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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. XXXIII.</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 relates to the same events as the foregoing chapter, the
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distress of Judah and Jerusalem by Sennacherib's invasion and their
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deliverance out of that distress by the destruction of the Assyrian
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army. These are intermixed in the prophecy, in the way of a Pindaric.
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Observe,
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I. The great distress that Judah and Jerusalem should then be brought
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into,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:7-9">ver. 7-9</A>.
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II. The particular frights which the sinners in Zion should then be in,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:13,14">ver. 13, 14</A>.
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III. The prayers of good people to God in this distress,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:2">ver. 2</A>.
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IV. The holy security which they should enjoy in the midst of this
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trouble,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:15,16">ver. 15, 16</A>.
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V. The destruction of the army of the Assyrians
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>),
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in which God would be greatly glorified,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:5,10-12">ver. 5, 10-12</A>.
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VI. The enriching of the Jews with the spoil of the Assyrian camp,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:4,23,24">ver. 4, 23, 24</A>.
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VII. The happy settlement of Jerusalem, and the Jewish state, upon
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this. Religion shall be uppermost
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:6">ver. 6</A>),
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and their civil state shall flourish,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:17-22">ver. 17-22</A>.
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This was soon fulfilled, but is written for our learning.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa33_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa33_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa33_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa33_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa33_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa33_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa33_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa33_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa33_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa33_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa33_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa33_12"> </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>Assyria Threatened.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 710.</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 Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou <I>wast</I> not spoiled; and
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dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with
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thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled;
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<I>and</I> when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they
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shall deal treacherously with thee.
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2 O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou
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their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of
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trouble.
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3 At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up
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of thyself the nations were scattered.
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4 And your spoil shall be gathered <I>like</I> the gathering of the
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caterpillar: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run
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upon them.
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5 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled
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Zion with judgment and righteousness.
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6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times,
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<I>and</I> strength of salvation: the fear of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> his
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treasure.
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7 Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors
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of peace shall weep bitterly.
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8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath
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broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no
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man.
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9 The earth mourneth <I>and</I> languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed
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<I>and</I> hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and
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Carmel shake off <I>their fruits.</I>
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10 Now will I rise, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; now will I be exalted; now
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will I lift up myself.
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11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your
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breath, <I>as</I> fire, shall devour you.
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12 And the people shall be <I>as</I> the burnings of lime: <I>as</I>
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thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here we have,</P>
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<P>
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I. The proud and false Assyrian justly reckoned with for all his fraud
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and violence, and laid under a woe,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Observe,
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1. The sin which the enemy had been guilty of. He had spoiled the
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people of God, and made a prey of them, and herein had broken his
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treaty of peace with them, and dealt treacherously. Truth and mercy are
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two such sacred things, and have so much of God in them, that those
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cannot but be under the wrath of God that make conscience of neither,
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but are perfectly lost to both, that care not what mischief they do,
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what spoil they make, what dissimulations they are guilty of, nor what
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solemn engagements they violate, to compass their own wicked designs.
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Bloody and deceitful men are the worst of men.
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2. The aggravation of this sin. He spoiled those that had never done
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him any injury and that he had no pretence to quarrel with, and dealt
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treacherously with those that had always dealt faithfully with him.
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Note, The less provocation we have from men to do a wrong thing the
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more provocation we give to God by doing it.
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3. The punishment he should fall under for this sin. He that spoiled
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the cities of Judah shall have his own army destroyed by an angel and
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his camp plundered by those whom he had made a prey of. The Chaldeans
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shall deal treacherously with the Assyrians and revolt from them. Two
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of Sennacherib's own sons shall deal treacherously with him and basely
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murder him at his devotions. Note, The righteous God often pays sinners
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in their own coin. <I>He that leads into captivity shall go into
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captivity,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+13:10,18:6">Rev. xiii. 10; xviii. 6</A>.
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4. The time when he shall be thus dealt with. When he shall <I>make an
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end to spoil, and to deal treacherously,</I> not by repentance and
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reformation, which might prevent his ruin
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+4:27">Dan. iv. 27</A>),
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but when he shall have done his worst, when he shall have gone as far
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as God would permit him to go, to the utmost of his tether, then the
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cup of trembling shall be put into his hand. When he shall have arrived
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at his full stature in impiety, shall have filled up the measure of his
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iniquity, then all shall be called over again. When he has done God
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will begin, for his day is coming.</P>
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<P>
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II. The praying people of God earnest at the throne of grace for mercy
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for the land now in its distress
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>O Lord! be merciful to us.</I> Men are cruel; be thou gracious. We
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have deserved thy wrath, but we entreat thy favour; and, if we may find
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the propitious to us, we are happy; the trouble we are in cannot hurt
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us, shall not ruin us. It is in vain to expect relief from creatures;
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we have no confidence in the Egyptians, but <I>we have waited for
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thee</I> only, resolving to submit to thee, whatever the issue of the
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trouble be, and hoping that it shall be a comfortable issue." Those
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that by faith humbly wait for God shall certainly find him gracious to
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them. They prayed,
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1. For those that were employed in military services for them: "<I>Be
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thou their arm every morning.</I> Hezekiah, and his princes, and all
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the men of war, need continual supplies of strength and courage from
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thee; supply their need therefore, and be to them a God all-sufficient.
