You have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the plunder.
Parallel Translations
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You have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the plunder.
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Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
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(9-2) Thou hast multiplied the nation, Thou hast increased their joy; they joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
Cross-references (30)
Passages linked to Isaiah 9:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 119:162 I rejoice at your word, as one who finds great plunder.
- Isaiah 26:15 You have increased the nation, O Yahweh. You have increased the nation! You are glorified! You have enlarged all the borders of the land.
- Isaiah 35:10 Then Yahweh’s ransomed ones will return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
- Isaiah 65:18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem to be a delight, and her people a joy.
- Isaiah 66:10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn over her;
- Isaiah 61:7 Instead of your shame you will have double. Instead of dishonor, they will rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they will possess double. Everlasting joy will be to them.
- Jeremiah 31:7 For Yahweh says, “Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations. Publish, praise, and say, ‘Yahweh, save your people, the remnant of Israel!’
- Jeremiah 31:12-14 They will come and sing in the height of Zion, and will flow to the goodness of Yahweh, to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd. Their soul will be as a watered garden. They will not sorrow any more at all. Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance; the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people will be satisfied with my goodness,” says Yahweh.
- 1 Peter 1:8 whom, not having known, you love. In him, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory,
- 1 Samuel 30:16 When he had brought him down, behold, they were spread around over all the ground, eating, drinking, and dancing, because of all the great plunder that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 20:25-28 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their plunder, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away. They took plunder for three days, it was so much. On the fourth day, they assembled themselves in Beracah Valley, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore the name of that place was called “Beracah Valley” to this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for Yahweh had made them to rejoice over their enemies. They came to Jerusalem with stringed instruments, harps, and trumpets to Yahweh’s house.
- Psalms 4:7 You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased.
- Psalms 126:5-6 Those who sow in tears will reap in joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed for sowing, will certainly come again with joy, carrying his sheaves.
- Isaiah 12:1 In that day you will say, “I will give thanks to you, Yahweh; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort me.
- Isaiah 25:9 It shall be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God! We have waited for him, and he will save us! This is Yahweh! We have waited for him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”
- Isaiah 55:12 For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace. The mountains and the hills will break out before you into singing; and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands.
- Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, “Rejoice!”
- Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh! My soul will be joyful in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
- Zechariah 2:11 Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell among you, and you shall know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me to you.
- Zechariah 8:23 Yahweh of Armies says: “In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”
- Luke 11:22 But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armor in which he trusted, and divides his plunder.
- Judges 5:3 “Hear, you kings! Give ear, you princes! I, even I, will sing to Yahweh. I will sing praise to Yahweh, the God of Israel.
- Nehemiah 9:23 You also multiplied their children as the stars of the sky, and brought them into the land concerning which you said to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.
- Psalms 107:38 He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease.
- Isaiah 16:9-10 Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah. I will water you with my tears, Heshbon, and Elealeh: for on your summer fruits and on your harvest the battle shout has fallen. Gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there will be no singing, neither joyful noise. Nobody will tread out wine in the presses. I have made the shouting stop.
- Isaiah 35:2 It will blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing. Lebanon’s glory will be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They will see Yahweh’s glory, the excellence of our God.
- Isaiah 49:20-22 The children of your bereavement will say in your ears, ‘This place is too small for me. Give me a place to live in.’ Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has conceived these for me, since I have been bereaved of my children and am alone, an exile, and wandering back and forth? Who has brought these up? Behold, I was left alone. Where were these?’ ” The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and lift up my banner to the peoples. They shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
- Isaiah 54:1 “Sing, barren, you who didn’t give birth; break out into singing, and cry aloud, you who didn’t travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,” says Yahweh.
- Hosea 4:7 As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame.
- Zechariah 10:8 I will signal for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them; and they will increase as they have increased.
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Explain this verse (18 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Their number was greater when they went into captivity,…
Their number was greater when they went into captivity, than when they returned, but their joy was greater at their return, Hag. 2:9.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 9:3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, [and] not…
Isa 9:3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, [and] not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, [and] as [men] rejoice when they divide the spoil.
Ver. 3. Thou hast multiplied the nation.] Or, "Never since thou multipliedst this people, didst thou give them such joy" - i.e., such matter of joy as now thou intendest to do. Or thus, "Thou wilt multiply this nation, thou wilt increase their joy"; especially by sending thy Son, who is called "the gift," {Joh 4:10} "the benefit," {1Ti 6:2} such as wherein all discontents are soon swallowed up. Everlasting joy shall be upon the heads of the Lord’s ransomed ones, they "shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." {Isa 35:10}
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They joy before thee.] Pleasure there must be in the ways of God, because therein men let out their souls into God, the fountain of all good. Christ’s chariot is paved with love. {Son 3:9-10}
According to the joy in harvest.] And a great deal more. {Psa 4:7} They do "over abound exceedingly with joy." {2Co 7:4} Joys they have "unspeakable, and full of glory." {1Pe 1:8}
And as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.] Wherein the pleasure is usually more than the profit, {Psa 119:162} and yet the profit oft very great too, {as 2Ch 20:25} and as at the sack of Constantinople, at the wealth whereof the Turks themselves wondered, and derided their folly that possessing so much they would bestow so little in the defence of themselves and their country. {a}
{a} Turkish History, fol. 345.
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 Thou hast multiplied the nation; thou hast made good…
Thou hast multiplied the nation; thou hast made good thy promise to Abraham concerning the multiplication of his seed, Gen 15:5; 22:17, by adding his spiritual seed unto the carnal, by gathering in the Gentiles to the Jews, and making them both one people in Christ, Joh 10:16; Eph 2:14, &c. For in Scripture account the believing Gentiles are the seed of Abraham as well as the Jews; of which see Gal 3:7-9. Or,
thou hast magnified the nation; honoured them with peculiar privileges above all other nations, and especially with this transcendent privilege, that the Messiah and Saviour of the world should be born of them, and live among them; of which he speaks more fully Isa 9:6,7.
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And not increased the joy; or, yet not increased their joy; which might very truly and fitly be said of the Jewish nation upon this occasion, partly because they did not rejoice in the conversion of the Gentiles, as they should have done, but murmured, and grieved, and stumbled at it; and partly because, through their perverseness and unbelief, that would be unto them an occasion of their utter ruin, the conversion of the Gentiles being attended with the rejection of the Jews. But because this translation seems not to agree with the following words, which ascribe great joy to them, some render the words otherwise; either thus, and
wilt thou not increase their joy? to which question the next words give an affirmative answer. So the Hebrew particle lo is put interrogatively for halo, as it is in many other places, which I have formerly observed. Or thus, and hast increased to it, or him, or them (to that nation) their joy. For though the Hebrew lo be written like an adverb, yet it may be read like a pronoun, as it is both by Jewish and Christian interpreters acknowledged to be in many places; of which see more in my Latin Synopsis.
They joy before thee; in thy presence, and in the place of thy worship; not with a carnal and worldly, but with a spiritual and religious joy, giving thee the praise and glory of all thy favours afforded to them.
According to the joy in harvest; when men receive with great joy that for which they have laboured much and long waited. See Psa 126:5,6.
