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OBADIAH is supposed to have lived about the same time with E ekiel and Jeremiah, and to have prophesied a little after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, which happened about the year of the world 3416. The prophecy of Obadiah is directed against the Edomites: he foretels, that God would root them out because of their pride, and particularly because they rejoiced at the ruin of the Jews, and had even helped to destroy them. He concludes with consolatory assurances of future restoration and prosperity to the Jews, to whom should arise deliverance, from Zion; saviours who should judge the nations; and a spiritual kingdom consecrated to the Lord.

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Verse 1.-We have heard a rumour from the Lord, &c.] See Jer. xlix. 14. and the note there. 5. If thieves came to thee, &c.] See Jer. xlix. 9. and the note there.

6. How are the things of Esau searched out !] Meaning that the enemy should find out and plunder the treasures of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau.

7.-even to the border :] Thy own border, where they delivered thee into the hand of thy

enemy,

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they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee:] Those very persons, whom thou didst maintain as thy allies, have given thee a secret blow of which thou wast not aware.

9.-Teman,] A city of Idumea or Edom. See Jer. xlix. 7. "The mount of Esau" is mount Seir. 10. For thy violence against thy brother &c.] See the note on Amos i. 11.

11.-in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces,] When Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, thou didst join with the enemy; see Ps. cxxxvii. 7.

12.-thou shouldest not have looked on the day

of thy brother] Thou oughtest not to have taken pleasure at the sight of thy brother's calamity.

16. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, &c.] As you of Edom shall drink of the cup of My indignation upon, or rather because of, My holy mountain, the land of Judea, which you have persecuted, so shall all those nations, that joined with you in your offences, taste of the same cup, till they have drunk it up, and be as if they had never been.

19. And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; &c.] These words import the conquests of the Jews over their idolatrous neighbours in every direction. Or, in a spiritual sense, the enlargement of the Church of Christ in the times. of the Gospel.

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21. And saviours shall come up on mount Zion &c.] By saviours" may be understood the leaders of the Jews, who should fight their battles, and vanquish their enemies, denoted by the inhabitants of the "mount of Esau." Or we may understand the word in a spiritual sense, for the preachers of salvation, whose office it is to convert unbelievers and " aliens to the common wealth of Israel." Compare verse 17.

NOTES

Jonah.

JONAH is generally supposed to have lived in the reigns of Joash and Jeroboam the second, kings of Israel. He was sent from God to Nineveh, the capital of the empire of the Assyrians, to denounce the destruction of that city. His Book contains an account of some very interesting particulars which occurred during his flight towards Tarshish" from the presence of the Lord;" and informs us what was the success of his ministry among the Ninevites. Jonah is spoken of by the sacred writers and by our Lord Himself as a Prophet of considerable eminence; 2: Kings xiv. 25; Matt. xii. 39, 41.

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CHAP. I.

Verse 3. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish Jonah might consider, this commission as an uncommon, unprofitable, and dangerous one. He certainly thought that his veracity as a Prophet would be affected by God's merciful change of purpose, Chap. iv. 2. This and other parts of his conduct deserve, censure. But men endued with extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, and made the instruments of declaring God's will to mankind, have occasionally been subject to great human infirmi ties, and have even contracted great guilt.

from the presence of the Lord.] That is, from. the place where God usually had shewn Himselfi present by revealing His word and will to His Prophets,

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7-and the lot fell upon Jonah By the special appointment of Providence.

12.-for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.] He was convinced by the nature of the calamity, and by the lot having pointed him out (verse 7), that all the evil proceeded from him, and he was impelled by Heaven to make this salutary proposal, that the whole might not perish.

14.-and lay not upon us innocent blood :] Punish us not as murderers of an innocent man; for we judge from the whole transaction that we are conforming ourselves to Thy will.

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17.-Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.] The Hebrew language has no word to express what we call a natural day; what therefore the Greeks express by a word, which literally rendered means night-day, they denote by a day and a night." Therefore the space of time consisting of one whole revolution of twenty-four hours, and part of two others, is fitly expressed in that language by "three days and three nights." Such a space of time our Lord lay in the grave: and Jonah, who was an eminent figure of Him in this particular, was probably no longer in the fish's belly....

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If it should appear. to us a strange and unreason able thing, that a man should be buried in the body of a fish, and cast up alive again after three days upon the dry land, we should bear in mind, that with God all things are possible and that the present case was worthy of the Divine interposition. What happened to Jonah was intended to prefigure what should happen to our Saviour Christ; his return from the fish's belly was meant to be afterwards compared with Christ's resurrection from the grave, when that event should take place. Jonah therefore was not preserved by a miracle for his own sake, but for a sign, to instruct the people of God in the truth of their salvation, and in the peculiar means or mode of it. Our Saviour Himself hath instructed us to make this use of Jonah's history, Matt. xii. 39, 40,

CHAP. II,

Verse 1. Then Jonah prayed &c.] This appears to be a prayer of Jonah, as he wrote it after he came out of the fish, but as he had conceived it before in the fish's belly.

