I
S A I A H
CHAP. VIII.
This
chapter, and the four next that follow it (to chap. xiii.) are all one
continued discourse or sermon, the scope of which is to show the great
destruction that should now shortly be brought upon the kingdom of Israel, and
the great disturbance that should be given to the kingdom of Judah by the king
of Assyria, and that both were for their sins; but rich provision is made of
comfort for those that feared God in those dark times, referring especially to
the days of the Messiah. In this chapter we have, I. A prophecy of the
destruction of the confederate kingdoms of Syria
and Israel
by the king of Assyria, ver. 1-4. II. Of the desolations that should be made by that proud
victorious prince in the land of Israel and Judah, ver. 5-8. III. Great
encouragement given to the people of God in the midst of those distractions;
they are assured, 1. That the enemies shall not gain their point against them,
ver. 9, 10. 2. That if they kept up the fear of God, and kept down the fear of
man, they should find God their refuge (ver. 11-14), and while others
stumbled, and fell into despair, they should be enabled to wait on God, and
should see themselves reserved for better times, ver. 15-18. Lastly, He gives
a necessary caution to all, at their peril, not to consult with familiar
spirits, for they would thereby throw themselves into despair, but to keep
close to the word of God, ver. 19-22. And these counsels and these comforts
will still be of use to us in time of trouble.
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Judgments
Announced.
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B.
C. 740.
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1 Moreover the LORD
said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen
concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2 And I took unto me faithful
witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said
the LORD
to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 4 For before the child
shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus
and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
5 The LORD
spake also unto me again, saying, 6 Forasmuch as this people
refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and
Remaliah's son; 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon
them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of
Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go
over all his banks: 8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall
overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the
stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
In these verses we have a prophecy of the successes of the king of Assyria
against Damascus, Samaria, and Judah, that the two former should be laid waste
by him, and the last greatly frightened. Here we have,
I. Orders given to the prophet to write this prophecy, and publish it to be
seen and read of all men, and to leave it upon record, that when the thing
came to pass they might know that God had sent him; for that was one end of
prophecy, John xiv. 29. He must take a great roll, which would contain
those five chapters fairly written in words at length; and he must write in it
all that he had foretold concerning the king of Assyria's invading the
country; he must write it with a man's pen, in the usual way and style
of writing, so as that it might be legible and intelligible by all. See Hab.
ii. 2, Write the vision, and make it plain. Those that speak and write
of the things of God should avoid obscurity, and study to speak and write so
as to be understood, 1 Cor. xiv. 19. Those that write for men should write
with a man's pen, and not covet the pen or tongue of angels. And forasmuch as
it is usual to put some short, but significant comprehensive title before
books that are published, the prophet is directed to call his book Maher-shalal-hash-baz--Make
speed to the spoil, hasten to the prey, intimating that the Assyrian army
should come upon them with great speed and make great spoil. By this title the
substance and meaning of the book would be enquired after by those that heard
of it, and remembered by those that had read it or heard it read. It is
sometimes a good help to memory to put much matter in few words, which serve
as handles by which we take hold of more.
II. The care of the prophet to get this record well attested (v. 2): I
took unto me faithful witnesses to record; he wrote the prophecy in their
sight and presence, and made them subscribe their names to it, that they might
be ready, if afterwards there should be occasion, to make oath of it, that the
prophet had so long before foretold the descent which the Assyrians made upon
that country. He names his witnesses for the greater certainty, that they
might be appealed to by any. They were two in number (for out of the mouth
of two witnesses shall every word be established); one was Uriah the
priest; he is mentioned in the story of Ahaz, but for none of his good deeds,
for he humoured Ahaz with an idolatrous altar (2 Kings xvi. 10, 11); however,
at this time, no exception lay against him, being a faithful witness. See what
full satisfaction the prophets took care to give to all persons concerned of
the sincerity of their intentions, that we might know with a full assurance
the certainty of the things wherein we have been instructed, and that
we have not followed cunningly-devised fables.
III. The making of the title of his book the name of his child, that it might
be the more taken notice of and the more effectually perpetuated, v. 3.
