Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_500.lzh/6_580.TXT

Text File | 1994-11-17 | 7KB | 131 lines

to the prophet himself, as follows: arise; 0 Pro-
phet Micah, and do thine office; sit not still, nor in-
dulge to sloth and ease; shew readiness, diligence, ac-
tivity, zeal, and courage in my service, and in carrying
a message from me to my people: contend thou before
the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice; open
the cause depending between me and my people; state
the case between us before the mountains and hills;
and exert thyself, and lift up 'thy voice loudly, and
with so much vehemence, that, if it was possible, the
very mountains and hills might hear thee; the Lord
hereby. suggests that they would as soon hear as his
people; thus upbraiding their stupidity, as he else-
where does; see Isa. i.2. Jet. iS. l2. and xxii. 29. Kim-
chi and Ben Melech render it, to the mountains, which is
much to the same sense with our version; call and sum-
mon them as witnesses in this cause; let the pleadings
be made before them, and let them be judges in this
matter; as they might be both for God, and against
his people: the mountains and hills clothed with grass,
and covered with flocks and herds; or set with all
mannerof fruit-trees, vines, olives, and figs; or adorned
with goodly cedars, oaks, and elms; were witnesses
or' the goodness of God unto them, and the same could
testify against them; and, had they mouths to speak,
coulddeclare the abominations committed on them;
how upon every high mountain and hill, and under every
green tree, they had been guilty of idolatry. The
Targum, and many versions {q}, render it, with the moun-
tains; and the Vulgate Latin version, and others,
against the mountains {r}; the inhabitants of Judea, that
being a mountainous country, especially some parts of
it. Some by mountains understand the great men of
the land, king, princes, nobles; and, by hills, lesser
magistrates, with whom the Lord's controversy chiefly
was; they not discharging their offices aright, nor
setting good examples to the people. Some copies of
the Targum, as the king of Spain's Bible, paraphrase
it, "judge or contend with the fathers, and let the
"mothers hear thy voice ;" which Kimchi thus ex-
plains, as if it was said, let the fathers Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, and the mothers Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel,
and Leah, hear what their children hath rendered to
the Lord; let them be, as it were, called out of their
graves to hear the ill requital made to the Lord for all
his goodness.
Vet. 2. Hear ye, 0 mountains, .the Lord's controversy,
and ye strong foundations of the earth, &c.] These are
the words of the prophet, obeying the divine command,
calling uponthe mountains, which are the strong parts
of the earth, and the bottoms of them the foundations
of it, to hear the Lord's controversy with his people,
and judge between them; or, as some think,. these are
the persons with whom, and against whom, the con-
troversy was; the chief and principal men of the land,
who were as pillars to the common people to support
and uphold them: for the Lord hath a controversy with
his people, and he will plead with Israel; his people
Israel, who were so by choice, by covenant, by their
own avouchment and profession: they had been guilty
of many sins' and transgressions against both tables of
the law; and now the Lord had a controversy with

them for them, and was determined to enter into judg-
ment, and litigate the point with them; and dreadful
it is when God brings in a charge, and pleads his own
cause with sinful men; they are not able to contend
with him, nor answer him for one of a thousand faults
committed against him; see Hos. iv. 1, 2.
Ver. 3. O my people, &c.] These are the words of
the Lord himself by the prophet, expressing his strong
affection to the people. of Israel, of which his good-
ness to them was a full proof, and this was an aggra-
vation of their ingratitude to him; they were his peo-
ple, whom he had chosen for himself above all people
of the earth; whom he had redeemed from the house
of bondage, had distinguished them by his layouts, and
loaded them with his benefits, and yet they sinned
against him: what have I done unto thee ? what evil
things, what injuries to provoke to such usage ? what
iniquity have you, or your fathers, found in me, to treat
me after this manner ? have I been a wilderness, or a
land of darkness, to you ? Jer. iS. 5, 31. have I withheld
or denied you any thing that was for your good ? The
Targum is, "O my people, what good have I said I
"would do unto thee, and I have not done it ?" all
that the Lord had promised he had performed; not
one good tiling had failed he had spoken of; how
much good, and how many good things, had he done
for them ? nay, what good things were there he had
not done for them ? and what more could be done for
them than what had been done ? and yet they sinned
against him so grossly; see Isa. v. 4: and wherein have
I wearied thee ? what heavy yoke have I put upon
thee? what grievous commandments have I enjoined
thee ? is there any thing in my service, any duty, too
hard, severe, or unreasonable ? are the sacrifices re-
quired burdensome ? have I caused thee to serve with an
offering, and wearied thee with incense ? is there any just
reason to say of these things, what a weariness is it?
See Isa. xliii. 23. Mal. i. 13: testify against me; de-
clare it publicly, if any good thing has been wanting,
or any evil thing done: thus the Lord condescends to
have the case fairly debated, and every thing said that
could be said in their fayour, or against him: astonish-
ing condescension and goodness !
Ver. 4. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt,
&c.] Instead of doing them any wrong, he had done
them much good; of which this is one instance, and
he was able tO produce more: this a notorious, plain,
and full proof of his goodness to them, which could
not be denied. It may be rendered, as it is by some,
surely I brought thee up {}, &c.; this is a certain thing,
well known, and cannot be disproved; it must be al-
lowed to be a great fayour and kindness to be brought
up out of a superstitious, idolatrous, Heathenish peo-
ple, enemies to God and true religion, and who had
used them in a barbarous and cruel manner: and re-
deemed thee out of the house of servants; or, out of the
house of bondage; as the same words are rendered,
Exod. xx. 2. that is, out of hard service, in which
their lives were made bitter; out of cruel bondage and
slavery; which made them cry to the Lord for help and
deliverance, and he heard them, and sent them a de-
liverer; by whose hand he redeemed them from this

{q} \^Myrhh ta\^ cum istis montibus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Tarnovius; cum montibus, Montanus, Munster, Cocceius, Burkius.
{r} Adversum montes, Vulg. Lat. Grotius.
{s} \^yk\^ certe, Calvin, Piscator, Tarnovius; so some in Vatablus.