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Isaiah Chapter
Sixty-five
Isaiah 65
Chapter Contents
The calling of the Gentiles, and the rejection of the
Jews. (1-7) The Lord would preserve a remnant. (8-10) Judgments upon the
wicked. (11-16) The future happy and flourishing state of the church. (17-25)
Commentary on Isaiah 65:1-7
(Read Isaiah 65:1-7)
The Gentiles came to seek God, and find him, because they
were first sought and found of him. Often he meets some thoughtless trifler or
profligate opposer, and says to him, Behold me; and a speedy change takes
place. All the gospel day, Christ waited to be gracious. The Jews were bidden,
but would not come. It is not without cause they are rejected of God. They
would do what most pleased them. They grieved, they vexed the Holy Spirit. They
forsook God's temple, and sacrificed in groves. They cared not for the
distinction between clean and unclean meats, before it was taken away by the
gospel. Perhaps this is put for all forbidden pleasures, and all that is
thought to be gotten by sin, that abominable thing which the Lord hates. Christ
denounced many woes against the pride and hypocrisy of the Jews. The proof
against them is plain. And let us watch against pride and self-preference,
remembering that every sin, and the most secret thoughts of man's heart, are
known and will be judged by God.
Commentary on Isaiah 65:8-10
(Read Isaiah 65:8-10)
In the bunch of unripe grapes, at present of no value,
the new wine is contained. The Jews have been kept a distinct people, that all
may witness the fulfilment of ancient prophecies and promises. God's chosen,
the spiritual seed of praying Jacob, shall inherit his mountains of bliss and
joy, and be carried safe to them through the vale of tears. All things are for
the display of God's glory in the redemption of sinners.
Commentary on Isaiah 65:11-16
(Read Isaiah 65:11-16)
Here the different states of the godly and wicked, of the
Jews who believed, and of those who persisted in unbelief, are set against one
another. They prepared a table for that troop of deities which the heathen
worship, and poured out drink-offerings to that countless number. Their
worshippers spared no cost to honour them, which should shame the worshippers
of the true God. See the malignity of sin; it is doing by choice what we know
will displease God. In every age and nation, the Lord leaves those who persist
in doing evil, and despise the call of the gospel. God's servants shall have
the bread of life, and shall want nothing good for them. But those who forsake
the Lord, shall be ashamed of vain confidence in their own righteousness, and
the hopes they built thereon. Wordly people bless themselves in the abundance
of this world's goods; but God's servants bless themselves in him. He is their
strength and portion. They shall honour him as the God of truth. And it was
promised that in him should all the families of the earth be blessed. They
shall think themselves happy in having him for their God, who made them forget
their troubles.
Commentary on Isaiah 65:17-25
(Read Isaiah 65:17-25)
In the grace and comfort believers have in and from
Christ, we are to look for this new heaven and new earth. The former
confusions, sins and miseries of the human race, shall be no more remembered or
renewed. The approaching happy state of the church is described under a variety
of images. He shall be thought to die in his youth, and for his sins, who only
lives to the age of a hundred years. The event alone can determine what is
meant; but it is plain that Christianity, if universal, would so do away
violence and evil, as greatly to lengthen life. In those happy days, all God's
people shall enjoy the fruit of their labours. Nor will children then be the
trouble of their parents, or suffer trouble themselves. The evil dispositions
of sinners shall be completely moritified; all shall live in harmony. Thus the
church on earth shall be full of happiness, like heaven. This prophecy assures
the servants of Christ, that the time approaches, wherein they shall be blessed
with the undisturbed enjoyment of all that is needful for their happiness. As
workers together with God, let us attend his ordinances, and obey his commands.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Isaiah》
Isaiah 65
Verse 1
[1] I am
sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I
said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.
I am, … — This
in the primary sense of this text, is a prophecy of the conversion of the
Gentiles, upon the rejection of the Jews; for their contempt and crucifying of
Christ, cannot be doubted by any, who will not arrogate to themselves a greater
ability to interpret the prophesies of the Old Testament, than St. Paul had,
who, Romans 10:20, expressly so interprets it, and
applies it, which shews the vanity of the Jews in their other interpretations
of it.
Sought —
The word signifies properly a diligent enquiry in things relating to God.
Asked not —
That in times past made no enquiry after me; l am now found by them that
formerly sought me not.
I said — I
invited whole nations by the preaching of my gospel to behold me, and that with
importunity, doubling my words upon them, and this I did unto a nation not
called by my name, with whom I was not in covenant.
Verse 2
[2] I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which
walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
I have spread —
Applied to the Jews, Romans 10:21. I have stretched out my hands, I
have used all means to reduce them, I have stretched out the hands of a
passionate orator to persuade them, of a liberal benefactor to load them with
my benefits; this I have done continually in the whole course of my providence
with them.
Verse 3
[3] A
people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in
gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;
To my face —
With the utmost impudence, not taking notice of God's omnipresence, and
omniscience.
In gardens, … —
Directly contrary to the divine rule.
Verse 4
[4]
Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's
flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
Remain —
They remained among the graves, there consulting with devils, who were thought
to delight in such places; or to practice necromancy, all which were forbidden,
Deuteronomy 18:11; Isaiah 8:19.
Monuments —
Some interpret it of idol temples, some of caves and dens, in which the
Heathens used to worship their idols.
Broth of abominable things — Of such flesh as was to the Jews unclean by the law.
Verse 5
[5] Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than
thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
Holier —
Thus they esteemed themselves holier than others, though all their holiness lay
in rituals, and those too, such as God never commanded. Of these God saith,
These are a smoak in my nostrils, a fire that burneth all the day; that is, a
continual provocation to me: as smoak is an offence to our noses.
Verse 6
[6]
Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense,
even recompense into their bosom,
Behold —
They may think I take no notice of these things; but I will as certainly
remember them, as princes or great men that record things in writing which they
would not forget.
Verse 7
[7] Your
iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which
have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills:
therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.
Together —
Yea, and when I reckon with them, I will punish them, not only for their
personal sins, but for the sins of their parents, which they have made their
own, by imitation.
Their former — I
will not only punish the late sins that they have committed, but the former
sins of this kind, which those that went before did commit, and they have
continued in.
Verse 8
[8] Thus
saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy
it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I
may not destroy them all.
Thus, … —
These word's may be conceived as a gracious answer from God to the prophet,
pleading God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. To this God replies,
that he intended no such severity. His threatening should be made good upon the
generality of this people.
Blessing —
But yet, as in a vineyard, which is generally unfruitful, there may be some
vine that brings forth fruit, and has the hopes of new wine in the cluster, and
as to such, the gardener bids his servant destroy it not, for there is in them
what speaks God's blessing.
So — So (saith God) will I
do for my servants sake, that I may not destroy them all, for the sake of my
servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Verse 9
[9] And
I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my
mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.
Judah —
God farther promises to bring out of Judah, an inheritor of his mountains which
refers to the Jews return out of the captivity of Babylon to Jerusalem, to
worship God in his temple, upon mount Zion.
Mine elect — My
chosen ones. The term signifies such as are dignified with some special favour.
The whole nation of the Jews are called a chosen people.
Verse 10
[10] And
Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds
to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.
A fold —
Sharon was a place of great fruitfulness for pastures. It was become like a
wilderness, God here promises that it should again be a place for the flocks.
Verse 11
[11] But
ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a
table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
Forget — To
forget God's holy mountains, signifies not to regard the true worship of God.
God calls Zion his holy mountain. That troop - The idols of the ten tribes, and
of the Assyrians, were a troop, where as the God of Israel was one God. By
preparing a table, here seems to be meant, the feasts they made upon their
sacrifices in imitation of what the true God had commanded his people.
Furnish —
God had appointed drink offerings for his honour, but the people had paid their
homage to idols.
Number —
The multitude of their idols.
Verse 12
[12]
Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the
slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not
hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted
not.
To the sword — A
great number of you shall perish by the sword; or possibly the term number may
refer to all in the next phrase, so that none of them should escape. God saith
he will number them, tell them out one by one to the sword.
Bow down — As
you have bowed down to idols.
I called — By
my prophets, you did not answer by doing the things which I enjoined.