His wife (because the wife of a prophet) is called the prophetess; she conceived
and bore a son, another son, who must carry a sermon in his name, as the
former had done (ch. vii. 3), but with this difference, that spoke
mercy, Shear-jashub--The remnant shall return; but, that being
slighted, this speaks judgment, Maher-shalal-hash-baz--In making speed to
the spoil he shall hasten, or he has hastened, to the prey. The
prophecy is doubled, even in this one name, for the thing was certain. I
will hasten my word, Jer. i. 12. Every time the child was called by his
name, or any part of it, it would serve as a memorandum of the judgments
approaching. Note, It is good for us often to put ourselves in mind of the
changes and troubles we are liable to in this world, and which perhaps are at
the door. When we look with pleasure on our children it should be with the
allay of this thought, We know not what they are yet reserved for.
IV. The prophecy itself, which explains this mystical name.
1. That Syria and Israel, who were now in confederacy against Judah, should in
a very little time become an easy prey to the king of Assyria and his
victorious army (v. 4): "Before the child, now newly born
and named, shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and My mother"
(which are usually some of the first things that children know and some of the
first words that children speak), that is, "in about a year or two, the
riches of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, those cities that are now so
secure themselves and so formidable to their neighbours, shall be taken
away before the king of Assyria, who shall plunder both city and country,
and send the best effects of both into his own land, to enrich that, and as
trophies of his victory." Note, Those that spoil others must expect to be
themselves spoiled (ch. xxxiii. 1); for the Lord is righteous, and
those that are troublesome shall be troubled.
2. That forasmuch as there were many in Judah that were secretly in the
interests of Syria and Israel, and were disaffected to the house of David, God
would chastise them also by the king of Assyria, who should create a great
deal of vexation to Judah, as was foretold, ch. vii. 17. Observe, (1.)
What was the sin of the discontented party in Judah (v. 6): This
people, whom the prophet here speaks to, refuse the waters of Shiloah
that go softly, despise their own country and the government of it, and
love to run it down, because it does not make so great a figure, and so great
a noise, in the world, as some other kings and kingdoms do. They refuse the
comforts which God's prophets offer them from the word of God, speaking to
them in a still small voice, and make nothing of them; but they rejoice in
Rezin and Remaliah's son, who were the enemies of their country, and were
now actually invading it; they cried them up as brave men, magnified their
policies and strength, applauded their conduct, were well pleased with their
successes, and were hearty well-wishers to their designs, and resolved to
desert and go over to them. Such vipers does many a state foster in its bosom,
that eat its bread, and yet adhere to its enemies, and are ready to quit its
interests if they but seem to totter. (2.) The judgment which God would bring
upon them for this sin. The same king of Assyria that should lay Ephraim and
Syria waste should be a scourge and terror to those of their party in Judah, v.
7, 8. Because they refuse the waters of Shiloah, and will not
accommodate themselves to the government God has set over them, but are uneasy
under it, therefore the Lord brings upon them the waters of the river,
strong and many, the river Euphrates. They slighted the land of Judah,
because it had no river to boast of comparable to that; the river at Jerusalem
was a very inconsiderable one. "Well," says God, "if you be
such admirers of Euphrates, you shall have enough of it; the king of Assyria,
whose country lies upon that river, shall come with his glory, with his great
army, which you cry up as his glory, despising your own king because he cannot
bring such an army as that into the field; God shall bring that army upon
you." If we value men, if we over-value them, for their worldly wealth
and power, it is just with God to make them thereby a scourge to us. It is
used as an argument against magnifying rich men that rich men oppress us,
Jam. ii. 3, 5. Let us be best pleased with the waters of Shiloah, that go
softly, for rapid streams are dangerous. It is threatened that the Assyrian
army should break in upon them like a deluge, or inundation of waters, bearing
down all before it, should come up over all his channels, and overflow all his
banks. It would be to no purpose to oppose or withstand them. Sennacherib and
his army should pass through Judah, and meet with so little resistance that it
should look more like a march through the country than a descent upon it. He
shall reach even to the neck, that is, he shall advance so far as to lay
siege to Jerusalem, the head of the kingdom, and nothing but that shall be
kept out of his hands; for that was the holy city. Note, In the greatest
deluge of trouble God can and will keep the head of his people above water,
and so preserve their comforts and spiritual lives; the waters that come into
their souls may reach to the neck (Ps. lxix. 1), but there shall their proud
waves be stayed. And here is another comfortable intimation that though the
stretching out of the wings of the Assyrian, that bird of prey, though the
right and left wing of his army, should fill the breadth of the land of Judah,
yet still it was Immanuel's land. It is thy land, O Immanuel! It was to
be Christ's land; for there he was to be born, and live, and preach, and work
miracles. He was Zion's King, and therefore had a peculiar interest in and
concern for that land. Note, The lands that Immanuel owns for his, as he does
all those lands that own him, though they may be deluged, shall not be
destroyed; for, when the enemy shall come in like a flood, Immanuel
shall secure his own, and shall lift up a standard against him, ch.
