Isaiah 56 commentary

The Lord tells us what are his expectations of duty from us. Be honest and just in all dealings. Also strictly observe the sabbath day. To have the blessing of God upon employments all the week, make conscience of keeping the sabbath holy. Have nothing to do with sin. Blessed is the man that keeps his hand from all things displeasing to God and hurtful to his own soul. Those who, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith, will be found walking in ways of holy obedience.

Unbelief often suggests things to discourage believers, against which God has expressly guarded. Spiritual blessings are unspeakably better than having sons and daughters; for children are a care, and may prove a grief and shame, but the blessings we partake of in God's house, are comforts which cannot be made bitter. Those who love the Lord truly, will serve him faithfully, and then his commandments are not grievous. Three things are promised. Assistance: I will not only bid them welcome, but incline them to come. Acceptance, and comfort: though they came mourning to the house of prayer, they shall go away rejoicing. They shall find ease by casting their cares and burdens upon God. Many a sorrowful spirit has been made joyful in the house of prayer. The Gentiles shall be one body with the Jews, that, as Christ says, John 10:16, there may be one fold and one Shepherd. Thanks be to God that none are separated from him except by wilful sin and unbelief; and if we come to him, we shall be accepted through the sacrifice of our great High Priest.

Desolating judgments are called for; and this severe rebuke of the rulers and teachers of the Jewish church, is applicable to other ages and places. It is bad with a people when their shepherds slumber, and are eager after the world. Let us pray the Great Shepherd to send us pastors after his own heart, who will feed us with knowledge, that we may rejoice in his holy name, and that believers may be daily added to the church.

CHAPTER 56

Is 56:1-12. The Preparation Needed on the Part of Those Who Wish to Be Admitted to the Kingdom of God.

1. judgment--equity. John the Baptist preached similarly a return to righteousness, as needed to prepare men for Messiah's first coming (Lu 3:3, 8-14). So it shall be before the second coming (Mal 4:4-6).

near to come--(Mt 3:2; 4:17), also as to the second coming (Is 62:10, 11; Lu 21:28, 31; Ro 13:11, 12; He 10:25).

righteousness--answering to "salvation" in the parallel clause; therefore it means righteousness which bringeth salvation (Is 46:13; Ro 3:25, 26).

2. (Lu 12:43).

the man--Hebrew, enosh, "a man in humble life," in contradistinction to Hebrew, ish, "one of high rank." Even the humblest, as "the stranger" and "the eunuch" (Is 56:4, 6), are admissible to these privileges.

this ... it--what follows: "keeping the Sabbath," &c. (Is 58:13, 14; Eze 20:12). A proof that the Sabbath, in the spirit of its obligation, was to be binding under the Gospel (Is 66:23). That gospel times are referred to is plain, from the blessing not being pronounced on the man who observed the sacrificial ritual of the Jewish law.

layeth hold--image from one grasping firmly some precious object which he is afraid of having forcibly snatched from him. The "Sabbath" here includes all the ordinances of divine worship under the new gospel law.

keepeth ... hand ... from ... evil--The observance of the second table of the law; as the "Sabbath" referred to the first table. Together, they form the whole duty of man, the worship of God and a holy life.

3. God welcomes all believers, without distinction of persons, under the new economy (Ac 10:34, 35).

joined ... to ... Lord--(Nu 18:4, 7). "Proselytes."

separated--Proselytes from the Gentiles were not admitted to the same privileges as native Israelites. This barrier between Jews and Gentiles was to be broken down (Ep 2:14-16).

eunuch--(Ac 8:27, &c.). Eunuchs were chamberlains over harems, or court ministers in general.

dry tree--barren (compare Lu 23:31); not admissible into the congregation of Israel (De 23:1-3). Under the Gospel the eunuch and stranger should be released from religious and civil disabilities.

4. please me--sacrifice their own pleasure to mine.

take hold--so "layeth hold" (see on Is 56:2).

5. in mine house--the temple, the emblem of the Church (1Ti 3:15). They shall no longer be confined as proselytes were, to the outer court, but shall be admitted "into the holiest" (He 10:19, 20).

a place--literally, "a hand."

than of sons--Though the eunuch is barren of children (Is 56:3), I will give him a more lasting name than that of being father of sons and daughters (regarded as a high honor among the Hebrews) (Joh 1:12; 10:3; 1Jo 3:1; Re 2:17; 3:12).

6. join ... Lord--(Jr 50:6). Conditions of admission to the privileges of adoption.

7. Even them--(Ep 2:11-13).

to my holy mountain--Jerusalem, the seat of the Lord's throne in His coming kingdom (Is 2:2; Jr 3:17).

joyful--(Ro 5:11).

burnt offerings ... sacrifices--spiritual, of which the literal were types (Ro 12:1; He 13:15; 1Pe 2:5).

accepted--(Ep 1:6).

altar--(He 13:10), spiritually, the Cross of Christ, which sanctifies our sacrifices of prayer and praise.

house ... for all people--or rather, "peoples." No longer restricted to one favored people (Mal 1:11; Joh 4:21, 23; 1Ti 2:8). To be fully realized at the second coming (Is 2:2-4). No longer literal, but spiritual sacrifice, namely, "prayer" shall be offered (Psa 141:2; 51:17; Mal 1:11; Mt 21:13).

8. Jehovah will not only restore the scattered outcasts of Israel (Is 11:12; Psa 147:2) to their own land, but "will gather others ('strangers') to him (Israel), besides those gathered" (Margin, "to his gathered"; that is, in addition to the Israelites collected from their dispersion), (Joh 10:16; Ep 1:10; 2:19).

9. beasts--Gentile idolatrous nations hostile to the Jews, summoned by God to chastise them (Jr 12:7-9; 50:17; Eze 34:5): the Chaldeans and subsequently the Romans. The mention of the "outcasts of Israel" (Is 56:8) brings in view the outcasting, caused by the sins of their rulers (Is 56:10-12).

to devour--namely, Israel.

10. His watchmen--Israel's spiritual leaders (Is 62:6; Eze 3:17).

dumb dogs--image from bad shepherds' watchdogs, which fail to give notice, by barking, of the approach of wild beasts.

blind--(Mt 23:16).

sleeping, lying down--rather, "dreamers, sluggards" [Lowth]. Not merely sleeping inactive, but under visionary delusions.

loving to slumber--not merely slumbering involuntarily, but loving it.

11. greedy--literally, "strong" (that is, insatiable) in appetite (Eze 34:2, 3; Mi 3:11).

cannot understand--unable to comprehend the wants of the people, spiritually: so Is 56:10, "cannot bark."

look to ... own way--that is, their own selfish interests; not to the spiritual welfare of the people (Jr 6:13; Eze 22:27).

from his quarter--rather, "from the highest to the lowest" [Lowth]. "From his quarter"; that is, from one end to the other of them, one and all (Ge 19:4).

12. fetch wine--language of the national teachers challenging one another to drink. Barnes translates, "I will take another cup" (Is 5:11).

to-morrow, &c.--Their self-indulgence was habitual and intentional: not merely they drink, but they mean to continue so.

That keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it - Kimchi has an excellent note here. "The Sabbath is sanctified when it is distinguished in dignity; and separated from other days.

1. As to the body, in meat, drink, and clean clothing.

2. As to the soul, that it be empty of worldly occupations, and be busily employed in the words of the law and wisdom, and in meditation on the works of the Lord."

The rabbins say, "Jerusalem had never been destroyed, had not the Sabbaths been profaned in it."

I will give them an everlasting name - For לו lo, him, in the singular, it is evident that we ought to read למו lamo, them, in the plural: so read the Septuagint, Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate.

The sons of the stranger - The Gentiles.

That join themselves to the Lord - Who shall enter into the Christian covenant by baptism and faith in Christ, as the Jews and proselytes did by circumcision.

To serve him - To live according to the Gospel, and ever do that which is right in the sight of the Lord.

To love the name of the Lord - The name of Jesus, the Christ, the Savior of sinners, the Anointed of God, and the Giver of the Holy Spirit to his followers.

To be his servants - To worship no other God but Jehovah, and to trust in none for salvation but his Christ.

That keepeth the Sabbath - That observes it as a type of the rest that remains for the people of God.

And taketh hold of my covenant - בבריתי biberithi, "of my covenant sacrifice;" as without this he can do nothing good; and without it nothing can be acceptable to the infinite majesty of the Most High.

Shall be accepted - A word is here lost out of the text: it is supplied from the Septuagint, יהיו yihyu, εσονται, "they shall be." - Houbigant.

