PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 2
George Rawlinson [1812-1902] · 439,033 words · 488 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 2 — Section 181
2. The discovery of hidden treasure (ver. 3), fulfilled in the taking and sacking of two of the wealthiest cities of antiquity, besides other great acquisitions. 3. The strength- ening of Cyrus fur the sake of Israel (vers. 1-4), fulfilled in the brilliant successes or the great Persian conqueror, followed by the li…
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Vers. 9-12.-77ie argument/or acquiescence. No doubt there are circumstances in which men fin(l- I. A TEMPTATION To REBEL. 1. Men are bitterly disappointed, or they are greatly distressed; their high hopes are dashed to the ground, or their chief treasures are taken from their grasp. 2. Then they think tht:mselves a…
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and David and Solomon, to nil his holy prophets. We also know God as the Being who has revealed himseH in nature, in the human reason and conscience, in providence, nnd more especially in Jesus Christ. We worship him as the God who" hath showed us light," who has made clear to us his nature, his character, his disposit…
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Vers. 21-25.-Our great hope: a missionary sermon. The view of the prophet is "exceeding broad." He sees that which is "afar off." He looks a.cross the countries and across the centuries, anrl he has a mor~ glorious vision than statesman ever pictured, than poet ernr dreamed. We look at th!S- 1. OUR SUPREME HOPE FOR…
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"Righteousness." (3) Spiritual power to resist temptation. "Strength." (4) Joy ,,f heart, showing itself in praise. "Shall glory." IV. OUR PRIVILEaE AND DU'l'Y IN RELATION TO IT. Since there is, indeed, such a hope for mankind, since that is to be the final issue of all strife and suffering and toil, let each nation, …
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to their own land because, like them, he believed in but one supreme god-tho Ormazd, or good spirit, of the Zoroastrian creed-must be abandoned. God consecrated Cyrus to be his instrument in r~storing his chosen people to their land, not because the King of Elam was a monotheist, but because the period of Jewish tri…
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Ver. 7.-0ne source of evi1 and good. "I make peace, and create evil." It is an unworthy forcing of Scripture to set this passage in relation to the insolnble difficulty of the origin or moral evil. Two things are often sadly confounded-evil as an unpleasant state of our circumstances; and evil as a wrong condition of o…
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Ver. 15.-'l'M;'oy of mystery in God. "Surely thou art a God that hideth himself, 0 God of Israel, Saviour!" (Cheyne's translation). This represents the average feel- ing of the captives. God's ways, though excellent, are not as man's ways; they are often hidden from men. They are mysterious ways; but faith rises abov…
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our seeing, there is much cloud and mystery about God's providential dealings with us; but our souls know that be makes "all things work together for good." 3. 'l'o our seeing, the redemption of the human race from sin is a profound and awful mystery; but our souls know that Christ" shall see of the travail of his soul…
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are often thought to be incompatible. The just man is thought of as likely to punish. The just God is sure to save. I. M~~•s rnEA_ 1s-Ju_sT AND PUNT~HI:'G. O_ur minds are mostly occupied with the work ot .1ust1ce m findmg and pumshmg evil-doers. Consequently, a very limited forensic idea of justice has come to poss…
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EXPOSITION. primary reference to the overthrow of their OHAPTER XLVI. images by the conqueror, but includes e.ls0 Vere. 1, 2.-THE FALL OIi' THIii Gons OJI' the idea. of the fall of the gods themselves BAnYL0N. Among the direct consequences in th~ c,pinions of men. Their idols were of the victories of Cyrus will be t…
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Delitzech supposes), but to the oapti ves of idolatry. Israel hu been already "oalled Babylon, designated in these later chapters a ~nsgreeeor from the beginning" (oh. indifferently 88 "JMob" or "Israel" (eh. xlvm. 8). xl. 27; :xli. 8, 14; :xiii. 24; xliii. l, 28; xliv. Vera. 9-11.-A FURTHER ADMONITION 1, 21, 23; x…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-11.-The effect of God's temporal jurlgments upon naticns on the religio'Js history of the world. In the ancient world, where religions had no revealed or historic basis, but had been evolved by degrees from the thought or imagination of each people, the fate of a religion depended greatly upon the …
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-13.-71,e reUgion of Jehovah contr~ted with idolatry. I. THE HUMILIA• TION OF BEL AND NEBO. 'l'hese were the tutelar gods of Babylon and its suburb, Borsippa. Merodach, or Marduk (Jer. l. 2), is another name of a being closely related to or identical with Bel. The idols of the Ch…
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God. It is in the heart that men are near or far. The power of imagination must not be forgotten. In one sense God is no more near or distant at one time than another, nor to one person than another; that our reason assures us. Yet the evidence of feeling an1l of imagination is otherwise. They tell us that be may be" n…
