“Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek Yahweh. Look to the rock you were cut from, and to the quarry you were dug from.
Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for when he was but one I called him, I blessed him, and made him many.
For Yahweh has comforted Zion. He has comforted all her waste places, and has made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Yahweh. Joy and gladness will be found in them, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
“Listen to me, my people; and hear me, my nation, for a law will go out from me, and I will establish my justice for a light to the peoples.
My righteousness is near. My salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples. The islands will wait for me, and they will trust my arm.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish away like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment. Its inhabitants will die in the same way, but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will not be abolished.
“Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law. Don’t fear the reproach of men, and don’t be dismayed at their insults.
For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.”
Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Yahweh! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the monster?
Isn’t it you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?
Those ransomed by Yahweh will return, and come with singing to Zion. Everlasting joy shall be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy. Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you, that you are afraid of man who shall die, and of the son of man who will be made as grass?
Have you forgotten Yahweh your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth? Do you live in fear continually all day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he prepares to destroy? Where is the fury of the oppressor?
The captive exile will speedily be freed. He will not die and go down into the pit. His bread won’t fail.
For I am Yahweh your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar. Yahweh of Armies is his name.
I have put my words in your mouth and have covered you in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and tell Zion, ‘You are my people.’ ”
Awake, awake! Stand up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from Yahweh’s hand the cup of his wrath. You have drunken the bowl of the cup of staggering, and drained it.
There is no one to guide her among all the sons to whom she has given birth; and there is no one who takes her by the hand among all the sons who she has brought up.
These two things have happened to you— who will grieve with you?— desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword. How can I comfort you?
Your sons have fainted. They lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net. They are full of Yahweh’s wrath, the rebuke of your God.
Therefore now hear this, you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:
Your Lord Yahweh, your God who pleads the cause of his people, says, “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of staggering, even the bowl of the cup of my wrath. You will not drink it any more.
I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to your soul, ‘Bow down, that we may walk over you;’ and you have laid your back as the ground, like a street to those who walk over.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21 That is, to Abraham, of whom ye were begotten,…
That is, to Abraham, of whom ye were begotten, and to Sarah, of whom we were born.
He comforteth the Church, that they should not be discouraged for their small number.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–23 Isa 51:1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after…
Isa 51:1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock [whence] ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit [whence] ye are digged.
Ver. 1. Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness.] Heb., Ye that pursue or follow hard after it, as Paul did. {Php 3:13-14} The speech is directed to those Jews that embraced the gospel; persuading them to persist in the faith, "in nothing terrified by their adversaries," since Almighty God would keep and help them, as he had done faithful Abraham and Sarah, their ancestors; to whom also he would of stones raise up sons {a} in the conversion of the Gentiles, and could do it as easily as he had hewed the Hebrews, that great nation, out of aged Abraham, and superannuated Sarah; who are here compared to a dry rock, and a deep pit.
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And to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged.] Est honesta periphrasis actus coniugalis. The word here used is of the same root with Nekebah, the female kind of all creatures.
{a} Banim Meabanim.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness: now…
Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness: now he turneth his speech again to the believing and godly Jews.
That seek the Lord; that make it your chief care and business to seek favour and help from God.
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Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged; consider the state of Abraham and Sarah, when they procreated Isaac, from whom Jacob and all of you sprang; for so he explains the metaphor in the next verse. He compareth the bodies of Abraham and Sarah unto a
rock, or pit, or quarry out of which stones are hewed or digged, thereby implying that God in some sort actually did that which Christ said he was able to do, Mat 3:9, even of stones to raise up children unto Abraham; it being then as impossible by the course of nature for Abraham and Sarah in that age to procreate a child, as it is to hew a living child out of a rock, or to dig one out of a pit of stone.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 9, 17 Observe, 1. How the people of God are here…
Observe, 1. How the people of God are here described, to whom the word of this consolation is sent and who are called upon to hearken to it, Isa 51:1. They are such as follow after righteousness, such as are very desirous and solicitous both to be justified and to be sanctified, are pressing hard after this, to have the favour of God restored to them and the image of God renewed on them. These are those that seek the Lord, for it is only in the say of righteousness that we can seek him with any hope of finding him. 2. How they are here directed to look back to their original, and the smallness of their beginning: "Look unto the rock whence you were hewn" (the idolatrous family in Ur of the Chaldees, out of which Abraham was taken, the generation of slaves which the heads and fathers of their tribes were in Egypt); "look unto the hole of the pit out of which you were digged, as clay, when God formed you into a people." Note, It is good for those that are privileged by a new birth to consider what they were by their first birth, how they were conceived in iniquity and shapen in sin. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. How hard was that rock out of which we were hewn, unapt to receive impressions, and how miserable the hole of that pit out of which we were digged! The consideration of this should fill us with low thoughts of ourselves and high thoughts of divine grace. Those that are now advanced would do well to remember how low they began (Isa 51:2): "Look unto Abraham your father, the father of all the faithful, of all that follow after the righteousness of faith as he did (Rom 4:11), and unto Sarah that bore you, and whose daughters you all are as long as you do well. Think how Abraham was called alone, and yet was blessed and multiplied; and let that encourage you to depend upon the promise of God even when a sentence of death seems to be upon all the means that lead to the performance of it. Particularly let it encourage the captives in Babylon, though they are reduced to a small number, and few of them left, to hope that yet they shall increase so as to replenish their own land again." When Jacob is very small, yet he is not so small as Abraham was, who yet became father of many nations. "Look unto Abraham, and see what he got by trusting in the promise of God, and take example by him to follow God with an implicit faith." 3. How they are here assured that their present seedness of tears should at length end in a harvest of joys, Isa 51:3. The church of God on earth, even the gospel Zion, has sometimes had her deserts and waste places, many parts of the church, through either corruption or persecution, made like a wilderness, unfruitful to God or uncomfortable to the inhabitants; but God will find out a time and way to comfort Zion, not only by speaking comfortably to her, but by acting graciously for her. God has comforts in store even for the waste places of his church, for those parts of it that seem not regarded or valued. (1.) He will make them fruitful, and so give them cause to rejoice; her wildernesses shall put on a new face, and look pleasant as Eden, and abound in all good fruits, as the garden of the Lord. Note, It is the greatest comfort of the church to be made serviceable to the glory of God, and to be as his garden in which he delights. (2.) He will make them cheerful, and so give them hearts to rejoice. With the fruits of righteousness, joy and gladness shall be found therein; for the more holiness men have, and the more good they do, the more gladness they have. And where there is gladness, to their satisfaction, it is fit that there should be thanksgiving, to God's honour; for whatever is the matter of our rejoicing ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving; and the returns of God's favour ought to be celebrated with the voice of melody, which will be the more melodious when God gives songs in the night, songs in the desert.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–23 Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness,.... After…
Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness,.... After having declared the doom of the wicked, and those that trust to their own righteousness, the Lord returns to them that fear him, whom he describes as such that "follow after righteousness"; not the righteousness of the law, it is the character of carnal Israel to follow after that; nor is that attainable in the way it is pursued by such; nor is there any justification by it; nor is following that consistent with seeking the Lord, in the next clause: but the righteousness of Christ is meant; not his essential righteousness as God; nor the righteousness of his office as Mediator; but that which consists of his active and passive obedience; of which he is the author and giver, and is in him as its subject: this is what is commonly called imputed righteousness, an evangelical one, the righteousness of faith, and is justifying: "following after" this supposes a want of one; a sense of that want; a view of this as out of themselves, and in another; a love and liking of it, and a vehement desire for it; and what determines to an eager pursuit of it are its perfection, suitableness, and use: now such persons are called to hearken to the Lord; to the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; to Christ, to his Gospel, and to his ordinances, particularly to what is after said:
ye that seek the Lord: the Lord Christ, for life and salvation; for righteousness and strength; for more grace from him; a greater knowledge of him, and of doctrine from him, as the Targum; and more communion with him; that seek his honour and glory in the world, and to be for ever with him; who seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; that seek him where he may be found, affectionately and sincerely, carefully, diligently, constantly, and for everything they want:
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look unto the rock whence ye are hewn; which is in the next verse interpreted of Abraham; so called, not so much for the strength of his faith, as for his old age; when he looked like a hard dry rock, from whom no issue could be expected; and yet from hence a large number of stones were hewn, or a race of men sprung:
and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged; that is, to Sarah, who was for a long time barren, whose womb was shut up, but afterwards opened; and from whom, as from a cistern, (to which a wife is sometimes compared, Pro 5:15) flowed the waters of Judah, Isa 48:1 or the Jewish nation. Jerom thinks Christ is meant by both, the Rock of ages, in whom is everlasting strength; to whom men are to look for salvation, righteousness, and strength; and out of whose pierced side flowed blood and water: and in this sense he is followed by Cocceius, who interprets the rock of Christ, the Rock of salvation; out of whose side flowed the church, as out of the hole of a pit or cistern.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 Abraham, our pattern to trust in Christ, in his…
Abraham, our pattern to trust in Christ, in his promises, and righteous salvation: this is constant, but men are transitory, ver. 1- 8. A prayer of the Godly in affliction, ver. 9-11. The Lord's answer, ver. 12-17. He bewails Jerusalem, ver. 18-20. The bitter cup taken from her, and given to her enemies, ver. 21-23.
Look - Consider the state of Abraham and Sarah, from whom all of you sprang.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23 The prophet exhorts the children of Abraham to trust…
CHAPTER LI
The prophet exhorts the children of Abraham to trust in the
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Lord; and briefly, but beautifully, describes the great
blessedness which should be the consequence, 1-3.
Then, turning to the Gentiles, encourages them to look for a
portion in the same salvation, 4, 5;
the everlasting duration of which is majestically described, 6.
And as it is everlasting, so is it sure to the righteous,
notwithstanding all the machinations of their enemies, 7, 8.
The faithful, then, with exultation and joy, lift their voices,
reminding God of his wondrous works of old, which encourage
them to look now for the like glorious accomplishment of these
promises, 9-11.
In answer to this the Divinity is introduced comforting them
under their trials, and telling them that the deliverer was
already on his way to save and to establish them, 12-16.
On this the prophet turns to Jerusalem to comfort and
congratulate her on so joyful a prospect. She is represented,
by a bold image, as a person lying in the streets, under the
intoxicating effects of the cup of the Divine wrath, without a
single person from among her own people appointed to give her
consolation, and trodden under the feet of her enemies; but, in
the time allotted by the Divine providence, the cup of
trembling shall be taken out of her hand, and put into that of
her oppressors; and she shall drink it no more again for ever,
17-22.
NOTES ON CHAP. LI
Verse 1. Ye that follow after righteousness] The people who, feeling the want of salvation, seek the Lord in order to be justified.
The rock] Abraham.
The hole of the pit] Sarah; as explained in Isa 51:2.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14, 17, 18, 21 Isa 51:1-2. Hearken unto me, &c. — Here again…
Isa 51:1-2. Hearken unto me, &c. — Here again he addresses his discourse to the believing and godly Jews, whom he describes as following after righteousness — That is, earnestly desiring and diligently pursuing the justification of their persons, the sanctification of their nature, and practical obedience to God’s law; for which blessings they sought the Lord — That is, sought an acquaintance and reconciliation with him, the manifestation of his favour, and the communication of his Spirit. These, his true people, he exhorts to look unto the rock whence they were hewn, &c. — To consider the state of Abraham and Sarah before God gave them Isaac, from whom Jacob and all his posterity sprang. He compares the bodies of Abraham and Sarah unto a rock, or pit, or quarry, out of which stones are hewn or dug; thereby implying, that God, in some sort, actually did that which John the Baptist said he was able to do, (Mat 3:9,) even of stones to raise up children unto Abraham; it being then as impossible, by the course of nature, for Abraham and Sarah, in such an advanced age as they then were, to have a child, as it is to hew one out of a rock, or dig one out of a pit. For I called him alone — Hebrew, אחד, one; that is, when he was but one single person, without child or family, I called him from his country and kindred to follow me to an unknown land, where I promised that I would multiply him exceedingly. And I blessed him, and increased him — Namely, into a vast multitude, when his condition was desperate in the eye of reason. And therefore God can as easily deliver and raise his church when they are in the most forlorn condition, and seem to be consumed, dead, and buried, so that nothing but dry bones remain of them, as is declared at large, Ezekiel chap. 37.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–23 Hearken unto me - That is, to the God…
Hearken unto me - That is, to the God of their fathers, who now addresses them. They are regarded as in exile and bondage, and as desponding in regard to their prospects. In this situation, God, or perhaps more properly the Messiah (compare the notes at Isa. 1), is introduced as addressing them with the assurances of deliverance.
Ye that follow after righteousness - This is addressed evidently to those who sought to be righteous, and who truly feared the Lord. There was a portion of the nation that continued faithful to Yahweh. They still loved and worshipped him in exile, and they were anxiously looking for deliverance and for a return to their own land.
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Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn - To Abraham the founder of the nation. The figure is taken from the act of quarrying stone for the purposes of building; and the essential idea here is, that God had formed the nation from the beginning, as a mason constructs a building; that he had, so to speak, taken the materials rough and unhewn from the very quarry; that he had shaped, and fitted them, and moulded them into an edifice. The idea is not that their origin was dishonorable or obscure. It is not that Abraham was not an honored ancestor, or that they should be ashamed of the founder of their nation. But the idea is, that God had had the entire moulding of the nation; that he had taken Abraham and Sarah from a distant land, and bad formed them into a great people and nation for his own purpose. The argument is, that he who had done this was able to raise them up from captivity, and make them again a great people. Probably allusion is made to this passage by the Saviour in Mat 3:9, where he says, ‘For I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.’
The hole of the pit - The word rendered ‘hole’ means such an excavation as men make who are taking stones from a quarry. It expresses substantially the same idea as the previous member of the verse. This language is sometimes addressed to Christians, with a view to produce humility by reminding them that they have been taken by God from a state of sin, and raised up, as it were, from a deep and dark pit of pollution. But this is not the sense of the passage, nor will it bear such an application. It may be used to denote that God has taken them, as stone is taken from the quarry; that he found them in their natural state as unhewn blocks of marble are; that he has moulded and formed them by his own agency, and fitted them into his spiritual temple; and that they owe all the beauty and grace of their Christian deportment to him; that this is an argument to prove that he who had done so much for them as to transform them, so to speak, from rough and unsightly blocks to polished stones, fitted for his spiritual temple on earth, is able to keep them still, and to fit them for his temple above. Such is the argument in the passage before us; and such a use of it is, of course, perfectly legitimate and fair.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 23 Lord. He speaks of the redemption of mankind, under…
Lord. He speaks of the redemption of mankind, under the allegory of the return from captivity.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 The Final Redemption of Israel. A Dialogue between the…
III.—THE THIRD DISCOURSE
The Final Redemption of Israel. A Dialogue between the Servant of Jehovah who appears as one veiled, Israel, Jehovah Himself and the Prophet
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Isaiah 51
This chapter speaks of high and mighty things. We hear four persons speak one after the other. Each of the speakers from his view-point announces what he has to produce in reference to the chief subject. The Servant of God, appearing significantly veiled, presents to Israel the condition of its redemption (Isa_51:1-8). Israel then turns with believing supplication to its Lord, praying for a display of power as of old (Isa_51:9-11). The Lord answers Israel with comfort and exhortation, but then turns to the Servant, who is called to execute the work of redemption, in order to set before Him the origin, means and goal of His work (Isa_51:12-16). Finally the Prophet himself takes up the word in order to exhort Israel that it would take to heart the consolation given by Jehovah (Isa_51:17-23).
____________________
1. THE (VEILED) SERVANT OF JEHOVAH PRESENTS TO ISRAEL THE CONDITION OF THE REDEMPTION
Isa_51:1-8
1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness,
Ye that seek the Lord:
Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn,
And to the hole of the 1pit whence ye are digged.
2 Look unto Abraham your father,
And unto Sarah that bare you:
2For I called him alone,
And blessed him, and increased him.
3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion:
He will comfort all her waste places;
And he will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness shall be found therein,
Thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4 Hearken unto me, my people;
And give ear unto me, O my nation:
For a law shall proceed from me,
And I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth,
And mine arms shall judge the people;
The isles shall wait upon me,
And on mine arm shall they trust.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look upon the earth beneath:
For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke,
And the earth shall wax old like a garment,
And they that dwell therein shall die in like manner:
But my salvation shall be forever,
And my righteousness shall not 3be abolished.
7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness,
The people in whose heart is my law;
Fear ye not the reproach of men,
Neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment,
And the worm shall eat them like wool:
But my righteousness shall be forever,
And my salvation from generation to generation.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
See List for the recurrence of the words: Isa_51:3. שָׂשׂוֹן וְשִׂמְחָה which, beside Psa_51:10, occurs only in Isaiah; Jer_15:16; Jer_31:13, uses לְשָׂשׂוֹן וּלְשִׂמְחַת לְבָבִי, and Isa_7:24; Isa_16:9 קול שׂשׂון וקול שׂ׳. Comp. Zec_8:19. Isa_51:5. זְרֹעַ–אִיִּים. Isa_51:6. מָלַח. Isa_51:8. לְדוֹר דּוֹרִים–סָם–צֶמֶר, comp. Psa_72:5; Psa_102:25.
Isa_51:1. חֻצַּבְתֶּם abbreviated relative clause for אַשֶׁר חצבתם מִמֶּנּוּ.
Isa_51:2. The imperf. תחוללכם, before which אשׁר is likewise to be supplied, occasions surprise. Why is the perf. not employed? Had the Prophet had in mind the one act of physical birth he must have put the perf. As the word cannot be treated as a substantive (comp. תְקוֹמְמֶיךָ Psa_139:21), the choice of the word and the verbal form must be explained by understanding the Prophet to be thinking, not merely of the torqueri that accompanies the act of birth, but also of that torqueri spe (comp. Gen_8:10; Job_35:14 : Psa_37:7) that Sarah had to endure through so many years.—The punctuation of the verbs אברכהו and ארבהו with the mere Vav, copulative indicates that we are to construe the Vav as denoting intention (Ewald, § 347, a).
Isa_51:3. נִחַם and וַיָּשֱׂם are praeterita prophetica.—The expression גַּן יִהוָֹה occurs only here. גַּן אלהים occurs several times in Eze_28:13; Eze_31:8-9,—קוֹל זִמְרָה occurs beside here in Psa_98:5. Isaiah uses זמרה again Isa_12:2; Isa_24:16.