All ye beasts of the field - Here manifestly begins a new section. The prophet in the foregoing chapters, having comforted the faithful Jews with many great promises of God's favor to be extended to them, in the restoration of their ruined state, and in the enlargement of his Church by the admission of the Gentiles; here on a sudden makes a transition to the more disagreeable part of the prospect, and to a sharp reproof of the wicked and unbelievers; and especially of the negligent and faithless governors and teachers, of the idolaters and hypocrites, who would still draw down his judgments upon the nation. Probably having in view the destruction of their city and polity by the Chaldeans, and perhaps by the Romans. The same subject is continued in the next chapter; in which the charge of corruption and apostasy becomes more general against the whole Jewish Church. Some expositors have made great difficulties in the 9th verse of this chapter, where there seems to be none. It is perfectly well explained by Jeremiah, Jer 12:7, Jer 12:9, where, having introduced God declaring his purpose of punishing his people, by giving them up as a prey to their enemies the Chaldeans, a charge to these his agents is given in words very nearly the same with those of Isaiah in this place: - "I have forsaken my house; I have deserted my heritage;

I have given up the beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies. -

Come away, be gathered together, all ye beasts of the field;

Come away to devour."

All ye beasts in the forest "All ye beasts of the forest" - Instead of ביער baiyaar, three MSS. have יער yaar, without the preposition; which seems to be right, and is confirmed by all the ancient Versions.

His watchmen are blind - Kimchi observes, "The flock is intrusted to the care of these watchmen. The wild beasts come; these dogs bark not; and the wild beasts devour the flock. Thus they do not profit the flock. Yea, they injure it; for the owner trusts in them, that they will watch and be faithful; but they are not. These are the false teachers and careless shepherds."

Dumb dogs, they cannot bark - See note on Isa 62:6.

Sleeping "Dreamers" - הזים hozim, ενυπνιαζομενοι, Septuagint. This seems to be the best authority for the meaning of this word, which occurs only in this place: but it is to be observed, that eleven MSS. of Kennicott's and De Rossi's, and four editions, have חזים chazim, seers, or those who see; and so the Vulgate seems to have read, videntes vana, "seeing vain things."

Loving to slumber - לנום lanum: but six of Kennicott's and seven of De Rossi's MSS. read לנוס lanus, to fly, "to change their residence:" but what connection such reading can have with the sense of the passage, I cannot discern. What is taken for ס samech here is, I have no doubt, a narrow formed final ם mem, which has been mistaken for the above. Many instances occur in my own MSS., where the final ם mem is similar to the samech; and yet no such change was intended by the scribe.

Greedy dogs - Insatiably feeding themselves with the fat, and clothing themselves with the wool, while the flock is scattered, ravaged, and starved! O what an abundance of these dumb and greedy dogs are there found hanging on and prowling about the flock of Christ! How can any careless, avaricious, hireling minister read this without agitation and dismay?

I will fetch wine "Let us provide wine" - For אקחה ekchah, first person singular, an ancient MS. has נקחה nikchah, first person plural; and another ancient MS. has אק ak upon a rasure. So the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate render it. The spirit of this Epicurean sentiment is this: Let us indulge ourselves in the present time to the utmost, and instead of any gloomy forebodings of the future, let us expect nothing but increasing hilarity for every day we shall live. Thus they, "Counting on long years of pleasure here,

Are quite unfurnished for the world to come."

My salvation - That eminent salvation by the Messiah, and in which, without this you shall have no share. Is near - So the scripture often speaks of things which are at a great distance, as if they were present or at hand, Hab 2:3 James 5:8,9 Rev 22:20. My righteousness - The same thing which he called salvation.

The man - Every man not only Jews but Gentiles, as it is explained in the following verses. The sabbath - The sabbath seems to be put here, as sacrifice is elsewhere, for the whole worship of God.

The stranger - The stranger, the Gentile, who by birth is a stranger to God, that hath turned from dumb idols to the living God. The eunuch - Who is here joined with the stranger, because he was forbidden to enter into the congregation of the Lord, Deut 23:1. Under these two instances he understands all those, who either by birth, or by any ceremonial pollution, were excluded from church privileges, and so he throws open the door to all true believers. A dry tree - A fruitless tree, accursed by God with the curse of barrenness.

Take hold - That stedfastly keep the conditions of my covenant.

In mine house - In my temple. Better - A far greater blessing and honour than that of having posterity, even my favour, and my spirit, and eternal felicity.

Mountain - To my house, which stood upon mount Zion. Joyful - By accepting their services, and comforting their hearts with the sense of my love. Accepted - They shall have as free access to mine house and altar, as the Jews themselves, and their services shall be as acceptable to me. Evangelical worship is here described under such expressions as agreed to the worship of God which then was in use.

The Lord - Who will gather to himself, and bring into their own land, those that are cast out of their own land. Yet - I will make a far more comprehensive gathering of the Gentiles.

Come - This is a prediction of Israel's destruction by their cruel enemies. The prophet having largely discoursed concerning the Messiah, and his kingdom, and having encouraged the Gentiles with God's gracious promises made to them, now proceeds to terrify the unbelieving Jews, and to shew that as the Gentiles would believe, and be saved, so they would reject their Messiah, and be destroyed.

His - Israel's. Watchmen - Priests and teachers; he mentions only the teachers, because ignorance was most shameful in them, but hereby he supposes the gross ignorance of the people. Bark - They are also slothful and negligent in instructing the people, and do not faithfully reprove them for their sins.

They look - They regard neither God's glory, nor the peoples good, but only the satisfaction of their own base desires. Quarter - In their several stations.

Say they - Unto their brethren, fellow - priests, or other jolly companions. Fill ourselves - We will drink not only to delight, but even to drunkenness, as the word signifies, which shews their dreadful security and contempt of God, and their abandoning of all care of their own or peoples souls.

1 THus saith the LORD , Keep ye judgment, and do justice : for my salvation is near to come , and my righteousness to be revealed.

This verse and the rest of this Chapter, until v. 9. seems to belong to the foregoing Prophesie. From the consideration of Gods Promises made to them he moveth them to perform their duty to him.

This Phrase elsewhere signifies the duties which one man oweth to another, but here it seems to signifie the Duties which men owe to God, as it is explained in the following verses.

That eminent Salvation by the Messiah so largely promised, and insisted upon in the foregoing Chapters: for which it behoves you to prepare your selves, and in which, without this condition you shall have no share nor benefit.

So the Scripture useth to speak of things which are at a great distance, as if they were present or at hand. See Habak. 2. 3. Iam. 5. 8, 9. Rev. 22. 20.

The same thing which he now called Salvation, and here calleth his Righteousness, because it is an evident demonstration of Gods Righteousness as in the fulfilling of his promises, so in the punishment of sin, and in the salvation of sinners upon just and honourable terms.

Marginal references: Or, equity.

2 Blessed is the man that doth this , and the son of man that layeth hold on it: that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it , and keepeth his hand from doing any evil .

Every man, not only Jews, but Gentiles, or Strangers, as it is explained in the following Verses.

Judgment and Justice, mentioned v. 1.

That guardeth the Sabbath from profanation, that doth not defile it, either by forbidden practices, or by the neglect of commanded duties. And though Sabbath seems to be put here, as Sacrifice is elsewhere, Synecdochically for the whole Worship of God, whereof this is an eminent part, and the bond of all the rest.

Which being the great instrument of Action, is put for all the kinds and means of Action.

To wit, to ones Neighbour, as it is more fully expressed, Psal. 15. 3.

h Or, that holdeth it fast, that is resolute and constant in so doing, that not only begins well, but perseveres in it.

3 Neither let the son of a stranger , that hath joined himself to the LORD speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people, neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree .

The stranger, as the son of man is the same with the man, v. 2. the Gentile, who by Birth is a stranger to God, and to the Common-Wealth of Israel.

That hath turned from dumb Idols to the living God, and to the true Religion: for such shall be as acceptable to me as the Israelites themselves, and the partition-wall between Jews and Gentiles shall be taken down, and Repentance and Remission of sins shall be preached and offered to men of all Nations.

Who is here joined with the stranger, because he was forbidden to enter into the Congregation of the Lord, Deut. 23. 1. as the stranger was, and by his barrenness might seem no less than the stranger to be cast out of Gods Covenant, and cut off from his People, to whom the blessing of a numerous Posterity was promised. And under these two Instances he understands all those persons, who either by Birth, or by any Ceremonial Pollution, were excluded from the participation of Church priviledges, and so he throws open the door to all true Believers without any restriction whatsoever.

A sapless and fruitless Tree, accursed by God with the curse of barrenness, which being oft threatned as a Curse, and being a matter of Reproach among the Jews might easily occasion such discouraging thoughts as are here expressed.

4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me , and take hold of my covenant :

That observe my commands not by custom, or force, or fear, but by free choice, and full consent, with love to them and delight in them.

That resolvedly and steadfastly keep the conditions of my Covenant.

5 Even unto them will I give in mine house , and within my walls , a place and a name better than of sons and daughters : I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

In my Temple, to serve me there as Priests, which Eunuchs were not allowed to do, Lev. 21. 17, &c. Deut. 23. 1.

In the Courts of my Temple, which were encompassed with Walls. This seems to be added with respect to the People who were admitted into the Court, but not into the House it self.

A far greater Blessing and Honour than that of having posterity, which was but a temporal Mercy, and that common to the worst of men, even my Favour, and my Spirit, and eternal Felicity.

