Nehemiah 9 commentary

The word will direct and quicken prayer, for by it the Spirit helps our infirmities in prayer. The careful study of God's word will more and more discover to us our own sinfulness, and the plenteousness of his salvation; thus it calls us to mourn for sin, and to rejoice in him. Every discovery of the truth of God, should render us more unwearied in attendance on his sacred word, and on his worship.

The summary of their prayers we have here upon record. Much more, no doubt, was said. Whatever ability we have to do any thing in the way of duty, we are to serve and glorify God according to the utmost of it. When confessing our sins, it is good to notice the mercies of God, that we may be the more humbled and ashamed. The dealings of the Lord showed his goodness and long-suffering, and the hardness of their hearts. The testimony of the prophets was the testimony of the Spirit in the prophets, and it was the Spirit of Christ in them. They spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and what they said is to be received accordingly. The result was, wonder at the Lord's mercies, and the feeling that sin had brought them to their present state, from which nothing but unmerited love could rescue them. And is not their conduct a specimen of human nature? Let us study the history of our land, and our own history. Let us recollect our advantages from childhood, and ask what were our first returns? Let us frequently do so, that we may be kept humble, thankful, and watchful. Let all remember that pride and obstinacy are sins which ruin the soul. But it is often as hard to persuade the broken-hearted to hope, as formerly it was to bring them to fear. Is this thy case? Behold this sweet promise, A God ready to pardon! Instead of keeping away from God under a sense of unworthiness, let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. He is a God ready to pardon.

CHAPTER 9

Ne 9:1-3. A Solemn Fast and Repentance of the People.

1. Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month--that is, on the second day after the close of the feast of tabernacles, which commenced on the fourteenth and terminated on the twenty-second (Le 23:34-37). The day immediately after that feast, the twenty-third, had been occupied in separating the delinquents from their unlawful wives, as well, perhaps, as in taking steps for keeping aloof in future from unnecessary intercourse with the heathen around them. For although this necessary measure of reformation had been begun formerly by Ezra (Ezr 10:1-17), and satisfactorily accomplished at that time (in so far as he had information of the existing abuses, or possessed the power of correcting them) yet it appears that this reformatory work of Ezra had been only partial and imperfect. Many cases of delinquency had escaped, or new defaulters had appeared who had contracted those forbidden alliances; and there was an urgent necessity for Nehemiah again to take vigorous measures for the removal of a social evil which threatened the most disastrous consequences to the character and prosperity of the chosen people. A solemn fast was now observed for the expression of those penitential and sorrowful feelings which the reading of the law had produced, but which had been suppressed during the celebration of the feast; and the sincerity of their repentance was evinced by the decisive steps taken for the correction of existing abuses in the matter of marriage.

2. confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers--Not only did they read in their recent sufferings a punishment of the national apostasy and guilt, but they had made themselves partakers of their fathers' sins by following the same evil ways.

3. they ... read in the book of the law--Their extraordinary zeal led them to continue this as before.

one fourth part of the day--that is, for three hours, twelve hours being the acknowledged length of the Jewish day (Joh 11:9). This solemn diet of worship, which probably commenced at the morning sacrifice, was continued for six hours, that is, till the time of the evening sacrifice. The worship which they gave to the Lord their God, at this season of solemn national humiliation, consisted in acknowledging and adoring His great mercy in the forgiveness of their great and multiplied offenses, in delivering them from the merited judgments which they had already experienced or which they had reason to apprehend, in continuing amongst them the light and blessings of His word and worship, and in supplicating the extension of His grace and protection.

Ne 9:4-38. The Levites Confess God's Manifold Goodness, and Their Own Wickedness.

4. Then stood up upon the stairs--the scaffolds or pulpits, whence the Levites usually addressed the people. There were probably several placed at convenient distances, to prevent confusion and the voice of one drowning those of the others.

cried with a loud voice unto the Lord--Such an exertion, of course, was indispensably necessary, in order that the speakers might be heard by the vast multitude congregated in the open air. But these speakers were then engaged in expressing their deep sense of sin, as well as fervently imploring the forgiving mercy of God; and "crying with a loud voice" was a natural accompaniment of this extraordinary prayer meeting, as violent gestures and vehement tones are always the way in which the Jews, and other people in the East, have been accustomed to give utterance to deep and earnest feelings.

5. Then the Levites ... said, Stand up and bless the Lord your God--If this prayer was uttered by all these Levites in common, it must have been prepared and adopted beforehand, perhaps, by Ezra; but it may only embody the substance of the confession and thanksgiving.

6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate His mercies and distinguished favors to them as a nation, from the period of the call of their great ancestor and the gracious promise intimated to him in the divinely bestowed name of Abraham, a promise which implied that he was to be the Father of the faithful, the ancestor of the Messiah, and the honored individual in whose seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. Tracing in full and minute detail the signal instances of divine interposition for their deliverance and their interest--in their deliverance from Egyptian bondage--their miraculous passage through the Red Sea--the promulgation of His law--the forbearance and long-suffering shown them amid their frequent rebellions--the signal triumphs given them over their enemies--their happy settlement in the promised land--and all the extraordinary blessings, both in the form of temporal prosperity and of religious privilege, with which His paternal goodness had favored them above all other people, they charge themselves with making a miserable requital. They confess their numerous and determined acts of disobedience. They read, in the loss of their national independence and their long captivity, the severe punishment of their sins. They acknowledge that, in all heavy and continued judgments upon their nation, God had done right, but they had done wickedly. And in throwing themselves on His mercy, they express their purpose of entering into a national covenant, by which they pledge themselves to dutiful obedience in future.

Now in the twenty and fourth day - The feast of trumpets was on the first day of this month; on the fourteenth began the feast of tabernacles, which, lasting seven days, finished on the twenty-second; on the twenty-third they separated themselves from their illegitimate wives and children; and, on the twenty-fourth, they held a solemn day of fasting and confession of sin, and reading the law, which they closed by renewing their covenants.

The seed of Israel separated themselves - A reformation of this kind was begun by Ezra, Ezr 10:3; but it appears that either more were found out who had taken strange wives, or else those who had separated from them had taken them again.

And stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. - They acknowledged that they had been sinners against God throughout all their generations; that their fathers had sinned and were punished; and that they, with this example before their eyes, had copied their fathers' offenses.

One fourth part of the day - As they did no manner of work on this day of fasting and humiliation, so they spent the whole of it in religious duties. They began, says Calmet, on the first hour, and continued these exercises to the third hour; from the third they recommenced, and continued till the sixth hour; from the sixth to the ninth; and from the ninth, to the twelfth or last hour.

1. They heard the law read, standing;

2. They prostrated themselves, and confessed their sins;

3. They arose to praise God for having spared and dealt thus mercifully with them.

Stand up and bless the Lord your God - It is the shameless custom of many congregations of people to sit still while they profess to bless and praise God, by singing the Psalms of David or hymns made on the plan of the Gospel! I ask such persons, Did they ever feel the spirit of devotion while thus employed? If they do, it must be owned that, by the prevalence of habit, they have counteracted the influence of an attitude most friendly to such acts of devotion.

Thou preservest them all - ואתה מחיה את כלם vettah mechaiyeh eth cullam, and thou givest life to them all: and the host of the heavens, לך משתחוים lecha mishtachavim, prostrate themselves unto thee. How near is this to the opinion of Kepler, that all the heavenly host are instinct with life, and navigate the great expanse on pinions adjusted to their situation in their respective orbits! But to preserve in life, or in being, is a very good meaning in the original, which does not necessarily imply vitality. We say a tree is alive when flourishing, a plant is dead when it withers, etc.

Who didst choose Abram - See the notes on Exo 13:21 (note).

The name of Abraham - For the explanation of this name, See the notes on Gen 17:5.

By a cloudy pillar - See the notes on the parallel passages, both here and in the other verses.

Madest known unto them thy holy Sabbath - They appear to have forgotten this first of all the commandments of God, during their sojourning in Egypt.

And in their rebellion appointed a captain - This clause, read according to its order in the Hebrew text, is thus: And appointed a captain to return to their bondage in their rebellion. But it is probable that במרים bemiryam, in their rebellion, is a mistake for במצרים bemitsrayim, in Egypt. This is the reading of seven of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., the Neapolitan edition of the Hagiographa, and the Septuagint. It is also the reading in Num 14:4. The clause should undoubtedly be read, They appointed a captain to return to their bondage in Egypt.

The pillar of the cloud departed not from them - מעליהם mealeyhem, "from over them." I have already had occasion to observe that this miraculous cloud, the symbol of the Divine presence, assumed three different positions while accompanying the Israelitish camp:

1. As a cloud in the form of a pillar, it went before them when they journey, to point out their way in the wilderness.

2. As a pillar of fire, it continued with them during the night, to give them light, and be a rallying point for the whole camp in the night season.

3. As an extended cloud, it hovered over them in their encampments, to refresh them with its dews, and to keep them from the ardours of the sun.

Their clothes waxed not old - See the note on Deu 8:4.

The land of Og king of Bashan - It is most evident that Sihon was king of Heshbon. How then can it be said that they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon? The words the land of the king of Heshbon are wanting in two of De Rossi's MSS. In another MS. the words and the land of are wanting; so that the clause is read, They possessed the land of Sihon, king of Heshbon. The Septuagint has the same reading; the Arabic nearly the same, viz., the land of Sihon, the land of the king of Heshbon. The Syriac has, They possessed the land of Sihon, the land of the Kings of Heshbon. The reading of the text is undoubtedly wrong; that supported by the MSS. and by the Septuagint is most likely to be the true one. Those of the Arabic and Syriac contain at least no contradictory sense. The and in the Hebrew and our version, distinguishes two lands and two kings; the land of Sihon and the land of the king of Heshbon: when it is most certain that only one land and one king can be meant: but the ו vau may be translated here as it often is, even: Even the land of the king of Heshbon.

Became fat, and delighted themselves - They became effeminate, fell under the power of luxury, got totally corrupted in their manners, sinned against all the mercies of God, and then were destroyed by his judgments. We have an old nervous saying, "War begets poverty, poverty begets peace, peace begets affluence, affluence begets luxury and corruption of manners; and hence civil broils, foreign wars, and desolations." A sensible Roman historian has said the same: "Imperium facile iis artibus retinetur, quibus initio partum est: verum ubi pro Labore, Desidia; pro continentia et aequitate, Libido atque Superbia invasere: fortuna simul cum moribus Immutatur."

Thou gavest them saviors - The whole book of Judges is a history of God's mercies, and their rebellions.

Many years didst thou forbear - It is supposed that Nehemiah refers here principally to the ten tribes. And many years did God bear with them; not less than two hundred and fifty-four years from their separation from the house of David, till their captivity and utter dispersion under Shalmaneser; during the whole of which time God invariably warned them by his prophets; or, as it is here said, by thy Spirit in thy prophets, which gives us the true notion of Divine inspiration. God's Spirit was given to the prophets; and they testified to the people, according as they were taught and influenced by this Spirit.

On our kings, on our princes - I believe Nehemiah in this place mentions the whole of civil society in its officers as they stand related to each other in dignity: -

1. Kings, as supreme.

2. Princes.

3. Priests.

4. Prophets.

5. The Fathers, heads or chiefs of tribes and families.

6. The Common People.

Those who disturb this natural order (for it subsists even in Britain) are enemies to the peace of the whole, whatever they may pretend to the contrary.

Neither have our kings - In this verse he acknowledges that the kings, princes, priests, and fathers, had broken the law: but the prophets are left out; for they continued faithful to God, testifying by his Spirit against the crimes of all; and this even at the risk of their lives.

For they have not served thee in their kingdom - Instead of במלכותם bemalcutham, "in Their kingdom," במלכותך bemalcuthecha, in Thy kingdom," is the reading of two of Kennicott's MSS.; as also of the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic. This is most likely to be the true reading.

Behold, we are servants - They had no king of their own: and were under the government of the kings of Persia, to whom they paid a regular tribute.

It yieldeth much increase unto the kings - Good and fruitful as the land is, yet it profits us little; as the chief profits on all things go to the kings of Persia.

Over our bodies - Exacting personal and feudal services from us, and from our cattle; and this not by any fixed rate, or rule, of so much rent, so much labor, or boons; but at their pleasure; so that we can neither call our persons, our time, our land, nor our cattle, our own: therefore we are in great distress. Miserable are the people that live under such a government.

Think of this, ye Britons! think of your liberties and rights. Compare them with any other nation under heaven, and see what a balance is in your favor. Almost all the nations of the earth acknowledge Britons the most happy of all men. May I not say,

O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint! "How exceedingly happy would you be, could you but consider your many advantages!"

Our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it - Persuaded that we have brought all the miseries upon ourselves by our transgressions, feeling much and fearing more, we make a covenant with thee to devote ourselves to thy service; to do with us as thou pleasest. From this sealing we learn that at this time the government of the Jews was a mixed aristocracy; composed of the nobles for the civil department, and the priests and Levites for the ecclesiastical.

This was not mixing the Church with the state, or the state with the Church: both were separate, yet both mutually supported each other. The state never attempted to model the Church according to its own mind; because the Church had been founded and regulated by God, and neither its creed nor its ordinances could be changed. The Church did not meddle with the state, to give it new laws, new ordinances, or new officers. Therefore the one could not be jealous of the other. Where this state of things prevails, every public blessing may be expected. In every state God says to the governors and the governed: "Render to Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to God the things which are God's."

Now - The next day, but one after the feast of tabernacles, which begun on the fourteenth day, and ended on the twenty second, for their consciences having been fully awakened and their hearts filled with grief for their sins, which they were not allowed to express in that time of publick joy; now they resume their former thoughts, and recalling their sins to mind, set apart a day for solemn fasting and humiliation.

Separated - From all unnecessary society with the Heathens, and particularly from those strange women whom some of them had married. For though Ezra had done this formerly, yet, it seems, there were some criminals, without his knowledge, or, these were some new delinquents, that since that time had fallen into the same error, and shewed the truth of their repentance by forsaking their beloved sins, and dearest relations.

Book of the law - As they did before, giving them the sense of what they read. Fourth part - For three hours; there were twelve hours in their day, probably they began after the morning sacrifice, and continued their work till the evening sacrifice. The work of a fast - day is good work. We should endeavour to make a day's work, a good day's work of it.

Stairs - Upon such stairs, or pulpits, as the Levites used to stand upon, when they taught the people. But they stood upon several pulpits, each of them teaching that part of the congregation which was allotted him, or praying, or blessing God with them. Loud voice - Thereby testifying their deep sense of their sins and miseries, and their servant, and importunate desire of God's mercy.

Good statutes - The moral and judicial precepts were all founded on natural equity. And even the ceremonial were tokens of God's goodness, being types of gospel - grace.

