20 But the wicked are like the
Thus understood, the more general reference is to the peace which the Messiah would introduce, and which would lay the foundation for universal rejoicing and praise. Comp. Notes on ch. ix. 5, ii. 4. 1T To him that is far off. Applied by the Apostle Paul to the Gentiles, who are represented as having been far off from God, or as aliens or strangers to him. Eph. ii. 17. IT And to him that is near. That is, to the Jewish people (Eph. ii. 17), represented as having been comparatively near to God in the enjoyment of religious privileges. 20. But the wicked. All who are transgressors of the law, and who remain unpardoned. The design of this is to contrast their condition with that of thooe who should enjoy peace. The proposition is, therefore, of the most general character. All the wicked are like the troubled sea. Whether prosperous or otherwise; rich or poor; bond or free; old or young; whether in Christian, in civilized, or in barbarous lands; whether living in palaces, in caves, or in tents; whether in the splendour of cities, or in the solitude of deserts; all are like the troubled sea. IT Are like the troubled sea. The agitated (lli^3j, ever-moving and restless sea. The sea is always in motion, and never entirely calm. Often also it is lashed into foam and heaves with wild commotion. IT When it cannot rest. Lowth renders this, " for it never can be at rest." The Hebrew is stronger than our translation. It means that there is no possibility of its being at rest; it is unable
LXX render it, " but the wicked are tossed like waves — xXvdcovKTdfiaovTat — and are not able to be at rest." The idea, as it seems to me, is not exactly that which seems to be conveyed by our translation, that the wicked are like the Bca, occasionally agitated by a storm end driven by wild commotion, but that like the ocean, there is never any peace, as Ihere is no peace to the restless wafers of the mighty deep. IT Whose tea- troubled sea, when it cannot "rest, tcrs. They who have stood on the shores of the ocea n and seen the waves — especially in a storm — foam, and roll, and dash on the beach, will be able to appreciate the force of this beautiful figure, and cannot but have a vivid image before them of the unsettled and agitated bosoms of the guilty. The figure which is here used to denote the want of peace in the bosom uf a wicked man is likewise beautifully employed by Ovid:
Cumque sit hibernis acritatum fluctibus aequor, Pectora sunt ipso turbidiora mari. — Trist. i. x. 33.
The agitation and commotion of the sinner here referred to relates to such things as the following: (1.) There is no permanent happiness or enjoyment. There is no calmness of soul in the contemplation of the divine perfections, and of the glories of the future world. There is no substantial and permanent peace furnished by wealth, business, pleasure; by the pride, pomp and flattery of the world. All leave the soul wnsatisfied, or dissatisfied; all leave it unprotected against the rebukes of conscience, and the fear of hell. (2.) Raging passions. The sinner is under their influence, and they may be compared to the wild and tumultuous waves of the ocean. Thus the bosoms of the wicked are agitated with the conflicting passions of pride, envy, malice, lust, ambition and revenge. These leave no peace in the soul; they make peace impossible. Men may learn in some degree to control them by the influence of philosophy; or a pride of character and respect to their reputation may enable them in some degree to restrain them; but they are like the smothered fires of the volcano, or like the momentary calm of the ocean that a gust of wind may soon lash into foam. To restrain them is not to subdue then:; for no man can tell how soob he may It excited by anger, or how soon the smothered fires of lust maj burn. (3.) Conscience. Nothing more resembles an agitated ocean casting up mire and dirt than a soit\ agitated by the recollections of pasi guilt. A deep.
whose waters cai>t up mire and dirt.
dark cloud in a tempest overhangs the deep; the /ightnings play and the thunder rolls along the sky, and the waves heave with wild commotion. So it is with the bosom of the sinner. Though there may be a temporary suspension of the rebukes of conscience, yet there is no permanent peace. The soul cannot rest; and in some way or other the recollections of guilt will be excited, and the bosom thrown into turbid and wild agitation. (4.) The fear of judgment and of hell. Many a sinner has no rest day or night from the fear of future wrath. His troubled mind looks onward, and he sees nothing to anticipate but the wrath of God and the horrors of an eternal hell. — How invaluable then is religion! All these commotions are stilled by the voice of pardoning mercy, as the billows of the deep were hushed by the voice of Jesus. How much do we owe to religion! Had it not been for this, there had been no peace in this world. Every bosom would have been agitated with tumultuous passion; every heart would have quailed with the fear of hell. How diligently should we seek the influence of religion! We all have raging passions to be subdued. We all have consciences
21 There is no 'peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
that may be troubled with the recollec tions of past guilt. We are all travelling to the bar of God, and have reason to apprehend the storms of vengeance. We all must soon lie down on beds oi death, and in all these scenes there is nothing that can give permanent and solid peace but the religion of the Redeemer. Oh! that stills all the agitation of a troubled soul; lays every billow cl tumultuous passion to rest; calms the conflicts of a guilty bosom; reveals God reconciled through a Redeemer to our souls, and removes all the anticipated terrors of a bed of death and of the approach to the judgment bar. Peacefully the Christian can die — not as the troubled sinner who leaves the world with a bosom agitated like the stormy ocean— but a3 peacefully as the gentle ripple dies away on the beach.
How blest the righteous when they die When holy souls retire to rest! How mildly beams the closing eye, How gently heaves the expiring brea9t i
So fades a summer cloud away;
So sinks the gale when storms ars o'er:
So gently 6huts the eye of day:
no dies a wave along the sIiore.—Barlauld.
The design of this chapter is to icprove the Jews for a vain dependei ce on trie performanse of the outward forms of worship. The nation is represented as diligent in thf perfoimance of the external lites of their religion, and as expecting to avert the divine judgments by the performance of those rites. They are represented as filled with amazement, that though they were thus diligent and faith ful, they had no tokens of the divine approbation, but were left as if forsaken by God. The main scope of the chapter is to state the reasons why their religious services met with no tokens of the divine acceptance, and the blessings which would follow the proper performance of their duties.
It is not certainly known to what period the prophet refers, whether to the Jews in his own time, or to the Jews regarded as in Babylon, liosenmnller supposes that the reference is wholly to the Jews suffering::\ their captivity, and practising their religious rites with a view of obtaining the divine favour and'a reiea-e. He argues this because there is no reference here 1o sacrifices, but merelv to fasting, and the observance of the Sabbath— duties which they could perfoim even when far awa> from the temple, and from their own land. But it. seems more probable that the reference hereto fa- vsia m designed aa an iiutan.ee or specimen of the character of the people, and that this is made so i>«H>ai rent because they abounded so much in it, and were so hypocritical m its observance. It is possibid that it was composed at or near the time of" some of* the public lasts during the reign of Manasseh unci that the fact that the cxte:nal rite* of religion were observed amidst the abominations of tha wicked leign rou-ed the indignation ofthe prophet, and led him to pour Ibrth this severe reproof of Vhe manner in which they approached God. The chapter comprises the following sub ects:
I. A direction to the prophet openly and boldly to reprove the sins of the nation, ver. 1. II. The fact that the Jewish people were regular and diligent in the observance ofthe external duties of religion, and that they expected the divine favour on the ground of tho«e observances, vs. 2, 3. III. The prophet states the reason why their excessive and punctual religious duties had not been accepted or followed with the divine favour and blessing, ver. 3, last clause, vs. 4. 5. (;) They still continued their heavy exactions on other.*, and made everything tributary to ir.eir own pleasure, ver. 3. (fc) They did it tor strife and debate; with hoarse contentions and angry passions, ver. 4. vj) I'; was with an affected and hypocritical seriousness and solemnity, not as a proper expression of a deep sense of sin. ver. 5. IV. The prophet states the true ways in which the favour of God might be obtained, and the happy results which would follow the proper observance of his commands, and the proper discharge of the duties of religion, vs. 6—14.
The proper mode of fasting, and the happy ft..
The kind of fasting which God had chosen, vs. 6, 7. It was to loose the bands of wickedness, and undo the heavy burden, and let the oppressed go free, and to aid the poor and neeuy. (&.) The consequence of this, vs. 8, 9. Their light would break forth a3 the morning, and the nation would prosper, and their prayers would be heard. (2.) The special duty of removing the yoke of oppression, and of icgarding the po.r and the oppressed, and the consequence?, vs. 9—12.
(a) The duty. God requires the yoke of oppression to be put away, and the oppressed and the poor tyje regarded by his people. Ver. 9, last clause, and ver. 10.
(b) The consequences which would follow from this, vs. 10—12. Their light would rise in obscurity, and their darkness would be as noonday; JEHOVAH would be their guide,."*>'! the waste places wuuld be repaired, and the desolations cease.
(3) The duty of keeping the sabbath, and the consequences, vs. 13,14. (a) The duty, ver. 13. They were to cease to do their own pleasure, and to call it holy, an«i to regard it with delight. (5) The consequences, ver. 14. They would then find delight in the service of JEHOVAH: and they would ride upon the high places of the earth, and be abundantly blessed and
1 Cry 'aloud, spare not; lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and
1. Cry aloud. Marg. "with the throat;" that is, says Gesenius, with open throat, with full voice coming from the throat and breast; while one who speaks low uses only the lips and tongue. 1 Sam. i. 13. TheChaldee here introduces the word prophet, " O prophet, cry aloud." The LXX render it, < Cry with strength,' h ioyvT. f Spare not. That is, do not spare, or restrain the voice. Let it be full, loud, and strong. IT Lift up thy voice like a trumpet. Speak loud and distinct, so that the language of reproof may be heard. The sense is, the people are insensible and stupid. They need something to rouse them to a sense of their guilt. Go and proclaim it so that all may hear. Speak not in whispers; speak not to a part, but speak so earnestly that their attention will be arrested, and so that all shall hear. Comp. Notes ch. xl. 9. 1 And show my people. This either refers to the Jewish people in the time
show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their
of the prophet; or to the same people in their exile in Babylon; or to the people of God after the coming of the Messiah. Vitringa supposes that it refers to the nominally Christian Church when it should have sunk into the sins and foimalities ofthe Papacy, and that the direction here is to the true ministers of God to proclaim the sins of a corrupt and degenerate church. The main reason assigned by him for this is, that there is no reference here to the temple, to the sacrifices, or to the idolatry which was the prevailing sin in the time of Manasseh. Rcsenmuller for a similar reason supposes that it refers to the Jews in Babylon. But it has already been remarked (see the analysis to the chapter), that this reason does not appear to be satisfactory. It is true tha there is no reference here to the temple or to sacrifices, and it may be true that the main sin of the nation iu the time of Manasseh was idolatry. But it it
2 Yet *they seek me daily, and i God: they ask of me.he ordin. delight to know my ways, as a j ances of justice; they take de nation tfiat did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their
also true that formality and hypocrisy were prominent sins, and that these deserved reproof. It is true that while '.'ley adhered to the public forms of religion, the heart was not in them; and tnat while they relied on those forms, and were surprised that the divine favour was not manifested to them on account of their observance, there was a good.jeason why that favour was withheld, and it was important that that reason should be stated clearly and fully. It is probable, therefore, that the reference here is to the times of the prophet himself, and that the subject of rebuke is the formality, hypocrisy, and prevalent sins of the reign of Manasseh.
