COMMENTARY
ON
THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
ISAIAH
BY JOHN
CALVIN
TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL
LATIN
BY THE REV. WILLIAM
PRINGLE
VOLUME
FIRST
CHRISTIAN CLASSICS
ETHEREAL LIBRARY
GRAND RAPIDS,
MI
http://www.ccel.org
TRANSLATOR'S
PREFACE
All who take delight in the Holy Scriptures are
familiarly acquainted with the writings of The Prophet Isaiah. Every variety of
taste finds in them its appropriate gratification. Lofty conceptions,
illustrated by splendid imagery, and clothed in language usually copious and
flowing, some times abrupt, but always graceful, leave no room for hesitation to
pronounce him, with Bishop Lowth, to be "the most sublime and elegant of the
Prophets of the Old Testament." He is regarded with peculiar veneration as an
honest, fearless, and able messenger of the Most High God, boldly reproving
nobles and monarchs, denouncing the judgments of Heaven against all
transgressors, and asserting the claims of the Divine law and government above
all human authority. In his Prophecies he takes a wide range, surveys those
nations which power or wealth or learning or commerce had raised to the highest
celebrity in those remote times, and describes their rise and fall, and
wonderful revolutions, so eagerly traced lay us in the page of history, as the
execution of Jehovah's counsels, and the arrangements of unerring wisdom But
chiefly does he pour out rich instruction concerning the Messiah, whose life and
sufferings, and death and glorious reign, he delineates so faithfully, and with
such thrilling interest, that he has obtained the appellation of "The
Evangelical Prophet." To the devout reader there is added a still more powerful
attraction in his seraphic piety, which, breathing throughout all his
communications, and kindling a holy flame in the hearts of the children of God,
attests the important fact, not only that in the visions of God he reached the
noblest heights of inspiration, but — which was far more valuable —
that he enjoyed habitual and intimate fellowship with The Father of
Spirits.
The period during which he
exercised the prophetical office is declared, in the inscription of his
Prophecies, to have been during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahas, and
Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Beyond this general indication nothing certain can
be obtained; for dates were only beginning to attract the notice of civilized
nations, and had not yet been examined with such carefulness, or denoted with
such precision, as their importance demands. The Translator of "The Commentaries
on the Twelve Minor Prophets" (volume 1) tells us that Isaiah flourished between
810 B.C and 698 B.C. This interval of 112 years leaves a large margin, which
chronologers have filled up with considerable diversity of
views.
Assuming 763 B.C. to be the year in which
the prophetic ministry of Isaiah is believed by some to have commenced, we are
led to observe this remarkable coincidence, that about thirteen years earlier
began the Grecian or Olympic era, which opens with the First Olympiad; and about
ten years later began the Roman Era, which opens with the founding of the city
of Rome. This reminds us to glance at the contemporary history of nations unlike
in their origin and progress, and in the effects which they produced on the
human race. Historians, to whom the name of despised Palestine was scarcely
known, have traced the brilliant career of those gigantic empires by which it
was overshadowed. While amidst a long list of warriors, and poets, and orators,
and statesmen, who were supposed to have achieved a deathless fame, those
empires hastened to decay, Isaiah and his brethren the prophets were laying the
foundations of the universal dominion and glorious reign of Him
who
hath on his vesture,
and on his thigh, a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.
(<661916>Revelation
19:16.)
During the season of highest prosperity, when the
literature of Greece and Rome, which even now exerts a powerful influence on
modern Europe, enjoyed its most exalted renown, that undisguised heathenism
which disowned the government and denied the perfections of the Most High God,
presented a humiliating contrast to those noble and affecting views of the
Divine nature and attributes and works which prevailed in the land of Jehovah.
The difference reminds us of one of the plagues of Egypt; for there was spread
over the nations a moral darkness,
a darkness which might be
felt, but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
(<021021>Exodus
10:21, 23.)
Rome was proud of having reduced that favored land to
the rank of one of her provinces, and struck medals to represent Judea sitting
under a palm-tree bewailing her captivity; but the religion of Judea, instead of
being crushed and annihilated, assumed the more lovely aspect of the religion of
Jesus, and went forth conquering and to
conquer.
Many of our Author's published
Commentaries were nothing else than reports of his public
Lectures.
f1a Budaeus has explained the manner in which
these reports were prepared. The language was extemporaneous, and, had we not
known his prodigious command of the Latin tongue, we might have wondered at the
elegance with which he spoke on such occasions; but his slow and distinct
utterance, as Scaliger assures us, was such as to enable an expert writer to
take down the very words which Calvin used. Two or three scribes were usually
employed, and a copy, drawn out by a comparison of their manuscripts, was
submitted to the perusal of the Lecturer, who, after making, any corrections
which appeared to be necessary, attested it as a faithful record of what had
been uttered.
This Commentary has come down to
us in a still more authentic shape. Not only does the Author assert, in his
Dedication to King Edward, which was prefixed to the First Edition, that it had
been "faithfully and skillfully compiled from his
Lectures,"
but in his Dedication to Queen Elizabeth,
prefixed to the Second Edition, he pronounces the revision to have been so
thorough and laborious, that "it ought justly to be reckoned a new work." It is
highly gratifying to find that, in the exposition of a book so important and
extensive as the prophecies of Isaiah, Calvin gave the fruits of his mature
judgment, while he was in the full vigor of his
age.
Clement Cotton translated this Commentary
into English from the French Version, in 1609. His translation, though not
altogether suitable to modern taste, is faithful, vigorous, idiomatic, and not
inelegant. To this volume is prefixed his Title-page and "Epistle Dedicatorie,"
together with a curious "Epigram," in which a physician of that period expresses
his warm admiration of the great Reformer.
In
the concluding volume of this Commentary will be given a Literal Translation Of
Calvin Latin Version, and copious Indices similar to those which have already
appeared in the other
Commentaries.
Auchterarder,
17th
May, 1850.
TO THE HIGH AND
MIGHTY
PRINCE,
HENRIE
PRINCE
OF GREAT BRITAIN,
SON AND
ELEIRE APPARANT TO OUR
Sovereign Lord, James
King of Great Britain,
etc
AND TO THE MOST
NOBLE AND
VERTVOVS
PRINCESS,
THE LADY
ELIZABETHS
GRACE, His Highneffe moft deare
Sifter; all honour and happineffe, with eternall glorie through Chrift
Iesvs.
Most gracious and renowned Princes, hauing translated
out of French into our English tongue the booke of the prophecy of
Isaiah, interpreted and expounded by Master John Calvin, of
reverend memory: I humbly eraue that it may be published under your most
Princely names and protection. The reason of this my humble petition is, that
the honor of so noble a work may not be imbased by the means of my endevours.
This Prophet, by birth, was the son of Amos, esteemed by many to have
been brother to Azarias King of Judah, and Father in law to King
Manasses: which being so, this Prophet was by birth of the blood Royal, and
descended of the house of David, which for the promise of Christ to come
of him, was the most noble house of all the Kings of the earth. Being so borne,
his education could not be but Princely, and his bringing up in all good
learning, wisdom, virtue, and hollow His spiritual graces, not attained unto by
ordinary means, but inspired into hint immediately by the Spirit of God, were
excellent. This appeareth particularly in the sixth Chapter of this Prophet,
declaring that an Angel of God saith a burning coal taken from the Lords Altar,
and laid to the mouth of the Prophet, refined his lips and his tongue, that they
became pure and precious as the finest Gold The same is manifest in all the book
of his Prophecy; wherein both the light and the heat of that heavenly fire
appeareth. For he not only declared the will of God sincerely, according to the
law and testimony delivered to Moses, but also foreshewed the future
events of the Kingdom of Judah, and of all the flourishing states and
Kingdoms of his time.
He Prophecied also of the
birth of Jesus Christ, as if he had been taught by the Angel Gabriel; who
brought the annunciation and message of it to the blessed Virgin his mother. Of
his passion and death he spake, as if with the Apostle John he had stood by when
he was crucified. His resurrection he described, as if with all the Apostles he
had stood upon Mount Olive, where the Lord took the cloud of Gloria as his
heavenly Chariot to ascend and goes up to his Father. His zeal and indignation
against sin is evident every where, in his sharp reproofs of the offenses of all
estates.
Finally, the book of his Prophecy
beareth written in the head of it the names of four Kings, in whose time he
prophesied; and before whom as a vessel of gold he bare the name of God with
great honor. All which things being royal, it seemed to me most convenient that
his book should still bear in the front of it the names of Princes. And as he
foreshewed that Kings should be Fosterfathers, and Queenes Nurces of the Church
of Christ, so my desire was that his book might be published under the names and
protection of Christian Princes.
Moreover, I was
led hereunto by the example of this Interpreter, whose exposition upon
Isaiahs prophesie I translate; namely, of M. John Calvin, a man in
his time of excellent piety and learning; and one of the great lights, whereby
it hath pleased God both to chase away the errors of popery, as the darkness of
the shadow of death; and to cause his marvelous and comfortable light of the
Gospel to shine unto this present age. For he dedicated his first exposition of
this book to the young Prince, King Edward the sixth, of famous memory,
for the princely graces, for the zealous love of true religion, and of al
heroical virtues, wherewith in his young years he raised an admirable
expectation of future glory, if his precious life had long continued. He was
also most worthily renowned with highest glory, for that gracious reformation in
religion, which was established by his regal authority, and which our English
Church at this day with great comfort doth enjoy, under the happy government of
our Sovereign Lord the King, your most noble and renowned
Father.
Furthermore, the same Author setting out
again this Commentary, amplified and enlarged, he dedicated this second edition
to our late most gracious Queen Elizabeth, worthy of eternal memory in
this Kingdom, for the reestablishing (after a few years alteration) of the
zealous reformation of her most virtuous brother. Which example hath led me in
most humble manner to seek for the same work, the high patronage and protection
of such Princes, like those to whom he presented this his
service.
To whom I know none so like as your
selves, both in regard of your high estate, and also in like most noble descent
from the united houses of Yorke and Lancaster. Besides which resemblance, your
Highness also is of like years to the young Prince King Edward, and in
the eyes of all the kingdom, of like hope of excellent virtue and zealous
proceedings in the advancement of Christian
religion.
In like manner your Grace resembleth
the most gracious late Queen Elizabeth, both in her royal name, and also
in the constant expectation of all men, to express in time all the princely
virtues and graces that shined in that most renowned Princess, from this Western
part of the world, to the furthest East, and to the rising of the
Sun.
