He Crémorationga", ha'k lad wege agmast us: (Serres) they shall smile the judge of Israel (Zenek we, with a rod upon the check. They mall for love greated indignaty. They sew Das sons before ma face; and then put out his eyes, kaded him with chaina, and earned him captive to Babylon.

Verse 2. But thom, Beth-lehem Ephratan] I have cone,dered this wject in great detad in the notes on Matt. u. 6, to when the reader will be pleased to refer. Ins verse should begin this chapter; the first verse belongs to the preceding chapter.

Beth-lehem Ephratah, to distinguish it from another Both-lehem, winch was in the tribe of Zebulun, Josh.

XIX. 15

Thousands of Judah] The tribes were divided into small portions called thousands; as in our country certain divisions of counties are called hundreds.

Whose goings forth have been from of old] In every age, from the foundation of the world, there has been some manifestation of the Messiah. He was the hope, as he was the salvation, of the world, from the promise to Adam in paradise, to his manifestation in the flesh four thousand years after.

From everlasting] by miyemey olam, "From the days of all time;" from time as it came out of eternity. That is, there was no time in which he has not been going forth-coming in various ways to save men. And he that came forth the moment that time had its birth, was before that time in which he began to come forth to save the souls that he had created. He was before all things. As he is the Creator of all things, so he is the Eternal, and no part of what was created. All being but God has been created. Whatever has not been created is God. But Jesus is the Creator of all things; therefore he is God; for he cannot be a part of his own work.

722

Tease 3. Therefore will be put them 17, Jesus Cine sa pre 19 de catecient and rebellions Jews 129 de bands of a the rates of the earth, she vis tropaleta kali irmon forch; t a to be Christus Churra, regersenter Rev. 1 1. ander the action of a armen a tree shall have had the flaess of the Gentles brought a Then the remnant of his freitrem: shall return; the Jews alse stal be conversed unto the Lord; and this all Israei shall be sured, according to Rom, xi. 26.

Unto the chudren of Israel ] Taking in both families, that of Judah and that of Israel. The remnant of the ten tribes, wherever they are, shall be brought in under Christ; and though now lost among the nations of the earth. they will then not only be brought in among the fulness of the Gentiles, but most probably be distinguished as Jews.

On this verse Abp. Newcome says, "The sense is, God will not fully vindicate and exalt his people, till the virgin mother shall have brought forth her Son; and til Judah and Israel, and all the true sons of Abraham among their brethren the Gentiles, be converted to Christianity.

Verse 4. He shall stand and feed] The Messiah shall remain with his followers, supporting and governing them in the strength and majesty of the Lord, with all the miraculous interferences of his power, and all the glories of his grace.

And they shall abide] After this the Jews shall no more go astray, but shall remain one people with the Gentiles, under the one Shepherd and Bishop of all souls.

The enemies of God's people

A. M. cir. 3294. B. C. cir. 710.

A. U. C. cir. 44. Numa Pompilii, R. Roman., cir. annum 6.

shall be destroyed

A. M. cir. 3294.

B. C. cir. 710.

A. U. C. ci 44.
Numa Pompilii,
R. Roman..
cir. annum 6.

6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of 9-Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. 7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as the dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons

of men.

u

Verse 5. And this man shall be the peace] This clause should be joined to the preceding verse, as it finishes the prophecy concerning our blessed Lord, who is the Author and Prince of Israel; and shall finally give peace to all nations, by bringing them under his yoke.

When the Assyrian shall come] This is a new prophecy, and relates to the subversion of the Assyrian empire.

Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds] Supposed to mean the seven Maccabees, Mattathias and his five sons, and Hyrcanus, the son of Simon.

