mh_parser/vol_split/23 - Isaiah/Chapter 44.xml

<div2 id="Is.xlv" n="xlv" next="Is.xlvi" prev="Is.xliv" progress="16.40%" title="Chapter XLIV">
<h2 id="Is.xlv-p0.1">I S A I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Is.xlv-p0.2">CHAP. XLIV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Is.xlv-p1" shownumber="no">God, by the prophet, goes on in this chapter, as
before, I. To encourage his people with the assurance of great
blessings he had in store for them at their return out of
captivity, and those typical of much greater which the gospel
church, his spiritual Israel, should partake of in the days of the
Messiah; and hereby he proves himself to be God alone against all
pretenders, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.1-Isa.44.8" parsed="|Isa|44|1|44|8" passage="Isa 44:1-8">ver. 1-8</scripRef>. II.
To expose the sottishness and amazing folly of idol-makers and
idol-worshippers, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.9-Isa.44.20" parsed="|Isa|44|9|44|20" passage="Isa 44:9-20">ver.
9-20</scripRef>. III. To ratify and confirm the assurances he had
given to his people of those great blessings, and to raise their
joyful and believing expectations of them, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.21-Isa.44.28" parsed="|Isa|44|21|44|28" passage="Isa 44:21-28">ver. 21-28</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Is.xlv-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44" parsed="|Isa|44|0|0|0" passage="Isa 44" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Is.xlv-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.1-Isa.44.8" parsed="|Isa|44|1|44|8" passage="Isa 44:1-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xlv-p1.6">
<h4 id="Is.xlv-p1.7">Prosperity Foretold; The Supremacy of
God. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p1.8">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xlv-p2" shownumber="no">1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel,
whom I have chosen:   2 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p2.1">Lord</span> that made thee, and formed thee from the
womb, <i>which</i> will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant;
and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.   3 For I will pour
water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I
will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine
offspring:   4 And they shall spring up <i>as</i> among the
grass, as willows by the water courses.   5 One shall say, I
<i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p2.2">Lord</span>'s; and another
shall call <i>himself</i> by the name of Jacob; and another shall
subscribe <i>with</i> his hand unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p2.3">Lord</span>, and surname <i>himself</i> by the name of
Israel.   6 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p2.4">Lord</span>
the King of Israel, and his redeemer the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p2.5">Lord</span> of hosts; I <i>am</i> the first, and I
<i>am</i> the last; and beside me <i>there is</i> no God.   7
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in
order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things
that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them.   8
Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that
time, and have declared <i>it?</i> ye <i>are</i> even my witnesses.
Is there a God beside me? yea, <i>there is</i> no God; I know not
<i>any.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p3" shownumber="no">Two great truths are abundantly made out in
these verses:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p4" shownumber="no">I. That the people of God are a happy
people, especially upon account of the covenant that is between
them and God. The people of Israel were so as a figure of the
gospel Israel. Three things complete their happiness:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p5" shownumber="no">1. The covenant-relations wherein they
stand to God, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.1-Isa.44.2" parsed="|Isa|44|1|44|2" passage="Isa 44:1,2"><i>v.</i> 1,
2</scripRef>. Israel is here called <i>Jeshurun—the upright
one;</i> for those only, like Nathanael, are Israelites indeed, in
whom is no guile, and those only shall have the everlasting benefit
of these promises. Jacob and Israel had been represented, in the
close of the foregoing chapter, as very provoking and obnoxious to
God's wrath, and already given to the curse and to reproaches; but,
as if God's bowels yearned towards him and his repentings were
kindled together, mercy steps in with a
<i>non-obstante—notwithstanding,</i> to all these quarrels:
"<i>Yet now, hear, O Jacob my servant!</i> thou and I will be
friends again for all this." God had said (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.43.25" parsed="|Isa|43|25|0|0" passage="Isa 43:25"><i>ch.</i> xliii. 25</scripRef>), <i>I am he that
blotteth out thy transgression,</i> which is the only thing that
creates this distance; and when that is taken away the streams of
mercy run again in their former channel. The pardon of sin is the
inlet of all the other blessings of the covenant. So and so I will
do for them, says God (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.8.12" parsed="|Heb|8|12|0|0" passage="Heb 8:12">Heb. viii.
12</scripRef>), <i>for I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness.</i> Therefore <i>hear, O Jacob!</i> hear these
comfortable words; therefore <i>fear not, O Jacob!</i> fear not thy
troubles, for by the pardon of sin the property of them too is
altered. Now the relations wherein they stand to him are very
encouraging. (1.) They are his <i>servants;</i> and those that
serve him he will own and stand by and see that they be not
wronged. (2.) They are his <i>chosen,</i> and he will abide by his
choice; he knows those that are his, and those whom he has chosen
he takes under special protection. (3.) They are his creatures. He
<i>made them,</i> and brought them into being; he <i>formed
them,</i> and cast them into shape; he began betimes with them, for
he <i>formed them from the womb;</i> and therefore he will help
them over their difficulties and help them in their services.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p6" shownumber="no">2. The covenant-blessings which he has
secured to them and theirs, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.3-Isa.44.4" parsed="|Isa|44|3|44|4" passage="Isa 44:3,4"><i>v.</i> 3, 4</scripRef>. (1.) Those that are
sensible of their spiritual wants, and the insufficiency of the
creature to supply them, shall have abundant satisfaction in God:
<i>I will pour water upon him that is thirsty,</i> that thirsts
after righteousness; he shall be filled. Water shall be poured out
to those who truly desire spiritual blessings above all the
delights of sense. (2.) Those that are barren as the dry ground
shall be watered with the grace of God, with floods of that grace,
and God will himself give the increase. If the ground be ever so
dry, God has floods of grace to water it with. (3.) The water God
will pour out is <i>his Spirit</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:John.7.39" parsed="|John|7|39|0|0" passage="Joh 7:39">John vii. 39</scripRef>), which God will pour out
without measure upon the seed, that is, Christ (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.3.16" parsed="|Gal|3|16|0|0" passage="Ga 3:16">Gal. iii. 16</scripRef>), and by measure upon all the
seed of the faithful, upon all the praying wrestling seed of Jacob,
<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.11.13" parsed="|Luke|11|13|0|0" passage="Lu 11:13">Luke xi. 13</scripRef>. This is the
great New-Testament promise, that God, having sent his servant
Christ, and upheld him, will send his Spirit to uphold us. (4.)