Isa_51:4. It is needless and conflicting with the context to read עַמִּים and לְאֻמִּים (Codd., Syr.), instead of עַמִּי and לְאֻמִּי, or even to take עַמִּי and לְאֻמִּי as plural endings (Gesen.) and to refer both to the Gentiles. For these verses contain an exhortation to Israel not to renounce its privilege. לְאֹם is indeed nowhere else used for Israel. Yet the use of גּוֹי Zep_2:9 is analogous. In this case as there, the want of a second word fitted to correspond in parallelism with עַם occasions the abnormal use.—The diversities of meanings encountered in the root רָגַע, (e.g., the meanings of emotion, trembling, resting seem to combine in the same root), is probably to be explained thus: we must distinguish between a רָגַע with original ע, and another with an ע that is derived from a hissing consonant. Probably רָגַע, denoting tremefecit, terruit, and from which is derived רֵגַע momentum (movimentum, moment of the trembling emotion), is softened from רָנַשׂ ,רָגַז (as e.g., the Hebrew צ becomes ע in Aramaic, comp. עָנָא ,אַרְעָא,=צֹאן, etc.). But רָגַע that involves the meaning “to rest” has an original ע. The Hiph. הִרְגִּיעַ in our text means “to make rest,” and that in a similar sense to הֵנִיחַ and הִנִּיהַ, which forms, as is well known, in like manner acquire the meaning “deposuit, demisit, posuit, collocavit” (comp. Isa_30:32; Isa_14:1; Isa_46:7, etc.). Thus אַרְגִּיעַ would involve the meaning of “settling permanently.” For this right is that which from now on remains permanently, everlastingly.
Isa_51:6. It is uncertain whether מָלַח is radically related to מָרַח “conterere,” hence מֶלַח contritum, what is broken small, both salt and rags (Jer_38:11-12); or whether מָלַח has the fundamental meaning “to flood, to flow,” hence מֶלַח=flow, salt-flux, salt and=that which has flowed, passed away.—כְּמוֹ־כֵן is taken by the ancient translators and expositors in the sense of “just as,” which grammatically is quite correct, but is thought to be flat as to sense. Hence, after the example of Lowth and Vitringa, most recent expositors take כֵּן to mean “gnat.” But כֵּן does not occur in this sense in the singular; and the plural כִּנִּים Exo_8:12 sqq.; Psa_105:31 is without doubt to be referred to כִּנָּה (comp. כִּנָּם Exo_8:13-14) and not to כֵּן. Hence Delitzsch is of the opinion that כְּמוֹ־כֵּן is to be taken in the sense of a “so” to which an accompanying gesture imparts a contemptuous meaning. But for this he can only appeal to classic analogies; for 2Sa_23:5; Num_13:33; Job_9:33 are not fitting comparisons. I am of the opinion that if כְּמוֹ־כֵן is not taken in the sense of “just as,” the application of the comparison is wanting. For whether כֵּן be taken=“gnat,” or=contemptuous “so,” in either case the clause וישׁביה to ימותון still belongs to the comparison and the application is wanting. Thus the discourse becomes obscure; whereas it is quite clear if the clause וישׁביה וגו׳ contains the application. For then it is said that all, that is nothing more than citizen of the earth, will pass away just as heaven and earth.
Isa_51:7. חרפת אנושׁ comp. Psa_22:7; and concerning אנושׁ the remarks on Isa_8:1.—גּדֻּפוֹת with fem. ending only here; yet comp. גּדוּפוֹת Eze_5:15; with masc. ending Isa_43:28; Zep_2:8.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Connecting with the exhortation, Isa_50:10, to hearken to the voice of the Servant of God, the Prophet first lets a speaker enter of whom one does not exactly know whether he is Jehovah or one closely connected, indeed, with Jehovah, yet a distinct person from Him. If he is the latter, he can be no other than the Servant of Jehovah, who, veiling here His servant-form, already suffers His unity with Jehovah to appear. The following are reasons for thinking that it is the Servant of Jehovah that speaks in Isa_51:1 to Isa_8:1) the reference of שִׁמְעוּ אֵלַי, Isa_51:1, to שֹׁמֵעַ בְּקוֹל עַבְדּוֹ, Isa_50:10; Isaiah 2) Isa_51:1; Isa_51:3, speak of Jehovah in the third person; 3) Isa_42:4, the Zionitic law is called the law of the Servant of Jehovah, and the speaker in these verses describes the same law as proceeding from him (Isa_51:4) and as his law; 4) in Isa_51:16 the Servant is evidently addressed, and thus is assumed to be a participator in the dialogue, as πρόσωπον τοῦ διαλόγου. This discourse divides into three sections, each of which begins with an emphatic summons to give heed: שׁמעו (Isa_51:1), הקשׁיבו ,האזינו (Isa_51:4), שׁמעו (Isa_51:7).
2. Hearken to me—voice of melody, Isa_51:1-3. The exhortation “hearken to me” refers back to “who hearkeneth to the voice of my Servant,” Isa_50:10. Although Isa_51:2 is proof that Jehovah is the speaker, still on the other hand Jehovah in Isa_51:1 a once and in Isa_51:3 twice is spoken of in the third person. Should not the Servant of Jehovah Himself be regarded as the speaker? His unity with Jehovah and His glory begin to shine through here; but because the servant-form and glory still stand uncombined side by side, He does not here appear plainly as the bearer of the latter. Those whom He summons to hear Him are the same that, Isa_50:10, are described as those that “fear the Lord.” The last expression is a general one. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Pro_1:7). “To fear God” includes earnest endeavor after righteousness in the widest sense, involving being right and having salvation (proof-text for רדף צדק, Deu_16:20; comp. Pro_21:21). But the possession of salvation is assured to those that seek and find the Lord Himself, the highest good (בִּקֵּשׁ י׳ said with reference to Exo_33:7; Deu_4:20, especially in Hos_3:5; Hos_5:6; Hos_7:10). These upright souls that strive after true righteousness and communion with God, and who are, hence, inclined and fitted “to trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon their God” (Isa_50:10), the Servant of the Lord would strengthen and confirm by referring them to Abraham and Sarah. He compares Abraham to a rock from which building-stones are hewn, and Sarah to a well-hole (מַקֶּבֶת בּוֹר, the latter reminding one of נְקֵבָה, comp. Isa_48:1), from which earth, clay, etc., are taken. There lies in the figure the notion of the primitive paternal and maternal ancestry. Ancestors are authority. Their posterity ought to resemble them, not only physically, but spiritually. Israel, then, ought to look back to its ancestors in order to imitate their example. It is to be noticed that Sarah is named here, as in Heb_11:11, along with Abraham, as the companion of his faith (see Text. and Gram.). Sarah’s pains in bearing the son of promise were two-fold: first, the inward struggles of faith, the sorrows of a hope again and again deceived, and yet not given up, joyfully ended at last by the physical sorrows of the birth. Thus תחוללכם leads over to the fact in which Abraham approved himself as an example of faith: the Lord called him as standing alone, as it were a solitary tree, but of course in order to bless and multiply him (see Text. and Gram.). The verbs “to bless and multiply” play a chief part in the promise given to Abraham. Therefore the Prophet points to these here (comp. Gen_22:17; Gen_12:2-3; Gen_13:15-16; Gen_18:18, etc.). Through long decennials and up to years when posterity was no longer naturally to be expected, Abraham had stood alone like a tree in a wide field, about which, even after long years, there appeared no sign of young growth from seeds falling from it. But he was not on that account weak in faith. And thus he is a comforting example to his posterity. For that Zion that the Prophet has in mind, which will be contemporary with the Servant of God, and wasted and forsaken (comp. Isa_49:14 sqq.), shall also grow up again and have a numerous seed and become a glorious garden of the Lord. By pointing to believing Abraham, the Prophet lets it be understood that just and only on the condition of a faith like Abraham’s can wasted Zion become again a paradise (עֵדֶן, Gen_2:15; Joe_2:3). Unbelieving Israel, however, remains a waste!
3. Hearken unto me—not be abolished.
Isa_51:4-6. This section begins with a summons to hearken, still more emphatic than the preceding. It reminds one of Isa_49:1. The Lord will let a new law go forth, He will promulgate a new right to the nations. According to Isa_42:1-4; Isa_49:6, it is the Servant of God that is the medium of this new revelation of Jehovah’s. The Thorah here spoken of is, therefore, the Zionitic law, or the Gospel, and the right that will be set for a light to the nations is the new ordinance which, resting on the fact of the offering made on Golgotha, makes faith, and no longer works, the central point of subjective performance. I repeat here expressly, that I do not ascribe to the Prophet this knowledge, but that I only explain here what is objectively implied in the Prophet’s words, but not clearly known by him.
If this new Thorah is promulgated, then, on the one hand, “righteousness is come near” that avails with God (Isa_46:12-13), and with it salvation is gone forth (i.e., given out, offered to all); but, on the other hand, the time also of universal judgment has arrived. For when the Saviour of the world has appeared, then the time of judgment has come. But the judgment begins at the house of God. The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans is the first act of the world’s judgment (Matthew 24). We men living at present are, therefore, already in the world’s judgment. In this time, then, of the publishing of the Zionitic law on the one hand, and of the world’s judgment on the other, the isles shall hope in the Lord, and wait on his arm (זְרֹעַ symbolically=protection, support, hence singular; whereas before in זרעי ישׁפטו the word is taken in the physical sense, therefore the plural). Here it is intimated, therefore, that just the isles, i.e., the remote, heathen nations, especially of the West, in that last time, that is to be both a time of salvation and of judgment, will accept salvation. It is to be noted that the Prophet says nothing of Israel’s believing on the Servant of the Lord and on His law. Here, therefore, is a hint of that conflict in which Israel stood after the appearance of the Servant and still stands: either to cleave to the gospel with the Gentiles and thereby to disappear as a nation, or to reject the gospel and thereby to be themselves rejected, yet to be preserved as a nation for the time when, without jealousy or competition, the kingdom of God shall appear as the kingdom of David, and will be still one flock under one Shepherd. On ייחלון comp. on Isa_42:4.
Of course Israel acts thus from no praiseworthy motives, but from obstinacy and pride. And hence fleshly Israel shall be destroyed in the judgment. In Isa_51:6 the Prophet commands to consider heaven and earth. The heavens, seemingly so firm (firmamentum, στερέωμα) shall vanish away like smoke, the earth that bears all, will become worm-eaten and rotten and pass away as an old garment, and the inhabitants of the earth shall perish just so. But the salvation of Jehovah shall be forever and his righteousness shall not perish. Therefore whoever possesses this salvation and this righteousness shall be preserved. It is not said that whoever is dug out of the fountain of Abraham shall be blessed. But he that will follow the call of the Lord as Abraham, he that takes His law and believes Him, he shall be blessed, though he were a heathen. Whoever does not believe, though of the seed of Abraham after the flesh, shall perish away just as (see Text. and Gram.) the heaven and earth. Thus the difference between Israel and Gentiles disappears. He that has not the “salvation” and “righteousness” of the Lord is a mere earth inhabitant, whether of the race of Israel or not, and as such he shall perish with the earth.
4. Hearken unto me—generation.
Isa_51:7-8. For the third time we hear the summons to hearken. This time it is not addressed to Israel, but to all those that know the true righteousness, and have the law of the Servant of Jehovah in their hearts. “Those that know righteousness” differ from “those that follow after righteousness” only so far as that one must first know righteousness before he can follow after it. It is implied that, not a mere outward acquaintance is meant, but one truly inward and experimental. With this agrees the additional clause the people in whose heart is my law. From this is seen: 1) That not the outward Israel is meant, that received the Mosaic law outwardly. The words manifestly contain an express antithesis (comp. Jer_31:33, which seems to rest on our text). 2) That here, too, the Servant of Jehovah is thought of. For this new, higher law is in Isa_42:4, expressly called His law, and the Thorah of which Isa_51:4 speaks, can be no other than that of which the Servant of Jehovah is called to be the mediator. Just on this account, however, the nation, in whose heart is the law of the Servant of Jehovah cannot be regarded here as itself appertaining to the “Servant of Jehovah,” as Del. [also J. A. A.] supposes. The people that has the righteousness and the law of the Servant of Jehovah in their hearts is not the people of Israel. It is a great people, a more numerous congregation. It is believing mankind, the congregation of those born again, the spiritual Israel, in distinction from unbelieving mankind, the world. This believing congregation has ever and everywhere to contend with the world. It is hated and persecuted by the world (Mat_10:34 sqq.; 2Ti_3:12). But it can rest assured of the protection of its Lord. Hence the exhortation: fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up as a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. There is a play of sound in the original יאכלם עשׁ and יאכלם סם that cannot be well reproduced in another language. This is the third time that the figure of the garment recurs (Isa_50:9; Isa_51:6), and the second time for that of the moth (Isa_50:9). Both are here combined and strengthened by the rhetorical variation, “the worm shall eat them like wool.” סָם, probably from the fundamental meaning of “to spring”, allied to סּוּם, is the Greek σήσ (Mat_6:19, comp. Bochart, Hieroz., Lib. IV, cap. 25). The concluding clause, but my righteousness, etc., Isa_51:8 b, corresponds in part verbatim to the close of Isa_51:6; only that here, too, for the sake of variety there occurs a transposition of the notions.
Footnotes:
[1]well.
[2]For he was alone when I called him.
[3]perish.
2. ISRAEL EXHORTS THE LORD TO A NEW DISPLAY OF HIS ANCIENT POWER, AND HOPES FOR THE BEST FROM IT
Isa_51:9-11
9 Awake! Awake! put on strength, O arm of the Lord;
Awake! as in the ancient days, in the generation of old.
Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab,
And wounded the dragon?
10 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
That hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?
11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return,
And come with singing unto Zion;
And everlasting joy shall be upon their head:
They shall obtain gladness and joy;
And sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
See List for the recurrence of the words: Isa_51:9. חָלַל–תַּנִּין–עולמים Poel.—הָצַב Hiph.
Isa_51:9. דורות עולמים depends on the כְּ before יְמֵי, and not, as Hitzig and Hahn suppose, on יְמֵי; for the expression ימֵי דוֹרוֹת never occurs, and the absence of the preposition before דורות is according to common usage (comp. Isa_48:9; Isa_48:14; Isa_46:5; Isa_44:28, etc.). On the other hand the ימי קֶדֶם is a frequent expression (Isa_23:7; Isa_37:26; Mic_7:20; Jer_46:26; Psa_44:2; 2Ki_19:25; Lam_1:7; Lam_2:17). The expression דורות עולמים does not occur again. The plural, עולמים, expressing the relative notion of an immeasurable duration of time past or to come (comp. Isa_63:11), belongs to the words that occur only in Part Second.
Isa_51:10. הַשָּׂמָה, according to the Masoretic pointing with double-Pashta (comp. Olsh., § 41, k, 47, c. Anm.), should be read as Milel [accented on the penult.—Tr.], consequently regarded as third pers. fem. perf. Then the expression must be taken in a relative sense (Gesen., § 100, Rem.). But this punctuation seems to me a needless refinement. For there is no grammatical or logical ground for departing from the simple and natural construction of the verse, according to which the word is a parallel participle to the foregoing הַמַּֽחֲרֶבֶת.
Isa_51:11. The verse is repeated almost verbatim from Isa_35:10. The only difference is the small one of ישׂיגון נסו in our text instead of the ישׂיגו ונסו of Isa_35:10, which may be referred to an error of transcription. In 35 Isa_51:9 concludes with the words וְהָלְכוּ גְאוּלִים. Our Isa_51:10 also concludes with גאוים. It is possible, indeed, that thus ending Isa_51:10, the Prophet was reminded of Isa_35:9, and that occasioned his repeating here the words that there follow, viz., Isa_35:10. But it is not correct, when Hitzig remarks, that Isa_51:11 does not suit the context because here those delivered from Egypt are meant. For the deliverance out of Egypt is only a type of that of final history.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Awake—flee away.
Isa_51:9-11. In accordance with the almost dramatic arrangement that the Prophet observes, Zion now takes up the discourse. It is so bold as to return exhortation for exhortation. For if Israel was reminded in Isa_51:1-6 of what it needed to do for its salvation, it in turn summons the Lord to do His part now, i.e., in the time of the Servant of Jehovah, in the last time, as He did in the beginning time, in Egypt. There is in עוּרִי “awake” a slight intimation that the arm of the Lord has slept, i.e., that there has been a pause in the display of its power. How else could the destruction and desolation (Isa_51:3) of Zion, and its consequent second and greatest exile have come about? Thrice is the cry “awake” called out to the arm of the Lord, as to one lying in deepest slumber, and that can only be wakened by repeated calling. Comp. Isa_52:1; Jdg_5:12. Put on strength, equip one’s self with strength, is a figure drawn from the arming of a warrior with pieces of armor. The naked arm is thought of as weaker, that covered with brazen bands as stronger, firmer, better able to resist (comp. Isa_52:1; Psa_93:1). Hitzig cites Homer, Il. 19, 36, δύσεο δ̓ἀλκήν; Delitzsch, Rev_11:17, λαμβάνειν δύναμιν. And now the Lord’s former doings are, as it were, held up to Him as an example. Art thou not He that cut Rahab asunder, etc. Rahab, properly ferocia, then designation of a monstrum marinum, in which sense it corresponds to תַּנִּין, and thence, like the latter, which=“the crocodile,” a symbolical name for Egypt (comp. on Isa_30:7). On תַּנִּין comp. List and Eze_29:3; Psa_74:13-14.
In Isa_51:10, reference is further made to the drying up of the Red sea and the passage of the Israelites through it. Therefore here again we find the deliverance out of Egyptian bondage as a type of the last and final redemption. In Isa_51:11 (see Text. and Gram.) the Prophet, in entire agreement with the context, expresses the confidence that the arm of the Lord will, indeed, in the last time give proof again of its power displayed in ancient time, and that therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return home to Zion with rejoicings and to everlasting joy.
3. JEHOVAH SPEAKS: HE REPLIES TO ISRAEL’S EXHORTATION WITH EXHORTATION, AND HOLDS UP TO HIS SERVANT THE ORIGIN, MEANS AND GOAL OF HIS LABOR
Isa_51:12-16
12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you:
Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die?
And of the son of man which shall be 4made as grass;
13 And forgettest the Lord thy Maker,
That hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth;
And hast feared continually every day
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
5As if he 6were ready to destroy?
And where is the fury of the oppressor?
14 7The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed,
And 8that he should not die in the pit,
Nor that his bread should fail.
15 9But I am the Lord thy God,
That 10divided the sea, whose waves roared:
The Lord of hosts is his name.
16 And I have put my words in thy mouth,
And I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand,
11That I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth,
And say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
See List for the recurrence of the words: Isa_51:14, צָעָה, comp. Jer_2:20; Jer_48:12; Isa_51:15 יהוה צ׳ שְׁמוֹ; the expression occurs in the same form in Jer_10:16; Jer_31:35 : Jer_32:18; Jer_46:18; Jer_48:15; Jer_50:34; Jer_51:19; Jer_51:57. It seems original with Amos, where it appears now in a simpler form (Amo_5:8; Amo_9:6), now in a more extended form (Amo_4:13; Amo_5:27).
