Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 14:32
What shall [one] then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.
32. The oracle ends, in a manner characteristic of Isaiah, with a piece of practical advice to the political leaders of the state. Some words have probably dropped out of the first half of the verse.
the messengers of the nation ] are no doubt Philistine envoys endeavouring to negotiate an alliance with Judah. They are probably to be regarded as actually waiting in Jerusalem while the court deliberates on the expediency of joining the rebellion. The prophet’s answer is unhesitating.
that the Lord hath founded Zion ] A leading principle of Isaiah’s later ministry; see on ch. Isa 8:18, Isa 28:16, and General Introduction, pp. xxxvi, lxii.
the poor of his people ] Better as R.V., in her shall the afflicted of his people take refuge.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
What shall one then answer – The design of this verse is obvious. It is to show that Judea would be safe from the invasions of the Philistines, and that God was the protector of Zion. For this purpose the prophet refers to messengers or ambassadors who should be sent for any purpose to Jerusalem, either to congratulate Hezekiah, or to form an alliance with the Jews. The prophet asks what answer or information should be given to such messengers when they came respecting their state? The reply is, that Yahweh had evinced his purpose to protect his people.
Of the nation – Of any nation whose ambassadors should be sent into Judea.
That the Lord hath founded Zion – That he is its original founder, and that he has now shown his regard for it by protecting it from the Philistines. It would be safe from their attacks, and Yahweh would thus show that he had it under his own protection. The Septuagint renders this, And what shall the kings of the Gentiles then answer? That the Lord hath founded Zion. The scope of the passage is the assurance that Zion would be safe, being founded and preserved by Yahweh; and that the Philistines had no cause of triumph at the death of Ahaz, since God would still be the protector of his people. The doctrine established by this passage is, that in all the changes which take place by the death of kings, princes, magistrates, and ministers; and in all the revolutions which occur in kingdoms, the enemies of the people of God have no cause for rejoicing. God is the protector of his church; and he will show that he has founded Zion, and that his people are safe, No weapon that is formed against his people shall prosper, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against his church.
Shall trust in it – In Zion. It was a strongly fortified city, God was its protector, and in times of calamity his people could betake themselves there in safety. In this strong place the most weak and defenseless – the poorest of the people, would be safe. In the church of God, the poor are the objects of as deep regard as the rich; the humble, the meek, the weak, the feeble, are there safe, and no power of an enemy can reach or affect them. God is their defender and their friend; and in his arms they are secure.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 14:32
What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation?
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Gods work in founding Zion
The kingdom of Judah was low and broken; foreign invasions and intestine divisions had made it so. In this state of things God takes notice of the joy and triumphing of the Philistines. To take them off from their pride and boasting He lets them know that from the people whom they despised their desolation was at hand, though they seemed to be perplexed and forsaken for a season (Isa 14:29-31).
I. There is AN INQUIRY. What shall one answer, etc. They come to make inquiry after the work of God among His people, and it is fit that an answer be given to them. Two things are observable in this interrogation.
1. The nations about will be diligently inquiring after Gods dispensations among His people. There are certain affections and principles that are active in the nations, that will make them restless, and always put them upon this inquiry. The people of God, on one account or other, shall be in all seasons a separated people. No sooner, then, is any people, or portion of them, thus dedicated to God, but all the nations about, and those amongst them not engaged in the same way with them, instantly look on them as utterly severed from them, having other ways, ends, and interests than they; being built up wholly on another account and foundation. They reckon not of them as a people and a nation. The conclusion they make concerning them is, that of Haman (Est 3:8).
(1) They are full of enmity against them.
(2) A second principle, whereby they are put upon their inquiries, is fear. They fear them, and therefore will know how things stand with them, and what are the works of God amongst them (Hab 3:7; Psa 48:1-6). Fear is solicitous and inquiring; it will leave nothing unsearched, unlooked into; it would find the inside and bottom of everything, wherein it is concerned. Though the more it finds, the more it is increased; yet the greater still are its inquiries, fearing more what it knows not than what it knows.
