Isaiah 1

THE Vision Or, The Visions; the word being here collectively used, as it is ch. 22. 1. 1 Sam. 3. 1. The sense is, This is the Book of the Visions or Prophecies. As Prophets were called Seers, 1 Sam. 9. 9. so Prophecies are called Visions, because they were as clearly and certainly represented to the Prophets minds, as bodily Objects are to mens eyes. of Isaiah the Son of Amoz Either the Brother of Amaziah King of Iudah, as the Hebrew Writers fancy: Or, rather some other person then well known., which he saw i. e. Foresaw and foretold. But he speaks, after the manner of the Prophets, of things to come, as if they were either past or present. concerning Judah and Jerusalem Principally, but not exclusively. For he prophecieth also concerning Egypt and Babylon, and divers other Countries; which yet he does with respect to Iudah., in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah In the time of their Reign. Whence it may be gathered, that Isaiah exercised his Prophetical Office above fifty years together, See 2 Kings 15 and 16., Kings of Judah.

Hear, O Heavens, and give ear O Earth He directeth his speech to these senseless Creatures, that thereby he might more awaken and affect the Israelites, whom he hereby proclaimeth to be so dull and stupid that they were past hearing, and therefore he gives them over as desperate, and calleth in the whole Creation of God to bear witness against them.; for the Lord has spoken This is his Plea against them, of the equity whereof he is willing that all the Creatures should be Judges., I have nourished and brought up Children I first made them a People, and until this time I have sustained and blessed them, above all other Nations., and they have rebelled against me.

The Ox knoweth his Owner, and the Ass his Masters Crib The most stupid bruit beasts acknowledge and obey their Lord and Benefactor, as experience shows.: but Israel does not know To wit, me their Owner and Master, which is easily and necessarily understood out of the former Clause. Knowing is here taken practically, as it is usually in Scripture, and includes reverence and obedience., my People does not consider.

Ah This Particle implies both his wonder, and anger, and grief, and shame that they were such. sinful Nation, a People laden with iniquity Heb. Of heaviness of iniquity, i. e. of heavy or great sins, for heavy is commonly put for great or grievous, as Isa. 21. 15. and 30. 27. Laden not with the sense of sin, as Mat. 11. 28. but with the guilt and bondage of sin., a seed of evil-doers The Children of wicked Parents, whose guilt they inherit, and whose evil Example they follow., children that are corrupters Heb. that corrupt, to wit, themselves or their ways, or others by their counsel and example. Or, that destroy themselves and their land by their wickedness., they have forsaken the LORD Not in profession, but in practice and reality, neglecting or corrupting his Worship, refusing his yoke and conduct., they have provoked the holy One of Israel unto anger They have lived as if it were their great design and business to provoke him., they are gone away backward Instead of proceeding forward and growing in grace, which was their duty, they are all faln from their former professions, and grown worse and worse, and have impudently turned their backs upon me..

Why should ye be stricken any more It is to no purpose to seek to reclaim you by one Chastisement after another: and therefore I will utterly forsake and destroy you at once., ye will revolt more and more I see you are incorrigible, and turn even your afflictions into sin.: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint Your disease is mortal, as being in the most noble and vital parts, the very head and heart of the body politick, from whence the plague is derived to all the other Members, as it follows. And this is to be understood either, 1. Of their sins; or rather, 2. Of their miseries. Which best suits, 1. with the foregoing words, this being added as a reason why it was in vain to strike them any more, or to expect any amendment that way, because he had stricken them already, and that very terribly, even in their head and heart, whose wounds are most dangerous, and yet they were not at all better for it. 2. With vers. 7, 8. where this Metaphor is so explained..

From the sole of the foot even unto the head, there is no soundness in it You have been all of you punished, from the highest to the lowest, from the worst to the best.; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment I have suffered you to lie under your maladies for a time, without applying any remedies, to try whether the length and continuance of your affliction might not work that cure which the strength of it could not do, but all in vain..