Isa_51:12. In מִי־אַתְּ the מִי is self-evidently qualis. The expression also corresponds in sound to את־היא Isa_51:9. The Prophet uses freedom in respect to gender and number. After מנחמכם he puts the sing מי־את, and after the feminine מי־את ותיראי the masculines ותשׁכח and ותפחד, according as the notion Zion or Israel is uppermost. The Vav consec. after מי־את expresses the effect, and hence is=ut; qualis eras, ut timeres. Thus מי־את by no means signifies “how little art thou?” (Knobel). For the same interrogative form may mean: “how great art thou?” comp. Jdg_9:28. And any way מי may, regardless of size great or small, inquire for the occasioning quality generally. Comp. Isa_51:19 and מי־את Rth_3:16 with the same phrase, Rth_3:9; Isa_57:4; Isa_57:11.
Isa_51:13. One may supply חִצָּיו “his arrows” after כּוֹנֵן (Psa_11:2; comp. Isa_7:13); still, without an expressed object, the word also means “to aim” (Psa_21:13).
Isa_51:14. מהר לחפתח is construed as e.g., מִהַרְתָּ לִמְצֹא Gen_27:20. צָעָה is “to bow” transitive and intransitive. Here it means the one bowed down by chains or the מַהְפֶּכֶת (Jer_20:2; Jer_29:26; 2Ch_16:10). הפתח is a metonymy as in Isa_14:17, etc.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. I, even I—should fail.
Isa_51:12-14. Jehovah enters here as the third and most exalted person of the dialogue. The “I, even I” corresponds to the “awake, awake” of Isa_51:9 and replies to it. It seems to me that “He that comforteth you” refers back to the double נִחַם “comforted” Isa_51:3. It is as if the Lord would say: Have ye not heard that I, I Jehovah am He that comforts Zion? Are ye not competently assured of this? Who art thou, now, that thou fearest a man that will die? (See Text. and Gram.). Man that dies, the son of man who is given away as grass, such is the enemy that Israel ought not to fear. There could be no mention of this fear, were it not that Israel forgot Jehovah, who, as Maker of His people (Isa_43:1) stretcher forth of the heavens and founder of the earth (Isa_40:22; Isa_42:5; Isa_44:24; Isa_45:12) surely offered a sufficient guaranty for trusting in Him. Forgetting Jehovah is really the cause both of fearing men (Isa_51:12) and of the continual trembling (Isa_51:13). The mention of one effect before and of the other after the cause, thus proceeding in the one case from effect to cause, and in the other from cause to effect, though not quite exact, is still a common way of speaking (comp. Amo_5:10-12; Jer_2:9 sq.; Isa_49:19 sq.; 2Sa_12:9). Evidently and hast trembled every day, etc., Isa_51:13, makes stronger the expression of Isa_51:12, both qualitatively and quantitatively. To understand by “the oppressor” the Babylonian oppressor (Knobel) is only possible to one that has no conception of the wide reach of the prophetic gaze. Though Babylon may be included, it cannot be all that is meant, for the Prophet sees together all that Israel feels as an oppressor until the end. Moreover the expression is founded on Deu_28:53; Deu_28:55; Deu_28:57, and is used by Isaiah here and Isa_29:2; Isa_29:7 in this sense, and besides only by Jer_19:9. כאשׁר=“according as,” and thus expresses that the trembling is in proportion to the aiming of the oppressor.
“But where is the fury of the oppressor?” asks the Lord, anticipating, as it were, the future. The question intimates that a time will come when that fury shall suddenly vanish. With this wondrously quick disappearance of the oppressor connects the instant, and unhindered release of the captives. Prison scenes appear here before the Prophet’s mind: he sees captives bent under the weight of chains, or, worse still, by racking instruments, who are now quickly let go, and thus escape a dreadful fate of slow dying to the pit (a pregnant construction) for want of necessary food.
2. But I am—My people.
Isa_51:15-16. I regard both these verses as the address of Jehovah to His Servant. Such an address is not out of place, but the contrary, if we were right in regarding the Servant of Jehovah as taking part in the dialogue and the Isa_51:1-8 as His words. ואנכי “and I” answers to the double אנכי Isa_51:12 as a similar beginning. The Servant of Jehovah has also great conflicts to endure. The world storms against Him like a raging sea (Psa_2:1; Isa_57:20). Hence Jehovah, to strengthen Him, calls Himself in relation to Him His God, that has power over the sea, to raise it up and, naturally, to quiet it again (Isa_17:12-13; Isa_23:11; Isa_50:2; Isa_51:10). Jehovah Sabaoth is this God called, as Lord of the heavenly hosts. Shall He that has dominion over the powers of heaven not have dominion also over the powers of the earth?
The expression רָגַע הַיָם “to arouse the sea” occurs first Job_26:12. Afterwards comes our text, and our text is literally reproduced by Jer_31:35. [The Author has an argument that follows here to prove that the language is original with Isaiah, and borrowed by Jeremiah. This is reproduced in brief in the Introduction, pp. 23, 24. The present amplification adds nothing to the clearness of it, and is omitted to save space. As an argument it is not forcible. His explanation is that Jeremiah uses the language in question to denote “a regularly recurring motion of the sea,” and that the ebb and flow of the tide must be meant, because that is the only firmly established ordinance for the sea’s motion that can be classified with the sun, moon and stars, and made a type of the stability of God’s covenant with His people. But the context of Jer_31:35 does not require us to think that Jeremiah gives this application to the language. Moreover רָגַע in any of its accepted meanings is unsuitable to express such motion as the tide. Besides, to Hebrews, remote as they were from the ocean, the tide was an unfamiliar phenomenon, and thus does not appear in their literature. And it may be said that, in relation to our Isa_51:13 a. the notion of phenomenal stability is as much demanded for Isa_51:15 as in Jer_31:35.
The best treatment of the attempt to prove that our text is borrowed from Jeremiah, and therefore not genuine Isaianic, is to ignore it as frivolous. Still, perhaps, the scrutiny which the debate occasions may lead to a more exact understanding of the language in question. The LXX render Job_26:12, דָגַע הַיָם, κατέπαυσε τὴν θάλασσαν. The Author’s discussion of רָגַע under Isa_51:4 shows how ambiguous the word is in itself, and that we must rely on our tact and the context to determine its meaning. The general scriptural appeal to the sea as proof of God’s power, is to the evidence it gives of His controlling it. It is the sea that rages, He settles it and holds it in bounds. Comp. Job_38:8-11, and Christ stilling the tempest Mar_4:35 sqq. It seems preferable therefore to accept Lowth’s rendering. “He who stilleth the sea, though the waves thereof roar,” which also Barnes adopts. Tr.]
The words Isa_51:16 can only be spoken to the Servant of God. “I have put My words in Thy mouth” designates both the task and the equipment the Servant of God receives. The words recall Isa_49:2, where it is said: “And He hath made My mouth like a sharp sword.” The Servant of God must proclaim the will of God. To be able to do this, He must be able to find the proper, powerful, incisive words (Heb_4:12). This comes about by God’s word being put into His mouth. If the wrath of men that are enemies to the truth be thereby aroused, the Lord protects Him: “I have covered Thee in the shadow of My hand.” The same is said Isa_49:2, in almost the same words of the Servant of the Lord, viz., בְּצַל יָדוֹ הֶחְבִּיאָֽנִי. By this means the Servant of God will be preserved and enabled to carry out His work. The aim of this work is that He may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth. Who must this Servant of God be to whom is assigned such a task? What heaven shall He plant? what earth shall He found? Certainly not the old heaven and the old earth that have already been planted and founded, but which, too, are destined, according to Isa_51:6 “to vanish away like smoke, and wax old like a garment,” in that assize that the Servant of God will hold. But the Servant of God will plant a new heaven and found a new earth (Isa_65:17; Isa_66:22; Rev_21:1). Concerning the way in which He has done this see under Doctrinal and Ethical, p. 559, § 6. But the new heaven and the new earth are also a dwelling for the people of God, the Ἰσραὴλ πνευματικός, which of course has not proceeded merely from the Twelve Tribes. Nevertheless the historical Israel constitutes the frame into which the new humanity will be joined on as members. Hence, as is said Isa_66:22 : “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me,—so shall your seed and your name remain,” so here the people that is to populate the new heaven and new earth is called Zion. Jerusalem, which is from above is the mother of us all, says Paul (Gal_4:26).
Those that do not recognize the Servant of God as the speaker in Isa_51:1-8, must, in order to get tolerable sense out of our passage, assume that Jehovah is the subject of “to plant,” “to found” and “to say.” Let this even be justified respecting “to plant” and “to found,” yet it remains inexplicable how Jehovah should put His word in Zion’s mouth, in order that He, Jehovah, may say: thou art My people.—Others, as Hitzig, take the three infinitives in a gerundive sense: in planting a heaven, and founding an earth, and saying to Zion, etc. Apart from the planting and founding of heaven and earth being made to mean only a new order of things on this earth, or even a new founding of Israel as a state, one can never prove that the Lordthereby put His word into the mouth of His Servant, and thereby protected Him, in that He renewed heaven and earth. For it is inconceivable that the Servant of the Lord will still stand in need of inspiration after heaven and earth are become new.—Less justifiable still, grammatically, is the exposition of Hahn, who would take לנטע וגוי simply as a paraphrase of the future: I will plant. He appeals to the usage that permits the use of הָיָה with following לְ and the infin. constr. to paraphrase the verb. fin. But there can be no mention of this here, not, indeed, because היה is wanting, which would make no difference, but because the subject is wanting. For according to Hahnלגטע וגו׳ should represent an independent sentence. But for that at least a subject were requisite. It must at least read אָנֹכִי לִנְטֹעַ. But as a subject is every way wanting, it follows, necessarily, that לנטע וגוי can only be construed as a dependent infinitive clause.
Footnotes:
[4]given.
[5]As he took aim.
[6]Or, made himself ready.
[7]The one bowed down hastens.
[8]he will not die away to the pit, and will not want his bread.
[9]And.
[10][stilleth, Lowth.—TR.]
[11]To plant—to lay, etc.
4. THE PROPHET SPEAKS. HE EXHORTS ISRAEL TO TAKE TO HEART THE COMFORT THAT JEHOVAH DISPENSES
Isa_51:17-23
17 Awake! Awake! stand up, O Jerusalem,
Which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury;
Thou hast drunken the 12dregs of the cup of 13trembling,
And 14wrung them out.
18 There is none to guide her
Among all the sons whom she hath brought forth;
Neither is there any that taketh her by the hand
Of all the sons that she hath brought up.
19 These two things 1are come unto thee;
Who shall be sorry for thee?
15Desolation, and 16destruction, and the famine, and the sword:
17By whom shall I comfort thee?
20 Thy sons 18have fainted.
They lie at the head of all the streets, as a 19wild bull in a net:
20They are full of the fury of the Lord,
The rebuke of thy God.
21 Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted,
And drunken, but not with wine:
22 Thus saith thy Lord the Lord,
And thy God that 21pleadeth the cause of his people,
Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of htrembling,
Even the 22dregs of the cup of my fury;
Thou shalt no more drink it again:
23 But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee:
Which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over:
And thou hast laid thy body as the ground,
And 23as the street, to them that went over.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
See List for the recurrence of the words: Isa_51:17. מָצָה. Isa_51:19. חרב–רעב–הַשֹּׁד וְהַשֶּׁבֶר. Isa_51:20. מִכְמָר–עָלַף. Isa_51:21.שְׁבֻרָה. Isa_51:22. אֲדֹנִים. Isa_51:23. מוֹגִים.
Isa_51:18. Note the many liquidae, and the likeness in sound of the conclusion of both halves of the verse. Both impart to the words a character of tenderness, sadness.
Isa_51:19. Here, too, both halves of the verse have a similar conclusion. For the two interjection-like parentheses מי ינוד לך and אנחמך, each beginning with מִי, are two rhymes in sentiment. The form of expression שׁתים הנה recalls Job_13:20; Pro_30:7; comp. Jer_2:13; Jer_15:3. קֹרְאֹת (from קָרָא = קָרָה Isa_60:18), and also שֹׁד ,מי ינוד לך and מי אנחמך are undeniable points of contact between our text and Nah_3:7. For our קֹרְאֹתַיִךְ answers to the רֹאַיִךְ there; our שֹׁד to שָדּדָה there; our מיאנחמך to the מֵאַיִן אֲבַקֵּשׁ מֲנזחֲמִים לָךְ there.—מי in the concluding question מי אנחמך can only mean quails. It is properly an abbreviation of מִי אָנכִי וַאֲנַחֲמֵךְ, answering to the מִי־אַתְּ וַתִּירְאִי, Isa_51:12.
Isa_51:20. מִכְמָר means the same as מִכְּמֶרֶת (Isa_19:8; Hab_1:15-16) and מִכְמרֹ Psa_141:10).—שְׁכֻרָה part. pass, only here, comp. Isa_29:9; the st. constr. is explained by all that follows being conceived of as one notion, a very common construction in Isa_5:11; Isa_8:6; Isa_9:2; Isa_28:9; Isa 16:6,19; Isa_56:9-10, etc.
Isa_51:22. אֲדֹנִים of Jehovah only here.—רִיב with that for which God contends in the accusative as in Isa_1:17; comp. on Isa_49:25.
Isa_51:23. מוֹגִים “tormentors,” occurs only here in Isaiah, but occurs oftenest in Lamentations, where, however, it is used only of God who visits men with tribulation (Lam_1:5; Lam_1:12; Lam_3:32-33). Only in Job_19:2, is it used, as here, of men who torment the souls of their fellow-men. Perhaps the latter passage was in the mind of the Prophet. It favors this that he continues: “Which have said to thy soul.”—Our text is the only one in all the Old Testament where the Kal. שָׁחָה occurs. With this exception the verb is only used in Hithp.—לַעֹבְרִים may depend on תָּשִׂימִי, hut also on כַּחוּץ. The latter is more likely: first, because of the position; second, because just in the connection with חוץ there is a strengthening of the thought. For the earth is not chiefly destined to serve the use of the עֹבְרִים; but such is the special destination of a street.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. The reverse side of the redemption of Israel is here presented, viz., the judgment on the enemies of the Theocracy (comp. Isa_11:14; Isa_14:2; Isa_25:10 sqq.; Isa_34:1 sqq., etc.), as if to strengthen the effect of light by contrast with its corresponding shadow. But now it is the Prophet that speaks, as if he, too, on his part would induce Israel to take cheerful courage from God’s word. Perhaps this section is meant to form a transition to chap. 52. For instance, in this Isa_51:17-23 the population of Jerusalem is addressed, whereas chap. 52. speaks of the holy nation reunited to the holy places.
2. Awake——rebuke of thy God.
Isa_51:17-20. The double התעוררי corresponds to the double עורי (Isa_51:9) and אנכי (Isa_51:12). In relation to עורי, the Hithp. involves the idea of self as an object,=“rouse thyself.” Jerusalem must not persist in a state devoid of comfort and courage; it must wake itself up, cheer up, rouse itself (comp. Isa_64:6). It has received from the hand of its Lord the cup of His fury, which by its intoxicating contents, is also a cup of reeling, and has drunk it to the dregs, even sipped it empty. The figure of the cup of wrath is found also Psa_75:9; Jer_25:15; Jer_25:17; Jer_25:28; Jer_49:12; Jer_51:7; Hab_2:16; Eze_23:31 sqq.: Lam_4:21. The figure of drinking divine fury occurs already Job_21:20, and beside that Oba_1:16; Jer_48:26. קֻבַּעַת (comp. בּוֹבַע ,קוֹבַע “a helmet,” κύβη, cupa, Passow, s. v.), the helm-like, rounded [convex] top of the cup, occurs only here and Isa_51:22. תַּרְעֵלָה (comp. רְעָלוֹת3:19) that denotes the effect of the drink, beside here and Isa_51:17, occurs only Psa_60:5. The intensifying of the figure by וּמָצִית occurs for substance Oba_1:16, by the same word Psa_75:9 (8), and (which is probably an imitation of our text) Eze_23:34. In Isa_51:18 the figure of the drunken woman is continued by saying, that none of the sons of Zion have been in condition to lead their drunken mother. What the Prophet means by this figure appears from Isa_51:20. “What is said figuratively in Isa_51:17-18, is said without figure in Isa_51:19-20. Answering to the full cup, Jerusalem’s misfortune is Isa_51:19, represented as a double one, each half, of which is again divided into two parts, so that there results a sort of arithmetical progression. See Text. and Gram. Whether our text or the similar one in Nah_3:7 is the original, in my opinion, cannot be doubtful. Manifestly the passage in Isaiah is bolder, of more original construction, it even sounds harsh compared with the smooth form in which it appears in Nahum. The two interjectional clauses have disappeared. The bold, and difficult מי אנחמך is resolved into the sober: “whence shall I seek comforters for thee?” And it may be further remarked, that מִי appears to be referred to a human subject and not to the person of Jehovah. Thus it may be said, that the modern expositors, who following the LXX. and Vulg. take אנחמך without further ado for ימד (Boettcher, N. ex. krit. Æhrenlese, Nr. 765), or construe מִי> as acc. Instrument. (Hitzig.), have their predecessor already in Nahum. נוּד is “commiserari, to compassionate, sympathize with,” and occurs with following לֽ and נַחֵם also Job_2:11; Job_42:11; comp. Jer_15:5; Jer_16:6; Jer_22:10; Jer_48:17.
Each of the two evils that come on Jerusalem is, according to the parenthesis, represented as a whole consisting of two parts. The first whole is called הַשֹׁד וְהַשֶׁבֶר “the blow and the downfall” [E. V., “desolation and destruction”]. The two words occur together as here Isa_59:7; Isa_60:18; Jer_48:3, which last text seems to lean on Isa_60:18, because in both שׁד ושׁבר is spoken of as something audible. While “the blow” and “the downfall” primarily concern the city as a complex of buildings, רעב and חרב “hunger and sword” relate to the persons. The conjunction of these words occurs in Isaiah only here. It occurs more frequently in Jer., and Ezek. (Jer_14:15-16; Jer_21:7, etc.; Eze_14:21; Eze_6:11; Eze_12:16). Isa_51:20 corresponds to Isa_51:18, explaining what has rendered the sons of Jerusalem incapable of helping their mother. They were themselves overtaken by the destroying woe. עָלַף, which occurs only in Pual and Hithp., means “to be enveloped, especially by a night of tribulation” (comp. Amo_8:13). The Prophet graphically describes the scenes that took place in the city just taken. Thy sons are not small children as in Lam_2:11-12; Lam_4:4, but children in general, and especially the sons that ought to be able to help their mother. At the corner of all the streets these unfortunate children lie. This expression, also, appears in Nah_3:10, as if borrowed from our passage (comp. Lam_2:19; Lam_4:1), and Nahum seems to have taken our passage in the sense of Isa_13:16, in as much as he writes גַּם עֹלָלֶיהָ יְרֻטְּשׁוּ בְּתוֹא כָּל־חוּצוֹת. The vigorous, and genuinely Isaianic expression כְּתוֹא מִכְמָר proves the originality of our passage. The children of Jerusalem are compared to an antelope entangled in a net, and making desperate, but vain efforts to free itself. תוא occurs again only Deu_14:5, and is there pointed תְּאוֹ. It signifies a large kind of antelope, classified among the clean beasts, fit for food. Comp. Bochart, Hieroz. Tom. II. p. 367, ed. Lips., and especially the remarks of Rosenmueller, pp. 369,281. המלאים is in apposition with בָּנַיִךְ. The words form, so to speak, the bridge between the figure of the cup of fury, Isa_51:17 and the literal description in Isa_51:20 a. so that Isa_51:20 a. is a description of the effect of the cup of fury.