2.-out of the belly of hell] The word rendered "hell" signifies the state of the dead. It may be most properly rendered the "grave" bere: the belly of the fish was to Jonah as a grave.

6. the bottoms of the mountains;] The bottom of the sea, where the foundations of the mountains lie. See Ps. xxiv. 2.

-the earth with her bars was about me for ever:] I thought that the earth had barred me out, and excluded me wholly from ever seeing the firm land again.

CHAP. III.

Verse 3.-Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.] According to the testimony of an ancient historian Nineveh was sixty miles in compass. And twenty miles was a day's journey in common computation for a foottraveller.

4. Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.] That is, unless it repent. In the whole course of Scripture, God's threatenings, and His promises also, have always a condition annexed to them in His purpose: which condition, though it be not always, indeed but seldom, expressed, yet is it always included, and so to be understood. All God's promises, however absolutely expressed, are made on the condition of obedience; and all His threatenings, however absolutely expressed, on the condition of impenitence. See Jer. xviii. 8; Ezek. xxxiii. 11.

7.- Let neither man nor beast,-taste any thing:] Abstaining for some time from our daily food signifies most naturally that we are unworthy of it, and can take no comfort in it, whilst we are under the Divine displeasure. And as anciently every thing of importance was denoted, especially in the Eastern countries, by actions as well as by words, this was probably the original purpose, for which men used fasting. And it was then sometimes extended to children and cattle, in

token that the parents aud owners of them had made themselves unworthy of the dearest blessings and most valuable conveniences of life.

The Eastern mode of fasting was 'abstinence from food till the evening..

8.-let-beast be covered with sackcloth,] In token of publick sorrow and humiliation.

10.-God repented of the evil, &c.] See the note on verse 4. This is ever God's manner, when men renounce their sins, to recal His sentence; when they repent of the evil they have done against Him, to " repent of the evil that He had said that He would do unto them."

CHAP. IV.

Verse 3.-it is better for me to die than to live.] Under the imputation of being a false prophet.

Jonah seems to have thought, that his veracity as a Prophet, and the honour of his office, were affected by God's sparing the Ninevites. His impatience here, and at ver. 8, was highly blameable,

6.-the Lord God prepared a gourd,] Or, He had prepared a gourd. It is probable, that this gourd was the booth, under which Jonah sheltered himself from the heat: the perishing of which must have given him great uneasiness, when we consider the intolerable heat of the country: which is so excessive, that a modern traveller informs us he was prevented by it from going to visit the reputed tomb of Jonah.

It is uncertain what particular plant is here meant by a "gourd." We may justly attribute a miraculous growth to it, as it is said ver. 10, to have" come up in a night."

9. And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.] And he said, in much weakness and rash passion, I have just cause to be angry, even to such a degree as to wish myself dead. The Prophet here records his own impatience, as Moses and other holy writers have done, without concealing any circumstance of it.

11. sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left] That is, infants, who "have no knowledge between good and evil," as it is expressed, Deut. i. 39.

NOTES

ON

Micah.

MICAH prophesied in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, He foretold in clear terms the invasions of Shalmaneser and Sennacherib, and their triumph over Israel and Judah; the captivities, dispersion, and deliverance of Israel; the cessation of prophecy; the destruction of Assyria and of Babylon, the representatives of the enemies of the Christian Church; the birth of the Everlasting Ruler at Beth-lehem Ephratah; the establishment and exaltation of Christ's kingdom over all nations; the influence of the Gospel; and the destruction of Jerusalem. Micah is mentioned as a Prophet at Jer. xxvi. 18; and in the New Testament, Matt. ii. 5, and John vii. 42. and our Saviour Himself condescended to speak in the language of the Prophet, Matt. x, 35, 36, compared with Mic. vii. 6.

CHAP. I.

Verse 1.-Micah the Morasthite] That is, probably, a native of Morasthi, a village in the southern part of Judah.

2.-und let the Lord God be witness against you,] I call Him to witness, that I have forewarned you of the judgments that hang over your heads, unless yon repent. And He Himself will become a witness against you, and convince you of your sins, in such a manner that you shall not be able to deny the charge.

3.-the Lord cometh forth out of his place,] God, who is every where present, is said more particularly to be there, where He more particularly exhibits His majesty and glory; and He is said to

come forth and out of His place," and to " come down," to any other place, when He gives more apparent tokens of His presence by acts of mercy or judgment.

and tread upon the high places of the earth.] Subduing places of the greatest strength, and bringing down men of the highest rank.

4. And the mountains shall be molten under him, &c.] All nature shall confess His presence. This is probably an allusion to God's coming upon mount Sinai.

5.-What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria?] What, or who, is the author of this great sin of Israel? Is it not the mother city Samaria, whose princes have set up and maintained the golden calves? And who is the author of those offensive high places of Judah? Is not Jerusalem, and her kings, who have set them up and countenanced them?

6.-as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard:] As a heap of stones laid carelessly in the field, or as the hillocks of earth which are cast up for the planting of a vineyard.

7.-all the hires thereof] By" hires" may be understood all their wealth and good things, which they looked on as the gifts of their idols, and the rewards of their idolatrous service.

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selled not to make known their calamity by any publick expression of sorrow, lest their enemies should rejoice at it.

Aphrah] The word "Aphrah" signifies dust; the Prophet probably uses it here for Ophrah, a town in the tribe of Benjamin, that the name may better suit their condition.

11. Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, &c.] The people of Saphir, which name denotes fairness or beauty, shall lose all their beauty and be exposed to shame.

the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth &c.] The meaning of this difficult passage seems to be, That when the inhabitants of Beth-ezel, which was first taken by the enemy, were led away "mourning, the inhabitants of Zaanan came not forth" to bewail with them, or comfort them, as being on their own guard against the enemy, or knowing that the same calamity should quickly befal themselves. For "he shall receive of you his standing;" of you, O inhabitants of Zaanan, though you remain longer than those of Beth-ezel, yet "he," that is, the enemy, "shall receive his standing," that is, the reward for his labour and time spent in besieging and taking you.

12.-Maroth] This was probably a city in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, or one that had dependence on it, and so could not but be involved in her calamity.

13.-bind the chariot to the swift beast:] In order to flee from the enemy that shall execute God's wrath on thee.

she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion:] Lachish was the first that followed the idolatrous example of Israel among the cities of Judah.

14. Therefore shalt thou give presents &c.] Therefore shalt thou be fain to give vain presents unto the Philistines to help thee: thou shalt have recourse to those false and lying succours, which have been ever deceitful to the kings of Judah, and so shall be still unto thee.

The word Achzib signifies a lie, which signification is alluded to in the menace against it.

15. Yet will I bring an heir unto thee,] Namely, an enemy, that shall take possession of the people and all that they have, as if it were his inheritance.

CHAP. II.

Verse 3.-against this family] That is, this people.

4. he hath changed the portion of my people: &c.] He hath removed His people out of their ancient inheritance, that portion which He Himself had allotted them, and hath given it away to others. 5. Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a word by lot in the congregation of the Lord.]

The words are an address to the whole people, denouncing the irrecoverable loss of their country, and that they should no more return to it, to be therein the congregation of the Lord, and to divide it among themselves by the "cord" or measuring line.

6.-they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.] Or, rather, " for they will not take shame." It is to no purpose to prophesy to them, for they still persist in a shameless course of sin.

7.-is the spirit of the Lord straitened? &c.] Is His mercy, His will or power of promising good things and effecting them, now restrained more than formerly? Are not these punishments and judgments of His what your sins, as it were, force Him to bring on you?

8.-ye pull off the robe-from them that pass by securely &c.] Ye strip the garments from the backs of travellers, that pass by securely, without any thought of such cruel and hostile treatment.

10. Arise ye, and depart; &c.] Get you into captivity; for this land is no place for you; since ye have thus defiled it with your sins, it shall cast you out, and deliver you up to be destroyed by your enemies.

11. If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood &c.] Or," in the spirit of falsehood." If a man will prophesy falsely, and foretel only plenty and prosperity, notwithstanding God's threatenings to the contrary, he will be a welcome Prophet to this people.

12. I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; &c.] Here the discourse seems to turn from a threatening of judgment to a promise of mercy: a promise that the Jews should be restored, and gathered together as a flock is by a shepherd. See Jer. xxxi. 10. It is generally understood of a spiritual deliverance by Christ.

13. The breaker is come up before them:] He that shall break the bonds of their captivity.

their king shall pass before them, and the Lord &c.] Or," even the Lord on the head of them." The Messiah, who is both their Lord and King, shall lead them as their captain.

CHAP. III.

Verse 1.-to know judgment?] To act fairly and uprightly.

2.-who pluck off their skin from off them, &c.] Meaning, who cruelly oppress and persecute them. 5.-that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; &c.] Who, so that they may be fed by the people, cry, Peace and happiness; but if their mouths are not filled are ready to load their hearers with threats of judgments.

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