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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>N A H U M.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. I.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have,
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I. The inscription of the book,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. A magnificent display of the glory of God, in a mixture of wrath
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and justice against the wicked, and mercy and grace towards his people,
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and the discovery of his majesty and power in both,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:2-8">ver. 2-8</A>.
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III. A particular application of this (as most interpreters think) to
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the destruction of Sennacherib and the Assyrian army, when they
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besieged Jerusalem, which was a very memorable and illustrious instance
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of the power both of God's justice and of his mercy, and spoke
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abundance of terror to his enemies and encouragement to his faithful
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servants,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:9-16">ver. 9-16</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Na1_1"> </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>Inscription of the Book.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 710.</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 Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the
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Elkoshite.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This title directs us to consider,
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1. The great city against which the word of the Lord is here delivered;
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it is the <I>burden of Nineveh,</I> not only a prophecy, and a weighty
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one, but a burdensome prophecy, a dead weight to Nineveh, a mill-stone
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hanged about its neck. Nineveh was the place concerned, and the
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Assyrian monarchy, which that was the royal seat of. About 100 years
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before this Jonah had, in God's name, foretold the speedy overthrow of
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this great city; but then the Ninevites repented and were spared, and
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that decree did not <I>bring forth.</I> The Ninevites then saw clearly
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how much it was to their advantage to turn from their evil way; it was
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the saving of their city; and yet, soon after, they returned to it
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again; it became worse than ever, <I>a bloody city,</I> and <I>full of
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lies</I> and <I>robbery.</I> They repented of their repentance,
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returned with the dog to his vomit, and at length grew worse than ever
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they had been. Then God sent them not this prophet, as Jonah, but this
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prophecy, to read them their doom, which was now irreversible. Note,
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The reprieve will not be continued if the repentance be not continued
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in. If men turn from the good they began to do, they can expect no
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other than that God should turn from the favour he began to show,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+18:10">Jer. xviii. 10</A>.
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2. The poor prophet by whom the word of the Lord is here delivered: It
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is <I>the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.</I> The burden of
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Nineveh was what the prophet plainly foresaw, for it was his vision,
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and what he left upon record (it is the <I>book of the vision</I>),
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that, when he was gone, the event might be compared with the prediction
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and might confirm it. All the account we have of the prophet himself is
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that he was an <I>Elkoshite,</I> of the town called <I>Elkes,</I> or
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<I>Elcos,</I> which, Jerome says, was in Galilee. Some observe that the
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scripture ordinarily says little of the prophets themselves, that our
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faith might not stand upon their authority, but upon that of the
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blessed Spirit by whom their prophecies were indited.</P>
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<A NAME="Na1_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_8"> </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 Judgment of Nineveh; The Awful Power of God.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 710.</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>2 God <I>is</I> jealous, and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> revengeth; the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> revengeth,
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and <I>is</I> furious; the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will take vengeance on his
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adversaries, and he reserveth <I>wrath</I> for his enemies.
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3 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> slow to anger, and great in power, and will not
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at all acquit <I>the wicked:</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath his way in the
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whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds <I>are</I> the dust of his
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feet.
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4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the
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rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon
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languisheth.
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5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth
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is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell
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therein.
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6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in
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the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire,
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and the rocks are thrown down by him.
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7 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and
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he knoweth them that trust in him.
