And it came to pass, [that] when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he [is] small.
Ver. 2. When they had made an end of eating] Not the grain only, but the grass, to the very roots; besides a pestilent stench left behind them; when, I say, they had done their worst. Prayer is the best lever at a dead lift; as is to be seen, James 5:18; upon the prayer of Elias the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit, after three years and a half's drought; when it might well have been thought that root, and fruits, and all had been dried up, and that prayer had come too late. But that is seldom seen; as all God's people can say experimentally. But whatshall we think of Jamblicus, a heathen author, who hath such a commendation of prayer, which might well beseem an experienced Christian? He calleth it Rerum divinarum ducem et lucem, copulam qua homines cum Deo coniunguntur, the guide and light of Divine duties, the band whereby men are united to God (Lib. 5, cap. 27). Nay, he proceedeth and saith, that prayer is clavis instar, qua Dei penetralia aperiuntur, instead of a key, wherewith God's cabinet is opened; and much more to the same purpose. All this the prophet knew full well, and therefore sets to work in good earnest; and, as when a cart is in a quagmire, if the horses feel it coming they will pull the harder till they have it out, So he.
Then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee] Sin, he knew, was their greatest enemy; the mother of all their misery. Of that therefore he prays for pardon, and then he knew all should be well; as when the sore is healed, the plaster falleth off. Of Christ it is said, that "He shall save his people from their sins," Matthew 1:21, as the greatest of evils; and the Church in Hosea 14:2, cries, "Take away all iniquity." Feri Domine, feri, saith Luther, nam a peccatis absolutus sum. Smite me as much as thou pleasest, now that thou hast forgiven my sins.
By whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small] Here is much in few. It is Jacob, thy confederate; and he is down upon all four: and he is but small, low, and little, and (as some render it) Quis stabit Iacobo? "Behold, he whom thou lovest is sick," John 11:3. They that are thine by covenant are at a very great under; trodden on by the bulls of Bashan, as a poor shrub of the wilderness; so the Psalmist's word imports, Psalms 102:17. "Why shouldest thou be as a man astonished" (that knows not whether he had best help or not), or "as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not," Jeremiah 14:9. Thus the prophets indeed prayed for their unkind countrymen; so did Paul, Athanasius, Luther. I have obtained of God, said he, that never while I live shall the Pope prevail against my country: when I am gone let those pray that can pray. And, indeed, he was no sooner gone but all Germany was on a flame: as when Austin's head was laid, Hippo was soon surprised by the enemy; and when Pareus's, Heidelberg.