THE PROPHET OF THE LORD Isaiah 1:1. _The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah_. I. THE NATURE OF THE PROPHET’S ENDOWMENT: a “vision” into the very heart of things, a power of distinguishing... [ Continue Reading ]
PROPHECY THE VOICE OF GOD Isaiah 1:2. _The Lord hath spoken_. Thus at the very outset of this book Divine authority is claimed for the utterances contained in it. Three views may be taken of the writings of the Hebrew prophets. 1. They are the writings of men who knew they were uttering that whic... [ Continue Reading ]
AN APPEAL AND AN ARGUMENT Isaiah 1:2. _Hear, O heavens; and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider_. I.... [ Continue Reading ]
THOUGHTLESSNESS Isaiah 1:3. _The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider_. It is clear from this chapter that the Lord views the sin of mankind with intense regret. Israel in this case is not so much a type of believers as a repres... [ Continue Reading ]
INIQUITY A BURDEN Isaiah 1:4. _A people laden with iniquity_. _A very surprising description:_ “A people laden with _iniquity_.” On account of their punctilious and costly observance of the Mosaic ritual (see Isaiah 1:11), the Jews imagined that they deserved the commendation of Heaven; but God pro... [ Continue Reading ]
MORAL OBDURACY Isaiah 1:5. _Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more_. I. THE DANGER OF DESPISING THE DIVINE CHASTISEMENTS. Heedlessness destroys the very power of taking heed. II. THE TERRIBLENESS OF THE PEACE WHICH IS OFTEN THE PORTION OF THE WICKED. Like the cessation o... [ Continue Reading ]
TOTAL DEPRAVITY Isaiah 1:5. _The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is deso... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD’S RELUCTANCE TO PUNISH Isaiah 1:9. _Except the Lord of hosts had left us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah_. God had humbled His people because of their transgressions, but He had not utterly destroyed them, as He might have done in... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SUMMONS TO JERUSALEM Isaiah 1:10. _Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah_. The prophet being about to make a still more terrible announcement, puts forth a renewed call for attention. It is well worthy of our study. We find in it... [ Continue Reading ]
REJECTED SACRIFICES Isaiah 1:11. _To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord_. Try to conceive what emotions would spring up in the breasts of the men to whom these words were first addressed—men who with most scrupulous care had fulfilled the requirements of a cost... [ Continue Reading ]
THE POSSIBILITIES OF PUBLIC WORSHIP Isaiah 1:13. _It is iniquity, even the solemn meeting_. I. PUBLIC WORSHIP IS A THING OF DIVINE APPOINTMENT. A considerable part of the earlier books of Scripture is occupied with injunctions to observe it, and with directions for its conduct. All the best men of... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD OPPRESSED Isaiah 1:14. _Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them_. It is the Almighty who here speaks, and His speech is a protest to men who imagined that by their worship they would conciliate and please Him. Their worship He... [ Continue Reading ]
WORTHLESS HUSKS Isaiah 1:15. _And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear_. The Jews had been likened unto the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah 1:10). As such, they are summoned to listen to a series of declarations... [ Continue Reading ]
MORAL ABLUTION Isaiah 1:16. _Wash you, make you clean_. This is one of a very numerous class of passages which summon sinners to the duty of moral purification, of thorough and complete reformation of character (Jeremiah 4:14; James 4:8; Jeremiah 18:11; Ezekiel 18:30, &c.) These passages are very c... [ Continue Reading ]
TRUE AND FALSE RELIGION Isaiah 1:11; Isaiah 1:16. _To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.… Wash you, make you clear; pu... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GREAT TASK Isaiah 1:17. _Learn to do well_. Negative goodness is not enough to meet the Divine requirements. Those who have “ceased to do evil” must “learn to do well.” God demands positive excellence [333] The cultivation of well-doing is the surest guarantee against evil-doing [336] [333] Al... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD’S GRACIOUS INVITATION TO SINNERS Isaiah 1:18. _Come now, and. let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool_. It is scarcely possible to conceive of a more interesting and delightful... [ Continue Reading ]
SINNERS SELF-DESTROYED Isaiah 1:19. _If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it_. Delitsch translates—“_If ye then shall willingly hear, ye shall eat the good of the lan... [ Continue Reading ]
AN ILLUSTRIOUS INHABITANT Isaiah 1:21. _Righteousness lodged in it_. I. A HIGH COMMENDATION. Righteousness lodged in the city—not merely visited it as a passing guest, but dwelt in it as a permanent abode [Alexander and Kay—“had its _home_ there”]. No greater praise could be spoken of any city, no... [ Continue Reading ]
MORAL DECLENSION Isaiah 1:21. _How is the faithful city become an harlot!_ [430] _It was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers_ [433] _Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and... [ Continue Reading ]
THE POSSIBLE DEGENERACY OF VALUABLE THINGS Isaiah 1:22. _Thy silver is become dross_. There are many valuable and good things in the world that through varied causes are rendered comparatively useless. They once were silver, but now they are dross. I. THE SILVER OF THY CHARACTER HAS BECOME DROSS... [ Continue Reading ]
A TERRIBLE RESOLVE Isaiah 1:24. _Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies_. Concerning many men, we may offer Christ’s prayer, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” They sin i... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PURPOSE OF PUNISHMENT Isaiah 1:24. _Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: and I will turn mine hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: and I will rest... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DIVINE IDEA OF REDEMPTION Isaiah 1:25. _And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, The faithful... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TWOFOLD EFFECT OF DIVINE JUDGMENTS Isaiah 1:27. _Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness: and the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed_. These verses are closely and vitally conn... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DOOM OF THE APOSTATES Isaiah 1:28. _They that forsake the Lord shall be consumed. For they_ [472] _shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye_ [475] _have denied, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TOW AND THE SPARK Isaiah 1:31. _And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them_. For the phrases “and the maker of it,” the margin reads, “and his work.” So Alexander and Henderson. This reading renders the passage... [ Continue Reading ]