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Isa_26:11-21
But they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people;
Yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
12 Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us:
For thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
13 O Lord our God!
Other lords beside thee have had dominion over us:
But by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
14 They are dead, they shall not live;
They are deceased, they shall not rise:
Therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to perish.
15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord,
Thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified:
Thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.
16 Lord, in trouble have they visited thee;
They poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery,
Is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs;
So have we been in thy sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain,
We have as it were brought forth wind;
We have not wrought any deliverance in the earth;
Neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19 Thy dead men shall live: Together with my dead body shall they arise.
Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust:
For thy dew is as the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.
20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers,
And shut thy doors about thee:
Hide thyself as it were for a little moment,
Until the indignation be overpast.
21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:
The earth also shall disclose her blood,
And shall no more cover her slain.
Isa_26:13. ìְáַã stands here adverbially as Ecc_7:29. The normal form of expression would be áְּêָ ìְáַãּêָ (Psa_51:6; Pro_5:17).
Isa_26:15. éñó is properly “to add.” But the word is not rarely employed in the sense of “to increase,” it being left to the reader to think either of that to which something is added, or of the addition which is made. Niphal ðëáã is found besides here Isa_3:5; Isa_23:8-9; Isa_43:4; Isa_49:5. Piel øִçַ÷ Isa_6:12; Isa_29:13.
Isa_26:16. öָ÷åּï (on this form which is found besides only Deu_8:3; Deu_8:16, comp. Olshausen Gr., § 226, p. 449), is = effundunt (besides here Job_28:2; Job_29:6; Job_41:14; Psa_41:9). Analogous is the Latin preces fundere (Virg. Aen. 6, 55) and éִùׁôֹּêְ ùִׂéçåֹ Psa_102:1.— îåñøê ìîå corresponds to áַּöַּø in the first half of the verse, and is best taken as a circumstantial clause with a verb to be supplied (comp. Ewald, § 341 a, p. 823). ìָîåֹ as ìָàָøֶõ Isa_26:9. Comp. Isa_53:8.— ëְּîåֹ is here, as afterwards, Isa_26:18 a, conjunction (comp. Isa_41:25; Gen_19:15), and signifies not only in Isa_26:17, but also in Isa_26:18, if we examine thoroughly the construction, tanquam, like as ( ëַּ ֽàֲùֶø ). In Isa_26:17 this is quite evident, for the construction is simple: As a woman with child is in pain, so were we far from Thee. [Or rather, so we were from Thy presence, i.e., our evil condition proceeded from Thee.—D. M.].
Isa_26:18. The particle of comparison has the signification “quasi, as if.”
Isa_26:20. Instead of ãְּìָúֶéêָ the K’eri reads ãְּìָúֶêָ , undoubtedly because a chamber has only one ãֶּìֶú , and not ãְּìָֽúְêָ ) ãìָúַéִí , moreover, is not derived from ãֶìֶú , but from a form ãָּìָä which does not elsewhere occur). But both the assonance with çãøֹéê and the anomalous nature of the form ãְּìָ ֽúְêָ speak in favor of çֲáִé ּãְּìָúֶéêָ is a singular form. It can be derived only from çָáָä , which is not met with elsewhere: çָáָà is the form in use (in Isa_42:22; Isa_49:2). The appearance of the radical Yod is also strange ( çֲáִé instead of çֲáֵä ). If this çáé is to be regarded as a feminine form, this too would be singular; for all the parallel verbal and nominal forms are masculine. The expression ëîòèÎøâò is found only here and in Ezr_9:8. Comp. Isa_54:7.
