I
S A I A H
CHAP. LXVI.
The
scope of this chapter is much the same as that of the foregoing chapter and
many expressions of it are the same; it therefore looks the same way, to the
different state of the good and bad among the Jews at their return out of
captivity, but that typifying the rejection of the Jews in the days of the
Messiah, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the setting up of the
gospel-kingdom in the world. The first verse of this chapter is applied by
Stephen to the dismantling of the temple by the planting of the Christian
church (Acts vii. 49, 50), which may serve as a key to the whole chapter. We
have here, I. The contempt God puts upon ceremonial services in comparison
with moral duties, and an intimation therein of his purpose shortly to put an
end to the temple, and sacrifice and reject those that adhered to them, ver.
1-4. II. The salvation God will in due time work for his people out of the
hands of their oppressors (ver. 5), speaking terror to the persecutors (ver.
6) and comfort to the persecuted, a speedy and complete deliverance (ver.
7-9), a joyful settlement (ver. 10, 11), the accession of the Gentiles to
them, and abundance of satisfaction therein, ver. 12-14. III. The terrible
vengeance which God will bring upon the enemies of his church and people, ver.
15-18. IV. The happy establishment of the church upon large and sure
foundations, its constant attendance on God and triumph over its enemies, ver.
19-24. And we may well expect that this evangelical prophet, here, in the
close of his prophecy, should (as he does) look as far forward as to the
latter days, to the last day, to the days of eternity.
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The
Vanity of Mere Ritual Obedience.
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B.
C. 706.
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1 Thus saith the LORD,
The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is
the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my
rest? 2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all
those things have been, saith the LORD:
but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and
of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 3 He that killeth
an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if
he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered
swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea,
they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their
abominations. 4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring
their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake,
they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that
in which I delighted not.
Here, I. The temple is slighted in comparison with a gracious soul, v.
1, 2. The Jews in the prophet's time, and afterwards in Christ's time, gloried
much in the temple and promised themselves great things from it; to humble
them therefore, and to shake their vain confidence, both the prophets and
Christ foretold the ruin of the temple, that God would leave it and then it
would soon be desolate. After it was destroyed by the Chaldeans it soon
recovered itself and the ceremonial services were revived with it; but by the
Romans it was made a perpetual desolation, and the ceremonial law was
abolished with it. That the world might be prepared for this, they were often
told, as here, of what little account the temple was with God. 1. That he did
not need it. Heaven is the throne of his glory and government; there he sits,
infinitely exalted in the highest dignity and dominion, above all blessing and
praise. The earth is his footstool, on which he stands, over-ruling all the
affairs of it according to his will. If God has so bright a throne, so large a
footstool, where then is the house they can build unto God, that can be
the residence of his glory, or where is the place of his rest? What
satisfaction can the Eternal Mind take in a house made with men's hands? What
occasion has he, as we have, for a house to repose himself in, who faints
not neither is weary, who neither slumbers nor sleeps? Or, if he had
occasion, he would not tell us (Ps. l. 12), for all these things
hath his hand made, heaven and all its courts, earth and all its borders,
and all the hosts of both. All these things have been, have had their
beginning, by the power of God, who was happy from eternity before they were,
and therefore could not be benefited by them. All these things are (so
some read it); they still continue, upheld by the same power that made them;
so that our goodness extends not to him. If he required a house for
himself to dwell in, he would have made one himself when he made the world;
and, if he had made one, it would have continued to this day, as other
creatures do, according to his ordinance; so that he had no need of a temple
made with hands. 2. That he would not heed it as he would a humble, penitent,
gracious heart. He has a heaven and earth of his own making, and a temple of
man's making; but he overlooks them all, that he may look with favour to him
that is poor in spirit, humble and serious, self-abasing and self-denying,
whose heart is truly contrite for sin, penitent for it, and in pain to get it
pardoned, and who trembles at God's word, not as Felix did, with a
transient qualm that was over when the sermon was done, but with an habitual
awe of God's majesty and purity and an habitual dread of his justice and
wrath. Such a heart is a living temple for God; he dwells there, and it is the
place of his rest; it is like heaven and earth, his throne and his footstool.
II. Sacrifices are slighted when they come from ungracious hands. The
sacrifice of the wicked is not only unacceptable, but it is an
abomination to the Lord (Prov. xv. 8); this is largely shown here, v.
3, 4. Observe, 1. How detestable their sacrifices were to God. The carnal
Jews, after their return out of captivity, though they relapsed not to
idolatry, grew very careless and loose in the service of God; they brought the
torn, and the lame, and the sick for sacrifice (Mal. i. 8, 13),
and this made their services abominable to God; they had no regard to their
sacrifices, and therefore how could they think God would have any regard to
them? The unbelieving Jews, after the gospel was preached and in it notice
given of the offering up of the great sacrifice, which put an end to all the
ceremonial services, continued to offer sacrifices, as if the law of Moses had
been still in force and could make the comers thereunto perfect: this
was an abomination. He that kills an ox for his own table is welcome to
do it; but he that now kills it, that thus kills it, for God's altar, is as
if he slew a man; it is as great an offence to God as murder itself; he
that does it does in effect set aside Christ's sacrifice, treads under foot
the blood of the covenant, and makes himself accessory to the guilt of the
body and blood of the Lord, setting up what Christ died to abolish. He
that sacrifices a lamb, if it be a corrupt thing, and not the male in his
flock, the best he has, if he think to put God off with any thing, he affronts
him, instead of pleasing him; it is as if he cut off a dog's neck, a
creature in the eye of the law so vile that, whereas an ass might be redeemed,
the price of a dog was never to be brought into the treasury, Deut. xxiii. 18.
