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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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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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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. XXII.</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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We have now come nearer home, for this chapter is "the burden of the
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valley of vision," Jerusalem; other places had their burden for the
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sake of their being concerned in some way or other with Jerusalem, and
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were reckoned with either as spiteful enemies or deceitful friends to
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the people of God; but now let Jerusalem hear her own doom. This
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chapter concerns,
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I. The city of Jerusalem itself and the neighbourhood depending upon
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it. Here is,
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1. A prophecy of the grievous distress they should shortly be brought
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into by Sennacherib's invasion of the country and laying siege to the
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city,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:1-7">ver. 1-7</A>.
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2. A reproof given them for their misconduct in that distress, in two
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things:--
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(1.) Not having an eye to God in the use of the means of their
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preservation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:8-11">ver. 8-11</A>.
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(2.) Not humbling themselves under his mighty hand,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:12-14">ver. 12-14</A>.
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II. The court of Hezekiah, and the officers of that court.
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1. The displacing of Shebna, a bad man, and turning him out of the
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treasury,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:15-19,25">ver. 15-19, 25</A>.
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2. The preferring of Eliakim, who should do his country better service,
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to his place,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:20-24">ver. 20-24</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa22_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_7"> </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 Consternation of Jerusalem.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 718.</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 the valley of vision. What aileth thee now,
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that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
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2 Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous
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city: thy slain <I>men are</I> not slain with the sword, nor dead in
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battle.
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3 All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the
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archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, <I>which</I>
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have fled from far.
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4 Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly,
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labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter
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of my people.
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5 For <I>it is</I> a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of
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perplexity by the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> of hosts in the valley of vision,
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breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.
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6 And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men <I>and</I> horsemen,
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and Kir uncovered the shield.
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7 And it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> thy choicest valleys shall
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be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in
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array at the gate.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The title of this prophecy is very observable. It is <I>the burden of
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the valley of vision,</I> of Judah and Jerusalem; so all agree. Fitly
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enough is Jerusalem called a valley, for the mountains were round about
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it, and the land of Judah abounded with fruitful valleys; and by the
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judgments of God, though they had been as a towering mountain, they
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should be brought low, sunk and depressed, and become dark and dirty,
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as a valley. But most emphatically is it called a <I>valley of
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vision</I> because there God was known and his name was great, there
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the prophets were made acquainted with his mind by visions, and there
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the people saw the goings of their God and King in his sanctuary.
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Babylon, being a stranger to God, though rich and great, was called
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<I>the desert of the sea;</I> but Jerusalem, being entrusted with his
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oracles, is <I>a valley of vision. Blessed are their eyes, for they
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see,</I> and they have seers by office among them. Where Bibles and
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ministers are there is a valley of vision, from which is expected fruit
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accordingly; but here is a <I>burden of the valley of vision,</I> and a
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heavy burden it is. Note, Church privileges, if they be not improved,
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will not secure men from the judgments of God. <I>You only have I known
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of all the families of the earth; therefore will I punish you.</I> The
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valley of vision has a particular burden. <I>Thou Capernaum,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+11:23">Matt. xi. 23</A>.
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The higher any are lifted up in means and mercies the heavier will
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their doom be if they abuse them.</P>
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<P>
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Now the <I>burden of the valley of vision</I> here is that which will
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not quite ruin it, but only frighten it; for it refers not to the
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destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, but to the attempt made
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upon it by Sennacherib, which we had the prophecy of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:1-34"><I>ch.</I> x.</A>,
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and shall meet with the history of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+36:1-22"><I>ch.</I> xxxvi.</A>.
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It is here again prophesied of, because the desolations of many of the
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neighbouring countries, which were foretold in the foregoing chapters,
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were to be brought to pass by the Assyrian army. Now let Jerusalem know
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that when the cup is going round it will be put into her hand; and,
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although it will not be to her a fatal cup, yet it will be a cup of
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trembling. Here is foretold,</P>
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<P>
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I. The consternation that the city should be in upon the approach of
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Sennacherib's army. It used to be full of stirs, a city of great trade,
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people hurrying to and fro about their business, a tumultuous city,
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populous and noisy. Where there is great trade there is great tumult.