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Every morning, when they go forth upon the business of the day, and
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perhaps have new work to do and new difficulties to encounter, let them
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be afresh animated and invigorated, and, <I>as the day, so let the
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strength be.</I>" In our spiritual warfare our own hands are not
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sufficient for us, nor can we bring any thing to pass unless God not
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only strengthen our arms
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+49:24">Gen. xlix. 24</A>),
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but be himself our arm; so entirely do we depend upon him as our arm
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every morning, so constantly do we depend upon his power, as well as
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his compassions, which are new every morning,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+3:23">Lam. iii. 23</A>.
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If God leaves us to ourselves any morning, we are undone; we must
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therefore every morning commit ourselves to him, and go forth in his
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strength to do the work of the day in its day.
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2. For the body of the people: "<I>Be thou our salvation also in the
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time of trouble,</I> ours who sit still, and do not venture into the
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high places of the field." They depend upon God not only as their
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Saviour, to work deliverance for them, but as their salvation itself;
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for, whatever becomes of their secular interests, they will reckon
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themselves safe and saved if they have him for their God. If he
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undertake to be their Saviour, he will be their salvation; for <I>as
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for God his work is perfect.</I> Some read it thus: "<I>Thou who wast
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their arm every morning,</I> who wast the continual strength and help
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of our fathers before us, <I>be thou our salvation also in time of
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trouble.</I> Help us as thou helpedst them; <I>they looked unto thee
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and were lightened</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+34:5">Ps. xxxiv. 5</A>);
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let us then not walk in darkness."</P>
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<P>
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III. The Assyrian army ruined and their camp made a rich but cheap and
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easy prey to Judah and Jerusalem. No sooner is the prayer made
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>)
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than it is answered
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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nay, it is outdone. They prayed that God would save them from their
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enemies; but he did more than that; he gave them victory over their
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enemies and abundant cause to triumph; for,
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1. The strength of the Assyrian camp was broken
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>)
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when the destroying angel slew so many thousands of them: <I>At the
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noise of the tumult,</I> of the shrieks of the dying men (who, we may
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suppose, did not die silently), the rest of <I>the people fled,</I> and
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shifted every one for his own safety. When God did thus lift up himself
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the several nations, or clans, of which the army was composed, were
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scattered. It was time to stir when such an unprecedented plague broke
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out among them. When God arises his enemies are scattered,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+68:1">Ps. lxviii. 1</A>.
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2. The spoil of the Assyrian camp is seized, by way of reprisal, for
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all the desolations of the defenced cities of Judah
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>Your spoil shall be gathered</I> by the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
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<I>like the gathering of the caterpillar,</I> and <I>as the running to
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and fro of locusts,</I> that is, the spoilers shall as easily and as
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quickly make themselves masters of the riches of the Assyrians as a
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host of caterpillars, or locusts, make a field, or a tree, bare. Thus
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<I>the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just</I> and Israel is
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enriched with the spoil of the Egyptians. Some make the Assyrians to be
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the caterpillars and locusts, which, when they are killed, are gathered
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together in heaps, as the frogs of Egypt, and are run upon, and trodden
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to dirt.</P>
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<P>
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IV. God and his Israel glorified and exalted hereby. When the spoil of
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the enemy is thus gathered,
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1. God will have the praise of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>The Lord is exalted.</I> It is his honour thus to abase proud men,
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and hide them in the dust, together; thus he magnifies his own name,
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and his people give him the glory of it, as Israel when the Egyptians
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were drowned,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+15:1,2">Exod. xv. 1, 2</A>,
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&c. He is exalted as one that dwells on high, out of the reach of their
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blasphemies, and that has an over-ruling power over them, and wherein
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they deal proudly delights to show himself above them-that does what he
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will, and they cannot resist him.
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2. His people will have the blessing of it. When God lifts up himself
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to scatter the nations that are in confederacy against Jerusalem
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>)
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then, as a preparative for that, or as the fruit and product of it,
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<I>he has filled Zion with judgment and righteousness,</I> not only
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with a sense of justice, but with a zeal for it and a universal care
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that it be duly administered. It shall again be called, <I>The city of
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righteousness,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:26"><I>ch.</I> i. 26</A>.