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Ver. 8.-Manlincss in relatwn to religion. "Remember tbis, and show yourselves men." The prophet calls on the people of God to show themselves to be men, either by exercising their powers of recollection and reason in remembering the facts and arguments he has adduced, or by taking appropriate, manly action in the re…
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fore ; which love was deeper than hers, and more protracted. Long years ago she vanished, but God stays by me still, embracing me in my grey hairs, as tenderly and carefully as she did in my infancy, and giving to me as my joy and the principal glory of my life that he lets me know him, and helps me, with real confiden…
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Ver. 10.-The goodness of God's "pkasure.." "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pl88:-'lure." An an~hropopathic expression. Care is necessary in transferring huma.n sentiments and feclmgs to God. Words may come to be applied in such a way to men that they cannot be wisely used for God. A man's " pleasure" h…
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EXPOSITION. OHAPTER XL VII. xxiii. I 2). "Virgin" does not menn "un- conquered;" for Dabylon hnd been tnken Vere. 1-15.-A SoNo OF T111u11Pn OVER by the Assyrinns some half-dozen time~ Till!! FALL OF BABYLON. The song clivi<lcs (' Ancient lllonnrchies,' vol. ii. pp. 58, 130, itsolf into four strophes, or sto.nzo.s-th…
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xi. 1-9). Though not unconquered (see Xerxes (Ctes., 'Exe. Pera,'§ 22). Alexander the comment on ver. 1), she ho.d yet for the Great found her walls and her great two millennia. or more mo.into.ined o. promi- buildings in ruins, bnt still she we.s a con- nent position among the chief peoples of siderable place. Cyrus, …
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It Aleo puffed them up, and made them prognosticators,'' or almanack-makers. The regard themselves 1LS altogether superior astronomy of the Babylonians consisted to other nations (see the comment on ver. primarily in "dividing the heavens" into 8, rnlifin.). "houses,'' or oonstellations, and thus Yer. 11.-Therefore…
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HOMILETICS. Vera. 1-15.-Thefall of ancient states a warning to modern ones. History has been defined as "philosophy teaching by examples." It is only on the supposition that there a.re lessons to be learnt from them that historical inquiries or historical records can be regarded as of any value or importance. In a cer…
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III. .A.GA.INST PRIDE. Babylon thought that she was "a lady for ever" (ver. 7). She "said in her heart, I am, and none else beside me" (vers. 8, 10). She had such an overweening opinion of herself that she "dwelt carelessly" (ver. 8), despised her enemies, made slight preparation against them. Her pride, therefore, …
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Ver. 13.-Many counsellors. '' Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels." The mind of man will seek counsel. For men everywhere, in the old Athenian groves and gardens, and in the fellowship of modern clubs and associations, will seek for "opinion" to guide and help them. They are so slow to trust alone to cons…
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which they are Ire.veiling. They know that death is in front of them, that judgment awaits them; but they do not" lay it ro heart n-they rem em her not" the latter end of it." 3. An overweening e.,timate of their own power. "I shall be a lady fur ever. . . . I she.ll not sit as e. widow." Men "say in their heart,''" Ot…
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Ver. 6.-Doing Gocl's 1oork unworthily. ''Thou didst not show them compassion." God had entrusted Babylon with the work of executing his Divine judgments on hie people. The work was done, but God could not approve of the way in which it was done. Compare, for illustrative purposes, the cases of Kino- Saul and of Jehu…
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Ver. 13.-7Vie weariness of self-service. "Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels." Babylon was trusting self, trying to find its own way out of calamities; and it was proving what weary, hopeless work that always is. .Astrology was the final resource of the despairing Babylonians. I. THE WEAHINESB OF VARIET…
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the false gods. As it wu, this was barely actual accomplishment. The mystery of possible. Mine idol , , , my molten image. "the Servant of the Lord," and of atone- It ho.a been already observed (see the com- ment and salvation through him, ha<l hither- ment on oh. :d. 18) that there wa.s o. strong to been hiJ away-" hi…
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or, but ,wt in the manner of silver (Delitzsch); Ver. 14.-All ye, assemble yourselves. i.e. not with thEI severity with which ·silver " Once more tho nations are ohallenged to is refined (see Ps. xii. 6). I have chosen say which of their deities has foretold the thee ; rather, I ha~ tnted thee. The work that the Lor…
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aent me. Dr. Ke.y supposes the.t "one remnant" (eh, i. 9); the ten tribes were Divine Personage is here sent by another" for tbe most part absorbed into the heathen -the Beoond Person of the Holy Trinity by among whom they had been scattered; the First and by the 'l'hird ; but it is against the two tribes had dwindled …
