He upbraideth their service.

Before CHRIST

in a garden of cucumbers, as a beabout 760. sieged city.

d Lam. 3. 22.

Rom. 9. 29.

d

9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we e Gen. 19. 24. should have been as e Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

Heb. great the goats.

he goats.

+ Heb. to be seen.

| Or, grief.

12 When ye come + to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?

13 Bring no more vain 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.

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

Cant. ii. 15. Fruits of the gourd kind are in great request in the Levant for their cooling quality. Bp. Lowth. See note from Hasselquist on Numb. xi. 5.

10.—ye rulers of Sodom;-ye people of Gomorrah.] The incidental mention of these places in the preceding verse suggested to the Prophet this spirited address to the rulers and inhabitants of Jerusalem, under the character of princes of Sodom, and people of Gomorrah. Bp. Lowth.

11. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices &c.] Those hypocritical services which had no godliness, no sincerity, no true love of God in them, were not the services which God required, (ver. 12,) or took delight in. God would not accept of vain compliments, nor be bribed with pretended gifts, offered only to excuse from duty, to compound for sin, and to palliate unjust dealing. Dr. Waterland.

15.—I will hide mine eyes from you:-I will not hear:] What is the reason of all this? Because they were defective in the moral duties of religion; as it follows, "your hands are full of blood," &c. No instituted service, no positive part of religion whatsoever, was ever acceptable, when moral duties were neglected: nay, so far from this are they, that God rejects them with abhorrence and disdain. We see from this what was acceptable to God for itself and its own sake in the Jewish religion and under the Gospel our Saviour prefers a moral duty before any gift, Matt. v. 23, 24. Abp. Tillotson.

What God says here to the Jews for their overmultiplied fasts, and uncommanded sacrifices, He will say to all, who do any thing that agrees not with his laws, however specious and plausible, however good and acceptable it may seem to them. God" cannot

He exhorteth to repentance.

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 h† blood.

16 Wash you, make you clean; ¶ put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; 'cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, || relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

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.

19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

21 ¶ How is the faithful city become an harlot ! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:

23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one

Before
CHRIST

about 760.

g Prov. 1. 28.

Jer. 14. 12.

Mic. 3. 4. + Heb. multiply prayer.

Chap. 59. 3. 1 Pet. 3. 11.

+ Heb. bloods.

Or, righten.

away with" any thing but the performance of his own will! Bp. Beveridge.

66

16. Wash you, make you clean;] This refers to the preceding verse, your hands are full of blood," and alludes to the legal washings commanded on several occasions. Bp. Lowth. The pardon of sin upon repentance is expressed in Scripture by cleansing and purifying, to denote that the outward cleansing of the flesh was designed to put men in mind of the inward purification from sin and unrighteousness. Dr. Jenkin.

16, 17.- cease to do evil; Learn to do well;] The order in which these words are placed was evidently designed to teach us that the foundation of acting right is the avoiding of every thing wrong: several parts of Scripture lay down the same rule in almost the same terms, (see Amos v. 15, and places there quoted in the margin,) and many express or imply the same doctrine. Scarce any words are strong enough to express how much good bare cessation from doing evil would produce, and how great is the importance of the plain humble duty of an inoffensive life; in proportion as we root out hurtful inclinations, right ones will not fail to shoot up, and bring forth fruit, if in less quantity, yet such as will be accepted, but probably in plenty. Abp. Secker.

21. How is the faithful city become an harlot !] See the note on Exod. xxxiv. 16.

22. Thy silver is become dross,] Those good graces, which thou didst once profess to have, are now utterly corrupted and depraved; thine obedience, which was once sincere and pure, is now adulterated with abominable wickedness. Bp. Hall.

thy wine mixed with water:] An image used for the adulteration of wine, with more propriety than may

6. & 73. 27.

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 :

25 ¶ And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

threateneth destruction to the wicked.

be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

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.

30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath

no water.

Before CHRIST about 760,

work.

