Chapter LXIV
tlie same city Jerusalem [Vitkinga]; or all Judea was holy to God, so Its cities were deemed "holy." [.Mauker.] But the parallelism favours Vitkinga. Zion and Jeru^ salem (the one city) answering to "holy cities.'' 11. house —the temple. "Beautiful" includes the idea of glorious (Mark 13.1; Acts ,3.2). burned—(Psalm 74. 7; Lamentations 2. 7; 2 Clironicles 30. 19.) Its destruction under Nebucliadnezzar prefigured tliat under Titus, pleasant things —Hebrew, objects of desire; our homes, our city, and all
Ver. 1-12. Transition fro.m Complaint to Prayer.
1. rend . . . heavens— bursting forth to execute vengeance, suddenly descendijig on thy peopJe's foe (Psalm
IS. 9; 144. 5; Hal)akkuk 3. 5, 6). flow down—(Judges 5. 5; Micah 1.4.) 2. Oh that thy wrath would consume thy foes as Ihnjlre, &c. Rather, "as the fire burneth the dry brwihtiood." [GeseniuS.] 3. Wlien — Supply from v. 2, As when, &c. terrible things—(Psalm 65.5.) we looked not for— £tr exceeding the expectation of any of our nation; unparalleled before (Exodus 34.10; Psalm 68.8).
its dear associations. I'i. for these things—Wilt thou. notwithstanding these calami Lies of thy people, still refuse thy aid (ch. 42. 14)7
God'a Re])ly v i Jii^/ ijication ISAIAH LXV. of His Dealings with Israel.
CHAPTER LXV.
Israel in all ages, culminating in their killing Messiah, and still rejecting Him. 5. (Matthew 9. 11; Luke 5. 30; 18.
11 ; Jude 19.) Applicable to the hypocritical self-jusjtiflers of our Lord's time, smoke—alluding to the smoke of their self-righteous sacrifices; the fire of God's un-aih was kindled at the sight, and exhibited itself in the smoke that breathed forth from His nostrils; in //e^retw the nose
Ver. 1-2-5. God's Repi^y ix Justification ok His Deai--
iiias WITH IsiiABi,. Ill .ch."(i4. !), their pleii was, "we are
all thy people." In answer, God declares that.other.<i (Gen-
t.ilo:0 would, be taken inio t-ovenaut with Him, wliile His kuieient people would be rejected. The Jews were slow to believe this; hence Paul says (Komans -10. 20) that Isaiah was "very bold" in advancing so unpopular a sentiment;
is the seiit of anger; and tlie nostrils distended in wrath, as it were, breathe forth smoke. [Rosenmullek.] (Psalm
18. 8.) 0. written before me— is decreed by me, viz., what follows (Job 13. 26) [Maurer]; or, their guilt is recorded before ?;je(cf. Daniel 7. 10; Revelation 20. 12; Malachi 3. -16). into ... . bosom—(Psalm 79. 12; Jeremiah 32.18; Luke 6.
lU' implies what Paul spates (Uomans 2. 28; 9. 6, 7; 11. 1-31), that "they are not «// (in oppositiotr to the Jews' plea, ch.