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8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of
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the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Nineveh knows not God, that God that contends with her, and therefore
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is here told what a God he is; and it is good for us all to mix faith
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with that which is here said concerning him, which speaks a great deal
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of terror to the wicked and comfort to good people; for this glorious
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description of the Sovereign of the world, like the pillar of cloud and
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fire, has a bright side towards Israel and a dark side towards the
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Egyptians. Let each take his portion from it; let sinners read it and
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tremble; let saints read it and triumph. The wrath of God is here
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revealed from heaven against him enemies, his favour and mercy are here
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assured to his faithful loyal subjects, and his almighty power in both,
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making his wrath very terrible and his favour very desirable.</P>
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<P>
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I. He is a God of inflexible justice, a jealous God, and will take
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vengeance on his enemies; let Nineveh know this, and tremble before
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him. Their idols are insignificant things; there is nothing formidable
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in them. But the God of Israel is greatly to be feared; for,
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1. He resents the affronts and indignities done him by those that deny
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his being or any of his perfections, that set up other gods in
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competition with him, that destroy his laws, arraign his proceedings,
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ridicule his word, or are abusive to his people. Let such know that
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Jehovah, the one only living and true God, is a <I>jealous God, and a
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revenger;</I> he is jealous for the comfort of his worshippers,
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<I>jealous for his land</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:18">Joel ii. 18</A>),
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and will not have that injured. He is a revenger, <I>and he is
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furious;</I> he <I>has fury</I> (so the word is), not as man has it, in
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whom it is an ungoverned passion (so he has said, <I>Fury is not in
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me,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+27:4">Isa. xxvii. 4</A>),
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but he has it in such a way as becomes the righteous God, to put an
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edge upon his justice, and to make it appear more terrible to those who
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otherwise would stand in no awe of it. He is <I>Lord of anger</I> (so
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the Hebrew phrase is for that which we read, <I>he is furious</I>); he
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has anger, but he has it at command and under government. Our anger is
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often lord over us, as theirs that have <I>no rule over their own
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spirits,</I> but God is always <I>Lord of his anger</I> and <I>weighs a
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path to it,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+78:50">Ps. lxxviii. 50</A>.
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2. He resolves to reckon with those that put those affronts upon him.
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We are told here, not only that he is a revenger, but that he <I>will
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take vengeance;</I> he has said he will, he has sworn it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:40,41">Deut. xxxii. 40, 41</A>.
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Whoever are his adversaries and enemies among men, he will make them
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feel his resentments; and, though the sentence against his enemies is
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not executed speedily, yet he reserves wrath for them and reserves them
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for it in the day of wrath. Against his own people, who repent and
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humble themselves before him, he keeps <I>not his anger for ever,</I>
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but against his enemies he will for ever let out his anger. <I>He will
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not at all acquit the wicked</I> that sin, and stand to it, and do not
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repent,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Those <I>wickedly depart from their God</I> that depart, and never
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return
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:21">Ps. xviii. 21</A>),
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and these he will not acquit. Humble supplicants will find him
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gracious, but scornful beggars will not find him easy, or that the door
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of mercy will be opened to a loud, but late, Lord, Lord. This
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revelation of the wrath of God against his enemies is applied to
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Nineveh
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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and should be applied by all those to themselves who go on still in
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their trespasses: <I>With an over-running flood he will make an utter
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end of the place thereof.</I> The army of the Chaldeans shall overrun
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the country of the Assyrians, and lay it all waste. God's judgments,
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when they come with commission, are like a deluge to any people, which
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they cannot keep off nor make head against. <I>Darkness shall pursue
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his enemies;</I> terror and trouble shall follow them, whithersoever
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they go, shall pursue them to utter darkness; if they think to flee
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from the darkness which pursues them they will but fall into that which
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is before them.</P>
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<P>
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II. He is a God of irresistible power, and is able to deal with his
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enemies, be they ever so many, ever so mighty, ever so hardy. He is
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<I>great in power</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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and therefore it is good having him our friend and bad having him our
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enemy. Now here,</P>
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<P>
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1. The power of God is asserted and proved by divers instances of it in
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the kingdom of nature, where we always find its visible effects in the
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ordinary course of nature, and sometimes in the surprising alterations
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of that course.
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(1.) If we look up into the regions of the air, there we shall find
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proofs of his power, for <I>he has his ways in the whirlwind and the
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storm.</I> Which way soever God goes he carries a whirlwind and a storm
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along with him, for the terror of his enemies,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:9">Ps. xviii. 9</A>,
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&c. And, wherever there is a whirlwind and a storm, God has the command
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of it, the control of it, makes his way through it, goes on his way in
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it, and serves his own purposes by it. He spoke to Job out of the
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whirlwind, and even <I>stormy winds fulfil his word.</I> He has <I>his
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way in the whirlwind,</I> that is, he goes on undiscerned, and the
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methods of his providence are to us unaccountable; as it is said,
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<I>His way is in the sea. The clouds are the dust of his feet;</I> he
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treads on them, walks on them, raises them when he pleases, as a man
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with his feet raises a cloud of dust. It is but by permission, or
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usurpation rather, that the devil is the prince of the power of the
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air, for that power is in God's hand.
