“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?
Parallel Translations
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“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?
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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 made as grass;
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I, even I, am He that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be made as grass;
Cross-references (23)
Passages linked to Isaiah 51:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 118:6 Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Isaiah 2:22 Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he?
- 1 Peter 1:24 For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
- John 14:26-27 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
- John 14:18 I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.
- 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ.
- James 1:10-11 and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away. For the sun arises with the scorching wind and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So the rich man will also fade away in his pursuits.
- Isaiah 66:13 As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you. You will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
- Isaiah 51:3 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.
- Isaiah 57:15-18 For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, neither will I always be angry; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls whom I have made. I was angry because of the iniquity of his covetousness and struck him. I hid myself and was angry; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him. I will lead him also, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners.
- Matthew 10:28 Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
- Luke 12:4-5 “I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
- Psalms 90:5-6 You sweep them away as they sleep. In the morning they sprout like new grass. In the morning it sprouts and springs up. By evening, it is withered and dry.
- Psalms 103:15-16 As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Its place remembers it no more.
- Isaiah 40:6-7 The voice of one saying, “Cry!” One said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because Yahweh’s breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass.
- Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.
- 2 Corinthians 7:5-6 For even when we had come into Macedonia, our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted on every side. Fightings were outside. Fear was inside. Nevertheless, he who comforts the lowly, God, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
- Psalms 146:4 His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish.
- Proverbs 29:26 Many seek the ruler’s favor, but a man’s justice comes from Yahweh.
- Isaiah 51:7-8 “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.”
- Psalms 92:7 though the wicked spring up as the grass, and all the evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
- Daniel 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
- Acts 9:31 So the assemblies throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace, and were built up. They were multiplied, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 51:12 I, [even] I, [am] he that comforteth…
Isa 51:12 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 made [as] grass;
Ver. 12. I, even I, am he that comforteth you.] This is certainly an answer to that supplication, {Isa 51:10} and it comprehendeth a reprehension and an expostulation about their pusillanimity, which was more than womanly. Therefore it followeth,
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Who art thou?] {a} Heb., Thou woman, thou hen hearted creature.
That thou shouldest be afraid of a man?] Heb., Sorry man, ab homine misero, aerumnoso, damnato ad mortem, ab hoste faeneo, An enemy of clouts, as we say. We trouble ourselves oft through ignorance; in the dark everything scares us.
{a} At, not Atta.
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 Who art thou? how unreasonable and distrustful art thou,…
Who art thou? how unreasonable and distrustful art thou, O my church! how unlike to thyself! how unsuitable in these despondencies unto thy own professions and obligations!
Of the son of man which shall be made as grass; of a weak mortal and perishing creature.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain I, even I, am he that comforteth you,.... This…
I, even I, am he that comforteth you,.... This is an answer to the prayer of the prophet, or the church by him, in which the Lord promises not only assistance and help, but comfort; not only to exert his power and show his great strength by making bare his arm; but to open his heart, unbosom himself, and show his great love and strong affection for them; and so administer divine comforts unto them, giving more than was asked for: and he promises to do it himself, not by his prophets and ministers, word and ordinances, though these are the usual means; but he himself would do it by his Spirit and grace, and the immediate discoveries of his love; and which he repeats, to show the certainty of it, as well as to point out to their view the great Comforter himself; which is an instance of amazing condescension, and could not fail of exciting admiration and thankfulness in them; see Co2 1:3,
who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die; a poor faint hearted creature indeed, to be afraid of a frail mortal dying man; which is the case of every man, even of the greatest of men, of the kings and princes of the earth, who all die like other men; the most proud and haughty tyrants, the fierce and furious persecutors of the people of God. Perhaps the Roman Pagan persecutors may be had in view, whose edicts were very terrible to the first Christians, whose persecutions were very violent and furious, and the tortures and deaths they put them to were very dreadful; and which put them in great fear though they had no reason to fear them that could destroy the body, and do no more; and the rather, since these were mortal men, and did die, and their persecutions came to an end. Or it may be, the man of sin, the son of perdition, antichrist, is here referred to, who in his time has made all to tremble at him, Rev 13:3 but must die, and his power too, and will be destroyed with the breath of Christ's mouth, and the brightness of his coming; and therefore his church and people have no reason to be afraid of him:
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and of the son of man, which shall be made as grass; as weak as that, which cannot stand before the scythe, is cut down, and tossed about, and trampled upon, and made hay of, and becomes the food of beasts, Psa 90:5. Or the words may be rendered, "and of the son of man, to whom grass shall be given"; (r) which if understood of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, of whom the people of the Jews were afraid, and who was a type of antichrist, it was literally true of him, Dan 4:32.