Chuse —
You sinned deliberately chusing sinful courses, the things which I hated.
Verse 15
[15] And
ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall
slay thee, and call his servants by another name:
A curse —
They shall use your names as examples, of the eminent wrath of God upon
sinners.
Another name — He
will not suffer his own people to be called by a name by which idolaters are
known.
Verse 16
[16] That
he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth;
and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the
former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
God of truth —
Because they shall see what God promised is fulfilled.
Are hid —
That is, they are at an end.
Verse 17
[17] For,
behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be
remembered, nor come into mind.
I create — I
am about wholly to change the state not only of my people, but to bring a new
face upon the world, which shall abide until a new heavens and earth appear, in
which shall dwell nothing but righteousness.
Not be remembered —
That state of things shall be so glorious, that the former state of my people
shall not be remembered.
Verse 18
[18] But
be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create
Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
You —
The church, as well under the gospel, as under the law.
Verse 20
[20]
There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not
filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner
being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
An infant —
Those that were now children, shall die at a great age.
But —
Yet none of these things shall be of any advantage to wicked men, but if any of
them shall live to be an hundred years old, yet they shall die accursed.
Verse 23
[23] They
shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of
the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
With them — Is
blessed with them.
Verse 24
[24] And
it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are
yet speaking, I will hear.
Before they call —
God promised, chap. 58:9, to answer them, when they called: here he
promises to answer the words, as soon as they should be formed in their hearts
before they could get them out of their lips.
While —
Yea, while they were speaking.
Verse 25
[25] The
wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the
bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
The wolf, … —
God here promises to take off the fierceness of the spirits of his peoples
enemies, so that they shall live quietly and peaceably together.
And dust —
God promises a time of tranquility to his church under the metaphor of serpents
eating the dust, their proper meat, Genesis 3:14, instead of flying upon men: it
signifies such a time, when wicked men shall no more eat up the people of God.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Isaiah》
65 Chapter 65
Verse 1
I am sought of them that asked not for Me
Jehovah’s answer to the prayer of the Church
The supplication is ended; and chap.
65. appears to be intended as the answer--an answer, however, in which a
distinction is drawn between worthy and unworthy members of Israel, and a
different prospect is held out to each. God has ever, He says, been accessible
to His people, He has ever been ready to renew intercourse with them: it was
they who would not respond, but provoked Him with their idolatries. (Prof.
S. R. Driver, D. D.)
A nation that was not called by My name
“A nation that called not on My name.” The reference is to those
among the people who, after the Restoration, still practised the idolatries of
their pre-exilic forefathers. (A. B.Davidson, D. D.)
The very bold prophecy
We learn on inspired authority that this is a very bold passage (Romans 10:20); it required much courage
to utter it at the first, and in Paul’s day it needed still more to quote it
and press it home upon the Jews around him. He who protests against a
self-righteous people, and angers them by showing that others whom they
despised are saved while they themselves are being lost, will have need of a
dauntless spirit. This text has the clear ring of free grace about it; and for
this reason it may be called bold.
I. THE PERSONALITY
OF GOD IN THE WORK OF HIS GRACE. This is remarkably prominent in the work
before us.
1. The personality of God comes forth in that He Himself is observant
of all that is done. Do any seek him? He saith, “I am sought. De any find him?
He saith, “I am found. Is there any preaching of the Gospel? The Lord declares,
“Behold Me, behold Me.”
2. He Himself in the great object of desire where grace is in
operation. When men are savingly aroused, they seek--what? Religion? By no
means. They seek God, if they seek aright. The Lord saith, “I am found.” If men
do not find God they have found nothing. God Himself fills the vision of faith;
observe the words, “Behold Me, behold Me.” We look to God in Christ, and find
all that our soul needs.
3. He Himself is the Speaker of that call by which men are saved.
Here are the words: “I said, Behold Me, behold Me.” The Lord Himself speaks the
effectual word.
4. He Himself is the director of the message., “I said, Behold Me,
behold Me, unto a nation that was not called by My name. ‘ Not only does God
speak the Gospel, but He speaks it home to those whom He appoints to hear it.
This surrounds the Gospel with a strange solemnity: if the Gospel blesses us,
it is not it, but God that blesses: God Himself has come unto us. This fact has
another aspect to it; for if the Gospel be rejected, it is God that is
rejected. Read the next verse: “I have spread out My hands all the day unto a
rebellious people.
II. THE DELIGHT
WHICH GOD TAKES IN THE WORK OF GRACE. God is glad to be sought and found by
those who once were negligent of Him.
1. It is evident that He rejoices in contrast to the complaint of the
next verse.
2. The Lord rejoices in each step of the process. There is a poor
soul beginning to cry,, “Oh that I knew where I might find Him!” and lo the
Lord says, “I am sought. A man has only just begun to attend the House of
Prayer; he has only lately commenced the earnest study of the Bible; the Lord
sees it, and He says, “I am sought. As when a fisherman smiles because a
fish has begun to nibble at the bait, so the Lord notes the first movings of
the heart towards Himself, and He says, “I am sought.” The very next sentence
is, “I am found.”
3. The Lord also rejoices in the persons who seek Him. He says, “I am
sought of them that asked not for Me. He will be glad for any heart to keep on
seeking that has begun to seek; but He is best pleased when non-seekers become
seekers.
4. The Lord rejoices in the numbers who seek and find Him. “I said,
Behold Me, behold Me, unto a nation.” When shall the day come that nations
shall be born at once?
III. THE DESCRIPTION
WHICH GOD HIMSELF GIVES OF THE WORK OF GRACE.
1. The Lord tells us where He finds the objects of His grace. He
says, “They asked not for Me; they sought Me not; they were not called by My
name.” What a mercy it is that He comes to us in our sin and misery; for
assuredly we should not else come to Him.
2. He next describes that Gospel which comes to them as the power of
God. Here are His own words: “I said, Behold Me, behold Me.” The way of
salvation is, “Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.”
3. Then the Lord goes on to mention the converts which the Gospel
makes. The careless become seekers, the ungodly finders, the prayerless behold
their God and live.
4. The Lord also describes the experience of the saved. God comes to
us that we may come to Him.
IV. THE USE WHICH
GOD MAKES OF ALL THIS. The Lord here took care that when He said, “I am sought
of them that asked not for Me,” His words should be written down, and that they
should be made known to us. It is not everything that God may say to Himself
that He will afterwards repeat to us; but here these private utterances of the
Divine heart are spoken out to us by Isaiah, and left on record in this inspired
Book. To what end d-o you think it is so?
1. That he may excite in us wonder and admiration.
2. To destroy pride and self-esteem.
3. To encourage you who are seeking Him: for if those who do not seek
Him often find Him, why, you that do seek Him are sure to find Him.
4. To encourage workers. Go to work among the worst of the worst; for
since God is found of those who seek Him not, there is hope for the vilest.
5. That he may convict those who do not come to Him of the greatness
of their sin. Look, saith He, those who never heard of Me before have found
salvation, while you who have been instructed, and invited, and impressed, have
still held out and resisted My Spirit. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verses 3-5
A people that provoked Me
to anger
Obstinacy provokes God’s
wrath
By rejecting His love with
stiff-necked obstinacy, they have incurred wrath, which, though long and
patiently restrained, now bursts out with uncontrolled violence.
“The people that continually provokes Me to My face, sacrificing in the
gardens, and burning incense on the tiles, who sit in vaults and pass the night
in retired places, who eat flesh of swine, and broken pieces of abominable things
are in their dishes, who say: Halt: Come not too near me! For I am holy to
thee,--these are a smoke in My nose, a fire blazing continually.” (F.
Delitzsch, D. D.)
Illegal and superstitious
cults
The reference to “bricks”
remains unexplained; sitting in the graves was for the purpose of obtaining
oracles or dreams from the dead - the so-called “incubation.” (A.
B.Davidson, D. D.)
“Broth of abominable
things”
Such creatures as are
enumerated in Isaiah
66:17. The
“sacrifices are boiled and yield a magical hell-broth” (W. Robertson Smith)
. (Pro/. J. Skinner, D. D.)
