441 lines
33 KiB
XML
441 lines
33 KiB
XML
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<div2 id="Is.li" n="li" next="Is.lii" prev="Is.l" progress="19.16%" title="Chapter L">
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<h2 id="Is.li-p0.1">I S A I A H.</h2>
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<h3 id="Is.li-p0.2">CHAP. L.</h3>
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<p class="intro" id="Is.li-p1" shownumber="no">In this chapter, I. Those to whom God sends are
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justly charged with bringing all the troubles they were in upon
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themselves, by their own wilfulness and obstinacy, it being made to
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appear that God was able and ready to help them if they had been
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fit for deliverance, <scripRef id="Is.li-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.1-Isa.50.3" parsed="|Isa|50|1|50|3" passage="Isa 50:1-3">ver.
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1-3</scripRef>. II. He by whom God sends produces his commission
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(<scripRef id="Is.li-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.4" parsed="|Isa|50|4|0|0" passage="Isa 50:4">ver. 4</scripRef>), alleges his own
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readiness to submit to all the services and sufferings he was
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called to in the execution of it (<scripRef id="Is.li-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.5-Isa.50.6" parsed="|Isa|50|5|50|6" passage="Isa 50:5,6">ver. 5, 6</scripRef>), and assures himself that God,
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who sent him, would stand by him and bear him out against all
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opposition, <scripRef id="Is.li-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.7-Isa.50.9" parsed="|Isa|50|7|50|9" passage="Isa 50:7-9">ver. 7-9</scripRef>.
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III. The message that is sent is life and death, good and evil, the
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blessing and the curse, comfort to desponding saints and terror to
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presuming sinners, <scripRef id="Is.li-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.10-Isa.50.11" parsed="|Isa|50|10|50|11" passage="Isa 50:10,11">ver. 10,
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11</scripRef>. Now all this seems to have a double reference, 1. To
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the unbelieving Jews in Babylon, who quarrelled with God for his
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dealings with them, and to the prophet Isaiah, who, though dead
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long before the captivity, yet, prophesying so plainly and fully of
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it, saw fit to produce his credentials, to justify what he had
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said. 2. To the unbelieving Jews in our Saviour's time, whose own
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fault it was that they were rejected, Christ having preached much
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to them, and suffered much from them, and being herein borne up by
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a divine power. The "contents" of this chapter, in our Bibles, give
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this sense of it, very concisely, thus:—"Christ shows that the
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dereliction of the Jews is not to be imputed to him, by his ability
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to save, by his obedience in that work, and by his confidence in
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divine assistance." The prophet concludes with an exhortation to
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trust in God and not in ourselves.</p>
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<scripCom id="Is.li-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50" parsed="|Isa|50|0|0|0" passage="Isa 50" type="Commentary"/>
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<scripCom id="Is.li-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.1-Isa.50.3" parsed="|Isa|50|1|50|3" passage="Isa 50:1-3" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.li-p1.8">
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<h4 id="Is.li-p1.9">Expostulations with Israel. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.li-p1.10">b. c.</span> 706.)</h4>
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<p class="passage" id="Is.li-p2" shownumber="no">1 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.li-p2.1">Lord</span>, Where <i>is</i> the bill of your mother's
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divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors <i>is
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it</i> to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye
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sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put
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away. 2 Wherefore, when I came, <i>was there</i> no man?
