L. 10 That walketh in darkness, and hath no light.

That seeth nothing but cause of discomfort and dejection, without all appearance of mitigation.

L. 11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall you have of mine hand; ye shall

lie down in sorrow.

Behold, all ye, that, out of your own thoughts raise up to yourselves imaginary comforts, not fetching true grounds of consolation from above; make use of those your own devices; please yourselves in your own projects: all, that ye shall get at my hands, is sorrow and disappointment.

LI. 1 Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

Bethink yourselves, and look back to your first original; consider how easy it is for me, who gave you a being from the dry and barren loins and womb of Abraham and Sarah, to revive and raise you up in your greatest distress.

LI. 3 For he shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, &c.

Thus shall the Lord comfort Zion, when she is most hopeless: he will so restore her, as that the most desolate parts of his Church shall be fruitful and beautiful, as the paradise of Eden, &c.

LI. 9 Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon!'

Art not thou he, that hast pulled down the pride of Egypt, and discomfited Pharaoh, that proud king?

LI. 14 The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. The captive Jews, now lying under an uncomfortable exile, shall soon address themselves to their return: let them not faint under their bondage, for they shall not long continue under it.

LI. 16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth.

I have put my word into the mouth of thee, my prophet, and thy fellows; but especially into the mouth of that great and divine Prophet and Redeemer of my Church: I have held my safe protection over thee, and him; that, by the saving doctrine which I shall send into the world, and that mighty and effectual work of his Mediation, I may set at peace and settle all things, both in hea ven and earth.

LI. 1 Thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wring them out.

Thou hast drunk deep of the grievousest of God's outward afflic tions; such, as thou mightest and didst justly tremble, to taste of: even the bitterest part thereof hast thou been forced to receive into thy so ul.

LI. 18 There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath

brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.

She is left utterly disconsolate: those, that should be most dear and most respective to her, (i. e. my Church,) even those spiritual sons, whom she hath brought forth to an outward profession, they ungratefully forsake her, and deny her their needful offices and attendance.

LI. 20 Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.

Yea, those unthankful sons of thine are involved in the same calamity with thee: if they would, they cannot help thee: they are caught and entangled, like some wild bull in a toil; and so lie roaring in vain, within thy streets; for the wrath of the Lord hath throughly seized upon them, without all possibility of redress.

LI. 21 Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine.

Hear this, ye, that are giddily distracted, not with wine, but with extremity of sorrow:

LI. 22 Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, &c.

Behold, I have taken off from thee those heavy afflictions, under which thou didst justly tremble, &c.

LII. 1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Stir up thyself, and rouze up thy drooping spirits, O my Church; deck thyself with the robes both of joy and holiness; for my pure worship shall be restored unto thee: there shall be no place within thee for the invasion of thy heathen enemies, and the pollution of the profane.

LII. 3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.

It was your own iniquity, that sold you into the power of your enemies: I took no price at all for you; and therefore am not bound to any restitution, which might be demanded of me, but will freely deliver you.

LII. 5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought?

Now therefore, what have I in lieu of this miserable affliction of my people? why should I forbear to revenge it?

LII. 7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation!

How welcome and pleasing are the prophets of God, who, upon the mountains of Judea, preach these glad tidings of peace and deliverance! and how more welcome are those evangelical teachers, that proclaim everlasting salvation to all believers !

LII. 8 Thy watchmen shall lift up their voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.

This shall not be a thing muttered in secret: thy spiritual watchmen, the seers of God, shall lift up their voice, and publish it to all the world, with joy and thanksgiving; and shall be, some of them, eye-witnesses of this gracious deliverance.

LII. 10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations.

The Lord hath shewed his mighty power to all the nations round about, in this rescue of his chosen people.

LII. 11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.

Make yourselves ready therefore, O my people, to depart out of Babylon get you forth joyfully, from the place of your captivity; and, in the mean time, keep yourselves undefiled with the corrup tions of that wicked nation: and ye, the Priests and Levites, that have charge of the holy things of God, see that ye sanctify your selves, and hold clear from all those Babylonish pollutions.