Verse 5
Which may, Stand by
thyself
“ I am holier than thou”
For “I am holier read,
probably, else I will make thee holy.
” The practices referred to were “mysteries,” and the initiated would
communicate his “holiness” to others by contact with them, and so unfit them
for all the ordinary uses of life (cp. Ezekiel
44:19). (A.
B.Davidson, D. D.)
Verse 5 alludes to those
who claimed superior sanctity in virtue of certain rites into which they had
been initiated. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)
Self-righteousness,--a
smouldering heap of rubbish
The application of the
passage to Israel is just thus. Year after year God dealt with great patience
towards His chosen people, but they seemed to be desperately set upon idolatry
in one form or another. Sometimes they worshipped Jehovah, but then they did it
under figure and symbol, whereas He has expressly forbidden that even His own
worship should be thus celebrated. At other times they altogether rejected
Jehovah, and worshipped Baal and Ashtaroth, and whole troops of the gods of the
heathen, and thus they provoked the Lord exceedingly. They also practised
necromancy, or pretended communion with the dead, and witchcraft and sorcery,
and all manner of abominable rites, like the depraved nations around them. When
this open rebellion was given up, as it was after the captivity--for the Jews
have never been guilty of idolatry since that day--they fell into another form
of the same evil, namely, self-righteousness: so that when our Lord came He
found self-righteousness to be the crying sin of Israel, the Pharisees carrying
it to such a pitch as to render it utterly ridiculous. They reckoned that the
touch of a common person polluted their sacredness, so that they needed to wash
after walking down a street. When they traversed the ways they took the edge of
the pavement, so that they might not brush against the garments of the
passers-by, and even in the temple in prayer they stood by themselves lest they
should be defiled. Their whole spirit is expressed in the words of the
text--“Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.” This
God declares to be as obnoxious to Him as smoke in a man’s nose.
Self-righteousness is rampant in our own day.
I. THE
SIN OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS GROWS UP AMONG RELIGIOUS PEOPLE. It is not always the
sin of the outside world, for many outsiders do not pretend to any
righteousness at all, and I fancy they think all the better of themselves for
that. This is an idle plea which it needs not many words to expose. “I make no
profession,” says one. This is about as honour-able a confession as if a thief
should, boast when caught at picking pockets, “I do not make any pretence to be
honest,’ or a liar when detected should turn round and cry, “I never professed
to speak the truth.” Among those who profess to be religious,
self-righteousness very frequently comes in, because they have not truly
received the religion of Jesus Christ; if they were true believers they would
be humble and contrite, for self-righteousness and faith in Christ are
diametrically opposed. Many who mingle with Christians, and are religious in a
certain sense because they practise the forms of religion, are wont to put the
form into the place of the spirit. These persons, too, even when they do not
join the Christian Church, but only worship or seem to worship with Christians,
are very apt to think that they must be better than other people because they
do so. It is the danger of outwardly religious people, who are not savingly
converted, to dream that they are somewhat advantaged by a mere attendance on
the means of grace. Should an Egyptian rub his shoulders against an Israelite,
would it turn him into an Israelite? Will living near a rich man make you rich?
Do you forget that cry of our Lord, “Woe unto thee, Chorazin. Woe unto thee,
Bethsaida?
II. THIS
IS A SIN WHICH FLOURISHES WHERE OTHER SINS ABOUND. We read of these people that
they did evil before the eyes of God, and chose that wherein He delighted not.
They blasphemed God, and polluted themselves with unhallowed rites, communing
with demons and the powers of darkness, and pretending to speak with departed
spirits; and yet for all that they said--“Stand by thyself, I am holier than
thou.” Self-righteousness is never more ridiculous than in persons whose
conduct would not bear scrutiny for a moment. Self-righteous men, like foxes,
have many tricks and schemes. They condemn in other people what they consider
to be very excusable in themselves. These people will make a righteousness this
way--they plead that if they do wrong yet there are some points in which
theyare splendid fellows. Some one thing in which the unconverted man may excel
is put in to make up for his deficiencies in a hundred other ways. By hook or
by crook a man will make out that he is not so bad as he seems to be; the
inventiveness of self-esteem is prodigious. No heap of rubbish is too rotten
for the accursed toadstool of proud self to grow upon.
III. IT IS
IN ITSELF A GREAT SIN. One is almost startled to find self-esteem placed after
such a list of sins as this chapter records. To the Jew the eating of swine’s
flesh and broth of abominable things was a great pollution, but
self-righteousness is classed with it; it is even placed with necromancy and
witchcraft. Drunkenness and swearing are sin in rags, but self-righteousness is
sin in a respectable black coat. It is an aristocratic sin, and does not like
to be put down with the common Tuck; and if we call it sin, yet many will plead
that it is only so in a very refined sense. But God does not think so; He
classes it with the very worst, and He does so because it is one of the worst.
For a man to be self-righteous is in itself a sin of sins. For, first, it is
blasphemy. God is holy. Here comes this base impostor and boasts, “And I am
holy too. Is not that a ludicrous and contemptible form of blasphemy? It is
profanity in its very essence. More, this self-righteousness is idolatry, for
the man who counts himself to be righteous by his own works worships himself.
Practically, the object of his adoration is his own dear, delectable, excellent
self. Then, again, it is profanity, for it gives God the distinct lie. The Lord
declares that no man is righteous.
IV. SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
IS THE FRUIT OF MAN’S OWN THOUGHTS. Look at Isaiah
65:2.
Those who have high thoughts of themselves do not walk according to God’s
commandments, but according to their own notions. If any man thinketh himself
to be righteous in himself, he has never derived that idea from God’s law, and
certainly not from the Gospel, for the Gospel knows no man after the flesh as
righteous, but it regards all men as sinners, and comes to them with pardon; it
treats men as lost and comes to save them. Self-righteous people are not much
inclined to search the Scriptures, they do not read them with an understanding
heart, so as to get the meaning; they rather make the Bible say their own
meaning, and twist it to support their own pleasing dream.
V. SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
HAS THIS VICE ABOUT IT, THAT IT ALWAYS LEADS TO DESPISING OTHERS. That is the
pith of the text.
VI. SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
IS MOST ABOMINABLE IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. What does He compare it to? He says,
“It is a smoke in My nose, a fire that burneth all the day. At the bottom of
the garden we gather together the dead leaves, and all the rubbish of the
garden, and the heap is lighted, and it keeps on burning and smouldering all
the day; and if you go and stand in the eye of the wind your eyes will smart,
your nose will be offended, and you will feel that you cannot bear it. We do
not wonder that He thus scorns and abhors proud selfrighteousness, for God is a
God of truth, and truth cannot bear a lie, and selfrighteousness is a mass of
lies. Moreover, self-righteousness is such a proud thing. God is always
provoked with pride. Self-righteousness also denies the wisdom of God’s plan,
and is utterly opposed to it. God’s present plan of working in the world goes
upon the theory that we are guilty; being guilty, He provides a Saviour for us,
and sends us a Gospel full of grace.
VII. SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
MOST EFFECTUALLY BARS A MAN FROM ALL HOPE OF SALVATION. We cannot be saved
unless we become truly holy, but no man ever becomes truly holy who is content
with a false holiness. Self-righteousness prevents repentance. You will never
believe in Jesus Christ while you believe in yourself. What is the remedy for
all this? God saith, “Behold Me”; that is to say, He bids thee cease from
doting upon thine own fancied beauties and worshipping thine own foolish image.
Look first to the holy God and tremble. Canst thou, of thyself, ever be like
Him, pure, spotless, glorious? Look to Him and despair. Then comes the second,
“Behold Me. See Jesus Christ on the cross dying, the just for the unjust, to
bring us to God. As thou seest Him dying thy self-righteousness will die. (C.
H.Spurgeon.)
False grounds of
superiority in holiness
The disposition to
arrogate the dignity of religious worth and excellence has never become extinct
among men, nor the quite consistent disposition to turn it to the use of pride.
