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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. IV.</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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In this chapter we have,
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I. A threatening of the paucity and scarceness of man
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+4:1">ver. 1</A>),
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which might fitly enough have been added to the close of the foregoing
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chapter, to which it has a plain reference.
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II. A promise of the restoration of Jerusalem's peace and purity,
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righteousness and safety, in the days of the Messiah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+4:2-6">ver. 2-6</A>.
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Thus, in wrath, mercy is remembered, and gospel grace is a sovereign
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relief, in reference to the terrors of the law and the desolations made
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by sin.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa4_1"> </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>Humiliation of the Daughters of Zion.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 758.</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 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man,
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saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only
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let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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It was threatened
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+3:25"><I>ch.</I> iii. 25</A>)
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that <I>the mighty men should fall by the sword in war,</I> and it was
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threatened as a punishment to the women that affected gaiety and a
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loose sort of conversation. Now here we have the effect and consequence
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of that great slaughter of men,
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1. That though Providence has so wisely ordered that, <I>communibus
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annis--on an average of years,</I> there is nearly an equal number of
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males and females born into the world, yet, through the devastations
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made by war, there should scarcely be one man in seven left alive. As
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there are deaths attending the bringing forth of children, which are
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peculiar to the woman, who was first in transgression, so, to balance
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that, there are deaths peculiar to men, those by the sword in the high
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places of the field, which perhaps devour more than child-bed does.
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Here it is foretold that such multitudes of men should be cut off that
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there should be <I>seven women to one man.</I>
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2. That by reason of the scarcity of men, though marriage should be
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kept up for the raising of recruits and the preserving of the race of
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mankind upon earth, yet the usual method of it should be quite
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altered,--that, whereas men ordinarily make their court to the women,
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the women should now take hold of the men, foolishly fearing (as Lot's
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daughters did, when they saw the ruin of Sodom and perhaps thought it
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reached further than it did) that in a little time there would be none
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left
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:31">Gen. xix. 31</A>),--
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that whereas women naturally hate to come in sharers with others, seven
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should now, by consent, become the wives of one man,--and that whereas
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by the law the husband was obliged to provide food and raiment for his
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wife
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+21:10">Exod. xxi. 10</A>),
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which with many would be the most powerful argument against multiplying
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wives, these women will be bound to support themselves; they will
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<I>eat bread of their own earning, and wear apparel of their own
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working,</I> and the man they court shall be at no expense upon them,
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only they desire to be called his wives, to <I>take away the
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reproach</I> of a single life. They are willing to be wives upon any
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terms, though ever so unreasonable; and perhaps the rather because in
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these troublesome times it would be a kindness to them to have a
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husband for their protector. Paul, on the contrary, thinks the single
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state preferable in a time of distress,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+7:26">1 Cor. vii. 26</A>.
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It were well if this were not introduced here partly as a reflection
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upon the daughters of Zion, that, notwithstanding the humbling
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providences they were under
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+3:18"><I>ch.</I> iii. 18</A>),
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they remained unhumbled, and, instead of repenting of their pride and
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vanity, when God was contending with them for them, all their care was
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to get husbands--that modesty, which is the greatest beauty of the fair
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sex, was forgotten, and with them the reproach of vice was nothing to
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the reproach of virginity, a sad symptom of the irrecoverable
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desolations of virtue.</P>
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<A NAME="Isa4_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa4_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa4_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa4_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa4_6"> </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>The Future Glory of Zion.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 758.</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>2 In that day shall the branch of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> be beautiful and
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glorious, and the fruit of the earth <I>shall be</I> excellent and
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comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
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3 And it shall come to pass, <I>that he that is</I> left in Zion,
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and <I>he that</I> remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy,
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<I>even</I> every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
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4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the
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daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem
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from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the
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spirit of burning.
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5 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will create upon every dwelling place of mount
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Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the
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shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory <I>shall
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be</I> a defence.
