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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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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. LVIII.</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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The prophet, in this chapter, has his commission and charge renewed to
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reprove the sinners in Zion, particularly the hypocrites, to show them
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their transgressions,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:1">ver. 1</A>.
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It is intended for admonition and warning to all hypocrites, and is not
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to be confined to those of any one age. Some refer it primarily to
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those at that time when Isaiah prophesied; see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:14,Isa+29:13">chap. xxxiii. 14; xxix. 13</A>.
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Others to the captives in Babylon, the wicked among them, to whom the
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prophet had declared there was no peace
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+57:21">ch. lvii. 21</A>.
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Against the terror of that word they thought to shelter themselves with
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their external performances, particularly their fastings, which they
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kept up in Babylon, and for some time after their return to their own
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land,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+7:3">Zech. vii. 3</A>,
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&c. The prophet therefore here shows them that their devotions would
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not entitle them to peace while their conversations were not at all of
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a piece with them. Others think it is principally intended against the
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hypocrisy of the Jews, especially the Pharisees before and in our
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Saviour's time: they boasted of their fastings, but Christ (as the
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prophet here) showed them their transgressions
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:1-39">Matt. xxiii.</A>),
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much the same with those they are here charged with. Observe,
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I. The plausible profession of religion which they made,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:2">ver. 2</A>.
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II. The boasts they made of that profession, and the blame they laid
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upon God for taking no more notice of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:3">ver. 3</A>.
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III. The sins they are charged with, which spoiled the acceptableness
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of their fasts,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:4,5">ver. 4, 5</A>.
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IV. Instructions given them how to keep fasts aright,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:6,7">ver. 6, 7</A>.
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V. Precious promises made to those who do so keep fasts,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:8-12">ver. 8-12</A>.
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VI. The like precious promises made to those that sanctify sabbaths
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aright,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:13,14">ver. 13, 14</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa58_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa58_2"> </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>A Charge against the People.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</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 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and
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show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their
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sins.
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2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a
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nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of
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their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take
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delight in approaching to God.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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When our Lord Jesus promised to send the Comforter he added, <I>When he
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shall come he shall convince</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+16:7,8">John xvi. 7, 8</A>);
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for conviction must prepare for comfort, and must also separate between
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the precious and the vile, and mark out those to whom comfort does not
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belong. God had appointed this prophet to comfort his people
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+40:1"><I>ch.</I> xl. 1</A>);
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here he appoints him to convince them, and show them their sins.</P>
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<P>
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I. He must tell them how very bad they really were,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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1. He must deal faithfully and plainly with them. "Though they are
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called <I>the people of God</I> and <I>the house of Jacob,</I> though
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they wear an honourable title and character, by which they are
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interested in many glorious privileges, yet do not flatter them, but
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show them their transgressions and their sins, be particular in telling
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them their faults, what sins are committed among them, which they do
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not know of, nay, what sins are committed by them which they do not
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acknowledge to be sins; though in some things they are reformed, let
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them know that in other things they are still as bad as ever. Show them
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their transgressions and their sins, that is, all their transgressions
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in their sins, their sins and all the aggravations of them,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+16:21">Lev. xvi. 21</A>.
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Note,
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(1.) God sees sin in his people, in the house of Jacob, and is
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displeased with it.
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(2.) They are often unapt and unwilling to see their own sins, and need
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to have them shown them, and to be told, <I>Thus and thus thou hast
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done.</I>
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2. He must be vehement and in good earnest herein, must <I>cry aloud,
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and not spare,</I> not spare them (not touch them with his reproofs as
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if he were afraid of hurting them, but search the wound to the bottom,
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lay it bare to the bone), not spare himself or his own pains, but cry
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as loud as he can; though he spend his strength and waste his spirits,
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though he get their ill-will by it and get himself into an ill name,
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yet he must not spare. He must lift up his voice like a trumpet, to
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make those hear of their faults that were apt to be deaf when
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admonition was addressed to them. He must give his reproofs in the most
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powerful and pressing manner possible, as one who desired to be heeded.
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The trumpet does not give an uncertain sound, but, though loud and
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shrill, is intelligible; so must his alarms be, giving them warning of
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the fatal consequences of sin,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+33:3">Ezek. xxxiii. 3</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. He must acknowledge how very good they seemed to be,
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notwithstanding
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>Yet they seek me daily.</I> When the prophet went about to show them
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their transgressions they pleaded that they could see no transgressions
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which they were guilty of; for they were diligent and constant in
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attending on God's worship--and what more would he have of them?
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Now,</P>
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<P>
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1. He owns the matter of fact to be true. As far as hypocrites do that
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which is good, they shall not be denied the praise of it; let them make
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their best of it. It is owned that they have a form of godliness.
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(1.) They go to church, and observe their hours of prayer: <I>They seek
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me daily;</I> they are very constant in their devotions and never omit
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them nor suffer any thing to put them by.
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(2.) They love to hear good preaching; <I>They delight to know my
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ways,</I> as Herod, who heard John gladly, and the stony ground, that
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received the seed of the word with joy; it is to them <I>as a lovely
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song,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+33:32">Ezek. xxxiii. 32</A>.