This gift of the Holy Ghost is the great blessing God had reserved
the plentiful effusion of for the latter days: <i>I will pour my
Spirit,</i> that is, <i>my blessing;</i> for where God gives his
Spirit he will give all other blessings. (5.) This is reserved for
the seed and offspring of the church; for so the covenant of grace
runs: <i>I will be a God to thee and to thy seed.</i> To all who
are thus made to partake of the privileges of adoption God will
give the spirit of adoption. (6.) Hereby there shall be a great
increase of the church. Thus it shall be spread to distant places.
Thus it shall be propagated and perpetuated to after-times: <i>They
shall spring up</i> and grow as fast <i>as willows by the
watercourses,</i> and in every thing that is virtuous and
praiseworthy shall be eminent and excel all about them, as the
willows overtop the grass among which they grow, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.4" parsed="|Isa|44|4|0|0" passage="Isa 44:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. Note, It is a great happiness to
the church, and a great pleasure to good men, to see the rising
generation hopeful and promising. And it will be so if God pour his
Spirit upon them, that blessing, that blessing of blessings.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p7" shownumber="no">3. The consent they cheerfully give to
their part of the covenant, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.5" parsed="|Isa|44|5|0|0" passage="Isa 44:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>. When the Jews returned out of captivity they renewed
their covenant with God (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.5" parsed="|Jer|50|5|0|0" passage="Jer 50:5">Jer. l.
5</scripRef>), particularly that they would have no more to do with
idols, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Hos.14.2-Hos.14.3 Bible:Hos.14.8" parsed="|Hos|14|2|14|3;|Hos|14|8|0|0" passage="Ho 14:2,3,8">Hos. xiv. 2, 3,
8</scripRef>. Backsliders must thus repent and do their first
works. Many of those that were without did at that time join
themselves to them, invited by that glorious appearance of God for
them, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Zech.8.23 Bible:Esth.8.17" parsed="|Zech|8|23|0|0;|Esth|8|17|0|0" passage="Zec 8:23,Es 8:17">Zech. viii. 23; Esth.
viii. 17</scripRef>. And they say, <i>We are the Lord's</i> and
<i>call themselves by the name of Jacob;</i> for there was one law,
one covenant, <i>for the stranger and for those that were born in
the land.</i> And doubtless it looks further yet, to the conversion
of the Gentiles, and the multitudes of them who, upon the effusion
of the Spirit, after Christ's ascension, should be <i>joined to the
Lord</i> and <i>added to the church.</i> These converts are <i>one
and another,</i> very many, of different ranks and nations, and all
welcome to God, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Col.3.11" parsed="|Col|3|11|0|0" passage="Col 3:11">Col. iii.
11</scripRef>. When one does it another shall by his example be
invited to do it, and then another; thus the zeal of one may
provoke many. (1.) They shall resign themselves to God: not one in
the name of the rest, but every one for himself shall say, "<i>I am
the Lord's;</i> he has an incontestable right to rule me, and I
submit to him, to all his commands, to all his disposal. I am, and
will be, his only, his wholly, his for ever, will be for his
interests, will be for his praise; living and dying I will be his."
(2.) They shall incorporate themselves with the people of God,
<i>call themselves by the name of Jacob,</i> forgetting their own
people and their fathers' house, and desirous to wear the character
and livery of God's family. They shall love all God's people, shall
associate with them, give them the right hand of fellowship,
espouse their cause, seek the good of the church in general and of
all the particular members of it, and be willing to take their lot
with them in all conditions. (3.) They shall do this very solemnly.
Some of them shall <i>subscribe with their hand unto the Lord,</i>
as, for the confirming of a bargain, a man sets his hand to it, and
delivers it as his act and deed. The more express we are in our
covenanting with God the better, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Exod.24.7 Bible:Josh.24.26-Josh.24.27 Bible:Neh.9.38" parsed="|Exod|24|7|0|0;|Josh|24|26|24|27;|Neh|9|38|0|0" passage="Ex 24:7,Jos 24:26,27,Ne 9:38">Exod. xxiv. 7; Jos. xxiv. 26, 27;
Neh. ix. 38</scripRef>. Fast bind, fast find.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p8" shownumber="no">II. That, as the Israel of God are a happy
people, so the God of Israel is a great God, and he is God alone.
This also, as the former, speaks abundant satisfaction to all that
trust in him, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.6-Isa.44.8" parsed="|Isa|44|6|44|8" passage="Isa 44:6-8"><i>v.</i>
6-8</scripRef>. Observe here, to God's glory and our comfort, 1.
That the God we trust in is a God of incontestable sovereignty and
irresistible power. He is <i>the Lord,</i> Jehovah, self-existent
and self-sufficient; and he is <i>the Lord of hosts,</i> of all the
hosts of heaven and earth, of angels and men. 2. That he stands in
relation to, and has a particular concern for, his church. He is
<i>the King of Israel and his Redeemer; therefore</i> his Redeemer
because his King; and those that take God for their King shall have
him for their Redeemer. When God would assert himself God alone he
proclaims himself Israel's God, that his people may be encouraged
both to adhere to him and to triumph in him. 3. That he is
eternal—<i>the first and the last.</i> He is God from everlasting,
before the worlds were, and will be so to everlasting, when the
world shall be no more. If there were not a God to create, nothing
would ever have been; and, if there were not a God to uphold, all
would soon come to nothing again. He is all in all, is the first
cause, from whom are all things, and the last end, to and for whom
are all things (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.36" parsed="|Rom|11|36|0|0" passage="Ro 11:36">Rom. xi.
36</scripRef>), the <i>Alpha and the Omega,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.11" parsed="|Rev|1|11|0|0" passage="Re 1:11">Rev. i. 11</scripRef>. 4. That he is God alone (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.6" parsed="|Isa|44|6|0|0" passage="Isa 44:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): <i>Besides me there is
no God. Is there a God besides me?</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.8" parsed="|Isa|44|8|0|0" passage="Isa 44:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. We will appeal to the greatest
scholars. Did they ever in all their reading meet with any other?
To those that have had the largest acquaintance with the world. Did
they ever meet with any other? There are <i>gods many</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.8.5-1Cor.8.6" parsed="|1Cor|8|5|8|6" passage="1Co 8:5,6">1 Cor. viii. 5, 6</scripRef>),
<i>called gods,</i> and counterfeit gods: but is there any besides
our God that is infinite and eternal, any besides him that is the
creator of the world and the protector and benefactor of the whole
creation, any besides him that can do that for their worshippers
which he can and will do for his? "<i>You are my witnesses.</i> I
have been a nonsuch to you. You have tried other gods; have you
found any of them all-sufficient to you, or any of them like me?