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In this the grace of God is exalted, as much as his providence was in
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the destruction of the Assyrian army. We may conclude God has mercy in
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store for a people when he fills them with judgment and righteousness,
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when all sorts of people, and all their actions and affairs, are
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governed by them, and they are so full of them that no other
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considerations can crowd in to sway them against these. Hezekiah and
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his people are encouraged
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
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with an assurance that God would stand by them in their distress. Here
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is,
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(1.) A gracious promise of God for them to stay themselves upon:
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<I>Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and
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strength of salvation.</I> Here is a desirable end proposed, and that
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is <I>the stability of our times,</I> that things be not disturbed and
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unhinged at home, and the <I>strength of salvation,</I> deliverance
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from, and success against, enemies abroad. The salvation that God
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ordains for his people has strength in it; it is a horn of salvation.
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And here are the way and means for obtaining this end--<I>wisdom and
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knowledge,</I> not only piety, but prudence. That is it which, by the
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blessing of God, will be the <I>stability of our times and the strength
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of salvation,</I> that wisdom which is first pure, then peaceable, and
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which sacrifices private interests to a public good; such prudence as
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this will establish truth and peace, and fortify the bulwarks in
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defence of them.
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(2.) A pious maxim of state for Hezekiah and his people to govern
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themselves by: <I>The fear of the Lord is his treasure.</I> It is God's
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treasure in the world, from which he receives his tribute; or, rather,
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it is the prince's treasure. A good prince accounts it so (that wisdom
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is better than gold) and he shall find it so. Note, True religion is
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the true treasure of any prince or people; it denominates them rich.
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Those places that have plenty of Bibles, and ministers, and serious
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good people, are really rich; and it contributes to that which makes a
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nation rich in this world. It is therefore the interest of a people to
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support religion among them and to take heed of every thing that
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threatens to hinder it.</P>
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<P>
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V. The great distress that Jerusalem was brought into described, that
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those who believed the prophet might know beforehand what troubles were
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coming and might provide accordingly, and that when the foregoing
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promise of their deliverance should have its accomplishment the
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remembrance of the extremity of their case might help to magnify God in
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it and make them the more thankful,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:7-9"><I>v.</I> 7-9</A>.
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It is here foretold,
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1. That the enemy would be very insolent and abusive and there would
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be no dealing with him, either by treaties of peace (<I>for he has
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broken the covenant</I> without any hesitation, as if it were below him
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to be a servant to his word), or by the preparations of war, for <I>he
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has despised the cities;</I> he scorns to take notice either of their
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appeals to justice or of their petitions for mercy. He makes himself
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master of them so easily (though they are called <I>fenced cities</I>),
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and meets with so little resistance, that he despises them, and has no
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relentings when he puts all to the sword; for he regards no man, has no
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pity or concern, no, not for those that he is under particular
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obligations to. He neither fears God nor regards man, but is haughty
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and imperious to every one. There are those that take a pride in
|
|
trampling upon all mankind, and have neither veneration for the
|
|
honourable nor compassion for the miserable.
|
|
|
|
2. That therefore he would not be brought to any terms of
|
|
reconciliation: <I>The valiant ones of Jerusalem,</I> being unable to
|
|
make their parts good with him, must be contentedly run down with noise
|
|
and insolence, which will make them cry without, because they cannot
|
|
serve their country as they might have done against a fair adversary.
|
|
<I>The ambassadors</I> sent by Hezekiah to treat <I>of peace,</I>
|
|
finding him so haughty and unmanageable, <I>shall weep bitterly</I> for
|
|
vexation at the disappointment they had met with in their negotiations;
|
|
they shall weep like children, as despairing to find out any expedient
|
|
to pacify him.
|
|
|
|
3. That the country should be made quite desolate for a time by his
|
|
army.
|
|
|
|
(1.) No man durst travel the roads; so that a stop was put to trade and
|
|
commerce, and (which was worse) no man could safely go up to Jerusalem,
|
|
to keep the solemn feasts: <I>The highways lie waste.</I> While the
|
|
fields lie waste, trodden like the highways, the highways lie waste,
|
|
untrodden like the fields, for <I>the traveller ceases.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) No man had any profit from the grounds,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
The earth used to rejoice in its own productions for the service of
|
|
God's Israel, but now the enemies of Israel eat them up, or tread them
|
|
down: it <I>mourns and languishes;</I> the country looks melancholy and
|
|
the country people have misery in their countenances, wanting necessary
|
|
food for themselves and their families; the wonted joy of harvest is
|
|
turned into lamentation, so withering and uncertain are all worldly
|
|
joys. The desolation is universal. That part of the country which
|
|
belonged to the ten tribes was already laid waste: "<I>Lebanon</I>
|
|
famed for cedars, <I>Sharon</I> for roses, <I>Bashan</I> for cattle,
|
|
<I>Carmel</I> for corn, all very fruitful, have now become like
|
|
wildernesses, <I>are ashamed</I> to be called by their old names, they
|
|
are so unlike what they were. They <I>shake off their fruits</I> before
|
|
their time into the hand of the spoiler, which used to be gathered
|
|
seasonably by the hand of the owner."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VI. God appearing, at length, in his glory against his proud invader,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:10"><I>v.</I> 10-12</A>.