1. In
some instances, an assumption of superior holiness has been made upon the
ground of belonging to a certain division or class of mankind; a class having
its distinction in the circumstance of descent and nativity, or in some
artificial constitution of society. Thus the ancient Jews,--in virtue merely of
being Jews. Imagine the worst Jew comparing himself with Aristides, Phocion or
Socrates. The Brahmins, in virtue of a pretended pre-eminently holy descent; an
emanation from the head of their creating god. In popish countries, the
numerous ecclesiastical class. Something of this even in protestant England. In
these instances there has been an assumption of holiness independently of
individual personal character. What an infamy to perverted human reason, that
anything which might leave the individual evidently bad, in heart and life,
could yet be taken as constituting him the reverse of bad, that is, holy!
2. In
many periods and places men have reputed themselves “holy” on the ground of a
punctilious observance of religious forms and ceremonies whether of Divine
appointment or human invention. This took the place of the true religious
sanctity among the Jews. It is a grand characteristic of paganism. It actually
stands instead of religion and morality among the far greater part of the
people under the dominion of the Romish Church. It is to be feared there are
some among us who venture a delusive assumption on the ground of a regular
attention to the external services of religion. But we have cause to know that
all this may be, and yet no vital transforming prevalence of religion in the
heart.
3. Another
ground of such assumption is general rectitude of practical conduct, separate
from the true religious principle of moral excellence.
4. The
pride of self-estimation for holiness is apt to be betrayed by persons who have
preserved a character substantially free from reproach, against those who have,
in some known instance, fallen into great sin. It might have been a case in
which they were encountered by sudden, or complicated, or very extraordinary
temptation, such as all should pray earnestly to be saved from. The delinquent
may have penitently deplored the transgression through many subsequent years.
But it has been often enough seen that another person, who has been happy
enough not to incur any such marked blemish on his character, will assume a
tone of high superiority against him, though he may never have had the same strength
of temptation to combat with; may never think of ascribing his exemption to any
higher cause than his own good principles; and may be quite destitute of some
valuable qualities the other possesses. The whole life of this self-applauder
may have been little better than a series of negatives. His faulty, penitent
brother may have done much good.
5. A man
may have had his mind directed to a speculative knowledge of religious
doctrine; and we will suppose that it is valuable knowledge that he has gained.
All this ma be, and yet the man feel little or nothing of the sanctifying power
of religious truth. Yet, so ready is the speculatist to take to himself all the
dignity and excellence of his subject and his cause, that this man may take up
a lofty pretension--if not strictly and formally to “holiness,” yet to some
meritorious relation to truth and religion; something which authorizes him in a
high contempt,--not only of those who know nothing about religion, but also of
those who feel its genuine influence and power, when they are feeble in the
speculative intelligence of it. He accounts himself to be, as it were, in the
confidence of religion, and that he must be invested with something of its
venerable character, when he can so authentically declare its mind.
6. There
is such a thing as a factitious zeal in the active service of religion; and
that forms a ground of high pretension. Men in restless activity; hill of
scheme, and expedient, and experiment, and ostentatious enterprise. But an
attentive observer could easily descry that the cause of God was a very
secondary concern with them, even at the best interpretation. Their grand
object (whether they were conscious of it or not) was their own notoriety; and
the cause of religion happened to be that which would most effectually serve
this purpose.
7. There
are a number of persons among professing Christians whose minds are almost ever
dwelling on certain high points of doctrine, sought chiefly in the book of
God’s eternal decrees. And it is on these doctrines that they found, in some
manner, an absolute assurance of their being in the Divine favour. God forbid
that we should deny or doubt that there is a firm and rational assurance of
salvation attainable in this life. But such persons as we are referring to
betray that their assurance, which takes its stand on so lofty a position,
independent of a faithful estimate of the heart and life, has an unsanctifying
effect; it slackens and narrows the force and compass of the jurisdiction of
conscience; and, especially, cherishes in them the spirit of our text.
8. We
may name as one of the things made a ground of pretension and pride, the
experience of elated, ardent, enthusiastic feelings, in some semblance of
connection with religion, bat not really of its genuine inspiration. (John
Foster.)
Verse 8
Thus saith the Lord, As
the new wine is found in the cluster.
God’s regard far the
faithful remnant of His people
As one does not destroy a
cluster consisting of good and bad berries, because one would also destroy the
Divine blessing contained in it, so Jehovah for His servants’ sake will not
annihilate Israel. He will not destroy all indiscriminately; the sense is not”
the sap along with husk and shell (Knobel, Hahn), but: the berries having good
sap along with the preponderant bad berries (J. H. Michaelis, Seinecke). (F.
Delitzsch, D.D.) It is an application to new circumstances of Isaiah’s
doctrine of the remnant (Isaiah
6:13). (Prof.
J. Skinner, D. D.)
Destroy it not
“Destroy it not”
View the passage in
reference to--
I. GOD’S
ANCIENT PEOPLE, THE JEWS.
II. CITIES
AND NATIONS GENERALLY.
III. THE
STATE OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES.
IV. PENITENT
BACK SLIDERS.
V. YOUNG
INQUIRERS.
VI. THOSE
WHO ARE CALLED MOST UNPROMISING CHARACTERS. (J. G.Pearsall.)
Little things
Here we have four lessons
taught us by a bunch of grapes.
I. THAT
GREAT GOOD MAY BE STORED IN LITTLE THINGS. A bunch of grapes is a little thing,
and yet there is a blessing in it. With a heart given to Jesus, a child is a
sun which cannot but shine, a fountain which cannot but send out streams, a
flower which cannot but fill the air with sweetness.
II. GOD
ALONE PUTS THE BLESSING INTO LITTLE THINGS. In this He displays--
1. His
wisdom.
2. His
omnipotence
3. His
condescension and compassion.
III. LITTLE
THINGS ARE TO BE SPARED FOR THIS BLESSING IN THEM. There are plenty of little
things which you are apt to despise because they are little, and yet, destroy
them not, says God, for a blessing is in them.
1. Your
vows and resolutions.
2. Your
principles.
3. Your
habits.
4. Your
character.
5. Your
friendships.
6. Your
interest in the heathen.
IV. IF THE
BLESSING IS LACKING IN THEM THEY WILL BE UNDONE FOP. EVER. “Destroy it not; for
a blessing is in it.” As if it were said, If there were no blessing in it, then
it might be destroyed. It is the blessing which delivers. If there is no
blessing in us, we are doomed. The unprofitable servant hid his talent in the
napkin, but he could not hide himself from his master’s indignation. (J.
Bolton.)
Verse 11-12
That prepare a table for
that troop
Luck and Fortune
Among Orientals the
planets Jupiter and Venus were worshipped as the Larger and the Lesser Luck.
They were worshipped as Merodach and Istar among the Babylonians. Merodach was
worshipped for prosperity. It may be Merodach and Istar to whom are here given
the names Gad (or Luck) and Meni, or Fate, Fortune. There was in the Babylonian
Pantheon a “ Manu the Great, who presided over fate.” (Prof. G. A. Smith, D.
D.)
The “lectisternia”:
The rites described are
the lectisternia, well known throughout the ancient world, in which a table was
spread, furnished with meats and drinks as a meal for the gods. (Prof. J.
Skinner, D. D.)
God or chance?
Let us give the passage
its true rendering, and it may convey to us a very solemn lesson. It is, “ That
as for you that forsake His service, that prepare a table for fortune, and pour
out the wine for destiny, I have destined you for the slaughter. Behold, My
servants shall eat; but ye who prepare a table for fortune shall be hungry.
Behold, My servants shall drink; but ye who pour out libations to destiny shall
be thirsty. Behold, My servants shall rejoice; but ye who believe in luck shall
be ashamed. Ye shall leave your name for a curse. My servants shall bless
themselves, and shall swear by the God of Amen--that is, the God of verity and
of faithfulness. The apostate Jews were beginning to trust in the gods of the
nations, to make banquets to the planet Jupiter, which they regarded as the
star of fortune, and to pour libations to the planet Venus, which they regarded
as the star of luck. Therefore God tells them that not these stars, not these
idols, not these imaginary entities; but that He would be their destiny, and
that He would deliver them, because fortune and destiny which they worshipped
could guide them only to hunger and thirst, and ruin; but His servants, they
who trusted in Him, should never be ashamed; they should find Him to be their
God, a God of blessing, a God of amen--yea, a faithful witness. (F. W.
