stration of that, and so causing a fam.ine, not of bread
and of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord;
which is done by the Papists, by prohibiting Gospel
ministers preaching the word; forbidding the people
to read it in their own language; locking it up from
them in a language they understand not; and so starve
the souls or' men, which brings upon them a curse.
But blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth
it; at a moderate price, so tint the poor may be able
to come at it; such will have their blessing; they will
wish all happiness to them and their families, here
arid hereafter. Or, that breaksd it; separates it from
the heap, breaks and grinds it into flour, and then
sells it: or imparts it freely; so the Septuagint version,
that communicates: and the Arabic version, that gives;
and may be fitly applied to a faithful minister of the
Gospel, who breaks thc bread of life, and freely and
plentifully imparts it to the souls of men; and who
has the hearty prayers and good wishes of the people
to whom he ministers. The master of a family used
to break the bread, as Christ often did.
Vet. 27. lie that diligent!y seeketh good, &c.] Or
earl!/: who rises betlines in the morning, as the
word{e} signifies, and seeks both to do good, and to
enjoy it all the day; who, in the first place, seeks
the kingdom of God and his righteousness; who,
in the morning of his youth, inquires after the best
things; and diligently pursues what is for his own
good and welfare, and that of others, and for the glory
of God: procurethfavour, both of God and men: or,
seekethfavour f; or that which is acceptable and well-
pleasing unto God. But he that seeketh mischief, it
shall come unto him; that seeks to do hurt to others;
that which he seeks to do to them shall come upon
himself; see Psal. ix. 15. so antichrist, that leads into
captivity, shall go into captivity; and that kills wittt
the sword, shall be killed by it, Rev. xiii. 10.
Ver. 28. lie that trusteth in his riches shall fall, &c.]
As leaves in autumn, which are withered and dry.
To trust in riches is to trust in uncertain things;
things not to be depended on, being here to-day and
gone to-morrow; it is like leaning npon a broken staff,
which giving way, the person. falls: and so the fall of
Babylon will be, whilst she is trusting in and boasting
of her riches and grandenr, Rev. xviii. 7, 8. But the
righteous shall .flourish as a branch; that abides in the
tree, is alive and green, full of leaves, and laden with
fruit: so the righteous are as branches in Christ, and
receive life and nourishment from hint, and abide in
him; and bring forth fi'uit and flourish, like palm-trees
and cedars, in the house of the Lord, and grow in every
grace, and in the knowledge of Christ; see Jet. xvii.
Vet. 29. He that troubleth his own house, &c.] His
family, his wife, and children, and servants; by being
bitter to the one, and by provoking the others to wrath,
and continually giving out menacing words to the rest;
or through idleness, not providing for his family; or
through an
, :over-worldly spir:,t, pushing on business,
and hurrying it on beyond measure; or through a nig-
gardly and avaricious temper, withholding meat and
drink, and clothes convenient for them; see ch. xv. 27.
or through profuseness and prodigality. Such an one
shall inherit the wind; nothing but vanity and empti-
ness; he shall come to nothing, and get nothing;
and what he does, be shall not keep, and on which
he cannot live. And/ the .fool shall be servant to the
wise of heart; he who has both got and lost Iris sub-
stance in a foolish way shall be so reduced as to be-
come a servant to him who has pursued wise mea-
sures, both in getting and keeping what he has; and
to whom perhaps the fool formerly stood iu the relation
of a master. Such a change will be with respect to
antichrist and the saints, Dan. vii. 25--27.
Vet. 30. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of h.'fe,
&c.] Either tffe fi'uit which grows upon Christ, the
tree of life, and which they receive from him; even
all the blessings of grace, peace, pardon, righteous-
ness, and life, Rev. ii. 7. or the fruits which the righteous
bring forth under the influence of divine grace; they
are trees of righteousness, and are filled with the
fruits of righteousness by Christ, and have their fruit
unto holiness, and their end everlasting life. Aben
Ezra interprets it," the fruit of the righteous is as
"the fruit of the tree of life ;" that is, lovely, beauti-
ful, desirable, salutary, and issues in life. And he
that winneth souls is wise; antichrist trades in the souls
of men, that is one part of his wares, Rev. xviii. 13.
but his negotiations about them are to the loss, and
not to the saving of them: whereas wise and faithful
ministers of the word, such as are here described, use
all prudent methods to gain and save the souls of
men, 1 Cor. ix. 19--22. even their precious immortal
souls, which are of more worth than a world, are the
immediate production of God, made after his image,
which by sin they come short of; and having sinned,
are liable to eten,al death; the redemption of which
is precious; the charge of which Christ has taken, and
therefore is called the Shepherd and Bishop of souls;
and which he commits to the care of his under'shep-
herds, who watch for them, as they that must give an
account. To win them is to teach them, for the word {g}
has the signification of teaching or doctrine; see ch. iv.
2. the ministers of Christ are teachers, qualified and
sent by him as such; and their business is to teach men
their state by nature, how sinful, miserable, and helpless
they are; and alsoChrist, and the Wayof life by him; that
salvation is in him, and in no other; that justification is
only by his righteousness, peace and pardon by his blood,
and atonement by Iris sacrifice: they also teach various
other things; as the fear of God, faith in Christ, love
to him, and obedience to all his commands. To win
souls is to proselyte them and convert them to the
true religion; to bring them into a love and liking of
it, and to embrace it: the souls that Abraham got or
made in Haran are supposed to be such; and the same
with those trained or instructed in his house, whom he
armed for the rescue of Lot, Gen. xii. 5. and xiv. 14.
the former of which texts Jarchi compares with this,
as explanative of it. The phrases of turning many to

{d} \^rybvm\^ frangentis, Montanus.
{e} \^rxv\^ qui mane quaerit, Vatablus; quaerens mane, Montanus; qui
mane vestigat, Schultens; bene consurgit diluculo, V. L. so the Tar-
gum and Ben Melech.
{f} \^Nwur vqby\^ quaerit favorem, beneplacitum, Vatablus, Michaelis;
benevolentiam, Junius & Tremellius, Mercerus, Gejerus.
{g} \^xql\^ qui docet, Pagninus, Baynus, Mercerus, Gejerus.