|
|
|
|
When things are brought thus to the last extremity,
|
|
|
|
1. God will magnify himself. He had seemed to sit by as an unconcerned
|
|
spectator: "But <I>now will I arise, saith the Lord;</I> now will I
|
|
appear and act, and therein I will be not only evidenced, but exalted."
|
|
He will not only demonstrate that there is a God that judges in the
|
|
earth, but that he is God over all, and higher than the highest. "Now
|
|
<I>will I lift up myself,</I> will prepare for action, will act
|
|
vigorously, and will be glorified in it." God's time to appear for his
|
|
people is when their affairs are reduced to the lowest ebb, <I>when
|
|
their strength is gone and there is none shut up nor left,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:36">Deut. xxxii. 36</A>.
|
|
|
|
When all other helpers fail, then is God's time to help.
|
|
|
|
2. He will bring down the Assyrian: "You, O Assyrians! are big with
|
|
hopes that you shall have all the wealth of Jerusalem for your own, and
|
|
are in pain till it be so; but all your hopes shall come to nothing:
|
|
<I>You shall conceive chaff, and bring forth stubble,</I> which is not
|
|
only worthless and good for nothing, but combustible and proper fuel
|
|
for the fire, which it cannot escape, when <I>your</I> own <I>breath as
|
|
fire shall devour you,</I> that is, the breath of God's wrath, provoked
|
|
against you by the breath of your sins--your malignant breath, the
|
|
threatenings and slaughter you breathe out against the people of God,
|
|
this shall devour you, and your blasphemous breath against God and his
|
|
name." God would make their own tongues to fall upon them, and their
|
|
own breath to blow the fire that should consume them; and then no
|
|
wonder that the people are <I>as the burnings of lime</I> in a
|
|
lime-kiln, all on fire together, and <I>as thorns cut up,</I> which are
|
|
dried and withered, and therefore easily take fire and are soon burnt
|
|
up. Such was the destruction of the Assyrian army; it was like the
|
|
burning up of thorns, which can well be spared, or the burning of lime,
|
|
which makes it good for something. The burning of that army enlightened
|
|
the world with the knowledge of God's power and made his name shine
|
|
brightly.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa33_24"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Forebodings of Hypocrites; Encouragement to God's People.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 710.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 Hear, ye <I>that are</I> far off, what I have done; and, ye <I>that
|
|
are</I> near, acknowledge my might.
|
|
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised
|
|
the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
|
|
who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
|
|
15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that
|
|
despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from
|
|
holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood,
|
|
and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
|
|
16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence <I>shall be</I> the
|
|
munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters <I>shall
|
|
be</I> sure.
|
|
17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall
|
|
behold the land that is very far off.
|
|
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where <I>is</I> the scribe?
|
|
where <I>is</I> the receiver? where <I>is</I> he that counted the towers?
|
|
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper
|
|
speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, <I>that
|
|
thou canst</I> not understand.
|
|
20 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes
|
|
shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle <I>that</I> shall
|
|
not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be
|
|
removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.
|
|
21 But there the glorious L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>will be</I> unto us a place of
|
|
broad rivers <I>and</I> streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars,
|
|
neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.
|
|
22 For the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> our judge, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> our lawgiver, the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> our king; he will save us.
|
|
23 Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen
|
|
their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a
|
|
great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.
|
|
24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that
|
|
dwell therein <I>shall be</I> forgiven <I>their</I> iniquity.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is a preface that commands attention; and it is fit that all
|
|
should attend, both near and afar off, to what God says and does
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Hear, you that are afar off,</I> whether in place or time. Let
|
|
distant regions and future ages hear what God has done. They do so;
|
|
they will do so from the scripture, with as much assurance as those
|
|
that were near, the neighbouring nations and those that lived at that
|
|
time. But whoever hears what God has done, whether near or afar off,
|
|
let them acknowledge his might, that it is irresistible, and that he
|
|
can do every thing. Those are very stupid who hear what God has done
|
|
and yet will not acknowledge his might. Now what is it that God has
|
|
done which we must take notice of, and in which we must acknowledge his
|
|
might?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. He has struck a terror upon the sinners in Zion
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites.</I> There are sinners in
|
|
Zion, hypocrites, that enjoy Zion's privileges and concur in Zion's
|
|
services, but their hearts are not right in the sight of God; they keep
|
|
up secret haunts of sin under the cloak of a visible profession, which
|
|
convicts them of hypocrisy. Sinners in Zion will have a great deal to
|
|
answer for above other sinners; and their place in Zion will be so far
|
|
from being their security that it will aggravate both their sin and
|
|
their punishment. Now those sinners in Zion, though always subject to
|
|
secret frights and terrors, were struck with a more than ordinary
|
|
consternation from the convictions of their own consciences.