lix. 19.
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Judah's
Encouragement.
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B.
C. 740.
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9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye
shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird
yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be
broken in pieces. 10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to
nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with
us. 11 For the LORD
spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk
in the way of this people, saying, 12 Say ye not, A confederacy,
to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear
ye their fear, nor be afraid. 13 Sanctify the LORD
of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be
your dread. 14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of
stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin
and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among
them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
The prophet here returns to speak of the present distress that Ahaz and his
court and kingdom were in upon account of the threatening confederacy of the
ten tribes and the Syrians against them. And in these verses,
I. He triumphs over the invading enemies, and, in effect, sets them at
defiance, and bids them do their worst (v. 9, 10): "O you
people, you of far countries, give ear to what the prophet says to you in
God's name." 1. "We doubt not but you will now make your utmost
efforts against Judah and Jerusalem. You associate yourselves in a
strict alliance. You gird yourselves, and again you gird yourselves;
you prepare for action; you address yourselves to it with resolution; you gird
on your swords; you gird up your loins. You animate and encourage yourselves
and one another with all the considerations you can think of: you take
counsel together, call councils of war, and all heads are at work about
the proper methods for making yourselves masters of the land of Judah. You
speak the word; you come to resolutions concerning it, and are not always
deliberating; you determine what to do, and are very confident of the success
of it, that the matter will be accomplished with a word's speaking."
Note, It is with a great deal of policy, resolution, and assurance, that the
church's enemies carry on their designs against it; and abundance of pains
they take to roll a stone that will certainly return upon them. 2. "This
is to let you know that all your efforts will be ineffectual. You cannot, you
shall not, gain your point, nor carry the day: You shall be broken in
pieces. Though you associate yourselves, though you gird yourselves,
though you proceed with all the policy and precaution imaginable, yet, I tell
you again and again, all your projects shall be baffled, you shall be
broken in pieces. Nay, not only shall your attempts be ruined, but your
attempts shall be your ruin; you shall be broken by those designs you have
formed against Jerusalem: Your counsels shall come to nought; for there
is no wisdom nor counsel against the Lord. Your resolves will not be put in
execution; they shall not stand. You speak the word, but who is he that
saith, and it cometh to pass, if the Lord commandeth it not? What sets up
itself against God, and his cause and counsel, cannot stand, but must
inevitably fall. For God is with us" (this refers to the name of Immanuel--God
with us); "the Messiah is to be born among us, and a people designed
for such an honour cannot be given up to utter ruin. We have now the special
presence of God with us in his temple, his oracles, his promises, and these
are our defence. God is with us; he is on our side, to take our part and fight
for us; and, if God be for us, who can be against us?" Thus does
the daughter of Zion despise them.
II. He comforts and encourages the people of God with the same comforts and
encouragements which he himself had received. The attempt made upon them was
very formidable; the house of David, the court and royal family, were at their
wits' end (ch. vii. 2), and then no marvel if the people were in a
consternation. Now,
1. The prophet tells us how he was himself taught of God not to give way to
such amazing fears as the people were disturbed with, nor to run into the same
measures with them (v. 11): "The Lord spoke to me with a strong
hand not to walk in the way of this people, not to say as they say nor do
as they do, not to entertain the same frightful apprehensions of things nor to
approve of their projects of making peace upon any terms, or calling in the
help of the Assyrians." God instructed the prophet not to go down the
stream. Note, (1.) There is a proneness in the best of men to be frightened at
threatening clouds, especially when fears are epidemic. We are all too apt to
walk in the way of the people we live among, though it be not a good way. (2.)
Those whom God loves and owns he will instruct and enable to swim against the
stream of common corruptions, particularly of common fears. He will find ways
to teach his own people not to walk in the way of other people, but in a sober
singularity. (3.) Corruption is sometimes so active in the hearts even of good
men that they have need to be taught their duty with a strong hand, and it is
God's prerogative to teach so, for he only can give an understanding and
overpower the contradiction of unbelief and prejudice. He can teach the heart;
and herein none teaches like him. (4.) Those that are to teach others have
need to be themselves well instructed in their duty, and then they teach most
powerfully when they teach experimentally. The word that comes from the heart
is most likely to reach to the heart; and what we are ourselves by the grace
of God instructed in we should, as we are able, teach others also.
2. Now what is it that he says to God's people?
(1.) He cautions them against a sinful fear, v. 12. It seems it was the
way of this people at this time, and fear is catching. He whose heart fails
him makes his brethren's heart to fail, like his heart (Deut. xx. 8);
therefore Say you not, A confederacy, to all those to whom this people
shall say, A confederacy; that is, [1.] "Be not associated with them
in the confederacies they are projecting and forecasting for. Do not join with
those that, for the securing of themselves, are for making a league with the
Assyrians, through unbelief, and distrust of God and their cause. Do not come
into any such confederacy." Note, It concerns us, in time of trouble, to
watch against all such fears as put us upon taking any indirect courses for
our own security. [2.] "Be not afraid of the confederacies they frighten
themselves and one another with. Do not distress yourselves with the
apprehension of a confederacy upon every thing that stirs, nor, when any
little thing is amiss, cry out presently, There is a plot, a plot. When they
talk what dismal news there is, Syria is joined with Ephraim, what will
become of us? must we fight, or must we flee, or must we yield? do not you
fear their fear: Be not afraid of the signs of heaven, as the heathen
are, Jer. x. 2. Be not afraid of evil tidings on earth, but let your hearts be
fixed. Fear not that which they fear, nor be afraid as they are. Be not put
into such a fright as causes trembling and shaking;" so the word
signifies. Note, When the church's enemies have sinful confederacies on foot
the church's friends should watch against the sinful fears of those
confederacies.
(2.) He advises them to a gracious religious fear: But sanctify the Lord of
hosts himself, v. 13. Note, The believing fear of God is a special
preservative against the disquieting fear of man; see 1 Pet. iii. 14, 15,
where this is quoted, and applied to suffering Christians. [1.] We must look
upon God as the Lord of hosts, that has all power in his hand and all
creatures at his beck. [2.] We must sanctify him accordingly, give him the
glory due to that name, and behave towards him as those that believe him to be
a holy God. [3.] We must make him our fear, the object of our fear, and make
him our dread, keep up a reverence of his providence and stand in awe of his
sovereignty, be afraid of his displeasure and silently acquiesce in all his
disposals. Were we but duly affected with the greatness and glory of God, we
should see the pomp of our enemies eclipsed and clouded, and all their power
restrained and under check; see Neh. iv. 14. Those that are afraid of the
reproach of men forget the Lord their Maker, ch. li. 12, 13.
Compare Luke xii. 4, 5.
(3.) He assures them of a holy security and serenity of mind in so doing (v.
14): "He shall be for a sanctuary; make him your fear, and you
shall find him your hope, your help, your defence, and your mighty deliverer.
He will sanctify and preserve you. He will be for a sanctuary," [1.]
"To make you holy. He will be your sanctification;" so some read it.
If we sanctify God by our praises, he will sanctify us by his grace. [2.]
"To make you easy. He will be your sanctuary," to which you may flee
for safety, and where you are privileged form all the arrests of fear; you
shall find an inviolable refuge and security in him, and see yourselves our of
the reach of danger. Those that truly fear God shall not need to fear any
evil.
III. He threatens the ruin of the ungodly and unbelieving, both in Judah and
Israel. They have no part nor lot in the foregoing comforts; that God who will
be a sanctuary to those who trust in him will be a stone of stumbling, and a
rock of offence, to those who leave these waters of Shiloah, and rejoice in
Rezin and Remaliah's son, (v. 6), who make the creature their fear
and their hope, v. 14, 15. The prophet foresees that the greatest part
of both the houses of Israel would not sanctify the Lord of hosts, and
to them he would be for a gin and a snare; he would be a terror to
them, as he would be a support and stay to those that trusted in him. Instead
of profiting by the word of God, they should be offended at it; and the
providences of God, instead of leading them to him, would drive them from him.