Farrar, D. D.)
The temptation to ignore
God
Have we no similar
temptation? The passage is full of the deepest lessons. It touches upon the
very first commandment - “Thou shalt have none other gods but Me.” It
emphasizes the very first chapter o Genesis - “It is God that hath mad us, and
not we ourselves.” It is nothing short of a whole philosophy of history and a
whole philosophy of life. The terms, “accident,” “fortune,” “luck,” play a vast
part in the customs and literature of the world, but no part at all in
Scripture. The very word “chance,” properly speaking, is entirely absent alike
from the Old and New Testament. It is, I suppose, belief in chance that gives
its terrible fascination to that pestilent folly of gambling which has ruined
so many thousands of Englishmen. But let us look at this subject of the
supposed government of life by chance from far wider points of view than these.
1. For
instance, it very closely affects our human history. The ancient nations
believed in chance. They called it “chance,” or “fortune, if one man got a
crown as the prize of his wickedness and the other got a gibblet; they called
it “chance” if a battle lost, which raised one ruler from a dungeon to a
throne, cut down another form the throne to a dungeon. In this way they, as the
prophet says, raised a table to fortune. Do you look at the history of mankind
in this way or not? What is history to you? Is it a mere ghastly phantasmagoria
of human passions struggling together, or is it the unfolding of a great Divine
drama to a merciful issue? Neither in national life nor individual life can we
pretend to understand the dealings of God. We cannot tell why the career of a
great man is cut short just when he might seem to have been most able to save
his country, and why the life of a villain is not cut short before he has done
thousands into misery and ruin. We are like a deaf man watching the angers of
the harpist as they dance over the strings.
2. But
now, turning from history in general to the individual lives of each of us, I
can hardly exaggerate the difference which it will make to us whether we regard
our lives as being guided by God or as being guided by accident. Nominally, I
suppose, we all profess that it is God who is weaving the pattern of our little
clay; but do we truly believe it, and do we behave as if we did? Take, for
instance, the events of which we habitually speak as the accidents of life. If
we can think that these things happen simply by chance, what misery it may
cause us! How do men and women thus painfully stricken sometimes curse the day
of their life I But what a difference when they have the grace to recognize
that this may be in their own life but bitter aloes from the gentle hand of
God! As this thought, that it is God and not chance who “shapes our ends,”
touches even the most imperfect characters with the glory of resignation, how
may it give to the whole course of our daily, life the grace of contentment! (F.
W.Farrar, D. D.)
I wish to emphasize the
prophet’s warning against the counter sin of pouring out spiced wine for
destiny--in other words, of regarding all life as though we were the helpless
victims of blind necessity, of irreversible laws, of passionless and adamantine
forces, which we can neither modify nor resist. The forms taken by this view of
destiny are sometimes religious and sometimes irreligious.
1. One
of them pro-Ceases to be very religious indeed--it is Calvinism.
2. Another
form of this worship of destiny is fatalism--the notion that as God has decreed
everything in this life, nothing will happen except what He has decreed, and
therefore that it is quite useless for men to stir. When, in the conquest of
Mexico, the unhappy emperor, Montezuma, was crushed with blow after blow of
disaster, he made use of this proverb, “We are born; let that come which must
come.” Fatalism, like Calvinism, is founded on misapprehended truths, and
issues in deplorable results; and it, too, must be flung away as being, for all
practical purposes, absurd and false.
3. But
there is one more form of “preparing a table for fortune, and pouring out
spiced wine for destiny.” It is materialism, which denies the existence of God
altogether, or treats Him, at the best, as an unproved hypothesis. It makes its
God of science, of nature, of material laws, of man himself. It makes man a
mere machine. It destroys at a touch all responsibility. It makes suicide a
perfectly permissible resource. It says, to quote its own votaries, that
nothing is worthy our efforts, our struggles, or our energies--that the world
is a bankrupt in all quarters, and life a business which does not pay its
expenses, and annihilation preferable to existence, and the world fundamentally
something which ought not to exist. Well, as long as there is such a thing as
Christianity, we must brand the insolent, aspiring brow of these spurious
notions. (F. W.Farrar, D. D.)
Verses 12-14
Therefore will I number
you to the sword.
-
The declaration of God
against the disobedience of Israel
I. THE
ACCUSATION. A guilty inattention to the voice of God.
II. THE
THREAT (Isaiah
65:13-14). (R.
G. Buddicomb, M. A.)
God’s call despised
I. THE
GRACIOUS CALL OF GOD.
II. THE
IMPENITENCE OF MANY.
III. THE
INEVITABLE RESULT. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Verse 13-14
Behold, My servants shall
eat, but ye shall be hungry
The better feast
It is observable how
frequently in Holy Scripture mankind are divided into two classes.
In the text, the Lord God Himself clearly distinguishes between His servants
and others. The one shall eat, drink, and rejoice; the other shall hunger,
thirst, and be sorrowful.
I. THE
BLESSEDNESS OF THE LORD’S SERVANTS.
II. THE
MISERY OF THOSE WHO DISOBEY HIM. (W. Mudge.)
Incentives to religious
decision
I. FROM
THE SUPERIOR ADVANTAGES OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE BEYOND ALL THE BOASTED
DISTINCTIONS OR PROFESSION OF WORLDLY AND UNGODLY MEN.
1. They
have a better Master and portion.
2. They
have better resources and supplies.
3. They
have better enjoyments.
4. They
have better prospects.
II. FROM
THE PECULIAR SOURCES OF DISSATISFACTION AND WRETCHEDNESS TO WHICH YOU ARE
EXPOSED. (S. Thodey.)
Verse 14
Behold, My servants shall
sing
Joys
Heathenism knows nothing
of the gladness described in oar text, But in this life every man may sing for
joy of heart.
1. God
makes His servants sing for joy of heart. There was once a famous musician who
could bring out the most charming music from one string of a violin. Like that
violin, many of us have only one string, and that a cracked one; but our God
can make it sound forth perfect praise.
2. You
may recognize a servant of God by his joyous face. We do not see many joyous
faces, except in little children; and only then at odd times. The human race is
born to trouble; but God can turn our sorrow into joy. How pleasant to look on
a glad and joyous face I Nightingales do not often come so far north as
Manchester; but last year one of those birds built its nest outside our city,
and dozens of people went out to hear the sweet singer of the night. Letters
were written to the newspapers about it, and everybody thought it a remarkable
thing. How sweet it was to hear the warble of that bird in the darkness of the
night! If the nightingale sang in the day-time, we might not notice it any more
than the melody of the lark or the music of the wren; it is delightsome to us
because it is a song in the night. Likewise, a joyous face and joyous words are
equally remarkable. In this world of dark doubts and fears, let the singing of
the joy in your heart be seen in your face and heard in your words.
3. The
servants of God are also known by their joyous disposition. Live temperately,
be home in good time every evening, rise early; and the joyousness of life
shall enter your heart.
4. The
servants of God have the joy of knowing Him.
5. There
is the joy of pardon.
6. There
is the joy of salvation.
7. We
have also the joy of faith. How blessed to be able to trust God’s care! In the
long roads of the East, where people have to travel wearily on foot for many
miles, it is the custom of kindly-hearted people to put on the road-side a
pitcher of water, so that the thirsty traveller may freely drink. Likewise, God
puts blessings and comforts for us on our pathway; and such tokens of His
goodness cause us to sing for joy.
8. We
have the joy of His presence. One day, when the Grecian army was near the
enemy’s camp, Alexander the Great slept very peacefully; and when he awoke, one
of his friends said--“Alexander, how is it you slept so well?” The king
replied, “Slept so well? Of course I can sleep well. Does not Parmenio watch?”
Does not God watch over you?
9. There
is the joy of His promises. Lord Chatham one day promised his son that when the
garden wall was pulled down, he should be present to see it fall. But
forgetting has promise, he gave orders for the wall to be taken down in the
absence of his son. He remembered it the next day, and at once ordered it to be
rebuilt, in order that the promise might be kept. But God never forgets His
promise.
