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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>I S A I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Hitherto the prophecies of this book related only to Judah and Israel,
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and Jerusalem especially; but now the prophet begins to look abroad,
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and to read the doom of divers of the neighbouring states and kingdoms:
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for he that is King of saints is also King of nations, and rules in the
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affairs of the children of men as well as in those of his own children.
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But the nations to whom these prophecies do relate were all such as the
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people of God were in some way or other conversant and concerned with,
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such as had been kind or unkind to Israel, and accordingly God would
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deal with them, either in favour or in wrath; for the Lord's portion is
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his people, and to them he has an eye in all the dispensations of his
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providence concerning those about them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:8,9">Deut. xxxii. 8, 9</A>.
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The threatenings we find here against Babylon, Moab, Damascus, Egypt,
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Tyre, &c., were intended for comfort to those in Israel that feared
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God, but were terrified and oppressed by those potent neighbours, and
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for alarm to those among them that were wicked. If God would thus
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severely reckon with those for their sins that knew him not, and made
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no profession of his name, how severe would he be with those that were
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called by his name and yet lived in rebellion against him! And perhaps
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the directing of particular prophecies to the neighbouring nations
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might invite some of those nations to the reading of the Jews' Bible,
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and so they might be brought to their religion. This chapter, and that
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which follows, contain what God had to say to Babylon and Babylon's
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king, who were at present little known to Israel, but would in process
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of time become a greater enemy to them than any other had been, for
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which God would at last reckon with them. In this chapter we have,
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I. A general rendezvous of the forces that were to be employed against
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Babylon,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
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II. The dreadfully bloody work that those forces should make in
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Babylon,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:6-18">ver. 6-18</A>.
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III. The utter ruin and desolation of Babylon, which this should end in,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:19-22">ver. 19-22</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa13_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Doom of Babylon.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 739.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.
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2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice
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unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the
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nobles.
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3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my
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mighty ones for mine anger, <I>even</I> them that rejoice in my
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highness.
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4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great
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people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered
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together: the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.
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5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, <I>even</I>
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the
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whole land.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The general title of this book was, <I>The vision of Isaiah the son of
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Amoz,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:1"><I>ch.</I> i. 1</A>.
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Here we have that which Isaiah saw, which was represented to his mind
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as clearly and fully as if he had seen it with his bodily eyes; but the
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particular inscription of this sermon is <I>the burden of Babylon.</I>
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1. It is a burden, a lesson they were to learn (so some understand it),
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but they would be loth to learn it, and it would be a burden to their
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memories, or a load which should lie heavily upon them and under which
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they should sink. Those that will not make the word of God their rest
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+28:12,Jer+6:16"><I>ch.</I> xxviii. 12; Jer. vi. 16</A>)
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shall find it made a burden to them.
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2. It is the burden of Babylon or Babel, which at this time was a
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dependent upon the Assyrian monarchy (the metropolis of which was
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Nineveh), but soon after revolted from it and became a monarchy of
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itself, and a very potent one, in Nebuchadnezzar. This prophet
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afterwards foretold the captivity of the Jews in Babylon,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+39:6"><I>ch.</I> xxxix. 6</A>.
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Here he foretels the reprisals God would make upon Babylon for the
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wrongs done to his people. In these verses a summons is given to those
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powerful and warlike nations whom God would make us of as the
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instruments of his wrath for the destruction of Babylon: he afterwards
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names them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>)
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the <I>Medes,</I> who, in conjunction with the Persians, under the
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command of Darius and Cyrus, were the ruin of the Babylonian
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monarchy.</P>
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<P>
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I. The place doomed to destruction is Babylon; it is here called <I>the
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gates of the nobles</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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because of the abundance of noblemen's houses that were in it, stately
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ones and richly furnished, which would invite the enemy to come, in
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hopes of a rich booty. The gates of nobles were strong and well
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guarded, and yet they would be no fence against those who came with
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commission to execute God's judgments. Before his power and wrath
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palaces are no more than cottages. Nor is it only the gates of the
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nobles, but <I>the whole land,</I> that is doomed to destruction
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>);
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for, though the nobles were the leaders in persecuting and oppressing
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God's people, yet the whole land concurred with them in it.</P>
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<P>
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II. The persons brought together to lay Babylon waste are here called,
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1. God's <I>sanctified ones</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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designed for this service and set apart to it by the purpose and
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providence of God, disengaged from other projects, that they might
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wholly apply themselves to this, such as were qualified for that to
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which they were called, for what work God employs men in he does in
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some measure fit them for. It intimates likewise that in God's
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intention, though not in theirs, it was a holy war; they designed only
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the enlargement of their own empire, but God designed the release of
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his people and a type of the destruction of the New-Testament Babylon.
