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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>I S A I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. VIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This chapter, and the four next that follow it (to chap. xiii.) are all
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one continued discourse or sermon, the scope of which is to show the
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great destruction that should now shortly be brought upon the kingdom
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of Israel, and the great disturbance that should be given to the
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kingdom of Judah by the king of Assyria, and that both were for their
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sins; but rich provision is made of comfort for those that feared God
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in those dark times, referring especially to the days of the Messiah.
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In this chapter we have,
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I. A prophecy of the destruction of the confederate kingdoms of Syria
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and Israel by the king of Assyria,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:1-4">ver. 1-4</A>.
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II. Of the desolations that should be made by that proud victorious
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prince in the land of Israel and Judah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:5-8">ver. 5-8</A>.
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III. Great encouragement given to the people of God in the midst of
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those distractions; they are assured,
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1. That the enemies shall not gain their point against them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:9,10">ver. 9, 10</A>.
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2. That if they kept up the fear of God, and kept down the fear of
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man, they should find God their refuge
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:11-14">ver. 11-14</A>),
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and while others stumbled, and fell into despair, they should be
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enabled to wait on God, and should see themselves reserved for better
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times,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:15-18">ver. 15-18</A>.
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Lastly, He gives a necessary caution to all, at their peril, not to
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consult with familiar spirits, for they would thereby throw themselves
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into despair, but to keep close to the word of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:19-22">ver. 19-22</A>.
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And these counsels and these comforts will still be of use to us in
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time of trouble.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa8_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Judgments Announced.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 740.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Moreover the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and
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write in it with a man's pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
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2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the
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priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
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3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a
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son. Then said the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> to me, Call his name
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Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
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4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father,
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and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria
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shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
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5 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> spake also unto me again, saying,
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6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that
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go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;
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7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the
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waters of the river, strong and many, <I>even</I> the king of Assyria,
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and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels,
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and go over all his banks:
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8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go
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over, he shall reach <I>even</I> to the neck; and the stretching out
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of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses we have a prophecy of the successes of the king of
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Assyria against Damascus, Samaria, and Judah, that the two former
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should be laid waste by him, and the last greatly frightened. Here we
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have,</P>
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<P>
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I. Orders given to the prophet to write this prophecy, and publish it
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to be seen and read of all men, and to leave it upon record, that when
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the thing came to pass they might know that God had sent him; for that
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was one end of prophecy,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+14:29">John xiv. 29</A>.
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He must <I>take a great roll,</I> which would contain those five
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chapters fairly written in words at length; and he must write in it all
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that he had foretold concerning the king of Assyria's invading the
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country; he must <I>write it with a man's pen,</I> in the usual way and
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style of writing, so as that it might be legible and intelligible by
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all. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+2:2">Hab. ii. 2</A>,
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<I>Write the vision, and make it plain.</I> Those that speak and write
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of the things of God should avoid obscurity, and study to speak and
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write so as to be understood,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+14:19">1 Cor. xiv. 19</A>.
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Those that write for men should write with a man's pen, and not covet
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the pen or tongue of angels. And forasmuch as it is usual to put some
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short, but significant comprehensive title before books that are
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published, the prophet is directed to call his book
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<I>Maher-shalal-hash-baz--Make speed to the spoil, hasten to the
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prey,</I> intimating that the Assyrian army should come upon them with
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great speed and make great spoil. By this title the substance and
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meaning of the book would be enquired after by those that heard of it,
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and remembered by those that had read it or heard it read. It is
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sometimes a good help to memory to put much matter in few words, which
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serve as handles by which we take hold of more.</P>
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<P>
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II. The care of the prophet to get this record well attested
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>I took unto me faithful witnesses to record;</I> he wrote the
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prophecy in their sight and presence, and made them subscribe their
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names to it, that they might be ready, if afterwards there should be
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occasion, to make oath of it, that the prophet had so long before
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foretold the descent which the Assyrians made upon that country. He
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names his witnesses for the greater certainty, that they might be
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appealed to by any. They were two in number (for <I>out of the mouth of
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two witnesses shall every word be established</I>); one was Uriah the
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priest; he is mentioned in the story of Ahaz, but for none of his good
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deeds, for he humoured Ahaz with an idolatrous altar
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+16:10,11">2 Kings xvi. 10, 11</A>);
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however, at this time, no exception lay against him, being a faithful
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witness. See what full satisfaction the prophets took care to give to
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all persons concerned of the sincerity of their intentions, that we
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might know with a full assurance the <I>certainty of the things wherein
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we have been instructed,</I> and that we have <I>not followed
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cunningly-devised fables.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. The making of the title of his book the name of his child, that it
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might be the more taken notice of and the more effectually perpetuated,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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His wife (because the wife of a prophet) is called <I>the
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prophetess;</I> she <I>conceived and bore a son,</I> another son, who
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must carry a sermon in his name, as the former had done
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+7:3"><I>ch.</I> vii. 3</A>),
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but with this difference, that spoke mercy, <I>Shear-jashub--The remnant
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shall return;</I> but, that being slighted, this speaks judgment,
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<I>Maher-shalal-hash-baz--In making speed to the spoil he shall
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hasten,</I> or <I>he has hastened, to the prey.</I> The prophecy is
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doubled, even in this one name, for the thing was certain. <I>I will
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hasten my word,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+1:12">Jer. i. 12</A>.
