I
S A I A H
CHAP. XXVI.
This
chapter is a song of holy joy and praise, in which the great things God had
engaged, in the foregoing chapter, to do for his people against his enemies
and their enemies are celebrated: it is prepared to be sung when that prophecy
should be accomplished; for we must be forward to meet God with our
thanksgivings when he is coming towards us with his mercies. Now the people of
God are here taught, I. To triumph in the safety and holy security both of the
church in general and of every particular member of it, under the divine
protection, ver. 1-4. II. To triumph over all opposing powers, ver. 5, 6. III.
To walk with God, and wait for him, in the worst and darkest times, ver. 7-9.
IV. To lament the stupidity of those who regarded not the providence of God,
either merciful or afflictive, ver. 10, 11. V. To encourage themselves, and
one another, with hopes that God would still continue to do them good (ver.
12, 14), and engage themselves to continue in his service, ver. 13. VI. To
recollect the kind providences of God towards them in their low and distressed
condition, and their conduct under those providences, ver. 15-18. VII. To
rejoice in hope of a glorious deliverance, which should be as a resurrection
to them (ver. 19), and to retire in the expectation of it, ver. 20, 21. And
this is written for the support and assistance of the faith and hope of God's
people in all ages, even those upon whom the ends of the world have come.
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The
Blessings of the Gospel.
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B.
C. 718.
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1 In that day shall this song be sung in the
land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for
walls and bulwarks. 2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation
which keepeth the truth may enter in. 3 Thou wilt keep him
in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because
he trusteth in thee. 4 Trust ye in the LORD
for ever: for in the LORD
JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
To the prophecies of gospel grace very fitly is a song annexed, in which we
may give God the glory and take to ourselves the comfort of that grace: In
that day, the gospel day, which the day of the victories and enlargements
of the Old-Testament church was typical of (to some of which perhaps this has
a primary reference), in that day this song shall be sung; there shall
be persons to sing it, and cause and hearts to sing it; it shall be sung in
the land of Judah, which was a figure of the gospel church; for the gospel
covenant is said to be made with the house of Judah, Heb. viii. 8.
Glorious things are here said of the church of God.
I. That it is strongly fortified against those that are bad (v. 1): We
have a strong city. It is a city incorporated by the charter of the
everlasting covenant, fitted for the reception of all that are made free by
that charter, for their employment and entertainment; it is a strong city, as
Jerusalem was, while it was a city compact together, and had God himself a
wall of fire round about it, so strong that none would have believed that an
enemy could ever enter into the gates of Jerusalem, Lam. iv. 12. The
church is a strong city, for it has walls and bulwarks, or
counterscarps, and those of God's own appointing; for he has, in his promise,
appointed salvation itself to be its defence. Those that are designed for
salvation will find that to be their protection, 1 Pet. i. 4.
II. That it is richly replenished with those that are good, and they are
instead of fortifications to it; for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, if they are
such as they should be, are its strength, Zech. xii. 5. The gates are here
ordered to be opened, that the righteous nation, which keeps the truth, may
enter in, v. 2. They had been banished and driven out by the
iniquity of the former times, but now the laws that were made against them are
repealed, and they have liberty to enter in again. Or, There is an act for a
general naturalization of all the righteous, whatever nation they are of,
encouraging them to come and settle in Jerusalem. When God has done great
things for any place or people he expects that thus they should render
according to the benefit done unto them; they should be kind to his people,
and take them under their protection and into their bosom. Note, 1. It is the
character of righteous men that they keep the truths of God, a firm belief of
which will have a commanding influence upon the regularity of the whole
conversation. Good principles fixed in the head will produce good resolutions
in the heart and good practices in the life. 2. It is the interest of states
to countenance such, and court them among them, for they bring a blessing with
them.
