Verse 17. Relieve the oppressed – “Amend that which is corrupted“] asheru chamots. In rendering this obscure phrase I follow Bochart, (Hieroz. Part i., lib. ii., cap. 7.,) though I am not perfectly satisfied with this explication of it.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Learn to do well; begin and inure yourselves to live soberly, righteously, and godly.

Seek judgment; show your religion to God, by studying and practising justice to men, and neither give nor procure any unrighteous judgment.

Relieve the oppressed; be not only just, but merciful.

Judge the fatherless; defend and deliver them, as this word is used, Psa 7:8,11; 9:4, and oft elsewhere.

Plead for the widow; maintain the righteous cause of poor and helpless persons, against their unjust and potent adversaries; whereby you will show your love to justice and mercy, and that you fear God more than men.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

17. seek judgmentjustice,as magistrates, instead of seeking bribes (Jer 22:3;Jer 22:16).

judgevindicate(Psa 68:5; Jas 1:27).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Learn to do well,…. Which men are naturally ignorant of; to do good they have no knowledge; nor can they that are accustomed to do evil learn to do well of themselves; but the Lord can teach them to profit, and of him they should ask wisdom, and desire, under the influence of his grace, to learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, and particularly to do acts of beneficence to all men, and especially to the household of faith; and also, the following ones,

seek judgment; seek to do justice between man and man in any cause depending, without respect of persons:

relieve the oppressed; the poor that are oppressed by their neighbours that are richer and mightier than they, right their wrongs, and deliver them out of the hands of their oppressors i:

judge the fatherless; do justice to them who have none to take care of them, and defend them:

plead for the widow; that is desolate, and has none to plead her cause.

i Misn. Sabbat, c. 9. sect. 3. T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 67. 1,

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Five admonitions relating to the practice of what is good: “Learn to do good, attend to judgment, set the oppressor right, do justice to the orphan, conduct the cause of the widow.” The first admonition lays the foundation for the rest. They were to learn to do good – a difficult art, in which a man does not become proficient merely by good intentions. “Learn to do good:” hetib is the object to limdu (learn), regarded as an accusative; the inf. abs. in Isa 1:16 takes the place of the object in just the same manner. The division of this primary admonition into four minor ones relating to the administration of justice, may be explained from the circumstance that no other prophet directs so keen an eye upon the state and its judicial proceedings as Isaiah has done. He differs in this respect from his younger contemporary Micah, whose prophecies are generally more ethical in their nature, whilst those of Isaiah have a political character throughout. Hence the admonitions: “Give diligent attention to judgment” ( darash , to devote one’s self to a thing with zeal and assiduity); and “bring the oppressor to the right way.” This is the true rendering, as C hamotz (from C hamatz , to be sharp in flavour, glaring in appearance, violent and impetuous in character) cannot well mean “the oppressed,” or the man who is deprived of his rights, as most of the early translators have rendered it, since this form of the noun, especially with an immutable kametz like (cf., ), is not used in a passive, but in an active or attributive sense (Ewald, 152, b: vid., at Psa 137:8): it has therefore the same meaning as C homeotz in Psa 71:4, and ashok in Jer 22:3, which is similar in its form. But if C hamotz signifies the oppressive, reckless, churlish man, cannot mean to make happy, or to congratulate, or to set up, or, as in the talmudic rendering, to strengthen (Luzzatto: rianimate chi oppresso ); but, as it is also to be rendered in Isa 3:12; Isa 9:15, to lead to the straight road, or to cause a person to keep the straight course. In the case before us, where the oppressor is spoken of, it means to direct him to the way of justice, to keep him in bounds by severe punishment and discipline.

(Note: The Talmud varies in its explanation of C hamoz : in one instance it is applied to a judge who lets his sentence be thoroughly leavened before pronouncing it; in another the C hamuz is said to signify a person robbed and injured, in opposition to C homez ( b. Sanhedrin 35 a). It is an instructive fact in relation to the idea suggested by the word, that, according to Joma 39 b, a man who had not only taken possession of his own inheritance, but had seized upon another person’s also, bore the nickname of ben chimzon as long as he lived.)

In the same way we find in other passages, such as Isa 11:4 and Psa 72:4, severe conduct towards oppressors mentioned in connection with just treatment of the poor. There follow two admonitions relating to widows and orphans. Widows and orphans, as well as foreigners, were the protgs of God and His law, standing under His especial guardianship and care (see, for example, Exo 22:22 (21), cf., Exo 21:21 (20). “Do justice to the orphan” ( Shaphat , as in Deu 25:1, is a contracted expression for shaphat mishpat ): for if there is not even a settlement or verdict in their cause, this is the most crying injustice of all, as neither the form nor the appearance of justice is preserved. “Conduct the cause of the widows:” with an accusative, as in Isa 51:22, the only other passage in which it occurs, is a contracted form for . Thus all the grounds of self-defence, which existed in the hearts of the accused, are both negatively and positively overthrown. They are thundered down and put to shame. The law ( thorah), announced in Isa 1:10, has been preached to them. The prophet has cast away the husks of their dead works, and brought out the moral kernel of the law in its universal application.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

17. Learn to do well As he had just now, ill enjoining them to cease to do evil, charged them with the continual practice of iniquity as if he had said that their whole life was a constant habit of sinning; so now he enjoins them to become skilled in acts of kindness, and in entreating them to learn this, he addresses them as scholars who had not yet learned their earliest lessons. And first he bids them seek judgment. Others render it, inquire respecting judgment, of which I do not approve; for by the word seek the Prophet meant more than this, he meant what we call the actual practice of it. By the word judgment he denotes what is good and right; as if he had said, “Aim at uprightness.”

Relieve the oppressed The Prophet, after his wonted manner, adds to the general description the mention of particular classes; and although he has already given a special exhortation to kindness and justice, yet wishing to press them more closely, he enters into a more careful enumeration of certain classes, so as to present a more complete view of the subject. For otherwise men always wish to be reckoned good and righteous, and can scarcely be moved by general instruction; but when we come to particular cases, they are forced, as it were, to deal with the matter in hand, and are compelled to yield, or at least become more tractable, of which we have daily experience.

