An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of…

The word implies, that a man so speaking shall be ruined and brought to nought. Mr. Broughton renders, Would any man plead when he shall be undone? No man but a mad man would speak in a business wherein he must needs be ruined. We say well, swallowed up, that is, both he and his understanding shall be utterly confounded. This phrase of speech is often used in Scripture when a greater power undertakes a lesser: thus fire swalloweth up stubble, and oppressors their poor underlings. David saith of his enemies, with respect to the greatness of their malice (Ps. 56.1. Ps. 57.3) They would swallow me up. Possibly they had not power enough to do it, or no fitting opportunity to do it, but they wanted no will to ⟨p. 591⟩do it, They would swallow me up if they could, that is, they would make an utter end of me, or dispatch me quite. So this word is used in several other places (Isa. 28.7.) They are swallowed up of wine. Some swallow down the wine so long, till the wine swalloweth them up, the wine gets the mastery over them, and they are no longer (as we speak proverbially) their own men. The Apostle gives order concerning the incestuous person that had been cast out of the Church (2 Cor. 2.5.) receive him (saith he) lest he be swallowed up of over-much sorrow, that is, lest sorrow get the mastery of him. It is not good that the floods of sorrow (though it be a sorrow for sin) should prevail over us, so as to swallow us up in the gulf of despair. Again, while the Apostle ••sures us, and would have us triumph in that assurance, that death shall never do a godly man any hurt, he thus expresseth it (1 Cor. 15.54.) Death is swallowed up in victory, that is, in and by the victory of Jesus Christ: He, by dying, quite overcame death; he did not only wound it, and worst it, or get the better of it, or •our it, but totally ruined it, as to any power of hurting us; all which, and whatsoever else concerns the death of death, and the destruction of the grave, is wrapped up in that one word, Death is swallowed up in victory. And therefore also it is said by the same Apostle, (