Vers. 22. For I will rise vp against them (saith the Lord of hostes) and will out off from Babel the name and the remnant, and the sonne, and the nephew, saith the Lord.
NOw the Lord testifieth, that he will doe that himselfe which he before had com∣manded others to do by the ministrie of the Prophet: so that we must obserue both the one and the other, namely, that it is a worke of God when the wicked come to nought, al∣though he vse men as instruments to execute his iudgements. For he spake thus to them heretofore: Prepare a slaughter, vers. 21. Whence we haue to note not only the power of God, but also the efficacie of prophesie. Whence the Prophets (ordeined of God) giue comman∣dement to all nations to do this or that, it is then so farre off that men can hinder the e∣uent thereof, that they are euen constreined to performe the will of God. Now because we ordinarilie stay our selues vpon men, and in forsaking God attribute the power of doing all things vnto them, we must hold this prin∣ciple, that seeing God worketh by them, himself is properlie the author of the worke, whereof they are only but the executioners and instruments. This is clearely inough laid open vnto vs by the dependence of the pla∣ces following.
I haue thought it best to resolue the letter Vau into a particle of shewing the cause: for he yeelds the reason wherfore he commands the Medes and Persians to prepare a destru∣ction and slaughter for the Babylonians: for I will rise vp against them, saith he: and this phrase where God saith he will arise, is very frequent. Thus also the Prophet applies him∣selfe to our capacitie, because the maiestie of God is so high that we can not comprehend it. We thinke he takes his ease, and is idle, whilest he winks at the wicked: and there∣fore when he will cause men to feele his po∣wer, and giue some testimonie thereof by some visible worke, he saith he will arise.
The epithite which he afterward addes, calling him The Lord of hostes, serues for a con∣firmation of this sentence: as if the Prophet should say, I haue not giuen these Comman∣dements to the nations of mine owne head, for it is God that gouernes and leades all the battailes vnder his owne hand. Seeing ye Pro∣phet is ordeined then to pronounce the sen∣tēce on Gods behalfe, he may also command mē, to ye end they may yeeld obedience vnto him. He yet repeates the same thing in the latter end of the verse, shewing that he speakes no∣thing but that which the Lord gaue him in charge, that so the prophesie might be the more autenticall. Now it hath been often told vs before, that Babylon was not thus ru∣inated till after the death of Alexander the Great. By the sonnes, and nephewes, he meanes not only the Posteritie, but the Memorie which the wicked would obteine, so as they might be long renoumed after their death. God tooke euen this also away from Babylon, that so no remembrance should remaine thereof at all, but only reproch and igno∣minie.