2. Yet they seek me daily. The whole description here is appropriate to the character of formalists and hypocrites; and the idea is, that public worship by sacrifice was celebrated daily in the temple, and was not intermitted. It 13 not improbable also that they kept up the regular daily service in their dwellings. 1T And delight to know my ways. Probably this means, they profess to delight to know the ways of God: i. e. his commands, truths, and requirements. A hypocrite has no real delight in the service of God or in his truth, but it is true at the same time that there may be a great deal of professed interest in religion. There may be a great deal of busy and bustling solicitude about the order of religious services; the external organization of the church; the ranks of the clergy; and the claims of a liturgy. There may be much pleasure in theological discussion; in the metaphysics of theology; in the defence of what is deemed orthodoxy. There may be much pleasure in the mere music of devotion. There may be pleasure in the voice of a preacher, and in the power of his arguments. And there may be much pleasure in the advancement of the denomination to wkjch we are attached; Jie conversion of men not from sin, but from a side opposite to us; and not t9 holiness and to God, but to our party and denomination. — True delight in religion is in religion itself; in the service of God as such, and because it is holy. It is not mere pleasure in creeds, and liturgies, and theological discussions, and in the triumph of our cause, nor even in the triumph of Christianity as a mere party measure; but it is delight in God as he is, in his holy service, and in his truth. IT As a nation that did righteousness. As a people would do who really loved the ways of righteousness. T They ask of me the ordinances of justice. Their priests and prophets consult about the laws and institutions of religion as if they were really afraid of violating the divine commands. At the same time that they are full of oppression, strife and wickedness, they are scrupulously careful,?bout violating any of the commands pertaining to the rites of religion. The same people were subsequently so conscientious that they did not dare to enter the judgment-hall of Pilate lest they should disqualify themselves from partaking of the Passover, at the same time that they were meditating the death of their own Messiah, and were actually engaged in a plot to secure his crucifixion! John xix. 28. It is often the case that hypocrites are most scrupulous and conscientious about forms just as they are meditating some plan of enormous guilt, and accomplishing some scheme of deep depravity. 1T They take delight in approaching to God. There is a pleasure which even a hypocrite has in the services of religion, and we should not conclude that because we find pleasure in prayer and praise, that therefore we are truly pious. Our pleasure may arist from a great many other sources than any ju3t views of God or of his truth, or an evidence that we have that we ar« his friends.
say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted bour soul, and thou takest no know- had fasted much, evidently with the expectation of delivering themselves from impending calamities, and securing the divine favour. They are here introduced as saying that they had been disappointed. God had not interposed as they had expected. Chagrined and mortified, they now complain that he had not noticed their very conscientious and faithful regard for the duties of religion. IT And thou srest not? All had been in vain. Calamities still impended; judgments threatened; and there were no tokens of the divine approbation. Hypocrites depend on their fastings and prayers as laying God under obligation to save them. If he does not interpose, they complain and murmur. When fasting is the result of a humble and broken heart it is acceptable; when it is instituted as a means of purchasing the divine favour, and as laying God under obligation, it can be followed by nc happy result to the soul. IT Have we afflicted our soul. By fasting. Twenty-one MSS. (six ancient), says Lowth, have this in the plural number— " our souls " — and so the LXX, Chald. and Vulg. The sense is not materially affected however. It is evident here that they regarded their numerous fastings as laying the foundation of a claim on the favour of God, and that they were disposed to complain when that claim was not acknowledged. Fasting, like other religious duties, is proper; but in that as in all other services of religion, there is danger of supposing tnat we bring God under obligation, and that we are laying the foundation of a claim to his favour. IT Thou takest no knowledge. Thou dost not regard our numerous acts of self-denial. IT Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure. The prophet here proceeds to state the reasons why their fastings were net succeeded as they supposed they would be, by the divine favour. Tie first reason which he states is, that ledge? Behold, in the day of you? fast you find pleasure, and exac* all youi 8labours.
even when they were fasting, they were giving full indulgence to their depraved appetites and lusts. The Syriac has well rendered this, " In the day of your fasting you indulge your lusts and draw near to all your idols." This also was evidently the case with the Jews in the time of the Saviour. They were characterized repeatedly by him as " an evil and adulterous generation," and yet no generation perhaps was ever more punctual and strict in the externa! duties of fasting and other religious ceremonies. IT And exact all your labours. This is the second reason why their fasting was attended with no more happy results. — The margin renders this " griefs, or things wherewith ye grieve others." Lowth renders it, " all your demands of labour ye rigorously exact." Castellio renders it, " and all things which are due to you, you exact." The word here rendered " labours," denotes usually hard and painfu* labour; toil, travail, &c. The LXX render it here, " and goad (vTrovvaaerc) all those who are under your control '; — tovs viro^etpiovs vficov. The idea seems to be that they were at that time oppressive in exacting all that was due to them; they remitted nothing, they forgave nothing. — Alas, how often is this still true! Men may be most diligent ixi the external duties of religion; most abundant in listing and in prayer, and at the same time most unyielding in demanding all that is due to thetn. Like Shylock — another Jew like those in the time of Isaiah — they may demand " the pound of flesh," at the sarr.e time that they may be most formal, punctual, precise, and bigoted in the performance of the external dnties of religion. The sentiment taught here is, that if we de sire to keep a fast that thalbe acceptable to God, it must Ix: such ufl ahall cause us to unbind heavy brrdi fit from the poor, and to lead u-. u rtvii the rigour of the claims whi,h -it >si\ be op-
4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite dwith the fist of wickedness: ye 9shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is it such "a fast that I have chosen? a 'day for a man to af-
pressive on those who are subject to U3. See ver. 6.
4. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate. This is a third characteristic of their manner of fasting, and a third yieason why God did not regard and accept it. They were divided into parties and factions, and probably made their fastings an occasion of augmented contention and strife. — How often has this been seen! Contending denominations of Christians fast, not laying aside their strifes; contending factions in the church fast in order to strengthen their party with the solemn sanctions of religion. One of the most certain ways for bigots to excite persecution against those who are opposed to them is to " proclaim a fast;" and when together their passions are easily inflamed, their flagging zeal excited by inflammatory harangues, and their purpose formed to regard and treat their dissentient brethren as incorrigible heretics and irreconcilable foes. It may be added, also, that it is possible thus to prostitute all the sacred institutions of religion for party and inflammatory purposes. Even the ordinance of the Lord's Supper may be thus abused, and violent partisans may come around the sacred memorials of a Saviour's body and blood to bind themselves more closely together in some deed of persecution or violence, and to animate their drooping courage with the belief that what has been in fact commenced with a view to power, is carried on from a regard to the honour of God. IT And to smite with the fist of wickedness. Lowth renders this, in accordance with the LXX, " and to smite with the fist the poor"' — bat this translation can be obtained only by a most violent and wholly unauthorized thange in the Hebrew text. The idea
flict his soul 1 is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, t *L to spread sackclothcand ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
is plain, that ' even when fasting* they were guilty of strife and personal combats. Their passions were unsubdued, and they gave vent to them in disgraceful personal encounters. This manifests a most extraordinary state of society, and is a most melancholy instance to show how much men may keep up the forms of religion and even be punctual and exact in them, when the most violent and ungovernable passions are raging in their bosoms, and when they seem to be unconscious of any discrepancy between the religious service and the unsubdued passions of the soul. IT Ye shall not fast, &c. It is not acceptable to God. It must be offensive in his sight. IT To make your voice to be heard on high. That is, in strife and contention. So to contend and strive, says Grotius, that your voice can be heard on the mountain top. Rosenmuller, however, supposes that it means, that their fast was so conducted that they could not expect that their prayers would ascend to heaven and be heard by God. But it seems to me that the former is the correct interpretation. Their fastings were accompanied with the loud and hoarse voice of contention and strife, and on that account could not be acceptable to God.
5. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? Is this such a mode of fasting as I have appointed and as I approve. IT A day for a man to afflict his soul? Marg. " or, to afflict his soul for a day." The reading in the text is the most correct; and the idea is, that the pain and inconvenience experienced by the abstinence from food was not the end in iew in fasting. This seems to have •een the mistake which they made, that they supposed there was something meritorious in the very pain incurred by such abstinence. Is there not danger of this now 1 Do we not often feel that there is something meritorious in the. very inconveniences which we suffer in our acts of self-denial I The important idea in the passage before us is, that the pain and inconvenience which we may endure by the most rigid fasting are not meritorious in the iight of God. They are not that at which he aims by the appointment of fasting. He aims at justice, truth, benevolence, holiness (vs. 6, 7); and he esteems the act of fasting to be of value only as it will be the means of leading us to reflect on our faults, and to amend our lives. IT Is it to bow down his head. A bulrush is the large reed that grows n marshy places. It is, says Johnson, without knots or joints. In the midst of water it grows luxuriantly, yet the Btalk is not solid or compact like wood, and being unsupported by joints, it easily bends over under its own weight. It thus becomes the emblem of a man bowed down with grief. Here it refers to the sanctimoniousness of a hypocrite when fasting — a man without real feeling who puts on an air of affected solemnity and " appears to others to fast." Against that the Saviour warned his disciples, and directed them when they fasted to do it in their ordinary dress, and to maintain an aspect of cheerfulness. Matth. vi. 17, 18. The hypocrites in the time of Isaiah seemed to have supposed that the object was gained if they assumed this affected seriousness. How much danger is there of this now! How often do even Christians assume, on all the more solemn occasions of religious observance, a forced sanctimoniousness of manner; a demure and dejected air; nay, an appearance of melancholy — which is often understood by the world to be misanthropy, and which easily slides into misanthropy! Against this we should guard. Nothing more injures the cause of religion than sanctimoniousness, gloom, reserve, coldness, and the conduct and deportment which, whel her right or wrong, will be constr. ^d by those around us as misanthropy. B<. it Uot torgotten that the seriousness which religion produces is always consistent with cheerfulness, and is always accompanied by benevolence; and the mo. ment we feel that our religious acta consist in merely bowing down the lead like a bulrush, that moment we may be sure we shall do injury to all with whom we come in contact. IT And to spread sackcloth and ashes under him. On the meaning of the word " sackcloth," see Notes ch. iii. 24. It was commonly worn around the loins in times of fasting and of any public or private calamity. It was also customary to sit on sackcloth, or to spread it under one either to lie on, or to kneel on in times of prayer as an expression of humiliation. Thus in Esther iv. 3, it is said, " and many lay on sackcloth and ashes;" or as it is in the margin, " sackcloth and ashes were laid under many." Comp. 1 Kings xxi. 27. A passage in Josephus strongly confirms this, in which he describes the deep concern of the Jews for the danger of Herod Agrippa, after having been stricken suddenly with a violent disorder in the theatre of Csesarea. " Upon the news of his danger, immediately the multitude, with their wives and children, sitting upon sack' cloth according to their country rites, prayed for the king: all places were filled with wailing and lamentation: while the king, who lay in an upper room, beholding the people below thus falling prostrate on the ground, could not himself refrain from tears." Antiq. B. xix. chap. 8, § 2, p. 951. We wear crape — but for a somewhat different object. With us it is a mere sign of grief; but the wearing of sackcloth or sitting on it was not a mere sign of grief, but was regarded as tending to produce humiliation and mortification. Ashes also were a symbol of grief and sorrow. The wearing of sackcloth waa usually accompanied with ashes. Dan. ix. 3. Esther iv. 1, 3. Penitents, or those in affliction, either sat down on the ground in dust and ashes (Job ii. 8, xlii. 6. Jonah iii. 6); or they put ashes on their head (2 Sam. xiii. 19. Lam. iii. 16); or they mingled ashes with their food. Ps. cii. 9. The Greeks and the Romans had also the sam-s
6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose 'the bands of wickedness,to undo the 5heavy
costom of strewing themselves with ashes in mourning. Thus Homer, speaking of Achilles bewailing the death of Patroclus, says:
Cast on the ground, with furious hands he spread The scorching ashes o'er his graceful head. His purple garments, and his golden hairs; Those he deforms, and these he tears.
Iliad xviii. 22.
Laertes shows his grief in the same
Deep from his soul he sighed, and sorrowing
spread A cloud of ashes en his hoaiy head.
So Virgil, speaking of the father of Lau-
Canitiem immundo deformat pulvere.
tf Wilt thou call this a fast. Wilt thou suppose that these observances can be such as God will approve and bless? The truth here taught is, that no mere outward expressions of penitence can be acceptable to God.
6. Is not this the fast that I have chosen? Fasting is right and proper; but that which God approves will prompt to, and will be followed by, deeds of justice, kindness, charity. The prophet proceeds to specify very particularly what God required, and when the observance of seasons of fasting would be acceptable to him. IT To loose the bands of wickedness. This is the first thing to be done in order that their fasting might be acceptable to the Lord. The idea is, that they were to dissolve every tie which unjustly bound their fellow-men. The Chaldee renders it, " Separate the congregation of impiety;" but the more probable sense is, that if they were exercising any unjust and cruel authority over others; if they had bound them in any way contrary to the laws of God and the interests of justice, they were to release them. This might refer to their compelling others to servitude more rigidly than the law of Moses allowed; or to holding them to contracts which burdens, * and tc let the f. ppress ed go free, *and that ye b: eak ev ery yoke?
had been fraudulently made; or to their exacting strict payment from person* wholly incapacitated to meet their obligations; or it might refer to their subjecting others to more rigid service than was allowed by the laws of Moses, but it would not require a very ardent imagination for any one to see, that if he held slaves at all, that this camo fairly under the description of the prophet. A man with a tender conscience who held slaves would have been likely to suppose that this part of the injunction applied to himself. IF To undo the heavy burdens. Marg. " bundles of the yoke." The LXX render it, " Dissolve the obligations of onerous contracts." The Chaldee, " Loose the obligations of the writings of unjust judgment." The Hebrew means, ' Loose the bands of the yoke,' a figure taken from the yoke which was borne by oxen, and which seems to have been attached to the neck by cords or bands. See Fragments to Taylor's Calmet, No. xxviii. The yoke in the Scripture is usually regarded as an emblem of oppression, or compulsory toil, and is undoubtedly so used here. The same word is used to denote burden (n^iia), which in the subsequent member is rendered yoke, and the word which is rendered undo,
"IP1H from "^J, is elsewhere employed to denote emancipation from servitude. See Ps. cv. 20. The phrase here employed would properly denote the release of captives or slaves, and would doubtless be so understood by those whom the prophet addressed. Thus in Ps. cv. 17- 20:
He sent a man before them, even Joseph,
Even the ruler of the people, and let him go fiee
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring
from the word Y^Ij meaning to break, to break down (see Notes ch. xlii. 3); to treat with violence, to oppress. It may oe applied to those who are treated with violence in any way, or who are broken down by hard usage. It may refer, iherefore, to slaves who are oppressed by bondage and toil; or to inferiors of nny kind who are subjected to hard usage by those who are above them; or to the subjects of a tyrant groaning under his yoke. The use of the phrase here " go free," however, seems to limit its application in this place to those who were held in bondage. Jerome renders it, « Free those who are broken," confracti. The LXX, "set at liberty those who are broken down," rcQpavansvog. If slavery existed at the time here referred to, this word would be appropriately understood as including that — at feast would be so understood by the slaves themselves — for if any institution deserves to be called oppression it is that of slavery. This interpretation would be confirmed by the use of the word rendered free. That word — B^BH hhophshim — evidently refers to the act of freeing a slave. The person who had once been a slave, and who had afterwards obtained his freedom, was denominated "^BH hhophshi. See Jahn,
Archaeol. § 171. This word occurs, and is so used, in the following places: Ex. xxi. 12, "And the seventh [year] he shall go out free;" ver. 5, " I will not go out free;" xxvi. 27, " He shall let him go free;" Deut. xv. 12, "Thou shalt let him go free;" ver. 13, "When thou sendest him out free;" ver. 18, " When thou sendest him away free;" Job iii. 19, " The servant is free from his master;" that is, in the grave, where there is universal emancipation. Comp. Jer. xxxiv. 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, where the same Hebrew word is used, and is applied expressly to the emancipation of Blaves. The word is used in no other claces in the Bible except the following; 1 Sam. xvii. 25, " And make his father's house free uO Israel," n.erring to the favour which was prorriJ-?ed to the one who should shj Goliath of Gath. Job xxxix. L, '■ Who hath sent out the wild ass free?" Ps. lxxxviii. 5, "Free among the dead." The usage, therefore, is settled that tht word properly refers to deliverance from servitude. It would be naturally understood by a Hebrew as referring to thai, and unless there was something in the connexion which made it necessary to adopt a different interpretation, a Hebrew would so understand it of course. In the case before us, such an interpretation would be obvious, and it is difficult to see how a Jew could understand this direction in any other way, if he was an owner of slaves, than that he should set them at once at liberty. IT And that ye break every yoke. A yoke in the Scriptures is a symbol of oppression, and the idea here is, that they were to cease all oppressions, and to restore all to their just and equal rights. The prophet demanded, in order that there might be an acceptable ' fast,' that every thing which could properly be described as a ' yoke' should be broken. How could this command be complied with by a Hebrew if he continued to retain his fellow-men in bondage 1 Would not its fair application be to lead him to emancipate those who were held as slaves? Could it be time, whatever else he might do, that he would fully comply with this injunction, unless this were done? If now this whole injunction were fairly complied with in this land, who can doubt that it would lead to the emancipation of the slaves'? The language is Buch that it cannot well be misunderstood. The prophet undoubtedly specifies those things which properly denote slavery, and demands that they should all be abandoned in order to an acceptable ■ fast to the Lord,' and the fair application of tiis injunction w mid soon extinguish slavery throughout the world.
7. Is it not to deal thy bread to tha
house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and.hat thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8 Then shall thy light break
fcfSj means to divide, to distribute. The idea is, that we are to apportion among the poor that which will be needful for the ir support, as a father does to his children. This is every where enjoined in the Bible, and was especiallyregarded among the Orientals as an indispensable duty of religion. Thus Job beautifully speaks of his own practice:
If I have withheld the poor from his desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to tail; Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or any poor without covering j — y* *#•**#**
/Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade,.-' And mine arm be broken from the bone.