(r) "herba dabitur", Pagninus, Montanus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 51:12-13. I, even I, am he that comforteth…
Isa 51:12-13. I, even I, am he that comforteth you — “They prayed,” says Henry, “for the operations of his power: he answers them with the consolations of his grace; which may well be accepted as an equivalent. I, even I, he says, will do it: he had ordered his ministers to do it, chap. 40:1; but, because they cannot reach the heart, he takes the work into his own hands; he will do it himself. And those whom he comforts, are comforted indeed.” Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid, &c. — How unreasonable and distrustful art thou, O my church, how unlike to thyself! How unsuitable are these despondences to thy professions and obligations! Afraid of a man that shall die, &c. — Of a weak, mortal, and perishing creature. And forgettest the Lord thy Maker — Dost not consider the infinite power of that God who made thee, and who will plead thy cause; that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth — And therefore hath all the hosts and all the powers of both at his command and disposal. And hast feared continually every day — Hast been in a state of continual alarm and disquietude; because of the fury of the oppressor — It is true there is an oppressor, and he is furious, designing, it may be, to do thee a mischief, and therefore it will be thy wisdom to be on thy guard against him: but thou art afraid of him, as if he were ready to destroy — As if it were in his power to destroy thee in a moment, and he were just now going to effect his purpose, and there were no possibility of preventing it. And where is the fury of the oppressor? — What is become of the power and rage of the Babylonians? Are they not vanished away? Are they not broken, and thou delivered? He speaks of the thing as already done, because it should certainly and suddenly be done.
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 I even I am he that comforteth you -…
I even I am he that comforteth you - The word ‘I’ is repeated here to give emphasis to the passage, and to impress deeply upon them the fact that their consolation came alone from God. The argument is, that since God was their protector and friend, they had no occasion to fear anything that man could do.
Of a man that shall die - God your comforter will endure forever. But all men - even the most mighty - must soon die. And if God is our protector, what occasion can we have to fear what a mere mortal can do to us?
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And of the son of man - This phrase is common in the Hebrew Scriptures, and means the same as man.
Shall be made as grass - They shall perish as grass does that is cut down at mid-day (see the notes at Isa 40:6-7).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain comforteth-- (Isa 51:3; Isa 40:1).
comforteth-- (Isa 51:3; Isa 40:1).
thou--Zion.
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son of man--frail and dying as his parent Adam.
be made as grass--wither as grass (Isa 40:6-7).
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 12, 13. Jehovah speaks as if grieved at such…
12, 13. Jehovah speaks as if grieved at such fear lest he may not fulfil his promise of restoration to Zion. It is I… I… that comforteth you. Not unreliable, mortal man, who is going first to the dust, like decaying grass, and every such fragile thing. Note the comparison, if there can be a comparison, between the strong, eternal Jehovah, in the repeated “I,” and man, a weak creature of a day.
Who art thou — So easy to forget the mighty eternal Creator, who spread out the heavens and laid earth’s foundations, yet so timid before a weak, temporary oppressor, (the king of Babylon, whom Cyrus overthrew, or others of his like,) perchance, not calling to mind the fate of Pharaoh and all his kind, (of whom not a trace now remains,) in the past emergencies of God’s Israel? The argument is, that such distrust of Jehovah’s unchangeable fidelity to his covenant of promise and protection should shock Israel’s good sense and crimson his cheek. Even dejection through long exile scarcely excuses the lack of trust, especially when Israel is just at the point of the deliverance which has been so positively promised.
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Where is the fury of the oppressor — That is, what does it amount to in view of the power at hand ready to crush it at the seasonable moment?
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 12. I am he that comforteth you] Cf. Isa_40:1,…
12. I am he that comforteth you] Cf. Isa_40:1, Isa_49:13. The Israelites are here addressed as individuals; this gives place immediately to the feminine collective, Who art thou &c.? and this again in Isa_51:13 to the masc. sing. The rhetorical question means simply “How is it that thou fearest” &c.? (on the use of the consec. impf. see Davidson’s Syntax § 51. R. 3). For made as grass we may translate “given up (to destruction) as grass” (cf. ch. Isa_40:6).
12, 13. An expostulation with the exiles, who having the Almighty Creator for their God, live in constant terror of being destroyed by their oppressors.
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12–16. Jehovah again speaks as the comforter of His people. That the passage is a direct answer to the importunate appeal of Isa_51:9 f., seems probable, although it cannot be confidently affirmed; it is at all events virtually an answer. A point of contact might be found in Jehovah’s assertion of His power over the sea in Isa_51:15; but the connexion of ideas in the last three verses is difficult to make out, and the text itself probably confused.
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 (12) I, even I.—The iterated pronoun emphasises the true…
(12) I, even I.—The iterated pronoun emphasises the true grounds of confidence. If God be with us, what matter is it who may be against us? The enemies are mortal and weak; the Protector is the Eternal and the Strong.
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 Vers. 12-16. AN ADDRESS OF GOD TO HIS CAPTIVE…
Vers. 12-16. AN ADDRESS OF GOD TO HIS CAPTIVE PEOPLE. There is no very clear connection between this passage and the preceding, to which it is certainly not an answer. God comforts the captives under the oppression which they are suffering
(1) by reminding them of their oppressors" weakness and short-livedness;
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(2) by assuring them of speedy deliverance (ver. 14); and
(3) by impressing upon them his own power as shown in the past, which is a guarantee that he will protect them in the future (vers. 15, 16). Ver. 12.
I am he that comforteth you (comp. ver. 3, and the comment ad loc). Who art thou? Art thou a poor, weak, powerless, unprotected people, which might well tremble at the powerful Babylonians: or art thou not rather a people under the special protection of Jehovah, bound, therefore, to fear no one? As grass. (comp. Isa_37:27 Isa_11:6-8)
Vers. 12-16. A just confidence in God is a security against cowardly fears.