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when I called, <i>was there</i> none to answer? Is my hand
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shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to
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deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a
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wilderness: their fish stinketh, because <i>there is</i> no water,
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and dieth for thirst. 3 I clothe the heavens with blackness,
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and I make sackcloth their covering.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Is.li-p3" shownumber="no">Those who have professed to be the people
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of God, and yet seem to be dealt severely with, are apt to complain
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of God, and to lay the fault upon him, as if he had been hard with
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them. But, in answer to their murmurings, we have here,</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Is.li-p4" shownumber="no">I. A challenge given them to prove, or
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produce any evidence, that the quarrel began on God's side,
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<scripRef id="Is.li-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.1" parsed="|Isa|50|1|0|0" passage="Isa 50:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. They could not
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say that he had done them any wrong or had acted arbitrarily. 1. He
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had been a husband to them; and husbands were then allowed a power
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to put away their wives upon any little disgust: if their wives
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found not favour in their eyes, they made nothing of giving them a
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bill of divorce, <scripRef id="Is.li-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.24.1 Bible:Matt.19.7" parsed="|Deut|24|1|0|0;|Matt|19|7|0|0" passage="De 24:1,Mt 19:7">Deut. xxiv. 1;
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Matt. xix. 7</scripRef>. But they could not say that God had dealt
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so with them. It is true they were now separated from him, and had
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abode many days without ephod, altar, or sacrifice; but whose fault
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was that? They could not say that God had given their mother a bill
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of divorce; let them produce it if they can, for a bill of divorce
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was given into the hand of her that was divorced. 2. He had been a
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father to them; and fathers had then a power to sell their children
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for slaves to their creditors, in satisfaction for the debts they
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were not otherwise able to pay. Now it is true the Jews were sold
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to the Babylonians then, and afterwards to the Romans; but did God
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sell them for payment of his debts? No, he was not indebted to any
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of those to whom they were sold, or, if he had sold them, he <i>did
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not increase his wealth by their price,</i> <scripRef id="Is.li-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.44.12" parsed="|Ps|44|12|0|0" passage="Ps 44:12">Ps. xliv. 12</scripRef>. When God chastens his children,
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it is neither for his pleasure (<scripRef id="Is.li-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.10" parsed="|Heb|12|10|0|0" passage="Heb 12:10">Heb.
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xii. 10</scripRef>) nor for his profit. All that are saved are
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saved by a prerogative of grace, but those that perish are cut off
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by an act of divine holiness and justice, not of absolute
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sovereignty.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Is.li-p5" shownumber="no">II. A charge exhibited against them,
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showing them that they were themselves the authors of their own
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ruin: "<i>Behold, for your iniquities,</i> for the pleasure of them
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and the gratification of your own base lusts, <i>you have sold
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yourselves, for your iniquities you are sold;</i> not as children
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are sold by their parents, to pay their debts, but as malefactors
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are sold by the judges, to punish them for their crimes. You sold
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yourselves to work wickedness, and therefore God justly sold you
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into the hands of your enemies, <scripRef id="Is.li-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.12.5 Bible:2Chr.12.8" parsed="|2Chr|12|5|0|0;|2Chr|12|8|0|0" passage="2Ch 12:5,8">2
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Chron. xii. 5, 8</scripRef>. It is for your transgressions that
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your mother is put away, for her whoredoms and adulteries," which
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were always allowed to be a just cause of divorce. The Jews were
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sent into Babylon for their idolatry, a sin which broke the
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marriage covenant, and were at last rejected for crucifying the
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Lord of glory; these were the iniquities for which they were sold
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and put away.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Is.li-p6" shownumber="no">III. The confirmation of this challenge and
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this charge. 1. It is plain that it was owing to themselves that
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they were cast off; for God came and offered them his favour,
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offered them his helping hand, either to prevent their trouble or
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to deliver them out of it, but they slighted him and all the
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tenders of his grace. "Do you lay it upon me?" (says God); "tell
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me, then, wherefore, <i>when I came, was there no man</i> to meet
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me, <i>when I called, was there none to answer me?</i>" <scripRef id="Is.li-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.2" parsed="|Isa|50|2|0|0" passage="Isa 50:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. God came to them by his
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servants the prophets, demanding the fruits of his vineyard