3. Therefore hear——went over.
Isa_51:21-23. Having, from Isa_51:17 on, described the effect of the cup of fury, the Prophet now gives his reason for calling to Jerusalem “rouse thyself.” Jerusalem, that hitherto was wretched (Isa_10:30; Isa_54:11), that was drunken but not with wine, but with misery, shall hear (Isa_47:8) that its Lord, Jehovah, its God, who represents His people in the judicial contest (רִיב see Text. and Gram.), takes the cup of fury out of their hand, and gives it into the hand of their enemies. The thought is the same as Oba_1:16; Jer_49:12; Jer_48:26. By the departure of the cup of fury from the hand of Jerusalem into the hand of its enemy is revealed the rule of the divine nemesis. The enemies had provoked this by the arrogance with which they had illtreated and abused Jerusalem. The expression: which said to thy soul, bow down, beside being an echo of Job_19:2, is a sort of metonymy. For what the humiliation feels is named as that which the outward act suffers. The figure indicates how wicked and excessive had been the ill usage inflicted on Israel (comp. Isa_10:5 sqq.; Jer_51:20 sqq). [See Barnesin loc., for rich illustration of the final clause from oriental usages.—Tr.].
Footnotes:
[12]Heb. happened.
[13]reeling.
[14]sipped it.
[15]The blow and the downfall.
[16]Heb. breaking.
[17]How.
[18]are benighted.
[19]antelope.
[20]They that.
[21]avengeth.
[22][convex] top of.
[23]as a street for passengers.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Isa_51:1-3. Here one clearly recognizes the evangelist of the Old Testament. Is it not as if we heard Paul, who wrote Rom_4:11 sqq.; Gal_3:6 sqq.? Abraham, says Isaiah, is not merely the rock from which ye are hewn, i.e. he is not merely your fleshly ancestor. Look also on his faith. Become also his spiritual children! “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what He had promised He was able to perform “(Rom_4:19-21). So ye should have a firm faith that God can make also the ruins of Zion into an Eden, and her waste places into a garden of God. And this hope we ought ever to have respecting the Church of the Lord. If it has even become a “solitarius Abraham et sicut desertum et ruina,” still it may hope to become a paradise and garden of God. And just so may the individual “episcopus et pastor” cheer himself in such a away, “ut credat, ministeriam, suum non esse inefficax, etiamsi in specie nullus fructus videatur sequi” (Luther).
2. On Isa_51:4-6. The time when the gospel, the tidings of justification by faith, went forth into the world was at once a time of salvation and of judgment. For these tidings were despised by the Jews and received with joy by the Gentiles. Hence Jerusalem was destroyed. That was the beginning of the judgment of the world, which needed to happen to the house of God. Had Israel received the gospel, it would have disappeared among the Gentiles. We see this daily in the case of single Israelitish families that are converted to Christianity. They mix with the Gentiles and disappear in their preponderant numbers. Such would have been the case with all Israel had the nation en masse believed on Christ. Just by its unbelief it was preserved as a nation. At last, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall have entered in, all Israel, too, will become believing. That is, the ἐκλογή, the remnant, will become so. All the rest of Israel, all the ’Ἰσραὴλ σαρκικός, will be overtaken by the judgment, and, with the earthly heaven and the earthly earth and all earthly minded men on it, they shall pass away like smoke in the wind, or like a garment consumed by fire. But everything that will have laid hold on the salvation of the Servant of God and His righteousness shall be called Zion, and will belong to the Bride of the Lord, whose wedding-day will then have come. The people of Israel will, indeed, even then retain their individuality, as generally every creature that becomes new in the kingdom of God will retain its specific peculiarity. Indeed, Israel will ever remain what it was: the son of the house, the first-born. But then it will assume this position without prejudice or disregard of the Gentile world, and without danger for itself. For no one will then any more be able to make of any avail personal reputation or personal merit, but all will recognize that they are what they are by God’s grace.
3. On Isa_51:7-8. Jerome says of the רֹדכֵּי צֶדֶק and the עַם תּוֹרָתִי בְלִבָּם, that they are those “qui habeant legem, quam per Jeremiam Dominus pollicitur, dicens, ‘statuam testamentum novum, non juxta testamentum, quod deposui patribus eorum; sed statuam testamentum, dans leges meas in mentibus eorum (Jer_31:31 sqq.),’ ut nequaquam vivant juxta literam, sed juxta spiritum instaurantes naturalem legem in cordibus suis (Rom_2:14; Psa_37:30-31).” But those who have the law of the Servant of God in their hearts, stand in the directest opposition to the world, and have only to expect the hatred of the world in the highest degree; yet even alone they are strong against the world, and need not fear its rage (Mat_5:11-12; Mat_10:28).
4. On Isa_51:9-11. “Dicit ‘consurge,’ perinde atque si Deus altum somnum dormiat.” Luther. Comp. the sleeping of Jesus in the boat (Mat_8:24 sqq.—“Arise! So the pious pray, not because they believe God is lying idle in heaven, but because they confess their slothfulness and their ignorance, inasmuch as they are unable to think of God as long as they do not feel His help. But although the flesh supposes He sleeps, and that He does not concern Himself about our suffering, yet faith raises itself higher up and lays hold on God’s everlasting power.” Heim u. Hoffmann.—”Sentit ecclesia suam Aegyptum et premitur variis tentationibus mundi, Satanae et conscientiae. Christus tamen promittit: tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudiam. … Sed hoc molestum est, quod Christus et Petrus dicunt, modicum expectandum esse. Videtur enim hoc modicum turn, cum in tentatione sumus, aeternitas quaedam esse, quare opus habemus his consolationibus verbi.” Luther.—“As the Prophets appeal to previous examples, and, as has happened a little before, the Prophet Isaiah quotes Abraham’s history, and here recalls that of Pharaoh, thus the ancient books of Moses are canonized and confirmed, so that one may not doubt their certainty.” Cramer.—“As the people of Israel in the Babylonian captivity sighed for deliverance and said: If the Lord will redeem the captives of Zion, then we will be like those that dream; then our mouth shall be full of laughter, and our tongue full of singing (Psa_126:1-2); and as the most ardent longings of the believers in the ancient world were for the coming of Christ in the flesh, as old Jacob says: ‘I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord’ (Gen_49:18), so we are to long for nothing more than for the coming of Christ to judgment, in which also John precedes us with the words: ‘Even so come, Lord Jesus!’ after it was said: ‘I come quickly. Amen’ (Rev_22:20). When, therefore, we hear of the signs of the coming of Christ, we should raise up our heads because our salvation draws near (Luk_21:18). There will be no more suffering, cry, pain (Rev_21:4), but fulness of joy and lovely existence at the right hand of God forevermore (Psa_16:11).” Renner.
5. On Isa_51:12-14. “I, I comfort thee. Not gold, not silver, not honor, not the world, but my word, my Spirit, shall keep and protect thee. Thou fearest men that terrify thee. Why then dost thou not let thyself be raised up when I comfort? For I am God that fill heaven and earth. They are water-bubbles, moths, stalks of straw, drops in the bucket, dust in the balance, burning thorns. I am a comforter, not alarmer, although the flesh in time of tribulation so judges. I am thy Creator, not thine executioner or tormentor, and my power is so great that I have spread out the heavens and founded the earth. Hence thou hast no cause to fear that I have not strength enough to redeem thee.” Heim and Hoffmann.—“God often withdraws from us consolationes rerum, so that the consolatio verbi may have room and operation with us.” Foerster.—“What is man? What is he good for? What can he profit, or what harm can he do (Sir_18:7; Psa_56:12; Psa_118:6)? And if God be for us, who can be against us (Rom_8:31)? As is to be seen in the examples of Pharaoh, Sennacherib and countless others.” Cramer.
6. On Isa_51:15-16. In the second Psalm it is said: “Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth … cast away their cords from us.” And in Psalms 16 : “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar,” etc. The Lord who has power over the sea, and over those powers that rage like the sea, protects His servant against this raging. The Servant of the Lord does not speak of himself, but what He speaks He speaks as the Father has said to Him (Joh_12:49-50). And even if what He has spoken and done according to the Father’s will bring Him on the cross, still this bitter day of death is followed by a glorious day of resurrection. And this day of the resurrection is a second creative day. It is the beginning of a new and better world. The glorified life, which in Christ entered into this world out of the cavern of the grave, was not confined to His person. Rather it has penetrated from Him forth, by word and sacrament, to all men. As through the first Adam death seized also the creation, so through the second Adam the glorified life communicates itself to the whole creation. Not only a new humanity will be formed from Him, but a new heaven and a new earth. Thus it can be said of the Servant of God, that He plants the heaven and lays the foundation of the earth.
7. On Isa_51:15-16. “Comfort for the sacred office of the ministry. 1) On account of the founder, who is God Himself. As the great lords, when they issue commands, use their titles in advance, and subscribe themselves by their lands and peoples, so God does also, who is the Lord of hosts. He is strong and reputable enough. 2) This founder and beginner Himself makes those in the gospel ministry capable persons to discharge the office of the Spirit. For our ability is of God (2Co_3:5). 3) The word that they preach is not their own, but God’s word, which He Himself puts into their mouths (Mat_10:20). 4) God takes the preachers under His guidance, protection and shelter, and covers them under the shadow of His hand, hides them secretly with Himself against every man’s arrogance (Psa_31:21). 6) Their office is dear and precious before God, because through them not only are the foundations of the earth laid, but also heaven is set with glorious plants of honor that shall grow and bloom in all eternity to the glory of God.”—Cramer.
HOMILETICAL HINTS
1. On Isa_51:4-6. Missionary Sermon. The Lord says: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Mat_24:14. According to this, there is a close connection between missions and the judgment of the world. The former belongs to the preliminary conditions of the latter. The judgment of the world does not come before missions have accomplished their task, and at the same time missions offer to men what they must have in order to be able to stand in judgment. If now, beside this, all believing souls long for the second coming of the Lord, because only by that will our redemption be accomplished (Luk_21:18), and the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer be heard, so, from the view-point of Christianity, the wish is justified, that missions may soon accomplish their work, that the day of the Lord may soon come. In this lies a motive to be, not neglectful, but diligent and zealous in missionary labor. Thus we may discourse in this wise on the connection between the last judgment and missions, and show: 1) how the coming of the judgment depends on missions accomplishing their task (Isa_51:4-5, the law of the Lord and His righteousness are here; the isles wait. Let us bring to them the former; the sooner they come to all nations, the sooner will the Lord come also, and with Him our redemption). 2) How standing in judgment depends on the acceptance of what missions offer (Isa_51:6, he that has the righteousness of Christ will not despond; he that has it not, will perish).
2. On Isa_51:7-8. Consolation in time of persecution. Why the children of God need not fear the hostility of the World. 1) Because they are strong (the law of God is in their hearts, they have the righteousness that avails with God; God Himself lives in them with His Spirit and His strength; their cause is God’s cause, therefore the power of God is on their side). 2) Because the world is weak (its power is only apparent; the world is inwardly hollow, untrue, therefore forsaken of God, and judged, and this condition of being judged must in a short time become manifest).
3. On Isa_51:9-11. These words, too, can be applied to address consolation to the Church. The appeal is to the facts by which the Lord even in ancient time proved His saving power, especially by redeeming the people of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, and by leading them through the Red Sea. God is still the same that He was then. His arm is still just as strong. Therefore He can do again what He did then. Hence the children of God, to-day also, have nothing to fear from the fury of the dragon, from the deep waters through which they must pass. They shall arrive prosperously at their goal, and everlasting joy shall be their portion (Isa_66:14; Joh_16:22).
4. On Isa_51:12-14. Warning against the fear of man. 1) It is a sin. For it is to forget what God has already done for us, and what He promises. 2) It is folly; for men are powerless and perishing.
5. On Isa_51:15-16. Even though the world tosses and rages ever so much, still let us hold fast to Jesus Christ the Son of God; for in Him we find 1) the divine truth, 2) the most powerful protection, 3) participation in divine glory (the new heaven and new earth).
6. On Isa_51:17-23. A call to the Church militant. Two things are certainly in prospect for it: 1) That here on earth, for its trial and purification, it must empty the cup of wrath; 2) That, after it has drunk, the cup of wrath shall be put into the hands of its enemies that they may be judged, while it is saved.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–23 alone--translate, "I called him when he was but one"…
alone--translate, "I called him when he was but one" (Eze 33:24). The argument is: the same God who had so blessed "one" individual, as to become a mighty nation (Gen 12:1; Gen 22:7), can also increase and bless the small remnant of Israel, both that left in the Babylonish captivity, and that left in the present and latter days (Zac 14:2); "the residue" (Isa 13:8-9).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 17, 18, 21, 23 1. Hearken to me — This formula is used…
1. Hearken to me — This formula is used when there is a turn from one class of hearers to another.
Ye that follow… ye that seek the Lord — The address is to those who fully observe the law, lead just lives, and desire entire approval from Jehovah. Look unto the rock whence…
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hewn… hole… whence… digged — Abraham, who was a selected block, so to speak, out of the original quarry of mankind. The pit therein was formed in extracting the chosen mass on which to build up the house of Israel. That Sarah is named is theologically of account only to connect with the “rock” figure, Jehovah’s task in raising up a race from this father of much people, whose marriage life with Sarah was long fruitless, and called at length for God’s miracle to bring the desired progeny. The mention of Israel is, too, a poetic help to the parallelism.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 1. ye that follow after (lit. “pursue”) righteousness] “Righteousness”…
1. ye that follow after (lit. “pursue”) righteousness] “Righteousness” here means, not “salvation” (as in Isa_51:5-6; Isa_51:8), but righteousness in conduct, a way of life in accordance with the will of God (as Isa_51:7); cf. Pro_15:9; Rom_9:30 f.
look unto the rock &c.] The ancestors of the nation are compared to a quarry, the Israelites to the stones hewn from it,—a peculiar image found nowhere else. The word for hole does not occur again in the O.T.; but a noun from the same root is found in the first line of the Siloam Inscription with the sense of “perforation” or “excavation.”
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1–3. The opening exhortation alludes to a difficulty naturally arising in the minds of believing exiles, viz., that they were too few in number to inherit the glorious promises made to them. This is removed by pointing to the marvellous increase of the nation from a single patriarchal family. There is a curious coincidence between this passage and Eze_33:24, where a parallel line of reasoning, on the part of the ungodly remnant left in the land of Canaan, is denounced by the prophet as impious. The history of Abraham and the religious lessons to be drawn from it must have been familiar in the age of the Captivity.
Ch. Isa_51:1-16. Encouragements addressed to true Israelites
The strain of consolation, which was interrupted by the soliloquy of the Servant at ch. Isa_50:4, is now resumed, and is continued till we reach the fourth and last of the Servant-passages, Isa_52:13 to Isa_53:12. Throughout this long passage (Isa_51:1 to Isa_52:12) the prophet’s thoughts are occupied with the near prospect of deliverance, and his high-strung emotion finds vent in a series of short impassioned oracles, mostly of a lyrical character. These may be divided into two groups, each consisting of three oracles. While those of the second group (Isa_51:17 to Isa_52:12) are addressed to the prostrate and desolate Zion, the first (Isa_51:1-16) contains words of cheer to the faithful but timid hearts in whom the prophet’s message had found an entrance. This section shews some points of contact with the preceding descriptions of the Servant, and the line of thought was probably influenced by the last of these, in Isa_50:4-9. The contents of the section are as follows:—
i. Isa_51:1-8. A glowing and animated appeal to the believing exiles to put away the fears and misgivings which hinder their full acceptance of the promise of salvation. The thrice-repeated “Hearken to me” (see, however, on Isa_51:4) indicates a division into three strophes. (1) The first draws a lesson of encouragement from the example of the solitary patriarch Abraham, who by the blessing of Jehovah became the progenitor of a great nation. Let the true-hearted believers, therefore, take courage, in spite of the fewness of their number, for the same blessing rests on them, and will transform the waste places of Zion into a scene of joy and gladness (Isa_51:1-3). (2) The next strophe directs the hope of the loyal Israelites to the glorious future that belongs to those who wait for Jehovah’s salvation; though heaven and earth pass away that world-wide salvation is imperishable and eternal (Isa_51:4-6). (3). The last strophe, re-echoing one of the voices of the Prologue (Isa_40:6-8), reminds the exiles that the reproach they fear is that of frail and short-lived mortals, while the salvation they hope for endures for ever.
ii. Isa_51:9-10. Here for a moment the prophetic discourse is interrupted by a magnificent apostrophe to the “arm” of Jehovah. The speakers are most probably those to whom the previous words were addressed. As if all their doubts had been swept away by the impressive appeals to which they have listened, their impatience breaks forth in this impetuous challenge to Jehovah to reveal His power as in the days of old. (Isa_51:11 has been inserted from ch. Isa_35:10.)
iii. Isa_51:12-16. The Divine voice is again heard (in answer to the people’s prayer). Since their comforter is Jehovah Himself, the Creator of heaven and earth, how unreasonable is their craven fear of their cruel oppressors! (Isa_51:12-13). Towards the close, however, the connexion becomes very obscure (see the notes).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 (1) Look unto the rock.—The implied argument is, that…
LI.
(1) Look unto the rock.—The implied argument is, that the wonder involved in the origin of Israel is as a ground of faith in its restoration and perpetuity. The rock is, of course, Abraham, the pit, Sarah.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–23 Vers. 1-8. AN ADDRESS TO FAITHFUL ISRAEL, SUGGESTING TOPICS…
Vers. 1-8. AN ADDRESS TO FAITHFUL ISRAEL, SUGGESTING TOPICS OF COMFORT.
The address consists of three nearly equal strophes or stanzas, each commencing with a call, Shim"u elai, "Hearken unto me," or Haqshibu elai, "Attend to me." The prophet appears to be the speaker, and to address himself to the more faithful portion of the people.
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Ye that follow after righteousness; i.e. "ye that endeavour to lead righteous lives" (comp. ver. 7). Ye that seek the Lord. And do not "seek after idols," as too many of the exiles did. (Isa_40:19 Isa_41:7 Isa_44:9-20 Isa_46:5-8, etc.) Look unto the rock... the hole; i.e. look back at your past history, especially at the early beginnings of it. Consider from what a slight and poor commencement an aged man and a barren woman (ver. 2) ye were raised up to be God"s people, a numerous nation, a multitude like the sand of the sea. How came this result about? Was it not simply by the blessing of God?
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON Vers. 1-8. Instructions to the spiritual Israel.