Your countrey is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire: your land, strangers devour it All this and what follows was verified in the days of King Ahaz, 2 Chron. 28. in whose time, and upon which occasion, this Prophesie seems to have been delivered, as more exactly agreeing with that time than with any other. If any object, That this being the first of his Prophecies, must rather belong to the days of Uzziah, they must take notice, and it is agreed by Interpreters; and is undeniably true, that the Prophecies of Isaiah, as also of the other Prophets, are not set down in the same order in which they were delivered, but oftentimes the latter are put before the former. in your presence Which your eyes shall see to torment you, when there is no power in your hands to deliver you., and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers Heb. As the overthrow of strangers, i. e. which strangers bring upon a land which is not theirs, nor likely to continue in their hands, and therefore they spare no persons that come in their way, and they spoil and destroy all things, which is not usually done in wars between persons of the same, or of a neighbour nation..

And the daughter of Zion i. e. Zion, or Ierusalem; for these two names are promiscuously used of the same place. The name of daughter being frequently given to cities or countries. Thus the daughter of Babylon is put for Babylon it self, Psal. 137. 8. Isa. 47. 1. In the same sense we read of the daughter of Tyre, Psal. 45. 12. and of Zidon, Isa. 23. 12. and of Egypt, Ier. 46. 11, 24. and of Edom, Lam. 4. 21. is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodg in a garden of cucumbers Is left solitary, all the neighbouring villages and country round about it being laid waste., as a besieged city.

Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant If God, by his Infinite Power and Goodness, had not restrained our enemies, and reserved some of us., we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah The whole nation and race of us had been utterly cut off, as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were. So great was the rage and power of our enemies, and so utterly unable we were to deliver our selves..

Hear the word of the LORD I speak not my own fancies or passions, but the message of your Lord and governour, to whom you owe all reverence and obedience., ye rulers of Sodom So called for their resemblance of them in wickedness, Comp. Deut. 32. 32. Ezek 16. 46, 48.; give ear unto the law Or, Doctrine, as this word is commonly used: the message which I am now to deliver to you from God, your great Lawgiver, which ought to have the force of a Law with you. of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

To what purpose They are vain and useless, being neither accepted by me, nor beneficial to you. is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me Who am a Spirit, and therefore cannot be satisfied with such carnal Oblations, but expect to be worshipped in spirit and truth, and to have your Hearts and Lives, as well as your Bodies and Sacrifices, presented unto me.? says the LORD: I am full of the burnt-offerings I am glutted with them, and therefore loath them. of rams, and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood He mentions the fat and blood, because these were in a peculiar manner reserved for God, Levit. 3. 15, 16 & 17. 11. to intimate, that even the best of their Sacrifices were rejected by him. of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.

When ye come to appear before me Upon the three Solemn Feasts, Exod. 23. 17. & 34. 23. or upon other occasio..., who has required this at your hands To wit, in this manner, and upon these terms. The thing that I commanded, was not only, nor chiefly, that you should offer external Sacrifices to me, but that you should do it with true repentance for all your sins, with Faith in my Promises, with hearty Love to me, and sincere Resolutious of devoting your selves to my Service, without which you offer me a dead Carcass in stead of a living Sacrifice., to tread my courts The Courts of my Temple, which were two, that of the Priests, and that where the People assembled, 2 Chron. 4. 9. So this Reproof seems to be directed against both Priests and People, as unworthy to enjoy this Privilege.?

Bring no more I neither desire nor will accept of any upon these terms. vain oblations Heb. Meat-offerings; of which see Levit. 2. 1. Numb. 15. 4., incense is an abomination unto me So far is it from being a sweet... avour to me, as you foolishly imagine., the new-moons Which were holy to God, and observed with great solemnity. See Numb 28. 11, 14. Psal. 81. 3. and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies All other Solemn times wherein the People were obliged to meet together, as the three great yearly Feasts, and other extraordinary Seasons., I cannot away with Heb. I cannot bear: It is burdensom and grievous to me., it is iniquity So far is it from pleasing me, that it is an offence to me, and in stead of reconciling me to you, which is your design, it provoketh me more against you., even the solemn meeting The most Sol... mn Day of each of the three Feasts, which was the last day, which is called by this very name, Levit. 23. 36. Numb. 29. 35. and elsewhere; although the word be sometimes more generally used of any other Solemn Festival-day..

