CHAPTER IV _The havoc occasioned by war, and those other calamities which_ _the prophet had been describing in the preceding chapter, are_ _represented as so terribly great that seven women should be_ _left to one man_, 1. _Great blessedness of the remnant that shall be accounted worthy_ _to e... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 4:2. _THE BRANCH OF THE LORD_ - "the branch of JEHOVAH"] The Messiah of JEHOVAH, says the _Chaldee_. And _Kimchi_ says, _The_ _Messiah, the Son of David_. The branch is an appropriate title of the Messiah; and the fruit of the land means the great Person to spring from the house of Juda... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 4:3. _WRITTEN AMONG THE LIVING_] That is, whose name stands in the enrolment or register of the people; or every man living, who is a citizen of Jerusalem. See Ezekiel 13:9, where, "they shall not be written in the writing of the house of Israel," is the same with what immediately goes... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 4:4. _THE SPIRIT OF BURNING_] Means the fire of God's wrath, by which he will prove and purify his people; gathering them into his furnace, in order to separate the dross from the silver, the bad from the good. The severity of God's judgments, the fiery trial of his servants, Ezekiel (E... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 4:5. _AND THE LORD WILL CREATE_ - One MS., the _Septuagint_, and the _Arabic_, have יביא _yabi, He shall bring_: the cloud already exists; the Lord will bring it over. This is a blessed promise of the presence of God in all the assemblies of his people. _EVERY DWELLING PLACE_ - "the s... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 4:6. _A TABERNACLE_] In countries subject to violent tempests, as well as to intolerable heat, a portable tent is a necessary part of a traveller's baggage, for defence and shelter. And to such tents the words of the text make evident allusion. They are to be met with in every part of A... [ Continue Reading ]