2. Lord——thy name.
Isa_26:11-13. The Prophet perceives the approach of great things, but men perceive nothing of them. He complains of this to the Lord.Thy hand is lifted up, says he, and they see it not. [The adverb “when” is unnecessarily supplied in the E. V. It is better to render literally “Thy hand is lifted up; they will not see” or “(but) they do not see it.”—D. M.]. The uplifted hand is ready, and able to smite. The expression éָã øָîָä is found in the Pentateuch in more senses than one. May it not signify here the menacing high hand? According to Scripture great signs on earth and in heaven will precede the coming of the Lord (Mat_24:3; Mat_24:8; Mat_24:29), but the wicked will not give heed to these signs (Mat_24:37-39). They will not be willing to see the hand of God in them. But they will be forced to their confusion ( åéáùׁå is a parenthetical clause marking a circumstance) to recognize the hand of God in the signs from the correspondence between them and the decisive facts following on them, when they shall have perceived the zeal, i.e., the strict, judging, and avenging righteousness of God (comp. Isa_9:6; Isa_11:13; Isaiah 38:32; Isa_63:15) attesting itself on the people (comp. in regard to the construction, Psa_69:10). [The expression ÷ðàú òí made dependent in the E. V. on éּáùׁå , and understood of the envy of the heathen toward the people of God, is rightly made dependent by our author on éçæå , and is also rightly understood of the zeal of the Lord of hosts (Isa_9:6 : Isa_37:32), but this zeal of the Lord is not directed against a people who are none of His, as Dr. Naegelsbach thinks, but is the zeal of the Lordfor His own people.—D. M.]. The fire of this zeal will consume those men who could see, but would not see; will devour thy adversaries ( öøéê , prefixed apposition to the suffix in úàëìí ). From the wicked, who to their dismay are surprised by the judgment of God, the Prophet turns to the pious who wait for the day of judgment as the day of their redemption (Luk_21:28). These express the confident assurance that the Lord will assign, prepare them peace on that great day. ùָׁôַú , ponere, statuere, is found in Isaiah only here, comp. 2Ki_4:38; Eze_24:3; Psa_22:16. The righteous justly expect from the judgment the peace of God. For how could the righteous Judge award them aught else, seeing that He Himself has wrought their works? Instead of the second ìָðå we should perhaps rather expect áָּðåּ ; but the Prophet, who delights in significant accords in sound, chose undoubtedly to make a second ìðå correspond to the first, in order to indicate thereby that the fruit of the judgment must correspond to the fruit of the life. The third sentence begins with éäåä àìäéðå . The address is thus more forcible, and forms an antithesis to the subject and predicate of the sentence. Is it not a contradiction which cannot be maintained, when it must be said: Thou art indeed our God, but others rule over us? [But the perfect tense should not be treated as a present.—D. M.]. To understand àãðéí of the worldly powers alone, which is the common view, seems to me quite too restricted, and not to correspond to the context. I translate áְּêָ “in thee” [“By thee,” i.e., by thy power or help, is the common rendering.—D. M.]. The aim of Isa_26:13 is that of a general introduction into the region which is afterwards to be particularly spoken of. [“As to the lords who are mentioned in the first clause, there are two opinions. One is, that they are the Chaldees or Babylonians, under whom the Jews had been in bondage. This is now the current explanation. The other is, that they are the false gods or idols whom the Jews had served before the exile. Against the former and in favor of the latter supposition it may be suggested, first, that the Babylonian bondage did not hinder the Jews from mentioning Jehovah’s name or praising Him; secondly, that the whole verse looks like a confession of their own fault and a promise of amendment, rather than a reminiscence of their sufferings; and thirdly, that there seems to be an obvious comparison between the worship of Jehovah as our, with some other worship and some other deity.….. An additional argument in favor of the reference of the verse to spiritual rulers, is its exact correspondence with the singular fact in Jewish history, that since the Babylonish exile they have never even been suspected of idolatry.” Alexander.—D. M.].
3. They are dead——ends of the earth.
Isa_26:14-15. The Prophet proceeds now directly to the thought which he intends afterwards, Isa_26:19, to bring to light: the resurrection of the dead. But that the light of this wonderful divine revelation may shine more conspicuously he presents, as a foil to it, the opinion which had not been hitherto disputed, and which was supposed to be indisputable, viz., that the dead do not come to life again. [But what indication is given that the Prophet in the 14th verse means to relate an opinion said to prevail universally in regard to the impossibility of a resurrection of the dead? Why not rather understand this verse as a declaration that the other lords just spoken of should not merely cease to exist, but even to be remembered? The language used is applicable to the deities of an effete mythology once worshipped by Israel, as well as to the Babylonian and previous oppressors of Israel. In regard to the opinion which “hitherto has passed and even now passes in the whole world as incontrovertible truth, that there is no redemption from the bands of death,” does not Hosea, an earlier Prophet than Isaiah, announce that death and Sheol should be deprived of their prey? Hos_13:14. Isaiah himself, too, does not here for the first time make mention of the vanquishing of death. See Isa_25:8; comp. Job_19:25-27.—D. M.]. For this very reason ( ìָëֵï =with reference to this, in so far. Comp. on Jer_5:2; Isa_27:9) hast thou visited and destroyed them and made their memory to perish. Most interpreters understand verse 15 of the fall and resuscitation of the people of Israel. [And rightly do they so understand it. Few readers will assent to Dr. Naegelsbach’s singular opinion that the land that is enlarged is the region of the dead. In the E. V. the last clause of verse 15 is rendered “thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.” But the words “it” and “unto” are not in the original text, and the pluperfect is not warranted. Omitting these additions and discarding the pluperfect, we have the rendering, “thou hast removed the ends of the land,” i.e., extended the boundaries of the country. Thus we are told that extension of territory had been granted along with increase of population.—D. M.].