What was a savour of life unto life to others would be a savour of death unto
death to them. "So that many among them shall stumble and fall;
they shall fall both into sin and into ruin; they shall fall by the sword,
shall be taken prisoners, and go into captivity." Note, If the things of
God be an offence to us, they will be an undoing to us. Some apply this to the
unbelieving Jews, who rejected Christ, and to whom he became a stone of
stumbling; for the apostle quotes this scripture with application to all those
who persisted in their unbelief of the gospel of Christ (1 Pet. ii. 8); to
them he is a rock of offence, because, being disobedient to the word, they
stumble at it.
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The
Importance of the Scriptures.
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16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my
disciples. 17 And I will wait upon the LORD,
that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD
hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD
of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. 19 And when they shall say
unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that
peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living
to the dead? 20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in
them. 21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and
hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall
fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness,
dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
In these verses we have,
I. The unspeakable privilege which the people of God enjoy in having the
oracles of God consigned over to them, and being entrusted with the sacred
writings. That they may sanctify the Lord of hosts, may make him their fear
and find him their sanctuary, bind up the testimony, v. 16.
Note, It is a great instance of God's care of his church and love to it that
he has lodged in it the invaluable treasure of divine revelation. 1. It is a testimony
and a law; not only this prophecy is so, which must therefore be
preserved safely for the comfort of God's people in the approaching times of
trouble and distress, but the whole word of God is so; God has attested it,
and he has enjoined it. As a testimony it directs our faith; as a law it
directs our practice; and we ought both to subscribe to the truths of it and
to submit to the precepts of it. 2. This testimony and this law are bound up
and sealed, for we are not to add to them nor diminish from them; they are a
letter from God to man, folded up and sealed, a proclamation under the broad
seal. The binding up and sealing of the Old Testament signified that the full
explication of many of the prophecies of it was reserved for the New-Testament
times. Dan. xii. 4, Seal the book till the time of the end; but what
was then bound up and sealed is now open and unsealed, and revealed unto
babes, Matt. xi. 25. Yet with reference to the other world, and the future
state, still the testimony is bound up and sealed, for we know but in part,
and prophesy but in part. 3. They are lodged as a sacred deposit in the hands
of the disciples of the children of the prophets and the covenant, Acts
iii. 25. This is the good thing which is committed to them, and which they are
charged with the custody of, 2 Tim. i. 13, 14. Those that had prophets for
their tutors must still keep close to the written word.
II. The good use which we ought to make of this privilege. This we are taught,
1. By the prophet's own practice and resolutions, v. 17, 18. He
embraced the law ad the testimony, and he had the comfort of them, in the
midst of the many discouragements he met with. Note, Those ministers can best
recommend the word of God to others that have themselves found the
satisfaction of relying upon it. Observe,
(1.) The discouragements which the prophet laboured under. He specifies two:--
[1.] The frowns of God, not so much upon himself, but upon his people, whose
interests lay very near his heart: "He hides his face from the house
of Jacob, and seems at present to neglect them, and lay them under the
tokens of his displeasure." The prophet was himself employed in revealing
God's wrath against them, and yet grieved thus for it, as one that did not
desire the woeful day. If the house of Jacob forsake the God of Jacob, let it
not be thought strange that he hides his face from them. [2.] The contempt and
reproaches of men, not only upon himself, but upon his disciples, among whom
the law and the testimony were sealed: I and the children whom the Lord has
given me are for signs and wonders; we are gazed at as monsters or
outlandish people, pointed at as we go along the streets. Probably the
prophetical names that were given to his children were ridiculed and bantered
by the profane scoffers of the town. I am as a wonder unto many, Ps.
lxxi. 7. God's people are the world's wonder (Zech. iii. 8) for their
singularity, and because they run not with them to the same excess of riot, 1
Pet. iv. 4. The prophet was herein a type of Christ; for this is quoted (Heb.
ii. 13) to prove that believers are Christ's children: Behold, I and the
children whom God has given me. Parents must look upon their children as
God's gifts, his gracious gifts; Jacob did so, Gen. xxxiii. 5. Ministers must
look upon their converts as their children, and be tender of them accordingly
(1 Thess. ii. 7), and as the children whom God has given them; for, whatever
good we are instrumental of to others, it is owing to the grace of God. Christ
looks upon believers as his children, whom the Father gave him (John xvii. 6),
and both he and they are for signs and wonders, spoken against (Luke ii. 34),
every where spoken against, Acts xxviii. 22.
