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deadly poison, to the envenoming of all that deal with them: whosoever, therefore, meddleth with them cannot be free from the danger of infection and death.

LIX. 6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

Their works and designs, which are least harmful, are yet utterly vain and unprofitable: however they may undertake much, their labours come to nothing, either for the benefit of others, or their own safeguard, &c.

LIX. 8 Whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.

Whosoever walketh in them shall never have and enjoy true peace in his soul; nor expect to be blessed and prospered from above.

LIX. 9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.

Therefore hath God withdrawn the hand of his merciful protection and gracious administration from us; and we are yielded up to be a prey of rapine and injustice: we wait for comfort and prosperity, but we find nothing but sorrow and misery.

LIX. 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes we stumble at noon day as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.

All the light of our former comfort is taken from us; and we are so affected with the judgments of God, as that we know not how to guide ourselves in our present condition: we cast about for helps and directions in vain, and miscarry in the use of them: we are carried captive into desolate places, out of the society of men; as if we were dead carcases, cast aside for the grave.

LIX. 11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves. We do, in all fashions of sorrow, bemoan ourselves: either roaring out in the extremity of our grief, as bears in a forest; or more silently murmuring our complaints, as doves on the house top.

LIX. 15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.

Yea, truth, and honest sincerity, is failed amongst men; and he, that will not run with men into the same excess of riot, but maketh conscience of their evil ways, is exposed to the scorn and spoil of the world.

LIX. 16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness it sustained him.

And he saw that there was no man, that would interpose himself, and labour for the reforming of these foul corruptions; and wondered to see so general a barrenness of grace, as that there was not one man to stand out for his Church, either to sue for it, or to endeavour the redress of it: therefore God resolved, since there was no help or hope in human means, to take the cause into his own hand; and to work mightily the deliverance and salvation of his people, by his own power and justice.

LIX. 17 For he put on righteousness as a breast plate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.

To which purpose, the Almighty hath completely armed himself, with righteousness, and salvation, and zeal, and means of vengeance upon his enemies; that his people may well see, how both forward and powerful he is, to rescue them, and to plague their oppressors.

LIX. 19 When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

When the enemy shall come furiously upon them, like a raging and impetuous flood, the Almighty shall wage war with him, and join battle accordingly against him to his destruction.

LIX. 20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.

The Redeemer of the World shall, in his due time, be revealed, and shall personally come to mount Zion; and shall save all penitent sinners, in his whole Church upon earth.

LIX. 21 My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

Amongst and above all other testimonies of my favour to thee, my Church, this shall be most remarkable; that I will give thee my word and my Spirit, for instruction, for sanctification: the one shall not depart out of thy heart, nor the other out of thy mouth; but shall perpetually continue to thee, and to thy seed after thee, unto the end of the world.

LX. 1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

Arise out of the dust and sorrow, O thou my afflicted Church, and be thou glorious; for the time is come, wherein God is purposed to comfort and to honour thee, before the eyes of the world."

LX. 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

For, behold, the darkness, both of ignorance and calamity, shall be upon the rest of the earth; but, as it was with thee in Goshen, so it shall be now again, the Lord shall cause the light, both of knowledge and comfort, to arise upon thee.

LX. 5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

Thou shalt assemble cheerfully together, and thy heart shall be full of astonishment and wonder and thankfulness; because the store of those foreign nations, which by divers seas are severed from thee, shall be converted unto thee, my Evangelical Church:

all the forces and excellent graces of the Gentiles shall be added unto thee.

LX. 6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.

The multitudes of several nations shall come, and send in unto thee, according to their sundry commodities and means of conveyance, all manner of rich and precious presents; whereby they shall testify their homage, and joy in that God, which hath honoured them with the high calling of the children of his Church.

LX 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.

So cheerful and so frequent and universal shall be the sacrifices, which shall be offered unto God, in joy and thanksgiving, as that all the Arabian flocks shall be gladly consecrated to this service, and shall ascend up, in a holy smoke, to the God of Heaven; and I will exceedingly glorify my Church, wherein I am honoured.

LX. 8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

Then shall my Church, wondering at so frequent a confluence, say, Who are these, that come flying, as thick as clouds, and as swiftly as the doves to their windows?

