mh_parser/vol_split/23 - Isaiah/Chapter 13.xml

<div2 id="Is.xiv" n="xiv" next="Is.xv" prev="Is.xiii" progress="5.75%" title="Chapter XIII">
<h2 id="Is.xiv-p0.1">I S A I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Is.xiv-p0.2">CHAP. XIII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Is.xiv-p1" shownumber="no">Hitherto the prophecies of this book related only
to Judah and Israel, and Jerusalem especially; but now the prophet
begins to look abroad, and to read the doom of divers of the
neighbouring states and kingdoms: for he that is King of saints is
also King of nations, and rules in the affairs of the children of
men as well as in those of his own children. But the nations to
whom these prophecies do relate were all such as the people of God
were in some way or other conversant and concerned with, such as
had been kind or unkind to Israel, and accordingly God would deal
with them, either in favour or in wrath; for the Lord's portion is
his people, and to them he has an eye in all the dispensations of
his providence concerning those about them, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.32.8-Deut.32.9" parsed="|Deut|32|8|32|9" passage="De 32:8,9">Deut. xxxii. 8, 9</scripRef>. The threatenings we find
here against Babylon, Moab, Damascus, Egypt, Tyre, &amp;c., were
intended for comfort to those in Israel that feared God, but were
terrified and oppressed by those potent neighbours, and for alarm
to those among them that were wicked. If God would thus severely
reckon with those for their sins that knew him not, and made no
profession of his name, how severe would he be with those that were
called by his name and yet lived in rebellion against him! And
perhaps the directing of particular prophecies to the neighbouring
nations might invite some of those nations to the reading of the
Jews' Bible, and so they might be brought to their religion. This
chapter, and that which follows, contain what God had to say to
Babylon and Babylon's king, who were at present little known to
Israel, but would in process of time become a greater enemy to them
than any other had been, for which God would at last reckon with
them. In this chapter we have, I. A general rendezvous of the
forces that were to be employed against Babylon, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.1-Isa.13.5" parsed="|Isa|13|1|13|5" passage="Isa 13:1-5">ver. 1-5</scripRef>. II. The dreadfully bloody work
that those forces should make in Babylon, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.6-Isa.13.18" parsed="|Isa|13|6|13|18" passage="Isa 13:6-18">ver. 6-18</scripRef>. III. The utter ruin and
desolation of Babylon, which this should end in, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.19-Isa.13.22" parsed="|Isa|13|19|13|22" passage="Isa 13:19-22">ver. 19-22</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Is.xiv-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13" parsed="|Isa|13|0|0|0" passage="Isa 13" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Is.xiv-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.1-Isa.13.5" parsed="|Isa|13|1|13|5" passage="Isa 13:1-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xiv-p1.7">
<h4 id="Is.xiv-p1.8">The Doom of Babylon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xiv-p1.9">b. c.</span> 739.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xiv-p2" shownumber="no">1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of
Amoz did see.   2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain,
exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into
the gates of the nobles.   3 I have commanded my sanctified
ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, <i>even</i>
them that rejoice in my highness.   4 The noise of a multitude
in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of
the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xiv-p2.1">Lord</span> of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.