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6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime
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from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from
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storm and from rain.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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By the foregoing threatenings Jerusalem is brought into a very
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deplorable condition: every thing looks melancholy. But here the sun
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breaks out from behind the cloud. Many exceedingly great and precious
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promises we have in these verses, giving assurance of comfort which may
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be discerned through the troubles, and of happy days which shall come
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after them, and these certainly point at the kingdom of the Messiah,
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and the great redemption to be wrought out by him, under the figure and
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type of the restoration of Judah and Jerusalem by the reforming reign
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of Hezekiah after Ahaz and the return out of their captivity in
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Babylon; to both these events the passage may have some reference, but
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chiefly to Christ. It is here promised, as the issue of all these
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troubles,</P>
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<P>
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I. That God will raise up a righteous branch, which shall produce
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fruits of righteousness
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+4:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>In that day,</I> that same day, at that very time, when Jerusalem
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shall be destroyed and the Jewish nation extirpated and dispersed, the
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kingdom of the Messiah shall be set up; and then shall be the reviving
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of the church, when every one shall fear the utter ruin of it.</P>
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<P>
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1. Christ himself shall be exalted. He is the <I>branch of the
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Lord,</I> the man the branch; it is one of prophetical names, <I>my
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servant the branch</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+3:8,6:12">Zech. iii. 8; vi. 12</A>),
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the <I>branch of righteousness</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+23:5,33:15">Jer. xxiii. 5; xxxiii. 15</A>),
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a <I>rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch out of his roots</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:1"><I>ch.</I> xi. 1</A>),
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and this, as some think, is alluded to when he is called a
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<I>Nazarene,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:23">Matt. ii. 23</A>.
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Here he is called <I>the branch of the Lord,</I> because planted by his
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power and flourishing to his praise. The ancient Chaldee paraphrase
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here reads it, <I>The Christ, or Messiah, of the Lord.</I> He shall be
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the beauty, and glory, and joy.
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(1.) He shall himself be advanced to the joy set before him and the
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glory which he had with the Father before the world was. He that was a
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reproach of men, whose visage was marred more than any man's, is now,
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in the upper world, beautiful and glorious, as the sun in his strength,
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admired and adored by angels.
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(2.) He shall be beautiful and glorious in the esteem of all believers,
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shall gain an interest in the world, and a name among men above every
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name. To those that believe he is precious, he is an honour
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+2:7">1 Pet. ii. 7</A>),
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the <I>fairest of ten thousand</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+5:10">Cant. v. 10</A>),
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and altogether glorious. Let us rejoice that he is so, and let him be
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so to us.</P>
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<P>
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2. His gospel shall be embraced. The success of the gospel is the fruit
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of the branch of the Lord; all the graces and comforts of the gospel
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spring from Christ. But it is called <I>the fruit of the earth</I>
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because it sprang up in this world and was calculated for the present
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state. And Christ compares himself to a <I>grain of wheat,</I> that
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<I>falls into the ground and dies, and so brings forth much fruit,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+12:24">John xii. 24</A>.
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The success of the gospel is represented by <I>the earth's yielding her
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increase</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+67:6">Ps. lxvii. 6</A>),
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and the planting of the Christian church is God's <I>sowing it to
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himself in the earth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+2:23">Hos. ii. 23</A>.
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We may understand it of both the persons and the things that are the
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products of the gospel: they shall be excellent and comely, shall
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appear very agreeable and be very acceptable to those that have escaped
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of Israel, to that remnant of the Jews which was saved from perishing
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with the rest in unbelief,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:5">Rom. xi. 5</A>.
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Note, If Christ be precious to us, his gospel will be so and all its
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truths and promises--his church will be so, and all that belong to it.
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These are the good fruit of the earth, in comparison with which all
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other things are but weeds. It will be a good evidence to us that we
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are of the chosen remnant, distinguished from the rest that are called
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<I>Israel,</I> and marked for salvation, if we are brought to see a
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transcendent beauty in Christ, and in holiness, and in the saints, the
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excellent ones of the earth. As a type of this blessed day, Jerusalem,
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after Sennacherib's invasion and after the captivity in Babylon, should
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again flourish as a branch, and be blessed with the fruits of the
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earth. Compare
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+37:31,32"><I>ch.</I> xxxvii. 31, 32</A>.
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<I>The remnant shall again take root downward and bear fruit
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upward.</I> And if by the fruit of the earth here we understand the
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good things of this life, we may observe that these have peculiar
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sweetness in them to the chosen remnant, who, having a covenant--right
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to them, have the most comfortable use of them. If the branch of the
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Lord be beautiful and glorious in our eyes, even the fruit of the earth
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also will be excellent and comely, because then we may take it as the
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fruit of the promise,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:16,1Ti+4:8">Ps. xxxvii. 16; 1 Tim. iv. 8</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. That God will reserve to himself a holy seed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+4:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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When the generality of those that have a place and a name in Zion and
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in Jerusalem shall be cut off as withered branches, by their own
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unbelief, yet some shall be left. Some shall remain, some shall still
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cleave to the church, when its property is altered and it has become
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Christian; for God will not quite <I>cast off his people,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:1">Rom. xi. 1</A>.
