Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_200_p.lzh/5_233.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-09 | 7KB | 129 lines

word signifies to look about, as persons in distress,
and amazed: f will strengthen thee; with strength in
their souls, to perform duties, exercise grace, with-
stand corruptions, resist temptations, bear afflictions,
suffer persecutions, and do their generation-work,
according to the will of God; and .if God is the
strength of his people, they nee. d not be afraid of
any persons or things, Paul. xxvii. 1, 2, 3: yea, I will
help thee; help them out of all their afflictions and
temptations, and out of the hands of all their enemies;
help them in the discharge of d.uty, in the exercise of
grace, in bearing the cross, m fighting the Lord's
battles, and in their journey to another world; help
them to every mercy, temporal and spiritual, to all
needful supplies of grace, and at last to glory; whose
help is suitable and seasonable,. a9d maS; be expected,
since he is able to help, either with or without means;
has promised to help his people, as here, and he is
faithful that has promised; he ,has laid help on one
that is mighty, and set up a throne of grace to come
to for help in time of need; and seeing he is their
helper, they need not fear what men or devils can do
unto them, Heb. xiii. 5, 6 :' I will uphold thee with the
right hand of my righteousness; either by Iris almighty
power, or by his son, the man of his right hand, made
strong for himself, and the author of righteousness to
Iris people: this is expressive of his sustentation of
them, not merely iu a providential way, but in a way
of special grace; and. of his powerful protection and
preservation Of them, so as that they shall stand in
the grace of God, go on in his ways, and not fall
finally and totally, but persevere to the end, though
their trials and temptations may be great and many.
Ver. 11.' Behold, all they that were incensed against
thee, &c.] For rejecting their idols, and idol-worship;
for receiving the Gospel, and professing it: shall be
ashamed and confounded; their idols not being able to
help them, nor they to defend the worship of them:
the same is said with respect to Christ, ch. xlv. 24:
they shall be as nothing, and they that strive with thee
shall perish; or, the men of thy strife °; all shall come
to nothing, and utterly perish, as to their persons,
substance, power, and dignity; as did the Roman
emperors, the persecutors of God's people.
Ver. l2 Thou shall seek them, and sha'lt not find
them, &c.] They not existing, or being fled into
holes and corners, to rocks and mountains, to hide
themselves from the wrath of the Lamb, Rev. vi. 15,
16, 17: even them that contended with thee; or, the
men of thy contention {p]; who contended.with them, not
by words and arguments, but by severe persecutions,
striving thereby to hinder' the progress of the Gospel,
and to root Christianity out of the world: they that
war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of
nought : or, the men of thy war {q}; that proclaimed and
carried on war against the Christians, in orde_r to
destroy them utterly; yet they, and all their efforts,
came to nothing, the. Gospel prevailed, and Paganism
was utterly abolished; which came to pass in Con-
stantine's time, at the opening of the sixth seal,
Key. vi. l2, 13, .14. which is a proper comment on this.
text.
Ver. 13. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right
hand, &c.] Take hold of it, join in league and alliance
with his people as it were, go hand in hand with them;
and having such an one with them, and on their side,
they need fear no enemy: or it is expressive of great
freedom, familiarity, and friendship, which may assure
believers of the strong affection of God towards them;
and they may conclude themselves safe, being held
by him as a child in the hand of its parents, which is
then not afraid of any thing, The Lord holds the
right hand of his people, teaching them to walk by
faith, leading them into his presence, and to com-
munion with himself, and keeps them from falling:
or, he will strengthen their right hand {r}; to do his
work and service, and oppose their enemies; or he
will relieve their wants, and fill their hands with his-
good things, which is sometimes the sense of the
phrase, Ezek. xvi. 45: saying unto thee, fear not, I
will help thee; as one friend takes another by the hand
in distress, and bids him be of good cheer, promising
him all needful assistance and supply. See the note
on ver. 10.
Ver. 14. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, &c.] Being
like a worm, exposed to danger, and liable to be
trampled upon and crushed, mean and desp.i.cable in
their own eyes, and in the esteem of others; and it may
be Jacob, or the true Israelites, are so called, because
of-their impurity in themselves, of which they are
sensible; and chiefly because of their weakness and
impotence to defend themselves, and resist their
enemies. It is an observation of Jarchi, Kimchi, and.
Ben Melech, that the strength of a worm l. ies in its
mouth, which, though tender, can strike the strongest
cedar, and penetrate into it; and the latter observes,.
that the strength of Israel lies in their prayers, as
Jacob's did, when, wrestling with the angel, anct
making supplication, 'he had power with God, and.
prevailed. Now, though the saints are such poor,
weak, and contemptible things, yet the Lord bids
them not fear any of their enemies, he would take
their part, and protect them: and ye men of Israel;
the Vulgate Latin version renders it,' ye dead men of
Israel{s}; such as were accounted as dead men, and hact,
no more respect shewn them than the dead, that are
remembered no more; or were exposed to death daily,.
for the sake of Christ and his Gospel; or that reckoned.
themselves dead to sin, and did die daily to it, and.
lived unto righteousness: or, yefew men of Israel, as
others{i} render it; Christ's flock is a little flock, his
church is a little city, and few men in it, in com-
parison of the men of the world: I will help thee, saith,
the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the holy One of Israel;
which is repeated for the confirmation of it, and is the
more strongly assured by these .characters of a Re-
deemer of his people out of the hands of all their
enemies, and the holy and just God, and sanctifier of
them, which he here takes to himself, and makes
himself known by.

{o} \^Kbyr yvna\^ viri litis tuae, Montanus; rixae tuae, Vatablus.
{p} \^Kytum yvna\^ viros jurgii tui, Montanus.
{q} \^Ktmxlm yvna\^ viri belli tui, Vatablus; pugnae tuae Montanus.
{r} \^Knymy qyzxm\^ qui confortat dexteram tuam Gataker.
{s} \^larvy ytm\^  mortales Israeliae, Castalio.
{t} \~oligostov israhl\~, Sept.; viri pauci Israel, Munster, Montanus;
lsrael, qui pauco es numero, Tigurine version.