he wishes their mouth to be reckoned as his mouth, and their lips as his lips; that is, when they speak from his mouth, and faithfully declare his word. (Luke 10:16.) The Prophet does not now send us to secret revelations, that Christ may reign in us, but openly recommends the outward preaching of doctrine, and shows that the gospel serves the purpose of a scepter in the hand of Christ, so far as it is preached, and so far as it is oral, if we may use the expression; otherwise it would have been to no purpose to mention the mouth and the lips. Hence it follows that all those who reject the outward preaching of the gospel shake off this scepter, as far as lies in their power, or pull it out of the hand of Christ; not that the efficacy which he mentions depends on the voice of men, but so far as Christ acts by his ministers; for he does not wish that their labor should be fruitless, without sacrificing the elect to obedience, (Romans 15:16,) and slaying the reprobate; as Paul in another passage boasts that there will be speedy vengeance against all unbelievers and rebels.

Here we must again call to remembrance what is the nature of Christ’s kingdom. As he does not wear a golden crown or employ earthly armor, so he does not rule over the world by the power of arms, or gain authority by gaudy and ostentatious display, or constrain his people by terror and dread; but the doctrine of the gospel is his royal banner, which assembles believers under his dominion. Wherever, therefore, the doctrine of the Gospel is preached in purity, there we are certain that Christ reigns; and where it is rejected, his government is also set aside. Hence it is evident how foolishly the Papists boast that the Church belongs to them, when they order Christ himself to be silent, and cannot endure the sound of his voice, but proclaim aloud, with distended cheeks, their own edicts, laws, decrees, and tyrannical regulations.

5. And righteousness shall be the belt. The girdle. — Eng. Ver. Some translate it girdle; but as the Prophet represents Christ to us wearing, as it were, the emblems of royalty, I have rather translated it belt, which is also a royal emblem, in the same manner as the scepter, which he had assigned to him a little before. When Job speaks of taking away the authority of kings, he says that the Lord will ungird their belt. (Job 12:18.) To be girded with a belt, therefore, is nothing else than to be exalted to royal authority, as we shall afterwards see in another passage. (Isaiah 14:5.)

The Prophet describes two ornaments belonging to the belt. These are righteousness and truth; unless it be thought that there is a change in the order of construction, as if he had said that Christ will be girded with true righteousness; for truth is not added as if it were different from righteousness, but in order to point out the nature of that righteousness with which Christ is girded. Some think that righteousness here denotes that which Christ imparts to us, that it may dwell, not only in himself, but in his members. Faith or truth they understand to be that by which we embrace the salvation which he offers to us.

The Chaldee paraphrast explains it thus; “and the righteous shall be round about him, believing worshippers shall approach to him.” “The Targum of Jonathan renders it, and the righteous shall be round about him; that is, ‘they shall cleave to him like a girdle.’” — Jarchi. But I adopt a more simple interpretation, as if he had said, “He shall not appear like kings, clothed with purple and a crown, or girded with a belt; but righteousness and truth shall shine forth in him.” I acknowledge, indeed, that righteousness is not confined to Christ, but belongs to his members; but we must attend to the mode of expression, that Christ comes forth to govern his people girded with righteousness, which he afterwards imparts to them by the secret influence of the Spirit. If we distinguish between the word אמונה (emunah) and righteousness, I consider it to mean faithfulness or steadfastness; as if he had said that Christ never disappoints his followers, for he continues always to be like himself.

6. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. He again returns to describe the character and habits of those who have submitted to Christ. As there is a mutual relation between the king and the people, he sometimes ascends from the body to the head, and sometimes descends from the head to the body; and we have already seen that Christ reigns, not for himself, but for those who believe in him. Hence it follows that he forms their minds by his heavenly Spirit. But the Prophet’s discourse looks beyond this; for it amounts to a promise that there will be a blessed restoration of the world. He describes the order which was at the beginning, before man’s apostasy produced the unhappy and melancholy change under which we groan. Whence comes the cruelty of brutes, which prompts the stronger to seize and rend and devour with dreadful violence the weaker animals? There would certainly have been no discord among the creatures of God, if they had remained in their first and original condition. When they exercise cruelty towards each other, and the weak need to be protected against the strong, it is an evidence of the disorder (ἀταξίας) which has sprung from the sinfulness of man. Christ having come, in order to reconcile the world to God by the removal of the curse, it is not without reason that the restoration of a perfect state is ascribed to him; as if the Prophets had said that that golden age will return in which perfect happiness existed, before the fall of man and the shock and ruin of the world which followed it. Thus, God speaks by Hosea:

I will make a covenant with the beast of the field, with the fowl of the heaven, and with the creeping things. (Hoseah 2:18.)

As if he had said, “When God shall have been reconciled to the world in Christ, he will also give tokens of fatherly kindness, so that all the corruptions which have arisen from the sinfulness of man will cease.”

In a word, under these figures the Prophets teach the same truth which Paul plainly affirms, that Christ came to gather together out of a state of disorder those things which are in heaven and which are on earth. (Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 1:20.) It may be thus summed up: “Christ will come to drive away everything hurtful out of the world, and to restore to its former beauty the world which lay under the curse.” For this reason, he says, that straw will be the food of the lion as well as of the ox; for if the stain of sin had not polluted the world, no animal would have been addicted to prey on blood, but the fruits of the earth would have sufficed for all, according to the method which God had appointed. (Genesis 1:30.)

Though Isaiah says that the wild and the tame beasts will live in harmony, that the blessing of God may be clearly and fully manifested, yet he chiefly means what I have said, that the people of Christ will have no disposition to do injury, no fierceness or cruelty. They were formerly like lions or leopards, but will now be like sheep or lambs; for they will have laid aside every cruel and brutish disposition. By these modes of expression he means nothing else than that those who formerly were like savage beasts will be mild and gentle; for he compares violent and ravenous men to wolves and bears which live on prey and plunder, and declares that they will be tame and gentle, so that they will be satisfied with ordinary food, and will abstain from doing any injury or harm. On this subject it is proper to argue from the less to the greater. “If Christ shall bring brute animals into a state of peace, much more will brotherly harmony exist among men, who will be governed by the same spirit of meekness.” And yet Isaiah does not mean that any are mild and peaceful by nature before they are renewed, but yet he promises, that whatever may have been their natural disposition, they will lay aside or conquer their fierceness, and will be like lambs and sheep.

And a little child shall lead them. This means that beasts which formerly were cruel and untameable, will be ready to yield cheerful obedience, so that there will be no need of violence to restrain their fierceness. Yet we must attend to the spiritual meaning which I noticed, that all who become Christ’s followers will obey Christ, though they may formerly have been savage wild beasts, and will obey him in such a manner, that as soon as he lifts his finger, they will follow his footsteps, as it is said that his people shall be willing. (Psalm 110:3.) Those who are not endued with this meekness do not deserve to be ranked among the sheep. Let us, therefore, permit ourselves to be ruled and governed by him, and let us willingly submit to those whom he has appointed over us, though they appear to be like little children. Besides, I think that the ministers of the word are compared to children, because they have no external power, and exercise no civil government over them.

A question arises, Do we find any persons who are meek, though they have not been tamed by the gospel? The Prophet appears to insinuate this, when he compares some men to sheep, and others to wolves and bears; and certainly among men who follow the bent of their natural disposition, we shall perceive an astonishing diversity. Some are mild and gentle, others are fierce and violent; but it is certain that all men are untamed till Christ subdues them by the gospel; all are swelled with ambition and pride before they are cured by this medicine. Many will be able to make a false and hollow profession of modesty and humility, but they will swell with inward pride. In short, where the Spirit of Christ is not, there will be no true meekness.

8. And the child shall play on the hole of the asp. He continues to illustrate the same sentiment, that when men have been brought into a state of favor with God, and have been cleansed from their depravity by the Spirit of regeneration, they will likewise be free from every hurtful disposition. There is no reason why men dread the danger or poison arising from the bite of serpents, but because they do not deserve that God should place every part of the world under their control. And, indeed, since animals are permitted to do injury even to children, this shows that the whole race of Adam has been stained with pollution from the very womb.

We must again observe the comparison which we stated, that those men whom a concealed poison led to deeds of violence will have their disposition changed, and will do no harm even to little children. Some men are openly fierce and cruel, (Psalm 140:3,) and others inwardly carry and cherish their malice like poison, (Psalm 55:21,) as David also describes them; for some men are more quick, and others are more slow, to manifest the desire of doing injury. Whatever they may have formerly been, he means that all of them must be cleansed from wickedness, both open and concealed, after having submitted to Christ. He means, also, that henceforth safety, which will reign everywhere, will be enjoyed even by those who have no kind of protection; so that they will freely venture to expose themselves to imminent dangers.

9. They shall not hurt. He now declares plainly, that men themselves, having laid aside the depravity which naturally dwells in them, will be inclined, of their own accord, to do what is right. He speaks of believers who have been truly regenerated to a new life, (Romans 6:4;) for though in the Church many hypocrites full of wickedness were mixed with the elect of God, yet they are like the Ishmaelites, whom God will cast out at the proper time. We ought also to observe, as we are taught in Psalm 15:1, 24:3, that those only who follow righteousness have a settled residence in the temple of God, that they may dwell there for ever. It is, therefore, a distinguishing mark of the genuine members of the Church, that they are free from all desire of doing injury to others. Hence, also, we infer, that it is a remarkable gift of the Spirit of Christ, that men abstain from being evil-doers; for by nature, ambition, pride, cruelty, and avarice, always prompt them freely and voluntarily to commit acts of injustice.

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. With good reason does the Prophet add, that this invaluable blessing flows from the knowledge of God; for it abases all flesh, and teaches men to commit themselves to his trust and guardianship, and brings them into a state of brotherly harmony, when they learn that they have the same Father. (Malachi 2:10.) Although many, who have not yet been renewed by the Spirit of Christ, profess to have humanity, yet it is certain that self-love (φιλαυτίαν) reigns in them; for in all it is natural and so deeply-rooted, that they seek their own advantage and not that of others, think that they are born for themselves and not for others, and would wish to make the whole world subject to them, if they could, as Plato has judiciously observed. Hence arise fraud, perjury, theft, robbery, and innumerable crimes of this sort; and therefore there is no other remedy for subduing this lawless desire than the knowledge of God. We see how the Prophet again makes the government of Christ to rest on faith and the doctrine of the gospel, as indeed he does not gather us to himself (Ephesians 1:10) in another way than by enlightening our minds to reveal the heavenly life, which is nothing else, as he himself declares, than

to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. (John 17:3.)

As with waters that cover the sea. There is an implied comparison between the abundance of knowledge and that slender taste which God gave to the ancient people under the law. The Jews having been kept in the rudiments of childhood, (Galatians 3:23,4:3,) the perfect light of wisdom hath fully shone on us by the gospel, as was also foretold by Jeremiah:

They shall not every one teach his neighbor, and a man his brother, to know God; for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. (Jeremiah 31:34.)

If this fullness of knowledge take possession of our minds, it will free us from all malice.

This passage also instructs us what is the character of the Church under Popery, where the light of doctrine is choked and almost extinguished, and the highest religion is made to consist in the benumbing influence of brutish stupidity. If we do not immediately possess full knowledge, we must advance from day to day, and make continual progress, (2 Peter 3:18,) and in such a manner that fruit may spring from that root. Hence it is evident how little progress the greater part have made in the school of Christ, seeing that fraud and robbery and acts of violence abound everywhere.

10. And it shall be in that day the root of Jesse. He again returns to the person of Christ, and repeats the same comparison which he had introduced at the beginning of the chapter, that of a root or a branch springing from a decayed trunk, of which no trace appeared; and he foretells that the Gentiles, who formerly abhorred the Jews, will henceforth bow before their King with lowly homage. This might be thought to be altogether incredible, and unquestionably the promise was ridiculed for many centuries, because such a gathering together was to be expected rather when the kingdom remained and flourished than when it had been cut down. But it was necessary that it should be cut down, so that it might afterwards sprout again, and that the glory and power of God might shine in it more brighter than in its flourishing condition. Who would have seen with the eyes of men that the branch would rise to such a height as to be seen by all nations, and to direct the eyes of all men towards it?

Which shall stand for an ensign of the peoples. He compares it to a banner stretched aloft; and we know that this was fulfilled by the preaching of the gospel, and indeed was more illustrious than if Christ had soared above the clouds. To the same purpose is what he says,

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up. (John 3:14; Numbers 21:9.)

Shall be sought by the Gentiles. Christ is said to be sought, when men flee to him for the purpose of asking salvation, as to seek God means, in every part of Scripture, to cast all our hopes upon him. Accordingly, the Greek translators have rendered it ἐλπιοῦσι, they shall hope, looking rather at the meaning than at the word.

And his rest shall be glory. These words are commonly explained as referring to the burial of Christ, and that by a figure of speech in which a part is taken for the whole; for afterwards they apply it also to his death; and indeed the burial of Christ was nothing else than an appendage to his death. They think that the meaning is this, “The death of Christ, which was disgraceful in the eyes of the world, will be glorious and splendid.” But when I take a closer view of the whole, by rest the Prophet means in this passage the Church; as it is also said,

This is my everlasting rest; here will I dwell. (Psalm 132:14.)

He bestows an honorable appellation on the assembly of the godly, because he chooses to have a continual habitation among them. Accordingly, the Church having been at that time exposed to reproaches and disgrace, he promises that it will be again raised to a more prosperous condition, and will recover its ancient glory. Here, therefore, we have a remarkable proof that God is pleased to dwell continually in his Church, though this may not always be seen by men.

11. And it shall be in that day, the Lord will again set his hand. The prediction about the future glory of the Church having been incredible, he explains the method of restoring it, namely, that God will display the power of his hand, as if for performing a memorable and uncommon exploit. Now, to confirm the hope of the elect people, he recalls to their minds the remembrance of a past deliverance, that they may not doubt that God is as able to deliver them now as their fathers found him to be in Egypt. (Exodus 12:51.) Such is the import of the word שנית, (shenith,) that is, the second time, or again; as if he had said, “Now also will God be the deliverer of his Church.”

To possess the remnant of his people. He confirms what he has said by another argument; for though it appeared as if God had disregarded his people, yet he will not allow himself to be deprived of his inheritance. We may sum it up by saying, that God will take care of the salvation of his Church, so as not to be robbed of his right. He expressly calls them a remnant, because this deliverance belonged only to a small seed. (Isaiah 1:9,10:22.) In short, he repeats what he formerly said, “Though God disperse and scatter his Church, yet it is impossible that he can ever cast it away altogether; for it is as dear to him as our inheritance is to any of us.”

Which shall be left from Assyria and from Egypt. He speaks not only of the Assyrians, who had led the people captive, but also of other nations among whom the Jews were scattered; for though the greater part of the people was carried to Babylon, some fled into Egypt, some into Ethiopia, and some into other countries. They were afraid lest they should endure the same bondage as had been endured by others. Some think that by Pathros is meant Parthia, which is highly probable; others think that it is Arabia the Rocky. Under the name Elam he includes the Medes, Zocdians, Bactrians, and other eastern nations. Shinar belongs to Chaldea. By Hamath they mean Cilicia, and the other countries which lie towards Mount Taurus. By the word islands the Jews mean all countries that lie beyond the sea; for to them Greece, and Italy, and Spain, were islands, because they were separated from them by the sea. “Not islands merely, but all distant regions are comprised in the meaning of this word איי, (iye.)” — Rosenmuller

We see that the Prophet speaks here not only of the deliverance which took place under Zerubbabel, (Ezra 2:2,) but that he looks beyond this; for at that time the Israelites were not brought back from Egypt, Ethiopia, and other countries. These words, therefore, cannot be understood to relate to the deliverance from Babylon, but must be viewed as referring to the kingdom of Christ, under whom this deliverance was obtained through the preaching of the gospel. Besides, it is proper to observe that this work belongs to God, and not to men; for he says, The Lord shall stretch out his arm; thus ascribing to his heavenly power this work, which could not have been accomplished by human ability.