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It used to be a joyous revelling city. What with the busy part and what
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with the merry part of mankind, places of concourse are places of
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noise. "But what ails thee now, that the shops are quitted, and there
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is no more walking in the streets and exchange, <I>but thou hast wholly
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gone up to the house-tops</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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to bemoan thyself in silence and solitude, or to secure thyself from
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the enemy, or to look abroad and see if any succours come to thy
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relief, or which way the enemies' motions are." Let both men of
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business and sportsmen <I>rejoice as though they rejoiced not,</I> for
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something may happen quickly, which they little think of, that will be
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a damp to their mirth and a stop to their business, and send them to
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<I>watch as a sparrow alone upon the house-top,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+102:7">Ps. cii. 7</A>.
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But why is Jerusalem in such a fright? <I>Her slain men are not slain
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with the sword</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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but,
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1. Slain with famine (so some); for Sennacherib's army having laid the
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country waste, and destroyed the fruits of the earth, provisions must
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needs be very scarce and dear in the city, which would be the death of
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many of the poorer sort of people, who would be constrained to feed on
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that which was unwholesome.
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2. Slain with fear. They were put into this fright though they had not
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a man killed, but so disheartened themselves that they seemed as
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effectually stabbed with fear as if they had been run through with a
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sword.</P>
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<P>
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II. The inglorious flight of the rulers of Judah, who fled from far,
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from all parts of the country, to Jerusalem
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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fled together, as it were by consent, and were found in Jerusalem,
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having left their respective cities, which they should have taken care
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of, to be a prey to the Assyrian army, which, meeting with no
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opposition, when it <I>came up against all the defenced cities of
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Judah</I> easily <I>took them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+36:1"><I>ch.</I> xxxvi. 1</A>.
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These rulers <I>were bound from the bow</I> (so the word is); they not
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only quitted their own cities like cowards, but, when they came to
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Jerusalem, were of no service there, but were as if their hands were
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tied from the use of the bow, by the extreme distraction and confusion
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they were in; they trembled, so that they could not draw a bow. See how
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easily God can dispirit men, and how certainly fear will dispirit them,
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when the tyranny of it is yielded to.</P>
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<P>
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III. The great grief which this should occasion to all serious sensible
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people among them, which is represented by the prophet's laying the
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thing to heart himself; he lived to see it, and was resolved to share
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with the children of his people in their sorrows,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:4,5"><I>v.</I> 4, 5</A>.
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He is not willing to proclaim his sorrow, and therefore bids those
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about him to look away from him; he will abandon himself to grief, and
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indulge himself in it, will weep secretly, but weep bitterly, and will
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have none go about to comfort him, for his grief is obstinate and he is
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pleased with his pain. But what is the occasion of his grief? A poor
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prophet had little to lose, and had been inured to hardship, when he
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walked naked and barefoot; but it is for <I>the spoiling of the
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daughter of his people.</I> It is <I>a day of trouble, and of treading
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down, and of perplexity.</I> Our enemies trouble us and tread us down,
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and our friends are perplexed and know not what course to take to do us
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a kindness. The Lord God of hosts is now contending with the valley of
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vision; the enemies with their battering rams are breaking down the
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walls, and we are in vain crying to the mountains (to keep off the
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enemy, or to fall on us and cover us) or looking for help to come to us
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over the mountains, or appealing, as God does, to the mountains, to
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hear our controversy
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+6:1">Mic. vi. 1</A>)
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and to judge between us and our injurious neighbours.</P>
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<P>
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IV. The great numbers and strength of the enemy, that should invade
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their country and besiege their city,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>.
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Elam (that is, the Persians) come with their quiver full of arrows, and
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with chariots of fighting men, and horsemen. Kir (that is, the Medes)
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muster up their arms, unsheath the sword, and uncover the shield, and
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get every thing ready for battle, every thing ready for the besieging
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of Jerusalem. Then the choice valleys about Jerusalem, that used to be
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clothed with flocks and covered over with corn, shall be full of
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chariots of war, and at the gate of the city <I>the horsemen shall set
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themselves in array,</I> to cut off all provisions from going in, and
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to force their way in. What a condition must the city be in that was
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beset on all sides with such an army!</P>
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<A NAME="Isa22_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa22_14"> </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>Contempt of Divine Goodness; Contempt of Divine Judgments.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 718.</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>8 And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look
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in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
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9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that
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they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower
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pool.
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10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses
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have ye broken down to fortify the wall.