6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD , to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD , to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant:

That with purpose of heart cleave unto him, as is said, Act. 11. 23..

To serve him out of love to him, and to his Worship.

7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain , and make them joyful in my house of prayer : their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar : for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people .

To my house, as it is explained in the following clause, which stood upon Mount Sion, largely so called, including Mount Moriah. Formerly the Gentiles neither had any desire to come thither, nor were admitted there; but now I will incline their hearts to come, and I will give them admission and free liberty to come into my Church.

By accepting their services, and comforting their hearts with the sense of my Love, and pouring down all sorts of blessings upon them.

In my Temple, in and towards which Prayers are daily made and directed unto me, 1 King. 8. 19, 28.

They shall have as free access to mine House and Altar, as the Jews themselves, and their services shall be as acceptable to me as theirs. Evangelical Worship is here described under such Expressions as agreed to the Worship of God which then was in use, as it is Mal. 1. 11. and elsewhere. See also Rom. 12. 1. Heb. 13. 15.

Jews and Gentiles shall have equal freedom of access to my House, and shall there call upon my Name. Possibly he may call it an House of Prayer, either to imply that Prayer to God, whereof Thanksgiving is a part, is a more considerable part of Gods Worship than Sacrifice, which being considered in itself is little valued by him, as he frequently declareth: or to signifie that in the New Testament, when the Gentiles should be called, all other Sacrifices should cease, except that of Prayer, and such like Spiritual Services. Which also is confirmed from the nature of the thing. For seeing Sacrifices were confined to the Temple at Ierusalem, and it was impossible that all Nations should resort thither to offer up Levitical Sacrifices in such time and manner as God appointed, it was necessary upon supposition of the general conversion of the Gentiles, that that way of Worship ship should be abolished, and such a way prescribed as they were capable of practising.

Marginal references: Ch. 2. 2.; Mat. 21. 13. Mar. 11. 17. Luk. 19. 46.

8 The Lord GOD, which gathereth the out-casts of Israel , saith, Yet will I gather others to him, besides those that are gathered unto him .

Which will gather to himself, and bring into their own Land, those poor Israelites which are, or shall be, cast out of their own Land, and from Gods presence, and dispersed in divers parts of the World.

As there are some few Gentiles whom I have made Proselytes, and added to the Jewish Church, so I shall make another and a far more comprehensive gathering of the Gentiles, whom I shall bring into the same Church with the Jews, making both Jews and Gentiles one fold under one Shepherd, as it is promised, Ioh. 10. 16.

Marginal references: Heb. to his gathered.

9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forrest .

This invitation or proclamation is a prediction of Israel's Destruction by their cruel Enemies, which are oft expressed in Scripture under the names of ravenous Beasts. But the great Question is, What connexion this part of the Chapter hath with the former? Which may be thus conceived: The prophet having largely dis[illegible: 1+ letters]sed concerning the Messiah, and his Church and Kingdom, and particularly of the great accession and conversion of the Gentiles to it, and of the Infidelity, Apostacy, and manifold Wickednesses of the Jewish Nation, and having comforted and encouraged the Gentiles with Gods gracious promises made to them, he now proceeds to terrifie the unbelieving and ungodly Jews, and to shew that as the Gentiles should believe, and be saved, so they should reject their Messiah, and be utterly destroyed; although we need not labour much about the coherence: For this may be a new Sermon, and therefore many learned Interpreters make this the beginning of the 57th Chapter.

10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant , they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark , sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber .

Israels, as is evident from the following verses: the Pronoun Relative being put without, and instead of the Antecedent; of which I have given divers Instances before.

Priests and Prophets, or other Teachers, who are commonly called Watchmen, as Ezek. 3. 17. & 33. 2. Hos. 9. 8. He mentions only the Teachers, because Ignorance was most shameful in them, but hereby he supposeth the gross ignorance of the People, who neither pretended nor desired to be wiser than their Teachers.

Of Gods Will and Word, and of their own and the Peoples duty, and of the true Messiah.

They are also slothful and negligent in instructing the people, and do not faithfully reprove them for their sins, nor warn them of their dangers, nor keep them from Errours and corruptions in Doctrine, and Worship, and Conversation, as they ought to do.

Minding their own ease and safety more than the Peoples benefit.

Marginal references: Or, dreaming, or talking in their sleep.

11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough , and they are shepherds that cannot understand : they all look to their own way , every one for his gain from his quarter .

Insatiably covetous.

Heb. that know not to understand, that do not care, or love, or desire (as knowing is frequently taken) either to understand the Law, or Word of God themselves, or to make the People to understand it.

They regard neither Gods Command and Glory, nor the Peoples good, but only the satisfaction of their own base Lusts. See on Isa. 53. 6.

In their several places and stations, as they have opportunity: Heb. from his or their end or extremity, i. e. universally, or all from one end of that Body or Society of men unto the other: as the same word signifies Gen. 19. 4. from one end of the City to the other, or, as we there render it, from every quarter: and as the same word is by divers learned Men rendred 1 Kin. 12. 31. not of the meanest of the people, but out of all the people, or indifferently out of every Tribe: of which see my note there. But if that Phrase be rightly rendred there, out of the meanest of the people, as divers also expound the same Phrase, Gen. 47. 2. of the meanest of his Brethren; why may it not as well be rendred here, even from the meanest or poorest of his flock, which is a great aggravation of their covetousness and cruelty, to extort gains from such as needed their Charity.

Marginal references: Heb. strong of appetite.; Heb. know not to be satisfied.; Ezek. 34. 2, 3.; Ch. 53. 6. & 57. 17.

12 Come ye, say they , I will fetch wine, and we will fill our selves with strong drink, and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant .

Unto their Brethren, by Office, and in Iniquity, unto their Fellow-Priests, or other jolly companions.

We will drink not only to Delight, but even to Drunkenness, as this word signifies, Mich. 1. 10. and elsewhere.

Which sheweth their dreadful security and contempt of God, and of his Judgments, and their total and resolved abandoning of all care of their own or Peoples Souls.

Isa 56:1-2

The note of admonition struck in the foregoing prophecy is continued here, the sabbatical duties being enforced with especial emphasis as part of the general righteousness of life. “Thus saith Jehovah, Keep ye right, and do righteousness: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to reveal itself. Blessed is the mortal that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth fast hold thereon; who keepeth the Sabbath, that he doth not desecrate it, and keepeth his hand from doing any kind of evil.” Jehovah and Israel have both an objective standard in the covenant relation into which they have entered: משׁפּט (right) is practice answering to this; ישׁוּעה (salvation) the performance promised by God; צדקה (righteousness) on both sides such personal activity as is in accordance with the covenant relation, or what is the same thing, with the purpose and plan of salvation. The nearer the full realization on the part of Jehovah of what He has promised, the more faithful ought Israel to be in everything to which it is bound by its relation to Jehovah. זאת (this) points, as in Psa 7:4, to what follows; and so also does בּהּ, which points back to זאת. Instead of שׁמור or לשׁמר we have here שׁמר, the זאת being described personally instead of objectively. שּׁבּת is used as a masculine in Isa 56:2, Isa 56:6 (cf., Isa 58:13), although the word is not formed after the same manner as קטּל, but is rather contracted from שׁבּתת (a festive time, possibly with עת = עדת understood), and therefore was originally a feminine; and it is so personified in the language employed in the worship of the synagogue.According to b. Sabbath 119 a, R. Chanina dressed himself on Friday evening in his sabbath-clothes, and said, “Come, and let us go to meet Queen Sabbath.” And so did also Jannai, saying, “Come, O bride; come, O bride.” Hence the customary song with which the Sabbath was greeted had נקבּלה שׁבּת פּני כּלּה לקראת דודי לכה as it commencement and refrain.

Isa 56:3

The אשרי (blessed) of Isa 56:2 is now extended to those who might imagine that they had no right to console themselves with the promises which it contained. “And let not the foreigner, who hath not joined himself to Jehovah, speak thus: Assuredly Jehovah will cut me off from His people; and let not the eunuch say, I am only a dry tree.” As נלוה is not pointed as a participle (נלוה), but as a 3rd pers. pres., the ה of הנּלוה is equivalent to אשׁר, as in Jos 10:24; Gen 18:21; Gen 21:3; Gen 46:27; 1Ki 11:9 (Ges. §109). By the eunuchs we are to understand those of Israelitish descent, as the attributive clause is not repeated in their case. Heathen, who professed the religion of Jehovah, and had attached themselves to Israel, might be afraid lest, when Israel should be restored to its native land, according to the promise, as a holy and glorious community with a thoroughly priestly character, Jehovah would no longer tolerate them, i.e., would forbid their receiving full citizenship. יבדּילני has the connecting vowel á, as in Gen 19:19; Gen 29:32, instead of the usual ē. And the Israelitish eunuchs, who had been mutilated against their will, that they might serve at heathen courts or in the houses of foreign lords, and therefore had not been unfaithful to Jehovah, might be afraid lest, as unfruitful trees, they should be pronounced unworthy of standing in the congregation of Jehovah. There was more ground for the anxiety of the latter than for that of the former. For the law in Deu 23:4-7 merely prohibits Ammonites and Moabites for all time to come from reception into the congregation, on account of their unbrotherly conduct towards the Israelites as they came out of Egypt, whilst that in Deu 23:8-9 prohibits the reception of Edomites and Egyptians to the third generation; so that there was no prohibition as to other allies - such, for example, as the Babylonians. On the other hand, the law in Deu 23:2 expressly declares, as an expression of the horror of God at any such mutilation of nature, and for the purpose of precluding it, that no kind of emasculated person is to enter the congregation of Jehovah. But prophecy breaks through these limits of the law.

