fore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces."]-The Israelites did not receive it from the Gentiles, but they themselves made it; and since it was of their making, it cannot be God; no, it is nothing but mere metal, and shall be used accordingly, for it shall be broken in pieces.

7. "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up."]—And as for them, they shall even reap as they have sown; they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: they have trusted to vanity, and they shall receive loss and disappointment: a famine shall come upon them; the grain that they have sown shall yield no stalk; or if it have a stalk, yet that stalk shall yield no ear; or if an ear, yet that ear shall yield no substance of meal; or if it do yield any, the strangers their enemies shall swallow it up.

8. "Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure."]-Israel is now swallowed up of their heathenish enemies: now shall they be to the Gentiles as broken vessels that are put to base uses.

9. "For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers."]-For they are gone up to Assyria to seek for help, like a wild ass that wanders alone by himself in a dry desert to seek that water which he cannot find; Israel hath sent out to solicit and hire confederates.

10. "Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes."]-But though they have hired abettors among the nations, yet will I fetch them up together to a common destruction; and they shall now sorrow too late for the charge of that tribute that was raised upon them to pay to the great king of Assyria.

II. 11. "Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin."]-Because Israel hath set up many altars in Dan and Beth-el and other high places, to sin in their idolatrous devotions, those altars of theirs shall be unto them both an occasion of their sinning and a motive of my just judgments.

12. "I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing."]-I have given unto them my royal law, and have left it recorded for them, that it might be a perpetual direction to them; but they have slighted it, as if it were a thing that concerned them not.

BP. HALL, VOL. IV.

C

13. They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepteth them not; now will be remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.”] -They have made fair shows of religious services; they have presented me with their sacrifices, and have eaten the flesh of them accordingly; but the Lord regardeth not these outward formalities now he will rather remember their iniquity, and take account of their sins: they shall return to an Egyptian captivity.

:

14. "For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof."]For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and, contrary to his commandment, buildeth temples to their idols; and Judah, contrary to the command of the same God, hath multiplied fenced cities, as trusting in his own strength: but I will send the Assyrian as a fire upon the cities of Israel, and the Chaldean into the cities of Judah, and they shall consume and waste the palaces thereof.

IX. 1. "Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor."]-Thou hast no reason, O Israel, to rejoice as other people; because thou hast provoked thy God by thine abominable idolatries: thou hast loved to give an oblation to thy gods in every cornfloor of that wheat the plenty whereof thou hast ascribed to the bounty of thine idols.

2. "The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her."]-And now, because they have thus abused these blessings of God, it shall be just with God to withdraw them: I will send famine and enemies upon them, so as their corn and wine shall fail them, neither shall they reap their expected comfort therefrom.

3. "They shall not dwell in the LORD's land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria."]-They shall not dwell in this land of Israel which God hath chosen; but Ephraim shall return to a miserable captivity in Egypt, and shall be forced to eat unclean and forbidden meats in the land of Assyria whither they shall be carried.

4. "Their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD."]— Their sacrifices shall be utterly unpleasing unto him; even like

such as are offered by the sad heart and hand of a professed mourner, which cannot but displease that God who requires cheerfulness in those that approach to his altar: all that eat thereof shall be polluted; for God hath ordained that their feasts for the dead, being ever attended with sorrow, shall not be used in the house of the Lord.

5. "What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD?"]-What will ye do, O ye Israelites, when ye are once driven into your captivity? what will ye do in the solemn feast days, which God hath appointed to be cheerfully celebrated?

6. "For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles."]-For, lo, they shall be cast out of the holy land, and lie open to destruction: Egypt shall take them up, and make them sure enough for returning; Memphis shall be their burial-place: those pleasant closets and cabinets wherein they had wont to hide their treasures and jewels shall be overgrown with nettles: their neat tabernacles shall be covered with thorns and briars.

7. "The prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred."]-Ye shall know, O Israelites, that those your false prophets, which have said, Peace, peace, are but fools; and those your spiritual guides, that have misled you, no better than madmen; whom yet God hath justly sent amongst you, as a punishment of your iniquity and of your hating to be reformed.

8. "The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God."]-Ye falsely imagined that these prophets of Ephraim were sent of God, and had familiar acquaintance with him; but ye shall find your prophets to be but as a snare of the fowler laid in your ways to entrap you, and such as have procured the hatred of your God against you.

9. "They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah."]-They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah of Benjamin, when the shameful outrages of the wicked inhabitants were abated by the strength of their tribe, &c.

10. "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they

went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved."]-Israel was no less pleasing to me at the first than ripe grapes would be to a thirsty traveller in a dry wilderness, I esteemed your forefathers, those fruitful patriarchs, as the most choice and firstripe figs; but their sinful progeny fell off and degenerated to idolatry, applying themselves to the worship of Baal-peor, and separating themselves to that shameful idol; and chose to themselves several abominable deities, according as they were affected to the parties that worshipped them.

11. As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception."] -As for Ephraim, their glory, which is in their strength and number, shall fly away like a bird; since their children shall be slain even from their very birth, yea, even from their conception, by their cruel enemies.

12. "Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!"]-And though they do live to be brought up to man's estate, yet will I then so bereave them that there shall not be a man left amongst them: yea, they cannot but expect and feel all manner of miseries when I remove my presence and protection from them.

13. "Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer."]— Ephraim, or Israel, is like unto Tyrus, and next in glory thereunto: it finds itself planted in a rich and goodly and no less fortified place, and is thereupon puffed up with a foolish self-confidence but Ephraim shall find himself deceived: his hopes shall fail him; his children shall fall under the hand of a murdering enemy.

14. "Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts."]-Give them, O Lord: what shall I entreat thee to give them? even that which they would think to be a judgment, miscarrying wombs and dry breasts; that they may never bring forth or nourish up children to idolatry or slaughter.

15. "All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters."]—Their old wickedness cleaves unto them still; even

that which they bewrayed in their ancient incircumcision, and in their humorous desire of the change of their government and challenge of a king: even there I began to take displeasure against them for their wickedness, which still so continues that I am resolved to drive them out of that good land of mine: I will love them no more; for all their princes are revolters, both from their rightful king and from my true religion.

X. 1. “Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images."]-Israel is a vine indeed, but a fruitless one; or if he bear fruit, it is to himself, for the advancing of his own profit and pleasure: as his wealth and abundance increaseth, so doth his idolatry: look, how much he is pampered with his store, so much more doth he spend upon his goodly images.

2. "Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars."]—Their heart is divided in the choice of their gods; now shall the jealous God find out their guiltiness he shall, in his just indignation, break down their altars, &c.

:

3. "For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?"]For now they shall say, We are left destitute and helpless: we have no king to defend us; because we feared not the Lord who was wont to be our King, therefore he hath given us up, and what then can a king do for us?

4. "They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus-judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field."]-They have made no conscience of their oaths and covenants; but have broken them at pleasure: yea, even judgment itself, which should be sincere and sacred, is grown miserably depraved and hateful to my people; yea, no less deadly than the hemlock of the furrows is to the taste.

5. "The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Beth-aven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it."]— The inhabitants of Samaria shall justly fear because those calves which they worshipped in Beth-aven are already destroyed; for the people thereof shall mourn, expecting, as they well may, the same measure, &c.

6. "It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed