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6. Therefore night shall be unto you, &c.] Meaning great calamities, and particularly, God will not reveal Himself to the Prophets, nor enable them to direct the people.

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But truly I am full of power &c.] Truly I, Micah, am enabled by the Spirit of God, freely and without partiality to utter the Divine message.

11. The heads thereof judge for reward,] They pervert judgment for a bribe. The "prophets" in this verse are to be understood of the false prophets.

12. Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed &c.] See Jer. xxvi. 18. This prophecy had its utmost completion in the final destruction of the city and temple by the Romans. "The mountain of the house" is mount Moriah, where the temple, the house of the Lord, stood.

CHAP. IV.

Verse 1.-in the last days] The times of the Messiah; see the note on Is. ii. 2.

-the mountain of the house of the Lord] Meaning the Christian Church, to which the Gentiles should come upon their conversion. The three first verses of this chapter concerning the establishment of Christ's kingdom, and its progress towards perfection, occur, with little variation Is. ii. 2. &c.

5.-and we will walk in the name of the Lord &c.] We will adhere to the worship of the true God. This will be remarkably fulfilled at the general conversion of the Jews, when this prophecy shall receive its utmost completion.

6.-will I assemble her that halteth, &c.] Though I have broken the power of My people, removed them into captivity, and afflicted them, yet will I restore them to their country, I will send them the Messiah, and will be always their King.

7.-and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion] Zion is to be taken spiritually for the Church, over which Christ reigneth and shall reign for ever. Or, the prophecy may be hereafter literally fulfilled at the restoration of the Jews.

8.-0 tower of the flock,] Meaning probably, the tower of David, or rather all Jerusalem itself, which was, as it were, the tower and fold of God's flock, Israel.

11.-let our eye look upon Zion.] This verse contains an expression of the desires of the heathen nations, that all manner of mischief and shame might befal Zion to her utter desolation. "look upon our enemies," is to behold their fall with delight.

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12. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord,] The nations are ignorant of God's purpose, which is to punish them with an entire destruction, after

He hath executed His judgments upon His own people. Great calamities are compared to the threshing of corn in a floor: see the the following verse; and Is. xxi. 10. In Eastern countries it was usual to tread out the corn by the feet of

oxen.

CHAP. V.

Verse 1.-0 daughter of troops :] This seems to be addressed to some foreign nation, that was to invade Judea. Perhaps it might relate to the Babylonians and their numerous troops.

2.-though thou be little among the thousands of Judah.] That is, a small city in the divisions of Judah. Every tribe was of old divided into so many "thousands," as counties in England are into hundreds. Both the city and family of David were in a mean condition at the time of Christ's birth; whereupon the Blessed Virgin in her song thankfully commemorates God's extraordinary favour in honouring that low estate to which they were reduced, with the birth of the Messiah, Luke i. 48, 52.

out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel;] The chief priests and Scribes understood this prophecy of the birth of the Messiah, as appears from Matt. ii. 5, 6; and so did the generality of the Jews of that age, who speak of it as an undoubted truth, that "Christ was to come of the seed of David, and out of the town of Beth-lehem where David was," John vii. 42. And our Lord was born at Beth-lehem by an especial act of Providence, that this prophecy might be fulfilled in Him. "To come forth" is the same as to be born.

-whose goings forth have been from of old, &c.] Who existed before the world was; from all eternity.

3. Therefore will he give them up, &c.] Never theless in the meantime God shall suffer His people to be grievously afflicted, till the appointed time of their deliverance cometh.

-the remnant of his brethren] This phrase here denotes all that should be converted and taken into the Church of God.

4. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord,] This is spoken of Christ, who should rule over His Church, and carefully supply all the wants of His subjects, as a good shepherd doth those of his sheep.

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5. And this man shall be the peace, &c.] That is, the Messiah, who is called " our peace," Eph. ii. 14. The Assyrian" in this passage, is probably put generally, for the enemies to God and His truth.

-seven shepherds, and eight principal men.] That is, several or many, a fixed number being put

for an uncertain one.

6. And they shall waste the land of Assyria &c.] According to the figurative sense of the words, embraced by most Christians, the meaning of this passage is, that by the might and power of Christ, and such as shall be by Him commissioned to spread and maintain His truth, all that oppose it shall be brought under and made to yield, as certainly as when an enemy, such as the Assyrian then was to Israel, is by many commanders and their forces beaten in his own country, and his own weapons forced from him and turned back upon himself.

thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, &c.] By these means shall Christ deliver us from our enemies that assault us.

7. And the remnant of Jacob shall be as a dew &c. The remnant of the dispersed Jews upon their conversion shall be the instruments of converting those Gentiles among whom they live: and may therefore be fitly represented by the dews and rains which come from heaven, and make the earth fruitful.

- that tarrieth not for man,] The dews and rains are the gift of God, and are bere distinguished from the fountains and canals of water prepared by the art of man.

8.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be—as a lion &c.] This has been made good by the establishing of Christ's spiritual kingdom among men, and by the conquests obtained by His little flock over sin, the world, and the devil,

10, 11.-I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, &c.] These words are a promise of peace and security, and an encouragement to rely on God alone, without dependence on human help. Much the like words are applied to the peaceable condition of the kingdom of Christ by Żechariah, chap. ix. 10.

14.-I will pluck up thy groves] Which were dedicated to idols, and used for idolatrous purposes.

. CHAP. VI.

Verse 1-Arise, contend thou before the moun tains, &c.] Arise, and call the very senseless earth, even the hills and mountains, to record what I have to say against My people. Even these inanimate things will be convinced of your iniquities.

5.0 my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, &c. Remember what answers I put into the mouth of Balaam: how I drew blessings even from him upon you, instead of curses, which Balak would have hired him to utter against you: remember all My gracious dealings with you in all the passages of the wilderness, all the way from Shittim even unto Gilgal, till the very entrance into the land of promise; that

ye may acknowledge the righteous proceedings of the Lord with you.

6. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, &c.] This verse and the next are probably to be understood as spoken by the Prophet, in the person of the people, replying to the appeal of God: and they are either an acknowledgement of their guilt, and an expression of their desire to repent, if they knew what would be accepted by God; or they are a justification of themselves, istimating that if they had been defective in their duty, and thereby displeasing to God, it was done, not willingly, but through ignorance. Verse 8 is God's answer by the mouth of the Prophet.

Some understand these verses as part of a pri vate conference between Balaam and Balak, which Moses has omitted, as foreign to the subject of his history; but which the Israelites ought to have kept in remembrance, and in which the idolatrous king inquires of God's Prophet, in what way be, the king, might make expiation for his sins. If this interpretation be adopted, verse 8 is to be understood as Balaam's answer to Balak.

8. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; &c.] Both the dictates of reason, and the laws of God, sufficiently inform men what are the sub. stantial parts of their duty: namely, the practice of justice and mercy, and a reverent behaviour towards God. We have reason all to apply to ourselves these words of the Prophet. For though it be still true, that some ages of the world have been dark, and others blinded with false lights; that some men naturally see little, and others are strangely given to see wrong; yet, in general the duties of life are level to the capacities of all meu; and especially among Christians, but, above all, Christians so peculiarly blessed with the means of instruction as we of this nation are, no one can possibly, without either deliberate obstinacy or intolerable negligence, continue unacquainted with what he is bound to do, or the recompense he is to expect, if he do it not,

9. The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, &c.] The voice of the Lord calleth by me His Prophet to the city of Jerusalem; and those, that are wise hearted, will have a due and awful respect to Thy name, O Lord: hear, O Jerusalem, hear thou the sad news of that sharp rod of affliction, which is prepared for thee; and consider who it is that hath appointed it for thy correction,

10. Are there yet the treasures of wickedness &c.] From hence to the end of the chapter is a detail of the then reigning sins among the Jews; more particularly the ten tribes, who had separated themselves by an avowed schism from the unity of the Church. He taxes them with covetousness, base dishonesty, falsehood and deceit, injustice and oppression in their dealings with men, and

with profaneness and irreligion towards God; keeping rather the impious and idolatrous statutes of Omri and Ahab, than the Divine law delivered by Moses.

14.-thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee;] In the midst of thine own streets; thou shalt fall even within thine own walls.

16.—Omri-Ahab,] It is said of Omri, that he" did worse than all that were before him," 1 Kings xvi. 25. and his son Ahab added the worship of Baal to the idolatry of the golden calves, verse 31.

CHAP. VII.

Verse 1, 2.-I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, Sc.] As the early fig of excellent flavour cannot be found in the advanced season of summer, or the choice cluster of grapes after vintage; so neither can the good and upright man be discovered by diligent searching in Israel.

3.-so they wrap it up.] They make the matter intricate, so that men may not easily discern between the right and the wrong.

4.-the day of thy watchmen] The day for punishing thy watchmen; that is, kings, rulers, and false teachers.

7. Therefore I will look unto the Lord;] The Prophet speaking as of himself, in the person probably of the nation in captivity, sets the example of declaring his confidence in God. Having hitherto denounced judgments, now, according to the custom of the Prophets, he draws towards his conclusion with consolatory words and promises.

That is,

10.-mine eyes shall behold her :] shall see her vanquished and brought to destruction. This prophecy was fulfilled, when Babylon was taken, and the empire destroyed by the Medes and Persians.