When they divide the spoil; when, after a bloody fight, and a glorious victory, they come to take the spoil.
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 Thou hast multiplied the nation,.... With light, knowledge, honour,…
Thou hast multiplied the nation,.... With light, knowledge, honour, and glory, even Galilee of the nations before mentioned, the land of darkness, and of the shadow of death, where the people dwelt; on whom Christ, the light, shone in the ministration of his Gospel to them; whereby the number of believers in Christ were multiplied; and indeed, as he conversed, preached, and wrought his miracles most here, he had here the greatest number of disciples and followers; here were the five hundred brethren by whom he was seen at once, after his resurrection, Co1 15:6 for this is not to be understood of the Assyrian nation, whose army under Sennacherib was very large; nor of the Jewish nation enlarged by the destruction of that army, or of their increase after their return from the Babylonish captivity; nor of the church of God by the accession of Gentiles to it; but of the land or nation before spoken of:
and not increased the joy; or rather, as it should be rendered, "and hast increased joy unto it"; following the Keri; or marginal reading, which directs that it should be read, not as a negative, "not", but "to it"; and which is followed by the Targum and Syriac version, and by Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi, and others; and the sense of the words requires this reading, since it follows,
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they joy before thee; or otherwise there would be a manifest contradiction in the text; though some, to avoid it, read the words interrogatively, "hast thou not increased the joy?" thou hast; and in this way both the Keri and the Cetib, the reading and the writing, may be taken in, "hast thou not increased joy unto it?" and so as Gussetius (i) renders it,
"thou hast multiplied the nation to whom thou hadst not given great joy:''
that is, temporal joy; though now much of that which is of a spiritual kind: Christ the light appearing, his Gospel being preached by him, and his apostles, and many believing in him, occasioned an increase of spiritual joy in those parts; and so it is, that wherever the Gospel comes, and Christ is preached, and souls are converted, there is great joy, Act 8:6 where there is any grace of the Spirit, as faith, hope, and love, there is joy; and particularly when a soul is enlightened and quickened, as in the preceding verse Isa 9:2, it rejoices, reflecting on the state of darkness and death it is brought out of, and on the marvellous light, life, and liberty it is brought into; and at a sight of Christ, his person, offices, relations, and grace, as the sun of righteousness, with healing in his wings, and beaming light, salvation, and happiness; which joy is spiritual, internal, passes knowledge, is imperfect, but capable of being increased:
they joy before thee; the words, both in this and in the preceding clauses, are addressed to God, and show, that as the work of conversion, and an increase of spiritual joy, are from him; so that joy that is given by hint is expressed "before" him, in his house and ordinances, and it is in his sight, before whom all things are manifest; and so it denotes the truth and sincerity of it, which is illustrated by the following metaphors:
according to the joy in harvest; such as is expressed by men in harvest time, both by the rich owners and proprietors, when they have a good harvest, and well got in, and by the poor, who have a prospect of a comfortable supply in a cheap manner; and this simile is used with great propriety and pertinence. Christ and his ministers are sowers of seed, of the word; and hearers of the word are compared to seed sown in different places; and when any number of these are converted, it is a harvest which occasions joy. The Targum is,
"as the joy of conquerors in war;''
which agrees with what follows:
and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil; taken in war: in redemption, Christ has taken the prey from the mighty, and delivered the lawful captive, and has divided the spoil with the strong; and in effectual calling binds the strong man armed, and spoils his goods, and delivers souls out of his hands, and this is matter of great joy, Isa 53:12 see Psa 119:162.
(i) Ebr. Comment. p. 423.
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 Thou hast - Thou hast made good thy promise…
Thou hast - Thou hast made good thy promise to Abraham concerning the multiplication of his seed, by gathering in the Gentiles to the Jews. Before thee - In thy presence, and in the place of thy worship.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 3. And not increased the joy - "Thou…
Verse 3. And not increased the joy - "Thou hast increased their joy"] Eleven MSS. of Kennicott's and six of De Rossi's, two ancient, read לו lo, it, according to the Masoretical correction, instead of לא lo, not. To the same purpose the Targum and Syriac.
The joy in harvest] כשמחת בקציר kesimchath bakkatsir. For bakkatsir one MS. of Kennicott's and one of De Rossi's have קציר katsir, and another הקציר hakkatsir, "the harvest;" one of which seems to be the true, reading, as the noun preceding is in regimine.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 9:3. Thou hast multiplied the nation — Thou…
Isa 9:3. Thou hast multiplied the nation — Thou hast made good thy promise to Abraham, concerning the multiplication of his seed, by adding his spiritual seed unto the carnal, by gathering in the Gentiles to the Jews, and making them both one people in Christ, Joh 10:16; Eph 2:14. For, in the Scriptures, the believing Gentiles are accounted the seed of Abraham as well as the Jews, Gal 3:7-9. Or, as the Hebrew may be rendered, Thou hast magnified the nation, honoured it with peculiar privileges above all other nations, and especially with this transcendent privilege, that the Saviour of the world should be born in it, and live among its people; of which he speaks more fully Isa 9:6-7. And not increased — Or rather, according to the marginal reading in the Hebrew, (which, instead of לא, not, has לו, it, him, or them,) confirmed by many of the ancient versions, Thou hast increased their joy, which reading, it is evident, the next words require. Dr. Waterland’s version of these two clauses is, Thou hast advanced the nation; hast heightened upon her joy. The meaning is, thou hast conferred upon it a very great benefit, and thereby prepared for it the highest joy: joy which shall be to all people; true joy arising from the consolations of the gospel. See Zec 2:10-11; Luk 2:10. They joy before thee — In thy presence, and in the place of thy worship; according to the joy in harvest, &c. — When men, with great joy, reap the long-expected fruit of their great labours and expectations, or as when, after a glorious victory, they come to take the spoil.
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 Thou hast multiplied the nation - Thou hast rendered…
Thou hast multiplied the nation - Thou hast rendered the nation strong, powerful, mighty. Several interpreters, as Calvin, Vitringa, and Le Clerc, suppose that the prophet here, and in the two following verses, speaks in the first instance of the prosperity near at hand, and of the rapid increase of the Israelites after the return from the Babylonian exile, in which the inhabitants of Galilee must have participated, as may be inferred from the accounts of Josephus respecting the great population of that province in his time; see Jewish Wars, i. 20, 23. Vitringa also directs our attention to the fact, that the Jewish people, after the exile, not only filled Judea, but spread themselves into Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. But there seems to be no necessity for referring it to such an increase of the inhabitants. It may refer to the great increase of the Messiah’s kingdom, or of the kingdom which he would set up, and whose commencement would be in Galilee; see Hengstenberg, Christol., vol. i. p. 354.
And not increased the joy - The Masoretes here read in the margin לו lô “to it,” instead of לא lo' “not.” Eleven manuscripts, two of them ancient, have this reading. This reading is followed by the Chaldee Paraphrase, the Syriac, and the Arabic. The Septuagint seems also to have so understood it. So also it is in the margin, and so the connection demands; and it is unquestionably the correct reading. It would then read, ‘thou hast increased for it (the nation) the joy.’ Hengstenberg, however, suggests that the phrase may mean, ‘whose joy thou didst not before enlarge,’ that is, upon whom thou hast before inflicted heavy sufferings. But this is harsh, and I see no reason to doubt that an error may have crept into the text.