Eight principal men.]. Eight princes, the Asmoncan race; beginning with Aristobulus, and ending with Herod, who was married to Mariamne.-Sharpe. Perhaps seven and eight are a definite for an indefinite number, as Eecl. xi. 2; Job v. 19. The prophet means the chiefs of the Medes and Babylonians, the prefects of different provinces who took Nineveh, whose number may have been what is here specified.-Newcome. Calmet considers this as referring to the invasion of Judea by Cambyses, when the Lord raised up against him the seven magi. He of them who passed for king of the Persians was the Smerdis of Herodotus, the Oropastes of Trogus, and the Artaxerxes of Ezra. These magi were put to death by seven Persian chiefs; who, having delivered the empire from them, set one of themselves, Darius, the son of Hystaspes, upon the throne.

Verse 6. The land of Nimrod] Assyria, and Nineveh its capital; and Babylon, which was also built by Nimrod, who was its first king, Gen. x. 11, 12, in the margin.

V

9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots :

11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds:

Or, with her own naked swords.—— Luke i. 7lv u Deut. xxxii. 2; Psa. lxxii. 6; cx. 3. Or, goats.

ix. 10.

Ver. 3. .w. Zech.

made themselves masters of the whole Babylonian empire, &c. Perhaps it is best to refer it to the invasion of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar; and the final destruction of the Babylonish empire by Cyrus, who took Babylon, slew Belshazzar, and possessed himself of the kingdom.

Verse 7. The remnant of Jacob] From the reign of Darius Hystaspes (Ahasuerus, husband of Esther) the Jews were greatly favoured. Those who continued in Persia and Chaldea were greatly honoured under the protection of Mordecai and Esther.-Calmet.. But others consider this as applying to the Maccabees.

As a dew from the Lord] Even during their captivity many of the Jews were the means of spreading the knowledge of the one true God; see Dan. ii. 47; iii. 29; iv. 34; vi. 26. This may be the dew from the Lord mentioned here. When the Messiah appeared, the Gospel was preached by them; and it shall again be propagated by their future glorious restoration, Rom. xi. 12, 25..

lidney לבני אדם

The grass, that tarrieth not for man] Which grass springs up without the attention and culture of man; leish, even the best and most skilful of men. Nor waiteth for the sons of men.] adam, for the sons of Adam, the first transgressor. The dew and the showers descend on the earth and water it, in order to render it fruitful; and the grass springs up independently either of the worth or wick edness of man. All comes through God's bounty, who causes his sun to shine on the just and the unjust, and his rain to descend on the evil and the good.

Verse 8. As a lion] In this and the following verse the victories of the Maccabees are supposed to foretold.

Verse 9. All thine enemies shall be cut off] The Assyrians, who had destroyed Israel; and the Babylonians, who had ruined Judah.

This chapter reproves and threatens.

a

Or, with. xii. 2.

b Deut. xxxii. 1; Psa. 1. 1, 4; Isa. i. 2.-- Hos. d Isa. i. 18; v. 3, 4; xliii. 26; Hos. iv. 1. NOTES ON CHAP. VI.

Verse 1. Arise, contend thou] This chapter is a sort of dialogue between God and the people. GOD speaks the five first verses, and convicts the people of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The PEOPLE, convinced of their iniquity, depecrate God's judgments, in the sixth and seventh verses. In the eighth verse God prescribes the way in which they are to be saved; and then the prophet, by the command of God, goes on to | remonstrate from the ninth verse to the end of the chapter.

Verse 2. Hear ye, O mountains] Micah, as God's advocate, summons this people into judgment, and makes an appeal to inanimate creation against them. He had spoken to the priests, to the princes, to the people. He had done every thing that was necessary to make them wise, and holy, and happy; they had uniformly disobeyed, and were ever ungrateful. It was not consistent with either the justice or mercy of God to permit them to go on without reprehension and punishment. He now calls them into judgment; and such was the nature of their crimes that, to heighten

4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and. Miriam..

e Jer. ii. 5, 31.f Exod. xii. 51; xiv. 30; xx. 2; Deut. iv. 20; Amos ii. 10.

the effect, and show what reason he had to punish such a people, he appeals to inanimate creation. Their ingratitude and rebellion are sufficient to make the mountains, the hills, and the strong foundations of the earth to hear, tremble, and give judgment against them. This, then, is the Lord's controversy with his people, and thus he will plead with Israel:

Verse 3. O my people, what have I done unto thee?] They are called to show why God should not pronounce sentence upon them. This condescension is truly astonishing! God appears to humble himself to his creatures. You have acted basely, treacherously, and ungratefully to me; this had already been proved by the prophets. What cause have I given you for such conduct? I have required a religious service from you; but have I wearied you by a fatiguing round of difficult. duties? If I have, now testify against me; and you shall be first heard, and your plea received, if it be reasonable and good. They are silent; and God proceeds, and states what he has done for them.

