Commentary upon the Prophecy of Isaiah

All the fault then is imputed unto the people, because they rejected so wonderful a blessing of God. Whence the solution of the difficulty which we touched a little before, is more apparent. I grant it seems very hard at the first blush, that the Prophets should make the hearts of men more hard; seeing they bring the word of God in their mouth, by which as by a light men should lighten and order their paths, Psal. 119.105. And we know that David gives it this title, Psal. 19.9. It is not the office of the Prophets then to blind the eyes, but rather to open them. And hereafter this word is called perfect wisdom, Chap. 8. Object. How comes it to pass then that it takes away mens understanding, and makes them dullards? Rather the hearts which were before of stone, iron, and steel; should hereby be mollified: how can it be then they should be come the more obdurate? Ans. I answer (as I have touched already) that such blindness and hardening proceeds not from the nature of the word, but is by way of accident: and it ought to be attributed to the ⟨p. 71⟩wickedness of men. For even as they who have sore eyes can not accuse the Sun for hurting them with the light thereof: nor he which hath a weakness and fault in his hearing, a clear and very loud voice which he can not bear:¹ lastly, as he that is of a weak capacity is not to be offended with high and difficult things which he is unable to comprehend: So likewise the wicked can not accuse the word of God that they become the worse after the hearing of it. Seeing then that all the fault is in themselves because they do not give it access into their hearts, what wonder is it if that which was appointed for their food, do become their bane? For it must needs be, that the disloyalty and infidelity of men should be punished in this manner,² to the end they should feel death from that, whence they might have received life; and darkness from thence, whence they might have received light: lastly, all noisome and hurtful things from thence, where they might have had the fullness of all blessings to salvation. Which is diligently to be noted, because there is nothing more common with men, then to abuse the gifts of God: and whilst they make themselves believe they are very innocent, anon they deck themselves with other mens feathers.