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(3.) They seem to take great pleasure in the exercises of religion and
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to be in their element when they are at their devotions: <I>They
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delight in approaching to God,</I> not for his sake to whom they
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approach, but for the sake of some pleasing circumstance, the company,
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or the festival.
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(4.) They are inquisitive concerning their duty and seem desirous only
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to know it, making no question but that then they should do it: <I>They
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ask of me the ordinances of justice,</I> the rules of piety in the
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worship of God, the rules of equity in their dealings with men, both
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which are ordinances of justice.
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(5.) They appear to the eye of the world as if they made conscience of
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doing their duty: <I>They are as a nation that did righteousness and
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forsook not the ordinances of their God;</I> others took them for such,
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and they themselves pretended to be such. Nothing lay open to view that
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was a contradiction to their profession, but they seemed to be such as
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they should be. Note, Men may go a great way towards heaven and yet
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come short; nay, may go to hell with a good reputation. But,</P>
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<P>
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2. He intimates that this was so far from being a cover or excuse for
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their sin that really it was an aggravation of it: "Show them their
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sins which they go on in notwithstanding their knowledge of good and
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evil, sin and duty, and the convictions of their consciences concerning
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them."</P>
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<A NAME="Isa58_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa58_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa58_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa58_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa58_7"> </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>A Charge against the People.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</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>3 Wherefore have we fasted, <I>say they,</I> and thou seest not?
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<I>wherefore</I> have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no
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knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and
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exact all your labours.
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4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the
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fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as <I>ye do this</I> day, to
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make your voice to be heard on high.
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5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to
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afflict his soul? <I>is it</I> to bow down his head as a bulrush, and
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to spread sackcloth and ashes <I>under him?</I> wilt thou call this a
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fast, and an acceptable day to the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>?
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6 <I>Is</I> not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands
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of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the
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oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
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7 <I>Is it</I> not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou
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bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest
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the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself
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from thine own flesh?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here we have,
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I. The displeasure which these hypocrites conceived against God for not
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accepting the services which they themselves had a mighty opinion of
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not?</I> Thus
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they went in the way of Cain, who was angry at God, and resented it as
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a gross affront that his offering was not accepted. Having gone about
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to put a cheat upon God by their external services, here they go about
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to pick a quarrel with God for not being pleased with their services,
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as if he had not done fairly or justly by them. Observe,
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1. How they boast of themselves, and magnify their own performances:
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"<I>We have fasted, and afflicted our souls;</I> we have not only
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sought God daily
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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but have kept some certain times of more solemn devotion." Some think
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this refers to the yearly fast (which was called <I>the day of
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atonement</I>), others to their arbitrary occasional fasts. Note, It is
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common for unhumbled hearts to be proud of their professions of
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humiliation, as the Pharisee
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+18:12">Luke xviii. 12</A>),
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<I>I fast twice in the week.</I>
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2. What they expected from their performances. They thought God should
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take great notice of them, and own himself a debtor to them for their
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services. Note, It is a common thing for hypocrites, while they perform
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the external services of religion, to promise themselves that
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acceptance with God which he has promised only to the sincere; as if
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they must be accepted of course, or for a compliment.
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3. How heinously they take it that God had not put some particular
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marks of his favour upon them, that he had not immediately delivered
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them out of their troubles and advanced them to honour and prosperity.
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They charge God with injustice and partiality, and seem resolved to
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throw up their religion, and justify themselves in doing so with this,
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that they had found no <I>profit in praying</I> to God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+21:14,15,Mal+3:14">Job xxi. 14, 15; Mal. iii. 14</A>.
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Note, Reigning hypocrisy often breaks out in daring impiety and an open
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contempt and reproach of God and religion for that which the hypocrisy
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itself must bear all the blame of. Sinners reflect upon religion as a
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hard and melancholy service, and on which there is nothing to be got
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by, when really it is owing to themselves that it seems so to them,
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because they are not sincere in it.</P>
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<P>
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II. The true reason assigned why God did not accept their fastings, nor
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answer the prayers they made on their fast-days; it was because they
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did not fast aright--<I>to God, even to him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+7:5">Zech. vii. 5</A>.
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They fasted indeed, but they persisted in their sins, and did not, as
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the Ninevites, turn every one from his evil way; but <I>in the day of
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their fast,</I> notwithstanding the professed humiliations and
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covenants of that day, they went on to <I>find pleasure,</I> that is,
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to do whatsoever seemed right in their own eyes, lawful or unlawful,
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<I>quicquid libet, licet--making their inclinations their law;</I>
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though they seemed to afflict their souls, they still gratified their
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lusts as much as ever.
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1. They were as covetous and unmerciful as ever: "<I>You exact all your
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labours</I> from your servants, and will neither release them according
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to the law nor relax the rigour of their servitude." This was their
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fault before the captivity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+34:8,9">Jer. xxxiv. 8, 9</A>.
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It was no less their fault after their captivity, notwithstanding all
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their solemn fasts,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+5:5">Neh. v. 5</A>.
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"<I>You exact all your dues,</I> your <I>debts</I>" (so some read it);
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"you are as rigorous and severe in extorting what you demand from those
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that are poor as ever you were, though it was at the close of the
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yearly fast that the release was proclaimed."