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HOMILETICS. Ver. !.-Swearing by the Name of God. Our Lord's injunction to his disciples is "Swear not at all; 11 and in a community where all were true Christians, swearina- would be superfluous, and the injunction might be carried out to the letter. But i~ imperfect conditions of society, such as the old covenant …
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-11.-Lessoos from tlie past to the future. Those addressed are the people 11 named from Israel and sprun~ from Juda.h's spring;" who swear by Jehovab's Name and render homage to Israel's God-not, alas ! so sincerely as they should. Still, they have learned to find their true relian…
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waters. Ite name would have heen imperishable. It ie, then, the "hearing ear" and the" perceiving heart" which above all are needed as conditions of true temporal and epirituel well-being. To hear so as to be pricked in heart; to hear so as to follow and prosecute the things we hear ;-this alone is to hear in the Scrip…
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Holy Ghost can call forth, whereby we walk in a new world of wonder and hope and joy in God. \Ve have latent faculties of energy in us which, once awakened, will make us emulate t-be earnest of every age; and wbeu religion sets a man to work he finds that there is a joy in service which he was unconscious of before;…
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hidden glory bebincl the veil of the meanest life. " For I have shown thee bidden things" may therefore suggest to us the reverence which we ougbt to entertain for the soul. Siu is not a subject for mere scorn; it is a subject for deepest sorrow. "When Jesus came near the city, be beheld it, and wept over it." Somethin…
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Vers. 17-19.-Human freedom and Divine regret. In these fervent and eloquent words of the prophet we learn- L THAT GoD DESIGNS GOOD AND EVEN GREAT THINGS FOB THE OBEDIENT. If Israel had only been obedient to the Diviue commandment, it wou!-d have rejoiced in : 1. .Abo1,nding prosperity. Its peace (prosperity) would …
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of his beloved child is likely to he.ve the truest insight into the grief of God when he witnesses our rejection of his truth and grace. But as "God only knows the love of God," so he only knows the depth and fulness of his grief. IV. 'l'HAT WE MAY BECOVER ALL II!' WE LISTEN WHEN Goo SPEAKS AGADI'. The Holy One is our…
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t,han this tendency to nourish th~ insincere in the expressions of religious life. God's reproaches fall on many who thmk themselves very holy, but whose professions are not really matched by heart and life. II. INSINCERITY IS SOMETIMES A SCHEME. Then it is a shame and disgrace and brings us under the overwhelming ju…
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(For God's Name,eeeExod. xxxiv. 6, 7.) For II New Testament plra, drawn from the jealousy for the honour of the Divine Name, recall the sentence, "Though we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself." It may be shown that- I. GoD IS SEVERE, Fon THE BAKE OF HIS HONOUR. That he may not be blasphemed, …
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evils, snd established in goodness. That supreme purpose gives point snd tone to all her dealings with him, and relstions to him. .As high BS God is above the best of m?thers, so much higher is. God's purpose co1;1cerning us thsn hers concerning her cl11ld. He would hsve us whiter than snow, whitened so as no earth-…
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ages ago just as it flows now; it will flow still, when we have "had our little day and cease to be." Bo nothing can occur to stop the current of true prosperity in the obedient. "Patient continue.nee in well-doing" involves continued conditions of well- being. "He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." II. POW…
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EXPOSITION. ye peopke, or ye nations. The Lord hath CHAPTER XLIX. oalled me from the womb. Isaiah could not have said this of himself, for his "call" The connection of the present section is took place when be was of mature age. But especially with eh. xlii. 1-7, where the Christ was designated for his office from …
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Ver. 4.-Then I Hid, I have laboured in his recompense (Ezek. xxix. 20). It would vain; rather, and I, f<n' my part, had said. have b,c;:i "e. light thing"-"too light a 'l'he Servant bud momentarily desponclcd, thing" (Kay, Cheyne)-to he.ve rewarded seeing the small results of e.ll hie efforts to the le.hours of Jesus w…
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'\\'ere "kin~" The prophecy is, however, is sufficient for his faithful onos. They to be regarded 88 having its main fulfilment are content with tl.le sustenance whioh he in the ooming to Christ of BO many kings awards them, and neither "hunger" nor and princes, einoe his RScension into heaven " thirst." Neither sha…
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and "afflioted" lernel is "comforted" e.nd metaphor which ho uses is no do1;1bt ~wn consoled through tho reme.inder of the from the practice, common both 1n nne1ent ohapter (vers. 15-26). e.nd in modem days, of burning or punctur- ing figures e.nd other mementos upon the Ver. 13.-Sing, 0 hee.vens (comp. eh. xliv. han…
