mh_parser/vol_split/23 - Isaiah/Chapter 2.xml

<div2 id="Is.iii" n="iii" next="Is.iv" prev="Is.ii" progress="1.34%" title="Chapter II">
<h2 id="Is.iii-p0.1">I S A I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Is.iii-p0.2">CHAP. II.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Is.iii-p1" shownumber="no">With this chapter begins a new sermon, which is
continued in the two following chapters. The subject of this
discourse is Judah and Jerusalem, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.1" parsed="|Isa|2|1|0|0" passage="Isa 2:1">ver.
1</scripRef>. In this chapter the prophet speaks, I. Of the glory
of the Christians, Jerusalem, the gospel-church in the latter days,
in the accession of many to it (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.2-Isa.2.3" parsed="|Isa|2|2|2|3" passage="Isa 2:2,3">ver.
2, 3</scripRef>), and the great peace it should introduce into the
world (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.4" parsed="|Isa|2|4|0|0" passage="Isa 2:4">ver. 4</scripRef>), whence he
infers the duty of the house of Jacob, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.5" parsed="|Isa|2|5|0|0" passage="Isa 2:5">ver. 5</scripRef>. II. Of the shame of the Jews,
Jerusalem, as it then was, and as it would be after its rejection
of the gospel and being rejected of God. 1. Their sin was their
shame, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.6-Isa.2.9" parsed="|Isa|2|6|2|9" passage="Isa 2:6-9">ver. 6-9</scripRef>. 2. God by
his judgments would humble them and put them to shame, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.10-Isa.2.17" parsed="|Isa|2|10|2|17" passage="Isa 2:10-17">ver. 10-17</scripRef>. 3. They should
themselves be ashamed of their confidence in their idols and in an
arm of flesh, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.18-Isa.2.22" parsed="|Isa|2|18|2|22" passage="Isa 2:18-22">ver.
18-22</scripRef>. And now which of these Jerusalems will we be the
inhabitants of—that which is full of the knowledge of God, which
will be our everlasting honour, or that which is full of horses and
chariots, and silver and gold, and such idols, which will in the
end be our shame?</p>
<scripCom id="Is.iii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2" parsed="|Isa|2|0|0|0" passage="Isa 2" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Is.iii-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.1-Isa.2.5" parsed="|Isa|2|1|2|5" passage="Isa 2:1-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.iii-p1.10">
<h4 id="Is.iii-p1.11">Increase of the Church
Predicted. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p1.12">b. c.</span> 758.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.iii-p2" shownumber="no">1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw
concerning Judah and Jerusalem.   2 And it shall come to pass
in the last days, <i>that</i> the mountain of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p2.1">Lord</span>'s house shall be established in the top of
the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all
nations shall flow unto it.   3 And many people shall go and
say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p2.2">Lord</span>, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he
will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out
of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p2.3">Lord</span> from Jerusalem.   4 And he shall judge
among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall
beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.   5 O house of Jacob,
come ye, and let us walk in the light of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p2.4">Lord</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p3" shownumber="no">The particular title of this sermon
(<scripRef id="Is.iii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.1" parsed="|Isa|2|1|0|0" passage="Isa 2:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>) is the same
with the general title of the book (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.1" parsed="|Isa|1|1|0|0" passage="Isa 1:1"><i>ch.</i> i. 1</scripRef>), only that what is there
called the <i>vision</i> is here called <i>the word which Isaiah
saw</i> (or the matter, or thing, which he saw), the truth of which
he had as full an assurance of in his own mind as if he had seen it
with his bodily eyes. Or this word was brought to him in a vision;
something he saw when he received this message from God. John
turned to <i>see the voice</i> that spoke with him. <scripRef id="Is.iii-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.12" parsed="|Rev|1|12|0|0" passage="Re 1:12">Rev. i. 12</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p4" shownumber="no">This sermon begins with the prophecy
relating to the last days, the days of the Messiah, when his
kingdom should be set up in the world, at the latter end of the
Mosaic economy. In the last days of the earthly Jerusalem, just
before the destruction of it, this heavenly Jerusalem should be
erected, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.22 Bible:Gal.4.26" parsed="|Heb|12|22|0|0;|Gal|4|26|0|0" passage="Heb 12:22,Ga 4:26">Heb. xii. 22; Gal.
iv. 26</scripRef>. Note, Gospel times are the last days. For 1.
They were long in coming, were a great while waited for by the
Old-Testament saints, and came at last. 2. We are not to look for
any dispensation of divine grace but what we have in the gospel,
<scripRef id="Is.iii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.1.8-Gal.1.9" parsed="|Gal|1|8|1|9" passage="Ga 1:8,9">Gal. i. 8, 9</scripRef>. 3. We are to
look for the second coming of Jesus Christ at the end of time, as
the Old-Testament saints did for his first coming; <i>this is the
last time,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:1John.2.18" parsed="|1John|2|18|0|0" passage="1Jo 2:18">1 John ii.
18</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p5" shownumber="no">Now the prophet here foretels,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p6" shownumber="no">I. The setting up of the Christian church,
and the planting of the Christian religion, in the world.
Christianity shall then be the mountain of the Lord's house; where
that is professed God will grant his presence, receive his people's
homage, and grant instruction and blessing, as he did of old in the
temple of Mount Zion. The gospel church, incorporated by Christ's
charter, shall then be the rendezvous of all the spiritual seed of
Abraham. Now it is here promised, I. That Christianity shall be
openly preached and professed; it shall be <i>prepared</i> (so the
margin reads it) in the top of the mountains, in the view and
hearing of all. Hence Christ's disciples are compared to a city on
a hill, which <i>cannot be hid,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.5.14" parsed="|Matt|5|14|0|0" passage="Mt 5:14">Matt. v. 14</scripRef>. They had many eyes upon them.
