Annotations upon the Holy Bible. Vol. I wherein the sacred text is inserted, and various readings annex'd, together with parallel scriptures, the more difficult terms in each verse are explained, seeming contradictions reconciled, questions and doubts resolved, and the whole text opened / by the late reverend and learned divine Mr. Matthew Poole.

CHAP. XLIV.

1. YEt now hear, O Iacob my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen a.

2. Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb b, which will help thee, Fear not, O Iacob, my servant, and thou Iesurun c, whom I have chosen.

3. For I will pour water d upon him that is thirsty e, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit f upon thy seed, and my blessing g upon thine off-spring:

4. And they shall spring up as among the frass h, as willows by the water-courses.

5. One shall say, I am the LORDS: and a∣nother shall ‖ call himself by the name of Iacob: and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and ‖ sirname himself by the name of Israel i.

6. Thus saith the LORD k the king of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts, I am the first, and I am the last, and besides me there is no God.

7. And who l, as I, shall call, and shall declare m it n, and set it in order o for me p, since I appointed the ancient people q? and the things that are coming, and shall come r? let them shew unto them s.

8. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee t from that time u, and have decla∣red it x? ye are even my witnesses y. Is there a God besides me z? yea, there is no † God, I know not any a.

9. They that make a graven image are all of them vanity b, and their † delectable things c shall not profit, and they are their own wit∣nesses d, they see not, nor know e; that they may be ashamed f.

10. Who hath formed a god, or molten a. graven image that is profitable for nothing g?

11. Behold, all his fellows h shall be asha∣med: and the work-men, they are of men i: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be asha∣med together k.

12. The smith ‖ with the tongs both work∣eth in the coals, and fashioneth it with ham∣mers l, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength fail∣eth; he drinketh no water, and is faint m.

13. The carpenter n stretcheth out his rule: he marketh it with a line o: he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, accor∣ding to the beauty of a man p; that it may re∣main q in the house r.

14. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak s, which he ‖ strength∣eneth for himself among the trees of the for∣est t: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nou∣rish it.

15. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof and warm himself: yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god; and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto u.

16. He burneth part thereof in the fire: with part thereof he eateth flesh x: he rosteth rost, and is satisfied; yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire y.

17. And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me, for thou art my god.

18. They have not known, nor understood z; for he a hath † shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.

19. And none † considereth in his heart b, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burnt part of it in the fire, yea, al∣so I have baked bread upon the coals thereof: I have rosted flesh and eaten it, and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to † the stock of a tree?

20. He feedeth of ashes c: a deceived heart d hath turned him aside e, that he cannot deliver his soul f, nor say, Is there not a lie in ‖ my right hand g?

21. Remember these h, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant; I have formed thee, thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me i.

22. I have blotted out as a thick cloud k, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins: return l unto me, for I have redeemed thee m.

23. Sing, O ye heavens: for the LORD hath done it: shout ye lower parts of the earth break forth into singing ye mountains, O forrest, and every tree therein n: for the LORD hath re∣deemed Iacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

24. Thus saith the LORD thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb o, I am the LORD, that maketh all things, that stretch∣eth forth the heavens alone, that spreadeth abroad the earth by my self p:

25. That frustrateth the tokens of the liars q, and maketh diviners mad r, that turneth wise men backward s, and maketh their knowledge foolish:

26. That confirmeth the word of his servant t, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Ierusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited, and to the cities of Iudah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the † decayed places thereof.