He that offers an oblation, a meat offering or drink-offering, is as if
he thought to make atonement with swine's blood, a creature that must
not be eaten nor touched, the broth of it was abominable (ch.
lxv. 4), much more the blood of it. He that burns incense to God, and
so puts contempt upon the incense of Christ's intercession, is as if he
blessed an idol; it was as great an affront to God as if they had paid
their devotions to a false god. Hypocrisy and profaneness are as provoking as
idolatry. 2. What their wickedness was which made their sacrifices thus
detestable. It was because they had chosen their own ways, the ways of
their own wicked hearts, and not only their hands did but their souls
delighted in their abominations. They were vicious and immoral in their
conversations, chose the way of sin rather than the way of God's commandments,
and took pleasure in that which was provoking to God; this made their
sacrifices so offensive to God, ch. i. 11-15. Those that pretend to
honour God by a profession of religion, and yet live wicked lives, put an
affront upon him, as if he were the patron of sin. And that which was an
aggravation of their wickedness was that they persisted in it, notwithstanding
the frequent calls given them to repent and reform; they turned a deaf ear to
all the warnings of divine justice and all the offers of divine grace: When
I called, none did answer, as before, ch. lxv. 12. And the same
follows here that did there: They did evil before my eyes. Being deaf
to what he said, they cared not what he saw, but chose that in which
they knew he delighted not. How could those expect to please him in
their devotions who took no care to please him in their conversations, but, on
the contrary, designed to provoke him? 3. The doom passed upon them for this.
They chose their own ways, therefore, says God, I also will choose
their delusions. They have made their choice (as Mr. Gataker paraphrases
it), and now I will make mine; they have taken what course they pleased
with me, and I will take what course I please with them. I will choose
their illusions, or mockeries (so some); as they have mocked God
and dishonoured him by their wickedness, so God will give them up to their
enemies, to be trampled upon and insulted by them. Or they shall be deceived
by those vain confidences with which they have deceived themselves. God will
make their sin their punishment; they shall be beaten with their own rod and
hurried into ruin by their own delusions. God will bring their fears upon
them, that is, will bring upon them that which shall be a great terror to
them, or that which they themselves have been afraid of and thought to escape
by sinful shifts. Unbelieving hearts, and unpurified unpacified consciences,
need no more to make them miserable than to have their own fears brought upon
them.
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Encouragement
to the Persecuted; The Enlargement of the Church.
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5 Hear the word of the LORD,
ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out
for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD
be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be
ashamed. 6 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the
temple, a voice of the LORD
that rendereth recompence to his enemies. 7 Before she travailed,
she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man
child. 8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be
born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her
children. 9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring
forth? saith the LORD:
shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her:
rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: 11 That ye
may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may
milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. 12 For
thus saith the LORD,
Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles
like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her
sides, and be dandled upon her knees. 13 As one whom his
mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in
Jerusalem. 14 And when ye see this, your heart shall
rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like a herb: and the hand of the LORD
shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his
enemies.
The prophet, having denounced God's judgments against a hypocritical nation,
that made a jest of God's word and would not answer him when he called to
them, here turns his speech to those that trembled at his word, to
comfort and encourage them; they shall not be involved in the judgments that
are coming upon their unbelieving nation. Ministers must distinguish thus,
that, when they speak terror to the wicked, they may not make the hearts of
the righteous sad. Bone Christiane, hoc nihil ad te--Good Christian, this is
nothing to thee. The prophet, having assured those that tremble at God's
word of a gracious look from him (v. 2), here brings them a gracious
message from him. The word of God has comforts in store for those that by true
humiliation for sin are prepared to receive them. There were those (v.
4) who, when God spoke, would not hear; but, if some will not, others
sill. If the heart tremble at the word, the ear will be open to it. Now
what is here said to them?
I. Let them know that God will plead their just but injured cause against
their persecutors (v. 5): Your brethren that hated you said, Let the
Lord be glorified. But he shall appear to your joy. This perhaps might
have reference to the case of some of the Jews at their return out of
captivity; but nothing like it appears in the history, and therefore it is
rather to be referred to the first preachers and professors of the gospel
among the Jews, to whose case it is very applicable. Observe, 1. How the
faithful servants of God were persecuted: Their brethren hated them.