IT Ana that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house. Marg. " or afflicted." Hospitality to all, and espe- 2ially to the friendless and the stranger, was one of the cardinal virtues in the Oriental code of morals. Lowth renders;his " the wandering poor." 1T When thou seest the naked, &c. This duty is also plain, and is every where enjoined m the Bible. Comp. Matth. xxv. 38. IT And that thou hide not thyself from +hine own fiesh. That is, from thine own kindred or relations who are dependent on thee. Comp. Gen.xxix. 14. xxxvii. 27, where the word " flesh" is use i to denote near relations — relations as Ultimate and dear as if they were a pa' t of our flesh and blood. Gen. ii. 23. To hide one's self from them may denote either, (1) to be ashamed of them on account of their poverty or humble rank in life; or, (2) to withhold from them the just supply of their wants. Religion requires us to treat all our kindred, whatever may be their rank, with kindness and affection, and enjoins on us tne duty of providing for the wants »f those poor relatives who in the pro- forth as the morning, End thino health shall spring forth.'speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee: the glory of the Lord shall 9be thy re re-ward.
8. Then shall thy light. See Notes ch. xliv. 7. The idea here is, that if they were faithful in the discharge of their duty to God, he would bless then with abundant prosperity. Comp. Job xi. 17. The image is, that such prosperity would come on the people like the spreading light of the morning. 1T And thine health. Lowth and Noyea render this, " and thy wounds shall be speedily healed over." The authority on which Lowth relies, is the version of Aquila as reported by Jerome, and the Chaldee. The Hebrew word here used, JlSD'l&t, means properly a long bandage (from T^i*, to make long), such as in applied by surgeons to heal a wound. Comp. Notes ch. i. 6. It is then used to denote the healing which is secured by the application of the bandage; and figuratively here means their restoration from all the calamities which had been inflicted on the nation. The word rendered "spring forth" (from H^t) properly relates to the manner in which plants germinate. Comp. Notes ch. xlii. 9. Here the sense is, that if they would return to God, they would be delivered from the calamities which their crimes had brought on them, and that peace and prosperity would again visit the nation. IT And thy righteousness shall go before thee. Shall be thy lender — as an army is conducted. The idea is, that their conformity to the divine laws would serve the purpose of a leader to conduct them in the ways of peace, happiness, and prosperity. IT The glory of the Lord. The allusion here is doubtless to the mode in which the children of Israel came out of Egypt. See Notes ch. vi. 5. V Shall be ih%
9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou ehalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity:
10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy
rere-ward. Marg. "shall gather thee up." That is, shall bring up the rear. See Notes ch. lii. 12.
9. Then shalt thou call. The sense is, that if we go before God renouncing all our sins and desirous of doing our duty, then we have a right to expect that he will hear us. But if we go indulging still in sin; if we are false and hollow and hypocritical in our worship; or if, while we keep up the regular forms of devotion we are nevertheless guilty of oppression, cruelty, and dishonesty, we have no right to expect that he will hear us. See Notes ch. i. 15. IT If thou take away — the yoke. Notes ver. 6. IT The putting forth of the finger. That is, if you cease to tontemn and despise others; if you tease to point at them the finger of scorn. It was usual to make use of the middle finger on such occasions. Thus Martial, ii. 28, 2:
f And speaking vanity. Lowth and Noyes render it thus, " the injurious speech." Kimchi understands it of words of contention and strife. The
11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in 'drought, "and make fat thy bones: and thou sbalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters 2 fail not.
10. And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry. Lowth, on the authority of eight MSS. renders this, " if thou bring forth thy bread to the huigry." So the Syriac and Noyes. But the authority is not sufficient to justify the change in the text, nor is it necessary. The word soul" here is synonymous with heart, or benevolent affection; and the idea is, if they expressed benevolent affection or kindness towards those in want. IT Then shall thy light rise in obscurity. That is, it will be as if the cheerful light of the sun should rise amidst the shades of midnight. The sense is, that their calamities and trials would be suddenly succeeded by the bright and cheerful light of prosperity.
11. And the Lord shall guide thee continually. Jehovah will go before you and will lead you always. IT And satisfy thy soul in drought. See Notes ch. xli. 17, 18. The word rendered "drought" (Marg. "droughts" Hr-b. MTfitWI) means dry places — places exposed to the intense heat of a burning sun and parched up for the want of moisture. The idea is, that God would provide for them as if in such places copious rains were to fall, or refreshing fountains to burst forth. IT And make fat thy bones. Lowth, " Shall renev? thy strength." Noyes," And strengthen thy bones." Jerome renders it, " And shall liberate thy bones." The LXX* " And thy bones shall be made fat." The idea is undoubtedly that of vigorous prosperity, and of strength. Job ex-
12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations;
*' His waterjng places for flocks abound with milk, And his bones are moist with marrow."
For the propriety of this translation, which differs from the common version, eee my Notes on Job in loco. The word here used — Y-*r — however, does not often, if ever, denote to make fat. It rather means to be manful, active, brave, ready for war; and the idea here is, probably, derived from the preparation which is made for the active services of war, rather than that of being made fat. T And thou shalt be like a watered garden. Syriac, 'like Paradise.' This is a most beautiful image to denote continued prosperity and blessedness — an image that would be particularly striking in the East. The ideas of happiness in the Oriental world consisted much in pleasant gardens, running streams, and ever-flowing fountains, and nothing can more beautifully express the blessedness of the continued favour of the Almighty. The following extract from Campbell, (African Light,) may illustrate this passage. " In a hot climate, where showers seldom fall, except in what is called the rainy season, the difference between a well and ill-watered garden is most striking. I remember some gardens in Africa, where they could lead no water upon them; the plants were all stinted, sickly, or others completely gone, only the hole left where the faded plant had been. The sight was unpleasant, and caused gloom to appear in every countenance; they were pictures of desolation. But in other gardens, to which the owners could bring daily supplies of water from an overflowing- fountain, causing it to traverse the garden, every plant had a green, healthy appearance, loaded with fruit, in different stages towards maturity, with fragrant scent proceeding from beds of lovely flowers; and all this produced by the virtue God vol.;i.— 15»
end thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
hath put into the single article of water.' IT Whose waters fail not. Marg. " lie, or deceive." Heb. 273, He. Water* or springs lie or deceive when they become dried up, or fail in the dry seasons of the year. They deceive the shepherd who expected to obtain water there for himself or his flock; they deceive the caravan which had travelled to the well-known fountain where it had been often refreshed, and where, it is now found, its waters are dried up, or lost in the sand. Hence suc.i a brook or fountain becomes an emblem of a false and deceitful friend. Job vi. 15:
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, As the stream of brooks they pass away.
But in the supolies which God makes for his people tlw;e is no such deception. The fountains of pardon, peace, and joy are ever open and ever full. The streams of salvation are always flowing. The weary pilgrim may go there at any season of the year, and from any part of a desolate world, and find them always full, refreshing, and free. However far may be the pilgrimage to them from amidst the waste and burning climes of sin? however many come to slake their thirst; and however frequently they come, they find them always the same. They never fail — and they will continue to flow on to the end of time.
12. And they that shall be of thee. They that spring from thee; or thy people. IF Shall build the old waste places. Shall repair the old rums, and restore the desolate c:ties and fields to their former beauty. This language is taken from the condition of Judca during the long captivity at Babylon. The land would have been desolated by the Chaldeans, and lain waste for a period of seventy years. Of course all the remains of their former prosperity would have gone to decay, a7id the whole country would be filled with ruins. But all this, says the prophet, would be restored if they were obodient to God and weald keep his law. Their descendants would be so numerous that the land would be entirely occupied and cultivated again, and cities and towns Would rise with their forme'- beauty and magnificence. IT Thou shalt raise up \he foundations of many generations. That is, the foundations which had endured for generations. The word * foundations" here (*iDia) means properly the foundation of a building, i. e. on which a building rests. Here it means the foundation when that alone remains; and is equivalent to ruins. The Hebrew phrase translated " of many generations," •n'ni— iyh ' generation and generation/ is equivalent to one generation after another, and is the usual form of the superlative degree. The exact amount of time is not designated; but the phrase is equivalent to a long time — while one generation passes away after another. Vitringa applies this to the gospel, and supposes that it means that the church, after long decay and desolation, would rise to its former beauty and glory. The promise is indeed general; and though the language is taken from the recovery of Palestine from its ruins after the captivity, yet there can be no objection to applying it in a more general sense as teaching that the people of God, if they are faithful in keeping his commandments, and in manifesting the spirit which becomes the church, will repair the ruins which sin has made in the world, and rebuild the wastes and the desolations of many ages. Sin has spread its desolations far and wide. Scarce the foundations of righteousness remain in the earth. Where they do remain, they are often covered over with ruined fragments, and are surrounded by frightful wastes. The world is full of the ruins which sin has caused; and there could be no more striking illustration of the effects of sin on ali that i3 good, than the ruins of Judea during the seventy years of exile, or than those of Palmyra, of Baalbec, of Tyre, of Ephesus, and of Persepolis at present. It is for the Church of Goa to rebuUd these wastes, and to cause the beauties cf cultivated fie'ds, and th* glory of cities rebuilt, to revisit the desolate earth; in other words to extend the blessings of that religion which will yet clothe the earth with moral loveliness as though sin had not spread its gloomy and revolting monuments over the world. 1T And thou shalt be called. The name which shall appropriately designate what you will do. IT The repairer of the breach. Lowth, " The repairer of the broken mound." The phrase properly means, ' the fortifier of the breach;' i. e. the one who shall build up the breach that is made in a wall of a city, either by the lapse of time, or by a siege. IT The restorer of paths to dwell in. Lowth and Noyes render this, " The restorer of paths to be frequented by inhabitants." The LXX render it, " And thou shalt cause thy paths to rest in the midst of thee;" and Jerome, " avertens semitas in quietem," turning the paths into rest, which the Jewish exposition explains to mean, ' thou shalt build walls so high that no enemy can enter them.' So Grotius renders it, " turning thy paths to rest;'' that is, ' thou shalt leave no way of access to robbers.' The Chaldee renders it, " converting the wicked to the law." The common English version has probably expressed correctly the sense. The idea is, that they would repair the public highways which had long lain desolate, by which access was had to their dwelling places. It does not mean, however, that the paths or ways were to be places in which to dwell, but that the ways which led to their dwelling places ^vre to be restored, or repaired. These robds, of course, in the long desolation1-., would be ruined. Thorns, and bram^i^- and trees would have grown upon mVui; and having been long neglecte-i -hey would be impassable. But the advantages of a free intercourse from onr dwelling and one city to another, and thioughout the land, would be again f ujoyed. Spiritually applied, it means tnc same as the previous expression, that, the church of God would remove the rums which sin haa caused, and diffuse comfort and happiness around the world. The obstructed
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and
and overrun paths to a quiet and peaceable dwelling on earth would be cleared away, and the blessings of the true religion would belike giving free and easyaccess from one tranquil and prosperous dwelling-place to another.
13. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath. The evident meaning of this is, that they were sacredly to observe the Sabbath, and not to violate or pollute it. See Notes ch. lvi. 2. The idea, says Grotius, is, that they were not to travel on the Sabbath-day on ordinary journeys. The " foot" is spoken of as the instrument of motion and travel. Prov. ii. 26: " Ponder the paths of thy feet." That is, observe attentively thy goings. Prov. iv. 27: " Remove thy foot from evil." That is, abstain from evil; do not go to execute evil. So here, to restrain the foot from the Sabbath, is not to have the foot employed on the Sabbath; not to be engaged in travelling, or in the ordinary active employments of life, either for business or pleasure. IT From doing thy pleasure on my holy day. Two things may here be observed. (1.) God claims the day!*a his, and as holy on that account. While all time is his, and while he requires all time to be profitably and usefull}' employed, he calls the Sabbath peculiarly his own — a day which is to be observed with reference to himself, and which is to be regarded as belonging to him. To take the hours of that day, therefore, for our pleasure, or for work which is not necessary or merciful, is to rob God of that which he claims as his own. (2.) We are not to do our own pleasure on that day. That is, we are not to pursue our ordinary plans c/ amusement; we are not to devote it to feasting, to riot, or to revelry. It is true that they who love the Sabbath as they should will find " pleasure" in observing it — for they have happiness in the service of God. But the idea is, here, that we are to do the things which God requires, and to consult his will in call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing the observance. It is remarkable that the thing here adverted to is the very way in which the Sabbath is commonly violated. It is not extensively a day of business — for the propriety of a periodical cessation from toil is so obvious that men will have such days recurring at moderate intervals. But it is a day of pastime and amusement; a day not merely of relaxation from toil, but also of relaxation from the restraints of temperance and virtue. And while the Sabbath is God's great ordinance for perpetuating religion and virtue, it w also, by perversion, made Satan's great ordinance for perpetuating in temperance, dissipation, and sensuality. II And call the sabbath a delight. This appropriately expresses the feelings of all who have any just views of the Sabbath. To them it is not wearisome, nor are its hours heavy. They love the day of sweet and holy rest. They esteem it a privilege, not a task, to be permitted once a week to disburden their minds of the cares and toils and anxieties of life. It is a " delight" to them to recaL the memory of the institution of the Sabbath, when God rested from his labours; to recall the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, to the memory of which the Christian Sabbath is consecrated; to be permitted to devote a whole day to prayer and praise — to the public and private worship of God, to services that expand the intellect and purify the heart. To the father of a family it is the source of unspeakable delight that he may conduct his children to the house of God, and that he may instruct them in the ways of religion. To the Christian man of business, the farmer, and the professional man, it is a pleasure that he mi) suspend his cares, and may uninterru> t edly think of God and of heaven. Tc all who have any just feeling, the Sabbath is a " delight;" and for them to be compelled to forego its 3acred re3t would be an unspeakable calamity. % The holy of the Lord, honourable. Tins
thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will
more properly means, ' and call the holy of Jehovah honourable.' That is, it does not mean that they who observed the Sabbath would call it • holy to Jehovah and honourable,' but it means that the Sabbath was, in fact, ' the holy of Jehovah;' and that they would regard it as ' honourable.' A slight inspection of the Hebrew will show that this is the sense. — They who keep the Sabbath aright will esteem it a day to be honoured— *723E 1T And shalt honour him.
Or rather, shall honour it; to wit, the Sabbath. The Hebrew will bear either construction, but the connexion seems to require us to understand it of the Sabbath rather than of the Lord. IT Nor doing thine own ways. This is evidently explanatory of the phrase in the begining of the verse, " if thou turn away thy foot." So the LXX understand it: 6vk dpcTi tov noSa gov £/r' cpyco, — and will not lift up thy foot to any work. They were not to engage in secular labour, or in the execution of their own plans, but were to regard the day as belonging to God, and to be employed in his service alone. IT Not finding thine own pleasure. The Chaldee renders this, ' And shalt not provide on that day those things which are necessary for thee.' IT Nor speaking thine own words. Lowth and Noyes render this, " from speaking vain words." The LXX, " Nor utter a word in anger from thy mouth." The Chaldee renders it, " words of violence.' It is necessary to add some epithet to make out the sense, as the Hebrew is literal V, 'and to speak a word.' Probably cur common translation has expressed the true sense, as in the previous members of the verse the phrase " thine own" thrice occurs. And according to this, the sense is, that on the Sabbath our conversation is to be such as becomes a day which belongs to God. It is not less important that »ur conversation should be right on the cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
14. Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord. That is, as a consequence of properly observing the Sabbath, thou shalt find pleasure in Jehovah. It will be a pleasure to draw near to him, and you shall no longer be left to barren ordinances and to unanswered prayers. The delight or pleasure which God's people have in him is a direct and necessary consequence of the proper observance of the Sabbath. It is on that day, set apart by his own authority for his own service, that he chooses to meet with his people, and to commune with them and bless them; and no one ever properly observed the Sabbath who did not find as a consequence that he had augmented pleasure in the existence, the character, and the service of Jehovah. Comp. Job xxii. 21-26, where the principle stated here — that the observance of the law of God will lead to happiness in the Almighty — is beautifully illustrated. See also Ps. xxxvii. 4. IT And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth. A phrase like this occurs in Deut. xxxii. 13: " He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of fields." In Habakkuk iii. 19, the phrase also occurs: " He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places." So also Ps. xviii. 33: " He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places." In Amos iv. 13, it ia applied to God: " He maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth." Kimchi, Calvin, and Grotius suppose that the idea here is, that God would restore the exile Jews to their own land — a land of mountains and elevated places, more lofty than the surrounding regions. Vitringa says that the phrase is taken from a conqueror, who on bis horse or *n hia chariot, occupies mountains, hills towers, and monuments, and subjects them.o himself. Rosenmuller supposes it means, ' I will place you in lefty and inaccessible places, where you will be safe from all your enemies.' Gesenius nlso supposes that the word " high-places" here means fastnesses or strong holds, and that to walk over those strong holds, or to ride over them, is equivalent to possessing them, and that he who has possession of the fastnesses has possession of the whole country. See his Lexicon on the word ^^^j No. 2. I give these views of the most distinguished commentators on the passage, not being able to determine satisfactorily to my- Belf what is the true signification. Neither of the above expositions seems to me to be entirely free from difficulty. The general idea of prosperity and security is undoubtedly the main thing intended; but what is the specific sense couched under the phrase ' to ride on the high places of the earth,' does not seem to me to be sufficiently explained. IF And feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father. That is, thou shal*. possess the land promised to Jacob as an inheritance. IT For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. This formula often occurs when an important promise is made, and it is regarded as ample security for the fulfilment that Jehovah has promised it. What more ample security can be required, or conceived, than the promise of the eternal God ]
1. From vs. 1 — 6, and the exposition given of these verses, particularly ver. 6, we may make the following remarks respecting slavery.
(1.) That the prophets felt themselves at entire liberty to animadvert on slavery as an evil. Thc-y did not feel themselves restrained from doing it by the fact that slavery was sustained by law. Or by tl«» plea that it was a civil institution, and that the ministers of religion had nothing to do with it. The holy men who were sent by God as his ambassadors, did not suppose that, in lifting up the voice against this institution, they were doing any thing contrary to what fairly came within their notice as religious teachers, nor did they regard it as in such a sense a civil institution that they were not to advert to it.
It is often said in our country that slavery is a civil institution; that it pertains solely to political affairs; that the constitution and the laws suppose its existence, and make provision for its perpetuity; that it is not appropriate for tire ministers of religion, and for ecclesiastical bodies to intermeddle with it. This plea, however, might have been urged with much more force among the Hebrews. Their constitution was, what ours is not, of divine appointment, and it would have been easy for a friend of slavery to say that the prophets were interfering with what was sanctioned by the laws, and with the arrangements which were made for its perpetuity in the commonwealth. VVhy would not such an argument have as much weight then as it should be allowed to have now?
(2.) The prophet Isaiah felt himself at entire lih«rty to exhort the people to restore their slaves to freedom. He considered that slavery was as prope- a subject for him to discuss as any other. He treated it as entirely within his province, and did not hesitate at all to express his views on it as an evil, and to demand that the evil should cease in order to an acceptable worship of God.
(3.) He does not speak of it as a good and desirable institution, or as contributing to the welfare of the community. It is, in his view, a hard and oppressi.e system; a system which should be abandoned if men would render acceptable servioe to God. There is no apology made for it; no pleading for it as a desirable system; no attempt made to show that it is in accordance with the laws of the land and with the laws of God. It would not be difficult to imagine what would be the emotions of Isaiah if, after he had written this 5Sth chapter of his prophecies, it should be represented that he was the friend of slavery, or if he were to read some of the vindications of the system published in this Christian land by ministers of the gos »el, and by ecclesiastical bodies, or should hear the sentiments uttered in debate in Synods, Assemblies, Conferences, and Conventions.
(4.) It may be inferred from the exposition given that Isaiah did not suppose that slavery was in accordance with the spirit of the Mosai; institutions, or that those institutions were designed to perpetuate t. His treatment of it is just such as would be natural on the supposition that the Mosaic institutions were so made that, while it was for a while tolerated — just as polygamy and divorce were — yet that it was the tendency and design of the Mosaic system ultimately to remove the evil entirely, and to make the Hebrews throughout a free people, and that it was therefore proper for him as a prophet to enjoin on them the duty of letting all the oppressed go free. It may be added, that if this was proper in the time of Isaiah, it cannot be less proper under the light of the gospel and in the nineteenth century.