Christ himself <i>spoke openly to the world,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:John.18.20" parsed="|John|18|20|0|0" passage="Joh 18:20">John xviii. 20</scripRef>. What the apostles did was
not <i>done in a corner,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Acts.26.26" parsed="|Acts|26|26|0|0" passage="Ac 26:26">Acts
xxvi. 26</scripRef>. It was the lighting of a beacon, the setting
up of a standard. Its being every where spoken <i>against</i>
supposes that it was every where spoken <i>of.</i> 2. That is shall
be firmly fixed and rooted; it shall be established on the top of
the everlasting mountains, built upon a <i>rock,</i> so that the
<i>gates of hell shall not prevail against it,</i> unless they
could pluck up mountains by the roots. He that dwells safely is
said to <i>dwell on high,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.33.16" parsed="|Isa|33|16|0|0" passage="Isa 33:16"><i>ch.</i> xxxiii. 16</scripRef>. <i>The Lord has
founded the gospel Zion.</i> 3. That it shall not only overcome all
opposition, but overtop all competition; it shall be <i>exalted
above the hills.</i> This <i>wisdom of God in a mystery</i> shall
outshine all the wisdom of this world, all its philosophy and all
its politics. The spiritual worship which it shall introduce shall
put down the idolatries of the heathen; and all other institutions
in religion shall appear mean and despicable in comparison with
this. See <scripRef id="Is.iii-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.68.16" parsed="|Ps|68|16|0|0" passage="Ps 68:16">Ps. lxvi. 16</scripRef>.
<i>Why leap ye, ye high hills? This is the hill which God desires
to dwell in.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p7" shownumber="no">II. The bringing of the Gentiles into it.
1. The nations shall be admitted into it, even the uncircumcised,
who were forbidden to come into the courts of the temple at
Jerusalem. The partition wall, which kept them out, kept them off,
shall be taken down. 2. <i>All nations shall flow into it;</i>
having liberty of access, they shall improve their liberty, and
multitudes shall embrace the Christian faith. They shall flow into
it, as streams of water, which denotes the abundance of converts
that the gospel should make and their speed and cheerfulness in
coming into the church. They shall not be forced into it, but shall
naturally flow into it. <i>Thy people shall be willing,</i> all
volunteers, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.3" parsed="|Ps|110|3|0|0" passage="Ps 110:3">Ps. cx. 3</scripRef>. To
Christ shall the <i>gathering of the people be,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.49.10" parsed="|Gen|49|10|0|0" passage="Ge 49:10">Gen. xlix. 10</scripRef>. See <scripRef id="Is.iii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.60.4-Isa.60.5" parsed="|Isa|60|4|60|5" passage="Isa 60:4,5"><i>ch.</i> lx. 4, 5</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p8" shownumber="no">III. The mutual assistance and
encouragement which this confluence of converts shall give to one
another. Their pious affections and resolutions shall be so
intermixed that they shall come in in one full stream. As, when the
Jews from all parts of the country went up thrice a year to worship
at Jerusalem, they called on their friends in the road and excited
them to go along with them, so shall many of the Gentiles court
their relations, friends, and neighbours, to join with them in
embracing the Christian religion (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.3" parsed="|Isa|2|3|0|0" passage="Isa 2:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): "<i>Come, and let us go up to
the mountain of the Lord;</i> though it be uphill and against the
heart, yet it is <i>the mountain of the Lord,</i> who will assist
the assent of our souls towards him." Note, Those that are entering
into covenant and communion with God themselves should bring as
many as they can along with them; it becomes Christians to provoke
one another to good works, and to further the communion of saints
by inviting one another into it: not, "Do you <i>go up to the
mountain of the Lord,</i> and pray for us, and we will stay at
home;" nor, "We will go, and do you do as you will;" but, "<i>Come,
and let us go,</i> let us go in concert, that we may strengthen one
another's hands and support one another's reputation:" not, "We
will consider of it, and advise about it, and go hereafter;" but,
<i>Come, and let us go forthwith.</i> See <scripRef id="Is.iii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.122.1" parsed="|Ps|122|1|0|0" passage="Ps 122:1">Ps. cxxii. 1</scripRef>. Many shall say this. Those that
have had it said to them shall say it to others. The gospel church
is here called, not only <i>the mountain of the Lord,</i> but
<i>the house of the God of Jacob;</i> for in it God's covenant with
Jacob and his praying seed is kept up and has its accomplishment;
for to us now, as unto them, he never said, <i>Seek you me in
vain,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.19" parsed="|Isa|45|19|0|0" passage="Isa 45:19"><i>ch.</i> xlv.
19</scripRef>. Now see here, 1. What they promise themselves in
going up to the <i>mountain of the Lord;</i> There <i>he will teach
us of his ways.</i> Note, God's ways are to be learned in his
church, in communion with his people, and in the use of instituted
ordinances—the ways of duty which he requires us to walk in, the
ways of grace in which he walks towards us. It is God that teaches
his people, by his word and Spirit. It is worth while to take pains
to go up to his holy mountain to be taught his ways, and those who
are willing to take that pains shall never find it labour in vain.