The apostles were Jews by birth, and yet even in the cities of the Gentiles
the Jews they met with there were their most bitter and implacable enemies and
stirred up the Gentiles against them. The spouse complains (Cant. i. 6)
that her mother's children were angry with her. Pilate upbraided our
Lord Jesus with this, Thy own nation have delivered thee unto me, John
xviii. 35. Their brethren, who should have loved them and encouraged them for
their work's sake hated them, and cast them out of their synagogues,
excommunicated them as if they had been the greatest blemishes, when they were
really the greatest blessings, of their church and nation. This was a fruit of
the old enmity in the seed of the serpent against the seed of the
woman. Those that hated Christ hated his disciples, because they supported
his kingdom and interest (John xv. 18), and they cast them out for his
name's sake, because they were called by his name, and called upon his
name, and laid out themselves to advance his name. Note, It is no new thing
for church censures to be misapplied, and for her artillery, which was
intended for her defence, to be turned against her best friends, by the
treachery of her governors. And those that did this said, Let the Lord be
glorified; they pretended conscience and a zeal for the honour of God and
the church in it, and did it with all the formalities of devotion. Our Saviour
explains this, and seems to have reference to it, John xvi. 2. They shall
put you out of their synagogues, and whosoever kills you will think
that he does God service. In nomine Domini incipit omne malum--In the name of
the Lord commences evil of every kind. Or we may understand it as spoken
in defiance of God: "You say God will be glorified in your deliverance; let
him be glorified then; let him make speed and hasten his work (ch.
v. 19); let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him." Some
take it to be the language of the profane Jews in captivity, bantering their
brethren that hoped for deliverance, and ridiculing the expectations they
often comforted themselves with, that God would shortly be glorified in it.
They thus did what they could to shame the counsel of the poor, Ps.
xiv. 6. 2. How they were encouraged under these persecutions: "Let your
faith and patience hold out yet a little while; your enemies hate you and
oppress you, your brethren hate you and cast you out, but your Father in
heaven loves you, and will appear for you when no one else will or dare. His
providence shall order things so as shall be for comfort to you; he shall
appear for your joy and for the confusion of those that abuse you and
trample on you; they shall be ashamed of their enmity to you."
This was fulfilled when, upon the signals given of Jerusalem's approaching
ruin, the Jews' hearts failed them for fear; but the disciples of
Christ, whom they had hated and persecuted, lifted up their heads with joy,
knowing that their redemption drew nigh, Luke xxi. 26, 28. Though God seem
to hide himself, he will in due time show himself.
II. Let them know that God's appearances for them will be such as will make a
great noise in the world (v. 6): There shall be a voice of noise
from the city, from the temple. Some make it the joyful and triumphant
voice of the church's friends, others the frightful lamenting voice of her
enemies, surprised in the city, and fleeing in vain to the temple for shelter.
These voices do but echo to the voice of the Lord, who is now rendering
a recompence to his enemies; and those that will not hear him speaking
this terror shall hear them returning the alarms of it in doleful shrieks. We
may well think what a confused noise there was in the city and temple when
Jerusalem, after a long siege, was at last taken by the Romans. Some think
this prophecy was fulfilled in the prodigies that went before that destruction
of Jerusalem, related by Josephus in his History of the Wars of the Jews
(4.388 and 6.311), that the temple-doors flew open suddenly of their own
accord, and the priests heard a noise of motion or shifting in the most holy
place, and presently a voice, saying, Let us depart hence. And, some
time after, one Jesus Bar-Annas went up and down the city, at the feast of
tabernacles, continually crying, A voice from the east, a voice from the
west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the temple, a
voice against all this people.
III. Let them know that God will set up a church for himself in the world,
which shall be abundantly replenished in a little time (v. 7): Before
she travailed she brought forth. This is to be applied in the type to the
deliverance of the Jews out of their captivity in Babylon, which was brought
about very easily and silently, without any pain or struggle, such as was when
they were brought out of Egypt; that was done by might and power (Deut.
iv. 34), but this by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts, Zech. iv. 6. The
man-child of the deliverance is rejoiced in, and yet the mother was never in
labour for it; before her pain came she was delivered. This is
altogether surprising, uncommon, and without precedent, unless in the story
which the Egyptian midwives told of the Hebrew women (Exod. i. 19), that they
were lively and were delivered ere the midwives came in unto them. But shall
the earth be made to bring forth her fruits in one day? No, it is the work
of some weeks in the spring to renew the face of the earth and cover it
with its products. Some read this to the same purport with the next clause, Shall
a land be brought forth in one day, or shall a nation be born at once?
Is it to be imagined that a woman at one birth should bring children
sufficient to people a country and that they should in an instant grow up to
maturity? No; something like this was done in the creation; but God has since
rested from all such works, and leaves second causes to produce their effects
gradually. Nihil facit per saltum--He does nothing abruptly. Yet, in
this case, as soon as Zion travailed she brought forth. Cyrus's
proclamation was no sooner issued out than the captives were formed into a
body and were ready to make the best of their way to their own land. And the
reason is given (v. 9), because it is the Lord's doing; he
undertakes it whose work is perfect. If he bring to the birth in
preparing his people for deliverance, he will cause to bring forth in
the accomplishment of the deliverance. When every thing is ripe and ready for
their release, and the number of their months is accomplished, so that the
children are brought to the birth, shall not I then give strength to
bring forth, but leave mother and babe to perish together in the most
miserable case? How will this agree with the divine pity? Shall I begin a work
and not go through with it? How will that agree with the divine power and
perfection? Am I he that causes to bring forth (so the following clause
may be read) and shall I restrain her? Does God cause mankind, and all
the species of living creatures, to propagate, and replenish the earth,
and will he restrain Zion? Will he not make her fruitful in a blessed
offspring to replenish the church? Or, Am I he that begat, and should I
restrain from bringing forth? Did God beget the deliverance in his purpose
and promise, and will he not bring it forth in the accomplishment and
performance of it? But this was a figure of the setting up of the Christian
church in the world, and the replenishing of that family with children which
was to be named from Jesus Christ. When the Spirit was poured out, and the
gospel went forth from Zion, multitudes were converted in a little time and
with little pains compared with the vast product. The apostles, even before
they travailed, brought forth, and the children born to Christ were so
numerous, and so suddenly and easily produced, that they were rather like the
dew from the morning's womb than like the son from the mother's womb, Ps. cx.
