Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_100.lzh/6_161.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-18 | 7KB | 128 lines

"men could not prevail agaitast his auxiliaries, because
"of the strength of power he had from the Lord; there
"is none like to him in his strength."
Ver. 9. I have made him fair by [he multitude of his
branches, &c.] Or provinces, the extensivehess of his
dominions: all his power and strength, riches and
wealth, grandeur and glory, and the vast dominions
he was possessed of, were all from the' Lord; as
whatever kings have are, though they are too apt to
ascribeit to themselves; but all are from him, by whom
kings reign: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the
garden of God, envied him; all -the kings of theearth,
though they dared not openly speak against him, or
oppose .him; yet they inwardly grieved at and secretly
grudged his grandeur and majesty, superior to theirs,
and wished themselves in his stead; and could gladly
have done any thing, were it in their power, to eclipse
his glory,. and bring him lower. This is the case
of all that are in any eminence, or are conspicuous to
others, or in any exalted station above others, be it
what it will; whether they have superior gifts and en-
dowments of mind; or greater riches, and larger pos-
sessions; or are in high places of honour, trust, and
profit. The Targum is, "I have made him beautiful
"by the multitude of his mighty ones; and all the
"kings of the east trembled before him, because of
"the strength of his power, which he had from the
"Lord."
Ver. 10. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, &c.
Having described the greatness of the Assyrian mon-
arch; now follows. the account of his fall, and the
cause of it, pride: because thou hast lifted up thyself
in height; this is either an address to Pharaoh king of
Egypt, who, though he did not rise up so high as the
Assyrian monarch in glory and grandeur; yet he lifted
up himself, and thought himself superior to any;
which reason he must be brought down :. or the words
are directed to the Assyrian monarch, by a change of
person frequent in Scripture; who, though he was
raised by the Lord to the height of honour and dig-
nity he was, yet ascribed it to himself: and he hath
shot up his top among the thick boughs; the multitude
of provi-nces over which he became head and governor;
see the note on ver. 3: and his heart is lifted up in his
height; with pride, insolence, and contempt of God
and men; of which see the instances in Isa. x. 8--15.
and xxxvi. 18, 19, 20. and xxxvii. 10, 11, 12, 13.
Ver. 11. I have therefore delivered him into the hand
of the mighty one of the Heathen, &c.] Or, into the hand
of the mightiest of the nations{b} ; the mightiest prince
among them. Some understand this of Arbaces the
Mede, by whom Sardanapalus had been defeated long
before this time: others of Merodach-baladan king
Babylon, by whom Esar-haddon the Assyrian monarch
was vanquished; or rather Nebuchadnezzar, who was
called Nabopolassar; who, in the first year {p} of his
reign, in. conjunction with Cyaxares king of Media,.
took Nineveh, the metropolis of the Assyrian mon-
archy; and this was by the appointment of God, and
under the direction of Iris providence, and through the
success he gave to the arms of these princes, according
to his own decrees and prophecies. Some render it,
into the hand of the god of the nations {q}; yet meaning
either Cyaxares or NebuchacLnezzar; so called because
of their great powerand might,and which they had from
the Lord: he shall surely deal with him; or, in doing he
shall do to him {r}; he shall do with him as he pleases
he shall easily manage him, though so powerful; and
deal with him according to his deserts; or, as the
Targum, he shall take vengeance on him, as he did: I
have driven him out for his wickedness; out of his court
and palace; out of his royal city Nineveh; out of his
kingdom and dominions; and he shall reside and reign
no more there; and all this for his wickedness, pride,
and oppression, and other sins: when God strips men
of their honour, riches, power, and dominion, it is be-
cause of their abuse of them; for .some sin, or sins, or
wickedness they have been guilty of, both against him
and men; and therefore it is but just and righteous in
him to dethrone such princes, and drive them from
their seats.
Vet. 12. And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have
cut him o. ff, &c.] Cut off the boughs and branches of
this cedar, and cut him down to the ground; that is,
utterly destroyed him, his empire and monarchy: these
strangers were the Medes, who lived in a country dis-
tant from Assyria; and the terrible of the nations, the
cruel and merciless Chaldeans, the soldiers of the king
of Babyion's army; see ch. xxx. 11: and have-left hing
upon the mountains. like a tree cut down there, an&
its boughs and branches lopped off, which roll down
from thence into the valleys, and by the rivers of water
signifying his depression from a high and exalted state
to a very low one, as follows: and in all the
his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all
the rivers of the land; signifying that many provinces
and countries under his dominion were broken off, and
by force taken away from him; or they broke off and
revolted of themselves, and either set up for them-
selves, and recovered their former power and authority;
or gave up themselves to the conqueror. The Targum
is, "and in al| valleys his army fell, and his auxiliaries
"were scattered by all the rivers of the land:" ancl
all the people oJ' the earth are gone down from his shadow,
and have left him: those that joined themselves to his
empire, put themselves under his protection, or sought
his friendship and alliance, now withdrew themselves
from him, and left him alone to shift for himself; as
frightened birds and beasts will do, when a tree is cut
down and fallen, in the boughs or under the shadow
of which they dwelt. The Targum paraphrases it,
"fi'om the shadow of his kingdom."
Vet. 13. Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven
remain,,&c.3 Or, on his .fall{s}; the fall of this tree:
and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches
as when a tree is cut down, and its lopped-off branches
and boughs lie here and there, either the birds and
beasts that before dwelt in it or under it, though for

{o} \^Myywg la dyb\^ in manum fortissimi gentium, Pagninus, Junius &
Tremellius, Polanus; ptenitissimi, Piscator.
{p} Seder Olam Rabba, p. 69.
{q} In manum dei gentium, Montanus, Starckius; deo gentium, Castalio.
{r} \^wl hvey wve\^ faciendo faciet ei, Pagninus, Montanus; faciendo
faciebat ipsi, Starckius.
{s} \^wtlpm le\^ super prolapse ejus, Cocceius; super cadivum truncum
ejus, Junius & Tremellius.