Isa 56:4-5 “For thus saith Jehovah to the circumcised, Those who keep my Sabbaths, and decide for that in which I take pleasure, and take fast hold of my covenant; I give to them in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters: I give such a man an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.” The second condition after the sanctification of the Sabbath has reference to the regulation of life according to the revealed will of God; the third to fidelity with regard to the covenant of circumcision. יד also means a side, and hence a place (Deu 23:13); but in the passage before us, where ושׁם יד form a closely connected pair of words, to which וּמבּנות מבּנים is appended, it signifies the memorial, equivalent to מצּבת   (2 Sam 18; 1:1-24:25; 1Sa 15:12), as an index lifted up on high (Eze 21:24), which strikes the eye and arrests attention, pointing like a signpost to the person upon whom it is placed, like monumentum a monendo. They are assured that they will not be excluded from close fellowship with the church (“in my house and within my walls”), and also promised, as a superabundant compensation for the want of posterity, long life in the memory of future ages, by whom their long tried attachment to Jehovah and His people in circumstances of great temptation will not be forgotten.

Isa 56:6-7

The fears of proselytes from among the heathen are also removed. “And the foreigners, who have joined themselves to Jehovah, to serve Him, and to love the name of Jehovah, to be His servants, whoever keepeth the Sabbath from desecrating it, and those who hold fast to my covenant, I bring them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their whole-offerings and their slain-offerings are well-pleasing upon mine altar: for my house, a house of prayer shall it be called for all nations.” The proselytes, who have attached themselves to Jehovah (על־הא),The oriental reading, not in Isa 56:3, but here in Isa 56:6, is על־ה; the western, אל־ה. The Masora follows the western (מערבאי( nre), i.e., the Palestinian, and reckons this passage as one of the 31 על־ה in the Old Testament Scriptures. the God of Israel, with the pure intention of serving Him with love, are not to be left behind in the strange land. Jehovah will bring them along with His people to the holy mountain, upon which His temple rises once more; there will He cause them to rejoice, and all that they place upon His altar will find a most gracious acceptance. It is impossible that the prophet should be thinking here of the worship of the future without sacrifice, although in Isa 53:1-12 he predicts the self-sacrifice of the “Servant of Jehovah,” which puts an end to all animals sacrifices. But here the temple is called “the house of prayer,” from the prayer which is the soul of all worship. It will be called a house of prayer for all nations; and therefore its nature will correspond to its name. This ultimate intention is already indicated in Solomon’s dedicatory prayer (1Ki 8:41-43); but our prophet was the first to give it this definite universal expression. Throughout this passage the spirit of the law is striving to liberate itself from its bondage. Nor is there anything to surprise us in the breaking down of the party wall, built up so absolutely between the eunuchs on the one hand and the congregation on the other, or the one partially erected between the heathen and the congregation of Israel; as we may see from Isa 66:21, where it is affirmed that Jehovah will even take priests and Levites out of the midst of the heathen whom Israel will bring back with it into its own land.

Isa 56:8

The expression “saying of the Lord” (Ne'um Jehovah), which is so solemn an expression in itself, and which stands here at the head of the following declaration, is a proof that it contains not only something great, but something which needs a solemn confirmation because of its strangeness. Not only is there no ground for supposing that Gentiles who love Jehovah will be excluded from the congregation; but it is really Jehovah’s intention to gather some out of the heathen, and add them to the assembled diaspora of Israel. “Word of the Lord, Jehovah: gathering the outcasts of Israel, I will also gather beyond itself to its gathered ones.” We only find ה נאם at the commencement of the sentence, in this passage and Zec 12:1. The double name of God, Adonai Jehovah, also indicates something great. עליו (to it) refers to Israel, and לנקבּציו is an explanatory permutative, equivalent to על־נקבציו; or else על denotes the fact that the gathering will exceed the limits of Israel (cf., Gen 48:22), and ל the addition that will be made to the gathered ones of Israel. The meaning in either case remains the same. Jehovah here declares what Jesus says in Joh 10:16 : “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd:” “Jehovah one, and His name one,” as it is expressed in Zec 14:9. Such as the views and hopes that have grown up out of the chastisement inflicted by their captivity. God has made it a preparatory school for New Testament times. It has been made subservient to the bursting of the fetters of the law, the liberation of the spirit of the law, and the establishment of friendship between Israel and the Gentile world as called to one common salvation.

Isa 56:9

It is a question whether Isa 56:9 forms the commencement of a fresh prophecy, or merely the second half of the prophecy contained in Isa 56:1-8. We decide, for our part, in favour of the former. If Isa 56:9. formed an antithetical second half to the promising first half in Isa 56:1-8, we should expect to find the prophets and leaders of Israel, whose licentiousness and want of principle are here so severely condemned, threatened with destruction in the heathen land, whilst true proselytes and even eunuchs were brought to the holy mountain. But we meet with this antithesis for the first time in Isa 57:13, where we evidently find ourselves in the midst of another prophetic address. And where can that address commence, if not at Isa 56:9, from which point onwards we have that hard, dull, sharp, and concise language of strong indignation, which recals to mind psalms written “in a thundering style” (Psalter, i. 80) and the reproachful addresses of Jeremiah, and which passes again in Isa 57:11. into the lofty crystalline language peculiar to our prophet’s “book of consolation?” The new prophetic address commences, like Isa 55:1, with a summons. “All ye beasts of the field, come near! To devour, all ye beasts in the forest!” According to the accentuation before us (לכל mercha, כלח־יתו tiphchah), the beasts of the field are summoned to devour the beasts in the forest. This accentuation, however, is false, and must be exchanged for another which is supported by some MSS, viz., לכל tiphchah, כלח־יתו mercha, and ביער Beth raphatum. It is true that even with these accents we might still adhere to the view favoured by Jewish commentators, viz., that the beasts of the field are to be devoured by the beasts of the forest, if this view yielded any admissible sense (compare, for example, that supported by Meyer, “Ye enemies, devour the scattered ones of my congregation”), and had not against it the synonymous parallelism of שדי חיתו and ביער חיתו (Isa 43:20; Psa 104:11, Psa 104:20; cf., Gen 3:14). But there remains another view, according to which ביער כל־חיתו is a second vocative answering to שׂדי כל־חיתו. According to the Targum, what is to be devoured is the great body of heathen kings attacking Jerusalem; according to Jerome, Cyril, Stier, etc., the pasture and food provided by the grace of God. But what follows teaches us something different from this. Israel has prophets and shepherds, who are blind to every coming danger, and therefore fail to give warning of its approach, because they are sunken in selfishness and debauchery. It resembles a flock with a keeper, and therefore an easy prey (Eze 34:5); and the meaning of the appeal, which is certainly addressed to the nations of the world, the enemies of the people of God, is this: “Ye have only to draw near; ye can feed undisturbed, and devour as much as ye please.” This is the explanation adopted by most of the more modern commentators. In Jer 12:9, which is founded upon this (“Assemble all ye beasts of the field, bring them hither to devour”), it is also Jerusalem which is assigned as food to the heathen. The parallel in Isa 56:9 is both synonymous and progressive. The writer seeks for rare forms, because he is about to depict a rare inversion of the proper state of things. חיתו (with the first syllable loosely closed) is the antiquated form of connection, which was admissible even with ביּער following (cf., Isa 5:11; Isa 9:1-2; 2Sa 1:21). On אתיוּ (= אתוּ), see at Isa 21:12 (cf., Isa 21:14).