31 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and Or, and his they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

CHAP. II.

Isaiah prophesieth the coming of Christ's

kingdom. 6 Wickedness is the cause of God's forsaking. 10 He exhorteth to fear, because of the powerful effects of God's majesty.

THE word that Isaiah the

& 92. 9. &

104. 35. + Heb. breaking.

THE

1

at first appear, if what Thevenot says of the people of the Levant of late times was true of them formerly: he says, "they never mingle water with their wine to drink, but drink by itself what water they think proper for abating the strength of the wine." Whereas the Greeks and Latins by mixed wine understood wine diluted and lowered with water: the Hebrews generally mean by it, wine made stronger by the addition of higher and more powerful ingredients. Drunkards are accordingly described, Prov. xxiii. 30, as seeking mixed wine;" and Isa. v. 22, as "mighty to mingle strong drink." Such was the spiced wine," mentioned Cant. viii. 2. And hence the Psalmist took that highly poetical and sublime idea of the cup of God's wrath, (see Ps. lxxv. 8,) called by Isaiah, "the cup of trembling," chap. li. 17. Bp. Lowth.

66

24. Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries,] See the notes on Gen. vi. 6.

25. - take away all thy tin:] A very small quantity of tin makes silver extremely brittle, and it is difficult to separate these two metals; this gives peculiar force to the expression of the Prophet in this passage, as he had employed an allusion to silver at ver. 22. Parkhurst.

26.I will restore thy judges as at the first, &c.] This relates, at least in its primary sense, to the restoration of the Jews after the seventy years of captivity. The promise contained in the latter part of this verse, taken in its full extent, relates to more flourishing times of the Church than the world has yet seen. W. Lowth. 29. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks &c.] The sacrificing in groves and shady places was an ancient rite of idolatry. This kind of worship is expressly forbidden in the law, Deut. xii. 2, 3; xvi. 21: and yet prevailed so much in the times of idolatrous kings, that the practice was not quite laid aside under religious princes. See 1 Kings xv. 14; xxii. 43. W. Lowth.

30. - as a garden that hath no water.] To enter into the energy of this comparison, we must consider, that in the hotter parts of the Eastern countries, a constant supply of water is necessary for the cultivation and even to the existence of a garden. There are none therefore without such a certain supply, either from some neighbouring river, or reservoirs collected from springs, or filled with rain-water in the proper season. The im

mense works made by the ancient kings of Egypt for receiving the waters of the Nile, when it overflowed, for such uses, are well known: Solomon mentions his own works of the kind, Eccles. ii. 5, 6. All the gardens of Aleppo, according to Dr. Russell, are on the banks of the river that runs by that city, or on the sides of the rill that supplies their aqueduct; and Maundrell informs us, that at Damascus there is not a garden that has not a fine quick stream running through it. Harmer, Bp. Lowth.

31. and the maker of it] The marginal reading, "and his work," expresses the sense better, namely, that the idolaters and their devices shall perish together, however supported by secular power, or recommended by worldly grandeur. W. Lowth.

The same sense is conveyed by understanding the text in the following manner: And that mighty idol. whereto ye trust, shall be as tow; and the maker and worshipper of that idol shall be as a spark; and both of them shall burn together with unquenchable fire. Bp. Hall.

Chap. II. The prophecy, contained in the second, third, and fourth chapters, makes one continued discourse. The first five verses of this chapter foretel the kingdom of Messiah, the conversion of the Gentiles, and their admission into the Church. From the sixth verse to the end is foretold the punishment of the unbelieving Jews for their idolatrous practices, their confidence in their own strength, and distrust of God's protection; and moreover the destruction of idolatry in consequence of the establishment of Messiah's kingdom. The whole of the third chapter, with the first verse of the fourth, is a prophecy of the calamities of the Babylonian invasion and captivity; with a particular amplification of the distress of the proud and luxurious daughters of Zion. Chap. IV. 2-6, promises to the remnant, which shall have escaped this severe purgation, a future restoration to the favour and protection of God. This prophecy was probably delivered in the time of Jotham, or perhaps in that of Uzziah. Bp. Lowth.