  5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven,
<i>even</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xiv-p2.2">Lord</span>, and the
weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p3" shownumber="no">The general title of this book was, <i>The
vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.1" parsed="|Isa|1|1|0|0" passage="Isa 1:1"><i>ch.</i> i. 1</scripRef>. Here we have that which
Isaiah saw, which was represented to his mind as clearly and fully
as if he had seen it with his bodily eyes; but the particular
inscription of this sermon is <i>the burden of Babylon.</i> 1. It
is a burden, a lesson they were to learn (so some understand it),
but they would be loth to learn it, and it would be a burden to
their memories, or a load which should lie heavily upon them and
under which they should sink. Those that will not make the word of
God their rest (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.28.12 Bible:Jer.6.16" parsed="|Isa|28|12|0|0;|Jer|6|16|0|0" passage="Isa 28:12,Jer 6:16"><i>ch.</i>
xxviii. 12; Jer. vi. 16</scripRef>) shall find it made a burden to
them. 2. It is the burden of Babylon or Babel, which at this time
was a dependent upon the Assyrian monarchy (the metropolis of which
was Nineveh), but soon after revolted from it and became a monarchy
of itself, and a very potent one, in Nebuchadnezzar. This prophet
afterwards foretold the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.39.6" parsed="|Isa|39|6|0|0" passage="Isa 39:6"><i>ch.</i> xxxix. 6</scripRef>. Here he foretels
the reprisals God would make upon Babylon for the wrongs done to
his people. In these verses a summons is given to those powerful
and warlike nations whom God would make us of as the instruments of
his wrath for the destruction of Babylon: he afterwards names them
(<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.17" parsed="|Isa|13|17|0|0" passage="Isa 13:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>) the
<i>Medes,</i> who, in conjunction with the Persians, under the
command of Darius and Cyrus, were the ruin of the Babylonian
monarchy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p4" shownumber="no">I. The place doomed to destruction is
Babylon; it is here called <i>the gates of the nobles</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.2" parsed="|Isa|13|2|0|0" passage="Isa 13:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), because of
the abundance of noblemen's houses that were in it, stately ones
and richly furnished, which would invite the enemy to come, in
hopes of a rich booty. The gates of nobles were strong and well
guarded, and yet they would be no fence against those who came with
commission to execute God's judgments. Before his power and wrath
palaces are no more than cottages. Nor is it only the gates of the
nobles, but <i>the whole land,</i> that is doomed to destruction
(<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.5" parsed="|Isa|13|5|0|0" passage="Isa 13:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>); for, though
the nobles were the leaders in persecuting and oppressing God's
people, yet the whole land concurred with them in it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p5" shownumber="no">II. The persons brought together to lay
Babylon waste are here called, 1. God's <i>sanctified ones</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.3" parsed="|Isa|13|3|0|0" passage="Isa 13:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), designed for
this service and set apart to it by the purpose and providence of
God, disengaged from other projects, that they might wholly apply
themselves to this, such as were qualified for that to which they
were called, for what work God employs men in he does in some
measure fit them for. It intimates likewise that in God's
intention, though not in theirs, it was a holy war; they designed
only the enlargement of their own empire, but God designed the
release of his people and a type of the destruction of the
New-Testament Babylon. Cyrus, the person principally concerned, was
justly called <i>a sanctified one,</i> for he was God's anointed
(<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.1" parsed="|Isa|45|1|0|0" passage="Isa 45:1"><i>ch.</i> xlv. 1</scripRef>) and a
figure of him that was to come. It is a pity but all soldiers,
especially those that fight the Lord's battles, should be in the
strictest sense sanctified ones; and it is a wonder that those dare
be profane ones who carry their lives in their hands. 2. They are
called God's <i>mighty ones,</i> because they had their might from
God and were now to use it for him. It is said of Cyrus that in
this expedition <i>God held his right hand,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.1" parsed="|Isa|45|1|0|0" passage="Isa 45:1"><i>ch.</i> xlv. 1</scripRef>. God's sanctified ones are
his mighty ones. Those whom God calls he qualifies; and those whom
he makes holy he makes strong in spirit. 3. They are said to
rejoice in his highness, that is, to serve his glory and the
purposes of it with great alacrity. Though Cyrus did not know God,
nor actually design his honour in what he did, yet God used him as
his servant (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.4" parsed="|Isa|45|4|0|0" passage="Isa 45:4"><i>ch.</i> xlv.
4</scripRef>, <i>I have surnamed thee</i> as my servant, though
<i>thou hast not known me</i>), and he rejoiced in those successes
by which God exalted his own name. 4. They are very numerous, <i>a
multitude, a great people, kingdoms of nations</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.4" parsed="|Isa|13|4|0|0" passage="Isa 13:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>), not rude and barbarous,
but modelled and regular troops, such as are furnished out by
well-ordered kingdoms. The great God has hosts at his command. 5.