Men "fear continually every day" because of the emnity, or fury, or malignity, or cunning, of those who oppress them, or of those who would fain oppress them. They tremble before the wrath of men; they give little thought to the wrath of God. Half the sins that are committed spring from cowardice a short-sighted cowardice, which consists in fearing those who can, at most, "kill the body," and not fearing him who after death can "destroy both body and soul in hell". (Mat_5:28) A just confidence in God will secure us against such cowardice, since it will make us feel
I RELIANCE UPON GOD"S WILL TO SAVE US. God"s mercy is "over all his works," over man especially; in a peculiar manner over such as love him and trust in him. He will not suffer them to be tried "above that they are able." He loves them, and watches over them, and sympathizes with their sufferings, and counts their wrongs, and hears their groans, (Exo_2:23) and "knows their sorrows". (Exo_3:7) Oppressors are hateful to him. (Isa_1:23 Isa_3:15 Isa_5:7, etc.) They provoke him to send upon them "swift destruction." The greater their fury, the more they rouse against them God"s indignation, and the closer their destruction draws nigh.
II RELIANCE UPON GOD"S POWER TO SAVE US. Men are finite; God is infinite. Man is the creature of a day; God is "from everlasting to everlasting." Man fades as grass; God is "strong in power", (Isa_40:26) unwearied, unfailing. The "fierceness of man turns to God"s praise," for that fierceness he is able at any moment to "refrain". (Psa_76:10) He who "has stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth," and created man and placed him on the earth, and alone sustains him in life, can at any time sweep him into nothingness, destroy him, and make "all his thoughts perish.
Vers. 12-16. Expostulation against unbelief.
If the Eternal be the Pastor and the Comforter of Israel, what has Israel to fear?
I THE NATURAL TIMIDITY OF THE HEART. We are cravens, all of us. We stand in dread of our own image; we quail before "frail man that dieth, and the son of the earth-born who is given up as grass." A frown makes us tremble; a menace unmans us. We are the slaves of custom and opinion. Anxiety is ever conjuring up dangers which exist not, and forecasting calamities which do not occur. So were the Jews ever "on the tenter-hooks of expectation. When the "aiming" of the enemy seems to fail, their spirits rise; when it promises to succeed, they fall." How much do we all suffer from "ills that never arrive"!
II TIMIDITY CORRECTED BY RELIGION. Its cause is touched forgetfulness of God. Is forgetfulness the result of want of faith, or the origin of faithlessness? Both may be true. Faith needs to be fed from memory, and memory exerts its proper activity under the instigation of faith. Old truths need constantly to be recalled, and to become new truths through the act of attention the "giving heed to the things we have heard, lest at any time we let them slip." That God is Creator of heaven and earth is an elementary truth of religion. How much may be deduced from it! He who made the earth made the nations that dwell on the face of it; therefore made Israel, and every member of Israel. God creates to preserve. His character of Deliverer flows from that of Creator. There is, then, hope for the fettered captive. For he who is Almighty in nature is equally so in the sphere of human life. He who raises storms is able to still them, so that his friends have no cause to fear. The commitment of the truth to the Jewish people, their protection and restoration, seems to be compared to the vast work of creation. The lesson for the timid apprehensive heart is to learn that Omnipotence is engaged in its protection and defence. "This awful God is ours. Our Father and our Friend. J.
God the Comforter.
"I, even I, am he that comforteth you." All depends upon who it is that comforts us in the great crises of life. We are so apt to lean on those that excuse our weaknesses and comfort us in our sins.
I GOD HIMSELF IS A COMFORTER. This is his nature. There is emphasis in it. "I even I the Lord of hosts; the God of whom it is said, "There is nothing too hard for the Lord." We gain comfort when we gain confidence. It is faithlessness that makes us feeble. Let us read the revelation of what God is, and study the history of what God has done for his saints in every age, and we shall find comfort.
II MAN AT THE BEST IS BUT MAN. Why be afraid of him? Study yourself, your failings, timorousness, and frailty, and be sure that your brother man is just like this.
1. We are unreasonably afraid of men. Their power is limited. Their pretension is greater than their power. Do not be deceived by appearances.
2. We are the subjects of forgetfulness. "Man shall be made as grass!" We cannot have a better image of the feebleness of human strength. We think too much of man, and forget the Lord our Maker. Look at the heavens.. Look at the foundations of the earth. What can shake what God upholds? "Where is the fury of the oppressor?" Ask Pharaoh; and be at rest. W.M.S.
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 I, even I, am He that comforteth you
Isa_51:12-13
I, even I, am He that comforteth you
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Divine comfort is strength
They prayed for the operations of His power (Isa_51:9); He answers them with the consolations of His grace, which may well be accepted as an equivalent.
(M. Henry.)
Our true Comforter
I. THE LORD COMFORTS ALL WHO TRUST HIM, BY REVEALING HIS RELATIONSHIP. It is a delight to know that if the Almighty be a king, He is seated on a throne of grace, to which every man is at liberty to: come; but it is a much more comforting consolation to know that the Lord does not wish to be known to us as our king; it is His desire for us to approach Him as our Father. If you gather the record of all the good and lovable fathers who have ever existed, and can imagine them welded into one being, you will have some idea of our Heavenly Father.
II. THE LORD COMFORTS US, BY HIS CONTINUAL PRESENCE. Have you thought what it means, in prayer, when you close your eyes?
III. THE LORD COMFORTS US, BY PROVING HIS EXTRAORDINARY LOVE. Perhaps you may have sinned grievously, and, though you have repented, and are struggling bravely, the unfeeling world may point its finger of scorn; but do not despair. Listen to the voice of your Heavenly Father, I, even I, am He that comforteth you I
IV. THE LORD COMFORTS US, BY SHOWING THAT HE GOVERNS ALL THINGS. Fear hath torment, and it is the parent of all our cares and anxieties. (W. Birch.)
Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man?--
The comparative fear of God and man
I. There are TWO PARTIES here spoken of--man that shall die, the son of man that shall be made as grass; and the Lord our Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth. It appears to be a main object of the Scriptures, elsewhere as in the text, to set in the most vivid contrast with each other the meanness, the emptiness, the nothingness of man; and the all-sufficiency, the majesty, and the glory of God.
II. In the common intercourse of the world, THE FORMER OF THESE PARTIES, RATHER THAN THE LATTER, IS PRACTICALLY THE OBJECT OF
REVERENCE, RESPECT AND FEAR. Indeed, the whole system of society seems founded on the principle that human sanctions are above Divine.
III. THE MEANING OF THAT EMPHATIC QUESTION WITH WHICH THESE WORDS COMMENCE, WHO ART THOU?
1. The inquiry seems to have been primarily addressed to those whose prevailing fear of man was the result rather of weakness under trying circumstances, than of carnal blindness and depravity of heart. It seems intended for the encouragement of Gods people when threatened with dangers, and particularly when harassed by the terrors which cruel enemies inspire.
2. But in another sense, and with far different emphasis, does it apply to those who, in the genuine spirit of the world, and with the full agreement of the will, pay that homage to man which the deliberately refuse to God. Well may it be said to such, in a tone of mingled indignation and surprise, Who art thou? (H. Woodward, M.A.)
Fear of man removed by reflecting upon God
If, being children of God, by faith in Jesus Christ, we duly reflected on our high calling, and wisely valued our privileges, we should certainly neither stand so much in awe of one another, nor be so guilty as we are of forgetfulness of the Almighty.
I. WHO ART THOU? The question was put to Israel, with reference, not to what they were in themselves--in dependence upon their own strength or holiness; for they were weak and miserable offenders, suffering the punishment of their offences; conquered, and carried into exile by heathen enemies; friendless and hopeless: but it referred to Jehovah s choice of them as a peculiar people, to their experience of the Divine protection, and their covenanted right in the Divine promises. And, without reference to God, and His salvation, what can be the answer of any human being to the question, Who, or what art thou?--nothing, and less than nothing; a vapour, that is exhaled and is not; an atom, that perishes and is forgotten; a sinful and miserable being, the child of perdition, at his best estate altogether vanity. It is not so, however, that God sees us. He beholds all things here below in His blessed Son. Redemption enables every believer to return a lofty answer to the inquiry, Who art thou?
II. If such be a correct draught of the reply which the faithful Christian can make to the question, Who art thou? THE UNFITNESS, THE IMPROPRIETY OF HIS YIELDING TO THE FEAR OF MAN IS MANIFEST.
1. It saps the vital strength of the Christian character, in undermining our faith. I cannot truly believe in God, as He has revealed Himself, and yet stoop to this fear.
2. It leads men to vain ,and unworthy expedients--to trust in the arm of flesh and in refuges of lies.
3. Carnal fear is the very worst form of that unreasonable care and anxiety, against the encroachments of which our Lord cautions, us.
4. But, asks the prophet, who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid? Art not thou--thou, the child of God--of so high a dignity, of a strain and lineage so glorious, that thou oughtest not to be suspected of so degrading a passion as ignoble fear?
III. ALWAYS CONNECTED WITH FEAR OF MAN, IS FORGETFULNESS OF ALMIGHTY GOD. (R. Cattermole, B.D.)
God more to be feared than man
That of two evils the greatest is most to be feared, is a self-evident principle, which, as soon as it is proposed, commands our assent; that he who can inflict a greater evil IS more to be dreaded than he who can inflict only a less, is an immediate consequence of that self-evident principle; that the Lord our Maker, who hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, is armed with greater power, and can inflict greater and more durable evils than man who shall die, and the son of man who shall be made as grass, is more forcibly expressed than if it were in direct terms declared in the expostulation of the text: that man therefore is not to be feared, and that God is; or that man is not to be feared in comparison with God; not equally to be feared with Him; not at all to be feared, when the fear of man would betray us to do things inconsistent with the fear of God, and such as would argue us to have forgotten the Lord our Maker, is a truth as clearly, plainly and fully demonstrable as any proposition in mathematics.
I. It is certain mater of fact, that IN THE CONDUCT OF OUR LIVES WE ARE MORE AWED BY THE FEAR OF MAN THAN WE ARE BY THE FEAR OF GOD. This is proved from experience and observation. As evident as it is, that men commit those sins in secret which they dare not commit openly; that they take more care to appear religious than really to be religious; that in a licentious age they are afraid to own themselves to be under the influences of religion; that they commit greater sins to hide less; that they choose rather obstinately to persist in an error, than to own they were in the wrong; that they choose rather to break the laws of God than to be out of fashion; that they are time-servers, and play fast and loose with their principles, in order to secure or to promote their interest; that they make shipwreck of their faith when storms arise, and fall away in times of persecution; so evident is it, that in the conduct of their lives they are more swayed by the fear of men than they are by the fear of God.