10. There
is the joy of the future. You may ask, “Is there any joy in death? Yes! One
day, a sculptor was near death; pain shot through his frame; and when his
wife’s tears dropped on his face, he said, “My dear, have patience; this pain
is only the chiselling!” So, when death comes to you, you shall have the joy of
knowing that your pain is God’s kindly hand dealing very gently with you. (W.
Birch.)
Verses 17-25
For, behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth
“New heavens and a new
earth,”
“New heavens and a new
earth,” i.a new universe, Hebrew having no single word for the Cosmos.
The phrase sums up a whole aspect of the prophetic theology. The idea of a
transformation of nature so as to be in harmony with a renewed humanity has met
us several times in the earlier part of the book (Isaiah 11:6-9; Isaiah 29:17; Isaiah 30:23 ff, Isaiah 32:15; Isaiah 32:35, etc.), and is a frequent theme of prophecy, but the thought of a
new creation is nowhere expressed so absolutely as here. (Prof. J. Skinner,
D. D.)
The state of the Church
during the millennium.
The heavens and the earth
mean the New Testament Church. There are beauty and propriety in the figure
employed; for, not to speak of the manner in which the state of the world is
affected by the state of religion, the dependence of the Church upon spiritual
and heavenly influences is as immediate as that which our earth has upon the
surrounding atmosphere. When the sky is filled with dark clouds and pours forth
incessant rains, or when it emits a continued and scorching heat, the fruits of
the field are destroyed; but when it diffuses genial influences, and gives
sunshine and rain, in just proportions, fertility and abundance are the
results. In like manner the state of the Church depends upon the influences
which God is pleased to communicate: should these be rich and gracious, the Church
is prosperous-and happy; but should these be scanty and afflictive, the
interests of religion languish and decay. When, therefore, it is said that God
will create new heavens and a new earth, we are to explain the words as
referring to the beneficial change which is to be effected upon the state of
the Church. This change will be so great, and so blissful, as to merit the
name--a new creation. It will introduce so many bleasings, and unfold so many
beauties, and diffuse such universal joy, that the former state of affliction,
sorrow, and danger shall not be remembered nor come into mind. To what period
in the history of the Church does this prediction (Isaiah 65:17) refer? Many of the early Christian writers regarded it as
descriptive of the state of the Church in heaven, and supported their view by
the words of Peter, that after the earth and atmosphere have been destroyed by
fire, there will be formed new heavens and a new earth, in which the righteous
shall dwell. But the verses assert that, in the time to which this prediction
refers, there will be sin and death, and that men shall build houses and
inhabit them; and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. Others, again,
have viewed the predictions as pointing out the change which took place upon
the Church and world, when the Jewish State was overthrown, and the Gospel was
preached to all nations. At this time the relations which existed between
heaven and earth underwent a great alteration. The worship of the sun, moon,
and stars was abolished in many places, the false gods with which they had
filled heaven were set aside, and just views of the supreme Being were attained
by many, while God lifted the covering of darkness which had been spread over
all nations, offered Himself to them as their gracious God, and invited them,
as His people, to come into the communion of the Church. But though the change
which then happened was great--so great as to be set forth by such terms as God’s
shaking the heavens and the earth--yet it does not correspond to the
magnificence of the scene delineated in the words before us. The seeds of
prosperity and coming happiness were then sown. But then judgment kept pace
with mercy. The word was received in much affliction; and nearly all the
Churches had to endure severe and fiery trials, while on the literal Jerusalem
the wrath of God fell and consumed it. We agree, therefore, with those who look
upon the text as character izing the state of the Church in the millennium. The
glory of the Church will then outshine and eclipse all the happiness that has
ever been seen on earth, and exceed the loftiest expectations of the saints.
1. It will be a period of unparalleled gracious communications on the
part of God. The heavens will then seem to be opened, and the Divine Persons to
smile on man. The whole of that time shall be a season of gracious refreshing
from the presence of the Lord.
2. It will be a period of clear and universal knowledge.
3. Of extraordinary holiness. This is the result which sanctified
knowledge invariably produces.
4. It will be a period of unprecedented joy. In Isaiah 65:16 it is said, that “the former troubles shall be forgotten;” and in
Isaiah 65:18 God says, “be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I
create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.” The
state of the Church will be so prosperous, and the benefits conferred upon its
members so full and so gracious, as to afford to all the highest causes of
gladness. There will be a joy derived from clear and exalted views of Divine
truth; from sin overcome, grace imparted, and holiness promoted; from realized
communion with God, and from heavenly contemplations.
5. It will be a time of cordial union and love.
6. Of universal peace and liberty.
7. Of remarkable outward prosperity,
8. All things shall be subordinated to the interests of religion. The
world and its engagements are now too frequently injurious to the growth of
piety. But, then, the service of God will be the one grand business that will
engage all hearts and all hands. (A. Somerville.)
God rejoicing is the new
creation
This passage, like the
rest of Isaiah’s closing chapters, will have completest fulfilment in the
latter days when Christ shall come. But the work which is spoken of is begun
already among us. There is to be a literal new creation, but that new creation
has commenced already; therefore, even now we ought to manifest a part of the
joy. Do you know what this work of creation is, which is here thrice promised
in the words, “I create . . . I create . . . I create It is evidently a second
creation, which is altogether to eclipse the first, and put it out of mind.
Concerning the joy to which we are called, we would say--
I. IT IS A JOY IN
CREATION. “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. I create Jerusalem a
rejoicing, and her people a joy.” It is a most right and excellent thing that
you and I should rejoice in the natural creation of God. The man who is
altogether bad seldom delights in nature, but gets away into the artificial and
the sensual. One of the purest and most innocent of joys, apart from spiritual
things, in which a man can indulge, is a joy in the works of God. Much more is
there something bright and pure and spiritually exhilarating in rejoicing in
God’s higher works, in God’s spiritual works, in God’s new creation. There is
no one of the attributes of God which has not its illustration under the
economy grace; and blessed shall your whole being be if you can to the full
rejoice in that which God creates. There is one reason why you are called upon
to rejoice in it, namely, that you are a part of it. When I lay sore sick and
tormented in body, it seemed always to be such a joy to me that I myself, my
inner self, my spirit, had been new-created, and that my nobler part could rise
above the suffering, and soar into the pure heavens of the spiritual realm; and
I said of this poor body, “Thou hast not yet been new-created; but thou shalt
yet be delivered.”
II. IT IS A JOY
WHICH WILL ECLIPSE ALL THAT HAS GONE BEFORE. “And the former shall not be
remembered, nor come into mind.” God’s great new-creating work ought to fill us
with such joy as to make us forget the old creation, as though we said to
ourselves:--What are the sun and the moon? We shall not have need of these
variable lights in the perfection of the new creation, for in heaven, “they
need no candle, neither light of the sun.” What is the sea, though it be the
very mirror of beauty In that new creation there will be no more sea, and
storms and tempests will be all unknown. What are these luxuries of sight and
hearing? We shall not want them when our eyes shall behold the King in His
beauty in the land that is very far off. The joy of the spiritual is such that,
while it admits the joy of the natural, yet, nevertheless, it swallows it up as
Aaron’s rod swallowed up the rods of the magicians. As an instance of the
expulsive powers of a new delight, we all know how the memory of the old
dispensation is gone from us. Did any one of you ever weep because you did not
sit at the Passover? Did you ever regret the Paschal lamb never, because you
have fed on Christ. I want you to feel just the same with regard to all your
former life as you now feel towards that old dispensation. The world is dead to
you, and you to the world. You have a higher pleasure now which enchants your soul.
III. IT IS A PRESENT
AND A LASTING JOY. “Be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create.” Be
glad in anything that the Lord has created in you. Find your joy, also, in the
new creation of God, as you see it in others. I think it is very beautiful
where John Bunyan represents Christiana and Mercy as admiring each other. They
had both enjoyed a wash in that wonderful beauty-giving bath, and Mercy said to
Christiana, “How beautiful you are! I never saw any one look so lovely as you
are.” But Christiana said that she was not beautiful at all; she could not see
anything about herself to admire, while in Mercy she saw everything to esteem
and love. Oh, to have an eye for the work of God in other people, and to
rejoice in it! Such an eye sees not itself, and yet it is itself one of God’s
loveliest works.