11. In the day that thy walls are to he built, &c.] When God shall visit His people, and repair their decayed estate, then the tyrannical edicts of their persecutors shall be abolished.

12. In that day also he shall come &c.] Concerning the phrase "in that day," see the note on Is. iv. 2. By the single person "he" may be meant the people, or the dispersion of Israel.

This prophecy was made good by the restoration of the Jews, and their coming again from all parts to Jerusalem, after the land had been for seventy

years desolate for their sins: it may have been fulfilled in a higher sense by the setting up of the Church, the kingdom of Christ; and by so many nations being called into it by the preaching of the Gospel. Perhaps also it looks forward to a future restoration of the Jews.

13. Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate] Or rather, according to the margin of the Bible, "After that it hath been desolate."

14. Feed thy people with thy rod, c.] The "rod" may mean either a sceptre, or a shepherd's staff, with which he directs his sheep. The verse may be thus paraphrased: "In the mean time, namely, of the desolation of the land, O God, take Thou care of Thy people: do Thou feed and govern them by Thy gracious protection; lead this flock of Thine heritage, which now dwells solitarily in the wilderness of their captivity, into the midst of Thy fruitful pastures of Carmel; let them feed in the rich fields of Bashan and Gilead, as in former times." The words imply a gracious promise of return to the nation, or church of the Jews, out of captivity to their own land. The promise is ia a higher and more spiritual manner made good to the Church of Christ, and all faithful believers rescued from sin and Satan, and brought back to the fold.

15. According to the days of thy coming out of -Egypt &c.] Thy prayer is heard, saith the Lord; as I did in the days of thy coming out of Egypt do marvellous things for thee, so will I do again. The words are generally considered as spoken in the person of God, in answer to the petition of the Prophet," Feed thy people," &c.

16, 17. The nations shall see and be confounded &c.] These two verses express the great astonishment and confusion which should be experienced by the enemies of God's people, at seeing the tokens of Divine favour appearing so conspicuously in their behalf.

19.-thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.] That is utterly abolish them, that they shall not have dominion over us. This victory will be obtained by the merits of Christ, and the grace of the Gospel: see Col. ii. 14; Rom. vi. 14.

20. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, &c.] Meaning the promise of Christ, that seed of Abraham, in whom all the kindreds of the earth were to be blessed, with all the benefits of His redemption.

NOTES

ON

Nahum.

NAHUM is generally thought to have uttered this propheey in the reign of Hezekiah, and not long after the taking of the ten tribes or kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser. The prophecy of Nahum, which is written in a very spirited and sublime style, is a prediction of the destruction of Nineveh and the end of the empire of the Assyriaus. This prophecy was remarkably accomplished in little more than a century after it was deliveṛed.

CHAP. I.

God

The commencement of this prophecy grandly sets forth the justice and power of God, tempered by lenity and goodness, verse 2-8. A sudden address to the Assyrians follows: and a prediction of their perplexity and overthrow, as devisers of evil against the true God, verse 9-11. Himself then proclaims freedom to His people from the Assyrian yoke, and the destruction of the Assyrian idols, verse 12-14. Upon, which the Prophet in a most lively manner turns the attention of Judah to the approach of the messenger, who brings such glad tidings; and bids her celebrate her festivals, and offer her thank offerings without fear of so powerful an adversary.

Verse 1. The burden of Nineveh.] The heavy tidings that God sent to Nineveh, and to the whole kingdom of Assyria. It seems the repentance of the Ninevites upon the preaching of Jonah was of po long continuance.

God pardons men, and bears with them, upon their humiliation; but when they return to their sins, He at last executes the decrees of His justice. Nahum che Elkoshite.] So called probably from Elkosh, or Elkosha, a village in Galilee, the native place of the Prophet.

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8. But with an overrunning flood he will make en uiler end of the place thereof,] God will bring the great city of Nineveh to utter ruin. Au army's overrunning a country is often compared to an inundation.

9.-affliction shall not rise up the second time.]

I will make an utter destruction all at once: "When I begin, I will also make an end," as it is expressed 1 Sam. iii. 12.

10. For while they be folden together as thorns, &c.] While they combine themselves, and plot together in wickedness, as thorns are foldeu up together in a hedge; and while they are consorting together in their drunkenness and excess; then shall the judgment of God fall upon them, and devour them as the fire consumes the dry stubble.

12. Though they be quiet,] Though the Assyrians be secure, and free from fear.

-Though I have afflicted thee,] This is addressed to the Jews. At verse 14 the discourse again turns to the Assyrians.