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(<scripRef id="Is.li-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.21.34" parsed="|Matt|21|34|0|0" passage="Mt 21:34">Matt. xxi. 34</scripRef>); he sent
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them his messengers, <i>rising up betimes and sending them</i>
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(<scripRef id="Is.li-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.35.15" parsed="|Jer|35|15|0|0" passage="Jer 35:15">Jer. xxxv. 15</scripRef>); he called
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to them to leave their sins, and so prevent their own ruin: but
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<i>was there</i> no man, or next to none, that had any regard to
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the warnings which the prophets gave them, none that answered the
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calls of God, or complied with the messages he sent them; and this
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was it for which they were sold and put away. Because they
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<i>mocked the messengers of the Lord,</i> therefore, <i>God brought
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upon them the king of the Chaldeans,</i> <scripRef id="Is.li-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.36.16-2Chr.36.17" parsed="|2Chr|36|16|36|17" passage="2Ch 36:16,17">2 Chron. xxxvi. 16, 17</scripRef>. Last of all <i>he
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sent unto them his Son.</i> He <i>came to his own,</i> but <i>his
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own received him not;</i> he called them to himself, but there were
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none that answered; he would have gathered Jerusalem's children
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together, but they would not; they knew not, because they would not
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know, the things that belonged to their peace, nor the day of their
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visitation, and for that transgression it was that they were put
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away and their house was left desolate, <scripRef id="Is.li-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Matt.21.41 Bible:Matt.23.37-Matt.23.38 Bible:Luke.19.41-Luke.19.42" parsed="|Matt|21|41|0|0;|Matt|23|37|23|38;|Luke|19|41|19|42" passage="Mt 21:41,23:37,38,Lu 19:41,42">Matt. xxi. 41; xxiii. 37, 38; Luke
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xix. 41, 42</scripRef>. When God calls men to happiness, and they
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will not answer, they are justly left to be miserable. 2. It is
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plain that it was not owing to a want of power in God, for he is
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almighty, and could have recovered them from so great a death; nor
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was it owing to a want of power in Christ, for he is <i>able to
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save to the uttermost.</i> The unbelieving Jews in Babylon thought
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they were not delivered because their God was not able to deliver
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them; and those in Christ's time were ready to ask, in scorn,
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<i>Can this man save us?</i> For <i>himself he cannot save.</i>
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"But" (says God) "<i>is my hand shortened at all,</i> or is it
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weakened?" Can any limits be set to Omnipotence? Cannot he redeem
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who is the great Redeemer? Has he no <i>power to deliver</i> whose
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all power is? To put to silence, and for ever to put to shame,
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their doubts concerning his power, he here gives unquestionable
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proofs of it. (1.) He can, when he pleases, <i>dry up the seas,</i>
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and make the rivers a wilderness. He did so for Israel when he
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redeemed them out of Egypt, and he can do so again for their
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redemption out of Babylon. It is done at his <i>rebuke,</i> as
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easily as with a word's speaking. He can so dry up the rivers as to
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leave the fish to die for want of water, and to putrefy. When God
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<i>turned the waters of Egypt into blood</i> he <i>slew the
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fish,</i> <scripRef id="Is.li-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.105.29" parsed="|Ps|105|29|0|0" passage="Ps 105:29">Ps. cv. 29</scripRef>. The
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expression our Saviour sometimes used concerning the power of
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faith, that it will <i>remove mountains and plant sycamores in the
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sea,</i> is not unlike this; if their faith could do that, no doubt
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their faith would save them, and therefore they were inexcusable if
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they perished in unbelief. (2.) He can, when he pleases, eclipse
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the lights of heaven, <i>clothe them with blackness, and make
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sackcloth their covering</i> (<scripRef id="Is.li-p6.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.3" parsed="|Isa|50|3|0|0" passage="Isa 50:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>) by thick and dark clouds
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interposing, which he balances, <scripRef id="Is.li-p6.8" osisRef="Bible:Job.36.32 Bible:Job.37.16" parsed="|Job|36|32|0|0;|Job|37|16|0|0" passage="Job 36:32,37:16">Job xxxvi. 32; xxxvii. 16</scripRef>.</p>
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</div><scripCom id="Is.li-p6.9" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.4-Isa.50.9" parsed="|Isa|50|4|50|9" passage="Isa 50:4-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.li-p6.10">
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<h4 id="Is.li-p6.11">Work and Sufferings of the
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Messiah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.li-p6.12">b. c.</span> 706.)</h4>
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<p class="passage" id="Is.li-p7" shownumber="no">4 The Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.li-p7.1">God</span>
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hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to
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speak a word in season to <i>him that is</i> weary: he wakeneth
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morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
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5 The Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.li-p7.2">God</span> hath opened
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mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
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6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that
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plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