|
|
|
|
1. When they saw the Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem, and ready to
|
|
set fire to it and lay it in ashes, and burn the wasps in the nest.
|
|
Finding they could not make their escape to Egypt, as some had done,
|
|
and distrusting the promises God had made by his prophets that he would
|
|
deliver them, they were at their wits' end, and ran about like men
|
|
distracted, crying, "<I>Who among us shall dwell with devouring
|
|
fire?</I> Let us therefore abandon the city, and shift for ourselves
|
|
elsewhere; one had as good live in everlasting burnings as live here."
|
|
<I>Who will stand up for us against this devouring fire?</I> so some
|
|
read it. See here how the sinners in Zion are affected when the
|
|
judgments of God are abroad; while they were only threatened they
|
|
slighted them and made nothing of them; but, when they come to be
|
|
executed, they run into the other extreme, then they magnify them, and
|
|
make the worst of them; they call them <I>devouring fire</I> and
|
|
<I>everlasting burnings,</I> and despair of relief and succour. Those
|
|
that rebel against the commands of the word cannot take the comforts of
|
|
it in a time of need. Or, rather,
|
|
|
|
2. When they saw the Assyrian army destroyed; for the destruction of
|
|
that is the fire spoken of immediately before,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
When the sinners in Zion saw what dreadful execution the wrath of God
|
|
made they were in a great fright, being conscious to themselves that
|
|
they had provoked this God by their secretly worshipping other gods;
|
|
and therefore they cry out, <I>Who among us shall dwell with this
|
|
devouring fire,</I> before which so vast an army is as thorns? <I>Who
|
|
among us shall dwell with</I> these <I>everlasting burnings,</I> which
|
|
have made the Assyrians <I>as the burnings of lime?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thus they said, or should have said. Note, God's judgments upon the
|
|
enemies of Zion should strike a terror upon the sinners in Zion, nay,
|
|
David himself trembles at them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:120">Ps. cxix. 120</A>.
|
|
|
|
God himself is this devouring fire,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:29">Heb. xii. 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
Who is able to stand before him?
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+6:20">1 Sam. vi. 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
His wrath will burn those everlastingly that have made themselves fuel
|
|
for it. It is a fire that shall never be quenched, nor will ever go out
|
|
of itself; for it is the wrath of an everlasting God preying upon the
|
|
conscience of an immortal soul. Nor can the most daring sinners bear up
|
|
against it, so as to bear either the execution of it or the fearful
|
|
expectation of it. Let this awaken us all to flee from the wrath to
|
|
come, by fleeing to Christ as our refuge.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. He has graciously provided for the security of his people that
|
|
trust in him: <I>Hear this, and acknowledge his</I> power in making
|
|
those that <I>walk righteously,</I> and <I>speak uprightly,</I> to
|
|
<I>dwell on high,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:15,16"><I>v.</I> 15, 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
We have here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The good man's character, which he preserves even in times of common
|
|
iniquity, in divers instances.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He walks righteously. In the whole course of his conversation he
|
|
acts by rules of equity, and makes conscience of rendering to all their
|
|
due, to God his due, as well as to men theirs. His walk is
|
|
righteousness itself; he would not for a world wilfully do an unjust
|
|
thing.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He speaks uprightly, <I>uprightnesses</I> (so the word is); he
|
|
speaks what is true and right, and with an honest intention. He cannot
|
|
think one thing and speak another, nor look one way and row another.
|
|
His word is to him as sacred as his oath, and is not yea and nay.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He is so far from coveting ill-gotten gain that he despises it. He
|
|
thinks it a mean and sordid thing, and unbecoming a man of honour, to
|
|
enrich himself by any hardship put upon his neighbour. He scorns to do
|
|
a wrong thing, nay, to do a severe thing, though he might get by it. He
|
|
does not over-value gain itself, and therefore easily abhors the gain
|
|
that is not honestly come by.
|
|
|
|
(4.) If he have a bribe at any time thrust into his hand, to pervert
|
|
justice, <I>he shakes his hands from holding</I> it, with the utmost
|
|
detestation, taking it as an affront to have it offered him.