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Every time the child was called by his name, or any part of it, it
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would serve as a memorandum of the judgments approaching. Note, It is
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good for us often to put ourselves in mind of the changes and troubles
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we are liable to in this world, and which perhaps are at the door. When
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we look with pleasure on our children it should be with the allay of
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this thought, We know not what they are yet reserved for.</P>
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<P>
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IV. The prophecy itself, which explains this mystical name.</P>
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<P>
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1. That Syria and Israel, who were now in confederacy against Judah,
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should in a very little time become an easy prey to the king of Assyria
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and his victorious army
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>Before the child,</I> now newly born and named, shall have
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<I>knowledge to cry, My father, and My mother</I>" (which are usually
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some of the first things that children know and some of the first words
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that children speak), that is, "in about a year or two, <I>the riches
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of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria,</I> those cities that are now so
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secure themselves and so formidable to their neighbours, <I>shall be
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taken away before the king of Assyria,</I> who shall plunder both city
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and country, and send the best effects of both into his own land, to
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enrich that, and as trophies of his victory." Note, Those that spoil
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others must expect to be themselves spoiled
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:1"><I>ch.</I> xxxiii. 1</A>);
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for the Lord is righteous, and those that are troublesome shall be
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troubled.</P>
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<P>
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2. That forasmuch as there were many in Judah that were secretly in the
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interests of Syria and Israel, and were disaffected to the house of
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David, God would chastise them also by the king of Assyria, who should
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create a great deal of vexation to Judah, as was foretold,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+7:17"><I>ch.</I> vii. 17</A>.
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Observe,
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(1.) What was the sin of the discontented party in Judah
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>This people,</I> whom the prophet here speaks to, <I>refuse the
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waters of Shiloah that go softly,</I> despise their own country and the
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government of it, and love to run it down, because it does not make so
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great a figure, and so great a noise, in the world, as some other kings
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and kingdoms do. They refuse the comforts which God's prophets offer
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them from the word of God, speaking to them in a still small voice, and
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make nothing of them; but <I>they rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's
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son,</I> who were the enemies of their country, and were now actually
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invading it; they cried them up as brave men, magnified their policies
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and strength, applauded their conduct, were well pleased with their
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successes, and were hearty well-wishers to their designs, and resolved
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to desert and go over to them. Such vipers does many a state foster in
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its bosom, that eat its bread, and yet adhere to its enemies, and are
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ready to quit its interests if they but seem to totter.
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(2.) The judgment which God would bring upon them for this sin. The
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same king of Assyria that should lay Ephraim and Syria waste should be
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a scourge and terror to those of their party in Judah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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Because they <I>refuse the waters of Shiloah,</I> and will not
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accommodate themselves to the government God has set over them, but are
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uneasy under it, <I>therefore the Lord brings upon them the waters of
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the river, strong and many,</I> the river Euphrates. They slighted the
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land of Judah, because it had no river to boast of comparable to that;
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the river at Jerusalem was a very inconsiderable one. "Well," says God,
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"if you be such admirers of Euphrates, you shall have enough of it; the
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king of Assyria, whose country lies upon that river, shall come with
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his glory, with his great army, which you cry up as his glory,
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despising your own king because he cannot bring such an army as that
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into the field; God shall bring that army upon you." If we value men,
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if we over-value them, for their worldly wealth and power, it is just
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with God to make them thereby a scourge to us. It is used as an
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argument against magnifying rich men that <I>rich men oppress us,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:3,5">Jam. ii. 3, 5</A>.