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2. They were contentious and spiteful
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>Behold, you fast for strife and debate.</I> When they proclaimed a
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fast to deprecate God's judgments, they pretended to search for those
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sins which provoked God to threaten them with his judgments, and under
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that pretence perhaps particular persons were falsely accused, as
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Naboth in the day of Jezebel's fast,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+21:12">1 Kings xxi. 12</A>.
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Or the contending parties among them upon those occasions were bitter
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and severe in their reflections one upon another, one side crying out,
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"It is owing to you," and the other, "It is owing to you, that our
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deliverance is not wrought." Thus, instead of judging themselves, which
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is the proper work of a fast-day, they condemned one another. They
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<I>fasted for strife,</I> with emulation which should make the most
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plausible appearance on a fast-day and humour the matter best. Nor was
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it only tongue-quarrels that were fomented in the times of their
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fasting, but they came to blows too: <I>You smite with the fist of
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wickedness.</I> The cruel task-masters beat their servants, and the
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creditors their insolvent debtors, whom they delivered to the
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tormentors; they abused poor innocents <I>with wicked hands.</I> Now
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while they thus <I>continued in sin,</I> in those very sins which were
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directly contrary to the intention of a fasting day,
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(1.) God would not allow them the use of such solemnities: "<I>You
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shall not fast</I> at all if you fast <I>as you do this day, causing
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your voice to be heard on high,</I> in the heat of your clamours one
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against another, or in your devotions, which you perform so as to make
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them to be taken notice of for ostentation. <I>Bring me no more</I> of
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these empty, noisy, <I>vain oblations,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:13"><I>ch.</I> i. 13</A>.
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Note, Those are justly forbidden the honour of a profession of religion
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that will not submit to the power of it.
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|
|
(2.) He would not accept of them in the use of them: "<I>You shall not
|
|
fast,</I> that is, it shall not be looked upon as a fast, nor shall the
|
|
voice of your prayers on those days be heard on high in heaven." Note,
|
|
Those that fast and pray, and yet go on in their wicked ways, do but
|
|
mock God and deceive themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Plain instructions given concerning the true nature of a religious
|
|
fast.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. In general, a fast is intended,
|
|
|
|
(1.) For the honouring and pleasing of God. It must be such a
|
|
performance as he has chosen
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>);
|
|
|
|
it must be <I>an acceptable day to the Lord,</I> in the duties of which
|
|
we must study to approve ourselves to him and obtain his favour, else
|
|
it is not a fast, else there is nothing done to any purpose.
|
|
|
|
(2.) For the humbling and abasing of ourselves. A fast is <I>a day to
|
|
afflict the soul;</I> if it do not express a genuine sorrow for sin,
|
|
and do not promote a real mortification of sin, it is not a fast; the
|
|
law of the day of atonement was that on that day they should <I>afflict
|
|
their souls,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+16:29">Lev. xvi. 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
That must be done on a fast-day which is a real affliction to the soul,
|
|
as far as it is yet unregenerate and unsanctified, though a real
|
|
pleasure and advantage to the soul as far as it is itself.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. It concerns us therefore to enquire, on a fast-day, what it is that
|
|
will be acceptable to God, and afflictive to our corrupt nature, and
|
|
tending to its mortification.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) We are here told negatively what is not the fast that God has
|
|
chosen, and which does not amount to the afflicting of the soul.
|
|
|
|
[1.] It is not enough to look demure, to put on a grave and melancholy
|
|
aspect, to bow down the head like a bulrush that is withered and
|
|
broken: as the hypocrites, that were <I>of a sad countenance, and
|
|
disfigured their faces, that they might appear unto men to fast,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+6:16">Matt. vi. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
Hanging down the head did indeed well enough become the publican, whose
|
|
heart was truly humbled and broken for sin, and who therefore, in token
|
|
of that, <I>would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+18:13">Luke xviii. 13</A>);
|
|
|
|
but when it was only mimicked, as here, it was justly ridiculed: it is
|
|
but <I>hanging down the head like a bulrush,</I> which nobody regards
|
|
or takes any notice of. As the hypocrite's humiliations are but like
|
|
the hanging down of a bulrush, so his elevations in his hopes are but
|
|
like the <I>flourishing of a bulrush</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+8:11,12">Job viii. 11, 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
which, <I>while it is yet in its greenness, withers before any other
|
|
herb.</I>
|
|
|
|
[2.] It is not enough to do penance, to mortify the body a little,
|
|
while the body of sin is untouched. It is not enough for a man <I>to
|
|
spread sackcloth and ashes under him,</I> which may indeed give him
|
|
some uneasiness for the present, but will soon be forgotten when he
|
|
returns to <I>stretch himself upon his beds of ivory,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+6:4">Amos vi. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Wilt thou call this a fast?</I> No, it is but the shadow and carcase
|
|
of a fast. <I>Wilt thou call this an acceptable day to the Lord?</I>
|
|
No, it is so far from being so that the hypocrisy of it is an
|
|
abomination to him. Note, The shows of religion, though they show ever
|
|
so fair in the eye of the world, will not be accepted of God without
|
|
the substance of it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) We are here told positively what is the fast that God has chosen,
|
|
what that is which will recommend a fast-day to the divine acceptance,
|
|
and what is indeed afflicting the soul, that is, crushing and subduing
|
|
the corrupt nature. It <I>is not afflicting the soul for a day</I> (as
|
|
some read it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>)
|
|
|
|
that will serve; no, it must be the business of our whole lives. It is
|
|
here required,
|
|
|
|
[1.] That we be just to those with whom we have dealt hardly. The fast
|
|
that God has chosen consists in reforming our lives and undoing what we
|
|
have done amiss
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>To loose the bands of wickedness,</I> the bands which we have
|
|
wickedly tied, and by which others are bound out from their right or
|
|
bound down under severe usage. Those which perhaps were at first bands
|
|
of justice, tying men to pay a due debt, become, when the debt is
|
|
exacted with rigour from those whom Providence has reduced and emptied,
|
|
<I>bands of wickedness,</I> and they must be loosed, or they will bring
|
|
us into bonds of guilt much more terrible. It is <I>to undo the heavy
|
|
burden</I> laid on the back of the poor servant, under which he is
|
|
ready to sink. It is <I>to let the oppressed go free</I> from the
|
|
oppression which makes his life bitter to him. "Let the prisoner for
|
|
debt that has nothing to pay be discharged, let the vexatious action be
|
|
quashed, let the servant that is forcibly detained beyond the time of
|
|
his servitude be released, and thus <I>break every yoke;</I> not only
|
|
let go those that are wrongfully kept under the yoke, but break the
|
|
yoke of slavery itself, that it may not serve again another time nor
|
|
any by made again to serve under it."