2. The issues of Gods dispensations amongst His people shall be so evident and glorious, that everyone, anyone, though never so weak, if not blinded by prejudice, shall be able to give a convincing answer concerning them to the inquiries of men.
II. THERE IS THE RESOLUTION GIVEN OF THE INQUIRY. Hereof are two parts–
(1) What God hath done.
(2) What His people shall, or ought to do. Wrap up at any time the work of God and the duty of His people together, and they will be a sufficient answer to any mans inquiry after the state of things among them.
1. The great design of God in His mighty works and dispensations is the establishment of His people, and their proper interest, in their several generations. To make this clear some few things are previously to be considered–
(1) The proper interest of the people of God is to glorify Him in their several places, stations, and generations: none of us are to live unto ourselves.
(2) God is the only proper and infallible judge, in what state and condition His people will best and most glorify His name, in their several generations.
(3) Providential dispensations are discoveries of the wisdom of God in disposing of the condition of His people, so as they may best glorify Him. These things being premised, it is easy to give light and evidence to the assertion laid down.
2. It is the duty of Gods preserved remnant, laying aside all other aims and contrivances, to betake themselves to the work of God, founding Zion, and preserving the common interest of His people. God hath founded Zion, and the poor of the people shall trust therein, or betake themselves unto it. We are apt to wander on hills and mountains, everyone walking in the imagination of his own heart, forgetting our resting place. When God was bringing the power of the Babylonian upon His people, the prophet Jeremiah could neither persuade the whole nation to submit to his government, nor many individuals among them to fall to him in particular. And when the time of their deliverance from that captivity was accomplished, how hardly were they persuaded to embrace the liberty tendered! (J. Owen, D. D.)
Gods care for His people
1. The great things God doth for His people are, and cannot but be, taken notice of by their neighbours (Psa 126:2).
2. Messengers will be sent to inquire concerning them. Jacob and Israel have long been a people distinguished from all others, and dignified with uncommon favours; and therefore, some for goodwill, others for ill-will, and all for curiosity, are inquisitive concerning them.
3. It concerns us always to be ready to give a reason of the hope that we have in the providence of God, as well as in His grace, in answer to everyone that asks it, with meekness and fear.
4. The issue of Gods dealings with His people shall be so manifestly glorious that anyone, everyone, shall be able to give an account of them to those that inquire concerning them. (M. Henry.)
The Church founded for a refuge
At first sight the prediction which closes the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah seems of temporary interest only, and to speak of judgments which within a very few years were destined to fall upon one of the most inveterate enemies of Gods ancient people; and yet I cannot but think those commentators right who, following the opinion of divers of the fathers of the Church, have found in the passage an allusion to the Gospel and Church of Christ.
I. That the prophecy would be one of PRESSING AND IMMEDIATE INTEREST TO THE CONTEMPORARIES OF THE PROPHET is obvious from the manner in which it is ushered in: In the year that King Ahaz died was this burden (or, as we should nowadays say, this denunciation of wrath) against the Philistines. After bidding the inhabitants of Palestine howl for the judgments that were impending, Isaiah, speaking as he was moved by the Holy Ghost, makes the inquiry and gives the answer of the text. It was usual for neighbouring nations, who were friends and allies, to send ambassadors, and congratulate each other on success. When, therefore, the coming triumph over the Philistines should be known abroad, and the envoys of friendly states should inquire of Judah into the circumstances of his success, let this answer, said the prophet, suffice: that the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of His people shall trust in it.
II. No one can read that promise and not feel that it was INTENDED TO HAVE AN AMPLER SCOPE for its fulfilment than in the personal security of a handful of Jewish peasants; the whole turn of expression is redolent of Gospel times. Such words were never fully verified till Christ, the Son of David, had founded the Christian Church, and made His gracious offer to a world enslaved in the most cruel of all bondage: Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (F. E.Paget, D. D.)
