Though ye have lain among the pots
Kimchi takes these words to be the words of the women, or of the
psalmist addressing the Israelites going out to war; that though
they should lie in a low, dark, and disagreeable place, in the
camp, in the open field, exposed to wind and weather; yet they
should be fair and beautiful, and be loaded with gold and silver,
the spoil of the enemy. But Fortunatus Scacchus F26 refers
them, much better, to the encampment of the Israelites in their
tents, and to the disposition and order of their army going to
battle: the body of the army in the middle, and the two wings,
right and left, on each side; whose glittering armour of gold and
brass, the rays of the sun striking on them, are fitly resembled
by the colours on the wings and back of a dove. Another learned
writer F1 thinks they are an address to the
wings of the dove; that is, to the dove itself, meaning the Holy
Spirit, expostulating with him how long he would dwell within the
limits and borders of the land of Canaan; which was not long
after the ascension of Christ, for soon was the gift of the Holy
Ghost poured down upon the Gentiles, But rather they are an
address to the people of Israel; intimating, that though they had
been in adversity, and their lives had been made bitter with hard
bondage, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in
the field; and had lain among the brick kilns and furnaces when
in Egypt; and in the times of the Judges had suffered much from
their neighbours, by whom they were frequently carried captive;
and had been in affliction in the times of Saul; yet now in
prosperous circumstances in the times of David, who had conquered
their enemies, and enlarged their dominions, and restored peace;
and especially would be more so in the days of Solomon, when they
enjoyed great plenty and prosperity, and silver was made to be as
the stones of the street. Though it is best of all to apply the
words to the church and people of God in Gospel times; and they
may describe their state and condition by nature and by grace, in
adversity and in prosperity: the former in this clause, in which
there is an allusion to scullions, or such as lie among coppers
and furnaces, and are black and sooty; and so it describes the
Lord's people before conversion, who are black with original sin
and actual transgressions; who being transgressors from the womb,
and as long as they live and walk in sin, and have their
conversation with the men of the world, may be said to lie among
the pots: and this may also be expressive of the church of Christ
being in adversity, and black with the sun of persecution smiting
her; and she might be said to lie among the pots while the ten
Heathen persecutions lasted, and also in the reign of antichrist;
during which time the church is in the wilderness, and the
witnesses prophesy in sackcloth;
[yet shall they be as] the wings of a dove covered with
silver, and
her feathers with yellow gold:
alluding to the white silver colour of some doves. Such were the
white doves Charon of Lampsacum speaks of {b}, seen about Athos,
which were like the white crow Ovid calls F3 the
silver fowl with snowy wings: and also it may be to the time when
they become of a golden colour, at which time they are fit for
sacrifice, as the Jews F4 observe; or to the different
appearances of them, according as the rays of light and of the
sun differently fall upon them. So the philosopher F5
observes, that the necks of doves appear of a golden colour by
the refraction of light. And this describes the saints and people
of God as they are by grace. They are comparable to the dove on
many accounts: like doves of the valleys, everyone of them mourn
for their iniquities; like the trembling and fearful dove,
tremble at the apprehensions of divine wrath, and judgment to
come under first convictions; and are fearful of their enemies,
and of their own state; are humble, modest, and meek; think the
worst of themselves, and the best of others; flee to Christ for
refuge, and to ordinances for refreshment; are chaste and
affectionate to Christ, and harmless and inoffensive in their
lives and conversations, ( Ezekiel 7:16
) ( Hosea
11:11 ) ( Song of
Solomon 4:1 ) ( Isaiah 60:8 ) (
Matthew
10:16 ) . Being "as the wings of a dove covered with silver"
may denote the purity of doctrine held by them; the words of the
Lord being as silver purified seven times, ( Psalms 12:6 ) ; and the
preciousness and sincerity of their faith, by which they mount up
with wings as eagles; and the holiness of their conversation,
being as becomes the Gospel of Christ: and being as the
"feathers" of a dove covered "with yellow gold" may denote their
being adorned with the graces of the Spirit, as faith, hope, and
love; which are more precious than gold that perisheth, and are
called chains of gold, ( Song of Solomon
1:10 ) ; see ( 1 Peter 1:7 ) ; or
their being clothed with the righteousness of Christ, signified
by gold of Ophir, and clothing of wrought gold, ( Psalms 45:9 Psalms 45:13
) ; or their being enriched with the unsearchable, solid,
substantial, and durable riches of Christ, ( Revelation
3:18 ) . And both may describe also the prosperous estates of
the church, either in the first ages of Christianity, when she
was clothed with the sun, and had a crown of twelve stars on her
head, ( Revelation
12:1 ) ; or in the latter day, when her light will be come,
and the glory of the Lord will rise upon her; when her stones
will be laid with fair colours, and her foundations with
sapphires; when she shall, have the glory of God upon her, and be
as a bride adorned for her husband, ( Isaiah 60:1 Isaiah 60:2 ) (
Isaiah
54:11 Isaiah 54:12
) ( Revelation
21:9-11 ) .