voice of mighty thunderings, faying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him*.'

10 For in this mountain fhall the hand of the LORD reft, and Moab fhall be trodden down under him, even as ftraw is trodden down for the dunghil.

The continuance of the divine favour with the church, and the agreeable profpect of the entire conquest of their implacable enemies, are here mentioned, as grounds of the joy and triumph expreffed in the preceding verfe.--God is a Spirit; and therefore, properly speaking, he hath neither hands, nor any of the parts which belong to human nature. Notwith

standing, in allufion to the hand of man, which is the chief inftrument of action, whereby he exerts his ftrength, the hand of God is often mentioned, to denote his almighty power, employed in behalf of his church, to defend them from evil, to vindicate them from oppreffion, to punish their enemies, to cherish and protect them, and liberally to confer upon them the most fubftantial bleffings. In this mountain, whereof glorious things are predicted in the foregoing verfes, fhall the hand of the Lord reft, as the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, rested over the camp of Ifrael; or as the emblem of the divine prefence refted on the mercy-feat. Or the expreffion may allude to the conduct of a traveller, who, after having been long abroad, returns home, and there takes up his fixed refidence. The kind protecting hand of God, which had for a long time been withdrawn from his people, was to be again restored, to bless, defend, and enrich them, and to give them peace and tranquillity.Let thy hand, O gracious God! be ever with us, to deliver us out of

*Rev. xix. 5. et feq.

all

all our troubles, to profper and perfect us in our Christian course, until, having conquered all our fpiritual enemies, we arrive at the heavenly Jerufalem, the city of the living God.

And Moab fhall be trodden down under him, &c. Moab was the name of the posterity of Lot, by his eldest daughter, who poffeffed the land fituated in the neighbourhood of Ifrael, whom they continually endeavoured to vex and harafs. They were grofs idolaters, worshippers of Chemofh, their abomination; and were expressly prohibited from entering into the congregation of the Lord, even to the tenth generation, Under this defignation, agreeable to the prophetic. style, may be comprehended, all the inveterate enemies of the true Ifrael of God, who disturb and annoy them, and serve lying vanities. Concerning them it is foretold, They fhall be trodden down. This expreffion, with the fimple comparison by which it is illuftrated, plainly intimates, the unprofitableness of the people spoken of, the great contempt with which they were to be treated, the irresistible power whereby they were to be fubdued, and the entire fubjection to which they fhould be reduced. Trampling upon enemies denotes, their entire conqueft by those who, in this manner, triumph over them. Victorious princes were anciently accustomed to order the kings, and great men, whom they had taken captive, to be laid proftrate upon the ground, and to tread upon their bodies, in token of the total conqueft which they had obtained. In reference to this practice, our prophet foretels, that the adverfaries of God's people fhall be completely vanquished, and entirely routed: in proof of which, they fhall be trodden upon; not accidentally, as a man trampleth upon a ferpent that is lying in the way, but as he treadeth on the ftraw, of which he hath the difpofal.As the love of God triumphs over the unworthinefs of his people, fo his justice shall triumph over all the oppofition of their enemies, who, according to his purpose, he will make

his footstool. However powerful and numerous their foes, though they are feated upon thrones, and have nations under their command, they fhall certainly be reduced to a very mean and deplorable condition.

.

11 And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that fwimmeth fpreadeth forth his hands to fwim; and he fhall bring down their pride, together with the spoils of their hands,

There is much obfcurity in this verfe. The following short remarks will, I hope, throw fome light upon it. Different opinions are entertained refpecting the agent here spoken of; fome fuppofing that God, and others that Moab, is intended. I have chosen the former fenfe, as the Lord is the perfon of whom the prophet speaks in the preceding verfe, and in the latter claufe of the one now before us; though, I acknowledge, I do not well perceive the propriety of the fimilitude by which the action is illuftrated. As be that fwimmeth Spreadeth forth his hands to fwim: extending his arms to their full length, and keeping them in constant motion, he cuts the waters with his out-ftretched hands, and renders the refiftance he meets with conducive to advance him toward the object he hath in view. Thus the Lord God was to ftretch forth his hands upon the country of Moab, fo as to reach to the most remote corners, that he might inflict upon them thofe defolating judgments whereby their pride fhould be humbled. All the oppofition they were to make to these divine judgments, was to prove ineffectual for preventing their execution.