III. That all who belong to it are safe and easy, and have a holy security and
serenity of mind in the assurance of God's favour. 1. This is here the matter
of a promise (v. 3): Thou wilt keep him in peace, peace, in perfect
peace, inward peace, outward peace, peace with God, peace of conscience,
peace at all times, under all events; this peace shall he be put into,
and kept in the possession of, whose mind is stayed upon God, because it
trusts in him. It is the character of every good man that he trusts in
God, puts himself under his guidance and government, and depends upon him that
it shall be greatly to his advantage to do so. Those that trust in God must
have their minds stayed upon him, must trust him at all times, under all
events, must firmly and faithfully adhere to him, with an entire satisfaction
in him; and such as do so God will keep in perpetual peace, and that peace
shall keep them. When evil tidings are abroad those shall calmly expect
the event, and not be disturbed by frightful apprehensions arising from them,
whose hearts are fixed, trusting in the Lord, Ps. cxii. 7. 2. It is the
matter of a precept (v. 4): "Let us make ourselves easy by trusting
in the Lord for ever; since God has promised peace to those that stay
themselves upon him, let us not lose the benefit of that promise, but repose
an entire confidence in him. Trust in him for ever, at all times, when you
have nothing else to trust to; trust in him for that peace, that portion,
which will be for ever." Whatever we trust to the world for, it will be
but for a moment: all we expect from it is confined within the limits of time.
But what we trust in God for will last as long as we shall last. For in the Lord
Jehovah-Jah, Jehovah, in him who was, and is, and is to come, there is a
rock of ages, a firm and lasting foundation for faith and hope to build upon;
and the house built on that rock will stand in a storm. Those that trust in
God shall not only find in him, but receive from him, everlasting strength,
strength that will carry them to everlasting life, to that blessedness which
is for ever; and therefore let them trust in him for ever, and never cast away
nor change their confidence.
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The
Goodness and Justice of God.
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B.
C. 718.
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5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high;
the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground;
he bringeth it even to the dust. 6 The foot shall tread it
down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the
needy. 7 The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most
upright, dost weigh the path of the just. 8 Yea, in the way of thy
judgments, O LORD,
have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name,
and to the remembrance of thee. 9 With my soul have I desired thee
in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when
thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness. 10 Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet
will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal
unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
11 LORD,
when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall
see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of
thine enemies shall devour them.
Here the prophet further encourages us to trust in the Lord for ever, and to
continue waiting on him; for,
I. He will make humble souls that trust in him to triumph over their proud
enemies, v. 5, 6. Those that exalt themselves shall be abased: For he brings
down those that dwell on high; and wherein they deal proudly he is, and
will be, above them. Even the lofty city Babylon itself, or Nineveh, he lays
it low, ch. xxv. 12. He can do it, be it ever so well fortified. He has
often done it. He will do it, for he resists the proud. It is his glory to do
it, for he proves himself to be God by looking on the proud and abasing
them, Job xl. 12. But, on the contrary, those that humble themselves shall
be exalted; for the feet of the poor shall tread upon the lofty cities,
v. 6. He does not say, Great armies shall tread them down; but, When
God will have it done, even the feet of the poor shall do it, Mal. iv. 3. You
shall tread down the wicked. Come, set your feet on the necks of these kings.
See Ps. cxlvii. 6; Rom. xvi. 20.
II. He takes cognizance of the way of his people and has delight in it (v.
7): The way of the just is evenness (so it may be read): it is their
endeavour and constant care to walk with God in an even steady course of
obedience and holy conversation. My foot stands in an even place, goes
in an even path, Ps. xxvi. 12. And it is their happiness that God makes their
way plain and easy before them: Thou, most upright, dost level (or make
even) the path of the just, by preventing or removing those things that
would be stumbling-blocks to them, so that nothing shall offend them, Ps. cxix.
165. God weighs it (so we read it); he considers it, and will give them
grace sufficient for them, to help them over all the difficulties they may
meet with in their way. Thus with the upright God will show himself upright.
III. It is our duty, and will be our comfort, to wait for God, and to keep up
holy desires towards him in the darkest and most discouraging times, v.