Then <i>shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord.</i> 2. What
they <i>promise for themselves</i> and one another: "If he will
<i>teach us his ways,</i> we will <i>walk in his paths;</i> is he
will let us know our duty, we will by his grace make conscience of
doing it." Those who attend God's word with this humble resolution
shall not be sent away without their lesson.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p9" shownumber="no">IV. The means by which this shall be
brought about: <i>Out of Zion shall go forth the law,</i> the
New-Testament law, the law of Christ, as of old the law of Moses
from Mount Sinai, even <i>the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.</i>
The gospel is a law, a law of faith; it is the <i>word of the
Lord;</i> it <i>went forth from Zion,</i> where the temple was
built, and from Jerusalem. Christ himself began in Galilee,
<scripRef id="Is.iii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.23 Bible:Luke.23.5" parsed="|Matt|4|23|0|0;|Luke|23|5|0|0" passage="Mt 4:23,Lu 23:5">Matt. iv. 23; Luke xxiii.
5</scripRef>. But, when he commissioned his apostles to preach the
gospel to all nations, he appointed them to begin in Jerusalem,
<scripRef id="Is.iii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.24.47" parsed="|Luke|24|47|0|0" passage="Lu 24:47">Luke xxiv. 47</scripRef>. See
<scripRef id="Is.iii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.15.19" parsed="|Rom|15|19|0|0" passage="Ro 15:19">Rom. xv. 19</scripRef>. Though most of
them had their homes in Galilee, yet they must stay at Jerusalem,
there to <i>receive the promise of the Spirit,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Acts.1.4" parsed="|Acts|1|4|0|0" passage="Ac 1:4">Acts i. 4</scripRef>. And in the temple on Mount
Zion they preached the gospel, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Acts.5.20" parsed="|Acts|5|20|0|0" passage="Ac 5:20">Acts v.
20</scripRef>. This honour was allowed to Jerusalem, even after
Christ was crucified there, for the sake of what it had been. And
it was by this gospel, which took rise from Jerusalem, that the
gospel church was <i>established on the top of the mountains.</i>
This was the rod of divine strength, that was <i>sent forth out of
Zion,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p9.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.2" parsed="|Ps|110|2|0|0" passage="Ps 110:2">Ps. cx. 2</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p10" shownumber="no">V. The erecting of the kingdom of the
Redeemer in the world: <i>He shall judge among the nations.</i> He
whose word goes forth out of Zion shall by that word not only
subdue souls to himself, but rule in them, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.4" parsed="|Isa|2|4|0|0" passage="Isa 2:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. He shall, in wisdom and justice,
order and overrule the affairs of the world for the good of his
church, and rebuke and restrain those that oppose his interest. By
his Spirit working on men's consciences he shall judge, and rebuke
shall try men and check them; his kingdom is spiritual, <i>and not
of this world.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p11" shownumber="no">VI. The great peace which should be the
effect of the success of the gospel in the world (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.4" parsed="|Isa|2|4|0|0" passage="Isa 2:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>They shall beat their
swords into ploughshares;</i> their instruments of war shall be
converted into implements of husbandry; as, on the contrary, when
war is proclaimed, <i>ploughshares are beaten into swords,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.iii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Joel.3.10" parsed="|Joel|3|10|0|0" passage="Joe 3:10">Joel iii. 10</scripRef>. <i>Nations
shall then not lift up sword against nation,</i> as they now do,
<i>neither shall they learn war any more,</i> for they shall have
no more occasion for it. This does not make all war absolutely
unlawful among Christians, nor is it a prophecy that in the days of
the Messiah there shall be no wars. The Jews urge this against the
Christians as an argument that Jesus is not the Messiah, because
this promise is not fulfilled. But, 1. It was in part fulfilled in
the peaceableness of the time in which Christ was born, when wars
had in a great measure ceased, witness <i>the taxing,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.2.1" parsed="|Luke|2|1|0|0" passage="Lu 2:1">Luke ii. 1</scripRef>. 2. The design and tendency
of the gospel are to make peace and to slay all enmities. It has in
it the most powerful obligations and inducements to peace; so that
one might reasonably have expected it should have this effect, and
it would have had it if it had not been for those lusts of men from
which come wars and fightings. 3. Jew and Gentiles were reconciled
and brought together by the gospel, and there were no more such
wars between them as there had been; for they became <i>one
sheepfold under one shepherd.</i> See <scripRef id="Is.iii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Eph.2.15" parsed="|Eph|2|15|0|0" passage="Eph 2:15">Eph. ii. 15</scripRef>. 4. The gospel of Christ, as far
as it prevails, disposes men to be peaceable, softens men's
spirits, and sweetens them; and the love of Christ, shed abroad in
the heart, constrains men to love one another. 5. The primitive
Christians were famous for brotherly love; their very adversaries
took notice of it. 6. We have reason to hope that this promise
shall yet have a more full accomplishment in the latter times of
the Christian church, when the Spirit shall be poured out more
plentifully from on high. Then there shall be on earth peace.
<i>Who shall live when God doeth this?</i> But do it he will in due
time, for <i>he is not a man that he should lie.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p12" shownumber="no"><i>Lastly,</i> Here is a practical
inference drawn from all this (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.5" parsed="|Isa|2|5|0|0" passage="Isa 2:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): <i>O house of Jacob! come you,
and let us walk in the light of the Lord.</i> By the house of Jacob
is meant either, 1. Israel according to the flesh. Let them be
provoked by this <i>to a holy emulation,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.14" parsed="|Rom|11|14|0|0" passage="Ro 11:14">Rom. xi. 14</scripRef>. "Seeing the Gentiles are thus
ready and resolved for God, thus forward to go up to the house of
the Lord, let us stir up ourselves to go too. Let it never be said
that the sinners of the Gentiles were better friends to the holy
mountain than the house of Jacob." Thus the zeal of some should
provoke many. Or, 2. Spiritual Israel, all that are brought to the
God of Jacob. Shall there be such great knowledge in gospel times
(<scripRef id="Is.iii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.3" parsed="|Isa|2|3|0|0" passage="Isa 2:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>) and such great
peace (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.4" parsed="|Isa|2|4|0|0" passage="Isa 2:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>), and
shall we share in these privileges? Come then, and let us live
accordingly. What ever others do, <i>come, O come!</i> let us
<i>walk in the light of the Lord.</i> (1.) Let us walk
circumspectly in the light of this knowledge. Will God teach us his
ways? Will he show us his glory in the face of Christ? Let us then
<i>walk as children of the light and of the day,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Eph.5.8 Bible:1Thess.5.8 Bible:Rom.13.12" parsed="|Eph|5|8|0|0;|1Thess|5|8|0|0;|Rom|13|12|0|0" passage="Eph 5:8,1Th 5:8,Ro 13:12">Eph. v. 8; 1 Thess. v. 8; Rom.