LX. 9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD.

Surely the foreign nation shall be called into the Church, even from beyond the seas: the ships shall be employed, therefore, to bring in both their persons and their treasures, to be dedicated to the service of God.

LX. 10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee.

And, in a type of the restoration of my Church, behold, the sons of strangers shall help to re-edify the walls of Jerusalem; and their kings shall give bountiful gifts, towards the repairing of the edifices thereof.

LX. 11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.

The doors of the Church, under the Gospel, shall be always open: they shall not be shut, either by night or day, upon any man; but shall be wide opened, to receive all comers; that the riches of the Gentiles, and their kings and governors, may have a clear and free ingress thereinto.

LX. 12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

As there neither is nor can be any salvation out of Christ, or out

of the Church; surely that person, or that nation and kingdom, that cometh not in, and submitteth not to the government of Christ in his Church, cannot chuse but perish.

IX. 13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanc tuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

All the tall cedars of Lebanon, and all those other varieties of trees, both for building and sculpture, shall gladly be employed to the re-edifying of the material temple; and all persons, both honourable and mean, shall joyfully be employed to be the pieces of my spiritual Church and Sanctuary; so as the place, where I shall fix my foot, and dwell for ever, shall be beautiful and glo

rious.

LX. 14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; &c.

The posterity of those, that persecuted thee, O my Church, shall come in, and with all reverence submit themselves unto thee; &c. LX. 16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings.

The Gentiles and their kings, which heretofore have been hostilely bent against thee, shall now lay to nourish and sustain thee, even as the mother doth her child, with the milk of their breasts; and shall yield thee their best succour and assistance.

LX. 17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness.

I know you will much lament the ruins of the glorious temple; but, he of good cheer: it shall be better built than before: instead of the former brass, it shall now be enriched with gold; and, in all the whole fabric, the change shall be to the better: and, whereas you have served under a hard bondage of the Babylonians, now, instead of those tyrannous officers, you shall have peace; and, instead of exactors, justice.

LX. 18 But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

The safeguard of God shall be instead of walls unto thee, and thy gates shall be full of the praise of thy God.

LX. 19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

There shall be a certain stability and fixedness of the happy estate, wherein thou art: thou shalt not be subject to any more interchanges of light and darkness, or depend upon those outward means of comfort, which are wont to convey it to the world; but the Lord himself, who is ever one and unchangeable, shall be thine everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. So verse 20.

LX. 21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

Those, that are the true and lively members of the Church,

shall be all sincere and upright; not wicked, not hypocritical: they shall be unremovably fastened in their holy station; as being the branches of my own planting, and the work of my own hands, which I have made for the glory of my mercy.

LX. 22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong natton: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.

Though thou be now small in number, yet thou shalt become exceeding populous; and thou, which art now weak, shalt become a strong and mighty people: I, the Lord, will, in due time, and that ere long, accomplish it.

LXI. 1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek: he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, the Messiah and Mediator; and hath endued me with power and virtue from above: and authorised and sent me, to preach the glad tidings of salvation to the humble and contrite soul; to proclaim liberty to those, which are now in miserable captivity under Satan; to release those, which are bound with the chains of their sins;

LXI. 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

To proclaim the acceptable time of redemption, now fully come to the world, and of just vengeance of our God against the malicious enemies of his Church, to their confusion, and the comfort of those whom they have unjustly afflicted;

LXI. 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. To set a day of deliverance to them, which mourn in God's Church, whether for their sins, or under their afflictions; to put off all the sackcloth and ashes and sad ceremonies of their dejec tion, and, instead thereof, to give them cheerfulness and joy and thankful acknowledgments of mercy; that those, which before were as fruitless and sapless stocks, may now be called, and so approved, the fruitful and flourishing trees of righteousness, such as God hath, by his Spirit, planted in his Church, for the glory of his own mercy.

LXI. 4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, &c.

In a just type of which restoration, my people, the Jews, shall build again those ruinous walls, that had lain seventy years waste, &c.

LXI. 5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vine dressers. And those, which are strangers to you, both in nation and religion, shall be ready to be helpful unto you upon all occasions, of your outward and secular employments.

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