They are far-fetched: <i>They come from a far country, from the end
of</i> heaven. The vast country of Assyria lay between Babylon and
Persia. God can make those a scourge and ruin to his enemies that
lie most remote from them and therefore are least dreaded.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p6" shownumber="no">III. The summons given them is effectual,
their obedience ready, and they make a very formidable appearance:
<i>A banner is lifted up upon the high mountain,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.2" parsed="|Isa|13|2|0|0" passage="Isa 13:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. God's standard is set
up, a flag of defiance hung out against Babylon. It is erected on
high, where all may see it; whoever will may come and enlist
themselves under it, and they shall be taken immediately into God's
pay. Those that beat up for volunteers must <i>exalt the voice</i>
in making proclamation, to encourage soldiers to come in; they must
<i>shake the hand,</i> to beckon those at a distance and to animate
those that have enlisted themselves. And they shall not do this in
vain; God has commanded and called those whom he designs to make
use of (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.3" parsed="|Isa|13|3|0|0" passage="Isa 13:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>) and
power goes along with his calls and commands, which cannot be
resisted. He that makes men able to serve him can, when he pleases,
make them willing too. It is the <i>Lord of hosts that musters the
host of the battle,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.4" parsed="|Isa|13|4|0|0" passage="Isa 13:4"><i>v.</i>
4</scripRef>. He raises them, brings them together, puts them in
order, reviews them, has an exact account of them in his
muster-roll, sees that they be all in their respective posts, and
gives them their necessary orders. Note, All the hosts of war are
under the command of the Lord of hosts; and that which makes them
truly formidable is that, when they come against Babylon, the Lord
comes, and brings them with him as <i>the weapons of his
indignation,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.5" parsed="|Isa|13|5|0|0" passage="Isa 13:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>. Note, Great princes and armies are but tools in God's
hand, weapons that he is pleased to make use of in doing his work,
and it is his wrath that arms them and gives them success.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xiv-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.6-Isa.13.18" parsed="|Isa|13|6|13|18" passage="Isa 13:6-18" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xiv-p6.6">
<h4 id="Is.xiv-p6.7">The Doom of Babylon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xiv-p6.8">b. c.</span> 739.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xiv-p7" shownumber="no">6 Howl ye; for the day of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xiv-p7.1">Lord</span> <i>is</i> at hand; it shall come as a
destruction from the Almighty.   7 Therefore shall all hands
be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:   8 And they shall
be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be
in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at
another; their faces <i>shall be as</i> flames.   9 Behold,
the day of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xiv-p7.2">Lord</span> cometh, cruel
both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he
shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.   10 For the
stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their
light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon
shall not cause her light to shine.   11 And I will punish the
world for <i>their</i> evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and
I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low
the haughtiness of the terrible.   12 I will make a man more
precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
  13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall
remove out of her place, in the wrath of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xiv-p7.3">Lord</span> of hosts, and in the day of his fierce
anger.   14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep
that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people,
and flee every one into his own land.   15 Every one that is
found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined <i>unto
them</i> shall fall by the sword.   16 Their children also
shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be
spoiled, and their wives ravished.   17 Behold, I will stir up
the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and <i>as
for</i> gold, they shall not delight in it.   18 <i>Their</i>
bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have
no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare
children.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p8" shownumber="no">We have here a very elegant and lively
description of the terrible confusion and desolation which should
be made in Babylon by the descent which the Medes and Persians
should make upon it. Those that were now secure and easy were
bidden to <i>howl</i> and make sad lamentation; for,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p9" shownumber="no">I. God was about to appear in wrath against
them, and it is a fearful thing to fall into his hands: <i>The day
of the Lord is at hand</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.6" parsed="|Isa|13|6|0|0" passage="Isa 13:6"><i>v.</i>
6</scripRef>), a little day of judgment, when God will act as a
just avenger of his own and his people's injured cause. And there
are those who will have reason to tremble when that day is at hand.
<i>The day of the Lord cometh,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.9" parsed="|Isa|13|9|0|0" passage="Isa 13:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. Men have their day now, and they
think to carry the day; but God laughs at them, for he sees that
<i>his day is coming,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.37.13" parsed="|Ps|37|13|0|0" passage="Ps 37:13">Ps. xxxvii.
13</scripRef>. Fury is not with God, and yet his day of reckoning
with the Babylonians is said to be <i>cruel with wrath and fierce
anger.</i> God will deal in severity with them for the severities
they exercised upon God's people; with the froward, with the cruel,
he will show himself froward, will show himself cruel, and give the
blood-thirsty blood to drink.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p10" shownumber="no">II. Their hearts shall fail them, and they
shall have neither courage nor comfort left; they shall not be able
either to resist the judgment coming or to bear up under it, either
to oppose the enemy or to support themselves, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.7-Isa.13.8" parsed="|Isa|13|7|13|8" passage="Isa 13:7,8"><i>v.</i> 7, 8</scripRef>. Those that in the day of
their peace were <i>proud,</i> and <i>haughty,</i> and
<i>terrible</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.11" parsed="|Isa|13|11|0|0" passage="Isa 13:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>), shall, when trouble comes, be quite dispirited and
at their wits' end: <i>All hands shall be faint,</i> and unable to
hold a weapon, <i>and every man's heart shall melt,</i> so that
they shall be ready to die 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 frightening themselves, they shall
frighten one another; they shall wonder to see those tremble that
used to be bold and daring; or they shall be amazed looking one at
another, as men at a loss, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.42.1" parsed="|Gen|42|1|0|0" passage="Ge 42:1">Gen. xlii.