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7 For the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.li-p7.3">God</span> will help
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me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my
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face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8
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<i>He is</i> near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let
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us stand together: who <i>is</i> mine adversary? let him come near
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to me. 9 Behold, the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.li-p7.4">God</span>
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will help me; who <i>is</i> he <i>that</i> shall condemn me? lo,
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they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them
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up.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Is.li-p8" shownumber="no">Our Lord Jesus, having proved himself able
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to save, here shows himself as willing as he is
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able. We suppose the prophet
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Isaiah to say something of himself in these verses, engaging and
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encouraging himself to go on in his work as a prophet,
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notwithstanding the many hardships he met with, not doubting but
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that God would stand by him and strengthen him; but, like David, he
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speaks of himself as a type of Christ, who is here prophesied of
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and promised to be the Saviour.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Is.li-p9" shownumber="no">I. As an acceptable preacher. Isaiah, a a
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prophet, was qualified for the work to which he was called, so were
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the rest of God's prophets, and others whom he employed as his
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messengers; but Christ was anointed with the Spirit above his
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fellows. To make the man of God perfect, he has, 1. <i>The tongue
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of the learned,</i> to know how to give instruction, <i>how to
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speak a word in season to him that is weary,</i> <scripRef id="Is.li-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.4" parsed="|Isa|50|4|0|0" passage="Isa 50:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. God, who made man's mouth, gave
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Moses the tongue of the learned, to speak for the terror and
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conviction of Pharaoh, <scripRef id="Is.li-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.4.11-Exod.4.12" parsed="|Exod|4|11|4|12" passage="Ex 4:11,12">Exod. iv. 11,
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12</scripRef>. He gave to Christ the tongue of the learned, to
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speak a word in season for the comfort of those that are weary and
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heavily laden under the burden of sin, <scripRef id="Is.li-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.11.28" parsed="|Matt|11|28|0|0" passage="Mt 11:28">Matt. xi. 28</scripRef>. <i>Grace was poured into his
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lips,</i> and they are said to <i>drop sweet-smelling myrrh.</i>
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See what is the best learning of a minister, to know how to comfort
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troubled consciences, and to speak pertinently, properly, and
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plainly, to the various cases of poor souls. An ability to do this
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is God's gift, and it is one of the best gifts, which we should
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covet earnestly. Let us repose ourselves in the many comfortable
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words which Christ has spoken to the weary. 2. The ear of the
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learned, to receive instruction. Prophets have as much need of this
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as of the tongue of the learned; for they must deliver what they
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are taught and no other, must hear the word from God's mouth
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diligently and attentively, that they may speak it exactly,
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<scripRef id="Is.li-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.3.17" parsed="|Ezek|3|17|0|0" passage="Eze 3:17">Ezek. iii. 17</scripRef>. Christ
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himself received that he might give. None must undertake to be
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teachers who have not first been learners. Christ's apostles were
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first disciples, <i>scribes instructed unto the kingdom of
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heaven,</i> <scripRef id="Is.li-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Matt.13.52" parsed="|Matt|13|52|0|0" passage="Mt 13:52">Matt. xiii. 52</scripRef>.
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Nor is it enough to hear, but we must <i>hear as the learned,</i>
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hear and understand, hear and remember, hear as those that would
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learn by what we hear. Those that would hear as the learned must be
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awake, and wakeful; for we are naturally drowsy and sleepy, and
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unapt to hear at all, or we hear by the halves, hear and do not
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heed. Our ears need to be wakened; we need to have something said
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to rouse us, to awaken us out of our spiritual slumbers, that we
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may hear as for our lives. We need to be awakened <i>morning by
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morning,</i> as duly as the day returns, to be awakened to do the
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work of the day in its day. Our case calls for continual fresh
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supplies of divine grace, to free us from the dulness we contract
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daily. The morning, when our spirits are most lively, is a proper
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time for communion with God; then we are in the best frame both to
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speak to him (<i>my voice shalt thou hear in the morning</i>) and
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to hear from him. The people came <i>early in the morning</i> to
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hear Christ in the temple (<scripRef id="Is.li-p9.6" osisRef="Bible:Luke.21.38" parsed="|Luke|21|38|0|0" passage="Lu 21:38">Luke xxi.
