An exposition of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah by the endeavours of W. Day ...

14.

And he shall break it,] i. e. For the Lord, the holy One of Israel, shall break you, because of this your ini∣quity.

And is to be taken here for For.

By He is meant the Lord, the holy One of Israel. By It, the sins or workers of this iniquity. For note, that that which the Lord is here meant to break, is, the peo∣ple which committed the forementioned iniquity; not the iniquity which they committed, as some expound it, nor the breach in the wall mentioned in the former Verse, as others.

Object. But you will say, that the words run thus; And he shall break it, not, And he shall break you, or that he shall break them: and this Relative It relates either to the word iniquity, or to the word breach going before; not to those, Which de∣spise his Word, Vers. 12.

Ans. It is true, that the Relative Par∣ticle It doth relate either to the word ini∣quity, or the word breach going before, if we look to the Grammar construction: But (as I said) in such parables and simi∣litudes as these are, we must not look to the words and Grammatical construction, but to the sence of the place. See the afore∣cited place, cap. 17.5. And if we look not to the words, but to the sence of this place, we shall finde, that it relates to those words, Which despise the Word of God, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon. And because the Prophet compared these workers of iniquity to the breach in a wall, he might say of them, He shall break It, for, He shall break them, in regard that he compared them to the breach in a wall: So because our Prophet compa∣red the holy One of Israel to a fire, he saith of the holy One of Israel, not He, but It shall burn and devour his thorns and his bry∣ars in one day, Cap. 10.17.

As the breaking of a Potters vessel,] i. e.

According to the breaking of a Potters vessel, or earthen pot; or as if a man should break an earthen pot, or a Potters vessel.

Which is broken in pieces,] i. e. Which a man dasheth with all his might against the stones, and so breaks into small bits or pieces.

He shall not spare,] i. e. The holy One of Israel shall not spare, Supple, these sin∣ners.

These words may be read with a Pa∣renthesis.

So that there shall not be found in the bursting of it] i. e. So that there is not to be found when it is broke.

These depend upon those words, That is broken in pieces.

A sheard to take fire from the harth, or to take water withall out of the pit,] i. e. A sheard big enough to take fire from the harth, or water out of the pit.

Poor people, even at this day, use pot∣sheards to take up, and carry fire in, and to catch up water out of a pond, or pit, or river, for their use.

Out of the pit,] In Judea (which was a mountainous, and so a dry Country, a great part of it) there were many pits made to save and keep water in for neces∣sary uses.