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11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of
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the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof,
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neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
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12 And in that day did the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> of hosts call to weeping,
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and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
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13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing
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sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for
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to morrow we shall die.
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14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts,
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Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die,
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saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> of hosts.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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What is meant by <I>the covering of Judah,</I> which in the beginning
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of this paragraph is said to be <I>discovered,</I> is not agreed. The
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fenced cities of Judah were a covering to the country; but these, being
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taken by the army of the Assyrians, ceased to be a shelter, so that the
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whole country lay exposed to be plundered. The weakness of Judah, its
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nakedness, and inability to keep itself, now appeared more than ever;
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and thus the covering of Judah was discovered. Its magazines and
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stores, which had been locked up, were now laid open for the public
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use. Dr. Lightfoot gives another sense of it, that by this distress
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into which Judah should be brought God would discover their covering
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(that is, uncloak their hypocrisy), would show all that was in their
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heart, as is said of Hezekiah upon another occasion,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+32:31">2 Chron. xxxii. 31</A>.
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Thus, by one means or other, <I>the iniquity of Ephraim will be
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discovered and the sin of Samaria,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+7:1">Hos. vii. 1</A>.</P>
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<P>
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They were now in a great fright, and in this fright they manifested two
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things much amiss:--</P>
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<P>
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I. A great contempt of God's goodness, and his power to help them. They
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made use of all the means they could think of for their own
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preservation; and it is not for doing this that they are blamed, but,
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in doing this, they did not acknowledge God. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. How careful they were to improve all advantages that might
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contribute to their safety. When Sennacherib had made himself master of
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all the defenced cities of Judah, and Jerusalem was left as a cottage
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in a vineyard, they thought it was time to look about them. A council
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was immediately called, a council of war; and it was resolved to stand
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upon their defence, and not tamely to surrender. Pursuant to this
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resolve, they took all the prudent measures they could for their own
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security. We tempt God if, in times of danger, we do not the best we
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can for ourselves.
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(1.) They inspected the magazines and stores, to see if they were well
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stocked with arms and ammunition: <I>They looked to the armour of the
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house of the forest,</I> which Solomon built in Jerusalem for an
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armoury
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+10:17">1 Kings x. 17</A>),
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and thence they delivered out what they had occasion for. It is the
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wisdom of princes, in time of peace, to provide for war, that they may
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not have arms to seek when they should use them, and perhaps upon a
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sudden emergency.
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(2.) They viewed the fortifications, the <I>breaches of the city of
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David;</I> they walked round the walls, and observed where they had
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gone to decay for want of seasonable repairs, or were broken by some
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former attempts made upon them. These breaches were many; the more
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shame for the house of David that they suffered the city of David to
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lie neglected. They had probably often seen those breaches; but now
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they saw them to consider what course to take about them. This good we
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should get by public distresses, we should be awakened by them to
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<I>repair our breaches,</I> and amend what is amiss.
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(3.) They made sure of water for the city, and did what they could to
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deprive the besiegers of it: <I>You gathered together the water of the
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lower pool,</I> of which there was probably no great store, and of
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which therefore they were the more concerned to be good husbands. See
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|
what a mercy it is that, as nothing is more necessary to the support of
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|
human life than water, so nothing is more cheap and common; but it is
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bad indeed when that, as here, is a scarce commodity.
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(4.) They <I>numbered the houses of Jerusalem,</I> that every house
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might send in its quota of men for the public service, or contribute in
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money to it, which they raised by a poll, so much a head or so much a
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house.
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(5.) Because private property ought to give way to the public safety,
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|
those houses that stood in their way, when the wall was to be
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fortified, were broken down, which, in such a case of necessity, is no
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more an injury to the owner than blowing up houses in case of fire.