In which respects, esteeming such a
dedication, most like that which my author made of his own work, I have most
humbly craved that this my translation of it might bee vouchsafed the honor to
have your Princely names written in the beginning of it. For notwithstanding the
great difference that is between a reverend learned writer and expounded of the
holy Scriptures, and the translator of such all expositions yet this mean
service hath also his good use in the Church of God; and is of long and tedious
labor to such as take pains therein; which being graciously accepted, may
encourage others to travel in this kind, and cause many to give thanks to God
for you both, by whose most princely favors and protection, they are made
partakers of such worthy writings. And I shall always pray Almighty God, with
this new year, to multiply many more upon you, and daily replenish your hearts
with all princely and heroical graces, that may enable and adorn Princes of so
his estates, amongst this people.
Your Highness,
and Graces most humbly devoted, in all loyal and dutiful
Affection,
Clement
Cotton
An Epigram upon
the
Translation
of
M.
Calvin's Commentary
upon
the Prophecy of
Isaiah.
Thrice happy
(England) if thou knewest thy
bliss,
Since Christ's
eternal Gospel in thee
shined
Thou art. His
beetle-blind that sees not
this,
Brutishly
ingrate that with a thankful
mind
Doth not
acknowledge Gods great Grace
herein,
And learn
thereby for to forsake his
sin.
God's word hath
long in thee been soundly taught,
The sound thereof
hath rung throughout the Land,
And many a Soul by
Fishers net been caught,
Which erst lay
thrall in Satan's cruel
band:
This favor
great by none can be
expressed,
But such
as have it felt in their own
breast.
Thy native
sons in thine own bowels
bred,
Like faithful
Shepherds have done
worthily,
And thee
with store of heavenly Manna
fed,
Forcing the
Wolves to leave their
cruelty,
To slink
aside, and hide themselves in
holes,
In caves and
dells, like pur-blind Backs and
Moles.
Tyndall,
Frith, Philpot, father Latimer,
The Gospel preached
by word, by life, by death:
Ivel, Fox, Reynolds,
Fulk, and Whitaker
To second them have
spent their vital
breath.
In hot
pursuit of that great Romish
Bore,
Who spoiled
quite this English vine
before.
I spare to
speak of Deerings silver voice,
Of Greenhams zeal,
of Perkins labors sound,
Of hundreds moe of
Zion-builders choice,
The like whereof can
scarce elsewhere be
found:
Such
ground-work they of Gods truth here have
placed
As never shall
by Hels whole force be
razt.
Besides all
these, of Sorrel Lights the
chief,
Beza, and
Vrinus, many other
moe,
Martyr,
Musculus, for thy more
relief
Are seen in
English weed abroad to
go
From place to
place in every Shire and
Torwne,
To teach the
Truth and throw all Errors
down.
And here
presented is unto thy
sight
The Royal
Prophet Esaias
Evangel:
For so me
thinks I may it terme
aright,
That Prince
of holy Prophets doth so
well,
So likely
Christ's whole history
presage,
As if h' had
lived in that same very
Age.
Whose Oracles
great Calvin doth unfold
In thine own native
Tongue for thy Souls health.
Here maist thou
gather precious Stones and Gold,
And store up heaps
of Heavenly lasting
wealth;
Here maist
thou find with very little
Pain
Which would'st
not lose for thousand Worlds
again.
Here maist
thou see the black-mouthed
Atheists
Confounded
quite by Demonstration clear;
The cunning Papist
put unto his shifts,
And made in his
right Colors to
appear;
Here's
Christ, his Truth, and Life, thee set
before,
Heavens Gates
set open wide: what would'st thou more?
By Francnis Hering, Doctor in
Physic.
TO HER SERENE
HIGHNESS,
NOT LESS ILLUSTRIOUS BY HER OWN
VIRTUES THAN BY THE SPLENDOR OF
ROYALTY,
ELIZABETH,
QUEEN OF ENGLAND ETC.
Although, in making improvements on this Commentary,
I have bestowed so much care and industry, most noble Queen, that it ought
justly to be reckoned a new work, yet, as in the first edition it was dedicated
to your brother King Edward, who, though a youth, greatly excelled the men of
his age, and whom I wish to be held in remembrance by posterity, as he deserves,
I had intended to make no change in that dedication. But since, amidst that
wretched and lamentable dispersion of the Church and oppression of pure
doctrine, which raged with prodigious violence for a short period, this book,
together with the whole doctrine of true godliness, was banished from England
for a time, but now, I trust, favored by your happy reign, will be restored to
its former privileges, I thought that there would be no impropriety if to the
name of a most excellent king I should join your own name, which is regarded by
all good men with not less esteem and satisfaction. Not only was an opportunity
offered, but necessity appeared to demand, that I should obtain your full
protection to this Commentary, the banishment of which, I am aware, was beheld
by a great number of your godly subjects with deep
sorrow.
Yet it is not so much my object to be
favored with your countenance in my personal labors, as humbly to entreat, and
by the sacred name of Christ to implore, not only that, through your kindness,
all orthodox books may again be welcomed and freely circulated in England. but
that your chief care may be directed to promote religion, which has fallen into
shameful neglect. And if this is justly demanded from all kings of the earth by
the Only-begotten Son of God, by a still more sacred tie does he hold you bound,
most noble Queen, to perform this duty; for when even you, though a king's
daughters were not exempted from that dreadful storm which fell with severity on
the heads of all the godly, by the wonderful manner in which he brought you out
safe, though not unmoved by the fear of danger, he has laid you under obligation
to devote yourself and all your exertions to his service. So far are you from
having any reason to be ashamed of this deliverance that God has given you large
and abundant grounds of boasting, by confirming you to the image of his Son, on
whom the Prophet Isaiah bestows this among other commendations, that from
prison and judgment
(<235308>Isaiah
53:8) he was raised to the loftiest height of heavenly
dominion.
As it is no ordinary honor to resemble
such a model, so whenever you recollect, what ought never to be forgotten by
you, from what wretched and fearful trembling God rescued you, by openly
stretching out his hand, remember also that it was done for the express purpose
that you, on the other hand, should, with invincible determination and unshaken
firmness of mind, acknowledge your obligation to your Protector and Redeemer,
and, laying aside all other kinds of business, a vast number of which I have no
doubt, will crowd upon you at the commencement of your reign, labor to have his
worship, which for a time was basely and disgracefully corrupted in that
kingdom, restored to its former splendor. And if Satan, by presenting many and
powerful obstructions, endeavor to produce fear or slothfulness, you are well
aware from whom you ought to ask boldness to go steadily forward and to vanquish
all opposition; and God, who bestows his blessing on the actions of private
individuals, will not fail to grant a happy and desirable issue to his
work.
You ought also to be stimulated, venerable
Queen, by a sacred regard to duty; for the Prophet Isaiah demands not only from
Kings that they be nursing-fathers, but also from Queens
that they be nursing-mothers.
(<234902>Isaiah
49:2.3.) This duty you ought to discharge, not only by removing the filth of
Popery, and by cherishing the flock which I not long ago lay trembling and
concealed, but by gathering the exiles who chose rather to part with the
advantages of their native country than to remain in it so long as godliness was
banished from it. This will be the crowning proof of your gratitude to God, and
a sacrifice of most delightful savor, that the faithful worshippers of God, who,
on account of their profession of the Gospel, were constrained to wander far and
wide through distant countries, shall now, through tour kindness, be restored to
their native country. We, too, in whom that mournful spectacle awakened, as it
ought to have done, the most poignant grief, have abundant cause for rejoicing,
and for congratulating you, when, through the gracious exercise of your royal
will we see the way opened for the return of our brethren, not only to be at
liberty to worship God in your Majesty's dominions, but to render assistance to
others.
And now, most noble Queen, if you shall
be graciously pleased, as I trust you will, not to disdain this testimony of my
respect for you, which some would perhaps reckon to be trivial and of little
value, I shall esteem it to be no ordinary kindness, and will endeavor through
my whole life to testify my gratitude by every means in my
power.
May the Lord guide you, most illustrious
Queen, by the Spirit of wisdom, uphold you with invincible courage, protect and
enrich your Highness with every kind of
blessings!
Geneva, 15th January; the day which,
it was reported, had been fixed for your coronation; on which account I more
gladly set myself to write, having partially recovered from an attack of quartan
ague.
TO HIS SERENE
HIGHNESS,
EDWARD SIXTH,
KING OF ENGLAND, etc.
A TRULY CHRISTIAN
PRINCE.
JOHN
CALVIN.
Though I acknowledge that this Commentary has been
faithfully and skillfully compiled from my Lectures, yet, as it was drawn up by
another person, I was at first afraid, most illustrious King, that if it should
appear in public bearing your name on the Dedication, I might be thought not to
have acted properly towards your Majesty. But this doubt was removed chiefly by
one consideration, that as a Prophet who was of royal descent, and a most noble
ambassador of Christ, the supreme King, is highly appropriate to your rank, so
the labor which I had bestowed on the explanation of his Prophecies would be
accepted and valued by your Majesty. His experience made him acquainted with
five kings exceedingly unlike each other in their dispositions, to whom in
uninterrupted succession he officiated as a teacher; and it is unnecessary to
inform you which of these you should chiefly select for imitation, or to exhort
you to that which you show that you are already sufficiently willing to
do.
Uzziah and Jotham were favorable to him;
though they were not so courageous as they ought to have been in maintaining the
worship of God. His chief contest was with Ahaz, not indeed as an open enemy,
but as a cunning hypocrite full of fraud and dissimulation. The servants of God
cannot have a more dangerous class of enemies. His successor, Hezekiah, not only
treated the holy man with reverence, but modestly submitted to his doctrine like
one of the common people, and, what is still more, endured patiently severe
reproof when it was found necessary. Manasseh, who was the last of them, and
whom a strongly supported Jewish tradition represents as having been his
son-in-law, subjected him to a frightful kind of torture, and wickedly put him
to death. But at the very time when he received assistance from those who were
not bad kings, and even during the reign of Hezekiah himself, who was so valiant
a supporter of godliness, he never ceased to be harassed by sharp and
troublesome disputes, and to undergo severe conflicts, so hard and uncommon is
it for men to assent to sound doctrine; and not only so, but they who resolve to
discharge the prophetical office honestly and faithfully must carry on a
continual war with the world. The more earnestly ought godly kings to labor to
aid the servants of God by their countenance, that they may not be distressed
beyond measure by the insolence of the
ungodly.
But as this virtue is excellent and
truly heroic, so, if you search the history of all ages from the beginning of
the worlds it has been uncommon, and there have been very few by whom it was
cultivated. Many have indolently and carelessly, as if it had been a matter with
which they had no concern, allowed the truth of God to be crushed without making
any resistance. But the greater part have been openly hostile, and have opposed
it with violence and rage; and would that they who at the present day profess to
be Christians were as earnest in upholding the doctrine of salvation as they are
haughty in boasting of the name!