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38</scripRef>), for, it seems, his were morning lectures. And it is
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God that wakens us morning by morning. If we do any thing to
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purpose in his service, it is he who, as our Master, calls us up;
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and we should doze perpetually if he did not waken us morning by
|
|||
|
morning.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Is.li-p10" shownumber="no">II. As a patient sufferer, <scripRef id="Is.li-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.5-Isa.50.6" parsed="|Isa|50|5|50|6" passage="Isa 50:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5, 6</scripRef>. One would think
|
|||
|
that he who was commissioned and qualified to speak comfort to the
|
|||
|
weary should meet with no difficulty in his work, but universal
|
|||
|
acceptance. It is however quite otherwise; he has both hard work to
|
|||
|
do and hard usage to undergo; and here he tells us with what
|
|||
|
undaunted constancy he went through with it. We have no reason to
|
|||
|
question but that the prophet Isaiah went on resolutely in the work
|
|||
|
to which God had called him, though we read not of his undergoing
|
|||
|
any such hardships as are here supposed; but we are sure that the
|
|||
|
prediction was abundantly verified in Jesus Christ: and here we
|
|||
|
have, 1. His patient obedience in his doing work. "The Lord God has
|
|||
|
not only wakened my ear to hear what he says, but has opened my ear
|
|||
|
to receive it, and comply with it" (<scripRef id="Is.li-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.40.6-Ps.40.7" parsed="|Ps|40|6|40|7" passage="Ps 40:6,7">Ps. xl. 6, 7</scripRef>, <i>My ear hast thou opened;
|
|||
|
then said I, Lo, I come</i>); for when he adds, <i>I was not
|
|||
|
rebellious, neither turned away back,</i> more is implied than
|
|||
|
expressed—that he was willing, that though he foresaw a great deal
|
|||
|
of difficulty and discouragement, though he was to take pains and
|
|||
|
give constant attendance as a servant, though he was to empty
|
|||
|
himself of that which was very great and humble himself to that
|
|||
|
which was very mean, yet he did not fly off, did not fail, nor was
|
|||
|
discouraged. He continued very free and forward to his work even
|
|||
|
when he came to the hardest part of it. Note, As a good
|
|||
|
understanding in the truths of God, so a good will to the work and
|
|||
|
service of God, is from the grace of God. 2. His obedient patience
|
|||
|
in his suffering work. I call it obedient patience because he was
|
|||
|
patient with an eye to his Father's will, thus pleading with
|
|||
|
himself, <i>This commandment have I received of my Father,</i> and
|
|||
|
thus submitting to God, <i>Not as I will, but as thou wilt.</i> In
|
|||
|
this submission he resigned himself, (1.) To be scourged: <i>I gave
|
|||
|
my back to the smiters;</i> and that not only by submitting to the
|
|||
|
indignity when he was smitten, but by permitting it (or admitting
|
|||
|
it rather) among the other instances of pain and shame which he
|
|||
|
would voluntarily undergo for us. (2.) To be buffeted: <i>I gave my
|
|||
|
cheeks to those that</i> not only smote them, but <i>plucked off
|
|||
|
the hair</i> of the beard, which was a greater degree both of pain
|
|||
|
and of ignominy. (3.) To be spit upon: <i>I hid not my face from
|
|||
|
shame and spitting.</i> He could have hidden his face from it,
|
|||
|
could have avoided it, but he would not, because he was made a
|
|||
|
reproach of men, and thus he would answer to the type of Job, that
|
|||
|
man of sorrows, of whom it is said that they <i>smote him on the
|
|||
|
cheek reproachfully</i> (<scripRef id="Is.li-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.16.10" parsed="|Job|16|10|0|0" passage="Job 16:10">Job xvi.
|
|||
|
10</scripRef>), which was an expression not only of contempt, but
|
|||
|
of abhorrence and indignation. All this Christ underwent for us,
|
|||
|
and voluntarily, to convince us of his willingness to save us.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Is.li-p11" shownumber="no">III. As a courageous champion, <scripRef id="Is.li-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.7-Isa.50.9" parsed="|Isa|50|7|50|9" passage="Isa 50:7-9"><i>v.</i> 7-9</scripRef>. The Redeemer is as
|
|||
|
famous for his boldness as for his humility and patience, and,
|
|||
|
though he yields, yet he is more than a conqueror. Observe, 1. The
|
|||
|
dependence he has upon God. What was the prophet Isaiah's support
|
|||
|
was the support of Christ himself (<scripRef id="Is.li-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.7" parsed="|Isa|50|7|0|0" passage="Isa 50:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): <i>The Lord God will help
|
|||
|
me;</i> and again, <scripRef id="Is.li-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.9" parsed="|Isa|50|9|0|0" passage="Isa 50:9"><i>v.</i>
|
|||
|
9</scripRef>. Those whom God employs he will assist, and will take
|
|||
|
care they want not any help that they or their work call for. God,
|
|||
|
having laid help upon his Son for us, gave help to him, and his
|
|||
|
hand was all along <i>with the man of his right hand.</i> Nor will
|
|||
|
he only assist him in his work, but accept of him (<scripRef id="Is.li-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.8" parsed="|Isa|50|8|0|0" passage="Isa 50:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): <i>He is near that
|
|||
|
justifieth.</i> Isaiah, no doubt, was falsely accused and loaded
|
|||
|
with reproach and calumny, as other prophets were; but he despised
|
|||
|
the reproach, knowing that God would roll it away and bring forth
|
|||
|
his righteousness as the light, perhaps in this world (<scripRef id="Is.li-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.37.6" parsed="|Ps|37|6|0|0" passage="Ps 37:6">Ps. xxxvii. 6</scripRef>), at furthest in the
|
|||
|
great day, when there will be a resurrection of names as well as
|
|||
|
bodies, and the righteous shall shine forth as the morning sun. And
|
|||
|
so it was verified in Christ; by his resurrection he was proved to
|
|||
|
be not the man that he was represented, not a blasphemer, not a
|
|||
|
deceiver, not an enemy to Cæsar. The judge that condemned him owned
|
|||
|
he found no fault in him; the centurion, or sheriff, that had
|
|||
|
charge of his execution, declared him a righteous man: so near was
|
|||
|
he that justified him. But it was true of him in a further and more
|
|||
|
peculiar sense: the Father justified him when he accepted the
|
|||
|
satisfaction he made for the sin of man, and constituted him <i>the
|
|||
|
Lord our righteousness,</i> who was made sin for us. He was
|
|||
|
<i>justified in the Spirit,</i> <scripRef id="Is.li-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.3.16" parsed="|1Tim|3|16|0|0" passage="1Ti 3:16">1 Tim.