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(2.) If we cast our eye upon the great deeps, there we find that the
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sea is his, for he made it; for, when he pleases, <I>he rebukes the sea
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and makes it dry, by drying up all the rivers</I> with which it is
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continually supplied. He gave those proofs of his power when he divided
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the Red Sea and Jordan, and can do the same again whenever he pleases.
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(3.) If we look round us on this earth, we find proofs of his power,
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when, either by the extreme heat and drought of summer or the cold and
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frost of winter, <I>Bashan languishes, and Carmel, and the flower of
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Lebanon languishes,</I> the choicest and strongest flower languishes.
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His power is often seen in earthquakes, which shake the mountains
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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melt the hills, and melt them down, and level them with the plains.
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When he pleases <I>the earth is burnt at his presence</I> by the
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scorching heat of the sun, and he could burn it with fire from heaven,
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as he did Sodom, and at the end of time he will burn the world <I>and
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all that dwell therein.</I> The earth, and all the works that are
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therein, shall be burnt up. Thus <I>great is the Lord</I> and <I>of
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great power.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. This is particularly applied to his anger. If God be an almighty
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God, we may thence infer
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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<I>Who can stand before his indignation?</I> The Ninevites had once
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found God <I>slow to anger</I> (as he says
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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and perhaps presumed upon the mercy they had then had experience of,
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and thought they might make bold with him; but they will find he is
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just and jealous as well as merciful and gracious, and, having shown
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the justice of his wrath, in the next he shows the power of it, and the
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utter insufficiency of his enemies to contend with him. It is in vain
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for the stoutest and strongest of sinners to think to make their part
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good against the power of God's anger.
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(1.) See God here as <I>a consuming fire,</I> terrible and mighty. Here
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is his indignation against sin, and the <I>fierceness of his anger,</I>
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his fury <I>poured out,</I> not like water, but <I>like fire,</I> like
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the fire and brimstone rained on Sodom,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+11:6">Ps. xi. 6</A>.
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Hell is the fierceness of God's anger,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=re+16:19">Rev. xvi. 19</A>.
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God's anger is so fierce that it beats down all before it: <I>The rocks
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are thrown down by him,</I> which seemed immovable. Rocks have
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sometimes been rent by the eruption of subterraneous fires, which is a
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faint resemblance of the fierceness of God's anger against sinners
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whose hearts are rocky, for none ever hardened their hearts against him
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and prospered.
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(2.) See sinners here are stubble before the fire, weak and impotent,
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and a very unequal match for the wrath of God.
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[1.] They are utterly unable to bear up against it, so as to resist it,
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and put by the strokes of it: <I>Who can stand before his
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indignation?</I> Not the proudest and most daring sinner; not the world
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of the ungodly; no, not the angels that sinned.
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[2.] They are utterly unable to bear up under it so as to keep up their
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spirits, and preserve any enjoyment of themselves: <I>Who can abide in
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the fierceness of his anger?</I> As it is irresistible, so it is
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intolerable. Some of the effects of God's displeasure in this world a
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man may bear up under, but the <I>fierceness of his anger,</I> when it
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fastens immediately upon the soul, who can bear? Let us therefore
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<I>fear before him;</I> let us <I>stand in awe, and not sin.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. He is a God of infinite mercy; and in the midst of all this wrath
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mercy is remembered. <I>Let the sinners in Zion be afraid,</I> that go
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on still in their transgressions, but let not those that trust in God
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tremble before him. For,
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1. He <I>is slow to anger</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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not easily provoked, but ready to show mercy to those who have offended
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him and to receive them into favour upon their repentance.
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2. When the tokens of his rage against the wicked are abroad he takes
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care for the safety and comfort of his own people
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>The Lord is good</I> to those that are <I>good,</I> and to them he
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will be <I>a stronghold in the day of trouble.</I> Note, The same
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almighty power that is exerted for the terror and destruction of the
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wicked is engaged, and shall be employed, for the protection and
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satisfaction of his own people; he is able both to save and to destroy.
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In the day of public trouble, when God's judgments are in the earth,
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laying all waste, he will be a place of defence to those that by faith
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put themselves under his protection, those that trust in him in the way
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of their duty, that live a life of dependence upon him, and devotedness
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to him; he knows them, he owns them for his, he takes cognizance of
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their case, knows what is best for them, and what course to take most
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effectually for their relief. They are perhaps obscure and little
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regarded in the world, but the Lord knows them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:6">Ps. i. 6</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Na1_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Na1_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Destruction of the Assyrian Army; Overthrow of Sennacherib.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 710.</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>9 What do ye imagine against the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>? he will make an utter
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end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
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10 For while <I>they be</I> folden together <I>as</I> thorns, and while
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they are drunken <I>as</I> drunkards, they shall be devoured as
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stubble fully dry.
