Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_000_p.lzh/5_072.TXT

Text File | 1995-02-03 | 7KB | 130 lines

than that creature can change its nature and its spots;
are so wrought upon hy the power of divine grace, as to
drop their rage against the saints, alter their course of
life, and attend on the word and ordinances, lie down
beside the shepherds' tents, where the church feeds
her kids, or young converts: \*\\and the calf and the
young lion and the fatling together\\; either dwell and
feed together, or lie down together, or walk together,
since it follows: \*\\and a little child shall lead them\\;
become through the grace of God so tractable, that
they shall be led, guided, and governed by the mini-
sters of the Gospel, Christ's babes and sucklings, to
whom he reveals the great things of his Gospel, and
out of whose mouths he ordains praise. Bohlius {a}
interprets this little child of Christ himself, by whom
they should be led and directed, see \\#Isa 9:6\\ and the
following passages are referred to the times of the
Messiah by the Jewish writers {b}; and Maimonides {c} in
particular observes, that they are not to be understood
literally, as if the custom and order of things in the
world would cease, or that things would be renewed
as at the creation, but in a parabolical and enigmatical
sense; and interprets them of the Israelites dwelling
safely among the wicked of the nations of the world,
comparable to the wild beasts of the field.
\*Ver. 7. \\And the cow and the bear shall feed\\, &c.] That
is, together, in one church state, at one table, or in
one pasture, upon the wholesome food of the Gospel,
the salutary doctrines of Christ; who though before of
different dispositions, the one tame and gentle, useful
and profitable, dispensing the milk of the divine word,
and gracious experience; the other cruel and voracious,
barbarous and inhuman, worrying the lambs and sheep
of Christ; but now of the same nature, and having no
ill will to one another, and being without fear of each
other: \*\\their young ones shall lie down together\\; those
like the calf and the young bear, shall lie in the green
pastures of Gospel ordinances, and do no injury, the
latter to the former, being of one mind, and agreeing
in doctrine and practice: \*\\and the lion shall eat straw
like the ox\\; kings shall be nursing fathers to the church,
and feed on the same Gospel provisions; and there
shall be a great agreement between them who were
before comparable to lions for their strength, power,
and cruelty, and ministers of the Gospel, who are
compared to oxen, for their strength and laborious-
ness, \\#1Co 9:9,10\\ %straw% here denotes true doctrine,
though elsewhere false, see \\#1Co 3:12\\. KILL
\*Ver. 8. \\And the sucking child shall play on the hole of
the asp\\, &c.] Without fear or danger: \*\\and the weaned
child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den\\; and suffer
no damage: the meaning is explained in the next
words, and to be understood of regenerate persons,
both of new born babes, or just born, and all such who
are weaned from their own righteousness, and live by
faith on Christ, who shall not be hurt by the poison of
false teachers, nor by the force of violent persecutors,
now no more,
\*Ver. 9. \\They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain\\, &c.] In the Church, so called, in allusion to
the holy hill of Zion; in the latter day, after the de-
struction of antichrist, there will be no more perse-
cution oT the saints; they will be no more injured nor
harassed by wicked men, comparable to the above
mentioned creatures, either for their cruelty or cunning;
the reason follows: \*\\for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea\\: full
of the Gospel, the means of conveying the knowledge
of Christ, and of God in Christ, of his person and office,
of his grace and righteousness, of peace, pardon, life,
and salvation by him. The phrase denotes the abun-
dance and depth of the knowledge of divine things, and
the large spread of the Gospel, and the multitude of
persons that shall be blessed with it, and a profound
knowledge of it; so that there will be none to molest,
disturb, and distress the people of God, see \\#Hab 2:14\\
this has had some appearance of accomplishment at
several times; as at the first times of the Gospel,
when the sound of it, by the apostles, went into all the
earth, and diffused the savour of the knowledge of
Christ in every place; and in the times of Constantine,
when Paganism was abolished, and the whole empire
became Christian, persecution ceased, and peace ensued,
as before described; and at the Reformation, when
whole nations embraced the Gospel of Christ; but the
full accomplishment of it is yet to come, when the
angel shall fly in the midst of heaven, having the ever-
lasting Gospel to preach to all men, and the earth shall
be lightened with his glory; when men shall run to
and fro, and knowledge be increased, and all shall
know the Lord, from the least to the greatest. This
passage is applied to the times of the Messiah by the
Jews, ancient and modern {d}.
\*Ver. 10. \\And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse\\,
&c.] The Messiah, so called, either with respect to
his human nature, who was to spring from Jesse; so
the Targum, \*"and there shall be at that time a son of
"the sons of Jesse;"\* who, when incarnate, was like a
root under ground, hidden to men, as to the glory of
his person, and the fulness of his grace, and was mean,
abject, and contemptible in their view; or rather with
respect to his divine nature, just as he is called %the
root and offspring of David%, \\#Re 5:5 22:16\\ the
former as God, the latter as man; and so the phrase
may denote his eternity, being before Jesse, or any
other man or creature whatever; and his being the
Creator and preserver of all, of Jesse, and of all others;
and, as Mediator, he is the root from whom Jesse, and
all the elect of God, are; they have their being in him;
they are rooted and grounded in him; and are bore by
him as the branches by the root; and they have their
life and nourishment, their fruitfulness, holiness, and
perseverance therein from him. This is understood of
the Messiah, by ancient and modern Jews {e}: KILL \*\\which
shall stand for an ensign of the people\\; in the ministra-
tion of the Gospel, for the gathering of the people of
God to him, to enlist in his service, and fight under his
banner, where they may be sure of victory; an ensign

{a} Comment. Bibl. Rab. in Thesaur. Dissert. Philolog. par. 1. p. 752.
{b} Tzeror Hammor, fol. 25. 3. Baal Hatturim in Deut. 11. 25.
{c} Hilchot Melachim, c. 12. sect. 1. & Moreh Nevochim, par 3. c. 11.
    p. 354.
{d} Zohar in Exod. fol. 28. 3. Kimchi in Joel 2. 28. Maimon.
    Melachim. c. 12. sect. 1. Caphtor, fol. 57. 2. and 93. 1. and
    108. 1.
{e} Zohar in Exod. fol. 71. 1. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 98. fol. 85. 3.
    Midrash in Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 97. 2. Baal Hatturim in
    Numb. 26. 10.