<i>Yea, there is no god," no rock</i> (so the word is), none
besides Jehovah that can be a rock for a foundation to build on, a
rock for shelter to flee to. God is the rock, and <i>their rock is
not as ours,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p8.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.32.4 Bible:Deut.32.31" parsed="|Deut|32|4|0|0;|Deut|32|31|0|0" passage="De 32:4,31">Deut. xxxii. 4,
31</scripRef>. <i>I know not any;</i> as if he had said, "I never
met with any that offered to stand in competition with me, or that
durst bring their pretensions to a fair trial; if I did know of any
that could befriend you better than I can, I would recommend you to
them; but I know not any." There is no God besides Jehovah. He is
infinite, and therefore there can be no other; he is
all-sufficient, and therefore there needs no other. This is
designed for the confirming of the hopes of God's people in the
promise of their deliverance out of Babylon, and, in order to that,
for the curing of them of their idolatry; when the affliction had
done its work it should be removed. They are reminded of the first
and great article of their creed, that <i>the Lord their God is one
Lord,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p8.8" osisRef="Bible:Deut.6.4" parsed="|Deut|6|4|0|0" passage="De 6:4">Deut. vi. 4</scripRef>. And
therefore, (1.) They needed not to hope in any other god. Those on
whom the sun shines need neither moon nor stars, nor the light of
their own fire. (2.) They needed not to fear any other god. Their
own God was more able to do them good than all the false and
counterfeit gods of their enemies were to do them hurt. 5. That
none besides could foretel these things to come, which God now by
his prophet gave notice of to the world, above 200 years before
they came to pass (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p8.9" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.7" parsed="|Isa|44|7|0|0" passage="Isa 44:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>): "<i>Who, as I, shall call,</i> shall call Cyrus to
Babylon? Is there any but God that can call effectually, and has
every creature, every heart, at his beck? Who <i>shall declare
it,</i> how it shall be, and by whom, as I do?" Nay, God goes
further; he not only sees it in order, as having the foreknowledge
of it, but <i>sets it in order,</i> as having the sole management
and direction of it. Can any other pretend to this? He has always
set things in order according to the counsel of his own will, ever
<i>since he appointed the ancient people,</i> the people of Israel,
who could give a truer and fuller account of the antiquities of
their own nation than any other kingdom in the world could give of
theirs. Ever since he appointed that people to be his peculiar
people his providence was particularly conversant about them, and
he told them beforehand the events that should occur respecting
them—their bondage in Egypt, their deliverance from it, and their
settlement in Canaan. All was set in order in the divine
predictions as well as in the divine purposes. Could any other have
done so? Would any other have been so far concerned for them? He
challenges the pretenders to show the things that shall come
hereafter: "Let them, if they can, tell us the name of the man that
shall destroy Babylon ad deliver Israel? Nay, if they cannot
pretend to tell us <i>the things that shall come</i> hereafter, let
them tell us the things that <i>are coming,</i> that are nigh at
hand and at the door. Let them tell us what shall come to pass
to-morrow; but they cannot do that; fear them not therefore, nor be
afraid of them. What harm can they do you? What hindrance can they
give to your deliverance, when I have told thee it shall be
accomplished in its season, and I have solemnly declared it?" Note,
Those who have the word of God's promise to depend upon need not be
afraid of any adverse powers or policies whatsoever.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xlv-p8.10" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.9-Isa.44.20" parsed="|Isa|44|9|44|20" passage="Isa 44:9-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xlv-p8.11">
<h4 id="Is.xlv-p8.12">The Folly of Idolatry. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p8.13">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xlv-p9" shownumber="no">9 They that make a graven image <i>are</i> all
of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and
they <i>are</i> their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that
they may be ashamed.   10 Who hath formed a god, or molten a
graven image <i>that</i> is profitable for nothing?   11
Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they
<i>are</i> of men: let them all be gathered together, let them
stand up; <i>yet</i> they shall fear, <i>and</i> they shall be
ashamed together.   12 The smith with the tongs both worketh
in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with
the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength
faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.   13 The
carpenter stretcheth out <i>his</i> rule; he marketh it out with a
line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the
compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the
beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.   14 He
heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which
he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he
planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish <i>it.</i>   15
Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and
warm himself; yea, he kindleth <i>it,</i> and baketh bread; yea, he
maketh a god, and worshippeth <i>it;</i> he maketh it a graven
image, and falleth down thereto.   16 He burneth part thereof
in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast,
and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth <i>himself,</i> and saith, Aha, I
am warm, I have seen the fire:   17 And the residue thereof he
maketh a god, <i>even</i> his graven image: he falleth down unto
it, and worshippeth <i>it,</i> and prayeth unto it, and saith,
Deliver me; for thou <i>art</i> my god.   18 They have not
known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot
see; <i>and</i> their hearts, that they cannot understand.  