(2.) The encouragement he took in reference to these discouragements. [1.] He
saw the hand of God in all that which was discouraging to him, and kept his
eye upon that. Whatever trouble the house of Jacob is in, it comes from God's
hiding his face; nay, whatever contempt was put upon him or his friends, it is
from the Lord of hosts; he has bidden Shimei curse David, Job xix. 13; xxx.
11. [2.] He saw God dwelling in Mount Zion, manifesting himself to his people,
and ready to hear their prayers and receive their homage. Though, for the
present, he hide his face from the house of Jacob, yet they know where to find
him and recover the sight of him; he dwells in Mount Zion. [3.] He therefore
resolved to wait upon the Lord and to look for him; to attend his motions even
while he hid his face, and to expect with a humble assurance his returns in a
way of mercy. Those that wait upon God by faith and prayer may look for him
with hope and joy. When we have not sensible comforts we must still keep up
our observance of God and obedience to him, and then wait awhile; at
evening time it shall be light.
2. By the counsel and advice which he gives to his disciples, among whom the
law and the testimony were sealed, to whom were committed the lively oracles.
(1.) He supposes they would be tempted, in the day of their distress, to
consult those that had familiar spirits, that dealt with the devil,
asked his advice, and desired to be informed by him concerning things to come,
that they might take their measures accordingly. Thus Saul, when he was in
straits, made his application to the witch of Endor (1 Sam. xxviii. 7, 15),
and Ahaziah to the god of Ekron, 2 Kings i. 2. These conjurors had strange
fantastic gestures and tones: They peeped and muttered; they muffled
their heads, that they could neither see nor be seen plainly, but peeped and
were peeped at. Or both the words here used may refer to their voice and
manner of speaking; they delivered what they had to say with a low, hollow,
broken sound, scarcely articulate, and sometimes in a puling or mournful tone,
like a crane, or a swallow, or a dove, ch. xxxviii. 14. They spoke not
with that boldness and plainness which the prophets of the Lord spoke with,
but as those who desire to amuse people rather than to instruct them; yet
there were those who were so wretchedly sottish as to seek to them and to
court others to do so, even the prophet's hearers, who knew better things,
whom therefore the prophet warns not to say, A confederacy with such.
There were express laws against this wickedness (Lev. xix. 31; xx. 27), and
yet it was found in Israel, is found even in Christian nations; but let all
that have any sense of religion show it, by startling at the thought of it. Get
thee behind me, Satan. Dread the use of spells and charms, and consulting
those that by hidden arts pretend to tell fortunes, cure diseases, or discover
things lost; for this is a heinous crime, and, in effect, denies the God that
is above.
(2.) He furnishes them with an answer to this temptation, puts words into
their mouths. "If any go about thus to ensnare you, give them this reply:
Should not a people seek to their God? What! for the living to the
dead!" [1.] "Tell them it is a principle of religion that a
people ought to seek unto their God; now Jehovah is our God, and therefore to
him we ought to seek, and to consult with him, and not with those that have
familiar spirits. All people will thus walk in the name of their God,
Mic. iv. 5. Those that made the hosts of heaven their gods sought unto
them, Jer. viii. 2. Should not a people under guilt, and in trouble, seek
to their God for pardon and peace? Should not a people in doubt, in want, and
in danger, seek to their God for direction, supply, and protection? Since the
Lord is our God, and we are his people, it is certainly our duty to seek
him." [2.] "Tell them it is an instance of the greatest folly in the
world to seek for living men to dead idols." What can be more absurd than
to seek to lifeless images for life and living comforts, or to expect that our
friends that are dead should do that for us, when we deify them and pray to
them, which our living friends cannot do? The dead know not any thing,
nor is there with them any device or working, Eccl. ix. 5, 10. It is
folly therefore for the living to make their court to them, with any
expectation of relief from them. Necromancers consulted the dead, as the witch
of Endor, and so proclaimed their own folly. We must live by the living, and
not by the dead. What life or light can we look for from those that have no
light or life themselves?