Isa 56:10-11

The prophet now proceeds with צפו (צפיו): the suffix refers to Israel, which was also the object to לאכל. “His watchmen are blind: they (are)all ignorant, they (are)all dumb dogs that cannot bark; raving, lying down, loving to slumber. And the dogs are mightily greedy, they know no satiety; and such are shepherds! They know no understanding; they have all turned to their own ways, every one for his own gain throughout his border.” The “watchmen” are the prophets here, as everywhere else (Isa 52:8, cf., Isa 21:6, Hab 2:1; Jer 6:17; Eze 3:17). The prophet is like a watchman (tsōpheh) stationed upon his watch-tower (specula), whose duty it is, when he sees the sword come upon the land, to blow the shōphâr, and warn the people (Eze 33:1-9). But just as Jeremiah speaks of bad prophets among the captives (Jer 29), and the book of Ezekiel is full of reproaches at the existing neglect of the office of watchman and shepherd; so does the prophet here complain that the watchmen of the nation are blind, in direct opposition to both their title and their calling; they are all without either knowledge or the capacity for knowledge (vid., Isa 44:9; Isa 45:20). They ought to resemble watchful sheep-dogs (Job 30:1), which bark when the flock is threatened; but they are dumb, and cannot bark (nâbhach, root nab), and leave the flock to all its danger. Instead of being “seers” (chōzı̄m), they are ravers (hōzı̄m; cf., Isa 19:18, where we have a play upon החרס in ההרס). הזים, from הזה, to rave in sickness, n. act. hadhajan (which Kimchi compares to parlare in sônno); hence the Targum נימים, lxx ἐνυπνιαζόμενοι A φανταζόμενοι, S ὁραματισταί, Jer. videntes vana. The predicates which follow are attached to the leading word hōzı̄m (raving), if not precisely as adjectives, yet as more minutely descriptive. Instead of watching, praying, wrestling, to render themselves susceptible of visions of divine revelations for the good of their people, and to keep themselves in readiness to receive them, they are idle, loving comfortable ease, talkers in their sleep. And the dogs, viz., those prophets who resemble the worst of them (see at Isa 40:8), are נפשׁ עזּי, of violent, unrestrained soul, insatiable. Their soul lives and moves in the lowest parts of their nature; it is nothing but selfish avarice, self-indulgent greediness, violent restlessness of passion, that revolves perpetually around itself. With the words “and these are shepherds,” the range of the prophet’s vision is extended to the leaders of the nation generally; for when the prophet adds as an exclamation, “And such (hi = tales) are shepherds!” he applies the glaring contrast between calling and conduct to the holders of both offices, that of teacher and that of ruler alike. For, apart from the accents, it would be quite at variance with the general use of the personal pronoun המה, to apply it to any other persons than those just described (viz., in any such sense as this: “And those, who ought to be shepherds, do not know”). Nor is it admissible to commence an adversative minor clause with והמה, as Knobel does, “whereas they are shepherds;” for, since the principal clause has  הכלבים (dogs) as the subject, this would introduce a heterogeneous mixture of the two figures, shepherds’ dogs and shepherds. We therefore take רעים והמה as an independent clause: “And it is upon men of such a kind, that the duty of watching and tending the nation devolves!” These רעים (for which the Targum reads רעים) are then still further described: they know not to understand, i.e., they are without spiritual capacity to pass an intelligible judgment (compare the opposite combination of the two verbs in Isa 32:4); instead of caring for the general good, they have all turned to their own way (ledarkâm), i.e., to their own selfish interests, every one bent upon his own advantage (בּצע from בּצע, abscindere, as we say, seinen Schnitt zu machen, to reap an advantage, lit., to make an incision). מקּצהוּ, from his utmost extremity (i.e., from that of his own station, including all its members), in other words, “throughout the length and breadth of his own circle;” qâtseh, the end, being regarded not as the terminal point, but as the circumference (as in Gen 19:4; Gen 47:21, and Jer 51:31).

Isa 56:12

An office-bearer of the kind described is now introduced per mimesin as speaking. “Come here, I will fetch wine, and let us drink meth; and tomorrow shall be like today, great, excessively abundant.” He gives a banquet, and promises the guests that the revelry shall be as great tomorrow as today, or rather much more glorious. מחר יום is the day of tomorrow, τὸ ἐπαύριον, for mâchâr is always without an article; hence et fiet uti hic (dies)dies crastinus, viz., magnus supra modum valde. יתר, or יתר (as it is to be pointed here according to Kimchi, Michlol 167 b, and Wörterbuch), signifies superabundance; it is used here adverbially in the sense of extra-ordinarily, beyond all bounds (differing therefore from יותר, “more,” or “singularly,” in the book of Ecclesiastes).

Evangelical Promises; Exhortations to Duty. (b. c. 706.)

1 Thus saith the Lord , Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. 2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.

The scope of these verses is to show that when God is coming towards us in a way of mercy we must go forth to meet him in a way of duty.

I. God here tells us what are his intentions of mercy to us (v. 1): My salvation is near to come—the great salvation wrought out by Jesus Christ (for that was the salvation of which the prophets enquired and searched diligently, 1 Pet. i. 10), typified by the salvation of the Jews from Sennacherib or out of Babylon. Observe, 1. The gospel salvation is the salvation of the Lord. It was contrived and brought about by him; he glories in it as his. 2. In that salvation God's righteousness is revealed, which is so much the beauty of the gospel that St. Paul makes this the ground of his glorying in it. (Rom. i. 17), because therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. The law revealed that righteousness of God by which all sinners stand condemned, but the gospel reveals that by which all believers stand acquitted. 3. The Old-Testament saints saw this salvation coming, and drawing near to them, long before it came; and they had notice by the prophets of its approach. As Daniel understood by Jeremiah's books the approach of the redemption out of Babylon, at the end of seventy years, so others understood by Daniel's books the approach of our redemption by Christ at the end of seventy weeks of years.

II. He tells us what are his expectations of duty from us, in consideration thereof. Say not, "We see the salvation near, and therefore we may live as we list, for there is no danger now of missing it or coming short of it;" that is turning the grace of God into wantonness. But, on the contrary, when the salvation is near double your guard against sin. Note, The fuller assurances God gives us of the performance of his promises the stronger obligations he lays us under to obedience. The salvation here spoken of has now come; yet, there being still a further salvation in view, the apostle presses duty upon us Christians with the same argument. Rom. iii. 11, Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. That which is here required to qualify and prepare us for the approaching salvation is,

1. That we be honest and just in all our dealings: Keep you judgment and do justice. Walk by rule, and make conscience of what you say and do, that you do no wrong to any. Render to all their dues exactly, and, in exacting what is due to you, keep up a court of equity in your own bosom, to moderate the rigours of the law. Be ruled by that golden rule, "Do as you would be done by." Magistrates must administer justice wisely and faithfully. This is required to evidence the sincerity of our faith and repentance, and to open the way of mercy. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. God is true to us; let us be so to one another.

2. That we religiously observe the sabbath day, v. 2. We are not just if we rob God of his time. Sabbath-sanctification is here put for all the duties of the first table, the fruits of our love to God, as justice and judgment are put for all those of the second table, the fruits of our love to our neighbour. Observe, (1.) The duty required, which is to keep the sabbath, to keep it as a talent we are to trade with, as a treasure we are entrusted with. "Keep it holy; keep it safe; keep it with care and caution; keep it from polluting it. Allow neither yourselves nor others either to violate the holy rest or omit the holy work of that day." If this be intended primarily for the Jews in Babylon, it was fit that they should be particularly put in mind of this, because when, by reason of their distance from the temple, they could not observe the other institutions of their law, yet they might distinguish themselves from the heathen by putting a difference between God's day and other days. But it being required more generally of man, and the son of man, it intimates that sabbath-sanctification should be a duty in gospel times, when the bounds of the church should be enlarged and other rites and ceremonies abolished. Observe, Those that would keep the sabbath from polluting it must put on resolution, must not only do this, but lay hold on it, for sabbath time is precious, but is very apt to slip away if we take not great care; and therefore we must lay hold on it and keep our hold, must do it and persevere in it. (2.) The encouragement we have to do this duty: Blessed is he that doeth it. The way to have the blessing of God upon our employments all the week is to make conscience, and make a business, of sabbath-sanctification; and in doing so we shall be the better qualified to do judgment and justice. The more godliness the more honesty, 1 Tim. ii. 2.

3. That we have nothing to do with sin: Blessed is the man that keeps his hand from doing evil, any wrong to his neighbour, in body, goods, or good name—or, more generally, any thing that is displeasing to God and hurtful to his own soul. Note, The best evidence of our having kept the sabbath well will be a care to keep a good conscience all the week. By this it will appear that we have been in the mount with God if our faces shine in a holy conversation before men.

Encouragement to the Sincere; Encouragement to the Gentiles. (b. c. 706.)