It ought also to be observed, that from God’s past benefits we ought always to entertain good hopes for the future; so that whenever we call to remembrance the deliverances from Babylon and from Egypt, (Ezra 2:2; Exodus 12:51,) we may be convinced that God is equally able, and will equally assist us at the present day, that he may restore the Church to her ancient glory. What he did once and again, he is able to do a third time, and a fourth, and many times. When the Prophet calls those whom he rescues a remnant, let us learn that we ought not to desire a vast multitude, and let us be satisfied, though we be few, and let us not be terrified by the smallness of our numbers; for, provided that the righteousness of God abound, we have true and abundant ground of confidence.

12. And he will lift up an ensign to the nations. This verse contains nothing more than the explanation of the former verse. The language is metaphorical, and admits of two meanings; either that, by giving an ensign, he will terrify adversaries, so that they will not dare to prevent his people from returning, or that he will give an ensign to the wretched exiles not to hesitate to make preparations for their return. But even at the present day this doctrine is highly useful among us; for as an ensign is lifted up in the army, that the soldiers may assemble, and that every one may follow and may keep his proper place, so a banner is here held out to us, that we may assemble to it, namely, the gospel, which the Lord has lifted up among the Gentiles, by which Christ is preached to us. “Set up his standard on an eminence, the signal for the soldiery to assemble round their commander. Caesar terms it vexillum proponere, quod erat insigne, cum ad arma concurri oporteret. B. Gall. See Ammian, Hist., 27:10.” — Rosenmuller.

And will gather together the dispersions of Judah. Hence we ought to conclude, that we cannot be gathered by the Lord unless we assemble to this ensign, and be joined to him by faith; for there is no other way in which he acknowledges us to be his sheep, than when, after having been scattered, we are gathered together, and meet in the same assembly under this ensign; as he says,

My sheep hear my voice and follow me. (John 10:27.)

The word gather is repeated. He will gather together the outcasts of Israel, and will gather together the dispersions of Judah. He shows how efficacious God’s calling will be; for as soon as he shall give the slightest indication that such is his pleasure, he will restore the people. Dispersion is a collective noun, for it means the Jews scattered in all directions; and he appears to allude, as he often does elsewhere, to similar passages in the writings of Moses, in which the Lord promises that he will gather the people, though they were scattered to the farthest parts of the world, and to the four winds of heaven. (Deuteronomy 30:3, 4.) Now, this was done under the direction of Christ. Under the same leader we ought at the present day to expect the restoration of a wretched and scattered Church; for there is no hope of gathering the remnant but by the elect looking to this ensign. We ought frequently, therefore, to call to remembrance those promises, that by relying on them we may more and more strengthen our hearts.

13. And the envy of Ephraim shall depart. Here he promises that the Church will be in such a state of peace, that neither will the Israelites and the Jews contend in civil broils, nor will they suffer any annoyance from their enemies, and that they will not be liable to hatred or envy, as they formerly were. Not that there will be no wicked men, but the Lord will at length cut off and destroy them. But we ought chiefly to observe what he adds about allaying domestic quarrels, that henceforth the children of Abraham may not harass each other, but unite in the same religion, and in the pure worship of God; for it was a disgraceful and shocking spectacle that their mutual strife and hostilities had been so long maintained.

With good reason does he point out the source of quarrels, namely, envy, in consequence of which the descendants of Abraham have torn each other, while the tribes of Judah and Ephraim strive with each other for renown. This horrible torch has always kindled wars in the world, while every man is unwilling to yield. In short, the Lord here promises outward and inward peace, which is a very great and most desirable blessing.

It will be objected that this was never accomplished, and that the very opposite of this took place; for as soon as the gospel began, it was followed by various wars, commotions, and dreadful persecutions, and nearly the whole world was disturbed and shaken. And inwardly what peace did the Church enjoy? Among Christians themselves, Satan, by his tares, (Matthew 13:25,) has raised up dreadful disturbances, so that no enemies were more ferocious and destructive than those which were brought up in the bosom of the Church.

I reply, the Prophet here includes the whole of Christ’s kingdom, and not merely a single age or century. In this world we taste but the beginning of Christ’s kingdom; and while the Church is harassed by enemies both within and without, still the Lord defends and preserves her, and conquers all her enemies. Besides, this prediction properly belongs to the true and lawful children of Abraham, whom the Lord has purified by the cross and by banishment, and has constrained to lay aside ambition and envy; as those who have been tamed in the school of Christ cease to be desirous of renown. Thus the promise which Isaiah makes in this passage has already been in part fulfilled, and is fulfilled every day. But we must proceed in these exercises, and must fight earnestly within and without, till we obtain that everlasting peace which it will be our happiness to enjoy in the kingdom of God.

14. And they shall fly on the shoulders of the Philistines. He means that there is also another way in which the Lord will assist his people; which is, that he will conquer their enemies, and subdue them under his dominion. Having spoken of the safety of the Church, he now declares that she will be victorious over her enemies. He mentions those nations with which the Jews incessantly carried on wars; for on the one hand the Philistines, and on the other the Ammonites and Moabites, to whom they were bound by the tie of relationship and kindred, were continually molesting and attacking them. On one side also were the Edomites, who were not restrained by blood-relationship from being most determined enemies; for they were descended from Esau, (Genesis 25:25, 26, 36:1,8, 9,) the brother of Jacob; and the remembrance of this ought to have dissuaded them from enmity and hatred. The Lord, therefore, promises that the Church, though she is not absolutely without enemies, will gain advantage over them by suffering, and in the end be victorious.

Edom and Moab shall be the stretching out of the hands. They shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab. (Heb. Edom and Moab shall be the laying on of their hand.) — Eng. Ver. The stretching out of the hands means the dominion which the Church obtained over her enemies; for by the word hand is usually meant power; and the Hebrews use the phrase, to stretch out the hand, instead of “to place this or that under subjection.” Thus it is said,

I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. (Psalm 89:25.)

The stretching out of the hand, therefore, is full power to rule; and, on the other hand, he adds the obedience which the enemies will yield to her: and the children of Ammon shall be their obedience And the children of Ammon shall obey them. (Heb. the children of Ammon their obedience.) — Eng. Ver.

The Jews, who dream of an earthly kingdom of Christ, interpret all this in a carnal sense, and apply it to I know not what external power; but they ought rather to judge of it according to the nature of Christ’s kingdom. Partly, no doubt, the accomplishment of this prediction was seen, when the Jews returned from captivity, and God brought them into moderate prosperity, contrary to the wish, and in spite of the opposition, of all the neighboring nations; but believers were led to expect a more splendid victory, which they at length obtained through the preaching of the gospel. Although we must continually fight under the cross, yet we vanquish our enemies, when we are rescued from the tyranny of the devil and of wicked men, and are restored to liberty by Christ, that the flesh may be subdued, and our lusts laid low, and that thus we may live to him, and in patience may possess our souls, (Luke 21:19,) calmly and patiently enduring everything that happens. And thus we even heap coals on the head (Romans 12:20) of enemies, to whose attacks and reproaches we appear to be subject.

15. And the Lord will utterly destroy. In this verse he means nothing else than that the Lord, by his amazing power, will open for his people a way, which formerly appeared to be shut up. He speaks figuratively. What he calls a tongue is “a bay of the sea;” for when the sea penetrates into the land, and occupies a part of it, there is a resemblance to a person putting out his tongue. He therefore means the Egyptian sea and Egypt itself, as he afterwards more fully explains. But he chiefly mentions the sea and the rivers, because they protect the countries and shut up every entrance.

And will stretch out the hand over the river in the strength of his wind. He undoubtedly means the Nile, which waters the whole of Egypt, and divides it into many parts, and might thus interrupt the march of the people when returning to their native country. I have no doubt that רוח (ruach) here denotes wind, though he adds the Lord’s; for all the winds are the Lord’s, because he regulates and guides according to his pleasure; and more especially this phrase is employed when it is miraculously agitated by a violent whirlwind. He alludes to the former deliverance of his people, by which he brought them out of Egypt; for when the Lord was pleased to open up a way for them, he dried up the sea by the force and violence of the winds. (Exodus 14:21.)

True, the Lord did not need the assistance of the winds, for he might have done it by an immediate exertion of his power. But when he makes use of outward means, let us learn, first, that all creatures are ready to yield obedience to him; for though they have a natural course, yet they are in his power, so that he can direct their force and violence in whatever way he pleases. For instance, when a wind arises, its beginning proceeds from a natural cause, and each of the winds has its properties. The south wind is moist, and the north wind is cold, and completely similar are the effects which proceed from them; for the south wind moistens bodies, and the north wind dries them. By extraordinary miracles the Lord shows that he possesses an authority far above these natural causes, so that they are governed, not by nature, (that is, by that succession of events or chain of causes which irreligious men imagine to exist,) but by God alone.

Secondly, he shows that he changes the nature and order of events whenever he pleases, that he may be acknowledged to be their only Lord; because such a change exhibits more clearly his authority and dominion. On this account Isaiah called it not simply the wind, but the wind of the Lord, that we may perceive that it is not directed or moved by chance, but by the power of the Lord.

And shall smite it in the seven streams. Some render it torrents, and explain it thus: “he will divide the Nile into seven parts.” Though this exposition has been universally adopted, yet I do not approve of it; and I think that it has arisen from forgetfulness, rather than from ignorance, on the part of its authors, who are learned men notwithstanding, and deeply skilled in the perusal of the ancient writers. It is well known from history that the Nile had seven mouths. There are others which are little mentioned, because they had no names, and are therefore called false mouths. Whatever, then, is the number of the mouths or branches, it appears to form that number of streams or rivers; and these might have been so many hinderances to retard their journey. The Prophet expressly mentions them, because the river was highly celebrated.

And shall make them be shod with shoes. And make men go over dry-shod. (Heb. in shoes.) — Eng. Ver. The river being deep, he says that he will dry it up, so that it will not be necessary to pull off their shoes in crossing it, though this would have been necessary if only a small portion of water had remained.

By these metaphors, therefore, the Prophet means nothing else than that nothing will stand in God’s way, when it shall be his pleasure to rescue his people from captivity. He glances at the history of a former deliverance, that they may learn that it will be the same with that which they formerly enjoyed. On this account he wished to place it, as it were, before their eyes; for the means of this deliverance was not seen. If this promise had been stated in plain terms, it might not have produced so deep an impression on their minds as by holding out this remarkable example.

16. And there shall be a path. An highway. — Eng. Ver. This verse contains nothing new, but explains the former verse. The people would perceive the same power of God in the deliverance from Babylon as they had perceived in the deliverance from Egypt. He had opened up a way through seas, (Exodus 14:29; Psalm 77:19,) through untrodden deserts, (Deuteronomy 8:2, 29:5,) and through Jordan; (Joshua 3:16, 17.) In like manner, Isaiah says, that by an unexpected and astonishing method he will again open up a way for his people to go out. Accordingly, what the Lord has once performed let us also expect for the future; and for that purpose let us ponder the ancient histories. This ought also to direct our thoughts to the final deliverance of the Church, by which we shall all be delivered from all troubles and distresses; so that, though what we are told about a resurrection and immortal life may appear to be incredible, and the means of accomplishing them are not seen by us, still the Lord will easily find a way.

CHAPTER 12

Isaiah Chapter 12:1-6

1. And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

1. Et dices in die illo: Cantabo tibi Iehova, Tametsi iratus es mihi, aversus est furor tuus, et consolatus es me.

2. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

2. Ecce Deus salus mea: confidam, et non pavebo. Quoniam fortitudo mea et canticum Deus Iehova; factusque est (vel erit) mihi in salutem.

3. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

3. Haurietis aquas cum gaudio, de fontibus salvatoris (vel, salutis).

4. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

4. Et dicetis in die illa: Canite Iehovae; invocate nomen ejus; celebrate in populis opera ejus; commemorate, quia nomen ejus exaltatum est.

5. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

5. Psallite Iehovae, quoniam magnifica gessit; et hoc vulgatum est per totam terram.

6. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

6. Jubila et canta habitatrix Sion; quia magnus in medio tui Sanctus Israel.

CHAPTER 11

Is 11:1-16.

From the local and temporary national deliverance the prophet passes by the law of suggestion in an easy transition to the end of all prophecy--the everlasting deliverance under Messiah's reign, not merely His first coming, but chiefly His second coming. The language and illustrations are still drawn from the temporary national subject, with which he began, but the glories described pertain to Messiah's reign. Hezekiah cannot, as some think, be the subject; for he was already come, whereas the "stem of Jesse" was yet future ("shall come") (compare Mi 4:11, &c.; 5:1, 2; Jr 23:5, 6; 33:15, 16; Ro 15:12).

1. rod--When the proud "boughs" of "Lebanon" (Is 10:33, 34, the Assyrians) are lopped, and the vast "forests cut down" amidst all this rage, a seemingly humble rod shall come out of Jesse (Messiah), who shall retrieve the injuries done by the Assyrian "rod" to Israel (Is 10:5, 6, 18, 19).

stem--literally, "the stump" of a tree cut close by the roots: happily expressing the depressed state of the royal house of David, owing to the hostile storm (Is 10:18, 19), when Messiah should arise from it, to raise it to more than its pristine glory. Lu 2:7 proves this (Is 53:2; compare Job 14:7, 8; see on Is 8:6).

Branch--Scion. He is nevertheless also the "root" (Is 11:10; Re 5:5; 22:16. "Root and offspring" combines both, Zec 3:8; 6:12).

2. Spirit of the Lord--Jehovah. The Spirit by which the prophets spake: for Messiah was to be a Prophet (Is 61:1; De 18:15, 18). Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are specified, to imply that the perfection of them was to be in Him. Compare "the seven Spirits" (Re 1:4), that is, the Holy Ghost in His perfect fulness: seven being the sacred number. The prophets had only a portion out of the "fulness" in the Son of God (Joh 1:16; 3:34; Col 1:19).

rest--permanently; not merely come upon Him (Nu 11:25, 26).

wisdom--(1Co 1:30; Ep 1:17; Col 2:3).

understanding--coupled with "wisdom," being its fruit. Discernment and discrimination (Mt 22:18; Joh 2:25).

counsel ... might--the faculty of forming counsels, and that of executing them (Is 28:29). Counsellor (Is 9:6).

knowledge--of the deep things of God (Mt 11:27). The knowledge of Him gives us true knowledge (Ep 1:17).

fear of the Lord--reverential, obedient fear. The first step towards true "knowledge" (Job 28:28; Psa 111:10).

3. make him of quick understanding--literally, "quick-scented in the fear of Jehovah"; endowed with a singular sagacity in discerning the genuine principle of religious fear of God, when it lies dormant in the yet unawakened sinner (Mt 12:20; Ac 10:1-48; 16:14) [Horsley]. But Maurer, "He shall delight in the fear of God." The Hebrew means "to delight in the odors" of anything (Ex 30:38; Am 5:21); "smell," that is, "delight in."

after ... sight--according to mere external appearances (Joh 7:24; 8:15; Jas 2:1; 1Sa 16:7). Herein Messiah is represented a just Judge and Ruler (De 1:16, 17).

reprove--"decide," as the parallelism shows.

after ... ears--by mere plausible hearsays, but by the true merits of each case (Joh 6:64; Re 2:23).

4. judge--see that impartial justice is done them. "Judge" may mean here "rule," as in Psa 67:4.

reprove--or, "argue"; "decide." But Lowth, "work conviction in."

earth--Compare with Mt 5:5, and Re 11:15.

earth--its ungodly inhabitants, answering to "the wicked" in the parallel, and in antithesis to the "poor" and "meek," namely, in spirit, the humble pious (Mt 5:3). It is at the same time implied that "the earth" will be extraordinarily wicked when He shall come to judge and reign. His reign shall therefore be ushered in with judgments on the apostates (Psa 2:9-12; Lu 18:8; Re 2:27).

rod of ... mouth--condemning sentences which proceed from His mouth against the wicked (Re 1:16; 2:16; 19:15, 21).

breath of ... lips--his judicial decisions (Is 30:28; Job 15:30; Re 19:20; 20:9-12). He as the Word of God (Re 19:13-15) comes to strike that blow which shall decide His claim to the kingdom, previously usurped by Satan, and "the beast" to whom Satan delegates his power. It will be a day of judgment to the Gentile dispensation, as the first coming was to the Jews. Compare a type of the "rod" (Nu 17:2-10).

