_O Lord, Thou art my God._ --This chapter looks as pleasantly upon the Church as the former looked dreadfully upon the world. (_M. Henry._) CALM AFTER STORM We can only understand the highest, sweetest meaning of this chapter in proportion as we enter into the spirit of the chapter which precedes... [ Continue Reading ]
_For Thou hast been a strength to the poor_ “POOR” AND “NEEDY” Among the names applied to God’s people there are three which were destined to play an enormous part in the history of religion. In the English version these appear as two: “poor and needy”; but in the original they are three. In Isaia... [ Continue Reading ]
_A feast of fat things_ THE GOSPEL FEAST I. THE FEAST. 1. Spiritual blessings are here, as in other places, set forth under the emblem of feast (Proverbs 9:2; Luke 14:16; Matthew 22:4). In Christ, and in His Gospel, provision is made for our refreshment in various respects. (1) Truth is afforded... [ Continue Reading ]
_And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over an people_ THE REMOVAL OF THE COVERING I. THE GOSPEL DESTROYS THE COVERING WHICH HIDES THE TRUE NATURE OF MAN. The covering of sin has ever concealed the nature, the nobility of nature, the capabilities of nature, and the poss... [ Continue Reading ]
_He will swallow up death in victory_ DEATH SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY I. THE TEXT SETS CHRIST BEFORE US IN THE ATTITUDE OF A CONQUEROR OVER DEATH. “He shall swallow up death in victory,” it is said, and again in Hosea, “O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction”; whilst still... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it shall be said in that day, To, this is out God_ WAITING FOR GOD IN TIMES OF DARKNESS Isaiah is thinking, first of all, of Hezekiah’s victory over Sennacherib. It was no ordinary day which saw the discomfiture of the Assyrian host before the walls of Jerusalem. We can scarcely understand th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moab shall be trodden down under Him_ GOD’S JUDGMENTS MANURE After the process of primary ploughing has been completed our fields are covered with some appropriate manure, that the earth may be enriched, and larger crops gathered into our barns. In the world at large which is God’s husbandry, Hi... [ Continue Reading ]
_And He shall spread forth His hands in the midst of them_ EXPLANATION In Isaiah 25:11 _a_ the figure is Moab, vainly struggling to save himself in the water of the dung pit; in 11 _b_ “he” is, of course, Jehovah, who frustrates the efforts made by Moab. (_Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D._) SWIMMING TO... [ Continue Reading ]