Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. Ver. 1. _Behold a king._] Hezekiah in the type, Christ in the antitype. _ Shall reign in righteousness._] Regiment without righteousness, is but robbery with authority. “ Eν δε δικαιοσυνη συλληβοην πας αρετ εστι. ”... [ Continue Reading ]
And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Ver. 2. _And a man shall be,_] _i.e., _ Each man of those forementioned princes, or, That man, viz., Hezekiah. How much more "the man... [ Continue Reading ]
And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. Ver. 3. _And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim._] Or, Shall not be closed; they shall not wink or be wilfully ignorant, shutting the windows lest the light should come in, or seeking straws to put... [ Continue Reading ]
The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. Ver. 4. _The heart also of the rash._] Heb., Of the hasty ones, such as are headlong and inconsiderate, that weigh not things, that say not, What shall we do in the end thereof?... [ Continue Reading ]
The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said [to be] bountiful. Ver. 5. _The vile person shall be no more called liberal._] _Benefici et magnifici domini._ That sapless fellow Nabal shall no more be called Nadib, that is, bountiful benefactor, or gracious lord. Of Archbishop... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail._ Ver. 6. _For the vile person will speak villany._] Why then should he be... [ Continue Reading ]
The instruments also of the churl [are] evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. Ver. 7. _The instruments also of the churl are evil._] There is an elegance in the original, _Cuius lepos in vertendo perit._ _a_ By his instruments or... [ Continue Reading ]
But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand. Ver. 8. _But the liberal deviseth liberal things._] _Beneficus beneficia cogitat: munificentius consultat, et consulit,_ in opposition to the churl, Isa 32:7 He is of a public spirit, and studieth how and where to do mos... [ Continue Reading ]
_Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech._ Ver. 9. _Rise up, ye women that are at ease._] _Secure sedentes,_ ye court ladies, whose pride hath brought on the wars; Isa 3:25 or, ye hen hearted Jews, Aχηιδες ουκ ετ Aχαιοι; or, ye lesser cities... [ Continue Reading ]
Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. Ver. 10. _Many days and years shall ye be troubled._] A just punishment of your former security, which usually ushereth in destruction. Days above a year your calamity shall last,... [ Continue Reading ]
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird [sackcloth] upon [your] loins. Ver. 11. _Tremble, ye women._] _Adhortatio ad poenitentiam,_ saith Hyperius; an exhortation to repentance, _a_ not unlike that of St James, Jam 4:9-10 "Afflict yo... [ Continue Reading ]
_They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine._ Ver. 12. _They shall mourn for the teats._] That is, for their grain and wine. The heathens called Ceres their goddess of plenty, πολυμασθον, _Mammosam,_ full teated. Some sense it thus, Let them (infants) mourn for... [ Continue Reading ]
Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns [and] briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy [in] the joyous city: Ver. 13. _Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns._] Here the prophet proceedeth to denounce the destruction of the land that should one day come by the Babylonians; and yet h... [ Continue Reading ]
Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; Ver. 14. _The multitude of the city shall be left._] For the city shall be left of its multitude. _ The forts and towers._] Heb... [ Continue Reading ]
Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Ver. 15. _Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high._] _Donec Dominus dignabitar suum favorem et gratiam denuo nobis impertiri,_ Till God shall please once... [ Continue Reading ]
Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. Ver. 16. _Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness._] In this and the next verse, he setteth forth the sweet effects of God's Spirit in the saints, in hypocrites also, when once they come to be converted... [ Continue Reading ]
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Ver. 17. _And the work of righteousness shall be peace._] Peace both of country and of conscience; none other but this last can last for ever. _ Quietness and assurance for ever._] Such... [ Continue Reading ]
And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; Ver. 18. _And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation._] Great peace have all those that love God's law, and nothing shall offend them. Psa 119:165 Peace shall be within their walls, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place._ Ver. 19. _When it shall hail, coming down on the forest._] When reprobates - here compared to a forest or tall wood - shall be hail beaten, that is, grievously plagued, as those Egyptians once were, Exodus 9:... [ Continue Reading ]
Blessed [are] ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth [thither] the feet of the ox and the ass. Ver. 20. _Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters._] _Conclusionem texit ipse propheta._ The prophet concludeth with an exclamation, as admiring the happiness of such as should live till the com... [ Continue Reading ]