Judge the fatherless, plead for the widow The Prophet here selects two classes, by means of which the wickedness of men is more fully exposed; for it seldom happens that the causes of the fatherless and widows are defended, because men do not expect from them any rewards. To such an extent are they exposed to every kind of injustice, that no man comes forward in defense of them, because there is no man who follows justice on its own account; and not only so, but there is a very great number of persons who are ready to plunder the poor and needy. This proves that there is no one who cares about exercising judgment; for we need not at all wonder that men of wealth and influence have friends to assist them, who are excited and allured by the expectation of reward. But the Lord declares that he takes charge of the fatherless and widows, and will avenge them if they shall sustain any injury.

“

Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict then in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry: and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.” (Exo 22:22.)

The same declaration is now extended to all others, who are oppressed and groan under the violence and lawless passions of men of rank and influence.

This ought to yield the highest consolation to all the children of God, who are enjoined to possess their souls in patience. (Luk 21:19.) Whatever may be the haughty boasting of enemies, this will not prevent the people of God from glorying amidst their tribulations, while such considerations as these shall have an abiding place in their minds: “The Lord will be our avenger. Though men disregard us, he takes care of us. He will aid the destitute, and will defend their cause.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

THE GREAT TASK

Isa. 1:17. Learn to do well.

Negative goodness is not enough to meet the Divine requirements. Those who have ceased to do evil must learn to do well. God demands positive excellence [333] The cultivation of well-doing is the surest guarantee against evil-doing [336]

[333] All the religion of some men runs upon nots. I am not as this publican. That ground is nought, though it brings not forth briars and thorns, if it yieldeth not good increase. Not only the unruly servant (Mat. 24:48-49) is cast into hell, but also the idle servant (Mat. 25:30). Meroz is cursed not for opposing and fighting, but for not helping. Dives did not take away food from Lazarus, but he did not give him any of his crumbs. I set up no other gods; ay, but dost thou reverence and obey the true God? I do not profane the Sabbath. Dost thou sanctify it? Thou dost not wrong thy parents; but dost thou reverence them? Thou dost not murder; but dost thou do good to thy neighbour? Usually men cut off half of their bill, as the unjust steward bade the man who owed a hundred set down fifty. We do not think of sins of omission. If we are no drunkards, adulterers, and profane persons, we do not think what it is to omit respects to God, not to reverence His holy majesty, not to delight in Him and His ways.Manton, 16201667.

[336] Fighting faults is the most discouraging thing in the world. When corn reaches a certain height, no more weeds can grow among it. The corn overshadows and grows them down. Let men fill themselves full of good things. Let them make their love and purity and kindness grow up like corn, that every evil and noxious thing within them may be overshadowed and die.Beecher.

I. Well-doing is a thing to be learned. We have been too prone to look at it in its other aspect only, as a thing springing from faith and love, not as a thing to be cultivated. But see Php. 4:9; 1Ti. 5:4; Tit. 3:14; Mat. 11:29; Heb. 5:3. All experience is in accordance with the teaching of these texts. Has any case occurred in which at the beginning of the Christian life a person was proficient in well-doing? Men are not born into the Christian life with a perfect capacity to do well, any more than they are born into the natural life with a perfect capacity to speak well. Conversion is a beginning, not an ending [339] We then begin to learn the standards, methods, opportunities, and practice of excellence. In the hour of conversion we do but pass into Christs school, and begin to be His disciples. Well-doing is not to be learned in one lesson, nor in six lessons. [Illustration: frequent advertisement, French in six lessons. Absurd!] It was only after a prolonged training and most varied discipline that St. Paul could say, I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Is that a lesson to be acquired in a day? Let our own hearts supply further proof. Look within, and see the evils yet unsubdued, the excellences yet unattained, the difficulty with which many a duty is discharged, and you will see the necessity of learning to do well. We have learned to do well only when it has become a habit to us, when we do it as easily and naturally as a well-trained merchants clerk adds up a column of figures correctly. But can any habit be acquired without prolonged practice? [342]

[339] No man is born into the full Christian character, any more than he is born into the character of a man when he comes into the world. A man at conversion is in the state of one who has just come into the possession of an old homestead. He has the title, and he can make for himself a beautiful home. But the dust, the dirt, and the cobwebs of years choke all the rooms, and must be cleared away. Many sills and beams are rotten, and must be replaced by new ones. Chambers must be refitted, walls newly plastered, the whole roof must be searched over, and every leak stopped. There must be a thorough cleansing and repair before the mansion is habitable; and when all this is done, it is only an empty house that the man has. The same kind of thing that man has who has trained himself into freedom from wrong, without having become faithful in right deeds.Beecher.

[342] Character is consolidated habit, and habit forms itself by repeated action. Habits are like paths beaten hard and clear by the multitude of light footsteps which go to and fro. The daily restraint or indulgence of the nature, in the business, in the home, in the imagination, which is the inner laboratory of the life, creates the character which, whether it be here or there, settles the destiny.J. Baldwin Brown.

II. Well-doing is learned much in the same way as other things are learned. Learning a language involves study, patience, perseverance, practice. Not otherwise can we learn to do well [345]

[345] It is not great, or special, or extraordinary experiences which constitute in the best sense the religious character. It is the uniform daily walk with God, serving Him in little things as well as greatin the ordinary duties and everyday avocations, as well as in the midst of grave and eventful contingencies. As the sublimest symphony is made up of separate single notes;as the wealth of the cornfield is made up of separate stalks, or rather of separate grains;as the magnificent texture, with its gorgeous combinations of colour, is made up of individual threads;as the mightiest avalanche that ever came thundering down from its Alpine throne, uprooting villages and forests, is-made up of tiny snowflakes;so it is with the spiritual life. That life is itself the grandest illustration of the power of littles. Character is the product of daily, hourly actions words, thoughts; daily forgivenesses, unselfishnesses, kindnesses, sympathies, charities, sacrifices for the good of others, struggles against temptations, submissiveness under trial. Oh it is these, like the blending colours in a picture, or the blending notes of music, which constitute the man.Macduff.

