The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, [saying]
Either to the prophet, bidding him say to the church what
follows, so Jarchi: or to Christ, who was from eternity with the
Father; lay in his bosom; between whom the council of peace was;
with whom the covenant was made; and whom God loved before the
foundation of the world; and which is observed by him, for the
comfort of his people, ( John 17:24 ) ( 15:9 ) ; so Cocceius; but
rather they are the words of Israel, or the church, owning the
above instances of God's grace and goodness; and that he had
greatly appeared to them, and for them, in former times; but then
this was a great while ago; and besides, now he hid his face from
them, and they were under the tokens of his displeasure, and not
of his love; to which the Lord replies, for the word "saying" is
not in the text, which makes the following a continuation of the
church's speech, though wrongly; since they are the words of the
Lord, taking up the church for speaking too slightly and
improperly of his love, and in a complaining way: yea I
have loved thee with an everlasting love;
not only of old, or a good while ago, but from all eternity, and
with a love which will always last, and does, notwithstanding
dark and afflictive providences; for this love is like himself,
sovereign, unchangeable, and everlasting: "I have loved thee": I,
who am the great God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, the
King of kings, and Lord of lords; a God of infinite purity and
holiness; do whatever I please in heaven and in earth; and am the
Lord that changes not: "have loved"; not love only now, and shall
hereafter; but have loved, not for some time past only, but from
all eternity, with the same love I now do: "thee" personally,
"Jacob, have I loved", ( Romans 9:13 ) ; thee
nakedly, and not thine, or for anything done by thee; thee
separately and distinctly, and not others; thee a creature, vile
and sinful, a transgressor from the womb, and known to be so
beforehand; "thee" now openly, and in an applicatory way, through
the evidence of the spirit: "with an everlasting love": a love
from everlasting, which does not commence in time with faith,
repentance, and new obedience; these being the fruits and effects
of it; but was from all eternity, as appears from the eternal
choice of the persons loved in Christ; from the everlasting
covenant made with them in him; from the constitution and setting
up of Christ as their Mediator from everlasting; and from the
security of their persons and grace in him, before the world
began: and this love will endure to everlasting, without any
variation or change; nothing can separate from it. The evidence
of it follows: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn
thee;
out of a state of nature; out of Satan's hands; out of the pit
wherein is no water, the horrible pit, the mire and clay; unto
Christ, his person, blood, righteousness, and fulness, by faith
to lay hold upon them; unto his church, and to a participation of
the ordinances and privileges of it; to nearer communion with
God, and at last will draw to eternal glory. This is the Father's
act, and to him it is usually ascribed: it chiefly regards the
work of conversion, and the influence of divine grace on that;
though it also includes after acts of drawing: it supposes
weakness in men; is the effect of powerful and efficacious grace;
and is done without offering any violence or force to the will of
man, who is drawn with, and not against, his will. This is an
instance of the love of God; a fruit and effect of it: it is love
that draws a soul to Christ, and is the cause of its coming to
him; it is love that reveals him to it, and causes it to come to
him; love is then manifested and shed abroad in the heart; a cord
of it is let down into it, and with it the Lord draws; it is not
by the threats of the law, but by the declarations of grace in
the Gospel; the cause of drawing is love, and the manner of it is
with it. The Targum of the whole verse is,
``Jerusalem said, of old the Lord appeared to our fathers; prophet, say unto them, lo, I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore have led you with goodness.''It may be rendered, "I have drawn out", or "extended, lovingkindness to thee" F9; see ( Psalms 36:10 ) .