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 241
(oompnre St. Paul's words in Rom. viii. 33, in darkneaa. Not clearly seeing hie way ot 84, " H is God that juetifleth. Who is he knowing what hie duty is, and so inclined that condcmneth ?"). Goel is the sole Jndge to despond and doubt. Every such person of all men-of the "Servant" in his human is bidden to put aside h…
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Vers. 8, 9.-No condemnation for those whom God justifies. Those whom God has justified may still be, sometimes are, arraignerl (1) by Satan; (2) by their fellow-men. I. SATAN'S ARRAIGNMENT VAIN. "Hast thou considered my servant Job," said Jehovah to Satan," that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an …
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ne "bad not been defiant, bad not turned back." An our duties as servants of God rcsol ve themscl ves into faHh, obedience, and patience; and the vital principle of al I is submission. FaiLb, the submission of the understanding; obedience, the submission of the will to what God bids us to do; and patience, submissio…
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ances have dereived. Even untoward heal,th and untoward fortune. 3. A stay. This is an old English word. I cannot stay myself on myself-<Jannot anchor a boat to itself._ ~ ca_n and do sf,ay upon that _which I see not. I can rely upon a God whose promise invites me. I may refuse to give up that rest, and say, amid hu…
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greet difference, e. very large distance. We stimd somewhere along this line. But where? Near the starting-point or near the goal? It is a question of grave conse- quence. Not only because it is most desirable for our own sake that we should reach the highest attaine.ble point of heavenly wisdom; but also, and principa…
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Ver. 1.-Selling ourselves. "For your iniquities have ye sold yourselves." Reference is to the right w hicb fathers in the East possessed, of selling their children into slavery; e.nd also to the power of judges to condemn malefactors to slavery. 'rhe Jews sold themselves to work wickedness, and the judgment which ca…
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behind bis oock to a post, or low pillar, near the tribunal. He wa.s then beaten till the soldiers chose to stop, with knots of rope or plaited leather thongs, armed at the ends wit.h ncorn-shnped drops of lead, or small sharp-pointed bones. In many cases, not only was the back of the person scourged cut open in all…
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we are called to be critics of the age in which we live; and then men pass us by because wo annoy them by showing up their faults. And sometimes we are before our age, and prepare for the changes that are to come; and then men pass us by, with a smile at our unpractical talk, and call us "foolish dreamers." But we must…
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Ver. 11.-Disappointed self-trust. Various interpretations of the fire here referred to have been given. Probably the allusion is to the ordinary domestic fire, taken as a figure for the various comforts and supports which men can find for themselves. A self-kindled fire contrasts with divinely given light. Matthew H…
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EXPOSITION. to it (xxxvii. 35). With the Je.st-ne.med OHAPTER LI. writer, Eden represents all that is gloriollB, Vera. 1-8.-AN ADDRESS TO FAITHFUL not in nature only, bnt in art (xxviii 13; leRAEL, SUGGESTING 'l'OPICS OF COMFORT. xxxi. 8, 9, 16, 18). The voice of melody (comp. eh. xxxv. 10,anrl infra, ver.11). As…
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mnn t.oo, nre in their nature perishable, and course not to be taken litemlly (see 1 Kings will (or may) vanish away and cease to h?· X\'iii. 27, ad fin.). Put on strength. Gird But Go<l, and his power to save, and bis the strength to thee (Pd. xciii. I) which eternnl lnw of right, can never pass away, thou hadst laid …
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Ver. 18.-And forgettest the Lord thy Vere. 17-23.-AN ADDRESS OF THE Pao- lllaker. It is not so much apostasy as want PllET TO JERUSALEM. The comfort afforded of a lively and practical faith with which captive Israel is here reproached. They did to Israel generally is now concentrated on not deny God-they only left him …
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lonian conqueet, but was partly due to the Ver. 21.-Drunken, but not with wine after-misoondnot of the Jews left in tho (comp. eh. xxix. 9; and see above, ver. 17, count1T. which shows that the appearance of drunken- Yer." 19.-Theae two things. What nre ness had been produced by Jerusalem drink- the "t'IIJ() things…
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ways which men have of venting their spite or their ill humour, when some one, of whom they know very little, has acted otherwise than they expected or wished. "Hard words," it is often remarked, "break no bones." Human censure is but a breath. Why should we allow it to affect us at all? It does not matter what men thi…
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partings, tears, qnalms of conscience, fear of oomin~ evils, sense of sin ; on the other, rest, pence, the sense of pardon, of security, of God's favour, of God's love; no more Yicissitudes, no more partings, no more lapses into sin--one constant, unendina life of perfect peace and restful joy, in the midst of those we…
