Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_000_p.lzh/5_071.TXT

Text File | 1995-02-03 | 7KB | 128 lines

cerning of good and bad men, they make this to be a
rule of judging the Messiah by; and accordingly
made use of it with one that set up himself for the
Messiah, and took the name of Bar-cochab, the son of
a star, referring to \\#Nu 24:17\\ and tried him
whether he could discern a good man from a bad man;
and because he could not, they rejected him as a
false Messiah, and called him Bar-coziba, the son of
a lie {y}: compare with this \\#Lu 7:39\\ where it may
be seen the same notion obtained among the Jews in
Christ's time: \*\\and, he shall not judge after the sight of
his eyes\\; or according to the outward appearance, the
external guise of sanctity and religion men might put
on; as the Scribes and Pharisees were outwardly
righteous before men, but not to Christ, who knew
their hearts; they seemed to be somewhat to others,
but nothing to him, because he judged not by appear-
ances to the eyes: \*\\neither reprove after the hearing of
his ears\\; he needed no testimony of men, for he knew
what was in men; nor did he regard the words of men,
the boastings of a Pharisee, any more than his outward
actions; nor would he reprove or condemn, nor will
he, upon a human testimony.
\*Ver. 4. \\But with righteousness shall he judge the poor\\,
&c.] The poor sinner, that is sensible of his spiri-
tual poverty, and comes and acknowledges his sins
and transgressions, and prays for pardoning grace and
mercy, and hungers and thirsts after righteousness;
such Christ justifies with his own righteousness, ac-
quits and discharges them from all sin and condemna-
tion, as also protects and defends them against all their
enemies and oppressors: \*\\and reprove with equity for
the meek of the earth\\; that is, shall take the part of
the meek, the lowly, and the humble, who are under a
sense of their sins and unworthiness, apply to him for
grace, righteousness, pardon, and eternal life; and for
their sakes reprove wicked men that would distress
and crush them; and in a just and equitable manner,
in a way of righteous retaliation, render tribulation to
them that trouble them: \*\\and he shall smite the earth
with the rod of his mouth\\: that is, either he shall
smite the consciences of earthly and unregenerate men,
by the ministration of his word, the rod of his strength,
so that they shall be convinced of sin, and humbled
for it, and be brought to repentance towards God,
and faith in himself; or he shall smite the nations
of the earth, the antichristian states, and destroy
them, \\#Re 19:15,21\\ KILL  \*\\and with the breath of his lips
shall he slay the wicked\\; either. by the words of his
mouth, as before; see \\#Hos 6:5\\ so that they become
dead men in their own apprehensions, have no hope of
life and salvation by their own works, see themselves
dead in law, and liable to eternal death and damnation;
or this is to be understood of the destruction of the
wicked at the last day, by a sentence of condemnation
pronounced upon them by Christ; and particularly
of antichrist, the wicked and lawless one, the man of
sin and son of perdition, whom the Lord shall con-
sume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with
the brightness of his coming, \\#2Th 2:4,8\\ in which
place the apostle seems to have respect to this; nor
is the Targum foreign from the sense given, which
is \*"he shall smite the sinners of the earth with the
"word of his mouth, and with the speech of his lips
"he shall slay the wicked Armillus."\* Armillus seems
to be a name hammered out of Romulus, and designs
the Romish antichrist; for elsewhere the Jews ex-
pressly say, that Armillus is he whom the nations
call antichrist {z}; by whom they suppose that Messiah,
the son of Joseph shall be slain, and afterwards he
himself shall be slain by Messiah the son of David;
or it is the same with \~erhmolaov\~, a destroyer of the
people, a name that well agrees with antichrist; see
\\#Re 11:18\\. This whole, verse is applied to the
Messiah, both by ancient and modern Jews {a}.
\*Ver. 5. \\And righteousness shall be the girdle of his
loins\\, &c.] He shall be adorned with it, strengthened
by it, and ready at all times to perform it; he loved
righteousness, and did acts of righteousness through-
out the whole course of his life; and, by his active and
passive obedience, wrought out an everlasting righte-
ousness for his people; he is a King that reigns in
righteousness, righteousness is the sceptre of his king-
dom; all his administrations of government are righte-
ous; just and true are all his ways: \*\\and faithfulness
the girdle of his reins\\; he was faithful to God, that
appointed him as King and Head of the church; faith-
ful as a Prophet, in declaring his mind and will; and
is a faithful High Priest, as well as a merciful one.
The Targum, interprets this of righteous and faithful
men, thus, \*"and the righteous shall be round about
"him, and they that work (the work) of faith shall
"draw nigh unto him;"\* but it is said of a single
person, of the Messiah only, to whom it properly
belongs.
\*Ver. 6. \\And the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb\\,
&c.] This, and the three following verses \\#Isa 11:7-9\\, describe
the peaceableness of the Messiah's kingdom; and which
the Targum introduces in this manner, \*"in the days
"of the Messiah of Israel, peace shall be multiplied in
"the earth."\* The wild and tame creatures shall agree
together, and the former shall become the latter;
which is not to be understood literally of the savage
creatures, as if they should lose their nature, and be
restored, as it is said, to their paradisaical estate, which
is supposed to be the time of the restitution of all
things; but figuratively of men, comparable to wild
creatures, who through the power of divine grace,
accompanying the word preached, shall become tame,
mild, meek, and humble; such who have been as rave-
nous wolves, have worried Christ's sheep, made havoc
of them, breathing out slaughter and threatenings
against them, as did Saul, through converting grace,
become as gentle and harmless as lambs, and take up
their residence in Christ's fold, and dwell with, yea,
some of them even feed, Christ's lambs and sheep, as
the above mentioned person: \*\\and the leopard shall lie
down with the kid\\; such who are like the leopard, for
the fierceness of his nature, and the variety of his spots;
who can no more change their hearts and their actions,

{y} T. Bab. Sanhedrin. fol. 93. 2
{z} Abkath Rocel, p. 52. Ed. Huls. Vid. Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud,
    p. 221, 222, 223, 224.
{a} Shirhashirim. Rabba, fol. 22. 3. Midrash Ruth, fol. 33. 2.
    Pesikta apud Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 66. 4. Nachman.
    Disputat. cum Fratre Paulo, p, 41.