--a glory which is manifested by acts, and not a glory
which is inactive and concealed. "They dwell" forms a contrast to the
disquietude and scattering, and we are, therefore, not at liberty to
supply "safely" before it. The last words are deprived of their meaning
and significance by explanations such as that of _Dathe_: "His name
shall attain to great renown and celebrity." The ground of the present
rest and safety of the Congregation of the Lord rather is this,--that
her Head has now extended His dominion beyond the narrow limits of
Palestine, over the whole earth; compare iv. 3.--2 Sam. vii. 9 cannot
here be compared, as there the _name_ of the Lord is not spoken of as
it is here. That the "being great" here implies real dominion
(_Maurer_: _auctoritate et potentia valebit_), which alone can afford a
pledge for the dwelling in safety, is shown also by the fundamental
passages Ps. ii. 8, lxxii. 8; compare Zech. ix. 10. In Luke i. 32 the
passage before us is referred to. The "now" does not by any means form
a contrast with a former condition of the Messiah, but with the former
condition of the Congregation when she did not enjoy so powerful a
Ruler.

Ver. 4. "_And this_ (man) _is peace. When Asshur comes into our land,
and when he treads in our palaces, we raise against him seven
shepherds, and eight princes of men._ Ver. 5. _And they feed the land
of Asshur with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in its gates; and He
protects from Asshur when he comes into our land, and when he treads
within our borders._"

"And this man (He whose glory has just been described) is peace,"--He
bestows that which we have so much needed, and longed for with so
much anxiety in these troublous times before His appearing. In a
similar manner, and with reference to the passage before us, it is
said in Ephes. ii. 14: [Greek: autos estin he eirene hemon], compare
also Judges vi. 24: "And Gideon built an altar there unto the
Lord, and called it Jehovah-Peace, [Hebrew: ihvh wlvM]." Abandoning
this explanation, which is so natural, _Jonathan_, _Grotius_,
_Rosenmueller_, and _Winer_ explain: "And _there_ will be peace to
us,"--an interpretation, however, which is inadmissible even on
philological grounds, [Hebrew: zh] is nowhere used, either [Pg 519] as
Adverb, loci = "here," or as Adverb, temp. = "then." As regards the
latter, such passages as Gen. xxxi. 41--"These are to me twenty years,"
instead of, "twenty years have now elapsed"--are, of co