3. LORD in trouble——world fallen.
Isa_26:16-18. But even in the realm of the dead the longing for life and the hope of regaining it are not extinguished. Even the dead in their distress seek the Lord, the fountain of all hope. [“Visit is here used in the unusual but natural sense of seeking God in supplication.”—Alexander]. The prayer of the dead in a low whisper ( ìçù ) ascends from their place of trial to the Lord. [If we take our theology from the book of Isaiah, there is no “place of trial” for the godly after this life. The righteous man when he dies enters into peace, Isa_57:2. I need hardly state here that a purgatory, according to Roman Catholic doctrine, is not intended for unbelievers.—D. M.]. Verse 17 obviously supposes that a deliverance from Sheol is possible, and that the hope of this deliverance is not extinct in its occupants. This hope produces rather, according to the view of the Prophet, in the dwellers of Hades, a struggle and endeavor after liberation from prison which can be compared with the pains of child-bearing. But this impulse of hope remains unsatisfied so long as it is a merely natural one. I take îִôָּðֶéêָ not in the causal but in the local signification=far from (comp. Isa_14:19; Isa_22:3; Jdg_9:21). Far from Jehovah, without vital union with Him, a dead man cannot raise himself to new life. [I prefer taking îִôָּðֶéêָ in the causal signification. The text runs—“So have we been” ( äָéִðåּ ), not “we are.”—D. M.]. All convulsive efforts of the dead which aim at a new life are ineffectual. They are like bringing forth wind, the issue of an apparent pregnancy in consequence of the disease called empneumatosis (Gesenius, Delizsch). The îֵúִéí must learn by experience that without Jehovah they cannot bless (comp. on éְùåּòָä Isa_26:1) the land of their habitation, i.e., here, the earth (comp. afterwards úֵáֵì ), because, however convulsive their pangs may be, through them no inhabitants of the world (Psa_33:8; Isa_18:3; Isa_26:9; Nah_1:5; Lam_4:12) will drop,i.e., no births to a new life will take place. ðôì is used here and Isa_26:19 of the partus. Comp. the Greek ðßðôåéí , the Latin cadere, the German werfen (Ges.Thes. p. 897). [This meaning of ðôì is in my opinion more than doubtful. But what are we to think of the Shades in Hades striving to give birth to themselves, fruitlessly laboring to get back into the world, and this, not so much for the purpose of releasing themselves from their gloomy abode, as with a view to bless the world with new inhabitants, and to work deliverance or safety for it? Generous Shades! So self-forgetful amid their sufferings in Hades! The judicious reader may be left to make his own comments on this strange notion.—D. M.].
5. Thy dead—the dead.
Isa_26:19. [“This verse is in the strongest contrast with the one before it. To the ineffectual efforts of the people to save themselves, he now opposes their actual deliverance by God.”—Alexander.]. The suffix of the first person in ðáìúé corresponds to the suffix of the second person in ðáìä . îúéê (Isa 26:25) is never used in the plural. It is a collective word (comp. Lev_11:8; Lev_11:11 sqq.; Jer_7:33; Jer_16:4 et saepe). We have to refer the suffix of the first person to the Prophet who here speaks in the name of the church. It is he who after the disconsolate words of the Shades [?] speaks as the interpreter of Jehovah here (and afterwards Isa_26:20-21) words of consolation, and in the spirit of prophecy utters the triumphant call to awake, which will one day be pronounced by a mightier voice that it may be fulfilled. ùëðé òôø only here, comp. Isa_18:3. The words ëé èø åâå× graphically depict the thought expressed in what goes before. On the morning of the resurrection a wonderful dew will cover the earth. It is no more the earthly dew, it is a heavenly, a divine dew (therefore èַìֶּêָ ). If even now the earthly dew, when the rays of the sun mirror themselves in it, sparkles like pearls, how resplendent will be the drops of that heavenly dew, every one of which will be a glorified luminous body, a body of the resurrection! The plural àåøú is found only here; for àֹøåֹú 2Ki_4:39 is a quite different word [?]. àåֹøéִí also occurs only once; Psa_136:7. The singular àåֹøָä is found Psa_139:12; Est_8:16. That the signification “lights” suits the connection cannot be doubted. For the new resurrection life is a life in the light (Joh_1:4; Joh_8:12), and the äüîá of which our body, as óýììïñöïí with the body of Christ, will partake (Php_3:21) is in its nature light (Mat_17:2). But whence come these forms of light which as heavenly dew-drops will on the morning of the resurrection shine on the surface of the earth? They have arisen, i. e., they come out of the earth in which they hitherto as øôàéּí , as gloomy shades have dwelt. At the almighty word of the Lord the earth was forced to give up (cast out, Isa_26:18) these øôàéí that had been hitherto regarded as a spoil that could not be snatched from it (Isa_26:14).