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(6.) They made a ditch between the outer and inner wall, for the
|
|
greater security of the city; and they contrived to draw the water of
|
|
the old pool to it, that they might have plenty of water themselves and
|
|
might deprive the besiegers of it; for it seems that was the project,
|
|
lest the Assyrian army <I>should come and find much water</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+32:4">2 Chron. xxxii. 4</A>)
|
|
|
|
and so should be the better able to prolong the siege. If it be lawful
|
|
to destroy the forage of a country, much more to divert the streams of
|
|
its waters, for the straitening and starving of an enemy.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. How regardless they were of God in all these preparations: <I>But
|
|
you have not looked unto the Maker thereof</I> (that is, of Jerusalem,
|
|
the city you are so solicitous for the defence of) and of all the
|
|
advantages which nature has furnished it with for its defence--the
|
|
<I>mountains round about it</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+125:2">Ps. cxxv. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
and the rivers, which were such as the inhabitants might turn which way
|
|
soever they pleased for their convenience. Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) It is God that made his Jerusalem, and fashioned it long ago, in
|
|
his counsels. The Jewish writers, upon this place, say, There were
|
|
seven things which God made before the world (meaning which he had in
|
|
his eye when he made the world): <I>the garden of Eden, the law, the
|
|
just ones, Israel, the throne of glory, Jerusalem, and Messiah the
|
|
Prince.</I> The gospel church has God for its Maker.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Whatever service we do, or endeavour to do, at any time to God's
|
|
Jerusalem, must be done with an eye to him as the Maker of it; and he
|
|
takes it ill if it be done otherwise. It is here charged upon them that
|
|
they did not look to God.
|
|
|
|
[1.] They did not design his glory in what they did. They fortified
|
|
Jerusalem because it was a rich city and their own houses were in it,
|
|
not because it was the holy city and God's house was in it. In all our
|
|
cares for the defence of the church we must look more at God's interest
|
|
in it than at our own.
|
|
|
|
[2.] They did not depend upon him for a blessing upon their endeavours,
|
|
saw no need of it, and therefore sought not to him for it, but thought
|
|
their own powers and policies sufficient for them. Of Hezekiah himself
|
|
it is said that <I>he trusted in God</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+18:5">2 Kings xviii. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
and particularly upon this occasion
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+32:8">2 Chron. xxxii. 8</A>);
|
|
|
|
but there were those about him, it seems, who were great statesmen and
|
|
soldiers, but had little religion in them.
|
|
|
|
[3.] They did not give him thanks for the advantages they had, in
|
|
fortifying their city, from <I>the waters of the old pool,</I> which
|
|
were fashioned long ago, as Kishon is called <I>an ancient river,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+5:21">Judg. v. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
Whatever in nature is at any time serviceable to us, we must therein
|
|
acknowledge the goodness of the God of nature, who, when he fashioned
|
|
it long ago, fitted it to be so, and <I>according to whose ordinance it
|
|
continues to this day.</I> Every creature is that to us which God makes
|
|
it to be; and therefore, whatever use it is of to us, we must <I>look
|
|
at him that fashioned it,</I> bless him for it, and use it for him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. A great contempt of God's wrath and justice in contending with
|
|
them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:12-14"><I>v.</I> 12-14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. What was God's design in bringing this calamity upon them: it was to
|
|
humble them, bring them to repentance, and make them serious. In that
|
|
day of trouble, and treading down, and perplexity, the Lord did thereby
|
|
<I>call to weeping and mourning,</I> and all the expressions of sorrow,
|
|
even <I>to baldness and girding with sackcloth;</I> and all this to
|
|
lament their sins (by which they had brought those judgments upon their
|
|
land), to enforce their prayers (by which they might hope to avert the
|
|
judgments that were breaking in), and to dispose themselves to a
|
|
reformation of their lives by a holy seriousness and a tenderness of
|
|
heart under the word of God. To this God called them by his prophet's
|
|
explaining his providences, and by his providences awakening them to
|
|
regard what his prophets said. Note, When God threatens us with his
|
|
judgments he expects and requires that we humble ourselves under his
|
|
mighty hand, that we tremble when the lion roars, and in a day of
|
|
adversity consider.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. How contrary they walked to this design of God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Behold, joy and gladness,</I> mirth and feasting, all the gaiety and
|
|
all the jollity imaginable. They were as secure and cheerful as they
|
|
used to be, as if they had had no enemy in their borders or were in no
|
|
danger of falling into his hands. When they had taken the necessary
|
|
precautions for their security, then they set all deaths and dangers at
|
|
defiance, and resolved to be merry, let come on them what would. Those
|
|
that should have been among the mourners were among the
|
|
<I>wine-bibbers, the riotous eaters of flesh;</I> and observe what they
|
|
said, <I>Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die.</I> This may
|
|
refer either to the particular danger they were now in, and the fair
|
|
warning which the prophet gave them of it, or to the general shortness
|
|
and uncertainty of human life, and the nearness of death at all times.
