A17640:2481
Commentary upon the Prophecy of Isaiah
A commentary upon the prophecy of Isaiah. By Mr. John Calvin. Whereunto are added four tables ... Translated out of French into English: by C.C.A commentary vpon the prophecie of Isaiah. By Mr. Iohn Caluin. Whereunto are added foure tables ... Translated out of French into English: by C.C.
London: printed by Felix Kyngston, 1609
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Vers. 2. And he sent Eliakim the steward of the house, and Shebna the Chancellor, with the elders of the Priests clothed in sackcloth, unto Isaiah the Prophet, the son of Amos. 3. And said unto him, This is a day of tribulation, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring forth.
Vers. 2. And hee sent Eliakim the steward of the house, and Shebna the Chancellor, with the elders of the Priests clothed in sackcloth, vnto Isaiah the Prophet, the sonne of Amos. 3. And said vnto him, This is a day of tribulation, and of rebuke, and blasphemie: for the children are come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring forth.
BY this Embassy he not only meant to call Isaiah to lament this calamity with him, but also to have some consolation from the mouth of the Lord;1 for if prayers be not grounded upon the word of God, they will be but so many words cast into the air. We know that the unbelievers will make both loud and long prayers, and yet flee away from God, either by despising, or in utter rejecting his promises. Here is a sign of Hezekias his true devotion then, that being kindled with the zeal of prayer, he adds thereunto a confirmation of his hope, lest he should faint under the temptation; also, in that he keeps himself close to the means ordained of God, and desires to hear his voice by the mouth of his Prophet Isaiah. For albeit he rested upon none but God only, yet he rejects not the testimony of a mortal man like himself: and this is the cause why the title of the Prophet is here expressly mentioned, because he sent to Isaiah to be confirmed by some new prophecy. And thus he names him, not as a private man, but as the servant of the Lord, whose office it was to comfort the King by some word of consolation.