8, 9. This has always been the practice of God's people, even when God has
frowned upon them, 1. To keep up a constant dependence upon him: "In
the way of thy judgments we have still waited for thee; when thou
hast corrected us we have looked to no other hand than thine to relieve
us," as the servant looks only to the hand of his master, till he have
mercy upon him, Ps. cxxiii. 2. We cannot appeal from God's justice but to
his mercy. If God's judgments continue long, if it be a road of judgments
(so the word signifies), yet we must not be weary but continue waiting. 2. To
send up holy desires towards him. Our troubles, how pressing soever, must
never put us out of conceit with our religion, nor turn us away from God; but
still the desire of our soul must be to his name and to the remembrance of
him; and in the night, the darkest longest night of affliction, with
our souls must we desire him. (1.) Our great concern must be for God's
name, and our earnest desire must be that his name may be glorified, whatever
becomes of us and our names. This is that which we must wait for, and pray
for. "Father, glorify thy name, and we are satisfied." (2.)
Our great comfort must be in the remembrance of that name, of all that whereby
God has made himself known. The remembrance of God must be our great support
and pleasure; and, though sometimes we be unmindful of him, yet still our
desire must be towards the remembrance of him and we must take pains with our
own hearts to have him always in mind. (3.) Our desires towards God must be
inward, fervent, and sincere. With our soul we must desire him, with our soul
we must pant after him (Ps. xlii. 1), and with our spirits within us, with the
innermost thought and the closest application of mind, we must seek him. We
make nothing of our religion, whatever our profession be, if we do not make
heart-work of it. (4.) Even in the darkest night of affliction our desires
must be towards God, as our sun and shield; for, however God is pleased to
deal with us, we must never think the worse of him, nor cool in our love to
him. (5.) If our desires be indeed towards God, we must give evidence that
they are so by seeking him, and seeking him early, as those that desire to
find him, and dread the thoughts of missing him. Those that would seek God and
find him must seek betimes, and seek him earnestly. Though we come ever so
early, we shall find him ready to receive us.
IV. It is God's gracious design, in sending abroad his judgments, thereby to
bring men to seek him and serve him: When thy judgments are upon the earth,
laying all waste, then we have reason to expect that not only God's professing
people, but even the inhabitants of the world, will learn righteousness,
will have their mistakes rectified and their lives reformed, will be brought
to acknowledge God's righteousness in punishing them, will repent of their own
unrighteousness in offending God, and so be brought to walk in right paths.
They will do this; that is, judgments are designed to bring them to this, they
have a natural tendency to produce this effect, and, though many continue
obstinate, yet some even of the inhabitants of the world will profit by this
discipline, and will learn righteousness; surely they will; they are strangely
stupid if they do not. Note, The intention of afflictions is to teach us
righteousness; and blessed is the man whom God chastens, and thus teaches, Ps.
xciv. 12. Discite justitiam, moniti, et non temnere divos--Let this rebuke
teach you to cultivate righteousness, and cease from despising the gods.--Virgil.
V. Those are wicked indeed that will not be wrought upon by the favourable
methods God takes to subdue and reform them; and it is necessary that God
should deal with them in a severe way by his judgments, which shall prevail to
humble those that would not otherwise be humbled. Observe,
1. How sinners walk contrary to God, and refuse to comply with the means used
for their reformation and to answer the intentions of them, v. 10. (1.)