|
|
This was the language of the profane scoffers who <I>mocked the
|
|
messengers of the Lord and misused his prophets.</I>
|
|
|
|
(1.) They made a jest of dying. "The prophet tells us we must die
|
|
shortly, perhaps to-morrow, and therefore we should mourn and repent
|
|
to-day; no, rather <I>let us eat and drink,</I> that we may be fattened
|
|
for the slaughter, and may be in good heart to meet our doom; if we
|
|
must have a short life, let it be a merry one."
|
|
|
|
(2.) They ridiculed the doctrine of a future state on the other side
|
|
death; for, if there were no such state, the apostle grants there would
|
|
be something of reason in what they said,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+15:32">1 Cor. xv. 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
If, when we die, there were an end of us, it were good to make
|
|
ourselves as easy and merry as we could while we live; but, if <I>for
|
|
all these things God shall bring us into judgment,</I> it is at our
|
|
peril if we walk <I>in the way of our heart and the sight of our
|
|
eyes,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:9">Eccl. xi. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, A practical disbelief of another life after this is at the bottom
|
|
of the carnal security and brutish sensuality which are the sin, and
|
|
shame, and ruin of so great a part of mankind, as of the old world, who
|
|
were <I>eating and drinking till the flood came.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. How much God was displeased at it. He signified his resentment of it
|
|
to the prophet, <I>revealed it in his ears,</I> to be by him proclaimed
|
|
upon the house-top: <I>Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from
|
|
you till you die,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
It shall never be expiated with sacrifice and offering, any more than
|
|
the iniquity of the house of Eli,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+3:14">1 Sam. iii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is a sin against the remedy, a baffling of the utmost means of
|
|
conviction and rendering them ineffectual; and therefore it is not
|
|
likely they should ever repent of it or have it pardoned. The Chaldee
|
|
reads it, <I>It shall not be forgiven you till you die the second
|
|
death.</I> Those that walk contrary to them; with the froward he will
|
|
show himself froward.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa22_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa22_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa22_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa22_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa22_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa22_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa22_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa22_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa22_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa22_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa22_25"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Downfall of Shebna; The Advancement of Eliakim.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 714.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> of hosts, Go, get thee unto this
|
|
treasurer, <I>even</I> unto Shebna, which <I>is</I> over the house, <I>and
|
|
say,</I>
|
|
16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast
|
|
hewed thee out a sepulchre here, <I>as</I> he that heweth him out a
|
|
sepulchre on high, <I>and</I> that graveth a habitation for himself
|
|
in a rock?
|
|
17 Behold, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will carry thee away with a mighty
|
|
captivity, and will surely cover thee.
|
|
18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee <I>like</I> a ball
|
|
into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the
|
|
chariots of thy glory <I>shall be</I> the shame of thy lord's house.
|
|
19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state
|
|
shall he pull thee down.
|
|
20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my
|
|
servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:
|
|
21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with
|
|
thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and
|
|
he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the
|
|
house of Judah.
|
|
22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his
|
|
shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall
|
|
shut, and none shall open.
|
|
23 And I will fasten him <I>as</I> a nail in a sure place; and he
|
|
shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.
|
|
24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's
|
|
house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small
|
|
quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of
|
|
flagons.
|
|
25 In that day, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, shall the nail that is
|
|
fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall;
|
|
and the burden that <I>was</I> upon it shall be cut off: for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
|
hath spoken <I>it.</I>
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here a prophecy concerning the displacing of Shebna, a great
|
|
officer at court, and the preferring of Eliakim to the post of honour
|
|
and trust that he was in. Such changes are common in the courts of
|
|
princes; it is therefore strange that so much notice should be taken of
|
|
it by the prophet here; but by the accomplishment of what was foretold
|
|
concerning these particular persons God designed to confirm his word in
|
|
the mouth of Isaiah concerning other and greater events; and it is
|
|
likewise to show that, as God has burdens in store for those nations
|
|
and kingdoms abroad that are open enemies to his church and people, so
|
|
he has for those particular persons at home that are false friends to
|
|
them and betray them. It is likewise a confirmation in general of the
|
|
hand of divine Providence in all events of this kind, which to us seem
|
|
contingent and to depend upon the wills and fancies of princes.
|
|
<I>Promotion comes not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the
|
|
south; but God is the Judge,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+25:6,7">Ps. xxv. 6, 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is probable that this prophecy was delivered at the same time with
|
|
that in the former part of the chapter, and began to be fulfilled
|
|
before Sennacherib's invasion; for now Shebna was <I>over the
|
|
house,</I> but then Eliakim was
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+36:3"><I>ch.</I> xxxvi. 3</A>);
|
|
|
|
and Shebna, coming down gradually, was only scribe. Here is,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The prophecy of Shebna's disgrace. He is called <I>this
|
|
treasurer,</I> being entrusted with the management of the revenue; and
|
|
he is likewise said to be <I>over the house,</I> for such was his
|
|
boundless ambition and covetousness that less than two places, and
|
|
those two of the greatest importance at court, would not satisfy him.
|
|
It is common for self-seeking men thus to grasp at more than they can
|
|
manage, and so the business of their places is neglected, while the
|
|
pomp and profit of them wholly engage the mind. It does not appear what
|
|
were the particular instances of Shebna's mal-administration, for which
|
|
Isaiah is here sent to prophesy against him; but the Jews say, "He kept
|
|
up a traitorous correspondence with the king of Assyria, and was in
|
|
treaty with him to deliver the city into his hands." However this was,
|
|
it should seem that he was a foreigner (for we never read of the name
|
|
of his father) and that he was an enemy to the true interests of Judah
|
|
and Jerusalem: it is probable that he was first preferred by Ahaz.
|
|
Hezekiah was himself an excellent prince; but the best masters cannot
|
|
always be sure of good servants. We have need to pray for princes, that
|
|
they may be wise and happy in the choice of those they trust. These
|
|
were times of reformation, yet Shebna, a bad man, complied so far as to
|
|
keep his places at court; and it is probable that many others did like
|
|
him, for which reason Sennacherib is said to have been <I>sent against
|
|
a hypocritical nation,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:6"><I>ch.</I> x. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
In this message to Shebna we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. A reproof of his pride, vanity, and security
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>What hast thou here, and whom hast thou here?</I> What a mighty
|
|
noise and bustle dost thou make! What estate has thou here, that thou
|
|
was born to? <I>Whom hast thou here,</I> what relations, that thou art
|
|
allied to? Art thou not of mean and obscure original, <I>filius
|
|
populi--a mere plebeian,</I> that comest we know not whence? What is
|
|
the meaning of this then, that thou hast built thyself a fine house,
|
|
<I>hast graved thyself a habitation?</I>" So very nice and curious was
|
|
it that it seemed rather to be the work of an engraver than of a mason
|
|
or carpenter; and it seemed engraven in a rock, so firmly was it
|
|
founded and so impregnable was it. "Nay, <I>thou hast hewed thee out a
|
|
sepulchre,</I>" as if he designed that his pomp should survive his
|
|
funeral. Though Jerusalem was not <I>the place of his father's
|
|
sepulchres</I> (as Nehemiah called it with a great deal of tenderness,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+2:3">Neh. ii. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
he designed it should be the place of his own, and therefore set up a
|
|
monument for himself in his life-time, set it up on high. Those that
|
|
make stately monuments for their pride forget that, how beautiful
|
|
soever they appear outwardly, within <I>they are full of dead men's
|
|
bones.</I> But it is a pity that the grave-stone should forget the
|
|
grave.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. A prophecy of his fall and the sullying of his glory.
