Isaiah 6:11–13

Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, LORD, HOW LONG - will this wretched condition of the nation being hardened to its destruction continue? UNTIL THE CITIES BE WASTED WITHOUT INHABITANT () - fulfilled primarily at the Babylonian captivity, and more fully at the dispersion under the Roman Titus....

11._And I said, How long, O LORD? _Although the Prophets are severe in denouncing the wrath of God against men, yet they do not lay aside human feelings. It is therefore necessary that they sustain a twofold character; for they must proclaim the judgment of God with high and unshaken courage, so that they would rather choose that the world should be destroyed and utterly ruined than that any part of His glory should be taken away. And yet they are not devoid of feeling, so as to be unmoved by compassion for their brethren, whose destruction their office lays them under the necessity of foretelling. These two feelings, though they appear to be inconsistent, are in full harmony, as appears from the instance of Jeremiah, who at first complains of the hard task assigned him of proclaiming destruction to the people, but afterwards revives his courage, and proceeds boldly in discharging the du...

9-13 God sends Isaiah to foretell the ruin of his people. Many hear the sound of God's word, but do not feel the power of it. God sometimes, in righteous judgment, gives men up to blindness of mind, because they will not receive the truth in the love of it. But no humble inquirer after Christ, need to fear this awful doom, which is a spiritual judgment on those who will still hold fast their sins. Let every one pray for the enlightening of the Holy Spirit, that he may perceive how precious are the Divine mercies, by which alone we are secured against this dreadful danger. Yet the Lord would preserve a remnant, like the tenth, holy to him. And blessed be God, he still preserves his church; however professors or visible churches may be lopped off as unfruitful, the holy seed will shoot forth, from whom all the numerous branches of righteousness shall arise....

Verse Isaiah 6:11. _BE UTTERLY DESOLATE _- "Be left"] For תשאה _tishaeh_, the _Septuagint_ and _Vulgate_ read תשאר _tishshaer_....

HOW LONG - The prophet did not dare to pray that this effect should not follow. He asked merely therefore “how long” this state of things must continue; how long this message was to be delivered, and how long it should be attended with these painful effects. UNTIL THE CITIES ... - They will remain perverse and obstinate until the land is completely destroyed by divine judgments. Still the truth is to be proclaimed, though it is known it will have no effect in reforming the nation. This refers, doubtless, to the destruction that was accomplished by the Babylonians. THE HOUSES WITHOUT MAN - This is strong language, denoting the certain and widespread desolation that should come upon the nation....

SECTION III. ISAIAH'S VISION OF GOD UPON HIS THRONE (Isaiah 6:1.). EXPOSITION ISAIAH 6:1 THE VISION OF GOD SEEN BY ISAIAH. It is thought by some that this vision, and its sequel, constitute the original call of Isaiah to the prophetical office, and in order of time precede all the other contents of the book. But the position of the "vision" in the book is strongly against this view. Prophets who relate their original call naturally place it in the forefront of their narrative ...

THEN SAID I, LORD, HOW LONG?.... That is, how long will this blindness, hardness, stupidity, and impenitence, remain with this people, or they be under such a sore judgment of God upon them: AND HE ANSWERED, UNTIL THE CITIES BE WASTED WITHOUT INHABITANT, AND THE HOUSES WITHOUT MAN, AND THE LAND BE UTTERLY DESOLATE; until there is not an inhabitant in the cities of Judea, nor in Jerusalem, the metropolis of the land, nor a single man in any house in them; which denotes the utter desolation of the land and city; and can refer to no other than to the desolation thereof by the Romans; and till that time the blindness which happened to them continued; the things which belonged to their peace were hid from their eyes till their city was destroyed, and not one stone left upon another, Luke 19:42 till that time, and even to this day, the veil of blindness, ignorance, and and penitenc

Isaiah 6:1. _In the year that King Uzziah died_ You remember him, that leprous king, that king who had thrust himself into the priests' office, and was smitten of leprosy, and shut up in a separate house during the rest of his life. In the year that he died Isaiah saw a greater King, whom no defilement can ever touch, a King that reigneth and lives for ever, though Uzziah dies. Isaiah 6:1. _I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple._ Whenever you read in the Old Testament that any man saw the Lord, understand it of the Second Person of the Divine Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes himself as we have said, visible to men, and God in him....

CHAPTER 6 The Prophet's Vision and New Commission 1. _The time of the vision (Isaiah 6:1)_ 2. _Jehovah of hosts (Isaiah 6:2)_ 3. _The prophet's woe (Isaiah 6:5)_ 4. _The cleansing (Isaiah 6:6)_ 5. _“Here am I. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)_ 6. _The new commission (Isaiah 6:9)_ 7. _The limitation of the judgment (Isaiah 6:11)_ Note the eight steps: vision, conversion, self-ju

ISAIAH 6. THE CALL OF ISAIAH. This chapter contains Isaiah's own account of his call to the prophetic office. Presumably it was written down some time after the event, but the interval need not have been long, nor have we any real reason for assuming that the account has been coloured by his later experience of failure. The view that he had already for some time been a prophet, and that this vision opens a new stage in his ministry, would deserve consideration only if the order of the prophecies was chronological. But this is demonstrably not the case. The chapter is of the highest importance, since it gives the true point of view for understanding the prophet. The revelation recorded in it governed his teaching throughout his career. Isaiah, standing at the threshold of the Temple, falls into an ecstasy. He sees Yahweh seated on a lofty throne, while the skirts of His robe flow out from...