• We

And he fhall bring down their pride, &c. have heard of the pride of Moab, of his haughtinefs, and his pride. They were exceeding proud, even to a proverb; and extremely ill-difpofed toward

* Isaiah xvi. 6.

the

the people of Judah. The prophet Jeremiah declares, that fuch was their intolerable arrogance, that they magnified themselves against the Lord. They were puffed up with a vain conceit of their abilities, their riches, their strength, and the other advantages which they poffeffed. Indeed, it often happens, that people who have little whereof to be vain, are the most proud and infolent. This pride our prophet foretels, the Lord God would bring down, and effectually humble, with the Spoils of their hands; the riches and fortreffes of their country, and the profperity of their kingdom.-Thofe who walk in pride, he is able to abafe. The pride of Moab was a fure prefage of their future downfal. God refifteth the proud; and, therefore, as faith the proverb, The

houfe of the proud fhall be deftroyed t.' All the efforts made by perfons of this defcription, to aggrandize themselves, fhall be counteracted; and, ere long, they fhall be clothed with fhame. The truth before us hath been verified with respect to Moab, and in a thousand other inftances. The prophecy was literally fulfilled by the overthrow of the Moabites, and it fhall certainly be accomplished in all those who are included in this defignation,

12 And the fortrefs of the high fort of thy walls fhall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the duft.

Another ground of the church's triumphant joy is expreffed in these words.It is difficult to determine, whether our prophet here speaks of Hefhbon, a ftrong fortified city, that belonged to the Moabites; or of Babylon, whose destruction he had foretold in verfe fecond. After adducing a striking inftance of the divine righteoufnefs, to be difplayed in the overthrow of Moab, it seems not improbable, that he again re

verts to the subject with which this fublime ode commenced; and in this view I confider the prediction. In elegant poetical compofitions, the fubject that is treated is not always exprefsly mentioned, but is often defcribed by thofe attributes, qualities, or circumftances, from which it may be known what is intended. Thus the royal poet begins his eighty-feventh pfalm: His foundation is in the holy mountains.' Having meditated on the ftrength, the beauty, and glory of Jerufalem, and imagining the thoughts of thofe whom he addreffed to have been employed on the fame theme, he breaks forth in this abrupt manner. Another inftance occurs in the firft verfe of the following chapter.And the fortress of the high fort of thy wall. The ramparts and the walls of Babylon were of fuch great celebrity, at the time this prophecy was delivered, that Ifaiah might fuppofe, that the language which he employs, would point out, with fufficient certainty, the place he intended. The inhabitants of Babylon, therefore, he accosts in the words before us, wherein he affures them, of the approaching defolation of all their fortifications.

This prophecy God hath long fince fulfilled, by Darius, the son of Hyftafpis, who divested that renowned city of its defence and glory. And the deftruction of literal Babylon encourages us to hope, that God, in due time, will completely abolish mystical Babylon, which, in all ages, hath been hoftile to the interests of the church. The expreffions, which are here elegantly varied, and repeated, when taken together, ftrongly represent the entire demolition, and utter destruction, of both literal and figurative Babylon. In the overthrow of this laft-mentioned power, is comprehended the total ruin of the kingdom of Satan, confifting in idolatry, fuperftition, pride, tyranny, and corruption of manners.

To conclude, let us joyfully celebrate the mercy and faithfulness of Jehovah toward his church, and let us earnestly pray for the accomplishment of the

exceeding