5. righteousness ... girdle--(Re 1:13; 19:11). The antitypical High Priest (Ex 28:4). The girdle secures firmly the rest of the garments (1Pe 1:13). So "truth" gives firm consistency to the whole character (Ep 5:14). In Is 59:17, "righteousness" is His breastplate.

6. wolf ... lamb--Each animal is coupled with that one which is its natural prey. A fit state of things under the "Prince of Peace" (Is 65:25; Eze 34:25; Ho 2:18). These may be figures for men of corresponding animal-like characters (Eze 22:27; 38:13; Jr 5:6; 13:23; Mt 7:15; Lu 10:3). Still a literal change in the relations of animals to man and each other, restoring the state in Eden, is a more likely interpretation. Compare Ge 2:19, 20, with Psa 8:6-8, which describes the restoration to man, in the person of "the Son of man," of the lost dominion over the animal kingdom of which he had been designed to be the merciful vicegerent under God, for the good of his animal subjects (Ro 8:19-22).

7. feed--namely, "together"; taken from the second clause.

straw--no longer flesh and blood.

8. play--literally, "delight" himself in sport.

cockatrice--a fabulous serpent supposed to be hatched from the egg of a cock. The Hebrew means a kind of adder, more venomous than the asp; Bochart supposes the basilisk to be meant, which was thought to poison even with its breath.

9. my holy mountain--Zion, that is, Jerusalem. The seat of government and of Messiah's throne is put for the whole earth (Jr 3:17).

sea--As the waters find their way into every cavern of its depths, so Christianity shall pervade every recess of the earth (Ha 2:14). As Is 11:1-5 describe the personal qualities of Messiah, and Is 11:6-9 the regenerating effects of His coming on creation, so Is 11:10-16 the results of it in the restoration of His people, the Jews, and the conversion through them of the Gentiles.

10. root--rather, "shoot from the root" (compare Note, see on Is 11:1; Is 53:2; Re 5:5; 22:16).

stand--permanently and prominently, as a banner lifted up to be the rallying point of an army or people (Is 5:26; Joh 12:32).

the people--peoples, answering to "the Gentiles" in the parallel member.

to it ... seek--diligently (Job 8:5). They shall give in their allegiance to the Divine King (Is 2:2; 60:5; Zec 2:11). Horsley translates, "Of Him shall the Gentiles inquire"; namely, in a religious sense, resort as to an oracle for consultation in difficulties" (Zec 14:16). Compare Ro 15:12, which quotes this passage, "In Him shall the Gentiles trust."

rest--resting-place (Is 60:13; Psa 132:8, 14; Eze 43:7). The sanctuary in the temple of Jerusalem was "the resting-place of the ark and of Jehovah." So the glorious Church which is to be is described under the image of an oracle to which all nations shall resort, and which shall be filled with the visible glory of God.

11. set ... hand--take in hand the work. Therefore the coming restoration of the Jews is to be distinct from that after the Babylonish captivity, and yet to resemble it. The first restoration was literal, therefore so shall the second be; the latter, however, it is implied here, shall be much more universal than the former (Is 43:5-7; 49:12, 17, 18; Eze 37:21; Ho 3:5; Am 9:14, 15; Mi 4:6, 7; Zep 3:19, 20; Zec 10:10; Jr 23:8). As to the "remnant" destined by God to survive the judgments on the nation, compare Jr 46:28.

Pathros--one of the three divisions of Egypt, Upper Egypt.

Cush--either Ethiopia, south of Egypt, now Abyssinia, or the southern parts of Arabia, along the Red Sea.

Elam--Persia, especially the southern part of it now called Susiana.

Shinar--Babylonian Mesopotamia, the plain between the Euphrates and the Tigris: in it Babel was begun (Ge 10:10). In the Assyrian inscriptions Rawlinson distinguishes three periods: (1) The Chaldean; from 2300 B.C. to 1500, in which falls Chedorlaomer (Ge 14:1-17), called in the cuneiform characters Kudur of Hur, or Ur of the Chaldees, and described as the conqueror of Syria. The seat of the first Chaldean empire was in the south, towards the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates. (2) The Assyrian, down to 625 B.C. (3) The Babylonian, from 625 to 538 B.C., when Babylon was taken by the Persian Cyrus.

islands of ... sea--the far western regions beyond the sea [Jerome].

12. In the first restoration Judah alone was restored, with perhaps some few of Israel (the ten tribes): in the future restoration both are expressly specified (Eze 37:16-19; Jr 3:18). To Israel are ascribed the "outcasts" (masculine); to Judah the "dispersed" (feminine), as the former have been longer and more utterly castaways (though not finally) than the latter (Joh 7:52). The masculine and feminine conjoined express the universality of the restoration.

from the four corners of the earth--Hebrew, "wings of the earth."

13. envy ... of Ephraim ... Judah--which began as early as the time (Jud 8:1; 12:1, &c.). Joshua had sprung from, and resided among the Ephraimites (Nu 13:9; Jos 19:50); the sanctuary was with them for a time (Jos 18:1). The jealousy increased subsequently (2Sa 2:8, &c.; 19:41; 20:2; 3:10); and even before David's time (1Sa 11:8; 15:4), they had appropriated to themselves the national name Israel. It ended in disruption (1Ki 11:26, &c.; 1Ki 12:1-33; compare 2Ki 14:9; Psa 78:56-71).

adversaries of Judah--rather, "the adversaries from Judah"; those of Judah hostile to the Ephraimites [Maurer]. The parallelism "the envy of Ephraim," namely, against Judah, requires this, as also what follows; namely, "Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim" (Eze 37:15, 17, 19).

14. With united forces they shall subdue their foes (Am 9:12).

fly--as a bird of prey (Ha 1:8).

upon the shoulders--This expresses an attack made unexpectedly on one from behind. The image is the more apt, as the Hebrew for "shoulders" in Nu 34:11 is used also of a maritime coast ("side of the sea": Hebrew, "shoulder of the sea," Margin). They shall make a sudden victorious descent upon their borders southwest of Judea.

them of the east--Hebrew, "children of the East," the Arabs, who, always hostile, are not to be reduced under regular government, but are only to be despoiled (Jr 49:28, 29).

lay ... hand upon--take possession of (Da 11:42).

Edom--south of Judah, from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea; "Moab"--east of Jordan and the Dead Sea.

Ammon--east of Judea, north of Moab, between the Arnon and Jabbok.

15. There shall be a second exodus, destined to eclipse even the former one from Egypt in its wonders. So the prophecies elsewhere (Psa 68:22; Ex 14:22; Zec 10:11). The same deliverance furnishes the imagery by which the return from Babylon is described (Is 48:20, 21).

destroy--literally, "devote," or "doom," that is, dry up; for what God dooms, perishes (Psa 106:9 Na 1:4).

tongue--the Bubastic branch of the Nile [Vitringa]; but as the Nile was not the obstruction to the exodus, it is rather the west tongue or Heroöpolite fork of the Red Sea.

with ... mighty wind--such as the "strong east wind" (Ex 14:21), by which God made a way for Israel through the Red Sea. The Hebrew for "mighty" means terrible. Maurer translates, "With the terror of His anger"; that is, His terrible anger.

in the seven streams--rather, "shall smite it (divide it by smiting) into seven (many) streams, so as to be easily crossed" [Lowth]. So Cyrus divided the river Gyndes, which retarded his march against Babylon, into three hundred sixty streams, so that even a woman could cross it [Herodotus, 1.189]. "The river" is the Euphrates, the obstruction to Israel's return "from Assyria" (Is 11:16), a type of all future impediments to the restoration of the Jews.

dry shod--Hebrew, "in shoes." Even in sandals they should be able to pass over the once mighty river without being wet (Re 16:12).

16. highway--a highway clear of obstructions (Is 19:23; 35:8).

like as ... Israel ... Egypt--(Is 51:10, 11; 63:12, 13).

With the rod of his mouth "By the blast of his mouth" - For בשבט beshebet, by the rod, Houbigant reads בשבת beshebeth, by the blast of his mouth, from נשב nashab, to blow. The conjecture is ingenious and probable; and seems to be confirmed by the Septuagint and Chaldee, who render it by the word of his mouth, which answers much better to the correction than to the present reading. Add to this, that the blast of his mouth is perfectly parallel to the breath of his lips in the next line.

The girdle "The cincture" - All the ancient Versions, except that of Symmachus, have two different words for girdle in the two hemistichs. It is not probable that Isaiah would have repeated אזור azer, when a synonymous word so obvious as חגור chagor occurred. The tautology seems to have arisen from the mistake of some transcriber. The meaning of this verse is, that a zeal for justice and truth shall make him active and strong in executing the great work which he shall undertake. See note on Isa 5:27.

The wolf also shall, etc. "Then shall the wolf," etc. - The idea of the renewal of the golden age, as it is called, is much the same in the Oriental writers with that of the Greeks and Romans: - the wild beasts grow tame; serpents and poisonous herbs become harmless; all is peace and harmony, plenty and happiness: -

Occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni Occidet.

Vega. Eclog. 4:24. "The serpent's brood shall die. The sacred ground

Shall weeds and noxious plants refuse to bear." - Nec magnos metuent armenta leones.

Virg. Eclog. 4:22. "Nor shall the flocks fear the great lions."

Non lupus insidias explorat ovilia circum,

Nec gregibus nocturnus obambulat: acrior illum

Cura domat: timidae damae cervique fugaces

Nunc interque canes, et circum tecta vagantur.

Virg. Georg. 3:537. "The nightly wolf that round the enclosure prowled,

To leap the fence, now plots not on the fold:

Tamed with a sharper pain, the fearful doe

And flying stag amidst the greyhounds go;

And round the dwellings roam, of man, their former foe."

Dryden.

Nec vespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile,

Nec intumescit alta viperis humus.

Hor. Epod. 16:51. "Nor evening bears the sheepfold growl around,

Nor mining vipers heave the tainted ground."

Dryden. Εσται δη τουτ' αμαρ, ὁπηνικα νεβρον εν ευνᾳ Καρχαροδων δινεσθαι ιδων λυκος ουκ εθελησει.

Theoc. Idyl. 24:84.

There shall be a time when the ravenous wolf shall see the kid lying at ease, and shall feel no desire to do it an injury.

I have laid before the reader these common passages from the most elegant of the ancient poets, that he may see how greatly the prophet on the same subject has the advantage upon the comparison; how much the former fall short of that beauty and elegance, and variety of imagery, with which Isaiah has set forth the very same ideas. The wolf and the leopard not only forbear to destroy the lamb and the kid, but even take their abode and lie down together with them. The calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, not only come together, but are led quietly in the same band, and that by a little child. The heifer and the she-bear not only feed together, but even lodge their young ones, for whom they used to be most jealously fearful, in the same place. All the serpent kind is so perfectly harmless, that the sucking infant and the newly weaned child puts his hand on the basilisk's den, and plays upon the hole of the aspic. The lion not only abstains from preying on the weaker animals, but becomes tame and domestic, and feeds on straw like the ox. These are all beautiful circumstances, not one of which has been touched upon by the ancient poets. The Arabian and Persian poets elegantly apply the same ideas to show the effects of justice impartially administered, and firmly supported, by a great and good king: - "Mahmoud the powerful king, the ruler of the world,

To whose tank the wolf and the lamb come, together to drink."

Ferdusi. "Through the influence of righteousness, the hungry wolf

Becomes mild, though in the presence of the white kid."

Ibn Onein. Jones, Poes. Asiat. Comment., p. 380.

The application is extremely ingenious and beautiful: but the exquisite imagery of Isaiah is not equalled.

In this verse a word is omitted in the text, יחדו yachdav, together; which ought to be repeated in the second hemistich, being quite necessary to the sense. It is accordingly twice expressed by the Septuagint and Syriac.

The cockatrice' den - This is supposed, both by the Targum and by Kimchi, to mean the pupil of this serpent's eye. "When," says Kimchi, "he is in the mouth of his den, in an obscure place, then his eyes sparkle exceedingly: the child, seeing this, and supposing it to be a piece of crystal, or precious stone, puts forth his hand to take it. What would be very dangerous at another time, shall be safe in the days of the Messiah; for the serpent will not hurt the child."

A root of Jesse, which shall stand etc. "The root of Jesse, which standeth," etc. - St. John hath taken this expression from Isaiah, Rev 5:5, and Rev 22:16, where Christ hath twice applied it to himself. Seven MSS. have עומד omed, standing, the present participle. Radix Isaei dicitur jam stare, et aliquantum stetisse, in signum populorum. - Vitringa. "The root of Jesse is said to stand, and for some time to have stood, for an ensign to the people." Which rightly explains either of the two readings. Psa 110:1-7 (note) is a good comment on this verse.

And it shall come to pass in that day - This part of the chapter contains a prophecy which certainly remains yet to be accomplished.

The Lord "Jehovah" - For אדני Adonai, thirty-three MSS. of Kennicott's, and many of De Rossi's, and two editions, read יהוה Yehovah.

The islands of the sea - The Roman and Turkish empires, say Kimchi.

The adversaries of Judah "And the enmity of Judah" - צררים tsorerim, Postulat pars posterior versus, ut intelligantur inimicitiae Judae in Ephraimum: et potest (צררים tsorerim) inimicitiam notare, ut (נחומים nichumim) poenitentiam, Hos 11:8. - Secker.

The Lord - shall smite it in the seven streams "Smite with a drought" - The Chaldee reads החריב hecherib; and so perhaps the Septuagint, who have ερημωσει, the word by which they commonly render it. Vulg. desolabit; "shall desolate." The Septuagint, Vulgate, and Chaldee read הדריכהו hidrichahu, "shall make it passable," adding the pronoun, which is necessary: but this reading is not confirmed by any MS.

Here is a plain allusion to the passage of the Red Sea. And the Lord's shaking his hand over the river with his vehement wind, refers to a particular circumstance of the same miracle: for "he caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land," Exo 14:21. The tongue; a very apposite and descriptive expression for a bay such as that of the Red Sea. It is used in the same sense, Jos 15:2, Jos 15:5; Jos 18:19. The Latins gave the same name to a narrow strip of land running into the sea: tenuem producit in aequora linguam. Lucan. 2:613. He shall smite the river to its seven streams. This has been supposed to refer to the Nile, because it falls into the Mediterranean Sea by seven mouths: but R. Kimchi understands it of the Euphrates, which is the opinion of some good judges. See the Targum. See below.

Herodotus, lib. i, 189, tells a story of his Cyrus, (a very different character from that of the Cyrus of the Scriptures and Xenophon), which may somewhat illustrate this passage, in which it is said that God would inflict a kind of punishment and judgment on the Euphrates, and render it fordable by dividing it into seven streams. "Cyrus, being impeded in his march to Babylon by the Gyndes, a deep and rapid river which falls into the Tigris, and having lost one of his sacred white horses that attempted to pass it, was so enraged against the river that he threatened to reduce it, and make it so shallow that it should be easily fordable even by women, who should not be up to their knees in passing it. Accordingly he set his whole army to work, and cutting three hundred and sixty trenches, from both sides of the river, turned the waters into them, and drained them off."

And - And having said that the Assyrian yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing, he now explains who that anointed person was. The stem - Or, stump: for the word signifies properly a trunk cut off from the root. By which he clearly implies, that the Messiah should be born of the royal house of David, at that time when it was in a most forlorn condition, like a tree cut down, and whereof nothing is left but a stump or root under ground. Of Jesse - He doth not say of David, but of Jesse, who was a private and mean person, to intimate, that at the time of Christ's birth the royal family should be reduced to its primitive obscurity.

Wisdom - It is not needful, exactly to distinguish these two gifts; it is sufficient that they are necessary qualifications for a governor, and a teacher, and it is evident they signify perfect knowledge of all things necessary for his own and peoples good, and a sound judgment, to distinguish between things that differ. Counsel - Of prudence, to give good counsel; and of might and courage, to execute it. Knowledge - Of the perfect knowledge of the whole will and counsel of God, as also of all secret things, yea of the hearts of men. Fear - A fear of reverence, a care to please him, and lothness to offend him.