Ver. 1. The word that Isaiah-saw] That is, the vision. W. Lowth.

2 And it shall come to pass in the about 760. last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be || established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

a Mic. 4. 1, &c. | Or, prepared.

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into

| Or, scythes. || pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

2. And it shall come to pass in the last days,] "The last days" signify in the Prophets, the times of the Messiah. This phrase by no means necessarily imports the speedy end of this material world; but only that, how long soever God shall suffer it to endure, He hath no subsequent dispensation in reserve; but hath fixed the Christian for that doctrine, and service, and trial, by which mankind are to express their obedience to Him, so long as there shall continue to be any state of discipline or obedience at all. W. Lowth, Dean Stanhope. the mountain of the Lord's house &c.] From the situation of the Jewish temple on mount Moriah, a mountain is made to stand for the Christian Church: of the exaltation of which, and its wonderful prosperity and enlargement, this passage is a prophetical promise. Bp. Hurd, Jos. Mede. As we see the glorious characters here set forth in part brought to pass long ago, by the enlarging of the Messiah's dominion over the many and distant countries where his doctrine hath been received; so have we reason to embrace those gradual advances of his kingdom in men's hearts, as so many earnest and undoubted pledges of that absolute and unbounded conquest, which He shall make over ignorance and errour, when the season of exerting his grace more plentifully shall come, and effectually prepare, as well as proclaim, the nearer approaches of his kingdom of glory. Dean Stanhope.

3.

Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,] That is, Let us join ourselves to the Christian Church. The phrase alludes to the Jews going up in companies to Jerusalem at the three solemn feasts of the year. W. Lowth.

4. — nation shall not lift up sword against nation, &c.] Throughout the Prophets, the time of the Messiah is represented as a time of universal peace and godliness, in which the natures of men should be changed, and all malice and ill-nature rooted out. He Himself is called "the Prince of Peace," chap. ix. 6. The spiritual sense implies Christ's being the Great Peace-maker; who should reconcile both Jews and Gentiles to God, and to each other. But if we look upon this and the like prophecies, as foretelling the outward peacefulness of the kingdom or Church of Christ, they seem to relate to some future flourishing state of the Church,

Sin the cause of God's forsaking.

5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Before CHRIST about 760.

6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished || from the or, more east, and are soothsayers like the Phi- than the east. listines, and they || please themselves | Or, abound in the children of strangers.

7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:

8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:

9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

10 Enter into the rock, and hide

with the children, &c.

when, after having subdued all his enemies, He shall give rest unto his faithful servants, 2 Thess. i. 7. Dr. T. Burnett, W. Lowth. See notes on chap. ix. 6.

6. Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people-because &c.] This might more clearly be translated, "For this reason Thou hast forsaken thy people, because" &c. W. Lowth.

they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers &c.] Chaldea and Syria, situated to the east of Judea, were famous for pretenders to divination, &c. (see chap. xlvii. 13; Numb. xxiii. 7;) as were the Philistines, who lay to the west, 1 Sam. vi. 2. The Jews invited and encouraged these. W. Lowth. Now the consulting of wizards and diviners, as was practised by the nations of Canaan, paying any regard to those pretenders to Divine knowledge, or suffering such to live among them, is prohibited, Deut. xviii. 10-14; as also filling the land with horses, gold, and silver, (ver. 7,) is in direct contradiction to God's command in the law, Deut. xvii. 16, 17. Dr. Berriman, Bp. Lowth. God there forbids his people the use of horses and chariots, Deut. xx. 1.4; He promises that He will be to them instead. This law, therefore, was to be a standing trial of prince and people, whether they had confidence in God their Deliverer. He had taken the defence of Israel upon Himself, and, whenever the people took it out of his hands, they were sure to be undone. There was no moral evil in having a country full of horses, but the kings of Israel were exalted to the throne on condition that they should renounce such assistance, and depend on God for success in the day of battle. Joshua, the Judges, and David, observed this law; and Solomon, for a time; but in his reign things quickly changed; and his successors followed his example. Bp. Sherlock. See the notes on Deut. xvii. 16; Josh. xi. 6; 1 Kings x. 28; 2 Kings xxiii. 29.

