But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.
Ver. 16. And he shall stand in the glorious land.] Heb., The land of ornaments - that is, Judea, which, lying between these two potent princes, was perpetually afflicted, as grain is ground asunder lying between two heavy millstones. Now Judea is called the "glorious" or beautiful land, a not so much for the fertility thereof (Babylon was much more fertile), nor for the miracles done therein (many great works had been likewise done in Egypt), as for the sincere service of God there set up; this is the beauty and bulwark of any nation. Foreign writers have termed England, the fortunate island, the terra florida, the kingdom of God, the paradise of pleasure, &c. Plato commendeth the Attic country for this, that the inhabitants were αυτοχθονες - the right natives that grew out of it at first b - but especially for this, that it was θεοφιλης, a place that loved God, and was interchangeably beloved of God. c May that be evermore England's commendation!
Which by his hand shall be consumed.] God's Church goes to wreck, both by south and north; all the comfort is, that whether north or south wind blow on God's garden, they shall blow good to it at length. Son 4:16
a In Ezekiel 20:6; Ezekiel 20:15, it is called the comeliness of all countries.
b ανθρωποι ωκουν οι αυτοι αει. - Thucyd.
c τυγχανει ουσα θεοφιλης. - Plato.