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Let us be best pleased with the waters of Shiloah, that go softly, for
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rapid streams are dangerous. It is threatened that the Assyrian army
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should break in upon them like a deluge, or inundation of waters,
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bearing down all before it, should come up over all his channels, and
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overflow all his banks. It would be to no purpose to oppose or
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withstand them. Sennacherib and his army should pass through Judah, and
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meet with so little resistance that it should look more like a march
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through the country than a descent upon it. <I>He shall reach even to
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the neck,</I> that is, he shall advance so far as to lay siege to
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Jerusalem, the head of the kingdom, and nothing but that shall be kept
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out of his hands; for that was the holy city. Note, In the greatest
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deluge of trouble God can and will keep the head of his people above
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water, and so preserve their comforts and spiritual lives; the waters
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that come into their souls may reach to the neck
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:1">Ps. lxix. 1</A>),
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but there shall their proud waves be stayed. And here is another
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comfortable intimation that though the stretching out of the wings of
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the Assyrian, that bird of prey, though the right and left wing of his
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army, should fill the breadth of the land of Judah, yet still it was
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Immanuel's land. It is <I>thy land, O Immanuel!</I> It was to be
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Christ's land; for there he was to be born, and live, and preach, and
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work miracles. He was Zion's King, and therefore had a peculiar
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interest in and concern for that land. Note, The lands that Immanuel
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owns for his, as he does all those lands that own him, though they may
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be deluged, shall not be destroyed; <I>for, when the enemy shall come
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in like a flood,</I> Immanuel shall secure his own, and shall <I>lift
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up a standard against him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+59:19"><I>ch.</I> lix. 19</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Isa8_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa8_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Judah's Encouragement.</I></FONT></TD>
|
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 740.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in
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pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves,
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and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall
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be broken in pieces.
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10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak
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the word, and it shall not stand: for God <I>is</I> with us.
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11 For the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> spake thus to me with a strong hand, and
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instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people,
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saying,
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12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all <I>them to</I> whom this people
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shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be
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afraid.
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13 Sanctify the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts himself; and <I>let</I> him <I>be</I> your
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fear, and <I>let</I> him <I>be</I> your dread.
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14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of
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stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel,
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for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
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15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken,
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and be snared, and be taken.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The prophet here returns to speak of the present distress that Ahaz and
|
|
his court and kingdom were in upon account of the threatening
|
|
confederacy of the ten tribes and the Syrians against them. And in
|
|
these verses,</P>
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<P>
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I. He triumphs over the invading enemies, and, in effect, sets them at
|
|
defiance, and bids them do their worst
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>):
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"<I>O you people, you of far countries,</I> give ear to what the
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prophet says to you in God's name."
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1. "We doubt not but you will now make your utmost efforts against
|
|
Judah and Jerusalem. You <I>associate yourselves</I> in a strict
|
|
alliance. You <I>gird yourselves,</I> and again you <I>gird
|
|
yourselves;</I> you prepare for action; you address yourselves to it
|
|
with resolution; you gird on your swords; you gird up your loins. You
|
|
animate and encourage yourselves and one another with all the
|
|
considerations you can think of: you <I>take counsel together,</I> call
|
|
councils of war, and all heads are at work about the proper methods for
|
|
making yourselves masters of the land of Judah. <I>You speak the
|
|
word;</I> you come to resolutions concerning it, and are not always
|
|
deliberating; you determine what to do, and are very confident of the
|
|
success of it, that the matter will be accomplished with a word's
|
|
speaking." Note, It is with a great deal of policy, resolution, and
|
|
assurance, that the church's enemies carry on their designs against it;
|
|
and abundance of pains they take to roll a stone that will certainly
|
|
return upon them.
|
|
|
|
2. "This is to let you know that all your efforts will be ineffectual.
|
|
You cannot, you shall not, gain your point, nor carry the day: <I>You
|
|
shall be broken in pieces.</I> Though you associate yourselves, though
|
|
you gird yourselves, though you proceed with all the policy and
|
|
precaution imaginable, yet, I tell you again and again, all your
|
|
projects shall be baffled, <I>you shall be broken in pieces.</I> Nay,
|
|
not only shall your attempts be ruined, but your attempts shall be your
|
|
ruin; you shall be broken by those designs you have formed against
|
|
Jerusalem: <I>Your counsels shall come to nought;</I> for there is no
|
|
wisdom nor counsel against the Lord. Your resolves will not be put in
|
|
execution; they shall not stand. You speak the word, but <I>who is he
|
|
that saith, and it cometh to pass, if the Lord commandeth it not?</I>
|
|
What sets up itself against God, and his cause and counsel, cannot
|
|
stand, but must inevitably fall. <I>For God is with us</I>" (this
|
|
refers to the name of <I>Immanuel--God with us</I>); "the Messiah is to
|
|
be born among us, and a people designed for such an honour cannot be
|
|
given up to utter ruin. We have now the special presence of God with us
|
|
in his temple, his oracles, his promises, and these are our defence.