3. The success of the gospel was astonishing; that light, like the morning,
strangely diffused itself till it took hold even of the ends of the earth.
Cities and nations were born at once to Christ. The same day that the Spirit
was poured out there were 3000 souls added to the church. And, when this
glorious work was once begun, it was carried on wonderfully, beyond what could
be imagined, so mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. He that
brought to the birth in conviction of sin caused to bring forth in a thorough
conversion to God.
IV. Let them know that their present sorrows shall shortly be turned into
abundant joys, v. 10, 11. Observe, 1. How the church's friends are
described; they are such as love her, and mourn with her and for
her. Note, All that love God love Jerusalem; they love the church of God,
and lay its interest very near their heart. They admire the beauty of the
church, take pleasure in communion with it, and heartily espouse its cause.
And those that have a sincere affection for the church have a cordial sympathy
with her in all the cares and sorrows of her militant state. They mourn for
her; all her grievances are their griefs; if Jerusalem be in distress, their
harps are hung on the willow-trees. 2. How they are encouraged: Rejoice
with her, and again and again I say, Rejoice. This intimates that
Jerusalem shall have cause to rejoice; the days of her mourning shall be at an
end, and she shall be comforted according to the time that she has been
afflicted. It is the will of God that all her friends should join with her in
her joys, for they shall share with her in those blessings that will be the
matter of her joy. If we suffer with Christ and sorrow with his church,
we shall reign with him and rejoice with her. We are here called, (1.)
To bear our part in the church's praises: "Come, rejoice with her,
rejoice for joy with her, rejoice greatly, rejoice and know why you
rejoice, rejoice on the days appointed for public thanksgiving. You that
mourned for her in her sorrows cannot but from the same principle rejoice with
her in her joys." (2.) To take our part in the church's comforts. We must
suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolation. The word of
God, the covenant of grace (especially the promises of that covenant), the
ordinances of God, and all the opportunities of attending on him and
conversing with him, are the breasts, which the church calls and counts the breasts
of her consolations, where her comforts are laid up, and whence by faith
and prayer they are drawn. With her therefore we must suck from these breasts,
by an application of the promises of God to ourselves and a diligent
attendance on his ordinances; and with the consolations which are drawn hence
we must be satisfied, and not be dissatisfied though we have ever so little of
earthly comforts. It is the glory of the church that she has the Lord for her
God, that to her pertain the adoption and the service of God; and with the
abundance of this glory we must be delighted. We must take
more pleasure in our relation to God and communion with him than in all the
delights of the sons and daughters of men. Whatever is the glory of the church
must be our glory and joy, particularly her purity, unity, and
increase.
V. Let them know that he who gives them this call to rejoice will give them
cause to do so and hearts to do so, v. 12-14.
1. He will give them cause to do so. For, (1.) They shall enjoy a long
uninterrupted course of prosperity: I will extend, or am extending, peace
to her (that is, all good to her) like a river that runs in a
constant stream, still increasing till it be swallowed up in the ocean. The
gospel brings with it, wherever it is received in its power, such peace as
this, which shall go on like a river, supplying souls with all good and
making them fruitful, as a river does the lands it passes through, such a river
of peace as the springs of the world's comforts cannot send forth and the
dams of the world's troubles cannot stop nor drive back nor its sand rack up,
such a river of peace as will carry us to the ocean of boundless and endless
bliss. (2.) There shall be large and advantageous additions made to them: The
glory of the Gentiles shall come to them like a flowing stream.
Gentiles converts shall come pouring into the church, and swell the river of
her peace and prosperity; for they shall bring their glory with them;
their wealth and honour, their power and interest, shall all be devoted to the
service of God and employed for the good of the church: "Then shall
you suck from the breasts of her consolations. When you see such crowding
for a share in those comforts you shall be the more solicitous and the more
vigorous to secure your share, not for fear of having the less for others
coming in to partake of Christ" (there is no danger of that; he has
enough for all and enough for each), "but their zeal shall provoke
you to a holy jealousy." It is well when it does so, Rom. xi. 14; 2
Cor. ix. 2. (3.) God shall be glorified in all, and that ought to be more the
matter of our joy than any thing else (v. 14): The hand of the Lord
shall be known towards his servants, the protecting supporting hand of his
almighty power, the supplying enriching hand of his inexhaustible goodness;
the benefit which his servants have by both these shall be known to his
glory as well as theirs. And, to make this the more illustrious, he will at
the same time make known his indignation towards his enemies. God's
mercy and justice shall both be manifested and for ever magnified.
