The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.
Ver. 7. The watchmen that went about the city, &c.] See Trapp on " Son 3:3 " The ministers that walk the round, that watch for men's souls, Heb 13:17 Isa 61:6 that know how to "time a word," Isa 51:4 these smote her with the tongue, they buffeted her by just and sharp reproofs for her negligence, they unveiled her for being abroad at that time of night (which she needed not to have been, but for her own slothfulness), they dealt little better with her, than as if she had been some light and lewd woman; and all this they might well do out of zeal to God, and godly jealousy for her soul's good - unless it were that hypocrisy of jealousy exercised by the false apostles over the Galatians; Gal 4:17 not pastors, but impostors; not overseers, but by seers, a potius grassatores, quam custodes, ηομονθμως tamen sic dicti, cut throats rather than keepers, wicked men taking upon them to be watchmen, church officers in name, but church robbers in deed. Such were those Isa 66:5 that hated and cast out the true worshippers, under a pretence of "Let the Lord be glorified." Such a one was Diotrephes, that prating b prelate, that villanously entreated God's faithful people. 3Jn 1:9-10 And such is that man of sin, that antichrist of Rome, who, for so many hundred years together, hath smitten with the fist of wickedness, hath wounded and drawn blood from Christ's dearest spouse, and despoiled her of her veil; that is, laboured to disprivilege her, and deprive her of that purity and soundness of doctrine that he hath committed unto her, as a means to hold her in the duty of all holy obedience and subjection unto him. 1 Corinthians 11:5,6 ; 1Co 11:10 Of these false friends and deadly enemies the Church here heavily complains, and might well have proceeded against them, as those six martyrs burnt by Harpsfield, Archdeacon of Canterbury, when Queen Mary lay a-dying. One of those six that were then burnt, and those were the last, John Cornford, stirred with a vehement zeal of God when they were excommunicated, pronounced sentence of excommunication against all Papists in these words: In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the power of his Holy Spirit, and authority of his holy catholic and apostolic Church, we do give here into the hands of Satan, to be destroyed, the bodies of all those blasphemers and heretics that do maintain any error against his most holy Word, or do condemn his most holy truth for heresy, to the maintenance of any false church or feigned religion; so that by this thy most just judgment, O most mighty God, against thine adversaries, thy true religion may be known, to thy great glory and our comfort, and the edifying of all our nation. Good Lord, so be it. c
a Non Episcopi, sed Aposcopi.
b φλυαρων .
c Acts and Mon., fol. 1862.