Favour is shown to them. They receive many mercies from God; he causes
his sun to shine and his rain to fall upon them, nay, he prospers them, and
into their hands he brings plentifully; they escape many of the strokes of
God's judgments, which others less wicked than they have been cut off by; in
some particular instances they seem to be remarkably favoured above their
neighbours, and the design of all this is that they may be won upon to love
and serve that God who thus favours them; and yet it is all in vain: They
will not learn righteousness, will not be led to repentance by the
goodness of God, and therefore it is requisite that God should send his
judgments into the earth, to reckon with men for abused mercies. (2.) They
live in a land of uprightness, where religion is professed and is in
reputation, where the word of God is preached, and where they have many good
examples set them,--in a land of evenness, where there are not so many
stumbling-blocks as in other places,--in a land of correction, where
vice and profaneness are discountenanced and punished; yet there they will deal
unjustly, and go on frowardly in their evil ways. Those that do wickedly
deal unjustly both with God and man, as well as with their own souls; and
those that will not be reclaimed by the justice of the nation may expect the
judgments of God upon them. Nor can those expect a place hereafter in the land
of blessedness who now conform not to the laws and usages, nor improve the
privileges and advantages, of the land of uprightness; and why do they not? It
is because they will not behold the majesty of the Lord, will not
believe, will not consider, what a God of terrible majesty he is whose laws
and justice they persist in the contempt of. God's majesty appears in all the
dispensations of his providence; but they regard it not, and therefore study
not to answer the ends of those dispensations. Even when we receive of the
mercy of the Lord we must still behold the majesty of the Lord and his
goodness. (3.) God lifts up his hand to give them warning, that they may,
by repentance and prayer, make their peace with him; but they take no notice
of it, are not aware that God is angry with them, or coming forth against
them: They will not see, and none so blind as those who will not see,
who shut their eyes against the clearest conviction of guilt and wrath, who
ascribe that to chance, or common fate, which is manifestly a divine rebuke,
who regard not the threatening symptoms of their own ruin, but cry Peace to
themselves, when the righteous God is waging war with them.
2. How God will at length be too hard for them; for, when he judges, he will
overcome: They will not see, but they shall see, shall be made to see,
whether they will or no, that God is angry with them. Atheists, scorners, and
the secure, will shortly feel what now they will not believe, that it is a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. They will not see
the evil of sin, and particularly the sin of hating and persecuting the people
of God; but they shall see, by the tokens of God's displeasure against them
for it and the deliverances in which God will plead his people's cause, that
what is done against them he takes as done against himself and will reckon for
it accordingly. They shall see that they have done God's people a great deal
of wrong, and therefore shall be ashamed of their enmity and envy towards
them, and their ill usage of such as deserved better treatment. Note, Those
that bear ill-will to God's people have reason to be ashamed of it, so absurd
and unreasonable is it; and, sooner or later, they shall be ashamed of it, and
the remembrance of it shall fill them with confusion. Some read it, They
shall see and be confounded for the zeal of the people, by the zeal God
will show for his people; when they shall be made to know how jealous God is
for the honour and welfare of his people they shall be confounded to think
that they might have been of that people and would not. Their doom therefore
is that, since they slighted the happiness of God's friends, the fire of
his enemies shall devour them, that is, the fire which is prepared for his
enemies and with which they shall be devoured, the fire designed for the devil
and his angels. Note, Those that are enemies to God's people, and envy them,
God looks upon as his enemies, and will deal with them accordingly.
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Goodness
of God to Israel; Israel Corrected for Sin; Prospects of the Church.
B. C. 718.
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18.
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12 LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our
works in us. 13 O LORD
our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but
by thee only will we make mention of thy name. 14 They are
dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise:
therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to
perish. 15 Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD,
thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it
far unto all the ends of the earth. 16 LORD,
in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy
chastening was upon them. 17 Like as a woman with child, that
draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in
her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought
forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the
inhabitants of the world fallen. 19 Thy dead men shall
live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye
that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth
shall cast out the dead.