|
|
God is with us; he is on our side, to take our part and fight for us;
|
|
and, <I>if God be for us, who can be against us?</I>" Thus does the
|
|
daughter of Zion despise them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. He comforts and encourages the people of God with the same comforts
|
|
and encouragements which he himself had received. The attempt made upon
|
|
them was very formidable; the house of David, the court and royal
|
|
family, were at their wits' end
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+7:2"><I>ch.</I> vii. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
and then no marvel if the people were in a consternation. Now,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The prophet tells us how he was himself taught of God not to give
|
|
way to such amazing fears as the people were disturbed with, nor to run
|
|
into the same measures with them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>The Lord spoke to me with a strong hand not to walk in the way of
|
|
this people,</I> not to say as they say nor do as they do, not to
|
|
entertain the same frightful apprehensions of things nor to approve of
|
|
their projects of making peace upon any terms, or calling in the help
|
|
of the Assyrians." God instructed the prophet not to go down the
|
|
stream. Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) There is a proneness in the best of men to be frightened at
|
|
threatening clouds, especially when fears are epidemic. We are all too
|
|
apt to walk in the way of the people we live among, though it be not a
|
|
good way.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Those whom God loves and owns he will instruct and enable to swim
|
|
against the stream of common corruptions, particularly of common fears.
|
|
He will find ways to teach his own people not to walk in the way of
|
|
other people, but in a sober singularity.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Corruption is sometimes so active in the hearts even of good men
|
|
that they have need to be taught their duty with a strong hand, and it
|
|
is God's prerogative to teach so, for he only can give an understanding
|
|
and overpower the contradiction of unbelief and prejudice. He can teach
|
|
the heart; and herein none teaches like him.
|
|
|
|
(4.) Those that are to teach others have need to be themselves well
|
|
instructed in their duty, and then they teach most powerfully when they
|
|
teach experimentally. The word that comes from the heart is most likely
|
|
to reach to the heart; and what we are ourselves by the grace of God
|
|
instructed in we should, as we are able, teach others also.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Now what is it that he says to God's people?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He cautions them against a sinful fear,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
It seems it was the way of this people at this time, and fear is
|
|
catching. He whose heart fails him makes his brethren's heart to fail,
|
|
like his heart
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+20:8">Deut. xx. 8</A>);
|
|
|
|
therefore <I>Say you not, A confederacy, to all those to whom this
|
|
people shall say, A confederacy;</I> that is,
|
|
|
|
[1.] "Be not associated with them in the confederacies they are
|
|
projecting and forecasting for. Do not join with those that, for the
|
|
securing of themselves, are for making a league with the Assyrians,
|
|
through unbelief, and distrust of God and their cause. Do not come into
|
|
any such confederacy." Note, It concerns us, in time of trouble, to
|
|
watch against all such fears as put us upon taking any indirect courses
|
|
for our own security.
|
|
|
|
[2.] "Be not afraid of the confederacies they frighten themselves and
|
|
one another with. Do not distress yourselves with the apprehension of a
|
|
confederacy upon every thing that stirs, nor, when any little thing is
|
|
amiss, cry out presently, There is a plot, a plot. When they talk what
|
|
dismal news there is, <I>Syria is joined with Ephraim,</I> what will
|
|
become of us? must we fight, or must we flee, or must we yield? do not
|
|
you fear their fear: <I>Be not afraid of the signs of heaven,</I> as
|
|
the heathen are,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+10:2">Jer. x. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
Be not afraid of evil tidings on earth, but let your hearts be fixed.
|
|
Fear not that which they fear, nor be afraid as they are. Be not put
|
|
into such a fright as causes trembling and shaking;" so the word
|
|
signifies. Note, When the church's enemies have sinful confederacies on
|
|
foot the church's friends should watch against the sinful fears of
|
|
those confederacies.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He advises them to a gracious religious fear: <I>But sanctify the
|
|
Lord of hosts himself,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, The believing fear of God is a special preservative against the
|
|
disquieting fear of man; see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+3:14,15">1 Pet. iii. 14, 15</A>,
|
|
|
|
where this is quoted, and applied to suffering Christians.
|
|
|
|
[1.] We must look upon God as the Lord of hosts, that has all power in
|
|
his hand and all creatures at his beck.