2. God will not only give them cause to rejoice, but will speak comfort to
them, will speak it to their hearts; and it is he only that can do
that, and make it fasten there. See what he will do for the comfort of all the
sons of Zion. (1.) Their country shall be their tender nurse: You shall be carried
on her sides, under her arms, as little children are, and shall be dangled
upon her knees, as darlings are, especially when they are weary and out of
humour, and must be got to sleep. Those that are joined to the church must be
treated thus affectionately. The great Shepherd gathers the lambs in his
arms and carries them in his bosom, and so must the under-shepherds, that
they may not be discouraged. Proselytes should be favourites. (2.) God will
himself be their powerful comforter: As one whom his mother comforts,
when he is sick or sore, or upon any account in sorrow, so will I comfort
you; not only with the rational arguments which a prudent father uses, but
with the tender affections and compassions of a loving mother, that bemoans
her afflicted child when it has fallen and hurt itself, that she may quiet it
and make it easy, or endeavours to pacify it after she has chidden it and
fallen out with it (Jer. xxxi. 20): Since I spoke against him, my bowels
are troubled for him; he is a dear son, he is a pleasant child. Thus the
mother comforts. Thus you shall be comforted in Jerusalem, in the
favours bestowed on the church, which you shall partake of, and in the
thanksgivings offered by the church, which you shall concur with. (3.) They
shall feel the blessed effects of this comfort in their own souls (v.
13): When you see this, what a happy state the church is restored to,
not only your tongues and your countenances, but your hearts shall rejoice.
This was fulfilled in the wonderful satisfaction which Christ's disciples had
in the success of their ministry. Christ, with an eye to that, tells them
(John xvi. 22), Your heart shall rejoice and your joy no man taketh from
you. Then your bones, that were dried and withered (the marrow of
them quite exhausted), shall recover a youthful strength and vigour and shall
flourish like a herb. Divine comforts reach the inward man; they are
marrow and moistening to the bones, Prov. iii. 8. The bones are the
strength of the body; those shall be made to flourish with these comforts. The
joy of the Lord will be your strength, Neh. viii. 10.
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15 For, behold, the LORD
will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his
anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by
fire and by his sword will the LORD
plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD
shall be many. 17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify
themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's
flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith
the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I
will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my
glory. 19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those
that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that
draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that
have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my
glory among the Gentiles. 20 And they shall bring all your
brethren for an offering unto the LORD
out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon
mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD,
as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house
of the LORD.
21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the
LORD.
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain
before me, saith the LORD,
so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to
pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to
another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have
transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their
fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
These verses, like the pillar of cloud and fire, have a dark side towards the
enemies of God's kingdom and all that are rebels against his crown, and a
bright side towards his faithful loyal subjects. Probably they refer to the
Jews in captivity in Babylon, of whom some are said to have been sent thither
for their hurt, and with them God here threatens to proceed in his
controversy; they hated to be reformed, and therefore should be ruined by the
calamity (Jer. xxiv. 9); others were sent thither for their good, and they
should have the trouble sanctified to them, should in due time get well
through it and see many a good day after it. Many of the expressions here used
are accommodated to that glorious dispensation; but doubtless the prophecy
looks further, to the judgment for which Christ did come once, and will come
again, into this world, and to the distinction which his word in both makes between
the precious and the vile.
I. Christ will appear to the confusion and terror of all those that stand it
out against him. Sometimes he will appear in temporal judgments. The Jews that
persisted in infidelity were cut off by fire and by his sword.
The ruin was very extensive; the Lord then pleaded with all flesh;
and, it being his sword with which they are cut off, they are called his
slain, sacrificed to his justice, and they shall be many. In the
great day the wrath of God will be his fire and sword, with which he will cut
off and consume all the impenitent; and his word, when it takes hold of
sinners' consciences, burns like fire, and is sharper than any two-edged
sword. Idolaters will especially be contended with in the day of wrath, v.
17. Perhaps some of those who returned out of Babylon retained such instances
of idolatry and superstition as are here mentioned, had their idols in
their gardens (not daring to set them up publicly in the high places) and
there purified themselves (as the worshippers of the true God used to
do) when they went about their idolatrous rites, one after another, or,
as we read it, behind one tree in the midst, behind Ahad or Ehad,
some idol that they worshipped by that name and in honour of which they ate
swine's flesh (which was expressly forbidden by the law of God), and
other abominations, as the mouse, or some other like animal. But
the prophecy may refer to all those judgments which the wrath of God,
according to the word of God, will bring upon provoking sinners, that live in
contempt of God and are devoted to the world and the flesh: They shall be
consumed together. From the happiness of heaven we find expressly excluded
all idolaters, and whosoever worketh abomination, Rev. xxi. 27; xxii.
15. In the day of vengeance secret wickedness will be brought to light and
brought to the account; for (v. 18), I know their works and their
thoughts. God knows both what men do and from what principle and with what
design they do it; and therefore is fit to judge the world, because he can judge
the secrets of men, Rom. ii. 16.