19 And none considereth in his heart, neither <i>is there</i>
knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the
fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have
roasted flesh, and eaten <i>it:</i> and shall I make the residue
thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
  20 He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him
aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, <i>Is there</i>
not a lie in my right hand?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p10" shownumber="no">Often before, God, by the prophet, had
mentioned the folly and strange sottishness of idolaters; but here
he enlarges upon that head, and very fully and particularly exposes
them to contempt and ridicule. This discourse is intended, 1. To
arm the people of Israel against the strong temptation they would
be in to worship idols when they were captives in Babylon, in
compliance with the custom of the country (they being far from the
city of their own solemnities) and to humour those who were now
their lords and masters. 2. To cure them of their inclination to
idolatry, which was the sin that did most easily beset them and to
reform them from which they were sent into Babylon. As the rod of
God is of use to enforce the word, so the word of God is of use to
explain the rod, that the voice of both together may be heard and
answered. 3. To furnish them with something to say to their
Chaldean task-masters. When they insulted over them, when they
asked, <i>Where is your God?</i> they might hence ask them, <i>What
are your gods?</i> 4. To take off their fear of the gods of their
enemies, and to encourage their hope in their own God that he would
certainly appear against those who set up such scandalous
competitors as these with him for the throne.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p11" shownumber="no">Now here, for the conviction of idolaters,
we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p12" shownumber="no">I. A challenge given to them to clear
themselves, if they can, from the imputation of the most shameful
folly and senselessness imaginable, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.9-Isa.44.11" parsed="|Isa|44|9|44|11" passage="Isa 44:9-11"><i>v.</i> 9-11</scripRef>. They set their wits on
work to contrive, and their hands on work to frame, graven images,
and they call them <i>their delectable things;</i> extremely fond
they are of them, and mighty things they expect from them. Note,
Through the corruption of men's nature, those things that should be
detestable to them are desirable and delectable; but those are far
gone in a distemper to whom that which is the food and fuel of it
is most agreeable. Now, 1. We tell them that those that do so are
all vanity; they deceive themselves and one another, and put a
great cheat upon those for whom they make these images. 2. We tell
them that <i>their delectable things shall not profit</i> them, nor
make them any return for the pleasure they take in them; they can
neither supply them with good nor protect them from evil. The
<i>graven images</i> are <i>profitable for nothing</i> at all, nor
will they ever get any thing by the devoirs they pay to them. 3. We
appeal to themselves whether it be not a silly sottish thing to
expect any good from gods of their own making: <i>They are their
own witnesses,</i> witnesses against themselves, if they would but
give their own consciences leave to deal faithfully with them, that
they are blind and ignorant in doing thus. <i>They see not nor
know,</i> and let them own it, <i>that they may be ashamed.</i> If
men would but be true to their own convictions, ordinarily we might
be sure of their conversion, particularly idolaters; for <i>who has
formed a god?</i> Who but a mad-man, or one out of his wits, would
think of forming a god, of making that which, if he make it a god,
he must suppose to be his maker? 4. We challenge them to plead
their own cause with any confidence or assurance. If any one has
the front to say that he has formed a god, when all his fellows
come together to declare what each of them has done towards the
making of this god, they will all be ashamed of the cheat they have
put upon themselves, and laugh in their sleeves at those whom they
have imposed upon; for <i>the workmen</i> that formed this god
<i>are of men,</i> weak and impotent, and therefore cannot possibly
make a being that shall be omnipotent, nor can they without
blushing pretend to do so. <i>Let them all be gathered
together,</i> as Demetrius and the craftsmen were, to support their
sinking trade; <i>let them stand up</i> to plead their own cause,
and make the best they can of it, with hand joined in hand; <i>yet
they shall fear</i> to undertake it when it comes to the setting
to, as conscious to themselves of the weakness and badness of their
cause, <i>and they shall be ashamed</i> of it, not only when they
appear singly, but when by appearing together they hope to keep one
another in countenance. Note, Idolatry and impiety are things which
men may justly both tremble and blush to appear in the defence
of.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p13" shownumber="no">II. A particular narrative of the whole
proceeding in making a god; and there needs no more to expose it
than to describe it and tell the story of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p14" shownumber="no">1. The persons employed about it are
handicraft tradesmen, the meanest of them, the very same that you
would employ in making the common utensils of your husbandry, a
cart or a plough. You must have a <i>smith,</i> a blacksmith, who
<i>with the tongs works in the coals;</i> and it is hard work, for
he <i>works with the strength of his arms,</i> till <i>he is
hungry</i> and his strength fails, so eager is he, and so hasty are
those who set him at the work to get it despatched. He cannot allow
himself time to eat or drink, for <i>he drinks no water, and</i>
therefore <i>is faint,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.12" parsed="|Isa|44|12|0|0" passage="Isa 44:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>. Perhaps it was a piece of superstition among them
for the workman not to eat or drink while he was making a god. The
plates with which the smith was to cover the image, or whatever
iron-work was to be done about it, <i>he fashioned with
hammers,</i> and made it all very exact, according to the model
given him. Then comes <i>the carpenter,</i> and he takes as much
care and pains about the timber-work, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.13" parsed="|Isa|44|13|0|0" passage="Isa 44:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. He brings his box of tools,
for he has occasion for them all: <i>He stretches out his rule</i>
upon the piece of wood, <i>marks it with a line,</i> where it must
be sawed or cut of; <i>he fits it,</i> or polishes it, <i>with
planes,</i> the greater first and then the less; <i>he marks out
with the compasses</i> what must be the size and shape of it; and
it is just what he pleases.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p15" shownumber="no">2. The form in which it is made is that of
a man, a poor, weak, dying creature; but it is the noblest form and
figure that he is acquainted with, and, being his own, he has a
peculiar fondness for it and is willing to put all the reputation
he can upon it. He makes it <i>according to the beauty of a
man,</i> in comely proportion, with those limbs and lineaments that
are the beauty of a man, but are altogether unfit to represent the
beauty of the Lord. God put a great honour upon man when, in
respect of the powers and faculties of his souls, he made him after
the image of God; but man does a great dishonour to God when he
makes him, in respect of bodily parts and members, after the image
of man. Nor will it at all atone for the affront so far to
compliment his god as to take the fairest of the children of men
for his original whence to take his copy, and to give him all the
beauty of a man that he can think of; for all the <i>beauty of the
body of a man,</i> when pretended to be put upon him who is an
infinite Spirit, is a deformity and diminution to him. And, when
the goodly piece is finished, it must <i>remain in the house,</i>
in the temple or shrine prepared for it, or perhaps in the dwelling
house if it be one of the <i>lares</i> or <i>penates—the household
gods.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p16" shownumber="no">3. The matter of which it is mostly made is
sorry stuff to make a god of; it is the stock of a tree.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p17" shownumber="no">(1.) The tree itself was fetched out <i>of