|
|
|
|
[2.] We must sanctify him accordingly, give him the glory due to that
|
|
name, and behave towards him as those that believe him to be a holy
|
|
God.
|
|
|
|
[3.] We must make him our fear, the object of our fear, and make him
|
|
our dread, keep up a reverence of his providence and stand in awe of
|
|
his sovereignty, be afraid of his displeasure and silently acquiesce in
|
|
all his disposals. Were we but duly affected with the greatness and
|
|
glory of God, we should see the pomp of our enemies eclipsed and
|
|
clouded, and all their power restrained and under check; see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+4:14">Neh. iv. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that are <I>afraid of the reproach of men forget the Lord their
|
|
Maker,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+51:12,13"><I>ch.</I> li. 12, 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Compare
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+12:4,5">Luke xii. 4, 5</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) He assures them of a holy security and serenity of mind in so
|
|
doing
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>He shall be for a sanctuary;</I> make him your fear, and you shall
|
|
find him your hope, your help, your defence, and your mighty deliverer.
|
|
He will sanctify and preserve you. He will be for a sanctuary,"
|
|
|
|
[1.] "To make you holy. He will be your sanctification;" so some read
|
|
it. If we sanctify God by our praises, he will sanctify us by his
|
|
grace.
|
|
|
|
[2.] "To make you easy. He will be your sanctuary," to which you may
|
|
flee for safety, and where you are privileged form all the arrests of
|
|
fear; you shall find an inviolable refuge and security in him, and see
|
|
yourselves our of the reach of danger. Those that truly fear God shall
|
|
not need to fear any evil.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He threatens the ruin of the ungodly and unbelieving, both in
|
|
Judah and Israel. They have no part nor lot in the foregoing comforts;
|
|
that God who will be a sanctuary to those who trust in him will be a
|
|
stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, to those who <I>leave these
|
|
waters of Shiloah, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son,</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
who make the creature their fear and their hope,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:14,15"><I>v.</I> 14, 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
The prophet foresees that the greatest part of both the houses of
|
|
Israel would not <I>sanctify the Lord of hosts,</I> and to them he
|
|
would be <I>for a gin and a snare;</I> he would be a terror to them, as
|
|
he would be a support and stay to those that trusted in him. Instead of
|
|
profiting by the word of God, they should be offended at it; and the
|
|
providences of God, instead of leading them to him, would drive them
|
|
from him. What was a savour of life unto life to others would be a
|
|
savour of death unto death to them. "So that <I>many among them shall
|
|
stumble and fall;</I> they shall fall both into sin and into ruin; they
|
|
shall fall by the sword, shall be taken prisoners, and go into
|
|
captivity." Note, If the things of God be an offence to us, they will
|
|
be an undoing to us. Some apply this to the unbelieving Jews, who
|
|
rejected Christ, and to whom he became a stone of stumbling; for the
|
|
apostle quotes this scripture with application to all those who
|
|
persisted in their unbelief of the gospel of Christ
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+2:8">1 Pet. ii. 8</A>);
|
|
|
|
to them he is a rock of offence, because, being disobedient to the
|
|
word, they stumble at it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa8_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa8_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa8_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa8_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa8_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa8_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa8_22"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Importance of the Scriptures.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 740.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
|
|
17 And I will wait upon the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, that hideth his face from the
|
|
house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
|
|
18 Behold, I and the children whom the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath given me <I>are</I>
|
|
for signs and for wonders in Israel from the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, which
|
|
dwelleth in mount Zion.
|
|
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have
|
|
familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter:
|
|
should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the
|
|
dead?
|
|
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according
|
|
to this word, <I>it is</I> because <I>there is</I> no light in them.
|
|
21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry:
|
|
and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they
|
|
shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and
|
|
look upward.
|
|
22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and
|
|
darkness, dimness of anguish; and <I>they shall be</I> driven to
|
|
darkness.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In these verses we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The unspeakable privilege which the people of God enjoy in having
|
|
the oracles of God consigned over to them, and being entrusted with the
|
|
sacred writings. That they may sanctify the Lord of hosts, may make him
|
|
their fear and find him their sanctuary, <I>bind up the testimony,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, It is a great instance of God's care of his church and love to it
|
|
that he has lodged in it the invaluable treasure of divine revelation.
|
|
|
|
1. It is a <I>testimony</I> and a <I>law;</I> not only this prophecy is
|
|
so, which must therefore be preserved safely for the comfort of God's
|
|
people in the approaching times of trouble and distress, but the whole
|
|
word of God is so; God has attested it, and he has enjoined it. As a
|
|
testimony it directs our faith; as a law it directs our practice; and
|
|
we ought both to subscribe to the truths of it and to submit to the
|
|
precepts of it.