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There is here and there one that is left. Now,
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1. This is a remnant <I>according to the election of grace</I> (as the
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apostle speaks,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:5">Rom. xi. 5</A>),
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such as are written among the living, marked in the counsel and
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fore-knowledge of God for life and salvation, <I>written to life</I>
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(so the word is), designed and determined for it unalterably; for
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"<I>what I have written I have written.</I>" Those that are kept alive
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in killing dying times were written for life in the book of divine
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Providence; and shall we not suppose those who are rescued from a
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greater death to be such as were <I>written in the Lamb's book of
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life?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+13:8">Rev. xiii. 8</A>.
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As many as were <I>ordained unto eternal life believed</I> to <I>the
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salvation of the soul,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Act+13:48">Acts xiii. 48</A>.
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Note, All that were <I>written among the living</I> shall be found
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among the living, every one; for of all that were given to Christ he
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will lose none.
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2. It is a remnant <I>under the dominion of grace;</I> for every one
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that is <I>written among the living,</I> and is accordingly left, shall
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be called <I>holy,</I> shall be holy, and shall be accepted of God
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accordingly. Those only that are holy shall be left when the <I>Son of
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man shall gather out of his kingdom every thing that offends;</I> and
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all that are chosen to salvation are chosen to sanctification. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+2:13,Eph+1:4">2 Thess. ii. 13; Eph. i. 4</A>.</P>
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<P>
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III. That God will reform his church and will rectify and amend
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whatever is amiss in it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+4:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Then the remnant shall be <I>called holy, when the Lord shall have
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washed away their filth,</I> washed it from among them by cutting off
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the wicked persons, washed it from within them by purging out the
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wicked thing. They shall not be called so till they are in some measure
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made so. Gospel times are times of reformation
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+9:10">Heb. ix. 10</A>),
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typified by the reformation in the days of Hezekiah and that after
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captivity, to which this promise refers. Observe,
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1. The places and persons to be reformed. Jerusalem, though the holy
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city, needed reformation; and, being the holy city, the reformation of
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that would have a good influence upon the whole kingdom. The daughters
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of Zion also must be reformed, the women in a particular manner, whom
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he had reproved,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+3:16"><I>ch.</I> iii. 16</A>.
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When they were decked in their ornaments they thought themselves
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wondrously clean; but, being proud of them, the prophet call them their
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<I>filth,</I> for no sin is more abominable to God than pride. Or by
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the daughters of Zion may be meant the country towns and villages,
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which were related to Jerusalem as the mother-city, and which needed
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reformation.
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2. The reformation itself. The filth shall be washed away; for
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wickedness is filthiness, particularly blood-shed, for which Jerusalem
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was infamous
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+21:16">2 Kings xxi. 16</A>),
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and which defiles the land more than any other sin. Note, The reforming
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of a city is the cleansing of it. When vicious customs and fashions are
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suppressed, and the open practice of wickedness is restrained, the
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place is made clean and sweet which before was a dunghill; and this is
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not only for its credit and reputation among strangers, but for the
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comfort and health of the inhabitants themselves.
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3. The author of the reformation: <I>The Lord shall do it.</I>
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Reformation-work is God's work; if any thing be done to purpose in it,
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it is his doing. But how? By the judgment of his providence the
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sinners were destroyed and consumed; but it is by the Spirit of his
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|
grace that they are reformed and converted. This is the work that is
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done, not by might, nor by power, but by the <I>Spirit of the Lord of
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hosts</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+4:6">Zech. iv. 6</A>),
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working both upon the sinners themselves that are to be reformed and
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upon magistrates, ministers, and others that are to be employed as
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instruments of reformation. The Spirit herein acts,
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(1.) As a spirit of judgment, enlightening the mind, convincing the
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conscience,--as a spirit of wisdom, guiding us to deal prudently,
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+52:13">Isa. lii. 13</A>),--
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as a discerning, distinguishing, Spirit, separating between the
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precious and the vile.
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(2.) As a Spirit of burning, quickening and invigorating the
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afflictions, and making men zealously affected in a good work. The
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Spirit works as fire,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+3:11">Matt. iii. 11</A>.