III. In learning to do well, we need both inspiration and help. We have both: the inspiration in the example of our Lord (Act. 10:38; Heb. 12:2); the help in the gracious assistance of the Holy Ghost (Rom. 8:26). Therefore, difficult as the task is, we may address ourselves to it with good hope of success.William Jones.

THE NOBLEST ART

Isa. 1:17. Learn to do well.

I. To do well is a thing that requires to be learned.

1. It does not come to us naturally, as breathing and sleeping do. That which comes to us naturally is to do evil. This is manifest in every child: it needs no teaching to do evil, but it needs a great deal of teaching before it will habitually do well. Nor does proficiency in well-doing come to us even with our new birth. Then come new desires after righteousness, but the knowledge and practice of righteousness have to be learned [348] At our new birth we are born babes in Christ: manhood in Christ is reached only by growth [351]

2. It is not a thing we acquire unconsciously, as infants learn to see and hear, or as older persons acquire the accent of the country in which they reside, or as invalids gain health at the seaside. Living in a religious atmosphere will not of itself make us religious, nor will mere companionship with good men. Association with artists will not of itself make a man an artist; and association with Christians will not of itself make any man a Christian. Judas was in constant association with Christ himself for more than three years, and at the end of that period, instead of doing well, he committed the foulest of all crimes. To do well is an art, and, like every other art, it can be mastered only by deliberate efforts of the will [354] This is the testimony both of Scripture and experience. (See preceding outline.)

[348] The process of being born again is like that which a portrait goes through under the hand of the artist. When a man is converted, he is but the outline sketch of a character which he is to fill up. He first lays in the dead colouring. Then comes the work of laying in the colours, and he goes on, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, blending them, and heightening the effect. It is a lifes work; and when he dies he is still laying in and blending the colours, and heightening the effect. And if men suppose the work is done when they are converted, why should we expect anything but lopsided Christian character?Beecher.

[351] God deals in spiritual proceedings, as in natural, to extremes by the mean. We are not born old men; but first an infant, then a man, then old. We are conceived of immortal seed, born of the Spirit, so go on to perfection. There is first a seed, then a plant, then a tree. We get not at one jump into heaven, nor at one stroke kill the enemy.Adams, 1653.

[354] Cast a sponge into water, and, the fluid filling its empty cells, it swells out before our eyes, increases more and more. There is no effort here, and could be none; for though once a living animal, the sponge is now dead and dry. But it is not as sponges fill with water, nor to use a Scripture figure often employed, and sometimes misapplied, as Gideons fleece was filled with dews, that Gods people are replenished with His grace. More is needed than simply to bring ourselves in contact with ordinances, to read the Bible, to repair on Sabbath to Church, to sit down in communion seasons at the Lords table.Guthrie.

Who starts up a finished Christian? The very best men come from their graves, like Lazarus, bound with grave-clothesnot like Jesus, who left the death-dress behind Him; and, alas! in their remaining corruptions all carry some of these cerements about with them, nor drop them but at the gate of heaven.Guthrie.

II. To do well is a thing that may be learned. Not all persons, however earnest their desires or persevering their efforts, can become poets, painters, statesmen, orators. But to do well is an art in which all regenerate persons may become proficient, some with greater ease than others, but to none is the task impossible. There is no vice which a regenerate man may not lay aside, no excellence to which he may not attain.

III. To do well is a thing that must be learned. It is an imperative demand which God makes upon all His people. We cannot satisfy it by ceasing to do evil. It is not enough for the branches of the True Vine not to bring forth wild grapes; they must bear fruitmuch fruitto the glory of the Husbandman (Joh. 15:8). Not only must Christs followers be blameless, they must be conspicuous for excellence. Let your light so SHINE before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. These truths being settled in our minds, let us ask ourselves.

IV. How this noblest of arts may be acquired.

1. By setting before ourselves, and carefully studying, the noblest models. Thus do those who would become proficient in other arts: music, painting, sculpture, architecture, &c. Now the great Master in the art of well-doing was our Lord Jesus Christ: we must therefore study Him aud His works. But as it is often a help to the discovery of the secrets of a great masters excellences to study the works of his disciples, as thus our attention is sometimes directed to points we might otherwise overlook, and as by the contrast between him and them, even when they have done their best, we get a clearer view of his transcendent powerso it will be helpful to us to study the character of Christs noblest disciples [357] however, coming back to the study of His character, remembering that we shall succeed in doing well only in proportion as we become like Him.

2. By becoming imbued with the principles by which the great masters in this art were animated. Mere mechanical imitation is always a poor thing, and often a grotesque and pitiable thing; because circumstances are continually varying. What kind of an English home would the most exact reproduction of the most beautiful of all classic villas be? The architect who forgot that the climate of England is not that of Rome or Athens would be accounted a fool. Yet many professed imitators of Christ have fallen into a similar mistake: they have imitated merely the outward circumstances of His life, and have forgotten that the essential thing is to have the mind that was in Christ. When we have that, all else will follow as a matter of course. Now the great principle which governed Christ and His noblest disciples was lovelove to God and man: a docile love, which did not seek to please God in its way, but in His way, and evermore searched the Scriptures to discover upon what things God looks with delight.

3. By patient and persevering endeavours to embody in our practice the truths we have thus discovered. Only by such endeavours can the mastery in any art be won.

4. By fidelity in little things. The masters ease is reached only by the students painstakingby his careful endeavour to be right in each individual note, line, shade, stroke, word. It is thus, and thus only, that the habit of doing well is gained.

[357] God hath provided and recommended to us one example as a perfect standard of good practicethe example of our Lord. That indeed is the most universal, absolute, and assured pattern; yet doth it not supersede the use of other examples. Not only the valour and conduct of the general, but those of inferior officers, yea the resolution of common soldiers, doth serve to animate their fellows. The stars have their season to guide us as well as the sun; especially when our eyes are so weak as hardly to bear the day. Even considering our infirmity, inferior examples by their imperfection sometimes have a peculiar advantage. Our Lords most imitable practice did proceed from an immense virtue of Divine grace which we cannot arrive to; it is in itself so perfect and high, that we may not ever reach it: looking upon it may therefore sometimes dazzle and discourage our weakness. But other good men had assistance in measure such as we may hope to approach unto; they were subject to the difficulties which we feel; they were exposed to the perils of falling which we fear; we may therefore hope to march on in a reasonable distance after them; we may, by help of the same grace, come near in transcribing their less exact copy.Barrow, 16301677.

