Commentary upon the Prophecy of Isaiah

HE continues forth his discourse, for whilst matters go well, and that all things are in quiet, men care not greatly neither for munition, nor for warlike furniture: nothing but necessity awakens men,¹ and makes them careful: peace and rest makes us become lazy & slothful. As long then as they thought themselves free from gunshot, they neglected to make up the breaches of the walls: but when the drum once stroke up, then they gave themselves to the care of these things, and to take order for letting the enemy from getting passage. By the City of David, he means the middest of the City, which was divided into two parts, which we may see in §1many Cities. Jerusalem was environed with §2walls, and ditched round about? but this §3middle place was the strongest fortress they had, and it was called the City of David. The Temple also was fortified, so as the City was divided as it were into three. Now Isaiah meant to say that the Jews had almost lost all hope of saving the City when they thus retired into the middlemost, which was stronger then all the rest. And it appears very well by the holy history that their case was very desperate. Thus we may also gather, that the prophesies were not gathered in order, so as they which put them into one volume did not stand much upon the circumstance of the time. He adds, the waters were gathered for their necessity, that the necessities of those which were besieged might be supplied therewith, and thus the pool served them for a Cistern.