Verse 4. I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt] Where you were slaves, and grievously op

*

8 He hath P showed thee, O man,

what

pressed; from all this I redeemed you! Was this a small benefit? I sent before thee MOSES, my chosen servant, and instructed him that he might be your leader and lawgiver. I sent with him AARON, that he might be your priest, and transact all spiritual matters between myself and you, in offerings, sacrifices, and atonements. I sent MIRIAM, to whom I gave the spirit of prophecy, that she might tell you things to come, and be the director of your females. To this sense the Chaldee, "I have sent three prophets before you; Moses, that he might teach you the tradition of judgments; Aaron, that he might make atonement for the people; and Miriam, that she might instruct the females."

· Verse 5. Remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted] He sent for Balaam to curse your fathers; but by my influence he was obliged to bless them. See Num. xxii. and xxiii., and the notes there, where this subject is largely considered.

From Shittim unto Gilgal] From the encampment at Shittim, Num. xxv. 1, on the way to that of Gilgal, Josh. iv. 19. Balaam gave different answers in the interval between these places. We may suppose that the encampments of Israel advanced slowly to that part of Jordan which was opposite to Gilgal. The Chaldee has, "Were there not wonderful things done in your behalf from the valley of Shittim to the house of Gilgal ?" See Josh. iii. Į ; iv. 20. Thus there will be a reference to the miraculous passage over Jordan. See Newcome.

That ye may know the righteousness] The just, equitable, and merciful dealing of the Most High. Recollect those things, that ye may have a proper impression of this. There are many interpretations given of this rather obscure clause; what I have proposed seems to me the most simple.

to

to do justly, and to love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God?

12 Kings xvi. 3; xxi.6; xxiii. 10; Jer. vii. 31; xix. 5; Ezek. xxiii. 37. Heb. belly.- P Deut. x. 12; 1 Sam. xv. 22; Hos. vi. 6; xii. 6.- -9 Gen. xviii. 19; Isa. i. 17.- Heb. humble thyself to walk.

Now the people, as defendants, appear; but instead of vindicating themselves, or attempting to dispute what has been alleged against them, they seem at once to plead guilty; and now anxiously inquire how they shall appease the wrath of the Judge, how they shall make atonement for the sins already committed.

Bow myself before the high God] They wish to pray, and to make supplication to their Judge; but how shall they come before him? They have no right to come into his presence. Some offering must be brought; but of what kind, or of what value? Their sin is unprecedented, and usual methods of access will not avail. They are distracted in their minds, and make a variety of proposals to themselves, some rational, some absurd and impossible, and some even sinful.

Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings] This is reasonable, and according to the law; but this will be insufficient.

Verse 7. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams] These might be procured, though with difficulty,; but conscience says, neither will these do..

With ten thousands of rivers of oil] This is absurd and impossible; but could even these be procured, could they all make atonement for such guilt, and ingratitude, and rebellion?

Shall I give my first-born for my transgression] This was sinful and wicked; but such offerings had been made by the Phænicians, and their successors the Carthaginians; and this very custom was copied by the corrupt Israelites. See some cases of such offerings, 2 Kings iii. 27; Lev. xx. 27.

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?] This clause is an explanation of the former. Shall I make the first-born, the best and goodliest of my children, non chattath, a SIN-OFFERING for my soul? thus the original is used in a multitude of places.

And

-When they had put all these questions to their reason and conscience, they found no satisfaction; their distraction is increased, and despair is about to take place, when Jehovah, the plaintiff, in his mercy interposes:

And hence