6. Come my people——her slain.
Isa_26:20-21. If we receive the simple natural impression made by the Prophet’s representation, we must say that we are transported by these two verses into the time after the resurrection. [?] For what people can be addressed except that which according to Isa_26:19 has been awakened to new life? And why must this people after it had in Hades pined so long in suspense and anxiety, [?] conceal itself again after it had hardly come forth to the light? And why is it set forth as a characteristic mark of the time during which the people shall remain hidden, that in that time the earth shall disclose all the shed blood it had absorbed, and all corpses of the slain which it had concealed and kept? Is that not a clear reference to the time of the last judgment which brings everything to light and finishes everything? These are questions the answer to which was not known by the Prophet himself. It is the Apocalypse of the New Testament that first solves for us this riddle. It distinguishes a first and a second resurrection. And it makes the setting loose of Satan with the last assault on the city of God follow the first resurrection, after which there ensues the second general resurrection with the great universal judgment (Rev. xx.). [According to this exposition they who partake of the first resurrection were gloomy shades in misery till the earth cast them forth; and after having been raised from the dead they must hide themselves. But the dead in Christ were never shades in misery, and when they are raised, they shall be at once caught up to meet the Lord in the air and to be ever with Him. 1Th_4:16-17. The ingenuity displayed by our author in illustrating this passage of Isaiah from the Apocalypse is very striking.—D. M.]. What those chambers are into which the people should go ( çֶãֶøּ only here in Isaiah) the Prophet does not explain. But when according to Rev_20:9 the ðáñåìâïëὴ ôῶí ἁãßùí and the ðüëéò ἠãáðçìÝíç is surrounded by enemies, I cannot doubt that the saints are enjoined during the short tribulation of the city to withdraw, and give themselves to solitary prayer in quiet expectation. At the same time this does not, I think, exclude the application of the counsel here given by the Prophet to all cases related to that final and highest storm of indignation as typical and preparatory events. Isa_26:21 æַòַí a storm, storm of wrath, is a word which occurs not rarely in Isa_10:5; Isa_10:25; Isa_13:5; Isa_30:27. The storm is comparatively short, but in its intensity surpasses all others. For it comprehends according to Rev_20:9-15 nothing less than the overthrow of Satan, and the general judgment. Verse 21 answers to this exactly. If Jehovah rises from His place in order to visit the guilt of the inhabitants of the earth ( éùׁá äà× collectively) on them, and if the earth then discloses all hidden blood-guiltiness, this plainly enough indicates that that storm of wrath involves a work of judgment. The words “for, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place,” are taken literally from Mic_1:3 comp. Mat_25:31; Rev_20:11. As counterpart to the blessed fruits, which the earth according to Isa_26:19 will bring forth, and at the same time as proof of the all-comprehensive character of the judgment, the slain and the blood that has been shed are specified as what the earth will on that day cause to come to light. The earth opened its mouth to receive the blood of Abel who was the first person slain (Gen_4:11). And since that time it has taken in all the blood that has been shed, and all the dead bodies of the slain; and preserves them faithfully for the day of judgment, when they shall come forth as incontrovertible witnesses against the guilty. In the book of the Revelation, too, it is expressly declared that the sea, and death, and Hades will disclose all their dead (Rev_20:13).
2. Isa_24:5 sq. “The earth is burdened with sins, and is therefore deprived of every blessing. The earth must suffer for our guilt, when we have as it were spoilt it, and it must be subject to vanity for our sakes (Rom_8:20). What wonder is it that it should show itself ungrateful toward us?”—Cramer.
[3. Isa_24:13 sq. “Observe the small number of this remnant; here and there one who shall escape the common calamity (as Noah and his family, when the old world was drowned), who when all faces gather blackness, can lift up their head with joy. Luk_21:26-28.” Henry.—D. M.].
