Ver. 1. If thou shalt hearken diligently.] Heb., If hearkening thou shalt hearken; if when God speaks once, thou shalt hear it twice; as David did, (Psalms 62:11) by a blessed rebound of meditation and practice. Will set thee on high.] “Thou shalt ride upon the high places of the earth.” (Isaiah 58:14) There thou shalt have thy commoration, but in heaven thy conversation (Philippians 3:20) being a high and holy people, (Deuteronomy 26:19) high in worth, and humble in heart, as one saith of Athanasius. υψηλος τοις εργοις, ταπεινος δε τω φρονηματι — Nazian
Ver. 2. And overtake thee.] Unexpectedly befall thee. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow thee,” (Psalms 23:6) as the evening sunbeams follow the passenger, as the rock water followed the Israelites in the wilderness, and overtook them at their stations. (1 Corinthians 10:4) “O continue,” or draw out to the length, “thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee.” (Psalms 36:10) There will be a continued series, a connection between them, to all such.
Ver. 3. Blessed shalt thou be.] What blessedness is, [See Trapp on “Mt 5:3”]
Ver. 4. The fruit of thy body.] Which is thy chief possession; but without my blessing will be bitter sweets, “Blessed is the man that hath his quiver full of such as are the arrows of a strong man,” (Psalms 128:3,4) the knottiness of whose nature is refined and reformed, and made smooth by grace. Arrows be not arrows by growth, but by art: what can better preserve Jacob from confusion, or his face from waxing pale, than when he shall see his children, the work of God’s hands, framed and fitted by the word in regeneration, and the duties of new obedience? This will make him to sanctify God, even to sanctify the Holy One, and with singular encouragement from the God of Israel. (Isaiah 29:22,23) Dulcis acerbitas, amarissima voluptas. -Tertul.
Ver. 5. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.] Or, Thy dough trough. The Greek hath it, Thy barns and thy remainders. The meaning is, Thou shalt know no want. Cicero saith, One friend should wish to another three things only, to enjoy health, to possess honour, and not suffer necessity. He that observeth God’s commands to do them, as Deuteronomy 28:1, shall have all these and more. Ad Attic.
Ver. 6. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in.] “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow thee all the days of thy life”; (Psalms 23:6) thou shalt have a confluence of all, both inward and outward, comforts and contentments.
Ver. 7. The Lord shall cause thine enemies.] Mr Fox observes, that in King Edward VI’s time, the English put to flight their enemies in Musselburgh field, the selfsame day and hour wherein the reformation enjoined by parliament was put in execution at London, by burning of idolatrous images. Such a dependence hath our success upon our obedience. And flee before thee seven ways.] In the forementioned fight many so strained themselves in their race that they fell down breathless and dead, whereby they seemed in running from their deaths to run to it: two thousand, lying all day as dead, got away in the night. The Irish were so galled or scared with the English ordinance, that they had neither good hearts to go forward, nor good liking to stand still, nor good assurance to run away, saith the historian. Act. and Mon. Life of Ed. VI., by Sir J. Heywood.
Ver. 8. The Lord shall command the blessing.] Now if he send his Mandamus, who shall withstand it?
Ver. 9. The Lord shall establish thee a holy people unto himself.] This is more and better than all the former: he shall “bless thee with all spiritual blessings, in heavenly things, in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 1:3) He is rich, not that hath the world, but that can contemn it.
Ver. 10. And they shall be afraid of thee.] Natural conscience cannot but do homage to the image of God stamped upon the natures and works of the godly. When they see in them that which is above the ordinary nature of men, or their expectation, they are afraid of the name of God, whereby they are called; their very hearts ache and quake within them; as is to be seen in Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, Herod, Dioclesian, who was so amazed at the singular piety and invincible patience of the primitive Christians, that he laid down the empire in a humour, Quod Christi nomen se deleturum, uti cupiverat, desperasset, because that when he sought to root out religion, he saw he could do no good on it. Bucholcer.
Ver. 12. And thou shalt lend.] This was our condition in the happy days of that incomparable Elizabeth, not to be passed over slightly without one sigh breathed forth, now after forty years, in her sacred memory. What a deal both of men and moneys did she lend the French, the Hollanders, &c.
Ver. 13. And the Lord shall make thee.] See a parallel place. (Hosea 13:1) “When Ephraim spake, there was trembling; he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.” Before, none durst budge against the name of Ephraim; but after he offended in Baal, every paltry adversary trampled upon him as a dead man.