|
|||
|
iii. 16</scripRef>. He was near who did it; for his resurrection,
|
|||
|
by which he was justified, soon followed his condemnation and
|
|||
|
crucifixion. He was straightway glorified, <scripRef id="Is.li-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:John.13.32" parsed="|John|13|32|0|0" passage="Joh 13:32">John xiii. 32</scripRef>. 2. The confidence he
|
|||
|
thereupon has of success in his undertaking: "If God will help me,
|
|||
|
if he will justify me, will stand by me and bear me out, <i>I shall
|
|||
|
not be confounded,</i> as those are that come short of the end they
|
|||
|
aimed at and the satisfaction they promised themselves: <i>I know
|
|||
|
that I shall not be ashamed.</i>" Though his enemies did all they
|
|||
|
could to put him to shame, yet he kept his ground, he kept his
|
|||
|
countenance, and was not ashamed of the work he had undertaken.
|
|||
|
Note, Work for God is work that we should not be ashamed of; and
|
|||
|
hope in God is hope that we shall not be ashamed of. Those that
|
|||
|
trust in God for help shall not be disappointed; they know whom
|
|||
|
they have trusted, and therefore know they shall not be ashamed. 3.
|
|||
|
The defiance which in this confidence he bids to all opposers and
|
|||
|
opposition: "God will help me, and <i>therefore have I set my face
|
|||
|
like a flint.</i>" The prophet did so; he was bold in reproving
|
|||
|
sin, in warning sinners (<scripRef id="Is.li-p11.8" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.3.8-Ezek.3.9" parsed="|Ezek|3|8|3|9" passage="Eze 3:8,9">Ezek. iii.
|
|||
|
8, 9</scripRef>), and in asserting the truth of his predictions.
|
|||
|
Christ did so; he went on in his work, as Mediator, with unshaken
|
|||
|
constancy and undaunted resolution; he did not fail nor was
|
|||
|
discouraged; and here he challenges all his opposers, (1.) To enter
|
|||
|
the lists with him: <i>Who will contend with me,</i> either in law
|
|||
|
or by the sword? <i>Let us stand together</i> as combatants, or as
|
|||
|
the plaintiff and defendant. <i>Who is my adversary?</i> Who is
|
|||
|
<i>the master of my cause?</i> so the word is, "Who will pretend to
|
|||
|
enter an action against me? Let him appear, and <i>come near to
|
|||
|
me,</i> for I will not abscond." Many offered to dispute with
|
|||
|
Christ, but he put them to silence. The prophet speaks this in the
|
|||
|
name of all faithful ministers; those who keep close to the pure
|
|||
|
word of God, in delivering their message, need not fear
|
|||
|
contradiction; the scriptures will bear them out, whoever contends
|
|||
|
with them. <i>Great is the truth and will prevail.</i> Christ
|
|||
|
speaks this in the name of all believers, speaks it as their
|
|||
|
champion. Who dares be an enemy to those whom he is a friend to, or
|
|||
|
contend with those for whom he is an advocate? Thus St. Paul
|
|||
|
applies it (<scripRef id="Is.li-p11.9" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.33" parsed="|Rom|8|33|0|0" passage="Ro 8:33">Rom. viii. 33</scripRef>):
|
|||
|
<i>Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?</i> (2.)