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An ardent love to Christ and souls, and a flaming zeal against sin,
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will carry men on with resolution in their endeavours to <I>turn away
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ungodliness from Jacob.</I> See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+32:15,16">Isa. xxxii. 15, 16</A>.</P>
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<P>
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IV. That God will protect his church, and all that belong to it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+4:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>);
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when they are purified and reformed they shall no longer lie exposed,
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but God will take a particular care of them. Those that are sanctified
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are well fortified; for God will be to them a guide and a guard.</P>
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<P>
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1. Their tabernacles shall be defended,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+4:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) This writ of protection refers to,
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[1.] Their dwelling places, the tabernacles of their rest, their own
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houses, where they worship God alone, and with their families. That
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blessing which is upon the <I>habitation of the just</I> shall be a
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protection to it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+3:33">Prov. iii. 33</A>.
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In the <I>tabernacles of the righteous</I> shall the <I>voice of
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rejoicing and salvation be,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+118:15">Ps. cxviii. 15</A>.
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Note, God takes particular cognizance and care of the dwelling-places
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of his people, of every one of them, the poorest cottage as well as the
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statliest palace. When iniquity is <I>put far from the tabernacle</I>
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the Almighty shall be its defence,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+23:23,26">Job xxiii. 23, 26</A>.
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[2.] Their assemblies or tabernacles of meeting for religious worship.
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No mention is made of the temple, for the promise points at a time when
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not one stone of that shall be left upon another; but all the
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congregations of Christians, though but two or three met together in
|
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Christ's name, shall be taken under the special protection of heaven;
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they shall be no more scattered, no more disturbed, nor shall <I>any
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weapon formed against them prosper.</I> Note, we ought to reckon it a
|
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great mercy if we have liberty to worship God in public, free from the
|
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alarms of the sword of war or persecution.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) This writ of protection is drawn up,
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[1.] In a similitude taken from the safety of the camp of Israel when
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they marched through the wilderness. God will give to the Christian
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church as real proofs, though not so sensible, of his care of them, as
|
|
he then gave to Israel. The Lord will again <I>create a cloud and
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|
smoke by day,</I> to screen them from the scorching heat of the sun,
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and the <I>shining of a flaming fire by night,</I> to enlighten and
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|
warm the air, which in the night is cold and dark. See
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+13:21,Ne+9:19">Exod. xiii. 21; Neh. ix. 19</A>.
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This pillar of cloud and fire interposed between the Israelites and the
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Egyptians,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+14:20">Exod. xiv. 20</A>.
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Note, Though miracles have ceased, yet God is the same to the
|
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New-Testament church that he was to Israel of old; the very same
|
|
yesterday, to-day, and for ever.
|
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|
[2.] In a similitude taken from the outside cover of rams' skins and
|
|
badgers' skins that was upon the curtains of the tabernacle, as if
|
|
every dwelling place of Mount Zion and every assembly were as dear to
|
|
God as that tabernacle was: <I>Upon all the glory shall be a
|
|
defense,</I> to save it from wind and weather. Note, The church on
|
|
earth has its glory. Gospel truths and ordinances, the scriptures and
|
|
the ministry, are the church's glory; and upon all this glory there is
|
|
a defence, and ever shall be, for the <I>gates of hell shall not
|
|
prevail against the church.</I> If God himself be the glory in the
|
|
midst of it, he will himself be a wall of fire around about it,
|
|
impenetrable and impregnable. Grace in the soul is the glory of it, and
|
|
those that have it are <I>kept by the power of God</I> as in a
|
|
strong-hold,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:5">1 Pet. i. 5</A>.</P>
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|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Their tabernacle shall be a defence to them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+4:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
|
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|
God's tabernacle was a pavilion to the saints
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:5">Ps. xxvii. 5</A>);
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|
but, when that is taken down, they shall not want a covert: the divine
|
|
power and goodness shall be a tabernacle to all the saints. God himself
|
|
will be their hiding-place
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+32:7">Ps. xxxii. 7</A>);
|
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|
they shall be at home in him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+91:9">Ps. xci. 9</A>.
|
|
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|
He will himself be to them as the <I>shadow of a great rock</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+32:2"><I>ch.</I> xxxii. 2</A>)
|
|
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|
and <I>his name a strong tower,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+18:10">Prov. xviii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
He will be not only a shadow from the heat in the daytime, but a covert
|
|
from storm and rain. Note, In this world we must expect change of
|
|
weather and all the inconveniences that attend it; we shall meet with
|
|
storm and rain in this lower region, and at other times the heat of the
|
|
day no less burdensome; but God is a refuge to his people in all
|
|
weathers.</P>
|
|
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