27. That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers u.

28. That saith of Cyrus x, He is my shepherd y, and shall perform all my pleasure z, even saying to Ierusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the Temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Notes

• Chap. 41. 8. & 43. 1. Jer. 30. 10. & 46. 27.
• a

  Although I have Chastised thee for thy Sins and had just cause utterly to Destroy thee, yet in judgment I will remember Mercy, and will still own thee for my Servant and chosen People.
• Chap. 43. 7.
• b

  From the time of thy Birth, or coming out of the Womb. From that time that I first took thee to be my People, I have been forming and fashioning thee, by giving thee Laws, and Ordinances, and Teachers, by threatnings and corrections, and many other wayes. He seems to al∣lude to the practice of Midwives, who use to compose all the parts of the new-born Infant into a right frame.
• c

  A∣nother name of Iacob or Israel, given to him, Deut. 32. 15. and 33. 5, 26.
• Chap. 35. 7. Joel 2. 28. Joh. 7. 38. Act. 2. 18.
• d

  My Spirit and Blessing, which is frequently compared to Water; and so it is expounded in the latter part of the Verse.
• e

  Either 1. upon him that desires it. Or rather 2. upon him that is destitute of it: For what is here thirsty, in the next Clause it is called dry ground.
• f

  The gifts and graces of my Spirit: Which Expression he seems designedly to use, to lift up the Minds and Hearts of the Iews from carnal and worldly Things, to which they were too much addicted, unto spiritual and heavenly Blessings, and thereby to prepare them for the better en∣tertainment of the Gospel.
• g

  All the blessings of my Covenant, both Spiritual and Temporal.
• h

  They shall increase and flourish like Grass, and those Herbs and Plants which grow up in the midst of it.
• ‖

  Or, name the name of Jacob.
• ‖

  Or, name the name of Israel.
• i

  The Blessing of God upon the Iews shall be so remarkable, that the Gentiles shall joyn themselves un∣to them, and accept the Lord for their God, and own themselves for his People.
• k

  Here God reneweth his Contest with Idols: which he insisteth upon so oft, and so much, because his own Peo∣ple were exceeding prone to Idolatry.
• Chap. 41. 4. & 48. 12. Rev. 1. 8, 17. & 22. 13.
• l

  Which of all the heathen Gods.
• Chap. 41. 22. & 45. 21.
• m

  Shall by his po∣werful Call or Word cause it to be, and by his infinite fore-Knowledge declare that it shall be. Or, Shall publish and declare: Two words expressing the same Thing, as is usual.
• n

  That which shall come to pass, whatsoever it be; which is easily understood out of the following Clause.
• o

  Orderly relate all future Events in the same manner as they shall happen.
• p

  Heb. to me, so as I may hear it, and thereby be convinced of their Divinity.
• q

  Since the time that I appointed or called the Israelites to be my Peo∣ple, whom he calleth the ancient people, because they were his People long before this time; or, as the Words may be rendred, the everlasting people, because he determined, That he would never totally and finally cast them off and destroy them, as he would do other Nations. But the Words are, and may well be otherwise rendred, Since I constituted or made (as this Word is elsewhere rendred) The people of the world; since I first made Man upon Earth, as the Seventy and others understand it. Let them give me an account of any of their Predictions of future Events from the beginning of the World to this day.
• r

  Such things as are near at hand, and such as are to come here∣after.
• s

  Unto their Worshippers, who consult their O∣racles about future Events, as I have told them unto thee, O Iacob, as it follows in the next Verse. So the pronoun Relative is put for the Antecedent, which is left to be understood out of the following Clause. Or, to or for themselves, in their own defence. Although these Words might have been omitted in the Translation, as being in∣significant, such Pronouns being oft redundant in the He∣brew Language, as Gen. 12. 1. and oft elsewhere, as also in the Greek and Latine.
• t

  Thee, O Israel, whom he bids not to fear. The S•…•…nce is, I call you Israelites to bear me Witness, Whether I have not, from time to time, acquainted you with things to come, such as your Sojourning in a strange Land for Four Hundred Years, and your deliverance and happiness after that time, Gen. 15. 13, 14. and many things of the like nature?
• u

  From the time when I appointed the ancient people, as I now said, ver. 7. These were pregrant Instan∣ces of God's Prediction of things to come, not onely from the beginning of the Iewish Common-wealth; but even from the first Ages of the World, as unto Enoch, Iude ver. 14. and unto Noah, Gen. 6. 3. To say nothing of what other Authors relate concerning Adam and Seth.
• x