|
|
|
|
2. This testimony and this law are bound up and sealed, for we are not
|
|
to add to them nor diminish from them; they are a letter from God to
|
|
man, folded up and sealed, a proclamation under the broad seal. The
|
|
binding up and sealing of the Old Testament signified that the full
|
|
explication of many of the prophecies of it was reserved for the
|
|
New-Testament times.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+12:4">Dan. xii. 4</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Seal the book till the time of the end;</I> but what was then bound
|
|
up and sealed is now open and unsealed, and <I>revealed unto babes,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+11:25">Matt. xi. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
Yet with reference to the other world, and the future state, still the
|
|
testimony is bound up and sealed, for we know but in part, and prophesy
|
|
but in part.
|
|
|
|
3. They are lodged as a sacred deposit in the hands of the disciples
|
|
of <I>the children of the prophets and the covenant,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+3:25">Acts iii. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
This is the good thing which is committed to them, and which they are
|
|
charged with the custody of,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+1:13,14">2 Tim. i. 13, 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that had prophets for their tutors must still keep close to the
|
|
written word.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The good use which we ought to make of this privilege. This we are
|
|
taught,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. By the prophet's own practice and resolutions,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
He embraced the law ad the testimony, and he had the comfort of them,
|
|
in the midst of the many discouragements he met with. Note, Those
|
|
ministers can best recommend the word of God to others that have
|
|
themselves found the satisfaction of relying upon it. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) The discouragements which the prophet laboured under. He specifies
|
|
two:--
|
|
|
|
[1.] The frowns of God, not so much upon himself, but upon his people,
|
|
whose interests lay very near his heart: "He <I>hides his face from the
|
|
house of Jacob,</I> and seems at present to neglect them, and lay them
|
|
under the tokens of his displeasure." The prophet was himself employed
|
|
in revealing God's wrath against them, and yet grieved thus for it, as
|
|
one that did not desire the woeful day. If the house of Jacob forsake
|
|
the God of Jacob, let it not be thought strange that he hides his face
|
|
from them.
|
|
|
|
[2.] The contempt and reproaches of men, not only upon himself, but
|
|
upon his disciples, among whom the law and the testimony were sealed:
|
|
<I>I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and
|
|
wonders;</I> we are gazed at as monsters or outlandish people, pointed
|
|
at as we go along the streets. Probably the prophetical names that were
|
|
given to his children were ridiculed and bantered by the profane
|
|
scoffers of the town. <I>I am as a wonder unto many,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+71:7">Ps. lxxi. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
God's people are the world's wonder
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+3:8">Zech. iii. 8</A>)
|
|
|
|
for their singularity, and because they run not with them to the same
|
|
excess of riot,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+4:4">1 Pet. iv. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
The prophet was herein a type of Christ; for this is quoted
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+2:13">Heb. ii. 13</A>)
|
|
|
|
to prove that believers are Christ's children: <I>Behold, I and the
|
|
children whom God has given me.</I> Parents must look upon their
|
|
children as God's gifts, his gracious gifts; Jacob did so,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+33:5">Gen. xxxiii. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
Ministers must look upon their converts as their children, and be
|
|
tender of them accordingly
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+2:7">1 Thess. ii. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
and as the children whom God has given them; for, whatever good we are
|
|
instrumental of to others, it is owing to the grace of God. Christ
|
|
looks upon believers as his children, whom the Father gave him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+17:6">John xvii. 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
and both he and they are for signs and wonders, spoken against
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+2:34">Luke ii. 34</A>),
|
|
|
|
every where spoken against,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+28:22">Acts xxviii. 22</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The encouragement he took in reference to these discouragements.
|
|
|
|
[1.] He saw the hand of God in all that which was discouraging to him,
|
|
and kept his eye upon that. Whatever trouble the house of Jacob is in,
|
|
it comes from God's hiding his face; nay, whatever contempt was put
|
|
upon him or his friends, it is from the Lord of hosts; he has bidden
|
|
Shimei curse David,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+19:13,30:11">Job xix. 13; xxx. 11</A>.
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[2.] He saw God dwelling in Mount Zion, manifesting himself to his
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people, and ready to hear their prayers and receive their homage.
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Though, for the present, he hide his face from the house of Jacob, yet
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they know where to find him and recover the sight of him; he dwells in
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Mount Zion.