t;!. !>) Israel wliich are of Israel." God's reason lor so
Kverely dealing with Israel is not changeableness in
38.) The Orientals used the loose fold of the garment falling on "the bosom" or lap, as a receptacle for carrying things. The sense thus is, I will repay their sin so abundantly, that tire hand will not be able to receive it; it will need tlie spacious fold on tlie bosom to contain it. [RosenmulIjER.] Rather it is, " I will repay it to the very person from ivhoyn it has emanated." Cf. " God did render the evil of the men of Shechem upon their heads" (Judges 9. 57 Psalm 7. 16)., [Gesbnius.] 7. Their sin had been accumu^^ lating from age to age, until God at last repaid it in full monntains—(Ch. 57. 7; Ezekiel IS. 6; 20. 27, 28; Hosea 4. 13' tlieir—"your" had preceded. From sxieaking to. He speaks of them; this Implies growing alienation fiKira them and greater distance, work—the full recompense of their work (so ch. 49. 4). 8. new wine—As if some grapes having good wine-p>roducing juice in tliem, be found in a cluster which the vine-dresser was about to throw away as bad, andone saith, etc. blessing—i. e., good wineproducing juice (cf. Judges 9. 13 ; Joel 2. 14). so—God will spare the godly "remnant," whilst the ungodly mass of the nation shall be destroyed (ch. 1. 9; 6. 13; 10. 21; 11. 11, 12-16). my servants—The godly remnant. But Horsley, " for the sake of my servant, Messiah." 9. seed—" the holy seed" (ch. 6. 13), a posterity from Jacob, desigiied to repossess the Holy Land, Ibrfeited by the sin of the former Jews, my mountains—Jerusalem and the rest of Judea, peculiarly God's (cf. ch. 2. 2; 11. 9; 14. 32). it—the Holy Land, elect—(u. 15, 22.) 10. Sluaron—(iV'o^es, ch. 33. 9; So.
Iliiu, but sin in them (v. 2-7). Yet tlie whole nation shall not be destroyed, but only the wicked ; a remnant shall be
F.aved (I'. 8-10, 11-16). Tliere shall be, finally, universal blessedness to Israel, such as they had prayed lor (u. 17-
2')). 1. I am sonsi\t—Hel>}-ew, "I have granted access unto me to them," Ac. (so Ezekiel 14. 3, "Should I be inquired
of;" Ephesians 2. 18). foiuid—Romans 10. '20 renders this, " 1 was made manifest." As an instance of the sentiment
in the clause, "I am sought," &c., see John 12. 21; of the sentiment in this clause. Acts 9. 5. Cf. as to the Gentile converts, Ephesians 2. 12, 13. Behold me—(Ch. 4-5. 22.)
itiiiioii . . . not c.'illed l>y my name—i. e., the Gentiles, (rod retorts in their own words (ch. 63. 19), their plea as being exclusively "called by His name" will not avail, for God's gospel invitation is not so exclusive (Romans 9.
Z'j; 1. 16). 3. spread out . . . Iinnds—inviting thenr earnestly (Proverbs 1. 24). ail . . . day—continually, late and early (Jeremiah 7. 13). rebellions people—Israel, whose
reiicllion was tlie occasion of God's turning to the Gentiles
dtoiiiaiis 11. 11, 12, lo).. way . . . not good—t. e., the very reverse of good, very bad (Ezekiel 36. 31). 3. continually —answering to "all the day" (v. 2). God was continually i)iviting them, and they co>?«jn)ta«i/ offending Him (Deuteronomy 32. 21). to my face—They made no attempt to hide their sin (ch. 3. 9). Cf. " ftf/ore me" (Exodus 20. 3). in gardens {yote, ch. 1. 29; 66. 17; Leviticus 17. 5.) altars of tivU-li—Hebrew, bricks. God had commanded His altars to be of utihcwn stone (Exodus 20. 25). This was in order to s<?parate them, even in external respects, from idolaters;
