Bibelkommentare

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.

Behold a king. — Hezekiah in the type, Christ in the antitype.

Shall reign in righteousness. — Regiment without righteousness, is but robbery with authority.

“ Eν δε δικαιοσυνη συλληβοην πας αρετ εστι . ”

And princes shall rule in judgment. — Not as Shebna, and those others placed in by wicked Ahaz, do now, while the king is young, and not so well able to weed them out. Evil junior rulers are a great mischief to a state. Nerva was a good emperor, and so was Aurelian; but so bought and sold by bad counsellors and inferior magistrates, that the people were in a worse case than when they were under Nero. Hezekiah would see to his princes that they were right; Christ hath none about him but such; "All his people are righteous," Isaiah 60:21 his "ministers" and "officers" especially. These are "princes in all lands," Psalms 45:16 yea, they are "kings," because "righteous ones"; Matthew 13:17 Luke 10:24 ministers especially are plenipotentiaries under Christ. Matthew 18:18-19 John 20:23

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And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

And a man shall be, — i.e., Each man of those forementioned princes, or, That man, viz., Hezekiah. How much more "the man Christ Jesus" shall be a comfort to distressed consciences, an absolute and all-sufficient Saviour! such as his people may trust unto for safety here, and salvation hereafter.

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And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.

And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim. — Or, Shall not be closed; they shall not wink or be wilfully ignorant, shutting the windows lest the light should come in, or seeking straws to put out their eyes with, as Bernard expresseth it, Festucam quaerunt unde oculos sibi eruant.

And the ears of them that hear shall hearken. — They shall listen to Christ’s word as for life; they shall draw up the ears of their souls to the ears of their bodies, that one sound may pierce both; they shall hear what the Spirit speaketh to the churches.

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The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.

The heart also of the rash. — Heb., Of the hasty ones, such as are headlong and inconsiderate, that weigh not things, that say not, What shall we do in the end thereof?

And the tongue of the stammerers. — That once did but bungle at holy discourse, pronouncing as it were Sibboleth for Shibboleth, and marring a good tale in the telling; as not understanding either what they say, or whereof they affirm. 1 Timothy 1:7

Shall be ready to speak plainly. — Shall be forward to speak fruitfully, having a holy dexterity therein. The Corinthians are commended for their utterance; 1 Corinthians 1:5 they could express themselves fitly, and they would do it freely.

To speak plainly. — Heb., Neat or clear words; limpida, nitida; a metaphor from clear or fair weather.

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The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said [to be] bountiful.

The vile person shall be no more called liberal. — Benefici et magnifici domini. That sapless fellow Nabal shall no more be called Nadib, that is, bountiful benefactor, or gracious lord. Of Archbishop Bancroft was made this couplet:

“Here lies his Grace in cold clay clad,

Who died for want of what he had.”

In Ahaz’s time the worst of men got honours and offices. Hezekiah would look to that. Dignity shall henceforth wait upon desert, and flattery shall be utterly out of fashion and request at court. Our old English Bibles have it thus: A niggard shall not be called a gentle or gentleman.

Nor the churl said to be bountiful. — The holdfast, whose logic is all little enough to conclude for himself, shall not be called a Magnifico. The Vulgate Latin hath it, Neque fraudulentus appellabitur maior.

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For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

For the vile person will speak villany. — Why then should he be advanced to great places why should he be smoothed and soothed up with high titles? "The adversary and the enemy is this wicked Haman," said Esther. Isaiah 7:6 Before, some had styled him noble, others great, and some perhaps virtuous; only Esther giveth him his own - Pessimus iste, "That most wicked Haman"; so, "Go, tell that fox," saith our Saviour; and God shall smite thee, "thou whited wall," saith St Paul to Ananias, … Nomina rebus consentanea imponentur. A spade shall be called a spade, a fool a fool; there shall not be nomen inane, crimen immane, sedes prima et vita ima, ingens authoritas et nutans stabilitas, … Bernard.

And his heart will work iniquity. — Exegesis flagitiosi, the true portraiture of an evil magistrate, Iudex locusta civitatis est malus. An evil judge is the locust of the state.

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The instruments also of the churl [are] evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.

The instruments also of the churl are evil. — There is an elegance in the original, Cuius lepos in vertendo perit. Scalig. By his instruments or vessels are meant, say some, his evil arts and deceits of all sorts; or, as others hold, his subordinate officers and teasers.

Even when the needy speaketh right. — Right or wrong, he is sure to be undone; the doing of anything or of nothing he findeth alike dangerous.

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But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.

But the liberal deviseth liberal things. — Beneficus beneficia cogitat: munificentius consultat, et consulit, in opposition to the churl, Isaiah 32:7 He is of a public spirit, and studieth how and where to do most good. Augustus Caesar was for this called Pater patriae; Father of fathers, Charles the Great, Pater orbis; Father of the world, Claudian thus bespake Honorius -

“ Tu civem patremque geras, tu consule cunctis,

Non tibi; nec tua te moveant, sed publica damna. ”

“You manage the state and your household, you advise everyone,

But not yourself; neither stir yourself, but damage the public state.”

And by liberal things shall he stand, — One would think he should fall rather; but he knows what he does, and that not getting but giving, not hoarding but distributing, is the way to thrive.

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