3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord , speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. 4 For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; 5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. 6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord , to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord , to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; 7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. 8 The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

The prophet is here, in God's name, encouraging those that were hearty in joining themselves to God and yet laboured under great discouragements. 1. Some were discouraged because they were not of the seed of Abraham. They had joined themselves to the Lord, and bound their souls with a bond to be his for ever (this is the root and life of religion, to break off from the world and the flesh, and devote ourselves entirely to the service and honour of God); but they questioned whether God would accept them, because they were of the sons of the stranger, v. 3. They were Gentiles, strangers to the commonwealth of Israel and aliens from the covenants of promise, and therefore feared they had no part nor lot in the matter. They said, "The Lord has utterly separated me from his people, and will not own me as one of them, nor admit me to their privileges." It was often said that there should be one law for the stranger and for him that was born in the land (Exod. xii. 49), and yet they came to this melancholy conclusion. Note, Unbelief often suggests things to the discouragement of good people which are directly contrary to what God himself has said, things which he has expressly guarded against. Let not the sons of the stranger therefore say thus, for they have no reason to say it. Note, Ministers must have answers ready for the disquieting fears and jealousies of weak Christians, which, how unreasonable soever, they must take notice of. 2. Others were discouraged because they were not fathers in Israel. The eunuch said, Behold, I am a dry tree. So he looked upon himself, and it was his grief; so others looked upon him, and it was his reproach. He was thought to be of no use because he had no children, nor was ever likely to have any. This was then the more grievous because eunuchs were not admitted to be priests (Lev. xxi. 20), nor to enter into the congregation (Deut. xxiii. 1), and because the promise of a numerous posterity was the particular blessing of Israel and the more valuable because from among them the Messiah was to come. Yet God would not have the eunuchs to make the worst of their case, nor to think that they should be excluded from the gospel church, and from being spiritual priests, because they were shut out from the congregation of Israel and the Levitical priesthood; no, as the taking down of the partition wall, contained in ordinances, admitted the Gentiles, so it let in likewise those that had been kept out by ceremonial pollutions. Yet, by the reply here given to this suggestion, it should seem the chief thing which the eunuch laments in his case is his being written childless.

Now suitable encouragements are given to each of these.

I. To those who have no children of their own, who, though they had the honour to be the children of the church and the covenant themselves, yet had none to whom they might transmit that honour, none to receive the sign of circumcision and the privileges secured by that sign. Now observe,

1. What a good character they have, though they lie under this ignominy and affliction; and those only are entitled to the following comforts who in some measure answer to these characters. (1.) They keep God's sabbaths as he has appointed them to be kept. In the primitive times, if a Christian were asked, "Hast thou kept holy the Lord's day?" He would readily answer, "I am a Christian, and dare not do otherwise." (2.) In their whole conversation they choose those things that please God. They do that which is good; they do it with a sincere design to please God in it; they do it of choice, and with delight. If sometimes, through infirmity, they come short in doing that which pleases God, yet they choose it, they endeavour after it, and aim at it. Note, Whatever is God's pleasure should without dispute be our choice. (3.) They take hold of his covenant, and that is a thing that pleases God as much as any thing. The covenant of grace is proposed and proffered to us in the gospel; to take hold of it is to consent to it, to accept the offer and come up to the terms, deliberately and sincerely to take God to be to us a God and to give up ourselves to him to be to him a people. Taking hold of the covenant denotes an entire and resolute consent to it, taking hold as those that are afraid of coming short, catching at it as a good bargain, and as those that are resolved never to let it go, for it is our life: and we take hold of it as a criminal took hold of the horns of the altar to which he fled for refuge.

2. What a great deal of comfort they may have if they answer to this character, though they are not built up into families (v. 5): Unto them will I give a better place and name. It is supposed that there is a place and a name, which we have from sons and daughters, that is valuable and desirable. It is a pleasing notion we have that we live in our children when we are dead. But there is a better place, and a better name, which those have that are in covenant with God, and it is sufficient to counterbalance the want of the former. A place and a name denote rest and reputation; a place to live comfortably in themselves, and a name to live creditably with among their neighbours; they shall be happy, and may be easy both at home and abroad. Though they have not children to be the music of their house, or arrows in their quiver, to keep them in countenance when they speak with their enemies in the gate, yet they shall have a place and a name more than equivalent. For, (1.) God will give it to them, will give it to them by promise; he will himself be both their habitation and their glory, their place and their name. (2.) He will give it to them in his house, and within his walls; there they shall have a place, shall be planted so as to take root (Ps. xcii. 13), shall dwell all the days of their life, Ps. xxvii. 4. They shall be at home in communion with God, as Anna, that departed not from the temple night nor day. There they shall have a name. A name for the good things with God and good people is a name better than that of sons and daughters. Our relation to God, our interest in Christ, our title to the blessings of the covenant, and our hopes of eternal life, are things that give us in God's house a blessed place and a blessed name. (3.) It shall be an everlasting name, that shall never be extinct, shall never be cut off; like the place and name of angels, who therefore marry not, because they die not. Spiritual blessings are unspeakably better than those of sons and daughters; for children are a certain care and may prove the greatest grief and shame of a man's life, but the blessings we partake of in God's house are a sure and constant joy and honour, comforts which cannot be embittered.

II. To those that are themselves the children of strangers.

1. It is here promised that they shall now be welcome to the church, v. 6, 7. When God's Israel come out of Babylon, let them bring as many of their neighbours along with them as they can persuade to come, and God will find room enough for them all in his house. And here, (as before) we may observe,

(1.) Upon what terms they shall be welcome. Let them know that God's Israel, when they come out of Babylon, will not be plagued, as they were when they came out of Egypt, with a mixed multitude, that went with them, but were not cordially for them; no, the sons of the strangers shall have a place and a name in God's house provided, [1.] That they forsake other gods, all rivals and pretenders whatsoever, and join themselves to the Lord, so as to become one spirit, 1 Cor. vi. 17. [2.] That they join themselves to him as subjects to their prince and soldiers to their general, by an oath of fidelity and obedience, to serve him, not occasionally, as one would serve a turn, but to be constantly his servants, entirely subject to his command, and devoted to his interest. [3.] That they join themselves to him as friends to his honour and the interests of his kingdom in the world, to love the name of the Lord, to be well pleased with all the discoveries he has made of himself and all the memorials they make of him. Observe, Serving him and loving him go together; for those that love him truly will serve him faithfully, and that obedience is most acceptable to him, as well as most pleasant to us, which flows from a principle of love, for then his commandments are not grievous, 1 John v. 3. [4.] That they keep the sabbath from polluting it; for the stranger that is within thy gates is particularly required to do that. [5.] That they take hold of the covenant, that is, that they come under the bonds of it, and put in for the benefits of it.

(2.) To what privileges they shall be welcome, v. 7. Three things are here promised them, in their coming to God:—[1.] Assistance: "I will bring them to my holy mountain, not only bid them welcome when they come, but incline them to come, will show them the way, and lead them in it." David himself prays that God by his light and truth would bring them to his holy hill, Ps. xliii. 3. And the sons of the stranger shall be under the same guidance. The church is God's holy hill, on which he hath set his King, and, in bringing them to Zion Hill, he brings them to be subjects to Zion's King, as well as worshippers in Zion's holy temple. [2.] Acceptance: "Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted on my altar, and be never the less acceptable for being theirs, though they are sons of the stranger." The prayers and praises (those spiritual sacrifices) of devout Gentiles shall be as pleasing to God as those of the pious Jews, and no difference shall be made between them; for, though they are Gentiles by birth, yet through grace they shall be looked upon as the believing seed of faithful Abraham and the praying seed of wrestling Jacob, for in Christ Jesus there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision. [3.] Comfort. They shall not only be accepted, but they themselves shall have the pleasure of it: I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. They shall have grace, not only to serve God, but to serve him cheerfully and with gladness, and that shall make the service the more acceptable to him; for, when we sing in the ways of the Lord, then great is the glory of our God. They shall go away and eat their bread with joy, because God now accepts their works, Eccl. ix. 7. Nay, though they came mourning to the house of prayer, they shall go away rejoicing, for they shall there find such ease, by casting their cares and burdens upon God, and referring themselves to him, that, like Hannah, they shall go away and their countenance shall be no more sad. Many a sorrowful spirit has been made joyful in the house of prayer.

2. It is here promised that multitudes of the Gentiles shall come to the church, not only that the few who come dropping in shall be made welcome, but that great numbers shall come in, and the door be thrown open to them: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. The temple was then God's house, and to that Christ applies these words (Matt. xxi. 13), but with an eye to it as a type of the gospel church, Heb. ix. 8, 9. For Christ calls it his house, Heb. iii. 6. Now concerning this house it is promised, (1.) That it shall not be a house of sacrifice, but a house of prayer. The religious meetings of God's people shall be meetings for prayer, in which they shall join together, as a token of their united faith and mutual love. (2.) That it shall be a house of prayer, not for the people of the Jews only, but for all people. This was fulfilled when Peter was made, not only to perceive it himself, but to tell it to the world, that in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of him, Acts x. 35. It had been declared again and again that the stranger that comes nigh shall be put to death, but Gentiles shall now be looked upon no longer as strangers and foreigners, Eph. ii. 19. And it appears by Solomon's prayer, at the dedication of the temple, both that it was primarily intended for a house of prayer and that strangers should be welcome to it, 1 Kings viii. 30, 41, 43. And it is intimated here (v. 8) that when the Gentiles are called in they shall be incorporated into one body with the Jews, that (as Christ says, John x. 16) there may be one fold and one Shepherd; for, [1.] God will gather the outcasts of Israel. Many of the Jews that had by their unbelief cast themselves out shall by faith be brought in again, a remnant according to the election of grace, Rom. xi. 5. Christ came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt. xv. 24), to gather their outcasts (Ps. cxlvii. 2), to restore their preserved (ch. xlix. 6), and to be their glory, Luke ii. 32. [2.] He will gather others also to him, besides his own outcasts that are gathered to him. Or, though some of the Gentiles have come over now and then into the church, that shall not serve (as some may think) to answer the extent of these promises; no, there are still more and more to be brought in: "I will gather others to him besides these; these are but the first-fruits in comparison with the harvest that shall be gathered for Christ in the nations of the earth, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in." Note, The church is a growing body: when some are gathered to it we may still hope there shall be more, till the mystical body be completed. Other sheep I have.