Not to mention
others, it may justly be regarded as no ordinary consolation amidst the present
distresses of the Church, that God has raised you up and endowed you with such
excellent abilities and dispositions for defending the cause of godliness, and
that you so diligently render that obedience to God in this matter which you
know that he accepts and approves. For although the affairs of the kingdom are
hitherto conducted by your counsellors, and although your Majesty's most
illustrious uncle, the Duke of Sommerset, and many others, have religion so much
at heart, that they labor diligently, as they ought to do, in establishing it;
yet in your own exceptions you go so far beyond them all as to make it very
manifest that they receive no small excitement from the zeal which they observe
in you. Not only are you celebrated for possessing a noble disposition, and some
seeds of virtues, (which at so early an age is usually thought to be
remarkable,) but for a maturity of those virtues far beyond your years, which
would be singularly admired, as well as praised, at a very advanced age. Your
piety especially is so highly applauded, that the Prophet Isaiah, I am fully
convinced, will have one that will regard him with as much reverence, now that
he is dead, as Hezekiah did when he was
alive.
As to the advantage which you will derive
from the work, it is better that you learn that from your own perusal, and I
have made some observations on that subject in the Preface. There is only one
point on which I have resolved to say a few words to your Majesty. After having
proclaimed God's just complaints against an ungrateful people, and threatened
against the Jews such punishment as their base apostasy and inveterate rebellion
deserved, that the time was at hand when they should be brought into a state of
frightful desolation, the Prophet next speaks of a new and amazing restoration
of the Church, and promises that henceforth God will secure that, in spite of
enemies, it shall always be in a happy and flourishing
condition.
Such gladness and prosperity was
tasted by those who, after their return from the captivity in Babylon, having
set up their altars for sacrifices, could form the expectation of higher
blessings than those which they at that time enjoyed; just as we, by beholding
the dawn, are led to expect that the rising of the sun will soon follow. But
when, in the brightness of his Gospel, Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, arose,
all that had been so eloquently described by the revelations of the Prophet was
far exceeded by the event. Within a short time the knowledge of the true God was
spread almost throughout the whole world. Pure religion, which formerly lay
despised in Judea, as in a dark corner, was circulated through all nations and
provinces, and began to be honored in such a manner, that innumerable tongues,
in harmony of faith, called on God.
Having
collected churches in various places, the Son of God erected his royal throne in
a conspicuous situation, where it might be beheld from the rising to the setting
of the sun. The churches, endowed with extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, not
only obtained prodigious communications of the divine goodness, but were
themselves striking exhibitions of astonishing power, which even the blind could
perceive. And although the Son of God reigned under the Cross, yet, amidst the
arduous conflicts of persecutions, his glory shone brighter, and his triumphs
were more splendid than if the Church had enjoyed undisturbed prosperity. At
length, the haughty loftiness of the Roman empire, yielding submission to
Christ, became a distinguished ornament of the house of
God.
But the continuance of this prosperity was
prevented by the malice and ingratitude of men; and thus the Spouse of Christ,
deprived of so costly a robe, degraded from so high a rank, and stripped of such
gorgeous raiment, was afterwards reduced to an unsightly and wretched condition.
Some remains, indeed, God preserved, as it were in places of concealment; but,
as to the external beauty of the Church, nothing but desolation, confusion, and
dispersion, was to be seen for many centuries. And we see how, at this very day,
the Roman Antichrist, far and wide usurping and tyrannizing over the sanctuary
of God, tears, crushes, and tramples under his feet all that belonged to God.
For since the purity of doctrine is there corrupted by monstrous errors, since
shocking murder has come into the room of lawful government, since the
sacraments are in part debased by gross corruptions, and in part exposed to
disgraceful sale, what but melancholy ruin is left of the true and natural
beauty of the spiritual building?
Yet in our
age, contrary to the expectation of all, the Lord hath again begun to raise up
that which was fallen,
(<300902>Amos
9:2,) that there might at least be left among us an outline of the true temple,
in which God should be worshipped with purity, and according to the requirements
of the Gospel. Some inconsiderable persons taken from the common people, have
been selected by him as his architects, to promote this work by pure doctrine.
It is, indeed, an arduous and extensive work, though Satan should give us no
annoyance. But now that he employs every expedient for breaking down the Church,
as soon as any portion of it has been erected, what wonder is it if we have
great and sorrowful toil, and make small and feeble
progress?
Accordingly, the haughty tyrants scorn
us, as if, in our endeavors to overthrow the tyranny of the Roman See we were
laboring to overturn Olympus. Those clever and ingenious men (as they imagine
themselves to be) indulge in ridiculing our perseverance, in laboring hard to
restore the condition of the Church, as if anything fixed or permanent could be
obtained. They imagine that they have so solid a foundation, and are so well
defended on all sides, that it would be as difficult to destroy Popery as to
mingle heaven and earth. But the opinions of those men are somewhat various. The
refractoriness of the world being too great to admit of being placed under any
restraint, they hold that we labor in vain when we seek to correct vices, and to
promote a pure and faithful administration of the
Church.
The witticism of Erasmus is well known.
"Whom does Capito expect to be his tenth successor?" He could not deny that
Wolfgang Capito was a holy man, and labored with the purest motives to reform
the Church; but being convinced that it is idle for the ministers of Christ to
struggle to correct the wickedness of the world as if they were endeavoring to
cause the rivers to run in a contrary direction, Erasmus, imitating the custom
of lazy philosophers, represented all of us, in the person of one man, as
chargeable with inconsiderate zeal. But on both sides they are greatly mistaken
in not considering that, when we repair the ruins of the Church, we give our
labors to the Lord, in obedience to his laws and injunctions, and yet the
restoration of the Church is his own work. Nor is it without good reason that
this is taught in every part of Scripture, and that it is so earnestly enforced
by the Prophet Isaiah. Remembering this doctrine, therefore, and relying on the
assistance of God, let us not hesitate to undertake a work which is far beyond
our own strength and let no obstacle turn aside or discourage us, so as to
abandon our undertaking.
And here I expressly
call upon you, most excellent King, or rather, God himself addresses you by the
mouth of his servant Isaiah, charging you to proceed, to the utmost of your
ability and power, in carrying forward the restoration of the Church, which has
been so successfully begun in your kingdom. First, you daily read and hear that
this duty is enjoined on you in the kingdom over which you rule. More especially
Isaiah, as I have said, calls Kings the nursing-fathers of the Church,
(<234902>Isaiah
49:2:3,) and does not permit them to withhold that assistance which her
afflicted condition demands. Nor ought your mind to be slightly affected by the
consideration, that the Prophet pronounces a. woe on all kings and nations who
refuse to give her their support. Next, your Majesty sees plainly what is
urgently demanded by the times. Though you may not have great success in your
labors, yet, knowing that this worship is acceptable to God, and is a sacrifice
of most delightful savor, you ought not to be turned aside from your purpose by
any event, however calamitous. Seeing, therefore, that God exhorts you to be
courageous, and at the same time promises success, why should you not cheerfully
obey him when he calls?
In another passage
Isaiah says, Prepare the way, prepare the way for my people.
(<236210>Isaiah
62:10) It is well known how hopeless was the return of the captives to their
native country. Nor did this event take place at that time; but the Prophet,
beholding by the Spirit what posterity some time afterwards would actually
enjoy, lest any of the godly should be disheartened by so sad a spectacle, meets
them beforehand with the assurance that there would be no kind of obstructions
so powerful and formidable that God would not break through theta to deliver his
Church. Not less do we need at this day to be cheered by
consolation.
It is of high importance, most
noble King, that you should be stimulated to activity by the consideration of
the duty enjoined on you; for Isaiah exhorts all kings and magistrates, in the
person of Cyrus, to stretch forth their hand to the Church, when in distress, to
restore her to her former condition. Yet there is this difference between your
condition and that of Cyrus, that he who was a stranger to the Lord's flock
never was expressly taught freely and willingly to come forward and undertake to
be a defender of the Church; but to you, to whom the Lord has not only given
adoption, but has likewise assigned a distinguished place among his sons, the
Prophet may be said to stretch out his hand and call you to this office. So much
the more boldly and resolutely ought you, noble King, to proceed in this
course.
The matter is, as I have said, full of
great difficulties; and still greater are the annoyances by which it is
attended, and the dangers in which it is involved; for Satan never ceases to
employ innumerable expedients, if in any way he may succeed in subverting or
destroying the holy temple of God; and sometimes God intends to make trial of
our steadfastness by such attacks. But if you lay it down as a settled
principle, that there is nothing which you and your most excellent Council have
hitherto undertaken, or are now performing, for restoring the condition of the
Church, which is not supported by the authority of God, you will unquestionably
feel how wonderfully he accomplishes all those things which he gives in charge
to his servants. From this happy result England will derive inestimable
advantage; and we, too, will congratulate you on your prosperity, and that of
your whole kingdom. Meanwhile, I shall aid those holy exertions by my prayers,
as it is my duty to do, since I have nothing better to offer
you.
Farewell, most illustrious King! may the
Lord prosper and preserve your Majesty for a long period, aid and guide you by
his Holy Spirit, and bless you in all things!
-Amen.
Geneva, 26th December,
1550.
THE PREFACE TO
THE PROPHET ISAIAH
BY
JOHN CALVIN
It is customary to make a great number of statements
and dissertations about the office of the Prophets. But, in my opinion, the
shortest way of treating this subject is to trace the Prophets to the Law, from
which they derived their doctrine, like streams from a fountain; for they placed
it before them as their rule, so that they may be justly held and declared to be
its interpreters, who utter nothing but what is connected with the Law. Now, the
Law consists chiefly of three parts: first, the doctrine of life; secondly,
threatenings and promises; thirdly, the covenant of grace, which, being founded
on Christ, contains within itself all the special promises. As to ceremonies,
they were religious exercises which strengthened the attachment of the people to
the worship of God and to godliness, and consequently were added to the First
Table. The Prophets, therefore, enter more largely into the illustration of
doctrine, and explain more fully what is briefly stated in the Two Tables, and
lay down what the Lord chiefly requires from us. Next, the threatenings and
promises, which Moses had proclaimed in general terms, are applied by them to
their own time and minutely described. Lastly, they express more clearly what
Moses says more obscurely about Christ and his grace, and bring forward more
copious and more abundant proofs of the free
covenant.
To make this matter still more clear,
we must go a little farther back, to the Law itself, which the Lord prescribed
as a perpetual rule for the Church, to be always in the hands of men, and to be
observed by every succeeding age. Perceiving that there was danger lest an
ignorant and undisciplined nation should need something more than the doctrine
delivered by Moses, and that the nation could scarcely be restrained without the
use of a tighter rein, God forbids them to consult magicians or soothsayers,
augurs or diviners; enjoins them to be satisfied with his doctrine alone; but at
the same time he likewise adds that he will take care that there shall never be
wanting a Prophet in Israel. He does this purposely, with the view of meeting an
objection which the people might have brought forward, that their condition
would be worse than that of the infidels, all of whom had their priests of
various orders, their soothsayers, augurs, astrologers, Chaldeans, and such
like, whom they had it in their power to visit and consult, but that they would
have no one to aid them by his advice in intricate and difficult matters. In
order, therefore, to deprive them of every pretense, and to hinder them from
polluting themselves by the abominable practices of the Gentiles, God promises
that he will raise up Prophets,
(<051815>Deuteronomy
18:15,) by whom he will make known his will, and who shall faithfully convey the
message which he has entrusted to them; so that in future there will be no
reason to complain that they are in want of anything. There is an exchange
(eJte>rwsiv)
of the plural for the singular number, when he uses the word Prophet; for
although, as it is expressly interpreted by Peter,
(<440322>Acts
3:22,) that passage relates literally and chiefly to Christ, (because he is the
head of the Prophets, and all of them depend on him for their doctrine, and with
one consent point to him,) yet it relates also to the rest of the Prophets, and
includes them under a collective name.
When he
promised to give them Prophets, by whom he would make known his will and
purpose, the Lord commanded the people to rely on their interpretations and
doctrine And yet it was not intended to make any addition to the Law, but to
interpret it faithfully, and to sanction its authority. Hence also, when Malachi
exhorts the people to adhere to the purity of faith and to be steadfast in the
doctrine of religion, he says,
Remember the law of Moses
my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb, for all Israel
(<390403>Malachi
4:3.)
He reminds them of the Law of God alone, and enjoins
them to be satisfied with it. Does Malachi therefore mean that Prophecies should
be despised? By no means; but as the Prophecies are appendages of the Law, and
are all briefly summed up in the Law, that exhortation was sufficient; for they
who understand that summary of doctrine, and its leading points, and carefully
observe them, assuredly will not neglect the Prophecies. It would be absurd to
boast of attending to the word, were we to disregard the divine interpretations
of it; as many persons at the present day impudently boast of attending to the
word, while they cannot at all endure the godly admonitions and reproofs which
proceed from the doctrine of the word.
Thus when
the Prophets inculcate moral duties, they bring forward nothing new, but only
explain those parts of the Law which had been misunderstood. For instance, the
people thought that they had discharged their duty admirably, when they offered
sacrifices and performed the outward services of religion; for the world
measures God by its own standard, and renders to him a carnal and counterfeited
worship. The Prophets sharply reprove this, and show that all ceremonies are of
no avail, when sincerity of heart is wanting, and that God is worshipped by
believing on him, and by actually calling on his name. This had indeed been
plainly enough declared by the Law; but it was necessary that it should be
earnestly inculcated and frequently brought to their remembrance, and likewise
that there should be an exposure of that hypocrisy with which men cloak
themselves under the guise of ceremonies. As to the Second Table, the Prophets
drew their exhortations from it, for the purpose of showing that men ought to
refrain from all injustice, violence, and deceit. All that they do, therefore,
is nothing else than keeping up the people's obedience to the
Law.
In threatenings and promises, the Prophets
have something peculiar; for what Moses had stated in general terms they
minutely describe. They have likewise visions which peculiarly belong to them,
by which the Lord revealed future events, in order to apply the promises and
threatenings to the use of the people, and to declare more fully the will of
God. Moses threatens, "God will pursue thee in battle; thou shalt be harassed by
enemies abroad and by internal quarrels at home. Thy life shall hang as it were
on a thread; thou shalt tremble at the rustling of a leaf,"
(<032636>Leviticus
26:36,) and such like. On the other hand, the Prophets say, "God will arm the
Assyrians against thee, he will call for the Egyptians by a hiss, he will raise
up the Chaldeans, Israel shall be carried into captivity, the kingdom of Israel
shall be destroyed, the enemy shall lay waste Jerusalem and burn the temple."
Similar observations might be made about the promises. Moses says, "If thou keep
the commandments, the Lord will bless thee;" and then gives a general
description of blessings. But the Prophets enter into detail. "This is the
blessing which the Lord will bestow upon thee." Again, by Moses the Lord
promises in this manner, —
"Though thou be scattered
and driven to the utmost parts of the world, yet will I bring thee back."
(<053004>Deuteronomy
30:4.)
But by the Prophets he says, "Though I drive thee
into Babylon, yet after seventy years will I restore
thee."
F1
As to the free covenant which God
established with the Patriarchs in ancient times, the Prophets are much more
distinct, and contribute more to strengthen the people's attachment to it; for
when they wish to comfort the godly, they always remind them of that covenant,
and represent to them the coming of Christ, who was both the foundation of the
covenant and the bond of the mutual relation between God and the people, and to
whom therefore the whole extent of the promises must be understood to refer.
Whoever understands this will easily learn what we ought to seek in the
Prophets, and what is the purpose of their writings; and this is all that seemed
necessary to be stated here on that
subject.
Hence we may learn in what manner the
doctrine of the word should be handled, and that we ought to imitate the
Prophets, who conveyed the doctrine of the Law in such a manner as to draw from
it advises, reproofs, threatenings, and consolations, which they applied to the
present condition of the people. For although we do not daily receive a
revelation of what we are to utter as a prediction, yet it is of high importance
to us to compare the behavior of the men of our own age with the behavior of
that ancient people; and from their histories and examples we ought to make
known the judgments of God; such as, that what he formerly punished he will also
punish with equal severity in our own day, for he is always like himself. Such
wisdom let godly teachers acquire, if they would wish to handle the doctrine of
the Prophets with any good result.
So much for
the Prophets in general. To come to the Prophet Isaiah, the inscription plainly
shows who he was, and at what time he uttered those prophecies; for it mentions
the name of his father, Amoz, who is supposed to have been the brother of
Azariah, king of Judah. Hence it is evident that Isaiah was of royal descent,
and on this point all the ancients are agreed; and yet neither his birth nor his
near relationship to the king, (for the Jews assert that he was the
father-in-law of Manasseh,) could prevent him from being slain through dislike
of the word; and no greater regard was paid to him than if he had been a person
of humble rank, or had belonged to the lowest condition of
society.
The time when he prophesied is here
pointed out by mentioning the names of the kings. Some think that he began to
prophesy towards the end of the reign of King Uzziah. They found their
conjecture on the vision related in the sixth chapter, by which, Isaiah tells
us, he was confirmed in his office. But that conjecture rests on very slight
grounds, as will be shown at the proper place. From this description it plainly
appears that he prophesied during the reign of Uzziah; and on that point I
cannot entertain any doubt.
However this may be,
it is evident that, at the very least, he prophesied more than sixty-four years;
for Jotham reigned sixteen years,
(<121533>2
Kings 15:33;) Ahaz as many,
(<121603>2
Kings 16:3;) Hezekiah twenty-nine,
(<121802>2
Kings 18:2.) This amounts to sixty-one years. Add the years that he prophesied
during the reign of Uzziah, and afterwards during the reign of Manasseh, by whom
he was put to death; and there will be, at least, sixty-four years during which
Isaiah continued, without interruption, to discharge the office of a Prophet.
There is indeed a highly probable conjecture, amounting almost to certainty,
that he prophesied ten years beyond the period which has now been stated; but as
this does not clearly rest on historical proof, I shall not debate the matter
any farther.
All the servants of God ought
carefully to observe this, that they may consider how patiently they ought to
submit to their condition, how hard and difficult soever it may be, and ought
not to reckon it a disgrace that they must endure many and severe trials, while
they have before their eyes examples of such patience. It is indeed a very
severe trial when they perceive that by their manifold exertions they are doing
no good, and imagine that it would be a thousand times better to relinquish
their post than to labor so long in vain. Such examples, therefore, they ought
frequently to set before them and call to remembrance; how Isaiah, whose labors
were numerous and extensive, had little success, and how Jeremiah continued for
fifty years to cry aloud to the people, though the result was that they became
more and more rebellious, and how no difficulties could turn them aside from
their course. We, too, ought to proceed in the discharge of our duty, and
patiently to endure every kind of annoyances.
It
is proper to observe also the succession of kings, who are here enumerated; for
amidst so great a diversity, it is impossible that the state of public affairs
could remain unchanged, as we know that, whenever any change takes place in a
public station, the greater part of men immediately adopt a new manner of life;
and from this source many vexations must have arisen. The unshaken firmness and
unbroken courage with which he persevered ought to excite all the sergeants of
God to imitation, that they may never bend or turn aside from the right
path.
A question may arise, Was it Isaiah
himself, or some other persons that wrote this inscription to his Prophecy? Not
one of the commentators whose writings I have hitherto perused answers this
question. For my own part, though I cannot fully satisfy my mind, yet I shall
tell what I think. The Prophets, after having publicly addressed the people,
drew up a brief abstract of their discourse, and placed it on the gates of the
temple, that all might see and become more fully acquainted with the prophecy.
When it had been exposed for a sufficient number of days, it was removed by the
ministers of the temple, and placed in the Treasury, that it might remain as a
permanent record. In this way, it is probable, the books of the Prophets were
compiled; and this may be inferred from the second chapter of the book of
Habakkuk, if it be properly examined, and likewise from the eighth chapter of
this Prophecy.
(<350209>Habakkuk
2:9;
<230801>Isaiah
8:1.) Those who have carefully and judiciously perused the Prophets will agree
with me in thinking that their discourses have not always been arranged in a
regular order, but that the roll was made up as occasion served. That these
writings have come down to us through the agency of the Priests, whose duty it
was to transmit the prophecies to posterity, (though the Priests were often the
bitterest enemies of the Prophets,) is a remarkable instance of the providence
of God.
COMMENTARY ON
THE PROPHET ISAIAH
CHAPTER
1
Isaiah Chapter
1:1-31
1. The vision of Isaiah the
son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah,
Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 1. Visio Isaiae filii
Amoz, quam vidit super Iudam et Ierusalem in diebus Usiae, Iotham, Achaz,
Ezechiae, regum Iuda.
2. Hear, O
heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and
brought up, children, and they have rebelled against me. 2. Audite caeli,
et ausculta terra; quia sic Dominus loquitur, Filios educavi et sustuli, ipsi
tamen scelerate egerunt in me, (vel, rebellarunt contra
me.)
3. The ox knoweth his owner,
and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth
not consider. 3. Cognovit bos possessorem suum, et asinus praesepe
dominorum suorum: Israel non cognovit, populus meus non
intellexit.
4. Ah sinful nation, a
people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters!
They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto
anger, they are gone away backward. 4. O gens scelesta, populus onustus
iniquitate, semen malignorum, filii degeneres! Dereliquerunt Iehovam, spreverunt
(vel, provocarunt ad iram) sanctum Israelis, alienati sunt
retrorsum.
5. Why should ye be stricken
any more? ye will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole
heart faint. 5. Quorsum adhuc vos percuterem? Adjicietis
praevaricationem. Totum caput languori, et totum cor
dolori.
6. From the sole of the foot
even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises,
and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither
mollified with ointment. 6. A planta pedis usque ad caput nulla in eo
sanitas. Vulnus, tumor, et saniosa plaga. Nec sunt emplastro curatae, nec
circumligatae, nec oleo delinitae. fuissemus, et similes
Gomorrhae.
7. Your country is
desolate, your cities are burnt with fire: your land, strangers devour it in
your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 7. Terra
vestra in vastitatem: Urbes vestrae igni succensae: terram vestram alieni
devorant in conspectu vestro, redacta est in solitudinem, juxta subversionem
exterorum.
8. And the daughter of Zion
is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a
besieged city. 8. Et residua manebit filia Zion, sicut tugurium in vinea,
sicut diversorium in cucumerario, sicut civitas
vastata.
9. Except the Lord of hosts had
left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should
have been like unto Gomorrah. 9. Nisi Dominus exercituum residuas nobis
fecisset reliquias vel tantillas, quasi
Sodoma
10. Hear the word of the Lord, ye
rulers of Sodom, give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah: 10.
Audite verbum Domini, principes Sodomae: auscultate Legem Dei nostri,
populus Gomorrhae.
11. To what purpose
is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the
burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the
blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. 11. Quorsum mihi
multitudo sacrificiorum vestrorum? Dicit Dominus. Plenus sum holocaustis
arietum, et adipe saginatorum animalium: nec sanguinem boum, aut ovium, aut
hircorum desidero.
12. When ye come to
appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my
courts? 12. Quando venitis ut appareatis coram facie mea, quis hoc e manu
vestra requisivit? Nempe conterere atria
mea.
13. Bring no more oblations-
incense is an abomination unto me; the new-moons and sabbaths, the calling of
assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn
meeting;. 13. Ne pergatis adducere oblationem vanitatis. Incensum
abominatio est mihi. Neomeniam, et sabbathum, et solennes indictiones non
potero: vana res est, nec conventum.
14.
Your new-moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto
me; I am weary to bear them. 14. Neomenias vestras et solennia
vestra odio habet anima mea: superfuerunt mihi loco oneris, fatigatus sum
ferendo.
15. And when ye spread forth
your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I
will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 15. Cum expanderitis manus
vestras, abscondam oculos meos a vobis. Etiamsi multiplicaveritis orationem, ego
non exaudiam. Manus vestrae sanguine plenae
sunt.
16. Wash you, make you clean; put
away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil; 16.
Lavate, mundemini, auferte malitiam studiorum vestrorum a conspectu oculorum
meorum, desinite mala facere.
17. Learn
to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed: Judge the fatherless; plead
for the widow. 17. Discite benefacere: quaerite judicium: restituite
(vel, dirigite) oppressum: jus dicite pupillo: tuemini
viduam.
18. Come now, and let us reason
together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 18.
Venite, agedum, et disceptemus, dixit Dominus: si fuerint peccata vestra ut
coccinum, quasi nix dealbabuntur: si rubicunda fuerint instar purpurae, quasi
lana erunt.
19. If ye he willing and
obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 19. Si volueritis, et
audieritis, bonum terrae comedetis.
20.
But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth
of the Lord hath spoken it. 20. Quod si nolueritis, et rebelles
fueritis, gladio consummemini: quoniam os Domini loquutum
est.
21. How is the faithful city be
come an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now
murderers. 21. Quomodo facta est meretrix civitas fidelis? Plena judicio
fuit: et aequitas pernoctavit (vel, habitavit) in ea; nunc autem
homicidae.
22. Thy silver is become
dross, thy wine mixed with water: 22. Argentum tuum versum est in
scoriam, et vinum tuum est aqua
mixtum.
23. Thy princes are
rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth
after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the
widow come unto them. 23. Principes tui perversi, et socii furum:
unusquisque diligit munus, et inhiat mercedibus: causam pupilli non judicant,
nec causa viduae pervenit ad eos.
24.
Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I
will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: 24.
Propterea dicit Dominus, (vel, Dominator,) Iehovah exercituum, fortis
Israel, Heu! Consolationem capiam super hostibus meis, vindicabor de inimicis
meis.
25. And I will turn my hand upon
thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: 25.
Convertam manum meam super te: purgabo ad liquidum scoriam tuam, et auferam omne
stannum tuum.
26. And I will restore thy
judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou
shalt be called, The city of righteousness, The faithful city. 26. Et
restituam judices tuos sicut a principio, et consiliarios tuos ut ab initio. Tum
dicetur de te, Civitas justitiae, urbs
fidelis.
27 Zion shall be redeemed with
judgment, and her converts with righteousness. 27. Sion in judicio
redimetur, et qui reducentur ad eam, in
justitia.
28. And the destruction of the
transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the
Lord shall be consumed. 28. Contritio autem praevaricatorum et
sceleratorum simul fiet; et qui a Domino defecerunt
consumentur.
29. For they shall be
ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the
gardens that ye have chosen. 29. Nempe pudifient ab arboribus quas
concupivistis, et ignominia afficiemini a lucis quos
elegistis.
30. For ye shall be as an oak
whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. 30. Eritis certe
sicut arbor cujus folium marcessit, et sicut lucus non habens
aquas.
31. And the strong shall be as
tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none
shall quench them. 31. Eritque fortis vester (alias, Deus)
sicut stuppa; et fictor ejus quasi scintilla; et comburentur ambo, nec erit qui
extinguat.
1.
The vision of
Isaiah. The Hebrew word
ˆwzj
(chazon,) though it is derived from
hzj,
(chazah,) he saw, and literally is a vision, yet commonly
signifies a prophecy. For when the Scripture makes mention of special
visions which were exhibited to the prophets in a symbolical manner, when it was
the will of God that some extraordinary event should receive confirmation, in
such cases the word Tibet,
(harm,)
vision, is employed. Not to multiply quotations, in a passage which
relates to prophecy in general the writer says, that
the word of God was
precious, because
ˆwzj,
(chazon,) vision, was of rare occurrence.
(<090301>1
Samuel 3:1.) A little afterwards, the word
harm:
(mar-ah) is employed to denote the vision by which God revealed himself to
Samuel.
(<090313>1
Samuel 3:13.) In distinguishing between two ordinary methods of revelation, a
vision and a dream, Moses speaks of a vision
(harm)
as the special method.
(<041206>Numbers
12:6.) It is evident, however, that the seer,
harh,
(haroeh,) was the name formerly given to prophets,
(<090909>1
Samuel 9:9;) but by way of excellence, because God revealed to them his counsel
in a familiar manner.
So far as relates to the
present passage, this word unquestionably denotes the certainty of the doctrine;
as if it had been said that there is nothing contained in this book which was
not made known to Isaiah by God himself. The derivation of the word,
therefore, deserves attention; for we learn by it that the prophets did not
speak of their own accord, or draw from their own imaginations, but that they
were enlightened by God, who opened their eyes to perceive those things which
otherwise they would not of themselves have been able to comprehend. Thus the
inscription of Isaiah recommends to us the doctrine of this book, as containing
no human reasonings, but the oracles of God, in order to convince us that it
contains nothing but what was revealed by the Spirit of
God.
Concerning
Judah. Were we to render it to Judah, it
would make little difference, for the preposition
l[
(al) has both significations, and the meaning will still be, that
everything contained in this book belongs strictly to
Judah and
Jerusalem. For though many things are scattered
through it which relate to Babylon, Egypt, Tyre, and other cities and countries,
yet it was not necessary that those places should be expressly enumerated in the
title; for nothing more was required than to announce the principal subject, and
to explain to whom Isaiah was chiefly sent, that is, to Jerusalem, and the
Jews. Everything else that is contained in his prophecies may be said to
have been accidental and foreign to the
subject.
And yet it was not inconsistent with
his office to make known to other nations the calamities which should overtake
them; for in like manner Amos did not go beyond the limits of his calling, when
he did not spare the Jews, though he was not sent to them.
(<300204>Amos
2:4, 5.) A still more familiar instance is found in the calling of Peter and
Paul, the former of whom was appointed to the Jews, and the latter to the
Gentiles.
(<480208>Galatians
2:8.) And yet Peter did not rush beyond the limits of his office, by preaching
to the Gentiles; as, for example, when he went to Cornelius:
(<441017>Acts
10:17:) nor did Paul, when he offered his services to the Jews, to whom he
immediately went as soon as he entered into any city.
(<441305>Acts
13:5; 14:l; 17:2, 10; 18:4,19.) In the same light ought we to view Isaiah; for
while he is careful to instruct the Jews, and directs his labors expressly
towards that object, he does not transgress his proper limits when he likewise
takes a passing notice of other
nations.
Judah and
Jerusalem. He takes Judah for the whole
nation, and Jerusalem for the chief city in the kingdom; for he does not
make a distinction between Jerusalem and the Jews, but mentions
it, by way of eminence, (kat j
ejxoch<n,) as the metropolis, just as if a
prophet of the present day were to address the kingdom of France, and Paris,
which is the metropolis of the nation. And this was of great importance, that
the inhabitants of Jerusalem might not hold themselves exempted, as if they were
free from all blame, or placed above the laws on account of their high rank, and
thus might send the meaner sort of people to be instructed by homely prophets.
It is a mistake, however, to suppose that Jerusalem is mentioned
separately, on account of its being situated in the tribe of Benjamin; for the
half of that tribes which was subject to the posterity of David, is included
under the name of Judah.
2.
Hear, O
heavens. Isaiah has here imitated Moses, as all
the prophets are accustomed to do; and there cannot be a doubt that he alludes
to that illustrious Song of Moses, in which, at the very commencement, he calls
heaven and
earth to witness against the
people:
Give ear, O ye heavens,
and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
(<053201>Deuteronomy
32:1.)
This is unquestionably a very severe protestation;
for it conveys this meaning, that both turn to the elements which are dumb and
devoid of feeling, because men have now no ears, or are bereft of all their
senses. The Prophet, therefore, speaks of it as an extraordinary and monstrous
thing, which ought to strike even the senseless elements with amazement. For
what could be more shocking than that the Israelites should revolt from God, who
had bestowed on them so many benefits? Those who think that by heaven are
meant angels, and by earth men, weaken too much the import of those
words, and thus destroy all their force and
majesty.
Almost all the commentators consider
the clause to end with the words,
for the Lord hath
spoken; as if the Prophet had intimated, that
as soon as the Lord opens his sacred mouth, all ought to be attentive to
hear his voice. And certainly this meaning has the appearance of being more
full; but the context demands that we connect the words in a different manner,
so as to make the word hear to refer, not in a general manner to any discourse
whatever, but only to the expostulation which immediately follows. The meaning
therefore is, Hear the complaint which the Lord brings forward,
I have nourished and brought up
children, etc. For he relates a prodigy, which
fills him with such horror that he is compelled to summon dead creatures as
witnesses, contrary to nature.
That no one may
wonder at the circumstance of his addressing dumb and lifeless objects,
experience very clearly shows that the voice of God is heard even by dumb
creatures, and that the order of nature is nothing else than the obedience which
is rendered to him by every part of the world, so that everywhere his supreme
authority shines forth; for at his bidding the elements observe the law laid
down to them, and heaven and earth perform their duty. The earth
yields her fruits; the sea flows not beyond her settled boundaries; the sun,
moon, and stars perform their Courses; the heavens, too, revolve at
stated periods; and all with wonderful accuracy, though they are destitute of
reason and understanding But man, endued with reason and understanding, in whose
ears and in whose heart the voice of God frequently sounds, remains unmoved,
like one bereft of his senses, and cannot bend the neck to submit to him.
Against obstinate and rebellious men shall dumb and lifeless creatures bear
testimony, so that they will one day feel that this protestation was not in
vain.
I have
nourished. Literally it runs, I have made
them great;
F2 but as he is speaking about children, we
cannot obtain a better rendering than I have nourished, or, I have
brought up;
F3 for instead of the verb, to
nourish,
F4 the Latins employ the phrase, to bring
up children.
F5 But
he afterwards mentions other benefits which he had bestowed on them in rich
abundance; as if he had said, that he not only had performed the part of a kind
father, by giving them food and the ordinary means of support, but had labored
to raise them to an honorable rank. For in every sort of kindness towards them
he had, as it were, exhausted himself, as he elsewhere reproaches
them,
What could have been done
to my vineyard that I have not done?
(<230504>Isaiah
5:4.)
A similar charge the Lord might indeed have brought
against all nations; for all of them he feeds, and on all he confers great and
multiplied benefits. But he had chosen the Israelites in a peculiar manner, had
given them a preference above others by adopting them into his family, had
treated them as his most beloved children, had tenderly cherished them in his
bosom, and, in a word, had bestowed on them every kind of
blessings.
To apply these observations to our
own times, we ought to consider whether our condition be not equal, or even
superior to that which the Jews formerly enjoyed. Their adoption into the family
of God bound them to maintain the purity of his worship. Our obligation is
twofold; for not only have we been redeemed by the blood of Christ, but he who
once redeemed us is pleased to favor us with his Gospel, and in this manner
prefers us to all those whom he still allows to remain blinded by ignorance. If
we do not acknowledge these things, how much severer punishment shall we
deserve? For the more full and abundant the grace of God which hath been poured
out on us, the higher will be the ingratitude of which it shall convict
us.
They have
revolted.
F6
Jerome translates it, they have
despised;
F7 but
it is plain enough, from many passages, that
[çp
(pashang) means something more, namely, revolt. God declares, that by no
acts of kindness could they be kept in a state of obedience, that they were
utterly disaffected and estranged, like a son who leaves his father's house, and
thus makes manifest that there remains no hope of his improvement. It is indeed
a monstrous thing that children should not be obedient to their father, and to a
Father who is so kind, and who gives unceasing attention to his family. Lycurgus
refused to enact a law against ungrateful persons, because it was monstrously
unnatural not to acknowledge a benefit received. A child who is ungrateful to
his father is therefore a double monster; but a child who is ungrateful to a
kind and generous father is a threefold monster. For he employs the word
children, not for the purpose of treating them with respect, but in order
to exhibit that revolt in a more striking manner, and in more hateful
colors.
3.
The ox knoweth his
owner. This comparison marks the more strongly
the criminality of the revolt; for the Lord might have compared his
people to the Gentiles; but he is still more severe when he compares them to
dumb beasts, and pronounces them to be more stupid than the beasts are. Though
beasts are destitute of reason and understanding, still they are capable of
being taught; to such an extent, at least, as to recognize those who feed them.
Since, therefore, God had not only fed this people at a stall, but had
nourished them with all the kindness which is wont to be exercised by a
father towards his sons, and had not only filled their bellies, but supplied
them daily with spiritual food; having perceived them to be so exceedingly
sluggish, he justly considers that they deserve to be taught in the school of
beasts, and not of men; and therefore he sends them to the oven and asses to
learn from them what is their duty. Nor ought we to wonder at this; for the
beasts frequently observe the order of nature more correctly, and display
greater kindness, than men themselves.
Not to
multiply instances, it will be sufficient to notice that which is here mentioned
by Isaiah, that the beasts, though they are exceedingly dull and stupid, do,
notwithstanding, obey their masters and those who have the charge of them. But
if we choose to attend to other points in which they excel men, how many shall
we discover? What is the reason why scarcely any animal is cruel to its own
species, and that it recognizes in another its own likeness? What is the reason
why all animals commonly bestow so much care in rearing their young, while it
frequently happens that mothers, forgetful of the voice of nature and of
humanity, forsake their children? What is the reason why they are accustomed to
take no more meat and drink than what is sufficient for sustaining their life
and their strength, while men gorge themselves, and utterly ruin their
constitutions? In a word, What is the reason why they do not, in any respect,
transgress the laws which nature has prescribed to
them?
The papists, who are accustomed to set
aside the true meaning of the Scriptures, and to spoil all the mysteries of God
by their own fooleries, have here contrived an absurd fable; for they have
falsely alleged that the oxen and asses in the stall worshipped
Christ when he was born; by which they show themselves to be egregious asses.
(And indeed I wish that they would imitate the ass which they have invented; for
then they should be asses worshipping Christ, and not lifting up the heel
against his divine authority.) For here the Prophet does not speak of miracles,
but of the order of nature, and declares, that those who overturn that order may
be regarded as monsters. We must not contrive new miracles for the purpose of
adding to the authority of Christ; for, by mingling the false with the true,
there is danger lest both should be disbelieved; nor can there be any doubt but
that, if such a miracle had been wrought, the Evangelists would have committed
it to writing.
Israel doth not
know. The name
Israel,
which he contrasts with those beasts, is emphatic. We know how honorable it was
for the posterity of Abraham to be known by this name, which God had bestowed on
the holy patriarch, because he had vanquished the angel in wrestling.
(<013228>Genesis
32:28.) So much the more dishonorable was it for bastard and rebellious children
to make false boasting of that honor. First, there is an implied reproof, not
only because those who do not at all resemble the holy mall do wrong in assuming
his name, but because they are ungrateful to God, from whom they had received
most valuable blessings. Secondly, there is also conveyed an indirect
comparison; for the higher their rank was in being far exalted above all other
nations, so much the greater disgrace is flow intended to be expressed by
separating them from other nations under the honorable designation of
Israel.
The Greek translators have added
the word me
F8; but
I prefer to repeat what he had said before, Israel doth not know His
Owner, that is, God; nor his crib, that is, the Church, in which he had
been brought up, and to which he ought to be attracted; while those beasts, on
the other hand, recognize the master by whom they are nourished, and willingly
return to the place where they have been
fed.
4.
Ah sinful nation!
F9
Though he held already reproved their crime with sufficient severity, yet, for
the purpose of exposing it still more, he adds an exclamation, by which he
expresses still more strongly his abhorrence of such base ingratitude and
wickedness. Some are of opinion that the particle
ywh
(hoi) denotes grief; Jerome renders it vae (Wo to); but for
my part I reckon it sufficient to say that it is an exclamation, suggested
partly by astonishment, and partly by sorrow. For we burst into loud cries, when
the disgracefulness of the action is such as cannot be expressed in plain terms,
or when we want words to correspond to the depth of our grief Where we have
rendered wicked nation, the Greeks have translated
aJmartwlo<n
that is, a sinner; and such is likewise the rendering of the Vulgate. But
the Hebrew word denotes those who are given up to crime; and the Prophet
unquestionably charges them with abandoned
wickedness.
A people laden
with iniquity. The force of the metaphor ought
to be observed; for not only does he mean that they are sunk in their iniquity,
as in a deep mire, but he likewise brings a charge against them, that they sin,
not through mistake or thoughtlessness, as frequently happens with those who are
easily led astray, but that they follow out their rebellion with a firm purpose
of mind; as if he had said that they were the slaves of sin, or sold to act
wickedly.
When he adds,
a seed of
evil-doers, he means a
wicked
seed. Others, with greater ingenuity, consider
this passage to mean, that they are declared to be unworthy of holding a place
among the children of Abraham, because they are bastards, and not related to
him; as they are elsewhere called the seed of Canaan, and are reproached with
being uncircumcised,
(<240926>Jeremiah
9:26,) as if they had been the descendants of heathens and foreigners. But it is
customary with the Hebrews to employ the phrase, "children of the good" for
"good children," a mode of expression which has been imitated by the
Greeks.
F10
Degenerate
children. The word
µytyjçm
(mashchithim) literally means corrupting, and accordingly
translators supply the word themselves, or, their pursuits. But I
reckon that degenerate is a more appropriate rendering; for the Prophet means
that they are so depraved as to be altogether unlike their parents. The four
epithets which are here bestowed by him on his nation are far from being
honorable, and are widely different from the opinion which they had formed about
themselves. For this is the manner in which we must arouse hypocrites; and the
more they flatter themselves, and the farther they are from being regulated by
the fear of God, so much the more ought we to wield against them the
thunderbolts of words. On such persons a milder form of instruction would
produce no effect, and an ordinary exhortation would not move them. It is
necessary, also, to remove that false conviction of their holiness,
righteousness, and wisdom, which they commonly employ as a disguise, and as the
ground of idle boasting.
For
they have forsaken the Lord. He assigns the
reason why he reproves them with such sharpness and severity. It is, that they
may not complain, as they are wont to do, of being treated with excessive
harshness and rigour. And first he upbraids them with that which is the source
of all evils, their revolt from God; for, as it is the highest perfection of
righteousness to cleave to God, agreeably to those words of Moses,
Now, Israel, what doth thy God require from thee but that thou shouldst
cleave to him?
F11 so, when we have revolted from him, we
are utterly ruined. The design of the Prophet is, not to convince the Jews that
they are guilty of a single crime, but to show that they are wholly
apostates.
The following words,
they have provoked the Holy One
of Israel, whether the word be rendered
provoke, or despise, the latter of which I prefer, are undoubtedly
added in order to place their sin in a still stronger light; for it was
shamefully base to treat with contempt the favor of him who had chosen them
alone out of all the nations to be adopted into his family. This is also the
reason why he calls himself the
Holy One of Israel; because, by admitting them
to alliance with him, he had at the same time adorned them with his
holiness;
for wherever this name occurs it is ascribed to him on account of the effect.
What barbarous pride was there in despising so great an honor! If any one choose
rather to render the word provoke, the meaning will be, that they
rejected God, as if they expressly intended to
provoke his
anger; which shows how detestable their
apostasy is.
