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XL.

Chapter fhall faint, and be weary, and the young men fhall uiterly fall.] Tho' they were in a languifhing Condition, and their Enemies lufty and ftrong, yet God was able to make their Enemies weak and them ftrong: Even the Chaldeans, tho they were at prefent in the height of their. Glory, like a young Man fall of brisk Spirits and Strength, would faint at the appearance of God, and be able to make no

refiftance.

: Ver. 31. But they that wait upon the Lord fhall renew their fixength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they fhall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.] That is, they fhall find themfelvés strongly supported from above, under all their Sufferings, and at length, like an Eagle fly aloft, and furmount all the Difficulties they ftruggled with fo many Years.

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The ARGUMENT of Chapter XLI.

In this Chapter the Prophet reprefents God as challenging the Heathens, to prove the Divinity of their Idols: Asks them whether any of their Gods had a Hand in the Subverfion of the Babylonian Empire by Cyrys? Then he comforts his People in Captivity, tells them they shall feee their Proud Oppreffors trod under Foot by a Superior Enemy: And that they may not be discouraged at the thoughts of perishing in their Way homeward, He promises to furnish them with every thing which may contribute to make their Travelling eafy. And having thus foretold what he defign'd to do in future Ages for his People, he calls upon the Idolators to give the fame Proof of the Divinity of the Gods they worship'd, which fince none of them could give, he declares himfelf the only One able to demonftrate his Divinity, by foretelling things Future, I firft fay to Sion, behold

them.

CHAP.

CHAP. XLI.

Verse 1.
then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
He alludes to the method obfery'd in Courts of Judica
ture, where Silence is always comnianded to prevent in-
terruption: He calls upon the Idolatrous Nations to ap-
pear at the Bar with him; and fee if they could give
fo convincing Proofs of the Divinity of their Gods, as
He could of his own. And there feems to be a Hyfte-
rologia in the Words, which would ftand thus in their
natural Order, Let the People renew their strength, that is,
let them bring the ftrongest Arguments they can think.
of, let us go together to have our Caufe fairly try'd, let
them keep filence while I plead my own Caufe, and then
let them fpeak what they have to fay for their Gods.

K people renew their firength: let them come near,

Eep filence before me, O Ilands, and let the

Chapter

XLI.

Grotius, Em.

Ver. 2. Who raifed up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over Kings? he gave them as the duft to his sword, driven as stubble to his bom.] Commentators are divided in their Opinions, about the Perfon here spoken of, (a) fome (a) Hieron, understanding the Prophet of Chrift, (b) others of Abra- Cyril. ham, and (c) others laftly of Cyrus: The Words are no (b) Vatab.. way applicable to our Saviour, and come in fomewhat Sa. Menoch. abruptly refer'd to the Patriarch; befides that Chaldea, (c) Hugo, from whence Abraham was call'd, is in refpect of Canaan Pagnin, in Scripture conftantly defcrib'd in the North. But Cy- Gataker. rus came from Perfia, which lies Eaft of Babylon, of whom the Prophet fpeaks as if he were already come, calls him Tzedeck, Righteoufnefs, because he was to execute God's Justice on the Babylonians; and defcribes the Petty Princes Tributary to the Chaldean Empire, flying before him like Duft before the Wind By calling him to his Foot, he means making him follow him, God himself as it were leading him the way, and he treading in his Foot-steps, gave the Nations before him, and made him rule over Kings; that is, made him conquer feveral Nations which cannot be understood of Abraham,

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Chapter
XLI.

Ver. 3. He pursued them, and paffed fafely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.] That is, He fhall pafs through fuch places fecurely as he was never acquainted with before, no ftrangeness or uncouthness of the Way fhall be any impediment to his paffage.

Ver. 4. Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord the first, and with the laft, I am he. As if he had faid, Who hath given Cyrus so many Victories and fuch Success against the moft powerful Empire in the World? I Jehovah, who created all Things, call'd them into Being by my Word, which they immediately obey'd; the Metaphor is taken from a well regulated Family, where every Servant is ready to run at the Mafter's Call.

Ver. 5, 6. The ifles faw it and feared, the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near and came. They helped every one his neighbour, and every one faid to his brother, Be of good courage.] That is, the remotest Nations fhall fee the growing Greatnefs of this Perfian Conqueror, and dread the Confequence of it; those that live as it were in the Ends of the Earth fhall draw near and come together to confult proper Methods to reduce the exorbitant Power of the Perfians, and the Prophet proceeds to tell what Method they pitch'd upon, which was, to increase the Number of their Idols, as thinking thereby they fhould receive a proportionable Augmentation of Strength, therefore the Artificers employ'd in the making of Idols animated one another to promote the good Work.

