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VI.

(a) Lib. 83. quat. 69.

Chapter of their Faculties, according to the Rule of St. Austin, (a) by which any one in Scripture is faid to do a thing when he declares it fhall be or is already done: (b) Thus Mofes, fpeaking of the leprous Perfon, fays, Contaminabit Salmeron proeum facerdos, that is, fhall declare or pronounce him unleg. clean, and my own cloaths fhall abhor me, (e fays Fob) fhall(b) Levit. 12. declare me abominable, fit to be abhorr'd. The LXX (C) Fob 9.31. read the Hebrew with other Vowels, rendring it iraxwi Sn, so that in this Verse the Prophet gives the Reason of what he had forerold in the former, that hearing they fhould hear and not understand, for the Hearts of this People are grown fat, and their Ears dull of hearing, by a long Habit of Sin they are harden'd, and Inftruction makes no more Impreffion on them than a Confort of Musick on a Perfon quite deaf; they are become like the Idols they dote on, have Eyes and fee not, Ears and hear not, and therefore tho' I thunder the Terrors of the Lord in their Ears, and warn them of those terrible Calamities they will draw on their own Heads, they are no more mov'd than if they heard not or understood not a Word I fay to them; this to me feems to be the natural meaning of this Verfe, by which the Blindness of the Jews before the Captivity is to be understood, as well as their Blindness d) Santim under the Light of the Gospel. (d).

Ver. 11. Then faid I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the Cities be wasted without Inhabitant, and the Houses without Man, and the Land be utterly defolate.] The Prophet not daring to intercede in behalf of the stubborn Nation, only asks of God how long they should continue thus obftinate? To which this Anfwer is return'd, Until the Cities be wafted without Inhabitant, and the Houses without Man, and the Land be utterly defolate. By which Grotius thinks the Prophet means the Defolation brought on the Cities of Judea, by Sennacherib; fo long they fhould continue obftinate in their Wickedness, ridiculing the Prophets, and giving no Credit to what they faid; but the Prophet feems to me to point out the Babylonian Captivity, not that after that this blindness should be taken off, for we fee it continu'd upon them 'till their Cities were wafted a fecond time, and they remov❜d far away.

Ver. 12. And the Lord have removed Men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midft of the Land.] By removing Men far away, Grotius understands making them fly for fhelter to diftant Countries, which in all probability great numbers of them did upon the approach of the Affyrian Army; but they foon return'd again upon the News of the fignal Overthrow of that prodigious Hoft, and fettled again in their former Habitations. The defolation here defcrib'd was, in all probability, that which their Country-men were reduced to by their Babylonian Conquerors, who tranfplanted all the Inhabitants of Judea into a far Country, and left their Cities defolate for many Years.

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Ver. 13. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and fhall be eaten as a teil tree, and as an oak whofe fubftance is in them, when they caft their leaves: fo the holy feed fhall be the fubftance thereof.] Grotius understands this obfcure Verfe thus, In it, that is, in Judea fhall be a tenth, part of the Inhabitants fhall efcape the Swords of the Affyrians; it shall return, and fhall be eaten, that is, it fhall again be cultivated, and they fhall eat the Fruit. thereof; it shall flourish like a teil tree or oak when it expands its branches, they fhall be establish'd again, and the holy feed fhall be their establishment; that is, the City shall be fav'd from Sennacherib, becaufe of the good Men therein. Others thus, But yet a tenth fhall be in Fudea, that is, fhall. return to their Native Country; (fpeaking of those in the former Verfe, faid to be removed far away) they fhall be, Lebaner in Excidium, deftroy'd, but not utterly; as a teil tree or oak, depriv'd of their Leaves in Au tumn, feem to outward appearance dead, yet even then they have a vital Principle within, which will expand it felf in Buds and Leaves, as foon as they begin to feel the warm influence of the Sun: So fhall there be fome Vigour left in the poor remains of a long Captivity, which fhall make them again flourish and fpread themfelves over the Land, which fhall be owing to the Piety and Goodness of a few chofen good Men. Semen fanctum. fulcimentum ejus, a holy feed shall be their fupport. Sanctius thinks Nafiridja Decimatio, as the Vulgat renders it, is. the fame with Decies repetita Vaftatio; as if the Prophet

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VI.