xiii. 12</scripRef>. (2.) Let us walk comfortably in the light of
this peace. Shall there be no more war? Let us then go on our way
rejoicing, and let this joy terminate in God, and be our strength,
<scripRef id="Is.iii-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:Neh.8.10" parsed="|Neh|8|10|0|0" passage="Ne 8:10">Neh. viii. 10</scripRef>. Thus shall we
walk in the beams of the Sun of righteousness.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.iii-p12.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.6-Isa.2.9" parsed="|Isa|2|6|2|9" passage="Isa 2:6-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.iii-p12.8">
<h4 id="Is.iii-p12.9">A Charge against the
Israelites. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p12.10">b. c.</span> 758.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.iii-p13" shownumber="no">6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the
house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and
<i>are</i> soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please
themselves in the children of strangers.   7 Their land also
is full of silver and gold, neither <i>is there any</i> end of
their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither <i>is
there any</i> end of their chariots:   8 Their land also is
full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which
their own fingers have made:   9 And the mean man boweth down,
and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p14" shownumber="no">The calling in of the Gentiles was
accompanied with the rejection of the Jews; it was their fall, and
the <i>diminishing of them, that was the riches of the
Gentiles;</i> and the <i>casting off of them</i> was <i>the
reconciling of the world</i> (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.12-Rom.11.15" parsed="|Rom|11|12|11|15" passage="Ro 11:12-15">Rom.
xi. 12-15</scripRef>); and it should seem that these verses have
reference to that, and are designed to justify God therein, and yet
it is probable that they are primarily intended for the convincing
and awakening of the men of that generation in which the prophet
lived, it being usual with the prophets to speak of the things that
then were, both in mercy and judgment, as types of the things that
should be hereafter. Here is,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p15" shownumber="no">I. Israel's doom. This is set forth in two
words, the first and the last of this paragraph; but they are two
dreadful words, and which speak, 1. Their case sad, very sad
(<scripRef id="Is.iii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.6" parsed="|Isa|2|6|0|0" passage="Isa 2:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): <i>Therefore
thou hast forsaken thy people.</i> Miserable is the condition of
that people whom God has forsaken, and great certainly must the
provocation be if he forsake those that have been his own people.
This was the deplorable case of the Jewish church after they had
rejected Christ. <i>Migremus hinc—Let us go hence. Your house is
left unto you desolate,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.23.38" parsed="|Matt|23|38|0|0" passage="Mt 23:38">Matt.
xxiii. 38</scripRef>. Whenever any sore calamity came upon the Jews
thus far the Lord might be said to forsake them that he withdrew
his help and succour from them, else they would not have fallen
into the hands of their enemies. But God never leaves any till they
first leave him. 2. Their case desperate, wholly desperate
(<scripRef id="Is.iii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.9" parsed="|Isa|2|9|0|0" passage="Isa 2:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): <i>Therefore
forgive them not.</i> This prophetical prayer amounts to a
threatening that they should not be forgiven, and some think it may
be read: <i>And thou wilt not forgive them.</i> This refers not to
particular persons (many of them repented and were pardoned), but
to the body of that nation, against whom an irreversible doom was
passed, that they should be wholly cut off and their church quite
dismantled, never to be formed into such a body again, nor ever to
have their old charter restored to them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p16" shownumber="no">II. Israel's desert of this doom, and the
reasons upon which it is grounded. In general, it is sin that
brings destruction upon them; it is this, and nothing but this,
that provokes God to forsake his people. The particular sins which
the prophet specifies are such as abounded among them at that time,
which he makes mention of for the conviction of those to whom he
then preached, rather than that which afterwards proved the
measure-filling sin, their crucifying Christ and persecuting his
followers; for the sins of every age contributed towards the making
up of the dreadful account at last. And there was a partial and
temporary rejection of them by the captivity in Babylon hastening
on, which was a type of their final destruction by the Romans, and
which the sins here mentioned brought upon them. Their sins were
such as directly contradicted all God's kind and gracious designs
concerning them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p17" shownumber="no">1. God set them apart for himself, as a
peculiar people, distinguished from, and dignified above, all other
people (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Num.23.9" parsed="|Num|23|9|0|0" passage="Nu 23:9">Num. xxiii. 9</scripRef>); but
they were <i>replenished from the east;</i> they <i>naturalized</i>
foreigners, not <i>proselyted,</i> and encouraged them to settle
among them, and mingled with them, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.7.8" parsed="|Hos|7|8|0|0" passage="Ho 7:8">Hos.