  Have pub∣lished it to the World in my Sacred Records.
• Chap. 43. 10.
• y

  Both of my Predictions, and of the exact agreeableness of Events to them.
• z

  Judge by this Character, whether I be not the onely true God.
• Deut. 4. 35, 39. & 32. 39. 1 Sam. 2. 2. Chap. 45. 5.
• †

  Heb. rock. Deut. 32. 4.
• a

  If any of you be wiser than I am, I am willing to be informed. It is a sarcastical Speech. But this Clause may be, and is, by others taken interro∣gatively, do not I know it? Is it not a certain and unde∣niable Truth, that there is no other God?
• b

  Hereby discover themselves to be vain, empty, or foolish Men. Or thus, They that make graven images all of them make (which Word may fitly be repeated out of the foregoing Clause, as is very usual in Scripture) a vanity or a thing of nought. Which Translation seems better to agree, 1. With the following Clause, which is added to explain this, in which, not the Idol-makers, but the Idols them∣selves, are said to be vain or unprofitable. 2. With the use of this Hebrew Word in Scripture, which is never ap∣plied to Persons, but constantly to Things, and sometimes to Idols, as 1 Sam. 12. 21.
• †

  Heb. desira∣ble.
• c

  Their Idols, in the sight and worship of which, they take so much Pleasure.
• d

  They that make them, are Witnesses against themselves, and a∣gainst their Idols, because they very well know, That they are not God's, but the work of their own Hands, in which there is nothing but mean matter and man's Art.
• Psal. 115. 4. &c.
• e

  Or, that they (to wit, their Idols) do not see nor know, have nei∣ther Sense nor Understanding.
• f

  Therefore they have just Cause to be ashamed of their Folly and Stupidity, in Wor∣shipping such senseless Things.
• Hab. 2, 18.
• g

  What Man in his Wits can esteem, That a god which his own Hands have formed; or melt a Graven Image (understand out of the former Clause, to be his God) which is profitable for nothing? He speaks of melting a graven image, because the Image was first molten and cast in a Mould, and then polished and graven with a Tool, as was ob∣served before. Or thus, Who art thou, O Man, that for∣mest a god, or meltest a graven image to Worship it, which is profitable for nothing? Come hither, and let me reason the Case with thee. Which he doth in the fol∣lowing Verses: So this Verse is a kind of Summons to Idolaters, to come and plead their own Cause.
• h

  Either 1. the Work-men, as it follows, who in this Work are Companions or Partners with him, by whose cost and command the Work is done. Or 2. those who any way assist or encourage him in this Work, and joyn with him in worshipping the Image which he maketh.
• Psal. 97. 7. Chap. 1. 29. & 42. 17 & 45. 16.
• i

  They are of Mankind, and therefore cannot possibly make a god. Or, They are of the meanest sort of Men; for so the Hebrew Word, Adam, sometimes signifies.
• k

  Though all combine together, and stand up with all their Might to maintain the Cause of their false gods, they shall be fil∣led with Fear and Confusion, when God shall plead his Cause against them.
• Chap. 40. 19. & 41. 6. Jer. 10. 3.
• ‖

  Or, with an axe.
• l

  First he makes the Mettal soft and pliable, by putting it among burning Coals, and then he taketh it out, and beateth it into what form he pleaseth. It must be here noted, That some of these Images were made of Brass and Iron, as others were of Gold and Silver, Dan. 5. 4.
• m

  This is mentioned; Either 1. as an Argument of the vanity of Idols, which cannot relieve their poor Work∣men, when they are ready to faint away through Hunger, and Thirst, and Weariness. Or 2. as an Evidence of their great Zeal, and industry in carrying on this Work; so that they forget or neglect to eat and drink when their necessities require it. This I prefer, 1. Because it suits best with the next foregoing Clause, He worketh with the strength of his arms, i. e. fervently, and putting forth all his might in the Work. 2. Because the Prophet in this, and the next following Verses, is onely describing the me∣chanical part, or the matter of Images, and the art and la∣bour of the Work-men in making them; and afterwards proceeds to the Theological consideration of the Thing, and the confutation of these Practices, as we shall see.
• n