|
|
|
|
[2.] That we be charitable to those that stand in need of charity,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
The particulars in the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:6">former verse</A>
|
|
|
|
<I>may</I> be taken as acts of charity, that we not only release those
|
|
whom we have unjustly oppressed--that is justice, but that we
|
|
contribute to the rescue and ransom of those that are oppressed by
|
|
others, to the release of captives and the payment of the debts of the
|
|
poor; but those in this verse are <I>plainly</I> acts of charity. This
|
|
then is the fast that God has chosen. <I>First,</I> To provide food for
|
|
those that want it. This is put first, as the most necessary, and which
|
|
the poor can but a little while live without. It is <I>to break thy
|
|
bread to the hungry.</I> Observe, "It must be <I>thy</I> bread, that
|
|
which is honestly got (not that which thou hast robbed others of), the
|
|
bread which thou thyself hast occasion for, the bread of thy
|
|
allowance." We must deny ourselves, that we may have to give to him
|
|
that needeth. "Thy bread which thou hast spared from thyself and thy
|
|
family, on the fast-day, if that, or the value of it, be not given to
|
|
the poor, it is the miser's fast, which he makes a hand of; it is
|
|
fasting for the world, not for God. This is the true fast, to break thy
|
|
bread to the hungry, not only to give them that which is already broken
|
|
meat, but to break bread on purpose for them, to give them loaves and
|
|
not to put them off with scraps." <I>Secondly,</I> To provide lodging
|
|
for those that want it: It is <I>to take care of the poor that are cast
|
|
out,</I> that are forced from their dwelling, turned out of house and
|
|
harbour, <I>are cast out as rebels</I> (so some critics render it),
|
|
that are attainted, and whom therefore it is highly penal to protect.
|
|
"If they suffer unjustly, make no difficulty of sheltering them; do not
|
|
only find out quarters for them and pay for their lodging elsewhere,
|
|
but, which is a greater act of kindness, bring them to thy own house,
|
|
make them thy own guests. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for
|
|
though thou mayest not, as some have done, thereby entertain angels,
|
|
thou mayest entertain Christ himself, who will recompense it in the
|
|
resurrection of the just. <I>I was a stranger and you took me in."
|
|
Thirdly,</I> To provide clothing for those that want it: "<I>When thou
|
|
seest the naked, that thou cover him,</I> both to shelter him from the
|
|
injuries of the weather and to enable him to appear decently among his
|
|
neighbours; give him clothes to come to church in, and in these and
|
|
other instances <I>hide not thyself from thy own flesh.</I>" Some
|
|
understand it more strictly of a man's own kindred and relations: "If
|
|
those of thy own house and family fall into decay, thou art <I>worse
|
|
than an infidel</I> if thou dost not <I>provide</I> for them."
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+5:8">1 Tim. v. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
Others understand it more generally; all that partake of the human
|
|
nature are to be looked upon as our own flesh, for have we not all one
|
|
Father? And for this reason we must not hide ourselves from them, not
|
|
contrive to be out of the way when a poor petitioner enquires for us,
|
|
not look another way when a moving object of charity and compassion
|
|
presents itself; let us remember that they are flesh of our flesh and
|
|
therefore we ought to sympathize with them, and in doing good to them
|
|
we really do good to our own flesh and spirit too in the issue; for
|
|
thus <I>we lay up for ourselves a good foundation,</I> a good bond,
|
|
<I>for the time to come.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa58_8"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa58_9"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa58_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa58_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa58_12"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>A Charge against the People; Encouragement to Israelites Indeed.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine
|
|
health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall
|
|
go before thee; the glory of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall be thy rereward.
|
|
9 Then shalt thou call, and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall answer; thou shalt
|
|
cry, and he shall say, Here I <I>am.</I> If thou take away from the
|
|
midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and
|
|
speaking vanity;
|
|
10 And <I>if</I> thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy
|
|
the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and
|
|
thy darkness <I>be</I> as the noonday:
|
|
11 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy
|
|
soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a
|
|
watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail
|
|
not.