2.) Aclior—meaning trouble; a valley near Jericho, so called from the trouble cau.sed to Israel by Achan's sin (Joshua 7. .ai). "The valley of Achor," proverbial for whatever caused calamity, shall become proverbial for joy and prosperity (Hosea 2. 15). H. holy mountain Moriah, on which the temple was. trooi>—rather Gad, the Babylonian god of fortune, the planet Jupiter, answering to Baal or Bel; the Arabs called it "the Greater Good Fortune ;" and the planet "Venus answering to Meni, " the Lesser Good Fortune." [Gesenius, Kimchi, Ac] Tables were laid out for their idols with all kinds of viands, and a cup containing a mixture of wine and honey, in Egypt especially, on the last day of the year. [Jerome.] drink oifertng—rather, mixed drink, number—rather, Meni ; as goddess of fortune she was thought to number the fates of men. Vitringa understands Gad to be the sun ; Meni the moon, or Ashtaroth or Astarte (1 Kings 11. 33). I'i. number —doom you. Alluding to tlie "number," as Me7ii(v.ll) means. Retribution in kind, the punishment answering to tlie sin (cf. 2 Chronicles 36. 11-17). I called, ye . ., . not answer—"/called," though "none had called" upon me
also, as all cliiselling was forbidden, they could not inscribe superstitious symbols on them as the heathen did. Bricks were more easily so inscribed than stone; hence their use for the cuneiform inscriptions at Babj-lon, and also for idolatrous altars. Some, not so well, have supposed that the " bricks" here mean the fiat brick-paved
roofs of houses on which they sacrificed to the sun, (fic. (2 Kings 23. 12; Jeremiah 19. 13). 4:. remain among . . . graves—ri2., for purposes of necromancy, as if to hold converse with the dead (ch. 8. 19, 20; cf. Mark 5. 3); or, for
tlie sake of purifications, usually performed at night among sepulchres, to appease the manes. [Maureii.] monuments—//c6?'e«i, " pass the night in hidden recesses," either the idol's inmost «/in'ne« (" consecrated precincts") [IIojisLEY], where they used to sleep. In order to have
L)i vi!ie communications in dreams ^Jerome]; or better, on p.ccount of the parallel "graves," sepulc/iral caves. [Mau-
liiou.] eat swijie's flesh—To eat it at all was contrary to Gild's law (Leviticus 11. 7), but it much increased their guilt that they ate it in idolatrous sacrifices (cf. ch. 60. 17). VAitito (Ite Rvst., 2. 4) says, that swine were first used in
(ch. 64.7); yet even then none "answered" (Proverbs 1.
24). Contrast with this God and Plis people's mutual fellowship in pi'ayer (v. 21). 13. eat—enjoy all blessings from me (Song of Solomon 5.1). hungry—(Amos4.fi; 8.11.) This may refer to the siege of Jerusalem undei' Titus, when 1,100,000 are said to have perished by famine', thus
fiacrilices; the Latins sacrificed a pig to Ceres ; it was also offered on occasion of treaties and marriages. l)rotli—so called from the "pieces" (Margin) or fragments of bread over which the broth was poured [Gesbniu.s] ; such broth, niivdo of swine's flesh, offered in sacrifice, was thought to
V. 15 will refer to God's people without distinction of Jew and Gentile receiving "another name," viz., that of Chris-
lie especially acceptable to the idol, and was used jn magic
l iles. Or, " fragments (pieces) of abominable foods," &c. Tiiis fourth clause explains more fully the third, as the fceond does the first. [Mauher.] is in—rather, lit., "is
tians. [Hoitbigant.] a fartlie'r fulfllment may still remain, just before the creation of the "new heavens anil earth," as the context, v. 17, imiilies. 14. howl—(Ch. 15. 2; Matthews. 12.) 1.5, curse—The name of "J.^w" has been for long a formula of execration (cf. Jeremiah '29. 2'2); if one wishes to curse anotlier, he can utter notliiiiK worse than this, "God make thee what the Jew is!" Contrast the formula (Genesiis 48. 20). [Mai;keb.] my chosen—TUe
Iljcir vessels," i. e., constitute their vessels' content.s. The Ji'ws, in our Lord's days, and ever since the return from Babylon, have been free from idolatry; still the imagery from idolatrous abominations, as being the sin most loathsome in God's eyes, and that most prevalent In
Lsttlah's time, Is emploj-ed to describe the foul sin of 502
ZAe Church prof&SKf.f Jier Faith. ISAIAH LXVI. Tlie Gathering of all Nations.