Chapter had faid, If the Nation of the Jews should again multiply, I will not fuffer them to enjoy a long establish'd Happiness, but will fend Judgments upon Fudgments, and confume them 'till they are quite deftroy'd; which was effectually accomplish'd (fays he) by God; for what Nebuchadnezzar left at his firft Invafion, he deftroy'd by a fecond and third: And when, after their Restoration, they had taken breath for a long time, and had a fair Profpect of regaining their ancient Splendor, they were brought down again by Antiochus; and after another interval of Quietnefs, first Pompey gave them a taste of the Roman Valour, by which their Government was at last intirely fhatter'd to pieces under Titus. But Nafiridja fignifies no more than the Tenth, being the Feminine of Najirith; and it is more natural to, understand Pars the tenth part, the word being a Numeral, than Vaftatio, to which it has no more relation than to any thing elfe. Zach. Urfin. thinks the Prophet by Decima Pars refers to thofe poor Jews who were left behind by Nebuchadnezzar, and gives this eafy Version of this obfcure Verfe, Adhuc in ea [terrâ erit] Decima [pars exigua reliqua] & rurfus erit ad depafcendum Literum comburetur vel vaftabitur] Verum tamen ficut Ilex

ficut Quercus in quibus in abjectione foliorum ftipes eft, fic femen fanitum eft ftipes ejus. Matzau, which properly fignifies a Statue, here is to be understood of the Body of a Tree, which ftands firmly fix'd in the Earth by its roots; and tho' in the Winter, to outward appearance, it looks dead, yet it retains within a vital Vigour, which will fhew it felf in the Spring. Such fhall the condition "of the Jews be, during their Captivity, after which they fhall again fhine forth in their former Splendor.

The

The ARGUMENT of Chapter VII.

In this Chapter the Prophet, from God, promifes deliverance to Ahaz, who was under dreadful Apprehenfions at this time of being over-run by the Confederate Forces of Syria and Ifrael: This he does first by dumb fhew, as it were, fetting. bis Son Searjafub before him, whofe Name was given him on purpose to fignify that they should not be intirely cut off: But this prophetick Name not being fufficient to allay the Fears of the dejected King, the Prophet bids him ask what fign he pleas'd, and it should be granted, in Confirmation that God would certainly deliver him out of the Hands of his Enemies: The King refuses to ask a fign, out of a spe-cious pretence, that he was unwilling to tempt God, or put him to fo much trouble on his account; yet God gives one, and expreffes it in fuch words as plainly fhew the Prophet had then in his Eye a far greater deliverance; and then he proceeds to denounce against incredulous Ahaz, Judgments on him and his Pofterity by the Arms of the Affyrians.

Verse 1.

A

CHAP. VII.

Chapter
VII.

ND it came to pass in the days of Ahaz, the Son of Jotham, the Son of Uzziah king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the Son of Remaliah king of Ifrael, went up towards Jerufalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.] To underftand this illuftrious Prophecy it will be neceffary to confult the History (a); that Judea was miferably plunder'd (4) 2 Kings and ravag'd by Hoftile Incurfions at the beginning of the 15 2 Chron. 28. Reign of Abaz. Firft Rezin, King of Syria, invaded them, took Aila, and carry'd away a great Booty, which encourag'd Pekah King of Ifrael to try his ftrength with them, which he did, and in one Battle kill'd 120000 of the choiceft of their Soldiers: The Idumeans and Philifines were not wanting to infult a poor broken Nation; and to conclude their Calamity, the Kings of Syria and Ifrael enter into Alliance, refolv'd to make a compleat Conqueft of the Nation, and fet a Governour over it

who

VII.

Chapter who should be accountable to them. In these Extremities King Ahaz was fo far from having recourfe to God, that he thought of nothing but how to engage Tiglath Pilefer King of Affyria, on his fide, which he refolv❜d to endeavour by a vaft Prefent, confifting of the richest Furniture of his Palace, and the moft valuable Ornaments of the Temple. These were the Projects he was wholly taken up with, when God fent the Prophet to him, with the Meffage contain'd in the following Verfes. Ver. 2. And it was told the house of David, faying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim: and his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.] The Original, which we render is Confederate, fignifies is Refted, and may import not only that the Confederate Forces were join'd, but that they were already incamp'd in the Tribe of Ephraim, which was not very far from Jerufalem, and therefore was amazing News to the timerous King.

(a) Hieron. Thomas, Lugo.

Ver. 3. Then faid the Lord unto Ifaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjafhub thy fon, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the high way of the fullers field.] Searjafhub was a Name in all probability given by God's own appointment to one of Ifaiah's Sons, and fignifies either a Remnant, or the Forfaken fhall return: So that the Prophet taking this Son with him, and prefenting him to the King, was as much as if he had told him in words, that those who remain'd after the Incurfion of this Confederate Army, fhould return again to their Country, and be a flourishing People: Or in the other fignification of Sear, that the People at prefent forfaken of God fhould be reftor?d to his Favour, and deliver'd from their Enemies. Thus we are fure God fometimes foretold future Events by Names, as appears from the Sons of Hofea, Loruchama & Loammi.

Ver. 4. And Say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted for the two tails of these fmoaking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the fon of Remaliah.] (a). Some think the Prophet advises the King to keep his Temper not to fly out into any indecent Expreflion, or infolent Murmurings against God, for fuffering fuch powerful Enemies to invade his

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