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They joy before thee according to the joy of harvest - This is a beautiful figure; and is found frequently in ancient writings. The harvest was a time of exultation and joy, and was commonly gathered amid songs and rejoicings, and concluded with a festival. The phrase ‘before thee’ refers to the fact that the first-fruits of the harvest among the Hebrews were presented with thanksgiving before God in the temple; Deu 12:7; Deu 14:22-26.
And as men rejoice ... - This is also an expression of great joy and rejoicing. Such an occasion, at the close of a battle, when great spoil or plunder had been taken, would be one of great rejoicing; see Jdg 5:30; 1Sa 30:16; 2Ch 20:25-28.
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 And hast. Parkhurst says it should be, "(whom) thou…
And hast. Parkhurst says it should be, "(whom) thou hast not brought up (the Gentiles) with joy they," &c. (Symmachus) (Haydock) --- The numerous forces of the Assyrians could not save them from the angel. Under Ezechias the people increased. Was not his reign a figure of the Church persecuted and increasing: but on that account, in danger from a relaxation of discipline? (Luke v. 5.) --- Spoils. They shall return thanks to God for the unexpected liberation.
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain multiplied . . . nation--primarily, the rapid increase of…
multiplied . . . nation--primarily, the rapid increase of Israelites after the return from Babylon; more fully and exhaustively the rapid spread of Christianity at first.
not increased the joy--By a slight change in the Hebrew, its (joy) is substituted by some for not, because "not increased the joy" seems opposite to what immediately follows, "the joy," &c. HENGSTENBERG, retains not thus: "Whose joy thou hadst not increased," (that is, hadst diminished). Others, "Hast thou not increased the joy?" The very difficulty of the reading, not, makes it less likely to be an interpolation. HORSLEY best explains it: The prophet sees in vision a shifting scene, comprehending at one glance the history of the Christian Church to remotest times--a land dark and thinly peopled--lit up by a sudden light--filled with new inhabitants--then struggling with difficulties, and again delivered by the utter and final overthrow of their enemies. The influx of Gentile converts (represented here by "Galilee of the Gentiles") soon was to be followed by the growth of corruption, and the final rise of Antichrist, who is to be destroyed, while God's people is delivered, as in the case of Gideon's victory over Midian, not by man's prowess, but by the special interposition of God.
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before thee--a phrase taken from sacrificial feasts; the tithe of harvest was eaten before God (Deu 12:7; Deu 14:26).
as men rejoice . . . divide . . . spoil--referring to the judgments on the enemies of the Lord and His people, which usually accompany revelations of His grace.
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 3. Hast multiplied the nation — What nation? The…
3. Hast multiplied the nation — What nation? The true spiritual Israel — all adherents to Messiah — who come in place of the old Israel, undoubtedly come now into the prophet’s foreground.
And not — Better, to him, as marginal reading. For the true Israel thou hast… increased… joy — This spiritual joy is compared with joy in harvest. The Hebrew word for “joy” is in the construct state. “Joy of” — — , and the ellipsis is thus filled: “Joy of the people,” etc. See Gesenius’s Grammar, § 116. Hilarious joy is still a common usage in Palestinian festive seasons after harvest and after vintage; and spiritual joy in the text is, in its outward manner — not in its quality or kind — compared with this; also with the joy which occurred in old time in the division of spoils of war after great victories.
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 3. and not increased the joy] Lit., “unto it…
3. and not increased the joy] Lit., “unto it thou hast increased the joy.” Lô’, “not” and lô, “to it,” being pronounced alike, are sometimes confused in the text of the O.T. There is no reason for assuming such a confusion here, and R.V. (“thou hast increased their joy”) rightly adheres to the Massoretic text. But it is still better to adopt a very simple emendation, approved by many expositors (הנילה for הנוילא) and translate: Thou hast multiplied the exultation; thou hast increased the joy.
before thee] as at the festivals in the sanctuary, a phrase often used in Deuteronomy (Deu_12:7, Isa_14:26, &c.).
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the joy in harvest] Psa_4:8; Psa_126:5-6.
as men rejoice when they divide the spoil] cf. ch. Isa_33:23; Jdg_5:30; Psa_119:162. For “rejoice” read exult.
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 (3) Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased…
(3) Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy . . .—Better, following the marginal reading of the Hebrew: Thou hast increased its joy. The picture is one of unmingled brightness; the return as of a golden age, the population growing to an extent never attained before (comp. Isa_26:15; Jer_31:27; Eze_36:11), and scarcely admits of the dark shadow introduced by the reading of the text, unless, with some critics (Kay), we see in the words a contrast between the outward prosperity of the days of Solomon and Uzziah, in which there was no permanent joy, and the abundancy of joyfulness under the ideal king.
They joy before thee according to the joy in harvest . . .—The words “before thee” are significant. The gladness of the people is that of worshippers at a sacrificial feast (Isa_25:6; Deu_12:7; Deu_12:12; Deu_12:18), who find the secret spring of blessing in their consciousness of the presence of Jehovah. So the New Testament writers speak of “rejoicing in the Lord” (Php_3:1), of “joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom_14:17). This “joy of harvest” represents the peaceful side of that gladness, thought of as the gift of God (Act_14:17). But it had another aspect. It was the rejoicing after a conflict, historically with foes like the Assyrians, spiritually with all powers hostile to the true kingdom of God (Mat_12:29). The joy of the conquerors on the battle-field, like that of harvest, had become proverbial (Psa_119:162).
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 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the…
Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy. Dr. Kay defends this reading, and supposes a contrast of time between this clause and the next; he renders, "Thou didst multiply the nation" (i.e. in the days of Solomon and again in those of Uzziah) "and not increase the joy; but now," etc. The objection is that the verbs are all in the same tense, the simple preterit, and that there is nothing in the original corresponding to "but now." Almost all other recent commentators accept the solution offered by the Masoretic reading (wl for al), which makes the passage simple and easy: "Thou hast multiplied the nation; its joy thou hast increased; they joy before thee," etc. (So many Hebrew manuscripts, the Alexandrine Septuagint, the Syriac, Gesenius, Knobel, Cheyne, etc.) According to the joy in harvest. "The joy in harvest" was to the Jews the joy of the Feast of Tabernacles, or in gathering, (Exo_23:16) held when the last fruits were brought in. But the prophet is perhaps taking a wider view, and thinking of the many harvest festivals prevailing throughout Western Asia, all of them originating in gratitude to the Giver of all good, and many of them comprising manifestations of joy more jubilant than those habitual to his sedater countrymen.
The joy of men in a Redeemer.
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"They joy before thee," in view of the Redeemer thou hast sent. There can be no joy like that men feel in the acceptance of God"s "unspeakable gift." Illustrate by the song and chorus of the angels at Bethlehem: "Unto you is born a Savior;" "Glory to God in the highest." And by the triumph-song of the redeemed ones in the glory: "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, "etc. There had been times of great rejoicing in the history of Israel, such as in the days of Solomon; (2Ki_4:20 2Ki_22:13) and of riotous feasting, as in days of Uzziah. (Isa_5:11-14) But such joy was merely passing excitement; it was as the "crackling of thorns under a pot" compared with the deep, lasting joy of the time when Jesus, the Redeemer from sin and all its consequences, bowed the heavens, came down, and dwelt among men. We ask
(1) why men should chiefly rejoice in a Redeemer; and
(2) what kind of joy theirs should be who have proved how he can redeem.
