_A.M. 3292. B.C. 712._ The prophet, reflecting on the contents of those great and glorious prophecies which he had delivered, concerning the destruction of God's enemies, and the deliverance of his people, and especially concerning the sending of the Messiah, and the establishment and enlargement o... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Lord_ O Jehovah, _thou art my God_ In covenant with me: my friend, my father, my portion. The prophet speaks in the name of the whole church, and of every true member of it. _I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name_ Expressions these flowing from a deep and grateful sense of the divine goodness... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast made of a city a heap_ Nineveh, Babylon, Ar of Moab, or any other strong city, or fortress, possessed by the enemies of the people of God. Vitringa has made it appear probable that Babylon is chiefly meant, “which was emphatically called _the city;_ which was remarkably _fortified_, and w... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore shall the strong people fear thee_ Thy stoutest enemies, observing thy wonderful works, shall be converted, or at least, convinced, and forced to tremble before thee. _For thou hast been a strength to the poor_ Hast defended thy poor and helpless people against the fiercest assaults of th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shall bring down the wise of strangers_ The tumultuous noise, as the word properly signifies; the rage and furious attempts of those heathen nations that fought against God's people. _As the heat in a dry place_ With as much ease as thou dost allay the heat of a dry place, by the shadow of thy... [ Continue Reading ]
_And in this mountain_ In mount Zion, namely, God's church, very frequently meant by the names of _Zion_ and _Jerusalem_, both in the Old and New Testaments; _shall the Lord make unto all people_ Both Jews and Gentiles, who shall then be admitted to a participation of the same privileges and ordinan... [ Continue Reading ]
_He_ The Lord, expressed both in the foregoing and following words, even the Messiah, who is both God and man; _will swallow up death _ Shall, by his death, destroy the power of death, (Hebrews 2:14,) take away the sting of the first death, and prevent the second death, and give eternal life to all... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it shall be said in that day_ By God's people, in the way of triumph and reply to their enemies; _Lo, this is our God_ Your gods are senseless and impotent idols; but our God is omnipotent, and hath done these great and glorious works which fill the world with admiration. We may well boast of h... [ Continue Reading ]
_For in this mountain_ In the gospel church; (he alludes to mount Zion, which was a type of it;) _shall the hand of the Lord rest_ His powerful and gracious presence (which is often signified in Scripture by God's hand) shall have its constant and settled abode: it shall not move from place to place... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he_ Either, 1st, Moab, who, being plunged into a sea of troubles, shall endeavour to swim out of it, but to no purpose; or, 2d, The Lord, (who is designed by this pronoun _he_, both in the latter clause of this verse, and in the following verse,) whose power they shall be no more able to resist... [ Continue Reading ]