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Cyrus, the person principally concerned, was justly called <I>a
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sanctified one,</I> for he was God's anointed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:1"><I>ch.</I> xlv. 1</A>)
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and a figure of him that was to come. It is a pity but all soldiers,
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especially those that fight the Lord's battles, should be in the
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strictest sense sanctified ones; and it is a wonder that those dare be
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profane ones who carry their lives in their hands.
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2. They are called God's <I>mighty ones,</I> because they had their
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might from God and were now to use it for him. It is said of Cyrus that
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in this expedition <I>God held his right hand,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:1"><I>ch.</I> xlv. 1</A>.
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God's sanctified ones are his mighty ones. Those whom God calls he
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qualifies; and those whom he makes holy he makes strong in spirit.
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3. They are said to rejoice in his highness, that is, to serve his
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glory and the purposes of it with great alacrity. Though Cyrus did not
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know God, nor actually design his honour in what he did, yet God used
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him as his servant
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:4"><I>ch.</I> xlv. 4</A>,
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<I>I have surnamed thee</I> as my servant, though <I>thou hast not
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known me</I>), and he rejoiced in those successes by which God exalted
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his own name.
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4. They are very numerous, <I>a multitude, a great people, kingdoms of
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nations</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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not rude and barbarous, but modelled and regular troops, such as are
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furnished out by well-ordered kingdoms. The great God has hosts at his
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command.
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5. They are far-fetched: <I>They come from a far country, from the end
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of</I> heaven. The vast country of Assyria lay between Babylon and
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Persia. God can make those a scourge and ruin to his enemies that lie
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most remote from them and therefore are least dreaded.</P>
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<P>
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III. The summons given them is effectual, their obedience ready, and
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they make a very formidable appearance: <I>A banner is lifted up upon
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the high mountain,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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God's standard is set up, a flag of defiance hung out against Babylon.
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It is erected on high, where all may see it; whoever will may come and
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enlist themselves under it, and they shall be taken immediately into
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God's pay. Those that beat up for volunteers must <I>exalt the
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voice</I> in making proclamation, to encourage soldiers to come in;
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they must <I>shake the hand,</I> to beckon those at a distance and to
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animate those that have enlisted themselves. And they shall not do this
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in vain; God has commanded and called those whom he designs to make use
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of
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>)
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and power goes along with his calls and commands, which cannot be
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resisted. He that makes men able to serve him can, when he pleases,
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make them willing too. It is the <I>Lord of hosts that musters the host
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of the battle,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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He raises them, brings them together, puts them in order, reviews them,
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has an exact account of them in his muster-roll, sees that they be all
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in their respective posts, and gives them their necessary orders. Note,
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All the hosts of war are under the command of the Lord of hosts; and
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that which makes them truly formidable is that, when they come against
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Babylon, the Lord comes, and brings them with him as <I>the weapons of
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his indignation,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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Note, Great princes and armies are but tools in God's hand, weapons
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that he is pleased to make use of in doing his work, and it is his
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wrath that arms them and gives them success.</P>
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<A NAME="Isa13_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa13_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Doom of Babylon.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 739.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 Howl ye; for the day of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> at hand; it shall come
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as a destruction from the Almighty.
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7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart
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shall melt:
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8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold
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of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they
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shall be amazed one at another; their faces <I>shall be as</I> flames.
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9 Behold, the day of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> cometh, cruel both with wrath and
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fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the
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sinners thereof out of it.
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10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall
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not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going
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forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
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11 And I will punish the world for <I>their</I> evil, and the wicked
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for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud
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to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
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12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man
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than the golden wedge of Ophir.
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13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall
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remove out of her place, in the wrath of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, and
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in the day of his fierce anger.
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14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no
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man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and
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flee every one into his own land.
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15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every
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one that is joined <I>unto them</I> shall fall by the sword.
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16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their
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eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.
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17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall
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not regard silver; and <I>as for</I> gold, they shall not delight in
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it.
