VERSE VII.
Ye offer uncleane bread upon mine Altar, and you say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that yee say, The Table of the Lord is not to be regarded.
YEE offer uncleane bread upon my Altar.] Here is Gods re∣ply to their defence. They who offer polluted things to God, despise his Name; but such are you, for ye offer pollu∣ted bread upon my Altar: where we must examine the sense of three words: First, Altar. Secondly, Bread. Thirdly, polluted or uncleane.
First, by the Altar, there are some, and not of the meanest, who understand in this place the table of Shew-bread that stood in the Temple and Tabernacle, just over against the Candlestick on the North-side, and the right hand of it. In the Tabernacle there were three distinct places; the Tabernacle, the holy place, and the most holy: The table of Shew-bread was in the second, whither the Priests onely came. By the Altar then is understood the Altar of burnt offerings, which stood in the outward Court, whither both Priest and people came, and had like accesse when the Law was read, and their dayly sacrifices were offered. And thus doth Theodoret and Cyrill understand it upon this place: so that we expound not this by that which is in the end of the Verse, but that by this, because we find in the Scripture the Table put often for the Altar, but not the Altar for the Table.
Secondly, by bread, some understand onely the Shew-bread, as Hierome; some, of bread which was offered with the burnt-offering on the Altar, Levit. 6.20. Numb. 28.6. Some, not of the bread onely, but of the flesh also, or whatsoever thing else was offered there upon the Altar, which is the best accep∣tation; for the word here used signifies not bread alone, but al∣so other victuall and meat, as it is used in the word, and as Cy∣rill expoundeth this place, and some other, for the bread of the sacrifice; and especially the Prophet himselfe, vers. 8. when he shews that he meant the sacrifices and meat that was offered upon the Altar.
Thirdly, by uncleane, what is meant; it is agreed of by most, that it is not any thing that is uncleane by nature, or naturally; that is, such a thing as is abhominable to humane sense, as Ezek. 4.12, 13. nor yet any thing that is uncleane morally: as all