Isaiah 33

WO to thee that spoilest To Sennacherib, who wasted the Land of Iudah., and thou wast not spoiled Thou didst not meet with any considerable Opposition, but wast victorious over all thine Enemies; of which, the Assyrian boasteth, Isa. 10. 8, 9. & 36. 18, 19. As Sennacherib did with Hezekiah, 2 Kings 18. 14, 17., and dealest treacherously c, and they dealt not treacherously with thee None of thine Enemies could prevail against thee, either by force, of which he speaketh in the former Clause, or by treachery, as here. Or, when they dealt not, &c. when Hezekiah did not deal treacherously with thee. If it be said, that Hezekiah dealt treacherously with him, in breaking his Faith, and rebelling against him; it may be answered, That Hezekiah neither promised nor owed him any Service or Subjection. What was done in that kind, was done by Ahaz only: And he only begged his assistance for a particular Work, and paid him well for it, 2 Kings 16. 7, 8. and the King of Assyria did not keep his Conditions with him; for, he distressed him, but strengthned him not, 2 Chron. 28. 20. The Prophet contemplating the Judgment which was now coming upon God's People, directeth his Prayer to God for them.; when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled When thou hast performed the Work of chastising my People, for which I sent thee, thou also shalt be spoiled by thine Enemies. Our Arm or Strength. The change of persons is most frequent in Prophetical Writings.; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.

O LORD, be gracious unto us, we have waited for thee, be thou their arm every morning When we offer the Morning Sacrifice, and call upon Thee: Which yet is not meant exclusively, as if he did not desire God's help at other times but comprehensively, the Morning being put Synecdochically for the whole day. The Sense is, Help us speedily and continually., our salvation also in the time of trouble.

At the noise of the tumult Which the Angel shall make in destroying the Army. the people Those of the Army, who escaped that stroke. fled; at the lifting up of thy self the nations The People of divers Nations, which made up his Army. were scattered.

And your spoil That Treasure which you have raked together, by spoiling divers People. shall be gathered By the Iews at Ierusalem, when you shall be forced to flee away with all possible speed, leaving your Spoils behind you. like the gathering of the caterpillar Either 1. passively, with as much ease, and in as great numbers as Caterpillars are gathered and destroyed. Or rather 2. actively, as appears from the next Clause; as Caterpillers or Locusts (for the Word signifies either) gather and devour all the Fruits of the Earth; which was a common Plague in those Countries.: as the running to and fro of locusts As Locusts, especially when they are sent, and Armed by commission from God, come with great force, and run hither and thither, devouring all the Fruits of the Earth, wheresoever they find them. shall he run upon them.

The LORD is exalted Will get great Glory by the marvellous Destruction of so proud and potent an Army; and by the Defence of his People., for he dwellleth on high For he is, and will appear to be Superior to his Enemies, both in Place and Power. He dwelleth in the Heaven, whence He can easily, and irresistably pour down Judgments upon his Enemies. Although these words may be, and by some are joyned with those that follow thus, For he that dwelleth on high has filled, &c., he has filled Zion He will fill Ierusalem. with judgment and righteousness Either 1. with a glorious Instance of his just Judgment against the Assyrians. Or 2. with the Execution of Justice by good Hezekiah, as before it was filled with impiety and injustice under Ahaz. The City shall not only be delivered from that wicked Enemy, but shall also be established and blessed with true Religion and Righteousness; which was a great addition to that Mercy..

And wisdom and knowledg To govern thy self and thy People well. shall be the stability of thy times Of thy Reign; times being oft put for things done in those times, as 1 Chron. 12. 32. Psal. 31. 15. & 37. 18. &c. He turneth his speech to Hezekiah. The Sense is Thy Throne shall be established upon the sure Foundations of Wisdome and Justice., and strength of salvation Thy saving Strength, or thy strong or mighty Salvation.: the fear of the LORD is his treasure And although thou shalt have great Treasures of Gold and Silver, &c. yet thy chief Treasure and Delight is, and shall be in promoting the Fear and Worship of God; which shall be a great honour and safeguard to thy self and people. He says, his treasure, for thy treasure, by a sudden Change of the Person, usual in these Books..

Behold That the Mercy here promised might be duly magnified, he makes a lively Representation of their great danger and distress, in which it found them., their valiant ones Or, their heralds or messengers, as the Hebrew Doctors expound the word: Either 1. those whom the King of Assyria sent to Ierusalem, 2 Kings. 18. 17. Or rather those whom Hezekiah sent to Treat with the Assyrian Commissioners, 2 Kings 18. 18. as the next Clause shows. shall cry without Through grief and fear., the embassadours of peace Whom he shall send to beg Peace of the Assyrian. shall weep bitterly Because they cannot obtain their desires..