(3.) He directs them to consult the oracles of God. If the prophets that were
among them did not speak directly to every case, yet they had the written
word, and to that they must have recourse. Note, Those will never be drawn to
consult wizards that know how to make a good use of their Bibles. Would we
know how we may seek to our God, and come to the knowledge of his mind? To
the law and to the testimony. There you will see what is good, and what
the Lord requires of you. Make God's statutes your counsellors, and you will
be counselled aright. Observe, [1.] What use we must make of the law and the
testimony: we must speak according to that word, that is, we must make
this our standard, conform to it, take advice from it, make our appeals to it,
and in every thing be overruled and determined by it, consent to those
wholesome healing words (1 Tim. vi. 3), and speak of the things of God in the
words which the Holy Ghost teaches. It is not enough to say nothing against
it, but we must speak according to it. [2.] Why we must make this use of the
law and the testimony: because we shall be convicted of the greatest folly
imaginable if we do not. Those that concur not with the word of God do thereby
evince that there is no light, no morning light (so the word is) in
them; they have no right sense of things; they do not understand
themselves, nor the difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood.
Note, Those that reject divine revelation have not so much as human
understanding; nor do those rightly admit the oracles of reason who will not
admit the oracles of God. Some read it as a threatening: "If they speak
not according to this word, there shall be no light to them, no good, no
comfort or relief; but they shall be driven to darkness and despair;" as
it follows here, v. 21, 22. What light had Saul when he consulted the
witch? 1 Sam. xxviii. 18, 20. Or what light can those expect that turn away
from the Father of lights?
(4.) He reads the doom of those that seek to familiar spirits and regard not
God's law and testimony; there shall not only be no light to them, no comfort
or prosperity, but they may expect all horror and misery, v. 21, 22.
[1.] The trouble they feared shall come upon them: They shall pass through
the land, or pass to and fro in the land, unfixed, unsettled, and driven from
place to place by the threatening power of an invading enemy; they shall be hardly
bestead whither to go for the necessary supports of life, either because
the country would be so impoverished that there would be nothing to be had, or
at least themselves and their friends so impoverished that there would be
nothing to be had for them; so that those who used to be fed to the full shall
be hungry. Note, Those that go away from God go out of the way of all good.
[2.] They shall be very uneasy to themselves, by their discontent and
impatience under their trouble. A good man may be in want, but then he quiets
himself, and strives to make himself easy; but these people when they shall
be hungry shall fret themselves, and when they have nothing to feed on
their vexation shall prey upon their own spirits; for fretfulness is a sin
that is its own punishment. [3.] They shall be very provoking to all about
them, nay, to all above them; when they find all their measures broken, and
themselves at their wits' end, they will forget all the rules of duty and
decency, and will treasonably curse their king and blasphemously curse their
God, and this more than in their thought and in their bedchamber,
Eccl. x. 20. They begin with cursing their king for managing the public
affairs no better, as if the fault were his, when the best and wisest kings
cannot secure success; but, when they have broken the bonds of their
allegiance, no marvel if those of their religion do not hold them long: they
next curse their God, curse him, and die; they quarrel with his providence,
and reproach that, as if he had done them wrong. The foolishness of man
perverts his way, and then his heart frets against the Lord, Prov.
xix. 3. See what need we have to keep our mouth as with a bridle when
our heart is hot within us; for the language of fretfulness is commonly
very offensive. [4.] They shall abandon themselves to despair, and, which way
soever they look, shall see no probability of relief. They shall look upward,
but heaven shall frown upon them and look gloomy; and how can it be otherwise
when they curse their God? They shall look to the earth, but what comfort can
that yield to those with whom God is at war? There is nothing there but
trouble, and darkness, and dimness of anguish, every thing threatening, and
not one pleasant gleam, not one hopeful prospect; but they shall be driven to
darkness by the violence of their own fears, which represent every thing about
them black and frightful. This explains what he had said v. 20, that
there shall be no light to them. Those that shut their eyes against the light
of God's word will justly be abandoned to darkness, and left to wander
endlessly, and the sparks of their own kindling will do them no kindness.
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