4. Isa_24:17-20. Our earth is a volcanic body. Mighty volcanic forces were active at its formation. That these are still in commotion in the interior of the earth is proved by the many active volcanoes scattered over the whole earth, and by the perpetual volcanic convulsions which we call earthquakes. These have hitherto been confined to particular localities. But who can guarantee that a concentration and simultaneous eruption of those volcanic forces, that is, a universal earthquake, shall not hereafter occur? The Lord makes express mention of earthquakes among the signs which shall precede His second coming (Mat_24:7; Mar_13:8; Luk_21:11). And in 2Pe_3:5 sqq. the future destruction of the earth by fire is set over against the destruction of the old world by water. Isaiah in our place announces a catastrophe whose characteristic features will be that, 1) there will be no escape from it; 2) destructive forces will assail from above and below; 3) the earth will be rent asunder; 4) it will reel and totter; 5) it will suffer so heavy a fall that it will not rise again (Isa_24:20 b). Is there not here a prophecy of the destruction of the earth by volcanic forces? And how suddenly can they break loose! The ministers of the word have every reason to compare this extreme exposedness of our earth to fire, and the possibility of its unexpectedly sudden collapse with the above-cited warnings of the word of God, and to attach thereto the admonition which is added in 2Pe_3:11.
5. Isa_24:21. The earth is a part of our planetary system. It is not what it appears to the optical perception to be, a central body around which worlds of a different nature revolve, but it, together with many similar bodies, revolves round a common centre. The earth according to that view of the account of the creation in Genesis 1, which appears to me the true one, has arisen with all the bodies of our Solar system out of one primary matter, originally united, common to them all. If our Solar System is a well-ordered, complete organism, it must rest on the basis of a not merely formal, but also material unity; i.e., the separate bodies must move, not only according to a principle of order which governs all, but they must also as to their substance be essentially like. And as they arose simultaneously, so must they perish simultaneously. It is inconceivable that our earth alone should disappear from the organism of the Solar System, or pass over to a higher material condition. Its absence, or ceasing to exist in its previous form and substance, would necessarily draw after it the ruin of the whole system. Hence the Scripture speaks every where of a passing away and renovation of the heaven and the earth (Psa_102:26; Isa_51:6; Isa_65:17; Isa_66:22; Mat_5:18; Mat_24:29; Mat_24:35; 2Pe_3:7; 2Pe_3:10; 2Pe_3:13; Heb_12:26; Rev_20:11; Rev_21:1). The heaven that shall pass away with a great noise, whose powers shall be shaken, whose stars shall fall, is the planetary heaven. The same lot will happen to the companions of our earth, to the other planets, and to the centre, the sun, and to all other co-ordinate and subordinate stellar bodies, which will befall the earth itself. This is the substance of the view which serves as a basis for our place. But personal beings are not thereby by any means excluded from the öáà îøåí . The parallel expression îìëé äàãîä , and the use in other places of the related expression öáà äùׁîéí lead us rather to suppose personal beings to be included. But I believe that a distinction must be made here. As the heavenly bodies which will pass away simultaneously with the earth, can only be those which arose together with it, and which stand in organic connection with it, so also the angelic powers, which are judged simultaneously with us men, can be only those which stand in connection with the heavenly bodies of our Solar System, i.e., with the earthly material world. There are heavenly bodies of glorious pneumatic substance. If personal beings stand in connection with them, they must also be pure, glorious, resplendent beings. These will not be judged. They are the holy angels, who come with the Lord (Mat_25:31). But it is quite conceivable that all the bodies of our Solar System are till the judgment like our earth suffered to be the theatre of the spirits of darkness.
6. Isa_24:21-23, It seems to me that the Prophet has here sketched the chief matters pertaining to eschatology. For the passing away of heaven and earth, the binding of Satan (Rev_20:1-3), the loosing of Satan again (Rev_20:7), and finally the reign of God alone, which will make sun and moon unnecessary (Rev_21:23)—are not these the boundary-stones of the chief epochs of the history of the end of the world?
7. Isa_25:6. [“The Lord of hosts makes this feast. The provision is very rich, and every thing is of the best. It is a feast, which supposes abundance and variety; it is a continual feast to believers: it is their fault if it be not. It is a feast of fat things and full of marrow; so relishing, so nourishing are the comforts of the Gospel to all those that feast upon them and digest them. The returning prodigal was entertained with the fatted calf; and David has that pleasure in communion with God, with which his soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness. It is a feast of wines on the lees; the strongest-bodied wines, that have been long kept upon the lees, and then are well refined from them, so that they are clear and fine. There is that in the Gospel which, like fine wine, soberly used, makes glad the heart, and raises the spirits, and is fit for those that are of a heavy heart, being under convictions of sin, and mourning for it, that they may drink and forget their misery (for that is the proper use of wine; it is a cordial for those that need it, Pro_31:6-7) may be of good cheer, knowing that their sins are forgiven, and may be vigorous in their spiritual work and warfare, as a strong man refreshed with wine.” Henry.—D. M.]
