Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 4.djvu/70

64 order to the performing of some great good work upon them; and when that is done, then, and not till then, he will work deliverance for them. When God brings his people into trouble, it is to try them, (Dan. xi. 35.) to bring sin to their remembrance, and humble them for it, and to awaken them to a sense of their duty, to teach them to pray, and to love and help one another; and this must be the fruit, even the taking away of sin, ch. xxvii. 9. When these points are, in some measure, gained by the affliction, it shall be removed in mercy, (Lev. xxvi. 41, 42.) otherwise not; for as the word, so the rod, shall accomplish that for which God sends it. [2.] That when God had wrought this work of grace for his people, he would work a work of wrath and vengeance upon their invaders; I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria. His big words are here said to come from his stout heart, and they are the fruit of it, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks; notice is taken too of the glory of his high looks, for a proud look is the indication of a proud spirit. The enemies of the church are commonly very high and haughty; but, sooner or later, God will reckon for that. He glories in it as an incontestable proof of his power and sovereignty, that he looks upon proud men, and abases them, Job xl. 11, &c.

(2.) That how threatening soever this attempt was upon Zion and Jerusalem, it should certainly be baffled and broken, and come to nothing, and he should not be able to bring to pass his enterprise, v. 16—19. Observe,

[1.] Who it is that undertakes his destruction, and will be the Author of it; not Hezekiah, or his princes, or the militia of Judah and Jerusalem; (what can they do against such a potent force?) but God himself will do it, as the Lord of hosts, and as the Light of Israel. First, We are sure he can do it, for he is the Lord of hosts, of all the hosts of heaven and earth; all the creatures are at his command, he makes what use he pleases of them, and lays what restraints he pleases on them. He is the Lord of the hosts both of Judah and of Assyria, and can give the victory to which he pleases. Let us not fear the hosts of any enemy, if we have the Lord of hosts for us. Secondly, We have reason to hope he will do it, for he is the Light of Israel, and his Holy One. God is Light; in him are perfect brightness, purity, and happiness. He is Light, for he is the Holy One; his holiness is his glory. He is Israel's Light, to direct and counsel his people, to favour and countenance them, and so to rejoice and comfort them in the worst of times. He is their Holy One, for he is in covenant with them; his holiness is engaged and employed for them. God's holiness is the saints' comfort; they give thanks at the remembrance of it, and with a great deal of pleasure call him their Holy One, Hab. i. 12.

[2.] How this destruction is represented. It shall be, First, As a consumption of the body by a disease; The Lord shall send leanness among his fatnesses, or his fat ones. His numerous army, that was like a body covered with fatness, shall be diminished, and waste away, and become like a skeleton. Secondly, as a consumption of buildings, or trees and bushes, by fire; Under his glory, that very thing which he glories in, he will kindle a burning, as the burning of a fire, which shall lay his army in ruins, as suddenly as a raging fire lays a stately house in ashes. Some make it an allusion to the fire kindled under the sacrifices, for proud sinners fall as sacrifices to divine justice. Observe, 1. How this fire shall be kindled, v. 17. The same God that is a rejoicing Light to them that serve him faithfully, will be a consuming Fire to them that trifle with him, or rebel against him; the Light of Israel shall be a Fire to the Assyrians, as the same pillar of cloud was a light to the Israelites, and a terror to the Egyptians, in the Red sea. What can oppose, what can extinguish, such a fire? 2. What desolation it shall make; It shall burn and devour its thorns and briers, his officers and soldiers, which are of little worth, and vexations to God's Israel, as thorns and briers, whose end is to be burned, and which are easily and quickly consumed by a devouring fire; (ch. xxvii. 4.) Who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? They will be so far from stopping the fire, that they will inflame it; I would go through them and burn them together; they shall be devoured in one day, all cut off in an instant. When they cried not only Peace and safety, but Victory and triumph, then sudden destruction came; it came surprisingly, and was completed in a little time. Even the glory of his forest, (v. 18.) the choice troops of his army, the veterans, the troops of the household, the bravest regiments he had, that he was most proud of, and depended most upon, that he values, as men do their timber-trees, the glory of their forest, or their fruit-trees, the glory of their Carmel; those shall be put as briers and thorns before the fire; they shall be consumed both soul and body, entirely consumed, not only a limb burned, but life taken away. Note, God is able to destroy both soul and body, and there fore we should fear him more than man, who can but kill the body; great armies before him are but as great woods, which he can fell or fire when he pleases.

And what would be the effect of this great slaughter? The prophet tells us, (1.) That the army would hereby be reduced to a very small number; The rest of the trees of his forest shall be few! very few shall escape the sword of the destroying angel, so few that there needs no artist, no muster-master, or secretary of war, to take an account of them, for even a child may soon reckon the numbers of them, and write the names of them. (2.) That those few who remained, should be quite dispirited; They shall be as when a standard-bearer faints; when he either falls or flees, and his colours are taken by the enemy, this discourages the whole army, and puts them all into confusion. Upon the whole matter we must say, Who is able to stand before this great and holy Lord God?

20. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. 22. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return : the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteous ness. 23. For the God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.

The prophet had said, (v. 12.) that the Lord would perform his whole work upon Mount Zion and upon Jerusalem, by Sennacherib's invading of the land; now here we are told what that work should be. A two-fold work:

1. The conversion of some, to whom this providence should be sanctified, and yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness, though for the present it was not joyous, but grievous; these are but a remnant; (v. 22.) the remnant of Israel, (v. 20.) the remnant of Jacob, (v. 21.) but a very few in comparison with