God; for when warnings are addressed to hypocrites in general terms, they
COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH
unless all the parts of it adhere closely to each other, so the haughtiness and insolence of wicked men are a sign and very sure proof of their approaching ruin; because the more they are puffed up and swelled without any solid value, 561 the more readily do they throw themselves down headlong, and it is impossible for them not to fall speedily by their own weight. "Rise up," says he, "and act insolently against God; he will quickly put down your presumption and insolence, for it is but an empty swelling." Hence we learn that nothing is better for us than to submit wholly to God, and to keep charge of all our senses, so as to remain chained and bound by his authority; for they who raise themselves by shaking off all humility, destroy themselves by collecting much wind. For a time, indeed, the Lord permits wicked men to swell and utter their big words, that at length, by their "swelling" and idle boasting, they may bring upon themselves ruin and destruction.
14. And the breaking of it shall be. When a wall has fallen, some traces of the ruin are still to be seen, and the stones of it may be applied to use, and to some extent the wall may even be rebuilt. But here the Prophet threatens that they who are puffed up with obstinacy against God shall perish in such a manner that they cannot be restored, and all that is left of them shall be utterly useless. Accordingly, he employs the metaphor of a potter's vessel, the broken fragments of which cannot be repaired or put together. These threatenings ought to make a deep impression upon us, that we may embrace with reverence the word of God, when we learn that punishments so severe are prepared for those who despise it; for the Prophet threatens that they shall be utterly destroyed and ruined, and takes away all hope of their being restored. Nor is the threatening groundless; for we see how they that despise God, when they have been twice and three times cast down, still do not cease to raise their crests; for nothing is more difficult than to root out the false confidence from their hearts. 562
15. For thus saith the Lord. Here he describes one kind of contempt of God; for when warnings are addressed to hypocrites in general terms, they commonly produce little effect. In addition to the general doctrine, therefore, the prophets specify particular instances, which they specially accommodate to the conduct of those with whom they have to do, so as always to aim at a definite object. They might have wrangled and urged, "Why do you accuse us of so great impiety, as if we rejected the word of the Lord?" He therefore brings forward this class, in order to strike their consciences and cut short their idle sophistry. "Was it not the word of the Lord, In hope and silence shall be your strength? why did you not rely on God? why did you raise a commotion?" Thus the Prophet holds them to be convicted, so that they
561"Estans pleins de vent;" — "Being full of wind." 562Here the Author departs from his usual manner, by omitting all mention of the concluding and highly expressive clause of the verse. "For ,( גבהgĕbĕh,) the English version has `pit,' Lowth, `cistern,' and most other writers `well;' but in Ezekiel 47:11, it denotes a `marsh' or `pool.' Ewald supposes a particular allusion to the breaking of a poor man's earthen pitcher, an idea which had been suggested long before by Gill: `as poor people are wont to do, to take fire from the hearth, and water out of a well in a piece of broken pitcher.' '' --- Alexander. All must admit, that when one cannot find a ``sherd'' fit for the meanest purpose, the vessel is broken in pieces. --- Ed