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11 There is <I>one</I> come out of thee, that imagineth evil against
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, a wicked counsellor.
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12 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; Though <I>they be</I> quiet, and likewise
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many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass
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through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no
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more.
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13 For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst
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thy bonds in sunder.
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14 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath given a commandment concerning thee,
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<I>that</I> no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods
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will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make
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thy grave; for thou art vile.
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15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good
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|
tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts,
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perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee;
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he is utterly cut off.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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These verses seem to point at the destruction of the army of the
|
|
Assyrians under Sennacherib, which may well be reckoned a part of the
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burden of Nineveh, the head city of the Assyrian empire, and a pledge
|
|
of the destruction of Nineveh itself about 100 years after; and this
|
|
was an event which Isaiah, with whom probably this prophet was
|
|
contemporary, spoke much of. Now observe here,</P>
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|
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<P>
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I. The great provocation which the Assyrians gave to God, the just and
|
|
jealous God, for which, though <I>slow to anger,</I> he would take
|
|
vengeance
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
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<I>There is one come out of thee, that imagines evil against the
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|
Lord</I>--Sennacherib, and his spokesman Rabshakeh. They framed an evil
|
|
letter and an evil speech, not only against Hezekiah and his people,
|
|
but against God himself, reflecting upon him as level with the gods of
|
|
the heathen, and unable to protect his worshippers, dissuading his
|
|
people from putting confidence in him, and urging them rather to put
|
|
themselves under the protection of the <I>great king, the king of
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|
Assyria.</I> They contrived to alter the property of Jerusalem, that it
|
|
should be no longer the city of the Lord, the holy city. This one, this
|
|
mighty one, so he thinks himself, that comes out of Nineveh,
|
|
<I>imagining evil against the Lord,</I> brings upon Nineveh this
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|
burden. Never was the glorious Majesty of heaven and earth more
|
|
daringly, more blasphemously affronted than by Sennacherib at that
|
|
time. He was <I>a wicked counsellor</I> who counselled them to despair
|
|
of God's protection, and surrender themselves to the king of Assyria,
|
|
and endeavour to put them out of conceit with Hezekiah's reformation
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|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+36:7">Isa. xxxvi. 7</A>);
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|
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|
with this wicked counsellor he here expostulates
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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|
|
|
"<I>What do you imagine against the Lord?</I> What a foolish wicked
|
|
thing it is for you to plot against God, as if you could outwit divine
|
|
wisdom and overpower omnipotence itself!" Note, There is a great deal
|
|
imagined against the Lord by the gates of hell, and against the
|
|
interests of his kingdom in the world; but it will prove a <I>vain
|
|
thing,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1,2">Ps. ii. 1, 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>He that sits in heaven laughs</I> at the imaginations of the
|
|
pretenders to politics against him, and will turn their counsels
|
|
headlong.</P>
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|
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|
<P>
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|
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|
II. The great destruction which God would bring upon them for it, not
|
|
immediately upon the whole monarchy (the ruin of that was deferred till
|
|
the measure of their iniquity was full), but,</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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|
1. Upon the army; God will <I>make an utter end</I> of that; it shall
|
|
be totally cut off and ruined at one blow; one fatal stroke of the
|
|
destroying angel shall lay them dead upon the spot; <I>affliction shall
|
|
not rise up the second time,</I> for it shall not need. With some
|
|
sinners God makes a quick despatch, does their business at once. Divine
|
|
vengeance goes not by one certain rule, nor in one constant track, but
|
|
one way or other, by acute diseases or chronical ones, by slow deaths
|
|
or lingering ones, he will <I>make an utter end</I> of all his enemies,
|
|
who persist in their imaginations against him. We have reason to think
|
|
that the Assyrian army were mostly of the same spirit, and spoke the
|
|
same language, with their general, and now God would take them to task,
|
|
though they did but say as they were taught; and it shall appear that
|
|
they have laid themselves open to divine wrath by their own act and
|
|
deed,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
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|
(1.) They are <I>as thorns</I> that entangle one another, and are
|
|
<I>folded together.</I> They make one another worse, and more
|
|
inveterate against God and his Israel, harden one another's hearts, and
|
|
strengthen one another's hands, in their impiety; and therefore God
|
|
will do with them as the husbandman does with a bush of thorns when he
|
|
cannot part them: he puts them all into the fire together.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They are <I>as drunken men,</I> intoxicated with pride and rage;
|
|
and such as they shall be irrecoverably overthrown and destroyed. They
|
|
shall be as drunkards, besotted to their own ruin, and shall stumble
|
|
and fall, and make themselves a reproach, and be justly laughed at.