The prophet in these verses looks back upon what God had done with them, both
in mercy and judgment, and sings unto God of both, and then looks forward upon
what he hoped God would do for them. Observe,
I. His reviews and reflections are mixed. When he looks back upon the state of
the church he finds,
1. That God had in many instances been very gracious to them and had done
great things for them. (1.) In general (v. 12): Thou hast wrought
all our works in us, or for us. Whatever good work is done by us,
it is owing to a good work wrought by the grace of God in us; it is he that
puts good thoughts and affections into our hearts if at any time they be
there, and that works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Acti, agimus--Being acted upon, we act. And if any kindness be shown us,
or any of our affairs be prosperous and successful, it is God that works it
for us. Every creature, every business, that is in any way serviceable to our
comfort, is made by him to be so; and sometimes he makes that to work for us
which seemed to make against us. (2.) In particular (v. 15): "Thou
hast increased the nation, O Lord! so that a little one has become a
thousand (in Egypt they multiplied exceedingly, and afterwards in Canaan, so
that they filled the land); and in this thou art glorified," for
the multitude of the people is the honour of the prince, and therein God was
glorified as faithful to his covenant with Abraham, that he would make him a
father of many nations. Note, God's nation is a growing nation, and it is the
glory of God that it is so. The increase of the church, that holy nation, is therefore
to be rejoiced in because it is the increase of those that make it their
business to glorify God in this world.
2. That yet he had laid them under his rebukes.
(1.) The neighbouring nations had sometimes oppressed them and tyrannised over
them (v. 13): "O Lord our God! thou who hast the sole right
to rule us, whose subjects and servants we are, to thee we complain (for
whither else should we go with our complaints?) that other lords besides
thee have had dominion over us." Not only in the days of the Judges,
but afterwards, God frequently sold them into the hand of their enemies, or
rather, by their iniquities, they sold themselves, ch. lii. 3-5.
When they had been careless in the service of God, God suffered their enemies
to have dominion over them, that they might know the difference between his
service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. It may be
understood as a confession of sin, their serving other gods, and subjecting
themselves to the superstitious laws and customs of their neighbours, by which
other lords (for they called their idols baals, lords) had dominion
over them, besides God. But now they promise that it shall be so no more:
"Henceforth by thee only will we make mention of thy name; we will
worship thee only, and in that way only which thou hast instituted and
appointed." The same may be our penitent reflection: Other lords,
besides God, have had dominion over us; every lust has been our lord, and
we have been led captive by it; and it is has been long enough, and too long,
that we have thus wronged both God and ourselves. The same therefore must be
our pious resolution, that henceforth we will make mention of God's name only
and by him only, that we will keep close to God and to our duty and never
desert it.
(2.) They had sometimes been carried into captivity before their enemies (v.
15): "The nation which at first thou didst increase, and make to take
root, thou hast now diminished, and plucked up, and removed to all the ends
of the earth, driven out to the utmost parts of heaven," as is
threatened, Deut. xxx. 4; xxviii. 64. But observe, Between the mention of the
increasing of them and that of the removing of them it is said, Thou art
glorified; for the judgments God inflicts upon his people for their sins
are for his honour, as well as the mercies he bestows upon them in performance
of his promise.
(3.) The prophet remembers that when they were thus oppressed and carried
captive they cried unto God, which was a good evidence that they neither had
quite forsaken him nor were quite forsaken of him, and that there were
merciful intentions in the judgments they were under (v. 16): Lord,
in trouble have they visited thee. This was usual with the people of
Israel, as we find frequently in the story of the Judges. When other lords
had dominion over them they humbled themselves, and said, The Lord is
righteous, 2 Chron. xii. 6. See here, [1.] The need we have of
afflictions. They are necessary to stir up prayer; when it is said, In
trouble have they visited thee, it is implied that in their peace and
prosperity they were strangers to God, kept at a distance from him, and seldom
came near him, as if, when the world smiled upon them, they had no occasion
for his favours. [2.] The benefit we often have by afflictions. They bring us
to God, quicken us to our duty, and show us our dependence upon him. Those
that before seldom looked at God now visit him; they come frequently, they
become friendly, and make their court to him. Before, prayer came drop by
drop, but now they pour out a prayer; it comes now like water from a
fountain, not like water from a still. They poured out a secret speech;
so the margin. Praying is speaking to God, but it is a secret speech; for it
is the language of the heart, otherwise it is not praying. Afflictions bring
us to secret prayer, in which we may be more free and particular in our
addresses to him than we can be in public. In affliction those will seek God
early who before sought him slowly, Hos. v. 15. It will make men fervent and
fluent in prayer. "They poured out a prayer, as the drink-offerings were
poured out, when thy chastening was upon them." But it is to be feared,
when the chastening is off them, they will by degrees return to their former
carelessness, as they had often done.
