LVIII. Ver. 5. Is it fuch a fast that I have chofen? a day for a Chapter man to afflict his foul? is it to bome down his head as a bulrufh, and to spread fackcloth and afhes under him? wilt thou call this a faft, and an acceptable day to the Lord ?] Here is a compleat defcription of a Jewish Faft, They were always on thefe occafions drefs'd in the most homely Garb, with a close rough Garment next their Skin, fometimes they ftood penfive with bending Neck and Eyes fixt on the Ground, hanging their Heads like Bulrushes, as the Prophet excellently deferibes it; at other times they were in appearance more humble ftill proftrated themselves on the Ground, befmear'd their Faces with Duft, and cover'd their Heads with Ashes: And to what purpose all this Pageantry of Sorrow? If the Heart did not accompany the external Geftures of Humility, to be fure they must be highly offenfive in the fight of God, the fearcher of Hearts. Ver. 6. Is not this the faft that I have chofen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppreffed go free, and that ye break every yoke ?] These four Exprellions are Synonimous, by which the Prophet means, if they would make their Fafts fuch as God delights in, they should be kind to their infolvent Debtors, fet them at liberty if confin'd on their account, give up the Bonds they had unjustly extorted from them, and eafe them of the Burden under which they groan'd. Ver. 7, 8. Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are caft out to thy house? when thou feeft the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thy felf from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health fhall Spring forth Speedily and thy righteousness fhall go before thee, the glory of the Lord fhall be thy rereward.] Then fhall thy Condition be chang'd from Darkness to Light, the Clouds of Adversity fhall be difpell'd, and a long feries of profperous Years commence: Thou who art now in a languifhing Condition halt be restor❜d to thy Health and Vigour; the Lord the rewarder of thy Righteoufnefs or Charity, fhall go before thee and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward: He fhall fecure thee before and behind against the attempts of any Enemy. Ggg Ver. Chapter Acts 8. Ver. 9. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; LVIII. thou shalt cry, and be shall fay, Here I am: if thou take away from the midst of thee, the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and fpeaking vanity:] St. Jerom understands the Prophet of the Take of Sin, by which the Soul is in a manner fhackled like a Prifoner in Chains, to which St. Peter alludes when he tells Simon, I fee thou art in the Bond of Iniquity: But it is generally allow'd to fignify thofe Bonds which they had extorted from their neceffitous Brethren; by putting forth of the Finger, fome understand Covetousness, and Pagnin Tranflates it Extendere digitum in rem alienam, but others conceive it to be a menacing or mocking Gefture. Cyril, Ver. 10. And if thou draw out thy foul to the hungry, and fatisfie the afflicted fonl; then fhall thy light rife in obfcurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day.] That is, if thou be ftow thy Charity on thy poor Brethren freely, in Juxñs of as the LXX render it; then hall thy light rife in obfcurity, in the midst of your Calamities, when ye have no hopes of Deliverance, and nothing before your Eyes but the dark melancholy profpect of perpetual flavery, then hall Liberty dart upon you like the light of the Meridian Sun in full Luftre. Ver. 11. And the Lord fhall guide thee continually, and fatisfie thy foul in drought, and make fat thy bones and thou balt be like a watered garden, and like a Spring of water, whofe waters fail not. That is, the Lord fhall conduct thee fafe in thy paffage homeward, he fhall fatisfy thy Soul in drought, Betzakzakoth in dry places, where no Water is to be found, he fhall fupply thee with Water as thou paffeft through barren Deferts, and feed thee all along fo plentifully that thou fhalt grow fat and recover thy ftrength, and fhalt be like a water'd Garden, every thing about thee look gay and pleasant. Ver. 12. And they that shall be of thee fhall build the old wafte places, thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.] Here the Mystical Interpreters have scope for their Fancies to fport themselves in; and a great many pretty turns they give the Words, fuch as Inftaurari revivifcere virtutes que primis mundi temporibus LVIII. temporibus floruerunt; whereas the plain meaning of the Chapter Prophet is, that the Captives should rebuild their ruinous Houfes, and raise the foundations of many Generations, that e is, rebuild their Houfes which were deftroy'd many Years ago, and had nothing remaining but the Foundations only; or by the foundations of many generations, he may mean the foundations which were laid many Ages ago; For 'tis acknowledg'd by all, fays St. Jerom, that Salem is the fame as Jerufalem, and therefore the Foundations of Ferufalem may properly enough be call'd the Foundations of many Generations; and thou Jhalt be call'd the repairer of the breach, the restorer of Paths to dwell in, that is thy Walls fhall be repair'd, and thy Paths overgrown with Grass shall be reftor'd to their former ufe, and be frequented as much as ever. Ver. 13. If thou turn away thy foot from the fabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the fabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable, and fhalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor Speaking thine own words: If thou forbear thofe Actions which are pleafing to thy corrupt Lufts on my Holy Sabbath, and pollute it not, but art careful to obferve it religously in the Service of Me thy God; not speaking thine owns Words, not fo much as talking of any thing which tends to thine own profit or delight. In the Original, vedabber dabar; which repetition makes Sanctius think, the Prophet warns them against idle Pratling, fpending the time which fhould be imploy'd in divine Meditation and Communion, as it were, with God,in unedifying impertinent Difcourfe. Ver. 14. Then fhalt thou delight thy felf in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath Spoken it.] Then fhall the Lord do fo great things for thee, as fhall make thee delight in him, take pleafure in obeying his Commands, and injoying the happy Fruits of fincere Obedience and I will bring thee home out of Captivity, and caufe thee to dwell in places of fecurity, high out of the reach of danger, where thou fhalt ride to and fro at pleafure; alluding to the fituation Ggg 2 of LVIII. Chapter of Jerufalem, which People are faid to go up to in Scripture; and I will feed thee with the Fruits of the Land of Canaan, which I gave to Jacob thy Father, for him and Gen. 28. 13. his Pofterity. Chapter The ARGUMENT of Chapter LIX. In this Chapter the Prophet answers the infolent Demands of the Jewish Captives, Why Gode did not deliver them? By giving them to understand, That God was as able to deliver them, as in times paft, but their Sins intercepted his Favours, and made them unworthy to have him appear in their be balf. He proceeds to enumerate the particular Sins they were remarkably guilty of; makes them confefs their Delive rance was justly deferr'd by God: And then defcribes him like a General, making Preparation for an Engagement; putting on fuch defenfive Armour as the Circumftances of the time requir'd: And then, at the 20th Verfe, he promises a Redeemer to Sion, that is, to thofe of the Seed of Jacob, who fhould be reform'd by their Afflictions. Verf. 1, 2. cannot hear. BE CHA P. LIX. Ehold, the Lords hand is not fhortened, that it cannot fave: neither his Ear heavy, that it But your Iniquities have feparated between you and your God, and your fins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.] That is, God, who has often delivered you out of the Hands of your Enemies, continues a God of the fame Power ftill; he fuffers no decay of Strength, but can reach with his Arm as far, and ftrike with as great Force, as ever: Neither is he infenfible of your Sufferings; he hears your Lamentations, and is fully acquainted with all the aggravating Circumftances of your deplorable Condition, tho' you may think otherwife, becaufe he does not make hafte to deliver you; the reafon of which is, because your Sins make you unworthy of any Favour from him; your Iniquities have made, as it were, a Wall of Separation between you and your God, which hinder your LIX. your Prayers from afcending to him, and stop the courfe Chapter of his Bleffings downward upon you, and caufe him to hide his Face from you, and be as unconcerned, as if he did not hear your Cries. Ver. 3. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity, your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverfenefs. ] He defcends from general Terms to particular Accufations, and lays to their Charge the Sin of Murder, and other violent Outrages not proceeding fo far. Ver. 4. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth; they trust in vanity, and Speak lies; they conceive mifchief, and bring forth iniquity.] That is, The Judges, in trying Caufes which were brought before them, call not Justice into the Debate, but determine, right or wrong, for the Great and the Rich, who are beft able to reward their apparent Partiality; which the Prophet more plainly expreffes in the following Words, Ve een nifhpat beemuna, Nema juftè judicatur, as the Verb in the Paffive Conjugation should be rendred. From this and other Places it may be probably gathered, That the Jews had power to judge of Jews, and had Authority and Jurifdiction among themfelves, by the leave of the Babylonish Kings, under whom they liv'd. They trust in vanity that is, if understood of the Judges and Magiftrates, they truft in this, That they are able, by their Wit, to put a fhew of Justice on a bad Caufe, which Confidence of theirs fhall prove but a vain thing in the end, when God fhall call them to account. They Speak lies; They fpeak that which they know to be falfe; the Judges in the Sentences which they give, and the Advocates in their Pleadings. They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity; that is, Their Heads are continually labouring with Mifchief, contriving, one way or other, to moleft and injure their Neighbours; and they are ncver at ease, till they have put their malicious Defigns in execution. Ver. 5. They hatch cockatrice-eggs, and weave the fpiders web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed, breaketh out into a viper.] That is, They foment mifchievous and villanous Plots and Devices, fatal to thofe who are fo unhappy as to fall into their Clutches. He. that |