V. Let us remember certain things for our encouragement.

1. We are not left to learn this art alone: we have the constant help of the most reasonable, patient, and successful of all teachers. We are disciples of Christ. How much that means! He does not expect us to become proficients in a few lessons. He remembers that the most advanced of us are only little children in His great school. If He sees in us the earnest desire and the resolute endeavour to learn, He is well satisfied [360] He will most carefully adapt His methods of instruction to our individual capacity. He will lead us on to the goal step by step. Already in countless thousands of instances He has dealt successfully with most intractable materials: scholars who seemed hopelessly dull and inapt He has so instructed that they have passed the great examination that awaits us all at death; and they are now carrying on their studies in the great university of heaven.

2. In no other art does progress bring so much happiness: the testimony of a good conscience; consciousness of the approval of God; a pleasant retrospect; brightening hopes.

3. In no other art does proficiency ensure such rich rewards. Proficiency in any other art can but win for us the honours and joys of earth; proficiency in this will secure for us the honours and joys of heaven. It is one great doctrine of Scripture, that we are saved through our faith: it is another, that we are rewarded according to our works.

[360] Gotthold observed a boy in a writing-school eyeing attentively the line placed before him, and labouring to write with equal correctness and beauty. Mark, said he to the bystanders, how all perfection is the offspring of imperfection, and how by frequent mistakes we learn to do well. It is not required of this boy that his penmanship shall equal that of the line. He satisfies his master by the pains he takes; for these are a ground of hope that he will progressively improve, and at last learn to write with rapidity and elegance. We also have a pattern to copy. It has been left us by the Lord Jesus Christ, and is His most perfect and holy life. And think not that He exacts more from us than the teacher does from the pupil. No, indeed; if He find us carefully studying His example, and diligent in our endeavours to imitate it, He exercises forbearance towards our faults, and by His grace and Spirit daily strengthens us to amend.Scriver, 16291693.

THE OPPRESSED AND THEIR RELIEF

Isa. 1:17. Relieve the oppressed.

Religion means sympathy with man in his oppressed condition. The truth alone can give men freedom.

I. The oppressed.

1. There are those oppressed by sinful habits. Many men are their own tyrants. They build their own prison, make their own fetters, and whip themselves. Their oppression is the consequence of their sin. Such are to be relieved, however little they may appear to desire or deserve it, by the compassion of the good.

2. There are those oppressed by commercial difficulty. There are many men whose commercial life is one continuous struggle to get on, and to provide things honest in the sight of the world. They have small capital. Fortune seems against them. They are active, but they do not succeed. Such ought to be relieved by the generous consideration of the good.

3. There are those oppressed by domestic misfortune. The wife has lost her husband. The children have buried their parents. They are out alone in the wide world. They are liable to the thoughtless but stern oppression of men. Such must be relieved by the good.

4. There are those oppressed by religious bigotry. There are many great souls who are larger than a sect, oppressed by the conventionally orthodox. They are driven from their pulpits. They are excommunicated from their synagogue. They need the relief of true sympathy.

II. Their relief.

1. By personal sympathy [363] Genuine sympathy is always a relief to an oppressed soul [366] It heals the soul and lightens its burden [369] A kind word, a cheering look, is welcome to the oppressed.

2. By intelligent advocacy. The cause of the oppressed should be advocated where it is likely to be redressed. Politics can be employed in no higher ministry than in seeking the relief of the oppressed.

3. By practical help. Sympathy must not be substituted for personal and self-denying help. Words are well; smiles are welcome; but personal help is the most effective to the removal of oppression.J. S. Exell.

[363] We are all sons of one Father, members of one body, and heirs of one kingdom, in respect of which near-linking together there should be compassion and sympathy betwixt us. If one member do but grieve, all suffer with it. When a thorn is got into the foot, how is it that the back bows, the eyes pry into the hurt, and the hands are busied to pluck out the cause of the anguish? And we, being members of one another, should bear with and forbear one the other, the not doing whereof will stick as a brand upon our souls that we are of the number of them that have forsaken the fear of the Almighty.Spencer, 1658.

[366] Certain it is, that as nothing can better do it, so there is nothing greater, for which God made our tongues, next to reciting His praises, than to minister comfort to a weary soul. And what greater pleasure can we have than that we should bring joy to our brother, who, with his dreary eyes, looks to heaven and round about, and cannot find so much rest as to lay his eyelids close together, than that thy tongue should be tuned with heavenly accents, and make the weary soul to listen for light and ease; and when he perceives that there is such a thing in the world, and in the order of things as comfort and joy, to begin to break out from the prison of his sorrows, at the door of sighs and tears, and, by little and little, melts into showers and refreshment? This is glory to thy voice and employment fit for the brightest angel. But so have I seen the sun kiss the frozen earth, which was bound up with images of death, and the colder breath of the north; and then the waters break from their enclosures, and melt with joy, and run in useful channels; and the flies do rise again from their little graves in the walls, and dance awhile in the air, to tell that there is joy within, and that the great mother of creatures will open the stock of her new refreshment, become useful to mankind, and sing praises to her Redeemer: so is the heart of a sorrowful man under the discourses of a wise comforter; he breaks from the despairs of the grave, and the fetters and chains of sorrow; he blesses God, and he blesses thee, and he feels his life returning: for to be miserable is death, but nothing is life but to be comforted: and God is pleased with no music from below so much as in the thanksgiving songs of relieved widows, of supported orphans, of rejoicing and comforted and thankful persons.Jeremy Taylor, 16121667.

