es of their own hearts. Now, they choose Him whom
God hath chosen, and who, according to the same necessity, must be an
instrument of blessing, as the former were of cursing.--[Hebrew: deh]
and [Hebrew: hwkil] stand adverbially. [Hebrew: hwkil] "to act wisely"
is, in appearance only, intransitive in _Hiphil_. The foundation of
wisdom and knowledge is the living communion with the Lord, being
according to His heart, walking after Him. The foolish counsels of the
former rulers of Israel, by which they brought ruin upon their people,
were a consequence of their apostacy from the Lord. The two fundamental
passages are, Deut. iv. 6: "And ye shall keep and do (the law); for
this is your wisdom and understanding;" xxix. 8 (9): "Ye shall keep the
words of this covenant and do them, that ye may act wisely." Besides
the passage under consideration, the passages Josh. i. 7; 1 Sam. xviii.
14, 15; 1 Kings ii. 3; Is. lii. 13; Jer. x. 21, xxiii. 5, are founded
upon these two passages. If all these passages are compared with one
another, and with the fundamental passages, one cannot but wonder at
the arbitrariness [Pg 384] of interpreters and lexicographers who,
severing several of these passages from the others, have forced upon
the verb [Hebrew: hwkil] the signification "to prosper,"--a
signification altogether fanciful _God's_ servants act wisely, because
they look up to God; and he who acts wisely finds prosperity for
himself and his people. Hence, it is a proof of the greatest mercy of
God towards His people, when He gives them His _servants_ for kings.

Ver. 16. "_And it cometh to pass, when ye be multiplied and fruitful in
the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more: The
Ark of the Covenant of the Lord! And it will not come into the heart,
neither shall they remember it, nor miss it, nor shall it be made
again._"

First, we shall explain some particulars. The words: "When ye be," &c.
refer to Gen. i. 28, As it is God's general providence which brings
about the fruitfulness of all creatures, so it is His special
providence which brings about the increase of His Church whose ranks
have been thinned by His judgments; and it is thus that His promise to
the patriarchs is carried on towards its fulfilment; compare remarks on
Hos, ii. 1. God's future activity in this respect, has an analogy in
His former activity in Egypt, Exod. i. 12. The words: "The Ark of the
Covenant" must be viewed as an exclamation, in which