vii. 8</scripRef>. Their country was peopled with Syrians and
Chaldeans, Moabites and Ammonites, and other eastern nations, and
with them they admitted the fashions and customs of those nations,
and <i>pleased themselves in the children of strangers,</i> were
fond of them, preferred their country before their own, and thought
the more they conformed to them the more polite and refined they
were; thus did they profane their crown and their covenant. Note,
Those are in danger of being estranged from God who please
themselves with those who are strangers to him, for we soon learn
the ways of those whose company we love.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p18" shownumber="no">2. God gave them his oracles, which they
might ask counsel of, not only the scriptures and the seers, but
the breast-plate of judgment; but they slighted these, and became
soothsayers like the Philistines, introduced their arts of
divination, and hearkened to those who by the stars, or the clouds,
or the flight of birds, or the entrails of beasts, or other magic
superstitions, pretended to discover things secret or foretel
things to come. The Philistines were noted for diviners, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.6.2" parsed="|1Sam|6|2|0|0" passage="1Sa 6:2">1 Sam. vi. 2</scripRef>. Note, Those who slight
true divinity are justly given up to lying divinations; and those
will certainly be forsaken of God who thus forsake him and their
own mercies for lying vanities.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p19" shownumber="no">3. God encouraged them to put their
confidence in him, and assured them that he would be their wealth
and strength; but, distrusting his power and promise, they made
gold their hope, and furnished themselves with horses and chariots,
and relied upon them for their safety, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.7" parsed="|Isa|2|7|0|0" passage="Isa 2:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. God had expressly forbidden even
their kings to multiply horses to themselves and <i>greatly to
multiply silver and gold,</i> because he would have them to depend
upon himself only; but they did not think their interest in God
made them a match for their neighbours unless they had as full
treasures of silver and gold, and as formidable hosts of chariots
and horses, as they had. It is not having silver and gold, horses
and chariots, that is a provocation to God, but, (1.) Desiring them
insatiably, so that there is no end of the treasures, no end of the
chariots, no bounds or limits set to the desire of them. Those
shall never have enough in God (who alone is all-sufficient) that
never know when they have enough of this world, which at the best
is insufficient. (2.) Depending upon them, as if we could not be
safe, and easy, and happy, without them, and could not but be so
with them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p20" shownumber="no">4. God himself was their God, the sole
object of their worship, and he himself instituted ordinances of
worship for them; but they slighted both him and his institutions,
<scripRef id="Is.iii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.8" parsed="|Isa|2|8|0|0" passage="Isa 2:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. Their land was
full of idols; every city had its god (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.11.13" parsed="|Jer|11|13|0|0" passage="Jer 11:13">Jer. xi. 13</scripRef>); and, according to the goodness
of their lands, they made goodly images, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Hos.10.1" parsed="|Hos|10|1|0|0" passage="Ho 10:1">Hos. x. 1</scripRef>. Those that think one God too little
will find two too many, and yet hundreds were not sufficient; for
those that love idols will multiply them; so sottish were they, and
so wretchedly infatuated, that they <i>worshipped the work of their
own hands,</i> as if that could be a god to them which was not only
a creature, but <i>their</i> creature and that which their own
fancies had devised and <i>their own fingers had made.</i> It was
an aggravation of their idolatry that God had enriched them with
silver and gold, and yet of that silver and gold they made idols;
so it was, <i>Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked,</i> see <scripRef id="Is.iii-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Hos.2.8" parsed="|Hos|2|8|0|0" passage="Hos 2:8">Hos. ii. 8</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p21" shownumber="no">5. God had advanced them, and put honour
upon them; but they basely diminished and disparaged themselves
(<scripRef id="Is.iii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.9" parsed="|Isa|2|9|0|0" passage="Isa 2:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): <i>The mean
man boweth down to his idol,</i> a thing below the meanest that has
any spark of reason left. Sin is a disparagement to the poorest and
those of the lowest rank. It becomes the mean man to bow down to
his superiors, but it ill becomes him to <i>bow down to the stock
of a tree,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.19" parsed="|Isa|44|19|0|0" passage="Isa 44:19"><i>ch.</i> xliv.
19</scripRef>. Nor is it only the illiterate and poor-spirited that
do this, but even the <i>great men</i> forgets his grandeur and
humbles himself to worship idols, deifies men no better than
himself, and consecrates stones so much baser than himself.
Idolaters are said to <i>debase themselves even to hell,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.iii-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.57.9" parsed="|Isa|57|9|0|0" passage="Isa 57:9"><i>ch.</i> lvii. 9</scripRef>. What a
shame it is that great men think the service of the true God below
them and will not stoop to it, and yet will humble themselves to
bow down to an idol! Some make this a threatening that the mean men
shall be brought down, and the great men humbled, by the judgments
of God, when they come with commission.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.iii-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.10-Isa.2.22" parsed="|Isa|2|10|2|22" passage="Isa 2:10-22" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.iii-p21.5">
<h4 id="Is.iii-p21.6">The Doom of Idolaters. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p21.7">b. c.</span> 758.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.iii-p22" shownumber="no">10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the
dust, for fear of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p22.1">Lord</span>, and for
the glory of his majesty.   11 The lofty looks of man shall be
humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p22.2">Lord</span> alone shall be exalted in that
day.   12 For the day of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p22.3">Lord</span> of hosts <i>shall be</i> upon every <i>one
that is</i> proud and lofty, and upon every <i>one that is</i>
lifted up; and he shall be brought low:   13 And upon all the
cedars of Lebanon, <i>that are</i> high and lifted up, and upon all
the oaks of Bashan,   14 And upon all the high mountains, and
upon all the hills <i>that are</i> lifted up,   15 And upon
every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,   16 And upon
all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.  
17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the
haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p22.4">Lord</span> alone shall be exalted in that day.  
18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.   19 And they shall
go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth,
for fear of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p22.5">Lord</span>, and for the
glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
  20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his
idols of gold, which they made <i>each one</i> for himself to
worship, to the moles and to the bats;   21 To go into the
clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for
fear of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.iii-p22.6">Lord</span>, and for the glory
of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.  
