John Trapp on Micah 5:11

Verſe 11. And I will cut off the cities of thy land] thy fenced cities, and places of ſtrength, for like reaſon as before, that thou maiſt look upon my name alone as a ſtrong tower, and thereto run and be ſafe Prov. 18.10. that thou maiſt hover and cover under my wings Pſa. 91.1, 2. and there hold thee as ſecure as in a tower of braſſe, or town of warre. Bleſſed be the Lord (ſaith David, who could not be ſafe in Keilah that had gates and barres) for he hath ſhewed me his marvellous loving kindneſſe as in a ſtrong city, Pſal. 31.21. The tower of Shechem ſaved not thoſe that ran to it Judg. 9. The ſtrong-hold of Zion could not ſecure the Jehuſites, that in the height of their pride ſcorned David and his hoſt, that laid ſiege to it 2 Sam. 5.6, 7. Belſhazzar and his Babylonians bare themſelves ſo bold upon the ſtrength of their city, and proviſion laid in for 20. yeares, if need were, (as Xenophon teſtifieth) that they reproached the Perſians that beſieged them, and derided their attempts as to no purpoſe: yet were ſhortly after made a prey to the enemy. Arimazes having ga[illegible: 1 letter]iſon'd a very ſtrong and ſteep rock in the Sogdian countrey with 30000.Plut: in Alex. Curt. lib. 7. men, ſent to Alexander the great (who demanded it) to know whether he could fly or not? But the next day he was taken together with his ſtrong hold, and n[illegible: 3 letters]ed to a croſſe. God delights to confute men in their confidences: that thoſe that are his, may run to the Rock of ages Iſa. 26.4. to that Arx roboris of his holy Name, which alone is impregnable, inexpugnable. The Spaniards called their Navy in 88. the Invincible Armado: but it proved otherwiſe: and that upon Saint James his day, whom they count their Patrone, their Tutelary-Saint. It is not unlawfull to have cityes and ſtrong-holds &c. but to confide in them, by riſing up to a corky frothy hope when we have them: or to ſit down in a faithleſſe ſullen diſcontent and deſpondency when we want them; this is to make fleſh our arme, and ſo to incurr that heavy curſe Ier. 17.5. God will cut off all occaſions of ſo doing from thoſe whom he loveth, as here he promiſeth: and as accordingly he performed to this people, after their return from Babylon, and eſpecially a little before the comming of Chriſt in the fleſh, when they were reduced by Pompey into a province of the Roman Empire.