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[3.] He therefore resolved to wait upon the Lord and to look for him;
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to attend his motions even while he hid his face, and to expect with a
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humble assurance his returns in a way of mercy. Those that wait upon
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God by faith and prayer may look for him with hope and joy. When we
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have not sensible comforts we must still keep up our observance of God
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and obedience to him, and then wait awhile; <I>at evening time it shall
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be light.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. By the counsel and advice which he gives to his disciples, among
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whom the law and the testimony were sealed, to whom were committed the
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lively oracles.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) He supposes they would be tempted, in the day of their distress,
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to consult <I>those that had familiar spirits,</I> that dealt with the
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devil, asked his advice, and desired to be informed by him concerning
|
|
things to come, that they might take their measures accordingly. Thus
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|
Saul, when he was in straits, made his application to the witch of
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Endor
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+28:7,15">1 Sam. xxviii. 7, 15</A>),
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and Ahaziah to the god of Ekron,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+1:2">2 Kings i. 2</A>.
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These conjurors had strange fantastic gestures and tones: They
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<I>peeped and muttered;</I> they muffled their heads, that they could
|
|
neither see nor be seen plainly, but peeped and were peeped at. Or both
|
|
the words here used may refer to their voice and manner of speaking;
|
|
they delivered what they had to say with a low, hollow, broken sound,
|
|
scarcely articulate, and sometimes in a puling or mournful tone, like a
|
|
crane, or a swallow, or a dove,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+38:14"><I>ch.</I> xxxviii. 14</A>.
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They spoke not with that boldness and plainness which the prophets of
|
|
the Lord spoke with, but as those who desire to amuse people rather
|
|
than to instruct them; yet there were those who were so wretchedly
|
|
sottish as to seek to them and to court others to do so, even the
|
|
prophet's hearers, who knew better things, whom therefore the prophet
|
|
warns not to say, <I>A confederacy</I> with such. There were express
|
|
laws against this wickedness
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lev+19:31,20:27">Lev. xix. 31; xx. 27</A>),
|
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|
|
and yet it was found in Israel, is found even in Christian nations; but
|
|
let all that have any sense of religion show it, by startling at the
|
|
thought of it. <I>Get thee behind me, Satan.</I> Dread the use of
|
|
spells and charms, and consulting those that by hidden arts pretend to
|
|
tell fortunes, cure diseases, or discover things lost; for this is a
|
|
heinous crime, and, in effect, denies the God that is above.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He furnishes them with an answer to this temptation, puts words
|
|
into their mouths. "If any go about thus to ensnare you, give them this
|
|
reply: <I>Should not a people seek to their God?</I> What! <I>for the
|
|
living to the dead!</I>"
|
|
|
|
[1.] "Tell them it is a principle of religion that a people ought to
|
|
seek unto their God; now Jehovah is our God, and therefore to him we
|
|
ought to seek, and to consult with him, and not with those that have
|
|
familiar spirits. <I>All people will thus walk in the name of their
|
|
God,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+4:5">Mic. iv. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that made the hosts of heaven their gods <I>sought unto them,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+8:2">Jer. viii. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
Should not a people under guilt, and in trouble, seek to their God for
|
|
pardon and peace? Should not a people in doubt, in want, and in danger,
|
|
seek to their God for direction, supply, and protection? Since the Lord
|
|
is our God, and we are his people, it is certainly our duty to seek
|
|
him."
|
|
|
|
[2.] "Tell them it is an instance of the greatest folly in the world to
|
|
seek for living men to dead idols." What can be more absurd than to
|
|
seek to lifeless images for life and living comforts, or to expect that
|
|
our friends that are dead should do that for us, when we deify them and
|
|
pray to them, which our living friends cannot do? The <I>dead know not
|
|
any thing,</I> nor is there with them <I>any device or working,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+9:5,10">Eccl. ix. 5, 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is folly therefore for the living to make their court to them, with
|
|
any expectation of relief from them. Necromancers consulted the dead,
|
|
as the witch of Endor, and so proclaimed their own folly. We must live
|
|
by the living, and not by the dead. What life or light can we look for
|
|
from those that have no light or life themselves?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) He directs them to consult the oracles of God. If the prophets
|
|
that were among them did not speak directly to every case, yet they had
|
|
the written word, and to that they must have recourse. Note, Those will
|
|
never be drawn to consult wizards that know how to make a good use of
|
|
their Bibles. Would we know how we may seek to our God, and come to the
|
|
knowledge of his mind? <I>To the law and to the testimony.</I> There
|
|
you will see what is good, and what the Lord requires of you. Make
|
|
God's statutes your counsellors, and you will be counselled aright.