In the fear - He shall not judge rashly and partially, but considerately and justly, as the fear of God obliges all judges to do. Judge - Of persons or causes. After the sight - According to outward appearance, as men do, because they cannot search mens hearts. Reprove - Condemn or pass sentence against a person. His ears - By uncertain rumours or suggestions.

Judge - Defend and deliver them. Reprove - Or condemn their malicious enemies. Thy rod - With his word, which is his scepter, and the rod of his power, Psal 110:2, which is sharper than a sword, Heb 4:12, by the preaching whereof he subdued the world to himself, and will destroy his enemies, 2Thes 2:8. This he adds farther, to declare the nature of Christ's kingdom, that it is not of this world.

The girdle - It shall adorn him, and be the glory of his government, as a girdle was used for an ornament, Isa 3:24, and as an ensign of power, Job 12:18, and it shall constantly cleave to him in all his administrations, as a girdle cleaveth to a man's loins.

The wolf - The creatures shall be restored to that state of innocency in which they were before the fall of man. Men of fierce, and cruel dispositions, shall be so transformed by the grace of Christ, that they shall become gentle, and tractable. A child - They will submit their rebellious wills to the conduct of the meanest persons that speak to them in Christ's name.

Feed - Together, without any danger or fear. Straw - The grass of the earth, as they did at first, and shall not devour other living creatures.

My holy mountain - In Zion, in my church. The sea - The channel of the sea.

A root - A branch growing upon the root. Ensign - Shall grow up into a great tree, shall become an eminent ensign. The people - Which not only the Jews, but all nations, may discern, and to which they shall resort. Rest - His resting - place, his temple or church, the place of his presence and abode. Glorious - Shall be filled with greater glory than the Jewish tabernacle and temple were; only this glory shall be spiritual, consisting in the plentiful effusions of the gifts, and graces, of the Holy Spirit.

The second - The first time, to which this word second relates, seems to be the deliverance out of Babylon: and then this second deliverance must be in the days of the Messiah. To recover - From all places far and near, into which either the ten tribes or the two tribes were carried captives. Pathros was a province in Egypt.

Nations - All nations, Jews and Gentiles. Out - casts - That were driven out of their own land, into foreign parts. Israel - Of the ten tribes.

Ephraim - Of the ten tribes, frequently called by the name of Ephraim. Of enemies they shall be made friends. The adversaries - Not the body of Ephraim, for they are supposed to be reconciled, and they shall not be cut off, but live in love with Judah, as we see by the next clause; but those few of them who continue in their enmity together with all the rest of their adversaries.

Fly - It is a metaphor from birds and beasts of prey. Spoil - They shall subdue them, which is to be understood of the spiritual victory which the Messiah shall obtain by his apostles and ministers over all nations.

Destroy - Shall not only divide it, as of old, but dry it up, that it may be an high - way. The sea - The Red Sea, which may well be called the Egyptian sea, both because it borders upon Egypt, and because the Egyptians were drowned in it, which is called a tongue in the Hebrew text, Jos 15:2,5, as having some resemblance with a tongue: for which reason the name of tongue hath been given by geographers to promontories of land which shoot forth into the sea, as this sea did shoot out of the main ocean into the land. Rivers - Nile. Seven streams - For which it is famous in all authors.

As it was - As there was another high - way from Egypt. All impediments shall be removed, and a way made for the return of God's Israel from all parts of the world. He mentions Assyria, because thither the ten tribes were carried, whose case seemed to be most desperate.

AND there shall come forth a rod out of the stemm of Jesse , and a branch shall grow out of his roots .

The Prophet having dispatched the Assyrian, and comforted God's People with the Promise of their Deliverance from that formidable Enemy, now he proceeds further, and declares, That God will do greater things than that for them, that he will give them their long-expected and muchdesired Messiah, and by him will work Wonders of Mercy for them. For this is the manner of the Prophets, to take the occasion of particular Deliverances, to fix the Peoples Minds upon their great and everlasting Deliverance from all their enemies by the Messiah. And having said that the Assyrian yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing, ch. 10. 27. he now more particularly explains who that anointed Person was.

Or, twig, called a branch in the next Clause▪ Parents are oft compared to Roots or Trees, and their Children to Branches. He speaks of the most eminent Branch, of that famous Son of a Virgin, Isa. 7. 14. of that Wonderful Child, Isa. 9. 6. not of Hezekiah, as some of the Iews and Judaizing Christians conceit; but of the Messiah, as will evidently appear from the following Description.

Or, trunk; or rather, stump: for the Word properly signifies a Trunk cut off from the Root: Or, re[illegible: 1+ letters]t, as the LXX here render the Word, and as it is explained in the next Clause. By which he clearly implies, That the Messiah should be born of the Royal House of David, at that time when it was in a most forlorn and contemptible condition, like a Tree cut down, and whereof nothing is left but a Stump or Root under Ground. Which really was the State of David's Family when Christ was born, as is notoriously known; but was in a far better condition when Hezekiah was born.

He doth not say of David, but of Iesse, who was a private and mean Person, 1 Sam. 18. 18, 23. & 20. 30. to intimate, That at the time of Christ's Birth the Royal Family should be reduced to its primitive Obscurity.

He speaks of one not yet born, and therefore not of Hezekiah, who was born divers years before his Father Ahaz (in whose time this Prophecy was delivered) was King, by comparing 2 Kings 16. 2. & 18. 2. but of the Messiah.

Out of one of his Roots, i. e. Branches, as this Word root is sometimes used, by a very usual Figure called a Metonymy, as it is here below, v. 10. Isa. 53. 2. Hos. 14. 5.

Marginal references: Zech. 6. 12. Revel. 5. 5.; Act. 13. 23.; Chap. 4. 2. Jer. 23. 5.

2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him , the spirit of wisdom and understanding , the spirit of counsel and might , the spirit of knowledge , and of the fear of the LORD :

The Holy Ghost, wherewith he was anointed, Act. 10. 38. and by whom his Mother was overshadowed, Luk. 1. 35.

Not onely come upon him at certain times, as he did upon the Prophets now and then at his pleasure, but shall have its constant and setled abode in him; although the same phrase be sometimes used of other Prophets in an inferiour sense, as Numb. 11. 17. 2 Kings 2. 15.

Which hath these Perfections in it self, and confers them upon him. It is neither easie, nor at all necessary, exactly to distinguish these two Gifts; it is sufficient that they are necessary Qualifications for a Governour, and for a Teacher, both which Offices were to meet in the Messiah; and it is evident that they signifie a practical and perfect Knowledge of all things necessary for the discharge of his Trust, and for his own and Peoples Good, and a sound Judgment, to distinguish between things that differ.

Of Prudence, to give good Counsel; and of Might and Courage, to execute it; which are two necessary Qualifications of a Ruler.

Of the perfect Knowledge of the whole Will and Counsel of God, especially that which concerns the Salvation of Men, the prosecution whereof was his great Work, as also of all secret and hidden things, yea of the Hearts of Men, the Knowledge whereof is ascribed to Christ, Mat. 9. 4. Revel. 2. 23.

Not a Fear of Diffidence or Horrour, but of Reverence, a Care to please him, and lothness to offend him; which well became the Messiah towards his God and Father.

3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD , and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes , neither reprove after the hearing of his ears .

Heb. he shall make him smell, i. e. perceive, as that Word is used Iudg. 16. 9. Iob 39. 25. understand or judg, as it is explained in the next Clause. Or, his smelling shall be. Smelling is put for Judging, because the Sense of Smelling, where it is quick and good, is more exact and sure in the judging of its proper Objects, than the Senses of Seeing and Hearing are.

Which is added, either, 1. as the Object of his Judging: He is most perspicacious and judicious in the things which concern the fear, i. e. the Worship and Service of God, which he was to order and establish in his Church: Or rather, 2. as the Rule and Manner of his Judging, as may be gathered from the opposite and following Clause. So the sence is, He shall not judge rashly and partially, but considerately and justly, as the Fear of God obligeth all Judges to do.

Of Persons or Causes. And judging seems to be here Synechdochically put for absolving or giving Sentence for a Person, as it is used Psal. 7. 9, 11. and in many other places, because this is opposed to reproving in the next Clause.

According to outward Appearance, as men must do, because they cannot search mens Hearts, 1 Sam. 16. 7. or with respect of Persons, but with righteous judgment, which is opposed to judging by appearance, Ioh. 7. 24.

i. e. Condemn or pass Sentence against a Person: For Christ is here supposed to be a Judge, and so he speaks of a Judicial Reproof.

By false or uncertain Rumours or Suggestions, but shall throughly examine all Causes, and search out the Truth of things, and the very Hearts of men.

Marginal references: Heb. scent, or, smell.

4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor , and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth , and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked .

Defend and deliver them, as judging is oft used, as Deut. 32. 36. Ier. 5. 28. & 22. 13. &c. Or, judge for the poor, the Prefix, lamed, being understood out of the next Clause, as is usual in the Hebrew Language. He mentions the poor, partly to signifie the Justice of this Judge, because Humane Judges commonly neglect and oppress the Poor; and partly to declare the Nature of Christ's Kingdom, and the Quality of his Subjects, who should, for the generality of them, be the poor and contemptible sort of men, Mat. 11. 5. Iam. 2. 5.

Or, as this Word seems to be taken v. 3. condemn, to wit, their malicious and furious Enemies.

On their behalf, or giving Sentence for them. He calls them meek whom before he called poor, partly to shew his Justice in defending them who are most exposed to the Contempt and Injuries of men, and partly to signifie that his Subjects should be poor in Spirit as well as in the World, and not poor and proud, as many worldly men are.

i. e. Slay, as this Word is used Isa. 37. 36. and very commonly, and as it is expounded in the next Clause.

The men of the Earth, the wicked, as it is in the next Branch of the Verse: fitly called earth, either because of their Earthly Minds and Conversations, as they are called the men of this world, that have their portion here upon the Earth, Psal. 17. 14. or because the far greatest part of the Inhabitants of the Earth is wicked, the whole world lies in wickedness, 1 Ioh. 5. 19. for which reason they are oft called the world, as Iob. 16. 20. & 17. 9, 25. &c.

With his Word, which is his Scepter, and the rod of his power, Psal. 110. 2. which is sharper than a sword, Heb. 4. 12. by the preaching whereof he subdued the World to himself, and will destroy his Enemies, 2 Thess. 2. 8. This he adds, further to declare the Nature of Christ's Kingdom, that it is not of this World, and that his Scepter and Arms are not carnal but Spiritual, as is said 2 Cor. 10. 4.

With his Word breathed out of his Lips; whereby he explains what he meant by the foregoing rod.

Either spiritually, by inflicting deadly Plagues upon their Souls; or properly, which he doth very frequently by his terrible Judgments executed upon many of them, and will certainly do, and that fully and universally, at his coming to Judgment.

Marginal references: Psal. 17. 2. Rev. 19. 11.; Or, argue.; Job. 4. 9. 2 Thess. 2. 8. Rev. 1. 16. & 2. 16. & 19. 15.; Or, word of his mouth.

5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins , and faithfulness the girdle of his reins .

It shall adorn him, and be the Glory of his Government, as a Girdle was used for Ornament, Isa. 3. 24. and as an Ensign of Power, Iob 12. 18. and it shall constantly cleave to him, in all his Administrations, as a girdle cleaveth to a mans loins, which is the Prophets Similitude, Ier. 13. 11.

The same thing in other Words.

6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid : and the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them .

The Creatures shall be restored to that State of Innocy in which they were before the Fall of Man. But this is not to be understood literally, which is a gross and vain Conceit of some Iews; but spiritually and metaphorically, as is evident. And the sence of the Metaphor is this; Men of fierce, and cruel, and ungovernable Dispositions, shall be so transformed by the Preaching of the Gospel, and by the Grace of Christ, that they shall become most humble, and gentle, and tractable, and shall no more vex and persecute those meek and poor ones mentioned v. 4. but shall become such as they: of which we have Instances in Saul being made a Paul, and in the rugged Jaylour, Act. 16. and in innumerable others. But how can this be applied to Hezekiah with any colour?

They will submit their proud and rebellious Wills to the Conduct and Command of the meanest Persons that speak to them in Christ's Name.

Marginal references: Chap. 65. 25. Exek. 34. 25. Hos. 2. 18.

7 And the cow and the bear shall feed , their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

Together, as it follows, without any Danger or Fear.

The Grass and Fruits of the Earth, as they did at first, Gen. 1. 29, 30. and shall not devour other Living Creatures, as now they do.

8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp , and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den.

A most fierce and poisonous Serpent, Deut. 32. 33. Iob 20. 14, 16. which also will not be charmed by any Art of Man, Psal. 58. 5.

A Serpent of more than ordinary Cunning and Cruelty, Prov. 23. 32. The meaning is, They shall not fear to be either deceived or destroyed by those who formerly watched all Opportunities to do it.

Marginal references: Or, adders.

9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in my holy mountain : for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD , as the waters cover the sea .

In Zion, in my Church. Whereever the Gospel comes and prevails, it will have this effect.

Metonymically put for the Inhabitants of the Earth; and as before it was used for the greater part, v. 4. so here it is used for the better part of the World.

Of saving and practical Knowledge. Whereby he intimates, That all that Savageness and Malignity which is in wicked men towards true Christians, proceeded from their deep Ignorance, and particularly from Ignorance of God; and withal, that a right Knowledge of God will make a marvellous and thorow Change in the Dispositions and Conversations of men.

The Channel of the Sea, the thing contained being put for the thing containing, by a Metonymy common in Scripture, and all Authors.

Marginal references: Job 5. 23. Isa. 35. 9.; Hab. 2. 14.

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people : to it shall the Gentiles seek , and his rest shall be glorious .

A Branch growing upon the Root: of which see on v. 1.

Shall grow up into a great and high Tree, shall become a visible and eminent Ensign.

Which not onely the Iews, but all Nations, may discern, and to which they may, and shall resort.

As the Gospel shall be preached to the Gentiles, so they shall receive it, and believe in the Messiah.

His Resting-place, as this Word frequently signifies, as Gen. 8. 9. & 49. 5. Psal. 132. 8, 14. Isa. 34. 14. Mi[illegible: 1+ letters]h. 2. 10. his Temple or Church, the Place of his Presence and Abode.

Shall be filled with greater Glory than the Jewish Tebernacle and Temple were; of which see on Hag. 2. 9. onely this Glory shall be Spiritual, consisting in Glorious Ordinances, in the plentiful Effusions of the excellent Gifts, and Graces, and Comforts of the Holy Spirit.

Marginal references: R[illegible: 1+ letters]m. 15. 10, 12.; Heb. glory.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time , to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea .

The first time, to which this Word second relates, seems to be either, 1. the Deliverance out of Egypt, as most both Jewish and Christian Interpreters understand it: And then this second Deliverance must be that out of Babylon: Or, 2. the Deliverance out of Babylon: And then this second Deliverance must be in the days of the Messiah. Which, with submission to better Judgments, seems to me more probable; 1. because that first Deliverance is supposed to be, like the second, a Deliverance of the Remnant of this People from several Countries, into which they were dispersed: whereas that out of Egypt was a Deliverance not of a Remnant, but of the whole Nation, and that out of Egypt onely: 2. because this second Deliverance was universal, extending to the generality of the Out-casts and Dispersed ones, both of Israel or the Ten Tribes, and of Iudah or the Two Tribes, as is evident from v. 12, 13. whereas that out of Babylon reached onely to the Two Tribes, and to some few of the Ten Tribes which were mixed with them, as is acknowledged both by Ieus and Christians: 3. because this second Deliverance was given them in the days of the Messiah, and did accompany or follow the Conversion of the Gentiles, as is evident from v. 9, 10. whereas that out of Babylon was long before the coming of the Messiah, and the calling of the Gentiles.