(4.) He complains that their struggles for their own liberty had been very
painful and perilous, but that they had not been successful, v. 17, 18.
[1.] They had the throes and pangs they dreaded: "We have been like a
woman in labour, that cries out in her pangs; we have with a great deal of
anxiety and toil endeavoured to help ourselves, and our troubles have been
increased by those attempts;" as when Moses came to deliver Israel the
tale of bricks was doubled. Their prayers were quickened by the acuteness of
their pains, and became as strong and vehement as the cries of a woman in sore
travail. So have we been in thy sight, O Lord! It was a comfort and
satisfaction to them, in their distress, that God had his eye upon them, that
all their miseries were in his sight; he was no stranger to their pangs or
their prayers. Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my groaning is not
hidden from thee, Ps. xxxviii. 9. Whenever they came to present
themselves before the Lord with their complaints and petitions they were
in agonies like those of a woman in travail. [2.] They came short of the issue
and success they desired and hoped for: "We have been with child;
we have had great expectation of a speedy and happy deliverance, have been big
with hopes, and, when we have been in pain, have comforted ourselves with
this, that the joyful birth would make us forget our misery, John xvi.
21. But, alas! we have as it were brought forth wind; it has proved a
false conception; our expectations have been frustrated, and our pains have
been rather dying pains than travailing ones; we have had a miscarrying womb
and dry breasts. All our efforts have proved abortive: We have not wrought
any deliverance in the earth, for ourselves or for our friends and allies,
but rather have made our own case and theirs worse; neither have the
inhabitants of the world, whom we have been contesting with, fallen
before us, either in their power or in their hopes; but they are still as high
and arrogant as ever." Note, A righteous cause may be strenuously pleaded
both by prayer and endeavour, both with God and man, and yet for a great while
may be left under a cloud, and the point may not be gained.
II. His prospects and hopes are very pleasant. In general, "Thou wilt
ordain peace for us (v. 12), that is, all that good which the
necessity of our case calls for." What peace the church has, or hopes
for, it is of God's ordaining; and we may comfort ourselves with this, that,
what trouble soever may for a time be appointed to the people of God, peace
will at length be ordained for them; for the end of those men is peace.
And, if God by his Spirit work all our works in us, he will ordain
peace for us (for the work of righteousness shall be peace), and that is true
and lasting peace, such as the world can neither give nor take away, which God
ordains; for, to those that have it, it shall be unchangeable as the
ordinances of the day and of the night. Moreover, from what God has
done for us, we may encourage ourselves to hope that he will yet further do us
good. "Thou hast heard the desire of the humble, and therefore wilt (Ps.
x. 17); and, when this peace is ordained for us, then by thee only will we
make mention of thy name (v. 13); we will give the glory of it to
thee only, and not to any other, and we will depend upon thy grace only to
enable us to do so." We cannot praise God's name but by his strength. Two
things in particular the prophet here comforts the church with the prospect
of:-- 1. The amazing ruin of her enemies (v. 14): They are dead,
those other lords that have had dominion over us; their power is
irrecoverably broken; they are quite cut off and extinguished: and they
shall not live, shall never be able to hold up the head any more. Being deceased,
they shall not rise, but, like Haman, when they have begun to fall before
the seed of the Jews they shall sink like a stone. Because they are sentenced
to this final ruin, therefore, in pursuance of that sentence, God himself has
visited them in wrath, as a righteous Judge, and has cut off both the men
themselves (he has destroyed them) and the remembrance of them:
they and their names are buried together in the dust. He has made all their
memory to perish; they are either forgotten or made mention of with
detestation. Note, The cause that is maintained in opposition to God and his
kingdom among men, though it may prosper awhile, will certainly sink at last,
and all that adhere to it will perish with it. The Jewish doctors, comparing
this with v. 19, infer that the resurrection of the dead belong to the
Jews only, and that those of other nations shall not rise. But we know better;
we know that all who are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of
God, and that this speaks of the final destruction of Christ's enemies,
which is the second death. 2. The surprising resurrection of her friends, v.