I WHY MEN SHOULD CHIEFLY REJOICE IN A REDEEMER.
1. Because the one thing man needs above all others is redemption; not science, not revelation, not civilization, not morality, not social elevation. Man is in one condition whose interests are, to him, supreme he is a sinner, and so his supreme need is a Savior. With the need and the supply the Word of God fully deals. It is the Divine message to man, the sinner. Its voice may be translated thus: "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thy help found." Because this one thing, redemption, is wholly beyond man"s attainment. We are amazed at what man ear, do, in overcoming material obstacles and yoking to his service the giant forces of nature. Bat at redemption from sin man is arrested; there his power ceases. "No man can redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him." God is represented as saying, I looked, and there was no man... therefore mine own arm brought salvation.
2. Because man had no reason to expect redemption, and could make no claim to Divine intervention. Redemption is a sovereign device, a display of infinite mercy, a work of unbought love. Its root is, "God is love.
II WHAT KIND OF JOY THEIRS SHOULD BE WHO HAVE PROVED HOW HE CAN REDEEM. There are two figures blended in the text. Joy of harvest. Joy of victors on dividing the spoil of battle-fields. They suggest
1. The joy of possession a harvest of supply for coming needs, spoil from the tents of the foe.
2. The joy of triumph. To possess the enemy"s camp is proof that the foe is wholly vanquished. Jesus, as our Redeemer, has "led captivity captive, and received gifts for men. 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 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the…
Isa_9:3
Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the Joy
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National power and national character
The difference between national power and national character, between the success and the worthiness of a State, is suggested by these words.
Scientific insight shows us that a planet is under the dominion of the law of gravitation precisely as a pebble is; and religious insight leads us to study the life, and estimate the merits and the perils, of an empire in the same light and by the same standards that we should apply to any single person. And so religious insight prevents us from accepting the mere numbers, opulence, prominence, and power of a State as sufficient justification for joy in its existence, just as it forbids us to acknowledge such tests for private persons. If a man is a sensualist, a knave, a gambler, or a ruffian, no honest mind thinks of praising him because he is strong limbed and in florid health, because he lives in a handsome house, is worth a million, and adds largely every year to his meadows and park. These splendid circumstances only furnish a pedestal for a piece of incarnate depravity to make its vileness conspicuous and repulsive. And a nation may be vigorous in physical health, and may be gaining thus, while it is going backward and downward in character. The noble elements which a nation embodies and represents, and which gleam as expressions upon the lineaments which its countenance will wear in history, constitute its glory. Mere numbers, as of the Chinese, Hindoos, or Turks, awaken no satisfaction in the competent student. The brawny energy that tugs at the conquest of nature; that pushes out pioneers whose axes mow the wilderness, and whose ploughs furrow the prairies; that quarries counties for coal, and tames the torrents for its wheels, and makes the air over wide longitudes buzz with furious and cunning mechanism,--this, in contrast with lazy content or nerveless beggary, properly awakens joy in the aspect of a nation. And when, out of this groundwork of enthusiastic strength, an intellectual force is born that dots the land with schools which lead up to academies, and in turn are crowned with colleges, from which literatures blossom and shed the fragrance of culture and poetry in the social air, there is new and higher call for satisfaction and gratitude. And if a religious spirit presses for utterance out of the widening life of the State, so that churches grow as naturally from its soil as courtrooms, capitols, and schools; and if the religion of the people, instead of being a selfish commerce with Infinite power for private insurance against suspected peril, is a reverent and glad recognition of the Infinite mind as the source of truth, and the Infinite heart as unspeakable love, so that, if poverty begins to border the general plenty, the national genius turns to study for the wisest relief of it by the quick impulse of duty, and when vice and crime burst to the surface the conscience of the State is moved as quickly to devise cures as to build prisons; then a spectacle is seen grander than any miracle of genius, any individual heroism, any personal sanctity; for then a nation stands out with intellect on its forehead, chivalry in its carriage, and Christianity in its heart. (T. Starr King.)
They Joy before Thee according to the Joy in harvest
Joy in harvest
We may look upon the words of our text as a kind of double picture set in a single frame, so that its component parts may be contrasted as well as compared together. On one side is placed before us a merry harvest scene--just like what you might see going on in many a smiling cornfield of this happy English land. On the other side is depicted the confused noise of battle, and warriors with garments rolled in blood, exulting in that fierce joy which foemen feel in prospect of hard earned victory. Gradually the tumult passes on, and the ground is strewn with the dead and dying, with here and there a broken chariot and many a shivered spear. And then the camp followers issue forth to strip the slain, and to carry off the spoil to their tents until the pursuers shall return, when it shall be divided share and share to every man with boisterous mirth and songs of revelry. You will see, therefore, that our attention is directed first of all to the joy of harvest--mans triumph in the labours of the field. And then we can almost fancy that we hear the ringing shout of victory as the battle sweeps across the plain. Dissimilar though such things may be, yet there is more than one connecting link between them. For peace hath her victories no less renowned than war. We might even say that they are more real, more complete, more generally shared in. The rejoicing after some successful campaign is often loud and great; the news comes in, the cities are illuminated, the joy bells are rung, the excitement is intense, and outwardly there is every appearance of extreme delight; but it is only a one-sided gratification after all. For many feel, alas! how keenly, that the victory has been purchased at the cost of many a valued life, and that warfare is always accompanied by desolation, and mourning, and woe. But in harvest joy this is not the case. Here we have an unmingled glad mess; especially in a year when the crops are reported from all quarters to be unusually good--the triumphant result of toil and industry rewarded by the fruits of the ground. (E. Bell.)
Harvest joy among the Jews
To a commercial people the expression is not so significant as it would be to a Jew. The Jews were essentially an agricultural people. God did not encourage them to trade with surrounding nations, lest they should fall into idolatry; and so we find that they were not a manufacturing community, and, except in the time of Solomon, they made no pretensions to a navy. The arts and sciences were but little cultivated; but the fields and vineyards gave them abundant occupation, and the soil and climate were favourable to the growth of the corn and the vine. God took special interest in their agricultural pursuits. He laid down minute laws respecting sowing and gleaning, and He reminded the people in the feasts which He appointed that they were dependent on Him for the gift of food, and should receive it with a devout and thankful heart. It has been well observed respecting the three chief Jewish festivals that one opened the harvest, the second marked a stage in it, and the third closed it.
Joy occupied an important place in the religion of the Jews; and never, I suppose, was it so loud in its expression as at the Feast of Tabernacles, when they looked upon their full granaries, and brought in the last clusters of their fruitful vines. (F. J. Austin.)
Harvest joy
Christian people should be characterised by joy. While rejoicing on account of our spiritual blessings, we ought not to be indifferent to our daily temporal blessings.