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18 <I>Their</I> bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and
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they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall
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not spare children.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here a very elegant and lively description of the terrible
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confusion and desolation which should be made in Babylon by the descent
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which the Medes and Persians should make upon it. Those that were now
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secure and easy were bidden to <I>howl</I> and make sad lamentation;
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for,</P>
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<P>
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I. God was about to appear in wrath against them, and it is a fearful
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thing to fall into his hands: <I>The day of the Lord is at hand</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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a little day of judgment, when God will act as a just avenger of his
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own and his people's injured cause. And there are those who will have
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reason to tremble when that day is at hand. <I>The day of the Lord
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cometh,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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Men have their day now, and they think to carry the day; but God laughs
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at them, for he sees that <I>his day is coming,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:13">Ps. xxxvii. 13</A>.
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Fury is not with God, and yet his day of reckoning with the Babylonians
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is said to be <I>cruel with wrath and fierce anger.</I> God will deal
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in severity with them for the severities they exercised upon God's
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people; with the froward, with the cruel, he will show himself froward,
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will show himself cruel, and give the blood-thirsty blood to drink.</P>
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<P>
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II. Their hearts shall fail them, and they shall have neither courage
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nor comfort left; they shall not be able either to resist the judgment
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coming or to bear up under it, either to oppose the enemy or to support
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themselves,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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Those that in the day of their peace were <I>proud,</I> and
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<I>haughty,</I> and <I>terrible</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
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shall, when trouble comes, be quite dispirited and at their wits' end:
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<I>All hands shall be faint,</I> and unable to hold a weapon, <I>and
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every man's heart shall melt,</I> so that they shall be ready to die
|
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for fear. The pangs of their fear shall be like those of a woman in
|
|
hard labour, and <I>they shall be amazed one at another.</I> In
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|
frightening themselves, they shall frighten one another; they shall
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|
wonder to see those tremble that used to be bold and daring; or they
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|
shall be amazed looking one at another, as men at a loss,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:1">Gen. xlii. 1</A>.
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<I>Their faces shall be as flames,</I> pale as flames, through fear (so
|
|
some), or red as flames sometimes are, blushing at their own cowardice;
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|
or their faces shall be as faces scorched with the flame, or as theirs
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that labour in the fire, their <I>visage blacker than a coal,</I> or
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like <I>a bottle in the smoke,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:83">Ps. cxix. 83</A>.</P>
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<P>
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|
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III. All comfort and hope shall fail them
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
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<I>The stars of heaven shall not give their light,</I> but shall be
|
|
clouded and overcast; <I>the sun shall be darkened in his going
|
|
forth,</I> rising bright, but lost again, a certain sign of foul
|
|
weather. They shall be as men in distress at sea, when neither sun nor
|
|
stars appear,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:20">Acts xxvii. 20</A>.
|
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It shall be as dreadful a time with them as it would be with the earth
|
|
if all the heavenly luminaries were turned into darkness, a resemblance
|
|
of the day of judgment, when the sun shall be turned into darkness. The
|
|
heavens frowning thus is an indication of the displeasure of the God of
|
|
heaven. When things look dark on earth, yet it is well enough if all be
|
|
clear upwards; but, if we have no comfort thence, wherewith shall we be
|
|
comforted?</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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IV. God will visit them <I>for their iniquity;</I> and all this is
|
|
intended for the punishment of sin, and particularly the sin of pride,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
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This puts wormwood and gall into the affliction and misery,
|
|
|
|
1. That sin must now have its punishment. Though Babylon be a little
|
|
world, yet, being a wicked world, it shall not go unpunished. Sin
|
|
brings desolation on the world of the ungodly; and when the kingdoms of
|
|
the earth are quarrelling with one another it is the fruit of God's
|
|
controversy with them all.
|
|
|
|
2. That pride must now have its fall: <I>The haughtiness of the
|
|
terrible</I> must now be <I>laid low,</I> particularly of
|
|
Nebuchadnezzar and his son Belshazzar, who had, in their pride,
|
|
trampled upon, and made themselves very terrible to, the people of God.
|
|
<I>A man's pride will bring him low.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. There shall be so great a slaughter as will produce a scarcity of
|
|
men
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will make a man more precious than fine gold.</I> You could not
|
|
have a man to be employed in any of the affairs of state, not a man to
|
|
be enlisted in the army, not a man to match a daughter to, for the
|
|
building up of a family, if you would give any money for one. The
|
|
troops of the neighbouring nations would not be hired into the service
|
|
of the king of Babylon, because they saw every thing go against him.