From all Places both far and near, into which either the Ten Tribes or the Two Tribes were carried Captives; for the Places of both their Captivities are here named, Of which it is needless to discourse particularly, because they are well known, and have been considered in former Texts. Onely Pathros was not named before; and that was a Province in Egypt, which yet is sometimes distinguished from Egypt strictly so called. See on Ier. 44. 1, 15. Ezek. 29. 14. & 30. 14.

Marginal references: Zech. 10. 10, 11.

12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations , and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel , and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth

All Nations, Jews and Gentiles, who shall then embrace the true Faith and the Messiah, as was said v. 10.

That were driven and banished out of their own Land, into Foreign Parts, as the Word implies.

Strictly so called, or of the Ten Tribes, as is manifest both from their opposition to Iudah in this Verse, and from the mention of Ephraim in the next Verse.

Marginal references: Heb. wings.

13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart , and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim .

i. e. Of the Ten Tribes, frequently called by the name of Ephraim, as hath been already and frequently observed, between whom and Iudah there were great Emulations and Contentions.

Of Enemies they shall be made Friends, and of Wolves, Lambs; as was said before on v. 6. they shall be united together in one Church, under the Messiah, keeping the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace.

Not the Body of Ephraim, for they are supposed to be reconciled, and they shall not be cut off, but live in love with Iudah, as we see by the next Clause; but those few of them which possibly may continue in their Enmity against them, together with all the rest of their Adversaries.

Not onely all outward Hostilities shall cease, but also their inward Animosities.

Marginal references: Jer. 3. 18. Ezek. 37. 16, 22. Hos. 1. 11.; Chap. 9. 21.

14 But they shall flie upon the shoulders of the Philistins toward the West, they shall spoil them of the East together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

Either it is a Metaphor from Birds and Beasts of Prey, which commonly fasten upon the Shoulders of Cattel; or from Wrestlers, who endeavour to catch hold of their Adversaries Shoulders, that they may throw them down. Or, shoulder is put for a side, as Numb. 34. 11. Ios. 15. 8, 10. or, for a Part or Quarter of a Country, as Deut. 33. 12.

They shall subdue them. Which is to be understood of the Spiritual Victory which the Jewish Messiah shall obtain by his Apostles and Ministers over all Nations, in bringing them to the Obedience of his Gospel. For it is the manner of the Prophets to speak of the Spiritual things of the Gospel under such Corporeal Representations.

Marginal references: Heb. the children of the East.; Heb. Edom and Moab shall be the laying on of their hand.; Heb. the children of Ammon their obedience.

15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea , and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river , and shall smite it in the seven streams , and make men go over dry-shod.

Shall not onely divide it, as of old, but will quite dry it up, that it may be an High-way, as it is explained in the next Verse.

The Red Sea, which may well be called the Egyptian Sea, both because it borders upon Egypt, and because the Egyptians were drowned in it▪ which is called a tongue in the Hebrew Text, Ios. 15. 2, 5. as having some resemblance with a Tongue: for which reason the name of tongue hath been given by Geographers to Promontories of Land which shoot forth into the Sea, as this Sea did shoot out of the Main Ocean into the Land.

He alludes to Moses his shaking of his Hand with the Rod of God in it over the Sea.

To wit, of Egypt, Nilus, as appears both from the foregoing and from the following Words.

For which Nilus is famous in all Authors, and by which it emptieth it self into the Sea.

Marginal references: Heb. in shoes.

16 And there shall be an high-way for the remnant of his people, which shall be left from Assyria , like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

As there was another High-way from Egypt, in the former Verse. So the sence is, That all Impediments shall be removed, and a way made for the Return of God's Israel from all Parts of the World. He mentions Assyria, because thither the Ten Tribes were carried, 2 Kings 17. 23. whose Case seemed to be most desperate.

Marginal references: Chap. 19. 23.; Exod 14. 26, 29.

Isa 11:1

This is the fate of the imperial power of the world. When the axe is laid to it, it falls without hope. But in Israel spring is returning. “And there cometh forth a twig out of the stump of Jesse, and a shoot from its roots bringeth forth fruit.” The world-power resembles the cedar-forest of Lebanon; the house of David, on the other hand, because of its apostasy, is like the stump of a felled tree (geza‛, truncus, from gâza‛, truncare), like a root without stem, branches, or crown. The world-kingdom, at the height of its power, presents the most striking contrast to Israel and the house of David in the uttermost depth announced in Isa 6:1-13 fin., mutilated and reduced to the lowliness of its Bethlehemitish origin. But whereas the Lebanon of the imperial power is thrown down, to remain prostrate; the house of David renews its youth. And whilst the former has no sooner reached the summit of its glory, than it is suddenly cast down; the latter, having been reduced to the utmost danger of destruction, is suddenly exalted. What Pliny says of certain trees, “inarescunt rursusque adolescunt, senescunt quidem, sed e radicibus repullulant,” is fulfilled in the tree of Davidic royalty, that has its roots in Jesse (for the figure itself, see F. V. Lasaulx, Philosophie der Geschichte, pp. 117-119). Out of the stumps of Jesse, i.e., out of the remnant of the chosen royal family which has sunk down to the insignificance of the house from which it sprang, there comes forth a twig (choter), which promises to supply the place of the trunk and crown; and down below, in the roots covered with earth, and only rising a little above it, there shows itself a nētzer, i.e., a fresh green shoot (from nâtzēr, to shine or blossom). In the historical account of the fulfilment, even the ring of the words of the prophecy is noticed: the nētzer, at first so humble and insignificant, was a poor despised Nazarene (Mat 2:23). But the expression yiphreh shows at once that it will not stop at this lowliness of origin. The shoot will bring forth fruit (pârâh, different in meaning, and possiblyWe say possibly, for the Indo-Germanic root bhar, to bear (Sanscr. bharâmi = φέρω, fero, cf., ferax, fertilis), which Gesenius takes as determining the radical meaning of pârach, cannot be traced with any certainty in the Semitic. Nevertheless peri and perach bear the same relation to one another, in the ordinary usage of the language, as fruit and blossom: the former is so called, as that which has broken through (cf., pĕtĕr); the latter, as that which has broken up, or budded. also in root, from pârach, to blossom and bud). In the humble beginning there lies a power which will carry it up to a great height by a steady and certain process (Eze 17:22-23). The twig which is shooting up on the ground will become a tree, and this tree will have a crown laden with fruit. Consequently the state of humiliation will be followed by one of exaltation and perfection.

Isa 11:2

Jehovah acknowledges Him, and consecrates and equips Him for His great work with the seven spirits.”And the Spirit of Jehovah descends upon Him, spirit of wisdom and understanding, spirit of counsel and might, spirit of knowledge and fear of Jehovah.” “The Spirit of Jehovah” (ruach Yehovah) is the Divine Spirit, as the communicative vehicle of the whole creative fulness of divine powers. Then follow the six spirits, comprehended by the ruach Yehovah in three pairs, of which the first relates to the intellectual life, the second to the practical life, and the third to the direct relation to God. For chocmâh (wisdom) is the power of discerning the nature of things through the appearance, and bı̄nâh (understanding) the power of discerning the differences of things in their appearance; the former is σοφία, the latter διάκρισις or σύνεσις. “Counsel” (etzâh) is the gift of forming right conclusions, and “might” (gebūrâh) the ability to carry them out with energy. “The knowledge of Jehovah” (da‛ath Yehovah) is knowledge founded upon the fellowship of love; and “the fear of Jehovah” (yir'ath Yehovâh), fear absorbed in reverence. There are seven spirits, which are enumerated in order from the highest downwards; since the spirit of the fear of Jehovah is the basis of the whole (Pro 1:7; Job 28:28; Psa 111:10), and the Spirit of Jehovah is the heart of all. It corresponds to the shaft of the seven-lighted candlestick, and the three pair of arms that proceeded from it. In these seven forms the Holy Spirit descended upon the second David for a permanent possession, as is affirmed in the perf. consec. ונהה (with the tone upon the ultimate, on account of the following guttural, to prevent its being pronounced unintelligibly;This moving forward of the tone to the last syllable is also found before Ayin in Gen 26:10, and very commonly with kūmâh, and verbs of a similar kind; also before Elohim and Jehovah, to be read Adonai, and before the half-guttural resh, Psa 43:1; Psa 119:154, but nowhere on any other ground than the orthophonic rather than euphonic one mentioned above; compare also וסרה in Isa 11:13, with וסרוּ (with ה following) in Exo 8:7.nuach like καταβαίνειν καὶ μένειν, Joh 1:32-33). The seven torches before the throne of God (Rev 4:5, cf., Isa 1:4) burn and give light in His soul. The seven spirits are His seven eyes (Rev 5:6).

Isa 11:3

And His regal conduct is regulated by this His thoroughly spiritual nature.”And fear of Jehovah is fragrance to Him; and He judges not according to outward sight, neither does He pass sentence according to outward hearing.” We must not render it: His smelling is the smelling of the fear of God, i.e., the penetration of it with a keen judicial insight (as Hengstenberg and Umbreit understand it); for hērı̄ach with the preposition Beth has not merely the signification to smell (as when followed by an accusative, Job 39:25), but to smell with satisfaction (like בּ ראה, to see with satisfaction), Exo 30:38; Lev 26:31; Amo 5:21. The fear of God is that which He smells with satisfaction; it is rēach nı̄choach to Him. Meier’s objection, that fear of God is not a thing that can be smelt, and therefore that hērı̄ach must signify to breathe, is a trivial one. Just as the outward man has five senses for the material world, the inner man has also a sensorium for the spiritual world, which discerns different things in different ways. Thus the second David scents the fear of God, and only the fear of God, as a pleasant fragrance; for the fear of God is a sacrifice of adoration continually ascending to God. His favour or displeasure does not depend upon brilliant or repulsive external qualities; He does not judge according to outward appearances, but according to the relation of the heart to His God.

Isa 11:4-5

This is the standard according to which He will judge when saving, and judge when punishing. “And judges the poor with righteousness, and passes sentence with equity for the humble in the land; and smites the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He slays the wicked. And righteousness is the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His hips.” The main feature in Isa 11:4 is to be seen in the objective ideas. He will do justice to the dallim, the weak and helpless, by adopting an incorruptibly righteous course towards their oppressors, and decide with straightforwardness for the humble or meek of the land: ‛ânâv, like ‛ânı̄, from ‛ânâh, to bend, the latter denoting a person bowed down by misfortune, the former a person inwardly bowed down, i.e., from all self-conceit (hōcı̄ach l', as in Job 16:21). The poor and humble, or meek, are the peculiar objects of His royal care; just as it was really to them that the first beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount applied. But “the earth” and “the wicked” (the latter is not to be understood collectively, but, as in several passages in the Old Testament, viz., Psa 68:22; Psa 110:6; Hab 3:13-14, as pointing forward prophetically to an eschatological person, in whom hostility towards Jehovah and His Anointed culminates most satanically) will experience the full force of His penal righteousness. The very word of His mouth is a rod which shatters in pieces (Psa 2:9; Rev 1:16); and the breath of His lips is sufficient to destroy, without standing in need of any further means (2Th 2:8). As the girdle upon the hips (mothnaim, lxx την̀ ὀσφύν), and in front upon the loins (chălâzaim, lxx τὰς πλευράς), fastens the clothes together, so all the qualities and active powers of His person have for their band tzedâkâh, which follows the inviolable norm of the divine will, and hâ'emūnâh, which holds immovably to the course divinely appointed, according to promise (Isa 25:1). Special prominence is given by the article to 'emūnâh; He is the faithful and true witness (Rev 1:5; Rev 3:14). Consequently with Him there commences a new epoch, in which the Son of David and His righteousness acquire a world-subduing force, and find their home in a humanity that has sprung, like Himself, out of deep humiliation.

Isa 11:6-9

The fruit of righteousness is peace, which now reigns in humanity under the rule of the Prince of Peace, and even in the animal world, with nothing whatever to disturb it. “And the wolf dwells with the lamb, and the leopard lies down with the kid; and calf and lion and stalled ox together: a little boy drives them. And cow and bear go to the pasture; their young ones lie down together: and the lion eats shopped straw like the ox. And the suckling plays by the hole of the adder, and the weaned child stretches its hand to the pupil of the basilisk-viper. They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the land is filled with knowledge of Jehovah, like the waters covering the sea.” The fathers, and such commentators as Luther, Calvin, and Vitringa, have taken all these figures from the animal world as symbolical. Modern rationalists, on the other hand, understand them literally, but regard the whole as a beautiful dream and wish. It is a prophecy, however, the realization of which is to be expected on this side of the boundary between time and eternity, and, as Paul has shown in Rom 8, is an integral link in the predestined course of the history of salvation (Hengstenberg, Umbreit, Hofmann, Drechsler). There now reign among irrational creatures, from the greatest to the least, - even among such as are invisible, - fierce conflicts and bloodthirstiness of the most savage kind. But when the Son of David enters upon the full possession of His royal inheritance, the peace of paradise will be renewed, and all that is true in the popular legends of the golden age be realized and confirmed. This is what the prophet depicts in such lovely colours. The wolf and lamb, those two hereditary foes, will be perfectly reconciled then. The leopard will let the teazing kid lie down beside it. The lion, between the calf and stalled ox, neither seizes upon its weaker neighbour, nor longs for the fatter one. Cow and bear graze together, whilst their young ones lie side beside in the pasture. The lion no longer thirsts for blood, but contents itself, like the ox, with chopped straw. The suckling pursues its sport (pilpel of שׁעע, mulcere) by the adder’s hole, and the child just weaned stretches out its hand boldly and fearlessly to me'ūrath tziph‛ōni. It is evident from Jer 8:17 that tziph‛ōni is the name of a species of snake. According to Aquila and the Vulgate, it is basiliskos, serpens regulus, possibly from tzaph, to pipe or hiss (Ges., Fürst); for Isidorus, in his Origg. xii. 4, says, Sibilus idem est qui et regulus; sibilo enim occidit, antequam mordeat vel exurat. For the hapax leg. hâdâh, the meaning dirigere, tendere, is established by the Arabic; but there is all the more uncertainty about the meaning of the hap. leg. מאורה. According to the parallel חר, it seems to signify the hollow (Syr., Vulg., lxx, κοίτη): whether from אּוּר = עוּר, from which comes מערה; or from אור, the light-hole (like מאור, which occurs in the Mishna, Ohaloth xiii. 1) or opening where a cavern opens to the light of day. It is probable, however, that me'ūrâh refers to something that exerts an attractive influence upon the child, either the “blending of colours” (Saad. renders tziph‛oni, errakas', the motley snake), or better still, the “pupil of the eye” (Targum), taking the word as a feminine of mâ'ōr, the light of the eye (b. Erubin 55 b - the power of vision). The look of a snake, more especially of the basilisk (not merely the basilisk-lizard, but also the basilisk-viper), was supposed to have a paralyzing and bewitching influence; but now the snake will lose this pernicious power (Isa 65:25), and the basilisk become so tame and harmless, as to let children handle its sparkling eyes as if they were jewels. All this, as we should say with Luthardt and Hofmann (Schriftbeweis, ii. 2, 567), is only colouring which the hand of the prophet employs, for the purpose of painting the peace of that glorified state which surpasses all possibility of description; and it is unquestionably necessary to take the thought of the promise in a spiritual sense, without adhering literally to the medium employed in expressing it. But, on the other hand, we must guard against treating the description itself as merely a drapery thrown around the actual object; whereas it is rather the refraction of the object in the mind of the prophet himself, and therefore a manifestation of the true nature of that which he actually saw.