They are gone
away backward. The meaning is, that when the
Lord laid down to them a fixed way and rule of living, they were hurried along
by their sinful passions; but he confirms the statement which he had just now
made, that their licentiousness was so unbridled that they utterly revolted from
God, and deliberately turned aside from that course to which their life ought to
have been directed.
5.
Why should ye be stricken any
more? Some render it, Upon what? or,
On what part? and interpret the passage as if the Lord had said that he
had not another scourge left; because so various are the methods by which he has
attempted to bring them back to the path of duty, that no other way of
chastising them remains to be tried. But I prefer to render it Why?
because this corresponds to the Hebrew word, and agrees better with the context.
It is equivalent to phrases in daily use, To what purpose? For what
object?
F12 He
means that the Jews have proceeded to such a pitch of wickedness and crimes,
that it is impossible to believe that chastisements will do them any good; for
when desperate men have been hardened, we know that they will rather be broken
to shreds than submit to correction. He complains of their prodigious obstinacy,
like a physician who should declare that every remedy had been tried, and that
his skill was now exhausted.
At the same time he
charges them with extreme malice; for when ungodly men are not even humbled by
punishments, they have arrived at the very height of wickedness; as if the Lord
had said, "I see that I should do you no good if I were to chastise you;" for
although chastisements and afflictions are the remedies which God employs for
curing our vices, yet, when they are found to be of no advantage to us, we are
past hope. True, indeed, God does not on that account cease to punish us, but,
on the contrary, his wrath against us is the more enflamed; for such obstinacy
God abhors above all things else. But he justly says that his labor is lost when
he does not succeed in bringing us to repentance, and that it is useless to
apply remedies to those who cannot be cured. Thus he does not fail to double
their chastisements and afflictions, and to try the very utmost of what can be
done, and he is even compelled to take this course until he absolutely ruin and
destroy them. But in all this he does not discharge the office of a physician;
but what he laments is, that the chastisements which he inflicts will be of no
avail to his people.
You will
yet grow more faithless. It is a confirmation
of the former statement, and therefore I separate it from the former clause,
though there are some who put them together. It is as if he had said, "Still you
will not cease to practice treachery; yea, you will add to your crimes; for I
perceive that you rush to the commission of iniquity as if you had leagued and
banded yourselves for that purpose, so that we can no longer hope that you will
slacken in your course." The design of God is to exhibit their incorrigible
disposition, that they may be left without
excuse.
The whole head is
sick. Others translate it every head,
and suppose that those terms denote the princes and nobles of the nation. I
rather agree with the opinion of those who render it the whole head; for
I consider it to be a plain comparison taken from the human body, to this
effect, that the body is so severely afflicted that there is no hope of
returning health. He points out two principal parts on which the health of the
body depends, and thus shows the extent of the disease which, he tells us, has
infected this wretched people to such a degree that they are wasting away; that
the disease exists not in a single member, or in the extremities of the body,
but that the heart itself has been wounded, and the head is
severely afflicted; in short, that the vital parts, as they are called, are so
much injured and corrupted that it is impossible to heal
them.
But here also commentators differ; for
some of them view this state of disease as referring to sins, and others to
punishments. Those who view it as referring to sins interpret it thus: "You are
like a rotten and stinking body, in which no part is sound or healthy. Crimes of
the worst description prevail amongst you, by the infection of which every thing
is corrupted and debased." But I choose rather to interpret it as referring to
punishments; for unquestionably God still proceeds with this complaint, that the
nation is so obstinate as to be incapable of being cured by any chastisements,
because, though it has been beaten almost to death, or at least has been maimed
and frightfully torn by repeated blows, still it is not reformed. Such too is
the import of —
6.
From the sole of the foot even
unto the head there is no soundness in it. Here
he proceeds with the same comparison, and repeats the same statement; for
certainly those who explain the former part of the verse, as referring to
punishments, do not sufficiently consider the remaining part of the context. If
we shall admit that a nation corrupted by vices is compared to a diseased body,
what is the meaning of the words which immediately follow, that
the wounds have not been bound up
or mollified with ointment? It is plain that
the Prophet speaks of afflictions by which the nation had almost wasted away,
and that he adduces this long-continued weakness as a proof of hardened
impenitence. He calls it a putrifying sore, from which diseased matter is
continually flowing, as if some concealed fountain were perpetually sending
forth an additional supply of venom. By this comparison he shows that the wound
is incurable, because that supply cannot be stopped. All this is prodigiously
heightened by affirming that no remedies have been applied; for the three
metaphors which he joins together —
they have not been closed,
neither bound up, neither mollified with
ointment — have all the same meaning that
the nation, without any hope of relief, without comfort, without remedy, is
reduced to such a state of distress, that in such punishments the utmost
severity of God is openly displayed.
7.
Your country is
desolate. Literally, it is desolation;
and thus Isaiah goes on to speak more fully and plainly of what he had already
said figuratively about chastisements, that the country has been reduced to a
frightful state of devastation: for I choose to interpret all those statements
as relating to past occurrences, because the Prophet does not threaten the
vengeance of God, but describes those heavy calamities which have already
happened. He upbraids them with indolence and stupidity in remaining unmoved by
their afflictions.
Like the
destruction of strangers
F13.
This is added for the sake of heightening the picture; for the opinion that
µyrz
(zarim) is here put for
µrz
(zerem), an inundation, is farfetched. That word might no doubt be
applied to enemies, but it is better to take it as literally denoting
foreigners. The calamity is more grievous when it is brought on by men
who are unknown, and who have come from a distant country, who lay waste with
far greater recklessness and cruelty than neighboring tribes. Such men destroy
cities, burn houses, buildings, and villages, and spread desolation all around.
In short, they rush forward with barbarous ferocity, bent on murders and
conflagrations, and are more eager to inflict damage than to make gain. But
neighbors, when they have subdued a country, can retain possession of it by
having a garrison, and as soon as a revolt is attempted, or an insurrection
takes place, can send additional troops; and therefore they are not so cruel;
nor do they lay waste a country from which they hope to derive some advantage.
It is therefore no ordinary calamity, but the most shocking of all calamities,
that is here described.
Hence we ought to learn
that, when God begins to punish us, if we do not repent, he does not immediately
desist, but multiplies the chastisements, and continually follows them up with
other afflictions. We ought therefore to abstain from such obstinacy, if we do
not wish to draw down upon ourselves the same punishments, or at least to
deserve the same reproach which was brought against the Jews, that though they
had received sharp warnings, and had felt the hand of God, still they could not
be corrected or reformed.
Moreover, we ought not
to wonder that we are visited with so great an amount and variety of
afflictions, of which we see no end or limit, for by our obstinacy we fight with
God and with his stripes. It must therefore happen with us as with wincing and
unruly horses, which, the more obstinate and refractory they are, have the whip
and spur applied to them with greater severity. In the present day there are
many who almost accuse God of cruelty, as if he always treated us with
harshness, and as if he ought to chastise us more gently; but they do not take
into account our shocking crimes. If those crimes were duly weighed by them,
they would assuredly acknowledge that, amidst the utmost severity, the
forbearance of God is wonderful; and that we may not think that in this case the
Lord was too severe, we must take into consideration the vices which he
afterwards enumerates.
Here an objection will be
started. Why does Isaiah declare that the nation endured such a variety of
afflictions, while we have already mentioned that he began to prophesy under
Uzziah,
F14
during whose reign the kingdom of Judah was in a prosperous condition?
(<142605>2
Chronicles 26:5-1 a.) For although, towards the end of his life, the kingdom of
Israel met with some disasters, still this did not affect the kingdom of Judah.
Accordingly, the Jews think that these words relate to the reign of Jotham,
(<121532>2
Kings 15:32,) and not of Uzziah. Their opinion appears at first sight to have
little weight; and yet, when the whole matter is examined, it is not destitute
of probability; for we know that the prophets did not always attend to
chronological arrangement in collecting their prophecies; and it is possible
that this discourse of Isaiah was placed first in order for no other reason but
because it contains a summary view of that doctrine which is afterwards to be
delivered.
Others think that they can easily get
rid of the difficulty by interpreting the whole passage as a description of
vice, and not of punishments; but what is said about the burning of cities and
about the desolation of the country cannot easily be disposed of in that manner.
If it is supposed that the Prophet speaks of the future and not the present
condition of that kingdom, and that in the name of God he foretells approaching
calamities, though they did not behold them with their eyes, I do not greatly
object to that view, though it is probable that he treats of events which were
known to them. It is a real narrative, and not a prediction, though in the next
verse I acknowledge he announces the approaching
result.
8.
And the daughter of Zion shall be
left
F15
as a cottage in a vineyard.
He alludes to a custom which exists in France, that
the vinekeepers rear a cottage for themselves when the grapes begin to
ripen. His next comparison, which is closely allied to the former, is taken from
a custom of that nation of protecting also gardens of
cucumbers
F16 by
means of men who kept watch during the night. He next explains what he intended
to convey by both
comparisons.
Like a besieged
city. This may be explained in two ways; either
that the whole country will be wasted, with the solitary exception of the
city, which shall be left standing like a cottage, or that the
city itself will be destroyed. The former interpretation is adopted by the Jews,
and they understand this passage to relate to the siege of Senllacherib; but I
think that it has a wider signification, and embraces other calamities which
followed afterwards. This may indeed refer to the neighboring country, from the
misery and devastation of which it was impossible but that the city should
sustain much damage; but I consider the Prophet's meaning to be, that the evils
of which he speaks shall reach even to the city itself, until, broken and
ruined, it shall wear the aspect of a mean
cottage.
The daughter
of Zion is the name here given to Jerusalem, in
accordance with what is customary in Scripture to give the designation of
daughter
to any nation, in the same manner as the daughter of Babylon
(<234701>Isaiah
47:1) and the daughter of Tyre
(<194512>Psalm
45:12) are names given to the Tyrians and Babylonians.
Zion
is the name here employed rather than Jerusalem, on account of the
dignity of the temple; and this figure of speech, by which a part is taken for
the whole, is frequently employed.
9.
Except the Lord of hosts had left
unto us. Here he concludes what he had formerly
declared concerning God's chastisements, that the desolation which shall take
place — or rather which is present, and which they now behold — may
be compared to the destruction of Sodom, were it not that the Lord
snatched as it were from the
burning a very small
remnant. And this verse confirms what I
formerly said, that the Prophet's description of the calamities which had
already taken place is interwoven with those events which were immediately at
hand, as if he had said, Be not deceived by flatteries; you would be in the same
condition that Sodom and Gomorrah now are, were it not that God, in compassion
on you, has preserved a remnant. This agrees with the words of
Jeremiah,
It is of the Lord's
mercies that we are not consumed.
(<250322>Lamentations
3:22.)