I. THE NATURE OF THIS JOY. Joy in harvest is--
1. A reasonable joy. The prosperity of a nation depends very largely upon the character of its harvests; and, therefore, it is most natural that when the harvest is plenteous, our praise should ascend to God the Father, from whom this, even more directly than many blessings, has surely come. We have been taught to pray: Give us this day our daily bread. If we thus recognise our dependence on God, is it not fitting that we should thank Him when He answers our prayer? Consider what would be the result of a complete failure of our crops for one year, notwithstanding that the balance might be restored, to some extent, from foreign lands. Or, consider what would be the result if there were failure in those countries from which we could draw our supplies.
2. A universal joy--a joy in which all sections of the Christian Church, all classes of the community, all nations and races may unite together. There are some occasions for joy which only affect small and select circles. But a good harvest hurts no one, and brings blessings to all. And surely anything that tends to soften prejudices, annihilate differences, break down the barriers of caste and sect is a national boon.
3. A holy joy. They joy before Thee, says the prophet, according to the joy in harvest. Among the Jews, joy in harvest was an act of worship. The first fruits were presented before the Lord with thanksgiving. And the joy of harvest should be regarded by us as a religious festival. Agriculture, more than any other branch of human industry, is seen to be under the superintendence of God. To rejoice in a good harvest, therefore, and to forget the Being to whom we owe it, would be an act of impiety.
II. THE GROUNDS OF THIS JOY. A bountiful harvest is--
1. A sign of Gods activity. Very beautiful is the harvest festival hymn which David wrote and sang. Everything is there attributed to Divine agency (Psa_65:9-13). Now, we are apt to forget sometimes how much we really owe to God. We talk of the laws of nature until we seem to lose sight of the Law maker. It is easy to say that the corn grows. But what is growth? It is, as one has described it, the increase of a living body according to a fixed pattern, and by materials derived from without--materials changed into its own substance or substances. Here, then, are three wonders--the power of absorbing fresh materials from the earth and air; the power of changing them into living and vegetable substance, and the power of arranging these new materials according to a fixed pattern. But how does all this come to pass? Has the plant a mind? The more we reflect, the stronger is the conviction that there is some intelligent, powerful agent at work, to whom all nature is subject, and whose will it readily obeys. And for whom does God make this yearly provision of golden grain? For us who so constantly forget Him, and who, at best, serve Him in a half-hearted way.
2. A proof of Gods fidelity. Once, long ago, God gave a promise Gen_8:21-22). On the strength of that promise the farmer sows his seed. He may not always think of the promise. But it is, nevertheless, in accordance with this promise that his crops arrive at maturity. He must sow in faith, whether it be a blind faith or an intelligent faith. He can only fulfil certain rules and conditions. And when he has done this he must wait. If the rain does not fall he cannot bring it down. If the sun shines too powerfully he cannot ward off its scorching rays. But he is in the hands of a faithful God; and though here and there the fields may not look very promising, and in some districts there may be occasional scarcity, the harvest is always plentiful in some regions, and we are thus able to assist each other and ward offer mitigate human suffering and distress. Let us remember--
(1) That Gods faithfulness in providing for our physical necessities is only an illustration of His general character.
(2) Every Christian is a husbandman. But, as in sowing corn, we have to work in faith and sometimes with sore discouragement. It was so with Christ. But we have promises, and upon these we must rest.
(3) There is a grand harvest day approaching, when we shall have abundant evidence of the faithfulness of our God; and though there is a dark side to that picture, which we dare not conceal, we must not overlook the bright side, which is as plainly revealed The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are the angels. Then shall He say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into My barn. What an ingathering of souls will be then! Oh, happy day! when those that sowed and those that reaped shall rejoice together. Oh, happy day! when much of the seed which we feared was lost shall prove to have been good and fruit bearing. (F. J. Austin.)
The analogy between the joy of harvest and spiritual joy
I. THE HARVEST.
1. Its import. Seasonable gathering of fruits yielded by the earth, according to established natural laws--fruits of the field, orchard, vineyard, or the garden.
2. Its antiquity. It began with the dawn of created life. It is older than any human form of government, and it has the charm of having existed anterior to the division of humanity into tribes and nations, and before the formation of any landed estates. It is one of natures first bonds to assure every living creature the right of existence.
3. Its universality. It is the heritage of all countries, according to their climates.
4. Its constancy. It is as firm from age to age as the Word of God, and an infallible witness to His faithfulness, as well as to the plenitude of His goodness.
II. THE JOY OF CHRIST. The harvest songs are no pretence without reality.
1. Its intensity. Joy of harvest signifies great joy.
2. Its reasonableness. It is grounded on realised goodness.
3. It is grounded on realised goodness in abundance.
III. THE ANALOGY BETWEEN THE JOY OF HARVEST AND THE JOY WHICH SPRINGS FROM FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD.
1. Both are Gods gifts.
2. Both are sequels of human industry.
3. Both are teachers of impressive moral lessons.
(1) The goodness of God in providence and grace.
(2) The continual duty of gratitude.
(3) The real dignity of labour.
(4) The wisdom of looking for and hasting to the heavenly harvest home.
4. They differ in that one is temporal and the other eternal in its duration. Joy centred in God will never end. (Homilist.)
The joy in harvest
The joy in harvest is the joy of the reward, the joy of victory.
I. THE REWARD OF LABOUR. God gives us comparatively few things ready for use. The world is much more like a manufactory than a storehouse of ready made goods. God gives us the raw material, but we must work it up into the manifold forms in which we require it for the purposes of life. God does not give us bread, but the possibility of bread. Even so God gives His Word, not as life, but as the possibility of life. The seed stored in a cellar, though it has in it the possibility of life for a city, is valueless until it is sown broadcast in the fields; and the Word of God, though it has in it the promise of life eternal for the whole world, may be concealed in a convent cell or buried in a dead language, whilst all around the souls of men are perishing for lack of knowledge. Man lives by bread, but not by bread alone. As there is a life which bread sustains, so there is a life which truth sustains. To sow the truth, to prepare for its harvest, is as truly to save spiritual life as the sowing of corn in its season is the saving of natural life. Every man is a sower, and every man in due season shall be a reaper. Whatsoever a man soweth, etc. Is not this the solemn lesson of the harvest time, that he who would reap hereafter must sow now, that he who would rest hereafter must work now?
II. THE REWARD OF PATIENCE. If the earthly husbandman has need of long patience, how mush longer patience does he need who seeks a spiritual harvest! The corn of wheat grows slowly, but Gods truth grows more slowly still. What are the uncertainties of the changeful skies compared with the uncertainties of the changeful human life! Yet if he will let patience have her perfect work he shall have no need to complain of his harvest.
III. THE REWARD OF FAITH. Faith and patience always go together. The man who believes can wait. When a child puts seed into the ground, he does so without any of that strong conviction of its vital power which experience has given to his father, and so from want of faith in the seed he appeals to sight, and digs it up to see how it is getting on. There are many older children who make a similar mistake as to spiritual sowing. The Gospel sower must have faith in his seed. We cannot feel too strongly the truth that the power lies in the seed, not in the sower. This is as true in the Church as it is in the cornfield. (A. E. Gregory.)