The people are described as "possessing righteousness," i.e. following a way of life in accordance with the Divine commands; and "seeking Jehovah," i.e. attending to all that his mind approves and his will commands.
I THE LESSON OF THEIR ORIGIN. They had been, as it were, hewn from a rock and dug out of a pit. The allusion is to Abraham. They had sprung from one, and him as good as dead. (Heb_11:12) They had been as rough as unhewn materials fresh from the quarry when Jehovah took them in band for his moulding. He had formed the nation out of its primary materials had taken Abraham and Sarah from a distant land, and formed them into a nation for his own purpose. And then the argument is that he who had done this in the past was able to do as great things in the future to restore the people from captivity to their own land. The words may be applied more generally. (cf. Mat_3:9, "God is able to raise up of these stones children unto Abraham From the rudest material God can fashion masterpieces of grace. The greatest sinner may furnish the elements of character for the greatest saint. In any true and humble view of his condition the Christian will feel that the language is apposite to himself. "He was found in his natural state as a block of marble; he was moulded and formed by the agency of the Holy Spirit; he was fitted into the spiritual temple. Christians owe all the beauty and grace of their Christian deportment to him. This is an argument to prove that they are dependent on him for all that they have, and that he will keep them and accomplish all his purposes by them. He who has transformed them from rough and unsightly blocks to polished stones fitted for his spiritual temple on earth, is able to keep them still, and to fit them wholly for his temple above.
II COMFORT FOR THE FUTURE.
1. External blessings. The ruined places of Zion are to be restored, the present wilderness of Judaea to be transformed into a garden of Eden a scene of joy, thanksgiving, and music. The idea of a terrestrial paradise enters into the lore of other nations. Arab legends tell of a garden in the East, on a mount of jacinth, inaccessible to man, of rich soil and equable temperature, well watered and abounding in trees and flowers of rare colours and fragrance. "In the background of man"s visions lay a paradise of holy joy, secured from profanation and inaccessible to the guilty; full of objects fitted to delight the senses and elevate the mind; a paradise that granted to its tenant rich and rare immunities, and fed with its perennial streams, the tree of life, and immortality" (Hardwick). There is no reason why we should not think of heaven under such a figure; and every happy renewal of the soul by Divine grace may be termed a transformation of the waste and desert of the heart into the garden of God.
2. Spiritual blessings. "Enthroned anew in Israel, Jehovah shall send forth his light and his truth among the distant nations." His righteousness is new which means "his consistent adherence to his revealed line of action which involves deliverance to faithful or at least repentant Israel, and destruction to those who thwart his all-wise purposes." "Mine arms shall judge the peoples" includes "the darker side of Jehovah"s righteousness" (Cheyne). The countries "shall wait" for Jehovah, and trust upon his "arm," i.e. his mighty help. Distant lands shall become interested in the true religion, and acknowledge and worship the true God.
3. The eternity of God"s salvations. The order of the world is elsewhere described in Scripture as everlasting. (Gen_8:21, 22 9:9-11 49:26 Psa_148:6) The heavens and the earth appear to be firm and fixed. Yet against all appearance and probability, against all that specious constancy they are doomed to vanish away. The most mighty and fixed of created things must disappear; but the promise of God is unfailing, This is one of the finest passages in all poetry. The heavens are to glide away," disappearing like wreaths of smoke in the air. (cf. Isa_34:4 Heb_1:11, 12 Psa_102:26 2Pe_3:10-12) The Hebrew was wont to look upon the sky as a "firmament," a solid overarching vault. Yet here it seems thin as a soap-bubble, which the breath of a child may blow into nothingness. There are times when the soul is sick (like Hamlet), and all the magnificence of the heavens seems to pall upon it a hint that the soul feels it partakes of a life higher than that of the natural world. There are times when the soul triumphs in the transiency of the natural world, conscious that it enjoys an immortality in common with the Eternal. "The earth shall fall to pieces like a garment, and the dwellers therein shall die like gnats; but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be annulled." It is not the contempt of a self-poised soul for the material world and its dimensions and its splendours; but the joy of a trustful soul in affiance with the Saviour-God. That this world will pass away, and that God will remain, are certain. But of what comfort is this to me, unless I am united to the Eternal? He by whose will material things perish and pass away is he by whose will the soul is redeemed and saved for ever. To live in faith upon God is to live the life of intellect and the life of love, neither of which can pass away; for they belong to the eternal essences. In such assurance material things may be seen evaporating, heaven turning to smoke, earth becoming as a tattered robe, "ocean"s self turning dry;" while we ourselves pass to him who has been and will be the Dwelling-place and the Saviour of all successive generations. J.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver. 1. Lessons of the past.
This passage has been somewhat misused. The appeal is not made to the miserableness of our spiritual condition before receiving the Divine redemption. It is simply a recalling of the early history of the race, and an appeal that the goodness, care, and mercy of God to the first progenitors of the race should be recognized. The wonder involved in the origin of Israel may be treated as a ground of faith in its restoration and perpetuity. Cheyne gives the meaning thus: "Unlikely as the fulfilment of such exceeding great and precious promises may seem, it is not more unlikely than the original wonder of a great nation being descended from one man, and him as good as dead." Abraham may be understood by the "rock," and Sarah by the "pit." Look unto Abraham, and see what he got by trusting in the promise of God, and take example by him to follow God with an implicit faith. The metaphors are taken from the quarry, and express the general idea of extraction or descent. Retrospection is an important, though difficult and dangerous, Christian duty. It ought to
(1) deepen our humility;
(2) inflame our love;
(3) stimulate our obedience and
(4) perfect our dependence and trust.
But it may, and often does, nourish that subtle form of spiritual pride which poisons the soul, and which is peculiarly difficult to cure. We only recall the past healthily when it is our set purpose to find the traces of God"s gracious working in it all. Studied aright
I THE PAST TELLS OF OUR INSIGNIFICANCE. Compare the wonder over the insignificance of Israel in its beginnings. So of the Christian Church. It began with the one or two who responded to the call of Christ. Some of us began our Christian lives in childhood, some in ignorance, and some when self-indulgence had marred the powers we possessed. All of us can say, "Chosen not for good in me.
II THE PAST TELLS OF GOD"S CARE AND MERCY. We have been led, guided, provided for, chastised, and taught, even as Israel was. God"s first dealings seem to us a key to all his dealings.
III THE PAST TELLS OF OUR WILFULNESSES. Israel could never look back without remembering his "way in the wilderness." Their past was full of murmurings and rebellions.
IV THE PAST TELLS OF GOD"S REDEMPTIONS. Exactly the name for God is our Redeemer. And the long and varied past assures us that he will ever be to us, in all times of need, what he always has been. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 22 Hearken to Me
Isa_51:1-8
Hearken to Me
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The thrice Hearken
These paragraphs are exceedingly dramatic.
We become conscious that we are approaching a revelation of unparalleled sublimity which shall be in Scripture what heart or brain or eye is in the human body. And as we consider the thrice Hearken of this paragraph, and the thrice Awake of the succeeding one, we realize that we are entering the presence-chamber of the profoundest mysteries of love and redemption. The people, notwithstanding the promises of deliverance from exile and the summons to depart, seemed unable to believe that they were destined to become again a great nation, or that Zions wastes would be repaired! Already the Servant of Jehovah had sought to answer their anxious questionings, and reassure them by announcing a love that would not let them go. And in these words He betakes Himself to the same strain. He prefaces His words by the thrice-repeated Hearken, addressed to those that follow after righteousness in the first verse; and to those that know righteousness in the seventh. These are always the stages in the development of character: they that follow presently possess.
I. THE LESSONS OF RETROSPECT. It was for her encouragement that Israel was primarily directed to this retrospect. Let us recount the steps of Abrahams pruning, on which God lays stress in saying, When he was but one, I called him.
1. He stood alone. First, Terah died, after having started with him for the Land of Promise, emblem of those who in old age start on the pilgrimage of faith and hope, not too much tied by the conservatism of nature, or the traditions of the past. Then Lot dropped away, and went down to Sodom; and it must have been difficult for the old man, as he saw the retreating forms of his camp followers, to be wholly unmoved. Then Sarahs scheme miscarried, and Hagar was thrust from his tents with her child. Lastly, his Isaac was laid upon the altar. By successive strokes the shadows grew deeper and darker; and he stood alone, face to face with God and His purpose. But the fire that burned in his heart rose higher, shone brighter, and has ignited myriads with its flame.
2. His faith was sorely tried.
3. His history is the type of Gods dealings with men. Not once nor twice in the record of the Church the cause of truth has been entrusted to a tiny handful of defenders, who have deemed it forlorn or lost. Sir Walter Scotts picture of the apparently empty glen suddenly teeming with armed men at the sign of the chieftain has often had its counterpart in the great army which has arisen from the life, or words, or witness, of a single man. Art thou a cypher? but thou mayest have God in front of thee! Art thou but a narrow strait? yet the whole ocean of Godhead is waiting to pour through thee! The question is not what thou canst or canst not do, but what thou art willing for God to do.
II. THE IMPERISHABLENESS OF SPIRITUAL QUALITY. In the following verses there is a marvellous contrast between the material and the unmaterial, the temporal and the eternal. The gaze of the people is directed to the heavens above and the earth beneath. Those heavens seem stable enough. Yet they shall vanish like a puff of smoke borne down the wind. And as for the earth, it shall wax old. But amid the general wreck, spiritual qualities will remain imperishably the same. My salvation shall be for ever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished.
1. This shall be for ever true of God. God will be the same in His feelings and dealings towards us amid the crash of matter and the wreck of worlds as He is to-day. The Jews took great comfort in the thought of Gods unchangeableness.
2. This shall be for ever true of man. When we partake of Gods righteousness and assimilate it, we acquire a permanence which defies time and change. What a lesson is given in these words of the relative value of things!
III. THE IMPOTENCE OF MAN. These exiled Jews hardly dared to hope that they would be able to break away from their foes. To us, as to the exiles in Babylon, the Divine word comes, Fear ye not, neither be dismayed (Isa_51:7). The paragraph closes with an application of the word used by the great Servant of Himself. The moth shall eat them up, we heard Him saying to Himself; they shall all wax old as a garment (chap. 50:9). But now we are bidden to apply those same expressions to ourselves (Isa_51:8). With these assurances behind us, we may face a world in arms. Men may try to wear out the saints, but they must fail. (F. B. Meyer, B.A.)
A bright light in deep shades
The remembrance of Gods mercy in the past is helpful to us in many ways. Isaiah was led by the Spirit of God to admonish the Israelites to look back that they might be cheered and encouraged in a time of gloom and sadness, and that they might be animated with fresh confidence in Gods power to bring them up again from their sad condition, as they thought of all that He had done for them in times past, when they were equally low, or when, peradventure, they were even in a worse plight than they were at present. It is a great thing for people to be encouraged.
I. WE SHALL EXPOUND THE TEXT IN ITS APPLICATION TO ISRAEL LITERALLY. They are bidden to look back to the origin of their nation, in order that they may be comforted. Abraham was the stock out of which the nation of Israel came. Moreover, the man was well stricken in years. As for his wife, she also, it is said, was barren; and yet from these two, who seemed the least likely of all flesh and blood, God was pleased to create a people countless as the stars. Abraham was not a man in a commanding position, with large armies at his feet, who could make a show in the world. He was a dweller in tents, a Bedouin sheik, wandering through the plains of Palestine, yet was he never injured; for God had sent forth a secret mandate, which fell, though they knew it not, upon mens hearts. Now, the prophet turns to the Israelites, and says, You say God can never restore us, we have been thinned out by innumerable invasions, the sword of war hath slain the tribes, Judah and Israel can never rise again. But are there not more left of you than there were at first? There were but two, Abraham and Sarah, that bare you, and yet God made you a people. Can He not make you a people again? etc. The thoughts which would be awakened in the heart of a Jew by these reflections would be eminently consolatory. They ought to be consolatory to us now with regard to the Jewish people. We are encouraged from the very origin of Israel to hope that great things shall yet be done for her.
II. Our text may be used in reference to the CONDITION OF THE CHURCH OF GOD IN THE WORLD.
1. I know many of the people of God who scarcely dare look for brighter times, because they say the people of God are few. Was not the Church very small at the first? It could all be contained in one upper room. Has it not been very small many times since then? But did not the Lord strengthen
His Church in the apostolic times? And, in the dark ages, how very speedily did the time of the singing of birds come! God had but to speak by His servant Luther, and brave men came to His side, and right soon His Church sprang up.
2. But, is it possible, you say, while the Church of God in these days possesses so few men of influence? Did not inspiration say, Not many great men after the flesh, not many mighty have been called, but God hath chosen the poor of this world? Do ye suppose that God has changed His plans, or that men s hearts have changed their bias?
3. But alas, saith one, I see grave cause for sorrow, for in these days many have departed from the faith, and truth lies in the streets bespattered. There have been eras and epochs in which gross heresies spread a contagion through the entire Church.
4. Again, I hear the voice of lamentation, It is not merely that error spreads in the land, but the Church is lukewarm in these times. The Church has: been in a like listless state before, and out of that languid condition God has roused her up and brought her forth.
5. There is a complaint made by some, and I fear there is some truth in it, that we have not many valiant ministers now-a-days. But, for all that, there have been periods in the Church s history when she lacked for men of valour, and God has found them. Why should He not find them again?
III. OUR TEXT MAY BE VIEWED AS INSTRUCTIVE TO OURSELVES. Our experience, varies. It sometimes happens to men who are truly saved, that they fall from the, condition which they occupied when they were in their first love. Your present condition is not what your past one was, and yet the Lord visited you when in your lost estate. There is the same God to-day as there was when first you sought Him.
IV. OUR TEXT MAY BE FITTINGLY USED TO ENCOURAGE OUR HOPE FOR OTHERS. Do you say of some sinner, I am afraid his is a hopeless case? look unto the rock whence you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged. Remember again, that that poor sinner whose soul you are going to seek is where the best and brightest of the saints were. And, recollect, that that sinner you are going to speak with is, to-day, where those that are in heaven once were. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The benefit of reflection
It is the duty, and will be for the benefit of every true servant of God, occasionally to reflect, with due seriousness, on his own original state, on the rise and progress of religion in his own soul, and of the experience which he has thus individually had of the Divine power, goodness and mercy.
I. THE PERSONS HERE ADDRESSED. Those who follow after righteousness and seek the Lord. How exactly does this description accord to the true people of God under the Christian Church?
II. THE EXHORTATION ADDRESSED TO THEM. Look unto the rock, ete. The meaning is obvious, Look back unto yourselves. Consider what you once were; in what a depth of misery you were originally sunk. Reflect on the natural hardness of your heart: on its insensibiliyt to spiritual things; on its dreadful alienation from God. See this state of things exemplified--
1. In your original conversion to God.
2. In your subsequent conduct towards God. Since the time in which you first knew Him in truth, and gave yourself up to serve Him in the gospel of His Son, what has been the state of your heart, of its affections, its tempers, and its dispositions? Have all these been uniformly such as this surrender and profession imply and require? Application: Whet lessons do these reflections teach.
1. Humility and-self-abasement.
2. Patience, contentment and resignation.
3. The necessity of a continual dependence on Divine grace to work in you both to will and to do.
4. Hope and encouragement.
But the subject admits also of another less exclusive application. It furnishes one lesson of general importance: for it teaches ,as how holy and practical in its tendency is true, evangelical religion. (E. Cooper.)
Seeking souls directed
All the invitations and exhortations of the Word of God for spiritual blessings are accompanied with a description of character.
I. THE WORSHIPPERS DESCRIBED.
1. These characters who follow after and seek after must be spiritually alive. It would be strange to talk of a corpse in a churchyard following after or seeking any favours at our hands. As strange would it be to talk of a post in the street following after us, and pursuing us for the same purpose.
2. There is a stirring in the living persons that begins to render them somewhat conspicuous. Wherever there is this stirring inquiry, this dissatisfaction with self, and a stirring to be right for eternity, there is life Divine.
3. Then, there must be sincerity. Then shall ye find Me, when ye seek Me with your whole heart.
4. We will go on to notice their eager following after righteousness. It must be a righteousness that will justify. A righteousness that will sanctify. A righteousness that will glorify. It is imperishable.
5. Follow on to the next description of character. Ye that seek the Lord. Mark a few characteristics of these seekers. They seek Him privately. They seek Him in the place where His honour dwelleth. In His Word. Perseveringly. Seeking souls are well known in heaven, earth and hell.
II. THE EXHORTATION GIVEN. Look unto the rock, etc. (J. Irons.)
The Lords people
I. A DESCRIPTION OF THE LORDS PEOPLE. They follow after righteousness. If you ask what righteousness is, I call upon you to behold Jesus! He is righteousness. The Lords people follow after righteousness. They therefore follow Him. Far better for a man to strive to love Christ than to be trying to lay down certain rules of morality. They follow after righteousness. Does not this imply that they cannot find it in themselves? Some follow after righteousness in fear. Others with many slips. The Lords people follow after righteousness with humility. They follow after righteousness in love. Willingly. Perseveringly. I saw a steamer on the canal drawing after it three large boats. The steamer contained its own motive power, but had there been an engine and boiler in each of those boats they also would have gone on to Liverpool urged on by inward strength. Well, we follow after righteousness, not because Christ has placed some band between Himself and us, but because He has Himself entered our hearts. Christ is the living and moving power in our souls.
II. A KINDLY REMEMBRANCE. The Lord speaks very kindly to those who seek but have not yet found Him. Many are seeking the Lord without a light. Some may seek the Lord in unbelief. Some in a wrong way.
Somebody else replies, Ah, sir, I have no spiritual life, such as I had once. Well, who gave it to you in days gone by? The Lord. And will He not restore it again?
III. A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT.
1. Is your soul cast down? Well, remember what God has done for you. Did He not hew you from the rock of the world?
2. If God has hewn us from the rock we ought to hope for all humanity. (W. Birch.)
Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn
Looking to beginnings
1. Look back to beginnings; look along the line from the beginning to the sensations of to-day. A man should have his whole self before him in making his forecast of the future. His whole self should be a Bible, chaptered and versed, well numbered and properly displayed, having its Genesis, and running straight on through prophecy and tragedy, and music and Gospel, into mysterious Apocalypse. You have expurgated this life Bible, killed the promises and Psalms, and have only failures left.
2. Take in all your life: if God has made so much of you, He can make still more. The miracle is not in the great umbrageous tree; it is in that little green blade that pierces the earth and looks like a thing that means to pray. It is not the universe, but the molecule, that is a miracle to me. Looking back at what we were, it is easy to believe and yearn to be more.
3. If God has made so much of you, he can make as much of others. Therefore, do not contemn any man. God shows us in cathedrals what can be done with all stones; He shows us in gardens what can be made of all waste places. I do not read that there are two rocks out of which men are dug--one a very low and disreputable rock, and the other a very high and grand piece of masonry. We are all from the same rock and the same pit; we all have one Father, and we have all suffered the catastrophe of a common apostasy. Have pity upon those who are far behind.