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comma.nds; and "seeking Jehovah," i.e. attending to all that his mind approves and hie will comma.nde. I. THE LEBBON OF THEm ORIGIN. They had been, as it were, hewn from a rock and dug out of a pit. The allusion is to Abraham. They had sprung from one, and him RB good as dead (Heb. xi. 12). They had been as rough as u…
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Yem. 9-11.-The arm of Jehovah. Either the people call on Jehovah, or he is concerned as calling on himself to awake and rouse up his might for the defence of his people as in the days of old. I. THE ARM OF JEHOVAH AS SYMBOLIC OF HIS POWER. It is the symbol of spiritual power opposed to that of darkness, death, the …
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fail, their spirits rise; when it promises to succeed, they fall." How mnch do we all euffer from "ills that never arrive" I II. 'l'IMIDITY CORRECTED BY RELIGION. Its cause is touched-forgetfulness of God. Is forgetfulness the result of want of faith, or the ori;dn of faithlessness? Both may be true. Faith needs to be…
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Ver. 13.-The nervous temperament. "Hast feared continually every day." We are not all constituted a.like. The instrumentalities by which the great soul within us does its work are diverse in quality. In a material sense we a.re but dust, yet the dust itself has more steel in it with some than with others. Many have …
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I. THE TBUE PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE 18 LIFE m CHRIST. Not in self. Not in society. But in Christ. We must go out of ourselves, out of our "moods" and "feelings," that we may look unto Christ and be saved I I am speaking of those who are ever nervously anxious and sensitive. First of all about their salvation, which, alas I …
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by the coldness and neglect ?f some familiar friend. The spirit droops. Inp;ratitude has wounded, neglect has ch11led, cruelty ha.s crushed, and enmity has tried to slay reputation and renown. "The spirit of a man can sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?" Who? Certainly not the anxious temperame…
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hood, by companionship with those who ta.kc foreboding views of life, and by the domination of '' fixed ideas" so difficult to shake off. And all cannot afford change of scene and change of clime. 1. le is not in medicine to cure all this. It ma.y alleviate, but it cannot recreate. Earthly appliances are wise in their …
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Vers. 7, 8, 12, 13.-.A sure criterion of character, etc. This address of Jehovah to the good and worthy among his people contains- I. A SURE CRITERION OF CRA.RACTER. 1. It is well to be hearers of God's Word. All the Jews were that; they were all the children of privilege. This, however, was by no means sufficient …
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Vere. 9, IO.-Theforce in reserve. It has been said that the battle goes to him who has the best force in reserve. The general who brings all his regiments to the front may expect to be beaten ; but he who holds a. strong force in reserve may look for victory. In the great spiritual struggle now proceeding, the peopl…
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Ver. !.-Lessons of the pa.st. This passage has been somewhat misused. The appeal is not made to the miserablenes3 of our spiritual condition before receiving the Divine redemption. It is simply a recalling of the early history of the race, and an appeal that the goodne,s, care, and mercy of God to the first progenit…
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"The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but the thing11 which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this Law" (Deut. xxix. 29). Only this much is true-revelation is not light to every age equally. Some things seem mysterious at one time that are clear enough …
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Vcrs. 7, 12, 13.-" Fear," and" Fear not." "Fear ye not the reproach of men·" ".Afraid of a man that shall die;" " Forget test the Lord thy Maker." It has been said, "Fear God, an? th?u shalt ha~e none else to fear." And the apostle, glorifying the fear of God by calling 1t love, says, "Perfect love casteth out fear.…
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bom of the freshness of our experience, the brightness of our newly kindled hope, and our ignorance of the conflict which the Christian life must witness. It is the joy of the ransomed. Illustrate from the freed slave. It is the joy of the delivered. Illustrate by song of hrael on the Red Sea shore. People usually set …
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CHAPTER LIL no more viait Jerusalem to injure her or exult over her misfortunes (comp. Joel iii. Vers. 1-6.-FtraTHEB ADDRESS OP THE 17). When the influx of the Gentiles PBOPHET TO JEBUSALEM. Zion is exhorted comes (eh. xiii. 6; xlix. 6, 22, etc.), it will to rise from the dost, throw off her bonds, be one of Gentilea…
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nation, whioh continues to be ihe object messenger come bonnding over .the moun- of address in the remainder of the discourse. tains of Judiea, to bring the news to Jerusa- Ver. 3.-Ye have sold youreeives for lem that her deliverance is come (ver. 7). nought; rather, for nought were ye sol~. Tue angelic watchers sing …