|
|
12 And <I>they that shall be</I> of thee shall build the old waste
|
|
places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations;
|
|
and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The
|
|
restorer of paths to dwell in.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here are precious promises for those to feast freely and cheerfully
|
|
upon by faith who keep the fast that God has chosen; let them know that
|
|
God will make it up to them. Here is,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. A further account of the duty to be done in order to our interest in
|
|
these promises
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>);
|
|
|
|
and here, as before, it is required that we both do justly and love
|
|
mercy, that we cease to do evil and learn to do well.
|
|
|
|
1. We must abstain from all acts of violence and fraud. "Those must be
|
|
<I>taken away from the midst of thee,</I> from the midst of <I>thy
|
|
person,</I> out of <I>thy heart</I>" (so some); "thou must not only
|
|
refrain from the practice of injury, but mortify in thee all
|
|
inclination and disposition towards it." Or <I>from the midst of thy
|
|
people.</I> Those in authority must not only not be oppressive
|
|
themselves, but must do all they can to prevent and restrain oppression
|
|
in all within their jurisdiction. They must not only <I>break the
|
|
yoke</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
but take away the yoke, that those who have been oppressed may never be
|
|
re-enslaved (as they were
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+34:10,11">Jer. xxxiv. 10, 11</A>);
|
|
|
|
they must likewise <I>forbear threatening</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+6:9">Eph. vi. 9</A>)
|
|
|
|
and take away the <I>putting forth of the finger,</I> which seems to
|
|
have been then, as sometimes with us, a sign of displeasure and the
|
|
indication of a purpose to correct. Let not the finger be put forth to
|
|
point at those that are poor and in misery, and so to expose them to
|
|
contempt; such expressions of contumely as are provoking, and the
|
|
products of ill-nature, ought to be banished from all societies. And
|
|
let them not <I>speak vanity,</I> flattery or fraud, to one another,
|
|
but let all conversation be governed by sincerity. Perhaps that
|
|
dissimulation which is the bane of friendship is meant by the putting
|
|
forth of the finger (as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+6:13">Prov. vi. 13</A>
|
|
|
|
by <I>teaching with the finger</I>), or it is putting forth the finger
|
|
with the ring on it, which was the badge of authority, and which
|
|
therefore they produced when they spoke iniquity, that is, gave
|
|
unrighteous sentences.
|
|
|
|
2. We must abound in all acts of charity and beneficence. We must not
|
|
only give alms according as the necessities of the poor require, but,
|
|
|
|
(1.) We must give freely and cheerfully, and from a principle of
|
|
charity. We must <I>draw out our soul to the hungry</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
not only draw out the money and reach forth the hand, but do this from
|
|
the heart, heartily, and without grudging, from a principle of
|
|
compassion and with a tender affection to such as we see to be in
|
|
misery. Let the heart go along with the gift; for God loves a cheerful
|
|
giver, and so does a poor man too. When our Lord Jesus healed and fed
|
|
the multitude it was as having compassion on them.
|
|
|
|
(2.) We must give plentifully and largely, so as not to tantalize, but
|
|
to <I>satisfy, the afflicted soul:</I> "Do not only feed the hungry,
|
|
but gratify the desire of the afflicted, and, if it lies in your power,
|
|
make them easy." What are we born for, and what have we our abilities
|
|
of body, mind, and estate for, but to do all the good we can in this
|
|
world with them? And the poor we have always with us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Here is a full account of the blessings and benefits which attend
|
|
the performance of this duty. If a person, a family, a people, be thus
|
|
disposed to every thing that is good, let them know for their comfort
|
|
that they shall find God their bountiful rewarder and what they lay out
|
|
in works of charity shall be abundantly made up to them.
|
|
|
|
1. God will surprise them with the return of mercy after great
|
|
affliction, which shall be as welcome as the light of the morning after
|
|
a long and dark night
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>"Then shall thy light break forth as the morning</I> and
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>)
|
|
|
|
<I>thy light shall rise in obscurity.</I> Though thou hast been long
|
|
buried alive thou shalt recover thy eminency; though long overwhelmed
|
|
with grief, thou shalt again look pleasant as the dawning day." Those
|
|
that are cheerful in doing good God will make cheerful in enjoying
|
|
good; and this also is a special <I>gift of God,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+2:24">Eccl. ii. 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that have shown mercy shall find mercy. Job, who in his
|
|
prosperity had done a great deal of good, had friends raised up for him
|
|
by the Lord when he was reduced, who helped him with their substance,
|
|
so that his light rose in obscurity. "Not only thy light, which is
|
|
sweet, but thy health too, or the healing of the wounds thou hast long
|
|
complained of, shall spring forth speedily; all thy grievances shall be
|
|
redressed, and thou shalt renew thy youth and recover thy vigour."
|
|
Those that have helped others out of trouble will obtain help of God
|
|
when it is their turn.
|
|
|
|
2. God will put honour upon them. Good works shall be recompensed with
|
|
a good name; this is included in that <I>light which rises out of
|
|
obscurity.</I> Though a man's extraction be mean, his family obscure,
|
|
and he has no external advantages to gain him honour, yet, if he do
|
|
good in his place, that will procure him respect and veneration, and
|
|
his darkness shall by this means become <I>as the noon-day,</I> that
|
|
is, he shall become very eminent and shine brightly in his generation.