Ver. 7. So the carpenter encouraged the goldfmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that fmote the anvil, faying, It is ready for the fodering: and he faftned it with nails that it should not be moved.] It may be better tranflated faying to the Sodering it is good, that is, ftrong and durable; fome Idols were caft, others made of Wood, others form'd out of hammer'd Iron; the Workmen in each fort affifted one another, and encourag'd themselves with the growing Number of their Divine Manufacture.

Ver. 8. But thou Ifrael art my fervant, Jacob whom I have chofen, the feed of Abraham my friend.] The Words may be rang'd in better Order, But thou Ifrael my fervant, and Jacob whom I have chofen, art the feed of Abraham my friend.

As

As if he had faid, Remember Abraham the Head of your Chapter Family, and behave your felves with the fame Dutifulness XLI. as he did, and then ye need not doubt but I shall be as kind to you as I was to him.

Ver. 9. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and faid unto thee, Thou art my fervant, I have chofen thee, and not but thee away.] This Verfe may be fet in a better Light by the following Translation, which the Original Words will fairly bear, I will take thee from the Ends of the Earth, I will call thee from the chief Men thereof, and fay unto thee, thou art my fervant, I have chofen thee, and not caft thee away; that is, I will deliver thee tho' carry'd Captive into the remotest Corners of the Babylonian Empire, I will make the Great Men of Chaldea, whofe Vaffals ye fhall be, to furrender you up, as having no juft Title to your Service; ye belong to ine, I have a Propriety in you, for I chose you to be my Servants long ago, therefore I will not caft you away, nor fuffer others to domineer over you for ever; and thus there is no Neceffity of including this Verfe in a Parenthesis, it falls in naturally, and agrees with what goes before and what follows.

Ver. 10. Fear thou not, for I am with thee, be not difmayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.] This must be fpoken to the Captives, for Abraham, being at reft in his Grave, could have no Occafion of Fear; I will fupport you in the midst of your Sufferings, and deliver you out of them in my good time with the Right Hand of my Righteoufnefs, that is, with my Power, which I never exert but when Juftice requires it.

Ver. 11, 12, 13. Behold, all bay that were incenfed against thee fhall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing, and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt feek them, and fhalt not find them, even them that contended with thee; they that war against thee fhall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, faying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee.] He promifes to destroy their Enemies, and therefore they might conclude that they should not always be opprefs'd by them; he speaks of the Body of the Captives as of a fingle Perfon.

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Ver.

Chapter
XLI.

Sandius.

Ver. 14. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Ifrael: I will help thee, faith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the holy One of Ifrael.] He calls Jacob, that is, the Captive Sons of Jacob a Worm, as if he faw them trod under Foot in Babylon, and miferably abus'd by their barbarous Masters, and endeavours to keep up their Courage by telling them God their Redeemer will help them, that God, who redeem'd their Fathers from the Egyptian Slavery, will also break their Chaldean Chains.

Ver. 15, 16. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing inftrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them fmall, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind fhall carry them away, and the whirlwind fhall fcatter them: and thou shalt rejoyce in the Lord: and fhalt glory in the holy One of Ifrael.] By this Metaphor the Prophet means, that God would enable them to fubdue and destroy their Enemies, be they never fo great and powerful; Conteret eos qui fic inter alios eminent ficut e plano eminere folent montes altiffimi, which was fulfill'd by many glorious Victories they obtain'd over their Enemies after their Return from Captivity.

Ver. 17, 18. When the poor and needy feek water and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, the God of Ifrael will not forfake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry lands fprings of water.] When must be fupply'd here, fays Gataker, When the poor Captives in their long tiresom March over Wouls and unfrequented Defarts fhall be ready to faint for want of Water, I will alter the Courfe of Nature, and make Fountains iffue forth out of hard Rocks, and fuch Places where naturally Waters are never found.

Ver. 19. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the fhittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oyl-tree: I will fet in the defert the fir-tree, and the pine, and the box-tree together. In the former Verfe he promis'd to fupply them with Water, with every thing they could want below; in this he ingages to skreen them from the fcorching Beams of the Sun as effectually, as if they were to travel through fhady Walks of tall thick-spreading Trees.

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