Christian joy
I. THE FACT OF THEIR JOY. They joy. Who? Those who, embracing the light of the Gospel, and renouncing the hidden works of darkness, are made the children of the light and of the day.
1. It is Divine in its nature. The joy of the men of the world, however diversified it may be, has its spring and source in the world. The joy of the ambitious has its rise in the pride of the world. The joy of the miser has its spring in the riches of the world. The joy of the sensualist is derived from the pleasures of the world. But believers are taught better.
2. It is extensive in its grounds. God--their Christian privileges--their Christian principles--their Christian prospects,
3. Salutary in its effects. Its tendency is good.
II. THE PECULIARITY OF THEIR JOY. Before Thee. This is an expressive term and intimates several things.
1. It is spiritual It is a joyful state of mind, connected with that Divine Being who is a Spirit. Every exercise of the mind that unites us to Him must be spiritual.
2. It is sincere. The Christians joy is real, not imaginary. It will bear inspection.
3. It is secret. As the world knows not the extent of our sorrows, so it is unacquainted with the abundance of our joys.
III. THE RESEMBLANCE OF THEIR JOY. To what may it be likened? The sacred writers have used various similitudes. It may be compared to the joy of the captive, released from bondage; to the joy of a patient, after his recovery from a severe illness; to the joy of a mariner, after a storm. Two figures are here employed to set forth the Christians joy--
1. The husbandman in the field of harvest. According to the joy of harvest.
(1) It is a joy that results from labour.
(2) Connected with anxiety.
(3) Requires patience.
2. The soldier in the field of battle.
Conclusion--This subject gives as a view of two things with regard to Christianity.
1. Its requirements. It is no easy thing. There is much to be done and suffered.
2. Its rewards. These are inestimable. Present and future--exceeding description and baffling conception. (E. Temple.)
Harvest joy
To some minds, and to all of us, perhaps, in some moods, autumn brings gloom, harvest sadness; but to others autumn brings rest--harvest, joy.
(1) There is a joy in the harvest of agriculture.
(2) In the harvest of commerce. Such is the often honest joy of the man who, after years of industry or enterprise, feels that he has realised a fortune, abundant in its provision for himself and his dear ones.
(3) In the harvest of literature. As when, after the toils of intellectual endeavour, the mind is at home amongst the fairy tales of science, and the long results of time.
(4) There is a harvest of love, when parents rejoice over the maturity of filial affection; when friends approach the completeness of intelligent and sympathetic communion.
(5) In the harvest of religion. In personal experience it is a glad some thing to reach the autumn of faith, resignation, peace, after the earlier seasons of doubt, murmur, tumult. In Christian activities it is wondrous happiness to reap the results of sorrowing, anxious sowing in enlightened, comforted, and converted souls.
I. WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF THE JOY IN HARVEST? Is not the cause of joy the same in all these instances? For there is--
1. Joyful retrospect.
2. Joyful anticipation.
II. WHAT IS THE MEASURE OF THE JOY IN HARVEST? Do not two things regulate the measure of the joy that any feel, in any harvest?
1. The amount of its cost. The wheat field on which the farmer has expended most will be the one whose yield will the most interest him. So is it in every kind of harvesting, and so especially in what are distinctively the harvests of religion. In our own personal experience we value most in reaping that which has cost us most. The creed that we have fought out against doubts and difficulties, is inestimably more precious to us than that which has been handed down and adopted as a matter of course. The character which is pure after battle with impurity, sacrificial after contact with selfishness, peaceful after provocations to revenge and anger, is of far greater moral worth than that which has been seldom or feebly assailed. In our work for others, those results on which we have spent most time and thought and prayer are dearest to us. Harvest is valuable according to--
2. Its intrinsic value. In our English harvest homes there is rejoicing because of the intrinsic value of the wheat that is reaped and garnered. This is so because of--
(1) Its necessariness. So ever the most joyful harvest will be the obtaining the greatest necessary. What is that! Is it mere wheat, or wealth, or learning, or even human love? No, a thousand times, no, for a man can be without food, or gold, or earthly knowledge, or human love, and yet live. A mans life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. Religion is the greatest necessary. Christ is the Bread of Life. A harvest is of worth according to--
(2) Its sufficiency. The results of an abundant corn harvest last on until, and even past, another harvest tide. Through successive seasons its bounties are being enjoyed. Because thus the permanence of the result of harvest is one measure of its value, the harvest of knowledge is worth far more than the harvest of gain, and that of religion most of all. Its ingatherings are treasures in heaven, which neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
Two conclusions arise--
1. We ought to have some of the joy in harvest now. With souls it is not in every respect as with the soil For in them some sowing and reaping, dropping in of seed, and quickening of germ, springing of one blade of promise, and reaping of another harvest of result, go on contemporaneously.
2. We must have joy or sorrow in harvest by and by. There will be unmistakable, unavoidable harvest with us all soon. The harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. In solemn expectation of that harvest let us remember--
(1) We shall reap what we sow.
(2) We shall reap more than we sow. What an unparalleled, almost infinite, contrast between the grain carried from the field in harvest, to that which had been deposited there in the seed time.
(3) We shall reap as we sow. He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; but he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully. Be careless in sowing, and you will be ashamed in reaping. (U. R. Thomas, B. A.)
The joy of harvest
This joy is used as a picture of the joy God designs for His Church.
I. OBSERVE A GREAT PRINCIPLE IN THE WORDS BEFORE THEE. All true joy is before God--in His presence--with conscious reference to Him.
1. One use of harvest thanksgivings is to bring out this principle, to connect the gift of the harvest with the Giver.
2. All the joy of life is to be sanctified in the same way. Make it be joy before God. Let it be deepened, purified, ennobled by the thought of the love that gave it, and the presence and sympathy of the Giver.
3. We learn from the same principle the limit of innocent joy. It must be before God. Can you connect your pleasure with Him? Use this as a test.
II. THE PURPOSE OF GOD IS THAT HIS PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE JOY, DEEP, FULL, SATISFYING. You wish to be happy. God wishes it infinitely more than you do.
1. Are you happy? Yes? Because you have health, comforts, etc.? Is this all! Poor joy! Enough for animals, but not for immortal spirits. Not like the joy of harvest; no rest in it, no noble achievement, no permanence. God is not satisfied with this JOY for you.
2. Are you happy? No? Wishes unfulfilled, cares, bereavements, dissatisfaction with self, yam endeavours after goodness, sense of guilt, etc.? Your Saviour knows your sorrows, offers you joy.
3. Purpose accomplished in the final harvest. Joy before Him; the rest; the well done; the evermore. (F. Wynne, M. A.)
The joy of spiritual ingathering
I. It is the JOY OF REALISATION. Harvest is the realisation of faith, of hope, and of labour. So with the conversion of souls.
II. It is the JOY OF CONGRATULATION. Let us congratulate one another that the Spirit of God is with us. Let us congratulate one another that our prayers, notwithstanding all the faults that mar them, and the infirmities that cleave to them, are being heard.
III. It is the JOY OF GRATITUDE. I envy not the man who can see the Church increased and yet not feel a sacred home felt joy.
