San&tius, the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.] Chapter Light being the Emblem of Joy and Profperity, the most XXX. cheerful thing in the World, (a) he tells them the Moon and the Sun fhall fhine on them with greater Splendor (a) Vatablus, than before; juft as Horace expreffes the Joy of the Peo- Hugo,. ple of Rome upon Cafar's returning among them, Gratior Forerius. it dies & foles melius nitent." Here St. Jerom leads the Dance, and a long Train of (b) Commentators follow (b) Haymo, him, understanding the Prophet of the Day of Judg. Adamus, ment. Ver. 27. Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burthen thereof is heavy: his Lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire.] By the Name of the Lord he means. God himself, one of Power fufficient to perform the foregoing Promifes, whom by an elegant Hypotypofis he defcribes in the height of Anger, with fiery Eyes, pale Looks, and trembling Lips, unable to keep in his Paffion any longer. Lyranus, Dionyfius Ver. 28. And his breath, as an overflowing stream, fhall reach to the midst of the neck, to fift the nations with the five of vanity and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, caufing them to err.] He compares the Breath, that is, the Anger of the Lord, to an overflowing Stream, which reaches to the midst of a Man's Neck, because as fuch a Stream: drowns (as it were) all the Parts of a Man's Body, except his Head, fo did the Lord in his Anger deftroy all the Affyrians by his Angel, Sennacherib only, who was their Head, efcaping, and fome few with him. To fift with a 2 Kings 19% Sieve of Vanity; the ordinary use of a Sieve is to feparate 35the Chaff and lighter Seeds, and retain the full weighty Grains only, but this fifting of the Affyrians was to be with a Sieve of Vanity, fuch a Sifting as fhould shake to and fro what was to be fifted till it came even to nothing; that is, he would deftroy the Affyrians, or fcatter them abroad fo that they should not come together again; for he fpeaks of the Army under Sennacherib, which was hafting to Jerufalem to ftrengthen the Siege, but hearing of the unaccountable Defeat and Slaughter of fo many Thoufands of their Comrades they ftopt as it were on a fudden, like a mettlefome Horfe on full Gallop when curb'd by his Rider, and durft not proceed any farther, but every one fhifted i Chapter (a) Hector Fintus. fhifted for himself, and fled in Confufion, fome one way, and fome another, which is the meaning of caufing them to err or wander. Ver. 29. Ye shall have a fong as in the night, when a holy folemnity is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, the mighty One of Ifrael.] When the Jews were to offer a Sacrifice in the Morning, fome (a) think it was their Custom to spend the preceding Night in Mirth and Jollity, others that after it was over they us'd to fup liberally, fing and play on mufical Inftruments, and be cheerfully merry and brisk; fuch fhall be their Joy, fays the Prophet, when they find themselves refcu'd out of their Enemies Hand, and fuch fhall be their Gladness of Heart as when with tuneful Pipes on a Festival Solemnity they went to the Temple to pay their Vows or offer Sacrifice, which was always done in Pfalm 42. 4. fuch a manner as to fhew they were extreamly delighted in what they were going to do. 4 Ver. 30. And the Lord fhall caufe his glorious voice to be heard, and fhall fhew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with fcattering, and tempeft, and hail-ftones.] That is, Thunder fhall rend the Air, therefore call'd in the Hebrew Language Bath Kol, the daughter of the voice, from a prevailing Opinion it's likely among the Jews, that God fpoke as often as it thunder'd, and from hence and other Expreffions in this Prophet we may collect, that this wonderful Overthrow was not executed in a fecret or filent manner, but was attended with a mighty Storm of Thunder and Lightning, by the laft of which they were probably flain. And fhall fhew the lighting down of his arm; that is, fhall finite the Affyrians as it were in the Face of the whole World, because the Fame of that furprizing Event should be spread over the Earth, and all People be as fully acquainted with it as if they had feen God ftrike the Blow. Ver. 31. For through the voice of the Lord fhall the Affyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.] Here, tho' the Prophet mentions the Affyrian, St. Jerom will have him to be understood of the Devil, and will allow the Words to be fpoken only in Allufion to the Overthrow of Sennacherib, which Method of interpreting Scripture I cannot com- Chapter prehend. XXX... Ver. 32. And in every place where the grounded staff shall pafs, which the Lord fhall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battels of shaking will he fight with it.] Having defcrib'd God with an out-ftretch'd Arm in a ftriking Pofture, he carries on the Metaphor, and calls the Deftrution of the Affyrians a Staff, because he bruis'd them to pieces with fuch an Inftrument, and a grounded Staff, because it made a deep Impreffion, and tuck as it were in their Flesh; in every place where this grounded Staff, this Destruction of the Affyrians, fhall be heard of, it fhall occafion univerfal Joy and Gladness, the Affyrian being at this time the Scourge and Plague of all the Nations about him. And in battels of shakings will he fight with them; that is, he fhall fhake them to pieces as a Lion does his Prey, but fome think the Prophet alludes to the Battel in which the Midianites were overcome by the Jews without striking a Stroke, only by holding Lamps in their