elect Church, gaUiored from Jew's and Gentiles, ciilled by ••another uaine," C/u-u/ian-i [Acta U. 26). However (iVo^e,
sis 3. 13; Micfib 7. 17). To lick the diint is figurative of the utter and perpelual dcr/rad.Uiiwi of fSataii and his emissaries (ch. 19.23; PsaUii 72. 9). Ka tan fell se//-tort/>«e(J ,• therefore no atonement' was contrived for him, as there was for man, who fell hy his temptation (Jnde6; John 8. 44). From liTs peculiar connection widi the earth and man, it has Ijeen conjectured that tlie exciting cause of his i<;bellion v/.as, God's declaration that human nature was to be raised into union with the Godhead ; this was " the truth" concerning tlie person of the Son of Gixl wh ich " he abode uot in;" it galled his pride that a lower race was to be raised to that wliicli he had aspired to (1 Timothy 3.6). How exuitingly he might say, wlien man fell tlirough him, "frofi would raise manliood into union with Him-
t<. 13), as "my chason," or "elect," in u. 9, refers to the "seed o[.^<ic<,>b," the believing Jews, hereafter about to pos-
sess their laud (v. 19, 22j, are uUhnulely meant by "my chosen," as contrasted with the unbelieving Jews ("yo"). These elect Jews sliali be called by "another," or o new
n«/»^% t. e., shall no longer fte." forsaken" of God for unbe-
lief, but shall be His "delight" and "married" to llim
(ell. 62. 2, 4). iJie«!—unbelieving Israel. laaiah here speaks of Godj vi'hereajs in the preceding sentences God HuiviclJ spake. This chaiigeof persons marks without design how completely the prophet realizeil (Jod with him and in him, so that he passes, \vithout foruially anuounciTig it, from God's words to his own, and vice versa, both alike
self, J have brought it down below the beasts hy sin!" At that very moment and spot he was told, that tlic seed of the abhorred race, man, should bruise his h('ad (1 John
beini^ from God. Iti. That lie—rather, "He wlio," iSc.
bles!>et;i, ikc—iFsalin 72. 17 ; Jeremiah 4. 2). God of trutHi —Very God, as opposexl to J'aUe gods; Ilcbrem,'Amen : the very name, of illessiah (2 Corinthians 1. 20; Revelation 3.
3. 8). He was raised up for tlils, to show forlli God's glory (Exodus 9. 16; Rv)!nans fl. 17). In his uufallen state he may have been God's vicegerent over tlie earth and the animal kingdom before man: tliis will account for his assuming the form of a serpent (Genesis 3). Man succeeded to that office (Genesis 2. 19, 20), but forfeited it by sin, whence Satan became "prince of this world;" Jesus Christ supplants the usurper, and as "Son of man" regains the lost inheritance (Psalm 8.4-8). The steps lu Satan's overthrow are these: he is cast out, first, from heaven (Revelation 12. 7-9) on eartli ; next, he is bound a thousand years (Revelation 2i). 2, 3); finally, he is cast into the lake of lire for ever (Revelation 20. iOJ.
II), lailtiiul to If is proniises (John 1. 17; G. 32). Real, subelanlial, spiritual, eternal, as opposed to the shadowy types of the law. aivifnt-ctli, &c.—God alone shall be appeale<l to as God (eh. I'J. 18; Deuteronomy G. 13; P;jalm G3.
11). traiibles i. e., sins, ]>rovocations. [LowTH.] Rattier;
c<tfti«(i^^ft« caused by your sins; so far from these visiting you again, the very remombrance of them is "hid from mine eyes" by the magnitude of the blessings I will confer on you (v. 17, &c.). [JIauker.] 17. As Caleb inherited the same land which his feet trod on (Deuteronomy 1. 36; Joshua 11 0), .so Messiah and His saints shall inherit the renovated -earth wliich once they trod whilst defiled by the enemy (ch. 34. 4; r>l. It!; G6. 22; Ezekiel 21. 27; Psalm 2.