IV. It is the JOY OF SYMPATHY.
V. And may I not ask you to REJOICE BECAUSE THERE IS ONE WHO LOVES SOULS better than I do, better than you do, who rejoices more than any of us? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The joy of harvest
I. WHAT IS THE JOY OF HARVEST, which is here taken as the simile of the joy of the saints before God?
1. Sometimes the farmer only rejoices because he sees the reward of his toils, and is so much the richer man.
2. The joy of harvest has another element in it, namely, that of gratitude to God for favours bestowed.
3. To the Christian it should be great joy, by means of the harvest, to receive an assurance of Gods faithfulness.
4. To the Christian, in the joy of harvest, there will always be the joy of expectation. As there is a harvest to the husbandman for which he waiteth patiently, so there is a harvest for all faithful waiters who are looking for the appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our joy of harvest is the hope of being at rest with all the saints, and forever with the Lord.
II. WHAT JOYS ARE THOSE WHICH TO THE BELIEVER ARE AS THE JOY OF HARVEST?
1. One of the first seasons in which we knew a joy equal to the joy of harvest,--a season which has continued with us ever since it commenced--was, when we found the Saviour, and so obtained salvation. Nohusbandman ever shouted for joy as our hearts should when a precious Christ was ours, and we could grasp Him with full assurance of salvation in Him. The joy of harvest generally shows itself by the farmer giving a feast to his friends and neighbours; and, usually, those who find Christ express their joy by telling their friends and neighbours how great things the Lord hath done for them.
2. It is the joy of answered prayer.
3. We have another joy of harvest in ourselves when we conquer a temptation. Those know deep joy who have felt bitter sorrow. As the man feels that he is the stronger for the conflict, as he feels that he has gathered experience and stronger faith from having passed through the trial, he lifts up his heart, and rejoices, not in himself, but before his God, with the joy of harvest.
4. Again, there is such a thing as the joy of harvest when we have been rendered useful.
5. Another delight which is as the joy of harvest is, fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Our condition matters nothing to us if Christ be with us. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
The joy in harvest
Is a joy--
I. FOR HOPES FULFILLED. In the midst of all his anxieties the farmer had never abandoned hope. His fears were ended and his hopes realised, when the last sheaf was gathered into his garner. Thus the Christian, who has throughout his pilgrimage gone on through fears and doubts and infirmities, yet still cheered by hope, shall stand before his Saviour at the great morning of the resurrection.
II. FOR LABOUR REPAID. No matter how abundant the crop may be, so long as it stands in the field it is unprofitable to the farmer. But, when he looks at his well-filled barns, he feels that his labour has not been in vain. If this be true respecting the things of time, how much more with respect to those of eternity. The Christians labour here is a labour of self-denial in hope of future glory. It is true that he has not the same uncertainty with respect to futurity which characterises the labours of the husband man. But, when the conflict is at last over, and he receives that for the sake of which he had renounced all earthly objects and lusts, and finds that his labour has not been in vain in the Lord, he joys before Him with the joy of harvest.
III. FOR REST OBTAINED. The farmers year had been a year of labour, and often of very severe labour too; and when the period of harvest had commenced, his exertions were necessarily redoubled. At length, however, his heavy toil was for a season ended, and in that rest which is doubly sweet after labour, he joys according to the joy in harvest. The rest of the husbandman is but for a time, and a short time, but the rest of the Christian shall be eternal. He has had his time of labour, such as far to exceed in its constancy and its steadfastness that of the husbandman.
IV. FOR PROVIDENCES COMPLETED. Notwithstanding all the care of the husbandman, he is constrained, from time to time, to acknowledge that the entire process of the growth and ripening of the corn has depended on circumstances over which he has had no control Had he been left to dispose of the seasons as he might have thought right, he would, in all probability, have destroyed his crop. Many a time had he complained that the frosts were too severe, the rain too heavy, the wind too strong, the sun too hot--measuring the goodness of the all-wise God by his own limited understanding. But now he admits that his fears were groundless, and that all things have worked together for good. May we not in this picture see the progress of the Christian whilst he is the object of Divine Providence here on earth; whilst, now sorrowing and now rejoicing, he is ready to murmur at every salutary check which he receives from the head of a Heavenly Father? But at the harvest time the God who hideth Himself shall he made manifest as having caused all these things to work for His own glory in the good of His people.
V. FOR PROMISES FULFILLED. The husbandman has one promise whose fulfilment gladdens him, the Christian has thousands.
VI. FOR MEETING WITH FRIENDS. Now the harvest home is proclaimed, and friends long absent meet together. We go to meet the friends whom we have known and loved in the Lord. And in this meeting with the dearest objects of the affections of the Christians soul, there is One whom having not seen, we love; Him, we shall then meet and know, even as we are known. If then these be the joys in harvest, how desirable it is that we should examine whether we are such as shall partake of them. Let me briefly call your attention to the character of those who shall partake of this joy.
1. The ignorant, self-conceited husbandman, who neither knows how or what to sow nor when to reap, shall not have the joy in harvest.
2. Nor is there joy in harvest to the slothful.
3. And should we see anyone who laboured as though it were his design to make his land barren and unproductive we should at once declare him mad, and predict that beggary and starvation must be the inevitable lot of himself and his family.
4. Those who are indeed preparing for that great harvest are those who are applying to heavenly things the same diligence, the same care, the same watchfulness, and the same energy which the husbandman applies to this earthly tillage. (R. M. Kyle, B. A.)
Harvest joy, and how we may share in it
The idea of national prosperity being dependent on agricultural prosperity, true as applied to Israel, is really universally true. There may be many an industry that brings more wealth to a nation in the shape of money--as the coal industry, the iron industry, the shipping industry--but the primal industry is the agricultural industry. Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all; the king himself is served by the field, says the writer of Ecclesiastes, thereby giving expression to the eternal truth that all wealth comes ultimately from the soil; even the king himself is not independent of it. One cannot help rejoicing over the ingathering of the harvest, for nature itself seems musical with joy. The valleys are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing. This joy is--
I. THE JOY OF PROVISION SECURED. We can joy before the Lord--not before the world, for that would mean pride; nor before ourselves, for that would mean selfishness; but before the Lord, for that means thankfulness over provision secured. There is nothing meaner than to boast of ones prosperity before the world, or before ones own heart; but we can derive joy from it before the Lord, for the Lord means us to rejoice in all His gifts--material as well as spiritual.
II. THE JOY OF PATIENCE REWARDED.
III. THE JOY OF LABOUR REQUITED. What kind of harvest is your life to have? (J. Mackie, B. D.)
The joy of harvest
Harvest crowns the year with Gods goodness. When the harvest is abundant there is universal joy. Everybody rejoices. The owner of the land is glad, because he sees the recompense of reward; the labourers are glad, for they see the fruit of their toil; even those to whom not a single ear may belong nevertheless sympathise in the common joy, because a rich harvest is a boon to all the nation. It is a joyous sight to see the last loaded wain come creaking down the village road, to note the youngsters who shout so loudly, yet know so little what they are shouting about, to mark the peasant on the top of the wain as he waves his hat and gives vent to some gleeful exclamation, and to see them taking it all into the stack or barn. There is joy throughout the village, there is joy throughout the land, when the harvest time is come. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Harvest rejoicing among the Jews
It was a common saying of the Rabbis that he who had not seen the rejoicing of the people at that glad time had yet to learn what true joy was. (J. Mackie, B. D.)