15. Behold upon the mountains &c.] See Is. lii. 7. In a spiritual sense this refers to those who bring the glad tidings of the Gospel. See Rom.

x. 15.

CHAP. II.

Nineveh is now called on to prepare for the approach of her enemies, as instruments in the hand of God; and the military array and muster of the Medes and Babylonians, their rapid approach to the city, the process of the siege, the capture of the place, the captivity, lamentation, and flight of the inhabitants, the sacking of the wealthy city, and the consequent desolation and terror, are described in the spirit of sublime

Eastern poetry, verse 1-10. A grand and animated allegory succeeds this description, verse 11, 12: which is explained, and applied to the city of Nineveh, in verse 13.

Verse 1. He that dusheth in pieces] An epemy that will break down thy walls, and destroy thy inhabitants, O Nineveh.

2. For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, &c.] The meaning is, if the Lord have turned away the excellency of Jacob and Israel, and hath given it over to the spoil of the Assyrians, who have destroyed their vineyards, how much more will He deface the glory of Nineveh!

Some translate the words thus: The Lord will return the pride against Jacob, &c. that is, He will requite the injuries which the Assyriaus have exercised upon Judah and Israel.

3.-the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.] Some understand by "fir trees" in this place, the long spears of the enemy. Perhaps they may be put figuratively for the nobles and great men of Nineveh, who were to be " shaken" or overthrown.

5. He shall recount his worthies: &c.] The king of Nineveh shall muster his choicest troops, but they shall be discomfited.

7.- Huzzab] This word denotes a strong and impregnable fortress, and is probably here put for Nineveh itself.

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as with the voice of doves,] With melancholy sounds, like those uttered by doves.

tubering upon their breasts.] Beating their breasts for grief.

8. But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water :] On account perhaps, of its being surrounded by the river Tigris.

11. Where is the dwelling of the lions, &c.] Where now is the place that was the feared dwelling of the lion-like Assyrians? What is become of the place where the old lion, even the tyrants of Assyria, walked, and where his princes made themselves so secure, that nothing could affright them?

13,-the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.] Thou shalt no more send ambassadors to distant countries, either to encourage thine allies, or to terrify thine enemies.

CHAP. III.

In this chapter the Prophet denounces war against Nineveh for her perfidy and violence; and strongly places before our eyes the number of her chariots and cavalry, her burnished arms, and the great and unrelenting slaughter which she spread around her, verse 1-3. He assigns her idolatries as one cause of her disgraceful and unpitied fall, verse 4-7. He describes No Amon, her rival in

populousness, confederacies, and situation, as sharing a like fate with herself, verse 8-11; and beautifully illustrates the ease with which her strong holds should be taken, verse 12; and the feebleness of her people during the siege, verse 13. He pronounces that all her preparations, her numbers, her opulence, her multitude of chief men, would be of no avail, verse 14-17. He foretels that her tributaries would desert her, verse 18. He concludes with a triumphant exclamation, the subjects of which are the greatness and incurableness of her wound, and the just triumph of others ever her, on account of her extensive op. pressions, verse 19.

Verse 1.-the prey departeth not;] They are still carrying on their conquests, and never cease to get new spoils from such as they newly conquer.

4. Because of the multitude of the whoredoms &c.] Because as a well favoured harlot entices men by her beauty to commit wickedness with her, so Nineveh by reason of her greatness and power entices others to commit idolatry in worshipping her idols.

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5.-I will discover thy skirts &c.] See the note on Jer. xiii, 22. 8.-populous No,] Or No Amon, a city of Egypt.

9.-Put and Iubim] Nations of Africa.

11. Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid,] Even so thou also, O Nineveh shalt drink deep of the cup of God's vengeance: thou shalt be utterly destroyed, and laid in obscurity and forgetfulness.

12. All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees &c.] As ripe figs drop off when they are shaken, so shall thy strong holds fall into the hands of the enemy, upon the first assault.

14. Draw thee waters for the siege, &c.] Go then, and furnish thyself with provision for a siege; fill thy cisterns with water; fortify thy strong holds; make ready store of bricks, to repair thy battered walls.

16.-thy merchants] By these are perhaps meant mercenary or hired soldiers. As the cankerworm devours where it comes, and then goes to another place; so shall thy hired soldiers serve thee.

19, There is no heating of thy bruise;] In this passage, as well as in chap. i. 8, and ii. 11, 13, the Prophet foretels the total and entire destruction of Nineveh. The most ancient heathen authors speak only of Nineveh as a city that was once great and flourishing, but in their time destroyed and desolate; and now even its situation cannot exactly be ascertained. So completely has this prophecy been fulfilled!

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all that hear the bruit of thee] That is, the report of thee; the report of thy enemies having quite overthrown thee.

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