22 Cease ye from man, whose breath <i>is</i> in his nostrils: for
wherein is he to be accounted of?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p23" shownumber="no">The prophet here goes on to show what a
desolation would be brought upon their land when God should have
forsaken them. This may refer particularly to their destruction by
the Chaldeans first, and afterwards by the Romans, or it may have a
general respect to the method God takes to awaken and humble proud
sinners, and to put them out of conceit with that which they
delighted in and depended on more than God. We are here told that
sooner or later God will find out a way,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p24" shownumber="no">I. To startle and awaken secure sinners,
who cry peace to themselves, and bid defiance to God and his
judgments (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.10" parsed="|Isa|2|10|0|0" passage="Isa 2:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>):
"<i>Enter into the rock;</i> God will attack you with such terrible
judgments, and strike you with such terrible apprehensions of them,
that you shall be forced to <i>enter into the rock, and hide
yourself in the dust, for fear of the Lord.</i> You shall lose all
your courage, and tremble at the shaking of a leaf; your heart
shall <i>fail you for fear</i> (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.21.26" parsed="|Luke|21|26|0|0" passage="Lu 21:26">Luke
xxi. 26</scripRef>), and you shall <i>flee when none pursues,</i>"
<scripRef id="Is.iii-p24.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.28.1" parsed="|Prov|28|1|0|0" passage="Pr 28:1">Prov. xxviii. 1</scripRef>. To the same
purport, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p24.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.19" parsed="|Isa|2|19|0|0" passage="Isa 2:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>.
<i>They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of
the earth,</i> the darkest the deepest places; they shall <i>call
to the rocks and mountains to fall on them,</i> and rather crush
them than not cover them, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p24.5" osisRef="Bible:Hos.10.8" parsed="|Hos|10|8|0|0" passage="Ho 10:8">Hos. x.
8</scripRef>. It was so particularly at the destruction of
Jerusalem by the Romans (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p24.6" osisRef="Bible:Luke.23.30" parsed="|Luke|23|30|0|0" passage="Lu 23:30">Luke xxiii.
30</scripRef>) and of the persecuting pagan powers, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p24.7" osisRef="Bible:Rev.6.16" parsed="|Rev|6|16|0|0" passage="Re 6:16">Rev. vi. 16</scripRef>. And all <i>for fear of
the Lord, and of the glory of his majesty,</i> looking upon him
then to be a consuming fire and themselves as stubble before him,
<i>when he arises to shake terribly the earth,</i> to <i>shake the
wicked out of it</i> (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p24.8" osisRef="Bible:Job.38.13" parsed="|Job|38|13|0|0" passage="Job 38:13">Job xxxviii.
13</scripRef>), and to shake all those earthly props and supports
with which they have buoyed themselves up, to shake them from under
them. Note, 1. <i>With God is terrible majesty,</i> and the glory
of it is such as sooner or later will oblige us all to flee before
him. 2. Those that will not fear God and flee to him will be forced
to fear him and flee from him to a refuge of lies. 3. It is folly
for those that are pursued by the wrath of God to think to escape
it, and to hide or shelter themselves from it. 4. The things of the
earth are things that will be shaken; they are subject to
concussions, and hastening towards a dissolution. 5. The shaking of
the earth is, and will be, a terrible thing to those who set their
affections wholly on things of the earth. 6. It will be in vain to
think of finding refuge in the caves of the earth when the earth
itself is shaken; there will be no shelter then but in God and in
things above.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p25" shownumber="no">II. To humble and abase proud sinners, that
look big, and think highly of themselves, and scornfully of all
about them (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.11" parsed="|Isa|2|11|0|0" passage="Isa 2:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>):
<i>The lofty looks of man shall be humbled.</i> The eyes that aim
high, the countenance in which the pride of the heart shows itself,
shall be cast down in shame and despair. And the <i>haughtiness of
men shall be bowed down,</i> their spirits shall be broken, and
they shall be crest-fallen, and those things which they were proud
of they shall be ashamed of. It is repeated (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.17" parsed="|Isa|2|17|0|0" passage="Isa 2:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>), <i>The loftiness of man shall
be bowed down.</i> Note, Pride will, one way or other, have a fall.
Men's haughtiness will be brought down, either by the grace of God
convincing them of the evil of their pride, and clothing them with
humility, or by the providence of God depriving them of all those
things they were proud of and laying them low. Our Saviour often
laid it down for a maxim that <i>he who exalts himself shall be
abased;</i> he shall either abase himself in true repentance or God
will abase him and pour contempt upon him. Now here we are
told,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p26" shownumber="no">1. Why this shall be done: because the
<i>Lord alone will be exalted.</i> Note, Proud men shall be
vilified because the Lord alone will be magnified. It is for the
honour of God's power to humble the proud; by this he proves
himself to be God, and disproves Job's pretensions to rival with
him, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.40.11-Job.40.14" parsed="|Job|40|11|40|14" passage="Job 40:11-14">Job xl. 11-14</scripRef>.
