And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem [shall be] my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
Ver. 5. And the governors of Judah] The dukes or chieftains (אלפי); meaning the Maccabees, who wear not any kingly crown, but were only governors, rulers, commanders-in-chief, such as went before others; like as in the alphabet Aleph is the first letter; so,
“ Omega nostrorum Mors est, Mars Alpha malorum, ”
saith the poet wittily.
Shall say in their hearts] i.e. Shall say heartily, from the root of the heart, and not from the roof of the mouth only. Profession of the truth and prayer (for so some make this verse to be) are not a labour of the lips, but a travail of the heart. The voice which is made in the mouth is nothing so sweet as that which comes from the depth of the breast. As in instrument music, the deeper and hollower the belly of the lute or viol, the pleasanter is the sound; the fleeter, the more grating and harsh in our ears.
The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength] Though now there be few found in it; yet it shall be much repeopled and fortified; so that, under God, it shall be a fortress to the whole country; and the governors shall so take it to be: or thus,
There is strength to me and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord of hosts their God] Every governor shall say so for his own particular (and this seems to me to be the better reading). The Maccabees did so, as appeared by their posy (whereof before), their prayers, and their singular success, as appears by their history and by Josephus. Deo confisi, nunquam confusi, They that trust in God shall never be confounded. "Our fathers trusted in thee, and they were delivered. O trust ye in the Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." Look not down on the rushing and roaring streams, lest ye grow giddy; but look up to the heavens from whence comes your help, and fasten by faith on God's power and promises. Faith unfeigned breeds hope unfailable, such as never miscarrieth. "O trust in him at all times, ye people," Psalms 62:8, for with God is wisdom and strength, Job 12:13. Plutarch saith of the Scythians that they have neither wine nor music; but they have gods. Say that the saints have neither power nor policy as their enemies, yet they have all in God, who is more than all.