1._The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw _This prophecy is a confirmation of that doctrine which we had a little before, concerning the restoration of the Church. For since it is difficult to cherish the hope of safety, when we are, as it were, in the midst of destruction, while the wrath of God... [ Continue Reading ]
2._And it shall come to pass in the last of the days _(35) When he mentions the end or completion of days, let us remember that he is speaking of the kingdom of Christ; and we ought also to understand why he gives to the kingdom of Christ this appellation. It was because till that time everything mi... [ Continue Reading ]
3._And many people shall go _In the former verse he had slightly noticed the reason why Mount Zion would hold so high a rank. It was because all nations would flow to it, as if the rivers were overflowing through the great abundance of waters. He now makes the same statement, and assigns the reason;... [ Continue Reading ]
4._And he shall judge among the nations _He means that the doctrine will be like a king’s scepter, that God may rule among all nations; for, by a figure of speech in which a part is taken for the whole, the Hebrew word שפט, (_shaphat_,) _to judge_, means _to govern _or_to reign_. since, therefore, G... [ Continue Reading ]
5._O house of Jacob _He sharply rebukes the Jews by holding out the example of the Gentiles; for since, in consequence of the spread of his kingdom, God would give law to all nations from Mount Zion, so as to ingraft them into the body of his chosen people, nothing could be more strange than that th... [ Continue Reading ]
6._Surely thou hast forsaken thy people _In these words he now plainly charges the people with having a perverse disposition; and he does this not in direct terms, but, as it were, bursting into astonishment, he suddenly breaks off his discourse, and, turning to God, exclaims, “Why should I waste wo... [ Continue Reading ]
7._Their land is filled with silver and gold _We must attend to the order which the Prophet here observes; for he now enumerates the reasons why the Lord rejected his people. In the former verse he began with _divinations _and the customs of _strangers_; he now comes down to _silver and gold_; and a... [ Continue Reading ]
8._Their land is also full of idols _He repeats what he had already noticed about idolatry, but enters into it more fully; and, having first mentioned the subject itself, he next speaks of the use of it, which almost always follows. It seldom happens that we do not abuse _idols _when they are set up... [ Continue Reading ]
9._And the mean man boweth down _Some commentators read these words in immediate connection with what goes before, as if the Prophet were proceeding still farther to show the extent of their criminality. If we adopt this meaning, then _by the mean man and the mighty man _we must understand all the I... [ Continue Reading ]
10._Enter into the rock _As ungodly men, for the most part, lull themselves in excessive indifference about God’s threatenings, it is customary with the prophets, when they threaten sinners, with the view of producing terror, to add lively descriptions, as if for the purpose of bringing those matter... [ Continue Reading ]
11_The loftiness of the looks of man _(44) _shall be humbled _Wicked men, relying on the wealth and quietness and prosperity which they at present enjoy, regard the threatenings of the Prophets with haughty disdain, and thus harden their hearts against God, and are even led to indulge in wantonness.... [ Continue Reading ]
12._For the day of the LORD of hosts will be on every one that is proud and lofty _In this verse he confirms the same thing more fully and from the vehement manner in which he heaps up words, we may easily infer how bold was the wickedness which at that time abounded. But we shall not wonder that he... [ Continue Reading ]
13._Upon all the cedars of Lebanon _The allegory which is here introduced, about the _trees of Lebanon _and _the lofty mountains_, instead of obscuring, sheds light on the subject; for however high may be the wishes or endeavors of a mortal man, yet he will never be able to reach the height of the _... [ Continue Reading ]
15._And upon every lofty tower _What he adds about _towers _and _walls _is not figurative or metaphorical. We know how men, when they think that they are well defended, congratulate themselves that they no longer need the assistance of God. Accordingly, under the name of _towers and walls _Isaiah me... [ Continue Reading ]
16._And upon all ships of Tarshish Tarshish _was unquestionably the Hebrew name for Cilicia; and as the Jews had much traffic with that nation, Scripture frequently mentions _the ships of Tarshish_, which are so called, because they sailed on that sea. Navigation cannot, indeed, be condemned on its... [ Continue Reading ]
17._And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down _The Prophet declares that he had his eye on men, when he described the various kinds of _loftiness_; for God is not displeased saith the steep mountains or tall cedars, which he created, but informs us that the whole evil lies in men, who vainly trus... [ Continue Reading ]
18_And the idols he will utterly abolish _As he had formerly, in his reproof, joined idolatry with luxury and covetousness, and other views; so he now joins them in the threatening of punishment.... [ Continue Reading ]
19._And they shall enter into the holes of the rocks _He had formerly used other words when addressing them in the second person, _Enter into the rock_, (Isaiah 2:10,) that he might inflict a severer stroke on their minds. But now he declares what they will do, and says that they must _enter_; and h... [ Continue Reading ]
20._In that day a man will cast away his idols _Idolaters are amazingly delighted with their own superstitions and ungodly worship; for although they abound in enormities and crimes, still they betake themselves to this refuge, that they imagine that their worship appeases God. Just as in the presen... [ Continue Reading ]
21._And they shall enter into the clefts of the rocks _This repetition is not superfluous, though Isaiah again employs the same words which he had lately used; for what is so difficult as to impress on the minds of men sincere fear of God? Nor is it only in hypocrites that we perceive this, but in o... [ Continue Reading ]
22_Cease therefore from man _These words are clearly connected with what goes before, and have been improperly separated from them by some interpreters. For Isaiah, after having addressed the ungodly in threatenings concerning the judgment of God, exhorts them to refrain from deluding themselves by... [ Continue Reading ]