Wesley Corpus

Children - God often visits the iniquities of the parents upon the children, when they imitate their parents. Of Chittim - All the isles in the Mediterranean sea, with the neighbouring coasts; for the Hebrews call all people, that separated from them by the sea, islanders, because they came to them by shipping. Kedar - Arabia that lay east - south - east of Judea, as Chittim did more north or north - west; go from north to south, east to west, and make the experiment; look to Chittim the most civilized, or Kedar the most barbarous, yet neither have changed their gods. Their glory - The true God, who was their glory; and who always did them good, giving them cause to glory in him. O ye heavens - A pathetical expression, intimating that it is such a thing, that the very inanimate creatures, could they be sensible of it, would be astonished. Be desolate - Lose your brightness, as the sun seemed to do when Christ suffered. Of living waters - A metaphor taken from springs, called living, because they never cease, or intermit; such had God's care and kindness been over them. Cisterns - Either their idols, which are empty vain things, that never answer expectation, or the Assyrians, and Egyptians. Indeed all other supports, that are trusted to besides God, are but broken vessels. A slave - Slave is here added to home - born to express the baseness of his service, because the master had power to make those slaves who were born of slaves in his house. Why - Why is he thus tyrannized over, as if strangers had the same right over him as owners over their slaves Lions - Understand the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Egyptians, called lions from their fierceness, and young from their strength. Yelled - Noting the terrible voice that the lion puts forth, either in seizing the prey, or devouring it. Noph, &c. - Two of the kings of Egypt's principal seats. Noph was sometimes called Memphis, now Cairo. Tahapanes probably took its name from Taphanes queen of Egypt, 1Kings 11:19, called also Hanes: Isa 30:4. The inhabitants of these cities are called here their children. When - By the conduct of providence in the wilderness, keeping thee from all dangers.