8. Isa_25:9. “In the Old Testament the vail and covering were before men’s eyes, partly because they waited for the light that was to appear, partly because they sat in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luk_1:79). The fulfilment of this prediction has in Christ already begun, and will at last be perfectly fulfilled in the Church triumphant where all ignorance and sorrow shall be dispelled (1Co_13:12).” Cramer.
9. Isa_25:8. “God here represents Himself as a mother, who presses to her bosom her sorrowful son, comforts him and wipes away his tears (Isa_66:13). The righteous are to believe and appropriate this promise, that every one may learn to speak with Paul in the time of trial: the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us, Rom_8:18.” Cramer.
10. Isa_25:10. “This is now the hope and consolation of the church that the hand of the Lord rests on this mountain, that is, that He will be gracious, and let His power, help and grace be there seen and felt. But the unbelieving Moabites, i.e., the Jews, with all others who will not receive the gospel, shall be threshed to pieces as straw in the mire; these the Lord’s hand will not rescue, as it helps those who wait on Him, but it shall press them down so that they will never rise, according to the saying, Mar_16:16.” Veit Dietrich.
11. Isaiah 25 Three thoughts contained in this chapter we should hold fast: 1) When we see the world triumph over every thing which belongs to the Lord and His kingdom, when our hearts are anxious about the preservation in the world of the Church of Christ, which is sore oppressed, let this word of the Prophet comfort our hearts. The world-city which contains all that is of the world, sinks into the dust, and the church of Christ goes from her chains and bands into the state of freedom and glory. We have often seen that it is the Lord’s way to let every thing come to maturity. When it is once ripe, He comes suddenly with His sentence. Let us comfort ourselves therewith, for thus will it happen with the world and its dominion over the faithful followers of Christ. When it is ripe, suddenly it will come to an end. 2) No one who has a heart for the welfare of the nations can see without the deepest pain how all hearts are now seduced and befooled, and all eyes closed and covered. The simplest truths are no longer acknowledged, but the more perverse, brutal and mean views and doctrines are, the more greedily are they laid hold of. We cannot avert this. But our comfort is that even this seduction of the nations will reach its climax. Then men will come to themselves. The vail and covering will fall off, and the Gospel will shine with new light before the nations. Therewith let us comfort ourselves. 3) Till this happens, the church is sorrowful. But she shall be full of joy. The promise is given to her that she shall be fully satisfied with the good things of the house of the Lord. A life is promised to her which neither death nor any pain can affect, as she has rest from all enemies. The word of the Lord shall be fulfilled in her: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. The Church that has such a promise may wait in patient quietness for its accomplishment, and praise the Lord in affliction, till it pleases Him to glorify her before all nations.” Weber, The Prophet Isaiah. 1875.
12. Isa_26:1. “The Christian church is a city of God. God has built it, and He is the right Master-builder. It is strong: 1) on account of the Builder; 2) on account of the foundation and corner-stone, which is Christ; 3) on account of the bond wherewith the living stones are bound together, which is the unity of the faith.” Cramer. [The security and happiness of true believers, both on earth and in heaven, is represented in Scripture under the image of their dwelling in a city in which they can bid defiance to all their enemies. We dwell in such a city even now, Psa_46:4-5. We look for such a city, Heb_11:10; Heb_11:16; Revelation 21—D. M.]
13. Isa_26:2. [These words may be taken as a description of the people whom God owns, who are fit to be accounted members of the church of the living God on earth, and who will not be excluded from the celestial city. Instead of complaining that only the righteous and the faithful will be admitted into the heavenly city, it should rather give us joy to think that there will be no sin there, that none but the just and true will there be found. This has been a delightful subject of reflection to God’s saints. The last words written by Henry Martyn were: “Oh! when shall time give place to eternity? When shall appear that new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness? There, there shall in no wise enter in any thing that defileth; none of that wickedness which has made men worse than wild beasts—none of their corruptions which add to the miseries of mortality shall be seen or heard of any more.”—D. M.]
