mh_parser/vol_split/23 - Isaiah/Chapter 25.xml

<div2 id="Is.xxvi" n="xxvi" next="Is.xxvii" prev="Is.xxv" progress="9.28%" title="Chapter XXV">
<h2 id="Is.xxvi-p0.1">I S A I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Is.xxvi-p0.2">CHAP. XXV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Is.xxvi-p1" shownumber="no">After the threatenings of wrath in the foregoing
chapter we have here, I. Thankful praises for what God had done,
which the prophet, in the name of the church, offers up to God, and
teaches us to offer the like, <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.1-Isa.25.5" parsed="|Isa|25|1|25|5" passage="Isa 25:1-5">ver.
1-5</scripRef>. II. Precious promises of what God would yet further
do for his church, especially in the grace of the gospel, <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.6-Isa.25.8" parsed="|Isa|25|6|25|8" passage="Isa 25:6-8">ver. 6-8</scripRef>. III. The church's triumph
in God over her enemies thereupon, <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.9-Isa.25.12" parsed="|Isa|25|9|25|12" passage="Isa 25:9-12">ver. 9-12</scripRef>. This chapter looks as
pleasantly upon the church as the former looked dreadfully upon the
world.</p>
<scripCom id="Is.xxvi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25" parsed="|Isa|25|0|0|0" passage="Isa 25" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Is.xxvi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.1-Isa.25.5" parsed="|Isa|25|1|25|5" passage="Isa 25:1-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xxvi-p1.6">
<h4 id="Is.xxvi-p1.7">A Song of Praise. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxvi-p1.8">b. c.</span> 718.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xxvi-p2" shownumber="no">1 <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxvi-p2.1">O Lord</span>, thou
<i>art</i> my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for
thou hast done wonderful <i>things; thy</i> counsels of old
<i>are</i> faithfulness <i>and</i> truth.   2 For thou hast
made of a city a heap; <i>of</i> a defenced city a ruin: a palace
of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.   3
Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the
terrible nations shall fear thee.   4 For thou hast been a
strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a
refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of
the terrible ones <i>is</i> as a storm <i>against</i> the wall.
  5 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat
in a dry place; <i>even</i> the heat with the shadow of a cloud:
the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p3" shownumber="no">It is said in the close of the foregoing
chapter that the <i>Lord of hosts shall reign gloriously;</i> now,
in compliance with this, the prophet here speaks of <i>the glorious
majesty of his kingdom</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.145.12" parsed="|Ps|145|12|0|0" passage="Ps 145:12">Ps. cxlv.
12</scripRef>), and gives him the glory of it; and, however this
prophecy might have an accomplishment in the destruction of Babylon
and the deliverance of the Jews out of their captivity there, it
seems to look further, to the praises that should be offered up to
God by the gospel church for Christ's victories over our spiritual
enemies and the comforts he has provided for all believers.
Here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p4" shownumber="no">I. The prophet determines to praise God
himself; for those that would stir up others should in the first
place stir up themselves to praise God (<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.1" parsed="|Isa|25|1|0|0" passage="Isa 25:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>): "<i>O Lord! thou art my
God,</i> a God in covenant with me." When God is punishing <i>the
kings of the earth upon the earth,</i> and making them to tremble
before him, a poor prophet can go to him, and, with a humble
boldness, say, <i>O Lord! thou art my God,</i> and therefore <i>I
will exalt thee, I will praise thy name.</i> Those that have the
Lord for their God are bound to praise him; for <i>therefore</i> he
took us to be his people <i>that we might be unto him for a name
and for a praise,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.13.11" parsed="|Jer|13|11|0|0" passage="Jer 13:11">Jer. xiii.
11</scripRef>. In praising God we exalt him; not that we can make
him higher than he is, but we must make him to appear to ourselves
and others than he does. See <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.15.2" parsed="|Exod|15|2|0|0" passage="Ex 15:2">Exod. xv.
