How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Ver. 7. How beautiful!] Quam amaeni, i.e., amabiles! How amiable or desirable. Interrogatio admirantis et exultantis.
Upon the mountains.] Whence they may best be heard, as in Jdg 9:7 saying, as there, "Hearken unto me, that God may hearken unto you." Our Saviour, that arch-evangelist, who, as some, is here first and chiefly meant by Mebassher, him that bringeth good tidings, "seeing the multitudes, went up into a mountain," Mat 5:1 which is said to be in the tribe of Naphtali, and called Christ's Mount to this day. His apostles afterwards travelled and trudged on foot over hills and dales - what a compass fetched Paul! Rom 15:19 Intervallum illud est milliariorum Germanicorum, 350, so that he might better be called, than afterwards George Eagles the martyr was, Trudge-over-the-world - to preach the gospel and to plant churches, to whom their feet, though fouled and worn - how much more their faces? - were deemed delectable and debonnaire. Gal 4:14 Act 10:21 The Pope, Peter's pretended successor, holdeth forth his feet to be kissed, but preacheth not; or not peace, but war, which he stirreth up by his roaring bulls.
Of him that bringeth good tidings.] Whosoever he be that preacheth the gospel, that chief work of a minister. Rom 10:15 Of Mr John Dod it is written, and I know it to be true, that he was very evangelical, striving first to make men see their lost condition clearly - for, said he, sense of misery must go before sense of mercy - and then largely and excellently opening the promises, and the grace of God in Christ according to the gospel, looking at that as the most effectual preaching. Some, said he, labour still to keep men under terrors, loading them with threatenings, &c., lest they should not be humbled enough: but the gospel worketh true humiliation, not the law; it ariseth from sense of sin and misery joined with hope of mercy. The damned have terror and sense of misery enough, but that doth not humble them.
That publisheth peace.] The gospel is a doctrine of peace, Eph 2:17 whose author is the "God of peace," 1Co 14:33 whose ministers are "messengers of peace," Rom 10:15 whose followers are the "children of peace." Luk 10:6-11 If any know not how they came by their peace, but are like the Israelitish women, quick of delivery, before ever the midwife (the minister) can come at them, they have cause to suspect their peace.
That bringeth good tidings.] As before, but never enough, mentioned and memorised. Some critics a tell us that the Hebrew word here used, signifying also flesh, showed that the incarnation or taking flesh should be generally good news to the whole world, even the best tidings. The old church had επαγγαλιαν, the "promise"; we have ευαγγελιαν, the "joyful tidings."
That publisheth salvation.] Publicantis Iesum, so some b have rendered it: the concrete for the abstract.
That saith to Zion, Thy God reigneth.] Maugre the malice of earth and of hell. This is the sum of all the good news in the world. It is happy that Christ liveth and reigneth, said a godly man, for else I had utterly despaired.
a Bishop Andrews.
b Leo Castrius ex Procop., et Euseb.