the forest,</i> where it grew among other trees, of no more virtue
or value than its neighbours. It was a <i>cedar,</i> it may be, or
a <i>cypress,</i> or an <i>oak,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.14" parsed="|Isa|44|14|0|0" passage="Isa 44:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. Perhaps he had an eye upon it
some time before for this use, and <i>strengthened it for
himself,</i> used some art or other to make it stronger and
better-grown than other trees were. Or, as some read it, <i>which
hath strengthened or lifted up itself among the trees of the
forest,</i> the tallest and strongest he can pick out. Or, it may
be, it pleases his fancy better to take <i>an ash,</i> which is of
a quicker growth, and which was of his own planting for this use,
and which has been nourished with rain from heaven. See what a
fallacy he puts upon himself, in making that his refuge which was
of his own planting, and which he not only gave the form to, but
prepared the matter for; and what an affront he puts upon the God
of heaven in setting up that a rival with him which was nourished
by his rain, that rain which falls upon the just and unjust.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p18" shownumber="no">(2.) The boughs of this tree were good for
nothing but for fuel; to that use were they put, and so were the
chips that were cut off from it in the working of it; they are
<i>for a man to burn,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.15-Isa.44.16" parsed="|Isa|44|15|44|16" passage="Isa 44:15,16"><i>v.</i> 15, 16</scripRef>. To show that that tree
has no innate virtue in it for its own protection, it is as capable
of being burnt as any other tree; and, to show that he who chose it
had no more antecedent value for it than for any other tree, he
makes no difficulty of throwing part of it into the fire as common
rubbish, asking no question for conscience' sake. [1.] It serves
him for his parlour-fire: <i>He will take thereof and warm
himself</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.15" parsed="|Isa|44|15|0|0" passage="Isa 44:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>), and he finds the comfort of it, and is so far from
having any regret in his mind for it that he saith, <i>Aha! I am
warm; I have seen the fire;</i> and certainly that part of the tree
which served him for fuel, the use for which God and nature
designed it, does him a much greater kindness and yields him more
satisfaction than ever that will which he makes a god of. [2.] It
serves him for his kitchen-fire: <i>He eats flesh</i> with it, that
is, he dresses the flesh with it which he is to eat; he <i>roasteth
roast, and is satisfied</i> that he has not done amiss to put it to
this use. Nay, [3.] It serves him to heat the oven with, in which
we use that fuel which is of least value: <i>He kindles it and
bakes bread</i> with the heat of it, and none charges him with
doing wrong.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p19" shownumber="no">(3.) Yet, after all, the stock or body of
the tree shall serve to make a god of, when it might as well have
served to make a bench, as one of themselves, even a poet of their
own, upbraids them, <i>Horat. Sat.</i> 1.8:</p>
<verse id="Is.xlv-p19.1" type="stanza">
<l class="t1" id="Is.xlv-p19.2">Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum,</l>
<l class="t1" id="Is.xlv-p19.3">Quum faber, incertus scamnum faceretne Priapum,</l>
<l class="t1" id="Is.xlv-p19.4">Maluit esse deum; deus inde ego—</l>
</verse>
<verse id="Is.xlv-p19.5" type="stanza">
<l class="t1" id="Is.xlv-p19.6">In days of yore our godship stood</l>
<l class="t1" id="Is.xlv-p19.7">A very worthless log of wood,</l>
<l class="t1" id="Is.xlv-p19.8">The joiner, doubting or to shape us</l>
<l class="t1" id="Is.xlv-p19.9">Into a stool or a Priapus,</l>
<l class="t1" id="Is.xlv-p19.10">At length resolved, for reasons wise,</l>
<l class="t1" id="Is.xlv-p19.11">Into a god to bid me rise.</l>
</verse>
<attr id="Is.xlv-p19.12"><span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p19.13">Francis.</span></attr>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p20" shownumber="no">And another of them threatens the idol to
whom he had committed the custody of his woods that, if he did not
preserve them to be fuel for his fire, he should himself be made
use of for that purpose:</p>
<verse id="Is.xlv-p20.1" type="stanza">
<l id="Is.xlv-p20.2">Furaces moneo manus repellas,</l>
<l id="Is.xlv-p20.3">Et silvam domini focis reserves,</l>
<l id="Is.xlv-p20.4">Si defecerit hæc, et ipse lignum es.</l>
</verse>
<verse id="Is.xlv-p20.5" type="stanza">
<l id="Is.xlv-p20.6">Drive the plunderers away, and preserve the wood for thy
master's hearth, or thou thyself shalt be converted into fuel<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p20.7">.—Martial.</span></l>
</verse>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p21" shownumber="no">When the besotted idolater has thus served
the meanest purposes with part of his tree, and the rest has had
time to season (he makes that a god in his imagination while that
is in the doing, <i>and worships it</i>): He <i>makes it a graven
image, and falls down thereto</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.15" parsed="|Isa|44|15|0|0" passage="Isa 44:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), that is (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.17" parsed="|Isa|44|17|0|0" passage="Isa 44:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>), <i>The residue thereof he
makes a god, even his graven image,</i> according to his fancy and
intention; he <i>falls down to it, and worships it,</i> gives
divine honours to it, prostrates himself before it in the most
humble reverent posture, as a servant, as a suppliant; <i>he prays
to it,</i> as having a dependence upon it, and great expectations
from it; <i>he saith, Deliver me, for thou art my god.</i> There
where he pays his homage and allegiance he justly looks for
protection and deliverance. What a strange infatuation is this, to
expect help from gods that cannot help themselves! But it is this
praying to them that makes them gods, not what the smith or the
carpenter did to them. What we place our confidence in for
deliverance that we make a god of.</p>
<verse id="Is.xlv-p21.3" type="stanza">
<l id="Is.xlv-p21.4">Qui fingit sacros, auro vel marmore, vultus</l>
<l id="Is.xlv-p21.5">Non facit ille deos; qui rogat, ille facit.</l>
</verse>
<verse id="Is.xlv-p21.6" type="stanza">
<l id="Is.xlv-p21.7">He who supplicates the figure, whether it be of gold or of</l>
<l id="Is.xlv-p21.8">marble, makes it a god, and not he who merely</l>
<l id="Is.xlv-p21.9">constructs it<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p21.10">.—Martial.</span></l>
</verse>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p22" shownumber="no">III. Here is judgment given upon this whole
matter, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.18-Isa.44.20" parsed="|Isa|44|18|44|20" passage="Isa 44:18-20"><i>v.</i>
18-20</scripRef>. In short, it is the effect and evidence of the
greatest stupidity and sottishness that one could ever imagine
rational beings to be guilty of, and shows that man has become
worse than the beasts that perish; for they act according to the
dictates of sense, but man acts not according to the dictates of
reason (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.18" parsed="|Isa|44|18|0|0" passage="Isa 44:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>):
<i>They have not known nor understood</i> common sense; men that
act rationally in other things in this act most absurdly. Though
they have some knowledge and understanding, yet they are strangers
to, nay, they are rebels against the great law of consideration
(<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.12" parsed="|Isa|44|12|0|0" passage="Isa 44:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>): <i>None
considers in his heart,</i> nor has so much application of mind as
to reason thus with himself, which one would think he might easily
do, though there were none to reason with him: "<i>I have burnt
part of this tree in the fire,</i> for baking and roasting;
<i>and</i> now <i>shall I make the residue thereof an
abomination?</i>" (that is, <i>an idol,</i> for that is an
abomination to God and all wise and good men); "shall I
ungratefully choose to do, or presumptuously dare to do, what the
Lord hates? shall I be such a fool as to fall down to the stock of
a tree—a senseless, lifeless, helpless thing? shall I so far
disparage myself, and make myself like that I bow down to?" A