2</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p5" shownumber="no">II. He pleases himself with the thought
that others also shall be brought to praise God, <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.3" parsed="|Isa|25|3|0|0" passage="Isa 25:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. "<i>Therefore,</i> because of
the <i>desolations thou hast made in the earth</i> by thy
providence (<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.46.8" parsed="|Ps|46|8|0|0" passage="Ps 46:8">Ps. xlvi. 8</scripRef>) and
the just vengeance thou hast taken on thy and thy church's enemies,
<i>therefore shall the strong people glorify thee</i> in concert,
<i>and the city</i> (the metropolis) <i>of the terrible nations
fear thee.</i>" This may be understood, 1. Of those people that
have been strong and terrible against God. Those that have been
enemies to God's kingdom, and have fought against the interests of
it with a great deal of strength and terror, shall either be
converted, and glorify God by joining with his people in his
service, or at least convinced, so as to own themselves conquered.
Those that have been the terror of the mighty shall be forced to
tremble before the judgments of God and call in vain to rocks and
mountains to hide them. Or, 2. Of those that shall be now made
strong and terrible for God and by him, though before they were
weak and trampled upon. God shall so visibly appear for and with
those that fear him and glorify him that all shall acknowledge them
a strong people and shall stand in awe of them. There was a time
when <i>many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of
the Jews fell upon them</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Esth.8.17" parsed="|Esth|8|17|0|0" passage="Es 8:17">Esther
viii. 17</scripRef>), and when those that knew their God were
strong and did exploits (<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.11.32" parsed="|Dan|11|32|0|0" passage="Da 11:32">Dan. xi.
32</scripRef>), for which they glorified God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p6" shownumber="no">III. He observes what is, and ought to be,
the matter of this praise. We and others must exalt God and praise
him; for, 1. He has done wonders, according to the counsel of his
own will, <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.1" parsed="|Isa|25|1|0|0" passage="Isa 25:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. We
exalt God by admiring what he has done as truly wonderful,
wonderful proofs of his power beyond what any creature could
perform, and wonderful proofs of his goodness beyond what such
sinful creatures as we are could expect. These <i>wonderful
things,</i> which are new and surprising to us, and altogether
unthought of, are according to his <i>counsels of old,</i> devised
by his wisdom and designed for his own glory and the comfort of his
people. All the operations of providence are according to God's
eternal counsels (and those faithfulness and truth itself), all
consonant to his attributes, consistent with one another, and sure
to be accomplished in their season. 2. He has in particular humbled
the pride, and broken the power, of the mighty ones of the earth
(<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.2" parsed="|Isa|25|2|0|0" passage="Isa 25:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): "<i>Thou
hast made of a city,</i> of many a city, <i>a heap</i> of rubbish.
Of many a defenced city, that thought itself well guarded by nature
and art, and the multitude and courage of its militia, thou hast
made a ruin." What created strength can hold out against
Omnipotence? "Many a city so richly built that it might be called a
<i>palace,</i> and so much frequented and visited by persons of the
best rank from all parts that it might be called a <i>palace of
strangers,</i> thou hast made to be no city; it is levelled with
the ground, and not one stone left upon another, and it shall never
be built again." This has been the case of many cities in divers
parts of the world, and in our own nation particularly; cities that
flourished once have gone to decay and are lost, and it is scarcely
known (except by urns or coins digged up out of the earth) where
they stood. How many of the cities of Israel have long since been
heaps and ruins! God hereby teaches us that <i>here we have no
continuing city</i> and must therefore seek one to come which will
never be a ruin or go to decay. 3. He has seasonably relieved and
succoured his necessitous and distressed people (<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.4" parsed="|Isa|25|4|0|0" passage="Isa 25:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>Thou has been a strength to
the poor, a strength to the needy.</i> As God weakens the strong
that are proud and secure, so he strengthens the weak that are
humble and serious, and stay themselves upon him. Nay, he not only
makes them strong, but he is himself their strength; for in him
they strengthen themselves, and it is his favour that is the
<i>strength of their hearts.</i> He is a <i>strength to the needy
in his distress,</i> when he needs strength, and when his distress
drives him to God. And, as he strengthens them against their inward
decays, so he shelters them from outward assaults. He is <i>a
refuge from the storm</i> of rain or hail, and <i>a shadow from
the</i> scorching <i>heat</i> of the sun in summer. God is a
sufficient protection to his people in all weathers, hot and cold,
wet and dry. The armour of righteousness serves both <i>on the
right hand</i> and <i>on the left,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.6.7" parsed="|2Cor|6|7|0|0" passage="2Co 6:7">2 Cor. vi. 7</scripRef>. Whatever dangers or troubles
God's people may be in, effectual care is taken that they shall
sustain no real hurt or damage. When perils are most threatening
and alarming God will then appear for the safety of his people:
<i>When the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the
wall,</i> which makes a great noise, but cannot overthrow the wall.