The high-ways lie wast, the wayfaring man ceaseth Because the Assyrian Souldiers possessed and filled the Land., he has broken the covenant Sennacherib broke his Faith, given to Hezekiah, of departing for a Sum of Money, 2 Kings 18. 14. 17., he has despised the cities The defenced Cities of Iudah, which he contemned, and easily took, 2 Kings 18. 13., he regardeth no man Either to spare them, or to fear them, or to keep Faith with them. He neither feareth God, nor Reverenceth Man..

The earth mourneth Being desolate and neglected. and languisheth, Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down By the Assyrians. Or, as the Word signifies, and is here rendred by others, withereth or languisheth, because its Trees are now used by the Iews for their Buildings, as they have been: And because they are spoiled and destroyed by the Assyrians.: Sharon A pleasant and fruitful Place, as appears from 1 Chron. 27. 29. Cant. 2. 1. Isa. 35. 2. is like a wilderness, and Bashan and Carmel Two places eminent for Fertility, and especially for good Pastures, Deut. 32. 14. 1 Sam. 25. 2. which are here Synecdochically pu... for all such places shake off their fruits Are spoiled of their Fruits. Or, as it is rendred in the Margent, and by some others, yell or roar, as this Word is rendred, Ier. 51. 38..

Now will I rise In this extremity, I will appear on the behalf of my People and Land., says the LORD; now will I be exalted, now will I lift up my self.

Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble In stead of Solid Corn. Your great hopes and designs, O ye Assyrians! shall be utterly disappointed., your breath as fire shall devour you Your Rage against my People shall bring Ruine upon your selves..

And the people shall be as the burnings of lime Shall be burnt as easily and effectually, as Chalk is burned to make Lime., as thorns cut up shall they be burnt in the fire.

Hear ye that are far off, what I have done, and ye that are near, acknowledge my might My power and justice in destroying the Assyrians, shall be so evident, that People, both far and near, shall be forced to acknowledge it..

The sinners in Zion are afraid This is spoken, not of the Assyrians, as some would have it, but of the Iews, as appears, both from the Words themselves, and from the following Verses. The Prophet having foretold the Deliverance of God's People, and the Destruction of their Enemies, ver. 10. 11, 12. for the greater Illustration of that wonderful Mercy, here returns to the Description, and gives a lively representation of the dismal and frightful Condition, in which the Iews, especially such of them as were ungodly and unbelieving, were before this Deliverance came. Although the Godly Iews were, in some measure, supported by the sense of God's Favour, and by God's Promises delivered to them by Isaiah yet the generality of the People were filled with Horrors and expectation of utter Destruction., fearfulness has surprized the hypocrites, who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who amongst us shall dwell with everlasting burnings How shall we be able to abide the Presence, and endure, or avoid the Wrath of that God, who is a consuming Fire; who is now about to destroy us, utterly by the Assyrians, and will afterward burn us with unquenchable Fire. Fo... seeing it is sufficiently evident, from both Old and New-Testament, as has been formerly observed and proved, That the Iews, except the Sadducees, did generally believe the rewards and punishments of the future Life; and these Temporal Judgments, as they did frequently cut Men off from this Life, so they transmitted them into that future and endless Life: It is not strange, if their guilty Consciences made them dread both the present Judgment here, and the terrible Consequences of it hereafter. Heb. Who shall dwell for us, &c. i. e. in our stead? Who will interpose himself between God's Anger and us. How shall we escape these Miseries? That this is the Sense of this Question, may be gathered from the Answer, given to it in the following Verse; in which, he directs them to the right Course of removing God's Wrath, and regaining His Favour.?

He that walketh righteously Who is just in all His dealings with Men, of which the following Clauses explain it: Which is not spoken exclusively, as if Piety towards God were not as necessary, as Righteousness towards Men; but comprehensively, this being one Evidence, and a constant companion of Piety., and speaketh uprightly Who speaks truly and sincerely, what He really intends., he that despiseth That refuseth it, not for politick Reasons, as Men sometimes may do, but from a contempt and abhorrency of injustice. the gains of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding Or, from taking or receiving; as this Verb signifies, Prov. 4. 4. & 5. 5. & 28 17. That will not receive, much less retain, Bribes. of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood Who will not hearken or assent to any Counsels or Courses, tending to shed innocent Blood., and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil That abhorreth the very sight of Sin, committed by others, and guardeth his Eyes from beholding occasions of Sin, of which, see on Iob. 31. 1..

He shall dwell on high Out of the reach of danger., his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks, bread shall be given him, his waters shall be sure God will furnish him with all necessaries..

Thine eyes shall see the king First Hezekiah, and then Christ, as before. in his beauty Triumphing over all Enemies, and Ruling his own People with Righteousness; in which two things, the beauty and glory of a King and Kingdome, does chiefly consist., they shall behold the land that is very far off Thou shalt not be shut up in Ierusalem, and confined to thine own narrow Borders, as thou hast been, but thou shalt have free Liberty to go abroad with honour and safety, where thou pleasest, even into the remotest Countries, because of the great renown of thy King, and the enlargement of his Dominions..