|
|
Populous countries are soon depopulated by war. And God can soon make a
|
|
kingdom that has been courted and admired to be dreaded and shunned by
|
|
all, as a house that is falling, or a ship that is sinking.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VI. There shall be a universal confusion and consternation, such a
|
|
confusion of their affairs that it shall be like the <I>shaking of the
|
|
heavens</I> with dreadful thunders and the <I>removing of the earth</I>
|
|
by no less dreadful earthquakes. All shall go to rack and ruin <I>in
|
|
the day of the wrath of the Lord of hosts,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
And such a consternation shall seize their spirits that Babylon, which
|
|
used to be like a roaring lion and a raging bear to all about her,
|
|
shall become <I>as a chased roe and as a sheep that no man takes
|
|
up,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
The army they shall bring into the field, consisting of troops of
|
|
divers nations (as great armies usually do), shall be so dispirited by
|
|
their own apprehensions and so dispersed by their enemies' sword that
|
|
they shall <I>turn every man to his own people;</I> each man shall
|
|
shift for his own safety; the <I>men of might shall not find their
|
|
hands</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:5">Ps. lxxvi. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
but take to their heels.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VII. There shall be a general scene of blood and horror, as is usual
|
|
where the sword devours. No wonder that every one makes the best of his
|
|
way, since the conqueror gives no quarter, but puts all to the sword,
|
|
and not those only that are found in arms, as is usual with us even in
|
|
the most cruel slaughters
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Every one that is found alive shall be run through,</I> as soon as
|
|
ever it appears that he is a Babylonian. Nay, because the sword devours
|
|
one as well as another, <I>every one that is joined to them shall fall
|
|
by the sword;</I> those of other nations that come in to their
|
|
assistance shall be cut off with them. It is dangerous being in bad
|
|
company, and helping those whom God is about to destroy. Those
|
|
particularly that join themselves to Babylon must expect to share in
|
|
her plagues,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+18:4">Rev. xviii. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
And, since the most sacred laws of nature, and of humanity itself, are
|
|
silenced by the fury of war (though they cannot be cancelled), the
|
|
conquerors shall, in the most barbarous brutish manner, <I>dash the
|
|
children to pieces, and ravish the wives. Jusque datum
|
|
sceleri--Wickedness shall have free course,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
They had thus dealt with God's people
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+5:11">Lam. v. 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
and now they shall be paid in their own coin,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+13:10">Rev. xiii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
It was particularly foretold
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+137:9">Ps. cxxxvii. 9</A>)
|
|
|
|
that the <I>little ones of Babylon should be dashed against the
|
|
stones.</I> How cruel soever and unjust those were that did it, God was
|
|
righteous who suffered it to be done, and to be done <I>before their
|
|
eyes,</I> to their greater terror and vexation. It was just also that
|
|
the houses which they had filled with the spoil of Israel should be
|
|
spoiled and plundered. What is got by rapine is often lost in the same
|
|
manner.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VIII. The enemy that God will send against them shall be inexorable,
|
|
probably being by some provocation or other more than ordinarily
|
|
exasperated against them; or, in whatever way it may be brought about,
|
|
God himself will <I>stir up the Medes</I> to use this severity with the
|
|
Babylonians. He will not only serve his own purposes by their
|
|
dispositions and designs, but will put it into their hearts to make
|
|
this attempt upon Babylon, and suffer them to prosecute it with all
|
|
this fury. God is not the author of sin, but he would not permit it if
|
|
he did not know how to bring glory to himself out of it. These Medes,
|
|
in conjunction with the Persians, shall make thorough work of it; for,
|
|
|
|
1. They shall take no bribes,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
All that men have they would give for their lives, but the Medes
|
|
<I>shall not regard silver;</I> it is blood they thirst for, not gold;
|
|
no man's riches shall with them be the ransom of his life.
|
|
|
|
2. They shall show no pity
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
not to <I>the young men</I> that are in the prime of their time--they
|
|
shall shoot them through with their bows, and then <I>dash them to
|
|
pieces;</I> not to the age of innocency--<I>they shall have no pity on
|
|
the fruit of the womb, nor spare little children,</I> whose cries and
|
|
frights one would think should make even marble eyes to weep, and
|
|
hearts of adamant to relent. Pause a little here and wonder,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That men should be thus cruel and inhuman, and so utterly divested
|
|
of all compassion; and in it see how corrupt and degenerate the nature
|
|
of man has become.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That the God of infinite mercy should suffer it, nay, and should
|
|
make it to be the execution of his justice, which shows that, though he
|
|
is gracious, yet he is the God to whom vengeance belongs.