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or the nobles hRd been "burnt with fire" more closely oonnccted with what follows (2 Kings xxv. 9 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. rn). The it than with what precedes. Some wou!,l poorer houses had been left. Even these, detach it altogether from oh. Iii. aud attaoh however must in the spnce of fifty years have fo; the most part …
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1, 2.-God helps those who help themselves. It is a law of God's providence to require of men, as conditional to his assisting them, some corresponding effort. ".Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matt. vii. 7). He is always ready to give;…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-12.-The redemption of Jerusalem. I. THE SUMMONS. It comes from the Divine representatives. She had been called upon to arise e.nd to stand up, and now she is to put on her streugth and her robes. "Strength returns to Zion when the arm of Jehovah is mighty within her." It is useless…
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thy glory" (Cbaldee). She is to shake the chains from her limbs, for her captivity is drawing to an end. Has she been sold? Na,v; Jehovah bas received naught for her. " It is not a sale, but only a temporary transfer." He can receive them back and renew his covenant with them. " You shall be redeemed." There was to …
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Jehovah, since he, as a man of war, is going forth to fight the battles of his people and to establish his kingdom in the earth. The king, upon solemn occasions had with him a troop of armour-bearers (1 Kings xiv. 28). Ano so must he, to wh~m the shields of the whole earth belong (Ps. xlvii. 10), be followed by his …
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"Power keeps quite another road than the turnpikes of choice and will, namely, the subterranean and invisible tunnels and channels of life. Life is a series of surprises. God delights to hide from us the past and the future. 'You will not remember,' he seems to say,' and you will not expect.' Every man is an impossibil…
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Ver. 1.-The beauty of the Church. We are more apt to thank God for the bounty than for the beauty of the earth ; but if one is the more necessary, the other is the higher gift of the two; if the one satisfies the cravings of the body, the other ministers to the hunger and the thirst of the· soul. With what lavish ha…
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or the Sunday school, or the committee-room, or the cottage, be perfunctory, constrained, tinged or it may be coloured with seH-seeking, unspiritual, there is but little bea11ty in it in the sight of the Pure One. We should aim to make our whole life beautiful in the sight of our Saviour; let obedience be prompt and ch…
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, ers. 11, 12.-Christian pilgrimage. We may regard the departure and journey of the Israelites from Babylon to Jerusalem as pictorial of our departure from the "far country" of sin for the heavenly Zion. Thus considered, we are taucrht- I. 'l'HAT ENTRANCE ON TIIE NEW PATH SHOULD BE AN ACT OF o'irnDIENCE AS WELL AS …
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tu the end of bis course he thought and spoke of himself as of One that "was sent," tbe.t we.a charged to do an appointed work. The spiritual greatness he manifested was in giving himself up to the service of mankind. "I am among you as he that serveth." We should count it not our dishonour but our honour that we live …
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finding adaptations and adjustments. A distinction may be helpfully made between God's work_of seftenin!f and G~'s work of humbling. We ma;r see the softening work 11lustrate<l m Job or 1n Hezekiah. We may see the humbling work illustrated in Manasseh, who must be dragged off into captivity, and feel the bitterness …
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be a free gift. So God's redemption is priceless, for he does not want to sell. Nay, it is priceless, for it can only be received as a gift. "God bath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." How strange that this very "pricelessness" should be our greatest stumbling-block I We have a saying that" only…
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Ver. 10.-The wO'l'ld taught through God's dealings with his people. In every age God's elect people are set in the world's eye; God's ways with them are revelations of himself to all onlookers. The world is educated, elevated, by means of its elect nations, just as the social range, the Church sentiment, the doctrinal …
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who are now engaged in Christ's service-to whom he bas committed any trnste. The question is sometimes discussed, in view of the notion of apostolical succession, whether a man who is morally bad can officially communicate Divine grace. We do not venture an opinion on such a question, but we do say that, to right feeli…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER Lfil and 1 Pet. ii. 24, 25. The Messianic inter- THE PASSIONAL, OR THE GREAT PIIOPHEOY pretation is maintained, among modems, by OF THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, AND OF RIB Hengstenberg, Keil, Umbreit, CEhler, De- LATER ELU.TATION. Polycarp the Lysian litzsch, Kay, Cheyne, Henderson, Alexan- calls…