|
|||
|
He challenges them to prove any crime upon him (<scripRef id="Is.li-p11.10" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.9" parsed="|Isa|50|9|0|0" passage="Isa 50:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): <i>Who is he that shall condemn
|
|||
|
me?</i> The prophet perhaps was condemned to die; Christ we are
|
|||
|
sure was; and yet both could say, <i>Who is he that shall
|
|||
|
condemn?</i> For there is no condemnation to those whom God
|
|||
|
justifies. There were those that did condemn them, but what became
|
|||
|
of them? <i>They all shall wax old as a garment.</i> The righteous
|
|||
|
cause of Christ and his prophets shall outlive all opposition. The
|
|||
|
<i>moth shall eat them up</i> silently and insensibly; a little
|
|||
|
thing will serve to destroy them. But the roaring lion himself
|
|||
|
shall not prevail against God's witnesses. All believers are
|
|||
|
enabled to make this challenge, <i>Who is he that shall condemn? It
|
|||
|
is Christ that died.</i></p>
|
|||
|
</div><scripCom id="Is.li-p11.11" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.10-Isa.50.11" parsed="|Isa|50|10|50|11" passage="Isa 50:10-11" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.li-p11.12">
|
|||
|
<h4 id="Is.li-p11.13">The Disconsolate Encouraged. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.li-p11.14">b. c.</span> 706.)</h4>
|
|||
|
<p class="passage" id="Is.li-p12" shownumber="no">10 Who <i>is</i> among you that feareth the
|
|||
|
<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.li-p12.1">Lord</span>, that obeyeth the voice of his
|
|||
|
servant, that walketh <i>in</i> darkness, and hath no light? let
|
|||
|
him trust in the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.li-p12.2">Lord</span>,
|
|||
|
and stay upon his God. 11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire,
|
|||
|
that compass <i>yourselves</i> about with sparks: walk in the light
|
|||
|
of your fire, and in the sparks <i>that</i> ye have kindled. This
|
|||
|
shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Is.li-p13" shownumber="no">The prophet, having the tongue of the
|
|||
|
learned given him, that he might give to every one his portion,
|
|||
|
here makes use of it, rightly dividing the word of truth. It is the
|
|||
|
summary of the gospel. <i>He that believes shall be saved</i> (he
|
|||
|
that trusts in the name of the Lord shall be comforted, though for
|
|||
|
a while he walk in darkness and have no light), but <i>he that
|
|||
|
believes not shall be damned;</i> though for a while he walk in the
|
|||
|
light of his own fire, yet he shall lie down in sorrow.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Is.li-p14" shownumber="no">I. Comfort is here spoken to disconsolate
|
|||
|
saints, and they are encouraged to trust in God's grace, <scripRef id="Is.li-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.10" parsed="|Isa|50|10|0|0" passage="Isa 50:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. Here observe, 1. What
|
|||
|
is always the character of a child of God. He is one that fears the
|
|||
|
Lord with a filial fear, that stands in awe of his majesty and is
|
|||
|
afraid of incurring his displeasure. This is a grace that usually
|
|||
|
appears most in good people when they walk in darkness, when other
|
|||
|
graces appear not. They then <i>tremble at his word</i> (<scripRef id="Is.li-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.66.2" parsed="|Isa|66|2|0|0" passage="Isa 66:2"><i>ch.</i> lxvi. 2</scripRef>) and are <i>afraid
|
|||
|
of his judgments,</i> <scripRef id="Is.li-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.120" parsed="|Ps|119|120|0|0" passage="Ps 119:120">Ps. cxix.
|
|||
|
120</scripRef>. He is one that obeys the voice of God's servant, is
|
|||
|
willing to be ruled by the Lord Jesus, as God's servant in the
|
|||
|
great work of man's redemption, one that yields a sincere obedience
|
|||
|
to the law of Christ and cheerfully comes up to the terms of his
|
|||
|
covenant. Those that truly fear God will obey the voice of Christ.
|
|||
|
2. What is sometimes the case of a child of God. It is supposed
|
|||
|
that though he has in his heart the fear of God, and faith in
|
|||
|
Christ, yet for a time he walks in darkness and has no light, is
|
|||
|
disquieted and has little or no comfort. Who is there that does so?