[369] Till we have reflected on it, we are scarcely aware how much the sum of human happiness in the world is indebted to this one feelingsympathy. We get cheerfulness and vigour, we scarcely know how or when, from mere association with our fellow-men; and from the looks reflected on us of gladness and enjoyment we catch inspiration and power to go on, from human presence and from cheerful looks. The workman works with added energy from having others by. The full family circle has a strength and a life peculiarly its own. The substantial good and the effectual relief which men extend to one another is trifling. It is not by these, but by something far less costly, that the work is done. God has ensured it by a much more simple machinery. He has given to the weakest and the poorest power to contribute largely to the common stock of gladness. The childs smile and laugh are mighty powers in this world. When bereavement has left you desolate, what substantial benefit is there which makes condolence acceptable? It cannot replace the loved ones you have lost. It can bestow upon you nothing permanent. But a warm hand has touched yours, and its thrill told you that there was a living response there to your emotion. One look, one human sigh, has done more for you than the costliest present could convey.Robertson, 18161853.

GODS IDEAL OF GOODNESS

Isa. 1:17. Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

This verse is more correctly translated thusLearn to do well; seek judgment, restrain the oppressor, right the fatherless, maintain the cause of the widow,or, Learn to do good; seek out judgment, redress wrong, judge the fatherless, befriend the widow.

The form of these admonitions was determined by the sins of which the rulers of Jerusalem had been guilty. By them the course of justice had been perverted (Isa. 1:23; Mic. 3:11, &c.); wrongs had been left unredressed, and oppressors unrestrained; the orphans and the widows, having neither money to bribe nor power to overawe the corrupt judges, had sought in vain for justice,such judges as our Lord has depicted in His parable (Luk. 18:2) were common. The four specific admonitions of this verse are a divinely-inspired exposition of the general admonition with which it commences. So regarded, we find in it Gods ideal of goodness. The command is given, Learn to do well. Yes, but what is meant by learning to do well? To do well, says the prophet, is to seek out judgment, to restrain the oppressor, to judge the fatherless, to befriend the widow.

This Divine ideal of goodness is in startling opposition to certain standards of excellence widely accepted both in the Church and in the world. It, is in opposition

(1) to the idea that a good man is one who does no harm. How prevalent is the notion that a man who refrains from injuring his neighbours is a person worthy of high commendation! But to do no harm merely is to fall far short of the Scripture standard of excellence [372] It is in opposition

(2) to the idea that a man who confines himself to the cultivation of personal virtues is a true follower of Christ. In all our Churches there are multitudes of persons whose religion is a purely selfish consideration. They have been taught that certain excellences are necessary to qualify them for admission to heaven, and to the cultivation of these excellences they address themselves assiduously, merely that they may secure their own eternal well-being. But such persons fail to observe that the mind that was in Christ was not a spirit of self-seeking but of self-sacrifice. It is in opposition

(3) to the idea that the more spiritual a man is, the more indifferent he will be to what happens in the world. It is precisely to concern as to what happens in the world that we are here called. We are to seek out justice, to use all our influence that justice and righteousness shall prevail in the community in which we dwell. We are not simply to mourn over wrongs; we are to redress them, and we are to restrain the oppressors. Especially are we to see to it that justice is done to the orphans, and to all helpless ones such as they. The widow we are to befriend; she is to be our client, and we are to see to it that she is not wronged because God has been pleased to remove her natural defender. To live thus for others, to be the friend of the friendless, the defender of the weak, the resolute opposer of all oppressors,this, and this only, is to realise the Divine ideal of goodness ([375]).

[372] He is not half a saint who is but a negative saint. The forbearance of gross corruptions is the easiest and least part of religion, and therefore will not speak any man in a state of salvation. The tree that is barren and without good fruit is for the fire, as well as the tree that brings forth evil fruit.
[375] A religion that does not take hold of the life that now is, is like a cloud that does not rain. A cloud may roll in grandeur, and be an object of admiration, but if it does not rain, it is of little account so far as utility is concerned. And a religion that consists in the observance of magnificent ceremonies, but that does not touch the duties of daily life, is a religion of show and of sham.Beecher.

For men to think to excuse themselves that they do no hurt, wrong neither man, woman, or child, and are not, as the Pharisee said, as the publicans, who generally were oppressors, is but a vain, foolish thing. The idle servant might have said, Lord, I did no harm with my talent; I did not lay it out in rioting and drunkenness, or any way to Thy dishonour; I only hid it, and did not improve it,yet this was enough to condemn him. Can we call ground good ground for bearing no weeds, if it never bring forth good corn? Or do we count that servant a good servant who doth not wrong his master in his estate by purloining or wasting it, if he live idle all day, and neglect the business his master appoints him?Swinnock, 1673.

APPLICATION.

1. Men are good precisely in proportion as they are like God [376] Between a merely harmless man and God there is no resemblance. Between a man who lives only to secure his own well-being and God there is a positive contrast. Between a man who is indifferent to the sorrows and the wrongs of his fellow-men there is a still greater contrast. He is not indifferent to what takes place on earth. It is His supreme glory that He burns with indignation against oppression, and that He is the friend especially of the friendless and the weak (Psa. 146:7-9; Psa. 147:2-6). It is to resemblance to Him in these things, and not merely in abstinence from evil, that we are called (Jas. 1:27).

2. A selfish life is a godless life. Men may be eminently respectable members of society, and highly esteemed members of churches, and yet be utterly unlike God. Men who live only for themselves, or to promote the happiness merely of their own households, and selfishly decline to take any part in philanthropic labours, or in social and political movements which have for their object the removal of public wrongs, are utterly out of sympathy with Him upon whose approval they reckon so confidently and so mistakenly. Had they any true love for God, they would have an unselfish love for men, and would be quick to feel and to resent the wrongs that are done them (1Jn. 3:14, &c.) Dives was probably a highly respectable citizen of Jerusalem, and on good terms with the authorities of the temple, but the selfishness of his life sufficed at the last to exclude him from the Divine presence [379]

3. A godlike life can never be a life of ease. How many members of our churches have incurred Christs woe! (Luk. 6:26). Prudent men, they have been careful never to meddle in affairs of their neighbours; they have never identified themselves with any revolutionary movements; against wrongs which have not troubled themselves they have never uttered words of flaming indignation! And yet they imagine themselves to be followers of Him who spoke of the cross which each of His disciples would have to carry. What He meant by this saying is a mystery to them. But let them begin to endeavour to learn to do well in the manner pointed out in the text, and this saying of His will be a mystery to them no longer. The world will very soon hate them even as it hated Him. But this is one of the surest signs that we are His (Joh. 15:18-19).