4. Whence are ye hewn--digged; not whence ye hewed, digged yourselves. Are you well educated? It is because others made the way plain and smooth. Are you successful? It is the Lord thy God giveth thee power to get wealth. How much you owe father, mother! As we rise, the account grows, and if God do not forgive us we are lost. (J. Parker, D.D.)
Comparisons
Comparisons are odious; comparisons are highly profitable. They are odious if prompted by malice or meanness. A genius who had risen to a seat in the Commons was reminded by a shallow aristocrat in the lobby that he had formerly been his servant. Well, retorted the man of talent, and did I not serve you well? Such comparisons are hateful; but they may also prove beneficial as promoting due humility and appreciative thankfulness. Take the case of Paul, who, though an apostle of very exceptional ability, would remind himself that he was the chief of sinners. As though he had said, Now, Paul, look unto the rock whence you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence you were digged. (W. J. Acomb.)
Spiritual statuary
It is doubtless serviceable for each of us, however devoted and pure, to be now and then presented with a photograph of our former selves. We can thus see what we should have remained if grace had not refined us. We can measure our growth and development. We can certainly better understand the obligations arising from improved conditions.
I. THE RETROSPECT THAT WAS RECOMMENDED to this godly remnant of Israel. In all ages have existed those to whom God could thus appeal. Their characteristics are ever the same--viz, the endeavour to live righteously and the instinctive craving for a fuller knowledge of God. Such were here bidden to recall the period when their great father, Abraham, had been separated from heathen surroundings, led, and instructed by the Divine Spirit till worthy of the appellation, Friend of God. The nation had been a stone cut out of the mountain without hands and fashioned into something like beauty and grace. In regard to individual stones, it would appear that the work of the Divine statuary is threefold--
1. Detachment from the common mass of material. A stone has no ability to leap from its place. The quarryman must by pick and gunpowder and hammer set the granite free. There is grace at the outset, either in national or individual life. People need graciously saving. You have to be rescued, separated from the power of death, lifted from the sphere of human passion. To do this, various agencies are employed--some almost dynamic, others more gentle.
2. Moulding by religious education and attrition of association. Quarried stones need moulding, whether granite, limestone or freestone. Hammer and chisel must be applied. So, when detached must expect to submit to peculiar processes. Some stones necessitate great labour; others can easily be wrought to any form. Heaps of stones about and in every one an angel!--only the angel requires to be modelled out, chiselled out, filed out. We cant see the angel; God can. None can be a holy person without pain. Salvation is not the deed of a moment, but is a gradual work, stage by stage, here a little and there a little.
3. Vivification of spiritual faculties by the Holy Ghost. Many of you have been extracted from the quarry and rough-hewn by Christian civilization; but you require the grandest thing of all, the breath of spiritual life. Like the child-delighting marionettes that are so skilfully moved by invisible machinery, but which have no appreciation of the part they play, you may be actuated by the forces of custom, or ambition, or fear, but remain dead to all sensations of a purely spiritual nature.
II. THE PURPOSES OF THE SUGGESTED RETROSPECTION. Judging from the context, the intention was--
1. To promote humility.
2. To stimulate hopefulness.
We instinctively argue, If so much, why not more? God has always some better thing in store for us. Have we not a sure word of prophecy which declares that Christ is able to present each one of us faultless before the throne? (W. J. Acomb.)
Characters: unhewn and hewn
Shakespeare is given to present abstract ideas in concrete forms to suit the ordinary obtuse Englishman. Thus we understand Caliban. This low-type creature stands before us destitute of moral sense; his strongest motive to action fear of punishment; he hates unreasonably the best of beings; he luxuriates in grossest vice; his brain so feeble that he kneels to a drunkard. Now the national poet has contrasted this brute-man with Prospero, the refined courtier, the gentle father, the magnanimous Duke of Milan, thus exhibiting the diverse effects of Christian culture and heathen neglect. In one you behold the rough, angular, unhewn block; in the other the exquisitely moulded statue. To assimilate them, what a complicated miracle would be requisite! This is the mission of our Lord and Redeemer. (W. J. Acomb.)
Nature and grace
It is good for those that are privileged by a new birth to consider what they were by their first birth; how they were conceived in iniquity and shapen in sin. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. How hard was that rock out of which we were hewn, unapt to receive impressions; and how dirty the hole of the pit out of which we were digged! The consideration hereof should fill us with low thoughts of ourselves, and high thoughts of Divine grace. (M. Henry.)
A humble origin: John Bunyan
I was of a low and inconsiderable generation, my fathers house being of that rank that is meanest and most despised of all families in the land. I never went to school to Aristotle or Plato, but was brought up in my fathers house in a very mean condition, among a company of poor countrymen. Nevertheless, I bless God that by this door He brought me into the world to partake of the grace and life that is by Christ in His Gospel. This is the account given of himself and his origin by a man whose writings have for two centuries affected the spiritual opinions of the English race in every part of the world more powerfully than any book or books, except the Bible. (J. A. Froude.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17, 20, 22 Isa_51:1. Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness,…
THE DUTY AND THE BENEFITS OF RETROSPECTION
Isa_51:1. Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness, &c.
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These words were addressed to the pious remnant of true believers among the Jews. They were in an afflicted and discouraged state, and needed appropriate direction and support. What help does the prophet give them? He bids them candidly and closely compare past things with present circumstances, and thus see whether there was not ground for consolation and encouragement; for this is the meaning and object of the figurative exhortation in the text. Were they grieved and discouraged at the depressed condition of the Church? Let them call to mind how small its beginnings had been, how unpromising its commencement; the Lord “called Abraham alone,” as a single individual, and yet had so blessed and increased him, that out of this “rock” the whole nation and Church of Israel had been produced. He who had done so much for Israel, could He not do more? Reflections of this nature would tend to instruct and comfort them under existing circumstances; would point out their duty, and minister consolation.
From this counsel addressed to the Jews, I infer that in like manner it is the duty, and will be for the benefit of every true servant of God, occasionally to reflect on his own, original state, on the rise and progress of religion in his own soul, and on the experience which he has thus individually had of the Divine power, goodness, and mercy. Such retrospection will tend to the increase of many graces in his soul:—
1. Humility. It will not be possible for him to think of what he was, without feelings of self-abasement; without a check being given to that unholy pride which is so apt to spring up in every breast.
2. Contentment. No man who remembers from what a pit of corruption he was taken by Divine grace will complain that a more elevated, conspicuous, and honourable position in the Church has not been allotted him. If he has been made so much as “a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord,” he will give thanks.
3. Lowly dependence on Divine help. A survey of his spiritual history will lead him to say with the apostle (1Co_15:10), and to feel how much he needs the same Divine help to enable him to “hold the beginning of confidence steadfast unto the end.”
4. Courage. When he remembers how God has helped him in all his troubles, and delivered him in all his temptations, and ministered to all his necessities, he will dismiss all fears as to the future, and will say with wisdom, what the ungodly say in their folly, “To-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant” “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be” (Ecc_1:9).—Edward Cooper: Practical and Familiar Sermons, vol. iv. 327–346.
These words were intended to encourage God’s ancient people in their expectations of deliverance from the calamities that had befallen them on account of their sins. They are addressed to the pious portion of the people. They introduce the prophecy which is continued to chap. Isa_52:12. The prophet begins by meeting the fear that the difficulties in the way of so great a deliverance were too formidable. He refers to the origin of the nation, and bids the people mark how much greater difficulties had been overcome. Abraham had been called out of Ur of the Chaldees, to be the founder of their race. Sarah was old and unlikely to have a child. Yet a son was born to them, and in the course of time the promise of a numerous posterity was fulfilled (Isa_51:2). And if there are difficulties now in the way; if their iniquity is enormous, and if the power of Babylon is overwhelming, He who overcame the former difficulties can overcome these.
The words of the text are applicable still. Here is
I. A DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S PEOPLE.
“Ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord.” Two objects of pursuit are pointed out: the “Lord” and “righteousness.” They represent the character of the persons described, and their relation to God. These are the two things comprehended in all earnest religion. They suppose
1. Appreciation. He who is earnest in religion has compared a happy relation to God, and the possession of the righteousness that distinguishes His people, with the world and sin. He has found the world worthless. He cannot be happy in sin. He finds that his happiness needs deliverance from it, and a conscious interest in God as his Father and his Friend.
2. Effort. Therefore he “seeks the Lord,” he “follows after righteousness.” How does he do this? He whose mind is set on the attainment of an end that commends itself as valuable to him, pursues it by all suitable means. If it is the student seeking knowledge, the sick man seeking health, the ambitious man seeking position, or the business man seeking money, he spares no effort until his end be gained. And he who earnestly desires the possession of spiritual blessings will make every suitable effort. He will consult the Scriptures, frequent the ministry of the Gospel, labour for the removal of obstacles, pray for divine acceptance, comply with the divine command to repent and believe.
3. Progression. “Follow.” “Seek.” As this is a permanent description, it supposes that however much of God and His righteousness may be obtained as the result of effort, the point is never reached at which further possession of spiritual blessing and further discovery of God are impossible and needless. There is room for a growing attainment to the end of life. Christians desire advancement on to perfection. They are directed to “grow in grace,” to “press toward the mark.”
II. A DIRECTION TO GOD’S PEOPLE.
“Look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged.”
1. What is involved in this remembrance? Great as they had become—a people built into a magnificent palace—they lay in the rude quarry until the Divine Workman digged them out. At that time none could foresee what they would become. And we are now Christians; but we were not always such. This spiritual habitation of God once lay in the cold rock of fallen, ruined nature. We should remember the sins we at that time committed, the evil propensities and habits we indulged, which were the special barriers in the way of our conversion. We should remember evil surroundings—such as companionships, business influences, exposure to temptation, which increased the difficulty. We should remember that we are what we are, not by the development of good principles always strong in our nature, but by the conversion of our nature, which was accomplished by nothing less than the power of God.
2. What advantage is this remembrance?
(1.) It preserves and deepens humility. Persons who have rapidly risen in the world sometimes assume airs which constrain observers to say that they have forgotten what they once were. A celebrated minister, who in early life had been a working stonemason, is said to have kept in his study, through a long life, the tools with which he had worked, so that he could look at them whenever he was unduly lifted up. The apostle Paul looked back to what he was previous to his conversion (1Ti_1:13). God might have left us to ourselves to wander farther from Him. But for the grace of God we might have been to-day as bad as the worst men we know. Those have not right views of the degrading evil of sin who can boast of their former exploits in sin, or so speak of them as to excite the mirth of the listener. If we had committed a great crime against human society and law, we should never think or speak of it without shame.
(2.) It magnifies the grace of God. The work by which we passed from darkness into light was the work of the Divine Spirit. Every regenerated soul has been an object of Divine thought from eternity. The beautiful stone you pick up on the shore has been rolled and polished by the waters in the course of ages. Geologic changes that brought the earth to its present form are interesting to the student because of their high antiquity. But their age is as nothing to Him whose goings forth have been of old from everlasting. Pieces of rock are found which, when split open, display the very slant of the rain-drop which fell on the sandstone of a primæval period. But what if one were to find, on such a stone, an inscription referring back to thoughts of love concerning him which were entertained in that distant past? Those thoughts were entertained. They have been carried into effect. Let your thankful song arise.
(3.) It encourages Christian faith and hope. There are difficulties, temptations, weaknesses between us and the great future that is promised. But Israel was encouraged to trust by looking back on the way God had led them and their fathers. See what He has done for you, and believe in the preservation, the resurrection, the heaven. And thus encourage others as well as yourselves. “In me first.” Encourage coming sinners.
Are you hewn? or still in the quarry? Resist not Him who would dig you out.—J. Rawlinson.
Introduction, see preceding outlines.
I. THE CHARACTERS ADDRESSED.
1. Followers of righteousness. That is righteousness of character, obtained in justification (Rom_4:24). Righteousness of nature, received in regeneration (1Jn_3:9). Righteousness of practice, displayed in the acts and exercises of an obedient life (1Jn_3:7). Those who have been justified and regenerated, follow after righteousness—prayerfully, diligently, and progressively.
2. They that seek the Lord. This is sometimes put for the commencement of religion, and sometimes for the sum of it. The latter sense is the meaning of the text. Their desires are after God. His face and favour they constantly prize and seek. They seek—
(1.) The blessing of God in prayer.
(2.) The presence of God in ordinances.
(3.) The smile of God in duties.
(4.) The aid of God in difficulties.
(5.) The approbation of God in all things.
II. THE DUTIES ENJOINED.
1. Attention. “Hearken unto me.” God is our Sovereign, and He claims our subjection and attention; we are to hearken to all His laws and precepts. He is our Redeemer; and we are to hearken to all the statements of His grace and mercy. He is our Friend; and we are to hearken to all His advice and counsel. We are to hearken to Him as He addresses us through His works, providences, word, servants, and especially through His Son and Spirit. We are to hearken to Him on all subjects and at all times—humbly, affectionately, cheerfully.
2. Retrospection. “Look to the rock,” &c. Observe—
(1.) Our original state. A part of the common “rock” of depravity—hard, cold, inflexible. In the “hole of the pit” (Psa_40:1). Pit of depravity and defilement, misery, imminent peril, utter human helplessness.
(2.) Our present state. Hewn from the rock. Digged out of the pit. God saw, and pitied, and saved us. By His word and Spirit He made us soft and tender; and He exalted us, justified us, &c. How great, total, blessed the change!
(3.) Our present duty is to “look unto the rock,” &c. We should look, and be humble, grateful, obedient, useful, watchful, that we are not again entangled in that yoke of bondage.
Application. The sinfulness, misery, and danger of mankind by nature. The goodness of God, and the efficiency of His grace. The grateful remembrance of His mercy, which His people should cultivate.—Four Hundred Sketches and Skeletons, 6th ed., vol. ii pp. 187–189.
A BRIGHT LIGHT IN DEEP SHADES
Isa_51:1. Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord; look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
The Israelites were commanded to remember all the way which the Lord their God had led them in the wilderness. The remembrance of God’s mercy in the past will often prove bracing to our souls. Should we become rich and increased in goods spiritually, it will humble us and keep us in our right place, if we remember that once we were naked, and poor, and miserable. It will also excite our thankfulness. God’s people are always happy when they are grateful. We should be ten times more full of bliss if we were proportionately more full of thankfulness. We bury God’s mercies, and then sigh for His comforts.
In this particular instance Isaiah was led by the Spirit of God to admonish the Israelites to look back, that they might be cheered in a time of gloom and sadness, and animated with fresh confidence in God’s power to bring them up again from their sad condition, as they thought of all that He had done for them when they were even in a worse plight.
I. THE TEXT IN ITS APPLICATION TO ISRAEL LITERALLY. They are bidden to look back to the origin of their nation, in order that they may be comforted.
Abraham was the stock out of which the nation of Israel came. He was only one man. “Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you, for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.” From these two, who seemed the least likely of all flesh and blood, God was pleased to create a people countless as the stars. You say, “God can never restore us; we have been thinned out by innumerable invasions; the sword of war hath slain the tribes; Judah and Israel can never rise again.” But are there not more left of you than there were at first? There were but two, Abraham and Sarah that bare you, and yet God made you a people. Can He not make you a people again? You are not lower now than you were then. You say that you are in poverty; true, but these your progenitors were not great on the earth. You say that you have no strength, that the men of valour have ceased, and that you are not skilful in the use of arms. Be it so, neither were your first ancestors expert in war; they were but few and feeble in the land, yet God preserved them, wrought great deliverances for them, and brought the country to great strength and power; and cannot He who did this for them do the same again for you, now that He promises to visit you and to restore you?
The thoughts which would be awakened in the heart of a Jew by these reflections would be eminently consolatory. They ought to be consolatory to us now with regard to the Jewish people. We are encouraged, from the very origin of Israel, to hope that great things shall yet be done for her.
II. OUR TEXT MAY BE USED IN REFERENCE TO THE CONDITION OF THE CHURCH. Let us look back to the rock whence we were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence Christ’s Church was digged. We shall see great encouragement under present discouragements if we do so.
Many of the people of God scarcely dare look for brighter times, because they say the people of God are few. Nominal professors abound, but vital godliness, say they, where shall we find it? Hope in thy God! Was not the Church very small at first? It could all be contained in one upper room. But did not the Lord strengthen His Church in the apostolic times? How speedily did the 120 grow to 3000! How soon the 3000 multiplied a hundredfold! How soon all nations felt the growing power of the Church! And, in the dark ages, God had but to speak by His servant Luther, and brave men came to his side, and right soon His Church sprang up. Look back, then, if discouraged with the fewness of God’s people, to the rock whence the Church was hewn.
“But is it possible,” you say, “while the Church of God in these days possesses so few men of influence?” Was it not said that it should be so of old? Did not inspiration say, “Not many great men after the flesh, not many mighty have been called, but God hath chosen the poor of this world”? Do ye suppose that God has changed His plans, or that men’s hearts have changed their bias? It will be so to the end of the chapter.
“But alas!” saith one, “I see grave cause for sorrow, for in these days many have departed from the faith, and truth lies in the streets bespattered.” It is even so. The times are dark and ominous, and thick clouds are gathering; but for all this there is no room for fear. Put not thine hand upon the ark of the Lord, like Uzzah, for God will preserve it; it is safe in His keeping. There have been eras and epochs in which gross heresies spread a contagion through the entire Church. The period at which Arianism was so prominent comes at once to our recollection. That Christ was merely a man was almost the universal belief of Christendom. Only a few faithful ones maintained His Godhead at all hazards. But, today, where is Arianism? It has gone among the moles and the bats; the few that held the truth survived the deadly epidemic, and won the victory after all. In the dark ages Romanism was not only predominant, but it seemed to be and it really was all but universal; yet by the bright shining of His revealed word, did not God soon chase away the dense shades of ignorance and superstition? So will it be again.
Again, some brother cries, “It is not merely that error spreads in the land, but the Church is lukewarm in these times.” The indictment is true. Still I see no cause for our being dispirited. The Church has been in a like listless state before, and out of that languid condition God has roused her up and brought her forth.
III. OUR TEXT MAY BE VIEWED AS INSTRUCTIVE TO OURSELVES. To some of God’s people there come hours of terrible despondency (Isa_1:10). Let them, then, remember the pit of corruption out of which they were dug. The same merciful and almighty power is ready to enable them to keep to the paths of righteousness, and to chase away the darkness that distresses them. Let them look back to what God has done for them, and then they will learn to look forward with hope.