|
|||
|
This intimates that it is a case which sometimes happens among the
|
|||
|
professors of religion, yet not very often; but, whenever it
|
|||
|
happens, God takes notice of it. It is no new thing for the
|
|||
|
children and heirs of light sometimes to walk in darkness, and for
|
|||
|
a time not to have any glimpse or gleam of light. This is not meant
|
|||
|
so much of the comforts of this life (those that fear God, when
|
|||
|
they have ever so great an abundance of them, do not walk in them
|
|||
|
as their light) as of their spiritual comforts, which relate to
|
|||
|
their souls. They walk in darkness when their evidences for heaven
|
|||
|
are clouded, their joy in God is interrupted, the testimony of the
|
|||
|
Spirit is suspended, and the light of God's countenance is
|
|||
|
eclipsed. Pensive Christians are apt to be melancholy, and those
|
|||
|
who fear always are apt to fear too much. 3. What is likely to be
|
|||
|
an effectual cure in this sad case. He that is thus in the dark,
|
|||
|
(1.) <i>Let him trust in the name of the Lord,</i> in the goodness
|
|||
|
of his nature, and that which he has made known of himself, his
|
|||
|
wisdom, power, and goodness. <i>The name of the Lord is a strong
|
|||
|
tower,</i> let his run into that. Let him depend upon it that if he
|
|||
|
walk before God, which a man may do though he walk in the dark, he
|
|||
|
shall find God all-sufficient to him. (2.) Let him <i>stay himself
|
|||
|
upon his God,</i> his in covenant; let him keep hold of his
|
|||
|
covenant-relation to God, and call God <i>his God,</i> as Christ on
|
|||
|
the cross, <i>My God, My God.</i> Let him stay himself upon the
|
|||
|
promises of the covenant, and build his hopes on them. When a child
|
|||
|
of God is ready to sink he will find enough in God to stay himself
|
|||
|
upon. Let him trust in Christ, for God's <i>name is in him</i>
|
|||
|
(<scripRef id="Is.li-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.23.21" parsed="|Exod|23|21|0|0" passage="Ex 23:21">Exod. xxiii. 21</scripRef>), trust in
|
|||
|
that name of his, <i>The Lord our righteousness,</i> and stay
|
|||
|
himself upon God as his God, in and through a Mediator.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Is.li-p15" shownumber="no">II. Conviction is here spoken to presuming
|
|||
|
sinners, and they are warned not to trust in themselves, <scripRef id="Is.li-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.11" parsed="|Isa|50|11|0|0" passage="Isa 50:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. Observe, 1. The
|
|||
|
description given of them. They <i>kindle a fire,</i> and <i>walk
|
|||
|
in the light of that fire.</i> They depend upon their own
|
|||
|
righteousness, offer all their sacrifices, and burn all their
|
|||
|
incense, with that fire (as Nadab and Abihu) and not with the fire
|
|||
|
from heaven. In their hope of acceptance with God they have no
|
|||
|
regard to the righteousness of Christ. They refresh and please
|
|||
|
themselves with a conceit of their own merit and sufficiency, and
|
|||
|
warm themselves with that. It is both light and heat to them. They
|
|||
|
<i>compass themselves about with sparks of their own kindling.</i>
|
|||
|
As they trust in their own righteousness, and not in the
|
|||
|
righteousness of Christ, so they place their happiness in their
|
|||
|
worldly possessions and enjoyments, and not in the favour of God.
|
|||
|
Creature-comforts are as sparks, short-lived and soon gone; yet the
|
|||
|
children of this world, while they last, warm themselves by them,
|
|||
|
and walk with pride and pleasure in the light of them. 2. The doom
|
|||
|
passed upon them. They are ironically told to <i>walk in the light
|
|||
|
of their own fire.</i> "Make your best of it, while it lasts. But
|
|||
|
what will be in the end thereof, what will it come to at last? This
|
|||
|
shall you have of my hand (says Christ, for to him the judgment is
|
|||
|
committed), <i>you shall lie down in sorrow,</i> shall go to bed in
|
|||
|
the dark." See <scripRef id="Is.li-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.18.5-Job.18.6" parsed="|Job|18|5|18|6" passage="Job 18:5,6">Job xviii. 5,
|
|||
|
6</scripRef>. <i>His candle shall be put out with him.</i> Those
|
|||
|
that make the world their comfort, and their own righteousness
|
|||
|
their confidence, will certainly meet with a fatal disappointment,
|
|||
|
which will be bitterness in the end. A godly man's way may be
|
|||
|
melancholy, but his end shall be peace and everlasting light. A
|
|||
|
wicked man's way may be pleasant, but his end and endless abode
|
|||
|
will be utter darkness.</p>
|
|||
|
</div></div2>
|