growing tree may be a beautiful stately thing, but the stock of a
tree has lost its glory, and he has lost his that gives glory to
it. Upon the whole, the sad character given of these idolaters is,
1. That they put a cheat upon themselves (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p22.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.20" parsed="|Isa|44|20|0|0" passage="Isa 44:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>): <i>They feed on ashes;</i>
they feed themselves with hopes of advantage by worshipping these
idols, but they will be disappointed as much as a man that would
expect nourishment by feeding on ashes. Feeding on ashes is an
evidence of a depraved appetite and a distempered body; and it is a
sign that the soul is overpowered by very bad habits when men, in
their worship, go no further than the sight of their eyes will
carry them. They are wretchedly deluded, and it is their own fault:
<i>A deceived heart</i> of their own, more than the deceiving
tongue of others, <i>has turned them aside</i> from the faith and
worship of the living God to dumb idols. They are <i>drawn away of
their own lusts and enticed.</i> The apostasy of sinners from God
is owing entirely to themselves and to the evil heart of unbelief
that is in their own bosom. A revolting and rebellious heart is a
deceived heart. 2. That they wilfully persist in their
self-delusion and will not be undeceived. There is none of them
that can be persuaded so far to suspect himself as to say, <i>Is
there not a lie in my right hand?</i> and so to think of delivering
his soul. Note, (1.) Idolaters have a lie in their right hand; for
an idol is a lie, is not what it pretends, performs not what it
promises, and it is a <i>teacher of lies,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p22.5" osisRef="Bible:Hab.2.18" parsed="|Hab|2|18|0|0" passage="Hab 2:18">Hab. ii. 18</scripRef>. (2.) It highly concerns those
that are secure in an evil way seriously to consider whether there
be not a lie in their right hand. Is not that a lie which with
complacency we hold fast as our chief good? Are our hearts set upon
the wealth of the world and the pleasures of sense? They will
certainly prove a lie in our right hand. And is not that a lie
which with confidence we hold fast by, as the ground on which we
build our hopes for heaven? If we trust to our external professions
and performances, as if those would save us, we deceive ourselves
with a lie in our right hand, with a house built on the sand. (3.)
Self-suspicion is the first step towards self-deliverance. We
cannot be faithful to ourselves unless we are jealous of ourselves.
He that would deliver his soul must begin with putting this
question to his own conscience. <i>Is there not a lie in my right
hand?</i> (4.) Those that are given up to believe in a lie are
under the power of strong delusions, which it is hard to get clear
of, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p22.6" osisRef="Bible:2Thess.2.11" parsed="|2Thess|2|11|0|0" passage="2Th 2:11">2 Thess. ii. 11</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xlv-p22.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.21-Isa.44.28" parsed="|Isa|44|21|44|28" passage="Isa 44:21-28" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xlv-p22.8">
<h4 id="Is.xlv-p22.9">Encouragement to the People of
God. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p22.10">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xlv-p23" shownumber="no">21 Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou
<i>art</i> my servant: I have formed thee; thou <i>art</i> my
servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.   22 I
have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a
cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.  
23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p23.1">Lord</span>
hath done <i>it:</i> shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break
forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein:
for the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p23.2">Lord</span> hath redeemed Jacob,
and glorified himself in Israel.   24 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p23.3">Lord</span>, thy redeemer, and he that formed
thee from the womb, I <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlv-p23.4">Lord</span> that maketh all <i>things;</i> that
stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth
by myself;   25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and
maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise <i>men</i> backward, and
maketh their knowledge foolish;   26 That confirmeth the word
of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that
saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of
Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places
thereof:   27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry
up thy rivers:   28 That saith of Cyrus, <i>He is</i> my
shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to
Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation
shall be laid.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p24" shownumber="no">In these verses we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p25" shownumber="no">I. The duty which Jacob and Israel, now in
captivity, were called to, that they might be qualified and
prepared for the deliverance designed them. Our first care must be
to get good by our afflictions, and then we may hope to get out of
them. The duty is expressed in two words: <i>Remember</i> and
<i>return,</i> as in the counsel to Ephesus, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.2.4-Rev.2.5" parsed="|Rev|2|4|2|5" passage="Re 2:4,5">Rev. ii. 4, 5</scripRef>. 1. "<i>Remember these, O
Jacob!</i> Remember what thou hast been told of the folly of
idolatry, and let the convictions thou art now under be ready to
thee whenever thou art tempted to that sin. Remember that <i>thou
art my servant,</i> and therefore must not serve other masters." 2.
<i>Return unto me,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.22" parsed="|Isa|44|22|0|0" passage="Isa 44:22"><i>v.</i>
22</scripRef>. It is the great concern of those who have
backslidden from God to hasten their return to him; and this is
that which he calls them to when they are in affliction, and when
he is returning to them in a way of mercy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p26" shownumber="no">II. The favours which Jacob and Israel, now
in captivity, were assured of; and what is here promised to them
upon their remembering and returning to God is in a spiritual sense
promised to all that in like manner return to God. It is a very
comfortable word, for more is implied in it than is expressed
(<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.21" parsed="|Isa|44|21|0|0" passage="Isa 44:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>): "<i>O
Israel! thou shalt not be forgotten of me,</i> though for the
present thou seemest to be so." When we begin to remember God he
will begin to remember us; nay, it is he that remembers us first.
Now observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p27" shownumber="no">1. The grounds upon which God's favourable
intentions to his people were built and on which they might build
their expectations from him. He will deliver them out of captivity;
for, (1.) They are his servants, and therefore he has a just
quarrel with those that detain them. <i>Let my people go, that they
may serve me.</i> The servants of the King of kings are under
special protection. (2.) He formed them into a people, formed them
<i>from the womb,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.24" parsed="|Isa|44|24|0|0" passage="Isa 44:24"><i>v.</i>
24</scripRef>. From the first beginning of their increase into a
nation they were under his particular care and government, more
than any other people; their national constitution was of his
framing, and his covenant with them was the charter by which they
were incorporated. They are his, and he will save them. (3.) He has
redeemed them formerly, has many a time redeemed them out of great
distress, and he is still the same, in the same relation to them,
has the same concern for them. "Therefore <i>return unto me, for I
have redeemed thee,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.22" parsed="|Isa|44|22|0|0" passage="Isa 44:22"><i>v.</i>
22</scripRef>. Whither wilt thou go, but to me?" Having redeemed
them, as well as formed them, he has acquired a further title to
them and propriety in them, which is a good reason why they should
dutifully return to him and why he will graciously return to them.