IV. OUR TEXT MAY BE FITTINGLY USED TO ENCOURAGE OUR HOPE FOR OTHERS. Suffer not your thoughts about the character of any man you are trying to save to damp your ardour. Do not say, “I am afraid his is a hopeless case.” Look unto the rock whence you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence you were digged. The same grace that sufficed for you will suffice for him. Therefore, work on!—C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 1050.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 I. Consider, first, the heavens above and the earth…
Isa 51:6
I. Consider, first, the heavens above and the earth beneath, as temporal either in themselves or in regard to us who must "die in like manner." (1) Our text is the record of a great appointment extending to the whole surrounding universe, and sentencing it to dissolution and extinction. Without supposing the actual annihilation of matter, we may speak of the universe as destined to be destroyed, seeing that the systems which are to succeed to the present will be wholly different, and wear all the traces of a new creation. We have been accustomed to distinguish between what we count fleeting and what we regard as enduring, between the rock and the mountain, the flower and the moth. Is it not a confounding thought, that by a simple effort of His will the Almighty is to unhinge and dislocate the amazing mechanism of the universe, sweep away myriads upon myriads of stupendous worlds, and yet remain Himself the great "I Am," the same when stars and planets fall as when in far back time they blazed at His command? (2) Our text marks out a second way in which our connection with visible things—the heavens and the earth—may be brought to a close. "They that dwell therein shall die in like manner." There comes a day when our connection with earth must be terminated by death, when the sun must rise on us for the last time, though millions of cheerful eyes will hail his rising on the morrow. The simple consideration that we must soon die, and that death must for ever withdraw us from the objects of sense, ought in itself to suffice to persuade us of the madness of living for the present instead of to the future.
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II. A contrast is drawn between God, His salvation, and His righteousness, and the heavens and the earth. It seems the design of the passage to affix a general character to the objects of faith as distinguished from the objects of sense—the character of permanence as distinguished from that of decline. We need not analyse with a close scrutiny the exact import of the words "salvation and righteousness." They plainly include all those rich mercies and those gifts of grace here and of glory hereafter, which are promised to such as believe on Jesus and commit to Him the keeping of their souls. And thus they affix the character of "everlasting" to that city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Look on the heavens that are now, they "shall vanish away like smoke;" look on the earth beneath, "it shall wax old as a garment." But we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. These shall be for ever; these shall not be abolished.
H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2169.
References: Isa 51:6.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ix., p. 124; Literary Churchman Sermons, p. 242.
Isa 51:9; Isa 52:1
Notice:—
I. The occurrence in the Church’s history of successive periods of energy and of languor. The uninterrupted growth would be best; but if that has not been, then the ending of winter by spring, and the supplying of the dry branches, and the resumption of the arrested growth is the next best and the only alternative to rotting away. We ought to desire such a merciful interruption of the sad continuity of our languor and decay. The surest sign of its coming would be a widespread desire and expectation of its coming, joined with a penitent consciousness of our heavy and sinful slumber. And another sign of its approach is the extremity of the need. "If winter come, can spring be far behind?"
II. The twofold explanation of these variations. (1) It is true that God’s arm slumbers, and is not clothed with power. There are, as a fact, apparent variations in the energy with which He works in the Church and in the world. And they are real variations, not merely apparent. The might with which God works in the world through His Church varies according to the Church’s receptiveness and faithfulness. (2) If God’s arm seems to slumber, and really does so, it is because Zion sleeps. The law has ever been, "According to your faith be it unto you." God gives as much as we will, as much as we can hold, as much as we use, and far more than we deserve.
III. The beginning of all awaking is the Church’s earnest cry to God. Look at the passionate earnestness of Israel’s cry, thrice repeated, as from one in mortal need, and see to it that our drowsy prayers be like it. Look at the grand confidence with which it founds itself on the past, recounting the mighty deeds of ancient days; and looking back, not for despair, but for joyful confidence on the generations of old; and let our faint-hearted faith be quickened by the example to expect great things of God.
IV. The answering call from God to Zion. Our truest prayers are but the echo of God’s promises. God’s best answers are the echoes of our prayers. (1) The chief means of quickened life and strength is deepened communion with Christ. (2) This summons calls us to the faithful use of the power which, on condition of that communion, we have.
A. Maclaren, The Secret of Power, p. 58.
References: Isa 51:9.—A. Rowland, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxviii., p. 264. Isa 51:9, Isa 51:10.—G. H. Wilkinson, Penny Pulpit, No. 1038 (see also Old Testament Outlines, p. 214). Isa 51:11.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xvi., p. 15; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. v., p. 25.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v9 Isa 51:9. - Isa 52:1.
Isaiah
THE AWAKENING OF ZION
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Isa 51:9. - Isa 52:1.
Both these verses are, I think, to be regarded as spoken by one voice, that of the Servant of the Lord. His majestic figure, wrapped in a light veil of obscurity, fills the eye in all these later prophecies of Isaiah. It is sometimes clothed with divine power, sometimes girded with the towel of human weakness, sometimes appearing like the collective Israel, sometimes plainly a single person.
We have no difficulty in solving the riddle of the prophecy by the light of history. Our faith knows One who unites these diverse characteristics, being God and man, being the Saviour of the body, which is part of Himself and instinct with His life. If we may suppose that He speaks in both verses of the text, then, in the one, as priest and intercessor, He lifts the prayers of earth to heaven in His own holy hands-and in the other, as messenger and Word of God, He brings the answer and command of heaven to earth on His own authoritative lips-thus setting forth the deep mystery of His person and double office as mediator between man and God. But even if we put aside that thought, the correspondence and relation of the two passages remain the same. In any case they are intentionally parallel in form and connected in substance. The latter is the answer to the former. The cry of Zion is responded to by the call of God. The awaking of the arm of the Lord is followed by the awaking of the Church. He puts on strength in clothing us with His might, which becomes ours.
The mere juxtaposition of these verses suggests the point of view from which I wish to treat them on this occasion. I hope that the thoughts to which they lead may help to further that quickened earnestness and expectancy of blessing, without which Christian work is a toil and a failure.
We have here a common principle underlying both the clauses of our text, to which I must first briefly ask attention, namely-
I. The occurrence in the Church’s history of successive periods of energy and of languor.
It is freely admitted that such alternation is not the highest ideal of growth, either in the individual or in the community. Our Lord’s own parables set forth a more excellent way-the way of uninterrupted increase, whereof the type is the springing corn, which puts forth ‘first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear,’ and passes through all the stages from the tender green spikelets that gleam over the fields in the spring-tide to the yellow abundance of autumn, in one unbroken season of genial months. So would our growth be best, healthiest, happiest. So might our growth be, if the mysterious life in the seed met no checks. But, as a matter of fact, the Church has not thus grown. Rather at the best, its emblem is to be looked for, not in corn, but in the forest tree-the very rings in whose trunk tell of recurring seasons when the sap has risen at the call of spring, and sunk again before the frowns of winter. I have not to do now with the causes of this. These will fall to be considered presently. Nor am I saying that such a manner of growth is inevitable. I am only pointing out a fact, capable of easy verification and familiar to us all. Our years have had summer and winter. The evening and the morning have completed all the days since the first.
We all know it only too well. In our own hearts we have known such times, when some cold clinging mist wrapped us round and hid all the heaven of God’s love and the starry lights of His truth; when the visible was the only real, and He seemed far away and shadowy; when there was neither confidence in our belief, nor heat in our love, nor enthusiasm in our service; when the shackles of conventionalism bound our souls, and the fetters of the frost imprisoned all their springs. And we have seen a like palsy smite whole regions and ages of the Church of God, so that even the sensation of impotence was dead like all the rest, and the very tradition of spiritual power had faded away. I need not point to the signal historical examples of such times in the past. Remember England a hundred years ago-but what need to travel so far? May I venture to draw my example from nearer home, and ask, have we not been living in such an epoch? I beseech you, think whether the power which the Gospel preached by us wields on ourselves, on our churches, on the world, is what Christ meant it and fitted to exercise. Why, if we hold our own in respect to the material growth of our population, it is as much as we do. Where is the joyful buoyancy and expansive power with which the Gospel burst into the world? It looks like some stream that leaps from the hills, and at first hurries from cliff to cliff full of light and music, but flows slower and more sluggish as it advances, and at last almost stagnates in its flat marshes. Here we are with all our machinery, our culture, money, organisations-and the net result of it all at the year’s end is but a poor handful of ears. ‘Ye sow much and bring home little.’ Well may we take up the wail of the old Psalm, ‘We see not our signs. There is no more any prophet; neither is there any among us that knoweth how long-arise, O Lord, plead Thine own cause.’
If, then, there are such recurring seasons of languor, they must either go on deepening till sleep becomes death, or they must be broken by a new outburst of vigorous life. It would be better if we did not need the latter. The uninterrupted growth would be best; but if that has not been attained, then the ending of winter by spring, and the suppling of the dry branches, and the resumption of the arrested growth, is the next best, and the only alternative to rotting away.
And it is by such times that the Kingdom of Christ always has grown. Its history has been one of successive impulses gradually exhausted, as by friction and gravity, and mercifully repeated just at the moment when it was ceasing to advance and had begun to slide backwards. And in such a manner of progress, the Church’s history has been in full analogy with that of all other forms of human association and activity. It is not in religion alone that there are ‘revivals,’ to use the word of which some people have such a dread. You see analogous phenomena in the field of literature, arts, social and political life. In them all, there come times of awakened interest in long-neglected principles. Truths which for many years had been left to burn unheeded, save by a faithful few watchers of the beacon, flame up all at once as the guiding pillars of a nation’s march, and a whole people strike their tents and follow where they lead. A mysterious quickening thrills through society. A contagion of enthusiasm spreads like fire, fusing all hearts in one. The air is electric with change. Some great advance is secured at a stride; and before and after that supreme effort are years of comparative quiescence; those before being times of preparation, those after being times of fruition and exhaustion-but slow and languid compared with the joyous energy of that moment. One day may be as a thousand years in the history of a people, and a nation may be born in a day.
So also is the history of the Church. And thank God it is so, for if it had not been for the dawning of these times of refreshing, the steady operation of the Church’s worldliness would have killed it long ago.
Surely, dear brethren, we ought to desire such a merciful interruption of the sad continuity of our languor and decay. The surest sign of its coming would be a widespread desire and expectation of its coming, joined with a penitent consciousness of our heavy and sinful slumber. For we believe in a God who never sends mouths but He sends meat to fill them, and in whose merciful providence every desire is a prophecy of its own fruition. This attitude of quickened anticipation, diffusing itself silently through many hearts, is like the light air that springs up before sunrise, or like the solemn hush that holds all nature listening before the voice of the Lord in the thunder.
And another sign of its approach is the extremity of the need. ‘If winter come, can spring be far behind?’ For He who is always with Zion strikes in with His help when the want is at its sorest. His ‘right early’ is often the latest moment before destruction. And though we are all apt to exaggerate the urgency of the hour and the severity of our conflict, it certainly does seem that, whether we regard the languor of the Church or the strength of our adversaries, succour delayed a little longer would be succour too late. ‘The tumult of those that rise up against Thee increaseth continually. It is time for Thee to work.’
The juxtaposition of these passages suggests for us-
II. The twofold explanation of these variations.
That bold metaphor of God’s sleeping and waking is often found in Scripture, and generally expresses the contrast between the long years of patient forbearance, during which evil things and evil men go on their rebellious road unchecked but by Love, and the dread moment when some throne of iniquity, some Babylon cemented by blood, is smitten to the dust. Such is the original application of the expression here. But the contrast may fairly be widened beyond that specific form of it, and taken to express any apparent variations in the forth-putting of His power. The prophet carefully avoids seeming to suggest that there are changes in God Himself. It is not He but His arm, that is to say. His active energy, that is invoked to awake. The captive Church prays that the dormant might which could so easily shiver her prison-house would flame forth into action.
We may, then, see here implied the cause of these alternations, of which we have been speaking, on its divine side, and then, in the corresponding verse addressed to the Church, the cause on the human side.
As to the former, it is true that God’s arm sometimes slumbers, and is not clothed with power. There are, as a fact, apparent variations in the energy with which He works in the Church and in the world. And they are real variations, not merely apparent. But we have to distinguish between the power, and what Paul calls ‘the might of the power.’ The one is final, constant, unchangeable. It does not necessarily follow that the other is. The rate of operation, so to speak, and the amount of energy actually brought into play may vary, though the force remains the same.
It is clear from experience that there are these variations; and the only question with which we are concerned is, are they mere arbitrary jets and spurts of a divine power, sometimes gushing out in full flood, sometimes trickling in painful drops, at the unknown will of the unseen hand which controls the flow? Is the ‘law of the Spirit of life’ at all revealed to us; or are the reasons occult, if there be any reasons at all other than a mere will that it shall be so? Surely, whilst we never can know all the depths of His counsels and all the solemn concourse of reasons which, to speak in man’s language, determine the energy of His manifested power, He has left us in no doubt that this is the weightiest part of the law which it follows-the might with which God works on the world through His Church varies according to the Church’s receptiveness and faithfulness.
Our second text tells us that if God’s arm seems to slumber and really does so, it is because Zion sleeps. In itself that immortal energy knows no variableness. ‘He fainteth not, neither is weary.’ ‘The Lord’s arm is not shortened that He cannot save.’ ‘He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.’ But He works through us; and we have the solemn and awful power of checking the might which would flow through us; of restraining and limiting the Holy One of Israel. It avails nothing that the ocean stretches shoreless to the horizon; a jar can hold only a jarful. The receiver’s capacity determines the amount received, and the receiver’s desire determines his capacity. The law has ever been, ‘according to your faith be it unto you.’ God gives as much as we will, as much as we can hold, as much as we use, and far more than we deserve. As long as we will bring our vessels the golden oil will flow, and after the last is filled, there yet remains more that we might have had, if we could have held it, and might have held if we would. ‘Ye are not straitened in Me, ye are straitened in yourselves.’
So, dear brethren, if we have to lament times of torpor and small success, let us be honest with ourselves, and recognise that all the blame lies with us. If God’s arm seems to slumber, it is because we are asleep. His power is invariable, and the Gospel which is committed to our trust has lost none of its ancient power, whatsoever men may say. If there be variations, they cannot be traced to the divine element in the Church, which in itself is constant, but altogether to the human, which shifts and fluctuates, as we only too sadly know. The light in the beacon-tower is steady, and the same; but the beam it throws across the waters sometimes fades to a speck, and sometimes flames out clear and far across the heaving waves, according to the position of the glasses and shades around it. The sun pours out heat as profusely and as long at midwinter as on midsummer-day, and all the difference between the frost and darkness and glowing brightness and flowering life, is simply owing to the earth’s place in its orbit and the angle at which the unalterable rays fall upon it. The changes are in the terrestrial sphere; the heavenly is fixed for ever the same.
May I not venture to point an earnest and solemn appeal with these truths? Has there not been poured over us the spirit of slumber? Does it not seem as if an opium sky had been raining soporifics on our heads? We have had but little experience of the might of God amongst us of late years, and we need not wonder at it. There is no occasion to look far for the reason. We have only to regard the low ebb to which religious life has been reduced amongst us to have it all and more than all accounted for. I fully admit that there has been plenty of activity, perhaps more than the amount of real life warrants, not a little liberality, and many virtues. But how languid and torpid the true Christian life has been! how little enthusiasm! how little depth of communion with God! how little unworldly elevation of soul! how little glow of love! An improvement in social position and circumstances, a freer blending with the national life, a full share of civic and political honours, a higher culture in our pulpits, fine chapels, and applauding congregations-are but poor substitutes for what many of us have lost in racing after them. We have the departed prophets’ mantle, the outward resemblance to the fathers who have gone, but their fiery zeal has passed to heaven with them; and softer, weaker men, we stand timidly on the river’s brink, invoking the Lord God of Elijah, and too often the flood that obeyed them has no ear for our feebler voice.
I speak to many who are in some sort representatives of the churches throughout the land, and they can tell whether my words are on the whole true or overstrained. We who labour in our great cities, what say we? If one of the number may speak for the rest, we have to acknowledge that commercial prosperity and business cares, the eagerness after pleasure and the exigencies of political strife, diffused doubt and widespread artistic and literary culture, are eating the very life out of thousands in our churches, and lowering their fervour till, like molten iron cooling in the air, what was once all glowing with ruddy heat is crusted over with foul black scoriae ever encroaching on the tiny central warmth. You from rural churches, what say you? Have you not to speak of deepening torpor settling down on quiet corners, of the passing away of grey heads which leave no successors, of growing difficulties and lessened power to meet them, that make you sometimes all but despair?
I am not flinging indiscriminate censures. I know that there are lights as well as shades in the picture. I am not flinging censures at all. But I am giving voice to the confessions of many hearts, that our consciousness of our blame may be deepened, and we may hasten back to that dear Lord whom we have left to serve alone, as His first disciples left Him once to agonise alone under the gnarled olives in Gethsemane, while they lay sleeping in the moonlight. Listen to His gentle rebuke, full of pain and surprised love, ‘What, could ye not watch with Me one hour?’ Listen to His warning call, loving as the kiss with which a mother wakes her child, ‘Arise, let us be going’-and let us shake the spirit of slumber from our limbs, and serve Him as those unsleeping spirits do, who rest not day nor night from vision and work and praise.
III. The beginning of all awaking is the Church’s earnest cry to God.
It is with us as with infants, the first sign of whose awaking is a cry. The mother’s quick ear hears it through all the household noises, and the poor little troubled life that woke to a scared consciousness of loneliness and darkness, is taken up into tender arms, and comforted and calmed. So, when we dimly perceive how torpid we have been, and start to find that we have lost our Father’s hand, the first instinct of that waking, which must needs be partly painful, is to call to Him, whose ear hears our feeble cry amid the sound of praise like the voice of many waters, that billows round His throne, and whose folding arms keep us ‘as one whom his mother comforteth.’ The beginning of all true awaking must needs be prayer.
For every such stirring of quickened religious life must needs have in it bitter penitence and pain at the discovery flashed upon us of the wretched deadness of our past-and, as we gaze like some wakened sleepwalker into the abyss where another step might have smashed us to atoms, a shuddering terror seizes us that must cry, ‘Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe.’ And every such stirring of quickened life will have in it, too, desire for more of His grace, and confidence in His sure bestowal of it, which cannot but breathe itself in prayer.
Nor is Zion’s cry to God only the beginning and sign of all true awaking: it is also the condition and indispensable precursor of all perfecting of recovery from spiritual languor.
I have already pointed out the relation between the waking of God and the waking of His Church, from which that necessarily follows. God’s power flows into our weakness in the measure and on condition of our desires. We are sometimes told that we err in praying for the outpouring of His Holy Spirit, because ever since Pentecost His Church has had the gift. The objection alleges an unquestioned fact, but the conclusion drawn from it rests on an altogether false conception of the manner of that abiding gift. The Spirit of God, and the power which comes from Him, are not given as a purse of money might be put into a man’s hand once and for all, but they are given in a continuous impartation and communication and are received and retained moment by moment, according to the energy of our desires and the faithfulness of our use. As well might we say, Why should I ask for natural life, I received it half a century ago? Yes, and at every moment of that half-century I have continued to live, not because of a past gift, but because at each moment God is breathing into my nostrils the breath of life. So is it with the life which comes from His Spirit. It is maintained by constant efflux from the fountain of Life, by constant impartation of His quickening breath. And as He must continually impart, so must we continually receive, else we perish. Therefore, brethren, the first step towards awaking, and the condition of all true revival in our own souls and in our churches, is this earnest cry, ‘Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord.
