1. The nature of the sufferings : he luas oppressed, and he was afflicted.
2. The carriage of Christ under them : he opened not his month ; which is amplified and illustrated by two similitudes, of a lamb going to the slaughter, and a sheep before her shearers.
The points hence may be many ; but because the prophet doth so often double and redouble expressions about the sufferings of Christ, and I have spoken so much of almost every circumstance considerable in them already, I shall be enforced now and hereafter to touch only upon the main thing held forth in every verse. Notwithstanding, I shall endeavour to draw out the strength and sweetness of every phrase in the comment and explication. Briefly, then, to go over the parts.
1. As to what was done to Christ, or the nature of his sufferings : ' He was oppressed, and he was afflicted.' There is a great deal of variety about the rendering of these words, because of the diversity of the Hebrew pointings. The vulgar readeth, Ohlalus quia ipse voluit — he was offered because he would. tSymmachus renders it, He loas brought, and he obeyed. But these do not follow the best pointed Bibles, though they do not much vary from the sense intended in the verse. Those come nearer that render, He icas punished and troid)led ; for the first word signifieth, to exact a thing with rigour and molest- ation, and is applied to this case : as if a man should come and molest a surety for the debt of another for whom he is engaged. I find most of the best interpreters going this way; and Junius rendereth it, exigitur pu^na, our punishment is exacted of Christ : the creditor came upon him f(jr our debt ; as if the word did point to that great truth which is held forth in otlier places, that Christ died for us as our surety. And therefore he is called ' the surety of a better testa- ment,' Heb. vii. 22. ]\Iat. xx. 28, lie is said ' to give his life, Xinpov avrl iroXKoiv, as a ransom for many.' He laid down his life to set us free from the debt and engagement ; so that they that are Christ's need not fear that the debt will be required of them again : Luke xii.
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58, ' Lest the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison, where thou shalt remain till the uttermost price be paid.' I say this is a very comfortable truth for God's people, that the surety had paid the debt for them, so that they need not fear the officer or the prison ; God hath exacted it of Christ. Or you may, if you will, read, as generally our translation, ' He was oppressed,' as the Seventy render both words by one, he was evilly dealt with and evilly entreated : and so our translation niaketh it to be read with an emphasis, ' He was oppressed and afflicted;' that is, it was such an affliction as did amount to an oppression, and yet he bore it patiently. ' Oppres- sion,' saith Solomon, ' maketh a wise man mad,' Eccles. vii. 7. A wise man, that is a man that hath the greatest command over himself. The heart stormeth and rageth when it meets with such usage as it did not expect, or hath not deserved. But Christ was oppressed and afflicted, and he opened not his mouth. And indeed the sufferings of Christ, in reference to man, do best of all come under the notion of oi)})ression ; for the other word ' afflicted,' it is well rendered, and therefore I will not criticise upon it.
'2. How Christ bore it, or his carriage under it. It is given first in general : ' He opened not his mouth ;' and then it is particularly amplified by two simiHtudes.
First, In the general : ' He opened not his mouth.' This shows two things : —
1. The great patience of Christ. When all this was upon hira, not an impatient word dropped from him, either against God or his ene- mies. And, indeed, you shall find in scripture that holy patience is many times expressed by holding our peace. Discontent easily breaketh out into daring and provoking language. The tongue and lips speak unadvisedly against God, therefore the bridling the tongue is a great sign of ])atience. Hence it is said, Lev. x. 3, that ' Aaron held his peace ' when a remarkable judgment was upon him. Stormy hearts will soon boil over ; but Aaron held his peace. I conceive it was not out of the greatness of his sorrow — as, indeed, giiefs are not always utterable — but out of the greatness of his patience. As David, Ps. xxxix. 9, ' I was dumb, and opened not my mouth, because thou didst it.' He sweetly acquiesced in Providence. And so in the person of Christ, Ps. xxxviii. 13, he saith, ' I as a deaf man heard not, and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth ; ' as if he had been either deaf or dumb, not sensible of the injur}', nor willing to speak of it. Thus Christ suffered unjustly for our sake and in our stead, yet spoke not a word. This showed his great patience.