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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
I S A I A H.
CHAP. LVI.
After the exceedingly great and precious promises of gospel grace,
typified by temporal deliverances, which we had in the foregoing
chapter, we have here,
I. A solemn charge given to us all to make conscience of our duty, as
we hope to have the benefit of those promises,
II. Great encouragement given to strangers that were willing to come
under the bonds of the covenant, assuring them of the blessings of the
covenant,
III. A high charge drawn up against the watchmen of Israel, that were
careless and unfaithful in the discharge of their duty
(ver. 9-12),
which seems to be the beginning of a new sermon, by way of reproof and
threatening, which is continued in the following chapters. And the
word of God was intended for conviction, as well as for comfort and
instruction in righteousness.
| Evangelical Promises; Exhortations to Duty. | B. C. 706. |
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1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my
salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man
that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting
it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
The scope of these verses is to show that when God is coming towards us
in a way of mercy we must go forth to meet him in a way of duty.
I. God here tells us what are his intentions of mercy to us
(v. 1):
My salvation is near to come–the great salvation wrought out by
Jesus Christ (for that was the salvation of which the prophets
enquired and searched diligently,
1 Pet. i. 10),
typified by the salvation of the Jews from Sennacherib or out of
Babylon. Observe,
1. The gospel salvation is the salvation of the Lord. It was contrived
and brought about by him; he glories in it as his.
2. In that salvation God’s righteousness is revealed, which is so much
the beauty of the gospel that St. Paul makes this the ground of his
glorying in it.
(Rom. i. 17),
because therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith. The law revealed that righteousness of God by which all
sinners stand condemned, but the gospel reveals that by which all
believers stand acquitted.
3. The Old-Testament saints saw this salvation coming, and drawing near
to them, long before it came; and they had notice by the prophets of
its approach. As Daniel understood by Jeremiah’s books the approach of
the redemption out of Babylon, at the end of seventy years, so others
understood by Daniel’s books the approach of our redemption by Christ
at the end of seventy weeks of years.
II. He tells us what are his expectations of duty from us, in
consideration thereof. Say not, “We see the salvation near, and
therefore we may live as we list, for there is no danger now of missing
it or coming short of it;” that is turning the grace of God into
wantonness. But, on the contrary, when the salvation is near double
your guard against sin. Note, The fuller assurances God gives us of the
performance of his promises the stronger obligations he lays us under
to obedience. The salvation here spoken of has now come; yet, there
being still a further salvation in view, the apostle presses duty upon
us Christians with the same argument.
Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. That which is
here required to qualify and prepare us for the approaching salvation
is,
1. That we be honest and just in all our dealings: Keep you judgment
and do justice. Walk by rule, and make conscience of what you say
and do, that you do no wrong to any. Render to all their dues exactly,
and, in exacting what is due to you, keep up a court of equity in your
own bosom, to moderate the rigours of the law. Be ruled by that golden
rule, “Do as you would be done by.” Magistrates must administer justice
wisely and faithfully. This is required to evidence the sincerity of
our faith and repentance, and to open the way of mercy. Repent for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand. God is true to us; let us be so
to one another.
2. That we religiously observe the sabbath day,
v. 2.
We are not just if we rob God of his time. Sabbath-sanctification is
here put for all the duties of the first table, the fruits of our love
to God, as justice and judgment are put for all those of the second
table, the fruits of our love to our neighbour. Observe,
(1.) The duty required, which is to keep the sabbath, to keep it
as a talent we are to trade with, as a treasure we are entrusted with.