Thank God for the outpouring of a long unwonted spirit of prayer in many places. It is like the melting of the snows in the high Alps, at once the sign of spring and the cause of filling the stony river beds with flashing waters, that bring verdure and growth wherever they come. The winter has been long and hard. We have all to confess that we have been restraining prayer before God. Our work has been done with but little sense of our need of His blessing, with but little ardour of desire for His power. We have prayed lazily, scarcely believing that answers would come; we have not watched for the reply, but have been like some heartless marksman who draws his bow and does not care to look whether his arrow strikes the target. These mechanical words, these conventional petitions, these syllables winged by no real desire, inspired by no faith, these expressions of devotion, far too wide for their real contents, which rattle in them like a dried kernel in a nut, are these prayers? Is there any wonder that they have been dispersed in empty air, and that we have been put to shame before our enemies? Brethren in the ministry, do we need to be surprised at our fruitless work, when we think of our prayerless studies and of our faithless prayers? Let us remember that solemn word, ‘The pastors have become brutish, and have not sought the Lord, therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.’ And let us all, brethren, betake ourselves, with penitence and lowly consciousness of our sore need, to prayer, earnest and importunate, believing and persistent, like this heaven-piercing cry which captive Israel sent up from her weary bondage.
Look at the passionate earnestness of it-expressed in the short, sharp cry, thrice repeated, as from one in mortal need; and see to it that our drowsy prayers be like it. Look at the grand confidence with which it founds itself on the past, recounting the mighty deeds of ancient days, and looking back, not for despair but for joyful confidence, to the generations of old; and let our faint-hearted faith be quickened by the example, to expect great things of God. The age of miracles is not gone. The mightiest manifestations of God’s power in the spread of the Gospel in the past remain as patterns for His future. We have not to look back as from low-lying plains to the blue peaks on the horizon, across which the Church’s path once lay, and sigh over the changed conditions of the journey. The highest watermark that the river in flood has ever reached will be reached and overpassed again, though to-day the waters may seem to have hopelessly subsided. Greater triumphs and deliverances shall crown the future than have signalised the past. Let our faithful prayer base itself on the prophecies of history and on the unchangeableness of God.
Think, brethren, of the prayers of Christ. Even He, whose spirit needed not to be purged from stains or calmed from excitement, who was ever in His Father’s house whilst He was about His Father’s business, blending in one, action and contemplation, had need to pray. The moments of His life thus marked are very significant. When He began His ministry, the close of the first day of toil and wonders saw Him, far from gratitude and from want, in a desert place in prayer. When He would send forth His apostles, that great step in advance, in which lay the germ of so much, was preceded by solitary prayer. When the fickle crowd desired to make Him the centre of political revolution, He passed from their hands and beat back that earliest attempt to secularise His work, by prayer. When the seventy brought the first tidings of mighty works done in His name, He showed us how to repel the dangers of success, in that He thanked the Lord of heaven and earth who had revealed these things to babes. When He stood by the grave of Lazarus, the voice that waked the dead was preceded by the voice of prayer, as it ever must be. When He had said all that He could say to His disciples, He crowned all with His wonderful prayer for Himself, for them, and for us all. When the horror of great darkness fell upon His soul, the growing agony is marked by His more fervent prayer, so wondrously compact of shrinking fear and filial submission. When the cross was hid in the darkness of eclipse, the only words from the gloom were words of prayer. When, Godlike, He dismissed His spirit, manlike He commended it to His Father, and sent the prayer from His dying lips before Him to herald His coming into the unseen world. One instance remains, even more to our present purpose than all these-’It came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him.’ Mighty mystery! In Him, too, the Son’s desire is connected with the Father’s gift, and the unmeasured possession of the Spirit was an answer to His prayer.
Then, brethren, let us lift our voices and our hearts. That which ascends as prayer descends as blessing, like the vapour that is drawn up by the kiss of the sun to fall in freshening rain. ‘Call upon Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and hidden things which thou knowest not.’
IV. The answering call from God to Zion.
Our truest prayers are but the echo of God’s promises. God’s best answers are the echo of our prayers. As in two mirrors set opposite to each other, the same image is repeated over and over again, the reflection of a reflection, so here, within the prayer, gleams an earlier promise, within the answer is mirrored the prayer.
And in that reverberation, and giving back to us our petition transformed into a command, we are not to see a dismissal of it as if we had misapprehended our true want. It is not tantamount to, Do not ask me to put on my strength, but array yourselves in your own. The very opposite interpretation is the true one. The prayer of Zion is heard and answered. God awakes, and clothes Himself with might. Then, as some warrior king, himself roused from sleep and girded with flashing steel, bids the clarion sound through the grey twilight to summon the prostrate ranks that lie round his tent, so the sign of God’s awaking and the first act of His conquering might is this trumpet call-’The night is far spent, the day is at hand, let us put off the works of darkness,’-the night gear that was fit for slumber-’and put on the armour of light,’ the mail of purity that gleams and glitters even in the dim dawn. God’s awaking is our awaking. He puts on strength by making us strong; for His arm works through us, clothing itself, as it were, with our arm of flesh, and perfecting itself even in our weakness.
Nor is it to be forgotten that this, like all God’s commands, carries in its heart a promise. That earliest word of God’s is the type of all His latter behests: ‘Let there be light,’ and the mighty syllables were creative and self-fulfilling. So ever, with Him, to enjoin and to bestow are one and the same, and His command is His conveyance of power. He rouses us by His summons, He clothes us with power in the very act of bidding us put it on. So He answers the Church’s cry by stimulating us to quickened zeal, and making us more conscious of, and confident in, the strength which, in answer to our cry, He pours into our limbs.
But the main point which I would insist on in what remains of this sermon, is the practical discipline which this divine summons requires from us.
And first, let us remember that the chief means of quickened life and strength is deepened communion with Christ.
As we have been saying, our strength is ours by continual derivation from Him. It has no independent existence, any more than a sunbeam could have, severed from the sun. It is ours only in the sense that it flows through us, as a river through the land which it enriches. It is His whilst it is ours, it is ours when we know it to be His. Then, clearly, the first thing to do must be to keep the channels free by which it flows into our souls, and to maintain the connection with the great Fountainhead unimpaired. Put a dam across the stream, and the effect will be like the drying up of Jordan before Israel: ‘the waters that were above rose up upon an heap, and the waters that were beneath failed and were cut off,’ and the foul oozy bed was disclosed to the light of day. It is only by constant contact with Christ that we have any strength to put on.
That communion with Him is no mere idle or passive attitude, but the active employment of our whole nature with His truth, and with Him whom the truth reveals. The understanding must be brought into contact with the principles of His word, the heart must touch and beat against His heart, the will meekly lay its hand in His, the conscience draw at once its anodyne and its stimulus from His sacrifice, the passions know His finger on the reins, and follow, led in the silken leash of love. Then, if I may so say, Elisha’s miracle will be repeated in nobler form, and from Himself, the Life thus touching all our being, life will flow into our deadness. ‘He put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and he stretched himself upon the child, and the flesh of the child waxed warm.’ So, dear brethren, all our practical duty is summed up in that one word, the measure of our obedience to which is the measure of all our strength-’Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.’
Again, this summons calls us to the faithful use of the power which, on condition of that communion, we have.
There is no doubt a temptation, in all times like the present, to look for some new and extraordinary forms of blessing, and to substitute such expectation for present work with our present strength. There is nothing new to look for. There is no need to wait for anything more than we possess. Remember the homely old proverb, ‘You never know what you can do till you try,’ and though we are conscious of much unfitness, and would sometimes gladly wait till our limbs are stronger, let us brace ourselves for the work, assured that in it strength will be given to us that equals our desire. There is a wonderful power in honest work to develop latent energies and reveal a man to himself. I suppose, in most cases, no one is half so much surprised at a great man’s greatest deeds as he is himself. They say that there is dormant electric energy enough in a few raindrops to make a thunderstorm, and there is dormant spiritual force enough in the weakest of us to flash into beneficent light, and peal notes of awaking into many a deaf ear. The effort to serve your Lord will reveal to you strength that you know not. And it will increase the strength which it brings into play, as the used muscles grow like whipcord, and the practised fingers become deft at their task, and every faculty employed is increased, and every gift wrapped in a napkin melts like ice folded in a cloth, according to that solemn law, ‘To him that hath shall be given, and from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.’
Then be sure that to its last particle you are using the strength you have, ere you complain of not having enough for your tasks. Take heed of the vagrant expectations that wait for they know not what, and the apparent prayers that are really substitutes for possible service. ‘Why liest thou on thy face? Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.’
The Church’s resources are sufficient for the Church’s work, if the resources are used. We are tempted to doubt it, by reason of our experience of failure and our consciousness of weakness. We are more than ever tempted to doubt it to-day, when so many wise men are telling us that our Christ is a phantom, our God a stream of tendency, our Gospel a decaying error, our hope for the world a dream, and our work in the world done. We stand before our Master with doubtful hearts, and, as we look along the ranks sitting there on the green grass, and then at the poor provisions which make all our store, we are sometimes tempted almost to think that He errs when He says with that strange calmness of His, ‘They need not depart, give ye them to eat.’ But go out among the crowds and give confidently what you have, and you will find that you have enough and to spare. If ever our stores seem inadequate, it is because they are reckoned up by sense, which takes cognizance of the visible, instead of by faith which beholds the real. Certainly five loaves and two small fishes are not enough, but are not five loaves and two small fishes and a miracle-working hand behind them, enough? It is poor calculation that leaves out Christ from the estimate of our forces. The weakest man and Jesus to back him are more than all antagonism, more than sufficient for all duty. Be not seduced into doubt of your power, or of your success, by others’ sneers, or by your own faint-heartedness. The confidence of ability is ability. ‘Screw your courage to the sticking place,’ and you will not fail-and see to it that you use the resources you have, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. ‘Put on thy strength, O Zion.’
So, dear brethren, to gather all up in a sentence, let us confidently look for times of blessing, penitently acknowledge that our own faithlessness has hindered the arm of the Lord, earnestly beseech Him to come in His rejoicing strength, and, drawing ever fresh power from constant communion with our dear Lord, use it to its last drop for Him. Then, like the mortal leader of Israel, as he pondered doubtingly with sunken eyes on the hard task before his untrained host, we shall look up and be aware of the presence of the sworded angel, the immortal Captain of the host of the Lord, standing ready to save, ‘putting on righteousness as a breastplate, an helmet of salvation on His head, and clad with zeal as a cloak.’ From His lips, which give what they command, comes the call, ‘Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ Hearkening to His voice, the city of the strong ones shall be made an heap before our wondering ranks, and the land shall lie open to our conquering march.
Wheresoever we lift up the cry, ‘Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord,’ there follows, swift as the thunderclap on the lightning flash, the rousing summons, ‘Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem!’ Wheresoever it is obeyed there will follow in due time the joyful chorus, as in this context, ‘Sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; the Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Hope of speedy Return for the Exiles
The Hope of speedy Return for the Exiles
Isa_51:1-16. Encouragement from consideration of the past. Jehovah's purpose for His people is sure. Prayer for deliverance (based on the deliverance of the exodus). Jehovah in response reassures His people.
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17-23. The divine wrath, which was upon Jerusalem, shall be turned against her oppressors.
Isa_52:1-6. The glorious change in Zion's fortune.
7-12. The deliverance of the exiles imminent.
1, 2. In the past God made Israel a great nation from a single ancestor, and that wonderful growth should be an encouragement to the righteous remnant now to believe in their restoration.
2. Alone] RV 'when he was but one,' i.e. childless.
4. A law, etc.] through Israel, Jehovah purposes to reveal Himself to the nations (Isa_42:1).
4, 5. The people] RV 'peoples.'
6. The v. contrasts the certainty of God's purposes for His people with, the transitory character of the visible world.
8. My righteousness] i.e. as shown in faithfulness to My promises.
9-11. An appeal from Israel to Jehovah that He will show His power as of old at the exodus, that the exiles may return triumphantly to Zion.
9. Rahab] a symbolic name for Egypt, as in Isa_30:7 RV. Dragon] standing for Egypt (Psa_74:13).
12-16. God assures His people of their speedy deliverance.
13. As if.. ready] RV 'when he maketh ready.'
14. Read, 'He that is bowed down shall speedily be loosed, and he shall not die in the pit, neither shall his bread fail.'
15. Divided, etc.] RV 'stirreth up the sea, that the waves thereof roar.' Jehovah rules in the world, and therefore has power to perform His promise.
16. While Isa_51:12. are spoken to the Jewish exiles, the parallel between this passage and Isa_49:2 suggests that the ideal Israel—Jehovah's Servant—is here addressed.
17. Hast drunk] The prostrate condition of Jerusalem under the wrath of Jehovah is set forth under the figure of one stupefied and reeling owing to a deep draught.
19. By whom] RV 'how.'
20. A wild bull] RV 'an antelope': the figure denotes helplessness.
21-23. Jehovah's wrath is now to be turned against Jerusalem's oppressors.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv9–10 Art thou not
Art thou not
The ref. is to Egypt Isa 30:7 at the Exodus:
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 Jehovah Encourages His Faithful People, the Remnant of Israel
CHAPTER 51
Jehovah Encourages His Faithful People, the Remnant of Israel
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1. The call to remember Abraham (Isa 51:1-2) 2. Zion to be comforted (Isa 51:3) 3. His righteousness near and His arm to judge the people (Isa 51:4-6) 4. Fear ye not (Isa 51:7-8) 5. The prayer of faith (Isa 51:9-11) 6. Jehovah answers (Isa 51:12-16) 7. The suffering of the nation to end (Isa 51:17-23)The Lord speaks to His faithful people. He reminds them of Abraham and the covenant. He assures them that the wilderness of Zion shall become like Eden, like the garden of the Lord. Judgment shall overtake the earth. It is beautiful to see how the faithful pray in faith after this message from Jehovah (Isa 51:9-11), and how Jehovah answers them (Isa 51:12-16).
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 12 The Certainty of Deliverance
The Certainty of Deliverance
v. 1. Hearken unto Me, ye that follow after righteousness, earnestly seeking to obtain it, ye that seek the Lord, in true repentance over their sins, as yet not daring to show a happy faith; look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, namely, Abraham, before the promise of the Lord regarding the birth of Isaac was fulfilled, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged, this cistern of the rock being Sarah, as the context shows. The nation of Israel was called into being by a miracle of God, who gave to Abraham and Sarah the son of promise.
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v. 2. Look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah, that bare you, the ancestors of the Jewish people and, in a wider sense, of the spiritual Israel; for I called him alone, when he was but one, and blessed him and increased him, the conclusion which follows being that the same God is able to deliver and restore His people at all times.
v. 3. For the Lord shall comfort Zion, building up His city anew; He will comfort all her waste places, letting her arise from her ruins; and He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the Lord, new life and new glory following His blessing; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody, all this instead of the former misery. Cf Rev 7:14; Revelation 21.
v. 4. Hearken unto Me, My people, the invitation going forth once more and with increased emphasis, and give ear unto Me, O My nation, in the attitude of most careful attention; for a law shall proceed from Me, His Word issuing for the instruction of men, and I will make My judgment, that which is right and good according to his will, to rest for a light of the people, so that it would be a power for the conversion and salvation of all men. Cf Luk 2:32; Act 26:18. The promised renewal is that of the New Testament, which merges into that of heaven. That the interval of time does not exist in the omniscience of God is evident also from the following expressions:
v. 5. My righteousness is near, which includes all the mercies promised in the covenant made with His people; My salvation is gone forth, is already an established fact, and Mine arms shall judge the people, His merciful power directing their thoughts to the salvation of the Messiah. The isles shall wait upon Me, to receive the deliverance of the Lord out of the misery of their sins, and on Mine arm, which obtains mercy for them, shall they trust, the heathen thus coming to the knowledge of their Savior. This certainty is now further emphasized.
v. 6. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, with its impression of endless stability, and look upon the earth beneath, with its uninterrupted succession of generations, both appearing to the human mind as established securely; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, both of them bound for destruction on account of their inherent vanity, in spite of their apparent permanence, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner, like a snap of the finger; but My salvation shall be forever, and My righteousness, His mercy promised in His covenant, shall not be abolished, it will endure throughout eternity. Moreover, the enemies will find themselves unable to hinder the establishment of the Lord’s salvation.
v. 7. Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, choosing the mercy of the Lord’s covenant, the people in whose heart is My Law, who delight in the instruction given in His Word; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings, which were then, as now, poured out upon the believers for their trust in the salvation promised by the Lord;
v. 8. for the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool, bring about their destruction, put them out of the way; but My righteousness shall be forever and My salvation from generation to generation, His redemption means an eternal deliverance to all who trust in Him. Instead of continuing the comforting message from the mouth of the Lord, the prophet now, in an eminently dramatic manner introduces the listening believers as speaking, their prayer serving to substantiate the statements which have just been made.
v. 9. Awake, awake, put on strength, exhibiting His almighty power, O arm of the Lord, as in carrying out a difficult piece of work; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old, as when He delivered His people from the bondage of Egypt. Art Thou not it that hath cut Rahab, the crocodile, as the symbol of Egypt, and wounded the dragon, the sea-serpent? another symbol of Egypt.
v. 10. Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep, that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? The reference is to the deliverance of Israel at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh’s might was overthrown. The thought which is implied is this: Even as the Lord overthrew the armies of the enemies in the past, so He can vanquish and annihilate the enemy’s hosts at all times.
v. 11. Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion, their deliverance from the captivity of Babylon being a picture of the salvation of mankind from the bondage of Satan; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head, like the wreath of a bride; they shall obtain gladness and joy, the very summary of bliss, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away, be removed forever. Such is the happy condition of the redeemed of the Lord of all times, a fact which they cannot realize too thoroughly or trust in too implicitly.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23 Listen to me
Listen to me
Here the word "me" refers to Yahweh.
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look at the rock ... and to the quarry
Looking at something represents thinking about it. AT: "think about the rock ... and the quarry" (See: Metaphor)
the rock from which you were chiseled and to the quarry from which you were cut
God speaks of the nation of Israel as if it were a building made of stones and as if their ancestors were a rock or quarry from which God cut them. This can be stated clearly. AT: "your ancestors, who are like a rock from which you were chiseled and a quarry from which you were cut" (See: Metaphor)
the rock from which you were chiseled
This can be stated in active form. AT: "the rock from which I chiseled you" (See: Active or Passive)
chiseled
"cut with a chisel" or "cut"
the quarry from which you were cut
This can be stated in active form. AT: "the quarry from which I cut you" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
righteous
Yahweh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 22, 23 51:1-8 This prophecy calls for trust in the Lord.…
51:1-8 This prophecy calls for trust in the Lord. Each of its three units begins with the phrase, Listen to me (51:1, 4, 7).
51:1 The rock and the quarry represent Abraham and Sarah (51:2).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.