V. From the closing portion of this chapter (vs. 13, 14), we may derive the following important fetfereaces respecting the Sabbath:
{!.) It ii »o Lt of peinetud ob.Lration. Tiie whole chapter occurs in the midst of statement; that lehite to the times of t!ie Messiah. There is no intimation tliat the Sabbath was to be abolished, but it is fairly implied that its observance was to be attended with most happy results in thosd future times. At all events Isaiah regarded it as of binding obligation, and felt that its proper oh servance was identified with the national welfare.
(2.) We may see the manner iu which the Sabbath is to be observed. In no place in the Bible there a mure full account of the proper mode of keeping that holy day. We are to refrain from •Uinary travelling and employments; we are not to engage in doing our own pleasure; we are to egard it with delight, and to esteem it a day worthy to be honoured; and we are t > shew respect.o it by not performing our own ordinary works, or pursuing pleasures, or engaging in thecomm.n topics of conversation. In this description there occurs nothing of peculiar Jewish ceremony, and nothing which indicates that it is not to be observed in this manner at all times. Under the gospel assuredly, it is as proper to celebrate the Sabbath in this way as it was in the times of Isaiah, ami God doubtless intended that it should be perpetually observed in this manner.
(3.) Important benefits result from the right observance of the Sabbath. In the passage beforo as these are said to be, that they who thus observed it would find pleasure in JEHOVAH, nnd would be signally prospered and be safe. But those benefits are by no means confined to the Jewish people. It is as true now as it was then, that they who observe tl>e Sabbath in a proper manner find happiness in the Lord — in His existence, perfections, promises, law, and in communion with him- -which is to be found nowhere else. Of this fact there are abundant witnesses now iu every Christian church, and they will continue to be multiplied in every coming age. And it is as true that the proper observance of the Sabbath contributes to the prosperity and safety of a nation now as it ever did among the Jewish people. It is not merely from the fact that God promises to bless the people who keep his holy day — though this is of more value to a nation than all its armies and fleets; but it is, that there is in the institution itself much that tends to the welfare and prosperity of a country. It is a time when worldliness is broken in upon by a periodical season of rest, and when the thoughts are lelt free to contemplate higher and purer objects. It is a time when more instruction is imparted on moral and religious subjects than on all the other days of the week put together. The public worship of God tends to enlarge the intellect, and purify the heart. No institution has ever been originated that has contributed so much to elevate the common mind; to diffuse order, peace, neatness, decency among men, and thus to perpetuate and extend all that is valuable in society, as the Sabbath. Any one may be convinced of this who will be at the pains to compare a neighbourhood, a village, or a city where the Sabbath is not observed with one where it is; and the difference will convince him at once that society owes more to the Sabbath than to any single institution be sides, and that in no way possible can one seventh portion of the time be so.well employed as in the manner contemplated by the Christian day of rest.
(4.) S ciety will have seasons of cessation from labour, and when they are not made occasions for the promotion of virtue they will be for the promotion of vice. Thus among the Romans an annual Saturnalia was granted* to all, as a season of relaxation from toil and even from the restraints of morality, besides many other days of periodical rest from labour. Extensively among heathen nations also the seventh day of the week, or a seventh portion of the time has been devoted to such relaxation. Thus Ilesiod says, kjtfdouov \cpov /j/^ao — the seventh day is holy. Homer and Callimachus give it the same title. Philo says of the seventh day, Koprij yap ov uiag noXcus n ^o>p.M? zciTiv aWa tdv ttuvtos — it is a feast, not of one city or one country only, but of all. Jo- Eephus (Adversus Appionem ii.) says — " that there is no city however barbarous where the custom of observing the seventh day which prevails among the Jews is not also observed." Theophilus of Antioch (Lib. ii.) says: " Concerning the seventh day which all men celebrate." Eusebius says: " Almost all the philosophers and poets acknowledge the seventh day as holy." See Grotius, de Veritate, Lib. i. § xvi. It is evident that this custom did net originate by chance, nor was it kept up by chance. It must have been originated by far spreading tradition, and must have been observed either because the day was esteemed to be holy, or because it was found to be convenient or advantageous to observe such a periodical season of rest. In accordance with this feeling, even the French nation during the Revolution, while they abolished the Christian Sabbath, felt so deeply the necessity of a periodical rest from labour that they appointed the decade — or one day in ten to be observed as a day of relaxation and amusement. Whatever, therefore, may have been the origin of the Sabbath, and whatever may be the views which may be entertained of its sacredness, it is now reduced to a moral certainty that men will have a periodical season of cessation from labour. The only question is, in what way shall it be observed? Shall it be devoted to amusement, pleasure, and vice; or shall it be employed in the ways of intelligence, virtue, and religion? It is evident that such a periodical relaxation may be made the occasion of immense good to any community;— Bnd it is no*, less evident that it may be the occasion of extending far the evils of intemperance, profaneness, licentiousness and crime. It is vain to attempt to blot out wholly the observance of th« Christian »3abbath; and since it will and must be observed as a day of cessation from toil, all that remains is for society to avail itself of the advantages which may be derived from its proper observance, and to make it the handmaid of temperance, intelligence, social order, aud pure religion.
(5.) It is deeply, therefore, to be regretted that this sacred institution has been and is so widely abused in Christian lands. As it is, it is extensively a day of feasting, amusement, dissipation, and revelry. And while its observance is, more decidedly than any thing else, the mcuis of perpetuating virtue and religion on earth, it is perhaps not too much to say that it is the occas.-on of more intemperance, vice, and crime than all the other days of the week put together. This is particularly the ease in our large cities and towns. A community cannot be disbanded from the restraints of laboul >ce seventh part of the time without manifest evil, unless there are salutary checks and restraint*
The merchant cannot, safely close his counting-room; the clerk ar 1 apprentice cannot sa'ely bedis charged; the common labourer cannot safely be dismissed from toil, unless there is something thai shall:>e adapted on that day to enlarge the understanding, elevate the morals, and purify the heart. The welfare of the community demands that; and nowhere more than in this country. Who caa doubt that a proper observance of the holy Sabbath would contribute to the prosperity of this na aon 1 Who can doubt that the worship of God; the cultivation of the heart; the contemplation of moral and religious truth; and the active duties of benevolence, would contribute moro to tha welfare of the nation than to devote the day to idleness, amusement, dissipation, and sin?
(6.) While the friends of religion, therefore, mourn over the desecration of the Christian Sabbath, xt them remember that their example may contribute much to secure a proper observance of tha. day. On the friends of the Redeemer it devolves to rescue the day from desecration; and by tha divine blessing it may be done. The happiness of every Christian is indissolubly connected with the proper observance of the Sabbath. The perpetuity of the true religion, and its extension Muoughout the earth, is identified with the observance of the Sabbath. And every true friend of God the Saviour, as lie values his own peace, and as he prizes the religion which he professes to love, is bound to restrain his foot on the Sabbath; to cease to find his own pleasure and to speak his own words on that holy day; and to show that the Sabbath is to him a delight, and that he esteems it as a day to be honoured and to be loved.
This chapter is closely connected in sense with the preceding, and is designed to illustrate the same general sentiment- that the reason why the religious services of the nation were not accepted, and the nation delivered from calamity, was their hypocrisy and their other sins. The previous chapter contained a bold and energetic reproof of their expectation of the divine favour when they were observing only external rites without repentance, and even when they continued to practice oppression and cruelty. This beautiful chapter states more in detail their sins and the consequences of their transgressions. The following arrangement of the i arts of the chapter, will show its design and scope at a single view.
I. It was not because JEHOVAH was unable to save them that they were exposed to such judgments, and visited with such calamities, ver. 1. They were, therefore, not to blame him. This general principle is stated in order to prevent what commonly occurs when men sutler much— a disposition to throw the blame on God.
II. It was for their sins that they were exposed to these judgments, vs. 2—8. The prophet proceeds to specify those sins in detail with a view to bring them to conviction and to repentance.
(a) The general principle is stated that it was their sins alone which had separated between them and God, ver. 2.
(b) Their hands were defiled with blood, ver. 3, first part, (e) Their lips had spoken falsehood, ver. 3, last part.
id) There was no justice among them, ver. 4, part first.
(f) Their actions were like the egg of the cockatrice— hateful and destructive as that egg when hatched, ver. 5.
(g) Their toorks were like the web of a spider which could never be a covering of righteousness,
(h) Their feet run to evil, ver. 7, part first.
(./) They were strangers to the way of peace, ver. 8.
III. After this statement of the prevalent sins of the nation, the prophet introduces the people aa making confession that it was for these and similar sins that they were exposed to the divine displeasure. Identifying himself with the people, he enumerates the calamities to which they were exposed as a consequence of the sins which prevailed, vs. 9—14. They were in darkness; they waited in vain for light; they stumbled at noon-day; they vented their sorrows like the roaring of bearu or the plaintive cry of the dove, but all in vain.
IV. JEHOVAH is represented as seeing this state of deep guilt— a state where there was deep conviction of that guilt, and a readiness to make confession— and as wondering that there was no intercessor, and as himself interposing to bring deliverance and salvation, vs. 15—18. The characteristics of him who should come to accomplish these purposes, were righteousness, salvation, vengeance and zeal, ver. 17. He would come to take recompense on his foes, and to reward the wicked according to their deeds, ver. 18.
V. The effect of this would be that the name of JEHOVAH would be feared from the risirg to the setting sun. JEHOVAH would erect a barrier against the enemy when he should come in like a Good; and the Redeemer would come to Zion to effect deliverance for those wno should truly rer>ertt. vs. 19, 20.
