Wesley Corpus

Begin to deliver - And the deliverance shall be carried on and perfected by others, as it was by Eli, Samuel, and Saul; but especially by David. God chuses to carry on his work gradually and by several hands. One lays the foundation of a good work, another builds, and perhaps a third brings forth the top stone. Man of God - A prophet, or sacred person, sent with a message from God. Terrible - Or, venerable, awful, full of Majesty. Let thy words - Or, thy words shall come to pass: I firmly believe thy promises shall be fulfilled. How - What rules shall we observe about his education Let her - Whilst the child is in her womb, and after the child is born let him observe the same orders. Made ready - Supposing him to be a man and a prophet, to whom he would in this manner express his respect, as was usual to strangers. Bread - That is, meat, as bread is commonly taken in scripture. To the Lord - Not unto a man, as thou apprehendest me to be; but unto the Lord, as thou wilt by and by perceive me to be. Honour - Either by making honourable mention of thee, or by shewing respect to thee, by a present, which they usually gave to prophets. Secret - Hidden from mortal men: or, wonderful, such as thou canst not comprehend: my nature and essence, (which is often signified by name in scripture) is incomprehensible. This shews, that this was the angel of the covenant, the Son of God. Meal - offering - Which were generally joined with the chief sacrifices. A Rock - The angel's presence and command being a sufficient warrant for the offering of sacrifice by a person who was no priest, and in a place otherwise forbidden. The altar - That is, from that part of the rock which served instead of an altar, upon which the sacrifice was laid. Ascended - To manifest his nature and essence to be spiritual. Fell - Partly in reverence to that glorious presence manifested in so wonderful a manner: and partly, out of a religious horror and fear of death; for the prevention thereof they fell down in way of supplication to God. Nor would, &c.