[376] To be godly is to be godlike. The full accord of all the soul with His character, in whom, as their native home, dwell whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, and the full conformity of the will to His sovereign will, who is the life of our livesthis, and nothing shallower, nothing narrower, is religion in its perfection, and the measure in which we have attained to this harmony with God is the measure in which we are Christians. As two stringed instruments may be so tuned to one keynote that if you strike the one, a faint ethereal echo is heard from the other, which blends undistinguishably with its parent sound; so drawing near to God, and brought into unison with His mind and will, our responsive spirits vibrate in accord with His, and give forth tones, low and thin indeed, but still repeating the mighty music of heaven.Maclaren.

[379] They are selfishbecause they have no motive of action beyond themselves. They individualise existence. The spider weaves a web, and that is its world. It retires into its corner for observation, and has no concern for any surrounding objects, except as they may be caught upon its net, and appropriated to its use. So they who live without God reticulate life with selfishness. Nothing concerns them except as it may he drawn into the mesh of scheming for ministering to their own wants and wishes.Bellew.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

(17) Relieve the oppressed.More accurately, correct the oppressor. The prophet calls on the rulers not merely to acts of benevolence, but to the courageous exercise of their authority to restrain the wrong-doing of the men of their own order. We are reminded of what Shakespeare says of Time, that it is his work

To wrong the wronger till he render right.

(Rape of Lucrece.)

Judge the fatherless.The words are still primarily addressed to men in office. They are told that they must be true to their calling, and that the fatherless and the widow, as the typical instances of the defenceless, ought to find an advocate in the judge.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

17. Seek judgment Better, the concrete word, justice. As rulers and magistrates they had sought bribes rather than to do justice.

Relieve the oppressed The verb means set right, or, make straight, the condition of him who has been unjustly dealt with. The same duty is enjoined in behalf of the fatherless, inexperienced orphans, and the helpless widow. Both of these were an easy prey to their rapaciousness. For both of these classes, oftener than for any others, does the Bible set up the plea for vindication and protection. Psa 10:18; Psa 72:4; Exo 22:22-24; Deu 10:18; Jas 1:27.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Isa 1:17. Relieve the oppressed Or, Reform what is amiss. Bochart.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Ver. 17. Learn to do well. ] Turn over a new leaf, take out a new lesson. “Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest God’s soul depart from thee.” Jer 6:8 Deliver thyself wholly up to his discipline; religion is the best learning – Philosophia sacra; to know Christ and him crucified is as much as St Paul cared for; Deum cognoscere et colere to know and honour God, is the whole duty of man; add this to the former. Negative goodness profiteth not.

Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, &c. ] Look to the duties of the second table, those of your own particular places especially; exercise your general calling in your particular, and think not to set off with God by your sacrifices for your oppressions: “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.” Primo praecepto reliquorum omnium observantia praecipitur, saith Luther. All God’s laws were in David’s sight, Psa 119:168 all his ways in God’s sight. What a good justicer and householder both he was, see Psa 101:1-8

Relieve the oppressed. ] Heb., Righten the soured or leavened.

Judge the fatherless; plead for the widow. ] These are God’s own clients. Exo 22:22

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

fatherless. widow. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Species), for all kinds of helpless and bereaved persons.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Learning to do Well

Learn to do well.Isa 1:17.

How is man to be distinguished from the lower animals? Man has been called a laughing animal. But do not the apes also laugh, says Carlyle, or attempt to do it? Nor is Carlyle content with the Frenchmans definition that man is the cooking animal. His own definition is that man is the tool-using animal.1 [Note: Sartor Resartus, ch. v.] But how will it do to describe him as the being who learns? This is Watkinsons definition.2 [Note: The Bane and the Antidote, p. 169.] Other creatures, he says, can scarcely be said to learn; whatever pertains to their species they do immediately, instinctively, perfectly. A lark builds its first nest as skilfully as its last, a spiders first embroidery is as exquisite as anything it spins in adult life, whilst a bee constructs its first cell and compounds its first honey, with an efficiency that leaves nothing to be desired. It is altogether different with human beings; they have everything to learn.

I

What have we to learn?

1. We have to learn how to make the best use of the body. Hitherto the development of the body has been done mostly out of school; it has been left to the playground. But now some attention is being given to physical training. And we are even beginning to give our boys an opportunity of learning a trade at school. However it is done, we must learn to use the body.

2. We must also educate the mind. We have to learn in order to know, to remember, to appreciate literature and art, to make decisions in the conduct of life.

3. Do we stop there? Is the highest aim of education achieved when we possess a sound mind in a sound body? What about the Soul? Besides learning a trade, besides learning to read and to understand what we read, have we not also to learn to do well?

The training of the soul is scarcely recognised as any proper part of public education. Nor is the place of the public teacher always efficiently supplied in the home. We seem to expect that our children should do well naturally.

We are sometimes greatly pained when we detect in our young children pride, cruelty, falsehood, dishonesty, selfishness, avarice, and other vices; but it is a mistake to lay this fact too much to heart and to begin prophesying evil concerning them. Beginning with the piano, children make such sad work of it; when they first try a pen, the characters are exceedingly ambiguous and the page liberally blotted; and when for the first time they essay some task in art, the work of their pencil is utterly grotesque. But we do not therefore despair of them, and write bitter things against them; they were sent to school to learn, and we reasonably hope that by and by their senses will be exercised and developed, that they will shed their barbarisms, and take a worthy place with scholars and artists. They must learn goodness as they learn music, mathematics, languages, and art.

But is not the education of the soul the same thing as the education of the mind? That is just another way of saying, is not cleverness goodness? And we know that cleverness is not always goodness. On the contrary, great intellectual gifts are often found associated with great moral vices. The intellectual and moral organs are so closely related that it is impossible to separate them in thought; yet the light of the one is often eclipsed by the darkness of the other.

Astronomers have recently made very interesting discoveries respecting what are known as binary or companion stars. They tell us that the two stars are in close proximity; indeed, they are so close together that no telescope could separate their images; and yet one of them is dark and the other brilliant. The two orbs are intimately related, and revolve round each other at slight distances; yet whilst one is bright the other is dark, and the dark star is perpetually eclipsing its luminous companion.1 [Note: The Bane and the Antidote, p. 168.]