The <i>Lord has redeemed Jacob;</i> he is about to do it (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p27.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.23" parsed="|Isa|44|23|0|0" passage="Isa 44:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>); he has determined to
do it; for he is the Lord their Redeemer, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p27.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.24" parsed="|Isa|44|24|0|0" passage="Isa 44:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>. Note, The work of redemption
which God has by his Son wrought for us encourages us to hope for
all promised blessings from him. He that has redeemed us at so vast
an expense will not lose his purchase. (4.) He has <i>glorified
himself in them</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p27.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.23" parsed="|Isa|44|23|0|0" passage="Isa 44:23"><i>v.</i>
23</scripRef>), and therefore will do so still, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p27.6" osisRef="Bible:John.12.28" parsed="|John|12|28|0|0" passage="Joh 12:28">John xii. 28</scripRef>. It is matter of comfort to us
to see God's glory interested in the deliverances of the church;
for <i>therefore</i> he will certainly redeem Jacob, because thus
he will glorify himself. And <i>this</i> assures us that he will
perfect the redemption of his saints by Jesus Christ, because there
is a day set when he will be glorified and admired in them all.
(5.) He has pardoned their sins, which were the cause of their
calamity and the only obstruction to their deliverance, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p27.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.22" parsed="|Isa|44|22|0|0" passage="Isa 44:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. <i>Therefore</i> he
will break the yoke of captivity from off their necks, because he
has <i>blotted out, as a thick cloud, their transgressions.</i>
Note, [1.] Our transgressions and our sins are as a cloud, a thick
cloud; they interpose between heaven and earth, and for a time
suspend and intercept the correspondence between the upper and
lower world (sin <i>separates between us and God,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p27.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.59.2" parsed="|Isa|59|2|0|0" passage="Isa 59:2"><i>ch.</i> lix. 2</scripRef>); they threaten a
storm, a deluge of wrath, as thick clouds do, which God will rain
upon sinners. <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p27.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.11.6" parsed="|Ps|11|6|0|0" passage="Ps 11:6">Ps. xi. 6</scripRef>.
[2.] When God pardons sin he blots out this cloud, this thick
cloud, so that the intercourse with heaven is laid open again. God
looks down upon the soul with favour; the soul looks up to him with
pleasure. The cloud is scattered by the influence of the Sun of
righteousness. It is only through Christ that sin is pardoned. When
sin is pardoned, like a cloud that is scattered, it appears no
more, it is quite gone. The <i>iniquity of Jacob shall be sought
for, and not found,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p27.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.20" parsed="|Jer|50|20|0|0" passage="Jer 50:20">Jer. l.
20</scripRef>. And the comforts that flow into the soul when sin is
pardoned are like the <i>clear shining after clouds and
rain.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p28" shownumber="no">2. The universal joy which the deliverance
of God's people should bring along with it (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.23" parsed="|Isa|44|23|0|0" passage="Isa 44:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>): <i>Sing, O you heavens!</i>
This intimates, (1.) That the whole creation shall have cause for
joy and rejoicing in the redemption of God's people; to that it is
owing that it subsists (that it is rescued from the curse which the
sin of man brought upon the ground) and that it is again put into a
capacity of answering the ends of its being, and is assured that
though now it groans, being burdened, it shall at last be delivered
from the bondage of corruption. The greatest establishment of the
world is the kingdom of God in it, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.96.11-Ps.96.13 Bible:Ps.98.7-Ps.98.9" parsed="|Ps|96|11|96|13;|Ps|98|7|98|9" passage="Ps 96:11-13,98:7-9">Ps. xcvi. 11-13; xcviii. 7-9</scripRef>. (2.)
That the angels shall rejoice in it, and the inhabitants of the
upper world. The heavens shall sing, for the Lord has done it. And
there is joy in heaven when God and man are reconciled (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.15.7" parsed="|Luke|15|7|0|0" passage="Lu 15:7">Luke xv. 7</scripRef>), joy when Babylon falls,
<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p28.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.18.20" parsed="|Rev|18|20|0|0" passage="Re 18:20">Rev. xviii. 20</scripRef>. (3.) That
those who lay at the greatest distance, even the inhabitants of the
Gentile world, should join in these praises, as sharing in these
joys. The <i>lower parts of the earth,</i> the forest and the trees
there, shall bring in the tribute of thanksgiving for the
redemption of Israel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p29" shownumber="no">3. The encouragement we have to hope that
though great difficulties, and such as have been thought
insuperable, lie in the way of the church's deliverance, yet, when
the time for it shall come, they shall all be got over with ease;
for <i>thus saith Israel's Redeemer, I am the Lord that maketh all
things,</i> did make them at first and am still making them; for
providence is a continued creation. All being, power, life,
emotion, and perfection, are from God. He <i>stretches forth the
heavens alone,</i> has no help nor needs any; and the earth too he
<i>spreads abroad by himself,</i> and by his own power. Man was not
by him when he did it (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.38.4" parsed="|Job|38|4|0|0" passage="Job 38:4">Job xxxviii.
4</scripRef>), nor did any creature advise or assist; only his own
eternal wisdom and Word was by him then as <i>one brought up with
him,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.8.30" parsed="|Prov|8|30|0|0" passage="Pr 8:30">Prov. viii. 30</scripRef>. His
stretching out the heavens by himself denotes the boundless extent
of his power. The strongest man, if he has to stretch a thing out,
must get somebody or other to lend a hand; but God stretched out
the vast expanse and keeps it still upon the stretch, himself, by
his own power. Let not Israel be discouraged then; nothing is too
hard for him to do that made the world, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p29.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.124.8" parsed="|Ps|124|8|0|0" passage="Ps 124:8">Ps. cxxiv. 8</scripRef>. And, having made all things, he
can make what use he pleases of all, and has it in his power to
serve his own purposes by them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p30" shownumber="no">4. The confusion which this would put upon
the oracles of Babylon, by the confutation it would give them,
<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.25" parsed="|Isa|44|25|0|0" passage="Isa 44:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>. God, by
delivering his people out of Babylon, would <i>frustrate the tokens
of the liars,</i> of all the lying prophets, that said the
Babylonian monarchy had many ages yet to live, and pretended to
ground their predictions upon some token, some sign or other,
which, according to the rules of their arts, foreboded its
prosperity. How mad will these conjurors grow with vexation when
they see that their skill fails them, and that the contrary happens
to that which they so coveted and were so confident of. Nor would
it only baffle their pretended prophets, but their celebrated
politicians too: He <i>turns the wise men backward.</i> Finding
they cannot go on with their projects, they are forced to quit
them; and so he makes the judges fools, <i>and makes their
knowledge foolish.</i> Those that are made acquainted with Christ
see all the knowledge they had before to be foolishness in
comparison with the knowledge of him. And those that are
adversaries to him will find all their counsels, like Ahitophel's,
turned into foolishness, and themselves <i>taken in their own
craftiness,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p30.2" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.3.19" parsed="|1Cor|3|19|0|0" passage="1Co 3:19">1 Cor. iii.
