Page images
PDF
EPUB

understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.

But they little know, what the Lord hath designed to them: they know not his counsel and purpose; viz. that he intends their destruction, and will suddenly gather them into their graves, as the sheaves, in the time of harvest, into the barn.

IV. 13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. Arise then, O Jerusalem, the type of my Evangelical Church, and be victorious over thine enemies: be not thou wanting to the exercise of that power, which I have given thee; for I have made thee able to subdue all that rise up against thee: in which successful victories, thou mayest not challenge ought unto thyself, but shalt ascribe the gain and praise thereof wholly unto the Lord of the whole earth.

V. 1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

Now, O ye troops of Assyrians and Babylonians, gather yourselves together, to lay your siege against Jerusalem: they shall offer scornful usages to Hezekiah, king of Judah.

V. 2 But thou Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

And thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be but one of the smallest cities, both for extent and for number of inhabitants, amongst all those of Judah; and therefore art easily taken and overrun by the great Assyrian invader; yet thou hast wherein thou mayest exceedingly comfort thyself, and rejoice above all other cities upon earth for in thee shall the great Saviour of the World be born; even that glorious King of his Church, who, after his eternal ge neration of his Father, hath, from the first beginnings of the world, manifested and revealed himself to men.

V. 3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

But, in the mean time, he shall suffer his Israel to be grievously afflicted his Church shall be in travail of great sorrow, till she have received a deliverance thereof, by the birth of the Blessed Messiah, who shall be born into the world; and then, the elect amongst the Gentiles shall join themselves with the believing Israelites, and both shall make up the Church and Kingdom of Christ.

V. 4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

And that great Redeemer of the World shall continue and grow mighty, in and through the strength of the Lord, and the majesty and power of the Lord his God, wherewith his human nature is inseparably united for ever; and shall be received and adored to the very ends of the earth.

V. 5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal

men.

And this Saviour shall be our peace and deliverance from all our enemies; even from the Assyrians, when they shall invade our land: and when they and the Babylonians shall have taken our palaces and possessed them, then shall the power of Christ raise up unto us many gracious kings and princes of the Medes and Persians, which shall procure our restoration.

V. 6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof.

And those Persian kings shall make waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Babylon in the entrances thereof.

V..7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.

And those Jews, which shall be called into the Church, shall be dispersed amongst many people, for their conversion; even as the dew or showers, that God sends down upon earth to fruiten it, without the aid or labour of man: so shall they be a means from God, to diffuse the Gospel all over the world, to the great behoof and comfort of mankind.

V. 8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest. And those, that are converted to the Church, shall be so strong and powerful amongst the Gentiles, in the greatest part of the world, as that they shall be able to prevail against their opposers, and shall be awful unto them, even as a lion amongst the beasts of the forest.

V. 9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries. Thine hand, O my Church, shall prevail against thine adversaries.

V. 10, 11, 12 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: Ard I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers. And in those days of the Gospel, I will give a happy peace unto thee, O my Church, so as thou shalt have no use of horses or chariots for thy defence: and I will take from thee all use of thy walled cities and strong holds; since my protection and thy peace shall be guard enough for thee: (or, I will take from thee all confidence in thy horses and chariots, and defenced cities; and thy trust shall be wholly set upon me:) as for those wicked practices of sorcerers and soothsayers, whereof thou hadst wont to make use in thy doubts and extremities, thou shalt have no more

understand they his counsel: for he sh into the floor.

But they little know, what the Lord know not his counsel and purpose : struction, and will suddenly gather sheaves, in the time of harvest, in

IV. 13 Arise and thresh, Ou thine horn iron, and I will make beat in pieces many people: and the LORD, and their substance u Arise then, O Jerusalem, .. and be victorious over thin exercise of that power, w thee able to subdue all th ful victories, thou may shalt ascribe the gain a the whole earth.

V. 1 Now gather hath laid siege agai a rod upon the cheek Now, O ye troop selves together, t offer scornful us V. 2 But the

the thousands of that is to be ru old, from ever And thou, Be smallest cities all those of J the great A exceedingly earth: for 1 even that g neration o world, ma V. 3 T which tra thren shat But, in th afflicted: have rece Messiah, v amongst t raelites, a V. 4. in the mai abide: for

[ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors]
[ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[blocks in formation]

of their captivity, into the midst of thy fruitful pastures l: let them feed in the rich fields of Bashan and Gilead, as er times.

15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of nt will I shew unto him marvellous things.

prayer is heard, saith the Lord: I will do thus for thee, O ocople; and, as I did in the days of thy coming out of Egypt marvellous things for thee, so will I do again in thy coming ot of Babylon.

II. 17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move of their holes like worms of the earth: &c.

nations shall be humbled under the hand of my Church: they ll give way to them, to take possession of their former inheritce, and shall therefore move out of their places, as worms move it of the holes of the earth.

NAHUM.

I. 1 The burden of Nineveh.

The heavy tidings, that God sent to Nineveh, and to the whole kingdom of Assyria.

I. 3 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

The Lord comes to revenge, in fury and terror, as in a whirlwind and tempest; and, as the march of a great host raises dust in their passage, so, in this motion of the Lord to his vengeance, the clouds are as the dust of his feet.

I. 4 Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.

The fruitfullest regions of Bashan, and Carmel, and Lebanon, at his command grow sere and barren.

I. 7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

He takes gracious notice of them, that trust in him; and will deliver them.

I. 9 Affliction shall not rise up the second time.

God will make so full dispatch of his enemies the Assyrians at once, that there be no place for a second onset.

I. 10 For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.

For, while they combine themselves, and plot together in wickedness, as thorns are folded up together in a hedge; and, while they are consorting together in their drunkenness and excess; then, even then, shall the judgment of God fall upon them, and devour them as the fire consumes the dry stubble.

recourse unto them; but thou shalt consult with me in all occa. sions.

V. 14 So will I destroy thy cities.

When all this shall be performed on thy part, I will not be wanting unto thee; but will then destroy those cities of thine enemies, which shall rise up against thee.

VI. 1 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.

Arise, saith God to me, and call the very senseless earth, even the hills and mountains, to record, of what I have to say against my people.

VI. 2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people.

Now, therefore, O ye mountains of Israel and Judah, whose roots seem to reach down to the foundations of the earth, hear ye, since men will not hear: for the Lord hath a just quarrel against his people.

VI. 5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.

Remember what answers I did put into the mouth of Balaam, the son of Beor; how I drew blessings, even from his mouth, upon you, instead of the curses, which Balak would have hired him, to utter against you remember all my gracious dealings with thes in all the passages of the wilderness, even from Shittiin unto Gilgal, till thy very entrance into the Land of Promise; that ye may acknowledge the righteous proceedings of the Lord with you.

VI. 6 Wherewith shall I come before the Lord &c.?

And that, in a true remorse of soul, ye may humble yourselves before him, and say within yourselves, wherewith shall I come bes fore the Lord &c?

VI. S He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good.

And if thou shalt once enter into these holy and penitent thoughts, O man, thou shalt not need to stay for a clear and full direction from him: lo, he hath already shewed thee what course to take; he hath taught thee what is good and acceptable to him.

VI. 9 The LORD's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

The voice of the Lord calleth, by me his prophet, to the city of Jerusalem; and those, that are wise-hearted, will have a due and awful respect to thy name, O Lord: hear, Jerusalem, hear thou the sad news of that sharp rod of affliction, which is prepared for thee; and consider, who it is that hath appointed it, for thy correction.

VI. 10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?

Notwithstanding all the reproofs and menaces of my prophet $

« PreviousContinue »