|
|
See here what is the surest way for a man to make himself illustrious;
|
|
let him study to do good. He that would be the greatest of all, and
|
|
best-loved, let him by humility and industry make himself a servant of
|
|
all. "<I>Thy righteousness shall answer for thee</I> (as Jacob says,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+30:33">Gen. xxx. 33</A>),
|
|
|
|
that is, it shall silence reproaches, nay, it shall bespeak thee more
|
|
praises than thy humility can be pleased with." He that has <I>given to
|
|
the poor, his righteousness</I> (that is, the honour of it) <I>endures
|
|
for ever,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+112:9">Ps. cxii. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. They shall always be safe under the divine protection: "<I>Thy
|
|
righteousness shall go before</I> thee as thy vanguard, to secure thee
|
|
from enemies that charge thee in the front, and <I>the glory of the
|
|
Lord shall be thy rearward,</I> the gathering host, to bring up those
|
|
of thee that are weary and are left behind, and to secure thee from the
|
|
enemies, that, like Amalek, fall upon thy rear." Observe, How good
|
|
people are safe on all sides. Let them look which way they will, behind
|
|
them or before them; let them look backward or forward; they see
|
|
themselves safe, and find themselves easy and quiet from the fear of
|
|
evil. And observe what it is that is their defence; it is their
|
|
righteousness, and the glory of the Lord, that is, as some suppose,
|
|
Christ; for it is by him that we are justified, and God is glorified.
|
|
He it is that goes before us, and is the captain of our salvation, as
|
|
he is the Lord our righteousness; he it is that is our rearward, on
|
|
whom alone we can depend for safety when our sins pursue us and are
|
|
ready to take hold on us. Or, "God himself in his providence and grace
|
|
shall both go before thee as thy guide to conduct thee, and attend thee
|
|
as thy rearward to protect thee, and this shall be the reward of thy
|
|
righteousness and so shall be for the glory of the Lord as the rewarder
|
|
of it."
|
|
|
|
4. God will be always nigh unto them, to hear their prayers,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
As, on the one hand, he that shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
|
|
shall himself cry and God will not hear him; so, on the other hand, he
|
|
that is liberal to the poor, his prayers shall come up with his alms
|
|
for a memorial before God, as Cornelius's did
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+10:4">Acts x. 4</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Then shalt thou call,</I> on thy fast-days, which ought to be days
|
|
of prayer, <I>and the Lord shall answer,</I> shall give thee the things
|
|
thou callest to him for; <I>thou shalt cry</I> when thou art in any
|
|
distress or sudden fright, <I>and he shall say, Here I am.</I>" This is
|
|
a very condescending expression of God's readiness to hear prayer. When
|
|
God calls to us by his word it becomes us to say, <I>Here we are; what
|
|
saith our Lord unto his servants?</I> But that God should say to us,
|
|
<I>Behold me, here I am,</I> is strange. When we cry to him, as if he
|
|
were at a distance, he will let us know that he is near, even at our
|
|
right hand, nearer than we thought he was. <I>It is I, be not
|
|
afraid.</I> When danger is near our protector is nearer, <I>a very
|
|
present help.</I> "Here I am, ready to give you what you want, and do
|
|
for you what you desire; what have you to say to me?" God is attentive
|
|
to the prayers of the upright,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+130:2">Ps. cxxx. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
No sooner do they call to him than he answers, <I>Ready, ready.</I>
|
|
Wherever they are praying, God says, "Here I am hearing; I am <I>in the
|
|
midst of you.</I>" He is <I>nigh unto them in all things,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+4:7">Deut. iv. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
6. God will direct them in all difficult and doubtful cases
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The Lord shall guide thee continually.</I> While we are here, in the
|
|
wilderness of this world, we have need of continual direction from
|
|
heaven; for, if at any time we be left to ourselves, we shall certainly
|
|
miss our way; and therefore it is to those who are good in God's sight
|
|
that he gives the wisdom which in all cases is profitable to direct,
|
|
and he will be to them <I>instead of eyes,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+2:26">Eccl. ii. 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
His providence will make their way plain to them, both what is their
|
|
duty and what will be most for their comfort.
|
|
|
|
6. God will give them abundance of satisfaction in their own minds. As
|
|
the world is a wilderness in respect of wanderings, so that they need
|
|
to be guided continually, so also is it in respect of wants, which
|
|
makes it necessary that they should have continual supplies, as Israel
|
|
in the wilderness had not only the pillar of cloud to guide them
|
|
continually, but manna and water out of the rock to satisfy their souls
|
|
in drought, <I>in a dry and thirsty land where no water is,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+63:1">Ps. lxiii. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
To a good man God gives not only wisdom and knowledge, but joy; he is
|
|
satisfied in himself with the testimony of his conscience and the
|
|
assurances of God's favour. "These will <I>satisfy thy soul,</I> will
|
|
put gladness into thy heart, even <I>in the drought</I> of affliction;
|
|
<I>these will make fat thy bones,</I> and fill them with marrow, will
|
|
give thee that pleasure which will be a support to thee as the bones to
|
|
the body, that joy of the Lord which will be thy strength. <I>He shall
|
|
give thy bones rest</I>" (so some read it), "rest from the pain and
|
|
sickness which they have laboured under and been chastened with;" so it
|
|
agrees with that promise made to the merciful. The Lord will <I>make
|
|
all his bed in his sickness,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+41:3">Ps. xli. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
"<I>Thou shalt be like a watered garden,</I> so flourishing and
|
|
fruitful in graces and comforts, <I>and like a spring of water,</I>
|
|
like a garden that has a spring of water in it, <I>whose waters fail
|
|
not</I> either in droughts or in frosts." The principle of holy love in
|
|
those that are good shall be a <I>well of living water,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+4:14">John iv. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
As a spring of water, though it is continually sending forth its
|
|
streams, is yet always full, so the charitable man abounds in good as
|
|
he abounds in doing good and is never the poorer for his liberality. He
|
|
that waters shall himself be watered.