  He here speaks; Either 1. of the same Image, which is supposed to be made of Wood, and then covered with some Mettal: Or 2. of another sort of Images made of Wood, as the former might be made of Iron. It is not material which way you understand it
• o

  He measureth and mark∣eth that portion of Wood by his Rule and Line, of which the Idol is to be made.
• p

  In the same comely Shape and Pro∣portions which are in a Living Man, whom he designs to repre∣sent as exactly as is possible.
• q

  Or sit or dwell. Which implies, Either 1. that it cannot stir out of its place: Or 2. that when the Image is made, it is set up and fixed in its appointed place.
• r

  Either in the Temple appoin∣ted for it: Or in the dwelling House of him that made it; that he and his Family might more frequently give Worship to it, and might receive Protection from it, as Idolaters vainly imagined.
• s

  Which afford the best and most durable Timber.
• ‖

  Or, taketh courage.
• t

  The Sence of the Words thus rendred, is, That he planteth, and with care and diligence improveth those Trees, among and above all the Trees of the Forest, that he or his Po∣sterity may thence have Materials for their Images, and those things which belong to them. And this Sence seems to be favoured by the following Clause, wherein it is said, He planteth an Ash for this very reason: Or the Sence may be this, Which he suffers to grow to greater strength and largeness, than other Trees of the Forest; that they may be better and fitter for his use. Heb. And he strength∣neth himself, &c. And he useth all his strength among the Trees of the Forest, in planting such as are proper for this end; in walking hither and thither to survey which is the best of them; in hewing them down, and in other things relating to them.
• u

  Having related the practices of Idolaters, he now dis∣covers the vanity and folly of them, that he maketh his fire and his god of the same Materials, distinguished onely by the Art of Man.
• x

  He dresseth Flesh for his eating.
• y

  I have felt the warmth of it. Seeing is oft put for other Senses, as Feel∣ing, Hearing, &c. as hath been oft observed before.
• Chap. 45. 20.
• z

  This sheweth, That they want common discretion, and have not the understanding of a Man in them.
• a

  To wit, God; who is easily understood, and is oft expressed by this pronoun, He; and to whom this very act is frequent∣ly ascribed in other places of Scripture: And therefore Men need not be shie in ascribing it to God here. Which yet is to be soberly understood; not as if God did make Men wicked, but onely permits them so to be, and orders, and over-rules their Wickedness to his own glorious Ends. And such passages as these are added in such cases, to give an account of the prodigious madness of Sinners herein; be∣cause, as they wilfully shut their own Eyes▪ & harden their own Hearts, so God judicially blinds and hardens them, and sends strong Delusions upon them, and gives them up to believe Lies, and then it is no wonder if they fall into such dota∣ges.
• †

  Heb. daubed.
• †

  Heb. setteth to his hear•…•…
• b

  Whereby he implies, That the true Cause of this, as well as of other absurd and brutish practices of Sinners, is the neglect of serious and impartial Consideration of things.
• †

  Heb. that which comes of a tree.
• c

  Which is an unsavoury, unprofitable, and pernici∣ous Food: and no less unsatisfying, uncomfortable, and mischievous is the worship of Idols
• Hos. 4. 12.
• d

  A Mind corrupted and deceived by long custome, deep prejudice, gross errour, and especially by his own Lusts.
• e

  From the way of Truth, from the knowledge and worship of the true God, unto this brutish Idolatry.
• f

  From the snares and dangers of Idolatry. This cannot is to be understood morally, so as to note the great difficulty, but not the utter impossibi∣lity of it; for if Idolaters would consider things, they might be convinced of, and turned from that gross way of Wic∣kedness, as is implied from the foregoing Verse.
• ‖