|
|
|
|
(5.) <I>He stops his ears from hearing</I> any thing that tends to
|
|
cruelty or bloodshed, or any suggestions stirring him up to revenge,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+31:31">Job xxxi. 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
He turns a deaf ear to those that delight in war and entice him to
|
|
<I>cast in his lot among them,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+1:14,16">Prov. i. 14, 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
(6.) He <I>shuts his eyes from seeing evil.</I> He has such an
|
|
abhorrence of sin that he cannot bear to see others commit it, and does
|
|
himself watch against all the occasions of it. Those that would
|
|
preserve the purity of their souls must keep a strict guard upon the
|
|
senses of their bodies, must stop their ears to temptations, and turn
|
|
away their eyes from beholding vanity.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The good man's comfort, which he may preserve even in times of
|
|
common calamity,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He shall be safe; he shall escape the devouring fire and the
|
|
everlasting burnings; he shall have access to, and communion with, that
|
|
God who is a devouring fire, but shall be to him a rejoicing light.
|
|
And, as to present troubles, <I>he shall dwell on high,</I> out of the
|
|
reach of them, nay, out of the hearing of the noise of them; he shall
|
|
not be really harmed by them, nay, he shall not be greatly frightened
|
|
at them: <I>The floods of great waters shall not come nigh him;</I> or,
|
|
if they should attack him, <I>his place of defence shall be the
|
|
munitions of rocks,</I> strong and impregnable, fortified by nature as
|
|
well as art. The divine power will keep him safe, and his faith in that
|
|
power will keep him easy. God, the rock of ages, will be his high
|
|
tower.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He shall be supplied; he shall want nothing that is necessary for
|
|
him: <I>Bread shall be given him,</I> even when the siege is straitest
|
|
and provisions are cut off; and <I>his waters shall be sure,</I> that
|
|
is, he shall be sure of the continuance of them, so that he shall not
|
|
drink his water by measure and with astonishment. Those that fear the
|
|
Lord shall not want any thing that is good for them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He will protect Jerusalem, and deliver it out of the hands of the
|
|
invaders. This storm that threatened them should blow over, and they
|
|
should enjoy a prosperous state again. Many instances are here given of
|
|
this prosperity.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. Hezekiah shall put off his sackcloth and all the sadness of his
|
|
countenance, and shall appear publicly in his beauty, in his royal
|
|
robes and with a pleasing aspect
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
to the great joy of all his loving subjects. Those that walk uprightly
|
|
shall not only have bread given them, and their water sure, but they
|
|
shall with an eye of faith see the King of kings in his beauty, the
|
|
beauty of holiness, and that beauty shall be upon them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The siege being raised, by which they were kept close within the
|
|
walls of Jerusalem, they shall now be at liberty to go abroad upon
|
|
business or pleasure without danger of falling into the enemies' hand:
|
|
<I>They shall behold the land that is very far off;</I> they shall
|
|
visit the utmost corners of the nation, and take a prospect of the
|
|
adjacent countries, which will be the more pleasant after so long a
|
|
confinement. Thus believers behold the heavenly Canaan, that land that
|
|
is very far off, and comfort themselves with the prospect of it in evil
|
|
times.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. The remembrance of the fright they were in shall add to the pleasure
|
|
of their deliverance
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Thy heart shall meditate terror,</I> meditate it with pleasure when
|
|
it is over. Thou shalt think thou still hearest the alarm in thy ears,
|
|
when all the cry was, "Arm, arm, arm! every man to his post. <I>Where
|
|
is the scribe</I> or secretary of war? Let him appear to draw up the
|
|
muster-roll. <I>Where is the receiver</I> and pay-master of the army?
|
|
Let him see what he had in bank, to defray the charge of a defence.
|
|
<I>Where is he that counted the towers?</I> Let him bring in the
|
|
account of them, that care may be taken to put a competent number of
|
|
men in each." Or these words may be taken as Jerusalem's triumph over
|
|
the vanquished army of the Assyrians, and the rather because the
|
|
apostle alludes to them in his triumphs over the learning of this
|
|
world, when it was baffled by the gospel of Christ,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+1:20">1 Cor. i. 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
The virgin, the daughter of Zion, despises all their military
|
|
preparations. Where is the scribe or muster-master of the Assyrian
|
|
army? Where is their weigher (or treasurer), and where are their
|
|
engineers that counted the towers? They are all either dead or fled.