14. Isa_26:4. “The fourth privilege of the church is trust in God the Rock of Ages, i.e., in Christ, who not only here, but also Matthew 16; 1 Corinthians 10; 1 Peter 2, is called a rock in a peculiar manner, because no other foundation of salvation and of the church can be laid except this rock, which is here called the rock of ages on account of the eternity of His being, merit and office. Hence a refutation can be drawn of the papistical fable which makes Peter and his successors, the Roman Pontiffs, to be the rock on which the church is built.” Foerster. [“Whatever we trust to the world for, it will be but for a moment. All we expect from it is confined within the limits of time; but what we trust in God for will last as long as we shall last. For in the Lord Jehovah, Jah, Jehovah, in Him who was, and is, and is to come, there is a rock of ages, a firm and lasting foundation for faith and hope to build upon; and the house built on that rock will stand in a storm.” Henry.”—D. M.]
15. Isa_26:5. “It is very common with the prophets, when they prophesy of the kingdom of Christ to make reference to the proud and to the needy, and to represent the latter as exalted and the former as brought low. This truth is directed properly against the self-righteous. For Christ and His righteousness will not endure spiritual pride and presumption; but the souls that are poor, that hunger and thirst for grace, that know their need, these Christ graciously receives.” Cramer.
16. Isa_26:6. “It vexes the proud all the more that they will be overcome by those who are poor and of no consequence. For example, Goliath was annoyed that a boy should come against him with a staff (1 Sam. 13:43) Cramer.
17. Isa_26:8-10. That the justice of God must absolutely manifest itself that the majesty of the Lord may be seen, and that the wicked may learn righteousness, must even from a new Testament view-point be admitted. But the New Testament disputes the existence of any one who is righteous when confronted by the law, and who is not deserving of punishment. [But that there is none righteous, no not one, is taught most emphatically in the Old Testament also.—D. M.]. But it (the New Testament) while it shuts up all, Jews and Gentiles, without exception, under sin (Gal_3:22; Rom_3:9; Rom_11:32), sets forth a scheme of mediation, which, while it renders full satisfaction to justice, at the same time offers to all the possibility of deliverance. This mediation is through the Cross of Christ. It is only when this mediation has not been accepted that punitive justice has free course. It should not surprise us that even the Evangelist of the Old Covenant, who wrote chap. 53, did not possess perfect knowledge of this mediation. Let us remember John the Baptist (Mat_3:7; Mat_11:11) and the disciples of the Lord (Luk_9:54). [Let us not forget that Isaiah was a true Prophet, and spoke as he was moved by the Spirit of God. The Apostle Paul did not find fault with the most terrible denunciations of judgment contained in the Old Testament, or affect a superiority over the men who uttered them. On the contrary, he quotes them as words which could not be suffered to fall, but which must be fulfilled in all their dreadful import. See e.g. Rom_11:9-10.—D. M.].
18. Isa_26:12. “It is a characteristic of true, sincere Christians, that they give God the glory and not themselves, and freely confess that they have nothing of themselves, but everything from God (1Co_4:7; Php_2:13; Heb_12:2).” Cramer.
19. Isa_26:16. The old theologians have many comforting and edifying thoughts connected with this place: “A magnet has the power to raise and attract to itself iron. Our heart is heavy as iron. But the hand of God is as a magnet. When that hand visits us with affliction, it lifts us up, and draws us to itself.” “Distress teaches us to pray, and prayer again dispels all distress. One wedge displaces the other.” “Ex gravibus curis impellimur ad pia vota.” “Ex monte myrrhae procedimus ad collem thuris (Cant. 9:6). In amaritudine crucis exsurgit odor devotae precationis (Psa_86:6 sq.).” “Ubi nulla crux et tentatio, ibi nulla vera oratio. Oratio sine mails est tanquam avis sine alis. Optimus orandi magister necessitas. Ôὰ ðáèÞìáôá ìáèÞìáôá . Quae nocent, docent. Ubi tentatio, ibi oratio. Mala, quae hic nos premunt, ad Deum ire compellunt. Qui nescit orare, ingrediatur mare.” “When the string is most tightly drawn, it sounds best. Cross and temptation are the right prayer-bell. They are the press by which God crushes out the juice of prayer.” Cramer and Foerster.
20. Isa_26:20. As God, when the deluge was about to burst, bade Noah go into his ark as into his chamber, and Himself shut the door on him (Gen_7:6); so does the Lord still act when a storm is approaching; He brings His own into a chamber where they can be safe, either for their temporal preservation and protection against every might (Psa_91:1), or, on the other hand, to give them repose by a peaceful and happy death.” “His anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life (Psa_30:6).” Cramer.
21. Isa_27:1. [“Great and mighty princes [nations] if they oppose the people of God, are in God’s account, as dragons and serpents, and plagues of mankind; and the Lord will punish them in due time. They are too big for men to deal with, and call to an account; and therefore the great God will take the doing of it into His own hands.” Henry.—D. M.].