It is easy to understand the failure of goody goody literature. It is goody goody rather than good, because it means well, but is not true either in the lower real or higher ideal sense. Its minor heroes pale and are ineffective, while George Eliots Adam Bede, and Mary Garth, and Dinah live with us like friends, and move us by their virtues,while the heroic self-devotedness of Jean Valjean, and the infinite goodness of the good Bishop in Les Misrables, shine in our minds and hearts as beacon lights of virtue, made visible in the atmosphere of genius. Thus, in order that the examples of literature may work within the mind, the literature must be good in the literary as well as in the ethical sense.1 [Note: S. Byrant, Short Studies in Character, p. 71.]

II

How then are we to learn to do well?

1. We need Power. We need the gift, the genius. The man who has no music in him will never learn to be a musician. Those who visit the chapel in Milan which contains Leonardo da Vincis fresco of the Last Supper see a copy of it first on the wall opposite the entrance door. But when they have seen the original on the wall at the end of the building, they have no hesitation in preferring it. The copy shows traces of careful workmanship, but the original has the stamp of genius.

Sir Joshua Reynolds was taken by a friend to see a picture. He was anxious to admire it, and he looked it over with a keen and careful but favourable eye. Capital composition; correct drawing; the colour, tone, chiaroscuro excellent; butbutit wants, hang it, it wantsThat! snapping his fingers; and, wanting that, though it had everything else, it was worth nothing.2 [Note: John Brown, Rab and his Friends, p. 392.]

I once knew a man who had apparently no ear for music. Possessing every opportunity for travel and culture, he resented the fact that others enjoyed what was a closed world to him. So he set to work to study music from the foundation. He became so expert that he could take to pieces a Wagner opera and recompose its motifs. He enjoyed hearing such an opera rendered, but his pleasure involved scarcely any appreciation of music. It was the pleasure accompanying the intellectual process of analysis and synthesis, the kind of joy one has in working a difficult problem in calculus; but the man remained almost as deaf to music as before he undertook the course of training.3 [Note: E. H. Griggs, Moral Education, p. 22.]

The man of genius, we say, has the gift. The power to do well is also a gift.

This, nor gems, nor stores of gold,

Nor purple state, nor culture can bestow;

But God alone, when first His active hand

Imprints the secret bias of the soul.

Or, to put it in another way, as the poet is born, not made, so we must be born again before we learn to do well. The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. St. Paul says, I learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. He does not say, I have learned, as though it had been the result of daily discipline; he goes back to the moment of the vision of Christ. It pleased God to reveal his Son in me, and I learned that day to be content. It flashed upon him, says R. M. Pope,1 [Note: The Poetry of the Upward Way, p. 24.] in the great moment of his history. When he knew the power of Christs resurrection, the true explanation of life dawned upon him; the world suddenly wore a new expression.

Worldhow it walled about

Life with disgrace,

Till Gods own smile came out;

That was thy face!

It is sometimes said that certain men have a natural genius for religion. What they have is natural ability which, when taken possession of by the Spirit of God, makes them eminently successful as witnesses or saints. How would St. Paul have used his reasoning power, or Bunyan his imagination, apart from the grace of God?

The world is full of people who are ambitious to become poets, painters, musicians, or orators, but, despite wearisome and pathetic application, they never do anything really first-rate; the masterpiece is not forthcoming; they find supreme music, art, or eloquence so difficult as to be, in fact, practically impossible. What do these baffled aspirants really need to make their work easy, and to secure them the rapture of triumph? Give that despairing musician an atom of Mozarts melodious brain, that halting poet a spark of Shakespeares fire, that struggling painter a nerve of Turners colour-sense, that stammering orator a lick of Demosthenes tongue, and bitter failure will be at an end; there will be no more exhausting difficulty and delay, only the intoxicating sense of mastery, progress, and delight. More power in the learner is what is needed, and every difficulty is vanquished, every aspiration fulfilled. So we experience repeated difficulty and disappointment in the pursuit of holiness, because the power of Christ does not sufficiently rest upon us. Christ in you the hope of glorynot the glory of the future only, but the glory of character here and now. Let us plead for more inward vision, receptivity, and responsiveness, for more of the Spirit that worketh mightily in full surrendered souls, and all things fair and perfect shall become possible.1 [Note: W. L. Watkinson, The Bane and the Antidote, p. 181.]

2. We need a Pattern. As the child who is to learn to write receives a copybook with a headline, so we need an example if we are to learn to do well. Should the example be good or bad? Some ethical teachers think it best to show us the repulsiveness and horror of vice. Many novelists follow this method. The drama, says Mr. Watkinson, is fond of holding up the mirror to nature, as the phrase goes, and very ugly reflections they commonly are; one might think that the stage existed in the interests of the doctrine of original sin. Newspapers foster purity by raking in the kennels, and journals with religious and moral pretensions go to an extreme in exhuming and exhibiting repulsive incidents in individual and social life.2 [Note: Ibid. p. 175.] But how often are drunkards reformed by the sight of a drunkard? It is well known that murders are apt to follow when the details of some ghastly murder are given in the newspapers. We might as well hope to obtain a good style by familiarising ourselves with specimens of bad English. Let the pattern be good, and as good as possible. As William Tell has made many patriots, as Florence Nightingale has trained many nurses, as Lord Shaftesbury has shown the way to many philanthropists, so the Lord Jesus Christ is the Pattern for all who would learn to do well. Learn of me is His own invitation, and the Apostles are aware that the only way by which they themselves learned to do well was by looking unto Jesus.

I remember speaking severely to a five-year-old child who was misbehaving at table. She answered quite discourteously. On being asked why she had spoken so, she said, Oh, I only wanted to show you the tone of voice you used!1 [Note: E. H. Griggs, Moral Education, p. 190.]

3. We need Practice. How does a young man learn to cycle? By practising it. How does a young medical man attain to usefulness in his profession? By the practice of it. He calls himself a practitioner, and his business a practice.