|
|
|
|
(3.) They shall be <I>devoured as stubble fully dry,</I> which is
|
|
irresistibly and irrecoverably consumed by the flame. The judgments of
|
|
God are as devouring fire to those that make themselves as stubble to
|
|
them. It is again threatened concerning this great army
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>)
|
|
|
|
that <I>though they be quiet and likewise many,</I> very secure, not
|
|
fearing the sallies out of the besieged upon them, because <I>they are
|
|
numerous,</I> yet <I>thus shall they be cut down,</I> or certainly
|
|
shall they be cut down, as grass and corn are cut down, with as little
|
|
ado, when <I>he shall pass through,</I> even the destroying angel that
|
|
is commissioned to cut them down. Note, The security of sinners, and
|
|
their confidence in their own strength, are often presages of ruin
|
|
approaching.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Upon the king. He <I>imagined evil against the Lord,</I> and shall
|
|
he escape? No
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>The Lord has given a commandment concerning thee;</I> the decree
|
|
has gone forth, <I>that thy name be no more sown,</I> that thy memory
|
|
perish, that thou be no more talked of as thou hast been, and that the
|
|
report of thy mighty actions be dispersed upon the wings of fame and
|
|
celebrated with her trumpet." Because Sennacherib's son reigned in his
|
|
stead, some make this to point at the overthrow of the Assyrian empire
|
|
not long after. Note, Those that <I>imagine evil against the Lord</I>
|
|
hasten evil upon themselves and their own families and interests, and
|
|
ruin their own names by dishonouring his name. It is further
|
|
threatened,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That the images he worshipped should be cut off from their temple,
|
|
the <I>graven image</I> and the <I>molten image out of the house of his
|
|
gods,</I> which, some think, was fulfilled when Sennacherib was slain
|
|
by his <I>two sons, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his
|
|
god,</I> by which barbarous parricide we may suppose the temple was
|
|
looked upon as defiled, and was therefore disused, and the images were
|
|
cut off from it, the worshippers of those images no longer attending
|
|
there. Or it may be taken more generally to denote the utter ruin of
|
|
Assyria; the army of the enemy shall lay all waste, and not spare even
|
|
the images of their gods, by which God would intimate to them that one
|
|
of the grounds of his controversy with them was their idolatry.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That Sennacherib's grave shall be made there, some think in the
|
|
house of his god; there he is slain, and there he shall be buried, for
|
|
<I>he is vile;</I> he lies under this perpetual mark of disgrace, that
|
|
he had so far lost his interest in the natural affection of his own
|
|
children that two of them murdered him. Or it may be meant of the
|
|
ignominious fall of the Assyrian monarchy itself, upon the ruins of
|
|
which that of Babylon was raised. What a noise was made about the grave
|
|
of that once formidable state, but now despicable, is largely
|
|
described,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+3:3,11,15,16">Ezek. xxxi. 3, 11, 15, 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, Those that make themselves vile by scandalous sins God will make
|
|
vile by shameful punishments.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The great deliverance which God would hereby work for his own
|
|
people and the city that was called by his name. The ruin of the
|
|
church's enemies is the salvation of the church, and a very great
|
|
salvation it was that was wrought for Jerusalem by the overthrow of
|
|
Sennacherib's army.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The siege shall hereby be raised: "<I>Now will I break his yoke from
|
|
off thee,</I> by which thou art kept in servitude, and <I>will burst
|
|
thy bonds asunder,</I> by which thou seemest bound over to the
|
|
Assyrian's wrath." That vast victorious army, when it forced free
|
|
quarters for itself throughout all the land of Judah, and lived at
|
|
discretion there, was as yokes and bonds upon them. Jerusalem, when it
|
|
was besieged, was, as it were, bound and fettered by it; but, when the
|
|
destroying angel had done his work, Jerusalem's bonds were burst
|
|
asunder, and it was set at liberty again. This was a figure of the
|
|
great salvation, by which the Jerusalem that is above is made free, is
|
|
made free indeed.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The enemy shall be so weakened and dispirited that they shall never
|
|
make any such attempt again, and the end of this trouble shall be so
|
|
well gained by the grace of God that there shall be no more occasion
|
|
for such a severe correction.