The enemies of God's poor are terrible ones; they do all they can
to make themselves so to them. Their rage is like a blast of wind,
loud, and blustering, and furious; but, like the wind, it is under
a divine check; for God <i>holds the winds in his fist,</i> and God
will be such a shelter to his people that they shall be able to
stand the shock, keep their ground, and maintain their integrity
and peace. A storm beating on a ship tosses it, but that which
beats on a wall never stirs it, <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.76.10 Bible:Ps.138.7" parsed="|Ps|76|10|0|0;|Ps|138|7|0|0" passage="Ps 76:10,138:7">Ps. lxxvi. 10; cxxxviii. 7</scripRef>. 4. That he
does and will shelter those that trust in him from the insolence of
their proud oppressors (<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.5" parsed="|Isa|25|5|0|0" passage="Isa 25:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>): <i>Thou shalt,</i> or thou dost, <i>bring down the
noise of strangers;</i> thou shalt abate and still it, as <i>the
heat in a dry place</i> is abated and moderated <i>by the shadow of
a cloud</i> interposing. <i>The branch,</i> or rather the son or
triumph, <i>of the terrible ones shall be brought low,</i> and they
shall be made to change their note and lower their voice. Observe
here, (1.) The oppressors of God's people are called
<i>strangers;</i> for they forget that those they oppress are made
of the same mould, of the same blood, with them. They are called
<i>terrible ones;</i> for so they affect to be, rather than amiable
ones: they would rather be feared than loved. (2.) Their insolence
towards the people of God is noisy and hot, and that is all; it is
but the noise of strangers, who think to carry their point by
hectoring and bullying all that stand in their way, and talking
big. <i>Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p6.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.46.17" parsed="|Jer|46|17|0|0" passage="Jer 46:17">Jer. xlvi. 17</scripRef>. It is like the heat
of the sun scorching in the middle of the day; but where is it when
the sun has set? (3.) Their noise, and heat, and all their triumph,
will be humbled and brought low, when their hopes are baffled and
all their honours laid in the dust. The branches, even the top
branches, of the terrible ones, will be broken off, and thrown to
the dunghill. (4.) If the labourers in God's vineyard be at any
time called to <i>bear the burden and heat of the day,</i> he will
find some way or other to refresh them, as with the shadow of a
cloud, that they may not be pressed above measure.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xxvi-p6.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.6-Isa.25.8" parsed="|Isa|25|6|25|8" passage="Isa 25:6-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xxvi-p6.9">
<h4 id="Is.xxvi-p6.10">The Blessings of the Gospel. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxvi-p6.11">b. c.</span> 718.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xxvi-p7" shownumber="no">6 And in this mountain shall the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxvi-p7.1">Lord</span> of hosts make unto all people a feast of
fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of
marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.   7 And he will
destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all
people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.   8 He
will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxvi-p7.2">God</span> will wipe away tears from off all faces; and
the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth:
for the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxvi-p7.3">Lord</span> hath spoken
<i>it.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p8" shownumber="no">If we suppose (as many do) that this refers
to the great joy which there should be in Zion and Jerusalem when
the army of the Assyrians was routed by an angel, or when the Jews
were released out of their captivity in Babylon, or upon occasion
of some other equally surprising deliverance, yet we cannot avoid
making it to look further, to the grace of the gospel and the glory
which is the crown and consummation of that grace; for it is at our
resurrection through Christ that the saying here written <i>shall
be brought to pass;</i> then, and not till then (if we may believe
St. Paul), it shall have its full accomplishment: <i>Death is
swallowed up in victory,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.15.54" parsed="|1Cor|15|54|0|0" passage="1Co 15:54">1 Cor.