|
|
There is an end of them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. They shall no more be terrified with the sight of the Assyrians, who
|
|
were a fierce people naturally, and were particularly fierce against
|
|
the people of the Jews, and were of a strange language, that could
|
|
understand neither their petitions nor their complaints, and therefore
|
|
had a pretence for being deaf to them, nor could themselves be
|
|
understood: "They are <I>of a deeper speech than thou canst
|
|
perceive,</I> which will make them the more formidable,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
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Thy eyes shall no more see them thus fierce, but their countenances
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changed when they shall all become dead corpses."</P>
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<P>
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5. They shall no more be under apprehensions of the danger of
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Jerusalem-Zion, and the temple there
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
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"<I>Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities,</I> the city where our
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solemn sacred feasts are kept, where we used to meet to worship God in
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religious assemblies." The good people among them, in the time of their
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distress, were most in pain for Zion upon this account, that it was the
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city of their solemnities, that the conquerors would burn their temple
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and they should not have that to keep their solemn feasts in any more.
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In times of public danger our concern should be most about our
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religion, and the cities of our solemnities should be dearer to us than
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either our strong cities or our store-cities. It is with an eye to this
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that God will work deliverance for Jerusalem, because it is the city of
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religious solemnities: let those be conscientiously kept up, as the
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glory of a people, and we may depend upon God to create a defence upon
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that glory. Two things are here promised to Jerusalem:--
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(1.) A well-grounded security. It shall be <I>a quiet habitation</I>
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for the people of God; they shall not be molested and disturbed, as
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they have been, by the alarms of the sword either of war or
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persecution,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+29:20"><I>ch.</I> xxix. 20</A>.
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It shall be a quiet habitation, as it is the city of our solemnities.
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It is desirable to be quiet in our own houses, but much more so to be
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quiet in God's house and have none to make us afraid there. Thus it
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shall be with Jerusalem; and <I>the eyes shall see it,</I> which will
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be a great satisfaction to a good man,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:5,6">Ps. cxxviii. 5, 6</A>.
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"<I>Thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem, and peace upon Israel;</I>
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thou shalt live to see it and share in it."
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(2.) An unmoved stability. Jerusalem, the city of our solemnities, is
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indeed but <I>a tabernacle,</I> in comparison with the New Jerusalem.
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The present manifestations of the divine glory and grace are nothing in
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comparison with those that are reserved for the future state. But it is
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such a tabernacle as <I>shall not be taken down.</I> After this trouble
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is over Jerusalem shall long enjoy a confirmed peace; and her sacred
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privileges, which are the stakes and cords of her tabernacle, shall not
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be removed from her, nor any disturbance given to the course and circle
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of her religious services. God's church on earth is a tabernacle,
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which, though it may be shifted from one place to another, shall not be
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taken down while the world stands; for in every age Christ will have a
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seed to serve him. The promises of the covenant are its stakes, which
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shall never be removed, and the ordinances and institutions of the
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gospel are its cords, which shall never be broken. They are things
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which cannot be shaken, though heaven and earth be, but shall
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remain.</P>
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<P>
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6. God himself will be their protector and Saviour,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>.
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This the principal ground of their confidence: "He that is himself
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<I>the glorious Lord</I> will display his glory for us and be a glory
|
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to us, such as shall eclipse the rival-glory of the enemy." God, in
|
|
being a gracious Lord, is a glorious Lord; for his goodness is his
|
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glory. God will be the Saviour of Jerusalem and her glorious Lord,
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(1.) As a guard against their adversaries abroad. He will be <I>a place
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of broad rivers and streams.</I> Jerusalem had no considerable river
|
|
running by it, as most great cities have, nothing but the brook Kidron,
|
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and so wanted one of the best natural fortifications, as well as one of
|
|
the greatest advantages for trade and commerce, and upon this account
|
|
their enemies despised them and doubted not but to make an easy prey of
|
|
them; but the presence and power of God are sufficient at any time to
|
|
make up to us the deficiencies of the creature and of its strength and
|
|
beauty. We have all in God, all we need or can desire. Many external
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|
advantages Jerusalem has not which other places have, but in God there
|
|
is more than an equivalent. But, if there be broad rivers and streams
|
|
about Jerusalem, may not these yield an easy access to the fleet of an
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|
invader? No; these are rivers and streams <I>in which shall go no
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|
galley with oars,</I> no man of war or gallant ship. If God himself be
|
|
the river, it must needs be inaccessible to the enemy; they can neither
|
|
find nor force their way by it.