Your new-moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me, I am weary to bear them.

And when ye spread forth your hands When you pray with hands spread abroad, as the manner was; of which see Exod. 9. 29. 33. Iob 11. 13. &c., I will hide mine eyes from you Which is a gesture of contempt and loathing. I will take no notice of your Persons or Requests.: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood You are guilty of Murder, and Oppression, and other crying Sins, which I abhor, and have forbidden, under pain of mine highest displeasure..

Wash ye, make you clean Cleanse your Hearts and Hands from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit, and do not content your selves with your Ceremonial Washings., put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes Reform your selves so throughly, that you may not only approve your selves to Men, but to me, who search your Hearts, and try all your Actions.; cease to do evil,

Learn to do well Begin and inure your selves to live soberly, righteously, and godlily., seek judgment Show your Religion to God, by studying and practising Justice to Men, and neither give nor procure any unrighteous Judgment., relieve the oppressed Be not only just, but merciful., judge Defend and deliver them, as this Word is used Psal. 7. 8, 11. & 9. 4. and oft elsewhere. the fatherless, plead for the widow Maintain the righteous Cause of poor and helpless Persons, against their unjust and potent Adversaries; whereby you will show your love to Justice and Mercy, and that you fear God more than Men..

Come now and let us reason together I am willing to lay aside my Prerogative, and to submit the Matter to a fair and equal Trial, whether I do not deal justly in rejecting all your Services, which are accompanied with such gross Hypocrisie and Wickedness, and whether I do not deal very graciously, in offering Mercy and Pardon to you upon these Conditions., says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet Red and bloody, as theirs were, v. 15. great and hainous., they shall be as white as snow They shall be washed and purged by the Blood of the Messias, whereby you shall be made white and pure in Gods sight. It is a Me... onymical Expression, as sins are said to be purged, Heb. 1. 3. when Men are purged from their sins, Heb. 9. 14.; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wooll Which for the most part is white, and is compared to Snow for whiteness, Revel. 1. 14..

If ye be willing and obedient If you are heartily willing and fully resolved to obey all my Commands., ye shall eat the good of the land Together with the Pardon of your Sins, you shall receive many Temporal and Worldly Blessings..

But if ye refuse and rebell If you obstinately persist in your disobedience to me, as hitherto you have done., ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it He has said it, who can as easily do it as speak the Words, and who cannot lie, and therefore will do it..

How A Note of Admiration at so strange, and sad, and sudden a Change. is the faithful City Ierusalem, which in the Reign of former Kings was faithful to God. become an harlot Is filled with Idolatry, which is commonly called Whoredom.! it was full of judgment Judgment was duly and truly executed in all its Courts., righteousness lodged in it It was famous for being the Seat of Justice, which did not only pass through it, like a wayfaring Man, but had its setled abode in it.; but now murderers Under that one gross kind he comprehends all sorts of unrighteous Men and Practices, as may be gathered by the opposition. Only their Connivance at that horrid Crime of Murther is noted, to assure us, that other Crimes of a lower nature were not only unpunished, but even encouraged..

Thy silver is become dross Thou art wofully degenerated from thy former purity., thy wine mixt with water If there be any remainders of Religion and Justice in thee, they are mixed with many and great Corruptions..

Thy princes are rebellious Against me their Sovereign Lord, they cast off my yoke, and make their own Wills and Lusts the Rule of their Life and Government., and companions of thieves Partly by giving them connivence and countenance, and receiving a Recompence from them for it; and partly by practising the same Violence, and Cruelty, and Injustice that Thieves use.: every one loveth gifts i. e. Bribes given to pervert Justice, which are severely forbidden, Deut. 10. 17. & 27. 25., and followeth after rewards Pursuing them with all eagerness, and by all means possible.: they judge not the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come unto them They are so far from doing them Justice, that they will not so much as give them a fair Hearing of their Cause, because they cannot make their way to them by Gifts..