A Charge against the Prophets. (b. c. 706.)

9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. 10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. 11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. 12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.

From words of comfort the prophet here, by a very sudden change of his style, passes to words of reproof and conviction, and goes on in that strain, for the most part, in the three following chapters; and therefore some here begin a new sermon. He had assured the people that in due time God would deliver them out of captivity, which was designed for the comfort of those that should live when God would do this. Now here he shows what their sins and provocations were, for which God would send them into captivity, and this was designed for the conviction of those that lived in his own time, nearly a hundred years before the captivity, who were now filling up the measure of the nation's sin, and to justify God in what he brought upon them. God will lay them waste by the fierceness of their enemies, for the falseness of their friends.

I. Desolating judgments are here summoned, v. 9. The sheep of God's pasture are now to be made the sheep of his slaughter, to fall as victims to his justice, and therefore the beasts of the field and the forest are called to come and devour. They are beasts of prey, and do it from their own ravenous disposition; but God permits them to do it, nay, he employs them as his servants in doing it, the ministers of his justice, though they mean not so, neither does their heart think so. If this refers primarily to the descent made upon them by the Babylonians, and their devouring them, yet it may look further, to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation by the Romans, after these outcasts of them (mentioned v. 8) were gathered in to the Christian church. The Roman armies came upon them as beasts of the forest to devour them, and they quite took away their place and nation. Note, When God has bloody work to do he has beasts of prey within call, to be employed in doing it.

II. The reason of these judgments is here given. The shepherds, who should have been the watchmen of the flock, to discover the approaches of the beasts of prey, to keep them off, and protect the sheep, were treacherous and careless, minded not their business, nor made any conscience of the trust reposed in them, and so the sheep became an easy prey to the wild beasts. Now this may refer to the false prophets that lived in Isaiah's, Jeremiah's, and Ezekiel's time (who flattered the people in their wicked ways, and told them they should have peace though they went on) and to the priests that bore rule by their means. Or it may refer to the wicked princes, the sons of Josiah, that did evil in the sight of the Lord, and other wicked magistrates under them, who betrayed their trust, were vicious and profane, and, instead of making up the breach at which the judgments of God were breaking in upon them, made it wider, and augmented the fierce anger of the Lord instead of doing any thing to turn it away. They should have kept judgment and justice (v. 1), but they abandoned both, Jer. v. 1. Or it may refer to those who were the nation's watchmen in our Saviour's time, the chief priests and the scribes, who should have discerned the signs of the times and have given notice to the people of the approach of the Messiah, but who, instead of that, opposed him, and did all they could to keep people from coming to the knowledge of him and to prejudice them against him. It is a very sad character that is here given of these watchmen. Woe unto thee, O land! when thy guides are such. 1. They had no sense or knowledge of their business. They were wretchedly ignorant of their work, and very unfit to teach, being so ill-taught themselves: His watchmen are blind, and therefore utterly unfit to be watchmen. If the seers see not, who shall see for us? If the light that is in us be darkness, how great is that darkness! Christ describes the Pharisees to be blind leaders of the blind, Matt. xv. 14. The beasts of the field come to devour, and the watchmen are blind, and are not aware of them. They are all ignorant (v. 10), shepherds that cannot understand (v. 11), that know not what is to be done about the sheep, nor can feed them with understanding, Jer. iii. 15. 2. What little knowledge they had they made no use of it; no one was the better for it. As they were blind watchmen, that could not discern the danger, so they were dumb dogs, that would not give warning of it. And why are the dogs set to guard the sheep if they cannot bark to waken the shepherd and frighten the wolf? Such were these; those that had the charge of souls never reproved men for their faults, nor told them what would be in the end thereof, never gave them notice of the judgments of God that were breaking in upon them. They barked at God's prophets, and bit them too, and worried the sheep, but made no opposition to the wolf or thief. 3. They were very lazy, and would take no pains. They loved their ease, and hated business, were always sleeping, lying down and loving to slumber. They were not overcome and overpowered by sleep, as the disciples, through grief and fatigue, but they lay down on purpose to invite sleep, and said, Soul, take thy ease. Yet a little sleep. It is bad with a people when their shepherds slumber (Nah. iii. 18), and it is well for God's people that their shepherd, the keeper of Israel, neither slumbers nor sleeps. 4. They were very covetous and eager after the world—greedy dogs that can never have enough. If they had ever so much, they would think it too little. They so love silver as never to be satisfied with silver, Eccl. v. 10. All their enquiry is what they shall get, not what they shall do. Let them have the wages, and they care not whether the work be done or no; they feed not the flock, but fleece it. They are every one looking to his own way, minding his own private interests, and have no regard at all to the public welfare. It was St. Paul's complaint of the watchmen in his time (Phil. ii. 21), All seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's. Every one is for propagating his own opinion, advancing his own party, raising his own family, and having every thing to his own mind, while the common concerns of the public are wretchedly neglected and postponed. They look every one to his gain from his quarter, from his end or part of the work. They are for fain from every quarter (Rem rem quocunque modo rem—Money, money, by fair means or by foul we must have money), but especially from their own quarter, where they will be sure to take care that they lose nothing, nor miss any thing that is to be got. If any one put not into their mouths they not only will do him no service, but they prepare war against him, Mic. iii. 5. 5. They were perfect epicures, given to their pleasures, never so much in their element as in their drunken revels (v. 12): Come (say they), I will fetch wine (they have that at command; their cellars are better furnished than their closets) and we will fill ourselves, or be drunk, with strong drink. They were often drunk, not overseen (as we say) or overtaken in drink, but designedly. The watchmen did thus invite and encourage one another to drink to excess, or they courted the people to sit and drink with them, and so confirmed those in their wicked ways, and hardened their hearts, whom they should have reproved. How could they think it any harm to be drunk when the watchmen themselves joined with them and led them to it! 6. They were very secure and confident of the continuance of their prosperity and ease; they said, "To-morrow shall be as this day and much more abundant; we shall have as much to spend upon our lusts to-morrow as we have to-day." They had no thought at all of their own frailty and mortality, though they were shortening their days and hastening their deaths by their excesses. They had no dread of the judgments of God, though they were daily provoking him and making themselves liable to his wrath and curse. They never considered the uncertainty of all the delights and enjoyments of sense, how they perish in the using and pass away with the lusts of them. They resolved to continue in this wicked course, whatever their consciences said to the contrary, to be as merry to-morrow as they are to-day. But boast not thyself of to-morrow when perhaps this night thy soul shall be required of thee.

CHAP. LVI.

Ver. 1. Thus ſaith the Lord, Keep ye judgement and do juſtice] i. e. Repent ye, as ye were exhorted, chap. 55.6, 7. and bring forth fruits meet for repentance, as Matth. 3.8 for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, Matth. 3.1. Tit. 2.12. Chriſt came to call ſinners to repentance, Mar. 2.17. and to good works of all ſorts, which are here called Judgement and Juſtice: as he himſelf is here called not only Gods ſalvation but his righteouſneſſe.

Ver. 2. Bleſſed is the man that doth this] And withal layeth hold on that, i. e. That performeth the duties of both Tables, of Piety and of Charity: that maketh conſcience of keeping the Sabbath eſpecially: the fourth Commandement ſtandeth fitly in the heart of the Decalogue, and betwixt the two tables of the Law, as having an influence into both.

From polluting it] Either by corporal labour or ſpiritual idleneſſe: ſpending the holy time holily.

And keepeth his hand from doing any evil] That is, righteous as well as religious: not yielding his members as inſtruments of unrighteouſneſſe unto ſin, Rom. 6.13.

Ver. 3. Neither let the ſon of the ſtranger] If a Proſelite, let not him interline the Covenant of Grace in Chriſt, and ſay It belongeth not to me: Let not him turn the back of his hand to the promiſe, as if he were not concerned in it, becauſe no Jew born; for now the partition-wall is by Chriſt to be broken down, and the rigour of that old prohibition taken away, Acts 10.34, 35. Gal. 3.28. Coloſ. 3.11. Ezek. 47.22.

Neither let the Eunuch] See the Note on Mat. 19.12.

Ver. 4. For thus ſaith the Lord] Who comforteth thoſe that are caſt down, 2 Cor. 7.6. thoſe that are forſaken of their hopes, Jer. 30.17.

That keep my Sabbaths] Which who ſo do not, are worthily deemed to have no true goodneſſe in them at all.

And chooſe the things that pleaſe me] Chuſe them upon mature deliberation and good advice, as Moſes did, Heb. 11.25. By a free election, as Pſal. 119.30. ſo ſhewing themſelves wiſe Eunuchs, Ennius. ſuch as have their name [non-Latin text not transcribed], as Scaliger deriveth it, i. e. well-minded men, egregiè cordati homines.

And take hold of my Covenant] By a lively faith which is ſaid to have two hands: one wherewith ſhe layeth hold on Chriſt; and another whereby ſhe giveth up her ſelf unto him: and although the Devil rap her on the fingers for ſo doing, yet ſhe is reſolute and holds her own.

Ver. 5. Even unto them will I give in mine houſe] In the Church of the New Teſtament, Epheſ. 2.19, 20, 21.

A place] Heb. a hand. A door-keepers place in Gods Houſe is worth having. Pſal. 84. this was that one thing that he ſo dearly begged, Pſal. 27.4.

And a name] That new name, Rev. 2.17. that power or prerogative royal (that heavenly honour, Nonnus there calleth it) Joh. 1.12. viz. to be the Sons of God, and ſo to be called 1 Joh. 3.1. to have both the comfort and the credit of it: this is nomen in mundo praſtantiſſimum; none to this, 2 Cor. 6. ult. for if ſons, then heirs, &c. Rom. 8.16, 17.

Ver. 6. Alſo the ſons of the ſtranger that joyneth] Relinquiſhing his heatheniſh ſuperſtition, and devoting himſelf to my fear. The Levites had their name from the word here uſed; and Leviathan, whoſe ſcales and parts are ſo faſt joyned and joynted together.

To love the name of the Lord, to be his ſervants] Plato could ſay, Parere legibus eſt Deo ſervire: & haec ſumma est libertas. To obey the laws, is to ſerve God; and this is the chiefeſt liberty, this is perfect freedom; But Plato never knew what it was to love to be Gods ſervant. In Pſal. 1. Lex voluntarios quaerit, ſaith Ambroſe. All Gods Souldiers are volunteires, all his people free-hearted, Pſal. 110.3. they wait for his Law, Iſa. 42.8. See Deut 10.12.

Every one that keepeth the Sabbath] See on ver. 2.

Ver. 7. Even them will I bring unto my holy mountain] i. e. Into my Church and Church-Aſſemblies. Quaere whether Eunuches and ſtrangers were made partakers of all holy ſervices in the ſecond Temple, according to the letter? Sure we are, that that holy Eunuch. Acts 8. and the reſt of the Gentiles had and ſtill have free admiſſion under the Goſpel.

And will make them joyful in mine houſe of prayer] by their free acceſſe unto me, and all good ſucceſſe in their ſuits. Pray that your joy may be full, Joh. 16.24. Draw water with joy out of this well of ſalvation, Iſa. 12. Rejoyce evermore, and that you may ſo do, Pray without ceaſing, 1 Theſ. 5.16, 17.

Their burnt offerings and their ſacrifices ſhall be accepted upon mine Altar] Their Evangelical Sacrifices of prayer, praiſe, alms, obedience, &c. ſhall be accepted through Chriſt, Heb. 13.10, 15. who is the true altar that ſanctifieth all that is offered on it, Rev. 8.3, 4.

For mine houſe ſhall be called, &c.] See on Mat. 21.13.

Ver. 8. Which gathereth the out-caſts of Iſrael] According to that ancient promiſe of his, Deut. 30.4. None of his ſhall be loſt for looking after: he will fetch back his baniſhed, as that witty woman ſaid, 2 Sam. 14.14.

Yet will I gather others to him] Strangers, Eunuches, all mine other ſheep that are not yet of this fold, Joh. 10 16. together with all my ſtraglers, thoſe that are relapſed will I recover.

Ver. 9. All ye beaſts of the field come to devour] Statim quaſi vehementer ira accenſus, &c. All upon the ſuddain, as one much enraged againſt the wicked Prieſts eſpecially (as greateſt Traytors to the ſtate) the Lord thundereth and threateneth terribly. By the beaſts here called for, we may underſtand the Babylonians, Grecians, Syrians, Egyptians, but eſpecially the Romans, who made clean work of them, when as they were grown extreamly wicked, and even ripe for ruine, as Joſephus witneſſeth. See Jer. 50.17.

Ver. 10. His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorant] Invehit in Pſeudepiſcopos, ſuch as were (and are ſtill in part) the Popiſh Clergy, thoſe of the ninth age eſpecially, and not much better a little before Luther ſtickled: blind leaders of the blind, lamentably ignorant, as the Biſhop of Dunkelden in Scotland for inſtance;Act. & Mon. Luther. who profeſſed that he knew neither the New Teſtament nor the Old: ſo Biſhop Albert reading the Bible, and being asked by a Noble-man What book it was he read? I know not, ſaid he, what book it is; but all that I read in it, is contrary to our Religion. As for the other ill qualities of the watchmen here enveighed againſt, Hugo the Cardinal ſaid, that the Devil had two daughters, Covetouſneſs and Luxury: the former he had heretofore married out to the Jews, the latter to the Gentiles: but now the Monkes and Prieſts had gotten them both from their old husbands, and taken them for their own uſe. The Hebrew Criticks have obſerved, that the word here rendred watchmen, hath a Tſade bigger than ordinary; to ſhew what odious creatures ſuch are as are here deſcribed.

They are all dumb dogs that cannot bark] i. e. Will not deal plainly and faithfully with mens ſouls: but either preach not at all, or placentia only, toothleſſe truthes. Lib. 29. chap. 4. Pliny tells of the dogs in Rome that were ſet to keep the Capitol; becauſe, when the Gaules ſcaled it, the dogs being fed too full, lay ſleeping and did not give warning, they not only hanged them up, but every year on that day of the year, hanged up certain dogs in the City for exemplary juſtice; yea crucified them alive upon an Elder-tree. Let dumb dogs and paraſitical Preachers (treacherous to mens ſouls) take heed they be not one day hanged in hell.

Sleeping, lying down, loving to ſlumber] Non dormiunt ſolum, ſed dedita opera dormiunt; Somno[illegible: 1 letter]entia paſtorum luporum eſt gaudium. ſo full they have farced themſelves, and ſo deeply drunk they are, that they ſleep ſoundly (though Lyons roare, and wolves worry the poor flock) and that many times far enough from the fold; wherein they ſhew themſelves to be worſe then Ʋlyſſes his ſwineherd, of whom Homer ſaith, — [non-Latin text not transcribed] [non-Latin text not transcribed]. that he would not be drawn to ſleep from his ſwineſty.

Ver. 11. Yea they are greedy dogs that can never have enough] Heb. ſtrong of ſoul, or of appetite, they know not to be ſatisfied. Lac & lana is that they look for; the inſtruments of a fooliſh ſhepherd, forcipes & mulctra, the ſheares and milk paile are in their hand, Zach. 11.15. they eat the fruit and drink the milk, as Ezek 25.4. yea they eat the fat, and tear the claws in pieces, Zach. 11.16. Albertus Magnus complained heavily of the covetouſneſs of Paſtours in his time: In Mat. 10.16. Temporalia colligunt perſe, ſpiritualia ſeminant per alios, ſaith he; they take little paines, but care not how much profit they make: he that made Faſciculus temporum, doth the like. Another modern writer fitly applyeth that to them, which Oedipus in Sophocles ſaith of Tireſias the Heathen-Prophet, — [non-Latin text not transcribed] [non-Latin text not transcribed]. i. e. that he looked only to his gain, but was little ſeen in his profeſſion. Such a one was Balaam, Jude 11. ſuch were thoſe falſe Prophets, Ezek. 13. the covetous Phariſees, Luke 16.14. the falſe Apoſtles, Rom. 16.18. called dogs, Phil. 3.2. ſuch as had a greedy worm under their tongues, and could never be ſatisfied.

And they are ſhepherds that cannot underſtand] The duſt of covetouſneſſe hath even put out their eyes: Midas ſecundum Etymologi[illegible: 1 letter]m Graecam coecus eſt. as it fared with the blind and greedy Phariſees, Avidi à non videndo: the world is a pearle in their eyes, they cannot ſee God, nor skill of their office. Tremellius rendreth it neſciunt docere, they know not to teach, as being choaked haply with a fat benefice; a common practice of the Pope.

They all look to their own way] Mind their own commodity, whereby they are led up and down, as an Ox may be all a ground over, by a bottle of hay.

Ver. 12. Come ye] The wicked have their Come ye; as well as the godly, chap. 2. 3. See there.

I will fetch wine] A Paſtour ſhould be no winebibber or Aleſtake, 1 Tim. 3.8. Ebrietas in ſe culpas complectitur omnes. Drunkenneſſe is a foul fault in any man (ſaith Petrus Ravennas) but in a Miniſter, it is ſacriledge; eſpecially if he draw on others to it as here: and as the Popiſh Prieſts do at Paris and Lovain, where the beſt wine is called Vinum Theologicum, and they uſe to lengthen out their drunken compotations.

And to morrow ſhall be as this day] Words of profane ſecureneſs and diſſoluteneſs. See Chap. 22.13. Prov. 23.35.