VI. A covenant would be established between God and those vho would turn away from transgressions, ver. 21. The nature of that covenant was, that its blessings would be perpetual. Tha tpirit which God would give, and the words which he would put into their mouths, would abide with them and their posterity for ever,
" As this chapter," says Lowth, " is remarkable for the beauty, strength, and variety of the imago* with which it abounds; so it is peculitrly distinguished by the eloquence sif'the ccrapos (ion, and fAe exact construction of the sentences. From the first verse to the two Inst it falls regularly nto stanza* of four lines." This poetical form of the chapter must be apparent to the sli^htestohservation of th* reader; and there is perhaps no instance of more regular construction of tl.e various members and parts of a composit.on in the writings o; the Hebrews.
The chapter has evidently a primary reference to the character of the nation in the times of lsniah. The deep depravity which is described:s sucti as existed in the times of Maoasseh; and one object of the prophet was manifestly to bring them to conviction lor iheirsins; and to show them why they were suffering, or about to sutler, from the expressions of the divine displeasure. But the chapter evidently also looks tbrward to future timts. and the close of it refers so manifestly to the times of the Messiah that it is impossible not to apply it to him.
1 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear;
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have 5hidhis
1. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened. On the meaning of this phrase, see Notes on ch. 1. 2. IT Neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. On the meaning of this phrase see Notes ch. vi. 10.
2. But your iniquities. That is, the sins which the prophet had specified in the previous chapter, and which he proceeds further to specify in this. IT Have separated. The word here used, '"32, conveys the idea of division, usually by a curtain or a wall. Ex. xxvi. 33, xlii. 26. Thus the "firmament" (^P"? expanse) is said to have divided or separated, i^l^Ta, the waters from the waters. Gen. i. 6. The idea here is, that their sins were like a partition between them and God so that there was no intercourse between them and him. IT And your sins have hid his face from you. Marg. " made him hide." The Hebrew word here is in Hiphil, meaning ' to cause to hide.' Kimchi and Aben Ezra understand it as causing him to hide his face; Vitringa as hiding his face. The metaphor, says Vitringa, is not taken from a man who turns away his face from one because he does not choose to attend to what is said, but from something which comes between two persons, like a dense cloud, which hides one from the other. And, according to this, the idea is, that their tins had visen up like a thick, dark cloud
3 For yyour hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
between them and God, so that they had no clear view of him, and no intercourse with him — as a cloud hides the face of the sun from us. A similar idea occurs in Lam. iii. 44:
Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud. That our prayers should not pass through.
But it seems to me more probable tha the Hiphil signification of the verb is here to be retained, and that the idea is, that their sins had caused Jehovah to hide or turn away his face from their prayers from an unwillingness to hear them when they were so deeply immersed in sin. Thus the LXX: " On account of your sins he has turned away his face — aniarpi^je to irpooumov — from you so that he will not have mercy" — rov fjtr) i\£tj<rat. It is universally true that indulgence in sin causes God to turn away his face, and to withhold mercy and compassion. He cannot pardon those who indulge in transgression, and who are unwilling to abandon the ways of sin. Comp. Notes on ch. i. 15.
3. For your hands are defiled with blood. The prophet proceeds here more particularly to specify the sins of which they were guilty; and in order to show the extent and depth of their depravity he specifies the various members of the body — the hands, the fingers, the lips, the tongue, the feet, as the agents by which men commit iniquity. See a similar argument on the subject of d^prpvi ty in Rom. iii. 13-15, whtre " Dart </
4 None ca.leth fc r justice,:: r any pleadeth for truth: they tiust /n vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
the description which the prophet here gives is quoted by Paul and applied to the Jews in his own time. The phrase " your hands are denied with blood," means with the blood of the innocent; that is, they were guilty of murder, oppression, and cruelty. See a similar statement in ch. i. 15, where the phrase ". your hands are full of blood," occurs.
The word here rendered " defiled,"?X3, means commonly to redeem, to ransom; then to avenge, or to demand and inflict punishment for bloodshed. In the sense of defiling it occurs only in the later Hebrew writers — perhaps used in this sense because those who were avengers became covered, i. e. defiled with blood. If And your fingers with iniquity. The fingers in the Scriptures are represented as the agents by which any purpose is executed. Isa. ii. 8, " Which their own fingers have made." Comp. ch. xvii. 8. Some have supposed that the phrase here used means the same as the preceding, that they were guilty of murder and cruelty. But it seems more probable that the idea suggested by Grotius is the true sense, that it means that they were guilty of rapine and theft. The fingers are the instruments by which theft — especially the lighter and more del'cate kinds of theft — is executed. Thus we use the word " light-fingered" to denote any one who is dexterous in taking and conveying away any thing, or any one who is addicted to petty thefts. IT Your lips have spoken lies. The nation is false, and no confidence can be reposed in the declarations which are made. IT Your tongue hath muttered. On the word rendered muttered, nil!, see Notes on ch. viii. 19. Probably there is included in the word here, the idea that they not only spoke evil, but that they did it with a murmuring, discontented or malicious spirit. It may
5 They hatch 6 cockatrice's eggs, and weave the spider's web. he thateateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed 7break« eth out into a viper/
also mean that they calumniated tht government of God, and complained of hi* laws; or it may mean, as Grotius supposes, that they calumniated others — that is, that slander abounded among them. IT Ferverseness. Heb. evil— n?*? — the word from which our word evil is derived.
4. None calleth for justice. Or rather, there is no one who brings a suit with justice; no one who goes into court for the purpose of obtaining justice. There is a love of litigation; a desir* to take all the advantage which the lav* ean give; a desire to appeal to the law not for the sake of having strict justice done, but for the sake of doing injury to others, and to take some undue advantage. IT Nor any pleadeth for truth. Or, no one pleadeth with truth. He does not state the cause as it is. He makes use of cunning and falsehood to gain his cause. IT They trust in vanity. They confide in quirks and evasions rather than in the justice of their cause. IT They conceive mischief. They form plans of evil, and they execute them when they are fully ripe. Comp. Job xv. 35, where the same phrase occurs. The sense is, that they form plans to injure others, and that they expect to execute them by fraud and deceit.
5. They hatch cockatrice's eggs. Marg. " or, adders." On the meaning of the word here rendered cockatrice, see Notes ch. xi. 8. Some poisonous serpent is intended, probably the adder, or the serpent known among the Greeks as the basilisk, or cerastes. This figurative expression is designed to show the evil nature and tendency of their works. They were as if they should carefully nourish the eggs of a venomous serpent. Instead of crushing them with the foot and destroying them, they.ook pains to hatch them, and produce
6 1 heir webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works:
a venomous race of reptiles. Nothing can more forcibly describe the wicked character and plans of sinners than the language here used — plans that are as pern cious, loathsome, and hateful as the poi* nous serpents that spread death and rein and alarm every where. II And weave the spider's web. This phrase, in itself, may denote, as some have understood it, that they formed plans designed to seize upon and destroy others, as spiders weave their web for the purpose of catching and destroying insects. But the following verse shows that the language is used rather with reference to the tenuity and gossamer character of the web, than with any such design. Their works were like the web of the spider. They bore the same relation to true piety which the web of the spider did to substantial and comfortable raiment. They were vain and useless. The word here rendered " web " properly denotes the cross-threads in weaving, the woof or filling; and is probably derived from a word signifying a crossbeam. See Rosenmuller in loco; also Bochart, Hieroz. p. ii. Lib. iv. cap. xxiii. p. 503. If He that eatct.h of their eggs dieth. That is, he who partakes of their counsels, or of the plans which they form, shall perish. Calvin says that the meaning is, that " whosoever had any thing to do with them would find them destructive and pestiferous." Similar phrases, comparing the plans of the wicked with the eggs and the brood of the serpent, are common in the East. M It is said," says Roberts, speaking of India, " of the plans of a decidedly wicked and talented man, ' That wretch! he hatches serpents' eggs.' ' Beware of the fellow, his eggs are nearly hatched.' Ah, my friend, touch not that affair, meddle not with that matter; there is a Berpcnt in the shell.' " IT And that which is crushed breakeih out into a viper. On the meaning of the word- here rendered " viper," see Notes ch. xxx. 6. Marg. " or sprinkled, is as 1 there
their works.re works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
brake out a viper." Jerome renders rv, " and which, if pierced, breaks out into a basilisk." The LXX render it, " And he who was about to eat of their eggs, having broken one that was putrid, (avvrpiipas ovpiov), found in it a basilisk — tfaaiito-Kov." The difference of translation in the text and the margin of the common version has arisen from the fact that the translators supposed that the word here used — rYniT — might be derived from «T1T zar&h to sprinkle or to scatter. But it is formed from the word *^1T zur, to squeeze, to press, to crush; and in Job xxxix. 15, is applied to the fact that the ostrich might crush her eggs with her foot. The sense here is, that when their plans were developed, they would be found to be evil and per' nicious — as when an egg should be broken open, a venomous serpent would come forth. The viper, it is true, brings forth its young alive, or is a viviparous animal. But Bochart has remarked, that though it produces its young in this manner, yet that during the period of gestation the young are included in eggs which are broken at the birth. — This is a very impressive illustration of the character and plans of the wicked. The serpents here referred to are among the most venomous and destructive that are known. And the comparison here includes two points: (1.) That their plans resembled the egg of the serpent. The nature of the egg cannot be easily known by an inspection. It may have a strong resemblance to those which would produce some inoffensive and even useful animals. It is only when it is hatched that its tree nature is fully developed. So it is with the plans oi the wicked. When forming, their true nature may no be certainly known, and it may not be easy to determine their real character (2.) Their plans when developed are like the poisonous and destructive production of the serpent'l
7 Their "feet run to evil, and Jiey make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts arc thoughts
6. Their webs shall not become garments. The spider's web is unfit for clothing; and the idea here is, that their works are as unfit to secure salvation as the attenuated web of a spider is for raiment. The sense is, says Vitringa, that their artificial sophisms avail nothing in producing true wisdom, piety, virtue, and religion, or the true righteousness and salvation of men, but are airy speculations. The works of the self-righteous and the wicked; their vain formality, their false opinions, their subtle reasonings, and their traditions, are like the web of the spider. They hide nothing; they answer none of the purposes of a garment of salvation. The doctrine is, that men must have pome better righteousness than the thin and gossamer covering which their own empty forms and ceremonies produce. Com. ch. lxiv. 6.