xv. 54</scripRef>. This is a key to the rest of the promises here
connected together. And so we have here a prophecy of the salvation
and the grace brought unto us by Jesus Christ, into which <i>the
prophets enquired and searched diligently,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.1.10" parsed="|1Pet|1|10|0|0" passage="1Pe 1:10">1 Pet. i. 10</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p9" shownumber="no">I. That the grace of the gospel should be a
royal feast for all people; not like that of Ahasuerus, which was
intended only to show the grandeur of the master of the feast
(<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Esth.1.4" parsed="|Esth|1|4|0|0" passage="Es 1:4">Esther i. 4</scripRef>); for this is
intended to gratify the guests, and therefore, whereas all
<i>there</i> was for show, all <i>here</i> is for substance. The
preparations made in the gospel for the kind reception of penitents
and supplicants with God are often in the New Testament set forth
by the similitude of <i>a feast,</i> as <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.22.1" parsed="|Matt|22|1|0|0" passage="Mt 22:1">Matt. xxii. 1</scripRef>, &amp;c., which seems to be
borrowed from this prophecy. 1. God himself is the Master of the
feast, and we may be sure he prepares like himself, as becomes him
to give, rather than as becomes us to receive. <i>The Lord of
hosts</i> makes this feast. 2. The guests invited are <i>all
people,</i> Gentiles as well as Jews. <i>Go preach the gospel to
every creature.</i> There is enough for all, and whoever will may
come, and partake freely, even those that are gathered out of the
highways and the hedges. 3. The place is <i>Mount Zion.</i> Thence
the preaching of the gospel takes rise: the preachers must begin at
Jerusalem. The gospel church is the Jerusalem that is above; there
this feast is made, and to it all the invited guests must go. 4.
The provision is very rich, and every thing is of the best. It is a
<i>feast,</i> which supposes abundance and variety; it is a
continual feast to believers, it is their own fault if it be not.
It is <i>a feast of fat things and full of marrow;</i> so
relishing, so nourishing, are the comforts of the gospel to all
those that feast upon them and digest them. The returning prodigal
was entertained with the fatted calf; and David has that pleasure
in communion with God with which his soul is satisfied as with
marrow and fatness. It is a feast <i>of wines on the lees,</i> the
strongest-bodied wines, that have been kept long upon the lees, and
then are well refined from them, so that they are clear and fine.
There is that in the gospel which, like wine soberly used, makes
glad the heart and raises the spirits, and is fit for those that
are of a heavy heart, being under convictions of sin and mourning
for it, that they may drink and forget their misery (for that is
the proper use of wine—it is a cordial for those that need it,
<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.31.5-Prov.31.6" parsed="|Prov|31|5|31|6" passage="Pr 31:5,6">Prov. xxxi. 5, 6</scripRef>), may be
of good cheer, knowing that their sins are forgiven, and may be
vigorous in their spiritual work and warfare, as a strong man
refreshed with wine.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p10" shownumber="no">II. That the world should be freed from
that darkness of ignorance and mistake in the mists of which it had
been so long lost and buried (<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.7" parsed="|Isa|25|7|0|0" passage="Isa 25:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): <i>He will destroy in this
mountain the face of the covering</i> (the covering of the face)
with which all people are covered (hood-winked or blind-folded) so
that they cannot see their way nor go about their work, and by
reason of which they wander endlessly. Their faces are covered as
those of men condemned, or dead men. There is <i>a veil spread over
all nations,</i> for they all sit in darkness; and no marvel, when
the Jews themselves, among whom <i>God was known,</i> had a <i>veil
upon their hearts,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.3.15" parsed="|2Cor|3|15|0|0" passage="2Co 3:15">2 Cor. iii.