IV. IT IS A JOY
WHICH GOD INTENDED FOR US. “For, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and
her people a joy.” He has made the new city, the new people, the new world to
be a source of joy. Take Jerusalem as the emblem of the Church of God. God
always intended that His chosen, called, and converted people should be a
rejoicing. God intended not only that we should have joy, but that we should
spread it among others. As soon as ever we are converted, what is one of the
first things that comes of it? Why, joy. But by-and-by, there will be a still
greater joy. We shall enter into heaven, and there will be joy among the
angels, and joy in our heart over God’s new-creation work, which will proceed
at a glorious rate. Then the nations will be converted to Cod. I know not when,
nor exactly how but the day shall come when Christ shall reign from pole to
pole.
V. IT IS A JOY IN
WHICH WE SHALL SHARE WITH GOD. “And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My
people.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 20
There shall be no more
thence an infant of days
Longevity
The whole is a highly
poetical description of longevity, to be explained precisely like the promise
of new heavens and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17).
(J. A. Alexander.)
The child shall die an hundred years old
Youth and age
There is promised a
practical annihilation of the line which divides youth and age. Youth shall be
wise and age shall be ardent. We are to study the spirit of youth in history
and in the Church. Hope, enthusiasm, energy, and audacity are elemental forces
in youth. Youth makes mistakes, but age magnifies difficulties. Age regards
that impossible which to youth presents the prospect of success. Most of the
leaders of our American Revolution were under forty, and the same fact appears
in European history,” so that Disraeli was right in saying, The history of
heroes is the history of youth “ So in art. Raphael died at thirty-seven, Keats
at twenty-two, Shelley before thirty, and Professor Clifford at thirty-five.
The time for action is the morning! There is a fiery enthusiasm in youth. It is
to be utilized. Luther was but twenty-four when he denounced the Papa! Church,
and Calvin twenty-six when he wrote his great work, “The Institutes. So with
Wesley and Summerfield, who made themselves felt in early manhood. Robertson,
of Brighton, died at thirty-four. Though preaching to but few, he has
influenced the world by his broad and catholic views. Henry Martyn died at
thirty-two, and Harriet Newell when hardly out of girlhood. Is youth blind? It
is sometimes good to be blind to danger and difficulty, uninfluenced by
discouragements, if only awake to the grandeur of the work and the promised
alliance of God!
I. THE ELDER
SHOULD NOT BE JEALOUS OF THE YOUNGER. It is pitiful to see a cynical spirit
shown toward those who are coming to take our places. Better imitate the
magnanimous temper of John, who said, as he saw the growing popularity of the
Master, “He must increase, I must decrease.” The coming generation must do
their own thinking and make their own philosophies. Wisdom was not born with
us. It will not die with us. God honours individuality. He makes faces unlike
and minds unlike.
II. THE CHURCH
SHOULD BE ALERT TO TRAIN YOUTH TO BE EQUAL TO THE DEMANDS OF THE AGE. its
offices of trust should not be wholly in the hands of old persons.
III. SOME PEOPLE NEVER
SEEM TO LOSE THEIR YOUTH. It is a lovely sight to see the youthful spirit
strong at seventy. It is like seeing a river pouring its life through a desert.
IV. WE LEARN HOW TO
CONTINUE TO BE YOUTHFUL. If linked to Christ, how can we be otherwise than glad
and growing, hopeful and purposeful? A vital, vivid, constant faith in God
feeds enthusiasm with perpetual strength. Suffering often brings a deep, quiet
joy. Shrink not from it. Moreover, we can cultivate this youthful spirit. We
can compel ourselves to look on the bright side of things. They who believe
that all things work together for good to those who love God ought to be
continually young. (A. H Bradford,. D. D.)
“The child shall die an
hundred years old”
The verse is a puzzling
one. But none the less it is true. The more Christlike men and women become,
the nearer they grow to absolute childlikeness. It is with them as with the
ripe corn in the autumn; the corn bends its head down again to the ground out
of which it sprang in the spring. Just so the saints of God, in their maturity,
in their noblest and wisest and heavenliest estate here on earth, resemble most
the children--resemble them in their trustfulness and teachableness and
lowliness. (A. Smellie, M. A.)
A child-man
When James Clerk Maxwell,
loaded as he was with his scientific learning, lay dying, these were his last
words: “Lay me down lower, for I am very low myself, and it suits me to lie
low; and then, with a long, loving look at his wife, he went home to God. He
was a man, but he died as a child. (A. Smellie, M. A.)
But the sinner, being an hundred years old, shall be accursed
The aged sinner
I. IT IS NOT USUAL
FOR A MAN TO LIVE TO THE AGE OF A HUNDRED YEARS. Some, indeed, have lived so
long, but their number has been very small, and he who flatters himself that he
shall do so is both vain and foolish.
II. As it is not
usual for any man to live to the age of a hundred years, so IT IS LESS LIKELY
THAT THE SINNER SHOULD LIVE SO LONG. The way of a sinner is such as naturally
tends to shorten his days, and provoke God to destroy him.
III. IF A WICKED MAN
SHOULD LIVE TO BE A HUNDRED YEARS OLD, YET HE MUST DIE AT LAST.
IV. WHENEVER WICKED
MEN DIE, WHETHER IT BE IN YOUTH OR EXTREME OLD AGE, THEY DIE ACCURSED. Some of
them are cursed by their fellow-creatures, whom they have injured or oppressed;
but, above all, they are under the curse of God. It is a dreadful thing to live
under a curse, but it is far worse to die under one; yet this is the awful
condition of such as live and die in their sins. They may possess much, and
have their houses, lands and estates, but it is with a curse; they may also
hope for more, but when it comes it is with a curse. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
Verse 22
As the days of a tree
Trees
Of all natural objects
trees have the closest fellowship with man.
When growing together in dense primeval forests they indeed exclude his
presence, and the gloom and solitude produce an awe as of the supernatural
world. But in the open cultivated spaces around his home they become
domesticated, and are regarded with a sentiment akin to affection. God first
talked with man under their shadow; man’s first worship was helped, if not
inspired, by the solemn sights and sounds of the grove, the flitting lights and
shades as of mysterious shapes, and the whispered secrets of the leaves; and
the pillared aisles and groined interlacing of branches first suggested to him
the ideas of architectural beauty which grew into permanent shape in the house
of prayer. The heart twines around them some of its most fragrant memories; and
at the end of every vista of the vanished years we see through the golden light
a favourite tree associated with some cherished Incident of the past. Trees are
often planted as memorials of visits to celebrated scenes, or at the birth of
an heir to an estate. (H. Macmillan, D. D.)
As the days of a tree
These human associations
give to the emblem of the prophet a touching significance. It is a very appropriate
emblem. The comparison between the two kinds of life is very close. In every
particular connected with organic existence, in the laws of their development,
decay and reproduction, trees and human beings are complete counterparts of one
another. Even their structure to a certain extent is similar. The leaves
correspond to the lungs and digestive organs; the blossoms represent the
distinctions of sex; and the names of trunk, arms, and limbs are given
indiscriminately to similar parts of both organisms. But if we inquire what a
tree really is, we shall find in the emblem a correspondence still more
profound. A tree is generally supposed to be a single individual, in the same
sense that a man is an individual. It passes through a period of youth, maturity
and old age. It has a fixed limit of size and age. It gradually loses its vital
properties, and ceases to perform its vital functions. But this popular view is
altogether erroneous. A tree is not a single individual; it is an aggregate of
separate, independent individuals, a composite organism in which there is no
centralization of life, and all the parts are frequently repeated: there being
as many lungs as there are leaves, and as many organs of reproduction as there
are blossoms. Each shoot is a distinct plant performing the functions of
nutrition and propagation by and for itself, but, by virtue of its organic
union with the rest of the tree, contributing to the general welfare, and
helping to build up the common fabric. Cut off--its removal would not virtually
injure the tree, nor impair its own vitality; and planted in the soil, it would
strike root and in course of time grow to the same size as its parent. A tree
may thus be said to be a colony of plants growing vertically instead of
horizontally. Regarding a tree, then, as a body corporate, consisting of an
aggregate of living and dead plants, the dead enclosed and preserved in the
tissues of the living, and the living continually reproducing and grafting
themselves upon one another, it follows necessarily that there is no physical
limit to the size it may attain, or to the age it may reach. From its very
nature a tree is immortal. It may go on growing and enlarging for ages, and
after thousands of years be still in the full vigour of its existence. Even in
Europe, where man has so long held sway, and has ever been destroying the woods
and forests, individual trees have survived since the commencement of the
Christian era, and their vigorous hold of life seems to secure them a longevity
in comparison with which the period already passed may be no more than their
early youth; while in other less-known parts of the world trees are to be found
whose enormous size would indicate that they reached back to the origin of the
existing state of the globe. From the nature of a tree as a composite social
organism, it also necessarily follows that it is exempt from death by old age.
