V.
(1) NOW WILL I SING TO MY WELLBELOVED. — Literally, _Now let me
sing._ The chapter bears every mark of being a distinct composition,
perhaps the most elaborately finished in the whole of Isaiah. The
parable with which it opens has for us the interest of having
obviously supplied a starting-point... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE FENCED IT. — In the “fence” we may recognise the law and
institutions of Israel which kept it as a separate people (Eph. Ii.
14); in the “stones” that were gathered out, the removal of the
old idolatries that would have hindered the development of the
nation’s life; in the “tower” of the vine... [ Continue Reading ]
AND NOW, O INHABITANTS OF JERUSALEM. — “The song of the
vineyard” comes to an end and becomes the text of a discourse in
which Jehovah, as the “Beloved” of the song, speaks through the
prophet. Those to whom the parable applies are invited, as David was
by Nathan, to pass an unconscious judgment on... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE MORE... — The prophet cuts off from the
people the excuse that they had been unfairly treated, that their Lord
was as a hard master, reaping where he had not sown (Matthew 25:24).
They had had all the external advantages that were necessary for their
growth in holiness, yet... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL TAKE AWAY THE HEDGE... — This involved the throwing open of
the vineyard to be as grazing land which all the wild bulls of Bashan
— _i.e.,_ all the enemies of Zion — might trample on (Ezekiel
34:18). The interpretation of the parable implies that there was to be
the obliteration, at least for... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE SHALL COME UP BRIERS AND THORNS. — The picture of desolation
is still part of a parable. The “briers and thorns” (both the
words are peculiar to Isaiah) are the base and unworthy who take the
place of the true leaders of the people (Judges 9:7). The absence of
the pruning and the digging answe... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE VINEYARD OF THE LORD OF HOSTS. — The words remind us of
Nathan’s “Thou art the man,” to David (2 Samuel 12:7), and of
our Lord’s words in Matthew 21:42.
BEHOLD OPPRESSION. — The Hebrew word carries with it the idea of
_bloodshed,_ and points to the crimes mentioned in Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah
4:4... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UNTO THEM THAT JOIN HOUSE TO HOUSE. — The series of “Woes”
which follows has no precedent in the teaching of earlier prophets.
The form of Luke 6:24 seems based upon it. The general indictment of
Isaiah 1 is followed by special counts. That which leads off the list
was the destruction of the old... [ Continue Reading ]
IN MINE EARS SAID THE LORD. — The italics show that there is no verb
in the Hebrew, the text, if it be correct, giving the emphasis of
abruptness; but it is rightly supplied in the Authorised Version. The
sentence that follows is one of a righteous retribution: There shall
be no profit or permanence... [ Continue Reading ]
TEN ACRES. — The disproportion was as great as that which we have
seen in recent times in vine countries suffering from the _Phylloxera_
or the _oidium,_ or in the potato failures of Ireland. The _bath_ was
equal to seventy-two Roman sextarii (Jos. _Ant. viii._ 2-9), about
seven and a half gallons,... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UNTO THEM THAT RISE UP EARLY. — The same class as in Isaiah 5:8
meets us under another aspect. In Judah, as elsewhere, the oppressors
were conspicuous for their luxury (Amos 6:5). They shocked public
feeling by morning banquets (Ecclesiastes 10:16; Acts 2:14). Not wine
only, but the “strong drin... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HARP, AND THE VIOL. — Here again the fashions of Judah followed
those of Samaria, so closely indeed that Isaiah addresses the rulers
of his own city as “the drunkards of Ephraim” (Isaiah 28:1; Amos
6:5). The list of instruments is fairly represented by the English
words, but _lute_ (or _hand-har... [ Continue Reading ]
MY PEOPLE ARE GONE INTO CAPTIVITY. — The great captivity of Judah
lay as yet far off, but the prophet may be speaking of it as already
present in his vision of the future. Probably, however, the disastrous
wars of Ahaz had involved many captures of the kind referred to (2
Chronicles 28:5; 2 Chronicl... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE HELL HATH ENLARGED HERSELF. — The Hebrew _Sheol,_ or
_Hades,_ like “hell” itself in its original meaning, expressed not