Hence we ought to observe two things. First, the
Prophet here describes utter destruction; and yet, because God had to deal with
his Church and his beloved people, that judgment is mitigated by special grace,
so that out of the general ruin of the whole nation God rescues his people, whom
he justly compares to a very small remnant. But if God punished the
crimes of the Jews by such dreadful chastisements, let us consider that we may
share the same fate if we imitate their rebellion: for God had set apart that
nation for himself, and had distinguished them from the ordinary lot of other
men. Why then should he spare us if we shall be hardened in our ungodliness and
treachery? Or rather, what is likely to be the result of that mass and sink of
crimes in which men throughout the whole world give way to their passions?
Unquestionably it will be the same with the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah,
unless his vengeance shall be restrained by a regard to that gracious covenant
in which he promised that the Church shall be eternal; and this threatening,
which is truly awful and alarming, is applicable to all obstinate and incurable
men, whose vices no punishments can destroy or
weaken.
Again, we ought to observe that saying
of Jeremiah, which I have already glanced at, that it must be attributed to the
tender mercies of God that we are not altogether destroyed.
(<250222>Lamentations
2:22.) For if We Shall Consider the vast amount Of wickedness which prevails
among all classes, we shall wonder that even a single individual is left, and
that all have not been removed from the land of the living; and in this way God
withdraws his hand,
(<262022>Ezekiel
20:22,) that there may be some Church preserved in the world. This is the reason
assigned by Paul, who is the best interpreter of this passage, when, by quoting
it, he represses the haughtiness of the Jews, that they may not boast of the
mere name, as if it had been enough that they were descended from the fathers;
for he reminds them that God could act towards them as he had formerly done
towards the fathers, but that through his tender mercies a remnant shall be
saved.
(<450527>Romans
5:27.) And why? That the Church may not utterly perish; for it is through the
favor which he bears towards it that the Lord, though our obstinacy lays him
under the necessity of trying the severest judgments, still reserves some small
seed.
(<450929>Romans
9:29.) This statement ought to yield us powerful consolation even in those
heaviest calamities in which we are apt to think that it is all over with the
Church; that, though everything should go into confusion, and the world, as we
say, be turned upside down, we may persevere with unshaken fortitude, and may
rest assured that God will always be mindful of his
Church.
A very small
remnant. This clause may be connected either
with what goes before or with what follows, and accordingly some render it,
We would have been almost like Sodom. But I prefer connecting it with the
former clause, so as to deduce that the number which God had reserved out
of the destruction is small. Some think that:
k
(caph) is here used affirmatively, so as to express the matter more
strongly; and I have no objection to that view, though we may take it in its
natural and literal signification, as if he had said, "and that shall be a small
number." This declaration ought to be carefully observed; for if the Church does
not spread far and wide, men are wont to despise her. Hence it comes that
hypocrites are proud of their numbers; and weak men, terrified by the pompous
display of those numbers, stagger. We also learn from it that we ought not to
judge by the largeness of the number, unless we choose to prefer the chaff to
the wheat, because the quantity is greater; but we ought to be satisfied with
knowing that, though the number of the godly be small, still God acknowledges
them as his chosen people; and we ought also to call to remembrance that
consolatory saying,
Fear not, little flock;
for it is your Father's good
pleasure
to give you the kingdom.
(<421232>Luke
12:32.)
10.
Hear the word of the
Lord. He confirms what he had formerly said,
that the Lord's vengeance is not cruel; because they deserved far more severe
punishment. For although there was a difference between them and the inhabitants
of Sodom as to punishment, yet their guilt was the same; so that equal
punishment might have been inflicted, if the Lord had not spared them. It
amounts to this, that, if they have received milder treatment, it is not because
they have sinned less heinously than the inhabitants of Sodom, but it
must be ascribed to the mercy of God.
When he
gives to the rulers the name of Sodom, and distinguishes the
people by the name of Gomorrah, this does not point out that there
is a difference, but rather that their condition is alike. But by repeating the
same thing twice, the diversity of the names lends additional elegance; as if he
had said, that there is no greater difference between the rulers and the
people than there is between Sodom and Gomorrah. There is,
no doubt, an allusion to the various ranks of men, by assigning to them,
separately, as it were, two cities; but as Sodom and Gomorrah mean
the same thing, we perceive that he throws them, as it were, into one bundle. In
short, the meaning is, "If any one shall form an opinion about the people and
the rulers, he will find that there is as close a resemblance between them as
between Sodom and Gomorrah, or between one egg and another; for no one part is
more sound than any other part."
The Prophet
begins with stripping the Jews of their disguises, and justly; for while all
hypocrites are accustomed to employ strange coverings for concealing themselves
from view, that nation was particularly addicted to this vice, and on no subject
did the prophets contend with them more keenly or fiercely. Along with their
vaunting about pretended holiness pride also reigned, and they boasted of the
grandeur and excellency of their nation as much as of ceremonies and outward
worship. So much the more were they offended at the great harshness with which
Isaiah addressed them. But it was necessary to drag their wickedness from their
lurking places, and therefore the more haughty their demeanour, the greater is
the vehemence with which the Prophet thunders against them. In the same manner
ought we to deal with all
hypocrites.
The word of the
Lord. The Prophet takes the word and the
law for the same thing; and yet I fully believe that he purposely
employed the term law, in order to glance at their absurd opinion;
because, by imagining that the offering of sacrifices, unaccompanied by faith
and repentance, can appease God, they put an absurd interpretation on the
law. By these words he reminded them that, by quoting Moses to them, he
introduces nothing new and makes no addition to the law; that it is only
necessary for them to hear what the will of God is; and that on this subject he
will faithfully instruct them. Lest they should suppose that, by an unfounded
belief of their own righteousness, they can deceive God, he likewise reminds
them that the law gives no countenance to them in this
matter.
11.
To what purpose is he multitude
of your sacrifices to me? Isaiah now introduces
God as speaking, for the purpose of making known his own meaning; for it belongs
to a lawgiver not only to issue commands, but likewise to give a sound
interpretation to the laws, that they may not be abused. Beyond all doubt, the
former reproof was exceedingly unpalatable and oppressive to them; for what
language expressive of stronger disapprobation or abhorrence could have been
employed? They gloried in the name of Abraham, boasted that they were his
children, and on this ground maintained a haughty demeanor. This is the reason
why the Prophet arms himself with the authority of God against them; as if he
had said, "Know that it is not with me but with God that you have to
do."
Next he explains the intention and design
of God in demanding sacrifices; that he does so, not because he sets a high
value on them, but in order that they may be aids to piety; and, consequently,
that the Jews were greatly mistaken who made all their holiness to consist of
those services. For they thought that they had performed their duty admirably
well when they offered sacrifices of slain beasts; and when the prophets
demanded something beyond this, they complained that they were treated harshly.
Now the Lord says that he rejects and abhors them, which may appear to be
excessive severity, for it was by him that they were appointed. But it ought to
be observed that some of the commandments of God ought to be obeyed on their own
account, while others of them have a remoter object. For instance, the law
enjoins us to serve and worship God, and next enjoins us to do good to our
neighbors.
(<050605>Deuteronomy
6:5;
<031918>Leviticus
19:18.) These things are in themselves acceptable to God, and are demanded on
their own account. The case is different with ceremonies; for they are
performances which are not demanded on their own account, but for a different
reason. The same thing may be said of fasting;
For the kingdom of God
does not consist in meat and drink;
(<451417>Romans
14:17;)
and therefore fasting is directed to another
object.
It follows, therefore, that ceremonies
were not appointed in such a manner as if they were a satisfaction by which he
should be appeased, but in order that by means of them the nation might be
trained to godliness, and might make greater and greater progress in faith and
in the pure worship of God. But hypocrites observe them with the most scrupulous
care, as if the whole of religion turned on this point, and think that they are
the most devout of all men, when they have long and anxiously wearied themselves
in observing them. And that they may be thought more devout, they likewise add
something of their own, and daily contrive new inventions, and most wickedly
abuse the holy ordinances of God, by not keeping in view their true object. All
their ceremonies, therefore, are nothing else than corruptions of the worship of
God. For when their whole attention is given to the outward and naked
performance, in what respect do their sacrifices differ from the sacrifices of
the Gentiles, which, we know, were full of sacrilege, because they had no regard
to a lawful end?
This is the reason why the Lord
rejects those ceremonies, though they had been appointed by his authority,
because the nation did not consider the object and purpose for which they were
enjoined. The unceasing contest between the prophets and the nation was to tear
off these masks, and to show that the Lord is not satisfied with merely outward
worship, and cannot be appeased by ceremonies. In all places godly ministers
have experience of the same kind of conflicts; for men always form their
estimate of God from themselves, and think that he is satisfied with outward
display, but cannot without the greatest difficulty be brought to offer to him
the integrity of their heart.
All the perplexity
of this passage will be easily removed by Jeremiah, who says,
When I redeemed your
fathers out of Egypt, I did not order them to offer sacrifices to me; I only
enjoined them to hear me and to keep my commandments.
(<240722>Jeremiah
7:22.)
For he shows that the observance of ceremonies
depends wholly on the word, and that it is as idle and unprofitable to separate
there from the word as it would be for the soul to be parted from the body. To
this also belongs the argument in
<195013>Psalm
50:13, 14, —
Will I eat the flesh of
bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows
to the Most High.
And in another passage the same Jeremiah
says,
"Trust not in words of
falsehood, saying, The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of
the LORD are we.
But rather excel
in doing good, etc."
(<240704>Jeremiah
7:4.)
The Prophet Micah likewise says, "Doth the LORD take
pleasure in thousands of rams, or in ten thousand rivers of oil?" Immediately
afterwards he adds,
"I will show thee, O man,
what is good, and what the LORD requireth from thee, namely, to do justly, to
love mercy,
and to walk humbly with
thy God."
(<330607>Micah
6:7, 8.)
From these passages it is evident that the reason why
ceremonies are condemned is, that they are separated from the word as from their
soul. Hence we see how great is the blindness of men, who cannot be convinced
that all the pains they take to worship God are of no advantage unless they flow
from integrity of heart. Nor is this vice confined to the common people, but is
found in almost all men; and in those who in their opinion excel all others.
Hence springs the notion of the efficacy which belongs to the mere performance
of the outward act — or, as they call it, the opus operatum —
which Popish doctors have contrived, and which at the present day keeps a firm
hold of the minds of many. Now here it is not man but God himself who speaks,
and who pronounces, by an unchangeable decree, that all that men do is in vain
offered for his acceptance, is empty and unprofitable, unless they call upon him
with true faith.
12.
Who hath required this at your
hand? What an admirable confutation of false
worship, when God declares that they will not come before him according to the
appointed manner, and makes a general declaration, that in vain do they offer to
him anything which he does not require; for he does not choose to