II. He will appear to the comfort and joy of all that are faithful to him in
the setting up of his kingdom in this world, the kingdom of grace, the earnest
and first-fruits of the kingdom of glory. The time shall come that he will gather
all nations and tongues to himself, that they may come and see his
glory as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ, v. 18. This was
fulfilled when all nations were to be discipled and the gift of tongues was
bestowed in order thereunto. The church had hitherto been confined to one
nation and in one tongue only God was worshipped; but in the days of the
Messiah the partition-wall should be taken down, and those that had been
strangers to God should be brought acquainted with him and should see his
glory in the gospel, as the Jews had seen it in the sanctuary. As
to this, it is here promised,
1. That some of the Jewish nation should, by the grace of God, be
distinguished form the rest, and marked for salvation: I will not only set up
a gathering ensign among them, to which the Gentiles shall seek (as is
promised, ch. xi. 12), but there shall be those among them on whom I
will set a differencing sign; for so the word signifies. Though they are a
corrupt degenerate nation, yet God will set apart a remnant of them, that
shall be devoted to him and employed for him, and a mark shall be set upon
them, with such certainty will God own them, Ezek. ix. 4. The servants of
God shall be sealed in their foreheads, Rev. vii. 3. The Lord knows
those that are his. Christ's sheep are marked.
2. That those who are themselves distinguished thus by the grace of God shall
be commissioned to invite others to come and take the benefit of that grace.
Those that escape the power of those prejudices by which the generality of
that nation is kept in unbelief shall be sent to the nations to carry
the gospel among them, and preach it to every creature. Note, Those who
themselves have escaped the wrath to come should do all they can to snatch
others also as brands out of the burning. God chooses to send those on his
errands that can deliver their message feelingly and experimentally, and warn
people of their danger by sin as those who have themselves narrowly escaped
the danger. (1.) They shall be sent to the nations, several of which
are here named, Tarshish, and Pul, and Lud, &c. It is uncertain, nor are
interpreters agreed, what countries are here intended. Tarshish
signifies in general the sea, yet some take it for Tarsus in Cilicia. Pul
is mentioned sometimes as the name of one of the kings of Assyria; perhaps
some part of that country might likewise bear that name. Lud is
supposed to be Lydia, a warlike nation, famed for archers: the Lydians are
said to handle and bend the bow, Jer. xlvi. 9. Tubal,
some think, is Italy or Spain; and Javan most agree to be Greece, the
Iones; and the isles of the Gentiles, that were peopled by the
posterity of Japhet (Gen. x. 5), probably are here meant by the isles afar
off, that have not heard my name, neither have seen my glory. In Judah
only was God known, and there only his name was great for many ages. Other
countries sat in darkness, heard no the joyful sound, saw not the joyful
light. This deplorable state of theirs seems to be spoken of here with
compassion; for it is a pity that any of the children of men should be at such
a distance from their Maker as not to hear his name and see his glory. In
consideration of this, (2.) Those that are sent to the nations shall go upon
God's errand, to declare his glory among the Gentiles. The Jews that
shall be dispersed among the nations shall declare the glory of God's
providence concerning their nation all along, by which many shall be invited
to join with them, as also by the appearances of God's glory among them in his
ordinances. Some out of all languages of the nations shall take hold of the
skirt of him that is a Jew, entreating him to take notice of them, to
admit them into his company, and to stay a little while for them, till they
are ready, "for we will go with you, having heard that God is with
you," Zech. viii. 23. Thus the glory of God was in part declared
among the Gentiles; but more clearly and fully by the apostles and early
preachers of the gospel, who were sent into all the world, even to the isles
afar off, to publish the glorious gospel of the blessed God. They went
forth and preached every where, the Lord working with them, Mark xvi. 20.
3. That many converts shall hereby be made, v. 20.
(1.) They shall bring all your brethren (for proselytes ought to be
owned and embraced as brethren) for an offering unto the Lord. God's
glory shall not be in vain declared to them, but they shall be both invited
and directed to join themselves to the Lord. Those that are sent to them shall
succeed so well in their negotiation that thereupon there shall be as great
flocking to Jerusalem as used to be at the time of a solemn feast, when all
the males from all parts of the country were to attend there, and not to
appear empty. Observe, [1.] The conveniences that they shall be furnished with
for their coming. Some shall come upon horses, because they came from
far and the journey was too long to travel on foot, as the Jews usually did to
their feasts. Persons of quality shall come in chariots, and the aged,
and sickly, and little children, shall be brought in litters or covered
wagons, and the young men on mules and swift beasts. This intimates
their zeal and forwardness to come. They shall spare no trouble nor charge to
get to Jerusalem. Those that cannot ride on horseback shall come in litters;
and in such haste shall they be, and so impatient of delay, that those that
can shall ride upon mules and swift beasts. These expressions are figurative,
and these various means of conveyance are heaped up to intimate (says the
learned Mr. Gataker) the abundant provision of all those gracious helps
requisite for the bringing of God's elect home to Christ. All shall be
welcome, and nothing shall be wanting for their assistance and encouragement.
