Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_200_p.lzh/5_237.TXT

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Ver. 25. I have raised up one from the north, &c.]
Either one people, or one person; a mighty king, as
the Targum; meaning either Cyrus, who might be
said to come from the north, and from the rising of the
sun, or the east, as in the next clause; since he was
by birth a Medo-Persian, hence called a mule; by his
mother a Mede, and the country of Media lay rather
to the north of Babylon; and by his father a Persian,
and Persia lay to the east of it; and the forces he
brought with him against it were partly Medes, and
partly Persians; though some, as Jarchi observes,
think two persons are meant in this and the next
clause; in this Nebuchadnezzar, who came from Ba-
bylon, which lay north of Judea, to invade it; and in
the other Cyrus, who came from the east, and pro-
claimed the name of the Lord, and liberty to the cap-
tive Jews. Kimchi and his father both interpret it of
the King Messiah, as do also more ancient Jewish
writers {c}, of whom Cyrus was a type ; but to me it
seems best of all, as most agreeable to the scope and
tenure of the prophecy, to understand it of Constantine,
who, as reported, was born iu Britain, in the northern
part of the world; but, when called to the empire, was
in the eastern parts of it; and so with great propriety
it is expressed here, and in the following clause: and
from the rising of the sun he shall call upon my name;
which those that apply the prophecy to Cyrus explain
by Ezra i. 1, 2, 3. but is much more applicable to Con-
stantine, who was a worshipper of the true God,
which invocation of his name is expressive of; and
who openly professed the name of Christ, and encou-
raged those that did, and spread his name and fame,
his Gospel and his glory, throughout the empire, east
and west: and he shall come upon princes as upon
morter, and as the potter treadeth clay; that is, he
shall come upon them with his army, and conquer
them, and tread them down, and trample upon them,
as morter is trodden upon, or mire in the streets; or
as the clay is trodden by the potter, who does with it
as he pleases; which those who interpret it of Cyrus
understand of Astyages, Croesus, Belshazzar, and
others; see cb. xiv. 1. and is as true of Constantine,
who subdued the emperors of Rome, trod them under
his feet, as Maximins, MaxtarSus, Licinius, &c.; more-
over, the word saganin, here used, is a word used by
Jewish writers for priests, for such who were the de-
puties of the high-priest; and it may design here the
Pagan priests, and the destruction of them, and of Pa-
ganism in the Roman empire by Constantine.
Ver. 26. Who hath declared from the beginning, that
toe may know ? &c.] Who of the idols, or of their
priests, that have declared things future before they
came to pass, or ever predicted such artevent as this
before mentioned; which, if understood of Cyrus, was
an hundred and fifty years before it came to pass; and
if of Constantine, near a thousand years: and before
time, that we may say, he is righteous? that is, who
hath declared things before the time of the accomplish-
ment of them, and they have come to pass, as they
have been declared ? by which it may be known that
they are gods, or the priests of such that are so, by
their having prescience of future events, or the spirit
of prophecy; and so it may be said of them, that they
are just in their pretensions, and have a rightful claim
to deity, or are true prophets; so the Targum, "that
we may say it is true :. yea, mere is none that shew-
eth, yea, there is none that declareth ; that shews and
declares things to come, or such as the trueGod shews
and dec1ares: yea, there is none that heareth your
words; none of your worshippets that ever heard you
speak a word, who, when they have prayed to you,
could never have an answer; and therefore you have no
just claim to deity; or ever heard any of your prophets
say such a thing should come to pass, and it did.
'Vet. 27. The first shall say to Zion, behold, behold
them, &c.] Or, I the first say to Zion; I who am the
first and the last, ver. 4. which some ancient Jewish
writers {d} observe is the name of the Messiah, and apply
the passage to him; or, _I am the first that say these
things to Zion {e}, behold, behold them; behold such
and such things shall come to pass, and accordingly
they have come to pass; or, behold, , the promised
Messiah, whom I have long spoken of, behold, he is
come; see ch. xlii. 1. and behold them, his apostles and
ministers, publishing the good tidings of salvation, as
follows. The Targum is, "the words of consolation
"which the prophets prophesied from the beginning
"concerning Sion, behold they come ;" they come to
pass ; which is such a proof of deity the idols and their
worshippers cannot give: and I will give to Jerusalem
one that bringeth good tidings ; which some interpret
of Isaiah; others of Cyrus; others of Christ; and
others of John the Baptist. I suppose the singular
put for the plural, one that bringeth good tidings, or,
an evangelist for evangelists; and may be understood of
Gospel teachers, whom the Lord gave to his church
and people, and by means of whom he spread his Gos-
pel., not only in Judea, but in the Gentile world, to
the overthrow of Paganism.
Vet. 28. For I beheld, and there was no man, &c.]
Among all the Pagan priests and prophets, that could
fbretel things to come; or could prove that their idols
did or could say any thing in fayour of them: even
amongst them, and there was no counsellor : none that
could be advocates for these idols, and plead their
cause; or could give any good advice and counsel to
persons that needed"it, and who applied to them or
their idols for it: that, when [ asked of them, could
swer a word; when asked what they had to say on be-
half of their gods they worshippeal, were dumb and
speechless; moreover, all this may be said of the idols
themselves, that there was none among them that
could foretel a future event, or give auy wholesome
counsel to their worshippets, or could say any thing in'
their own defence; and therefore, to close the contro-
versy, the following sentence is pronounced.
Vet. 29. Behold, they are all vanity, &c.] Both
the idols and the worshippers of them; i.n vain they
claim the title of deity, to which they have no right;
and in vain do men worship them, since they receive

{c} Vajikra Rabba, sect. 9. fol. 153. 1. Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 13.
fol. 208. 1. Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 19. 2.
{d} T. Bab. Pesach. fol. 5.1. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 63. fol. 55.3. and
Vajikra Rabba, sect. 30. fol. 19.2.
{e} \^Nwyul Nwvar\^ ego primus sum qui dico haec Sioni, Tigurine
version.