Made - Designed, and resolved to do so, Numb 14:4, and therefore they are said to do so, as Abraham is said to have offered up Isaac, Heb 11:17, because he intended to do it.

Divide - The Heathen nations, whom God in a great measure destroyed, and the remainders of them he dispersed into corners; that whereas before the Israelites came, they had large habitations, now they were cooped up, some in one town, and some in another, in the several corners of their land, while the Israelites dwelt in a large place, and had the possession of their whole land, some few and small parcels excepted.

Mercy - He adds mercy, because the covenant in itself was not a sufficient ground of hope, because they had so basely broken it. God was discharged from keeping it, and therefore they fly to God's free and rich mercy for relief.

Thou art just. &c. - It becomes us, when we are under the rebukes of providence, be they ever so sharp, or ever so long continued, still to justify God, and to own we are punished less than our iniquities deserve.

Yieldeth much, &c. - We plow, and sow, and labour, and thou givest thy blessing to our endeavours; and yet in a great measure this is not for ourselves, as formerly it was, but for our kings, to whom we pay heavy tributes. Dominion - Pressing or forcing both us and our beasts to go and to do what they please.

Sure covenant, &c. - It was sealed and left upon record, that it might be a witness against them, if they dealt deceitfully.

1 NOW in the twenty and fourth day of this month , the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloths, and with earth upon them.

The next day but one after the feast of Tabernacles, which begun on the 14th day, and ended on the 22 day, Levit. 23. for their consciences having then been fully awakened by the law read to them, and their hearts being full of grief for their great sins, which they were not allowed to express in that time of publick joy and triumph, now when that was past, they resume their former thoughts and passions, and recalling their sins to mind, set apart a day for solemn fasting and humiliation.

2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers , and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers .

From all familiar, and unnecessary society with the heathens, and particularly from those strange Women whom some of them had married. For though Ezra had done this formerly, Ezra 10. as far as he had knowledge of the persons faulty, and power to redress their faults, yet, it seems, there were some criminals, who were either without his knowledge, or out of his power: or, these were some new delinquents that since that time had fallen into the same errour, and shewed the truth of their repentance, by the forsaking of their beloved sins, and dearest relations. See again, Nehe. 13. 3.

Which they confess partly as one cause of their present sufferings: and partly because they by their practises had justified their fathers sins, and made them their own.

Marginal references: Ezra 1[illegible: 1+ letters]. 11. Chap. 13. [illegible: 1+ letters]0.; Heb. [illegible: 1 word] of a [illegible: 1 word].

3 And they stood up in their places, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God, one fourth part of the day , and another fourth part they confessed , and worshipped the LORD their God .

So as they did before, giving them the sense of what they read, of which, see on ch. 8. 7, 8.

To wit, for three hours; for there were accounted 12 hours in their day, Iohn 11. 9. Probably they began after the morning sacrifice, at which, divers religious people used to be present, but now they were all assembled together upon this great occasion: and they continued their work from that time till the evening sacrifice, with which they closed the work of the day.

Both Gods mercies, as appears from the matter of the following prayer, and their own sins, as is expressed, v. 2. this day being chiefly set apart for that work.

Partly by the acknowledgment and adoration of his wonderful mercy in forgiving their sins, and saving them from the deserved judgments which they either felt or feared, and giving them his law, and the knowledge thereof: and partly by imploring his further grace and mercy to them.

4 Then stood up upon the stairs of the Levites , Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God.

Or, upon the scaffold, &c. i. e. Upon such stairs, or rather scaffolds, or pulpits, as the Levites used to stand upon, when they taught the people. But you must not think that all the persons here named stood in one place, and uttered the following words together; which would have caused great confusion in their speeches, by which means but few of the people could have distinctly heard, or understood them, but that they stood upon several pulpits, each of them either teaching of that part of the Congregation which was allotted to him, or praying, or blessing God with them.

Thereby testifying their deep sense of their sins and miseries, and their servent, and importunate desire of Gods mercy.

Marginal references: Or, [illegible: 1 word].

5 Then the Levites, Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah▪ Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said , stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever ; and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

All the following words. Either therefore they all used the same words, being composed, and agreed upon by Ezra and themselves; or they all prayed in the same manner, and to the same purpose having agreed among themselves concerning the matter of their confessions and prayers. And these are the words which one of them used; and it is implied that the rest of their prayers were of the same nature.

From day to day, as long as you live, and to all eternity.

6 Thou, even thou art LORD alone, thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are therein, the seas and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all, and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

Either 1. The stars, which after their manner worship and praise God, as all the creatures do after their manner, of which, see Psal. 148. or rather 2. The Angels who are so called, as 1 King. 22. 19. Luke 2. 13. who do worship God truly and properly. And it is most usual, and reasonable to understand all words properly, where there is no need of a figurative interpretation. And if this were understood of metaphorical, and objective worshipping of God, there seems to be no reason to appropriate that to the host of Heaven, to wit, the stars, seeing the hosts of sea and earth do in that sense worship God no less than the stars do, namely, in giving Angels and men matter and occasion of worshipping and praising of God.

Marginal references: Gen. 1. 1.; Deut. 10. 14.; Gen. 2. 1.

7 Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram , and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham.

Out of the midst of all his nation and family. When thou didst pass by, and neglect the rest of them, suffering them to walk on in their idolatrous and destructive courses; thou didst chuse, and single out him to serve and glorify thee, to be Father of all the faithful, the progenitor of the Messias, and the person in whom, not we only, but all nations should be blessed, and to enjoy thee to all eternity.

Marginal references: Gen. 11. [illegible: 1 word]. & 12. 1.; Gen. 17. [illegible: 1+ letters].

8 And foundest his heart faithful before thee ▪ and madest a covenant with him, to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words, for thou art righteous.

When thou madest that admirable trial of his faith and obedience in requiring him to offer up his onely son Isaac, thou didst find out, and discover his faithfulness, which was well known to thee before, and also was wrought in him by thy grace.

Marginal references: Gen. 15. [illegible: 1+ letters].; Gen. 12. 7▪ & 15. 18. 17. 7, 8.

10 And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them : so didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day.

Treating thy people with great scorn and contempt, like slaves and beasts.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 14.

11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters .

i. e. The deep waters, such as these were, into which, when a stone is thrown, there is no hopes of seeing it again.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1+ letters]. 8. [illegible: 1 word]. 12. & [illegible: 1+ letters] chapter. [illegible: 1 word]. 14. [illegible: 1 word].; [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1+ letters]5.

13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws : good statutes and commandments.

Not such laws as some of the heathen laws were, which taught them fallhood, superstition, Idolatry, and other errours, but such as discover the truth, and the true mind and will of God, and the true and onely way to life.

Both in themselves, and to us also, being useful to reach, and comfort, and save us.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 19. [illegible: 1 word]. 1.; [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word].

14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath ▪ and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:

That holy and blessed Sabbath-day which thou didst bless and [illegible: 1 word] to [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1+ letters]n paradise Gen. 2. 3. commanding him, and in him, all his posterity to observe it, which yet almost all people and Nations have quite forgotten, yea so far as to mock at them, Lam. 1. 7. thou didst graciously reveal unto thy people, reviving that ancient law by another particular law about it given to us in the wilderness.

16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly , and hardned their neck, and hearkned not to thy commandments.

Notwithstanding all these singular and wonderful mercies: which he hither to recounted to aggravate their sins, which he now comes to confess; and to lead them to a sincere and ingenuous grief and repeutance for their sins, not onely for the mischief which they brought upon themselves, but for the injury and indignity which they offered to God.

i. e. Sinned presumptuously, and with contempt of God, as scorning to submit their wills to Gods.

17 And refused to obey , neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them: but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain , to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, flow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not▪

Persisted in their disobedience after many admonitions, and invitations to repentance.

i. e. designed, proposed, and resolved to do so, Numb. 14. 4. and therefore they are said to do so as Abraham is said to have offered up Isaac, Heb. 11. 17. because he intended, and attempted to do it.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word] a [illegible: 1 word]; [illegible: 1 word]. 14. [illegible: 1 word].; [illegible: 1 word] God [illegible: 1 word].; [illegible: 1 word] 34. 6. [illegible: 1 word]. 1[illegible: 1+ letters]. 18.

19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies, forsookest them not in the wilderness : the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.

Where if thou hadst left them without thy conduct and comfort, they had been utterly lost and undone.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 13. [illegible: 1 word]. 14. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. 1[illegible: 1+ letters].

20 Thou gavest also thy good spirit , to instruct them, and with-heldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.

Which thou didst graciously and plentifully impart unto Moses, and then unto the seventy Elders, Numb. 11. 17, 25, 26. to the end that they might be able to direct and govern thy people wisely, and in thy fear.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 11.; [illegible: 1 word] 16.; [illegible: 1 word] 12. [illegible: 1 word]. 17. 6.

21 Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their cloths waxed not old, and their feet swelled not .

Of which, see the notes on Deut. 8. 4.

Marginal references: Deut. 2. 7.; Deut. 8. 4.

22 Moreover, thou gavest them kingdoms, and nations, and didst divide them into corners : so they possessed the land of Sihon and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

Or, into a corner. But the singular number is very commonly put for the plural. This is understood, either, 1. Of the Israelites, to whom God divided by lot the Kingdoms and Nations last mentioned, and gave them all the corners, or sides or quarters (for all these the word signifies) of their land. Or, rather 2. Of the heathen Nations, whom God in a great measure destroyed and the remainders of them he dispersed into corners; that whereas before the Israelites came, they had large habitations and dominions, now they were cooped up into corners, some of them into one Town or city, and some into another, in the several corners of their land, as indeed we find them afterward, whilest the Israelites dwelt in a large place, and had the possession of their whole land, some few and small parcels excepted. Compare Deut. 31. 26. where the like phrase is used in the same sense.

Marginal references: Numb. 21. 21. &c.

25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and olive-yards, and fruit-trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness .

i. e. In all these comforts and blessings which by thy great goodness they obtained and enjoyed. f i. e. Neglected and despised them, would not regard nor observe them, whereas they should have had them continually before their eyes, to direct and govern them. Compare Psal. 50. 17. Ezek. 23. 35.

Marginal references: Or, cisterns.; Heb. trees of food.; Deut. 32. 15.

26 Nevertheless, they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, & cast thy law behind their backs , and slew thy prophets, which testified against them, to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.

Of which see on Levit. 18. 5. Ezek. 20. 11. Rom. 10. 5. Gal. 3. 12.

Marginal references: 1 Kin. 14. 9.; 1 Kin. 19. 10.

29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkned not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments (which if a man do, he shall live in them ) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck , and would not hear.

Of which see on Levit. 18. 5. Ezek. 20. 11. Rom. 10. 5. Gal. 3. 1[illegible: 1+ letters].

i. e. Would not submit to thy yoke, like stubborn oxen.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word] gave a withdrawing [illegible: 1+ letters]oulder.

30 Yet many years didst thou forbear them , and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets : yet would they not give ear : therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.

i. e. Thou didst delay to bring upon them these judgments which thou hadst threatned and they had deserved, and didst wait for their repentance.

By thy prophets who spake to them by the inspiration of thy holy Spirit, whom therefore they should have obeyed.

i. e. Would not obey, them nor would they vouchsafe so much as to hear them.

Marginal references: Heb. protract over them.; 2 Kin. 17. 13.; Heb. in the hand of thy prophets.; 2 Chr. 36. 15.

32. Now there ore our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy : let not all the trouble seem little before thee that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests▪ and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people since the time of the kings of Assyria , unto this day.

i. e. Covenanted mercy or thy covenant of mercy and peace▪ Or he adds mercy, because the covenant in its self was not a sufficient ground of hope, because they having so basely broken it, God was discharged from keeping it, and therefore they fly to Gods free and rich mercy for relief.

Do not thou account it small and insufficient for our punishment, and that it is fit to continue and encrease it.

Strictly and properly so called; for from them was the beginning of all the calamities both of Iudah and of Israel, as appears, from 2. Kings 15. 19. and 18. 13. Or, the kings of Babylon, so called, a Chron. 33. 11.

Marginal references: Exod. 3[illegible: 1+ letters]. 6, 7.; Heb. weariness.; Heb. that hath found us.

35 For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them , neither turned they from their wicked works.

i. e. Which thou didst lay open to their view and possession removing their enemies and all impediments out of the way.

36 Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers, to eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it .

In that land wherein heretofore under thee and by thy favour we were rightful lords and owners.

37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us , because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattel , at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

We plow and sow and labour, and thou givest thy blessing to our indeavors; and yet in a great measure this is not for our selves, as formerly it was, but for our kings, to whom we pay great & heavy tributes for these things: of which see Ezra 6. 8. and 7. 24.

Pressing or foreing both us and our beasts to go and do what they please.

38 And because of all this , we make a sure covenant ▪ and write it, and our princes, Levites, and priests seal unto it.

Because all this misery lies upon us for our sins, we do heartily repent of them & resolve to forsake them.

Or, we faithfully promise and engage our selves to future obedience.

Marginal references: Heb. are at the sealing, or, sealed.

Neh 9:1

On the twenty-second of Tishri was the Hazereth of the feast of tabernacles; on the twenty-fourth the congregation re-assembled in the temple, “with fasting and with sackcloths (penitential garments made of hair; see rem. Joe 1:8) and earth upon them,” i.e., spread upon their heads (1Sa 4:12; 2Sa 1:2; Job 2:12), - the external marks of deep mourning and heaviness of heart.

Neh 9:2 “And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed all their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.” This separation from strangers does not specially relate to the dissolution of the marriages contracted with heathen women, nor to any measures taken that only Israelites should be admitted to this assembly (Bertheau). It was rather a voluntary renunciation of connection with the heathen, and of heathen customs.

Neh 9:3

And they stood up (i.e., remained standing) in their place (comp. Neh 8:7), and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God, i.e., listened to the reading of the law, a fourth part of the day (about three hours), and a fourth part (the next three hours) they confessed (made a confession of their sins), and worshipped the Lord their God. This confession and worship is more nearly described vv. 4-37.

