Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_400.lzh/6_473.TXT

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whose.sons inhabited Tyre, a servant of servants shall
he be to his brethren, Gen. ix. 0,5. as Jarchi observes.
Ver. 9.1Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles, &c.]
This decree of God, concerning the deliverance of iris
church; and the destruction of their enemies; which is
to be procaimed among them, to the terror of them,
and the comfort ofGod's people, encouraging them to
the battle, since they might be sure of victory; for the
prophet he`re returns to give an account of the armies
to be gathered together, and to be destroyed in the
valley of Je. hoshaphat, as appears from yet. 12. and to
this end heralds are here ordered to make proclama-
tion · of war throughout the nations, and to gather
them to the battle of Almighty God; whether se-
riously, or ironically, may be considered; what follows
seems to be spoken in the latter way, to the enemies
of the church; though they may be interpreted as
spokefi seriously to the people of God themselves:
prepare war; get all things ready for it, men and arms:
wake up the mighty men; generals, captains, and othe. r
officers, men .of strength and courage; let them arouse
from the sleep and lethargy in which they are, and get
tbemselves in a readiness for war, and put themselves
at the head of their troops: let all the men of war draw
near, let them comeup;\to the land of Judea, and to
JeruSalem; that is, either the Christian powers with
their armies, to defend Jerusalem against the Turks,
and deliver it out of their hands; let them appear
on the behalf Df the Jews: or clime !let the enemies
of Christ's church and people come up against them,
even the most powerful of them; let them muster up
all their tOrces, and do the most they can, they shall
not prevail.
Ver. 10. Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your
pruning-hooks .into spears, &c.'} Let not only soldiers,
and such as have been trained up in military disci-
pline., appear in the field on this occasion; but let
husbandmen and vine-dressers leave their fields and
Vin,eyards, and turn ·their instruments of husbandry
and vine-dressing into weapons of war; let them not
plead want of armour, but convert these to such uses:
on the ,contrary, when this battle will he over, swords
shall·be beaten into ploughshares, and -spears into
pruning-hooks, Isa. ii. 4: let the weak .say, I am
:trong:.sUch as are weak, through sickness, or old
age, let them not plead their weakness to excuse
them from engaging in this war; but let them make
the best of themselves, and say they are strong and
healthy, arid fit for it, and enter in it with all courage
and bravery: this is said either ironically to the
enemies Of God's people, suggesting that nit hands
Would be Wanted, and should be employed:, weak and
Strong, and all little enough; when they had made
the utmost effort they could, it would be in vain: or
else they are seriously spoken to the people of God,.
that none of them should excuse themselves, or be
discouraged because of their weakness from engaging
in this !last arid more battle; but take heart, and be of
good courage, and quit. themselves like men, and be t
strong, since they might be sure of victory before-hand.
The Apostle Paul refers to this text in 2 Cot. xii. 10. ]
and applies it to spiritual weakness and strength; and {
indeed the weakest believer, that is so in faith and]
knowledge, may say he is strong, in comparison 'of
what he once was,' and others a,re; strong, not in
himself, but in Christ, and ,the power of his might.
and in the grace that is in him; nor should he .excuse
himself "from fighting the Lord's battles, against sin,
Satan,-and the world, and false teachers; .or-from
doing the-Lord's work, any service he calls him
to; or from bearing the 'cross he !lays on him on
account of his weakneSs; nor should he :be discon-
raged by it from those things; but let him strengthen
himself, as Aben Ezra interprets it, take heart, and be
of good courage.
VeT. 11. ,4ssemble yourselves, &c.] From divers
parts into one place: be ye gathered ; or gather your-
selves together, as the Targum and Kimchi; get to-
· gether in a body, muster up all the forces you can
collect together., Jarchi, from Menaches, by the
change of a letter, renders it., ·make ye haste; lose
time in preparing for this battle; get men., and arms
for them, as fast as you can; be as expeditiou,s as pos-
sible: and come, all ye Heathen; antichristiau nationS,
Mahometan or Papal; which latter, especially, are
sometimes called Heathen and Gentiles, because of
the Heathenish rites introduced into their worship,
Psal. x. 16. Rev. xi. 2: and gather yourselves round
about: from all parts, to the valley of Jehoshaphat or
Armageddon, Rev. xvi. t4, 16. this isspoken ironi-
cally to them, to use their utmost-eudeavours to get
most powerful armies against 'the people of God, which
would be of no avail, but issue in theirown destruction;
or it tnay signify what should be done by the provi-
dence of God, bringing such large numbers of them
.together to their own ruin: thither cause thy mighty
ones to come down, 0 Lord ;' which is a prayer of the
prophet, or of the church, to God, that he would send
down his mighty ones, the angels that excel in strength,
and destroy this great army thus gathered together, as
an angel in one night destroyed the army of Senna-
cherib. So Kimchi and Aben Ezra interpret it'of
angels, 'and many other interpre'ters; but perhaps-it
may be better to understand it of Christian princes and
their forces, those armies clothed in white, and riding
on white horses, in token of ,ictory; with Christ at
the head of them, Rev. xix. 14. who may be said to be
caused to came down; because, being aisembled,'shall
go down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, where their
enemies are gathered together, and discomfit them,
The Targum is, "there the Lord shall, break the
"strength of their strong ones."
Ver. 12. Let the Heathen be awakened, and come
to the valley of Jehoshaphat, &c.3 That is, let the
enemies of Christ and his church be aroused from that
state of security in which they are, and prepare for
their owrr defence; for in sUch a state the antichriStian
powers will be before their destruction; see Rev,
xviii. 7, let them bestir themselves, and exert all' the
rigOur and strength they have; let them come in high
spirits against the people of God; let them invade the
holy land, and come even to the valley of Jehoshaphat;
and, when come thither, let them, descend into the place
appointed for their ruin: the land of Jtidea being sai'd
to be higher than other countries, going to it is gene-
rally expressed by going up to it; otherwise it is more
usual to say that men go down a valley than come. up to
it; and ,mention being made again of this Valley, shews