  [Or at]
• g

  What is this Idol, which I have made with my right Hand, i. e. with all my strength, as was said before; the right Hand being the strongest, and the chief instrument of this and other actions; which I set at my right Hand, as the true God is said in Scripture to be at the right hand of his Peo∣ple, Psal. 16. 8. & 109. 31. & 121. 5. Which I highly honour, for the most honourable place was on the right Hand, as is known; to which, I look and trust for relief and assistance, which God in Scripture is said to afford to his People, by being at and holding of their right hand, Psal. 73. 23. & 110. 5. What, I say, is this Idol? Is it not a lie, which though it seems and pretends to be some∣thing, and to be a god, yet in truth, is nothing but va∣nity and falshood, deceiving all that put their trust in it?
• h

  Either these Men: Or, which comes to one, these things, the deep ignorance and stupidity of Idolaters; which may be a warning to thee.
• i

  I will not forget nor forsake thee; and therefore thou shalt have no need of Idols: Or, as the ancient Interpreters and divers others render it, do not forget me; what I am, and what I have done, and can and will do for Thee; the forgetting where∣of is the ready way to Idolatry.
• k

  As the Sun commonly dissolveth, or the Wind scatte∣reth the thickest and blackest Cloud, so as there is no remnant, nor appearance of it left.
• l

  From thine Idola∣try, and other wicked practices.
• m

  Therefore thou art mine, and obliged to return and adhere to me.
• Psal. 96. 11, 12. Chap. 42. 10. & 49. 13. Jer. 51. 48.
• n

  By such invitations to the senseless Creatures to praise God with and for his People, he signifies the transcendent greatness of this Mercy and Deliverance, sufficient to make even the Stones, if it were possible, to break forth into God's praises; and withal, that as the brute Creatures were Sufferers by Man's Sin, so they should receive benefit by Man's Redemption.
• Chap. 43. 1.
• o

  Of which Phrase see above on ver. 2.
• Job 9. 8. Psal. 104. 2. Chap. 40. 22. & 42. 5. & 45. 12. & 51. 13.
• p

  And there∣fore I can Save thee without the help of any other gods or men.
• q

  Of the Magicians, and Astrologers, and Sorcerers, who were numerous, and greatly employed and esteemed in Babylon, Isa. 47. 12, 13. Dan. 2. 2, 48. and who had fore∣told the long continuance and prosperity of the Chaldean Empire. But, saith God, I will confute their tokens or predictions, and prove them to be Liars.
• r

  With grief for the disappointment of their hopes and predictions, and their disgrace and loss which followed it.
• s

  Stopping their way, thwarting and blasting their designs, so as they can pro∣ceed no further, but are forced to retreat and take new Counsels, and giving them up to such counsels and courses, as are foolish and pernicious to themselves.
• t

  Of his Servants, the Prophets, as appears from the next Clause, which answers to this, where he useth the plural number, his messengers; Isaiah and other Prophets, whom God sent upon this Errand, to foretel the destructi∣on of Babylon, and the redemption of his People.
• †

  Heb. wasts.
• Chap. 50. 2.
• u

  That with a word can and will dry up the Sea (which in Scripture is very frequently called the deep, as Psal. 107. 24. Isa. 63. 13. Ionah 2. 3. &c.) and Rivers, and remove all impediments, and make the Way plain, that my People may return. Some think these words relate to that stratagem of Cyrus, whereby he diverted, and in a great measure dried up the river Euphrates, and made it passable for his Army. But he seems rather to allude to that great Action of God's drying up the Red-Sea and Iordan, to give passage to the Israelites.
• x

  Whom God here designeth by his proper Name, Two Hundred Years before he was born, that this might be an undeniable Evidence of the certainty and exactness of God's fore-knowledge, and a convincing Argument, and so most fit to Conclude this Dispute between God and Idols.
• y

  Him I will set up to be the Shepherd of my People, to Rescue them from Wolves or Tyrants, to gather them to∣gether, to Rule them gently, and to provide comfortably for them.
• z

  All that I command him to do, even to give leave and order, for the rebuilding of the City and Tem∣ple of Ierusalem, as it here follows.
• 2 Chr. 36. 22, 23. Ezra 1. 1. &c. Chap. 45. 13.