II. INQUIRE HOW THIS COMES TO PASS.
1. As to the case of habitual, profligate, daring sinners, their conduct in this matter is easily accounted for. By a constant, uninterrupted course of sinning they have worn out all sense of religion, all notions of God, all apprehensions of a future state, and a judgment to come.
2. Every disciple of Christ is not so great a proficient in the doctrine of the Cross, as to reach up to that fulness of stature in Christ to which St. Paul was arrived, when he could, without arrogance, declare his undaunted courage and resolution of mind in that magnanimous, but sincere, profession, which we find him making, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? etc.
3. If persecution is proved to be so strong a temptation, and the faith of the generality of Christians is so weak, it is no great matter of surprise, that men should often yield to the violence of such pressing trials, and should be overawed into sinful compliances, by the fear of those evils, which, though they bear no proportion to the wrath of God, that shall be revealed in the last day, are yet strong enough to betray the succours which reason and religion offer.
4. But still what account can be given why men venture the loss of their immortal souls, to avoid evils of a much less magnitude; such as are shame, disrepute, the displeasure of superiors, the dislike of equals, or even sometimes the disapprobation of inferiors? The best account I am able to give of such extravagant and unjustifiable conduct is this: the sins to which men are drawn by such slight temptations are not usually of that heinous kind, as those are to which they are tempted by the terrors of greater evils; as the temptation is mush weaker, me the aims to which they are tempted are much lighter: though therefore they cannot plead the violence of the temptation, yet they are apt to hope, that the sins into which they are so easily betrayed, being not of the deepest die, will the sooner be blotted out.
III. SHOW THE EXTREME FOLLY AND UNREASONABLENESS OF IT. By the order of nature our passions ought to be under the government of reason; by the laws of God they ought to be subject to the rules of religion. Our reason tells us, that the greatest evils are most to be feared; our religion teaches us, that the evils to come are exceedingly greater than any we can feel at present: both reason, therefore, and religion agree to condemn the avoiding lesser evils, by running into greater, which we always so, when out of fear to offend men we presume to sin against God.
IV. GIVE SOME RULES HOW WE MAY CONQUER THIS VICIOUS AND IMMODERATE FEAR OF MAN.
1. We fear men more than God, because the evils threatened by men are apprehended to be nearer than those threatened by God. To weaken the force of this motive to the fear of men, we should consider that this apprehension of ours may be false; for though the sentence of God against evil works is not always executed speedily, yet the judgments of God do sometimes seize upon the sinner, even in the very act of sinning. But allowing them to be as yet far removed, and to advance with the slowest pace, yet the disproportion which they bear to the sorest evils men can inflict, is so great, that if we view them together, the treasures of wrath which are laid up against the day of wrath cannot appear light and inconsiderable, notwithstanding their present distance. But to take away all danger of our being imposed upon by viewing them as far remote, we ought in our thoughts to bring them nearer to us.
2. It will be further expedient for us to strengthen our good resolutions by considering those supports which we may expect from God, if we bravely bear up against those trials by which our virtue is, at any time, assaulted. The same power of God which will be manifested in our punishment, if we give way to the vicious fear of men, will exert itself in our assistance, that we may effectually overcome it. Having, therefore, these threats and promises of the Lord, let us act like men who are endued with reason, and like Christians who are strong in faith. (Bp. Smalridge.)
Foolish and impious fears
I. THE ABSURDITY OF THOSE FEARS. It is a disparagement to us to give way to them. In the original the pronoun is feminine, Who art thou, O woman; unworthy the name of a man, such a weak and womanish thing is it to give way to perplexing fears. It is absurd--
1. To be in such a dread of a dying man.
2. To fear continually every day (Isa_51:13); to put ourselves upon a constant rack, so as never to be easy, nor have any enjoyment of ourselves. Now and then a danger may be imminent and threatening, and it may be prudence to fear it; but to be always in a toss, to tremble at the shaking of every leaf, is to make ourselves all our lifetime subject to bondage, and to bring upon ourselves that sore judgment which is threatened Deu_28:66-67).
3. To fear beyond what there is cause for. Thou art afraid of the fury of the oppressor. It is true there is an oppressor, and he is furious. He designs, it may be, when he has an opportunity, to do thee mischief, and it will be thy wisdom, therefore, to stand upon thy guard; but thou art afraid of him as if he were ready to destroy, as if he were just now going to cut thy throat and there were no possibility of preventing, it. A. timorous spirit is thus apt to make the worst of everything, and sometimes God is pleased presently to show us the folly of it. Where is the fury of the oppressor? It is gone in an instant, and the danger is over ere thou art aware. His heart is turned, or his hands are tied.
II. THE IMPIETY OF THOSE FEARS. Thou forgettest the Lord, thy Maker, etc. Our inordinate fearing of man is an implicit forgetting of God. (M. Henry.)
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 Isa_51:12-13. I, even I, am He that comforteth you,…
FEAR OF GOD AND MAN
Isa_51:12-13. I, even I, am He that comforteth you, &c.
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I. THE TWO PARTIES SET OVER AGAINST EACH OTHER, “Man that shall die,” &c.; and “the Lord thy Maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens,” &c. It is a main object of the Scriptures to set in the most vivid contrast the meanness, emptiness, nothingness of man; and the all-sufficiency, the majesty, and the glory of God (Isa_51:7-8; Job_4:13-19; Job_14:1-2; Psa_39:5; Isa_40:6-7; Jas_4:14). In striking contrast with man’s nothingness, the Scriptures set forth the majesty of God’s glory (Gen_1:1-3; Psa_113:5-6; 1Ch_29:11; Job_38:4-11; Job_38:16-17; Job_38:34-35; Psa_18:6-15). Not even the language of inspiration could measure the boundless interval which lies between finite and infinite, the creature and the Creator, sinful mortals and a holy God.
II. MAN, RATHER THAN GOD, IS PRACTICALLY THE OBJECT OF REVERENCE, RESPECT, AND FEAR. The whole system of society seems founded on the principle that human sanctions are above Divine. To keep society in order, it is necessary, even where the Lord hath spoken with the most awful sanctions He can employ, that the law of the land should interpose with its more effectual and prevailing influence.
Look at some instances in which these two authorities do not act conjointly. Debts to man are paid; what we owe to God gives us little uneasiness, perhaps none. In courts of justice there is watchful vigilance to observe the rules laid down, in every minute punctilio; it is forgotten that the King of kings is present wherever we turn our eyes. The presence of God, though admitted in a way, produces not half the controlling influence that the presence even of the most insignificant of their fellow-mortals would do. “It is a shame,” says the apostle, “even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret;” and yet these secrets are all known to God. The eye of God no more interrupts sinful pleasure than does the notice of infancy or the stupid stare of one of the inferior animals. But, speaking generally, the fear of man, or in other words, the law of public opinion, is the great regulator of life. Other passions are submissive to the master-passion—the fear of man. The profane swearer masters his tongue in refined society. The Sabbath is kept out of regard to man. Debts of common honesty are lightly regarded; debts of honour are binding. The case is too clear to need more proofs. Of by far the greater portion of society it may be affirmed, that “all their works they do to be seen of men.” To an extent, of which they are not themselves aware, the law of opinion, and not the law of God, is their rule of life. The Bible comes to them filtered through man’s opinion, only the filtering is not a purifying process.
III. THE EMPHATIC QUESTION, “WHO ART THOU?”
The inquiry seems to have been first addressed to those whose prevailing fear of man was the result, rather of weakness under trying circumstances, than of carnal blindness and depravity of heart; it seems intended for the encouragement of God’s people when threatened with dangers, and particularly when harassed by the terrors which cruel enemies inspire; “I, even I, am He that comforteth you;” then come the words before us, followed by the pathetic expressions, “And hast feared continually,” &c. “And where is the fury of the oppressor?” As much as to say, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” To such the text brings reassurance and encouragement.
But with far different emphasis does it apply to those who, in the genuine spirit of the world, pay that homage to man which they refuse to God. The tone is that of indignation and surprise, “Who art thou?” What reasonable intelligence can fear him who can only kill the body, rather than the dread Being who holds the keys of death and hell? It can only be accounted for in one way, viz., that the senses, which can alone take cognizance of God, are closed. But such judicial blindness is no cloak for this sin, since man brings it on himself (Rom_2:17-21). To us, favoured above God’s ancient people, with what redoubled force does this voice of expostulation speak! Well may God apply to us such affecting words as are contained in Scripture (Isa_5:4).
CONCLUSION: “Who art thou,” that “worships and serves the creature more than the Creator”? Can man “arise and save thee in the time of thy trouble”? Can the world “pluck from memory a rooted sorrow”? Can it lighten the darkness of a dying hour? O then, “cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils!”—H. Woodward, M.A.: Church of England Magazine, vol. xxii. pp. 56–61.
The fear spoken of is misplaced fear; hence fear that weakens and leads astray, and makes unfaithful to God, as well as makes the child of God miserable.
I. SOME OF THE CAUSES OF GROUNDLESS AND DISPROPORTIONATE FEAR.
1. Our over-estimating of temporal interests. Even supposing men do their worst, and the furnace of worldly trouble be heated to its utmost, “who art thou,” whose interests are so high, and wide-spreading, and enduring, that thou shouldest be greatly cast down? Will the wealthy man lose his sleep, and become miserable, because he has lost sixpence in the street? Not if his mind is sound. If he does, he is diseased; and our souls are diseased if our whole horizon is darkened by mere worldly loss and trouble.
2. Our turning of our eyes wholly to the seen, and shutting them to the unseen. God is invisible; “man” and worldly difficulties are visible, prominent to the eyes of sense. We must walk by faith and not by sight, if we are to walk calmly and nobly. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. If we allow the visible and sensible to tyrannise over us, they will scourge us more cruelly than Egyptian taskmasters did their slaves. “Lord, increase our faith,” and we shall be able to sing, “God is a present help in trouble.”
3. Unbelief in God’s fatherly interest in us. “Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man,” &c. Thou dost not realise or remember who thou art. A child of God, redeemed by Christ, the very hairs of thy head numbered.