The Churchs heavenly origin and beneficent mission
I. The Lord hath founded Zion; THIS IS THE GUARANTEE OF HIS LOVE AND HER STABILITY. The strongest, most fundamental title of protection is creation. Even among ourselves, no one frames an object to destroy it; he who makes, makes that he may preserve. And if this be so in human nature, shall there be nothing to compare with it in the Divine? God, indeed, who is eternal, can require no successor to whom to devise His purposes of love; but all the claims that the thing framed can have on Him who framed it, hold with tenfold force when the object is not, as in our humbler works, the mere apposition of pre-existing materials, in which nothing is ours except the order of arrangement, but is itself, alike in matter and in form, the direct offspring of His own inexhaustible power and goodness.
1. Behold, then, how as His own God loved the world; how as not only His own, but His own in pain and anguish, and endeared to His inmost heart as such, God hath loved His Church. He spoke to bid the one, He died to make the other, exist.
2. In this Church of His is His own honour pledged. He hath not covenanted with the world that now is to immortalise it; but He has passed His own word for the perpetuity of His Church. Nothing so framed was ever framed to perish; He has infused into it His own Spirit, and His Spirit is life.
3. Is not the Church in its ultimate perfection set forth as the very reward of all the sorrows of its Lord; and shall He be defrauded of His recompense?
4. There is more than creation to bind the Church to Christ, more than promise, more than reward; there is communion, oneness, identification. A man may desert his child; he cannot desert himself. With such a union there can be no separation; if Christ be immortal, the Church is so; when He dies she shall perish, but not till then.
II. The poor of her people shall trust in it–or, as the margin has it, shall betake themselves unto it: THIS IS ONE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCHS MISSION UPON EARTH–the care, the teaching, the education, the guidance of the poor. (W. Archer Butler, D. D.)
God the Protector of His Church
We tell our Lord God that if He will have His Church, He must keep it Himself, for we cannot do it; and it is well for us that we cannot, else we should be the proudest asses under heaven (M. Luther.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 32. The messengers of the nation – “The ambassadors of the nations”] The Septuagint read goyim, , plural; and so the Chaldee, and one MS. The ambassadors of the neighbouring nations, that send to congratulate Hezekiah on his success, which in his answer he will ascribe to the protection of God. See 2Ch 32:23. Or, if goi singular, the reading of the text, be preferred, the ambassadors sent by the Philistines to demand peace. – L.
The Lord hath founded Zion] Kimchi refers this to the state of Zion under Hezekiah, when the rest of the cities of Judea had been taken, and this only was left for a hope to the poor of God’s people: and God so defended it that Rabshakeh could not prevail against it.
The true Church of God is a place of safety; for as all its members are devoted to God, and walk in his testimonies, so they are continually defended and supported by him. In the congregations of his people, God dispenses his light and salvation; hence his poor or humble ones expect in his ordinances the blessings they need.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? what shall a Jew say to the people of other nations, who shall either be sent or come to inquire concerning the state of Zion in that day, when not only the Philistines, but even the Jews themselves, shall fall by the hands of one and the same enemy?
Nation is put collectively for nations, as gate and city for gates and cities in the foregoing verse. They shall give them this answer, That although Zion at present be in a very distressed and deplorable condition, and seems to be forsaken by her God; yet she stands upon a firm foundation, and God, who first founded her, will again restore and establish her, and his poor despised people shall resort to her, as to a strong and sure refuge.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
32. messengers of the nationWhenmessengers come from Philistia to enquire as to the state of Judea,the reply shall be, that the Lord . . . (Psa 87:1;Psa 87:5; Psa 102:16).