15</scripRef>. But this veil the Lord will destroy, by the light of
his gospel shining in the world, and the power of his Spirit
opening men's eyes to receive it. He will raise those to spiritual
life that have long been dead in trespasses and sins.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p11" shownumber="no">III. That death should be conquered, the
power of it broken, and the property of it altered: <i>He will
swallow up death in victory,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.8" parsed="|Isa|25|8|0|0" passage="Isa 25:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. 1. Christ will himself, in his
resurrection, triumph over death, will break its bands, its bars,
asunder, and cast away all its cords. The grave seemed to swallow
him up, but really he swallowed it up. 2. The happiness of the
saints shall be out of the reach of death, which puts a period to
all the enjoyments of this world, embitters them, and stains the
beauty of them. 3. Believers may triumph over death, and look upon
it as a conquered enemy: <i>O death! where is thy sting?</i> 4.
When the dead bodies of the saints shall be raised at the great
day, and their mortality swallowed up of life, then death will be
for ever swallowed up of victory; and it is the last enemy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p12" shownumber="no">IV. That grief shall be banished, and there
shall be perfect and endless joy: <i>The Lord God will wipe away
tears from off all faces.</i> Those that mourn for sin shall be
comforted and have their consciences pacified. In the covenant of
grace there shall be that provided which is sufficient to
counterbalance all the sorrows of this present time, to wipe away
our tears, and to refresh us. Those particularly that suffer for
Christ shall have consolations abounding as their afflictions do
abound. But in the joys of heaven, and nowhere short of them, will
fully be <i>brought to pass this saying,</i> as that before, for
there it is that God shall <i>wipe away all tears,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.7.17 Bible:Rev.21.4" parsed="|Rev|7|17|0|0;|Rev|21|4|0|0" passage="Re 7:17,21:4">Rev. vii. 17; xxi. 4</scripRef>. And
<i>there shall be no more sorrow,</i> because <i>there shall be no
more death.</i> The hope of this should now wipe away all excessive
tears, all the weeping that hinders sowing.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p13" shownumber="no">V. That all the reproach cast upon religion
and the serious professors of it shall be for ever rolled away:
<i>The rebuke of his people,</i> which they have long lain under,
the calumnies and misrepresentations by which they have been
blackened, the insolence and cruelty with which their persecutors
have trampled on them and trodden them down, <i>shall be taken
away.</i> Their righteousness shall be brought forth as the light,
in the view of all the world, who shall be convinced that they are
not such as they have been invidiously characterized; and so their
salvation from the injuries done them as such shall be wrought out.
Sometimes in this world God does that for his people which <i>takes
away their reproach from among men.</i> However, it will be done
effectually at the great day; for the <i>Lord has spoken it,</i>
who can, and will, make it good. Let us patiently bear sorrow and
shame now, and improve both; for shortly both will be done
away.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xxvi-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.9-Isa.25.12" parsed="|Isa|25|9|25|12" passage="Isa 25:9-12" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xxvi-p13.2">
<h4 id="Is.xxvi-p13.3">The Blessings of the Gospel. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxvi-p13.4">b. c.</span> 718.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xxvi-p14" shownumber="no">9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this
<i>is</i> our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us:
this <i>is</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxvi-p14.1">Lord</span>; we have
waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
  10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxvi-p14.2">Lord</span> rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under
him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.   11 And
he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that
swimmeth spreadeth forth <i>his hands</i> to swim: and he shall
bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.
