Isaiah 26 commentary

"That day," seems to mean when the New Testament Babylon shall be levelled with the ground. The unchangeable promise and covenant of the Lord are the walls of the church of God. The gates of this city shall be open. Let sinners then be encouraged to join to the Lord. Thou wilt keep him in peace; in perfect peace, inward peace, outward peace, peace with God, peace of conscience, peace at all times, in all events. Trust in the Lord for that peace, that portion, which will be for ever. Whatever we trust to the world for, it will last only for a moment; but those who trust in God shall not only find in him, but shall receive from him, strength that will carry them to that blessedness which is for ever. Let us then acknowledge him in all our ways, and rely on him in all trials.

The way of the just is evenness, a steady course of obedience and holy conversation. And it is their happiness that God makes their way plain and easy. It is our duty, and will be our comfort, to wait for God, to keep up holy desires toward him in the darkest and most discouraging times. Our troubles must never turn us from God; and in the darkest, longest night of affliction, with our souls must we desire him; and this we must wait and pray to him for. We make nothing of our religion, whatever our profession may be, if we do not make heart-work of it. Though we come ever so early, we shall find God ready to receive us. The intention of afflictions is to teach righteousness: blessed is the man whom the Lord thus teaches. But sinners walk contrary to him. They will go on in their evil ways, because they will not consider what a God he is whose laws they persist in despising. Scorners and the secure will shortly feel, what now they will not believe, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. They will not see the evil of sin; but they shall see. Oh that they would abandon their sins, and turn to the Lord, that he may have mercy upon them.

Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came drop by drop; now they pour it out, it comes now like water from a fountain. Afflictions bring us to secret prayer. Consider Christ as the Speaker addressing his church. His resurrection from the dead was an earnest of all the deliverance foretold. The power of his grace, like the dew or rain, which causes the herbs that seem dead to revive, would raise his church from the lowest state. But we may refer to the resurrection of the dead, especially of those united to Christ.

When dangers threaten, it is good to retire and lie hid; when we commend ourselves to God to hide us, he will hide us either under heaven or in heaven. Thus we shall be safe and happy in the midst of tribulations. It is but for a short time, as it were for a little moment; when over, it will seem as nothing. God's place is the mercy-seat; there he delights to be: when he punishes, he comes out of his place, for he has no pleasure in the death of sinners. But there is hardly any truth more frequently repeated in Scripture, than God's determined purpose to punish the workers of iniquity. Let us keep close to the Lord, and separate from the world; and let us seek comfort in secret prayer. A day of vengeance is coming on the world, and before it comes we are to expect tribulation and suffering. But because the Christian looks for these things, shall he be restless and dismayed? No, let him repose himself in his God. Abiding in him, the believer is safe. And let us wait patiently the fulfilling of God's promises.

1. In that day shall a song be sung. Here the Prophet begins again to shew that, after the return of the people from captivity, they will be defended by God’s power and guardianship, and that under his protection Jerusalem will be as safe as if she had been surrounded by bulwarks, ramparts, a ditch, and a double wall, so that no enemy could find entrance.

It is proper to observe the time when “this song was sung.” The Prophet had foretold the calamity that would befall the Church, which was not yet so near at hand, but happened a short time after his death. When the people were led into captivity, they would undoubtedly have despaired, if they had not been encouraged by such promises. That the Jews might cherish a hope that they would be delivered, and might behold life in the midst of death, the Prophet composed for them this song, even before the calamity occurred, that they might be better prepared for enduring it, and might hope for better things. I do not think that it was composed solely that, when they had been delivered, they might give thanks to God, but that even during their captivity, though they were like dead men, (Ezekiel 37:1,) they might strengthen their hearts with this confidence, and might also train up their children in this expectation, and hand down these promises, as it were, to posterity.

We have formerly See vol. 1 p. 162.

FT412 See Calvin on Isaiah, vol. 1 p. 384

FT413 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace (Heb. peace, peace) whose mind (or, thought, or, imagination) is stayed on thee.” — Eng. Ver.

FT414 “For in the Lord Jehovah is (Heb. the Rock of ages) everlasting strength.” — Eng. Ver.

FT415 “For he bringeth down them that dwell on high.” — Eng. Ver.

FT416 See Commentary on Isaiah, vol. 1 p. 407

FT417 It will be observed, that this accords very nearly with our English version. — Ed

FT418 Bishop Stock’s rendering is, “The road of the just is the direct road; rightly the path of the just dost thou make even;” and he makes the following annotations: — “The direct road to happiness, the object of all human pursuit. ‘Rightly,’ or with reason, ‘the path of the just dost thou make even,’ smooth before him, till he reaches his journey’s end. ‘The straight road is the short one,’ says the divine as well as the geometrician.” — Ed

FT419 “A se fier en Dieu;” — “To trust in God.”

FT420 “Encor que les choses soyent du tout hors d’espoir;” — “Even when matters are altogether beyond hope.”

FT421 “Tous les desirs et travaux des hommes.”

FT422 “Early.” — (Eng. Ver.) In the marginal reading of the Author’s version, he renders it “earnestly.” — Ed

FT423 “Que les hommes sont enseignez à eraindre Dieu par les verges dont il les frappe;” — “That men are taught to fear God by the scourges with which he strikes them.”

FT424 “Let favour be shewed to the wicked.” — Eng. Ver.

FT425 “Et se retiennent en bride de crainte qu’ils ont d’estre fouettez;” — “And are kept in check through fear of being chastised.”

FT426 Accordingly, our English version, instead of “upright actions,” uses the term “uprightness,” which corresponds to the Author’s French version, “la terre de droiture,” “the land of uprightness.” — Ed

FT427 “La terre de droiture;” — “The land of uprightness.”

FT428 The Author refers to his exposition of Isaiah 5:12. See Commentary on Isaiah, vol. 1 p. 176

FT429 Μετωνυμία, or metonymy, denotes that figure of rhetoric by which one word is exchanged for another on account of a connection of idea, such as, “Moses and the prophets,” for their works, or, as in this passage, the “hand” for the works performed by it. — Ed

FT430 “(They are) dead, they shall not live.” — Eng. Ver.

FT431 “Des fideles et des infideles;” — “Of believers and unbelievers.”

FT432 “(They are) deceased, they shall not rise.” — Eng. Ver.

FT433 Professor Alexander renders רפאים (rĕphāīm) ghosts and remarks, “It is here a poetical equivalent to מתים (mēthīm,) and may be variously rendered shades, shadows, spirits, or the like. The common version (deceased) leaves too entirely out of view the figurative character of the expression. Giants, on the contrary, is too strong, and could only be employed in this connection in the sense of gigantic shades, or shadows.”

FT434 As if the reading had been not rĕphāīm, but rōphĕīm, the Seventy render it ἰατροὶ οὐ μὴ ἀναστήσουσι, “physicians shall not rise again.” — Ed

FT435 “Faisoyent que la demeurance estiot plus estroite et moins libre;” — “Made habitation to be narrower and less free.”

FT436 “Que nous avons traduit Prière;” — “Which we have translated Prayer.”

FT437 “Pour une prière articulee;” — “For an articulated prayer.”

FT438 “An obvious phrase for inanity. See below, Isaiah 33:11 They who think of a female disorder, termed empneumatosis, should remember that it is an uncommon disorder, and that metaphors are not drawn from objects or events of rare occurrence.” — Stock

FT439 “We have not wrought any deliverance in the earth.” — Eng. Ver.

FT440 “Esperant avoir part de leur resurrection;” — “Hoping to share in their resurrection.”

FT441 “En ceste vie.”

FT442 Bishop Lowth’s rendering is, “For thy dew is as the dew of the dawn.” Bishop Stock follows him very closely: “For as the dew of day-light is thy dew,” and remarks: — “A dew of rays, that is, as I conceive, a dew able to abide the solar rays, or a steady dew, in oppostion ‘to the early dew that passeth away’ of Hosea 6:4, 13:3; which the Prophet there parallels with ‘the morning cloud.’ The comparison of Isaiah intimates that the refreshing of Israel should not be transient, but lasting.” Professor Alexander, with his usual learning and judgment, produces a formidable array of conflicting authorities, but vindicates the usual rendering. “There are,” he says, “two interpretations of ארות, (ōrōth,) both ancient, and supported by high modern authorities. The first gives the word the usual sense of איר, (ōr,) light; the other, that of plants, which it has in 2 Kings 4:39. To the former it may be objected, that it leaves the plural form unexplained, that it arbitrarily makes light mean life, and that it departs from the acknowledged meaning of ארות (ōrōth) in the only other place where it occurs. The second interpretation, on the other hand, assumes but one sense of the word, allows the plural form its proper force, and supposes an obvious and natural allusion to the influence of dew upon the growth of plants. In either case, the reference to the dew is intended to illustrate the vivifying power of God.” — Ed

FT443 As to the interpretation of רפאים (rĕphāīm) by giants, See page 231, note 3

FT444 “Que ces tourbillons et orages passent, et sont de petite duree;” — “That these whirlwinds and storms pass away, and are of short duration.”

FT445 “Her blood (Heb. bloods).” — Eng. Ver. seen the reason why these and other promises were put by Isaiah into the form of verse. It was, that, having been frequently sung, they might make a deeper impression on their memory. Though they mourned in Babylon, and were almost overwhelmed with sorrow, (hence these sounds, (Psalm 137:4,) “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”) yet they must have hoped that at a future period, when they should have returned to Judea, they would give thanks to the Lord and sing his praises; and therefore the Prophet shews to them at a distance the day of deliverance, that they may take courage from the expectation of it.

We have a city of strength. By these words a full restoration of Jerusalem and of the people is promised, because God will not only deliver the captives and gather those that are scattered, but will also preserve them safe, after having brought them back to their country. But not long afterwards believers saw that Jerusalem was destroyed, (2 Kings 25:9,) and the Temple thrown down, (2 Chronicles 36:19,) and after their return nothing could meet their eye but hideous ruins; and all this Isaiah had previously foretold. It was therefore necessary that they should behold from the lofty watch-tower of faith this restoration of Jerusalem.

He hath made salvation to be walls and a bulwark. He now defines what will be “the strength of the city;” for the “salvation” of God will supply the place of a “wall,” towers, ditches, and mounds. As if he had said, “Let other cities rely on their fortifications, God alone will be to us instead of all bulwarks.” Some allege that the words may be read, “He hath set a wall and bulwark for salvation;” and I do not set aside that rendering. But as a more valuable doctrine is contained in the Prophet’s words, when nothing is supplied, it serves no good purpose to go far for a forced interpretation; especially since the true and natural interpretation readily presents itself to the mind, which is, that God’s protection is more valuable than all ditches and walls. In like manner, it is also said in the psalm, “Thy mercy is better than life,” (Psalm 63:3;) for as David there boasts of enjoying, under God’s shadow, greater safety and freedom from care than if he had been fortified by every kind of earthly defense, so Isaiah here says, that there will be good reason for laying aside fear, when God shall have undertaken to guard his people. Now, since this promise extends to the whole course of redemption, we ought to believe that at the present day God is still the guardian of his Church, and therefore, that his power is of more avail than if it had been defended by every kind of military force. Accordingly, if we wish to dwell in safety, we must remain in the Church. Though we have no outward defences, yet let us learn to be satisfied with the Lord’s protection, and with his sure salvation, which is better than all bulwarks.

2. Open ye the gates. This “song” was undoubtedly despised by many, when it was published by Isaiah; for during his life, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were wicked and ungodly, and the number of good men was exceedingly small. But after his death, when they had been punished for their wickedness, it was in some measure perceived that this prediction had not been uttered in vain. So long as wicked men enjoy prosperity, they have no fear, and do not imagine that they can be brought low. Thus the Jews thought that they would never be driven out of Judea, and carried into captivity, and hoped that they would continue to dwell there. It was therefore necessary to take away from them every pretense for being haughty and insolent; and such is the import of the Prophet’s words:

And a righteous nation, which keepeth the truth, shall enter in. “The inhabitants of the restored city shall be unlike the former; for they will maintain righteousness and truth. But at that time this promise also might appear to have failed of its accomplishment; for when they had been driven out of the country and led into captivity, no consolation remained. Accordingly, when the Temple had been destroyed, the city sacked, and all order and government overthrown and destroyed, they might have objected, “Where are those ‘gates’ which he bids us ‘open?’ Where are the people who shall ‘enter?’” Yet we see that these things were fulfilled, and that nothing was ever foretold which the Lord did not accomplish. We ought, therefore, to keep before our minds those ancient histories, that we may be fortified by their example, and, amidst the deepest adversity to which the Church is reduced, may hope that the Lord will yet raise her up again.

When the Prophet calls the nation “righteous and truthful,” he not only, as I mentioned a little before, describes the persons to whom this promise relates, but shews the fruit of the chastisement; for when its pollution shall have been washed away, the holiness and righteousness of the Church shall shine more brightly. At that time wicked men were the majority, good men were very few, and were overpowered by the multitude of those who were of an opposite character. It was therefore necessary that that multitude, which had no fear of God, and no religion, should be taken away, that God might gather his remnant. Thus, it was a compensation for the destruction, that Jerusalem, which had been polluted by the wickedness of her citizens, again was actually devoted to God; for it would not have been enough to regain prosperity, if newness of life had not shone forth in holiness and righteousness.

Now, as the Prophet foretells the grace of God, so he also exhorts the redeemed people to maintain uprightness of life. In short, he threatens that these promises will be of no avail to hypocrites, and that the gates of the city will not be opened for them, but only for the righteous and holy. It is certain that the Church was always like a barn, (Matthew 3:12,) in which the chaff is mingled with the wheat, or rather, the wheat is overpowered by the chaff; but when the Jews had been brought back into their country, the Church was unquestionably purer than before. Those who returned must have been animated by a good disposition, to undertake a journey so long, and beset by so many annoyances, embarrassments, and dangers; and many others chose rather to remain in captivity than to return, thinking that to dwell in Babylon was a safer and more peaceful condition than to return to Judea. Such persons must have had a seed of piety, which led them to take possession of those promises which were granted to the fathers. Now, though the Church even at that time was stained by many imperfections, still this description was comparatively true; for a large portion of the filth had been swept away, and those who remained had profited in some degree under God’s chastisements.

A righteous nation, which keepeth the truth. Some distinguish these terms in this manner, “A nation righteous before God, and upright before men.” But I take the meaning to be more simple; that, after having called the nation “righteous,” he shews in what righteousness consists; that is, where there is uprightness of heart, which has nothing feigned or hypocritical, for nothing is more opposite to righteousness than hypocrisy. And though no man ever existed who advanced so far that he could receive the commendation of being perfectly righteous, yet the children of God, who with their whole heart aim at this “truth,” may be said to be keepers of it. But perhaps it will rather be thought that, by a figure of speech, one part is taken for the whole, to describe what is true righteousness; that is, when all deceit and all wicked practices have been laid aside, and men act towards each other with sincerity and truth.

If any man wish to make use of this passage for upholding the merits of men, the answer is easy; for the Prophet does not here describe the cause of salvation, or what men are by nature, but what God makes them by his grace, and what kind of persons he wishes to be members of his Church. Out of wolves he makes sheep, as we have formerly seen. {Bogus footnote} So long as we live here, we are always at a great distance from perfection, and are in continual progress towards it; but the Lord judges of us according to that which he has begun in us, and, having once led us into the way of righteousness, reckons us to be righteous. As soon as he begins to check and reform our hypocrisy, he at once calls us true and upright.

3. The thought is fixed; thou wilt keep peace, peace. {Bogus footnote} As the Hebrew word יצר (Yĕtzĕr) signifies both “imagination” or “creature,” and “thought,” some render it, “By a settled foundation thou wilt keep peace;” as if the Prophet meant, that when men, amidst the convulsions of the world, continue to rest firmly on God, they will always be safe. Others render it, “For the fixed thought thou wilt keep peace;” which amounts to nearly the same thing, that they who have fixed their minds on God alone will at length be happy; for in no other way does God promise that he will be the guardian of his people than when they rely on his grace with settled thoughts, and without change or wavering. Since, however, the sign of the dative case is not added, but the Prophet in a concise manner of expression says, “Fixed or steadfast thought,” let my readers judge if it be not more appropriate to view it as referring to God, so as to make the meaning to be, that the peace of the Church is founded on his eternal and unchangeable purpose; for, in order to prevent godly minds from continual wavering, it is of the highest importance to look to the heavenly decree.

It is undoubtedly true that we ought constantly to hope in God, that we may perceive his continual faithfulness in defending us; and believers are always enjoined not to be driven about by any doubt, or uncertainty, or wavering, but firmly to rely on God alone. Yet the meaning which is more easily obtained from this passage, and comes more naturally from the words of the Prophet, is, that it is a fixed and unchangeable decree of God, that all who hope in him shall enjoy eternal peace; for if fixed thought means the certainty and steadfastness of the godly, it would be superfluous to assign the reason, which is —

Because he hath trusted in thee. In short, both modes of expression would have been harsh, that “continual peace is prepared for imagination,” or “for thought.” But it is perfectly appropriate to say that, when we trust in God, he never disappoints our hope, because he has determined to guard us for ever. Hence it follows, that, since the safety of the Church does not depend on the state of the world, it is not moved or shaken by the various changes which happen daily; but that, having been founded on the purpose of God, it stands with steady and unshakable firmness, so that it can never fall.

There is also, I think, an implied contrast between God’s fixed thought and our wandering imaginations; for at almost every moment there springs up something new which drives our thoughts hither and thither, and there is no change, however slight, that does not produce some doubt. We ought therefore to hold this principle, that we do wrong if we judge of God’s unshaken purpose by our fickle imaginations; as we shall elsewhere see,

“As far as the heavens are from the earth, so far are my thoughts from your thoughts, O house of Israel.” (Isaiah 55:9.)

We ought therefore above all to hold it certain, that our salvation is not liable to change; because the purpose of God is unchangeable.

Thou wilt keep peace, peace. What has now been stated explains the reason of the repetition of the word peace; for it denotes uninterrupted continuance for ever. By the word peace I understand not only serenity of mind, but every kind of happiness; as if he had said, that the grace of God alone can enable us to live prosperously and happily.

4. Trust ye in Jehovah for ever. As to the words, some read in the second clause, “Trust in God, the strong Jehovah of ages;” but as צור (tzūr) is not always an adjective, but signifies strength, I reject that meaning as forced, besides that it has little relation to the subject, as will immediately appear. There is also little ground for the ingenuity of those who infer from this passage the divinity of Christ, as if the Prophet said, that “Jehovah is in Jah;” for the twofold name of God is given for the express purpose of magnifying his power.

He now exhorts the people to rest safely on God, and therefore, after the preceding doctrine, there is now room for exhortation. Besides, it would have been vain to say that our peace is in the hand of God, and that he is our faithful guardian, if we had not been taught and instructed on this subject, and at the same time urged by exhortations. Yet he exhorts us not only to earnest hope, but to perseverance; and this discourse applies properly to believers, who have already learned what it is to trust in the Lord, and who need to be strengthened, because they are still weak, and may often fall, in consequence of the various motives to distrust with which they are called to struggle. He therefore does not enjoin them merely to trust in the Lord, but to remain steadfastly in trust and confidence to the end.

For in Jah Jehovah is the strength of ages. {Bogus footnote} We ought to attend to the reason which is here assigned, namely, that as the power of God, which is the object of faith, is perpetual, so faith ought to be extended so as to be equally perpetual. When the Prophet speaks of the strength and power of God, he does not mean power which is unemployed, but power active and energetic, which is actually exerted on us, and which conducts to the end what he had begun. And this doctrine has a wider application, for it bids us truly believe that we ought to contemplate the nature of God; for, as soon as we turn aside from beholding it, nothing is seen but what is fleeting, and then we immediately faint. Thus ought faith to rise above the world by continual advances; for neither the truth, nor the justice, nor the goodness of God, is temporary and fading, but God continues always to be like himself.

5. For he will bring down the inhabitants of loftiness. {Bogus footnote} He now explains more fully what is that power of God of which he spoke. It is that which we ourselves feel, and which is exerted for our benefit. The two clauses are therefore closely connected, that “the proud are laid low by the power of God,” and that “the lowly and despised are placed in their room;” for it would not have yielded full consolation to tell us, in the first place, that “the proud will be laid low,” if he had not likewise added, that “the lowly will be exalted,” so as to hold dominion over the proud. We therefore acknowledge, that in our own experience God works powerfully for our salvation, and this yields to us a ground of hope.

Under the word loftiness he includes not only bulwarks and fortifications of every kind, (for the ancients were wont to build their cities in lofty places,) but also wealth and magnificence. He therefore means, that no defense can prevent God from casting down the wicked, and laying them low. Towers and bulwarks, indeed, are not displeasing to God; but as it rarely happens that they who are strong and powerful are not proud, so loftiness frequently denotes pride. Unquestionably he speaks of the wicked, who have abundance of arms, forces, and money, and imagine that they are protected against God himself. He likewise comforts the Jews, as we have formerly said, {Bogus footnote} because the invincible power of Babylon might have terrified them and thrown them into despair, if the Lord had not supported them by this promise: “You have no reason for being terrified at the greatness or strength of Babylon; for she will quickly fall, and will not stand before the power of the Lord.”

7. Straightnesses are the way of the righteous man. He does not praise the righteousness of the godly, as some have falsely supposed, but shews that, through the blessing of God, they are prosperous and successful during the whole course of their life. Having only stated briefly in the beginning of the verse, that “their ways are plain and smooth,” he explains more fully in the second clause, ascribing it to the grace of God that in an open plain, as it were, the righteous proceed in their course, till they reach the goal.

Thou wilt weigh the straight path of the righteous. The word weigh contains a metaphor, that God, by applying a balance, as it were, brings to an equal measure those things which in themselves were unequal. The Hebrew word ישר (yāshār) is ambiguous, for it may refer either to God or to the path. Accordingly some render it, Thou, who art upright, will direct the path of the righteous; {Bogus footnote} and in other passages God is called upright. (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 25:8.) There would also be propriety in the allusion, that the straightness of which he spoke proceed from God, for he alone is straight or upright. But the other version appears to be more natural. {Bogus footnote}

He promises in general, that God will take care of the righteous, so as to lead them, as it were, by his hand. When the wicked prosper and the righteous are oppressed, everything in this world appears to be moved by chance; and although Scripture frequently declares and affirms that God takes care of them, (Psalm 37:5; 1 Peter 5:7,) yet we can scarcely remain steadfast, but waver, when everything that happens to them is unfavourable. Yet it is true that the ways of the righteous are made plain by God’s balance, however rough and uneven they may appear to be; and not only so, but he has committed them to the guardianship of his angels, “lest they should be injured, or dash their foot against a stone.” (Psalm 91:11.) But for this, they would easily fall or give way through exhaustion, and would hardly ever make way amidst so many thorns and briers, steep roads, intricate windings, and rough places, did not the Lord lead out and deliver them.

Let us therefore learn to commit ourselves to God, and to follow him as our leader, and we shall be guided in safety. Though snares and artifices, the stratagems of the devil and wicked men, and innumerable dangers, may surround us, we shall always be enabled to escape. We shall feel what the Prophet says here, that our ways, even amidst deep chasms, are made plain, so that there is no obstacle to hinder our progress. And, indeed, experience shews, that if we are not led by God’s guidance, we shall not be able to push our way through rugged roads; for so great is our weakness that we shall scarcely advance a single step without stumbling at the smallest stone that comes in our way. Satan and wicked men not only entangle and delay us by many perplexities, and not only present to us slight difficulties, but cause us to encounter sometimes high mounds and sometimes deep pits, which even the whole world would be unable to avoid.

It is therefore proper for us to acknowledge how much we need heavenly direction, and to confess with Jeremiah, “I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself; and it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23.) Let us not be puffed up with vain confidence, as if the result were placed in our own power. Let us not boast, as James warns us, that “we shall do this or that.” (James 4:15.) Such is the manner of rash men, who act as if they could do everything at their own pleasure; while it is not in our power, as Solomon tells us, to direct our tongue so as to give a proper answer. (Proverbs 16:1.) In vain, therefore, do men form plans, and deliberate, and decide about their ways, if God do not stretch out his hand. But he holds it out to the righteous, and takes peculiar care of them; for, while the providence of God extends to all, and while he supplies the wants of young ravens (Psalm 147:9) and sparrows, (Matthew 10:29,) and of the smallest animals, yet he has a fatherly kindness towards the godly, and delivers them out of dangers and difficulties.

8. Yea, in the way of thy judgments. This verse contains a very beautiful doctrine, without which it might have been thought that the former statements were without foundation. Since he said that God will be our guide during the whole of life, so that we shall neither wander nor stumble, and while, on the other hand, we are pressed by so many straits, we might conclude that those promises have not been actually fulfilled. Accordingly, when he tries our patience, we ought to strive, and yet to trust in him. Here the Prophet gives us this instruction, that, though our eyes are not gratified by an easy and delightful path, and though the road is not made smooth under our feet, but we must toil through many hard passages, still there is room for hope and patience.

By the way of judgments he means adversity, and the word judgment often has this meaning in Scripture. But here is a mark which distinguishes the godly from hypocrites; for in prosperity hypocrites bless God, and speak highly of him; but in adversity they murmur, and curse God himself, and plainly shew that they had no confidence in him, and thus judge of God according as their prosperity lasts. The godly, on the other hand, when they are tried by afflictions and calamities, are more and more excited to place confidence. {Bogus footnote}

The particle אף, (ăph,) Even, is inserted for the sake of emphasis, as if the Prophet had said, that believers are earnest in the worship of God, not only so long as he treats them with gentleness, but that, if he deal harshly with them, still they do not faint, because they are supported by hope. It is therefore the true test of sincere godliness, when not only while God bestows his kindness upon us, but while he withdraws his face, and afflicts us, and gives every sign of severity and displeasure, we place our hope and confidence in him. Let us learn to apply this doctrine to our own use, whenever we are hard pressed by the calamities of the present life; and let us not cease to trust in him, even when our affairs are in the most desperate condition. {Bogus footnote} “Though He slay me,” says Job, “I will trust in Him;” and David says that: “though he walk amidst the shadow of death, he will trust and not be afraid, because he knows that God is with him.” (Job 13:15; Psalm 23:4.)

To thy name. The Prophet aims at shewing what is the source of that uwearied earnestness which prevents the godly from sinking under the greatest calamities. It is because they are free from wicked desires and from excessive solicitude, and in their aspirations boldly rise to God. For, in consequence of our disorderly passions and cares holding us bound, as it were, to the earth, our hearts either wander astray, or sink into indolence, so that they do not freely rise to God; and as the essence of God is hidden from us, this makes us more sluggish in seeking him. From his hidden and incomprehensible essence, therefore, the Prophet draws our attention to the name of God, as if he enjoined us to rest satisfied with that manifestation of it which is found in the word; because there God declares to us, as far as is necessary, his justice, wisdom, and goodness, that is, himself.

And to the remembrance of thee. It is not without good reason also that he has added the word remembrance; for it means that the first perception or thought is not enough, but that continual meditation is enjoined; because without its aid all the light of doctrine would immediately vanish away. And indeed the true and sincere knowledge of God inflames us to desire him, and not only so, but also prompts us to desire to make progress, whenever the “remembrance” of it occurs to our minds. The knowledge of God, therefore, comes first; and next, we must be employed in frequent “remembrance;” for it is not enough that we have once obtained knowledge, if love and desire do not grow through constant meditation. Hence, also, we perceive that the knowledge of God is not a dead imagination.

9. My soul hath desired thee. This is a stronger expression of the former statement; for, having previously spoken in the person of believers, he had said that the desire of their soul was towards God. He now adds, with regard to himself, My soul hath desired; as if he had said, “I have all the faculties of my soul directed towards seeking thy name.” The word נפש (nēphĕsh) frequently denotes the vital Soul; but as the Prophet here employs two words, I distinguish them so as to make נפש (nephesh) mean the desire or will, and רוח (rūăch) the intellectual parts; for we know that these are the chief parts of the human soul, namely, the Understanding and the Will, both of which God justly claims for himself. Such is also the import of that passage, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37.) The Prophet therefore shews, that all the faculties of his soul are directed to this point, to seek God and embrace him.

Others take רוח, (rūăch,) the Spirit, to mean the regenerated part; and so by נפש (nĕphĕsh) they understand the natural soul, and by רוח, (rūăch,) the Spirit, they understand the grace of God, which is supernatural. But this cannot be admitted; for the sensual man (ψυχικός) never seeks God; and we perceive how strongly we are opposed by our feelings when we rise to God, and with what difficulty we conquer that aversion. It is unnecessary, therefore, to refute this interpretation, for it is directly contrary to Scripture; and from many similar passages it is sufficiently plain that the Spirit and Soul mean the understanding and the heart.

In the night. By the night Scripture often means adversity, which is compared to darkness and gloominess. But I interpret it somewhat differently, as if the Prophet had said, “There is no time so improper or unreasonable that I may not call upon thee or pray to thee.” That interpretation differs little from the former, but is rather more general; for night is supposed to be set apart for rest, and at that time all the desires and labors of men {Bogus footnote} cease; and, in short, there is little difference between a sleeping and a dead man. He says, therefore, that at the time which is devoted to rest and repose he rises to seek God, so that no occasion turns him aside; — not that those who are asleep have any active thought, but that sleep itself, if we turn to God, is a part of our course; and although we slumber and are silent, still we praise him by hope and confidence.

In the morning {Bogus footnote} will I seek thee. By the night the Prophet does not literally mean sleep; and this is perfectly evident from the present clause, in which night is contrasted with morning, which denotes continuance.

The inhabitants of the earth will learn righteousness. We must observe the reason assigned, when he says that “the inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness from the judgments of God,” meaning that by chastisements men are taught to fear God. {Bogus footnote} In prosperity they forget him, and their eyes are as it were blinded by fatness; they grow wanton and petulant, and do not submit to be under authority; and therefore the Lord restrains their insolence, and teaches them to obey. In short, the Prophet confesses that he and others were trained, by God’s chastisements, to yield submission to his authority, and to intrust themselves to his guardianship; because if God do not, with uplifted arm, claim his right to rule, no man of his own accord yields obedience.

10. The wicked man will obtain favour. {Bogus footnote} Isaiah contrasts this statement with the former. He had said that the godly, even when they are afflicted, or see others afflicted, still rely on the love of God, and trust in him. But now he declares, on the other hand, that the wicked cannot be brought in any way to love God, though he endeavor, by every sort of kindness, to draw and gain them over; and that, whatever aspect the Lord assume towards them, they do not become better.

This verse appears, at first view, to contradict the former, in which the Prophet said, that the justice of God is acknowledged in the earth, when he executes his judgments, and shews that he is the Judge, and punishes the transgressions of men; while he says here that the wicked cannot in any way be led or persuaded to worship God, and that they are so far from being made better by the chastisements, that even acts of kindness make them worse. The good effect of chastisements certainly does not appear in all; for wicked men do not at all profit by them, as we see in Pharaoh, whom chastisements and scourges rendered more obstinate. (Exodus 7:13.) But although he spoke indiscriminately about “the inhabitants of the earth,” yet he strictly included none but God’s elect, with whom indeed even some hypocrites share the profit that is gained; for sometimes, though reluctantly, they are moved by reverence for God, and are restrained by the dread of punishments. {Bogus footnote} But as the Prophet here describes sincere repentance, by “the inhabitants of the earth” he means only the children of God.

Some view it as a question, “Shall favor be shewn to the wicked?” or, “Why should the wicked man obtain favor?” as if the Prophet insinuated that they do not deserve that God should deal gently with them. But I choose rather to explain it thus, “Whatever may be the acts of kindness by which God draws the wicked, they will never learn to act uprightly.” The Prophet therefore has limited the statement made in the former verse.

In the land of upright actions he will deal unjustly. This is added in order to shew more strongly the baseness of this ingratitude. It was a sufficiently heinous offense that they abused the acts of God’s kindness, and by means of them became more rebellious; but it is their crowning wickedness, that “they deal wickedly in the land” which the Lord had consecrated to himself. What he now says relates to Judea, but may be extended also to other countries in which God is now worshipped; but at that time there was no other country on which Isaiah could bestow that title, for in no other was there any knowledge of God. (Psalm 76:2.)

Thus he calls Judea “the land of upright actions.” I give this interpretation, because, since the Prophet employs נכחות (nekōchōth) in the feminine gender, the word upright cannot apply to men. {Bogus footnote} He therefore bestows this title, because the law was there in full force, (Psalm 76:1, 2.) and that nation had been peculiarly chosen by God; and it was added, as I have already said, in order to exhibit more strongly the ingratitude of the nation. Some extend it indiscriminately to the whole world, because, wherever we live, God supports us on the condition of our maintaining uprightness. This is too far-fetched; but, since God has now spread abroad his kingdom in every direction, wheresoever men call on his name, that is “the land of upright actions;” {Bogus footnote} so that we are worthy of double condemnation, if, after having been stimulated by benefits so numerous and so great, we do not testify our gratitude by the practice of godliness and by good works.

When he adds, that the reprobate will not behold the majesty of the Lord, this does not in any degree palliate, but rather doubles their criminality; because it is base and shameful indolence not to observe the glory of God which is openly manifested before our eyes. The wicked are thus rendered the more inexcusable, because, how numerous soever may be the methods by which the Lord makes known his name, still they are blind amidst the clearest light. There is never any lack of testimonies by which the Lord openly manifests his majesty and glory, but, as we have formerly seen, {Bogus footnote} few consider them. God manifests his glory not only by the ordinary works of nature, but likewise by some astonishing miracles and demonstrations, by means of which he gives us abundant instruction about his goodness, wisdom, and justice. Wicked men shut their eyes, and do not observe them, though in trifling matters they are very clear-sighted; and the Prophet now censures them severely for this wickedness.

Others think that it is a threatening against the reprobate, they shall not behold the majesty of the Lord, as if they did not deserve to obtain this view of the works of God. Though this is true, yet, as this clause is closely connected with the former, the Prophet continues to censure the indolence of those who do not direct their minds to the works of God, but, on the contrary, become stupid. On this account, we ought to think it the less wonderful that so few repent, though very many demonstrations of the righteousness of God are openly made; for infidelity is always blind to behold the works of God.

11. O Jehovah, though thy hand is lifted up. This is an explanation of the former statement; for he brings forward nothing that is new, but shews more clearly what he had formerly stated in a few words. He had already said that the wicked “will not behold the majesty of the Lord;” and now he explains that “majesty” to be that which is visible in the works of God. He does not send us to that hidden majesty which is concealed from us, but leads us to the works, which he denotes figuratively (μετωνυμικῶς) {Bogus footnote} by the hand. Here he again censures the wicked, and shews that they cannot be excused on the plea of ignorance; for, though they perceive nothing, still the hand of God is openly visible; and it is nothing but their blind ingratitude, or rather their voluntary indolence, that hinders them from perceiving it. Some might plead ignorance, and allege that they did not see these works; but the Prophet says that God’s hand is “lifted up,” and not merely exerted, so that it is not only visible to a few persons, but shines conspicuously.

They shall see and be ashamed. He shews plainly that this “beholding” is different from that of which he formerly spoke, when he said that the wicked “do not see the glory of the Lord;” for they do see, but do not observe or take any notice of it; but at length “they shall see,” but too late, and to their great hurt. After having long abused the patience of God, and proved that they were obstinate and rebellious, they will at length be constrained to acknowledge the judgments of God. Thus Cain, (Genesis 4:13,14,) Esau, (Genesis 27:38,) and others like them, who too late repented of their crimes, (Hebrews 12:17,) though they fled from the face of God, yet were constrained to see that he was their Judge. Thus, in those who despise him, God frequently produces a feeling of remorse, that he may display his power; but such knowledge is of no avail to them.

In this manner, therefore, the Prophet threatens wicked men, after having accused them of blindness, in order to shew that they have no plea of ignorance; and he forewarns them that the time will come when they shall know with whom they have to do, and that they will then feel that they ought not to despise that heavenly name which they now treat as fabulous, and scorn. They shut their eyes, and act without restraint, and make us a laughing-stock, and do not think that God will be their Judge, but rather turn into ridicule our distresses and afflictions. Thus they look down on us as from a lofty place, and grow more and more hardened; but at length they will understand that the true worshippers of God have not lost their labor.

And shall be ashamed. In order to shew that this beholding of the glory of God is not only of no advantage, but hurtful to them, he says that they shall behold with shame the blessing of God towards believers, in which they will have no share.

Through their envy of the people. This tends to shew more strongly the severity of the punishment, that not only will they burn with “envy,” when they shall see that the children of God have been delivered from those distresses, and have been exalted to glory, but there will likewise be added another evil, that they will be consumed by the fire of the enemy. By “the envy of the people,” therefore, is here meant the indignation which wicked men feel when they compare the lot of godly men with their own.

Yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them. By the fire of the enemies, he means that “fire” with which God consumes his “enemies.” He employs the word “fire” to denote God’s vengeance; for here it must not be taken for visible “fire” with which we are burned, nor even for the thunderbolt alone, but is a metaphorical expression for dreadful anguish, as we find that in many other passages Scripture denotes by this term, God’s severest vengeance. (Deuteronomy 32:22; Job 20:26, 22:20.) No language indeed can sufficiently express this anguish. Yet I do not object to the suggestion, that the Prophet alludes to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 19:24.)

12. O Jehovah, thou wilt ordain peace for us. This statement tends to the consolation of the godly, as if he had said, “We shall see what will be the end of the wicked; for thou wilt prevent them from sharing with thy children, and wilt take them away as enemies by fire, but we shall be happy.” The Hebrew verb שפת, (shāphăth,) which signifies “to ordain,” has the same import as the word “establish;” as if he had said, “Thou wilt prepare peace for us in uninterrupted succession:” for the wicked also enjoy peace, but not of long duration; but our peace is fixed on the Lord, and has a firm foundation, and never comes to an end. By the word peace he means perfect happiness. Hence infer, that the children of God alone, who rest on him, are happy; for the life of the wicked, to whatever extent it may abound in pleasures and luxuries, when everything proceeds to their wish, is most miserable. There is therefore no solid foundation for peace but in God’s fatherly love.

All our works. By works he means all the blessings which the Lord bestows on those who believe in him; as if he had said, “Transactions, business, actions,” and everything included in the French phrase nos affaires, or in the corresponding English phrase our affairs. Accordingly, those who have quoted this passage for the purpose of overturning free-will have not understood the Prophet’s meaning. It is undoubtedly true that God alone does what is good in us, and that all the good actions which men perform are from his Spirit. But here the Prophet merely shews that we have obtained from the hand of God all the good things which we enjoy; and hence he infers that his kindness will not cease till we shall have obtained perfect happiness. Now, since God is the author of all good things, we ought chiefly to consider those which hold the first and highest place; for if we ought to acknowledge that we have received from God those things by which we support this life, much more those which belong to the salvation of the soul. If, therefore, we ought to acknowledge his kindness in small matters, how much more ought we to acknowledge it in matters of the greatest importance and value? But there is no reason why we should bring forward this passage against the Papists; for they might easily evade it, and we have a great number of other passages exceedingly conclusive.

In this passage, therefore, the Prophet appears to exhort the godly to testify their gratitude; for he bids them declare the acts of God’s kindness, so as to acknowledge that they are indebted to him for everything which they possess; and this contains a profitable doctrine, namely, that from past events and benefits received, the godly reason even as to God’s future kindness, and infer that he will also take care of them for the future. Having therefore experienced God’s kindness, let us also learn to hope for the future; and since he hath shewn himself to be so kind and bountiful, let us steadfastly fix our hearts in the hope of future assistance.

This example has been followed by all the saints, and in this way they have strengthened their faith. Thus David says, “Thou wilt not despise the work of thy hands.” (Psalm 138:8.) Paul says, “He who hath begun in us a good work will perform it.” (Philippians 1:6.) Jacob also says, “I am less than the compassions and the truth which thou hast shewn to thy servant; but thou saidst, I will surely do thee good.” (Genesis 32:10,12.) God is not like men, to be capable of being wearied by doing good, or exhausted by giving largely; and therefore the more numerous the benefits with which he has loaded us, so much the more ought our faith to be strengthened and increased.

13. O Lord our God. This verse contains a complaint of the saints, that they were oppressed by the tyranny of the wicked. This song was composed in order to refresh the hearts of believers, who were to be cruelly banished from that land which was a figure of eternal happiness, that, having been deprived of sacrifices and holy assemblies, and almost of every consolation, crushed by the heavy yoke of the Babylonians, banished from their country, loaded with reproach and sore afflictions, they might direct their groanings to God, in order to seek relief. He speaks, therefore, in the name of believers, who to outward appearance had been rejected by God, and yet did not cease to testify that they were the people of God, and to put their trust in him.

Other lords besides thee have had dominion over us. Not without cause do they complain that they are placed under a different dominion from that of God, for he had received them under his sole guardianship. Hence it follows that, if they had not been estranged from him, they would not have endured so hard a lot as to be exposed to the tyranny and caprice of enemies. It may be thought that the government of all princes is “besides God,” or different from that of God, even though they govern in his name. But the Prophet does not speak of those who govern for our benefit, but of those who are opposed to true worship and to holy doctrine. David was indeed a ruler who exercised dominion separate from that of God, but at the same time he was a genuine servant of God for the general advantage of the whole people; and therefore he maintained the true religion, which those rulers wished altogether to overthrow. Most justly did it befall the Jews, that, in consequence of having refused to obey God, who treated them with the greatest kindness, they were subjected to the tyranny of wicked men.

There is an implied contrast between God and the pious kings who governed the people in his name and by his authority, and the tyrants who oppressed them by governing with most unjust laws. This will be made more evident by a similar passage in Ezekiel, “I gave them,” says God, “good laws, by which they might live; but because they did not execute my judgments, and despised my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths, and cast their eyes upon the idols of their fathers, for this reason I gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live.” (Ezekiel 20:11, 24, 25.) Since they might formerly, through the blessing of God, have been prosperous and happy, if they had obeyed his word, the prophet Ezekiel threatens that they will be subjected to tyrants who will compel them to obey their cruel enactments, and that without profit or reward. Isaiah now deplores a similar calamity. “When the Lord ruled over us, we could not be satisfied with our lot, and now we are compelled to endure severe tyranny, and suffer the just punishment of our wickedness.” The same complaint may be made by believers who live under the Papacy, or who in any way are compelled, by unjust laws, to observe superstition; for they are subject to a government which is “besides God,” or different from that of God, and endure bondage worse than barbarous, which not only fetters their bodies, but conducts their souls to torture and slaughter.

In thee only. This clause appears to be contrasted with the former to this effect, “Although irreligious men wish to withdraw from thy dominion, yet we will continue under it; for we are fully convinced that we are thine.” But we may draw from it more abundant instruction, that, although the feeling of the flesh pronounces that those who are cruelly oppressed by enemies have been forsaken by God, and laid open to be a prey, yet the Jews do not cease to boast in God when they do not perceive that he is near them; for the mere remembrance of his name supports them, and gently cherishes their hope. There is thus a very emphatic contrast between “the remembrance of the name of God” and the immediate experience of his grace; for steadfastly to embrace God, even though he is absent, is a proof of uncommon excellence.

Others render it, In thee and in thy name; but the word and is not in the passage. There is here exhibited to us consolation, which is great and highly necessary in these times, when the base ingratitude of men, by shaking off the yoke of God, has brought down upon itself a most cruel tyranny; and we need not wonder if we already see it abound in many places in which men call on the name of God. Yet the godly ought not to faint on this account, provided that they support themselves by this consolation, that God never entirely forsakes those who find abundant consolation in the remembrance of his name. But at the same time it is necessary to testify this faith, so as to choose to die a thousand times rather than depart from God by profaning his name; for when any one goes astray through the fear of men, it is certain that he never has truly tasted the sweetness of the name of God. So long, therefore, as we freely enjoy the word, let us be diligently employed in it, so that, when necessity shall demand it, we may be armed, and that it may not appear that we have indulged at our ease in idle speculation.

14. The dead shall not live. {Bogus footnote} The Prophet again speaks of the unhappy end of the wicked, whose prosperity often agitates and vexes us, as we read in the Psalms of David. (Psalm 37:1, 73:3, 17.) That our eyes may not be dazzled by the present appearances of things, he foretells that their end will be very miserable. Others interpret this passage as relating to believers, who appear to die without any hope of a resurrection; but unquestionably he speaks of the reprobate, and this will be still more evident from an opposite statement which he makes at the nineteenth verse. There is a contrast between the resurrection of good men and wicked men, {Bogus footnote} between whom there would be little difference, were it not evident that the latter are sentenced to eternal death, and that the former will receive a blessed and everlasting life: and not only does eternal death await the wicked, but all the sufferings which they endure in this world are the commencement of everlasting destruction; for they cannot be soothed by any consolation, and they feel that God is their enemy.

The slain shall not rise again. {Bogus footnote} The word which we render slain is rendered by others giants; {Bogus footnote} but as in many passages of Scripture רפאים {Bogus footnote} (rĕphāīm) denotes slain, so also in this passage it will be more appropriate, for otherwise there would be no contrast. (Psalm 88:11; Proverbs 2:18; 9:18; 21:16.)

Therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them. This is added for the sake of explanation; for it assigns the reason why the reprobate perish without hope, namely, because it is the purpose of God to destroy them. In the wrath of God they have nothing to look for but death and ruin.

15. Thou hast added to the nation. This verse is explained in various ways. Some think that the Prophet here declares that the godly are not merely oppressed by one kind of affliction, but are plunged, as it were, into the lowest misery, and that they see no end of their distresses. Others explain it simply to mean, “O Lord, thou hast bestowed on thy nation various blessings,” and think that the Prophet mentions the blessings which God bestowed on his people in various ways, as if he had said, “The people have experienced, not only in one instance, but in innumerable ways, the Lord’s kindness and bounty.”

But when I attend to what follows, Thou hast enlarged, that is, “Thou hast extended thy kingdom, which formerly was confined within narrow limits,” I choose rather to view the two statements as closely connected; for the latter clause is an interpretation of the former. Besides, it agrees well with what follows, that God is glorified; for we know that in nothing does the glory of God shine more conspicuously than in the increase of the Church. It is as if he had said, “Thou hadst formerly a small people, but thou hast multiplied and increased it;” for the Gentiles were admitted and joined to the Jews on condition that they should be united into one people. Thus the Lord added a vast multitude, for the children of Abraham were called out of all nations.

We must therefore supply, not “Thou hast added blessings,” but “Thou hast added a greater number;” and the meaning is, “O Lord, thou wast not satisfied with that small number, and hast gathered for thyself out of all nations an innumerable people.” This relates to the kingdom of Christ, which has been spread through the whole world by the preaching of the gospel; and in this passage the Prophet speaks highly of this wide extension, and expresses it by the phrase, Thou hast enlarged. This mode of expression is not at variance with the ordinary way of speaking, when an enlargement of a kingdom or of territories is expressed. And yet the Prophet does not mean that the land was enlarged, but that, by spreading the worship of God on all sides, mutual intercourse produced larger space and greater freedom of habitation; for contentions had the effect of narrowing it. {Bogus footnote} We have here a promise of the calling of the Gentiles, which must have greatly comforted godly men during that banishment and miserable dispersion of the Church, so that, although they saw it to be amazingly weakened and diminished, still they were convinced that it would be increased in such a manner that not only would they become innumerable, but foreign and distant nations would be added to them.

16. O Jehovah, in tribulation they have visited thee. This might be explained as relating to hypocrites, who never flee to God but when they have been constrained by distresses and afflictions. But since the Lord instructs believers also by chastisements, as the Prophet formerly shewed, (verses 8 and 9,) I choose rather to refer it simply to them, that not only they may know that God has justly punished them, but that the bitterness of the afflictions may likewise be sweetened by the good result of the chastisement, and that they may be better instructed in the fear of the Lord, and may profit more and more every day. Isaiah therefore speaks in the person of the Church, that whenever godly men read this statement, they might acknowledge that amidst their distresses and afflictions they were nearer to God than when they enjoyed prosperity, by means of which almost always (such is the depravity of our nature) we become excessively proud and insolent. On this account we must be curbed and tamed by chastisements; and this thought will soften the harshness of punishments, and make us less ready to shrink from them if we think that they are profitable to us.

They poured out a prayer. The Hebrew word לחש (lăchăsh) {Bogus footnote} signifies a muttering. This word therefore must not be taken for a prayer pronounced in words, {Bogus footnote} but for that which indicates that the heart is wrung with sore pains, as those who are tortured by extreme anguish can hardly speak or express the feelings of their hearts. It therefore denotes, that calling upon God which is sincere and free from all hypocrisy; such as men will aim at when in sore affliction they utter groans as expressive of intense pain. In prosperity men speak with open mouths; but when they are cast down by adversity, they hardly venture to mutter, and express their feelings with the heart rather than with the tongue. Hence arise those unutterable groans of which Paul speaks. (Romans 8:26.) It is in reference to the godly, therefore, that Paul makes this declaration, and to them must this doctrine be limited; for wicked men, although some lamentations are extorted from them by pain, become more hardened and more and more obstinate and rebellious.

17. As a woman with child. Here two things ought chiefly to be remarked. First, he compares believers to women in labor, who, we know, endure exquisite pain; and, accordingly, he says that their anguish breaks out into loud and violent cries. Hence we infer that the Prophet does not only speak of that sorrow which arises from outward distresses and annoyances, but rather describes that dreadful anguish by which the hearts of the godly are sorely and dreadfully tormented, when they perceive that God is angry with them, and when their consciences reprove them. There is no bodily pain so acute that it can be compared to that anguish, and this is plainly expressed by the phrase in thy sight

18. We have as it were brought forth wind. The second thing to be remarked is, that he goes beyond the limit of the metaphor; for when there is no end to their distresses, the condition of the godly is worse than that of women in labor, who, as soon as they are free from their pains, break out into joy at the sight of what they have brought forth, (John 16:21,) and forget all their sorrows. The godly, on the other hand, he tells us, are continually bringing forth; for new troubles and anxieties constantly await them, and when they think that the birth is at hand, they bring forth nothing but anguish. That is what he means by wind, {Bogus footnote} namely, that there is no removal or abatement of pain; and immediately afterwards he thus explains it, Salvations have not been wrought for the land, {Bogus footnote} that is, we have not beheld any deliverance.

And the inhabitants of the world have not fallen. יפלו ובל (ūbăl yĭppĕlū,) that is, have not fallen; for נפל (nāphăl) signifies “to fall.” Others explain it “to dwell.” If we take it in that sense, the meaning will be, “The Jews shall not dwell,” that is, they shall not return to their own land; the inhabitants who possess it shall not perish. But if we follow the ordinary interpretation, we must view it as referring to the wicked. “The inhabitants of the world annoy us and do not fall; everything goes on prosperously with them.”

So long as the wicked flourish, the children of God must be unhappy, and become like women in labor; and this condition must be quietly endured by us, if we wish to have a place in the Church of God. It is, indeed, the common lot of all to endure numerous and endless afflictions; and hence comes the old proverb, “It is happy not to be born, or, when born, immediately to depart out of life.” But we see that the godly are visited with sore anguish and very heavy afflictions beyond others; for in this manner God wishes to try their faith, that, after having laid aside their desires and forsaken the world, they may serve him. Since, therefore, the Lord has a peculiar care of them, he must chastise them, while he permits wicked men to indulge in unbounded licentiousness.

Here we are also reminded that we must endure not merely one or another calamity, and must not imagine that, when we have endured some afflictions, there are none in reserve for us; for we ought always to be prepared to endure new ones. When God begins to chastise his people, he does not immediately cease. We shall “bring forth wind” when we think that the birth is at hand; other calamities will break out, and we shall be continually attacked by additional sorrows. We must therefore maintain this warfare so long as it shall please God to employ us in it. Accordingly, we shall follow the ordinary interpretation, have not fallen; for, as the Lord cheers his people, when he manifests to them his salvation and punishes the wicked, so he gives them occasion to groan, so long as they behold their enemies placed in a lofty position and exercising high authority. And if the Lord in this manner tried his Church in former times, we need not wonder that we experience the same thing in the present day.

By the inhabitants of the world he means heathens and irreligious men; for he contrasts the rest of the world with Judea, which he formerly called, by way of eminence, (κατ ᾿ ἐξοχὴν,) the land, and mentions its inhabitants apart.

19. Thy dead men shall live. Isaiah continues the same consolation, and addresses his discourse to God, thus shewing that there is nothing better for us than to bring our thoughts to meet in God, whenever we must struggle with temptations; for there is nothing more dangerous than to wander in our thoughts, and to give way to them, since they can do nothing else than toss us up and down and drive us into error. Nothing therefore is safer for us than to betake ourselves to God, on whom alone our hearts can rest; for otherwise we shall meet with many things that tend to shake our faith. The general meaning is, that as God guards believers, though they are like “dead men,” yet they “shall live” amidst death itself, or shall rise again after their decease.

But it may be asked, of what time does Isaiah speak? For many interpret this passage as relating to the last resurrection. The Jews refer it to Messiah’s kingdom, but they are mistaken in thinking that it is immediately fulfilled by the Messiah’s first coming. Christians are also mistaken in limiting it to the last judgment; for the Prophet includes the whole reign of Christ from the beginning to the end, since the hope of living, as we shall immediately see, goes beyond this world. Now, in order to understand more fully the whole of the Prophet’s meaning, we ought first to consider that life is promised, not indiscriminately, but only to “God’s dead men;” and he speaks of believers who die in the Lord, and whom he protects by his power. We know that “God is the God of the living, and not of the dead.” (Matthew 22:32.) Accordingly, if we are God’s people, we shall undoubtedly live; but in the meantime we must differ in no respect from dead men, for “our life is hidden,” (Colossians 3:3,) and we do not yet see those things for which we hope. (Romans 8:23, 24.)

So then he speaks simply of the dead, that is, of the condition of believers, who lie in the shadow of death on account of various afflictions which they must continually endure. Hence it is evident, that this must not be limited to the last resurrection; for, on the contrary, we say that the reprobate, even while they live, are dead, because they do not taste God’s fatherly kindness, in which life consists, and therefore perish in their brutal stupidity. But believers, by fleeing to God, obtain life in the midst of afflictions, and even in death itself; but because they have in prospect that day of the resurrection, they are not said literally to live till that day when they shall be free from all pain and corruption, and shall obtain perfect life; and, indeed, Paul justly argues, that it would be a subversion of order, were they to enjoy life till the appearance of Christ, who is the source of their life. (Colossians 3:3, 4.)

Thus we have said that Isaiah includes the whole reign of Christ; for, although we begin to receive the fruit of this consolation when we are admitted into the Church, yet we shall not enjoy it fully till that last day of the resurrection is come, when all things shall be most completely restored; and on this account also it is called “the day of restitution.” (Acts 3:21.) The only remedy for soothing the grief of the godly is, to cast their eyes on the result, by which God distinguishes them from the reprobate. As death naturally destroys all the children of Adam, so all the miseries to which they are liable are forerunners of death, and therefore their life is nothing else than mortality. But because the curse of God, through the kindness of Christ, is abolished, both in the beginning and in the end of death, all who are engrafted into Christ are justly said to live in dying; for to them all that is evil is the instrument of good. (Romans 8:28.) Hence it follows, that out of the depths of death they always come forth conquerors till they are perfectly united to their Head; and therefore, in order that we may be reckoned among “God’s dead men,” whose life he faithfully guards, we must rise above nature. This is more fully expressed by the word נבלה, (nĕbēlāh,) or dead body

My dead body, they shall arise. As if he had said, “The long-continued putrefaction, by which they appear to be consumed, will not hinder the power of God from causing them to rise again entire.” So far as relates to the phrase, some render it, “With my dead body.” Others explain it, “Who are my dead body.” Others supply the particle of comparison, “Like as my dead body;” but as the meaning is most fully brought out if, without adding or changing anything, we take up simply what the words mean, I choose to view them as standing in immediate connection. At least, this word is inserted for the express purpose that the Prophet may join himself to the whole Church, and thus may reckon himself in the number of “God’s dead men” in the hope of the resurrection. {Bogus footnote}

As to his mentioning himself in particular, he does so for the sake of more fully confirming this doctrine; for thus he testifies his sincerity, and shews that this confession is the result of faith, according to that saying, “I believed, therefore I spake.” (Psalm 116:10; 2 Corinthians 4:13.) But for this, irreligious men might discourse concerning the mercy of God and eternal life, though they had no sincere belief of them; for even Balaam knew that he spoke what was true, and yet he derived no benefit from his predictions. (Numbers 23:19; 24:13.) Very differently does the Prophet speak in this passage; for he professes to belong to the number of those who shall obtain life, and then declares that he willingly endures all the troubles and calamities by which the Lord humbles and slays him, and that he chooses rather to endure them than to flourish along with the wicked. In this manner he testifies, that he does not speak of things unknown, or in which he has no concern, but of those things which he has learned by actual experience; and shews that his confidence is so great that he willingly ranks himself in the number of those “dead bodies” which, he firmly believes, will be restored to life, and therefore chooses to be a dead body, and to be so reckoned, provided that he be accounted a member of the Church, rather than to enjoy life in a state of separation from the Church.

This gives greater force to his doctrine, and he contrasts it with the statement which he formerly made (verse 14) about wicked men, they shall not live; for the hope of rising again is taken from them. If it be objected, that resurrection will be common not only to believers but also to the reprobate, the answer is easy; for Isaiah does not speak merely of the resurrection, but of the happiness which believers will enjoy. Wicked men will indeed rise again, but it will be to eternal destruction; and therefore the resurrection will bring ruin to them, while it will bring salvation and glory to believers.

Awake and sing, ye inhabitants of the dust. He gives the name, inhabitants of the dust, to believers, who are humbled under the cross and afflictions, and who even during their life keep death constantly before their eyes. It is true that they enjoy God’s blessings in this life; {Bogus footnote} but by this metaphor Isaiah declares that their condition is miserable, because they bear the image of death; for “the outward man” must be subdued and weakened, till it utterly decay, “that the inward man may be renewed.” (2 Corinthians 4:16.) We must therefore be willing to be humbled, and to lie down in the dust, if we wish to share in this consolation.

Accordingly, he bids the dead men “awake and sing,” which appears to be very inconsistent with their condition; for among them there is nothing but mournful silence. (Psalm 6:5; 88:11.) He thus draws a clear distinction between God’s elect, whom the corruption of the grave and the “habitation in the dust” will not deprive of that heavenly vigor by which they shall rise again, and the reprobate, who, separated from God the source of life, and from Christ, fade away even while they live, till they are wholly swallowed up by death.

For thy dew is the dew of herbs. {Bogus footnote} He now promises “the dew of herbs,” and thus illustrates this doctrine by an elegant and appropriate comparison. We know that herbs, and especially those of the meadows, are dried up in winter, so that they appear to be wholly dead, and, to outward appearance, no other judgment could be formed respecting them; yet the roots are concealed beneath, which, when they have imbibed the dew at the return of spring, put forth their vigor, so that herbs which formerly were dry and withered, grow green again. In this manner will the nation regain its former vigor after having been plentifully watered with the dew of the grace of God, though formerly it appeared to be altogether withered and decayed.

Such comparisons, drawn from well-known objects, have great influence in producing conviction. If “herbs” watered by “dew” revive, why shall not we also revive when watered by the grace of God? Why shall not our bodies, though dead and rotten, revive? Does not God take more care of us than of herbs? And is not the power of the Spirit greater than that of “dew?” Paul employs a similar argument in writing to the Corinthians, when he treats of the resurrection; but as he applies his comparison to a different purpose, I think it better to leave it for the present, lest we should confound the two passages. It is enough if we understand the plain meaning of the Prophet.

And the earth shall cast out the dead. Others render the clause in the second person, “Thou wilt lay low the land of giants,” {Bogus footnote} or “Thou wilt lay low the giants on the earth.” I do not disapprove of this interpretation, for the words admit of that meaning; but the former appears to agree better with the scope of the passage, though it makes little difference as to the substance of the doctrine. These words must relate to that consolation of which we have formerly spoken.

20. Come, my people. In this verse he exhorts the children of God to exercise patience, to shut themselves up, and to bear with moderation their troubles and afflictions, and to stand unmoved in opposition to the fierce tempests which seemed likely to overwhelm them. This exhortation was highly necessary; for the lamentable state to which the nation was afterwards reduced was, to outward appearance, very inconsistent with that promise. The Prophet, therefore, when the people are distressed and know not where to go, takes them, as it were, by the hand, and conducts them to some retired spot, where they may hide themselves in safety till the storms and tempests are abated. When he calls them “his own people,” he speaks in the name of God, and not in his own.

Enter into thy chamber. By chamber he means calmness and composure of mind, by which we encourage and strengthen our hearts with firm belief, and calmly wait for the Lord, as Habakkuk, after having foretold the calamities which were about to fall on the Jews, says that he will go up “to his watch-tower,” that is, to a place of safety, in which he may patiently and silently await the result. (Habakkuk 2:1.) Isaiah gives a similar injunction in this passage, that the godly, when they see that they are attacked by various storms which they are unable to resist, should shut themselves up in a “chamber,” or some place of retirement.

Shut thy doors behind thee. As it would not be enough that we should once be fortified against the fierce attacks of tempests, he bids us also “shut the doors.” This relates to steadfastness; as if he enjoined us to take good heed not to leave any chink open for the devil; for he will easily break through and penetrate into our hearts, if the smallest entrance be allowed him.

Hide thyself for a little moment. When he bids them “hide” or “conceal” themselves, he means that it will be a very safe refuge for believers, if they are courageous and patiently wait for the Lord; for though we must boldly and valiantly maintain the contest, yet since the power of God is displayed in our weakness, (2 Corinthians 12:9,) there is nothing better for us than to take refuge, with all humility, under God’s wings, that they who tremble may be placed by him in perfect safety.

Again, because we are naturally rash, and hurried away by impatience, when we do not see that the Lord’s assistance is immediate, on this account he says that these storms are “momentary.” {Bogus footnote} True, we must continually struggle with afflictions, and, so long as we live, must not hope to see an end of them; and, consequently, the afflictions are, in our opinion, of very long duration. But if we compare them with that eternity, in which we shall possess immortal joys, it will be but “a very little moment.” In like manner, Paul also shews that the light and momentary afflictions which we endure in this life, ought not to be compared to that weight of eternal glory which we expect to receive. (2 Corinthians 4:17; Romans 8:18.)

Till the indignation pass over. By adding this he intends to remove all doubt from believers, as if he promised that they would quickly be delivered. I interpret “indignation” as meaning simply the affliction which proceeds from the Lord’s anger. Others refer it to enemies; and I do not object to that interpretation, but prefer the former; for we see that the prophets earnestly teach that no evil happens to us that does not come from the hand of God, who does not inflict them on us without good reason, but when he has been provoked by our iniquities and transgressions. (Amos 3:6.) We are thus reminded that God’s wrath against the Church will not last always, but that, like storms and tempests, it will come to an end, and on this account believers endure it more patiently. Hence it is said elsewhere, (Micah 7:9,) “I will bear the Lord’s wrath;” for they know that he chastises them for their salvation. He introduces the Lord speaking, as I mentioned a little before, that his exhortation may have greater authority.

21. For, behold, Jehovah cometh out of his place. It is a very grievous temptation to the godly, when they see that the wicked exercise their rage without being punished, and that God does not restrain them; for they look upon themselves as forsaken by him. Isaiah therefore meets this temptation, and shews that the Lord, though he keep himself out of view for a time, will in due season gird himself for yielding assistance, and for revenging the injuries which his people have received.

By the word cometh out, he describes God stretching out his hand to his people in such a manner as if it had formerly been concealed, because the saints did not perceive his aid. For this reason he says, that the Lord “cometh out,” and that he appears in public to yield assistance and exercise judgment, as if he had formerly dwelt like a private person at home. But perhaps there is an allusion to the sanctuary; and this mode of expression occurs frequently in the prophets. (Micah 1:3; Habakkuk 3:13; Zechariah 14:3.) Though heathen nations despised the ark of the covenant which was laid up in a place little renowned, yet believers knew, by communications of power and grace which they quickly obtained, that it was not in vain or to no purpose that they called on God in that holy place. Yet this principle always holds good, that, though unbelievers ridicule the temple as some mean hut, still God will “come forth” from it at his own time, that the whole world may know that he is the protector of his people

This meaning is more appropriate than if we were to interpret God’s place to mean heaven, from which he “cometh forth;” for Isaiah intended to express something more. When the prophets mention heaven, they exhibit to us the majesty and glory of God; but here he refers to our senses, that is, when we see that God, who formerly appeared to remain concealed and to be at rest, gives us assistance. He employs the demonstrative particle הנה, (hinnēh,) behold, and the participle of the present tense יצא, (yōtzē,) coming forth, in order to express certainty, and that believers may not be displeased at bridling their feelings till his coming.

To visit the iniquity. This is to the same purport with what goes before; for it would have been inconsistent with the nature of God, who is the judge of the world, to allow the wicked freely to indulge in sin without being punished. The word visit contains a well-known metaphor; because, so long as God delays or suspends his judgments, we think that he sees nothing, or that he has turned away his eyes. There is emphasis, also, in the phrase עליו, (gnālāiv,) upon him; as it is frequently said that the wicked are taken in “the snares which they have laid,” (Psalm 9:16,) or “in the pit which they have digged.” (Psalm 57:6.) The meaning therefore is, that all the injuries inflicted will fall on the heads of those who were the authors of them.

The earth also shall disclose her blood. {Bogus footnote} This also is highly emphatic. When innocent blood is shed and trodden under foot by wicked men, the earth drinks it up, and as it were receives it into her bosom; and, in the meantime, the death of the godly appears to be forgotten, and to be blotted out for ever from remembrance, so that it shall never come to be beheld even by God himself. Men indeed think so, but God makes a widely different declaration; for he declares, that those murderers will one day be “disclosed” and brought into judgment.

On this account he calls it “the blood, or bloods, of the earth,” which the earth has drunk up; and in like manner it is said, that “the earth opened her mouth” when the blood of Abel was shed. (Genesis 4:11.) In that passage the Lord represents in strong terms the aggravation of that guilt, by saying, that the earth was polluted with that blood, and therefore he shews how “precious in his sight is the death of the saints,” (Psalm 116:15,) how great is the care which he takes of them, and that at length he will not permit their death to pass unpunished. The earth itself will take up arms to avenge the murders and cruelties which the godly have endured from tyrants and enemies of the truth; and not a drop of blood has been shed of which they will not have to render an account. We ought therefore to call to remembrance this consolation, and to keep it constantly before our eyes, when the wicked slay, mock, and ridicule us, and inflict upon us every kind of outrage and cruelty. God will at length make known that the cry of innocent blood has not been uttered in vain; for he never can forget his own people. (Luke 18:7.)

CHAPTER 27

Isaiah 27:1-13

1. In that day the Lord, with his sore, and great, and strong sword, shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

1. In die illa visitabit Iehova gladio suo duro, et magno et forti, super Leviathan serpentem penetrem, et super Leviathan serpentem flexuosum, et occidet draconem qui est in mari.

2. In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.

2. In die illa vineæ ruboris canite.

3. I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.

3. Ego Iehova custodio eam, singulis momentis irragabo eam; ne visitet eam (hostis,) noctu et interdiu custodiam ipsam.

4. Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.

4. Furor non est mihi. Quis me committat cum vepre et spina (aut, veprem spinœ)? Gradiar hostiliter per eam, incendam penitus.

5. Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.

5. An apprehendet robur meum, ut faciat mecum pacem, mecum, inquam, pacem faciat?

6. He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.

6. In posterum radices mittet Iacob; pullulabit et florebit Israel, et implebuntur facies orbis fructu.

7. Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?

7. An juxta plagam percutientis eum percussit eum? An juxta cædem cædentium eum cæsus est.

8. In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.

8. In mensura in emissione ejus disceptabis cum ea, etiam cum flaverit vento suo violento in die Euri.

9. By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the alter as chalk-stones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.

9. Itaque hoc modo expiabitur iniquitas Iacob; et hic omnis fructos, ablatio peccati ejus; cum posuerit cunctos lapides altaris sicut lapides calcis confractos, ut non resurgant luci et imagines.

10. Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.

10. Civitas tamen munita erit solitaria; locus habitatus erit desertus, ac derelictus quasi solitudo. Ibi pascetur vitulus, et ibi accubabit et absumet summitates ejus.

11. When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire; for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.

11. Dum arescet messis ejus, frangent (vel, secabunt) eam, mulieres venientes accendent eam; quia non est populus intelligens; propterea non miserebitur ejus factor ejus, et fictor ejus non erit illi propitius.

12. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.

12. Accidet tamen in die illa, ut excutiat Iehova ab alveo fluminis ad fluvium Ægypti; et vos congregabimini unus ad unum, filii Israel.

13. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

13. Accidet etiam die illa, ut clangatur tuba magna; et venient qui perierant in terra Assur, et qui dissipati erant in terra Ægypti; et adorabunt Iehovam in monte sancto, in Ierusalem.

CHAPTER 26

Is 26:1-21. Connected with the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Chapters. Song of Praise of Israel after Being Restored to Their Own Land.

As the overthrow of the apostate faction is described in the twenty-fifth chapter, so the peace of the faithful is here described under the image of a well-fortified city.

1. strong city--Jerusalem, strong in Jehovah's protection: type of the new Jerusalem (Psa 48:1-3), contrasted with the overthrow of the ungodly foe (Is 26:4-7, 12-14; Re 22:2, 10-12, &c.).

salvation ... walls--(Is 60:18; Jr 3:23; Zec 2:5). Maurer translates, "Jehovah makes His help serve as walls" (Is 33:20, 21, &c.).

bulwarks--the trench with the antemural earthworks exterior to the wall.

2. Address of the returning people to the gates of Jerusalem (type of the heavenly city, He 12:22); (Psa 24:7, 9; 118:19). Antitypically (Re 22:14; 21:25, 27).

righteous nation--that had not apostatized during the captivity. Horsley translates, "The nation of the Just One," namely, the Jews.

3. mind ... stayed--(Psa 112:7, 8). Jesus can create "perfect peace" within thy mind, though storms of trial rage without (Is 57:19; Mr 4:39); as a city kept securely by a strong garrison within, though besieged without (so Php 4:7). "Keep," literally, "guard as with a garrison." Horsley translates, (God's) workmanship (the Hebrew does not probably mean "mind," but "a thing formed," Ep 2:10), so constantly "supported"; or else "formed and supported (by Thee) Thou shalt preserve (it, namely, the righteous nation) in perpetual peace."

4. Lord Jehovah--Hebrew, Jah, Jehovah. The union of the two names expresses in the highest degree God's unchanging love and power (compare Psa 68:4). This passage, and Is 12:2; Ex 6:3; Psa 83:18, are the four in which the English Version retains the Jehovah of the original. Maurer translates, "For Jah (the eternal unchangeable One, Ex 3:14) is Jehovah, the rock of ages" (compare Is 45:17; De 32:15; 1Sa 2:2).

5. lofty city--Babylon; representative of the stronghold of the foes of God's people in all ages (Is 25:2, 12; 13:14).

6. poor--(Is 25:4), the once afflicted Jewish captives. "Foot shall tread," is figurative for exulting in the fall of God's enemies (Re 18:20).

7. uprightness--rather, "is direct," that is, is directed by God to a prosperous issue, however many be their afflictions in the meantime (as in the case of the Jewish exiles); the context requires this sense (Psa 34:19; Pr 3:6; 11:5), [Maurer]: thus "way" means God's dealings with the righteous (Psa 37:23).

most upright--(De 32:4).

dost weigh--(1Sa 2:3; Pr 5:21). Rather, "thou dost make plain and level" [Maurer], removing all obstacles (Is 40:3, 4).

8. way of thy judgments--We have waited for Thy proceeding to punish the enemy (Is 26:9, 10) [Maurer]. Horsley translates Is 26:7, 8, "The path of the Just One is perfectly even; an even road Thou wilt level for the Just One, even the path of Thy laws, O Jehovah. We have expected Thee."

name ... remembrance--the manifested character of God by which He would be remembered (Is 64:5; Ex 3:15).

9. With, ... soul ... I--literally, "I ... my soul," in apposition; the faithful Jews here speak individually. The overthrow of the foe and the restoration of the Jews are to follow upon prayer on the part of the latter and of all God's people (Is 62:1-4, 6, 7; Psa 102:13-17).

in the night--(Psa 63:6; So 3:1).

world ... learn ... righteousness--the remnant left after judgments (Psa 58:10, 11; Zec 14:16).

10. uprightness--rather, as in Is 26:7, "prosperity," answering to "favor" in the parallelism, and in antithesis to "judgments in the earth" (Is 26:9); where prosperity attends the wicked as well as the just, "he will not learn righteousness," therefore judgments must be sent that he may "learn" it [Maurer].

11. lifted up--to punish the foes of God's people. They who will not see shall be made to "see" to their cost (Is 5:12).

their envy at the people--that is, "Thy people." Lowth translates, "They shall see with confusion Thy zeal for Thy people."

fire of ... enemies--that is, the fire to which Thine enemies are doomed (Is 9:18).

12. peace--God's favor, including all blessings, temporal and spiritual, opposed to their previous trials (Psa 138:8).

13. other lords--temporal; heathen kings (2Ch 12:8; 28:5, 6), Nebuchadnezzar, &c. Spiritual also, idols and lusts (Ro 6:16-18).

by thee only--It is due to Thee alone, that we again worship Thee as our Lord [Maurer]. "(We are) Thine only, we will celebrate Thy name" [Horsley]. The sanctifying effect of affliction (Psa 71:16; 119:67, 71).

14. They--The "other lords" or tyrants (Is 26:13).

shall not live--namely, again.

deceased--Hebrew, "Rephaim"; powerless, in the land of shades (Is 14:9, 10).

therefore--that is, inasmuch as. Compare "therefore" (Ge 18:5; 19:8).

15. hast--prophetical preterite (Is 9:3).

hast removed ... far ... ends of ... earth--rather, "Thou hast extended far all the borders of the land" [Vitringa].

16. visited--sought.

poured out--(Psa 62:8), as a vessel emptying out all its contents.

prayer--literally, "a whispered prayer," Margin, "a secret sighing" to God for help (compare Jr 13:17; De 8:16).

17. An image of anguish accompanied with expectation, to be followed by joy that will cause the anguish utterly to be forgotten. Zion, looking for deliverance, seemingly in vain, but really about to be gloriously saved (Mi 4:9, 10-13; 5:1-3; Joh 16:21, 22).

18. brought forth wind--Michaelis explains this of the disease empneumatosis. Rather, "wind" is a figure for that which proves an abortive effort. The "we" is in antithesis to "Thy," "my" (Is 26:19), what we vainly attempt, God will accomplish.

not wrought ... deliverance in ... earth--literally, "the land (Judea) is not made security," that is, is not become a place of security from our enemies.

neither ... world fallen--The "world" at large, is in antithesis to "the earth," that is, Judea. The world at enmity with the city of God has not been subdued. But Maurer explains "fallen," according to Arabic idiom, of the birth of a child, which is said to fall when being born; "inhabitants of the world (Israel, Is 24:4; not the world in general) are not yet born"; that is, the country as yet lies desolate, and is not yet populated.

19. In antithesis to Is 26:14, "They (Israel's foes) shall not live"; "Thy (Jehovah's) dead men (the Jews) shall live," that is, primarily, be restored, spiritually (Is 54:1-3), civilly and nationally (Is 26:15); whereas Thy foes shall not; ultimately, and in the fullest scope of the prophecy, restored to life literally (Eze 37:1-14; Da 12:2).

together with my dead body--rather, "my dead body," or "bodies" (the Jewish nation personified, which had been spiritually and civilly dead; or the nation, as a parent, speaking of the bodies of her children individually, see on Is 26:9, "I," "My"): Jehovah's "dead" and "my dead" are one and the same [Horsley]. However, as Jesus is the antitype to Israel (Mt 2:15), English Version gives a true sense, and one ultimately contemplated in the prophecy: Christ's dead body being raised again is the source of Jehovah's people (all, and especially believers, the spiritual Israelites) also being raised (1Co 15:20-22).

Awake--(Ep 5:14), spiritually.

in dust--prostate and dead, spiritually and nationally; also literally (Is 25:12; 47:1).

dew--which falls copiously in the East and supplies somewhat the lack of rain (Ho 14:5).

cast out ... dead--that is, shall bring them forth to life again.

20. enter ... chambers--When God is about to take vengeance on the ungodly, the saints shall be shut in by Him in a place of safety, as Noah and his family were in the days of the flood (Ge 7:16), and as Israel was commanded not to go out of doors on the night of the slaying of the Egyptian first-born (Ex 12:22, 23; Psa 31:20; 83:3). The saints are calmly and confidently to await the issue (Ex 14:13, 14).

21. (Mi 1:3; Jude 14).

disclose ... blood--(Ge 4:10, 11; Job 16:18; Eze 24:7, 8). All the innocent blood shed, and all other wrongs done, so long seemingly with impunity, shall then be avenged (Re 16:6).

We have a strong city - In opposition to the city of the enemy, which God hath destroyed, Isa 25:1-12 (note). See the note there.

Salvation - for walls and bulwarks - חומת וחל chomsoth vachel, walls and redoubts, or the walls and the ditch. חל chel properly signifies the ditch or trench without the wall; see Kimchi. The same rabbin says, This song refers to the time of salvation, i.e., the days of the Messiah.

The righteous nation - The converted Gentiles shall have the gates opened - a full entrance into all the glories and privileges of the Gospel; being fellow heirs with the converted Jews. The Jewish peculiarity is destroyed, for the middle wall of partition is broken down.

The truth - The Gospel itself - as the fulfillment of all the ancient types, shadows, and ceremonies; and therefore termed the truth, in opposition to all those shadowy rites and ceremonies. "The law was given by Moses; but grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ; "Joh 1:17, and see the note there.

In perfect peace - שלום שלום shalom, shalom, "peace, peace, "i.e., peace upon peace - all kinds of prosperity - happiness in this world and in the world to come.

Because he trusteth in thee "Because they have trusted in thee" - So the Chaldee, בטחו betacho. The Syriac and Vulgate read בטוח batachnu, "we have trusted. "Schroeder, Gram. Hebrews p. 360, explains the present reading בטוח batuach, impersonally, confisum est.

In the Lord Jehovah "In Jehovah" - In Jah Jehovah, Heb.; but see Houbigant, and the note on Isa 12:2 (note).

Everlasting strength - צור עולמים tsur olamim, "the rock of ages; "or, according to Rab. Maimon, - the eternal Fountain, Source, or Spring. Does not this refer to the lasting streams from the rock in the desert? And that rock was Christ. ge han hoped in the Lord fro the everlastinge worldis. - Old Ms. Bible.

Have we waited for thee "We have placed our confidence in thy name" - The Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee read קוינו kavinu, without the pronoun annexed.

Have I desired thee - Forty-one MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's and many of De Rossi's, (nine ancient), and five editions read אויתיך invithicha. It is proper to note this; because the second י yod being omitted in the text, the Vulgate and many others have rendered it in the third person.

When thy judgments, etc. - It would be better to read, When thy judgments were in the earth, the inhabitants of the world have learned (למדו lamedu) righteousness. Men seldom seek God in prosperity; they are apt to rest in an earthly portion: but God in mercy embitters this by adversity; then there is a general cry after himself as our chief, solid, and only permanent good.

Lord, in trouble have they visited thee "O Jehovah, in affliction we have sought thee" - So the Septuagint and two MSS. have פקדנוך pekadnucha, in the first person plural. And so perhaps it should be צקנו tsaknu, in the first person; but how the Septuagint read this word is not clear; and this last member of the verse is extremely obscure.

For למו lamo, "on them," the Septuagint read לנו lanu, "on us," in the first person likewise; a frequent mistake; see note on Isa 10:29.

We have - brought forth wind - The learned Professor Michaelis explains this image in the following manner: "Rariorem morbum describi, empneumatosin, aut ventosam molam, dictum; quo quae laborant diu et sibi et peritis medicis gravidae videntur,tandemque post omnes verae graviditatis molestias et labored ventum ex utero emittunt: quem morbum passim describunt medici. "Syntagma Comment., vol. ii., p. 165. The empneumatosis, or windy inflation of the womb, is a disorder to which females are liable. Some have had this in such wise, for a long time together, that they have appeared to themselves, and even to very skillful medical men, to be pregnant; and after having endured much pain, and even the throes of apparent childbearing, they have been eased and restored to health by the emission of a great quantity of wind from the uterus. This disorder is well known to medical men. "The Syriac translator seems to have understood it in this manner: Enixi sumus, ut illae quae ventos pariunt. "We have brought forth as they who bring forth wind."

In the earth "In the land" - בארץ bearets; so a MS., the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.

My dead body "My deceased" - All the ancient Versions render it in the plural; they read נבלותי niblothai, my dead bodies. The Syriac and Chaldee read נבלותיהם niblotheyhem, their dead bodies. No MS. yet found confirms this reading.

The dew of herbs "The dew of the dawn" - Lucis, according to the Vulgate; so also the Syriac and Chaldee.

The deliverance of the people of God from a state of the lowest depression is explained by images plainly taken from the resurrection of the dead. In the same manner the Prophet Ezekiel represents the restoration of the Jewish nation from a state of utter dissolution by the restoring of the dry bones to life, exhibited to him in a vision, chap. 37, which is directly thus applied and explained, Eze 37:11-13. And this deliverance is expressed with a manifest opposition to what is here said above, Eze 37:14, of the great lords and tyrants, under whom they had groaned: - "They are dead, they shall not live;

They are deceased tyrants, they shall not rise:" that they should be destroyed utterly, and should never be restored to their former power and glory. It appears from hence, that the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was at that time a popular and common doctrine; for an image which is assumed in order to express or represent any thing in the way of allegory or metaphor, whether poetical or prophetical, must be an image commonly known and understood; otherwise it will not answer the purpose for which it is assumed. - L.

Kimchi refers these words to the days of the Messiah, and says, "Then many of the saints shall rise from the dead. "And quotes Dan 12:2. Do not these words speak of the resurrection of our blessed Lord; and of that resurrection of the bodies of men, which shall be the consequence of his body being raised from the dead?

Thy dead men shall live, - with my dead body shall they arise - This seems very express.

Comes my people, enter thou into thy chambers - An exhortation to patience and resignation under oppression, with a confident expectation of deliverance by the power of God manifestly to be exerted in the destruction of the oppressor. It seems to be an allusion to the command of Moses to the Israelites, when the destroying angel was to go through the land of Egypt, "not to go out at the door of their houses until the morning;" Exo 12:22. And before the passage of the Red Sea: "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah. Jehovah shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace, "Exo 14:13, Exo 14:14.

The earth also shall disclose her blood - Crimes of cruelty and oppression, which have passed away from the eyes of men, God will bring into judgment, and exact punishment for them. O what a reckoning will the kingdoms of the earth have with God, for the torrents of blood which they have shed for the gratification of the lust of power and ambition! Who shall live when he doeth this?

In that day - When God shall do such glorious works, as are described in the foregoing chapter. Sung - In the church of God. A city - Jerusalem, or the church, which is often compared to a city. For walls - God's immediate and saving protection shall be to his church instead of walls.

The gates - Of the city, mentioned ver.1. The nation - The whole body of righteous men, whether Jews or Gentiles. For he seems to speak here, as he apparently did in the foregoing chapter, of the times of the gospel. Keepeth truth - Which is sincere in the true religion.

For ever - In all times and conditions.

On high - He speaks not so much of height of place, as of dignity and power, in which sense also he mentions the lofty city in the next clause. Lofty city - Which may be understood either of proud Babylon, or of all the strong and stately cities of God's enemies.

The needy - God will bring it under the feet of his poor, and weak, and despised people.

Thou - O God, who art upright in all thy ways, and therefore a lover of uprightness, and of all upright men, dost weigh (examine) the path of the just, the course of his actions, and, which is implied, dost approve of them, and therefore direct them to an happy issue.

In the night - When others are sleeping, my thoughts and desires are working towards God. Early - Betimes in the morning. For - And good reason it is that we should thus desire and seek thee in the way of thy judgments, because this is the very design of thy judgments, that men should thereby be awakened to learn and return to their duty; and this is a common effect, that those who have been careless in prosperity, are made wiser and better by afflictions.

Will not learn - This is the carriage of thy people; but the course of wicked men is directly contrary in all conditions: for if thou dost spare them, they will not accept of that gracious invitation to repentance. In the land - Even in God's church, and among his people, where righteousness is taught and practised. Will not behold - Tho' God gives such plain discoveries of his majesty and glory, not only in his word, but also in works, and especially in this glorious work of his patience and mercy to wicked men, yet they will not acknowledge it.

Will not see - And they are guilty of the same obstinate blindness when thou dost smite and punish them, which is commonly signified by lifting up the hand. They shall see - They shall know that by sad experience, which they would not learn by easier ways. These - Such fire or wrath as thou usest to pour forth upon thine implacable enemies.

Our works - All the good works done by us, are the effects of thy grace.

Other lords - Others besides thee, and besides those governors who have been set up by thee, even foreign and heathen lords. By thee - By thy favour and help. Will we - Celebrate thy praise.

Rise - Those tyrants are destroyed; they shall never live or rise again to molest us.

The nation - This nation seems to be the people of Israel. Removed - Thou hast removed thy people out of their own land, and suffered them to be carried captive to the ends of the earth.

They - Thy people. Visited - Come into thy presence, with their prayers and supplications.

Like - Such was our anguish and danger.

We - We have had the torment of a woman in child - bearing, but not the comfort of a living child, for we have brought forth nothing but wind; all our labours and hopes were unsuccessful. The world - The Assyrians, or our other enemies.

Thy - The prophet here turns his speech to God's people, and gives them a cordial in their distress. Thy dead men are not like those, ver.14, for they shall not live; but thine shall live. You shall be delivered from all your fears and dangers. My dead body - As I myself, who am one of these dead men, shall live again; you shall be delivered together with me. Awake - Out of your sleep, even the sleep of death, you that are dead and buried in the dust. Thy dew - The favour and blessing of God upon thee. The dew - Which makes them grow and flourish.

Shut thy doors - Withdraw thyself from the world, and pour out thy prayers to God in thy closet. Indignation - The dreadful effects of God's anger, mentioned in the following verse.

Cometh - Cometh down from heaven. To punish - All the enemies of God, and of his people. Her slain - The innocent blood which hath been spilled upon the earth shall be brought to light, and severely revenged upon the murderers.

IN that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah , We have a strong city , salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks .

When God shall do such glorious Works for the Comfort of his People, and for the Ruine of his and their Enemies, as he hath described in the foregoing Chapter.

In the Church of God, which in Scripture is oft signified by the Titles of Iudah, and Ierusalem, and Sion, or the like.

Ierusalem, or the Church, which is oft called or compared to a City, as Psal. 87. 3. Revel. 3. 12. & 11. 2. & 21. 2.

God's immediate and saving Protection shall be to his Church in stead of Walls, &c. But I conceive, with submission, the Words may very fitly be thus rendred, He will set or put or make her walls and bulwarks salvation, i. e. as safe as Salvation it self: or, in safety, there being onely a defect of the Preposition, which is very frequent in Scripture.

Marginal references: Chap. 60. 18.

2 Open ye the gates , that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

Of the City mentioned v. 1.

Either, 1. those godly Jews who are returning from Babylon; or, 2. the whole Body of righteous and holy Men, whether Jews or Gentiles. For he seems to speak here, as he apparently did in the foregoing Chapter, of the Times of the Gospel.

Which is sincere and stedfast in the Profession and Practice of the True Religion.

Marginal references: Psal. 118. 19, 20.; Heb. truths.

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is staied on thee : because he trusteth in thee.

Heb. the fixed thought or mind (i. e. the Man whose Mind and Thoughts are fixed and setled upon thee by Faith, as the next Clause explains it, the Qualification being put for the Person so qualified, as folly and wisdom are put for a Fool and a Wise man, Prov. 24. 9. Mic. 6. 9. and peace for a Man of peace, Psal. 120. 7.) thou wilt keep in peace peace, i. e. in all manner of peace, in constant and perfect peace. In the foregoing Verse the Righteous were admitted into the City, and here they are preserved and defended in it by God's Almighty Power.

Marginal references: Heb. peace, peace.; Or, thought, [illegible: 1+ letters]r, imagination.

4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever : for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength .

In all Times and Conditions.

Heb. the rock of ages, a sure Refuge to all those that trust in him, through all generations; therefore you may safely trust in him, and that for ever.

Marginal references: Heb. the rock of ages. Deut. 32. 4.

5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high , the lofty city , he layeth it low, he layeth it low, even to the ground, he bringeth it even to the dust.

Heb. he hath brought down, which yet may be put for the future, he will bring down, &c. You may trust him; for he can and doth raise some, and throw down others, according to his own good pleasure.

He speaks not so much of heighth of Place, as of Dignity and Power; in which sence also he mentions the lofty city in the next Clause.

Which may be understood either of proud Babylon; or, collectively, of all the strong and stately Cities of God's Enemies.

Marginal references: Chap. 25. 12. & 32. 19.

6 The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy .

God will bring it under the Feet of his poor and weak and despised People.

7 The way of the just is uprightness : thou most upright, dost weigh the path of the just .

Or, most even or plain. Heb. evenness or plainness. Which is understood either, 1. of the Rectitude or Goodness of his Actions or Course: or rather, 2. of the good Success of his Affairs: for this suits best with the Coherence. When the way of the Wicked is rugged, in which they easily stumble and fall into mischief, of which he spoke v. 5, 6. the path of Just men is plain and smooth, and they walk safely and comfortably in it.

The sence of the Words thus rendred is, Thou, O God, who art most upright in all thy ways, and therefore a Lover of Uprightness, and of all upright Men, dost weigh (i. e. examine) the path of the just, the Course of his Actions, and, which is implied, dost approve of them, and therefore direct them to an happy issue. But the Words are otherwise rendred by some late Learned Interpreters, to this purpose, Thou dost level or make plain (as this very Word signifies Psal 78. 50.) the path of the just exactly. Heb. with evenness, or evenly, so as to make it very even. Thus the first Clause declares that it was even or plain, and this sheweth whence or by whom it is made such, even by God.

8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee ; the desire of our soul is to thy Name, and to the remembrance of thee .

And as we thy People have loved and served thee when thou hast made our way plain and easie for us; so we have not forsaken thee, but waited upon thee, when thou hast made it rugged and troublesom by thy Judgments. He speaks of the same Just men, v. 7, 8, 9. though it be with a change of the Numbers and Persons, which is usual in Prophetical Writings, the just, v. 7. we, v. 8. I, v. 9.

Heb. to thy name and thy memory; which, by a known Figure called Hendiaduo, may be put for the remembrance of thy Name. And the Name of God is here, as it is in many other places, put for God himself, as he hath made himself known by his Word and Works. And so the sence of this Clause is, Our Affections are not alienated from thee by thy Judgments, but we still continue to desire thy Presence and Favour, and we support and comfort our selves with the remembrance of what thou art, and what thou hast done, and what thou hast promised to be and do to thy People.

Marginal references: Chap. 6[illegible: 1+ letters]. [illegible: 1+ letters]

9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night , yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early : for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness .

Sincerely and most affectionately, as Psal. 63. 1. and elsewhere.

The Prophet speaks this in the name of all God's People, by comparing this with the foregoing Verse.

Either, 1. figuratively, in the time of Affliction, which is oft called night or darkness; or rather, 2. properly, as appears from the next Clause, wherein early or in the morning is opposed to it. When others are sleeping, my Thoughts and Desires are working towards God.

By fervent Prayer for thy Loving-kindness.

Betimes in the morning, as the Word signifies.

And good reason it is that we should thus desire and seek thee in the way of thy Judgments, because this is the very design of thy Judgments, that men should thereby be awakened to learn and return to their Duty; and this is a common effect of them, that those who have been careless in Prosperity, are made wiser and better by Afflictions. The inhabitants of the world seem to be here taken not in opposition to God's People, as if not they onely, but even the wicked World would do thus; but in a general Notion, so as to include, yea principally to design God's People, as may be gathered both from the former part of this, and the foregoing Verse, in which he describes their pious Carriage under Affliction; as also from the two following Verses, in which he speaks of the wicked, whom he seems to oppose to these inhabitants of the world, because these learn Righteousness, whilst those wicked men remain incorrigible both under Mercies and Judgments, v. 10, 11.

Marginal references: C[illegible: 1+ letters]nt. 3. 1.

10 Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness : in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD .

This is the Carriage of thy People; but the Course of Wicked men is directly contrary in all conditions: For if thou dost spare them, when thou punishest thine own People, they will not accept of that gracious Invitation to Repentance, nor walk worthy of so great a Mercy.

Even in God's Church, and among his People, where Righteousness is professed and taught, and by many practised; and where Unrighteousness is discountenanced and punished: all which things are Aggravations of his Sin.

Although God gives such plain and clear Discoveries of his Majesty and Glory, not onely in his Word, but also in his Works, and especially in this glorious Work of his Patience and Mercy to Wicked men, yet they wilfully shut their Eyes at it, and will not acknowledge it.

Marginal references: Eccl. 8. 11.

11 LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see : but they shall see , and be ashamed for their envy at the people ; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.

And they are guilty of the same obstinate Blindness when thou dost smite and punish them, which is commonly signified by lifting up the hand, as Ezek. 44. 12. Micah 5. 9. Compare also 2 Sam. 20. 21. 1 Kings 11. 26. Or, as others render it, When thine hand is high or exalied, i. e. When thy Works are most evident and most glorious, when thou appearest most gloriously for the defence of thy People, and for the punishment of thine and their Enemies, they will not see.

The same Word is repeated in another sence: They shall feel and know that by sad and costly Experience, which they would not learn by other and easier ways. Seeing is oft put for feeling; in which sence Men are said to see affliction, Lam. 3. 1. and to see death, Psal. 89. 48. and the like.

Or, at or towards thy people, the Pronoun thy being repeated out of the following Clause, as it is in many other places of Scripture, as hath been before noted. Their Envy and Hatred against God's People blinded their Minds, that they neither could nor would see that God was on their side, though the Tokens of it were most manifest and undeniable. Which was the Case of Pharach and the Egyptians, who were not sensible that the Lord fought for Israel against the Egyptians, as they said Exod. 14. 25. till it was too late.

Not efficiently, but objectively: Such Fire or Wrath as thou usest to pour forth upon thine implacable Enemies. As my wrong, Gen. 16. 5. is not the Wrong done by me, but to me; and my violence, Ier. 51. 35. is the violence done to me, as we translate it, not by me.

Marginal references: Job 34. 27. Psal. 28. 5. Chap. 5. 12.; Or, towards thy people.

12 LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us : for thou also hast wrought all our works in us .

As thou wilt destroy thine and our Enemies, so thou wilt bless us thy People with Peace and Prosperity.

Either, 1. all the Good Works done by us▪ which are the Effects of thy Grace: or rather, 2. all the Good and Great Works which have been wrought for us, all our wonderful Deliverances and singular Blessings come from thee. And so the Argument is this, God hath delivered us formerly upon all occasions, and therefore he will still deliver us, and give us Peace: Which Inference is frequently made by Holy Men in Scripture.

Heb. to or for us.

Marginal references: Or, for us.

13 O LORD our God, other lords besides thee have had dominion over us : but by thee onely will we make mention of thy Name .

Others besides thee, who art our onely Iudge, and King, and Lawgiver, Isa. 33. 22. and besides those Governours who have been set up by thee, and have ruled us for thee, and in subordination to thee, even Foreign and Heathenish Lords, such as the Philistins, and lately the Assyrians.

Have exercised a Tyrannical Power over us.

By thy Favour and Help, by which alone (and not by our Strength or Merits) we have been rescued from their Tyranny.

We will celebrate thy Praise, and trust in thee for the future. Thou onely hast given us both Ability and Occasion to magnifie thy Name, whereas without thy Succour we had gone into the place of Silence, where there is no remembrance of thee, as is said Psal. 6. 5.

Marginal references: 2 Chron. 12. 8.

14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise : therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish .

Those Tyrants and Enemies are utterly and irrecoverably destroyed, so as they shall never live or rise again to molest us. Possibly he speaks of the miraculous Destruction of Sennacherib's Army before Ierusalem.

That they might be so effectually destroyed, thou didst undertake the Work. Or, rather, because (as this Particle is used Numb. 14. 43. Psal. 42. 6.) thou hast, &c. as it follows.

Thou hast destroyed both them and theirs, and all the Monuments or Memorials of their Greatness and Glory.

15 Thou hast increased the nation , O LORD, thou hast increased the nation, thou art glorified ; thou hast removed it far unto all the ends of the earth .

Heb. Thou hast added to the nation. Which may be understood either, 1. in way of Mercy, of adding to their Numbers, as our Translation takes it; and so we have in effect the same Phrase, 2 Sam. 24. 3. The Lord add to the people, &c. and Psal. 115. 14. in the Hebrew Text, The Lord shall add upon or to you: or, 2. in way of Judgment, of adding to their Plagues or Miscries, of which we read Rev. 22. 18. in which sence the Phrase is found in the Hebrew Text, Psal. 120. 3. What shall be added to thee; and in that usual Form of Imprecation, The Lord do so to me and more, Ruth 1. 17. 1 Sam. 3. 16. &c. where it is in the Hebrew, The Lord do so to me and add. And this sence seems to be favoured by the Context, as also by the ancient Greek Translators, who render the Words, add to them evil or punishments. And so the Word adding may be used emphatically and sarcastically: God indeed will add to them; but what? Not Numbers, and Power, and Glory, as they expected; but Plagues or Judgments, one after another. This nation is supposed by the Current of Interpreters to be the People of Israel, emphatically called the nation. Possibly it may be the Assyrians, of whom he spoke in the last Verse. But this I propose with submission.

Thy Justice is glorified in their Punishment or Destruction.

Which may be understood either, 1. of Israel, and that either in a way of Mercy, Thou hast by destroying the Assyrians enlarged thy People, who were shut up in Ierusalem▪ so that now they may go to the remotest parts of the Land; or in way of Judgment: Thou hast removed thy People out of their own Land, and suffered them to be carried Captive to the ends of the Earth: Or, 2. of the Assyrians; Thou hast removed them from Ierusalem, which they had besieged, and caused them to flee into their own Country, which in Scripture-phrase was in the ends of the earth; of which see Isa. 5. 26. & 13. 5.

16 O LORD, in trouble have they visited thee , they poured out a prayer when thy chastning was upon them .

To wit, thy People, as appears both from the Matter of this Verse, and from the following Verses.

Come into thy Presence, with their Prayers and Supplications, as the next Clause explains it.

Which notes the Plenty or rather the Earnestness of their Prayers, as Psal. 42. 4. & 142. 2[illegible: 1+ letters]

Heb. a muttering or lowly speech, such as Charmers use, and such as Hezekiah used when he was in great distress, Isa. 38. 14. Like a crane or swallow so did I chatter, I did mourn as a dove; and such as is usual in case of great humiliation and dejection of Mind.

When thou wast punishing them for their Sins.

Marginal references: Heb. secret speech.

17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs: so have we been in thy sight , O LORD.

Such was our Anguish and Danger.

Whilst thou didst onely look upon us like a meer Spectator, without affording us the least degree of Pity or Help. Or, this Phrase notes onely the reality of the Thing; God was Witness of this our Misery, and knoweth the Truth of what I say.

Marginal references: Joh. 16. 21.

18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind , we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth , neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

We have had the Torment of a Woman in Childbearing, but not the Comfort of a Living Child, Ioh. 16. 21. for we have brought forth nothing but Wind, all our Labours and Hopes were vain and unsuccessful. The Prophet here represents their deplorable and desperate Condition, before God appeared so eminently to deliver them.

We found that we were utterly unable to deliver our selves.

Or, in the land, in our own Country, where yet we had far greater Advantages than we could have had elsewhere.

The Assyrians, or our other Enemies; for they are here opposed to God's People.

19 Thy dead men shall live , together with my dead body shall they arise : awake , and sing, ye that dwell in the dust : for thy dew is as the dew of herbs , and the earth shall cast out the dead r.

The Prophet here turneth his Speech to God's People, and gives them a Cordial to support them in their deep Distress, expressed in the foregoing Verse. Thy dead Men are not like those v. 14. for they shall not live, as I there said; but thine shall live. You shall certainly be delivered from all your Fears and Dangers. Nothing is more frequent, both in Scripture and other Authors, than for great Calamities to be compared to death▪ and Deliverance from them to life, and reviving, and resurrection: And particularly the Captivity of the Iews in Babylon, and their Deliverance out of it, is largely expressed by this very Similitude, Ezek. 37. 11, &c.

As I my self, who am one of your number, and of these Dead men, shall live again. You shall be delivered together with me. Which he might add, to meet with an Objection; for they might think that God would take some special Care of this Holy Prophet, and would preserve him when they should be destroyed. No, saith he, As I am at present like a dead Carkass no less than you, so you shall be restored to Life no less than I. If the Supplement of our Translation seems to be too liberal, it may be rendred to the same purpose, as my body, the Particle as being oft understood, as I have divers times observed: As my dead Body shall rise, so shall theirs also; we are equally dead, and shall equally live again.

Unto Life, as appears from the former Clause.

Out of your sleep, even the sleep of death, as it is called Psal. 13. 3. Death being oft compared to a Sleep, as Ioh. 11. 11. Act. 7. 60. and Restauration to Life unto awaking, as 2 Kings 4. 31.

You that are dead and buried in the Dust, as the Dead are said to sleep in the dust, Dan. 12. 2.

The Favour and Blessing of God upon thee, which is oft compared to the dew, as Hos. 14. 5. Mich. 5. 7. The Pronoun thy is here taken not efficiently, but objectively, as thy curse, Gen. 27. 13. is the Curse coming upon thee.

Which gently refresheth and reviveth them, and maketh them to grow and flourish.

qAs an abortive Birth is cast out of the Womb, to which the Grave is compared, Iob 1. 21. But because the Verb here used doth not signifie to cast out, but to cast down, which seems not proper here, these Words may be and are, both by ancient and later Interpreters, rendred otherwise, and thou wilt cast down the land of the giants, or of the violent ones, of the proud and potent Tyrants of the World. For the Word here rendred dead, is elsewhere rendred giants, as 2 Sam. 21. 16. 18. See also on Iob 26. 5. Prov. 9. 18. & 21. 16. But then the Words seem to be better rendred, and thou wilt cast the giants down to the ground: Either, 1. thou, O God, who is oft understood in such Cases▪ or rather, 2. thou, O my People, to whom he speaks in the foregoing Clauses of the Verse, thy dead body, and thy dew, and here continueth his Speech, thou wilt or shalt cast, &c. thou shalt subdue even thy most Giant-like and mighty Enemies. Which, though it be properly God's Work▪ the Church is oft said to do, because she by her Prayers engageth God to do it. And so as the former Clauses of the Verse speak of the Deliverance and Prosperity of God's Church and People, so this Clause speaks of the Destruction of their Enemies, which usually accompanieth it.

20 Come, my people , enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee : hide thy self as it were for a little moment , until the indignation be overpast.

Having foretold the wonderful Deliverance and great Happiness of God's People, and the utter Destruction of their Enemies, lest they should think they were now entring into the possession of this Felicity, he adds what here follows, and intimates, that for the present they were to expect Storms, and to prepare for them, and patiently to wait God's time for the Accomplishment of so great a Mercy.

Withdraw thy self from the Company and Conversation of the Wicked World, lest partaking with them in their Sins, thou dost also partake of their Plagues; pour out thy Prayers to God in thy Closet, as this may be explained by comparing Mat. 6. 6. put thy self under the protection of my Providence and Grace by Faith and Prayer. He alludes to the common practice of Men, who when there are Storms or Dangers abroad, betake themselves into their own Houses or Chambers for safety; or, as some think, to that History Exod. 9. 19, 20. or to that Command of not going out of their houses, Exod. 12. 22. or to the like Charge given to Rohab, as the Condition of her Preservation, Ios. 2.

Whereby he intimates, that all their Afflictions, how long and tedious soever they may seem, are but short and momentary, in comparison of that Happiness which is reserved for them.

The dreadful Effects of God's Anger, those sore Judgments of God mentioned in the following Verse.

Marginal references: Psal. 30. 5. Chap. 54. 7, 8. 2 Cor. 4. 17.

21 For behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain .

Cometh down from Heaven; which God in Scripture is frequently said to do, when he undertaketh any great and glorious Work, either of Delivering his People, or of Destroying their Enemies. The Speech is borrowed from the manner of Princes, who come out of their Palaces either to fit in Judgment, or to fight against their Enemies, which is the Case here.

All the Enemies of God and of his People; for these are here opposed to God's People: Therefore take heed you be not found in the number of them.

The innocent Blood which hath been spilled upon the Earth shall be brought to light, and shall be severely revenged upon the Murderers. For the Phrase see on Gen. 4. 10. Iob 16. 18. Ezek. 24. [illegible: 1+ letters].

Marginal references: Mic. 1. 3.; Heb. bloods.

Isa 26:1

Thus the second hymnic echo has its confirmation in a prophecy against Moab, on the basis of which a third hymnic echo now arises. Whilst on the other side, in the land of Moab, the people are trodden down, and its lofty castles demolished, the people in the land of Judah can boast of an impregnable city. “In that day will this song be sung in the land of Judah: A city of defence is ours; salvation He sets for walls and bulwark.” According to the punctuation, this ought to be rendered, “A city is a shelter for us;” but עז עיר seem rather to be connected, according to Pro 17:19, “a city of strong, i.e., of impregnable offence and defence.” The subject of ישׁית is Jehovah. The figure indicates what He is constantly doing, and ever doing afresh; for the walls and bulwarks of Jerusalem (chēl, as in Lam 2:8, the small outside wall which encloses all the fortifications) are not dead stone, but yeshuâh, ever living and never exhausted salvation (Isa 60:18). In just the same sense Jehovah is called elsewhere the wall of Jerusalem, and even a wall of fire in Zec 2:9 - parallels which show that yeshuâh is intended to be taken as the accusative of the object, and not as the accusative of the predicate, according to Isa 5:6; Psa 21:7; Psa 84:7; Jer 22:6 (Luzzatto).

Isa 26:2

In Isa 26:1 this city is thought of as still empty: for, like paradise, in which man was placed, it is first of all a creation of God; and hence the exclamation in Isa 26:2 : “Open ye the gates, that a righteous people may enter, one keeping truthfulness.” The cry is a heavenly one; and those who open, if indeed we are at liberty to inquire who they are, must be angels. We recall to mind Psa 24:1-10, but the scene is a different one. The author of Ps 118 has given individuality to this passage in Psa 118:19, Psa 118:20. Goi tzaddik (a righteous nation) is the church of the righteous, as in Isa 24:16. Goi (nation) is used here, as in Isa 26:15 and Isa 9:2, with reference to Israel, which has now by grace become a righteous nation, and has been established in covenant truth towards God, who keepeth truth ('emunim, from 'ēmūn, Psa 31:24).

Isa 26:3

The relation of Israel and Jehovah to one another is now a permanent one. “Thou keepest the firmly-established mind in peace, peace; for his confidence rests on Thee.” A gnome (borrowed in Psa 112:7-8), but in a lyrical connection, and with a distinct reference to the church of the last days. There is no necessity to take סמוּ יצר as standing for יצר סמוּך, as Knobel does. The state of mind is mentioned here as designating the person possessing it, according to his inmost nature. יצר (the mind) is the whole attitude and habit of a man as inwardly constituted, i.e., as a being capable of thought and will. סמוּך is the same, regarded as having a firm hold in itself, and this it has whenever it has a firm hold on God (Isa 10:20). This is the mind of the new Israel, and Jehovah keeps it, shâlom, shâlom (peace, peace; accusative predicates, used in the place of a consequential clause), i.e., so that deep and constant peace abides therein (Phi 4:7). Such a mind is thus kept by Jehovah, because its trust is placed in Jehovah. בּטוּח refers to יצר, according to Ewald, §149, d, and is therefore equivalent to הוּא בּטוּח (cf., Psa 7:10; Psa 55:20), the passive participle, like the Latin confisus, fretus. To hang on God, or to be thoroughly devoted to Him, secures both stability and peace.

Isa 26:4

A cry goes forth again, as if from heaven, exhorting Israel to continue in this mind. “Hang confidently on Jehovah for ever: for in Jah, Jehovah, is an everlasting rock.” The combination Jah Jehovah is only met with here and in Isa 12:2. It is the proper name of God the Redeemer in the most emphatic form. The Beth essentiae frequently stands before the predicate (Ges. §151, 3); here, however, it stands before the subject, as in Psa 78:5; Psa 55:19. In Jah Jehovah (munach, tzakeph) there is an everlasting rock, i.e., He is essentially such a rock (compare Deu 32:4, like Exo 15:2 for Isa 12:2).

Isa 26:5-6

He has already proved Himself to be such a rock, on which everything breaks that would attack the faithful whom He surrounds. “For He hath bent down them that dwell on high; the towering castle, He tore it down, tore it down to the earth, cast it into dust. The foot treads it to pieces, feet of the poor, steps of the lowly.” Passing beyond the fall of Moab, the fall of the imperial city is celebrated, to which Moab was only an annex (Isa 25:1-2; Isa 24:10-12). The futures are determined by the preterite; and the anadiplosis, which in other instances (e.g., Isa 25:1, cf., Psa 118:11) links together derivatives or variations of form, is satisfied in this instance with changing the forms of the suffix. The second thought of Isa 26:6 is a more emphatic repetition of the first: it is trodden down; the oppression of those who have been hitherto oppressed is trodden down.

Isa 26:7

The righteous, who go astray according to the judgment of the world, thus arrive at a goal from which their way appears in a very different light. “The path that the righteous man takes is smoothness; Thou makest the course of the righteous smooth.” ישׁר is an accusative predicate: Thou rollest it, i.e., Thou smoothest it, so that it is just as if it had been bevelled with a rule, and leads quite straight (on the derivative peles, a level, see at Job 37:16) and without interruption to the desired end. The song has here fallen into the language of a mashal of Solomon (vid., Pro 4:26; Pro 5:6, Pro 5:21). It pauses here to reflect, as if at the close of a strophe.

Isa 26:8-9

It then commences again in a lyrical tone in Isa 26:8 and Isa 26:9 : “We have also waited for Thee, that Thou shouldest come in the path of Thy judgments; the desire of the soul went after Thy name, and after Thy remembrance. With my soul I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit deep within me, I longed to have Thee here: for when Thy judgments strike the earth, the inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness.” In the opinion of Hitzig, Knobel, Drechsler, and others, the prophet here comes back from the ideal to the actual present. But this is not the case. The church of the last days, looking back to the past, declares with what longing it has waited for that manifestation of the righteousness of God which has now taken place. “The path of Thy judgments:” 'orach mishpâtēkâ belongs to the te; venientem (or venturum) being understood. The clause follows the poetical construction ארח בּוא, after the analogy of דרך הלך. They longed for God to come as a Redeemer in the way of His judgments. The “name” and “remembrance” ad the nature of God, that has become nameable and memorable through self-assertion and self-manifestation (Exo 3:15). They desired that God should present Himself again to the consciousness and memory of man, by such an act as should break through His concealment and silence. The prophet says this more especially of himself; for he feels himself “in spirit” to be a member of the perfected church. “My soul” and “my spirit” are accusatives giving a more precise definition (Ewald, §281,c). “The night” is the night of affliction, as in Isa 21:11. In connection with this, the word shichēr (lit. to dig for a thing, to seek it eagerly) is employed here, with a play upon shachar. The dawning of the morning after a night of suffering was the object for which he longed, naphshi (my soul), i.e., with his entire personality (Pyschol. p. 202), and ruchi b'kirbi (my spirit within me), i.e., with the spirit of his mind, πνεῦμα τοῦ νοός (Psychol. p. 183). And why? Because, as often as God manifested Himself in judgment, this brought men to the knowledge, and possibly also to the recognition, of what was right (cf., Psa 9:17). “Will learn:” lâmdu is a praet. gnomicum, giving the result of much practical experience.

Isa 26:10

Here again the shiir has struck the note of a mâshâl. And proceeding in this tone, it pauses here once more to reflect as at the close of a strophe. “If favour is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness; in the most upright land he acts wickedly, and has no eye for the majesty of Jehovah.” רשׁע יחן is a hypothetical clause, which is left to be indicated by the emphasis, like Neh 1:8 (Ewald, §357,b): granting that favour (chēn = “goodness,” Rom 2:4) is constantly shown to the wicked man. “The most upright land:” 'eretz necochoth is a land in which everything is right, and all goes honourably. A worthless man, supposing he were in such a land, would still act knavishly; and of the majesty of Jehovah, showing itself in passing punishments of sin, though still sparing him, he would have no perception whatever. The prophet utters this with a painful feeling of indignation; the word bal indicating denial with emotion.

Isa 26:11-13

The situation still remains essentially the same as in Isa 26:11-13 : “Jehovah, Thy hand has been exalted, but they did not see: they will see the zeal for a people, being put to shame; yea, fire will devour Thine adversaries. Jehovah, Thou wilt establish peace for us: for Thou hast accomplished all our work for us. Jehovah our God, lords besides Thee had enslaved us; but through Thee we praise Thy name.” Here are three forms of address beginning with Jehovah, and rising in the third to “Jehovah our God.” The standpoint of the first is the time before the judgment; the standpoint of the other two is in the midst of the redemption that has been effected through judgment. Hence what the prophet states in Isa 26:11 will be a general truth, which has now received its most splendid confirmation through the overthrow of the empire. The complaint of the prophet here is the same as in Isa 53:1. We may also compare Exo 14:8, not Psa 10:5; (rūm does not mean to remain beyond and unrecognised, but to prove one’s self to be high.) The hand of Jehovah had already shown itself to be highly exalted (râmâh, 3 pr.), by manifesting itself in the history of the nations, by sheltering His congregation, and preparing the way for its exaltation in the midst of its humiliation; but as they had no eye for this hand, they would be made to feel it upon themselves as the avenger of His nation. The “zeal for a people,” when reduced from this ideal expression into a concrete one, is the zeal of Jehovah of hosts (Isa 9:6; Isa 37:32) for His own nation (as in Isa 49:8). Kin'ath ‛âm (zeal for a people) is the object to yechezū (they shall see); v'yēbōshū (and be put to shame) being a parenthetical interpolation, which does not interfere with this connection. “Thou wilt establish peace” (tishpōt shâlom, Isa 26:12) expresses the certain hope of a future and imperturbable state of peace (pones, stabilies); and this hope is founded upon the fact, that all which the church has hitherto accomplished (ma‛aseh, the acting out of its calling, as in Psa 90:17, see at Isa 5:12) has not been its own work, but the work of Jehovah for it. And the deliverance just obtained from the yoke of the imperial power is the work of Jehovah also. The meaning of the complaint, “other lords beside Thee had enslaved us,” is just the same as that in Isa 63:18; but there the standpoint is in the midst of the thing complained of, whereas here it is beyond it. Jehovah is Israel’s King. He seemed indeed to have lost His rule, since the masters of the world had done as they liked with Israel. But it was very different now, and it was only through Jehovah (“through Thee”) that Israel could now once more gratefully celebrate Jehovah’s name.

Isa 26:14

The tyrants who usurped the rule over Israel have now utterly disappeared. “Dead men live not again, shades do not rise again: so hast Thou visited and destroyed them, and caused all their memory to perish.” The meaning is not that Jehovah had put them to death because there was no resurrection at all after death; for, as we shall see further on, the prophet was acquainted with such a resurrection. In mēthim (dead men) and rephâ'im (shades) he had directly in mind the oppressors of Israel, who had been thrust down into the region of the shades (like the king of Babylon in chapter 14), so that there was no possibility of their being raised up or setting themselves up again. The לכן is not argumentative (which would be very freezing in this highly lyrical connection), but introduces what must have occurred eo ipso when the other had taken place (it corresponds to the Greek ἄρα, and is used here in the same way as in Isa 61:7; Jer 5:2; Jer 2:33; Zec 11:7; Job 34:25; Job 42:3). They had fallen irrevocably into Sheol (Psa 49:15), and consequently God had swept them away, so that not even their name was perpetuated.

Isa 26:15

Israel, when it has such cause as this for praising Jehovah, will have become a numerous people once more. “Thou hast added to the nation, O Jehovah, hast added to the nation; glorified Thyself; moved out all the borders of the land.” The verb יסף, which is construed in other cases with על, אל ,, here with ל, carried its object within itself: to add, i.e., to give an increase. The allusion is to the same thing as that which caused the prophet to rejoice in Isa 9:2 (compare Isa 49:19-20; Isa 54:1., Mic 2:12; Mic 4:7; Oba 1:19-20, and many other passages; and for richaktâ, more especially Mic 7:11). Just as Isa 26:13 recals the bondage in Egypt, and Isa 26:14 the destruction of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, so Isa 26:16 recals the numerical strength of the nation, and the extent of the country in the time of David and Solomon. At the same time, we cannot say that the prophet intended to recall these to mind. The antitypical relation, in which the last times stand to these events and circumstances of the past, is a fact in sacred history, though not particularly referred to here.

Isa 26:16-18

The tephillâh now returns to the retrospective glance already cast in Isa 26:8, Isa 26:9 into that night of affliction, which preceded the redemption that had come. “Jehovah, in trouble they missed Thee, poured out light supplication when Thy chastisement came upon them. As a woman with child, who draws near to her delivery, writhes and cries out in her pangs, so were we in Thy sight, O Jehovah. We went with child, we writhed; it was as if we brought forth wind. We brought no deliverance to the land, and the inhabitants of the world did not come to the light.” The substantive circumstantial clause in the parallel line, למו מוּסר, castigatione tua eos affilgente (ל as in Isa 26:9), corresponds to בּצּר; and לחשׁ צקוּן, a preterite עצוּק etire = יצק, Job 28:2; Job 29:6, to be poured out and melt away) with Nun paragogic (which is only met with again in Deu 8:3, Deu 8:16, the yekōshūn in Isa 29:21 being, according to the syntax, the future of kōsh), answers to pâkad, which is used here as in Isa 34:16; 1Sa 20:6; 1Sa 25:15, in the sense of lustrando desiderare. Lachash is a quiet, whispering prayer (like the whispering of forms of incantation in Isa 3:3); sorrow renders speechless in the long run; and a consciousness of sin crushes so completely, that a man does not dare to address God aloud (Isa 29:4). Pregnancy and pangs are symbols of a state of expectation strained to the utmost, the object of which appears all the closer the more the pains increase. Often, says the perfected church, as it looks back upon its past history, often did we regard the coming of salvation as certain; but again and again were our hopes deceived. The first כּמו is equivalent to כּ, “as a woman with child,” etc. (see at Isa 8:22); the second is equivalent to כּאשׁר, “as it were, we brought forth wind.” This is not an inverted expression, signifying we brought forth as it were wind; but כמו governs the whole sentence in the sense of “(it was) as if.” The issue of all their painful toil was like the result of a false pregnancy (empneumatosis), a delivery of wind. This state of things also proceeded from Jehovah, as the expression “before Thee” implies. It was a consequence of the sins of Israel, and of a continued want of true susceptibility to the blessings of salvation. Side by side with their disappointed hope, Isa 26:18 places the ineffectual character of their won efforts. Israel’s own doings - no, they could never make the land into ישׁוּעת (i.e., bring it into a state of complete salvation); and (so might the final clause be understood) they waited in vain for the judgment of Jehovah upon the sinful world that was at enmity against them, or they made ineffectual efforts to overcome it. This explanation is favoured by the fact, that throughout the whole of this cycle of prophecies yōshbē tēbēl does not mean the inhabitants of the holy land, but of the globe at large in the sense of “the world” (Isa 26:21; Isa 24:5-6). Again, the relation of יפּלוּ to the תּפּיל in Isa 26:19, land the figure previously employed of the pains of child-birth, speak most strongly in favour of the conclusion, that nâphal is here used for the falling of the fruit of the womb (cf., Wis. 7:3, Il. xix. 110, καταπεσεῖν and πεσεῖν). And yōshbē tēbēl (the inhabitants of the world) fits in with this sense (viz., that the expected increase of the population never came), from the fact that in this instance the reference is not to the inhabitants of the earth; but the words signify inhabitants generally, or, as we should say, young, new-born “mortals.” The punishment of the land under the weight of the empire still continued, and a new generation did not come to the light of day to populate the desolate land (cf., Psychol. p. 414).

Isa 26:19

But now all this had taken place. Instead of singing what has occurred, the tephillah places itself in the midst of the occurrence itself. “Thy dead will live, my corpses rise again. Awake and rejoice, ye that lie in the dust! For thy dew is dew of the lights, and the earth will bring shades to the day.” The prophet speaks thus out of the heart of the church of the last times. In consequence of the long-continued sufferings and chastisements, it has been melted down to a very small remnant; and many of those whom it could once truly reckon as its own, are now lying as corpses in the dust of the grave. The church, filled with hope which will not be put to shame, now calls to itself, “Thy dead will live” (מתיך יחיוּ, reviviscent, as in המּתים תּסהיּת, the resurrection of the dead), and consoles itself with the working of divine grace ad power, which is even now setting itself in motion: “my corpses will rise again” (יקמוּן נבלתי, nebēlah: a word without a plural, but frequently used in a plural sense, as in Isa 5:25, and therefore connected with יקמוּן, equivalent to תקמנה: here before a light suffix, with the ê retained, which is lost in other cases). It also cries out, in full assurance of the purpose of God, the believing word of command over the burial-ground of the dead, “Wake up and rejoice, ye that sleep in the dust,” and then justifies to itself this believing word of command by looking up to Jehovah, and confessing, “Thy dew is dew born out of (supernatural) lights,” as the dew of nature is born out of the womb of the morning dawn (Psa 110:3). Others render it “dew upon herbs,” taking אורות as equivalent to ירקות, as in 2Ki 4:39. We take it as from אורה (Psa 139:12), in the sense of החיּים אור. The plural implies that there is a perfect fulness of the lights of life in God (“the Father of lights,” Jam 1:17). Out of these there is born the gentle dew, which gives new life to the bones that have been sown in the ground (Psa 141:7) - a figure full of mystery, which is quite needlessly wiped away by Hofmann’s explanation, viz., that it is equivalent to tal hōrōth, “dew of thorough saturating.” Luther, who renders it, “Thy dew is a dew of the green field,” stands alone among the earlier translators. The Targum, Syriac, Vulgate, and Saad. all render it, “Thy dew is light dew;” and with the uniform connection in which the Scriptures place 'or (light) and chayyı̄m (life), this rendering is natural enough. We now translate still further, “and the earth (vâ'âretz, as in Isa 65:17; Pro 25:3, whereas וארץ is almost always in the construct state) will bring shades to the day” (hippil, as a causative of nâphal, Isa 26:18), i.e., bring forth again the dead that have sunken into it (like Luther’s rendering, “and the land will cast out the dead” - the rendering of our English version also: Tr.). The dew from the glory of God falls like a heavenly seed into the bosom of the earth; and in consequence of this, the earth gives out from itself the shades which have hitherto been held fast beneath the ground, so that they appear alive again on the surface of the earth. Those who understand Isa 26:18 as relating to the earnestly descried overthrow of the lords of the world, interpret this passage accordingly, as meaning either, “and thou castest down shades to the earth” (ארץ, acc. loci, = עד־ארץ, Isa 26:5, לארץ, Isa 25:12), or, “and the earth causeth shades to fall,” i.e., to fall into itself. This is Rosenmüller’s explanation (terra per prosopopaeiam, ut supra Isa 24:20, inducta, deturbare in orcum sistitur impios, eo ipso manes eos reddens). But although rephaim, when so interpreted, agrees with Isa 26:14, where this name is given to the oppressors of the people of God, it would be out of place here, where it would necessarily mean, “those who are just becoming shades.” But, what is of greater importance still, if this concluding clause is understood as applying to the overthrow of the oppressors, it does not give any natural sequence to the words, “dew of the lights is thy dew;” whereas, according to our interpretation, it seals the faith, hope, and prayer of the church for what is to follow. When compared with the New Testament Apocalypse, it is “the first resurrection” which is here predicted by Isaiah. The confessors of Jehovah are awakened in their graves to form one glorious church with those who are still in the body. In the case of Ezekiel also (Ez. Eze 37:1-14), the resurrection of the dead which he beholds is something more than a figurative representation of the people that were buried in captivity. The church of the period of glory on this side is a church of those who have been miraculously saved and wakened up from the dead. Their persecutors lie at their feet beneath the ground.

Isa 26:20-21

The judgment upon them is not mentioned, indeed, till after the completion of the church through those of its members that have died, although it must have actually preceded the latter. Thus the standpoint of the prophecy is incessantly oscillating backwards and forwards in these four chapters (Isaiah 24-27). This explains the exhortation in the next verses, and the reason assigned. “Go in, my people, into thy chambers, and shut the door behind thee; hide thyself a little moment, till the judgment of wrath passes by. For, behold, Jehovah goeth out from His place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth upon them; and the earth discloses the blood that it has sucked up, and no more covers her slain.” The shı̄r is now at an end. The prophecy speaks once more as a prophet. Whilst the judgment of wrath (za‛am) is going forth, and until it shall have passed by (on the fut. exact., see Isa 10:12; Isa 4:4; and on the fact itself, acharith hazza‛am, Dan 8:19), the people of God are to continue in the solitude of prayer (Mat 6:6, cf., Psa 27:5; Psa 31:21). They can do so, for the judgment by which they get rid of their foes is the act of Jehovah alone; and they are to do so because only he who is hidden in God by prayer can escape the wrath. The judgment only lasts a little while (Isa 10:24-25; Isa 54:7-8,. cf., Psa 30:6), a short time which is shortened for the elect’s sake. Instead of the dual דּלתיך (as the house-door is called, though not the chamber-door), the word is pointed דּלת (from דּלה = דּלת), just as the prophet intentionally chooses the feminine חבי instead of חבה. The nation is thought of as feminine in this particular instance (cf., Isa 54:7-8); because Jehovah, its avenger and protector, is acting on its behalf, whilst in a purely passive attitude it hides itself in Him. Just as Noah, behind whom Jehovah shut the door of the ark, was hidden in the ark whilst the water-floods of the judgment poured down without, so should the church be shut off from the world without in its life of prayer, because a judgment of Jehovah was at hand. “He goeth out of His place” (verbatim the same as in Mic 1:3), i.e., not out of His own divine life, as it rests within Himself, but out of the sphere of the manifested glory in which He presents Himself to the spirits. He goeth forth thence equipped for judgment, to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth upon him (the singular used collectively), and more especially their blood-guiltiness. The prohibition of murder was given to the sons of Noah, and therefore was one of the stipulations of “the covenant of old” (Isa 24:5). The earth supplies two witnesses: (1.) the innocent blood which has been violently shed (on dâmim, see Isa 1:15), which she has had to suck up, and which is now exposed, and cries for vengeance; and (2.) the persons themselves who have been murdered in their innocence, and who are slumbering within her. Streams of blood come to light and bear testimony, and martyrs arise to bear witness against their murderers.

The Blessings of the Gospel. (b. c. 718.)

1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. 3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

To the prophecies of gospel grace very fitly is a song annexed, in which we may give God the glory and take to ourselves the comfort of that grace: In that day, the gospel day, which the day of the victories and enlargements of the Old-Testament church was typical of (to some of which perhaps this has a primary reference), in that day this song shall be sung; there shall be persons to sing it, and cause and hearts to sing it; it shall be sung in the land of Judah, which was a figure of the gospel church; for the gospel covenant is said to be made with the house of Judah, Heb. viii. 8. Glorious things are here said of the church of God.

I. That it is strongly fortified against those that are bad (v. 1): We have a strong city. It is a city incorporated by the charter of the everlasting covenant, fitted for the reception of all that are made free by that charter, for their employment and entertainment; it is a strong city, as Jerusalem was, while it was a city compact together, and had God himself a wall of fire round about it, so strong that none would have believed that an enemy could ever enter into the gates of Jerusalem, Lam. iv. 12. The church is a strong city, for it has walls and bulwarks, or counterscarps, and those of God's own appointing; for he has, in his promise, appointed salvation itself to be its defence. Those that are designed for salvation will find that to be their protection, 1 Pet. i. 4.

II. That it is richly replenished with those that are good, and they are instead of fortifications to it; for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, if they are such as they should be, are its strength, Zech. xii. 5. The gates are here ordered to be opened, that the righteous nation, which keeps the truth, may enter in, v. 2. They had been banished and driven out by the iniquity of the former times, but now the laws that were made against them are repealed, and they have liberty to enter in again. Or, There is an act for a general naturalization of all the righteous, whatever nation they are of, encouraging them to come and settle in Jerusalem. When God has done great things for any place or people he expects that thus they should render according to the benefit done unto them; they should be kind to his people, and take them under their protection and into their bosom. Note, 1. It is the character of righteous men that they keep the truths of God, a firm belief of which will have a commanding influence upon the regularity of the whole conversation. Good principles fixed in the head will produce good resolutions in the heart and good practices in the life. 2. It is the interest of states to countenance such, and court them among them, for they bring a blessing with them.

III. That all who belong to it are safe and easy, and have a holy security and serenity of mind in the assurance of God's favour. 1. This is here the matter of a promise (v. 3): Thou wilt keep him in peace, peace, in perfect peace, inward peace, outward peace, peace with God, peace of conscience, peace at all times, under all events; this peace shall he be put into, and kept in the possession of, whose mind is stayed upon God, because it trusts in him. It is the character of every good man that he trusts in God, puts himself under his guidance and government, and depends upon him that it shall be greatly to his advantage to do so. Those that trust in God must have their minds stayed upon him, must trust him at all times, under all events, must firmly and faithfully adhere to him, with an entire satisfaction in him; and such as do so God will keep in perpetual peace, and that peace shall keep them. When evil tidings are abroad those shall calmly expect the event, and not be disturbed by frightful apprehensions arising from them, whose hearts are fixed, trusting in the Lord, Ps. cxii. 7. 2. It is the matter of a precept (v. 4): "Let us make ourselves easy by trusting in the Lord for ever; since God has promised peace to those that stay themselves upon him, let us not lose the benefit of that promise, but repose an entire confidence in him. Trust in him for ever, at all times, when you have nothing else to trust to; trust in him for that peace, that portion, which will be for ever." Whatever we trust to the world for, it will be but for a moment: all we expect from it is confined within the limits of time. But what we trust in God for will last as long as we shall last. For in the Lord Jehovah-Jah, Jehovah, in him who was, and is, and is to come, there is a rock of ages, a firm and lasting foundation for faith and hope to build upon; and the house built on that rock will stand in a storm. Those that trust in God shall not only find in him, but receive from him, everlasting strength, strength that will carry them to everlasting life, to that blessedness which is for ever; and therefore let them trust in him for ever, and never cast away nor change their confidence.

The Goodness and Justice of God. (b. c. 718.)

5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. 6 The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy. 7 The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. 8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord , have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 10 Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord . 11 Lord , when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.

Here the prophet further encourages us to trust in the Lord for ever, and to continue waiting on him; for,

I. He will make humble souls that trust in him to triumph over their proud enemies, v. 5, 6. Those that exalt themselves shall be abased: For he brings down those that dwell on high; and wherein they deal proudly he is, and will be, above them. Even the lofty city Babylon itself, or Nineveh, he lays it low, ch. xxv. 12. He can do it, be it ever so well fortified. He has often done it. He will do it, for he resists the proud. It is his glory to do it, for he proves himself to be God by looking on the proud and abasing them, Job xl. 12. But, on the contrary, those that humble themselves shall be exalted; for the feet of the poor shall tread upon the lofty cities, v. 6. He does not say, Great armies shall tread them down; but, When God will have it done, even the feet of the poor shall do it, Mal. iv. 3. You shall tread down the wicked. Come, set your feet on the necks of these kings. See Ps. cxlvii. 6; Rom. xvi. 20.

II. He takes cognizance of the way of his people and has delight in it (v. 7): The way of the just is evenness (so it may be read): it is their endeavour and constant care to walk with God in an even steady course of obedience and holy conversation. My foot stands in an even place, goes in an even path, Ps. xxvi. 12. And it is their happiness that God makes their way plain and easy before them: Thou, most upright, dost level (or make even) the path of the just, by preventing or removing those things that would be stumbling-blocks to them, so that nothing shall offend them, Ps. cxix. 165. God weighs it (so we read it); he considers it, and will give them grace sufficient for them, to help them over all the difficulties they may meet with in their way. Thus with the upright God will show himself upright.

III. It is our duty, and will be our comfort, to wait for God, and to keep up holy desires towards him in the darkest and most discouraging times, v. 8, 9. This has always been the practice of God's people, even when God has frowned upon them, 1. To keep up a constant dependence upon him: "In the way of thy judgments we have still waited for thee; when thou hast corrected us we have looked to no other hand than thine to relieve us," as the servant looks only to the hand of his master, till he have mercy upon him, Ps. cxxiii. 2. We cannot appeal from God's justice but to his mercy. If God's judgments continue long, if it be a road of judgments (so the word signifies), yet we must not be weary but continue waiting. 2. To send up holy desires towards him. Our troubles, how pressing soever, must never put us out of conceit with our religion, nor turn us away from God; but still the desire of our soul must be to his name and to the remembrance of him; and in the night, the darkest longest night of affliction, with our souls must we desire him. (1.) Our great concern must be for God's name, and our earnest desire must be that his name may be glorified, whatever becomes of us and our names. This is that which we must wait for, and pray for. "Father, glorify thy name, and we are satisfied." (2.) Our great comfort must be in the remembrance of that name, of all that whereby God has made himself known. The remembrance of God must be our great support and pleasure; and, though sometimes we be unmindful of him, yet still our desire must be towards the remembrance of him and we must take pains with our own hearts to have him always in mind. (3.) Our desires towards God must be inward, fervent, and sincere. With our soul we must desire him, with our soul we must pant after him (Ps. xlii. 1), and with our spirits within us, with the innermost thought and the closest application of mind, we must seek him. We make nothing of our religion, whatever our profession be, if we do not make heart-work of it. (4.) Even in the darkest night of affliction our desires must be towards God, as our sun and shield; for, however God is pleased to deal with us, we must never think the worse of him, nor cool in our love to him. (5.) If our desires be indeed towards God, we must give evidence that they are so by seeking him, and seeking him early, as those that desire to find him, and dread the thoughts of missing him. Those that would seek God and find him must seek betimes, and seek him earnestly. Though we come ever so early, we shall find him ready to receive us.

IV. It is God's gracious design, in sending abroad his judgments, thereby to bring men to seek him and serve him: When thy judgments are upon the earth, laying all waste, then we have reason to expect that not only God's professing people, but even the inhabitants of the world, will learn righteousness, will have their mistakes rectified and their lives reformed, will be brought to acknowledge God's righteousness in punishing them, will repent of their own unrighteousness in offending God, and so be brought to walk in right paths. They will do this; that is, judgments are designed to bring them to this, they have a natural tendency to produce this effect, and, though many continue obstinate, yet some even of the inhabitants of the world will profit by this discipline, and will learn righteousness; surely they will; they are strangely stupid if they do not. Note, The intention of afflictions is to teach us righteousness; and blessed is the man whom God chastens, and thus teaches, Ps. xciv. 12. Discite justitiam, moniti, et non temnere divos—Let this rebuke teach you to cultivate righteousness, and cease from despising the gods.—Virgil.

V. Those are wicked indeed that will not be wrought upon by the favourable methods God takes to subdue and reform them; and it is necessary that God should deal with them in a severe way by his judgments, which shall prevail to humble those that would not otherwise be humbled. Observe,

1. How sinners walk contrary to God, and refuse to comply with the means used for their reformation and to answer the intentions of them, v. 10. (1.) Favour is shown to them. They receive many mercies from God; he causes his sun to shine and his rain to fall upon them, nay, he prospers them, and into their hands he brings plentifully; they escape many of the strokes of God's judgments, which others less wicked than they have been cut off by; in some particular instances they seem to be remarkably favoured above their neighbours, and the design of all this is that they may be won upon to love and serve that God who thus favours them; and yet it is all in vain: They will not learn righteousness, will not be led to repentance by the goodness of God, and therefore it is requisite that God should send his judgments into the earth, to reckon with men for abused mercies. (2.) They live in a land of uprightness, where religion is professed and is in reputation, where the word of God is preached, and where they have many good examples set them,—in a land of evenness, where there are not so many stumbling-blocks as in other places,—in a land of correction, where vice and profaneness are discountenanced and punished; yet there they will deal unjustly, and go on frowardly in their evil ways. Those that do wickedly deal unjustly both with God and man, as well as with their own souls; and those that will not be reclaimed by the justice of the nation may expect the judgments of God upon them. Nor can those expect a place hereafter in the land of blessedness who now conform not to the laws and usages, nor improve the privileges and advantages, of the land of uprightness; and why do they not? It is because they will not behold the majesty of the Lord, will not believe, will not consider, what a God of terrible majesty he is whose laws and justice they persist in the contempt of. God's majesty appears in all the dispensations of his providence; but they regard it not, and therefore study not to answer the ends of those dispensations. Even when we receive of the mercy of the Lord we must still behold the majesty of the Lord and his goodness. (3.) God lifts up his hand to give them warning, that they may, by repentance and prayer, make their peace with him; but they take no notice of it, are not aware that God is angry with them, or coming forth against them: They will not see, and none so blind as those who will not see, who shut their eyes against the clearest conviction of guilt and wrath, who ascribe that to chance, or common fate, which is manifestly a divine rebuke, who regard not the threatening symptoms of their own ruin, but cry Peace to themselves, when the righteous God is waging war with them.

2. How God will at length be too hard for them; for, when he judges, he will overcome: They will not see, but they shall see, shall be made to see, whether they will or no, that God is angry with them. Atheists, scorners, and the secure, will shortly feel what now they will not believe, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. They will not see the evil of sin, and particularly the sin of hating and persecuting the people of God; but they shall see, by the tokens of God's displeasure against them for it and the deliverances in which God will plead his people's cause, that what is done against them he takes as done against himself and will reckon for it accordingly. They shall see that they have done God's people a great deal of wrong, and therefore shall be ashamed of their enmity and envy towards them, and their ill usage of such as deserved better treatment. Note, Those that bear ill-will to God's people have reason to be ashamed of it, so absurd and unreasonable is it; and, sooner or later, they shall be ashamed of it, and the remembrance of it shall fill them with confusion. Some read it, They shall see and be confounded for the zeal of the people, by the zeal God will show for his people; when they shall be made to know how jealous God is for the honour and welfare of his people they shall be confounded to think that they might have been of that people and would not. Their doom therefore is that, since they slighted the happiness of God's friends, the fire of his enemies shall devour them, that is, the fire which is prepared for his enemies and with which they shall be devoured, the fire designed for the devil and his angels. Note, Those that are enemies to God's people, and envy them, God looks upon as his enemies, and will deal with them accordingly.

Goodness of God to Israel; Israel Corrected for Sin; Prospects of the Church. (b. c.  718.)

12 Lord , thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. 13 O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.   14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. 15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord , thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. 16 Lord , in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. 17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord . 18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. 19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

The prophet in these verses looks back upon what God had done with them, both in mercy and judgment, and sings unto God of both, and then looks forward upon what he hoped God would do for them. Observe,

I. His reviews and reflections are mixed. When he looks back upon the state of the church he finds,

1. That God had in many instances been very gracious to them and had done great things for them. (1.) In general (v. 12): Thou hast wrought all our works in us, or for us. Whatever good work is done by us, it is owing to a good work wrought by the grace of God in us; it is he that puts good thoughts and affections into our hearts if at any time they be there, and that works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Acti, agimus—Being acted upon, we act. And if any kindness be shown us, or any of our affairs be prosperous and successful, it is God that works it for us. Every creature, every business, that is in any way serviceable to our comfort, is made by him to be so; and sometimes he makes that to work for us which seemed to make against us. (2.) In particular (v. 15): "Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord! so that a little one has become a thousand (in Egypt they multiplied exceedingly, and afterwards in Canaan, so that they filled the land); and in this thou art glorified," for the multitude of the people is the honour of the prince, and therein God was glorified as faithful to his covenant with Abraham, that he would make him a father of many nations. Note, God's nation is a growing nation, and it is the glory of God that it is so. The increase of the church, that holy nation, is therefore to be rejoiced in because it is the increase of those that make it their business to glorify God in this world.

2. That yet he had laid them under his rebukes.

(1.) The neighbouring nations had sometimes oppressed them and tyrannised over them (v. 13): "O Lord our God! thou who hast the sole right to rule us, whose subjects and servants we are, to thee we complain (for whither else should we go with our complaints?) that other lords besides thee have had dominion over us." Not only in the days of the Judges, but afterwards, God frequently sold them into the hand of their enemies, or rather, by their iniquities, they sold themselves, ch. lii. 3-5. When they had been careless in the service of God, God suffered their enemies to have dominion over them, that they might know the difference between his service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. It may be understood as a confession of sin, their serving other gods, and subjecting themselves to the superstitious laws and customs of their neighbours, by which other lords (for they called their idols baals, lords) had dominion over them, besides God. But now they promise that it shall be so no more: "Henceforth by thee only will we make mention of thy name; we will worship thee only, and in that way only which thou hast instituted and appointed." The same may be our penitent reflection: Other lords, besides God, have had dominion over us; every lust has been our lord, and we have been led captive by it; and it is has been long enough, and too long, that we have thus wronged both God and ourselves. The same therefore must be our pious resolution, that henceforth we will make mention of God's name only and by him only, that we will keep close to God and to our duty and never desert it.

(2.) They had sometimes been carried into captivity before their enemies (v. 15): "The nation which at first thou didst increase, and make to take root, thou hast now diminished, and plucked up, and removed to all the ends of the earth, driven out to the utmost parts of heaven," as is threatened, Deut. xxx. 4; xxviii. 64. But observe, Between the mention of the increasing of them and that of the removing of them it is said, Thou art glorified; for the judgments God inflicts upon his people for their sins are for his honour, as well as the mercies he bestows upon them in performance of his promise.

(3.) The prophet remembers that when they were thus oppressed and carried captive they cried unto God, which was a good evidence that they neither had quite forsaken him nor were quite forsaken of him, and that there were merciful intentions in the judgments they were under (v. 16): Lord, in trouble have they visited thee. This was usual with the people of Israel, as we find frequently in the story of the Judges. When other lords had dominion over them they humbled themselves, and said, The Lord is righteous, 2 Chron. xii. 6. See here, [1.] The need we have of afflictions. They are necessary to stir up prayer; when it is said, In trouble have they visited thee, it is implied that in their peace and prosperity they were strangers to God, kept at a distance from him, and seldom came near him, as if, when the world smiled upon them, they had no occasion for his favours. [2.] The benefit we often have by afflictions. They bring us to God, quicken us to our duty, and show us our dependence upon him. Those that before seldom looked at God now visit him; they come frequently, they become friendly, and make their court to him. Before, prayer came drop by drop, but now they pour out a prayer; it comes now like water from a fountain, not like water from a still. They poured out a secret speech; so the margin. Praying is speaking to God, but it is a secret speech; for it is the language of the heart, otherwise it is not praying. Afflictions bring us to secret prayer, in which we may be more free and particular in our addresses to him than we can be in public. In affliction those will seek God early who before sought him slowly, Hos. v. 15. It will make men fervent and fluent in prayer. "They poured out a prayer, as the drink-offerings were poured out, when thy chastening was upon them." But it is to be feared, when the chastening is off them, they will by degrees return to their former carelessness, as they had often done.

(4.) He complains that their struggles for their own liberty had been very painful and perilous, but that they had not been successful, v. 17, 18. [1.] They had the throes and pangs they dreaded: "We have been like a woman in labour, that cries out in her pangs; we have with a great deal of anxiety and toil endeavoured to help ourselves, and our troubles have been increased by those attempts;" as when Moses came to deliver Israel the tale of bricks was doubled. Their prayers were quickened by the acuteness of their pains, and became as strong and vehement as the cries of a woman in sore travail. So have we been in thy sight, O Lord! It was a comfort and satisfaction to them, in their distress, that God had his eye upon them, that all their miseries were in his sight; he was no stranger to their pangs or their prayers. Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my groaning is not hidden from thee, Ps. xxxviii. 9. Whenever they came to present themselves before the Lord with their complaints and petitions they were in agonies like those of a woman in travail. [2.] They came short of the issue and success they desired and hoped for: "We have been with child; we have had great expectation of a speedy and happy deliverance, have been big with hopes, and, when we have been in pain, have comforted ourselves with this, that the joyful birth would make us forget our misery, John xvi. 21. But, alas! we have as it were brought forth wind; it has proved a false conception; our expectations have been frustrated, and our pains have been rather dying pains than travailing ones; we have had a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. All our efforts have proved abortive: We have not wrought any deliverance in the earth, for ourselves or for our friends and allies, but rather have made our own case and theirs worse; neither have the inhabitants of the world, whom we have been contesting with, fallen before us, either in their power or in their hopes; but they are still as high and arrogant as ever." Note, A righteous cause may be strenuously pleaded both by prayer and endeavour, both with God and man, and yet for a great while may be left under a cloud, and the point may not be gained.

II. His prospects and hopes are very pleasant. In general, "Thou wilt ordain peace for us (v. 12), that is, all that good which the necessity of our case calls for." What peace the church has, or hopes for, it is of God's ordaining; and we may comfort ourselves with this, that, what trouble soever may for a time be appointed to the people of God, peace will at length be ordained for them; for the end of those men is peace. And, if God by his Spirit work all our works in us, he will ordain peace for us (for the work of righteousness shall be peace), and that is true and lasting peace, such as the world can neither give nor take away, which God ordains; for, to those that have it, it shall be unchangeable as the ordinances of the day and of the night. Moreover, from what God has done for us, we may encourage ourselves to hope that he will yet further do us good. "Thou hast heard the desire of the humble, and therefore wilt (Ps. x. 17); and, when this peace is ordained for us, then by thee only will we make mention of thy name (v. 13); we will give the glory of it to thee only, and not to any other, and we will depend upon thy grace only to enable us to do so." We cannot praise God's name but by his strength. Two things in particular the prophet here comforts the church with the prospect of:—1. The amazing ruin of her enemies (v. 14): They are dead, those other lords that have had dominion over us; their power is irrecoverably broken; they are quite cut off and extinguished: and they shall not live, shall never be able to hold up the head any more. Being deceased, they shall not rise, but, like Haman, when they have begun to fall before the seed of the Jews they shall sink like a stone. Because they are sentenced to this final ruin, therefore, in pursuance of that sentence, God himself has visited them in wrath, as a righteous Judge, and has cut off both the men themselves (he has destroyed them) and the remembrance of them: they and their names are buried together in the dust. He has made all their memory to perish; they are either forgotten or made mention of with detestation. Note, The cause that is maintained in opposition to God and his kingdom among men, though it may prosper awhile, will certainly sink at last, and all that adhere to it will perish with it. The Jewish doctors, comparing this with v. 19, infer that the resurrection of the dead belong to the Jews only, and that those of other nations shall not rise. But we know better; we know that all who are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and that this speaks of the final destruction of Christ's enemies, which is the second death. 2. The surprising resurrection of her friends, v. 19. Though the church rejoices not in the birth of the man-child, of which she travailed in pain, but has as it were brought forth wind (v. 18), yet the disappointment shall be balanced in a way equivalent: Thy dead men shall live; those who were thought to be dead, who had received a sentence of death within themselves, who were cast out as if they had been naturally dead, shall appear again in their former vigour. A spirit of life from God shall enter into the slain witnesses, and they shall prophesy again, Rev. xi. 11. The dry bones shall live, and become an exceedingly great army, Ezek. xxxvii. 10. Together with my dead body shall they arise. If we believe the resurrection of the dead, of our dead bodies at the last day, as Job did, and the prophet here, that will facilitate our belief of the promised restoration of the church's lustre and strength in this world. When God's time shall have come, how low soever she may be brought, they shall arise, even Jerusalem, the city of God, but now lying like a dead body, a carcase to which the eagles are gathered together. God owns it still for his, so does the prophet; but it shall arise, shall be rebuilt, and flourish again. And therefore let the poor, desolate, melancholy remains of its inhabitants, that dwell as in dust, awake and sing; for they shall see Jerusalem, the city of their solemnities, a quiet habitation again, ch. xxxiii. 20. The dew of God's favour shall be to it as the evening dew to the herbs that were parched with the heat of the sun all day, shall revive and refresh them. And as the spring-dews, that water the earth, and make the herbs that lay buried in it to put forth and bud, so shall they flourish again, and the earth shall cast out the dead, as it casts the herbs out of their roots. The earth, in which they seemed to be lost, shall contribute to their revival. When the church and her interests are to be restored neither the dew of heaven nor the fatness of the earth shall be wanting to do their part towards the restoration. Now this (as Ezekiel's vision, which is a comment upon it) may be fitly accommodated, (1.) To the spiritual resurrection of those that were dead in sin, by the power of Christ's gospel and grace. So Dr. Lightfoot applies it, Hor. Hebr. in Joh. 12.24. "The Gentiles shall live; with my body shall they arise; that is, they shall be called in after Christ's resurrection, shall rise with him, and sit with him in heavenly places; nay, they shall arise my body (says he); they shall become the mystical body of Christ, and shall arise as part of him." (2.) To the last resurrection, when dead saints shall live, and rise together with Christ's dead body; for he arose as the first-fruits, and believers shall arise by virtue of their union with him and their communion in his resurrection.

The Sure Refuge. (b. c. 718.)

20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

These two verses are supposed not to belong to the song which takes up the rest of the chapter, but to begin a new matter, and to be rather an introduction to the following chapter than the conclusion of this. Of whereas, in the foregoing song, the people of God had spoken to him, complaining of their grievances, here he returns an answer to their complaints, in which,

I. He invites them into their chambers (v. 20): "Come, my people, come to me, come with me" (he calls them nowhere but where he himself will accompany them); "let the storm that disperses others bring you nearer together. Come, and enter into thy chambers; stay not abroad, lest you be caught in the storm, as the Egyptians in the hail," Exod. ix. 21. 1. "Come into chambers of distinction; come into your own apartments, and continue not any longer mixed with the children of Babylon. Come out from among them, and be you separate," 2 Cor. vi. 17; Rev. xviii. 4. If God has set apart those that are godly for himself, they ought to set themselves apart. 2. "Into chambers of defence, in which by the secresy or the strength of them you may be safe in the worst of times." The attributes of God are the secret of his tabernacle, Ps. xxvii. 5. His name is a strong tower, into which we may run for shelter, Prov. xviii. 10. We must by faith find a way into these chambers, and there hide ourselves; that is, with a holy security and serenity of mind, we must put ourselves under the divine protection. Come, as Noah into the ark, for he shut the doors about him. When dangers are threatening it is good to retire, and lie hid, as Elijah did by the brook Cherith. 3. Into chambers of devotion. "Enter into thy closet, and shut thy door, Matt. vi. 6. Be private with God: Enter into thy chamber, to examine thyself, and commune with thy own heart, to pray, and humble thyself before God." This work is to be done in times of distress and danger; and thus we hide ourselves, that is, we recommend ourselves to God to hide us, and he will hide us either under heaven or in heaven. Israel must keep within doors when the destroying angel is slaying the first-born of Egypt, else the blood on the door-posts will not secure them. So must Rahab and her family when Jericho is being destroyed. Those are most safe that are least seen. Qui bene latuit, benevixit—He has lived well who has sought a proper degree of concealment.

II. He assures them that the trouble would be over in a very short time, that they should not long be in any fright or peril: "Hide thyself for a moment, the smallest part of time we can conceive, like an atom of matter; may, if you can imagine one moment shorter than another, it is but for a little moment, and that with a quasi too, as it were for a little moment, less than you think of. When it is over it will seem as nothing to you; you will wonder how soon it is gone. You shall not need to lie long in confinement, long in concealment. The indignation will presently be over-past; that is, the indignation of the enemies against you, their persecuting power and rage, which force you to abscond. When the wicked rise, a man is hid. This will soon be over; God will cut them off, will break their power, defeat their purposes, and find a way for your enlargement." When Athanasius was banished from Alexandria by an edict of Julian, and his friends greatly lamented it, he bade them be of good cheer. Nubecula est quæ cito pertransibit—It is a little cloud, that will soon blow over. You shall have tribulation ten days; that is all, Rev. ii. 10. This enables God's suffering people to call their afflictions light, that they are but for a moment.