|
|
|
|
(1.) That he should not quickly be displaced and degraded
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will drive thee from thy station.</I> High places are slippery
|
|
places; and those are justly deprived of their honour that are proud of
|
|
it and puffed up with it, and deprived of their power that do hurt with
|
|
it. God will do it, who shows himself to be God by <I>looking upon
|
|
proud men and abasing them,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+40:11,12">Job xl. 11, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
To this
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>
|
|
|
|
refers. "The nail that is <I>now fastened in the sure place</I> (that
|
|
is, Shebna, who thinks himself immovably fixed in his office) <I>shall
|
|
be removed, and cut down, and fall.</I>" Those are mistaken who think
|
|
any place in this world a sure place, or themselves as nails fastened
|
|
in it; for there is nothing here but uncertainty. When the nail falls
|
|
the burden that was upon it is cut off; when Shebna was disgraced all
|
|
that had a dependence upon him fell into contempt too. Those that are
|
|
in high places will have many hanging upon them as favourites whom they
|
|
are proud of and trust to; but they are burdens upon them, and perhaps
|
|
with their weight break the nail, and both fall together, and by
|
|
deceiving ruin one another--the common fate of great men and their
|
|
flatterers, who expect more from each other than either performs.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That after a while he should not only be driven from his station,
|
|
but driven from his country: <I>The Lord will carry thee away with the
|
|
captivity of a mighty man,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Some think the Assyrians seized him, and took him away, because he had
|
|
promised to assist them and did not, but appeared against them: or
|
|
perhaps Hezekiah, finding out his treachery, banished him, and forbade
|
|
him ever to return; or he himself, finding that he had become obnoxious
|
|
to the people, withdrew into some other country, and there spent the
|
|
rest of his days in meanness and obscurity. Grotius thinks he was
|
|
stricken with a leprosy, which was a disease commonly supposed to come
|
|
from the immediate hand of God's displeasure, particularly for the
|
|
punishment of the proud, as in the case of Miriam and Uzziah; and by
|
|
reason of this disease he was <I>tossed like a ball</I> out of
|
|
Jerusalem. Those who, when they are in power, turn and toss others,
|
|
will be justly turned and tossed themselves when their day shall come
|
|
to fall. Many who have thought themselves fastened like a nail may come
|
|
to be tossed like a ball; for here have we <I>no continuing city.</I>
|
|
Shebna thought his place too strait for him, he had no room to thrive;
|
|
God will therefore send him <I>into a large country,</I> where he shall
|
|
have room to wander, but never find the way back again; for <I>there he
|
|
shall die,</I> and lay his bones there, and not in the sepulchre he had
|
|
hewn out for himself. And <I>there the chariots</I> which had been the
|
|
chariots of his glory, in which he had rattled about the streets of
|
|
Jerusalem, and which he took into banishment with him, should but serve
|
|
to upbraid him with his former grandeur, <I>to the shame of his lord's
|
|
house,</I> of the court of Ahaz, who had advanced him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The prophecy of Eliakim's advancement,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. He is God's servant, has approved himself faithfully so in other
|
|
employments, and therefore God will call him to this high station.
|
|
Those that are diligent in doing the duty of a low sphere stand fairest
|
|
for preferment in God's books. Eliakim does not undermine Shebna, nor
|
|
make an interest against him, nor does he intrude into his office; but
|
|
God calls him to it: and what God calls us to we may expect he will own
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us in. It is here foretold,
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1. That Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place of lord-chamberlain
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of the household, lord-treasurer, and prime-minister of state. The
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prophet must tell Shebna this,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
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"He shall have <I>thy robe,</I> the badge of honour, and <I>thy
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girdle,</I> the badge of power; for he shall have <I>thy
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government.</I>" To hear of it would be a great mortification to
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Shebna, much more to see it. Great men, especially if proud men, cannot
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endure their successors. God undertakes the doing of it, not only
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because he would put it into the heart of Hezekiah to do it, and his
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hand must be acknowledged guiding the hearts of princes in placing and
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displacing men
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+21:1">Prov. xxi. 1</A>),
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but because the powers that are, subordinate as well as supreme, are
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ordained of God. It is God that clothes princes with their robes, and
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therefore we must submit ourselves to them for the Lord's sake and with
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an eye to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+2:13">1 Pet. ii. 13</A>.
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And, since it is he that <I>commits the government into their hand,</I>
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they must administer it according to his will, for his glory; they must
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judge for him by whom they judge and <I>decree justice,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+8:15">Prov. viii. 15</A>.
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And they may depend upon him to furnish them for what he calls them to,
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according to this promise: <I>I will clothe him;</I> and then it
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|
follows, <I>I will strengthen him.</I> Those that are called to places
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of trust and power should seek unto God for grace to enable them to do
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|
the duty of their places; for that ought to be their chief care.