Hands, which they fhook, blowing the Trumpets, and crying out, The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon; or, as others, God fhall deftroy Grotius, › – the Affyrian Army without any Toil or Sweat of the Jews, Varablus. Planè quafi in ludo jocog; Ver. 33. For Tophet is ordained of old: yea, for the king it is prepared, he hath made it deep and large the pile thereof is fire and much wood, the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.] This Verfe may be translated more agreeably with the Original; for Tophet has been made ready a good while, it has been prepar'd by the King, he hath made it deep and large, and furnish'd it with a great deal of Wood, and the breath of the Lord, like a stream of burning Brimstone, fhall fet it on fire. Tophet was a Valley near Jerufalem, where the idolatrous Jews facrific'd Levit. 20. 2. their Children to Moloch, but now, fays the Prophet, 2Chron. 28.3. King Hezekiah has another use for it, and therefore has made it large and capacious, for the Reception of a better Sacrifice, even Thousands of Affyrians, who shall be slain therein. Moft of the Roman Catholic Commentators take Sennacherib for a Type of Satan, and interpret of that Prince of Darkness all that is faid of the Affyrian Monarch, and Tophet they unanimously agree must be Hell, which was Chapter Chapter was created the fecond Day of the World, fay the Jews, because the Prophet fays Meeth mul, ab Heri, as the Vulgat renders it; but more of this nature, and the fix neceffary Ingredients of Hell, may be seen at large in A Lapide. The ARGUMENT of Chapter XXXI. The Prophet goes on with the fame Subject, and diffades the Jews from relying on the Affiftance of the Egyptians, because they should be fo far from being able to deliver them from the Danger which threaten'd them, that they themselves fhould ·undergo the fame Fate, and fall a Prey to the Affyrian, who is not only mention'd at the 8th Verfe, but defcrib'd flying precipitately to Niniveh, as the History teftifies of Sennacherib, and this is faid to be done by that God whofe Fire is in Sion, and whofe Furnace in Jerufalem, which he cannot with any Propriety be faid to have fince the Destruction of Jerufalem by the Romans, which put an End to the Jewish Sacrifices; yet for all this Mr. Whifton is of Opinion that the Prophet by the Affyrian means the Turk, which feems strange to me, who can fee no fuch Signification annex'd to the Word in any Lexicon, and should have been apt to fufpect a MiStake in the Author if I had. Verse 1. W CHA P. XXXI. O to them that go down to Egypt for help, and Stay on borfes, and truft in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong: but they look not unto the holy One of Ifrael, neither feek the Lord. He denounces a Wo against thofe that were for relying on the Egyptians for Help, exclufive of the God of Ifrael, who thought, because that Country abounded with Horfes and Chariots, they were fafe enough if they could prevail on them to ftand by them; he speaks of this mifplac'd Dependance of theirs on the Egyptian Horfes under the Metaphor of a Staff, with which a decrepid old Man fupports his finking Body. Ver. 2. Yet he also is wife, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arife against the houfe of the evil doers, doers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.] Yet Chapter they might have ask'd Counfel of the Lord, and fought XXXI. to him for Advice, for he alfo is wife, as well as they, whofe Advice they follow in having recourfe to the Egyptians; and because they have defpis'd his Wifdom in paffing him by, he will bring Calamities upon them, upon the wicked Jews themselves, and the Egyptians their Helpers. Ver. 3. Now the Egyptians are men and not God, and their borfes flesh and not fpirit: when the Lord fhall ftretch out his hand, both he that helpeth fhall fall, and he that is holpen fhall fall down, and they all fhall fail together.] He fhews, that neither the Multitude of the Egyptians, nor Strength, nor Swiftness of their Horfes were to be rely'd on, for the Egyptians are but Men, therefore the God of Ifrael can deftroy them, and their horfes flesh and not fpirit, not confifting of an immortal Subftance, and may therefore be ftruck down in a Moment; but if the Egyptians and Fems fhall perish together, how can the following Verse be made good, that God will defend his City? To which it may be anfwer'd, That those only in the open Towns and Villages were for putting themselves under the Protection of Egypt, and thefe, in all Probability, were most of them cut off; but those that remain'd in Jerufalem, in Confidence of the Divine Affiftance, were, during the time of the Siege, preferv'd from Danger, and at laft wonderfully deliver❜d. Ver. 4. For thus hath the Lord Spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of Shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abafe himself for the noise of them: fo fhall the Lord of hofts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. This gives a noble Idea of God's Power, which neither Strength nor Multitude can oppofe, like a lufty Lion encompass'd about with Huntfmen, by his own fingle Strength he will break thro' them all, be they never fo many, and trample them under his Feet. Ver. 5. As birds flying, fo will the Lord of hofts defend Jerufalem, defending alfo he will deliver it, and paffing over he will preferve it.] Having compar'd God for his Strength to a Lion, he expreffes the Care he would take of his People by the Similitude of a Bird, which stretching out her Wings hovers aloof over her young ones, and attacks with |