1</scripRef>. <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; or their faces shall be as faces
scorched with the flame, or as theirs that labour in the fire,
their <i>visage blacker than a coal,</i> or like <i>a bottle in the
smoke,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.83" parsed="|Ps|119|83|0|0" passage="Ps 119:83">Ps. cxix.
83</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p11" shownumber="no">III. All comfort and hope shall fail them
(<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.10" parsed="|Isa|13|10|0|0" passage="Isa 13:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): <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, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.27.20" parsed="|Acts|27|20|0|0" passage="Ac 27:20">Acts xxvii.
20</scripRef>. 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>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p12" shownumber="no">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, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.11" parsed="|Isa|13|11|0|0" passage="Isa 13:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p13" shownumber="no">V. There shall be so great a slaughter as
will produce a scarcity of men (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.12" parsed="|Isa|13|12|0|0" passage="Isa 13:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>): <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 class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p14" shownumber="no">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> <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.13" parsed="|Isa|13|13|0|0" passage="Isa 13:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. 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> <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.14" parsed="|Isa|13|14|0|0" passage="Isa 13:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. 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> (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.76.5" parsed="|Ps|76|5|0|0" passage="Ps 76:5">Ps. lxxvi. 5</scripRef>),
but take to their heels.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p15" shownumber="no">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 (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.15" parsed="|Isa|13|15|0|0" passage="Isa 13:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>):
<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, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.18.4" parsed="|Rev|18|4|0|0" passage="Re 18:4">Rev. xviii.
4</scripRef>. 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>
<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.16" parsed="|Isa|13|16|0|0" passage="Isa 13:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. They had
thus dealt with God's people (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Lam.5.11" parsed="|Lam|5|11|0|0" passage="La 5:11">Lam. v.
11</scripRef>), and now they shall be paid in their own coin,
<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p15.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.13.10" parsed="|Rev|13|10|0|0" passage="Re 13:10">Rev. xiii. 10</scripRef>. It was
particularly foretold (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p15.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.137.9" parsed="|Ps|137|9|0|0" passage="Ps 137:9">Ps. cxxxvii.
9</scripRef>) 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 class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p16" shownumber="no">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, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.17" parsed="|Isa|13|17|0|0" passage="Isa 13:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. 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
(<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.18" parsed="|Isa|13|18|0|0" passage="Isa 13:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>), 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>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xiv-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.19-Isa.13.22" parsed="|Isa|13|19|13|22" passage="Isa 13:19-22" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xiv-p16.4">
<h4 id="Is.xiv-p16.5">The Doom of Babylon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xiv-p16.6">b. c.</span> 739.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xiv-p17" shownumber="no">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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xiv-p18" shownumber="no">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> (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.37-Dan.2.38" parsed="|Dan|2|37|2|38" passage="Da 2:37,38">Dan. ii. 37,
38</scripRef>); it was called <i>the lady of kingdoms</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.47.5" parsed="|Isa|47|5|0|0" passage="Isa 47:5"><i>ch.</i> xlvii. 5</scripRef>),
<i>the praise of the whole earth</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.41" parsed="|Jer|51|41|0|0" passage="Jer 51:41">Jer. li. 41</scripRef>), <i>like a pleasant roe</i> (so
the word signifies); but it shall be as a <i>chased roe,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.14" parsed="|Isa|13|14|0|0" passage="Isa 13:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Is.xiv-p18.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.17.28-Luke.17.29" parsed="|Luke|17|28|17|29" passage="Lu 17:28,29">Luke xvii. 28,
29</scripRef>. 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 (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p18.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.20" parsed="|Isa|13|20|0|0" passage="Isa 13:20"><i>v.</i>
20</scripRef>) <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> (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p18.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.11" parsed="|Ps|49|11|0|0" passage="Ps 49:11">Ps. xlix. 11</scripRef>),
when perhaps nothing may remain but the ruins and reproaches of
them. 3. It is intimated that this destruction should come shortly
(<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p18.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.22" parsed="|Isa|13|22|0|0" passage="Isa 13:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>): <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 (<scripRef id="Is.xiv-p18.9" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.11" parsed="|Isa|13|11|0|0" passage="Isa 13:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), 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>
</div></div2>