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Eliakim's advancement is further described by the laying of the <I>key
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|
of the house of David upon his shoulders,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
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Probably he carried a golden key upon his shoulder as a badge of his
|
|
office, or had one embroidered upon his cloak or robe, to which this
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|
alludes. Being over the house, and having the key delivered to him, as
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|
the seals are to the lord-keeper, <I>he shall open and none shall shut,
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|
shut and none shall open.</I> He had access to <I>the house of the
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precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices;</I> and to
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|
the <I>house of the armour</I> and the <I>treasures</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+39:2"><I>ch.</I> xxxix. 2</A>),
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and disposed of the stores there as he thought fit for the public
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|
service. He put whom he pleased into the inferior offices and turned
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|
out whom he pleased. Our Lord Jesus describes his own power as Mediator
|
|
by an allusion to this
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+3:7">Rev. iii. 7</A>),
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that <I>he has the key of David,</I> wherewith he <I>opens and no man
|
|
shuts,</I> he <I>shuts and no man opens.</I> His power in the kingdom
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|
of heaven, and in the ordering of all the affairs of that kingdom, is
|
|
absolute, irresistible, and uncontrollable.
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2. That he should be fixed and confirmed in that office. He shall have
|
|
it for life, and not <I>durante bene placito--during pleasure</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
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<I>I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place,</I> not to be removed
|
|
or cut down. Thus lasting shall the honour be that comes from God to
|
|
all those who use it for him. Our Lord Jesus is <I>as a nail in a sure
|
|
place:</I> his kingdom cannot be shaken, and he himself is still the
|
|
same.
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3. That he should be a great blessing in his office; and it is this
|
|
that crowns the favours here conferred upon him. God <I>makes his name
|
|
great,</I> for he shall be a blessing,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:2">Gen. xii. 2</A>.
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(1.) He shall be a blessing to his country
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
|
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|
<I>He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the
|
|
house of Judah.</I> he shall take care not only of the affairs of the
|
|
king's household, but of all the public interests in Jerusalem and
|
|
Judah. Note, Rulers should be fathers to those that are under their
|
|
government, to teach them with wisdom, rule them with love, and correct
|
|
what is amiss with tenderness, to protect them and provide for them,
|
|
and be solicitous about them as a man is for his own children and
|
|
family. It is happy with a people when the court, the city, and the
|
|
country, have no separate interests, but all centre in the same, so
|
|
that the courtiers are true patriots, and whom the court blesses the
|
|
country has reason to bless too; and when those who are fathers to
|
|
Jerusalem, the royal city, are no less so to the house of Judah.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He shall be a blessing to his family
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:23,24"><I>v.</I> 23, 24</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>He shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.</I> The
|
|
consummate wisdom and virtue which recommended him to this great trust
|
|
made him the honour of his family, which probably was very considerable
|
|
before, but now became much more so. Children should aim to be a credit
|
|
to their parents and relations. The honour men reflect upon their
|
|
families by their piety and usefulness is more to be valued than that
|
|
which they derive from their families by their names and titles.
|
|
Eliakim being preferred, <I>all the glory of his father's house</I> was
|
|
hung upon him; they all made their court to him, and his brethren's
|
|
sheaves bowed to his. Observe, The glory of this world gives a man no
|
|
intrinsic worth or excellency; it is but hung upon him as an
|
|
appurtenance, and it will soon drop from him. Eliakim was compared to
|
|
<I>a nail in a sure place,</I> in pursuance of which comparison all the
|
|
relations of his family (which, it is likely, were numerous, and that
|
|
was the glory of it) are said to have a dependence upon him, as in a
|
|
house the vessels that have handles to them are hung up upon nails and
|
|
pins. It intimates likewise that he shall generously take care of them
|
|
all, and bear the weight of that care: <I>All the vessels,</I> not only
|
|
<I>the flagons,</I> but <I>the cups, the vessels of small quantity,</I>
|
|
the meanest that belong to his family, shall be provided for by him.
|
|
See what a burden those bring upon themselves that undertake great
|
|
trusts; they little think how many and how much will hand upon them if
|
|
they resolve to be faithful in the discharge of their trust. Our Lord
|
|
Jesus, having the key of the house of David, is as a <I>nail in a sure
|
|
place,</I> and all <I>the glory of his father's house hangs</I> upon
|
|
him, is derived from him, and depends upon him; even the meanest that
|
|
belong to his church are welcome to him, and he is able to bear the
|
|
stress of them all. That soul cannot perish, nor that concern fall to
|
|
the ground, though ever so weighty, that is by faith hung upon
|
|
Christ.</P>
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