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have, after thou hast lost the other; lit.erally, children as me.y be entrusted to their onre. the children of thy bere,avement; i.e. the They shall bow down. They shnll not seek Gentiles who shall replace those me.ny to lord it over the Church, but slmll aclrnow- fe.ithlces lsre.elites who refused to return ledge i…
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I. CHRIBT'e EXTREME HUMILIATION. Christ "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. ii. 7, 8). Note the chief points of the humil…
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knowing what it would be, he loved it by anticipation, recognizing in it the beet, and so the dearest to him, of all his works. Such was his love for his Church in its origin. w·e have now to consider it- II. JN ITS ACTION. As a means of obtaining that Church triumphant in heaven which he desired, God saw good to c…
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speak to " gain time," but to gain hearts. In some respects we may be compared to marksmen, In Gentile poets the like :figures occur of the sw(Yl',;i or the O/l'T011J, " His powerful speech Piercecl the hearer's soul, anti left behind, Deop in his boeom, its keen point infixt. Bay through what paths of liquid air …
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Vel'II. 14-26.-.Despondency ccmforted. I. THE TEMPTATION. "Jehovah hath for- saken me, and the Lord bath forgotten me." 'l'he temptation is to ascribe the cause of freling in our own mind to a Being outside us ; forc,ettin" that "'tis in ourselveH that 1m are thus or thus." It does not follow, becau~e ou;' hearts ar…
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surveying the fields, says," No harvests; or et best no harvests accordant with the toil and tears of the sowing." What folly I .As if we could see beneath the soil, the slumbering seed waiting to spring forth; or the seeds that have been carried as by the birds of the heavens to rar-away acres. I. THE BORROWFCT. WORK…
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Spirit; thst God will grant increase to our toil in the distant if not in the near future• tul\t he will bestow on us B full reward when the hour of blessed recompense arrives.-0'. _Vere. 5-7.-The !!'"eater mission.. The main point of this passage is that far greater tnumphs should await the Redeemer of Israel than …
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gospel to the world, there were ready three things that were wanted to carry it over the world, 1. A missionary people-supplied by the Jewish nation, in whom were all the elements of moral worth and religious enthusiasm. 2. A suitable language-supplied by the Greeks. 8. A highway to distant lands-supplied by Roman road…
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Ver. 2.-Fitness jO'I' GoiJ:s servi~. The general idea of this section of Iso.in.h's propbeci~s !1eeds to be home in mind. In it "Israel himself, in all bis contradictory charactenst1cs, becomes the engrossing subject of the prophet's rneditn.tions. His r?gt?ration, still future, but indubitabJ.,, is celebmted in eh.…
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exactly what I desire to do," can we be regarded as servants indeed. This does not say that our good will towards what is God's will for us involves no effort, no conflict with self. 'l'he way of earthly prosperity may be the way of our own will; and the way of lifelong disability may be the way of doing God's will and…
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man can have exclusive privileges; everything he has belongs to the whole race-it is the property pf everybody. This can be illustratl'd in prominent cases. Aristotle's philosophic th,oughts ~long to t_he race. Raphael's pain\ings a~e ~he inspiration of the race. Homers poetry 1s revelation for the race. Handel s mu…
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preaoher must deal with according to the notions he has of God's Law and God's righteousness. He has demands; acceptance must be hindered until they are reason- ably met. IV. WHEN Goo AND MAN AGREE TO PUT THE HINDRANCES AWAY, THE ACCEPT.ADU; TIME BAB COME. Man must put away his sinfulness in penitence. God will put aw…
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tokens of his presence are removed. There are times when even the noblest of mankind are unequal to such an effort" (Cheyne). So long as we arc dependent on the senses, and our knowledge is strictly limited, for disciplinary purposes, so long there is a good sense iu which it is reasonable for us to doubt. II. THE …
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EXPOSITION divorce" (Jer. ill. 8). But he hnd not re- OHAPTER L, pudiated Judah; and her children were wrong t.o suppose themselves altogether cast Thie chapter seemB tp be made up of off (see eh. xlix. H). They bod, iu fact, short fragments, 1vhich the collector, or by their tre.nsgressiolll!, tspeci11lly their co…
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nonnced deliveranoe from Babylon, was held immediate and oonetant oommunioe.- there no response? 'Why did no che.mpion tion with the "Servant "-not enlightening e.ppeRr? le it thRt my power wa.s doubted? him occasionally, e.s he did the prophets, by tbe.t it wBB feAred my hand wa.s shortened, ?reai:us a~d visions, b…
1,034 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.