19. Though the church rejoices not in the birth of the man-child, of which she
travailed in pain, but has as it were brought forth wind (v.
18), yet the disappointment shall be balanced in a way equivalent: Thy dead
men shall live; those who were thought to be dead, who had received a
sentence of death within themselves, who were cast out as if they had been
naturally dead, shall appear again in their former vigour. A spirit of life
from God shall enter into the slain witnesses, and they shall prophesy again,
Rev. xi. 11. The dry bones shall live, and become an exceedingly
great army, Ezek. xxxvii. 10. Together with my dead body shall they
arise. If we believe the resurrection of the dead, of our dead bodies at
the last day, as Job did, and the prophet here, that will facilitate our
belief of the promised restoration of the church's lustre and strength in this
world. When God's time shall have come, how low soever she may be brought,
they shall arise, even Jerusalem, the city of God, but now lying like a dead
body, a carcase to which the eagles are gathered together. God owns it still
for his, so does the prophet; but it shall arise, shall be rebuilt, and
flourish again. And therefore let the poor, desolate, melancholy remains of
its inhabitants, that dwell as in dust, awake and sing; for they shall
see Jerusalem, the city of their solemnities, a quiet habitation again,
ch. xxxiii. 20. The dew of God's favour shall be to it as the evening
dew to the herbs that were parched with the heat of the sun all day, shall
revive and refresh them. And as the spring-dews, that water the earth, and
make the herbs that lay buried in it to put forth and bud, so shall they
flourish again, and the earth shall cast out the dead, as it casts the
herbs out of their roots. The earth, in which they seemed to be lost, shall
contribute to their revival. When the church and her interests are to be
restored neither the dew of heaven nor the fatness of the earth shall be
wanting to do their part towards the restoration. Now this (as Ezekiel's
vision, which is a comment upon it) may be fitly accommodated, (1.) To the
spiritual resurrection of those that were dead in sin, by the power of
Christ's gospel and grace. So Dr. Lightfoot applies it, Hor. Hebr. in Joh.
12.24. "The Gentiles shall live; with my body shall they arise; that is,
they shall be called in after Christ's resurrection, shall rise with him, and
sit with him in heavenly places; nay, they shall arise my body (says he); they
shall become the mystical body of Christ, and shall arise as part of
him." (2.) To the last resurrection, when dead saints shall live, and
rise together with Christ's dead body; for he arose as the first-fruits, and
believers shall arise by virtue of their union with him and their communion in
his resurrection.
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The
Sure Refuge.
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B.
C. 718.
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20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy
chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little
moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the LORD
cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their
iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her
slain.
These two verses are supposed not to belong to the song which takes up the
rest of the chapter, but to begin a new matter, and to be rather an
introduction to the following chapter than the conclusion of this. Of whereas,
in the foregoing song, the people of God had spoken to him, complaining of
their grievances, here he returns an answer to their complaints, in which,
I. He invites them into their chambers (v. 20): "Come, my
people, come to me, come with me" (he calls them nowhere but where he
himself will accompany them); "let the storm that disperses others bring
you nearer together. Come, and enter into thy chambers; stay not
abroad, lest you be caught in the storm, as the Egyptians in the hail,"
Exod. ix. 21. 1. "Come into chambers of distinction; come into
your own apartments, and continue not any longer mixed with the children of
Babylon. Come out from among them, and be you separate," 2 Cor.
vi. 17; Rev. xviii. 4. If God has set apart those that are godly for himself,
they ought to set themselves apart. 2. "Into chambers of defence,
in which by the secrecy or the strength of them you may be safe in the worst
of times." The attributes of God are the secret of his tabernacle,
Ps. xxvii. 5. His name is a strong tower, into which we may run for shelter,
Prov. xviii. 10. We must be faith find a way into these chambers, and there
hide ourselves; that is, with a holy security and serenity of mind, we must
put ourselves under the divine protection. Come, as Noah into the ark, for he shut
the doors about him. When dangers are threatening it is good to retire,
and lie hid, as Elijah did by the brook Cherith. 3. Into chambers of devotion.