Do! Do! Do! Let your picture go, and do another! said William Hunt to his students when they asked him a thousand curious questions about lines, colours, and effects. In doing, they were to know and excel. And the teachers of science specially demand that all theoretical knowledge shall go hand in hand with experiment. The student must keep on applying his knowledge; only by repeated appeals to the facts of nature does he learn the truth and become a real philosopher. We know only through doing, and through doing ever do better. The famous physician John Hunter used to say to his pupils, Dont think, try.

1. Take the virtue of contentment. In our best moments we feel that fretfulness and ingratitude partake of the nature of blasphemy; yet the repinings and soreness of the soul are subdued only through repeated failure and discipline.

It is true, no doubt, that there is a secret, and that the secret of contentment, as of every other virtue, may be learned in a moment. But for the fulness of the following of Christ in contentment there is need of the patient discipline of years. Contentment, says Dr. J. B. Campbell, is less a gift or a grace than a growth. It is the flower and fruit of careful cultivation. And he mentions three things that aid in its cultivation. (1) A just consideration of the worth of things. We shall never find contentment while we value the things that are seen above those that are not seen, the trivial and temporal above the essential and eternal, the material and physical above the moral and spiritual. (2) Confidence in God. He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. He is never unmindful of our work and labour of love. Then disappointments become His appointments, and all things work together for good. (3) Co-operation with God. For this makes failure impossible, this gives assurance that no word or work is vain. But co-operation with God demands the consecration of self to His service. And so the simple secret of contentment is surrender to Gods will. Does anyone doubt it? Let him try it. Does anyone desire it? Let him do it.

2. Take the virtue of sincerity. Some men are naturally theatrical; they constantly catch themselves making postures; their life is vitiated and disfigured by endless pretence, affectation, and unreality. Through repeated and bitter castigations of the soul, men master this passion for masquerading and attain sincerity, simplicity, and thoroughness of life.

There comes to me a thought of Carlyles, which contains a world of wisdom: The true merit of originality is not novelty; it is sincerity. That, as a motto for all who think and speak, may be added to a theory of life, and become the hidden text of many a moral lesson indirectly conveyed through intellectual criticism to others. How cheerful it is to think upon! We can all be sincere; we can all be original.1 [Note: S. Bryant, Studies in Character, p. 75.]

3. Take the virtue of veracity. How much it costs us to learn to speak the truth, to act the truth, to live the truth. We suppress, distort, exaggerate, colour and discolour.

Instead of saying plain yes, or plain no, it is so, it is not the case, or some other simple, straightforward phrase of assent or denial, a man swears or protests in some foolish way, thereby weakening, not affirming, what he says. All these unnecessary enlargements show that he who uses them is aware that his simple word is not valuable. He distrusts his own honour. Jesus Christs teaching in respect to this there can be no mistaking. Eliciting the spirit of the third commandment, He declares, Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of the evil one. He would abolish even the solemn oath of the Old Testament, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand. No man who respects himself, certainly no obedient copier of Jesus Christ, will consent to confirm his yes or no, unless when the law, which knows him not, demands it.2 [Note: W. G. Rutherford, The Key of Knowledge, p. 166.]

4. Take the virtue of courtesy. Good breeding, says Carlyle, consists in gracefully remembering the rights of others, high breeding in gracefully insisting on ones own. Thus there are three ways of it. There is the discourteous person whose only practice has been in selfishly saying and doing things that hurt others. There is the selfishly courteous person with the polish of a pagan. And there is the person who, having the mind of Christ, learns to put the interests of others before his own. It is the gift that makes the difference.

Courtesy is itself a form of service. By gentleness of manner, by an unobtrusive sympathy, by thoughtfulness for others in little things, we may smooth the roughness of life for those with whom we live, soothe their vexations, and contribute more to their real happiness than by great and signal acts of generosity. On the other hand, a harsh, careless word may inflict a worse wound than a blow, and the discomfort created by habitual indifference to the convenience, tastes, opinions, and prejudices of those about us may be harder to bear than positive physical pain. Discourtesy occasions not merely suffering, but sin; and Christian courtesy is a means of grace to all who have the happiness to receive it.1 [Note: R. W. Dale, Laws of Christ for Common Life, p. 121.]

They might not need me,

Yet they might;

Ill let my heart be

Just in sight

A smile so small

As mine might be

Precisely their

Necessity.

Literature

Hodgson (A. P.), Thoughts for the Kings Children, 165.

Jerdan (C.), Messages to the Children, 371.

Morris (R. E.), in Welsh Pulpit of To-day, 295.

Keble (J.), Sermons for the Christian Year, AdventChristmas, 424, 435, 446.

Parker (J.), Peoples Bible, xiv. 206.

Watkinson (W. L.), The Bane and the Antidote, 165.

Christian World Pulpit, xxi. 228 (Beecher).

Christian World Pulpit, xxix. 83 (Burney).

Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible

seek: Isa 1:23, Psa 82:3, Psa 82:4, Pro 31:9, Jer 22:3, Jer 22:15, Jer 22:16, Dan 4:27, Mic 6:8, Zep 2:3, Zec 7:9, Zec 7:10, Zec 8:16

relieve: or, righten

Reciprocal: Exo 22:22 – General Lev 25:14 – General Deu 10:18 – doth Deu 16:19 – wrest Deu 25:1 – General Job 22:9 – widows Psa 34:14 – Depart Psa 37:27 – Depart Pro 29:14 – king Isa 11:4 – reprove Isa 16:3 – execute Jer 21:12 – Execute Eze 18:7 – hath not Eze 18:8 – hath executed Eze 18:31 – Cast Eze 45:9 – remove Amo 4:1 – which oppress Amo 5:14 – Seek Mat 3:8 – forth Mat 7:12 – for Luk 3:13 – Exact Luk 18:3 – a widow Act 6:1 – their Act 16:30 – brought Rom 13:4 – he is 1Ti 5:10 – if she have relieved Jam 1:27 – To visit 1Pe 3:11 – eschew 3Jo 1:11 – follow

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

1:17 Learn to {z} do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

(z) This kind of reasoning by the second table, the scriptures use in many places against the hypocrites who pretend holiness and religion in word, but when charity and love for their brethren should appear they declare that they have neither faith nor religion.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes