Isaiah 11:6-9

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb— We have here the illustrious consequence of the oeconomy of this divine kingdom, this kingdom of righteousness, equity, faith, and grace. Who can wonder that a kingdom, though increasing from the smallest beginning, should make a great progress in a little time, extend its wings widely, and procure for its subjects security, peace, concord, felicity, and a clear and abounding knowledge of the ways of God; whose king, armed with divine power, exercises in the administration of it perfect justice; enriches his subjects with excellent heavenly gifts, and at the same time teaches and instructs them himself? Who would not wish to be the subjects of so blessed, so perfect a kingdom? Who would wonder at the conflux of the nations to this kingdom?—A kingdom, if you consider its security and glory; if its discipline and instruction, a school; if its consolation and spiritual food, a fold, for a flock well fed and safely reposed? This is the connection of the prophet. His expressions are metaphorical: he teaches us, that it shall come to pass in this kingdom (which here, changing the metaphor, he represents under the figure of the flock lying down and feeding under the care of the Messiah, as the great and chief shepherd) not only the most profound peace shall flourish, but also the utmost security; insomuch, that the most inveterate enemies of the kingdom of God, brought into its communion, shall lay down their cruelty, barbarity, and ferocity, their inclination to hurt, their craft and subtilty; and not only so, but this kingdom also shall be purged from all offences, from all evils and instruments of malice; which eminent good proceeds from another, and that equally or more remarkable, namely, the repletion of the earth with the knowledge of the Lord; whereby the people being illuminated, shall cast off their barbarous and depraved manners, shall willingly subject themselves to the rule of the Messiah, with meekness and humility, and shall fulfil the law of brotherly love by the grace of the Holy Spirit, in the offices of mutual good-will. This is the sum of the present passage, divested of metaphor, whereof the prophet himself gives us the key in the beginning of the 9th verse. Compare Acts 10:10; Acts 10:48. The holy mountain, Isaiah 11:9 means the Christian church; and so it is commonly used by our prophet. See ch. Isaiah 65:25 and Matthew 13:41. Michaelis observes, that these figurative expressions have employed the wits of interpreters, who have endeavoured to assign a mystical sense to each of the images; whereas the nature of the description is such, that a general truth is to be deduced from the whole, not a partial one from every particular. The intention of the prophet was, to describe the happiness of the Messiah's reign, which was to consist in the greatest purity of worship, in the abolition of the Levitical ceremonies, and in the unlimited promulgation of the doctrines of the Gospel throughout the world; the natural tendency of which would be, the promotion of peace, and the exercise of benevolence among mankind. Though it would argue some degree of enthusiasm to interpret Virgil's 4th Eclogue in this manner, yet it is no absurdity to ascribe this meaning to the sacred prophet. The intention of his whole book is, to communicate the knowledge of future events, and more especially the coming of the Messiah: to interpret this passage, therefore, in that light, is consistent with the whole tenor of the prophet's writings; and it should be observed, that the Jewish metaphors, which were originally borrowed from hieroglyphics, were used in common to express these hidden sentiments; and the interpretation of them in this sense is natural, and consistent with the canons of true criticism. We may just remark, that the last sentence in the 9th verse, expressing the exuberance of the divine knowledge, is elliptical. The meaning is, "The earth shall be spread over, and filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters spread over the bottom, and entirely fill all the channels of the sea. From the efficacious preaching of the Gospel, and the knowledge of Christ, those wonderful conversions and blessed effects signified in these verses shall proceed." See Habakkuk 2:14. This prophesy may with propriety be referred to the kingdom of grace, as first established upon the earth; though there can be no doubt that in its perfection it refers to those latter days, that end of time, when we hope and expect that the knowledge of Christianity, universally diffused, will produce a more eminent exertion of all those divine graces and virtues which it inculcates.