But are the animals to be taken as the subject in Isa 11:9 also? The subject that most naturally suggests itself is undoubtedly the animals, of which a few that are alarming and destructive to men have been mentioned just before. And the fact that they really are thought of as the subject, is confirmed by Isa 65:25, where Isa 11:6-9 is repeated in a compendious form. The idea that ירעוּ requires men as the subject, is refuted by the common רעה חיּה (compare the parallel promise in Eze 34:25, which rests upon Hos 2:20). That the term yashchithu can be applied to animals, is evident from Jer 2:30, and may be assumed as a matter of course. But if the animals are the subject, har kodshi (my holy mountain) is not Zion-Moriah, upon which wild beasts never made their home in historical times; but, as the generalizing col (all) clearly shows, the whole of the holy mountain-land of Israel: har kodshi has just this meaning in Isa 57:13 (cf., Psa 78:54; Exo 15:17). The fact that peace prevails in the animal world, and also peace between man and beast, is then attributed to the universal prevalence of the knowledge of God, in consequence of which that destructive hostility between the animal world and man, by which estrangement and apostasy from God were so often punished (2Ki 17:25; Eze 14:15, etc.: see also Isa 7:24), have entirely come to an end. The meaning of “the earth” is also determined by that of “all my holy mountain.” The land of Israel, the dominion of the Son of David in the more restricted sense, will be from this time forward the paradisaical centre, as it were, of the whole earth - a prelude of its future state of perfect and universal glorification (Isa 6:3, “all the earth”). It has now become full of “the knowledge of Jehovah,” i.e., of that experimental knowledge which consists in the fellowship of love (דעה, like לדה, is a secondary form of דעת, the more common infinitive or verbal noun from ידע: Ges. §133, 1), like the waters which cover the sea, i.e., bottom of the sea (compare Hab 2:14, where lâda‛ath is a virtual accusative, full of that which is to be known). “Cover:” cissâh l' (like sâcac l', Psa 91:4), signifies to afford a covering to another; the Lamed is frequently introduced with a participle (in Arabic regularly) as a sign of the object (Ewald, §292,e), and the omission of the article in the case of mecassim is a natural consequence of the inverted order of the words.

Isa 11:10

The prophet has now described, in Isa 11:1-5, the righteous conduct of the Son of David, and in Isa 11:6-9 the peace which prevails under His government, and extends even to the animal world, and which is consequent upon the living knowledge of God that has now become universal, that is to say, of the spiritual transformation of the people subject to His sway, - an allusion full of enigmas, but one which is more clearly expounded in the following verse, both in its direct contents and also in all that it presupposes. “And it will come to pass in that day: the root-sprout of Jesse, which stands as a banner of the peoples, for it will nations ask, and its place of rest is glory.” The first question which is disposed of here, has reference to the apparent restriction thus far of all the blessings of this peaceful rule to Israel and the land of Israel. This restriction, as we now learn, is not for its own sake, but is simply the means of an unlimited extension of this fulness of blessing. The proud tree of the Davidic sovereignty is hewn down, and nothing is left except the root. The new David is shoresh Yishai (the root-sprout of Jesse), and therefore in a certain sense the root itself, because the latter would long ago have perished if it had not borne within itself from the very commencement Him who was now about to issue from it. But when He who had been concealed in the root of Jesse as its sap and strength should have become the rejuvenated root of Jesse itself (cf., Rev 22:16), He would be exalted from this lowly beginning l'nēs ‛ammin, into a banner summoning the nations to assemble, and uniting them around itself. Thus visible to all the world, He would attract the attention of the heathen to Himself, and they would turn to Him with zeal, and His menuchâh, i.e., the place where He had settled down to live and reign (for the word in this local sense, compare Num 10:33 and Psa 132:8, Psa 132:14), would be glory, i.e., the dwelling-place and palace of a king whose light shines over all, who has all beneath His rule, and who gathers all nations around Himself. The Vulgate renders it “et sepulcrum ejus gloriosum” (a leading passage for encouraging pilgrimages), but the passion is here entirely swallowed up by the splendour of the figure of royalty; and menuchah is no more the place of rest in the grave than nēs is the cross, although undoubtedly the cross has become the banner in the actual fulfilment, which divides the parousia of Christ into a first and second coming.

Isa 11:11-12

A second question also concerns Israel. The nation out of which and for which this king will primarily arise, will before that time be scattered far away from its native land, in accordance with the revelation in Isa 6:1-13. How, then, will it be possible for Him to reign in the midst of it? “And it will come to pass in that day, the Lord will stretch out His hand again a second time to redeem the remnant of His people that shall be left, out of Asshur, and out of Egypt, and out of Pathros, and out of Ethiopia, and out of 'Elam, and out of Shinar, and out of Hamath, and out of the islands of the sea. And he raises a banner for the nations, and fetches home the outcasts of Israel; and the dispersed of Judah will He assemble from the four borders of the earth.” Asshur and Egypt stand here in front, and side by side, as the two great powers of the time of Isaiah (cf., Isa 7:18-20). As appendices to Egypt, we have (1.) Pathros, hierogl. to-rēs, and with the article petorēs, the southland, i.e., Upper Egypt, so that Mizraim in the stricter sense is Lower Egypt (see, on the other hand, Jer 44:15); and (2.) Cush, the land which lies still farther south than Upper Egypt on both sides of the Arabian Gulf; and as appendices to Asshur, (1.) 'Elam, i.e., Elymais, in southern Media, to the east of the Tigris; and (2.) Shinar, the plain to the south of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris. Then follow the Syrian Hamath at the northern foot of the Lebanon; and lastly, “the islands of the sea,” i.e., the islands and coast-land of the Mediterranean, together with the whole of the insular continent of Europe. There was no such diaspora of Israel at the time when the prophet uttered this prediction, nor indeed even after the dissolution of the northern kingdom; so that the specification is not historical, but prophetic. The redemption which the prophet here foretells is a second, to be followed by no third; consequently the banishment out of which Israel is redeemed is the ultimate form of that which is threatened in Isa 6:12 (cf., Deu 30:1.). It is the second redemption, the counterpart of the Egyptian. He will then stretch out His hand again (yōsiph, supply lishloach); and as He once delivered Israel out of Egypt, so will He now redeem it - purchase it back (kânâh, opp. mâcar) out of all the countries named. The min attached to the names of the countries is to be construed with liknōth. Observe how, in the prophet’s view, the conversion of the heathen becomes the means of the redemption of Israel. The course which the history of salvation has taken since the first coming of Christ, and which is will continue to take to the end, as described by Paul in the Epistle to the Romans, is distinctly indicated by the prophet. At the word of Jehovah the heathen will set His people free, and even escort them (Isa 49:22; Isa 62:10); and thus He will gather again ('âsaph, with reference to the one gathering point; kibbētz, with reference to the dispersion of those who are to be gathered together) from the utmost ends of the four quarters of the globe, “the outcasts of the kingdom of Israel, and the dispersed of the kingdom of Judah” (nidchē Yisrâe ūnephutzōth Yehūdâh: nidchē = niddechē, with the dagesh dropped before the following guttural),The same occurs in ויסעוּ, וישׂאוּ, ויקנאוּ, מלאוּ, שׁלחוּ, תּקחוּ. In every case the dagesh has fallen out because of the following guttural (Luzzatto, Gramm. §180). both men and women.

Isa 11:13

But this calls to mind the present rent in the unity of the nation; and the third question very naturally arises, whether this rent will continue. The answer to this is given in Isa 11:13 : “And the jealousy of Ephraim is removed, and the adversaries of Judah are cut off; Ephraim will not show jealousy towards Judah, and Judah will not oppose Ephraim.” As the suffix and genitive after tzōrēr are objective in every other instance (e.g., Amo 5:12), tzorerē Yehudâh must mean, not those members of Judah who are hostile to Ephraim, as Ewald, Knobel, and others suppose, but those members of Ephraim who are hostile to Judah, as Umbreit and Schegg expound it. In Isa 11:13 the prophet has chiefly in his mind the old feeling of enmity cherished by the northern tribes, more especially those of Joseph, towards the tribe of Judah, which issued eventually in the division of the kingdom. It is only in Isa 11:13 that he predicts the termination of the hostility of Judah towards Ephraim. The people, when thus brought home again, would form one fraternally united nation, whilst all who broke the peace of this unity would be exposed to the immediate judgment of God (yiccârēthu, will be cut off).

Isa 11:14

A fourth question has reference to the relation between this Israel of the future and the surrounding nations, such as the warlike Philistines, the predatory nomad tribes of the East, the unbrotherly Edomites, the boasting Moabites, and the cruel Ammonites. Will they not disturb and weaken the new Israel, as they did the old? “And they fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines seawards; unitedly they plunder the sons of the East: they seize upon Edom and Moab, and the sons of Ammon are subject to them.” Câthēph (shoulder) was the peculiar name of the coast-land of Philistia which sloped off towards the sea (Jos 15:11); but here it is used with an implied allusion to this, to signify the shoulder of the Philistian nation (becâthēph = becĕthĕph; for the cause see at Isa 5:2), upon which Israel plunges down like an eagle from the height of its mountain-land. The “object of the stretching out of their hand” is equivalent to the object of their grasp. And whenever any one of the surrounding nations mentioned should attack Israel, the whole people would make common cause, and act together. How does this warlike prospect square, however, with the previous promise of paradisaical peace, and the end of all warfare which this promise presupposes (cf., Isa 2:4)? This is a contradiction, the solution of which is to be found in the fact that we have only figures here, and figures drawn from the existing relations and warlike engagements of the nation, in which the prophet pictures that supremacy of the future united Israel over surrounding nations, which is to be maintained by spiritual weapons.

Isa 11:15-16

He dwells still longer upon the miracles in which the antitypical redemption will resemble the typical one. “And Jehovah pronounces the ban upon the sea-tongue of Egypt, and swings His hand over the Euphrates in the glow of His breath, and smites it into seven brooks, and makes it so that men go through in shoes. And there will be a road for the remnant of His people that shall be left, out of Asshur, as it was for Israel in the day of its departure out of the land of Egypt.” The two countries of the diaspora mentioned first are Asshur and Egypt. And Jehovah makes a way by His miraculous power for those who are returning out of both and across both. The sea-tongue of Egypt, which runs between Egypt and Arabia, i.e., the Red Sea (sinus Heroopolitanus, according to another figure), He smites with the ban (hecherim, corresponding in meaning to the pouring out of the vial of wrath in Rev 16:12 -a stronger term than gâ‛ar, e.g., Psa 106:9); and the consequence of this is, that it affords a dry passage to those who are coming back (though without there being any necessity to read hecherı̄b, or to follow Meier and Knobel, who combine hecherı̄m with chârūm, Lev 21:18, in the precarious sense of splitting). And in order that the dividing of Jordan may have its antitype also, Jehovah swings His hand over the Euphrates, to smite, breathing upon it at the same time with burning breath, so that it is split up into seven shallow brooks, through which men can walk in sandals. בּעים stands, according to the law of sound, for בּעים; and the ἁπ λεγ עים (with a fixed kametz), from עום = חום, חמם, to glow, signifies a glowing heat - a meaning which is also so thoroughly supported by the two Arabic verbs med. Ye ‛lm and glm (inf. ‛aim, gaim, internal heat, burning thirst, also violent anger), that there is no need whatever for the conjecture of Luzzatto and Gesenius, בעתסם. The early translators (e.g., lxx πνεύματι βιαίῳ, Syr. beuchdono, with a display of might) merely give conjectural renderings of the word, which had become obsolete before their time; Saadia, however, renders it with etymological correctness suchūn, from sachana, to be hot, or set on fire. Thus, by changing the Euphrates in the (parching) heat of His breath into seven shallow wadys, Jehovah makes a free course for His people who come out of Asshur, etc. This was the idea which presented itself to the prophet in just this shape, though it by no means followed that it must necessarily embody itself in history in this particular form.

Prophecy of the Messiah; The Government of Messiah. (b. c. 740.)

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord ; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord : and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord , as the waters cover the sea.

The prophet had before, in this sermon, spoken of a child that should be born, a son that should be given, on whose shoulders the government should be, intending this for the comfort of the people of God in times of trouble, as dying Jacob, many ages before, had intended the prospect of Shiloh for the comfort of his seed in their affliction in Egypt. He had said (ch. x. 27) that the yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing; now here he tells us on whom that anointing should rest. He foretels,

I. That the Messiah should, in due time, arise out of the house of David, as that branch of the Lord which he had said (ch. iv. 2) should be excellent and glorious; the word is Netzer, which some think is referred to in Matt. ii. 23, where it is said to be spoken by the prophets of the Messiah that he should be called a Nazarene. Observe here, 1. Whence this branch should arise-from Jesse. He should be the son of David, with whom the covenant of royalty was made, and to whom it was promised with an oath that of the fruit of his loins God would raise of Christ, Acts ii. 30. David is often called the son of Jesse, and Christ is called so, because he was to be not only the Son of David, but David himself, Hos. iii. 5. 2. The meanness of his appearance. (1.) He is called a rod, and a branch; both the words here used signify a weak, small, tender product, a twig and a sprig (so some render them), such as is easily broken off. The enemies of God's church were just before compared to strong and stately boughs (ch. x. 33), which will not, without great labour, be hewn down, but Christ to a tender branch (ch. liii. 2); yet he shall be victorious over them. (2.) He is said to come out of Jesse rather than David, because Jesse lived and died in meanness and obscurity; his family was of small account (1 Sam. xviii. 18), and it was in a way of contempt and reproach that David was sometimes called the son of Jesse, 1 Sam. xxii. 7. (3.) He comes forth out of the stem, or stump, of Jesse. When the royal family, that had been as a cedar, was cut down, and only the stump of it left, almost levelled with the ground and lost in the grass of the field (Dan. iv. 15), yet it shall sprout again (Job xiv. 7); nay, it shall grow out of his roots, which are quite buried in the earth, and, like the roots of flowers in the winter, have no stem appearing above ground. The house of David was reduced and brought very low at the time of Christ's birth, witness the obscurity and poverty of Joseph and Mary. The Messiah was thus to begin his estate of humiliation, for submitting to which he should be highly exalted, and would thus give early notice that his kingdom was not of this world. The Chaldee paraphrase reads this, There shall come forth a King from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah (or Christ) shall be anointed out of his sons' sons.

II. That he should be every way qualified for that great work to which he was designed, that this tender branch should be so watered with the dews of heaven as to become a strong rod for a sceptre to rule, v. 2. 1. In general, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and graces, shall not only come, but rest and abide upon him; he shall have the Spirit not by measure, but without measure, the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him, Col. i. 19; ii. 9. He began his preaching with this (Luke iv. 18), The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. 2. In particular, the spirit of government, by which he should be every way fitted for that judgment which the Father has committed to him and given him authority to execute (John v. 22, 27), and not only so, but should be made the fountain and treasury of all grace to believers, that from his fulness they might all receive the Spirit of grace, as all the members of the body derive animal spirits from the head. (1.) He shall have the spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and knowledge; he shall thoroughly understand the business he is to be employed in. No man knows the Father but the Son, Matt. xi. 27. What he is to make known to the children of men concerning God, and his mind and will, he shall be himself acquainted with and apprised of, John i. 18. He shall know how to administer the affairs of his spiritual kingdom in all the branches of it, so as effectually to answer the two great intentions of it, the glory of God and the welfare of the children of men. The terms of the covenant shall be settled by him, and ordinances instituted, in wisdom: treasures of wisdom shall be hid in him; he shall be our counsellor, and shall be made of God to us wisdom. (2.) The spirit of courage, or might, or fortitude. The undertaking was very great, abundance of difficulty must be broken through, and therefore it was necessary that he should be so endowed that he might not fail or be discouraged, ch. xlii. 4. He was famed for courage in his teaching the way of God in truth, and not caring for any man, Matt. xxii. 16. (3.) The spirit of religion, or the fear of the Lord; not only he shall himself have a reverent affection for his Father, as his servant (ch. xlii. 1), and he was heard in that he feared (Heb. v. 7), but he shall have a zeal for religion, and shall design the advancement of it in his whole undertaking. Our faith in Christ was never designed to supersede and jostle out, but to increase and support, our fear of the Lord.

III. That he should be accurate, and critical, and very exact in the administration of his government and the exercise of the power committed to him (v. 3): The Spirit wherewith he shall be clothed shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord—of an acute smell or scent (so the word is), for the apprehensions of the mind are often expressed by the sensations of the body. Note, 1. Those are most truly and valuably intelligent that are so in the fear of the Lord, in the business of religion, for that is both the foundation and top-stone of wisdom. 2. By this it will appear that we have the Spirit of God, if we have spiritual senses exercised, and are of quick understanding in the fear of the lord. Those have divine illumination that know their duty and know how to go about it. 3. Therefore Jesus Christ had the spirit without measure, that he might perfectly understand his undertaking; and he did so, as appears not only in the admirable answers he gave to all that questioned with him, which proved him to be of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, but in the management of his whole undertaking. He has settled the great affair of religion so unexpectedly well (so as effectually to secure both God's honour and man's happiness) that, it must be owned, he thoroughly understood it.