"Enter into thy closet, and shut thy door, Matt. vi. 6. Be private
with God: Enter into thy chamber, to examine thyself, and commune with
thy own heart, to pray, and humble thyself before God." This work is to
be done in times of distress and danger; and thus we hide ourselves, that is,
we recommend ourselves to God to hide us, and he will hide us either under
heaven or in heaven. Israel must keep within doors when the destroying angel
is slaying the first-born of Egypt, else the blood on the door-posts will not
secure them. So must Rahab and her family when Jericho is being destroyed.
Those are most safe that are least seen. Qui bene latuit, benevixit--He has
lived well who has sought a proper degree of concealment.
II. He assures them that the trouble would be over in a very short time, that
they should not long be in any fright or peril: "Hide thyself for a
moment, the smallest part of time we can conceive, like an atom of matter;
may, if you can imagine one moment shorter than another, it is but for a little
moment, and that with a quasi too, as it were for a little moment,
less than you think of. When it is over it will seem as nothing to you; you
will wonder how soon it is gone. You shall not need to lie long in
confinement, long in concealment. The indignation will presently be over-past;
that is, the indignation of the enemies against you, their persecuting power
and rage, which force you to abscond. When the wicked rise, a man is hid.
This will soon be over; God will cut them off, will break their power, defeat
their purposes, and find a way for your enlargement." When Athanasius was
banished from Alexandria by an edict of Julian, and his friends greatly
lamented it, he bade them be of good cheer. Nubecula est quæ cito
pertransibit--It is a little cloud, that will soon blow over. You shall have
tribulation ten days; that is all, Rev. ii. 10. This enables God's
suffering people to call their afflictions light, that they are but for a
moment.
III. He assures them that their enemies should be reckoned with for all the
mischief they had done them by the sword, either of war or persecution, v.
21. The Lord will punish them for the blood they have shed. Here is, 1. The
judgment set, and process issued out: The Lord comes out of his place, to
punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, in giving such
disturbance to all about them. There is a great deal of iniquity among the
inhabitants of the earth; but though they all combine in it, though hand join
in hand to carry it on, yet it shall not go unpunished. Besides the
everlasting punishment into which the wicked shall go hereafter, there are
often remarkable punishments of cruelty, oppression, and persecution, in this
world. When men's indignation is over-past, and they have done their worst,
let them then expect God's indignation, for he sees that his day is coming,
Ps. xxxvii. 13. God comes out of his place to punish. He shows himself
in an extraordinary manner from heaven, the firmament of his power, from the
sanctuary, the residence of his grace. He is raised up out of his holy
habitation, where he seemed before to conceal himself; and now he will do
something great, the product of his wise, just, and secret counsels, as a
prince that goes to take the chair or take the field, Zech. ii. 13. Some
observe that God's place is the mercy-seat; there he delights to be; when he
punishes he comes out of his place, for he has no pleasure in the death of
sinners. 2. The criminals convicted by the notorious evidence of the face: The
earth shall disclose her blood; the innocent blood, the blood of the
saints and martyrs, which has been shed upon the earth like water, and has
soaked into it, and been concealed and covered by it, shall not be brought to
light, and brought to account; for God will make inquisition for it, and will
give those that shed it blood to drink, for they are worthy. Secret murders,
and other secret wickednesses, shall be discovered, sooner or later. And the
slain which the earth has long covered she shall no longer cover, but they
shall be produced as evidence against the murderers. The voice of Abel's blood
cries from the earth, Gen. ix. 10, 11; Job xx. 27. Those sins which seemed to
be buried in oblivion will be called to mind, and called over again, when the
day of reckoning comes. Let God's people therefore wait awhile with patience,
for behold the Judge stands before the door.
Contents
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