|
|
|
|
(1.) God will not again afflict Jerusalem; his anger is <I>turned
|
|
away,</I> and he says, <I>It is enough;</I> for he has by this fright
|
|
<I>accomplished his whole work upon Mount Zion</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:12">Isa. x. 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore "<I>though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no
|
|
more;</I>" the bitter portion shall not be repeated unless there be
|
|
need and the patient's case call for it; for God <I>doth not afflict
|
|
willingly.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The enemy shall not dare again to attack Jerusalem
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The wicked shall no more pass through thee</I> as they have done, to
|
|
lay all waste, <I>for he is utterly cut off</I> and disabled to do it.
|
|
His army is cut off, his spirit cut off, and at length he himself is
|
|
cut off.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. The tidings of this great deliverance shall be published and
|
|
welcomed with abundance of joy throughout the kingdom,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Na+1:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
While Sennacherib prevailed, and carried all before him, every day
|
|
brought bad news; but now, <I>behold, upon the mountains, the feet of
|
|
him that bringeth good tidings,</I> the <I>feet of the evangelist;</I>
|
|
he is seen coming at a distance upon the mountains, as fast as his feet
|
|
will carry him; and how pleasant a sight is it once more to see a
|
|
messenger of peace, after we have received so many of Job's messengers!
|
|
We find these words made use of by another prophet to illustrate the
|
|
mercy of the deliverance of the people of God out of Babylon
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+52:7">Isa. lii. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
not that the prophets stole the word one from another (as those did,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+23:30">Jer. xxiii. 30</A>),
|
|
|
|
but speaking by the same Spirit, they often used the same expressions;
|
|
and it may be of good use for ministers to testify their consent to
|
|
wholesome truths
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+6:3">1 Tim. vi. 3</A>)
|
|
|
|
by concurring in the same forms of sound words,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+1:13">2 Tim. i. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
These words are also quoted by the apostle, both from Isaiah and Nahum,
|
|
and applied to the great redemption wrought out for us by our Lord
|
|
Jesus, and the publishing of it to the world by the everlasting gospel,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+10:15">Rom. x. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Christ's ministers are those messengers of good tidings, that preach
|
|
<I>peace by Jesus Christ. How beautiful are the feet</I> of those
|
|
<I>messengers!</I> How welcome their message to those that see their
|
|
misery and danger by reason of sin! And observe, He that brings these
|
|
good tidings brings with them a call to Judah to <I>keep her solemn
|
|
feasts</I> and <I>perform her vows.</I> During the trouble,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The ordinary feasts had been intermitted. <I>Inter arma silent
|
|
leges--The voice of law cannot be heard amidst the shouts of
|
|
battle.</I> While Jerusalem was <I>encompassed with armies</I> they
|
|
could not go thither to worship; but now that the embargo is taken off
|
|
they must return to the observance of their feasts; and the feasts of
|
|
the Lord will be doubly sweet to the people of God when they have been
|
|
for some time deprived of the benefit of them and God graciously
|
|
restores them their opportunities again, for we are taught the worth of
|
|
such mercies by the want of them.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They had made vows to God, that, if he would deliver them out of
|
|
this distress, they would do something extraordinary in his service, to
|
|
his honour; and now that the deliverance is wrought they are called
|
|
upon to perform their vows; the promise they had then made must now be
|
|
made good, for <I>better it is not to vow than to vow and not to
|
|
pay.</I> And those words, <I>The wicked shall no more pass through
|
|
thee,</I> may be taken as a promise of the perfecting of the good work
|
|
of reformation which Hezekiah had begun; the wicked shall not, as they
|
|
have done, walk on every side, but they shall be cut off, and the
|
|
baffling of the attempts from the wicked enemies abroad is a mercy
|
|
indeed to a nation when it is accompanied with the restraint and
|
|
reformation of the wicked at home, who are its more dangerous
|
|
enemies.</P>
|
|
|
|
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