<i>Behold every one that is proud, and abase him; then will I also
confess unto thee.</i> It is likewise for the honour of his
justice. Proud men stand in competition with God, who is jealous
for his own glory, and will not suffer men either to take to
themselves or give to another that which is due to him only. They
likewise stand in opposition to God; they resist him, and therefore
he resists them; for he <i>will be exalted among the heathen</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.iii-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.46.10" parsed="|Ps|46|10|0|0" passage="Ps 46:10">Ps. xlvi. 10</scripRef>), and there
is a day coming in which he alone will be exalted, when he shall
have put <i>down all opposing rule, principality, and power,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.iii-p26.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.15.24" parsed="|1Cor|15|24|0|0" passage="1Co 15:24">1 Cor. xv. 24</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p27" shownumber="no">2. How this shall be done: by humbling
judgments, that shall mortify men, and bring them down (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.12" parsed="|Isa|2|12|0|0" passage="Isa 2:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>): <i>The day of the Lord
of hosts,</i> the day of his wrath and judgment, <i>shall be upon
every one that is proud.</i> He now laughs at their insolence
because he sees that his day is coming, this day, which will be
upon them ere they are aware, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.37.13" parsed="|Ps|37|13|0|0" passage="Ps 37:13">Ps.
xxxvii. 13</scripRef>. This day of the Lord is here said to be upon
<i>all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up.</i>
Jerome observes that the cedars are said to praise God (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p27.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.148.9" parsed="|Ps|148|9|0|0" passage="Ps 148:9">Ps. cxlviii. 9</scripRef>) and are <i>trees of
the Lord</i> (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p27.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.104.16" parsed="|Ps|104|16|0|0" passage="Ps 104:16">Ps. civ.
16</scripRef>), <i>of his planting</i> (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p27.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.41.19" parsed="|Isa|41|19|0|0" passage="Isa 41:19">Isa. xli. 19</scripRef>), and yet here God's wrath
fastens upon the cedars, which denotes (says he) that some of every
rank of men, some great men, will be saved, and some perish. It is
brought in as an instance of the strength of God's voice that it
<i>breaks the cedars</i> (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p27.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.29.5" parsed="|Ps|29|5|0|0" passage="Ps 29:5">Ps. xxix.
5</scripRef>), and here the day of the Lord is said to be <i>upon
the cedars,</i> those of Lebanon, they were the straightest and
statliest,—upon the oaks, those of Bashan, that were the strongest
and sturdiest,—upon the natural elevations and fortresses, <i>the
highest mountains and the hills that are lifted up</i> (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p27.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.14" parsed="|Isa|2|14|0|0" passage="Isa 2:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), that overtop the
valleys and seem to push the skies,—and upon the artificial
fastnesses, <i>every high tower and every fenced wall,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.iii-p27.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.15" parsed="|Isa|2|15|0|0" passage="Isa 2:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. Understand
these, (1.) As representing the proud people themselves, that are
in their own apprehensions like the cedars and the oaks, firmly
rooted, and not to be stirred by any storm, and looking on all
around them as shrubs; these are the high mountains and the lofty
hills that seem to fill the earth, that are gazed on by all, and
think themselves immovable, but lie most obnoxious to God's
thunderstrokes. <i>Feriuntique summos fulmina montes—The highest
hills are most exposed to lightning.</i> And before the power of
God's wrath these mountains are scattered and these hills bow and
<i>melt like wax,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p27.9" osisRef="Bible:Hab.3.6 Bible:Ps.68.8" parsed="|Hab|3|6|0|0;|Ps|68|8|0|0" passage="Hab 3:6,Ps 68:8">Hab. iii.
6; Ps. lxvi. 8</scripRef>. These vaunting men, who are as high
towers in which the noisy bells are hung, on which the thundering
murdering cannon are planted—these fenced walls, that fortify
themselves with their native hardiness, and intrench themselves in
their fastnesses—shall be brought down. (2.) As particularizing
the things they are proud of, in which they trust, and of which they
make their boast. The day of the Lord shall be upon those very
things in which they put their confidence as their strength and
security; he will <i>take from them all their armour wherein they
trusted.</i> Did the inhabitants of Lebanon glory in their cedars,
and those of Bashan in their oaks, such as no country could equal?
The day of the Lord should rend those cedars, those oaks, and the
houses built of them. Did Jerusalem glory in the mountains that
were round about it, as its impregnable fortifications, or in its
walls and bulwarks? These should be levelled and laid low in the
day of the Lord. Besides those things that were for their strength
and safety they were proud, [1.] Of their trade abroad; but the day
of the Lord shall be <i>upon all the ships of Tarshish;</i> they
shall be broken as Jehoshaphat's were, shall founder at sea or be
ship-wrecked in harbour. Zebulun was a haven of ships, but should
now no more rejoice in his going out. When God is bringing ruin
upon a people he can sink all the branches of their revenue. [2.]
Of their ornaments at home; but the day of the Lord shall be
<i>upon all pleasant pictures,</i> the painting of their ships (so
some understand it) or the curious pieces of painting they brought
home in their ships from other countries, perhaps from Greece,
which afterwards was famous for painters. Upon <i>every thing that
is beautiful to behold;</i> so some read it. Perhaps they were the
pictures of their relations, and for that reason pleasant, or of
their gods, which to the idolaters were delectable things; or they
admired them for the fineness of their colours or strokes. There is
no harm in making pictures, nor in adorning our rooms with them,
provided they transgress not either the second or the seventh
commandment. But to place our pictures among our pleasant things,
to be fond of them and proud of them, to spend that upon them which
should be laid out in charity, and to set our hearts upon them, as
it ill becomes those who have so many substantial things to take
pleasure in, so it tends to provoke God to strip us of all such
vain ornaments.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p28" shownumber="no">III. To make idolaters ashamed of their
idols, and of all the affection they have had for them and the
respect they have paid to them (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.18" parsed="|Isa|2|18|0|0" passage="Isa 2:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): <i>The idols he shall utterly
abolish.</i> When the Lord alone shall be exalted (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.17" parsed="|Isa|2|17|0|0" passage="Isa 2:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>) he will not only pour
contempt upon proud men, who like Pharaoh exalt themselves against
him, but much more upon all pretended deities, who are rivals with
him for divine honours. They shall be abolished, utterly abolished.
Their friends shall desert them; their enemies shall destroy them;
so that, one way or other, an utter riddance shall be made of them.
See here, 1. The vanity of false gods; they cannot secure
themselves, so far are they from being able to secure their
worshippers. 2. The victory of the true God over them; for <i>great
is the truth and will prevail.</i> Dagon fell before the ark, and
Baal before the Lord God of Elijah. The gods of the heathen shall
be famished (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:Zeph.2.11" parsed="|Zeph|2|11|0|0" passage="Zep 2:11">Zeph. ii. 11</scripRef>),
and by degrees shall perish, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.10.11" parsed="|Jer|10|11|0|0" passage="Jer 10:11">Jer. x.
11</scripRef>. The rightful Sovereign will triumph over all
pretenders. And, as God will abolish idols, so their worshippers
shall abandon them, either from a gracious conviction of their
vanity and falsehood (as Ephraim when he said, <i>What have I to do
any more with idols?</i>) or from a late and sad experience of
their inability to help them, and a woeful despair of relief by
them, <scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.20" parsed="|Isa|2|20|0|0" passage="Isa 2:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. When
men are themselves frightened by the judgments of God into the
holes of the rocks and caves of the earth, and find that they do
thus in vain shift for their own safety, they shall cast their
idols, which they have made their gods, and hoped to make their
friends in the time of need, to the moles and to the bats, any
where out of sight, that, being freed from the incumbrance of them,
they may <i>go into the clefts of the rocks, for fear of the
Lord,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.21" parsed="|Isa|2|21|0|0" passage="Isa 2:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>.
Note, (1.) Those that will not be reasoned out of their sins sooner
or later shall be frightened out of them. (2.) God can make men
sick of those idols that they have been most fond of, even the
idols of silver and the idols of gold, the most precious. Covetous
men make silver and gold their idols, money their god; but the time
may come when they may feel it as much their burden as ever they
made it their confidence, and may find themselves as much exposed
by it as ever they hoped they should be guarded by it, when it
tempts their enemy, sinks their ship, or retards their flight.
There was a time when the mariners threw the wares, and even the
<i>wheat into the sea</i> (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.7" osisRef="Bible:Jonah.1.5 Bible:Acts.27.38" parsed="|Jonah|1|5|0|0;|Acts|27|38|0|0" passage="Jon 1:5,Ac 27:38">Jonah i. 5; Acts xxvii. 38</scripRef>), and the
<i>Syrians cast away their garments for haste,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.8" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.7.15" parsed="|2Kgs|7|15|0|0" passage="2Ki 7:15">2 Kings vii. 15</scripRef>. Or men may cast it
away out of indignation at themselves for leaning upon such a
broken reed. See <scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.9" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.7.19" parsed="|Ezek|7|19|0|0" passage="Eze 7:19">Ezek. vii.
19</scripRef>. The idolaters here throw away their idols because
they are ashamed of them and of their own folly in trusting to
them, or because they are afraid of having them found in their
possession when the judgments of God are abroad; as the thief
throws away his stolen goods then he is searched for or pursued.
(3.) The darkest holes, where the moles and the bats lodge, are the
fittest places for idols, that have eyes and see not; and God can
force men to cast their own idols there (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.10" osisRef="Bible:Isa.30.22" parsed="|Isa|30|22|0|0" passage="Isa 30:22"><i>ch.</i> xxx. 22</scripRef>), when they are
<i>ashamed of the oaks which they have desired,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.11" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.29" parsed="|Isa|1|29|0|0" passage="Isa 1:29"><i>ch.</i> i. 29</scripRef>. <i>Moab shall be
ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of
Bethel,</i> <scripRef id="Is.iii-p28.12" osisRef="Bible:Jer.48.13" parsed="|Jer|48|13|0|0" passage="Jer 48:13">Jer. xlviii.
13</scripRef>. (4.) It is possible that sin may be both loathed and
left and yet not truly repented of—loathed because surfeited on,
left because there is no opportunity of committing it, yet not
repented of out of any love to God, but only from a slavish fear of
his wrath.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.iii-p29" shownumber="no">IV. To make those that have trusted in an
arm of flesh ashamed of their confidence (<scripRef id="Is.iii-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.22" parsed="|Isa|2|22|0|0" passage="Isa 2:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>): "<i>Cease from man.</i> The
providences of God concerning you shall speak this aloud to you,
and therefore take warning beforehand, that you may prevent the
uneasiness and shame of disappointment; and consider, 1. How weak
man is: <i>His breath is in his nostrils,</i> puffed out every
moment, soon gone for good and all." Man is a dying creature, and
may die quickly; our nostrils, in which our breath is, are of the
outward parts of the body; what is there is like one standing at
the door, ready to depart; nay the doors of the nostrils are always
open, the breath in them may slip away ere we are aware, in a
moment. Wherein then is man to be accounted of? Alas! no reckoning
is to be made of him, for he is not what he seems to be, what he
pretends to be, what we fancy him to be. Man is like vanity, nay,
he is vanity, he is altogether vanity, he is less, he is lighter,
than vanity, when weighed in the balance of the sanctuary. "2. How
wise therefore those are that cease from man;" it is our duty, it
is our interest, to do so. "<i>Put not your trust in man,</i> nor
make even the greatest and mightiest of men your confidence; cease
to do so. Let not your eye be to the power of man, for it is finite
and limited, derived and depending; it is not from him that your
judgment proceeds. Let not him be your fear, let not him be your
hope; but look up to the power of God, to which all the powers of
men are subject and subordinate; dread his wrath, secure his
favour, take him for your help, and let your <i>hope be in the Lord
your God.</i>"</p>
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