|
|
|
|
(3.) That little infants, who have never been guilty of any actual sin,
|
|
should be thus abused, which shows that there is an original guilt by
|
|
which life is forfeited as soon as it is had.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa13_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa13_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa13_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa13_22"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Doom of Babylon.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 739.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the
|
|
Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and
|
|
Gomorrah.
|
|
20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in
|
|
from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch
|
|
tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
|
|
21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their
|
|
houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell
|
|
there, and satyrs shall dance there.
|
|
22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their
|
|
desolate houses, and dragons in <I>their</I> pleasant palaces: and her
|
|
time <I>is</I> near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The great havoc and destruction which it was foretold should be made by
|
|
the Medes and Persians in Babylon here end in the final destruction of
|
|
it.
|
|
|
|
1. It is allowed that Babylon was a noble city. It was <I>the glory of
|
|
kingdoms and the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency;</I> it was that
|
|
<I>head of gold</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+2:37,38">Dan. ii. 37, 38</A>);
|
|
|
|
it was called <I>the lady of kingdoms</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+47:5"><I>ch.</I> xlvii. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>the praise of the whole earth</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+51:41">Jer. li. 41</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>like a pleasant roe</I> (so the word signifies); but it shall be as
|
|
a <I>chased roe,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
The Chaldeans gloried in the beauty and wealth of this their
|
|
metropolis.
|
|
|
|
2. It is foretold that it should be wholly destroyed, like Sodom and
|
|
Gomorrah; not so miraculously, nor so suddenly, but as effectually,
|
|
though gradually; and the destruction should come upon them as that
|
|
upon Sodom, when they were secure, eating and drinking,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+17:28,29">Luke xvii. 28, 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
Babylon was taken when Belshazzar was in his revels; and, though Cyrus
|
|
and Darius did not demolish it, yet by degrees it wasted away and in
|
|
process of time it went all to ruin. It is foretold here
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>)
|
|
|
|
<I>that it shall never be inhabited;</I> in Adrian's time nothing
|
|
remained but the wall. And whereas it is prophesied concerning Nineveh,
|
|
that great city, that when it should be deserted and left desolate yet
|
|
flocks should lie down in the midst of it, it is here said concerning
|
|
Babylon that <I>the Arabians,</I> who were <I>shepherds, should not
|
|
make their folds there;</I> the country about should be so barren that
|
|
there would be no grazing there; no, not for sheep. Nay, it shall be
|
|
the receptacle of <I>wild beasts,</I> that affect solitude; the houses
|
|
of Babylon, where the sons and daughters of pleasure used to
|
|
rendezvous, <I>shall be full of doleful creatures, owls and satyrs,</I>
|
|
that are themselves frightened thither, as to a place proper for them,
|
|
and by whom all others are frightened thence. Historians say that this
|
|
was fulfilled in the letter. Benjamin Bar-Jona, in his Itinerary,
|
|
speaking of Babel, has these words: "This is that Babel which was of
|
|
old thirty miles in breadth; it is now laid waste. There are yet to be
|
|
seen the ruins of a palace of Nebuchadnezzar, but the sons of men dare
|
|
not enter in, for fear of serpents and scorpions, which possess the
|
|
place." Let none be proud of their pompous palaces, for they know not
|
|
but they may become worse than cottages; nor let any think that
|
|
<I>their houses shall endure for ever</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:11">Ps. xlix. 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
when perhaps nothing may remain but the ruins and reproaches of them.
|
|
|
|
3. It is intimated that this destruction should come shortly
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Her time is near to come.</I> This prophecy of the destruction of
|
|
Babylon was intended for the support and comfort of the people of God
|
|
when they were captives there and grievously oppressed; and the
|
|
accomplishment of the prophecy was nearly 200 years after the time when
|
|
it was delivered; yet it followed soon after the time for which it was
|
|
calculated. When the people of Israel were groaning under the heavy
|
|
yoke of Babylonish tyranny, sitting down in tears by the rivers of
|
|
Babylon and upbraided with the songs of Zion, when their insolent
|
|
oppressors were most haughty and arrogant
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
then let them know, for their comfort, that Babylon's time, her day to
|
|
fall, is near to come, and the days of her prosperity shall not be
|
|
prolonged, as they have been. When God begins with her he will make an
|
|
end. Thus it is said of the destruction of the New-Testament Babylon,
|
|
whereof the former was a type, <I>In one hour has her judgment
|
|
come.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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