|
|
|
|
7. They and their families shall be public blessings. It is a good
|
|
reward to those that are fruitful and useful to be rendered more so,
|
|
and especially to have those who descend from them to be so too. This
|
|
is here promised
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Those that now are of thee, thy princes, and nobles, and great men,
|
|
shall have such authority and influence as they never had;" or,
|
|
"<I>Those that</I> hereafter <I>shall be of thee,</I> thy posterity,
|
|
shall be serviceable to their generation, as thou art to thine." It
|
|
completes the satisfaction of a good man, as to this world, to think
|
|
that those that come after him shall be doing good when he is gone.
|
|
|
|
1. They shall re-edify cities that have been long in ruins, <I>shall
|
|
build the old waste places,</I> which had lain so long desolate that
|
|
the rebuilding of them was quite despaired of. This was fulfilled when
|
|
the captives, after their return, repaired the cities of Judah, and
|
|
dwelt in them, and many of those in Israel too, which had lain waste
|
|
ever since the carrying away of the ten tribes.
|
|
|
|
2. They shall carry on and finish that good work which was begun long
|
|
before, and shall be helped over the obstructions which had retarded
|
|
the progress of it: <I>They shall raise up</I> to the top that building
|
|
<I>the foundation of</I> which was laid long since and has been for
|
|
<I>many generations</I> in the rearing. This was fulfilled when the
|
|
building of the temple was revived after it had stood still for many
|
|
years,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ezr+5:2">Ezra v. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or, "They shall raise up foundations which shall continue for many
|
|
generations yet to come;" they shall do that good which shall be of
|
|
lasting consequence.
|
|
|
|
3. They shall have the blessing and praise of all about them: "<I>Thou
|
|
shalt be called</I> (and it shall be to thy honour) <I>the repairer of
|
|
the breach,</I> the breach made by the enemy in the wall of a besieged
|
|
city, which whoso has the courage and dexterity to make up, or make
|
|
good, gains great applause." Happy are those who make up the breach at
|
|
which virtue is running out and judgments are breaking in. "Thou shalt
|
|
be <I>the restorer of paths,</I> safe and quiet paths, not only to
|
|
travel in, but <I>to dwell in,</I> so safe and quiet that people shall
|
|
make no difficulty of building their houses by the road-side." The sum
|
|
is that, if they keep such fasts as God has chosen, he will settle them
|
|
again in their former peace and prosperity, and there shall be none to
|
|
make them afraid. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+7:5,9,8:3-5">Zech. vii. 5, 9; viii. 3-5</A>.
|
|
|
|
It teaches us that those who do justly and love mercy shall have the
|
|
comfort thereof in this world.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa58_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa58_14"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Sanctification of the Sabbath.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, <I>from</I> doing
|
|
thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the
|
|
holy of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing
|
|
thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking
|
|
<I>thine own</I> words:
|
|
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; and I will
|
|
cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed
|
|
thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath spoken <I>it.</I>
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Great stress was always laid upon the due observance of the sabbath
|
|
day, and it was particularly required from the Jews when they were
|
|
captives in Babylon, because by keeping that day, in honour of the
|
|
Creator, they distinguished themselves from the worshippers of the gods
|
|
that have not made the heavens and the earth. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+56:1,2"><I>ch.</I> lvi. 1, 2</A>,
|
|
|
|
where keeping the sabbath is joined, as here, with <I>keeping
|
|
judgment</I> and <I>doing justice.</I> Some, indeed, understand this of
|
|
the day of atonement, which they think is the fast spoken of in the
|
|
former part of the chapter, and which is called a <I>sabbath of
|
|
rest,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+23:32">Lev. xxiii. 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
But, as the fasts before spoken of seem to be those that were
|
|
occasional, so this sabbath is doubtless the weekly sabbath, that great
|
|
sign between God and his professing people--his appointing it a sign of
|
|
his favour to them and their observing it a sign of their obedience to
|
|
him. Now observe here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. How the sabbath is to be sanctified
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>);
|
|
|
|
and, there remaining still a sabbatism for the people of God, this law
|
|
of the sabbath is still binding to us on our Lord's day.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. Nothing must be done that puts contempt upon the sabbath day, or
|
|
looks like having mean thoughts of it, when God has so highly dignified
|
|
it. We must <I>turn away our foot from the sabbath,</I> from trampling
|
|
upon it, as profane atheistical people do, from travelling on that day
|
|
(so some); we must turn away our foot <I>from doing out pleasure on
|
|
that holy day,</I> that is, from living at large, and taking a liberty
|
|
to do what we please on sabbath days, without the control and restraint
|
|
of conscience, or from indulging ourselves in the pleasures of sense,
|
|
in which the modern Jews wickedly place the sanctification of the
|
|
sabbath, though it is as great a profanation of it as any thing. On
|
|
sabbath days we must not walk in <I>our own ways</I> (that is, not
|
|
follow our callings), not <I>find our own pleasure</I> (that is, not
|
|
follow our sports and recreations); nay, we must not <I>speak our own
|
|
words,</I> words that concern either our callings or our pleasures; we
|
|
must not allow ourselves a liberty of speech on that day as on other
|
|
days, for we must then mind God's ways, make religion the business of
|
|
the day; we must choose the things that please him; and speak his
|
|
words, speak of divine things as we sit in the house and walk by the
|
|
way. In all we say and do we must put a difference between this day and
|
|
other days.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Every thing must be done that puts an honour on the day and is
|
|
expressive of our high thoughts of it. We must call it <I>a
|
|
delight,</I> not a <I>task and a burden;</I> we must delight ourselves
|
|
in it, in the restraints it lays upon us and the services it obliges us
|
|
to. We must be in our element when we are worshipping God, and in
|
|
communion with him. <I>How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of
|
|
hosts!</I> We must not only count it a delight, but call it so, must
|
|
openly profess the complacency we take in the day and the duties of it.