Neh 9:4-5

There stood upon the scaffold of the Levites, i.e., upon the platform erected for the Levites (comp. Neh 8:4), Jeshua and seven other Levites whose names are given, and they cried with a loud voice to God, and said to the assembled congregation, “Stand up, bless the Lord your God for ever and ever! and blessed be the name of Thy glory, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.” The repetition of the names of the Levites in Neh 9:5 shows that this invitation to praise God is distinct from the crying to God with a loud voice of Neh 9:4, and seems to say that the Levites first cried to God, i.e., addressed to Him their confessions and supplications, and after having done so, called upon the congregation to worship God. Eight names of Levites being given in both verses, and five of these - Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, and Sherebiah - being identical, the difference of the three others in the two verses - Bunni, Bani, and Chenani (Neh 9:4), and Hashabniah, Hodijah, and Pethahiah (Neh 9:5) - seems to have arisen from a clerical error, - an appearance favoured also by the circumstance that Bani occurs twice in Neh 9:4. Of the other names in question, Hodijah occurs Neh 10:14, and Pethahiah Ezr 10:23, as names of Levites, but כּנני and חשׁבניה nowhere else. Hence Bunni, Bani, and Chenani (Neh 9:4), and Hashabniah (Neh 9:5), may be assigned to a clerical error; but we have no means for restoring the correct names. With regard to the matter of these verses, Ramb. remarks on Neh 9:4 : constitisse opinor omnes simul, ita tamen ut unus tantum eodem tempore fuerit precatus, ceteris ipsi adstantibus atque sua etiam vice Deum orantibus, hence that the eight Levites prayed to God successively; while Bertheau thinks that these Levites entreated God, in penitential and supplicatory psalms, to have mercy on His sinful but penitent people. In this case we must also regard their address to the congregation in Neh 9:5 as a liturgical hymn, to which the congregation responded by praising God in chorus. To this view may be objected the circumstance, that no allusion is made in the narrative to the singing of penitential or other songs. Besides, a confession of sins follows in vv. 6-37, which may fitly be called a crying unto God, without its being stated by whom it was uttered. “This section,” says Bertheau, “whether we regard its form or contents, cannot have been sung either by the Levites or the congregation. We recognise in it the speech of an individual, and hence accept the view that the statement of the lxx, that after the singing of the Levites, Neh 9:4, and the praising of God in Neh 9:5, Ezra came forward and spoke the words following, is correct, and that the words καὶ εἶπεν Ἔσδρας, which it inserts before Neh 9:6, originally stood in the Hebrew text.” But if Psalms, such as Ps 105-106, and 107, were evidently appointed to be sung to the praise of God by the Levites or by the congregation, there can be no reason why the prayer vv. 6-37 should not be adapted both in form and matter for this purpose. This prayer by no means bears the impress of being the address of an individual, but is throughout the confession of the whole congregation. The prayer speaks of our fathers (Neh 9:9, Neh 9:16), of what is come upon us (Neh 9:33), addresses Jahve as our God, and says we have sinned. Of course Ezra might have uttered it in the name of the congregation; but that the addition of the lxx, καὶ εἶπεν Ἔσδρας, is of no critical value, and is a mere conjecture of the translators, is evident from the circumstance that the prayer does not begin with the words יהוה הוּא אתּה of v. 6, but passes into the form of direct address to God in the last clause of v. 5: Blessed be the name of Thy glory. By these words the prayer which follows is evidently declared to be the confession of those who are to praise the glory of the Lord; and the addition, “and Ezra said,” characterized as an unskilful interpolation.

According to what has now been said, the summons, יהוה את בּרכוּ קוּמוּ, Neh 9:5, like the introductions to may Hodu and Hallelujah Psalms (e.g., Psa 105:1; Psa 106:1), is to be regarded as only an exhortation to the congregation to praise God, i.e., to join in the praises following, and to unite heartily in the confession of sin. This view of the connection of Neh 9:5 and Neh 9:6 explains the reason why it is not stated either in Neh 9:6, or at the close of this prayer in Neh 9:37, that the assembled congregation blessed God agreeably to the summons thus addressed to them. They did so by silently and heartily praying to, and praising God with the Levites, who were reciting aloud the confession of sin. On ויברכוּ R. Sal. already remarks: nunc incipiunt loqui Levitae versus Shechinam s. ad ipsum Deum. The invitation to praise God insensibly passes into the action of praising. If, moreover, vv. 6-37 are related in the manner above stated to Neh 9:5, then it is not probable that the crying to God with a loud voice (Neh 9:4) was anything else than the utterance of the prayer subsequently given, vv. 6-37. The repetition of the names in Neh 9:5 is not enough to confirm this view, but must be explained by the breadth of the representation here given, and is rescued from the charge of mere tautology by the fact that in Neh 9:4 the office of the individuals in question is not named, which it is by the word הלויּם in Neh 9:5. For הלויּם in Neh 9:4 belongs as genitive to מעלה, and both priests and laymen might have stood on the platform of the Levites. For this reason it is subsequently stated in Neh 9:5, that Jeshua, etc., were Levites; and in doing this the names are again enumerated. In the exhortation, Stand up and bless, etc., Bertheau seeks to separate “for ever and ever” from the imp. בּרכוּ, and to take it as a further qualification of אלהיכם. This is, however, unnatural and arbitrary; comp. 1Ch 16:26. Still more arbitrary is it to supply “One day all people” to ויברכוּ, “shall bless Thy name,” etc. וגו וּמרומם adds a second predicate to שׁם: and which is exalted above all blessing and praise, i.e., sublimius est quam ut pro dignitate laudari possit (R. Sal.).

In Neh 9:6 this praising of God begins with the acknowledgment that Jahve, the Creator of heaven and earth, chose Abram and made a covenant with him to give the land of Canaan to his seed, and had performed this word (Neh 9:6-8). These verses form the theme of that blessing the name of His glory, to which the Levites exhorted. This theme is then elucidated by facts from Israel’s history, in four strophes. a. When God saw the affliction of His people in Egypt, He delivered them by great signs and wonders from the power of Pharaoh, gave them laws and judgments on Sinai, miraculously provided them with food and water in the wilderness, and commanded them to take possession of the promised land (Neh 9:9-15). b. Although their fathers rebelled against Him, even in the wilderness, God did not withdraw His mercy from them, but sustained them forty years, so that they lacked nothing; and subdued kings before them, so that they were able to conquer and possess the land (Neh 9:16-25). c. After they were settled in the land they rebelled again, and God delivered them into the hand of their oppressors; but as often as they cried unto Him, He helped them again, till at length, because of their continued opposition, He gave them into the power of the people of the lands, yet of His great mercy did not wholly cast them off (Neh 9:26-31). d. May He now too look upon the affliction of His people, as the God that keepeth covenant and mercy, although they have deserved by their sins the troubles they are suffering (Neh 9:32-37).  “Thou art Jahve alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, and all their host, the earth and all that is thereon, the sea and all therein; and Thou givest life to them all, and the host of heaven worshippeth Thee. Neh 9:7 Thou art Jahve, the God who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham: Neh 9:8 And foundest his heart faithful before Thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give to his seed, and hast performed Thy word; for Thou art righteous.” Jahve alone is God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all creatures in heaven and on earth. In order duly to exalt the almightiness of God, the notion of heaven is enhanced by the addition “heaven of heavens,” as in Deu 10:14; 1Ki 8:27; and that of earth by the addition ”the sea and all therein;” comp. Psa 146:6. כּל־צבאם, Gen 2:1, here refers only to heaven. מחיּה, to cause to live = to give and preserve life. כּלּם relates to all creatures in heaven and earth. The host of heaven who worshipped God are the angels, as in Psa 148:2; Psa 103:21. This only God chose Abram; comp. Gen 12:1 with Gen 11:31 and Gen 15:7; Gen 17:5, where God bestowed upon the patriarch Abram the name of Abraham. The words, “Thou foundest his heart faithful,” refer to בּיהוה האמין there mentioned. The making of a covenant alludes to Gen 17:5.; the enumeration of six Canaanitish nations to Deu 7:1; Exo 3:8; comp. with Gen 15:20. This His word God performed (fulfilled), for He is righteous. God is called צדּיק, inasmuch as with Him word and deed correspond with each other; comp. Deu 32:4.

The fulfilment of this word by the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and their guidance through the wilderness to Canaan.

Neh 9:9-11 “And Thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea: Neh 9:10 And showedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh and all his servants, and on all the people of his land, because Thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them, and madest Thyself a name, as this day. Neh 9:11 And Thou dividedst the sea before them, and they went through the midst of the sea on dry land; and their persecutors Thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.” In Neh 9:9 are comprised two subjects, which are carried out in Neh 9:10, Neh 9:11 : (1) the affliction of the Israelites in Egypt, which God saw (comp. Exo 3:7), and out of which He delivered them by the signs and wonders He showed upon Pharaoh (Neh 9:10); (2) the crying for help at the Red Sea, when the Israelites perceived Pharaoh with his horsemen and chariots in pursuit (Exo 14:10), and the help which God gave them by dividing the sea, etc. (Neh 9:11). The words in Neh 9:10 are supported by Deu 6:22, on the ground of the historical narrative, Ex 7-10. The expression עליהם הזידוּ כּי is formed according to עליהם זדוּ אשׁר, Exo 18:11. על הזיד occurs Exo 21:14 in a general sense. On וגו שׁם לך ותּעשׂ comp. Jer 32:20; Isa 58:12, Isa 58:14; 1Ch 17:22. A name as this day - in that the miracles which God then did are still praised, and He continues still to manifest His almighty power. The words of Neh 9:11 are supported by Exo 14:21-22, Exo 14:28, and Exo 15:19. אבן כּמו בּמצולות are from Exo 15:5; עזּים בּמים from Ex 15 and Isa 43:16.

Neh 9:12-15 “And Thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar, and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. Neh 9:13 And Thou camest down upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments: Neh 9:14 And madest known unto them Thy holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses Thy servant. Neh 9:15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst; and Thou commandedst them to go in and possess the land, which Thou hadst lifted up Thine hand to give them.” Three particulars in the miraculous leading of Israel through the wilderness are brought forward: a. Their being guided in the way by miraculous tokens of the divine presence, in the pillar of fire and cloud, Neh 9:12; comp. Exo 13:21; Num 14:14. b. The revelation of God on Sinai, and the giving of the law, Neh 9:13, Neh 9:14. The descent of God on Sinai and the voice from heaven agree with Exo 19:18, Exo 19:20, and Exo 20:1., compared with Deu 4:36. On the various designations of the law, comp. Psa 19:9; Psa 119:43, Psa 119:39, Psa 119:142. Of the commandments, that concerning the Sabbath is specially mentioned, and spoken of as a benefit bestowed by God upon the Israelites, as a proclamation of His holy Sabbath, inasmuch as the Israelites were on the Sabbath to share in the rest of God; see rem. on Exo 20:9-11. c. The provision of manna, and of water from the rock, for their support during their journey through the wilderness on the way to Canaan; Exo 16:4, Exo 16:10., Exo 17:6; Num 20:8; comp. Psa 78:24, Psa 78:15; Psa 105:40. לרשׁת לבוא like Deu 9:1, Deu 9:5; Deu 11:31, and elsewhere. את־ידך נשׂאת is to be understood according to Num 14:30.

Even the fathers to whom God had shown such favour, repeatedly departed from and rebelled against Him; but God of His great mercy did not forsake them, but brought them into possession of the promised land.

Neh 9:16-17 “And they, even our fathers, dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to Thy commandments. Neh 9:17 They refused to obey, and were not mindful of Thy wonders that Thou didst amongst them; and hardened their necks, and appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.” In these verses the conduct of the children of Israel towards God is contrasted with His kindness towards this stiff-necked people, the historical confirmation following in Neh 9:18. והם is emphatic, and prefixed to contrast the conduct of the Israelites with the benefits bestowed on them. The contrast is enhanced by the ו explicative before אבתינוּ, even our fathers (which J. D. Michaelis would expunge, from a misconception of its meaning, but which Bertheau with good reason defends). Words are accumulated to describe the stiff-necked resistance of the people. הזידוּ as above, Neh 9:10. “They hardened their necks” refers to Exo 32:9; Exo 33:3; Exo 34:9, and therefore already alludes to the worship of the golden calf at Sinai, mentioned Neh 9:18; while in Neh 9:17, the second great rebellion of the people at Kadesh, on the borders of the promised land, Num 14, is contemplated. The repetition of the expression, “they hardened their hearts,” shows that a second grievous transgression is already spoken of in Neh 9:17. This is made even clearer by the next clause, וגו ראשׁ ויּתּנוּ, which is taken almost verbally from Num 14:4 : “They said one to another, Let us make a captain (ראשׁ נתּנה), and return to Egypt;” the notion being merely enhanced here by the addition לעבדתם, to their bondage. The comparison with Num 14:4 also shows that בּמרים is a clerical error for בּמצרים, as the lxx read; for בּמרים, in their stubbornness, after לעבדתם, gives no appropriate sense. In spite, however, of their stiff-neckedness, God of His mercy and goodness did not forsake them. סליחות אלוהּ, a God of pardons; comp. Dan 9:9; Psa 130:4. וגו ורחוּם חנּוּן is a reminiscence of Exo 34:6. The ו before חסד came into the text by a clerical error.

Neh 9:18-21 “Yea, they even made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy god that brought thee up out of Egypt, and wrought great provocations. Neh 9:19 Yet Thou, in Thy manifold mercies, didst not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day to lead them, and the pillar of fire by night to show them light in the way wherein they should go. Neh 9:20 Thou gavest also Thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not Thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst: Neh 9:21 And forty years didst Thou sustain them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.” כּי אף, also (even this) = yea even. On the worship of the golden calf, see Exo 24:4. The words ”they did (wrought) great provocations” involve a condemnation of the worship of the molten calf; nevertheless God did not withdraw His gracious presence, but continued to lead them by the pillar of cloud and fire. The passage Num 14:14, according to which the pillar of cloud and fire guided the march of the people through the wilderness after the departure from Sinai, i.e., after their transgression in the matter of the calf, is here alluded to. הענן עמּוּד is rhetorically enhanced by את: and with respect to the cloudy pillar, it departed not; so, too, in the second clause, האשׁ את־עמּוּד; comp. Ewald, §277, d. The words, Neh 9:20, “Thou gavest Thy good Spirit,” etc., refer to the occurrence, Num 11:17, Num 11:25, where God endowed the seventy elders with the spirit of prophecy for the confirmation of Moses’ authority. The definition “good Spirit” recalls Psa 143:10. The sending of manna is first mentioned Num 11:6-9, comp. Jos 5:12; the giving of water, Num 20:2-8. - In Neh 9:21, all that the Lord did for Israel is summed up in the assertion of Deu 2:7; Deu 8:4, חסרוּ לא; see the explanation of these passages.

Neh 9:22-25

The Lord also fulfilled His promise of giving the land of Canaan to the Israelites notwithstanding their rebelliousness. Neh 9:22 “And Thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them by boundaries; and they took possession of the land of Sihon, both the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Neh 9:23 And Thou didst multiply their children as the stars of heaven, and bring them into the land which Thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess. Neh 9:24 And the children went in and possessed the land, and Thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, both their kings and the people of the land, to do with them according to their pleasure. Neh 9:25 And they took fortified cities, and a fat land, and took possession of houses filled with all kinds of goods, wells digged, vineyards and olive gardens, and fruit trees in abundance; and they ate and became fat, and delighted themselves in Thy great goodness.” לפאה ותּחלקם is variously explained. Aben Ezra and others refer the suffix to the Canaanites, whom God scattered in multos angulos or varias mundi partes. Others refer it to the Israelites. According to this view, Ramb. says: fecisti eos per omnes terrae Cananaeae angulos habitare; and Gusset.: distribuisti eis terram usque ad angulum h. l. nulla vel minima regionum particula excepta. But חלק, Piel, generally means the dividing of things; and when used of persons, as in Gen 49:7; Lam 4:16, to divide, to scatter, sensu malo, which is here inapplicable to the Israelites. חלק signifies to divide, especially by lot, and is used chiefly concerning the partition of the land of Canaan, in Kal, Jos 14:5; Jos 18:2, and in Piel, Jos 13:7; Jos 18:10; Jos 19:51. The word פּאה also frequently occurs in Joshua, in the sense of a corner or side lying towards a certain quarter of the heavens, and of a boundary; comp. Jos 15:5; Jos 18:12, Jos 18:14-15, Jos 18:20. According to this, Bertheau rightly takes the words to say: Thou didst divide them (the kingdoms and nations, i.e., the land of these nations) according to sides or boundaries, i.e., according to certain definite limits. Sihon is the king of Heshbon (Deu 1:4), and the ו before ח את־ארץ מ is not to be expunged as a gloss, but regarded as explicative: and, indeed, both the land of the king of Heshbon and the land of Og. The conquest of these two kingdoms is named first, because it preceded the possession of Canaan (Num 21:21-35). The increase of the children of the Israelites is next mentioned, Neh 9:23; the fathers having fallen in the wilderness, and only their children coming into the land of Canaan. The numbering of the people in the plains of Moab (Num 26) is here alluded to, when the new generation was found to be twice as numerous as that which marched out of Egypt; while the words לרשׁת לבוא, here and in Neh 9:15, are similar to Deu 1:10. The taking possession of Canaan is spoken of in Neh 9:24. ותּכנע recalls Deu 9:3. כּרצונם, according to their pleasure, comp. Dan 8:4. Fortified cities, as Jericho and Ai.

But even in that good land the fathers were disobedient: they rejected the commands of God, slew the prophets who admonished them, and were not brought back to the obedience of God even by the chastisement inflicted on them, till at length God delivered them into the hands of Gentile kings, though after His great mercy He did not utterly forsake them. - Neh 9:26 “And they were disobedient, and rebelled against Thee, and cast Thy law behind their backs, and slew Thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to Thee, and they wrought great provocations. Neh 9:27 And Thou deliveredst them into the hand of their oppressors, so that they oppressed them; and in the time of their oppression they cried unto Thee. Then Thou heardest them from heaven, and according to Thy manifold mercies Thou gavest them deliverers, who delivered them out of the hand of their oppressors. Neh 9:28 And when they had rest, they again did evil before Thee. Then Thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; and they cried again unto Thee, and Thou heardest from heaven, and didst deliver them according to Thy great mercy, many times.”

Neh 9:26

Neh 9:26 again contains, like Neh 9:16, a general condemnation of the conduct of the children of Israel towards the Lord their God during the period between their entrance into Canaan and the captivity, which is then justified by the facts adduced in the verses following. In proof of their disobedience, it is mentioned that they cast the commands of God behind their back (comp. 1Ki 14:19; Eze 23:35), and slew the prophets, e.g., Zechariah (2Ch 24:21), the prophets of the days of Jezebel (1Ki 18:13; 1Ki 19:10), and others who rebuked their sins to turn them from them. בּ העיד, to testify against sinners, comp. 2Ki 17:13, 2Ki 17:15. The last clause of Neh 9:26 is a kind of refrain, repeated from Neh 9:18.

Neh 9:27-28

Neh 9:27 and Neh 9:28 refer to the times of the judges; comp. Jdg 2:11-23. מושׁיעים are the judges whom God raised up to deliver Israel out of the power of their oppressors; comp. Jdg 3:9. with Neh 2:16. עתּים רבּות, multitudes of times, is a co-ordinate accusative: at many times, frequently; רבּות like Lev 25:51.

Neh 9:29-30 “And testifiedst against them, to bring them back again to Thy law; yet they hearkened not to Thy commandments, and sinned against Thy judgments, which if a man do he shall live in them, and gave a resisting shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Neh 9:30 And Thou didst bear with them many years, and didst testify against them by Thy Spirit through Thy prophets; but they would not hearken, therefore Thou gavest them into the hand of the people of the lands. Neh 9:31 Nevertheless in Thy great mercy Thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for Thou art gracious and merciful.”

Neh 9:29 and Neh 9:30 treat of the times of the kings. בּהם ותּעד is the testimony of the prophets against the idolatrous people; comp. Neh 9:26. וּבמשׁפּטיך is emphatically prefixed, and taken up again by בּם. The sentence, which if a man do he shall live in them, is formed upon Lev 18:5, comp. Eze 20:11. On the figurative expression, they gave a resisting shoulder, comp. Zec 7:11. The simile is taken from the ox, who rears against the yoke, and desires not to bear it; comp. Hos 4:16. The sentences following are repeated from Neh 9:16. עליהם תּמשׁך is an abbreviated expression for חסד משׁך, Psa 36:11; Psa 109:12; Jer 31:3, to draw out, to extend for a long time favour to any one: Thou hadst patience with them for many years, viz., the whole period of kingly rule from Solomon to the times of the Assyrians. The delivering into the power of the people of the lands, i.e., of the heathen (comp. Psa 106:40.), began with the invasion of the Assyrians (comp. Neh 9:32), who destroyed the kingdom of the ten tribes, and was inflicted upon Judah also by means of the Chaldeans.

Neh 9:31

But in the midst of these judgments also, God, according to His promise, Jer 4:27; Jer 5:10, Jer 5:18; Jer 30:11, and elsewhere, did not utterly forsake His people, nor make a full end of them; for He did not suffer them to become extinct in exile, but preserved a remnant, and delivered it from captivity.

Neh 9:32

May then, God, who keepeth covenant and mercy, now also look upon the affliction of His people, though kings, rulers, priests, and people have fully deserved this punishment; for they are now bondmen, and in great affliction, in the land of their fathers. Neh 9:32 “And now, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble that hath come upon us, on our kings, our princes our priests, our prophets, and our fathers, and on all Thy people, since the times of the kings of Assyria unto this day, seem little to Thee. Neh 9:33 Thou art just in all that is come upon us; for Thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. Neh 9:34 And our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Thy law, nor hearkened to Thy commandments and Thy testimonies, wherewith Thou didst testify against them. Neh 9:35 And they have not served Thee in their kingdom, and in Thy great goodness that Thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which Thou gavest up to them, and have not turned from their wicked works. Neh 9:36 Behold, we are now bondmen; and the land that Thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof, behold, we are bondmen in it. Neh 9:37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom Thou hast set over us because of our sins; and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.” The invocation of God, Neh 9:32, like that in Neh 1:5, is similar to Deu 10:17. לפניך ימעט אל stands independently, the following clause being emphasized by את, like e.g., Neh 9:19 : Let not what concerns all our trouble be little before Thee; comp. the similar construction with מעט in Jos 22:17. What seems little is easily disregarded. The prayer is a litotes; and the sense is, Let our affliction be regarded by Thee as great and heavy. The nouns למלכינוּ, etc., are in apposition to the suffix of מצאתנוּ, the object being continued by ל.

Neh 9:33-34

Thou art just: comp. Neh 9:8, Deu 32:4; Ezr 9:15. כּל על, upon all, i.e., concerning all that has befallen us; because their sins deserved punishment, and God is only fulfilling His word upon the sinners. In Neh 9:34, את again serves to emphasize the subject. In the enumeration of the different classes of the people, the prophets are here omitted, because, as God’s witnesses, they are not reckoned among these who had transgressed, though involved (Neh 9:32) in the sufferings that have fallen on the nation.

Neh 9:35 (10:1) הם are the fathers who were not brought to repentance by God’s goodness. בּמלכוּתם, in their independent kingdom. הרב טוּבך, Thy much good, i.e., the fulness of Thy goodness, or “in the midst of Thy great blessing” (Bertheau). The predicate הרחבה, the wide, extensive country, is derived from Exo 3:8. In Neh 9:36., the prayer that God would not lightly regard the trouble of His people, is supported by a statement of the need and affliction in which they still are. They are bondmen in the land which God gave to their fathers as a free people, bondmen of the Persian monarchs; and the increase of the land which God appointed for His people belongs to the kings who rule over them. The rulers of the land dispose of their bodies and their cattle, by carrying off both men and cattle for their use, e.g., for military service. כּרצונם like Neh 9:24.

The Repentance of the People. (b. c. 444.)

1 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. 2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God.

We have here a general account of a public fast which the children of Israel kept, probably by order from Nehemiah, by and with the advice and consent of the chief of the fathers. It was a fast that men appointed, but such a fast as God had chosen; for, 1. It was a day to afflict the soul, Isa. lviii. 5. Probably they assembled in the courts of the temple, and they there appeared in sackcloth and in the posture of mourners, with earth on their heads, v. 1. By these outward expressions of sorrow and humiliation they gave glory to God, took shame to themselves, and stirred up one another to repentance. They were restrained from weeping, ch. viii. 9, but now they were directed to weep. The joy of our holy feasts must give way to the sorrow of our solemn fasts when they come. Every thing is beautiful in its season. 2. It was a day to loose the bands of wickedness, and that is the fast that God has chosen, Isa. lviii. 6. Without this, spreading sackcloth and ashes under us is but a jest. The seed of Israel, because they were a holy seed, appropriated to God and more excellent than their neighbours, separated themselves from all strangers with whom they had mingled and joined in affinity, v. 2. Ezra had separated them from their strange wives some years before, but they had relapsed into the same sin, and had either made marriages or at least made friendships with them, and contracted such an intimacy as was a snare to them. But now they separated themselves from the strange children as well as from the strange wives. Those that intend by prayers and covenants to join themselves to God must separate themselves from sin and sinners; for what communion hath light with darkness? 3. It was a day of communion with God. They fasted to him, even to him (Zech. vii. 5); for, (1.) They spoke to him in prayer, offered their pious and devout affections to him in the confession of sin and the adoration of him as the Lord and their God. Fasting without prayer is a body without a soul, a worthless carcase. (2.) They heard him speaking to them by his word; for they read in the book of the law, which is very proper on fasting days, that, in the glass of the law, we may see our deformities and defilements, and know what to acknowledge and what to amend. The word will direct and quicken prayer, for by it the Spirit helps our praying infirmities. Observe how the time was equally divided between these two. Three hours (for that is the fourth part of a day) they spent in reading, expounding, and applying the scriptures, and three hours in confessing sin and praying; so that they staid together six hours, and spent all the time in the solemn acts of religion, without saying, Behold, what a weariness is it! The varying of the exercises made it the less tedious, and, as the word they read would furnish them with matter for prayer, so prayer would make the word the more profitable. Bishop Patrick thinks that they spent the whole twelve hours of the day in devotion, that from six o'clock in the morning till nine they read, and then from nine to twelve they prayed, from twelve to three they read again, and from three till six at night they prayed again. The word of a fast day is good work, and therefore we should endeavour to make a day's work, a good day's work, of it.

The Prayer of the Levites. (b. c. 444.)

4 Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the Lord their God. 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. 7 Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; 8 And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous: 9 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; 10 And showedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. 11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. 12 Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. 13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: 14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: 15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. 16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, 17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. 18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; 19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go. 20 Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. 21 Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. 22 Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. 24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. 25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. 26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. 27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. 28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; 29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. 30 Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. 31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. 32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. 33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: 34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. 35 For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. 36 Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: 37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. 38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.

We have here an account how the work of this fast-day was carried on. 1. The names of the ministers that were employed. They are twice named (v. 4, 5), only with some variation of the names. Either they prayed successively, according to that rule which the apostle gives (1 Cor. xiv. 31, You may all prophesy one by one), or, as some think, there were eight several congregations at some distance from each other, and each had a Levite to preside in it. 2. The work itself in which they employed themselves. (1.) They prayed to God, cried to him with a loud voice (v. 4), for the pardon of the sins of Israel and God's favour to them. They cried aloud, not that God might the better hear them, as Baal's worshippers, but that the people might, and to excite their fervency. (2.) They praised God; for the work of praise is not unseasonable on a fast-day; in all acts of devotion we must aim at this, to give unto God the glory due to his name. The summary of their prayers we have here upon record; whether drawn up before, as a directory to the Levites what to enlarge on, or recollected after, as the heads of what they had in prayer enlarged upon, is uncertain. Much more no doubt was said than is here recorded, else confessing and worshipping God would not have taken up a fourth part of the day, much less two-fourths.

In this solemn address to God we have,

I. An awful adoration of God, as a perfect and glorious Being, and the fountain of all beings, v. 5, 6. The congregation is called upon to signify their concurrence herewith by standing up; and so the minister directs himself to God, Blessed be thy glorious name. God is here adored, 1. As the only living and true God: Thou art Jehovah alone, self-existent and independent; there is no God besides thee. 2. As the Creator of all things: Thou hast made heaven, earth, and seas, and all that is in them. The first article of our creed is fitly made the first article of our praises. 3. As the great Protector of the whole creation: "Thou preservest in being all the creatures thou hast given being to." God's providence extends itself to the highest beings, for they need it, and to the meanest, for they are not slighted by it. What God has made he will preserve; what he does is done effectually, Eccl. iii. 14. 4. As the object of the creatures' praises: "The host of heaven, the world of holy angels, worshippeth thee, v. 6. But thy name is exalted above all blessing and praise; it needs not the praises of the creatures, nor is any addition made to its glory by those praises." The best performances in the praising of God's name, even those of the angels themselves, fall infinitely short of what it deserves. It is not only exalted above our blessing, but above all blessing. Put all the praises of heaven and earth together, and the thousandth part is not said of what might and should be said of the glory of God. Our goodness extendeth not to him.

II. A thankful acknowledgment of God's favours to Israel.

1. Many of these are here reckoned up in order before him, and very much to the purpose, for, (1.) We must take all occasions to mention the loving kindness of the Lord, and in every prayer give thanks. (2.) When we are confessing our sins it is good to take notice of the mercies of God as the aggravations of our sins, that we may be the more humbled and ashamed, and call ourselves by the scandalous name of ungrateful. (3.) When we are seeking to God for mercy and relief in the time of distress it is an encouragement to our faith and hope to look back upon our own and our fathers' experiences: "Lord, thou hast done well for us formerly; shall it be all undone again? Art not thou the same God still?"

2. Let us briefly observe the particular instances of God's goodness to Israel here recounted. (1.) The call of Abraham, v. 7. God's favour to him was distinguishing: "Thou didst choose him." His grace in him was powerful to bring him out of Ur of the Chaldees, and, in giving him the name of Abraham, he put honour upon him as his own and assured him that he should be the father of many nations. Look unto Abraham your father (Isa. li. 2) and see free grace glorified in him. (2.) The covenant God made with him to give the land of Canaan to him and his seed, a type of the better country, v. 8. And this covenant was sure, for God found Abraham's heart faithful before God, and found it so because he made it so (for faith is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God), and therefore performed his words; for with the upright he will show himself upright, and wherever he finds a faithful heart he will be found a faithful God. (3.) The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, v. 9-11. It was seasonable to remember this now that they were interceding for the perfecting of their deliverance out of Babylon. They were then delivered, in compassion to their affliction, in answer to their cry, and in resistance of the pride and insolence of their persecutors. Wherein they dealt proudly, God showed himself above them (Exod. xviii. 11), and so got himself a name; for he said, I will get me honour upon Pharaoh. Even to this day the name of God is glorified for that wonderful work. It was done miraculously: signs and wonders were shown for the effecting of it; their deliverance was the destruction of their enemies; they were thrown into the deeps, as irrecoverably as a stone into the mighty waters. (4.) The conducting of them through the wilderness, by the pillar of cloud and fire, which showed them which way they should go, when they should remove, and when and where they should rest, directed all their stages and all their steps, v. 12. It was also a visible token of God's presence with them, to guide and guard them. They mention this again (v. 19), observing that though they had by their sins provoked God to withdraw from them, and leave them to wander and perish in the by-paths of the wilderness, yet in his manifold mercy he continued to lead them, and took not away the pillar of cloud and fire, v. 19. When mercies, though forfeited, are continued, we are bound to be doubly thankful. (5.) The plentiful provision made for them in the wilderness, that they might not perish for hunger: Thou gavest them bread from heaven, and water out of the rock (v. 15), and, to hold up their hearts, a promise that they should go in and possess the land of Canaan. They had meat and drink, food convenient in the way, and the good land at their journey's end; what would they more? This also is repeated (v. 20, 21) as that which was continued, notwithstanding their provocations: Forty years didst thou sustain them. Never was people so long nursed and so tenderly; they were wonderfully provided for, and, in so long a time, their clothes waxed not old, and, though the way was rough and tedious, their feet swelled not; for they were carried as upon eagles' wings. (6.) The giving of the law upon Mount Sinai. This was the greatest favour of all that was done them and the greatest honour that was put upon them. The Lawgiver was very glorious, v. 13. "Thou didst not only send, but camest down thyself, and didst speak with them," Deut. iv. 33. The law given was very good. No nation under the sun had such right judgments, true laws, and good statutes, Deut. iv. 8. The moral and judicial precepts were true and right, founded upon natural equity and the eternal reasons of good and evil; and even the ceremonial institutions were good, tokens of God's goodness to them and types of gospel grace. Particular notice is taken of the law of the fourth commandment as a great favour to them: Thou madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, which was a token of God's particular favour to them, distinguishing them from the nations who had revolted from God and quite lost that ancient part of revealed religion, and was likewise a means of keeping up their communion with him. And, with the law and the sabbath, he gave his good Spirit to instruct them, v. 20. Besides the law given on Mount Sinai, the five books of Moses, which he wrote as he was moved by the Holy Ghost, were constant instructions to them, particularly the book of Deuteronomy, in which God's Spirit by Moses instructed them fully. Bezaleel was filled with the Spirit of God (Exod. xxxi. 3), so was Joshua (Num. xxvii. 18), and Caleb had another spirit. (7.) The putting of them in possession of Canaan, that good land, kingdoms and nations, v. 22. They were made so numerous as to replenish it (v. 23) and so victorious as to be masters of it (v. 24); the natives were given into their hands, that they might do with them as they would, set their feet, if they pleased, on the necks of their kings. Thus they gained a happy settlement, v. 25. Look upon their cities, and you see them strong and well fortified. Look into their houses, and you find them fine and well furnished, filled with all sorts of rich goods. Take a view of the country, and you will say that you never saw such a fat land, so well stored with vineyards and oliveyards. All these they found made ready to their hands; so they delighted themselves in the gifts of God's great goodness. They could not wish to be more easy or happy than they were, or might have been, in Canaan, had it not been their own fault. (8.) God's great readiness to pardon their sins, and work deliverance for them, when they had by their provocations brought his judgments upon themselves. When they were in the wilderness they found him a God ready to pardon (v. 17), a God of pardons (so the margin reads it), who had proclaimed his name as a God forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, who has power to forgive sin, is willing to forgive, and glories in forgiving. Though they forsook him, he did not forsake them, as justly he might have done, but continued his care of them and favour to them. Afterwards, when they were settled in Canaan and sold themselves by their sins into the hands of their enemies, upon their submission and humble request he gave them saviours (v. 27), the judges, by whom God wrought many a great deliverance for them when they were on the brink of ruin. This he did, not for any merit of theirs, for their deserved nothing but ill, but according to his mercies, his manifold mercies. (9.) The admonitions and fair warnings he gave them by his servants the prophets. When he delivered them from their troubles he testified against their sins (v. 28, 29), that they might not misconstrue their deliverances as connivances at their wickedness. That which was designed in all the testimonies which the prophets bore against them was to bring them again to God's law, to lay their necks under its yoke, and walk by its rule. The end of our ministry is to bring people to God by bringing them to his law, not to bring them to ourselves by bringing them under any law of ours. This we have again (v. 30): Thou testifiedst against them by thy Spirit in thy prophets. The testimony of the prophets was the testimony of the Spirit in the prophets, and it was the Spirit of Christ in them, 1 Pet. i. 10, 11. They spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and what they said is to be received accordingly. God gave them his Spirit to instruct them (v. 20), but, they not receiving that instruction, he did by his Spirit testify against them. If we will not suffer God's word to teach and rule us, it will accuse and judge us. God sends prophets, in compassion to his people (2 Chron. xxxvi. 15), that he may not send judgments. (10.) The lengthening out of his patience and the moderating of his rebukes: Many years did he forbear them (v. 30), as loth to punish them, and waiting to see if they would repent; and, when he did punish them, he did not utterly consume them nor forsake them, v. 31. Had he forsaken them they would have been utterly consumed; but he did not stir up all his wrath, for he designed their reformation, not their destruction. Thus do they multiply, thus do they magnify, the instances of God's goodness to Israel, and we should do in like manner, that the goodness of God, duly considered by us, may lead us to repentance, and overcome our badness. The more thankful we are for God's mercies the more humbled we shall be for our own sins.

III. Here is a penitent confession of sin, their own sins, and the sins of their fathers. The mention of these is interwoven with the memorials of God's favours, that God's goodness, notwithstanding their provocations, might appear the more illustrious, and their sins, notwithstanding his favours, might appear the more heinous. Many passages in this acknowledgment of sins and mercies are taken from Ezek. xx. 5-26, as will appear by comparing those verses with these; for the word of God is of use to direct us in prayer, and by what he says to us we may learn what to say to him.

1. They begin with the sins of Israel in the wilderness: They, even our fathers (so it might better be read), dealt proudly (though, considering what they were, and how lately they had come out of slavery, they had no reason to be proud), and hardened their necks, v. 16. Pride is at the bottom of men's obstinacy and disobedience; they think it below them to bow their necks to God's yoke, and a piece of state to set up their own will in opposition to the will of God himself. (1.) There were two things which they did not duly give heed to, else they would not have done as they did:—The word of God they heard, but they did not hearken to God's commandments; and the works of God they saw, but they were not mindful of his wonders: had they duly considered them as miracles, they would have obeyed from a principle of faith and holy fear; had they duly considered them as mercies, they would have obeyed from a principle of gratitude and holy love. But, when men make no right use either of God's ordinances or of his providences, what can be expected from them? (2.) Two great sins are here specified; which they were guilty of in the wilderness—meditating a return, [1.] To Egyptian slavery, which, for the sake of the garlick and onions, they preferred before the glorious liberty of the Israel of God attended with some difficulty and inconvenience. In their rebellion they appointed a captain to return to their bondage, in distrust of God's power and contempt of his holy promise, v. 17. [2.] To Egyptian idolatry: They made a molten calf, and were so sottish as to say, This is thy God.

2. They next bewail the provocations of their fathers after they were put in possession of Canaan. Though they were delighted themselves in God's great goodness, yet that would not prevail to keep them closely to him; for, nevertheless, they were disobedient (v. 26) and wrought great provocations. For, (1.) They abused God's prophets, slew them because they testified against them to turn them to God (v. 26), so returning the greatest injury for the greatest kindness. (2.) They abused his favours: After they had rest, they did evil again, v. 28. They were not wrought upon either by their troubles or their deliverances out of trouble. Neither fear nor love would hold them to their duty.

3. They at length come nearer to their own day, and lament the sins which had brought those judgments upon them which they had long been groaning under and were now but in part delivered from: We have done wickedly (v. 33): our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers, have all been guilty, and we in them, v. 34. Two things they charge upon themselves and their fathers, as the cause of their troubles:—(1.) A contempt of the good law God had given them: They sinned against thy judgments, the dictates of divine wisdom, and the demands of divine sovereignty. Though they were told how much it would be for their own advantage to govern themselves by them, for, if a man do them, he shall live in them (v. 29), yet they would not do them, and so, in effect, said that they would not live. They forsook their own mercies. This abridgment of the covenant, Do this and live, is taken from Ezek. xx. 13, and is quoted, Gal. iii. 12, to prove that the law is not of faith; it was not them as it is now, Believe and live, yet they gave a withdrawing shoulder, so it is in the margin. They pretended to lay their shoulders under the burden of God's law, and put their shoulders to the work, but they proved withdrawing shoulders; they soon flew off, would not keep to it, would not abide by it. When it came, as we say, to the setting to, they shrunk back, and would not hear. They had a backsliding heart; and, though God by his prophets called them to return, they would not give ear, v. 30. He stretched out his hands, but no man regarded. (2.) A contempt of the good land God had given them (v. 35): "Our kings have not served thee in their kingdom, have not used their power for the support of religion; our people have not served thee in the use of the gifts of thy great goodness, and in that large and fat land which thou not only gavest them by thy grant, but gavest before them by the expulsion of the natives and the complete victories they obtained over them." Those that would not serve God in their own land were made to serve their enemies in a strange land, as was threatened, Deut. xxviii. 47, 48. It is a pity that a good land should have bad inhabitants, but so it was with Sodom. Fatness and fulness often make men proud and sensual.

IV. Here is a humble representation of the judgments of God, which they had been and were now under.

1. Former judgments are remembered as aggravations of their sins, that they had not taken warning. In the days of the judges their enemies vexed them (v. 27); and, when they did evil again, God did again leave them in the hand of their enemies, who could not have touched them if God had not given them up; but, when God left them, they got and kept dominion over them.

2. Their present calamitous state is laid before the Lord (v. 36, 37): We are servants this day. Free-born Israelites are enslaved, and the land which they had long held by a much more honourable tenure than grand sergeantry itself, even by immediate grant from the crown of heaven to them as a peculiar people above all people on the earth, they now held by as base a tenure as villenage itself, by, from, and under, the kings of Persia, whose vassals they were. A sad change! But see what work sin makes! They were bound to personal service: They have dominion over our bodies; they held all they had precariously, were tenants at will, and the land-tax that they paid was so great that it amounted even to a rack-rent; so that all the rents, issues, and profits, of their land did in effect accrue to the king, and it was as much as they could do to get a bare subsistence for themselves and their families out of it. This, they honestly own, was for their sins. Poverty and slavery are the fruits of sin; it is sin that brings us into all our distresses.

V. Here is their address to God under these calamities. 1. By way of request, that their trouble might not seem little, v. 32. It is the only petition in all this prayer. The trouble was universal; it had come on their kings, princes, priests, prophets, fathers, and all their people; they had all shared in the sin (v. 34), and now all shared in the judgment. It was of long continuance: From the time of the kings of Assyria, who carried the ten tribes captive, unto this day. "Lord, let it not all seem little and not worthy to be regarded, or not needing to be relieved." They do not prescribe to God what he shall do for them, but leave it to him, only desiring he would please to take cognizance of it, remembering that when he saw the affliction of his people in Egypt to be great he came down to deliver them, Exod. iii. 7, 8. In this request they have an eye to God as one that is to be feared (for he is the great, the mighty, and the terrible, God), and as one that is to be trusted, for he is our God in covenant, and a God that keeps covenant and mercy. 2. By way of acknowledgment, notwithstanding, that really it was less than they deserved, v. 33. They own the justice of God in all their troubles, that he had done them no wrong. "We have done wickedly in breaking thy laws, and therefore thou hast done right in bringing all these miseries upon us." Note, It becomes us, when we are under the rebukes of divine Providence, though ever so sharp and ever so long, to justify God and to judge ourselves; for he will be clear when he judgeth. Ps. li. 4.

VI. Here is the result and conclusion of this whole matter. After this long remonstrance of their case was made they came at last to this resolution, that they would return to God and to their duty, and oblige themselves never to forsake God, but always to continue in their duty. "Because of all this, we make a sure covenant with God; in consideration of our frequent departures from God, we will now more firmly than ever bind ourselves to him. Because we have smarted so much for sin, we will now stedfastly resolve against it, that we may not any more withdraw the shoulder." Observe, 1. This covenant was made with serious consideration. It is the result of a chain of suitable thoughts, and so is a reasonable service. 2. With great solemnity. It was written, in perpetuam rei memoriam—that it might remain a memorial for all ages; it was sealed and left upon record, that it might be a witness against them if they dealt deceitfully. 3. With joint consent: "We make it; we are all agreed in making it, and do it unanimously, that we may strengthen the hands one of another." 4. With fixed resolution: "It is a sure covenant, without reserving a power of revocation. It is what we will live and die by, and never go back from." A certain number of the princes, priests, and Levites, were chosen as the representatives of the congregation, to subscribe and seal it for and in the name of the rest. Now was fulfilled that promise concerning the Jews, that, when they returned out of captivity, they should join themselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant (Jer. l. 5), and that in Isa. xliv. 5, that they should subscribe with their hand unto the Lord. He that bears an honest mind will not startle at assurances; nor will those that know the deceitfulness of their own hearts think them needless.

CHAP. IX. Verſe 1. Now in the twentieth and fourth day]

A Day after the feaſt of Tabernacles, they keep a ſolemne faſt: Ʋſque adeo nihil eſt, ex omni parte; beatum. There is in this preſent life an interchange of all things, a ſucceſſion of feaſting and faſting. Of the beſt, whileſt here it may be ſaid, as Pliny doth of Metellus, Infelix dici non debet, felix non poteſt: unhappy you cannot call him; happy you may not.Lib. 7. cap. 47. One compareth him to the Arke, which was ever tranſportative, till ſettled in Solomons Temple: Another to quickſilver, which hath in it ſelf a principle of motion, but not of reſt.

The children of Iſrael were aſſembled with faſting] As Epaminondas walked heavily the day after his triumph. Deadneſſe of ſpirit is apt to follow our livelieſt joyes: but that muſt be lookt too, and ſecurity prevented, which is wont to ſeize upon men after holy duties; like as wormes and waſpes eate the ſweeteſt fruits. Theſe faſters had wept at the hearing of the Law, and were ſtilled by the Levites, chap. 8.11. becauſe it was unſeaſonable. Now the feaſt being over, and their hearts yet full of grief for their great ſin in taking ſtrange wives, (not yet put away, though they had vowed to do it, Ezra 10.3. &c.) they firſt put away thoſe wives on the twenty third day, and then humble themſelves by faſting and prayer on this twenty fourth day; being wrought thereunto by the reading of the Law, as is implyed in the next verſe.

And with ſackcloth] As acknowledging themſelves unworthy of the courſeſt clothing: and that, but for ſhame, they would have ſtript themſelves naked.

And earth upon them] As thoſe that had forfeited all, and deſerved to be as far under ground, as now they were above.

Verſe 2. And the ſeed of Iſrael] Called Iſraelites, (not Abrahamites) from their wraſtling with God by prayer and teares, and prevailing. Called alſo Jewes from Judah, which ſignifieth the Confeſſour. Here it is ſaid of them that.

They ſtood and confeſſed their ſinnes] All their ſinnes either actually committed, or habitually compriſed in their body of ſinne. This whoſo doth in due manner ſhall have mercy, Prov. 28.13. Yea, he ſhall have heaven. Iſrael had power with God as a Prince. Judah the Confeſſour got the Kingdome from Reuben. Confeſſion is the way to the Kingdome, walk in it: Onely it muſt be joyned with confuſion of ſinne, as here. They ſeparated themſelves from all ſtrangers, they abandoned their peccatum in aleiciis, their darling ſinne, they kept themſelves from their iniquity, Martial. Pſal. 18.23. Hoc non fit verbis, Marce: ut ameris, ama.

And the ſinnes of their fathers] i. e. Of their Progenitours: which are owned, if not bewailed, diſclaimed.

Verſe 3. And they ſtood up in their place] The people ſtood for reverence-ſake to the Word read (ſee chap. 8.5.) Or the Miniſters ſtood up in their Pulpits, where they repreſent God himſelf as his Embaſſadours; and ſhould therefore lay down all ſelf-reſpects and aimes at the Pulpit doore;Oecolamp. and be fully of his minde, who ſaid, I would not be found ſpeaking or doing ought that I thought Chriſt would not approve of, if he were corporally preſent.

And read in the book] Giving the ſenſe of that they read; and applying it cloſe to mens conſciences. This was preaching indeed: for as every ſound is not muſick; ſo neither is every Pulpit-diſcourſe, Preaching. Cura Paſtoralis eſt ars artium & ſcientia ſcientiarum, ſaith one, It is a matter of great skill to divide the word aright. See chap. 8.8.

One fourth part of the day] i. e. for three hours: from nine a clock to twelve. This warranteth our preaching Faſt-Sermons; though prayer be the chief buſineſſe of ſuch a day. See Jer. 36.6, 7.

And another fourth part] Sc. From twelve to three: thus beſides the ordinary morning and evening ſacrifices, they divided the day betwixt Preaching and Prayer, as thoſe did, Acts 6.4. And as the Prieſts of old taught Jacob Gods judgements, and put incenſe before the Lord, Deut. 33.10. The Jewes at this day boaſt that they divide the day (even the working-day) into three parts: the firſt ad Tephillah they ſpend in Prayer; the ſecond ad Torah, in reading the Law; the third ad Malachah, in their worldly buſineſſe. But you are not bound herein to beleeve them.

They confeſſed] Not without ſupplication for pardon, and power to do better.

And worſhipped the Lord their God] Inwardly and outwardly, giving him his due glory, and reſting upon him by a lively faith in the gracious promiſes: being fully perſwaded of this, that together with the forgiveneſſe of ſinne they ſhould have thoſe particular bleſſings which they ſued for, ſo farre as might ſtand with Gods glory, and the good of their ſouls.

Verſe 4. Then ſtood up] Each of theſe eight in his turn, or each in his own proper place: the people being, for more conveniency-ſake, divided into eight ſeveral Congregations.

And cried with a loud voyce] Verbis non modò diſertis, ſed & exſertis, that God might hear (which yet he can do very well without any audible voice, Exod. 14.15. 1 Kings 22.32.) and all the people might hear, and joyn in prayer.

Ʋnto the Lord their God] As being in Covenant with them. This ſhewes their faith, as the former their fervencie. Faith is the foundation of Prayer: and Prayer is the fervencie of Faith.

Verſe 5. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. 2 Tim. 4.2. Then the Levites, Jeſhua, &c. ſaid, ſtand up] Gird your ſelves, and ſerve the Lord, as Luke 17.8. Be inſtant, or ſtand cloſe to the work; ſet ſides and ſhoulders to it, Rouſe up your ſelves,Neand. Chron pag. 74. and wreſtle with God. Hoc agite, ſaid the Romane Prieſt to the people at their ſacrifices. And Sacerdos parat fratrum mentes dicendo, Surſum corda, ſaith Cyprian, In the Primitive times the Miniſters prepared the people to ſerve God, by ſaying, Lift up your hearts. De oratione.

And bleſſe the Lord your God for ever] Give him immortal thanks, all poſſible praiſe, amore, more, ore, glorifie him doingly, 1 Cor. 10.30, 31. Epheſ. 1.11, 12. Think of the multitude, ſeaſonableneſſe, ſuitableneſſe, conſtancy, &c. of Gods favours: and then give him the glory due unto his Name; which yet we can never do, becauſe his Name is exalted above all bleſſing and praiſe (as it followeth here) ſo that if we ſhould do nothing elſe all our dayes, yea as long as the dayes of heaven ſhall laſt (ſaid that Martyr) but kneele upon our knees and ſing over Davids Pſalmes to Gods praiſe, yet ſhould we fall farre ſhort fo what we owe to the Lord, who is moſt worthy to be praiſed.

And bleſſed be thy glorious name] Theſe holy Levites having called upon the people to bleſſe God, break forth into the performance of this Divine duty themſelves. So Saint Paul often exhorting the Saints to pray, falls a praying for them.

Which is exalted above all bleſſing and praiſe] So that when we have done our utmoſt herein, we can never over-do. David is oft ſo tranſported, that he ſeemes to forget himſelf, as a bird that hath got note, records it over and over, as Pſal. 136. for his mercie endureth for ever. And Pſal. 150. in ſix verſes are twelve Halleluiahs. Praiſe him (ſaith He Verſe 2.) according to his excellent greatneſſe (for great is the Lord, and greatly to be praiſed, Pſal. 145.3.) and verſe 6. Let every thing that hath breath, praiſe the Lord, Or, Let every breath praiſe the Lord. As oft as we breath, we are to breath out the praiſes of God; and to make our breath like the perfumed ſmoke of the Tabernacle.

Verſe 6. Thou, even thou art Lord alone] Jehovah is Gods incommunicable name: that holy and reverend Name of his which Jewes pronounce not, we too oft profane, at leaſt by not conſidering the import of it; which is enough to anſwer all our doubts, and to fill us with ſtrong conſolation, had we but skill to ſpell all the letters in it.

Thou haſt made heaven] With great skill and artifice thou haſt made it, three ſtories high, 2 Cor. 12.2. Heb. 11.10.

The heaven of heavens] Called the higheſt, Luke 2.14. and the third heaven, 2 Cor. 12.2. Of this heaven no natural knowledge can be had, nor any help by humane arts, Geometry, Opticks, &c. for it is neither aſpectable, nor movable.

With all their hoſt] i. e. Their furniture; Angels, thoſe heavenly Courtiers, Sunne, Moone and Starres, &c. which are all Gods ſervants, Pſal. 119.91. and do, in their way, worſhip Him.

The earth and all things that are therein] God may be read in the great book of Nature, which hath three leaves, Heaven, Earth, and Sea. Heaven is all that's above earth: Earth is an element of cold and dry nature, thick, ſolid, heavie, placed in the middeſt of the world as the foundation thereof, and therefore unmovable, though round (and in that reſpect naturally apt for motion) and though founded, not upon ſolid rocks, but fluid waters. This, Ariſtotle himſelf wondred at, Lib. 2. de Coelo, cap. 13.

And all things that are thereon] Either therein, as metals and minerals; or thereon, as men, beaſts, creeping things, &c.

The Seas and all that are therein] As, There is that Leviathan, and creeping things innumerable: Gods handy-work all of them.

And thou preſerveſt them all] Giveſt them [non-Latin text not transcribed], Acts 17.25. life and breath, motion and maintenance; thou upholdeſt the whole creation by the word of thy power, Heb. 1.3. and all things ſubſiſt by thy manutenſion. God doth not caſt off the care of his works that he hath made (as doth the Carpenter, or Shipwright) but being perpetually preſent with them, ruleth, diſpoſeth and ordereth all by a certaine counſel, to his own ends, and at length to his own glory.

And the hoſt of heaven worſhippeth thee] Angels, and Saints eſpecially: who the more they know of God, the more they love him and honour him; making their addreſſes to him with greateſt ſelf-abaſement, conſidering their diſtance, and diſproportion. Thus Angels: As for Saints; All thy works praiſe thee, O God, ſaith David, that is, they give matter and occaſion; but thy Saints bleſſe thee, Pſal. 145.10. How they do this, ſee Rev. 5.11, 12.

Verſe 7. Thou art the Lord the God] Heb. That Lord, with an emphaſis, with an accent; and beſides thee there is none other. See verſe 6. This is proved by his free favours to Iſrael, and patient bearing with their evil manners in the wilderneſſe; there being not any God like unto our God, for pardoning of ſinne, and paſſing by the tranſgreſſion of the remnant of his heritage, Mic. 7.18.

And didſt chuſe Abram] God firſt choſe him for his love, and then loved him for his choice.

And broughtſt him out of Ʋr of the Chaldees] Pulling him as a brand out of that fire, where, till then, he had lived (and might elſe have died) an Idolater, Joſh. 24.2.

And gaveſt him the name of Abraham] See the Note on Gen. 17.5.

Verſe 8. And foundeſt his heart faithful] He muſt needs finde it ſo, who had made it ſo. Otherwiſe Abraham, as well as any other, might well ſay,Bern. Horreo quicquid de meo eſt, ut meus ſim. The natural heart is deceitful and deſperately wicked, &c. a bundle of ſinne (folly is bound up, &c.) a treaſury of ſinne (an evil man out of the evil treaſure of his heart, &c.) a raging Sea of ſinne, Eſay 57.20. a world of wickedneſſe, James 3.6. If any good be in it, 'tis but as a drop of roſe-water in a bowle of poyſon; where falling, it is preſently corrupted.

And madeſt a Covenant with him] To be his God, and the God of his ſeed. This was divini mellis alveare, the bee-hive of heavenly honey: this was more then to be made Monarch of the whole world. See Gen. 17.20, 21.

To give the land of the Canaanites, &c.] Who had filled that good land from one end to the other with their uncleanneſſes, Ezra 9.11. and were therefore worthily rooted out of it. So Joſephus reporteth that in his time theſe Jewes were grown ſo wicked, that if the Romanes had not deſtroy'd them, without doubt either the earth would have ſwallowed them up, or fire from heaven have conſumed them. Bede ſaith of the ancient Britaines (immediately before their deſtruction by the Saxons) that they were come to a very great height of wickedneſſe: ſo as to ſhame the counſel of the poore, becauſe the Lord was his refuge, Pſal. 14.6.

And haſt performed thy words] Of many promiſers it may be ſaid, as Tertullian of the Peacock, all in changeable colours; as oft changed as moved. Sertorius paid his promiſes with fair words. Antiochus was ſirnamed Doſon, becauſe he oft ſaid I will give you this, or that, but never did. God is none ſuch.

For thou art righteous] That is, faithful: for there is a twofold juſtice of God. 1. Of Equity. 2. Of Fidelity. See 1 John 1.9. Rev. 10.1. Where Chriſt is ſaid to have a rainbow on his head; to ſhew that he is faithful and conſtant in his promiſes.

Verſe 9 And didſt ſee the affliction] The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, as well as his eares open to their prayers: he knoweth their ſoul in adverſity, & de remedio proſpicit, he is ſolicitous of their ſafety.

And heardeſt their cry by the red ſea] Though mixed with much murmuring, Exod. 14.10. So he heard that pitiful poor prayer of David, Pſal. 31.22. I ſaid in mine haſte, I am cut off from thine eyes: Nevertheleſſe thou heardſt the voice of my ſupplications, when I I cryed unto thee. God heareth the young Ravens, Pſal. 147.9. though they have but an hoarſe and harſh note, make no melody to move pity, and cry but by implication onely, and not directly unto him.

Verſe 10. And ſhewedſt ſignes and wonders upon Pharaoh] That ſturdy Rebel, whom neither Miniſtery, nor miſery, nor miracle, nor mercy could poſſibly mollifie. This was worſe then any or all thoſe ten plagues ſent upon him, whereof ſee Exod. 3.19. with the Note.

For thou kneweſt that they dealt proudly, &c.] This the juſt and jealous God could not away with, Exod. 18.11. His work in Heaven is (ſaid that Heathen) to caſt downe the lofty, [non-Latin text not transcribed], &c. Aeſop. Chiloni. and to lift up the lowly.

So didſt thou get thee a name] i. e. A great fame of thy power and juſtice, to the converſion of ſome (as Jethro, Exod. 18.1.) and conviction of others, as Deut. 32.31. Joſh. 2.10. 1 Sam. 4.8.

Verſe 11. And thou didſt divide the Sea before them] That which threatened to ſwallow them, preſerved them. For this, ſhall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayeſt be found: ſurely in the floods of great waters they ſhall not come nigh unto him, Pſal. 32.6.

As a ſtone into the mighty waters] As lead, Exod. 15.10. So ſhall Rome (that ſpiritual Egypt) once ſinke into the bottome of the Sea, as a milſtone thruſt into it by a mighty Angel, with a moſt impetuous force, Rev. 18.21.

Verſe 12. Moreover thou leddeſt them by day, &c.] This pillar of a cloud was miraculouſly moved with ſuch variation as God thought fit, for the guiding of their journeyes: much better then did or could Vibilia that Heathen-fiction.

And in the night by a pillar of fire] Though they did not uſually journey in the night, yet ſometimes they did; and then this pillar of fire was their guide. God is with his at all aſſayes; and is all in all unto them, Pſal. 121.4. See Eſay 4.5, 6.

Verſe 13. Thou cameſt down alſo upon mount Sinai] A place of many buſhes and briers: The Law there delivered, pricketh and pierceth the conſciences of evil-doers. Thither God came with ten thouſands of his Saints, as Moſes (who climbed up that hill, and alone ſaw it) ſaith, Deut. 33.2.

And ſpakeſt with them from heaven] He came down upon Sinai, and yet ſpake from heaven: See a like text, John 3.13. There he ſpake alſo with us, Hoſ. 12.4. See that ye refuſe not him that ſpeaketh from heaven, ſee that ye ſhift him not off, much leſſe turn away from him, Heb. 12.25.

And gaveſt them right judgements, &c.] All theſe high praiſes are farre below the worth and excellency of Gods holy Lawes. They were given in the wilderneſſe, becauſe (ſaith Philo) they are to be learnt in a wilderneſſe; ſeeing there we cannot be hindered by the multitude. But this is no way ſolid, as one hath well obſerved.

Good Statutes and Commmandments] Good they are in reſpect, 1. Of the Author. 2. Of the Matter. 3. Of the Effect; for they make thoſe good that obſerve them. This is true of the Moral Law; as for the Judicial, it was fitted to the Jewes, and beſt for them: but Caroloſtadius did ill to ſeek to force it as needful for all Chriſtian Commonwealths.Encyclop. Solon being asked whether he had given the beſt Lawes to the Athenians? anſwered, the beſt for them, the beſt that they could ſuffer. So here.

Verſe 14. And madeſt known unto them thy holy Sabbath.] Not then firſt known to the Church: but of old obſerved, even from the beginning, Gen. 2.3. about 2544. years before it was made known in ſuch a ſolemne ſort at Sinai; as having been much neglected and forgotten, during the Egyptian ſervitude. So it was by the German Churches, till God awakened them by the loſſe of Prague (that firſt blow given them) and that upon the Sabbath day, which they kept no otherwiſe then if it had been Dies daemoniacus, and not dominicus, (as their countrey-man Alſted complaineth) and as if it had been called Sabbath from Sabbos a name of Bacchus, as Plutarch dreamed.

And commandedſt them precepts] See the Note on verſe 13.

Verſe 15. And gaveſt them bread from heaven] Pluviam eſcatilem, & petrum aquatilem, as Tertullian phraſeth it. God rained down Angels food, and ſet the flint a broach; and this he did for their hunger, for their thirſt, fitting his favours ad cardinem deſiderii, according to their need, and requeſt. Beſides that, their bread was ſacramental, whereof they communicated every day. Their drink alſo was ſacramental, that this ancient Church might give no warrant of a dry Communion: for they did all eate of the ſame ſpiritual meat, and did all drink the ſame ſpiritual drink, the ſame that we do at the Lords Supper, 1 Cor. 10.3, 4.

And promiſedſt them that they ſhould go in, &c.] And the like promiſe he hath made of heaven to all his people. Let us therefore fear, &c. Heb. 4.1. Let us therefore cleanſe our ſelves, &c. 2 Cor. 6.1. Let us haſte away in our affections, Col. 3.2.

Which thou haſt ſworne] So he hath to give us heaven, (becauſe he knowes how backward we are to beleeve him, without ſuch a pawne) that by two immutable things, Gods Word, and Gods Oath (which maketh his Word not more true, but yet more credible) we might have ſtrong conſolation, Heb. 6.18. and more abundant entrance into the everlaſting Kingdome of our Lord and Saviour Jeſus Chriſt, 2 Pet. 1.11.

Verſe 16. But they and our fathers] Gods mercies have been hitherto mentioned, that their ſinnes might thereby be aggravated: For good turnes aggravate unkindneſſes; and mens ſinnes are much increaſed by their obligations. It is charged upon Solomon as a foul fault, that he departed from the Lord, who had appeared unto him twice, 1 Kings 11.9.

Dealt proudly] Pride is the Maſter-pock of the ſoul, and the root of rebellion againſt God, Pſal. 119.21.

And hardened their necks] As unruly beaſts that will not bear the yoke; lawleſſe and awleſſe perſons that refuſe to be reformed, hate to be healed.

And hearkened not to thy Commandments] But rather to the Devils whiſtle, calling them off from better practiſes.

Verſe 17. And refuſed to obey] Heb, To hearken. They not onely not hearkened, but refuſed to hear reaſons why they ſhould; as having made their concluſion, and being as good as ever they meant to be. This is to adde rebellion to ſinne: this is that ſtubbornneſſe that Ahaz is taxed of and branded for, 2 Chron. 28.25.

Neither were mindful of the wonders] Theſe ſoone grew ſtale to them, as the Pſalmiſt proves by their wicked practiſes, Pſal. 106.13. And truly who that looketh upon our lives, would ever think that God had done any wonders for us of this Nation, either by ſea or land, either againſt fire-works or water-works formerly; or againſt a viperous brood amongſt our ſelves, here alate?Num. 14.4.

And in their rebellion appointed a Captaine] They once talked (in their mad mood) of doing ſuch a thing, and therefore they are here ſaid to have done it: Like as Joſh. 24.9. it is ſaid that Balac aroſe and fought with Iſrael; and yet the ſtory ſaith no ſuch matter. But if he did not, yet becauſe he thought and talked of ſuch a matter; it was a done thing before the Lord!

But thou art a God ready to pardon] Heb. A God of pardons. One that haſt ſet up a pardon-office; where pardons for penitents lie ready ſealed, that the ſinner may not be to ſeek, that he may not periſh in his ſinnes while the plaiſter is in providing. It is our comfort that we have to do with a forgiving, ſinne-pardoning God, that doth it naturally, Exod. 34.6. plentifully, Iſ. 55.7. conſtantly, Pſ. 130.4. This ſhould be as a perpetual picture in our hearts.

Gracious] Doing all for us gratis, & ex mero motu; out of his free and unexcited love.

And merciful] All-bowels; whereby he is inclined to ſuccour them that are in miſery, notwithſtanding their ſinnes. See his Non-obſtante, Pſal. 106.8.

Long-ſuffering] Heb. Long of anger, that is, Long ere he will be angry; not haſty of ſpirit, as Prov. 14.17, 29. but wondrous patient, amidſt a world of provocations.

And of great kindneſſe] Exceeding propenſe to communicate good. The Hebrew word ſignifies a large quantity either continued (that is, magnitude or greatneſſe) Pſal. 48.2. Or diſcrete (that is, multitude) Pſal. 3.1, 2.

And forſookeſt them not] That is, not utterly, as David prayeth, Pſal. 119.8. and after him Solomon, 1 Kings 8.57. When God forſaketh a people or perſon, woe be to them, Hoſ. 9.12. What a terrible text is that, Ezek. 22.20. I will gather you in mine anger, and my fury, and I will leave you there? and that other, Jer. 16.13. I will caſt you out of this land into a land that ye know not — where I will not ſhew you favour? This laſt was worſe then all the reſt. This the Prophet well knew; and therefore cryed out, Lord leave us not, Jer. 17.17.

Extingui lucem ne patiare tuam.

Or if thou deſert us for a time, yet do not diſinherit us for ever. If thy dereliction of us be penal, M[illegible: 1 letter]ſ. Gerundin yet let it not be Perpetual.

Verſe 18. Yea when they had made them a Golden Calf] An ounce whereof the Jews ſay is ſtill to this day in all the puniſhments that befall them: though ſome of their Rabbines have the face to excuſe this groſſe Idolatry of their fore-fathers. See Act. 7.41. [non-Latin text not transcribed],Piſcat. Vitulificarunt.

And ſaid, this is thy God] Exod. 32.4. Theſe be thy Gods. It was the Serpents Grammar that firſt taught men to decline God in the plurall number: Ye ſhall be as Gods, Gen. 3.

That brought thee out of the Land of Egypt] Some of them then did mean to worſhip the true God, in this falſe manner: hence Exod. 32.5. there is proclaimed a feaſt (not to the Golden Calf, but) to Jehovah. Here then falls to the ground the Papiſts plea for their image-worſhip.

And had wrought great provocations] Or, Blaſphemies, 2 King. 19.3. Idolatry is no better. Hierome as oft as he meeteth with this Hebrew word in the book of Pſalmes (and that is five ſeverall times) he tranſlateth it, to balſpheme.

Verſe 19. Yet thou in thy manifold mercies] Nothing elſe could have kept him from turning them off, and ſaying to them as once Jephta did, Judg. 11. Behold ye have thruſt me out: and do ye come unto me in your diſtreſſe? Go, cry unto the Gods which ye have choſen: Let them deliver you in the time of your Tribulation, Judg. 10.

Forſookeſt them not in the Wilderneſſe] And yet he was neare the matter, when he would own them no longer, but even fathered them upon Moſes, ſaying, Exod. 32.7. Thy people which thou broughteſt out of the Land of Egypt, have corrupted themſelves.

The pillar of cloud departed not] It is ſad with a people when God ſends for his Love-tokens (his Ordinances) when they have ſinned away their light; and ſo wiped off all their comfortables.

Verſe 20. Thou gaveſt alſo thy good Spirit] Viz. to their Governours and teachers, Numb. 11.16, 17, 25, 26. Yea to every good ſoul, that they might be all taught of God, led into all truth and holineſſe,Joel 2.28. Eph. 5.9. For which end God hath promiſed to poure his Spirit upon all fleſh, that is, the beſt thing upon the baſeſt. Next to the ſending of his Son in the fleſh (which is called the gift Joh. 4.10. and the benefit 1 Tim. 6.2.) what can God do more for his people then to give them his good ſpirit? this is to give them all good things in one, Mat. 7.11. with Luke 11.13.

And withheldeſt not thy Manna] See verſe 15. It is twice mentioned as a ſingular and ſignall mercy. And it is well obſerved by a Reverend Writer, that this Manna and water from the Rock, (which was Chriſt in the Goſpel) were given this people before the Law, the Sacraments of grace before the legall Covenant. The Grace of God preventeth our obedience: Therefore ſhall we keep the Law of God, becauſe we have a Saviour.

Verſe 21. Yea fourty yeares didſt thou ſuſtaine them] Suſtaine them? this is a meer Miôſis, ſith never was Prince ſo ſerved in his greateſt Pomp, as theſe rebellious Iſraelites were in the wilderneſſe: They had their Quailes and their Manna, and the Rock to follow them, &c.

So that they lacked nothing] No more ſhall they that ſeek the Lord lack any good thing, Pſal. 34.10, and 84.11. God will not be a wilderneſſe to them, or a land of darkneſſe, Jer. 2.31. A ſufficiency they ſhall be ſure of, if not a ſuperfluity: yea in the midſt of ſtraits they ſhall be in a ſufficiency, 1 Tim. 6.6. The ungodly are not ſo, Job 20.22.

Their cloths waxed not old] They wore not in the wearing; this was wonderfull: theſe men lived in an age of miracles; here was no need of What ſhall we put on? For the cloths they had of their own, and that they borrowed of the Egyptians decayed not; but, as ſome think, grew up with their perſons. See Deut. 8.4. and 29.5.

And their feet ſwelled not] Nor did any other diſeaſe annoy them, while they were in the wilderneſſe, There was not one feeble perſon among them: this was a ſweet mercy. Non eſt vivere, ſed valere, vita; ſi vales, bene eſt. Ʋincentio Peſtiom an Italian Gentleman being asked how old he was? anſwered that he was in health. And to another that asked how rich he was? anſwered, that he was not in debt. This was the happineſs of theſe Iſraelites in the wilderneſs.

Verſe 22. Moreover, thou gaveſt them Kingdomes and Nations] God gave them all; for he is the true proprietary, he pulleth down one, and ſetteth up another. This, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged (after he had been turned a grazing,) and Charles the Fifth, Emperour of Germany, who in twenty eight battles in America waged by Cortez and Pizarro won eight and twenty Kingdomes.Prideaux. Introduct. And what a world of Nations are ſwallowed up in the greatneſſe of the Turkiſh Empire? America hath the hapineſſe to be out of their reach.

So they poſſeſſed the land of Sihon] Gods favours muſt not be mentioned in the lump onely, and by whole-ſale; but particularly enumerated and celebrated.

Verſe 23. Their children alſo multipliedſt thou] Judaea was not above two hundred miles long, and fifty miles broad (not near the halfe of England by much,) yet what a numerous people were they? what huge armies had they?

And broughteſt them into the land] Not the neareſt way, but the beſt for them; that he might humble them, and try them, and do them good in the latter end. If God will bring us to heaven at length, (as Iſrael in the wilderneſſe, ſo) muſt we follow him and the line of his Law, though it ſeeme to leade us in and out, backward and forward, as if we were treading a maze.

Concerning which thou hadſt promiſed to their fathers] And they diſpoſed of it by Will to their poſterity, as if they had been in preſent poſſeſſion. Gods promiſes are good ſure-hold: the Patriarchs would be buried there, though they died in Egypt, and keep poſſeſſion, as they could: for they knew that all was their own.

Verſe 24. So the children went in] After that they had been held a long while under the Egyptian ſervitude. God knows how to commend his favours to us, which citò data citò vileſcunt, lightly come by, are lightly ſet by.

And thou ſubduedſt before them — the Canaanites] There is an elegancy in the original, Thou bowedſt or preſſedſt down thoſe crookened or depreſſed ones, the Canaanites who had their very name (portending their condition) from bowing down, as born to be ſervants of ſervants, according to Noahs curſe, Gen. 9.25. with Rom. 11.16.

And gaveſt them into their hand] If any were unſubdued, it was through their own ſloth, for which they are reproved, and by which they afterwards ſmarted. It is the obſervation of a good Divine, that as ſeven Tribes are juſtly taxed by Joſhua for their negligence and ſloth in not ſeeking ſpeedily to poſſeſſe the land God had offered them, Joſh. 18.2. ſo may the moſt of us be juſtly rebuked for grievous ſecurity about the heavenly Canaan. Divers of the better ſort have but a title: and therefore it juſtly falleth out, that theſe are buffeted by Chriſt, as thoſe were diſgraced by Joſhua.

That they might do with them as they would] Save or ſlay whom they pleaſed; yet not forgetting the Lawes of humanity; as the bloody Spaniards have done amongſt the miſerable Indians: cauſing them to cry out, that it had been far better, that the Indies had been given to the Devils of hell then to them, and that if the Spaniards go to heaven when they die, themſelves will never come there, though they might.