IV. That he should be just and righteous in all the acts of his government, and there should appear in it as much equity as wisdom. He shall judge as he expresses it himself, and as he himself would be judged of, John vii. 24. 1. Not according to outward appearance (v. 3): he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, with respect of persons (Job xxxiv. 19) and according to outward shows and appearances, not reprove after the hearing of his ears, by common fame and report, and the representations of others, as men commonly do; nor does he judge of men by the fair words they speak, calling him, Lord, Lord, or their plausible actions before the eye of the world, which they do to be seen of men; but he will judge by the hidden man of the heart, and the inward principles men are governed by, of which he is an infallible witness. Christ will judge the secrets of men (Rom. ii. 16), will determine concerning them, not according to their own pretensions and appearances (that were to judge after the sight of the eyes), not according to the opinion others have of them (that were to judge after the hearing of the ears), but we are sure that his judgment is according to truth. 2. He will judge righteous judgment (v. 5): Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins. He shall be righteous in the administration of his government, and his righteousness shall be his girdle; it shall constantly compass him and cleave to him, shall be his ornament and honour; he shall gird himself for every action, shall gird on his sword for war in righteousness; his righteousness shall be his strength, and shall make him expeditious in his undertakings, as a man with his loins girt. In conformity to Christ, his followers must have the girdle of truth (Eph. vi. 14) and it will be the stability of the times. Particularly, (1.) He shall in righteousness plead for the people that are poor and oppressed; he will be their protector (v. 4): With righteousness shall he judge the poor; he shall judge in favour and defence of those that have right on their side, though they are poor in the world, and because they are poor in spirit. It is the duty of princes to defend and deliver the poor (Ps. lxxxii. 3, 4), and the honour of Christ that he is the poor man's King, Ps. lxxii. 2, 4. He shall debate with evenness for the meek of the earth, or of the land; those that bear the injuries done them with meekness and patience are in a special manner entitled to the divine care and protection. I, as a deaf man, heard not, for thou wilt hear, Ps. xxxviii. 13, 14. Some read it, He shall reprove or correct the meek of the earth with equity. If his own people, the meek of the land, do amiss, he will visit their transgression with the rod. (2.) He shall in righteousness plead against his enemies that are proud and oppressors (v. 4): But he shall smite the earth, the man of the earth, that doth oppress (see Ps. x. 18), the men of the world, that mind earthly things only (Ps. xvii. 14); these he shall smite with the rod of his mouth, the word of his mouth, speaking terror and ruin to them; his threatenings shall take hold of them, and be executed upon them. With the breath of his lips, by the operation of his Spirit, according to his word, and working with and by it, he shall slay the wicked. He will do it easily, with a word's speaking, as he laid those flat who came to seize him, by saying I am he, John xviii. 6. Killing terrors shall arrest their consciences, killing judgments shall ruin them, their power, and all their interests; and in the other world everlasting tribulation will be recompensed to those that trouble his poor people. The apostle applies this to the destruction of the man of sin, whom he calls that wicked one (2 Thess. ii. 8) whom the Lord will consume with the spirit of his mouth. And the Chaldee here reads it, He shall slay that wicked Romulus, or Rome, as Mr. Hugh Broughton understands it.

V. That there should be great peace and tranquillity under his government; this is an explication of what was said in ch. ix. 6, that he should be the Prince of peace. Peace signifies two things:—

1. Unity or concord, which is intimated in these figurative promises, that even the wolf shall dwell peaceably with the lamb; men of the most fierce and furious dispositions, who used to bite and devour all about them, shall have their temper so strangely altered by the efficacy of the gospel and grace of Christ that they shall live in love even with the weakest and such as formerly they would have made an easy prey of. So far shall the sheep be from hurting one another, as sometimes they have done (Ezek. xxxiv. 20, 21), that even the wolves shall agree with them. Christ, who is our peace, came to slay all enmities and to settle lasting friendships among his followers, particularly between Jews and Gentiles: when multitudes of both, being converted to the faith of Christ, united in one sheep-fold, then the wolf and the lamb dwelt together; the wolf did not so much as threaten the lamb, nor was the lamb afraid of the wolf. The leopard shall not only not tear the kid, but shall lie down with her: even their young ones shall lie down together, and shall be trained up in a blessed amity, in order to the perpetuating of it. The lion shall cease to be ravenous and shall eat straw like the ox, as some think all the beasts of prey did before the fall. The asp and the cockatrice shall cease to be venomous, so that parents shall let their children play with them and put their hands among them. A generation of vipers shall become a seed of saints, and the old complaint of homo homini lupus—man is a wolf to man, shall be at an end. Those that inhabit the holy mountain shall live as amicably as the creatures did that were with Noah in the ark, and it shall be a means of their preservation, for they shall not hurt nor destroy one another as they have done. Now, (1.) This is fulfilled in the wonderful effect of the gospel upon the minds of those that sincerely embrace it; it changes the nature, and makes those that trampled on the meek of the earth, not only meek like them, but affectionate towards them. When Paul, who had persecuted the saints, joined himself to them, then the wolf dwelt with the lamb. (2.) Some are willing to hope it shall yet have a further accomplishment in the latter days, when swords shall be beaten into ploughshares.

2. Safety or security. Christ, the great Shepherd, shall take such care of the flock that those who would hurt them shall not; they shall not only not destroy one another, but no enemy from without shall be permitted to give them any molestation. The property of troubles, and of death itself, shall be so altered that they shall not do any real hurt to, much less shall they be the destruction of, any that have their conversation in the holy mountain, 1 Pet. iii. 13. Who, or what, can harm us, if we be followers of him that is good? God's people shall be delivered, not only from evil, but from the fear of it. Even the sucking child shall without any terror play upon the hole of the asp; blessed Paul does so when he says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? and, O death! where is thy sting?

Lastly, Observe what shall be the effect, and what the cause, of this wonderful softening and sweetening of men's tempers by the grace of God. 1. The effect of it shall be tractableness, and a willingness to receive instruction: A little child shall lead those who formerly scorned to be controlled by the strongest man. Calvin understands it of their willing submission to the ministers of Christ, who are to instruct with meekness and not to use any coercive power, but to be as little children, Matt. xviii. 3. See 2 Cor. viii. 5. 2. The cause of it shall be the knowledge of God. The more there is of that the more there is of a disposition to peace. They shall thus live in love, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, which shall extinguish men's heats and animosities. The better acquainted we are with the God of love the more shall we be changed into the same image and the better affected shall we be to all those that bear his image. The earth shall be as full of this knowledge as the channels of the sea are of water—so broad and extensive shall this knowledge be and so far shall it spread—so deep and substantial shall this knowledge be, and so long shall it last. There is much more of the knowledge of God to be got by the gospel of Christ than could be got by the law of Moses; and, whereas then in Judah only was God known, now all shall know him, Heb. viii. 11. But that is knowledge falsely so called which sows discord among men; the right knowledge of God settles peace.

Advancement of Messiah's Kingdom. (b. c. 740.)

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. 14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. 15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry-shod. 16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

We have here a further prophecy of the enlargement and advancement of the kingdom of the Messiah, under the type and figure of the flourishing condition of the kingdom of Judah in the latter end of Hezekiah's reign, after the defeat of Sennacherib.

I. This prediction was in part accomplished when the great things God did for Hezekiah and his people proved as an ensign, inviting the neighbouring nations to them to enquire of the wonders done in the land, on which errand the king of Babylon's ambassadors came. To them the Gentiles sought; and Jerusalem, the rest or habitation of the Jews, was then glorious, v. 10. Then many of the Israelites who belonged to the kingdom of the ten tribes, who upon the destruction of that kingdom by the king of Assyria were forced to flee for shelter into all the countries about and to some that lay very remote, even to the islands of the sea, were encouraged to return to their own country and put themselves under the protection and government of the king of Judah, the rather because it was an Assyrian army by which their country had been ruined and that was not routed. This is said to be a recovery of them the second time (v. 11), such an instance of the power and goodness of God, and such a reviving to them, as their first deliverance out of Egypt was. Then the outcasts of Israel should be gathered in, and brought home, and those of Judah too, who, upon the approach of the Assyrian army, shifted for their own safety. Then the old feud between Ephraim and Judah shall be forgotten, and they shall join against the Philistines and their other common enemies, v. 13, 14. Note, Those who have been sharers with each other in afflictions and mercies, dangers and deliverances, ought in consideration thereof to unite for their joint and mutual safety and protection; and it is likely to be well with the church when Ephraim and Judah are one against the Philistines. Then, whatever difficulties there may be in the way of the return of the dispersed, the Lord shall find out some way or other to remove them, as when he brought Israel out of Egypt he dried up the Red Sea and Jordan (v. 15) and led them to Canaan through the invincible embarrassments of a vast howling wilderness, v. 16. The like will he do this second time, or that which shall be equivalent. When God's time has come for the deliverance of his people mountains of opposition shall become plain before him. Let us not despair therefore when the interests of the church seem to be brought very low; God can soon turn gloomy days into glorious ones.

II. It had a further reference to the days of the Messiah and the accession of the Gentiles to his kingdom; for to these the apostle applies v. 10, of which the following verses are a continuation. Rom. xv. 12, There shall be a root of Jesse; and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles trust. That is a key to this prophecy, which speaks of Christ as the root of Jesse, or a branch out of his roots (v. 1), a root out of a dry ground, ch. liii. 2. He is the root of David (Rev. v. 5), the root and offspring of David Rev. xxii. 16.

1. He shall stand, or be set up, for an ensign of the people. When he was crucified he was lifted up from the earth, that, as an ensign of beacon, he might draw the eyes and the hearts of all men unto him, John xii. 32. He is set up as an ensign in the preaching of the everlasting gospel, in which the ministers, as standard-bearers, display the banner of his love, to allure us to him (Cant. i. 4), the banner of his truth, under which we may enlist ourselves, to engage in a holy war against sin and Satan. Christ is the ensign to which the children of God that were scattered abroad are gathered together (John xi. 51), and in him they meet as the centre of their unity.

2. To him shall the Gentiles seek. We read of Greeks that did so (John xii. 21, We would see Jesus), and upon that occasion Christ spoke of his being lifted up, to draw all men to him. The apostle, from the LXX. (or perhaps the LXX. from the apostle, in the editions after Christ) reads it (Rom. xv. 12), In him shall the Gentiles trust; they shall seek to him with a dependence on him.

3. His rest shall be glorious. Some understand this of the death of Christ (the triumphs of the cross made even that glorious), others of his ascension, when he sat down to rest at the right hand of God. Or rather it is meant of the gospel church, that Mount Zion of which Christ has said, This is my rest, and in which he resides. This, though despised by the world, having upon it the beauty of holiness, is truly glorious, a glorious high throne, Jer. xvii. 12.

4. Both Jews and Gentiles shall be gathered to him, v. 11. A remnant of both, a little remnant in comparison, which shall be recovered, as it were, with great difficulty and hazard. As formerly God delivered his people, and gathered them out of all the countries whither they were scattered (Ps. cvi. 47; Jer. xvi. 15, 16), so he will a second time, in another way, by the powerful working of the Spirit of grace with the word. He shall set his hand to do it; he shall exert his power, the arm of the Lord shall be revealed to do it. (1.) There shall be a remnant of the Jews gathered in: The outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah (v. 12), many of whom, at the time of the bringing of them in to Christ, were Jews of the dispersion, the twelve tribes that were scattered abroad (James i. 1; 1 Pet. i. 1), shall flock to Christ; and probably more of those scattered Jews were brought into the church, in proportion, than of those which remained in their own land. (2.) Many of the nations, the Gentiles, shall be brought in by the lifting up of the ensign. Jacob foretold concerning Shiloh that to him should the gathering of the people be. Those that were strangers and foreigners shall be made nigh. The Jews were jealous of Christ's going to the dispersed among the Gentiles and of his teaching the Gentiles, John vii. 35.

5. There shall be a happy accommodation between Judah and Ephraim, and both shall be safe from their adversaries and have dominion over them, v. 13, 14. The coalescence between Judah and Israel at that time was a type and figure of the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, who had been so long at variance in the gospel church. The house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel (Jer. iii. 18) and become one nation (Ezek. xxxvii. 22); so the Jews and Gentiles are made of twain one new man (Eph. ii. 15), and, being at peace one with another, those that are adversaries to them both shall be cut off; for they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines, as an eagle strikes at her prey, shall spoil those on the west side of them, and then they shall extend their conquests eastward over the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites. The gospel of Christ shall be successful in all parts, and some of all nations shall become obedient to the faith.

6. Every thing that might hinder the progress and success of the gospel shall be taken out of the way. As when God brought Israel out of Egypt he dried up the Red Sea and Jordan before them (ch. lxiii. 11, 12), and as afterwards when he brought up the Jews out of Babylon he prepared them their way (ch. lxii. 10), so when Jews and Gentiles are to be brought together into the gospel church all obstructions shall be removed (v. 15, 16), difficulties that seemed insuperable shall be strangely got over, the blind shall be led by a way that they knew not. See ch. xlii. 15, 16; xliii. 19, 20. Converts shall be brought in chariots and in litters, ch. lxvi. 20. Some think it is the further accession of multitudes to the church that is pointed at in that obscure prophecy of the drying up of the river Euphrates, that the way of the kings of the east may be prepared (Rev. xvi. 12), which seems to refer to this prophecy. Note, When God's time has come for the bringing of nations, or particular persons, home to himself, divine grace will be victorious over all opposition. At the presence of the Lord the sea shall flee and Jordan be driven back; and those who set their faces heavenward will find there are not such difficulties in the way as they thought there were, for there is a highway thither, ch. xxxv. 8.

CHAP. XI.

Ver. 1. ANd there ſhall come forth a rod] i. e. Chriſt ſhall be born: whom our Prophet having called the annointing or Meſſiah, chap. 10.27. maketh him and his Kingdom hence forward the chief matter of his diſcourſe, to the end of his book. Here he beginneth with his Nativity, calling him a Rod or Twig ſpringing not out of the ſtock of David, but out of the ſtump of Jeſſe a mean man, and that then, when the Royal Family was ſunk ſo low as from David the King, to Joſeph the Carpenter. Well might Chryſoſtom ſay, that the foundation of our Philoſophy was humility: And another, that at Bethlehem brake forth that well of Salvation, Scultet. which in the type once David ſo thirſted after, 2 Sam. 23.15.

And a branch] Or the Nazaren born at Nazareth (ſaith Junius) which ſignifieth a branch; for ſo it was generally deemed: and our Saviour ſtileth himſelf Jeſus of Nazareth, Act. 22.8. and on his Croſs they wrote Jeſus of Nazareth King of the Jews: wherein that Prodigie (faith A Lapide) ſeemeth to have fallen out, concerning which the Poet enquireth, Dic quibus in terris inſcripti nomine Regis Naſcantur fl[illegible: 1 letter]res.—

For Nazareth, he interpreteth a Flower, or ſomething flowry; and for (ſhall grow) others render ſhall bud, or bear fruit.

Ver. 2. And the Spirit of the Lord ſhall reſt upon him] After ſuch a deſcription of Chriſts perſon, as ver. 1. followeth here a Declaration of his Kingdom, which is ſet forth to be Firſt, Spiritual, ver. 2. Secondly, Juſt, ver. 3 4.5. Thirdly, Peaceable, ver. 6.7, 8, 9. Fourthly, Ample, as made up of Gentiles and Jews, ver. 11, &c.

Shall reſt upon him] His Humanity ſhall be filled topful with the Gifts and Graces of the Holy Ghoſt,Diodat. Annot. to be as it were an Everlaſting Treaſure and Ciſtern full of them for the uſe of the Church, John 1.16. & 3.34. Acts 2.33. And this was typified by the Holy Ghoſts deſcending in the likeneſs of a Dove at the time of his Baptiſm, and reſting upon him. Matth. 3.16. John 1.32, 33.

The spirit of wiſdome and underſtanding] Theſe ſix Princely Vertues (for the Schoolmen, miſled by the vulgar Tranſlation, falſly found their ſeptiformem gratiam spiritus ſancti) were eminently and tranſcendently in Chriſt, they ſhould be alſo found in ſome meaſure in all Rulers, Deut. 1.16. Exod. 18.25. Lev. 19. 1 King. 3.12.

Ver. 3. And ſhall make him of quick undeſtanding] Heb. It ſhall make him ſcent or ſmell, ſc. by a ſingular ſagacity and ſharpneſs of judgement in ſmelling out an Hypocrite, as Simon Peter did Simon Magus, who had deceived Philip, even unto Baptiſm; but Peter ſoon found him out: how much more will Chriſt? His ſharp Noſe eaſily diſcerneth and is offended with the ſtinking breath of the Hypocrites rotten Lungs; though his words be never ſo ſcented and perfumed with ſhews of holineſs. So for the innocency of the godly, when being defamed they pray as Paul, apologize and cannot be heard as the Primitive Chriſtians;Pſal. 37.6. Chriſt will bring forth their Righteouſneſs as the Light, and their judgement as the noon day.

And he ſhall not judge after the ſight of his eyes] He cannot be cozened, as knowing all hearts, and as having all things naked and diſſected before his eyes, Heb. 4.1[illegible: 1 letter]. Matth. 9.12. John 2.24. Others judge by relation of others, and ſecundum allegata & probata, not ſo Jeſus Chriſt: but he ſhall alwayes proceed upon his own knowledge, and ſo paſs a moſt righteous Sentence. Oecolampadius thinks the Prophet here alludeth to Solomons ſentence paſſed on the two Harlots, 1 King. 3.

Ver. 4. But with righteouſneſs judge the poor] i.e. The poor in ſpirit, thoſe meek ones of the earth. So the Anabaptiſts of Germany called themſelves, and ſaid, that now the Promiſe muſt be fulfilled, The meek ſhall inherit the earth; when as they by blood, rapine, cruel wars, ſeized on the poſſeſſions of others. And have we not now amongſt us many loaves of the ſame Leven, brats of the ſame breed,This was written, May 1. 1657. bloody in their poſitions and diſpoſitions (the fifth Monarchy-men they call themſelves) Chriſt Jeſus (as he hath lately to his great praiſe, ſo ſtill) preſerve, and bleſs us out of their bloody fingers, and from their prodigious principles, and practices. He hath promiſed it here, and much more; Thou ſhalt give thy Judgement to the King (Chriſt) and he ſhall deliver the poor, Pſal. 72.2. viz. from all foes and perſecutors.

And he ſhall ſmite the earth] i. e. Earthly-minded men, who are of the earth, ſpeak of the earth, and the earth heareth them, John 3.31. As the earth is cold and dry: ſo are they. As the earth is heavy and beareth downward: ſo do they. As the earth keepeth down hot exhalations that naturally would aſcend: ſo is it with ſuch. And laſtly, as the earth ſtandeth ſtill in the midſt of Heaven, and taketh no notice of the whole circumference that is carryed round about it: ſo are earthly men ſtupid and inſenſible, &c. Howbeit, by the Rod of his mouth, that is, by the preaching of the Goſpel, Chriſt doth eftſoones ſecretly ſmite the earth, that is, the conſciences of carnal people, glued to the earth, making them ſound heavily as a ſhawlm.

And with the breath of his lips ſhall he ſtay the wicked] The Devil and his Deputies, Antichriſt eſpecially, 2 Theſſ. 2.8. and that with little ado, even with a blaſt of his lips only: as with his bare Word he laid on their backs, thoſe Souldiers that came to apprehend him.

Ver. 5. And righteouſneſs ſhall be the girdle of his Loyns] Symbelum Regis hoc eſt, The girdle is put for a Kingly Enſign, Job 12.18. Calvin. ſaith Scultetus. Kings and Princes have their ſcita in ſcutis, their Motto's on their Eſcucheons; ſo hath our King here, viz. Righteouſneſs and Faithfulneſs: and this is ſo manifeſt as if written on his girdle, or belt: See Rev. 19.16. where for like cauſe, Chriſts high Titles are written on his veſture, and on his thigh. Others, by this Expreſſion underſtand Chriſts alacrity and promptitude to vindicate his Elect, and to puniſh the wicked, according to his promiſe, Vaticinatur de Chriſti ſolertia in obeundis regni Dei negotiis, ac tribuit illi cincturam, ſeu induſtriam ſpiritualem pro qualitate obeundae diſpenſationis. Zeged. Let us alſo, Chriſt-like, gird up the loyns of our minds, he ſober, and hope perfectly, 1 Pet. 1.13. Gird our ſelves and ſerve him, Luke 17.8. readily, nimbly, handſomely and hardily: A looſe diſcinct and diffluent mind is unfit for Gods ſervice.

Ver. 6. The Wolf alſo ſhall dwell with the Lamb] Not worrying as he was wont, but made tame and tractable. Lo, ſuch a bleſſed change is wrought in all true Converts, as is to be ſeen in Paul, that Wolf of the Tribe of Benjamin propheſied of by Jacob, Sleidan. l. 21. pag. 650. Bucholc. Anno. 1548. Act. & Mon. 919. Fullers Church-Hiſt. Fol. 405. Gen. 49.27. as ſome hold. And the like may be ſaid of Petrus Paulus Vergerius, once the Popes Nuntio, but afterwards a great Preacher of the Goſpel. Hugh Latimer once as obſtinate a Papiſt as any was in England (they are his own words) but converted by bleſſed Bilney (as he called him uſually) he became a zealous promoter of the truth according to godlineſs, Confeſſor general to all Proteſtants troubled in mind, and the Treaſury into which reſtored ill-gotten goods were caſt, to be beſtowed on the poor acording to his diſcretior.

And the Leopard ſhall lie down with the Kid] As they did at the Creation, and afterward in Noahs Ark, all bloodineſs and rapine laid aſide. Thoſe that love not one another out of a pure heart fervently, but are filled with envy, malice, debate, deceit, malignity, are none of Chriſts ſubjects, nor fellow Citizens with the Saints.

And a little child ſhall lead them] That is, the child Jeſus (ſay ſome Interpreters) by the conduct of his Holy Spirit: or the Apoſtles and other godly Miniſters, who were counted but as little children to the Phariſees and Philoſophers, called the Grandees and Princes of this world, 1 Cor. 2.8. But they do beſt that underſtand it of ſuch a tractableneſs and teachableneſs in Chriſtians, Ʋt vel ex puero, h. e. ex inopi & ſimplici quovis. Sculter. that they can be content to learn of any one, though never ſo mean, that can better inform them. See this in Apollos, Act. 18.26. Auguſtine, as himſelf witneſſeth thus in one of his Epiſtles, En adſum ſenex à juvene cöepiſcopo, Epiſcopus tot annorum à collega nondum anniculo paratus ſum diſcere, I am here an old man ready to learn from a yong man my Coadjutor in the Miniſtery; and ſo old a Biſhop, from one who hath ſcarce been a year in the ſervice. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Hippocrates adviſeth men not to ſlack or diſdain to learn even of thoſe who are counted Ideots.

Ver. 7. And the Cow and the Bear ſhall feed] An Allegorical deſcription of greateſt confidence and innocence, ſaith Junius; Bears are angry and vindictive creatures; ſo are the beſt by nature, Tit. 3.3. till cicurated and manſuefied by Gods diſtinguiſhing Grace. As for thoſe ſemiperfectae vertutis homines (as an Ancient calleth them) Temporaries and Hypocrites, who do only the outward works of duty, without the inward principle, it may be ſaid of them as the civil Law doth of thoſe mixt beaſts, Elephants, Camels, &c. operam praeſtant, natura fera eſt, they do the work of tame beaſts, yet have the nature of wild ones.

Their yong ones ſhall lie down together] Heb. their children, i e. ſay ſome, children after Parents ſhall do thus, and their children after them from age to age:Arcularius. not revolting any more to barbariſm.

And the Lyon ſhall eat ſtraw] Not men, and other ſenſitive creatures, as now.C[illegible: 1 letter]nverſi non vivent ex rapto: ſed legitime partis reculis contenti erunt. This (ſay the Chiliaſts after ſome Rabbins) ſhall be literally fulfilled in that golden Age of Chriſts perſonal Reign upon earth: A meer fancy, firſt vented by Papias, a man of ſome holineſs, but ingenii pertenuis, of very little judgement, ſaith Euſebius.

Ver. 8. And the ſucking child ſhall play upon the hole of the aſp, &c.] There ſhall be no danger from calumniators and cruel-crafties, Aſps and Baſiliskes, quorum in labris venenum ſeſſitat, Pſalm 140.4. Theſe homines damnoſiſſimi ſhall have a new nature transfuſed into them; their malign[illegible: 1 letter]ties and miſchievous qualities ſhall ceaſe when once truly converted.

Ver. 9. None ſhall hurt] Here the foregoing Allegory is fully explained. In Gods Holy Mountain, that is, in the Church, there ſhall be an holy harmleſneſs, and a ſweet Harmony of hearts: The word amongſt them ſhall be this, Beloved, if God ſo loved us, we ought alſo to love one another, 1 John 4 11. Some differences and jarrs there may fall out among the beſt, as did betwixt Paul and Barnabas, Hierom and Auſtin, Luther and Zuinglius: but theſe laſt not long; at utmoſt but till they come to Heaven: and the ground of ſuch a diſtemper, is, that we know but in part, and therefore love but in part, 1 Cor. 13. O pray for that bleſſed ſight, Eph. 1.17, 18. and for a fuller comprehenſion of thoſe ſeveral dimenſions, Eph. 3.18. that the earth may be full of the Knowledge of the Lord.

As the waters cover the ſea] i e. The boſom and bottom of it, that Gods Word may dwell richly in us in all wiſdom, and that the knowledge we have of it may be a transforming knowledge, 2 Cor. 3.18. Two or three words of Gods mouth hid in the heart, and there mingled with faith, work ſuch an evident and entire change in a man (ſaith Lactantius) that you can hardly know him to be the ſame.Lactant. Inſtit. lib. 3. cap. 86. Da mihi virum qui ſit iracundus, maledicus, effraenatus, pauciſſimis Dei verbis tam placidum quam ovem reddam. Da cupidum, avarum, tenacem, &c. Give me a man that is angry, ill-ſpoken, unruly; with a few words of Almighty God, Ile make him as meek as a Lamb. Give me one that is covetous, an oppreſſive hold-faſt, a very Nabal, Ile make him a Nadib, of a covetous carle a liberal perſon, of a Viper a child, of a leacher a chaſt man, &c. Lo this is the fruit of the ſound and ſaving Knowledge of God, and of his Word, of our ſelves and of our duties.

Ver. 10. And in that day] In the day of Chriſts power (or Kingdom) the people ſhall be willing, Pſalm 110.3. The Iſles ſhall wait for Gods Law, Iſa. 42.8. Multitudes of Nations ſhall come crowding in to his greateſt glory, Prov. 14.2. and for the fulfilling of old Jacobs Propheſie, Gen. 49.10.

There ſhall be a root of Jeſſe] See on ver. 1.

Which ſhall ſtand for an Enſign] or Standard, whereto all the Elect muſt Aſſemble: and hereby is meant the preaching of the Goſpel.

Shall the Gentiles ſeek] Ferventi ſtudio, magno deſiderio, non coacti: they ſhall flye thereto as the Clouds, and as Doves ſcour to their windows, chap. 60.8.

And his reſt] that is, His Church, with whom he reſteth and reſideth, Pſal. 132.8. He reſteth alſo in his Love to his people, and rejoyceth over them with ſinging, Zeph. 3.17. See the Notes there.

Shall be glorious] Heb. glory, ſc. per ſanctitutem, chap. 4.5.

Ver. 11. The Lord ſhall ſet his hand again the ſecond time] Not to bring them back to the promiſed Land, to Paleſtina, as once he did out of Aegypt: thats but a Rabbinical dream, not unlike that other, viz. that all Jews, in what Countrey ſoever they are buried, do travel thorow certain under-ground-paſſages till they come to their own Countrey of Jury. But with a ſtretcht-out hand he ſhall recover the remnant of his people that ſhall be left: So the Poet, —relliquias Danaum at que immitis Achillei.

He ſhall recover] Or get, buy, purchaſe, that poor diſſected Nation,Elevatio ſigni eſt praedicatio Crucifix Oecolamp. out of all places of their diſperſion; uniting their minds, and ſubduing their enemies.

Ver. 12. And he ſhall ſet up an Enſign] See on ver. 10.

Diſperſas oves Judae. Piſcat. The diſperſed of Judah] See John 7.35. Jam. 1.1. The word diſperſed in the Hebrew is Feminine, to ſhew that no ſort or ſex ſhall be excluded, Col. 3.11.

Diſcimus ſub Chriſto finem ſore ſimultatum & odiorum. Oecol. Dan. hiſt. 249. Ver. 13. The envy alſo of Ephraim ſhall depart] The fierce wrath or deadly feud that was betwixt the ten revolted Tribes of Judah, the like whereunto was between England and Scotland, and in England between the Houſes of York and Lancaſter: in which laſt-mentioned diſſention were ſlain fourſcore Princes of the blood Royal, and twice as many Natives of England as were loſt in the two Conqueſts of France. This emulation and hatred of Ephraim againſt Judah was to be aboliſhed by Chriſt, Ezek. 37.17. The Diſciples, being of ſeveral Tribes, were all of one heart, and of one ſoul,Peza ex Beda. Act. 4.32. Neither was there any controverſie at all amongſt them, as one ancient Greek Coppy addeth to that forecited Text.

Ver. 14. But they ſhall flee upon the ſhoulders] A Metaphor from Conquerers who purſue their enemies, and fall upon the bones of them, as we ſay. The meaning is, The Gentiles ſhall be converted to the Chriſtian faith by the Jews, See Gen. 49.8. viz. by the Apoſtles and other Preachers of the Goſpel. Thus Philip was found at Azotus, or Aſhdod, Act. 8. Peter at Joppe, Act. 10. At Gaza and Askelon were many flouriſhing Churches in the times of Athanaſius and Chryſoſtom, Tertul. ſaith Adrichomius. Brittannorum inacceſſa Romanis loca, Chriſto patuerunt.

Ver. 15. And the Lord ſhall utterly deſtroy the tongue of the Aegyptian ſea] that is, by drying up, or driving away the waters, He ſhall open a way through the red Sea, which repreſenteth the form and faſhion of a Tongue. He alludeth to Exod. 14. for Chriſt being our Conduct we do enter by Baptiſm (as by the red Sea) into the Church: and after this life preſent, into the Kingdom of Heaven.

He ſhall ſhake his hand over the River] The River Nilus. The ſenſe is, he ſhall remove all obſtacles and impediments. This was fulfilled, Acts 2.

With his mighty wind] The Chaldee paraphraſeth in eloquio prophetarum ſuorum, by the word of his Prophets: quod Apoſtolis non parum congruit, (ſaith Oecolampadius) which very well agreeth to the Apoſtles, converting the Elect, whom neither heighth, nor depth could keep from the love of God which is in Chriſt Jeſus our Lord, Rom. 8.39. The Jews expect (but in vain) that all theſe things ſhould be fulfilled unto them in the letter by their Meſſias, as once they were by Moſes at the red Sea.

And make men go over dry-ſhod] without boat, or boot.

Ver. 16. And there ſhall be an high-way] Agger, via ſtrata, a Cauſey,chap. 7.3.

In the day that he came up out of the Land of Aegypt] This ſignal deliverance was a clear Type of our Redemption by Chriſt. And this Propheſie was fulfilled when thouſands of the Aegyptians were converted by Mark the Evangeliſt and other Preachers: as alſo when other Nations forſook Spiritual Aegypt, Rev. 11.8. and embraced the Truth.