|
|
We must call it so to God, in thanksgiving for it and earnest desire of
|
|
his grace to enable us to do the work of the day in its day, because we
|
|
delight in it. We must call it so to others, to invite them to come and
|
|
share in the pleasure of it; and we must call it so to ourselves, that
|
|
we may not entertain the least thought of wishing the sabbath gone that
|
|
we may sell corn. We must call it <I>the Lord's holy day, and
|
|
honourable.</I> We must call it <I>holy,</I> separated from common use
|
|
and devoted to God and to his service, must call it <I>the holy of the
|
|
Lord,</I> the day which he has sanctified to himself. Even in
|
|
Old-Testament times the sabbath was called <I>the Lord's day,</I> and
|
|
therefore it is fitly called so still, and for a further reason,
|
|
because it is the <I>Lord Christ's day,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:10">Rev. i. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is holy because it is the Lord's day, and upon both accounts it is
|
|
honourable. It is a beauty of holiness that is upon it; it is ancient,
|
|
and its antiquity is its honour; and we must make it appear that we
|
|
look upon it as honourable by honouring God on that day. We put honour
|
|
upon the day when we give honour to him that instituted it, and to
|
|
whose honour it is dedicated.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. What the reward is of the sabbath--sanctification,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
If we thus <I>remember the sabbath day to keep it holy,</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. We shall have the comfort of it; the work will be its own wages.
|
|
<I>If we call the sabbath a delight, then shall we delight ourselves in
|
|
the Lord;</I> he will more and more manifest himself to us as the
|
|
delightful subject of our thoughts and meditations and the delightful
|
|
object of our best affections. Note, The more pleasure we take in
|
|
serving God the more pleasure we shall find in it. If we go about duty
|
|
with cheerfulness, we shall go from it with satisfaction and shall have
|
|
reason to say, "It is good to be here, good to draw near to God."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. We shall have the honour of it: <I>I will cause thee to ride upon
|
|
the high places of the earth,</I> which denotes not only a great
|
|
security (as that,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+32:16"><I>ch.</I> xxxii. 16</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>He shall dwell on high</I>), but great dignity and advancement.
|
|
"Thou shalt ride in state, shalt appear conspicuous, and the eyes of
|
|
all thy neighbours shall be upon thee." It was said of Israel, when God
|
|
led them triumphantly out of Egypt, that <I>he made them to ride on the
|
|
high places of the earth,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:12,13">Deut. xxxii. 12, 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that honour God and his sabbath he will thus honour. If God by
|
|
his grace enable us to live above the world, and so to manage it as not
|
|
only not to be hindered by it, but to be furthered and carried on by it
|
|
in our journey towards heaven, then he makes us <I>to ride on the high
|
|
places of the earth.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. We shall have the profit of it: I will <I>feed thee with the
|
|
heritage of Jacob thy father,</I> that is, with all the blessings of
|
|
the covenant and all the precious products of Canaan (which was a type
|
|
of heaven), for these were the heritage of Jacob. Observe, The heritage
|
|
of believers is what they shall not only be portioned with hereafter,
|
|
but fed with now, fed with the hopes of it, and not flattered, fed with
|
|
the earnests and foretastes of it; and those that are so fed have
|
|
reason to say that they are well fed. In order that we may depend upon
|
|
it, it is added, "<I>The mouth of the Lord has spoken it;</I> you may
|
|
take God's word for it, for he cannot lie nor deceive; what his mouth
|
|
has spoken his hand will give, his hand will do, and not one iota or
|
|
tittle of his good promise shall fall to the ground." <I>Blessed,
|
|
therefore,</I> thrice blessed, <I>is he that doeth this, and lays hold
|
|
on it, that keeps the sabbath from polluting it.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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