III. He assures them that their enemies should be reckoned with for all the mischief they had done them by the sword, either of war or persecution, v. 21. The Lord will punish them for the blood they have shed. Here is, 1. The judgment set, and process issued out: The Lord comes out of his place, to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, in giving such disturbance to all about them. There is a great deal of iniquity among the inhabitants of the earth; but though they all combine in it, though hand join in hand to carry it on, yet it shall not go unpunished. Besides the everlasting punishment into which the wicked shall go hereafter, there are often remarkable punishments of cruelty, oppression, and persecution, in this world. When men's indignation is over-past, and they have done their worst, let them then expect God's indignation, for he sees that his day is coming, Ps. xxxvii. 13. God comes out of his place to punish. He shows himself in an extraordinary manner from heaven, the firmament of his power, from the sanctuary, the residence of his grace. He is raised up out of his holy habitation, where he seemed before to conceal himself; and now he will do something great, the product of his wise, just, and secret counsels, as a prince that goes to take the chair or take the field, Zech. ii. 13. Some observe that God's place is the mercy-seat; there he delights to be; when he punishes he comes out of his place, for he has no pleasure in the death of sinners. 2. The criminals convicted by the notorious evidence of the face: The earth shall disclose her blood; the innocent blood, the blood of the saints and martyrs, which has been shed upon the earth like water, and has soaked into it, and been concealed and covered by it, shall not be brought to light, and brought to account; for God will make inquisition for it, and will give those that shed it blood to drink, for they are worthy. Secret murders, and other secret wickednesses, shall be discovered, sooner or later. And the slain which the earth has long covered she shall no longer cover, but they shall be produced as evidence against the murderers. The voice of Abel's blood cries from the earth, Gen. ix. 10, 11; Job xx. 27. Those sins which seemed to be buried in oblivion will be called to mind, and called over again, when the day of reckoning comes. Let God's people therefore wait awhile with patience, for behold the Judge stands before the door.

CHAP. XXVI.

Ver. 1. IN that day] Before the morrow, and while the mercy was yet freſh. We are not to take day for return of thanks, but to do it forthwith.

In that ſame day ſhall this ſong be ſung] As an evidence and effect of their ſpiritual joy and ſecurity, mentioned, chap. 25.9. Is any man merry? let him ſing Pſalms, James 5.13. and ſo ſet an edge upon his praiſes and thankſgivings. Thus Iſrael ſang Exod. 15.1. & Numb. 21.7. Spring up O well: ſing ye unto it. Thus in the Apoſtles times, Rom. 15.9. and afterwards, Juſtin, Tertullian, Athanaſius, others,Socrates lib. 7. c. 22. voce praeiverunt, gave the Note. Conſtantine and Theodoſius ever ſang Pſalms with their Souldiers, before they gave battle: They knew, that it is a good thing to ſing praiſes to our God: it is pleaſant, and praiſe is comely, Pſal. 147.1.

We have a ſtrong City] The Church is invincible: hell-gates cannot demoliſh it, whatever became of Moabs munitions, chap. 25.12.

Salvation will God appoint] All manner of health, help, and ſafety. Satan cannot have ſo many means to foyl and ſpoil the Saints, as Jeſus (to whoſe ſweet name our Prophet here and elſewhere oft alludeth, as much delighted therewith) hath means to keep and hold them up.

For walls and bulwarks] pro muris & antemurali, for walls, and rampart or counterſcarf. So Scipio was ſaid to be foſſa & vallum, the wall and trench to the Romans againſt Hannibal. If Salvation it ſelf cannot ſave Jeruſalem, let her enemies triumph, and take all. If her name be Jehovah-ſhammah, as Ezek. 48.35. The Lord is there, let her enemies do their worſt.

Ver. 2. Open ye the gates] Room for the Righteous: for ſuch only are free-men of this City, Rev. 22.14. ſuch only are written among the living in Jeruſalem, chap. 4.3, 4. Pſal. 118.19. And this ſeemeth ſpoken to thoſe door-keepers the Miniſters, to whom God hath committed the keyes of his kingdom: ſetting them as upon a watch-tower to keep out enemies, and to let in the true Citizens.

That the righteous nation which keepeth the truth] Heb. the truths, or faiths, (as Peter hath Godlineſſes, 2 Pet. 3.11.) that both obſerveth Chriſts Law, and preſerveth it; ſtriving together for the Faith of the Goſpel, Phil. 1.27. and accounting every particle of Truth precious, Jude 3. And here we have a true definition of a right Church-member. Civil righteouſneſs is but a beautiful abomination. If men men lay not Faith for a foundation to their vertue, 2 Pet. 1.5. it is no better then a gliſtering ſin.

Ver. 3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace] Heb. peace, peace, that is, a multiplied peace with God, with himſelf, and with others; or a renewed, continued peace, or a perfect, ſheer pure peace, as One ſenſeth it. What the old Tranſlatour here meaneth by his Vetus error abiit, is hard to ſay. An excellent deſcription of true ſaving Faith may be taken from this Text: and Mr. Bolton maketh mention of a poor diſtreſſed ſoul relieved by faſtening ſtedfaſtly in his laſt ſickneſs on theſe ſweet words: ſaying that God had graciouſly made them fully good to him.

Becauſe he truſteth in thee] So far as a ſoul can ſtay on and truſt in God, ſo far it enjoyeth a ſweet peace, and calm of ſpirit: perfect truſt is bleſſed with perfect peace. We have a famous inſtance for this in our bleſſed Saviour, Joh. 12.27, 28. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be ſober, and hope perfectly for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jeſus Chriſt, 1 Pet. 1.13.

Ver. 4. Truſt in the Lord for ever] To truſt in God, is to be unbottom'd of thy ſelf and of every creature; and ſo to lean upon God, that if he fail thee, thou ſinkeſt.

For in the Lord Jehovah] Heb. for in Jah Jehovah: in him who is the all-powerful Eſſentiator, and faithful promiſe-keeper, &c. Here then, look not downward (ſaith One) upon the ruſhing and roaring ſtreams of miſeries and troubles which run ſo ſwiftly under us; for then we ſhall be taken with a giddineſs, &c. but ſtedfaſtly faſten on the power and promiſe of Jah Jehovah, and ye ſhall be eſtabliſhed.

Is everlaſting ſtrength] Heb. The rock of ages, or the old rock: ſo called of old, Deut. 32, 4, 18, 31. and ſo found to be from the beginning: Et quia in aeternum non mutat aut nutat erga pios, licet montes & colles nutent, Iſa. 54.10. The name of the Lord is a ſtrong Tower, Prov. 18.10. A munition of rocks, Iſa. 23 16. rocks ſo deep, no Pioner can undermine them; ſo thick, no Cannon can pierce them; ſo high, no ladder can ſcale it.

Ver. 5. For he bringeth down thoſe that dwell on high] Even all adverſe power, and every high thing that exalteth it ſelf againſt the knowledge of God▪ 2 Cor. 10.5.

The lofty City he layeth it low] This, Muſculus underſtandeth of Babylon, that towring City; as alſo of Rome, that ſpiritual Babylon, to which it was long ſince ſaid, Verſa eris in cineres quaſi nunquam Roma fuiſſes.

Ver. 6. The foot ſhall tread it down] He ſaith not the hand ſhall beat it down, but the foot ſhall ſpurn down this lofty City, even the feet of the poor and abject ones, as once Sampſon dealt by the Philiſtines, Judg. 15.8. and as men uſe to ſpurn baſe and peſantly fellows that ſtand in their way. God can and ſometimes doth (to ſhew his power and wiſdom) make deſolation it ſelf to ſcale a fort, Amos 5.10. Men thruſt through, to riſe up and ſet whole Cities a fire, Jer. 37.10. bring to paſs mighty things by baſe and abject means.

Ver. 7. The way of the juſt is uprightneſs] Heb. Ʋprightneſſes, that is, juſt and ſtrait courſes: They turn not aſide to crooked and wry wayes, as do the workers of iniquity, Pſal. 125.5. but hold on in an even way without windings or writhings, Prov. 4.26, 27. the Kings high-way to heaven is their rode, and this leadeth them to that City of God, ver. 1, 2.

Thou moſt upright doſt weigh the path of the juſt] Or, Thou doſt by levelling make the juſt mans path even. By thy preventing grace thou makeſt him juſt and upright, and by thy ſubſequent grace thou ſtrengtheneſt and directeſt him, that he may run and not be weary, walk and not faint, Iſa. 40.21.

Ver. 8. Yea in the way of thy judgments] Rough though it be, and rugged: even when thou haſt wrought againſt us in the rigour of thy puniſhments, as One paraphraſeth it: in the diſcipline of thy chaſtiſements, as Another: There are that by this phraſe underſtand the doctrine of the Goſpel, which teacheth another way of judging of a righteous man then the Law doth; and ſuch as the Church truſteth to alone, and to none other, ſc. Juſtification by Faith in Chriſt Jeſus.

Diod. And to the remembrance of thee] i. e. to all the ſigns, gages, and teſtimonials which thou haſt given us of thy Grace by thy Word, Sacraments and Work.

Ver. 9. With my ſoul▪ &c. with my ſpirit] Spirit, Soul and Body muſt all be for God,The wicked with all their ſoul rejoyce to do evil. Ezek. 25.6. Attende quam non ſit otioſa fides. Oecol. 1 Theſ. 5.23. all that is within us eſpecially, Pſal. 103.1. the fat and inwards were conſecrated to him: the heart is his Bride-chamber, his bed of ſpices, Cant. 6.2. In the lives of the Fathers mention is made of a certain Monk to whom boaſting of perfection, it was anſwered from heaven, Illa eſt perfectio, quae Lunam, Solem & Canis iram Deo tribuit, id eſt COR, that is, Perfection conſiſteth in giving the whole heart to God.

For when thy judgements are in the earth, &c.] Gods judgements are the beſt Schoolmaſters. Q. Elizabeth learned much from Mr. Aſcham, but more from her affliction. Our Saviour himſelf learned ſomething by the things which he ſuffered, [non-Latin text not transcribed], Heb. 5.8. ſo do all his Members, Ezek. 20.37. the worſt are forced to ſay with Phlegyas, Virg. Aeneid. lib. 6.Diſcite juſtitiam moniti, & non temnere numen.

It was a true ſaying in the general of the Proconſul to Cyprian at his Martyrdom, though ill applied to him in particular; In ſanguine tuo caeteri diſcent Diſciplinam, by thy puniſhment others ſhall learn wiſdom. As when one Scholar is whipped, the reſt are warned: And as a thunder-bolt falleth with the danger of few, but with the fear of all: ſo is it here.

Ver. 10. Let favour be ſhewed to the wicked, &c.] No fair means will work upon him, whatever foul may do. But as an evil ſtomach turneth good meat into bad humours; ſo here, all's loſt that's laid out upon them.

Ʋngentem pungit, pungentem ruſticus ungit.

In the land of uprightneſs will he deal unjuſtly] In the Church where Righteouſneſs raigneth. Or, in a land of evenneſs he will wry and ſtray. Ye all know, (ſaith holy Bradford in a certain letter of his) there was never more knowledge of God (viz. in good King Edward 6. his days) and leſs godly living and true ſerving of God.Act. & Mon. It was counted a folly to ſerve God ſincerely: and earneſt prayer was not paſt upon. Preaching was but paſtime: Communion was counted too common, &c.

And will not behold the Majeſty of the Lord] Or, and he ſhall not ſee the Majeſty of the Lord, ſc. in his heavenly kingdom, Heb. 12.14.

Ver. 11. Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not ſee] i. e. Obſerve, conſider, and take warning: let Gods hand be never ſo high and glorious, ſo lifted up and exalted, yet theſe Buzzards will not behold his Majeſty, as ver. 10. as being more blind then Moles, more deaf then Sea-monſters, they refuſe to regard ought.

But they ſhall ſee and be confounded] But yet, maugre their head, (as One well paraphraſeth the words) they ſhall be driven both to ſee, and to acknowledge to their ſhame, the great and mighty hand of God, his zeal for his people, and the fire of his wrath to conſume his foes: See Zach. 1.15, 14. experientur ſuo magno malo, they ſhall to their coſt, feel the weight of Gods hand, which the higher it is lifeed, the heavier it will light at length. Mrs. Hutchinſon, Story of Sect. in New Engl. by Mr. Weid. pag. 44. that Jezabel of New England, as ſhe had vented about thirty miſhapen opinions there, ſo ſhe brought forth about thirty deformed monſters. Shee and her family were after this (becauſe they would not be reclaimed, but turned off admonition, ſaying, This is for you, ye Legaliſts that your eyes might be further blinded by Gods hand upon us, in your Legal wayes, &c.) ſlain (ſome ſay burnt) by the Indians who never uſed to exerciſe ſuch an outrage upon any.

Ver. 12. Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us] Or. Lord, dispoſe peace for us.

For thou alſo haſt wrought all our works in us] Or, for us, Certum eſt nos facere quod facimus, ſed Deus facit ut faciamus: without Chriſt we can do nothing, Ioh. 15.5. In him alone is our fruit found, Hoſ. 14.8. It is well obſerved by a grave Interpreter, that the Church in the Canticles is nowhere deſcribed by the beauty of her hands or fingers, becauſe God alone worketh all her works for her: and had rather that ſhe ſhould abound in good works in ſilence, then to boaſt of them at all.

Ver. 13. O Lord our God, other Lords beſides thee have had dominion over us] Or, have maſtered us: Oh that men were ſo ſenſible of their ſpiritual ſervitude, as thus to complain thereof to Jeſus Chriſt! But alaſs they do nothing leſs for moſt part, delighting on the Devils drudgery, which they count the only liberty, and dancing, as it were, to hell in their bolts.

Will we make mention of thy name] For which end we would not be the ſervants of men (much leſs the ſlaves of Satan,1 Cor. 7.27. that baſeſt of ſlaves) but the free-men of Chriſt: where the ſpirit is, there is liberty; and if the Son ſet us free,Joh. 8. we ſhall be free indeed.

Ver. 14. They are dead] Thoſe other Lords of ours are, (ver. 13.) But ſeldom lieth the devil dead in a dyke, ſaith our proverb: yet he and his agents have their deadly wound, and ſhall be trodden under our feet ſhortly, Rom. 16.20. Oh groan in ſpirit after that ſweet day of full redemption, &c.

Therefore thou haſt viſited] Or, becauſe thou haſt viſited. Wo be to a perſon or people, when God taketh them to do.

Ver. 15. Thou haſt increaſed the Nation] That righteous Nation which keepeth the truth, ver. 2. Some render and ſenſe the words thus, Thou haſt indeed increaſed the Nation, ſc. of the Jews, thou hadſt done it (O ſweet mercy, I am the better to ſpeak of it, and therefore I ſpeak it twice) but thou waſt heavy-laden, ſc. with their ſins: therefore thou haſt removed it far unto all the ends of the Earth. Who knoweth not what a diſperſed and deſpiſed people the Jews are in all places, baniſhed as it were out of the world by a common conſent of Nations: Be not therefore high-minded, but fear.

Ver. 16. Lord, in trouble have they viſited thee] Pulcherrimus afflictationum fructus, precandi ardor & aſſiduitas. Affliction exciteth devotion, as blowing doth the fire. Chriſt in his agony prayed moſt earneſtly, Luke 22.44. Martha and Mary when their Brother Lazarus was ſick, ſent Meſſengers to Jeſus, Joh. 11.3. quos putas niſi ſuſpiria continuata, niſi prece[illegible: 1 letter] irremiſſas, ſaith Scultetus: i. e. what were thoſe Meſſengers but their continued groans, and earneſt prayers? See Hoſ. 5.15. with the Note. Prayer is the Daughter of affliction, and the Mother of comfort.

Not dropped but poured: not prayers but a prayer; one continual act: and as in the ſpeaking of three or four words there is much efficacy in a charm, ſo their prayers were very prevalent. They poured out] Freely and largely, and well-watered, as 1 Sam. 1.10. & 7.6. ver. 9.1.

A prayer] Heb. A charm, a muſſitation, a ſubmiſs and lowly ſpeech. Spels and Enchantments were conceived to be full of efficacy, containing much in few; think the ſame of prayer. But how much was he miſtaken in this kind of charm or ſpell, who would haunt the Taverns, Play-houſes and Whore houſes at London all day, but he durſt not go forth without private prayer in the morning: and then would ſay at his departure, Now Devil, do thy worſt.

Ver. 17. So have we been in thy ſight] Heb. From thy face, i. e. By reaſon of thy wrath. So 2 Theſ. 1.9. who ſhall be puniſhed from the preſence of God, that is, of God himſelf preſent to their terrour.

Ver. 18. We have been with child] With divers devices and hopes, which yet have miſcarryed and run aſlope. See Job 15.35. with the Note there.

We have as it were brought forth wind] As did Queen Mary, to her own great grief, and the diſappointment of her Expectants; Dale the promoter for inſtance: Well (quoth he at the apprehending of Julian Living) You hope and hope, but your hope ſhall be aſlope. For although the Queens conceptions ſhould ſtill fail (as they did) yet ſhe that you hope for ſhall never come at it; for there is my Lord Cardinals grace and many more between her,Act. & Mon. fol. 1871. and it. But my Lord Cardinals grace departed the very next day after Queen Mary, Ib. 1905. having taken, as tis thought, ſome Italian Phyſick, and Queen Elizabeth ſucceeded in the Throne to the great joy of all good men.

Ver. 19. Thy dead men ſhall riſe] So ſhall not thine enemies, ver. 14. This may ſeem to be Chriſts gracious anſwer to his poor deſponding people: and it is, ſay ſome, argumentum à beata Reſurrections ſumptum, an argument taken from the happy reſurrection of the righteous; the wicked alſo ſhall be raiſed at the laſt day, but not by the like means, nor for the like bleſſed purpoſe, Dan. 12.2. Some read the words thus, Thy dead, my dead body ſhall live; for the faithful, ſay they, are Chriſts body, Eph. 4.12. and therefore to ſhew this, My dead body is here added by Appoſition; to ſhew how the faithful being dead and buried, are to be accounted of, even Chriſts dead body, &c. and ſhall be raiſed at the laſt day, by vertue of that myſtical union which ſtill they hold with Chriſt. Hence they are ſaid to ſleep in Jeſus, to be dead in Chriſt, Phil. 3.21. who ſhall change our vile body, that it may be faſhioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to ſubdue all things unto himſelf. The Hebrews call a dead corpſe Nepheſh, i. e. a ſoul, Numb. 5.2. & 9, 10. & 19.11. Hag. 2.14. to note that it ſhall live again, and that the ſoul ſhall return to it. At this day alſo they call the Church-yard Bethcaiim the houſe of the living: Leo Modena Hiſt. of Rites of the Iews, pag. 238. and as they return from the burial-place, every one plucks off graſs from off the ground twice or thrice, and caſts it over his head ſaying, florebunt de civitate tanquam foenum terrae, &c. Pſal. 92.12, 13. ſo to ſet forth their hopes of a reſurrection. Neither need it ſeem incredible with any that God ſhould raiſe the dead. Acts 26.8. conſidering what followeth: 1. Together with my dead body ſhall they ariſe, i. e. with Chriſts body raiſed as the firſt fruits of them that ſleep, 1 Cor. 15. One of the Rabbins readeth it, As my dead body, they ſhall ariſe. 2. The force of Chriſts all-powerful voice, ſaying, Awake and ſing ye that dwell in duſt: Ariſe and come away, lift up your heads for your Redemption is at hand. The Reſurrection is in the Syriack called the Conſolation, Joh. 11.24. 3. Thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth ſhall caſt out the dead, i. e. Qua facilitate herbulas reficit Deus, eadem mortuos animare poteſt. God can as eaſily raiſe the dead, as refreſh the herbs of the earth with a reviving dew, when they were even ſcorched to death with the heat of the Sun. See we not a yearly reſurrection of graſs, grain, flowers, fruits every Spring-tide: And ſurely if Nature can produce out of a ſmall ſeed a great Tree, or a Butter-fly out of a worm, or the beautiful featherd Peacock out of a miſhapen egg, cannot the Almighty raiſe our bodies out of duſt, who firſt out of duſt made them? or can the condition of any people or perſon be ſo deſperate, that he is not able to help them out? The aſſurance of Gods power which ſhall ſhew it ſelf in the raiſing of the dead, is a moſt excellent argument to confirm us in the certainty of Gods Promiſes, ſeem they never ſo incredible to fleſh and blood. Atque haec de Cantico.

Ver. 20. Come my people] Thus God lovingly beſpeaketh his, as leading them by the hand to an hiding place of his providing. So he ſhut up Noah in the Ark, ſecured Lot in Zoar, hid Jeremy and Baruch when ſought for to the ſlaughter: bade Daniel to go away and reſt before thoſe great troubles foretold, chap. 12.13. Auſtin and Paraeus died a little before Hippo and Heidelberg were taken. So did Luther before the bloody wars of Germany. For Mr. Brightman, a Purſuivant was ſent,Life of K. James by Wilſon. a day or two after he was buried. The burying place is not unfitly called [non-Latin text not transcribed], a reſting room to the Saints, the grave a bed, Iſa. 57.2. the bier that carrieth men to it, Matteh, i. e. a pallet, 2 Sam. 3.31. Lyra and others by Chambers here underſtand the graves, (Confer Rev. 6.11. Joh. 16.33.) thoſe chambers of reſt, and beds of down to the bodies of the Saints, until the laſt day. There are that by chambers, will have meant the cloſets of Gods Providence and Protection, ſuch as Pella was to the Primitive Chriſtians. Hitherto the Saints are exhorted to retire till the ſtorm be over, the enemy gone, the deſtroying Angel paſſed over, as Exod. 12.12. poſſeſſing their ſouls in patience.

As it were for a little moment] Heb. A little af a moment. Nubecula eſt, Sozom lib. 15. cap. 5. cito tranſibit, as Athanaſius ſaid when perſecuted by Julian, This ſtorm will ſoon blow over: this indignation doth not tranſire, but pertranſire, paſs, but paſs a pace.

Ver. 21. For behold] This is as a cryer to prepare attention.

The Lord cometh out of his place] Here God compareth himſelf to a Prince upon his Throne, who goeth from his place of State into Countries, to quiet mutinies and rebellions among his people.

The earth alſo ſhall diſcloſe her blood] Murther ſhall out: oppreſſion, whether by force or fraud, ſhall be certainly and ſeverely puniſhed: See Job 16.8. See an inſtance hereof in Leviathan, chap. 27.1. whether you underſtand it of the Devil that old man-ſlayer, as Many Ancients do: or elſe the Kings of the Nations, and eſpecially of the Turks, as ſome Rabbins.