a place of torment, but the vast shadow – world of death, thought of
as being below the earth (Psalms 16:10; Psalms 49:14). Here, as
elsewhere (Jonah 2:2; Proverbs 1:12;... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MEAN MAN SHALL BE BROUGHT. — The recurrence of the burden of
Isaiah 2:9; Isaiah 2:11; Isaiah 2:17, connects Isaiah 5 with the
earlier portion of the introduction.... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL BE SANCTIFIED. — Men had not recognised the holiness of
Jehovah, and therefore He must manifest that holiness (in that sense
“be sanctified”) in acts of righteous severity. The “Holy One of
Israel” was, we must remember, the name, of all Divine names, in
which Israel most delighted, the ever-r... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN SHALL THE LAMBS FEED AFTER THEIR MANNER. — Better, _feed even
as on their pasture._ The meaning is clear enough. The lands that have
been gained by oppression shall, in the day of retribution, become
common pasture ground instead of being reserved for the parks and
gardens of the rich; and stra... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT DRAW INIQUITY WITH CORDS OF VANITY. — The phrase is boldly
figurative. Evil-doers are thought of as harnessing themselves as to
the chariot of sin. The “cords of vanity” — i.e., of _emptiness_
or ungodliness — are the habits by which they are thus bound. The
“cart ropes,” thicker and stronger t... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT SAY, LET HIM MAKE SPEED. — We have here, as in Isaiah 28:10,
and Jeremiah 17:15, the very words of the wealthy scoffers of Judah.
Such taunts are not peculiar to any age or country. We find them in
the speech of Zedekiah (1 Kings 22:24), in that of the mockers of 2
Peter 3:4. In the name of Isa... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UNTO THEM THAT CALL EVIL GOOD. — The moral state described was
the natural outcome of the sins condemned in the preceding verses. So
Thucydides (iii. 82-84) describes the effects of the spirit of party
in the Peloponnesian war. Rashness was called courage, and prudence
timidity, and treachery cl... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UNTO THEM THAT ARE WISE IN THEIR OWN EYES. — Here again the
prophet would seem to have definite individual counsellors in his
mind. For such men the ideal of statesmanship was a series of shifts
and expedients, based upon no principle of righteousness. (Comp.
Isaiah 29:15; Isaiah 30:1.)... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UNTO THEM THAT ARE MIGHTY TO DRINK.... STRONG DRINK. — The words
in part reproduce the “woe” of Isaiah 5:11, but with the
distinctive feature that there the revellers were simply of the
careless self-indulgent type, while here they are identified with the
unjust and corrupt rulers. They were _he... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE AS THE FIRE DEVOURETH. — Literally, _the tongue of fire._
The scene brought before us is — (1) that of a charred and burnt-up
field, horrible and hideous to look upon (comp. Hebrews 6:8); (2) that
of a tree decayed and loathsome. The double imagery represents the end
of the riotous mirth o... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HILLS DID TREMBLE. — We again trace the influence of the
earthquake which was still fresh in the memories of men. (See Note on
Isaiah 2:10.)
THEIR CARCASES WERE TORN. — Better, _were as sweepings,_ or, _as
refuse._ The words may point either to pestilence, or war, or famine.
The stress laid on... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE WILL LIFT UP AN ENSIGN. — The banner on the summit of a hill
indicated the meeting-place of a great army. In this case the armies
are thought of as doing the work of Jehovah Sabaoth, and therefore as
being summoned by Him. The same image meets us in Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah
11:12; Isaiah 13:2; Is... [ Continue Reading ]
(27-29) NONE SHALL BE WEARY... — The three verses paint the progress
of the invading army. Unresting, unhasting, in perfect order, they
march onward. They do not loosen their girdle for repose. The latchet
or _thong_ which fastens their sandals is not “broken” or untied.
The light-armed troops are t... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL ROAR AGAINST THEM. — Literally, _there is a roaring over
him._ The verb is the same as in the previous verse, and points
therefore to the shout and tramp of the armies. It suggests the
thought of the roaring of the sea, and this in its turn that of the
darkness and thick clouds of a tempe... [ Continue Reading ]