II. SOME THOUGHTS WHICH INSPIRE AND KEEP UP COURAGE.
1. Man and all created powers are weak; God is omnipotent. “God stretched forth the foundations,” &c. Man is feeble as the grass. Greater is He that is for you than all that can be against you.
2. Man and all created powers are short-lived; God is eternal. Opposed to thee is “a man that shall die;” on thy side are the everlasting arms. Make the eternal God thy refuge, and thou wilt not fear them that can kill the body, and have nothing more that they can do.
3. The Lord is “thy Maker.” There is endless hope in that thought. He that has made knows our frame, and will have mercy on the works of His hands.
4. He has intimate individual knowledge of thee and sympathy with thee. The prophet passes from the plural of the context into the singular in the text. “Thou,” “Thy.” Our relations with God are individual. He holds each of us by the hand.
5. He values thee far above the material earth and heaven. He that made and maintains them will not forget His child, that can look in His face, and know, and trust, and love Him. Whether would the mother make surest of saving her jewels or her child in a shipwreck? He has proved His incomparable love to thee in Christ.—The Homiletical Library, vol. ii. p. 71.
THE MORTALITY AND FRAILTY OF MAN
Isa_51:12. Man that shall die, and the son of man which shall be made as grass.
David, when musing upon the sublime scenery which the heavens presented, proposed a question of vast importance: “What is man?” Man is a wonderful being. “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” What the psalmist uttered, modern science has more fully established. “It is impossible to contemplate this admirable and beautiful temple of the deathless spirit without awakened wonder. It is one of the finest pieces of mechanism which can possibly be contemplated.” He is an intelligent being. As such he is nature’s king—the world’s monarch. What majestic powers he possesses! (P. D. 2376, 2380, 2381, 2400.) He is a spiritual being. “That must be a spiritual being which is conscious that it exists, and yet cannot be divided into parts. Having a spiritual nature, man is capable of constant thought, perpetual improvement in knowledge, of enjoying union with the Deity, a continual increase of happiness, and everlasting life. These give him a superiority over the brute creation, and render him morally responsible for all his ways.” He is a guilty and depraved being (Rom_1:29-31; Rom_3:12-18). He is also a mortal and a frail being, and these are the facts presented for our consideration in the text.
I. Man is mortal. “Man that must die.” All men—even the most mighty—must soon become the lifeless tenants of the tomb. [1572] For death has entered our world by sin, and all who have ever lived, save Enoch and Elias, have died, or shall die. It matters not, however beautiful or talented, &c., you must die (H. E. I. 1536, 1537; P. D. 677, 751, 752). God hath decreed it—hath declared it (Psa_90:3; Isa_51:6; Heb_9:27).
[1572] When the vault containing the remains of the royal Charlemagne was opened by the Emperor Otho, the body was found, not reclining, but seated on a throne, with a crown on his fleshless brow, kingly robes covering his skeleton, a sceptre in his bony hand, a copy of the Gospels on his knee, and a pilgrim’s pouch fastened to his girdle. What a humiliating picture of human dignity! What an ineffectual attempt to retain the appearance of life, even amidst the horrors of death! That ghastly skeleton, as it fronts you with a mournful grin, teaches the lesson that even kings must die; crowns and sceptres cannot ward off the blow of the destroyer; he enters alike peasant cot and palace hall.
II. Man is frail; he is “as grass.” [1575] We are “as grass”—
1. In the frailty of our nature. “How fragile is the grass! a breath, an atom, a touch, will kill it. So with man. We are not like the cedars of Lebanon, or the oaks of Bashan.” Like the springing grass, we shall soon pass away. What is human life? A mere temporary state of existence (Job_7:1; Psa_90:10; Psa_144:4; 1Pe_1:17). A short and uncertain duration of being (Job_14:1; Job_16:22; Jas_4:14). What is your life?
[1575] P. D. 2383, 2384. The comparison of a human being with grass is very beautiful, and quite common in the Scriptures. The comparison turns on the fact, that the grass, however green or beautiful it may be, soon loses its freshness; is withered; is cut down, and dies (Psa_103:15-16; Isa_40:6-8, a passage which is evidently referred to by Peter in his first epistle, Isa_1:20; Isa_1:24; Jas_1:10-11). This sentiment is beautifully imitated by the great dramatist in the speech of Wolsey:—
“This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And—when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening—nips his root,
And then he falls.”
“A flower that does with opening dawn arise,
And flourishing the day, at evening dies;
A winged eastern blast, just skimming o’er
The ocean’s brow, and sinking on the shore;
A fire, whose flames through crackling stubble fly;
A meteor, shooting from the summer sky;
A bowl, adown the bending mountain rolled;
A bubble breaking—and a fable told;
A noontide shadow, and a midnight dream;
Are emblems which, semblance apt, proclaim
Our earthly course.”—Prior.
2. In the uncertainty of our lives. In all seasons the blade dies. Every moment some grass withers. Every second some man dies—either the infant, the youth, or the aged. But we know not the day or the hour.
3. In the unnoticeableness of our dissolution. Unnumbered blades of grass wither and die every day, yet the landscape is as beautiful as ever, for others spring up and take their place. So with man. Multitudes are dying every day, but all goes on as usual. [1578]
[1578] If the death of ordinary individuals be but as the casting of a pebble from the seashore into the ocean, which is neither missed from the one nor sensibly gained by the other, the death of the more extraordinary ones is but as the foundering of a piece of rock into the abyss beneath: it makes at the time a great splash, but the wave it raises soon subsides into a ripple, and the ripple itself soon sinks to a placid level.—J. A. James.