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utterly devoid of moisture. Such plants The translation of the Authorized Version have roots that strike clcep, aud draw their may therefore be retained. We hid as it nourishment from o. hidden source. Ho hath were our faoes from him; literaily, and there no form nor comelineBB; rather, he had no was as it weTe the hid…
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Ps. lnii. 4). "No stronger expression the Egypticm taskmasters (Exod. iii. 7). The could be found in Hebrew to denote severity cruel ill usage in the high priest's house, and of sufferiog-snfforing unto death" (Ur- before Herod is, perhaps, specially pointed "·ick). The ohastisement of our peace wo.s at. He we.s aff…
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for those of bis generntion, which of them It" pleased him," moreover, that they should oonsidered that he was cut off," etc. ? He be undergone, for he saw with satiAfaction was out oft'; i.e. taken away before hie time, the Son's self-sacrifice, and he witnessed out down like a flower (comp. Job xiv. 2; with joy man's…
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diction to the etntement (ver. 8) that he from his own knowledge, gave men this should be "cut oft'" out of the land of the knowledge, and so did 1111 tho.t could be living; end the more surprising because done to draw them to his Father. And bis !,ill death is made the condition of this long etforts were not withou…
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HOMILETICS. Vere. ~11.-" The sufferings of Jesus." It is the great object of Isaiah, in this chapter, to declare to his countrymen (1) that the Messiah would be a suffe1ing Messiah; (2) that his sufferings would be vicarious ; and (3) that they would have a propitiatory or atoning character, I. 'fHE MESSIAH A SUFFERI…
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people was he st.ricken" (ver. 8). It is indirectly implied in four others: (1) "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all;" (2) "'l'hou shalt make his soul an offering for sin;" (3) "He shall bear their iniquities;" (4) "He bare the sins of many" (vers. 6, 10-12). III. THE SUFFERINGS OF MESSIAH PROPITIATORY…
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vengeance to him every hour. Suffering must needs be grievous when infinite justice passes sentence, and infinite power does execution" (South). An "unparalleled great- ness" of suffering is, then, here indicated. II. THE VICARIOUS NATURE OF THE BUFFF.RING. He bore our sicknesses; "the first of twelve distinct asserti…
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Who was originally meant by the servant of Jehovah may remain obscure. We at least cannot but apply the representation to the Captain of salvation, the Leader and Finisher of faith, who endured the cross for the joy set before him. And also to every true servant or the Eternal, who feels that be was brought into the wo…
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disappears when they are referred to Jesus Christ; for in him were combined features of character and changes of circumstance which could not be united in any other child of man. We have here a. very strong statement a.s to the unattractive and unprom!sing appearance of the_ Se.rva.nt ?f Jehovah, and this bas to agr…
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enemies, There ere men who do not care that their brethren whose confidence they have tried to win nre cherishing toward them the bitterest hatred; not s11ch was he of the tender heart and loving Rpirit. 4. The rejection of the people. He was rejected of men. Several men and women, in most places whither he went, may h…
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"did no sin, 1md in whose mouth no guile was found;" he was the innocent, the pure the just, the righteous One. ' III. THE DIVINE AOOOUNT OF IT. "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows ••• he was wounded for our transgressions," etc. But is it credible or is it e,·en possible that the innocent One…
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Ver. '1.-The submissive spirit. Those who have a high appreciation of the more minute ecriptural correspondences will naturally find a reference here to the fact recorded in Matt. xxvii. 14. But we prefer to dwell on the submissiveness rather than the silence 1.,f our Lord, on the inward spirit rather than the outward …
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Ver. 12.-Thefalse accusation. "He was numbered with the transgressors." The fact that be who was the Author of all law and the Judge of all moral agents was him- self classed with transgressors is most suggestive; it calls our attention to the truth- I. THAT A RIGHTEOUS MAN, though he is righteous, MAY BE OllA.BGED …
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want natural evidence for supernatural truths or facts, and wonder that no sign can be given them, and fancy themselves justified in refusing to believe. There is one very easy thing, that even a child can accomplish ; it is this-find ezcuses when we do not want to obey. II. SOME MEN ARE MASTl':RFUL. They like to have…
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be; and yet it is still true of many, "He is despised and rejected ; n "They bide their faces from him." II. THE FITNESS OF CHRIST TO MEET THE DEEPEST HUMAN NEEDS, The needs of man as man; and the needs of man as fa lien, sinful man. There are two th ino-s we can think of as left in our nature, relics of the old Ed…
886 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.