Therefore says the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me Heb. I will comfort my self, ease my Mind, and satisfie my Justice, by taking vengeance, as the next Clause explains this. The same Expression is used in the same sense, Ezek. 5. 13. of mine adversaries Of the Israelites, who, though they have called themselves my Children and Friends, yet by their Temper and Carriage towards me have showed themselves to be mine Enemies., and avenge me of mine enemies.

And I will turn my hand upon thee To chastise thee again, which God threatned that he would not do, v. 5. but now promiseth that he will do it, not in fury, or so as utterly to destroy them, but in mercy, and with moderation, so as to purge them, as it here follows., and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin I will purge out of thee and destroy those wicked Men that are incorrigible, and infectious to others; and for those of you that are curable, I will by my Word, and by the Furnace of Affliction, purge out all that Hypocrisie and Corruption that yet remains in you, and requires so sharp a Cure..

And I will restore thy judges I will give thee such Princes and Magistrates. as at the first Heb. As thou hadst in the beginning, either, 1. of thy Commonwealth; such as Moses, and Ioshua: or, 2. of thy Kingdom, such as David., and thy counsellers Thy Princes shall have and hearken to wise and faithful Counsellors, which is a singular Blessing to a Prince and People. as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called To wit, justly and truly; thou shalt be such: for, to be called is oft put for to be, as Isa. 4. 3. & 61. 6. Mat. 5. 9., The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

Zion The Iews that live in or near Zion, and worship God in Zion. shall be redeemed Shall be delivered from all their Enemies and Calamities. with judgment Or, by judgment, i. by Gods righteous Judgment, purging out those wicked and incorrigible Iews, who by their Sins hindred the Deliverance of the People, and punishing and destroying their unmerciful Enemies, who kept them in cruel Bondage, as he did to the Babylonians, whereby he made the way open for their deliverance., and her converts Heb. her returners, those of them who shall come out of Captivity into their own Land. with righteousness Or, by righteousness, i. e. either by my Faithfulness, in keeping my Promise of delivering them after seventy years; or by my Goodness; for both these come under the name of righteousness in Scriptureuse..

And Or rather, But, as that Particle is oft used; for here is a manifest opposition. the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together Though I will deliver my People from the Babylonish Captivity, yet those of them who shall still go on in their wickedness, shall not have the benefit of that Mercy, but are reserved for a more dreadful and total destruction., and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

For they shall be ashamed Not with an ingenuous and penitential shame for the Sin, but with an involuntary and penal shame for the disappointment of their hopes which they had in their Idols. of the oaks which ye have desired Which, after the manner of the Heathen, you have consecrated to Idolatrous Uses, that under them you might worship your Idols, as they did Ezek. 6. 13. Hos. 4. 13. See also Isa. 57. 5. Ier. 2. 20. & 3. 6., and ye shall be confounded for the gardens In which, as well as in the Groves, they committed Idolatry; of which we read Isa. 65. 3. & 66. 17. that ye have chosen To wit, for the Place of your Worship, which is opposed to the Place which God had chosen and appointed for his Worship..

For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that has no water As you have sinned under the Oaks and in Gardens, so you shall be made like unto Oaks and Gardens, not when they are green and flourishing, but when they wither and decay..

And the strong Either 1. your Idols, which you think to be strong, and able to defend you, as appears by your Confidence in them; or 2. the strongest Persons among you, who think to secure themselves against the threatned danger by their Wealth, or Power, or Wisdom; and much more they that are weak and helpless. shall be as tow Shall be as suddenly and easily consumed by my Judgments, as Tow is by Fire., and the maker of it The Maker of the Idol, who can neither save himself nor his Workmanship. Or, his work; either all that he does or can do, or that which he has done, his wicked course of Life, shall bring him to ruine. as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.