22. Isa_27:2-5. “It seems to the world that God has no concern for His church and Christians, else, we imagine, they would be better off. But certain it is, that it is not the angels but God Himself that will be watcher over this vineyard, and will send it gracious rain.” Veit Dietrich. [“The church is a vineyard of red wine, yielding the best and choicest grapes, intimating the reformation of the church, that it now brings forth good fruit unto God, whereas before it brought forth fruit to itself, or brought forth wild grapes, Isa_5:4.” “God takes care (1) of the safety of this vineyard; I the Lord do keep it. He speaks this, as glorying in it, that He is, and has undertaken to be, the keeper of Israel; those that bring forth fruit to God are, and shall be always, under His protection. (2) God takes care of the fruitfulness of this vineyard: I will water it every moment; and yet it shall not be over watered. We need the constant and continual waterings of the divine grace; for if that be at any time withdrawn, we wither and come to nothing.” Henry. D. M.].
23. Isa_27:4. “Est aurea promissio, qua praecedentem confirmat. Indignatio non est mihi, fury is not in me. Quomodo enim is nobis irasci potest, qui pro nobis est mortuus? Quanquam igitur appareat, eum irasci, non tamen est verum, quod irascatur. Sic Paulo immittitur angelus Satanae, sed non est ira, nam ipse Christus dicit: sufficit tibi gratia mea. Sic pater filium delinquentem castigat, sed non est ira, quanquam appareat ira esse. Custodia igitur vineae aliquando cogit Deum immittere speciem irae, ne pereat luxurie, sed non est ira. Est insignis textus, which we should inscribe on all tribulations: Non est indignatio mihi, non possum irasci. Quod autem videtur irasci est custodia vineae, ne pereas et fias securus. Luther. “In order to understand fully the doctrine of the wrath of God we must have a clear perception of the antithesis: the long-suffering of God, and the wrath of God, wrath and mercy.” Lange.
24. Isa_27:7-9. “Christ judges His church, i.e., He punishes and afflicts it, but He does this in measure. The sorrow and cross is meted out, and is not, as it appears to us, without measure and infinite. It is so measured that redemption must certainly follow. But why does God let His Christians so suffer? Why does He not lay the cross on the wicked? God answers this question and speaks: the sin of Jacob will thereby cease. That is: God restrains sin by the cross, and subdues the old Adam.” Veit Dietrich.
25. Isa_27:13. [“The application of this verse to a future restoration of the Jews can neither be established nor disproved. In itself considered, it appears to contain nothing which may not be naturally applied to events long past.” J. A. Alexander.—“This prediction was completely and entirely fulfilled by the return of the Jews to their own country under the decree of Cyrus.” Barnes.—D. M.].
2. On Isa_25:1-5. The Lord, the refuge of the needy. 1) He has the power to help. This we perceive a, from His nature (Lord, God, Wonderful); b, from His deeds (Isa_25:1 b, Isa_25:2). 2) He gives His strength even to the feeble, (Isa_25:4). 3) These are thereby victorious, (Isa_25:5).
3. On Isa_25:6-9. Easter Sermon, by T. Schaeffer (Manch. Gab. u. ein Geist III. p. 269):—“The glorious Easter-blessing of the Risen One: 1) Wherein it consists? 2) who receive it? 3) what are its effects? Christmas Sermon, by Romberg [ibid. 1869, p. 78): Our text represents to us Christmas joy under the image of a festive board. Let us consider, 1) the host; 2) the guests; 3) the gifts.”
4. On Isa_26:1-4. Concerning the church. 1) She is a strong city in which salvation is to be found. 2) The condition of having a portion in her is faith. 3) The blessing which she is instrumental in procuring is peace.
5. Isa_26:19-21. The comfort of the Christian for the present and future. 1) For the present the Christian is to betake himself to his quiet chamber, where he is alone with his Lord and by Him made cheerful and secure. 2) For the future he has the certain hope, a, that the Lord will judge the wicked, b, raise the believer to everlasting life.
6. Isa_27:2-9. How the Lord deals with His vineyard, the church. 1) Fury is not in Him towards it; 2) He protects and purifies it; 3) He gives it strength, peace and growth; 4) He chastens it in measure; 5) He makes the chastisement itself serve to purge it from sins.
Footnotes:
they shall see to their shame thy zeal for the people.
Or, toward thy people.
fire shall devour them, thy enemies.
Or, for us.
Shades.
thou hast removed far all the borders of the land.
Heb. secret speech.
far from thy sight.
my dead body shall arise.
lights.
Heb. bloods.