Ver. 1. Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops] Here the virgin, the daughter of Zion, despiseth her adversaries of Assyria and Babylon, and laughs them to scorn; “the daughter of Jerusalem shaketh her head at them,” Isaiah 37:22; and bearing herself bold upon the foregoing promise, Micah 4:13, that she should beat in pieces many people, she taketh liberty to taunt the Assyrian monarch with all his troops beleaguering her, and basely abusing her judges, telling him, that the babe of Bethlehem would shortly take an order with him. And although she were but a virgin, yet, having such a champion as Christ, who is in love with her, that will take her part and fight her quarrel, she doubteth not to say, “Now gather thyself in troops,” &c. Nunc turmatim coito, o turmaria, Increase thine army and come forth. “Gather yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us,” Isaiah 8:9,10; Jehovah is our judge, Jehovah is our champion, Jehovah is our king; he will save us, Isaiah 33:22. Lo, this is the Church’s confident boasting in Christ, this is the triumph of her trust in him. The thought of his birth swalloweth up all her fears and discontents; and compasseth her about with songs of deliverance, Psalms 32:7. He hath laid siege against us] And already devoured us in his hopes; but if we do but turn us to Christ, and say, Behold, she whom thou lovest is distressed the Assyrian as a strong river is come up over all his channels, and reacheth even to the neck; yea, the stretching out of his wings filleth the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel, Isaiah 8:7,8, he will soon bestir himself, he will besiege our besiegers, he will smite them upon the cheek bone, and break the teeth of those ungodly, Psalms 3:7, that smote the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek, for a reproach to the whole people. Hugo by this judge of Israel understandeth Christ, who was indeed at his passion contumeliously buffeted (ερραπισαν Bacillis ceciderunt. Beza), and smitten with rods upon the cheek, Matthew 26:6,7. But this, though it be true, yet cannot be the sense of this text.
Ver. 2. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah] Not so called from Ephratah, Caleb’s wife, 1 Chronicles 2:19,50,51, but from its fruitfulness; whence also it had the name Bethlehem, that is, the house of bread, where Jesus (that bread of life, that came down from heaven, John 6:33) was born in the fulness of time, as is here first foretold by this prophet; that great mystery of godliness being revealed to the world by degrees, in several ages. Here was Christ born by mere accident, in regard of his parents, who were brought hither by a tyrannical edict of Augustus, Luke 2:2, but yet by a sweet providence of God, that this Scripture might be fulfilled, and our faith in Christ settled. Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah] Or, Art thou little? &c.; q.d. no such matter: and so it agreeth with Matthew 2:6. Or thus: And thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, it is a small thing to be among the princes of Judah: Out of thee shall come a ruler, q.d. thou hast a dignity above this, and above them all, in that out of thee shall come a ruler. Take tsagnir in the neuter gender (as Scultetus, after Osiander, and Forster doth), and then the seeming difference (εναντιοφανος) between the prophet and evangelist is taken away. Some make St Matthew to relate the words of the Scribes to Herod, as they had varied the text before him. But we find not that they are anywhere taxed for altering or corrupting the text, but for misinterpreting it only, Matthew 5:17-48. Besides that, they were by their office text men, to look to the letter of the Scripture, and to keep it pure, 1 Corinthians 1:20; where they are distinguished from teachers of traditions and teachers of allegories. Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me] That is, to God the Father; that we may know that the coming of Christ in the flesh was a plot of God’s own contriving. He came not by chance, but by counsel; him hath God the Father sealed, anointed, and appointed to the work, John 6:27. This is comfortable to consider. That is go be ruler in Israel] Matthew rendereth it, a captain that shall feed my people Israel, Matthew 2:6. [See Trapp on “Mt 2:6”] Whose goings forth have been from of old] This is spoken of Christ’s eternal generation, which none can declare, Isaiah 53:8. “What is God’s name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?” Proverbs 30:4. The Scripture usually speaketh of this grand mystery by way of circumlocution. It is here spoken of in the plural number for the excellence of it. In this text, then, we have a description of Christ, in his natures and offices. See the like Romans 1:3,4, and adore the fulness of the Scriptures, Adoro plenitudinem scripturarum (Aug.).
Ver. 3. Therefore will he give them up] As a little before the day springeth it is darker than ordinary; so before the day spring from on high visited God’s people they were under very hard and heavy pressures and miseries; whereby their desires after him were increased and ineagered. The enemy oppressed them, by God’s permission, yea, by his active providence; that they might pant after a Saviour, and sigh out with old Jacob, their father, Genesis 49:18, “O Lord, I have waited for thy salvation.” Until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth] She, that is, the Virgin Mary, say some: or, she, that is, say others, the afflicted Church, according to Micah 4:9,10; [See Trapp on “Mic 4:9”] [See Trapp on “Mic 4:10”] She must have a time of travail, of trouble, before she can bring forth, and be delivered. Luther saith well, that the Church is haeres crucis, cling to the cross and that every Christian is a Crucian; we must suffer before we can reign, and bear the cross or e’er we wear the crown. Then the remnant of his brethren] i.e. The converted Gentiles, whom Christ is not ashamed to call his brethren, Hebrews 2:11,12. Shall return unto the children of Israel] Shall be proselyted, and conjoined to the elect Jews, that there may be one sheepfold under one shepherd. “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one,” Zechariah 14:9. [See Trapp on “Zec 14:9”]