CONCLUSION.—What effect ought these truths to produce? They should lead,
1. To the diligent improvement of human life. The great business of life is to know and serve God (1Ch_28:9; 1Co_6:19-20; 1Ti_4:8; Php_3:8; Ecc_12:13). Can anything be more important, more rational, more excellent? To seek and secure the salvation of your soul. What a work to be accomplished! and all during this short, this uncertain life! Be diligent.
2. To constant readiness for death (H. E. I. 1562–1566; P. D. 730, 734).—Alfred Tucker.
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.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Loosing of the Exiles
The Loosing of the Exiles
v. 12. I, even I, am He that comforteth you, so Jehovah Himself announces in taking up the topic of the chapter once more. Who art thou that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, why should Zion as such or any individual believer fear any mortal enemy, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass, withering after a very brief life,
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v. 13. and forgettest the Lord, thy Maker, the almighty Creator of the universe, that hath stretched forth the heavens, 40:22; 42:5, and laid the foundations of the earth, established it most firmly; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, of the tyrant among men, of whom Babylon is a type, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor? This rebuke of the Lord may well be applied in the case of all His children; for their occasional fear of the enemies is equivalent to a lack of trust in the power of Jehovah. The rage of the tyrant is unable to hinder the deliverance which God has planned for those who believe in Him.
v. 14. The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, literally, Soon the one bowed down (as captive) shall be loosed, the heavy fetters which bore him down to the ground being removed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail, that is, he should be delivered from prison and have all the bread that he needs.
v. 15. But I am the Lord, thy God, the gracious Sovereign, that divided the sea, whipping it into fury, whose waves roared. The Lord of hosts is His name, He who has command of both the heavenly and the earthly powers, He who directs the elements at His will.
v. 16. And I have put My words in thy mouth, entrusting them to His people, and I have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, sustaining Israel in faith and in His grace, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, as the Creator of the universe, and say unto Zion, with whom He is united by the bonds of His merciful love, Thou art My people. The entire description pictures the perfection of the new order which was to be established by Christ in His spiritual kingdom.
v. 17. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, this call being intended for the time immediately after the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of His fury, namely, in the punishment meted out by the Babylonian army. Thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, the terror brought about by the wrath of the Lord, and wrung them out, drained the dregs to the last drop. The misery of the situation is intensified by the fact that the sufferer is all alone in her tribulation.
v. 18. There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth, none to direct her while she was in this helpless state of drunken terror; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand, to uphold and strengthen her, of all the sons that she hath brought up. It is impossible to bring salvation to mankind by a mere outward morality, by a mere social uplift as it is proclaimed in our days. The wrath of God over the sins of mankind may be appeased only by the atonement of the Savior, which turns the wrath into grace.
v. 19. These two things are come unto thee, things of two kinds which are presently mentioned; who shall be sorry for thee? Not one showed sympathy with Zion in her deep disgrace. The two varieties of affliction are now named. Desolation and destruction, on the one hand, and the famine and the sword, on the other, the first pair striking the city, the second its inhabitants; by whom shall I comfort thee? There was none to comfort her in her misery.
v. 20. Thy Sons have fainted, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem being overcome; they lie at the head of all the streets, at the intersection of all thoroughfares, as a wild bull in a net, as a gazelle which is helplessly enmeshed; they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God, for this invariably brings about death and destruction. But now the Lord turns to Jerusalem with the fullness of His mercy.
v. 21. Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, one who has experienced the depths of misery and tribulation, and drunken, but not with wine, the wrath of God alone being the cause of her miserable condition:
v. 22. Thus saith thy Lord, the Husband and Sovereign of Jerusalem, the Lord, the God of the covenant, and thy God, that pleadeth the cause of His people, taking their part against the tyrants, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, the terror being induced by the wrath of the Lord over the sins of His people, even the dregs of the cup of My fury, which Zion was just represented as draining; thou shalt no more drink it again, since the Lord now promised His merciful deliverance,
v. 23. but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee, who had brought all this tribulation upon her, which have said to thy soul, Bow down that we may go over, their backs thus serving to be trampled under foot by the enemies, and thou hast laid thy body as the ground and as the street, like a pavement, to them that went over. So great had been the humiliation of Zion-Jerusalem, representing the Church of God. But the Lord was determined to bring salvation to His people through the work of the Messiah.
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 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues speaking to the people of Israel.
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I, I, am he
The word "I" is repeated for emphasis. If this is unnatural in your language, the repetition does not need to be used. AT: "I am he"
Why are you afraid of men ... like grass?
This rhetorical question emphasizes that people who have the Lord's protection should not be afraid of human beings. This can be written as a statement. AT: "Do not be afraid of men ... like grass." (See: Rhetorical Question)
who are made like grass
This phrase compares men to grass to emphasize that their lives are short and that they die quickly. AT: "who live and die quickly like grass" or "who will wither and disappear like grass" (See: Simile)
who are made like
This can be stated in active form. AT: "who are like" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
comfort
die
son
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.