The joy of finding the Saviour
My heart was fallow, and covered with weeds; but on a certain day the great Husbandman came and began to plough my soul. Ten black horses were His team, and it was a sharp ploughshare that He used, and the ploughers made deep furrows. The Ten Commandments were those black horses, and the justice of God, like a ploughshare, tore my spirit. I was condemned, undone, destroyed, lost, helpless, hopeless,--I thought hell was before me. Then there came a cross ploughing, for when I went to hear the Gospel it did not comfort me; it made me wish I had a part in it, but I feared that such a boon was out of the question. The choicest promises of God frowned at me, and His threatenings thundered at me. I prayed, but found no answer of peace. It was long with me thus. After the ploughing came the sowing. God who ploughed the heart made it conscious that it needed the Gospel, and the Gospel seed was joyfully received. Do you recollect that auspicious day when at last you began to have some little hope? It was very little--like a green blade that peeps up from the soil: you scarce knew whether it was grass or corn, whether it was presumption or true faith. It was a little hope, but it grew very pleasantly. Alas, a frost of doubt came; snow of fear fell; cold winds of despondency blew on you, and you said, There can be no hope for me. But what a glorious day was that when at last the wheat which God had sown ripened, and you could say, I have looked unto Him and have been lightened: I have laid my sins on Jesus, where God laid them of old, and they are taken away, and I am saved. I remember well that day. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The icy of spiritual ingathering
I cannot help being egotistical enough to mention the joy I felt when first I heard that a soul had found peace through my youthful ministry. I had been preaching in a village some few Sabbaths with an increasing congregation, but I had not heard of a conversion, and I thought, Perhaps I am not called of God. He does not mean me to preach, for if He did He would give me spiritual children. One Sabbath my good deacon said, Dont be discouraged. A poor woman was savingly impressed last Sabbath. How long do you suppose it was before I saw that woman? It was just as long as it took me to reach her cottage. I was eager to hear from her own lips whether it was a work of Gods grace or not. I always looked upon her with interest, though only a poor labourers wife, till she was taken away to heaven, after having lived a holy life. Many since then have I rejoiced over in the Lord, but that first seal to my ministry was peculiarly dear to me. It gave me a sip of the joy of harvest. If somebody had left me a fortune it would not have caused me one hundredth part of the delight I had in discovering that a soul had been led to the Saviour. I am sure Christian people who have not this joy have missed one of the choicest delights that a believer can know this side heaven. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Joy of realisation
Dickens describes how he dropped his first published paper stealthily one evening at twilight, with fear and trembling, into a dark letter box up a dark court in Fleet Street: and his agitation when it appeared in all the glory of print. On which occasion I walked down to Westminster Hall, and turned into it for half an hour, because my eyes were so dimmed with joy and pride, that they could not bear the street, and were not fit to be seen there. (H. O. Mackey.)
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 (Harvest Thanksgiving Sermon.)
THE JOY OF HARVEST
(Harvest Thanksgiving Sermon.)
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Isa_9:3. They joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest, &c.
I. The joy of the natural harvest. Harvest was peculiarly interesting to the Jews. [902][903].[904] Two things render “the joy of harvest” peculiar and impressive:
1. It is the completion and reward of the anxiety and labours of the year it closes.
2. It furnishes the supply for our needs in the year to come.—We call upon you to rejoice before the Lord to-day (P. D. 1710–1712), and to associate your thanksgiving with the name of Christ (Heb_13:15). Let all outward gifts remind you of that unseen Mediator through whom they flow. Our gratitude should be deep and fervent; it should bear some proportion to the regret we should have felt if God had withheld the blessings in which we now rejoice, and had blighted the promise of the year. Yet now, when those temporal gifts abound, let us remember their inability to satisfy the needs of the soul. The satisfaction for these needs is to be found only in Christ. He who had more corn than his barns could hold, now wants a drop of water to cool his tongue.
[902] They had scarcely any foreign trade—none till Solomon’s time. Every family lived upon its own inheritance and upon the produce of its own land. Consequently if harvest failed, all failed. They expressed their joy by solemn offerings to the Lord. Not a field was reaped before the wave-sheaf was placed upon the altar; and when it had been waved there, amidst the loud thanksgiving of the people, before the Lord of the whole land, the messengers from the Temple carried the proclamation to the husbandmen in the field, “Put ye in the sickle and reap!”—Thodey.
II. The joy of the spiritual harvest. The vicissitudes of the religious life are often compared to those of the seasons (Psa_126:5-6). The Christian husbandman has his anxieties, arising from the badness of the soil, the unfavourableness of the seasons, the delay of harvest, the fear of final loss. Yet he has his reaping seasons of joy even in this world—
1. When a consciousness of sin which has long oppressed the soul is exchanged for a sense of pardoning mercy, through the application of the blood of sprinkling.
2. When, after a long period of depression, hope revisits the mind (H. E. I. 313, 314, 1658, 1659, 3041).
3. When there come to us the answers to our prayers that were long delayed (H. E. I. 3895, 3896). “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”
4. When the spiritual triumphs of the gospel are made manifest: to parents in their families; to ministers in their congregations; to missionaries abroad. Just in proportion to the toil and the prolonged anxiety is the rapture of success. The harvest sometimes comes to us after long delay, after many anxieties, after many fears (Jas_5:7-8). God sees fit to exercise His people with the discipline of suspense, but this is for their good (Lam_3:26).
III. The joy of the eternal harvest. When all Christ’s people are gathered into His immediate presence (Mat_13:39); then will the declaration of our text be fulfilled in the highest sense of which it is capable. The ransomed will rejoice when they think,
1. Of the grace that reigns in their salvation. By that grace they were transformed from being tares, the end of which is burning, into wheat meet for the garner.
2. Of the great cost and care bestowed upon their culture, that they might be ripened for the heavenly kingdom.
3. How often they despaired of their own safety.
4. Of their deliverance from the fearful fate of the tares and chaff, whose end is to be burned.
—Samuel Thodey.
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.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain not Omit, not. Isaiah complains that despite the wickedness…
not Omit, not. Isaiah complains that despite the wickedness of the northern kingdom her afflictions are light, her prosperity great.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Isaiah continues to describe the time when God will save the people of Israel. Although these events will happen in the future (Isaiah 9:1), Isaiah describes them as if they have already happened. This emphasizes that they certainly will happen. (See: Predictive Past)
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You have multiplied the nation; you have increased their joy
The word "you" refers to Yahweh. The word "their" refers to the people of Israel, but Isaiah includes himself as part of Israel. AT: "Lord, you will greatly increase our people and our joy" (See: Forms of You)
They rejoice before you like the joy at harvest time, as men rejoice when they divide the plunder
The joy that Yahweh will give Israel is described as the same kind of joy people have when they bring in a harvest or divide valuable plunder. AT: "They will rejoice before you as people rejoice when they gather their crops or when a battle is over and soldiers divide what they took" (See: Simile)
translationWords
nation
joy
joy
harvest
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.