7. Their feet run to evil. In accordance with the design of the prophet to show the eniireness of their depravity, he states that all their members were employed in doing evil. In vs. 3-6, he had remarked that depravity had extended to their hands, their fingers, their lips, and their tongue; he here states that their feet also were employed in doing evil. Instead of treading the paths of righteousness, and hastening to execute purposes of mercy and justice, they were employed* in journeyings to execute plans of iniquity. The words '* run " and " make haste," are designed to intimate the intensity of their purpose to do wrong. They did not walk slowy; they did not even take time to deiberate; but such was their desire of f/rong-doing that they hastened to exe-;ute their plans of evil. Men usually walk slowly and with a great deal of leliberation when any good is to be {one; they walk rapidly, or they run y'th haste and alacrity when evil is to be accomplished. — This passage is quoted by the apostle Paul (Rom. lii. 15), and is applied to the Jews of his own time as proof of the depraved character of the entire nation. 1 They make haste to shed innocent blood. No one can doubt that this was the character of the nation in the time of Manasseh. See Introduction, §3. It is not improbable that the prophet refers to the bloody and cruel reign of this prince. That it was also the character of the nation when Isaiah began to prophesy is apparent from ch. i. 15-21. IT Their thoughts. That is, their plans and purposes are evil. It is not merely that evil is donet but they intended that it should be done. They had no plan for doing good; and they were constantly laying plans for evil. IF Wasting. That is, violence, oppression, destruction. It means that the government was oppressive and tyrannical; and that it was the general character of the nation that they were regardless of the interests of truth and righteousness. IT And destruction. Marg. " breaking." The word commonly means breaking or breach; then a breaking down, or destruction as of a kingdom (Lam. ii. 11, iii. 47); or of individuals, Isa. i. 28. Here it means that they broke down or trampled on the rights of others. IT Are in their paths. Instead of marking their ways by deeds of benevolence and justice, they could be tracked by cruelty and blood. The path of the wicked through the earth can be seen usually by the desolations which they make. The path of conquerors can be traced by desolated fields, and smouldering ruins, and forsaken dwelling places, and flowing blood; and the course of all the wicked can be traced by the desolations whi'h they make in their way.
8. The way of peace they know not. The phrase ' way of peace ' may denote either peace of conscience, peace with God, peace among themselves, or peac«
know not; and there is no ^judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked 6paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
9 Therefore dis judgment far from us, neither doth justice over.
with their fellow men. Possibly it mayrefer to all these; and the sense will be, that in their whole lives they were strangers to true contentment and happiness. From no quarter had they peace, but whether in relation to God, to their own consciences, to each other, or to their fellow men, they were involved in continual strife and agitation. See Notes on ch. lvii. 20, 21. V And there is no judgment in their goings. Marg. " right." The sense is, that there was no justice in their dealings; there was no disposition to do right. They were full of selfishness, falsehood, oppression, and cruelty. IT They have made them crooked paths. A crooked path is an emblem of dishonesty, fraud, deceit. A straight path is an emblem of sincerity, truth, honesty, and uprightness. See Ps. cxxv. 5. Prov. ii. 15. Notes ch. xl. 4. The idea is, that their counsels and plans were perverse and evil. We have a similar expression now when we say of a man that he is ' straight- for ward? meaning that he is an honest man.
9. Therefore is judgment far from us. This is the confession of the people that they were suffering not unjustly on account of their crimes. The word •judgment' here is evidently to be taken in the sense of vengeance or vindication. The idea is this, ' we are subjected to calamities and to oppressions by our enemies. In our distresses we cry unto God, but on account of our sins he does not hear us, nor does he come to vindicate our cause.' IT Neither doth justice overtake us. That is, God does not interpose to save us from our calamities, and to deliver us from the hand of our enemies. The word tuttict here is not to be regarded as take us; we?7ait for light, bu* behold obscurity; for brightness, hut we walk in darkness.
10 We ^grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope, as if we had no eyes: *we stumble at noon-day as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.
used in the sense that they had a claim on God, or that they were now suffering unjustly, but it is used to denote th$ attribute of justice in God; and the idea is, that the just God, the avenger of wrongs, did not come forth to vindicate their cause, and to save them:rom the power of their foes. 1T We wait for light. The idea here is, that they anxiously waited for returning prosperity. IT But behold obscurity. Darkness. Our calamities continue, and relief is not afforded us. IT For brightness. That is, for brightness or splendour like the shining of the sun — an emblem of happiness and prosperity.
10. We grope for the wall like the blind. A blind man, not being able to see his way, feels along by a wall, a fence, or any other object that will guide him. They were like the blind. They had no distinct views of truth, and they were endeavouring to feel their way along as well as they could. Probably the prophet here alludes to the threatening made by Moses in Deut. xxviii. 28, 29, " And the Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart; and thou shalt grope at noon-day as the blind grope th in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways." 1T We stumble at noon-day as in the night. The idea here is, that they were in a state of utter disorder and confusion. Obstacles were in their way on all hands, and they could n«> more walk than men could who at noonday found their path filled with obstructions. There was no remission, no relaxation of their evil3. They were continued at all times, and they had no intervals of day. Travellers, though at night they wander and fall, may look for approaching day, and be -elieved bf
11 We roar all like bears, arid *motirn sore like doves: we look
the returning light. But not so with them. It was all night. There were \r> returning intervals of light, repose md peace. Jt was as if the sun was;Iotted out, and all was one long, unnterrupted, and gloomy night. IT We ire in desolate places. There has been treat variety in the interpretation of his phrase. Noyes, after Gesenius, translates it, " in the midst of fertile fields we are like the dead." One principal reason which Gesenius gives for this translation (Comm. in loc.) is, that this best agrees with the sense of the passage, and answers better to the previous member of the sentence, thus more perfectly preserving the parallelism:
Thus the idea would be, that even when all seemed like noon-day they were as in the night; and that though they were in places that seemed luxuriant, they were like the wandering spirits of the dead. Jerome renders it, in caliginosis quasi mortui. The LXX, ' They fall at mid-day as at midnight; — they groan as the dying' — cjj AirooQvf)<TKovTEs crtvd- \ovoiv. The Syriac follows this, ' We groan as those who are near to death.' The Chaldee renders it, * It is closed (i. e. the way) before us as the sepulchre is closed upon the dead;' that is, we are enclosed on every side by calamity and trial as the dead are in their graves. The derivation of the Hebrew word
£1273^ ^ is uncertain, and this uncertainty has given rise to the variety of interpretation. Some regard it as derived from EEttj shamdm, to be laid waste, to be desolate; and others from "P?*? shaman, to be, or become fat. The word E^STStfJ shemannim, in the sense of fatness, i. e. fat and fertile fields, occurs in Gen. xxvii. 28,39; and this is probably the sense here. According to this, the idea is, we are in fertile fields like the dead. Though surrounded by lands that are adapted to produce
%r judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from
abundance, yet we are cut off from th* enjoyment of them like the dead. Such is the disturbed state of public affairs; and such the weight of the divine iudaments, that we have no participation in these blessings and comforts. The idea which, I suppose, the prophet means to present is, that the land was fitted to produce abundance, but that such was the pressure of the public calamity that all this now availed them nothing, and they were like the dead who are separated from all enjoyments. The original reference here was to the Jews suffering for their sins, whether regarded as in Palestine under their heavy judgments, or as in Babylon — where all waa higttf and gloom. But the language h';rs is strikingly descriptive of the condition of the world at large. Sinners at noon-day grope and stumble as in the night. In a world that is full of tire light of divine truth as it beams from the works and the word of God, they are in deep darkness. They feel their way as blind men do along a wall, and not a ray of light penetrates the darkness of their minds. And in a world full of fertility — rich and abundant and overflowing in its bounties, they are still like " the dead." True comfort and peace they have not; and they seem to wander as in the darkness of night, far from peace, from comfort, and from
11. We roar all like bears. This is designed still further to describe the heavy judgments which had come upon them for their sins. The word here rendered " roar" (from Jrori haina like
Eng. to hum, Germ, hummen, epoken of bees) is applied to any murmuring, or confused noise or sound. It sometimes means to snarl as a dog (Ps. lix. 7, 15); to coo as a dove (Ezek. vii. 16); it is also applied to waves that roar (Ps. xlvi. 4, Isa. li. 15); to a crowd or tumultuous assemblage (Ps. xlvi. 7); — an4 to music, Isa. xvi. 11, Jer. xlviii. 36, Here it is applied to the low growl o
12 For "our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 In transgressing and lying 'against the Lord, and departing
Here it is emblematic of mourning, and is designed to denote that they were Buffering under heavy and long continued calamity. Or, according to Gesenius (Commen. in loc), it refers to a bear which is hungry, and which growls impatient for food, and refers here to the complaining, dissatisfaction, and murmuring of the people, because God did not come to vindicate and relieve them. IF And mourn sore like doves. The cooing of the dove — a plaintive sound — is often used to denote grief. See Ezek. vii. 16. Comp. Notes on ch. xxxviii. 14. 1T We look for judgment, &c. See Notes on ver. 9.
12. Our sins testify against us. Heb. ' answer against us.' The idea is, that their past lives had been so depraved that they became witnesses against them. Comp. Notes ch. iii. 9. IT We knoio them. We recognize them as our sins, and we cannot conceal from ourselves the fact that we are transgressors.
13. In transgressing. That is, we have been guilty of this as a continuous act. IT And lying against the Lord. We have proved false to Jehovah. Though we have been professedly his people, yet we have been secretly attached to idols, and have in our hearts been devoted to the service of false gods. f And departing away from our God. By the worship of idols, and by the violation of his law. T Speaking oppression +ad revolt. For mug plan3 to see how