poor (Zep3:12).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
What shall [one] then answer the messengers of the nation?…. Or nations, of any of the nations. Not the messengers sent to Hezekiah, Isa 39:1 but rather such as were sent to him, to congratulate him upon his victory over the Philistines; or any others that were sent, and came from other nations, that inquired about these matters, and the answer returned is,
That the Lord hath founded Zion; and not Hezekiah; he had given his people victory over their enemies, and protected, defended, and established them, and therefore ought to have all the glory:
and the poor of his people shall trust in it; or, “betake themselves to it”; as to a place of safety, being founded by the Lord, and under his protection. So the church of God, which often goes by the name of Zion in Scripture, is of his founding; he has laid Christ as the foundation of it, and such as are sensible of their spiritual poverty, misery, and danger, trust in him; not in Zion, but in the foundation God has laid in Zion, or built his church upon.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
To understand Isa 14:32, which follows here, nothing more is needed than a few simple parenthetical thoughts, which naturally suggest themselves. This one desire was the thirst for conquest, and such a desire could not possibly have only the small strip of Philistian coast for its object; but the conquest of this was intended as the means of securing possession of other countries on the right hand and on the left. The question arose, therefore, How would Judah fare with the fire which was rolling towards it from the north? For the very fact that the prophet of Judah was threatening Philistia with this fire, presupposed that Judah itself would not be consumed by it.
And this is just what is expressed in Isa 14:32: “And what answer do the messengers of the nations bring? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and that the afflicted of His people are hidden therein.” “The messengers of the nations” ( mal e ace goi ): goi is to be taken in a distributive sense, and the messengers to be regarded either as individuals who have escaped from the Assyrian army, which was formed of contingents from many nations, or else (as we should expect pelite in that case, instead of mal’ace ) messengers from the neighbouring nations, who were sent to Jerusalem after the Assyrian army had perished in front of the city, to ascertain how the latter had fared. And they all reply as if with one mouth ( yaaneh ): Zion has stood unshaken, protected by its God; and the people of this God, the poor and despised congregation of Jehovah (cf., Zec 11:7), are, and know that they are, concealed in Zion. The prophecy is intentionally oracular. Prophecy does not adopt the same tone to the nations as to Israel. Its language to the former is dictatorially brief, elevated with strong self-consciousness, expressed in lofty poetic strains, and variously coloured, according to the peculiarity of the nation to which the oracle refers. The following prophecy relating to Moab shows us very clearly, that in the prophet’s view the judgment executed by Asshur upon Philistia would prepare the way for the subjugation of Philistia by the sceptre of David. By the wreck of the Assyrian world-power upon Jerusalem, the house of David would recover its old supremacy over the nations round about. And this really was the case. But the fulfilment was not exhaustive. Jeremiah therefore took up the prophecy of his predecessor again at the time of the Chaldean judgment upon the nations (Jer 47:1-7), but only the second strophe. The Messianic element of the first was continued by Zechariah (Zech 9).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
32. And what shall be answered to the messengers of the nation? I choose to interpret this of any nations whatever, and not of a single nation; for strangers, as soon as they enter into any city, are wont to ask what is done, that they may hear some news. It is as if he had said, “ What shall be answered to strangers when they shall inquire? And what report shall be spread when the Philistines shall have been vanquished?”
That the Lord hath founded Zion. By this he means that the destruction of the land of the Philistines will be a signal proof of God’s compassion towards his people, that all may understand that the Lord is the guardian and protector of Judea, which he had chosen to be his own. The foundation is nothing else than God’s gracious adoption, by which he promised to Abraham (Gen 17:7) and his posterity that he would be a God to them; and next, when he determined that a temple should be built on Zion, (2Ch 3:1,) that the remembrance of his name might there be preserved. That foundation does not consist of lime or stones, but of the gracious promises of eternal life, by which his grace was always known to all the godly. The Prophet therefore shows that this destruction of the Philistines will be a signal proof, by means of which the most distant nations will learn that God preserves and guards his people whom he hath chosen.
And the poor of his people will have confidence in it. (235) He does not mean that the hope of believers will be placed in Zion, as when we say that we ought to hope in God, but that the inhabitants of Zion shall dwell in a safe and quiet place, as the prophets often teach, in other passages, that salvation is in Zion. (Joe 2:32.) Isaiah, therefore, does not mean that the confidence of the godly is placed in the Church, but he shows that the godly are preserved in it, because the Lord defends it.
Yet the Lord intends to make trial of our faith, that we may not think that we are in every respect happy; and therefore he calls them poor, that we may not think that we are exempted from ordinary calamities, though we are under God’s protection. Can any higher consolation be brought to us, than to learn that the inhabitants of the Church of God, though they are liable to a great variety of afflictions, are out of all danger? Let us therefore apply that consolation to our calamities, and not faint through impatience, when we are informed that God takes care of us, and when we absolutely know that we are in safety.
(235) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
A MEMORABLE ANSWER
Isa. 14:32. What shall one answer? &c.
Translators and interpreters differ as to whether the answer in this verse was intended to be given by or to the messengers of the nations; as to the nations whose messengers are here spoken of; and as to the time when they came on their errand. Adopting the view which represents them as coming to Jerusalem to congratulate Hezekiah after the marvellous deliverance of that city from the Assyrians (chap. Isa. 37:36-38), we remind you
I. That the wonders of Gods love to His Church often surprise strangers as well as friends. For the deliverances wrought for her are often
1. Surprisingly seasonable, e.g., the over throw of the Egyptian host in the Red Sea, when everything seemed to favour Pharaoh and to be against Israel (Exo. 15:13-15); the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib.
2. Astonishing because brought about by unlikely means. Who could have anticipated the manner of the deliverance of Jerusalem on this occasion? [Give other examples.]
3. Astonishing because vouchsafed in spite of great provocations and unworthiness. Every such deliverance is a work of grace as well as of power.
II. In such times of deliverance friends and enemies alike wonder at the secure foundations on which the Church is built. The literal Zion was a marvel of architecture (Psa. 48:13), and in this respect it was a worthy symbol of the Church [1027]
1. The strength and stability of the spiritual Zion is guaranteed by the character and resources of the Builder: The Lord hath founded Zion.
2. Therefore we should not fear the might of any of the adversaries that come up against her (H. E. I., 12461251).
[1027] See notes to outline: THE DUTY OF GLADNESS, chap. Isa. 12:6.
III. The stability and security of Zion are sources of delighted satisfaction to the humblest of her inhabitants: The poor of His people shall trust in it. They know they are under the guardianship of One who is mighty to save, and who encircles the least as well as the greatest in the arms of His love. Their consciousness of poverty and weakness leads them to rest in Him with an undivided trust, and they thus attain unconsciously to the blessedness of those whose trust is in God only, the peace which rests on the only foundation that cannot be moved.Samuel Thodey.
Mark what the text affirms, The Lord hath founded Zion; this is the guarantee of His love and of her stability: the poor of His people shall trust in it, or, as the margin has it, shall betake themselves unto it; this is the one purpose of her Divine mission upon earththe care, the teaching, the education, the guidance of the poor.
I. THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH.
1. The strongest, most fundamental title to protection is creation. Even among ourselves no one frames an object in order to destroy it; he who makes, makes that he may preserve. Thus is creation in itself a presumptive title to protection; and it is abundantly plain that the strength of such a bond will ever increase with the cost of the object produced. In one sense the whole material universe cost its Creator nothing, for its production was to Him a thing of infinite ease; but this cannot be said of the Church. He spoke to bid the one, He died to make the other exist. When He beholds His Church, He sees in it the monument of His own inexpressible sorrows; He feels this offspring of His Divine agonies drawn closer to His eternal heart by the thought of all it cost to give her being.
2. In this Church of His is His own honour pledged. He hath not covenanted with the world that now is to immortalise it; but He has passed His own word for the perpetuity of His Church (Mat. 16:18; Isa. 60:20-21).
3. The Church, in its ultimate perfection, is set forth as the very reward of all the sorrows of its Lord. To see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied is His destined crown; this joy set before Him was that which enabled Him to endure the cross, despising the shame. (See also Eph. 5:25-27.) Shall He be defrauded of His recompense?
4. There is more than creation to bind the Church to Christ, more than promise, more than reward; there is communion, oneness, identification. A man may desert his child; he cannot desert himself. Even though the Redeemer could forget His espoused bride; even though He could deny His plighted promise; yea, though He could abandon His own reward, He cannot abandon His own body (1Co. 12:27; Eph. 1:23; Eph. 5:30). With such a union there can be no separation; if Christ be immortal, the Church is so; when He dies she shall perish, but not till then.
II. THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH. The poor of His people shall trust in it. The Church of Christ is one vast institute for the benefit of the poor. The poor were the special objects of Christs solicitude and tenderness, and they have been, and should be, the special objects of the Churchs care. Even in her worst days she has had an open hand for the poor. She should ever follow the example of her Lord in caring for their temporal needs. But it is in the doctrine she preaches, and the way she preaches it, that the Church is indeed the poor mans consoler [1030]William Archer Butler, M.A.: Sermons, Doctrinal and Practical, Second Series, pp. 227237.
[1030] It is in meeting his sorrow with tidings of glory to come, in brightening the gloom of his humble home with the hallowed light of eternity, in soothing his days of hard and heavy toil with her peaceful Sabbaths, in watching over his bed of sickness with a patience as unwearied as if his poor chambers were gorgeous with gilded ceilings and silken tapestry; it is in these things that the Church carries on that loveliest attribute of Her Lord, Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress.Archer Butler.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(32) What shall one then answer . . .?The words obviously imply that the prophet either had received, or expected to receive, a message of inquiry from the Philistines, and that this is his answer. It seems not improbable, indeed, that the series of prophecies that follow were delivered in answer to such inquiries. The fame of the prophet had spread beyond the confines of Israel, and men of different nations came to Jerusalem to consult him. So Jeremiahs oracles are delivered to the ambassadors who came to propose an alliance against Nebuchadnezzar in the time of Zedekiah (Jer. 27:3). Commonly, however, the words are referred to the embassies of congratulation, which came with plans of new alliances after the destruction of Sennacheribs army (2Ch. 32:23).
That the Lord hath founded Zion.This is the answer to all such inquiries. Zion stands firm and safe in the protection of Jehovah. The poor (obviously those of Isa. 14:30) shall trust (better, shall find refuge) in it. (Comp. Isa. 28:16.) They need no foreign alliances, no arm of flesh.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
32. What answer What answer shall be given to the messengers of the nation The ambassadors sent from a nation, ( , goi, collection of peoples.) From what nation, what people? There is no article, and no indication as to any nation meant. It may be intended to be indefinite. Any people may send to know what is the outcome to Israel from surrounding complications, from Philistine revolts or restiveness under subjection; or from dreaded Assyrian invasions. The answer is the most important part of the passage, and that is always the same; the same now, that it was to Rabshakeh in his argument with Hezekiah’s servants against trusting Jehovah, (Isa 36:4-10,) and in effect the same as this text has it, namely: That Jehovah has founded Zion, and that in it the afflicted of his people shall seek refuge. They shall trust in Jehovah, and never be moved. This is the answer which may be given to inquiries made from any quarter.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 884
GODS CHURCH AND PEOPLE SECURE
Isa 14:32. What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it,
GOD is for the most part overlooked in the government of the world: and hence arise an overconfidence among some, and an undue timidity amongst others. But, if we viewed God as ordering and overruling every thing, even to the falling of a sparrow, we should undertake nothing ourselves without a direct reference to him; nor fear what was undertaken by others, whilst we had him for our protector. This is the great lesson which we are taught in the passage which we have now read. The context contains a prophecy respecting the fate of Palestine. The Philistines had been invaded and conquered by King Uzziah [Note: 2Ch 26:6.]; but in the days of Ahaz, Uzziahs son, they had regained their cities, and made reprisals on the provinces of the Jewish monarch [Note: 2Ch 28:18.]. At the accession of Hezekiah to the throne of Judah, they hoped to make yet further inroads on the Jewish territory: and the Prophet Isaiah was inspired to foretell, that they should not only fail in their attempts, but be utterly vanquished by him, whom they so fondly thought to subdue and subjugate.