LII. 12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.

For ye shall not go out of Babylon, as ye went out of Egypt, with haste and tumult, or as people that flee from an enemy, but in a peaceable and triumphant fashion; for the Lord shall go before you, and follow you in so plain a manifestation of his powerful presence, that you shall find no cause of doubt, or fear.

LII. 13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

Behold, that Messiah, by whom I shall fully restore my Church, shall work wisely and succeed prosperously, in that glorious service he shall be exalted and advanced above all the kings of the earth, yea, above all the powers of heaven.

LII. 14 As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: Indeed, the outward appearance of that Son of God was so exceeding mean and contemptible, more than the ordinary fashion of the sons of men, as that those, who beheld it, were astonished, to see such a majesty shrouded in so plain and homely an outside: LII. 15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. But yet, in the efficacy of his appearance, he shall be so glorious, as that, when he is graciously pleased to distil his holy word upon the nations, kings shall stand amazed at the power of him, who worketh so mightily by it; for they shall see and hear that, which they never could have imagined should possibly have come to

pass.

LIII.

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? But, woe is me! though we bring such certain and happy news of a Messiah into the world, yet, how is the incredulous world besotted, that it will not believe our report? What blindness hath darkened the eyes of men, that they will not see the mighty power of the Godhead, in this weakness of human flesh?

LIII. 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; &c. For, to the eyes of men he shall seem despicable, at the first; and by degrees shall grow up to an acknowledged perfection: he hath no loveliness or glory in his outward appearance.

LIII. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. It is for our sakes, that he hath subjected himself to all those griefs and sorrows, which he underwent; that he might sanctify our afflictions to us, and deliver us from greater judgments: yet, our unthankfulness will not acknowledge it, but is ready to cast his sufferings upon his own deservings, as if God had stricken him for his own demerits.

LIII. 5 The chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed,

He was chastised, to work our peace: he was smitten, that we might be healed.

LIII. 8 He was taken fromprison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living.

He was indeed arraigned, and adjudged to a shameful and painful death, but that could have no power over him: he was mightily rescued from it, by the power of his Godhead, and now lives for ever; neither shall or can there be any end of his eternal duraration, howsoever, for the time, he was cut off from living amongst men.

LIII. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

He was given up into the hand of wicked and violent men, to be by them put to death amongst malefactors; although he had done nothing amiss, neither was any guile found in his mouth.

LIII. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Yet it pleased God the Father to humble him; and, standing in our stead, to hide his face from him; but with an intention of much glory to him, and happiness to his Church: for, when thou, Lord, shalt cause his life to be offered up for the satisfaction of our sins, he shall, by the efficacy of his blood, raise up a plentiful issue to his Church, and shall be everlastingly glorified, and work

happily for the good of his chosen; effecting all that, which God hath determined for the salvation of mankind.

LIII. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

He shall see and feel the happy success of his labours and suffer ings, and shall find abundant comfort and satisfaction therein: herein shall many, yea all that belong to God's election, be justified; in that, this righteous and perfect Saviour is known and apprehended by them; and in that, they are known and accepted of him; for he hath undertaken to satisfy for all their iniquities.

LIII. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Therefore, after he hath overcome the sharpness of death, I will honour him with a glorious triumph; wherein he shall, according to the manner of great conquerors, divide the spoil of his enemies; insulting over death, the grave, and hell, because he hath been obedient to the death, yea the death of the cross; and was hanged on the tree of shame and curse, betwixt two malefactors; and upon that cross bore the sin of all those that pertain to him; and, both at his death prayed for his persecutors and tormentors, and at my right hand makes perpetual intercession for his Church.

LIV. 1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

Rejoice, O thou Church of the Gentiles, which wert before utterly barren and fruitless, yielding no children to God; for now, the children of thee, which wert not formerly regarded as my spouse, are more than those of the Church of the Jews, whom I professed to love and respect. So also verse 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

LIV. 9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as 1 have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

Well may I compare the great inundation of thy sorrow and afflic tion, to the deluge in Noah's time, wherewith the earth was overspread; and, as I then swore, &c. so have I now sworn, that I will never give my Church over to any utter vastation.

LIV. 110 thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

O thou, my poor distressed Church, which now seest no cause of joy, or mitigation of thy sorrow, comfort thou thyself with the expectation of what blessings I have laid up for thee; for, how