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
[1.] What use we must make of the law and the testimony: we must
|
|
<I>speak according to that word,</I> that is, we must make this our
|
|
standard, conform to it, take advice from it, make our appeals to it,
|
|
and in every thing be overruled and determined by it, consent to those
|
|
wholesome healing words
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+6:3">1 Tim. vi. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
and speak of the things of God in the words which the Holy Ghost
|
|
teaches. It is not enough to say nothing against it, but we must speak
|
|
according to it.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Why we must make this use of the law and the testimony: because we
|
|
shall be convicted of the greatest folly imaginable if we do not. Those
|
|
that concur not with the word of God do thereby evince that <I>there is
|
|
no light,</I> no morning light (so the word is) <I>in them;</I> they
|
|
have no right sense of things; they do not understand themselves, nor
|
|
the difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood. Note, Those
|
|
that reject divine revelation have not so much as human understanding;
|
|
nor do those rightly admit the oracles of reason who will not admit the
|
|
oracles of God. Some read it as a threatening: "If they speak not
|
|
according to this word, there shall be no light to them, no good, no
|
|
comfort or relief; but they shall be driven to darkness and despair;"
|
|
as it follows here,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
What light had Saul when he consulted the witch?
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+28:18,20">1 Sam. xxviii. 18, 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or what light can those expect that turn away from the Father of
|
|
lights?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(4.) He reads the doom of those that seek to familiar spirits and
|
|
regard not God's law and testimony; there shall not only be no light to
|
|
them, no comfort or prosperity, but they may expect all horror and
|
|
misery,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
[1.] The trouble they feared shall come upon them: They shall <I>pass
|
|
through</I> the land, or pass to and fro in the land, unfixed,
|
|
unsettled, and driven from place to place by the threatening power of
|
|
an invading enemy; they shall be <I>hardly bestead</I> whither to go
|
|
for the necessary supports of life, either because the country would be
|
|
so impoverished that there would be nothing to be had, or at least
|
|
themselves and their friends so impoverished that there would be
|
|
nothing to be had for them; so that those who used to be fed to the
|
|
full shall be hungry. Note, Those that go away from God go out of the
|
|
way of all good.
|
|
|
|
[2.] They shall be very uneasy to themselves, by their discontent and
|
|
impatience under their trouble. A good man may be in want, but then he
|
|
quiets himself, and strives to make himself easy; but these people
|
|
<I>when they shall be hungry shall fret themselves,</I> and when they
|
|
have nothing to feed on their vexation shall prey upon their own
|
|
spirits; for fretfulness is a sin that is its own punishment.
|
|
|
|
[3.] They shall be very provoking to all about them, nay, to all above
|
|
them; when they find all their measures broken, and themselves at their
|
|
wits' end, they will forget all the rules of duty and decency, and will
|
|
treasonably <I>curse their king</I> and blasphemously curse <I>their
|
|
God,</I> and this more than <I>in their thought and in their
|
|
bedchamber,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:20">Eccl. x. 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
They begin with cursing their king for managing the public affairs no
|
|
better, as if the fault were his, when the best and wisest kings cannot
|
|
secure success; but, when they have broken the bonds of their
|
|
allegiance, no marvel if those of their religion do not hold them long:
|
|
they next curse their God, curse him, and die; they quarrel with his
|
|
providence, and reproach that, as if he had done them wrong. <I>The
|
|
foolishness of man perverts his way,</I> and then <I>his heart frets
|
|
against the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+19:3">Prov. xix. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
See what need we have to <I>keep our mouth as with a bridle</I> when
|
|
our <I>heart is hot within us;</I> for the language of fretfulness is
|
|
commonly very offensive.
|
|
|
|
[4.] They shall abandon themselves to despair, and, which way soever
|
|
they look, shall see no probability of relief. They shall look upward,
|
|
but heaven shall frown upon them and look gloomy; and how can it be
|
|
otherwise when they curse their God? They shall look to the earth, but
|
|
what comfort can that yield to those with whom God is at war? There is
|
|
nothing there but trouble, and darkness, and dimness of anguish, every
|
|
thing threatening, and not one pleasant gleam, not one hopeful
|
|
prospect; but they shall be driven to darkness by the violence of their
|
|
own fears, which represent every thing about them black and frightful.
|
|
This explains what he had said
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>,
|
|
|
|
that there shall be no light to them. Those that shut their eyes
|
|
against the light of God's word will justly be abandoned to darkness,
|
|
and left to wander endlessly, and the sparks of their own kindling will
|
|
do them no kindness.</P>
|
|
|
|
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