Some understand this of metaphorical or figurative mountains, and so mountains are great men, men of eminency, or of preeminency, the Kings and Princes of the world.1 The Chaldee is express for this sense, He removeth Kings, who are as strong and high as mountains. For as God hath ordered the superficies of the earth, and made some parts of it plain, others mountainous, some valleys and some hills. So he hath disposed of men, some men stand as upon level ground, men of an ordinary condition; others are as the low valleys, men of a poor condition; others are as the high mountains over-topping and over-looking the rest. The word is ⟨p. 172⟩used in this metaphorical sense, Isa. 41.15. I will make thee (saith the Lord to the Prophet) a new threshing instrument having teeth; And what shall this new threshing instrument do? Thou shalt thresh the mountains and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Here is a Prophet sent with a flail or a threshing instrument, and his business is to thresh the mountains, and to beat the hills: the meaning is, thou shalt destroy the great ones of the world, the hills, the mountains, those that think themselves impregnable or inaccessible. But how could the Prophet thresh these mountains, and what was his flail? Gideon (Judg. 8.7.) threatens the men of Succoth, that he will tear or thresh their flesh with the thorns of the wilderness, and with briars. And Damascus is threatened, because they threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron, Am. 1.3. That is, they put them to extremest tortures. Our Prophet could not thus torture men. His threshing instrument having iron teeth, was only his tongue, the instrument of speech, With this he beat those proud mountains to dust, that is, he declared they should be beaten and destroyed. Of such a mountain, the Lord by his Prophet speaks (Jer. 51.25.) Behold I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth. Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will roll th•e down from the rocks, and make thee a burnt mountain. This mountain was the proud State of Babylon, which was opposite to the Church of God, this devouring mountain shall at last be a devoured mountain, devoured by fire, therefore he calls it a burnt mountain. Thus (Zech. 4.7.) Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain.
Some understand this of metaphoricall or figurative mountains, and so mountains are great men, men of eminency, or of preeminency, the Kings and Princes of the world.1 The Chaldee is expresse for this sense, He removeth Kings, who are as strong and high as mountains. For as God hath ordered the superficies of the earth, and made some parts of it plain, others mountainous, some valleys and some hils. So he hath disposed of men, some men stand as upon levell ground, men of an ordinary condition; others are as the low vallies, men of a poor condition; others are as the high mountains over-topping and over-looking the rest. The word is ⟨p. 172⟩used in this metaphoricall sense, Isa. 41.15. I will make thee (saith the Lord to the Prophet) a new threshing instrument having teeth; And what shall this new threshing iestrument do? Thou shalt thresh the mountains and beat them small, and shalt make the hils as chaff. Here is a Prophet sent with a flail or a threshing instrument, and his businesse is to thresh the mountains, and to beat the hils: the meaning is, thou shalt destroy the great ones of the world, the hils, the mountains, those that thinke themselves impregnable or inaccessible. But how could the Prophet thresh these mountains, and what was his flail? Gideon (Judg. 8.7.) threatens the men of Succoth, that he will tear or thresh their flesh with the thorns of the wildernesse, and with briars. And Damascus is threatned, because they threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron, Am. 1.3. That is, they put them to extreamest tortures. Our Prophet could not thus torture men. His threshing instrument having iron teeth, was only his tongue, the instrument of speech, With this he beat those proud mountains to dust, that is, he declared they should be beaten and destroied. Of such a mountain, the Lord by his Prophet speaks (Jer. 51.25.) Behold I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroiest all the earth. Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will roll th•e down from the rocks, and make thee a burnt mountain. This mountain was the proud State of Babylon, which was opposite to the Church of God, this devouring mountain shall at last be a devoured mountain, devoured by fire, therefore he cals it a burnt mountain. Thus (Zech. 4.7.) Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain.
- 1Chaldeus per montes intelligit reges, qui loco movet reges fortes, ut mont•s. Targ.