[2.] The character under which they shall be brought. They shall come, not as
formerly they used to come to Jerusalem, to be offerers, but to be themselves an
offering unto the Lord, which must be understood spiritually, of their
being presented to God as living sacrifices, Rom. xii. 1. The apostle
explains this, and perhaps refers to it, Rom. xv. 16, where he speaks of his ministering
the gospel to the Gentiles, that the offering up, or sacrificing,
of the Gentiles might be acceptable. They shall offer themselves, and
those who are the instruments of their conversion shall offer them, as the
spoils which they have taken for Christ and which are devoted to his service
and honour. They shall be brought as the children of Israel bring an
offering in a clean vessel, with great care that they be holy, purified
from sin, and sanctified to God. It is said of the converted Gentiles (Acts
xv. 9) that their hearts were purified by faith. Whatever was brought
to God was brought in a clean vessel, a vessel appropriated to religious uses.
God will be served and honoured in the way that he has appointed, in the
ordinances of his own institution, which are the proper vehicles for these
spiritual offerings. When the soul is offered up to God the body must be a
clean vessel for it, possessed in sanctification and honour, and not in the
lusts of uncleanness (1 Thess. iv. 4, 5); and converts to Christ are not
only purged from an evil conscience, but have their bodies also
washed with pure water, Heb. x. 22. Now,
(2.) This may refer, [1.] To the Jews, devout men, and proselytes out of every
nation under heaven, that flocked together to Jerusalem, expecting the kingdom
of the Messiah to appear, Acts ii. 5, 6, 10. They came from all parts to the
holy mountain of Jerusalem, as an offering to the Lord, and
there many of them were brought to the faith of Christ by the gift of tongues
poured out on the apostles. Methinks there is some correspondence between that
history and this prophecy. The eunuch some time after came to worship at
Jerusalem in his chariot and took home with him the knowledge of Christ and
his holy religion. [2.] To the Gentiles, some of all nations, that should be
converted to Christ, and so added to his church, which, though a spiritual
accession, is often in prophecy represented by a local motion. The apostle
says of all true Christians that they have come to Mount Zion, and the
heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. xii. 22), which explains this passage, and shows
that the meaning of all this parade is only that they shall be brought into
the church by the grace of God, and in the use of the means of that grace, as
carefully, safely, and comfortably, as if they were carried in chariots and
litters. Thus God shall persuade Japhet and he shall dwell in the
tents of Shem, Gen. ix. 27.
4. That a gospel ministry shall be set up in the church, it being thus
enlarged by the addition of such a multitude of members to it (v. 21): I
will take of them (of the proselytes, of the Gentile converts) for
priests and for Levites, to minister in holy things and to preside in
their religious assemblies, which is very necessary for doctrine, worship, and
discipline. Hitherto the priests and Levites were all taken from among the
Jews and were all of one tribe; but in gospel times God will take of the
converted Gentiles to minister to him in holy things, to teach the people, to
bless them in the name of the Lord, to be the stewards of the mysteries of God
as the priests and Levites were under the law, to be pastors and teachers (or
bishops), to give themselves to the word and prayer, and deacons to serve
tables, and, as the Levites, to take care of the outward business of
the house of God, Phil. i. 1; Acts vi. 2-4. The apostles were all Jews,
and so were the seventy disciples; the great apostle of the Gentiles was
himself a Hebrew of the Hebrews; but, when churches were planted among
the Gentiles, they had ministers settled who were of themselves, elders in
every church (Acts xiv. 23, Tit. i. 5), which made the ministry to spread
the more easily, and to be the more familiar, and, if not the more venerable,
yet the more acceptable; gospel grace, it might be hoped, would cure people of
those corruptions which kept a prophet from having honour in his own
country. God says, I will take, not all of them, though they
are all in a spiritual sense made to our God kings and priests, but of
them, some of them. It is God's work originally to choose ministers by
qualifying them for and inclining them to the service, as well as to make
ministers by giving them their commission. I will take them, that is, I
will admit them, though Gentiles, and will accept of them and their
ministrations. This is a great honour and advantage to the Gentile church, as
it was to the Jewish church that God raised up of their sons for prophets
and their young men for Nazarites, Amos ii. 11.
5. That the church and ministry, being thus settled, shall continue and be
kept up in a succession from one generation to another, v. 22. The
change that will be made by the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah is
here described to be, (1.) A very great and universal change; it shall be a
new world, the new heavens and the new earth promised before, ch.
lxv. 17. Old things have passed away, behold all things have become
new (2 Cor. v. 17), the old covenant of peculiarity is set aside, and a
new covenant, a covenant of grace, established, Heb. viii. 13. We are now to
serve in newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the
letter, Rom. vii. 6. New commandments are given relating both to heaven
and earth, and new promises relating to both, and both together make a New
Testament; so that they are new heavens and a new earth that God will create,
and these a preparative for the new heavens and new earth designed at the end
of time, 2 Pet. iii. 13. (2.) A change of God's own making; he will create the
new heavens and the new earth. The change was made by him that had authority
to make new ordinances, as well as power to make new worlds. (3.) It will be
an abiding lasting change, a change never to be changed, a new world that will
be always new, and never wax old, as that does which is ready to vanish away: It
shall remain before me unalterable; for the gospel dispensation is to
continue to the end of time and not to be succeeded by any other. The kingdom
of Christ is a kingdom that cannot be moved; the laws and privileges of
it are things that cannot be shaken, but shall for ever remain,
Heb. xii. 27, 28. It shall therefore remain, because it is before God;
it is under his eye, and care, and special protection. (4.) It will be
maintained in a seed that shall serve Christ: Your seed, and in them your
name, shall remain--a seed of ministers, a seed of Christians; as one
generation of both passes away, another generation shall come; and thus the
name of Christ, with that of Christians, shall continue on earth while the
earth remains, and his throne as the days of heaven. The gates of hell, though
they fight against the church, shall not prevail, nor wear out the
saints of the Most High.