Verſe 25. And they took ſtrong Cities] With no great ado: like as townes were ſaid to come in to Timotheus (the Athenian-Generall) his toiles while he ſlept.Plut. in Sylla. This he aſcribed to his owne proweſſe and policy: often interlacing this proud ſpeech (Herein Fortune had no part) and from thenceforth never proſpered, in any thing he undertook.

And a fat land] Flowing with plenty of dainties; though Strabo ſpitefully ſlander it for craggy and barren.

And poſſeſſed houſes full of all goods] Of all pleaſant and precious ſubſtance: for the Canaanites were great Merchants, Eſay 23.8. Hoſ. 12.7. Ezek. 17.4.

Wells digged] A great commodity in that hot Countrey.

Vine-yards and Olive-yards] A ſingular help to houſe-keeping.

So they did eate and were filled] They had enough of every thing; and did eate whiles eating was good, as they ſay Queen Elizabeth did ſeldome eate but of one diſh, roſe ever with an appetite, and lived about ſeventy years. King Edward the ſixth was wont to call her His ſweet ſiſter Temperance.

And delighted themſelves in thy great goodneſſe] They lived in Gods good land; but not by Gods good Lawes; the refreſhing they found by his beſt creatures was none other but ſuch as his, who warmeth himſelf, and ſaith, Aha, I am warme, I have ſeene the fire, Iſa. 44.16.

Verſe 26. Nevertheleſſe they were diſobedient, and rebelled] See how full in the mouth theſe holy Levites were in aggravating their own and their forefathers ſinnes, which ſwelled as ſo many toads in their eyes; neither could they ever ſufficiently diſgrace them. This is the property and practiſe of the true penitentiary.

They caſt thy Law behinde their backs] That is, they vilipended and undervalued it; God drew them by the cords of a man, (ſo the cords of kindneſſe are called, Hoſ. 11.4. becauſe befitting the nature of a man, and likelieſt to prevaile with rational people) but they like men (or rather like beaſts) tranſgreſſed the Covenant: and, as if God had even hired them to be wicked, ſo did they abuſe all his benefits to his greateſt diſhonour; being therefore the worſe, becauſe in reaſon, they ought to have been better.

And ſlew thy Prophets which teſtified againſt them to turne to thee] This was the worſt they did to them, and that for which they received mercedem mundi, the wages of the mad world ever beſide it ſelf in point of ſalvation, and falling foul upon ſuch as ſeek its good. This is that ſinne that brings ruine without remedy, 2 Chron. 36.16. Prov. 29.1. for, precious in the ſight of the Lord is the death of his Saints, Pſal. 116.

And they wrought great provocations] Or, Blaſphemies: ſee verſe 18.

Verſe 27. Therefore thou deliveredſt them] Flagitium & flagellum, ſicut acus & filum. Sinne and puniſhment are tied together with chains of adamant.

Who vexed them] Heb. Put them to ſtraits; ſo that they had not what ſhift to make, or how to help themſelves.

And in the time of their trouble] Vexatio dedit intellectum. The time of affliction is the time of ſupplication. When out of the depths Gods people cry unto him, they may have any thing, Zach. 13.9. ſpeedy audience, unmiſcarrying returnes of their prayers.

Thou gaveſt them Saviours] i. e. Deliverers ſuch as the Judges were, Judg. 3.9. and ſuch as Flaminius the Roman was to the poor Argives; who therefore called him Saviour Saviour, and that with ſuch a courage,Plut. in Flam ut corvi fortuito ſuperv[illegible: 1 letter]lantes, in ſtadium deciderent, that the birds fell to the earth amazed with that outcry; the aire was ſo diſſipated with their acclamations.

Verſe 28. But after they had reſt, they did evil again] As ſtanding pooles breed vermine; as ſedentary lives are ſubject to diſeaſes. If men be not poured out from veſſel to veſſel, they will ſoone ſettle upon their [illegible: 1 letter]ees. Becauſe they have no changes, therefore they feare not God, Pſal. 55.19. ſaith David, of the wicked: and Pſal. 30. David himſelf was afflicted, delivered, and then grew wanton. Then troubled again; verſe 7. cryes againe, verſe 8.9. God turnes his mourning to joy again; whereof if he ſurfeited not, it was well beſtowed on him. But rarae fumant felicibus arae. We are commonly beſt when worſt: and Pliny told his friend,Plin. Epiſt. that the beſt way to live well, was to be as good in health, as we promiſe to be when we are ſick.

Therefore lefteſt thou them in the hand of their enemies] Who can do us no hurt, but by Divine permiſſion; though they bandy together, and bend all their forces to harme the Church, yet are they bounded by God, and can do nothing, till he leave his people in their hands.

Had the dominion over them] Ruled them with rigour.

And many times didſt thou deliver them] Even totiès quotiès: for as the eye is not wearied with ſeeing, nor the eare with hearing: ſo neither is God with ſhewing mercy. But as the Sunne ſhineth after it hath ſhone, and as the ſpring runneth after it hath run; ſo doth the Lord proceed to do good to his in their neceſſity; and that according to his mercies which never fail, Lam. 3.22.

Verſe 29. And teſtifiedſt againſt them] Toldeſt them of their ſinnes, foretoldeſt them of their dangers, didſt all that could be done to do them good: but nothing would do.

Yet they dealt proudly] See verſe 16.

And hearkened not] Intus exiſtens prohibuit alienum; Hear, and give eare, be not proud, Jer. 13.15.

But ſinned againſt thy judgements] i. e. Thy Statutes, though made with ſo much reaſon and reſpect to our good, that if God did not command them, yet were it every way our beſt way to practiſe them, Eſay 48.17. I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way which thou ſhouldeſt go. As who ſhould ſay, It is for thy profit that I command thee this or that, and not for mine own.

Which if a man do] But that, as now, he cannot do, and therefore not be ſaved by the Law, Rom. 10.5. Our Saviour indeed ſaid to that young juſticiary, This do and thou ſhalt live, Luke 10.28. But that was all one, ſaith Luther, as if Chriſt had ſaid unto him, Vade & morere, Go upon thy death; for do this of thy ſelf, and live thereby thou art never able.

And withdrew the ſhoulder] When called to take up Chriſts yoke, or to beare his croſſe. See the Note on Zach. 7.11.

And hardened their necks] To ſinewes of iron, they added browes of braſſe.

Verſe 30. Yet many years didſt thou forbear them] Heb. Protract over them: or draw out thy loving kindneſſe toward them, to the utmoſt.

And teſtifiedſt againſt them] As verſe 29. They wanted not for warnings or wooings, with, Woe unto thee O Jeruſalem: wilt thou not be made cleane? when ſhall it once be?

Yet would they not hear] But as Sea-monſters, or Catadupes, or men borne in a mill, or as one that is running a race; give him never ſo good counſel, he cannot ſtay to hear it.

Therefore gaveſt thou them] As uncounſelable, incorrigible.

Verſe 31. Nevertheleſſe for thy great mercies ſake] Mans perverſneſſe cannot interrupt the courſe of Gods goodneſſe. In the middeſt of judgement, he remembreth mercy, which beareth the ſame proportion to his judgement, which ſeven (a compleat number) hath to an Ʋnity.

Thou diddeſt not utterly conſume them] God will repent for his people, when he ſeeth their power is gone, Deut. 32.36. and be jealous with a great jealouſie, when the enemy goes beyond his commiſſion, Zach. 1.14, 15.

For thou art a gracious and merciful God] And this is moſt ſeene, when miſery weighs down, and nothing but mercy turneth the ſcale.

Verſe 32. Now therefore our God, the great, the mighty] It is an high point of heavenly wiſdome, in the beginning of our petitions, to propound God to our ſelves under ſuch holy notions and fit expreſſions, as wherein we may ſee an anſwer to our prayers, as here. See chap. 1.5.

Let not all the trouble] Heb. The wearying, the laſſitude. Afflictions are not joyous, but grievous to the fleſh, which doth ſoone flag, and even ſink under the burden, if not ſupported by the hand of heaven.

Seeme little before thee] As if we had not yet ſuffered enough, but (as if we wanted weight) muſt be made yet heavier by an addition of new afflictions, 1 Pet. 1.6. God is apt to think a little enough, and ſpare, Eſay 40.1. and to take care that the ſpirit fail not before him, that his children ſwoon not in the whipping, Eſay 57.16. He knows that every child of affliction hath not the ſtrength to cry out as Luther did, Feri Domine, feri, ſmite on, Lord, ſmite on, for I am abſolved from my ſinnes: or as another did, I thank thee O Lord, for all mine extremity: and I beſeech thee, if thou think good, to adde to it an hundred fold more &c.

That hath come upon us] As foul-weather comes afore it is ſent for. Heb. Hath found us; for we ſought it not, but would gladly have ſhun'd it.

Since the times of the Kings of Aſſyria] Who yet were their moſt favourable enemies; and are therefore compared to a golden head in Nebuchadnezzars Image: but any ſervitude is grievous: and among the Greeks, after that they were delivered from the tyranny of the Macedonians and Spartans, the Cryer at the Namaean games was forced to pronouncethe word Liberty iterumque iterumque, again and again. And how earneſt are Gods people here in deprecating another captivity. He heareth them; and for their late ſeventy years captivity, granteth them ſeven ſeventies of years (Daniels weeks) for the enjoyment of their own countrey.

Verſe 33. Howbeit thou art juſt] So Mauricius the Emperour juſtified God, when he ſaw his wife and children butchered before his eyes by the traytor Phocas, and knew that himſelf ſhould be ſoone after ſtewed in his own broth; he cryed out, juſt art thou O Lord, and juſt are all thy judgements. So did the Noble Du Pleſſy, when he heard of the death of his onely ſonne ſlaine in Holland; which ſo grieved his mother, that ſoone after ſhe died.

Verſe 34. Neither have our Kings, our Princes, our Prieſts, &c.] But as there hath beene a general defection, ſo a well deſerved deſolation, wherein we have all juſtly ſhared.

Nor hearkened to thy Commandments] And that becauſe they teſtified againſt their contrary practiſes. This, wicked men cannot away with, they hate him that reproveth in the gate, as Ahab did Micaiah. None but the gracious can ſay, Let the righteous ſmite me, be the reproof never ſo well tempered. No ſugar can bereave a pill of its bitterneſſe. Now the eare trieth words, as the mouth taſteth meats, Job. 12.11. And ungodly men (as they write of ſome creatures) have fel in aure, and muſt get their eares cured ere they can be in caſe to hear Gods Commandments, and his Teſtimonies. In vita. It is ſaid of Gerſon, that he loved a friendly reprover: and of Queen Anne Bullen, that ſhe not onely was willing to be admoniſhed,Her life by M. Clark. but alſo required her Chaplains freely and plainly to tell her of whatſoever was amiſſe. Scilicet Chriſtus voluit aliquando etiam Reginam in Coelum vehere, as Luther once ſaid of Elizabeth, Queen of Denmark. Theſe Kings and Princes of Iſrael were none-ſuch.

Verſe 35. For they have not ſerved thee in their Kingdom] As David did, who held it his higheſt honour to be the ſervant of the Lord: and as thoſe three famous Chriſtian Emperours, Conſtantine, Valentinian, Pſal. 36. Socrat. and Theodoſius, who ſtiled themſelves The vaſſailes of Jeſus Chriſt.

And in thy great goodneſſe that thou gaveſt them] In the abundance of all things, Deut. 28.47. they ſhould have conſidered, The more wages, the more work: and that thus to requite the Lord, was to come under the cenſure of a fooliſh people and unwiſe, Deut. 32.6. yea, of idle and evil ſervants, Mat. 25.26.

And in the large and fat land] But Jeſhurun waxed fat and kicked: fulneſſe bred forgetfulneſſe, ſaturity, ſecurity, Deut. 32.15. therefore he was worthily pent up and pined in a ſtrange land; where he had liberty little enough, and priſoners pittance.

Neither turned they from their wicked works] They quarrel not with their faults, but with their friends that reprove them; they turne not to him from whom they had deeply revolted. Their impenitency maketh their ſinnes mortal, ſaith Saint John, 1 Epiſt. 5.16. immortal, ſaith Saint Paul, Rom. 2.5. they die in their ſinnes, as did thoſe Jewes in the Goſpel, and periſh for ever, John 8.21.

Verſe 36. Behold, we are ſervants this day] This is twice here bewailed, as a ſingular unhappineſſe. They that live under the Turkiſh ſlavery, feele it ſo. Poor Greece that was once Sol & ſal gentium, terrarum flos, & fons literarum, is now — vel Priamo miſeranda manus. Princeſſe of Nations, Queen of Provinces She was, that now thus tributary is. Lam. 1.1. Out of Greece, and other Countreys that had ſometimes received the Faith of Chriſt, the Turkiſh tyrants draw with them to the warres great multitudes of wretched people, whom they call Aſape. Theſe carry all the baggage; theſe carry wood and water for other ſouldiers of better account: theſe ſerve inſtead of Pioners to caſt up trenches, and raiſe bulwarks: and when battle is to be given, if it be in plain field, theſe have then weapons put into their hands, and are thruſt into the fore-front of the battle, to blunt the enemies ſwords: But if a City be to be beſieged, theſe ſerve as fit matter to fill the ditches with their dead bodies,Turk. Hiſt. 325. & 317. or to make bridges for other ſouldiers to paſſe over upon. And if they ſhrink to attempt any thing they are commanded, then are they more cruelly uſed by their Commanders, then by their enemies. And this the Ottoman Kings count good policy.

Verſe 37. And it yeeldeth much increaſe unto the Kings] As this Land once did unto the King of Locuſts. When it was ſtiled the Popes hortus deliciarum; out of which he could fetch what money, or any thing elſe he pleaſed, ſo long as he could hold a pen in his hand. In the year 720. Ino King of Weſt-Saxons, cauſed in all his Dominion,Act. and Mon. in every houſe having a chimney, a penny to be collected and paid to the Biſhop of Rome, in the name of Saint Peter; and thereof were they called Peter-pence. Theſe continued till Henry the eighth's time: who in his Proteſtation againſt the Pope, ſpeaketh thus; England is no more a babe: there is no man here, but now he knowes that they do fooliſhly, that give gold for lead, more weight of that then they receive of this, &c. Ibid. 990.

Alſo they have dominion] See the Note on verſe 30.

At their pleaſure] Their will was a law; which to argue or debate, was high miſdemeanour; to detrect or diſobey, preſent death.

Verſe 38. And becauſe of all this] Our ſinne and miſery.

We make a ſure Covenant] See Ezra 10.3.

And write it] Litera ſcripta manet.

And our Princes, Levites and Prieſts ſeale unto it] In the roome and name of all the reſt, who have ſworn and will performe it, that we will keep thy righteous judgements