19</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p31" shownumber="no">5. The confirmation which this would give
to the oracles of God, which the Jews had distrusted and their
enemies despised: God <i>confirms the word of his servant</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.26" parsed="|Isa|44|26|0|0" passage="Isa 44:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>); he
confirms it by accomplishing it in its season; and <i>performs the
counsel of the messengers</i> whom he hath many a time sent to his
people, to tell them what great blessings he had in store for them.
Note, The exact fulfilling of the prophecies of scripture is a
confirmation of the truth of the whole book and an incontestable
evidence of its divine origin and authority.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlv-p32" shownumber="no">6. The particular favours God designed for
his people, that were now in captivity, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p32.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.26-Isa.44.28" parsed="|Isa|44|26|44|28" passage="Isa 44:26-28"><i>v.</i> 26-28</scripRef>. These were foretold long
before they went into captivity, that they might see reason to
expect a correction, but no reason to fear a final destruction.
(1.) It is here supposed that Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah,
should for a time lie in ruins, dispeopled and uninhabited; but it
is promised that they shall be rebuilt and repeopled. When Isaiah
lived, Jerusalem and the cities of Judah were full of inhabitants;
but they will be emptied, burnt, and destroyed. It was then hard to
believe that concerning such strong and populous cities. But the
justice of God will do that; and, when that is done, it will be
hard to believe that ever they will recover themselves again, and
yet the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do that to. God has said to
Jerusalem, <i>Thou shalt be inhabited;</i> for, while the world
stands, God will have a church in it, and therefore he will raise
up those who <i>shall say to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built;</i>
for, if it be not built, it cannot be inhabited, <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p32.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.69.35-Ps.69.36" parsed="|Ps|69|35|69|36" passage="Ps 69:35,36">Ps. lxix. 35, 36</scripRef>. When God's time shall
have come for the building up of his church, let him alone to find
both houses for his people (for they shall not lie exposed) and
people for his houses, for they shall not stand empty. The cities
of Judah too shall again be built. The Assyrian army under
Sennacherib only took them, and then, upon the defeat of that army,
they returned undamaged to the right owners; but the Chaldean army
demolished them, and by carrying away the inhabitants left them to
go to decay of themselves; for, if less judgments prevail not to
humble and reform men, God will send greater. Yet these desolations
shall not be perpetual. God will <i>raise up the</i> wastes and
<i>decayed places thereof;</i> for he will not contend for ever.
The city of strangers, when it is ruined, shall never be built
(<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p32.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.2" parsed="|Isa|25|2|0|0" passage="Isa 25:2"><i>ch.</i> xxv. 2</scripRef>), but
the city of God's own children is but discontinued for a time. (2.)
It is here supposed that the temple too should be destroyed, and
lie for a time rased to the foundations; but it is promised that
the foundation of it shall again be laid, and no doubt built upon.
As the desolation of the sanctuary was to all the pious Jews the
most mournful part of the destruction, so the restoration and
re-establishment of it would be the most joyful part of the
deliverance. What joy can they have in the rebuilding of Jerusalem
if the temple there be not rebuilt? for it is that which makes it a
holy city and truly beautiful. This therefore was the chief thing
that the Jews had at heart and had in view in their return;
therefore they would go back to Jerusalem, to <i>build the house of
the Lord God of Israel there,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p32.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezra.1.3" parsed="|Ezra|1|3|0|0" passage="Ezr 1:3">Ezra
i. 3</scripRef>. (3.) It is here supposed that very great
difficulties would lie in the way of this deliverance, which it
would be impossible for them to wade through; but it is promised
that by a divine power they shall all be removed (<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p32.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.27" parsed="|Isa|44|27|0|0" passage="Isa 44:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>): <i>God saith to the
deep, Be dry;</i> so he did when he brought Israel out of Egypt,
and so he will again when he brings them out of Babylon, if there
be occasion. <i>Who art thou, O great mountain?</i> Dost thou stand
in the way? Before Zerubbabel, the commander-in-chief of the
returning captives, <i>thou shalt become a plain,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlv-p32.6" osisRef="Bible:Zech.4.7" parsed="|Zech|4|7|0|0" passage="Zec 4:7">Zech. iv. 7</scripRef>. So, <i>Who art thou, O
great deep?</i> Dost thou retard their passage and think to block
it up? Thou shalt be dry, and thy rivers that supply thee shall be
dried up. When Cyrus took Babylon by draining the river Euphrates
into many channels, and so making it passable for his army, this
was fulfilled. Note, Whatever obstructions lie in the way of
Israel's redemption, God can remove them with a word's speaking.
(4.) It is here supposed that none of the Jews themselves would be
able by might and power to force their way out of Babylon but it is
promised that God will raise up a stranger from afar off, that
shall fairly open the way for them, and now at length he names the
very man, many scores of years before he was born or thought of
(<scripRef id="Is.xlv-p32.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.28" parsed="|Isa|44|28|0|0" passage="Isa 44:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>): <i>That
saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd.</i> Israel is his people, and
the sheep of his pasture. These sheep are now in the midst of
wolves, in the hands of the thief and robber; they are impounded
for trespass. Now Cyrus shall be his shepherd, employed by him to
release these sheep, and to take care of their return to their own
green pasture again. "In this <i>he shall perform all my
pleasure,</i> shall bring about what is purposed by me and will be
highly pleasing to me." Note, [1.] The most contingent things are
certain to the divine prescience. He knew who was the person, and
what was his name, that should be the deliverer of his people, and,
when he pleased, he could let his church know it, that, when they
heard of such a name beginning to be talked of in the world, they
might <i>lift up their heads with joy, knowing that their
redemption drew nigh.</i> [2.] It is the greatest honour of the
greatest men to be employed for God as instruments of his favour to
his people. It was more the praise of Cyrus to be God's shepherd
than to be emperor of Persia. [3.] God makes what use he pleases of
men, of mighty men, of those that act with the greatest freedom;
and, when they think to do as they please, he can overrule them,
and make them do as he pleases. Nay, in those very things wherein
they are serving themselves, and look no further than that, God is
serving his own purposes by them and making them to perform all his
pleasure. Rich princes shall do what poor prophets have
foretold.</p>
</div></div2>