The individual plants whose combination constitutes the corporate body, being
only annuals, may be said to die of old age in autumn, when the leaves fade and
fall. But as regards the whole organism there is no such thing as old age. (H.
Macmillan, D. D.)
The tree of life
These considerations help
us to understand more clearly why a tree should have been chosen as the
sacrament or symbol of immortality in Eden, and why it should represent the
eternal felicity of the redeemed in the heavenly paradise. The expression “tree
of life,’ acquires a new and deeper significance when we remember that there is
nothing else with life that bridges across the centuries, connects departed
dynasties and systems of religion with modern governments and fresh creeds and
binds the sympathies of the human heart with the sorrows and joys of other ages
dead and gone. (H. Macmillan, D. D.)
“As the days of a tree:
the Jews
How truly applicable to
the marvellous history of the Jews! As trees are the oldest of living
organisms, so the Jews are the oldest of living races. Though the least of all
people, unable to compete in the arts of life with the nations of antiquity,
they have outlived the wisest and most powerful of them. The people that
oppressed and led them captive have perished, leaving behind only a few
nameless ruins; the kingdoms whose glory overshadowed theirs have vanished, and
left not even a wreck behind. But the Jews have still lived on. Like their own
cedars of Lebanon they have survived the storms and vicissitudes of ages, and
endured while all else has perished around them. Although the trunk and main
stem of the Jews may be withered away, and only a fragment remain, yet this
fragment is as full of life, is as green and flourishing, as in the brightest
days of prosperity. And from this fragment will spring up a new and glorious
tree. The tree, rather than the “everlasting ,hills, ‘ may have been chosen by
the prophet as the symbol of the perpetuity of God’s people, not only because
it has life, and is therefore a more appropriate emblem of life, not only
because of its power of indefinite longevity and increase, but also, as Dr.
Harvey has suggested, because it is possessed only of a contingent perpetuity.
In its own nature a tree is immortal, but it is subject to accidents which
impair its vitality and lead to decay and death. Most trees die of mechanical
injuries; a storm breaks off a branch and inflicts a wound which exposes the
inner heart-wood to the weather, decay takes place, the inside of the trunk
becomes hollow, and, incapable of offering resistance, it is hurled to the
ground by a fiercer blast of wind than usual. Many trees are placed in unsuitable
situations, where they are too much crowded by other trees, or too much exposed
to the wind, or where the soil does not afford sufficient nourishment to them,
and they die of hunger. Their own growth, by hardening and compressing their
tissues, prevents the roots of the young shoots from growing, and the sap from
rising freely upwards, and thus they are choked out of life. Add to these
causes the manifold destructive influences of nature and the necessities and
caprices of men, and it will be at once seen that the great majority of trees
must perish ere they have reached their prime, and that even the oldest and
largest must finally disappear. This circumstance may have been meant to infuse
a salutary warning into the gracious assurance of the text. The days of God’s
people would be like the days of a tree so long as they obeyed the laws of
truth and righteousness, by which the stability of a nation is maintained; but,
like the tree, their days would be cut short prematurely, if they exposed
themselves by disobedience to the forces which inevitably bring all that is
evil to an end. (H. Macmillan, D. D.)
The tree of life
Many of the ablest
scholars, ancient and modern, hold to the opinion that the true rendering of
the passage is this: “As the days of the tree, are the days of My
people”--“as the days,” that is, of the “tree of life!” And there is very much
to be said in favour of this rendering. The Tree of Life in Eden--that first of
sacraments--was designed to sustain and refresh the life infused into man at
his creation. To us, however, there is another Tree of Life, even the Cross of
Christ. The body broken, and the blood shed upon that Tree, are to us the means
of resurrection and immortality. And, again, there is another Tree of Life, to
which as yet we can only look in faith, that, namely, which is fast beside the
river that issues forth beneath the throne of God and of the Lamb--which bears
its twelvefold fruit twelve times within the twelvemonth, and whose leaves are
for the healing of the nations. “As the days of the Tree, are the days
of My people.” Their destiny is to feed on the Tree of Life in the midst of the
Paradise of God; and as the days of that Tree are never ending, never darkened,
so shall the days of God’s people be. (H. Macmillan, D. D.)
Christian life imaged by
the trees of the earth
I. THE DURABILITY
OF THE CHURCH, of which the Saviour has said, “The gates of hell, of death,
shall not prevail against it. That which is true of the Church collectively is
true of the humblest living member of the Church; for he shall reign, shall
share in the rule of his Saviour, for ever and ever.
II. THE CONDITION
OF THE CHURCH AND OF EVERY CHRISTIAN IS TO BE ONE OF DAILY, NOISELESS GROWTH.
Nurtured by the sunshine and the rain, by sorrow and joy, by temptation and
quiet, exposed to all, and strengthened by all, flourishing like a palm-tree
amidst the summer heats, and growing amid snows like a cedar in Lebanon (Psalms 92:12).
III. NOT ONLY GROWING AMID
THE CHANGES OF EARTH, BUT DRAWING NOURISHMENT FROM ALL. The Christian is
planted here, has his allotted duties here (Psalms 92:13), as the tree is rooted in earth. Both derive nourishment from
the earth. Trials, affliction, spiritual and fleshly temptations, and the winds
of false doctrine, should but strengthen the Christian.
IV. IT IS
FRUIT-BEARING. (W. Denton, M. A.)
Verse 24
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer.
The Church in harmony with God’s will
The will of the Church of the new Jerusalem will be Jehovah’s will
to such a degree that he already hears and fulfils the slightest movement of
prayer in the heart, the prayer but half-uttered. (F. Delitzsch, D. D.)
The Divine willingness to hear prayer.
I. MAN NEEDS TO
CALL UPON AND SPEAK TO GOD. What is man’s greatest need? To him who believes in
a future world--eternal life. To whom shall he go for this? He must call upon
God. This is shown--
1. From the consciousness of an existing want which cannot be
supplied.
(a) From within.
(b) From without.
(a) Its inhabitants.
(b) Its wealth.
(c) Its pleasures.
2. From the fact that light, pardon, guidance, comfort, heaven, can
only be had from God.
II. MAN IS
ENCOURAGED TO CALL UPON AND SPEAK UNTO GOD. This is shown by four
considerations of God’s dealings with man--
1. Opening the way of approach to Himself by His Word.
2. Teaching the way by His servants.
3. Directing in the way by His Spirit.
4. Distinctly promising to bless all who come in the way. But from
the text we learn explicitly that man is encouraged to call upon and speak unto
God. “Before they call, I will answer.’ God perceives and realizes the desires
of the Christian heart. Amid all the complex movements of the universe, He sees
the unfolding of the praying heart, and, swifter than the lightning flash, the
answer comes. David found it so (Psalms 32:5), so did Daniel (Daniel 10:12), and we have found it so (Matthew 6:8). “And while they are yet
speaking I will hear. God is willing to listen to the articulated wish of the
Christian hearts. Amid the clash of nations’ strife, the busy hum of struggling
humanity, the hoarse cries for sensual pleasure, the blasphemies of the lewd,
the groans of the crushed and disappointed, He listens to the speaking of His
children, and hears the faintest whispered want. Illustrations: The Israelites
at Mizpeh (1 Samuel 7:1-17.); David’s triumph
over his enemies (Psalms 6:8-9); Daniel and the seventy
weeks Daniel 9:21); Cornelius (Acts 10:3). (J. E. Hargreaves.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》