6. That the public worship of God in religious assemblies shall be carefully
and constantly attended upon by all that are thus brought as an offering to
the Lord, v. 23. This is described in expressions suited to the
Old-Testament dispensation, to show that though the ceremonial law should be
abolished, and the temple service should come to an end, yet God should be
still as regularly, constantly, and acceptably worshipped as ever. Heretofore
only Jews went up to appear before God, and they were bound to attend only
three times a year, and the males only; but now all flesh, Gentiles as well as
Jews, women as well as men, shall come and worship before God, in his
presence, though not in his temple at Jerusalem, but in religious assemblies
dispersed all the world over, which shall be to them as the tabernacle of
meeting was to the Jews. God will in them record his name, and, though but two
or three come together, he will be among them, will meet them, and bless them.
And they shall have the benefit of these holy convocations frequently, every
new moon and every sabbath, not, as formerly, at the three annual feasts only.
There is no necessity of one certain place, as the temple was of old. Christ
is our temple, in whom by faith all believers meet, and now that the church is
so far extended it is impossible that all should meet at one place; but it is
fit that there should be a certain time appointed, that the service may be
done certainly and frequently, and a token thereby given of the spiritual
communion which all Christian assemblies have with each other by faith, hope,
and holy love. The new moons and the sabbaths are mentioned
because, under the law, though the yearly feasts were to be celebrated at
Jerusalem, yet the new moons and the sabbaths were religiously observed all
the country over, in the schools of the prophets first and afterwards in
the synagogues (2 Kings iv. 23, Amos viii. 5, Acts xv. 21), according to
the model of which Christian assemblies seem to be formed. Where the Lord's
day is weekly sanctified, and the Lord's supper monthly celebrated, and both
are duly attended on, there this promise is fulfilled, there the Christian new
moons and sabbaths are observed. See, here, (1.) That God is to be worshipped
in solemn assemblies, and that it is the duty of all, as they have
opportunity, to wait upon God in those assemblies: All flesh must come;
though flesh, weak, corrupt, and sinful, let them come that the flesh may be
mortified. (2.) In worshipping God we present ourselves before him, and are in
a special manner in his presence. (3.) For doing this there ought to be stated
times, and are so; and we must see that it is our interest as well as our duty
constantly and conscientiously to observe these times.
7. That their thankful sense of God's distinguishing favour to them should be
very much increased by the consideration of the fearful doom and destruction
of those that persist and perish in their infidelity and impiety, v.
24. Those that have been worshipping the Lord of hosts, and rejoicing before
him in the goodness of his house, shall, in order to affect themselves the
more with their own happiness, take a view of the misery of the wicked.
Observe, (1.) Who they are whose misery is here described. They are men that
have transgressed against God, not only broken his laws, but broken
covenant with him, and thought themselves able to contend with him. It may be
meant especially of the unbelieving Jews that rejected the gospel of Christ.
(2.) What their misery is. It is here represented by the frightful spectacle
of a field of battle, covered with the carcases of the slain, that lie
rotting above ground, full of worms crawling about them and feeding on
them; and, if you go to burn them, they are so scattered, and it is such a
noisome piece of work to get them together, that it would be endless, and the fire
would never be quenched; so that they are an abhorring to all flesh,
nobody cares to come near them. Now this is sometimes accomplished in temporal
judgments, and perhaps never nearer the letter than in the destruction of
Jerusalem and the Jewish nation by the Romans, in which destruction it is
computed that above two millions, first and last, were cut off by the sword,
besides what perished by famine and pestilence. It may refer likewise to the
spiritual judgments that came upon the unbelieving Jews, which St. Paul looks
upon, and shows us, Rom. xi. 8, &c. They became dead in sins, twice dead.
The church of the Jews was a carcase of a church; all its members were
putrid carcases; their worm died not, their own consciences made them
continually uneasy, and the fire of their rage against the gospel was not
quenched, which was their punishment as well as their sin; and they became,
more than ever any nation under the sun, an abhorring to all flesh. But
our Saviour applies it to the everlasting misery and torment of impenitent
sinners in the future state, where their worm dies not, and their fire is
not quenched (Mark ix. 44); for the soul, whose conscience is its constant
tormentor, is immortal, and God, whose wrath is its constant terror, is
eternal. (3.) What notice shall be taken of it. Those that worship God shall go
forth and look upon them, to affect their own hearts with the love of
their Redeemer, when they see what misery they are redeemed from. As it will
aggravate the miseries of the damned to see others in the kingdom of heaven
and themselves thrust out (Luke xiii. 28), so it will illustrate the
joys and glories of the blessed to see what becomes of those that died in
their transgression, and it will elevate their praises to think that they were
themselves as brands plucked out of that burning. To the honour of that free
grace which thus distinguished them let the redeemed of the Lord with all
humility, and not without a holy trembling, sing their triumphant songs.
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