Thine heart shall meditate terrour This is, Either 1. a Premonition concerning a future Judgment, as if he said, Before these glorious Promises shall be accomplished, thou shalt be brought into great straits and troubles. Or rather 2. a thankful Acknowledgment of deliverance from a former Danger; as if he had said, When thou art delivered, thou shalt, with pleasure and thankfulness recal to mind thy former Terrours and Miseries.; Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers These Words are, Either 1. words of Gratulation, and Insultation over the Enemy. Thou shalt then say, Where are the great Officers of the Assyrian Host? They are no where, they are not, they are dead or slain. Or rather 2. the words of Men dismayed and confounded, such as proceeded from the Iews, in the time of their distress; and are here remembred to aggravate the present Mercy. For the Officers here mentioned, seem not to be those of the Assyrian Army, who were actually fighting against the Iews and Ierusalem (for then he would rather have mentioned the Captains of the host, as the Scripture commonly does in these cases, than the scribes and receivers, &c.) but rather of the Iews in Ierusalem, who, upon the approach of Sennacherib, began to make Military preparations for the defence of the City; and to choose such Officers, as were necessary and usual, for that end; such as these were, to wit, the scribe, whom we call Muster-Master, who was to make and keep a List of the Souldiers, and to call them together, as occasion required: The receiver, who received and laid out the Money for the Charges of the War; and he that counted the Towers, who surveyed all the parts of the City, and considered what Towers or Fortifications were to be made or repaired for the Security of the City. And unto these several Officers the People resorted, with great distraction and confusion, to acquaint them with all Occurrences, or to quicken them to their several Works, or to transact Matters with them, as occasion required.?

Thon shalt not see a fierce people As Moses said of the Egyptians, Exod. 14. 13. So I say of the Assyrians, that fierce and warlike People, whom thou hast seen, with great Terrour, near the Walls of Ierusalem, thou shalt see them again no more., a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive A forreign Nation, whose Language is abstruse and unknown to thee.; of a stammering tongue Of which, see on Isa. 28. 11., that thou canst not understand.

Look upon Zion Contemplate Zions beauty and safety, and her glorious and peculiar Priviledges: It is an Object worthy of thy deepest Meditation. the city of our solemnities This he mentions, as the chief part of Zions Glory and Happiness, that God was solemnly Worshipped, and the solemn Assemblies and Feasts kept in her., thine eyes shall see Ierusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down, not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken Which was but very obscurely and imperfectly fulfilled in the literal Zion; but was clearly and fully accomplished in the mystical Zion, the Church of God in the times of the Gospel against which, we are assured, that the gates of Hell shall not prevail, Mat. 16. 18..

But there In and about Zion. the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams Though we have nothing but a small and contemptible Brook to defend us; yet God will be as sure and strong a Defence to us, as if we were surrounded with such great Rivers, as Nilus or Euphrates, which were a great security to Egypt and Babylon., wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ships pass thereby But although they shall have from God, the security of a great River, yet they shall be freed from the disadvantage of it; which is, That the Enemies may come against them in Ships; for no Galleys, nor Ships of the Enemies shall be able to come into this River to annoy them..

For the LORD is our judge To judge for us, to plead our Cause against our Enemies, as the ancient Judges of Israel did, Iudg. 2. 16., the Lord is our lawgiver Our chief Governour, to whom it belongs, to give Laws, and to defend his People., the LORD is king, he will save us.

Thy tacklings are loosed He directeth his Speech to the Assyrians; and having tacitely designed their Army under the notion of a gallant Ship, ver. 21. he here represents their broken and undone condition, by the Metaphor of a Ship, tossed in a tempestuous Sea, having her Cables broken, and all her Tacklings loose, and out of order, so as she could have no benefit of her Masts or Sails; and therefore is quickly broken, or swallowed up by the Sea., they The Assyrians, of whom he still speaks, as in the first Clause he spake to them. could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the Prey of a great spoil divided, the Iame take the prey They, who came to spoil and prey upon my People, shall become a prey to them, and shall be forced to flee away so suddenly, that they shall leave so many Spoils behind them, that when strong and active Men have carried away all that they desired, there shall be enough left for the Lame, who come last to the Spoil. The general Sense of the place is, That God's People shall be Victorious over all their Enemies..

And the inhabitants To wit, of Ierusalem; God's people. shall not say, I am sick Shall have no cause to complain of any sicknes or calamity; shall be fully delivered from all their Enemies and evil Occurrents; shall enjoy perfect tranquility and prosperity.: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity This may be added, Either 1. as the Reason of the foregoing priviledge; Their Sins, the main causes of all their Distresses, shall be pardoned; and therefore their Sufferings, the effects of Sin, shall cease: Or 2. as an additional Favour. They shall not only receive from me a glorious Temporal Deliverance; but, which is infinitely better, the pardon of all their Sins, and all those spiritual and everlasting Blessings, which attend upon that Mercy..