“Keep it holy; keep it safe; keep it with care and caution; keep it
from polluting it. Allow neither yourselves nor others either to
violate the holy rest or omit the holy work of that day.” If this be
intended primarily for the Jews in Babylon, it was fit that they should
be particularly put in mind of this, because when, by reason of their
distance from the temple, they could not observe the other institutions
of their law, yet they might distinguish themselves from the heathen by
putting a difference between God’s day and other days. But it being
required more generally of man, and the son of man, it intimates
that sabbath-sanctification should be a duty in gospel times, when the
bounds of the church should be enlarged and other rites and ceremonies
abolished. Observe, Those that would keep the sabbath from polluting it
must put on resolution, must not only do this, but lay hold on it, for
sabbath time is precious, but is very apt to slip away if we take not
great care; and therefore we must lay hold on it and keep our hold,
must do it and persevere in it.
(2.) The encouragement we have to do this duty: Blessed is he that
doeth it. The way to have the blessing of God upon our employments
all the week is to make conscience, and make a business, of
sabbath-sanctification; and in doing so we shall be the better
qualified to do judgment and justice. The more godliness the more
honesty,
3. That we have nothing to do with sin: Blessed is the man that
keeps his hand from doing evil, any wrong to his neighbour, in
body, goods, or good name–or, more generally, any thing that is
displeasing to God and hurtful to his own soul. Note, The best
evidence of our having kept the sabbath well will be a care to keep a
good conscience all the week. By this it will appear that we have been
in the mount with God if our faces shine in a holy conversation before
men.
| Encouragement to the Sincere; Encouragement to the Gentiles. | B. C. 706. |
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3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself
to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me
from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry
tree.
4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my
sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold
of my covenant;
5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls
a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will
give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the
LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his
servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it,
and taketh hold of my covenant;
7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them
joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their
sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house
shall be called a house of prayer for all people.
8 The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith,
Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered
unto him.
The prophet is here, in God’s name, encouraging those that were hearty
in joining themselves to God and yet laboured under great
discouragements.
1. Some were discouraged because they were not of the seed of Abraham.
They had joined themselves to the Lord, and bound their souls
with a bond to be his for ever (this is the root and life of religion,
to break off from the world and the flesh, and devote ourselves
entirely to the service and honour of God); but they questioned whether
God would accept them, because they were of the sons of the
stranger,
v. 3.
They were Gentiles, strangers to the commonwealth of Israel and aliens
from the covenants of promise, and therefore feared they had no part
nor lot in the matter. They said, “The Lord has utterly separated me
from his people, and will not own me as one of them, nor admit me
to their privileges.” It was often said that there should be one law
for the stranger and for him that was born in the land
and yet they came to this melancholy conclusion. Note, Unbelief often
suggests things to the discouragement of good people which are directly
contrary to what God himself has said, things which he has expressly
guarded against. Let not the sons of the stranger therefore say
thus, for they have no reason to say it. Note, Ministers must have
answers ready for the disquieting fears and jealousies of weak
Christians, which, how unreasonable soever, they must take notice of.
2. Others were discouraged because they were not fathers in Israel. The
eunuch said, Behold, I am a dry tree. So he looked upon himself,
and it was his grief; so others looked upon him, and it was his
reproach. He was thought to be of no use because he had no children,
nor was ever likely to have any. This was then the more grievous
because eunuchs were not admitted to be priests
(Lev. xxi. 20),
nor to enter into the congregation
and because the promise of a numerous posterity was the particular
blessing of Israel and the more valuable because from among them the
Messiah was to come. Yet God would not have the eunuchs to make the
worst of their case, nor to think that they should be excluded from the
gospel church, and from being spiritual priests, because they were shut
out from the congregation of Israel and the Levitical priesthood; no,
as the taking down of the partition wall, contained in ordinances,
admitted the Gentiles, so it let in likewise those that had been kept
out by ceremonial pollutions. Yet, by the reply here given to this
suggestion, it should seem the chief thing which the eunuch laments in
his case is his being written childless.
Now suitable encouragements are given to each of these.
I. To those who have no children of their own, who, though they had the
honour to be the children of the church and the covenant themselves,
yet had none to whom they might transmit that honour, none to receive
the sign of circumcision and the privileges secured by that sign. Now
observe,
1. What a good character they have, though they lie under this ignominy
and affliction; and those only are entitled to the following comforts
who in some measure answer to these characters.
(1.) They keep God’s sabbaths as he has appointed them to be
kept. In the primitive times, if a Christian were asked, “Hast thou
kept holy the Lord’s day?” He would readily answer, “I am a Christian,
and dare not do otherwise.”
(2.) In their whole conversation they choose those things that
please God. They do that which is good; they do it with a sincere
design to please God in it; they do it of choice, and with delight. If
sometimes, through infirmity, they come short in doing that which
pleases God, yet they choose it, they endeavour after it, and aim at
it. Note, Whatever is God’s pleasure should without dispute be our
choice.
(3.) They take hold of his covenant, and that is a thing that
pleases God as much as any thing. The covenant of grace is proposed and
proffered to us in the gospel; to take hold of it is to consent to it,
to accept the offer and come up to the terms, deliberately and
sincerely to take God to be to us a God and to give up ourselves to him
to be to him a people. Taking hold of the covenant denotes an entire
and resolute consent to it, taking hold as those that are afraid of
coming short, catching at it as a good bargain, and as those that are
resolved never to let it go, for it is our life: and we take hold of it
as a criminal took hold of the horns of the altar to which he fled for
refuge.
2. What a great deal of comfort they may have if they answer to this
character, though they are not built up into families
(v. 5):
Unto them will I give a better place and name. It is supposed
that there is a place and a name, which we have from sons and
daughters, that is valuable and desirable. It is a pleasing notion we
have that we live in our children when we are dead. But there is a
better place, and a better name, which those have that are in covenant
with God, and it is sufficient to counterbalance the want of the
former. A place and a name denote rest and reputation; a place to live
comfortably in themselves, and a name to live creditably with among
their neighbours; they shall be happy, and may be easy both at home and
abroad. Though they have not children to be the music of their house,
or arrows in their quiver, to keep them in countenance when they speak
with their enemies in the gate, yet they shall have a place and a name
more than equivalent. For,
(1.) God will give it to them, will give it to them by promise; he will
himself be both their habitation and their glory, their place and their
name.
(2.) He will give it to them in his house, and within his walls; there
they shall have a place, shall be planted so as to take root
(Ps. xcii. 13),
shall dwell all the days of their life,
Ps. xxvii. 4.
They shall be at home in communion with God, as Anna, that departed
not from the temple night nor day. There they shall have a name. A
name for the good things with God and good people is a name better
than that of sons and daughters. Our relation to God, our interest
in Christ, our title to the blessings of the covenant, and our hopes of
eternal life, are things that give us in God’s house a blessed place
and a blessed name.
(3.) It shall be an everlasting name, that shall never be
extinct, shall never be cut off; like the place and name of
angels, who therefore marry not, because they die not. Spiritual
blessings are unspeakably better than those of sons and daughters; for
children are a certain care and may prove the greatest grief and shame
of a man’s life, but the blessings we partake of in God’s house are a
sure and constant joy and honour, comforts which cannot be
embittered.
II. To those that are themselves the children of strangers.
1. It is here promised that they shall now be welcome to the church,
When God’s Israel come out of Babylon, let them bring as many of their
neighbours along with them as they can persuade to come, and God will
find room enough for them all in his house. And here, (as before) we
may observe,
(1.) Upon what terms they shall be welcome. Let them know that God’s
Israel, when they come out of Babylon, will not be plagued, as they
were when they came out of Egypt, with a mixed multitude, that went
with them, but were not cordially for them; no, the sons of the
strangers shall have a place and a name in God’s house provided,
[1.] That they forsake other gods, all rivals and pretenders
whatsoever, and join themselves to the Lord, so as to become
one spirit,
1 Cor. vi. 17.
[2.] That they join themselves to him as subjects to their prince and
soldiers to their general, by an oath of fidelity and obedience, to
serve him, not occasionally, as one would serve a turn, but to be
constantly his servants, entirely subject to his command, and devoted
to his interest.
[3.] That they join themselves to him as friends to his honour and the
interests of his kingdom in the world, to love the name of the
Lord, to be well pleased with all the discoveries he has made of
himself and all the memorials they make of him. Observe, Serving him
and loving him go together; for those that love him truly will serve
him faithfully, and that obedience is most acceptable to him, as well
as most pleasant to us, which flows from a principle of love, for then
his commandments are not grievous,
1 John v. 3.
[4.] That they keep the sabbath from polluting it; for the stranger
that is within thy gates is particularly required to do that.
[5.] That they take hold of the covenant, that is, that they come under
the bonds of it, and put in for the benefits of it.
(2.) To what privileges they shall be welcome,
v. 7.
Three things are here promised them, in their coming to God:–
[1.] Assistance: “I will bring them to my holy mountain, not
only bid them welcome when they come, but incline them to come, will
show them the way, and lead them in it.” David himself prays that God
by his light and truth would bring them to his holy hill,
Ps. xliii. 3.
And the sons of the stranger shall be under the same guidance. The
church is God’s holy hill, on which he hath set his King, and, in
bringing them to Zion Hill, he brings them to be subjects to Zion’s
King, as well as worshippers in Zion’s holy temple.
[2.] Acceptance: “Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall
be accepted on my altar, and be never the less acceptable for being
theirs, though they are sons of the stranger.” The prayers and praises
(those spiritual sacrifices) of devout Gentiles shall be as pleasing to
God as those of the pious Jews, and no difference shall be made between
them; for, though they are Gentiles by birth, yet through grace they
shall be looked upon as the believing seed of faithful Abraham and the
praying seed of wrestling Jacob, for in Christ Jesus there is neither
Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision.
[3.] Comfort. They shall not only be accepted, but they themselves
shall have the pleasure of it: I will make them joyful in my house
of prayer. They shall have grace, not only to serve God, but to
serve him cheerfully and with gladness, and that shall make the service
the more acceptable to him; for, when we sing in the ways of the Lord,
then great is the glory of our God. They shall go away and eat their
bread with joy, because God now accepts their works,
Eccl. ix. 7.
Nay, though they came mourning to the house of prayer, they shall go
away rejoicing, for they shall there find such ease, by casting their
cares and burdens upon God, and referring themselves to him, that, like
Hannah, they shall go away and their countenance shall be no more sad.
Many a sorrowful spirit has been made joyful in the house of
prayer.
2. It is here promised that multitudes of the Gentiles shall come to
the church, not only that the few who come dropping in shall be made
welcome, but that great numbers shall come in, and the door be thrown
open to them: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all
people. The temple was then God’s house, and to that Christ applies
these words
but with an eye to it as a type of the gospel church,
For Christ calls it his house,
Heb. iii. 6.
Now concerning this house it is promised,
(1.) That it shall not be a house of sacrifice, but a house of prayer.
The religious meetings of God’s people shall be meetings for prayer, in
which they shall join together, as a token of their united faith and
mutual love.
(2.) That it shall be a house of prayer, not for the people of the Jews
only, but for all people. This was fulfilled when Peter was made, not
only to perceive it himself, but to tell it to the world, that in
every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of
him,
Acts x. 35.
It had been declared again and again that the stranger that comes
nigh shall be put to death, but Gentiles shall now be looked upon
no longer as strangers and foreigners,
And it appears by Solomon’s prayer, at the dedication of the temple,
both that it was primarily intended for a house of prayer and that
strangers should be welcome to it,
And it is intimated here
(v. 8)
that when the Gentiles are called in they shall be incorporated into
one body with the Jews, that (as Christ says,
there may be one fold and one Shepherd; for,
[1.] God will gather the outcasts of Israel. Many of the Jews
that had by their unbelief cast themselves out shall by faith be
brought in again, a remnant according to the election of grace,
Rom. xi. 5.
Christ came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel
(Matt. xv. 24),
to gather their outcasts
to restore their preserved
(ch. xlix. 6),
and to be their glory,
Luke ii. 32.
[2.] He will gather others also to him, besides his own outcasts that
are gathered to him. Or, though some of the Gentiles have come over now
and then into the church, that shall not serve (as some may think) to
answer the extent of these promises; no, there are still more and more
to be brought in: “I will gather others to him besides these;
these are but the first-fruits in comparison with the harvest that
shall be gathered for Christ in the nations of the earth, when the
fulness of the Gentiles shall come in.” Note, The church is a growing
body: when some are gathered to it we may still hope there shall be
more, till the mystical body be completed. Other sheep I
have.
| A Charge against the Prophets. | B. C. 706. |
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9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye
beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are
all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to
slumber.
11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough,
and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look
to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill
ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day,
and much more abundant.
From words of comfort the prophet here, by a very sudden change of his
style, passes to words of reproof and conviction, and goes on in that
strain, for the most part, in the three following chapters; and
therefore some here begin a new sermon. He had assured the people that
in due time God would deliver them out of captivity, which was designed
for the comfort of those that should live when God would do this. Now
here he shows what their sins and provocations were, for which God
would send them into captivity, and this was designed for the
conviction of those that lived in his own time, nearly a hundred years
before the captivity, who were now filling up the measure of the
nation’s sin, and to justify God in what he brought upon them. God will
lay them waste by the fierceness of their enemies, for the falseness of
their friends.
I. Desolating judgments are here summoned,
v. 9.
The sheep of God’s pasture are now to be made the sheep of his
slaughter, to fall as victims to his justice, and therefore the
beasts of the field and the forest are called to come and devour.
They are beasts of prey, and do it from their own ravenous disposition;
but God permits them to do it, nay, he employs them as his servants in
doing it, the ministers of his justice, though they mean not so,
neither does their heart think so. If this refers primarily to the
descent made upon them by the Babylonians, and their devouring them,
yet it may look further, to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish
nation by the Romans, after these outcasts of them (mentioned
v. 8)
were gathered in to the Christian church. The Roman armies came upon
them as beasts of the forest to devour them, and they quite took
away their place and nation. Note, When God has bloody work to do
he has beasts of prey within call, to be employed in doing it.
II. The reason of these judgments is here given. The shepherds, who
should have been the watchmen of the flock, to discover the approaches
of the beasts of prey, to keep them off, and protect the sheep, were
treacherous and careless, minded not their business, nor made any
conscience of the trust reposed in them, and so the sheep became an
easy prey to the wild beasts. Now this may refer to the false prophets
that lived in Isaiah’s, Jeremiah’s, and Ezekiel’s time (who flattered
the people in their wicked ways, and told them they should have peace
though they went on) and to the priests that bore rule by their means.
Or it may refer to the wicked princes, the sons of Josiah, that did
evil in the sight of the Lord, and other wicked magistrates under
them, who betrayed their trust, were vicious and profane, and, instead
of making up the breach at which the judgments of God were breaking in
upon them, made it wider, and augmented the fierce anger of the Lord
instead of doing any thing to turn it away. They should have kept
judgment and justice
(v. 1),
but they abandoned both,
Or it may refer to those who were the nation’s watchmen in our
Saviour’s time, the chief priests and the scribes, who should have
discerned the signs of the times and have given notice to the people of
the approach of the Messiah, but who, instead of that, opposed him, and
did all they could to keep people from coming to the knowledge of him
and to prejudice them against him. It is a very sad character that is
here given of these watchmen. Woe unto thee, O land! when thy
guides are such.
1. They had no sense or knowledge of their business. They were
wretchedly ignorant of their work, and very unfit to teach, being so
ill-taught themselves: His watchmen are blind, and therefore
utterly unfit to be watchmen. If the seers see not, who shall see for
us? If the light that is in us be darkness, how great is that
darkness! Christ describes the Pharisees to be blind leaders of
the blind,
Matt. xv. 14.
The beasts of the field come to devour, and the watchmen are blind, and
are not aware of them. They are all ignorant
(v. 10),
shepherds that cannot understand
(v. 11),
that know not what is to be done about the sheep, nor can feed them
with understanding,
Jer. iii. 15.
2. What little knowledge they had they made no use of it; no one was
the better for it. As they were blind watchmen, that could not discern
the danger, so they were dumb dogs, that would not give warning
of it. And why are the dogs set to guard the sheep if they cannot bark
to waken the shepherd and frighten the wolf? Such were these; those
that had the charge of souls never reproved men for their faults, nor
told them what would be in the end thereof, never gave them notice of
the judgments of God that were breaking in upon them. They barked at
God’s prophets, and bit them too, and worried the sheep, but made no
opposition to the wolf or thief.
3. They were very lazy, and would take no pains. They loved their
ease, and hated business, were always sleeping, lying down and
loving to slumber. They were not overcome and overpowered by
sleep, as the disciples, through grief and fatigue, but they lay down
on purpose to invite sleep, and said, Soul, take thy ease. Yet a
little sleep. It is bad with a people when their shepherds slumber
(Nah. iii. 18),
and it is well for God’s people that their shepherd, the keeper of
Israel, neither slumbers nor sleeps.
4. They were very covetous and eager after the world–greedy dogs
that can never have enough. If they had ever so much, they would
think it too little. They so love silver as never to be satisfied with
silver,
All their enquiry is what they shall get, not what they shall do. Let
them have the wages, and they care not whether the work be done or no;
they feed not the flock, but fleece it. They are every one looking to
his own way, minding his own private interests, and have no
regard at all to the public welfare. It was St. Paul’s complaint of
the watchmen in his time
(Phil. ii. 21),
All seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ’s.
Every one is for propagating his own opinion, advancing his own party,
raising his own family, and having every thing to his own mind, while
the common concerns of the public are wretchedly neglected and
postponed. They look every one to his gain from his quarter,
from his end or part of the work. They are for fain from every quarter
(Rem rem quocunque modo rem–Money, money, by fair means or by foul
we must have money), but especially from their own quarter, where
they will be sure to take care that they lose nothing, nor miss any
thing that is to be got. If any one put not into their mouths they not
only will do him no service, but they prepare war against him,
Mic. iii. 5.
5. They were perfect epicures, given to their pleasures, never so much
in their element as in their drunken revels
(v. 12):
Come (say they), I will fetch wine (they have that at
command; their cellars are better furnished than their closets) and
we will fill ourselves, or be drunk, with strong drink. They
were often drunk, not overseen (as we say) or overtaken in drink, but
designedly. The watchmen did thus invite and encourage one another to
drink to excess, or they courted the people to sit and drink with them,
and so confirmed those in their wicked ways, and hardened their hearts,
whom they should have reproved. How could they think it any harm to be
drunk when the watchmen themselves joined with them and led them to it!
6. They were very secure and confident of the continuance of their
prosperity and ease; they said, “To-morrow shall be as this day and
much more abundant; we shall have as much to spend upon our lusts
to-morrow as we have to-day.” They had no thought at all of their own
frailty and mortality, though they were shortening their days and
hastening their deaths by their excesses. They had no dread of the
judgments of God, though they were daily provoking him and making
themselves liable to his wrath and curse. They never considered the
uncertainty of all the delights and enjoyments of sense, how they
perish in the using and pass away with the lusts of them. They resolved
to continue in this wicked course, whatever their consciences said to
the contrary, to be as merry to-morrow as they are to-day. But boast
not thyself of to-morrow when perhaps this night thy soul shall
be required of thee.
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