Section 457
II. She proceeds to give the reason why she would not have them look upon her, because, says she, "I am black"
She had said this before; but here she uses the same word in another form, which some think is to diminish the signification of it, and that she was not so black as they thought her to be, or had represented her; and read it "blackish," or "somewhat black";[3353] though the doubling of the radicals seems rather to increase the signification, as in other places (see Psalm 45:5; Proverbs 8:31), and therefore should be read, "because I am very black or exceeding black;[3354] and this she here mentions again with this addition, that she might have an opportunity to give an account of the particular reasons thereof; which reasons are as follow:
1st, She declares, that one reason of her blackness was, "because the sun had looked upon her." The Ethiopic version has it, "because the sun hath not looked upon me," that is, not kindly and gently, which would be pleasant and delightful; but severely, as to scorch her, and therefore looked black: and so Ambrose[3355] reads the words; but interprets them of the Sun of righteousness, who had not shone upon her, being deprived of which she had not attended to her devotion and observance of the commands, which had brought blackness upon her. 1. The Targum expounds this of the congregation of Israel, which was made black by the idolatrous worship of the sun and moon; against this, a law was provided, it was strictly prohibited by God (Deuteronomy 17:3), but yet was very early in the world; most nations under the sun fell into it; some worshipped the sun under one name, and some under another, and all paid a regard unto it; this idolatrous worship seems to have obtained in Job's time (see Job 31:26, 27), and the Jewish nation was not exempt from it; they frequently fell into it. and were blackened by it (see 11; Ezekiel 8:16), for idolatry, error, and superstition, will make the church black. 2. Others understand it of Christ,[3356] "the Sun of righteousness;" and that she was made black, either by suffering for him, or else by being in his company, in whose presence, all other beauty, but his oxen, vanishes and disappears. Thus a person that is not of a fair complexion, being in the company of one that is, looks abundantly worse than if viewed alone: Christ's beauty infinitely exceeds any that is in us; there is no comparison between them; we look black, exceeding black, when compared to Christ. But, 3. I should rather choose to understand it of the sun of persecution, for under this name it goes in Matthew 13:6 compared with v. 21, and this seems to suit better with the church's present state and circumstances; and, indeed, every one "that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution," from the tongues, if not from the hands of men: and this persecution, which the church underwent, seems to be a very vehement one, in that she compares it to the looks and scorchings of the sun; and it must continue some time upon her, to make and leave such visible marks and impressions upon it; and yet she patiently endured all, and bravely "bore the heat and burden of the day," and seems to be no more ashamed of her sufferings, than she was of the person and cause for whom she suffered. The allusion is to persons burnt with the sun,[3357] and so made black or swarthy, as in some countries; and especially to such who are much in the fields, and employed in rural work, as the church is represented as a keeper of vineyards and of flocks of sheep, in the following words.
2dly, Her "mother's children were angry with her." To her outward persecutions were added intestine broils; it is therefore no wonder she looked so black as she did: oftentimes a man's worst enemies are those of his own house. The Targum by mother's children understands the false prophets, who taught the congregation of Israel to serve idols, and walk in the statutes of the people; by reason of which, she served not the Lord, neither walked in his statutes, nor kept his precepts and his laws. R. Sol. Jarchi thinks the Egyptians are intended, among whom the Israelites were brought up; many of whom came along with them out of Egypt, and were frequently the cause of their falling into sin: but rather we are to understand by mother's children, either, 1. Indwelling sins and corruptions, which are produced with nature; lust conceived, as soon as we were conceived; nay, we were conceived with it, and in it, as the Psalmist says (Psalm 51:5), "Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me;" which brought forth sin in us, as soon as we were brought forth into the world: and these indwelling lusts and corruptions proclaim war against us; these war against the soul, and sometimes "bring it into captivity to the law of sin which is in the members;" they frequently draw us away to the performance of sinful actions, making us the keepers of other vineyards, and often divert us from our duty, and cause us to neglect it; they hinder us from doing the good we would; for "when we would do goods evil is present with us;" and so we may be said not to keep our own vineyard Or else, 2. Carnal professors may be here intended, who are members of the same society, externally children of the same mother, who profess themselves of the holy city, are pretenders to godliness, but enemies to it; such are they, who have "a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof," in themselves, and hate it in others; which, perhaps, may be one reason why these children that were born after the flesh, these false brethren, were angry with the church here; as they frequently are at her zealous defense and vindication of gospel-truths and ordinances, in the power and purity of them, and at her faithful reproofs and admonitions to them and others, throwing all the scandal and reproach upon her that possibly they can: now these are generally her most bitter and implacable enemies, are thorns in her side, and give her the greatest uneasiness; causing more grief and trouble to her, than all her sufferings and persecution from the world; for hereby they blacken and lessen her reputation and character, more than any other whatever; and yet bear it she must, and patiently she ought to endure it; Christ himself was not free from it; for who were more bitter and implacable enemies to him and his gospel, than the Jews, God's professing people, and the chief among them, the high-priests and Pharisees?
3dly, She says "they made her the keeper of the vineyards," as an effect of their anger to her, and this, no doubt, added to her blackness; for being obliged to lie abroad in the fields, to keep the vineyards, she was exposed to the scorching sunbeams, and thereby got the hue she appeared with; this employment being not only very slavish, but base, mean, and reproachful; it was what was usually done by the poorer sort, and was much below the honor and dignity she was raised unto. By vineyards may be meant false churches; and by her keeping them, her falling in with their corrupt worship, and observance of the vain traditions and ordinances of men; which Christ complains of, and condemns in the Jewish church, who "made the commandment of God of none effect by their traditions:" But this the church was obliged unto by her mother's children; her compliance does not seem to be voluntary, but forced, and she complains of it as an imposition; "they made me," that is, forced and obliged me to do it. And this produced,
4thly, A neglect of her own vineyard, "but mine own vineyard have I not kept;" which still increased her blackness through outward persecution, intestine broils, and a sinful compliance to human traditions, arising either from fear or weakness, or both, her own vineyard, the church, or her own soul, was neglected, and the affairs of it; her duty and business incumbent on her,[3358] the religious exercise she ought to have been employed in: with the Romans, neglect of fields and vineyards came under the notice of the censors, and did not go unpunished.[3359] Every believer has talents more or less given him to occupy, grace to exercise, gifts to use, and a part assigned him in the Lord's vineyard, to labor in; and when these things are neglected by him, either through the fear of men, or the corruptions of his own heart, he may be said, not to have kept his vineyard; which, perhaps, sometimes is like his who was "void of understanding, which was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof;" but when he is sensible of it, he will acknowledge and bewail it, as the church does here; she does not go about to extenuate her sin, by the anger of her mother's children, nor by their obliging her to keep other vineyards, but ingenuously acknowledges that it was her fault to neglect her own; which, as it was prejudicial to herself, so it was highly resented by Christ, who thereupon removed his presence from her; for she seems to be at a loss to know where he was, as is manifest from the following words.