Isaiah 48:1,2
A SAD CONTRAST Isaiah 48:1. _Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, &c._ Here is, I. Privilege. II. Form. III. Profession. IV. Yet no religion.—_J. Lyth, D.D.: The Homiletical Treasury, Isaiah_, p. 65.... [ Continue Reading ]
A SAD CONTRAST Isaiah 48:1. _Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, &c._ Here is, I. Privilege. II. Form. III. Profession. IV. Yet no religion.—_J. Lyth, D.D.: The Homiletical Treasury, Isaiah_, p. 65.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PROBABILITY AND USE OF INSPIRED PREDICTIONS Isaiah 48:3. _I have declared the former things, &c._ I. Is it quite plain that any being that is distinguished above others must be exalted, either by knowledge or by power, or by both? Hence God is known in this way, and chiefly by knowledge. II. T... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD’S COMMUNICATIONS TO MANKIND Isaiah 48:6. _I have showed thee new things, &c._ I. _The manner of God’s communications_. Prophetic, addressed to the ear, and concerning things hidden from human reason. Providential, addressed to the eye. (In dealing with Isaiah 48:7, show— 1. Man’s tendency to... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GOVERNING PRINCIPLE OF GOD’S PROVIDENCE Isaiah 48:9. _For My name’s sake, &c._ It is possible that the design of this verse may be to answer an objection. “If the character of the nation is such,” it might be said, “why should God desire to restore them again to their own land?” To this the an... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD’S UNCHANGEABLENESS THROUGHOUT ETERNITY Isaiah 48:12. _I am He; I am the first, I also am the last_ Having called on the Jews in Babylon to attend to what He was now about to say by His servant the Prophet, God begins by asserting that He is the same, the true and only God, who existed before a... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CREATOR Isaiah 48:13. _Mine hand also hath laid the foundation, &c._ It seems to be an axiom of modern philosophy that all human knowledge has been progressive, from the roughest fanciful guesses to the safely applied science of our days. Assuming this, we can only account for the recognition... [ Continue Reading ]
THE UNITY OF THE GODHEAD Isaiah 48:16. _Come ye near Me, hear ye this, &c._ [1483] [1483] Some refer this whole verse to Isaiah (Kimchi, Hitzig, Knobel), and many the second clause of it alone (Calv., Zuingl., Musculus, Gesen., Meyer, Hengst., Umbr., Hahn). Others think there is a confusion of sty... [ Continue Reading ]
THE RIGHT USE OF THE HISTORY OF GOD’S DEALINGS WITH HIS PEOPLE Isaiah 48:20. _Go forth from Babylon! Flee ye from the Chaldeans! With the voice of joy tell this, &c._ Isaiah had prophesied that his fellow-countrymen would be led captive into Babylon; but he was able to look forward to the terminat... [ Continue Reading ]
THE POSSESSORS OF PEACE Isaiah 48:22. _There is no peace, saith the Lord, to the wicked_. “There is a caveat put in against the wicked, that go on still in their trespasses. Let them not think they have any benefit amongst God’s people, though in show and profession they herd themselves among them... [ Continue Reading ]