|
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(2.) As a guide to their affairs at home: "<I>For the Lord is our
|
|
Judge,</I> to whom we are accountable, to whose judgment we refer
|
|
ourselves, by whose judgment we abide, and who therefore (we hope) will
|
|
judge for us. <I>He is our lawgiver;</I> his word is a law to us, and
|
|
to him every thought within us is brought into obedience. <I>He is our
|
|
King,</I> to whom we pay homage and tribute, and an inviolable
|
|
allegiance, and therefore <I>he will save us.</I>" For, as protection
|
|
draws allegiance, so allegiance may expect protection, and shall have
|
|
it with God. By faith we take Christ for our prince and Saviour, and as
|
|
such depend upon him and devote ourselves to him. Observe with what an
|
|
air of triumph, and with what an emphasis laid upon the glorious name
|
|
of God, they comfort themselves with this: <I>Jehovah is our Judge,
|
|
Jehovah is our Lawgiver, Jehovah is our King, who, being self-existent,
|
|
is self-sufficient, and all-sufficient to us.</I></P>
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<P>
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|
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7. The enemies shall be quite infatuated, and all their powers and
|
|
projects broken, like a ship at sea in stress of weather, that cannot
|
|
ride out the storm, but having her tackle torn, her masts split, and
|
|
nothing wherewith to repair them, is given up for a wreck,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
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|
<I>The tacklings</I> of the Assyrian <I>are loosed;</I> they are like a
|
|
ship whose tacklings are loose, or forsaken by the ship's crew, when
|
|
they give it over for lost, finding that they cannot strengthen the
|
|
mast, but it will come down. They thought themselves sure of Jerusalem;
|
|
but when they were just entering the port as it were, and though all
|
|
was their own, they were quite becalmed, and <I>could not spread their
|
|
sail,</I> but lay wind-bound till God poured the fury of his wrath upon
|
|
them. The enemies of God's church are often disarmed and unrigged when
|
|
they think they have almost gained their point.</P>
|
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|
|
<P>
|
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|
8. The wealth of their camp shall be a rich booty for the Jews: <I>Then
|
|
is the prey of a great spoil divided.</I> When the greater part were
|
|
slain the rest fled in confusion, and with such precipitation that
|
|
(like the Syrians) they <I>left their tents as they were,</I> so that
|
|
all the treasure in them fell into the hands of the besieged; and even
|
|
<I>the lame take the prey.</I> Those that tarried at home did divide
|
|
the spoil. It was so easy to come at that not only the strong man might
|
|
make himself master of it, but even the lame man, whose hands were
|
|
lame, that he could not fight, and his feet, that he could not pursue.
|
|
As the victory shall cost them no peril, so the prey shall cost them no
|
|
toil. And there was such abundance of it that when those who were
|
|
forward, and came first, had carried off as much as they would, even
|
|
the lame, who came late, found sufficient. Thus God brought good out of
|
|
evil, and not only delivered Jerusalem, but enriched it, and abundantly
|
|
recompensed the losses they had sustained. Thus comfortably and well do
|
|
the frights and distresses of the people of God often end.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
9. Both sickness and sin shall be taken away; and then sickness is
|
|
taken away in mercy when this is all the fruit of it, and the recovery
|
|
from it, even the taking away of sin.
|
|
|
|
(1.) <I>The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick. As the lame shall take
|
|
the prey,</I> so shall the sick, notwithstanding their weakness, make a
|
|
shift to get to the abandoned camp and seize something for themselves;
|
|
or there shall be such a universal transport of joy upon this occasion
|
|
that even the sick shall, for the present, forget their sickness and
|
|
the sorrows of it, and join with the public in its rejoicings; the
|
|
deliverance of their city shall be their cure. Or it intimates that,
|
|
whereas infectious diseases are commonly the effect of long sieges, it
|
|
shall not be so with Jerusalem, but the inhabitants of it with their
|
|
victory and peace shall have health also, and there shall be no
|
|
complaining upon the account of sickness within their gates. Or those
|
|
that are sick shall bear their sickness without complaining as long as
|
|
they see it goes well with Jerusalem. Our sense of private grievances
|
|
should be drowned in our thanksgivings for public mercies.
|
|
|
|
(2.) <I>The people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their
|
|
iniquity,</I> not only the body of the nation forgiven their national
|
|
guilt in the removing of the national judgment, but particular persons,
|
|
that dwell therein, shall repent, and reform, and have their sins
|
|
pardoned. And this is promised as that which is at the bottom of all
|
|
other favours; he will do so and so for them, <I>for he will be
|
|
merciful to their unrighteousness,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+8:12">Heb. viii. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Sin is the sickness of the soul. When God pardons the sin he heals the
|
|
disease; and, when the diseases of sin are healed by pardoning mercy,
|
|
the sting of bodily sickness is taken out and the cause of it removed;
|
|
so that either the inhabitant shall not be sick or at least shall not
|
|
say, <I>I am sick.</I> If iniquity be taken away, we have little reason
|
|
to complain of outward affliction. <I>Son, be of good cheer; thy sins
|
|
are forgiven thee.</I></P>
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