9.-forgive them not.] That is, Thou wilt not forgive them. The imperative is here taken for the future. See the like instances, chap. vi. 10; xxiii. 16; Zech. xiii. 7. God's judgments are sometimes foretold as imprecations: many of those in the Psalms may be understood as so many predictions. W. Lowth. See notes at Ps. v. 10; Ps. cix.

10. Enter into the rock, &c.] The remainder of the chapter is a prediction of some general judgment, end

OR, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,

3 The captain of fifty, and the countenance. honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the || eloquent orator.

Or, skilful

of speech.

a Eccles. 10. 16.

+ Heb. lift up the hand. + Heb.

binder up.

4 And I will give a children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:

7 In that day shall he † swear, saying, I will not be an † healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.

warns us, to " cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils," that is, from trusting in mere man; "for wherein is he to be accounted of?" But let us hold fast the profession of our faith in Christ, who is not a mere man, having breath in his nostrils only; but hath life in Himself, yea, is Life itself, and therefore God as well as Man. Wogan.

Chap. III. ver. 1. the whole stay of bread, &c.] Bread is commonly called the " staff of life." Levit. xxvi. 26; Ezek. xiv. 13. This judgment seems to relate to the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. See Jer. xxxvii. 21; Ezek. iv. 16. The following verses, 2, 3, are very clearly explained by the sacred historian's account of the captivity of Jehoiachin_by_Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings xxiv. 14. W. Lowth, Bp. Lowth.

4.- I will give children to be their princes,] This also was fully accomplished in the succession of weak and wicked princes, from the death of Josiah to the destruction of the city and temple, and the taking of Zedekiah, the last of them. Bp. Lowth.

5.- the people shall be oppressed, &c.] The character of a weak government, where faction gets the better of authority, and every one does what is right in his own eyes. Bp. Wilson.

7. — I will not be an healer ;] The expression seems

The oppression of the rulers.

Before CHRIST

8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue about 760. and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they bGen. 13. 13. hide it not. Woe unto their soul! 19. 5. for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

:

11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be † given him. 12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, which lead thee cause thee to err, and +destroy the way of thy paths.

they

13 The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.

+ Heb. done to him.

Or, they thee blessed.

which call

+ Heb. swallow up.

14 The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have || eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of Or, burnt. the poor is in houses. your

15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

to apply to repairing what is destroyed in a kingdom or state. Parkhurst.

in my house is neither bread nor clothing: &c.] He alleges that he has not wherewithal to support the dignity of the station, by such liberality and hospitality as the custom required of persons of superiour rank. See 1 Kings iv. 22, 23; Neh. v. 17, 18. The Eastern treasures anciently consisted very much in large quantities of clothing; and princes and great men now are obliged to have a large stock in readiness, for presents on all occasions. Bp. Lowth, Sir J. Chardin.

10, 11. Say ye to the righteous, &c.] Thus do the Scriptures represent to us the different condition of good and bad men, which is often true in this world; and, however that happen, will most certainly and remarkably be made good in the next. Abp. Tillotson.

12.they which lead thee] Thy weak governours, called metaphorically, (as before, ver. 4,) children, and women. The margin reads, "they which call thee blessed;" which may mean, the false prophets, who soothe thee in thy sins, and foretel nothing but peace and prosperity. Compare chap. ix. 15, 16. W. Lowth.

15.-grind the faces] The expression and the image is strong, to denote grievous oppression; but is exceeded by the prophet Micah, iii. 1-3. Bp. Lowth.

16.wanton eyes,] The original gives, as the mar