  12 And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he
bring down, lay low, <i>and</i> bring to the ground, <i>even</i> to
the dust.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p15" shownumber="no">Here is, I. The welcome which the church
shall give to these blessings promised in the foregoing verses
(<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.9" parsed="|Isa|25|9|0|0" passage="Isa 25:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): <i>It shall
be said in that day,</i> with a humble holy triumph and exultation,
<i>Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him!</i> Thus will the
deliverance of the church out of long and sore troubles be
celebrated; thus will it be as life from the dead. With such
transports of joy and praise will those entertain the glad tidings
of the Redeemer who looked for him, and for redemption in Jerusalem
by him; and with such a triumphant song as this will glorified
saints <i>enter into the joy of their Lord.</i> 1. God himself must
have the glory of all: "<i>Lo, this is our God, this is the
Lord.</i> This which is done is his doing, and it is marvellous in
our eyes. Herein he has done like himself, has magnified his own
wisdom, power, and goodness. Herein he has done for us like our
God, a God in covenant with us, and whom we serve." Note, Our
triumphs must not terminate in what God does for us and gives to
us, but must pass through them to himself, who is the author and
giver of them: <i>This is our God.</i> Have any of the nations of
the earth such a God to trust to? No, <i>their rock is not as our
rock. There is none like unto the God of Jerusalem.</i> 2. The
longer it has been expected the more welcome it is. "This is he
whom we have waited for, in dependence upon his word of promise,
and a full assurance that he would come in the set time, in due
time, and therefore we were willing to tarry his time; and now we
find it is not in vain to wait for him, for the mercy comes at
last, with an abundant recompence for the delay." 3. It is matter
of joy unspeakable: "<i>We will be glad and rejoice in his
salvation.</i> We that share in the benefits of it will concur in
the joyful thanksgivings for it." 4. It is an encouragement to hope
for the continuance and perfection of this salvation: <i>We have
waited for him, and he will save us,</i> will carry on what he has
begun; for <i>as for God,</i> our God, <i>his work is
perfect.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxvi-p16" shownumber="no">II. A prospect of further blessings for the
securing and perpetuating of these. 1. The power of God shall be
engaged for them and shall continue to take their part: <i>In this
mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.10" parsed="|Isa|25|10|0|0" passage="Isa 25:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. The church and people of God
shall have continued proofs of God's presence with them and
residence among them: his hand shall be continually over them, to
protect and guard them, and continually stretched out to them, for
their supply. Mount Zion is <i>his rest for ever;</i> here he will
dwell. 2. The power of their enemies, which is engaged against
them, shall be broken. <i>Moab</i> is here put for all the
adversaries of God's people, that are vexatious to them; they
<i>shall</i> all <i>be trodden down</i> or threshed (for
<i>then</i> they beat out the corn by treading it) and shall be
thrown out as <i>straw to the dunghill,</i> being good for nothing
else. God having <i>caused his hand to rest upon this mountain,</i>
it shall not be a hand that hangs down, or is folded up, feeble and
inactive; but he shall <i>spread forth his hands, in the midst</i>
of his people, <i>like one that swims,</i> which intimates that he
will employ and exert his power for them vigorously,—that he will
be doing for them on all sides,—that he will easily and
effectually put by the opposition that is given to his gracious
intentions for them, and thereby further and push forward his good
work among them,—and that on their behalf he will be continually
active, for so the swimmer is. It is foretold, particularly, what
he shall do for them. (1.) <i>He shall bring down the pride</i> of
their enemies (and Moab was notoriously guilty of pride, <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.16.6" parsed="|Isa|16|6|0|0" passage="Isa 16:6"><i>ch.</i> xvi. 6</scripRef>) by one humbling
judgment after another, stripping them of that which they are proud
of. (2.) He shall bring down <i>the spoils of their hands,</i>
shall take from them that which they have got by spoil and rapine.
He shall bring down the arms of their hands, which are lifted up
against God's Israel; he shall quite break their power, and disable
them to do mischief. (3.) He shall ruin all their fortifications,
<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.12" parsed="|Isa|25|12|0|0" passage="Isa 25:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. Moab has his
walls, and his high forts, with which he hopes to secure himself,
and from which he designs to annoy the people of God; but God shall
<i>bring them all down, lay them low, bring them to the ground, to
the dust;</i> and so those who trusted to them will be left
exposed. There is no fortress impregnable to Omnipotence, no fort
so high but the arm of the Lord can overtop it and bring it down.
This destruction of Moab is typical of Christ's victory over death
(spoken of <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.8" parsed="|Isa|25|8|0|0" passage="Isa 25:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>),
his spoiling principalities and powers in his cross (<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Col.2.15" parsed="|Col|2|15|0|0" passage="Col 2:15">Col. ii. 15</scripRef>), his pulling down
Satan's strong-holds by the preaching of his gospel (<scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p16.6" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.10.4" parsed="|2Cor|10|4|0|0" passage="2Co 10:4">2 Cor. x. 4</scripRef>), and his reigning till
all his enemies be <i>made his footstool,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xxvi-p16.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.1" parsed="|Ps|110|1|0|0" passage="Ps 110:1">Ps. cx. 1</scripRef>.</p>
</div></div2>