Read the passage in this view, and the whole address will appear extremely spirited and beautiful. Rejoice not thou, whole Palestine, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken; (i. e. because thou hast triumphed over Uzziahs son:) for out of the serpents root shall come forth a cockatrice, or adder; and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. (Uzziah bit thee only as a common serpent: but his grandson Hezekiah shall inflict a wound as fatal as an adder; and prove as irresistible as a fiery flying serpent.) And the first-born of the poor (Jews, whom thou hast so oppressed) shall feed, and the needy (whom thou hast so terrified) shall lie down in safety: whilst thy root shall be destroyed by famine, and thy remnant with the sword. (Instead then of rejoicing, Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou whole Palestina art dissolved: for there shall come from the north (Judea) a smoke (and dust of an army in full march:) and none shall be alone (or decline serving in this army) at the appointed time. (In the mean time,) what shall one then answer the messengers of the nation, (when they come, full of alarm and terror [Note: The general interpretation of their being foreign ambassadors sent to congratulate Hezekiah, enervates the whole force of the passage, and is in opposition to the text itself, which speaks of them as the messengers of the nation, and not of foreign nations.], announcing thy preparations to invade the land of Judah?) Answer, that the Lord hath founded Zion: and the poor of his people shall trust in it; and that no weapon ever formed against them shall prosper.
The words thus explained we shall consider as proclaiming,
I.
An unquestionable fact
God has founded Zion
[He has founded it in his eternal counsels; and he has founded it also in his covenant engagements. He determined from all eternity that he would have a Church and People from amongst the sinners of mankind; and that he would get glory to himself from the introduction of sin into this lower world. For this end he entered into covenant with his co-equal, co-eternal Son; and engaged, that if he would become a man, and make his own soul an offering for sin, he should have from amongst our fallen race, a people, who should be his purchased possession, and should for ever shew forth his praise [Note: Isa 53:10.]. This covenant being made, he gave to his Son a multitude, whom no man can number, out of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues; and agreed to accomplish in them all his good pleasure, and to bring them in due season to the full possession of that glory, which by their transgressions they had lost. To this the Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly refers, declaring, that he was invested with power to give eternal life to as many as the Father had given him [Note: Joh 17:2.]: and under this character the Lord Jesus Christ prayed for them [Note: Joh 17:9.], and committed them into the Fathers hands to be kept for him [Note: Joh 17:11.], and declared his assured expectation of having them, in due time, as the trophies of his grace, and the partners of his glory [Note: Joh 17:24.].]
The poor of his people also shall trust in it
[God never leaves his chosen people to trust in themselves: he never has done it: he never will do it. From the beginning he has made them to feel their need of a Saviour; and has caused them to build on that foundation which he has laid in Zion. The institution of sacrifices even in Paradise (for we doubt not but that the beasts, with the skins of which our first parents were clothed by God himself, had been offered in sacrifice to God) taught them from the beginning to rely, not on themselves, but on a sacrifice which should in due time be offered: and his grace has invariably wrought to the production of this one effect, according to that declaration of the prophet, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation; and he that believeth shall not make haste, or, as St. Paul interprets it, shall not be ashamed [Note: Isai. 17:16. with Rom 9:33.].]
But in the text there is also contained,
II.
An instructive lesson
It teaches us,
1.
That our trust must be on God alone
[To none can we look, but to our Covenant God and Saviour. There is no other foundation, but that which God has laid [Note: 1Co 3:11.]; nor any other name whereby a human being can be saved, but the name of Jesus Christ [Note: Act 4:12.]. Hence his invitation, Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth [Note: Isa 45:22.]. Hence also that solemn declaration, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me [Note: Joh 14:6.]. To confide in the creature, is to entail only a curse upon ourselves [Note: Jer 17:5.]. Whence was it that the Jews, with all their earnestness in following after righteousness, could never attain it? It was, because they would rely upon themselves, and not seek it by a simple exercise of faith on the Lord Jesus Christ [Note: Rom 9:30-32.]. So it will be with us also, if our reliance be not altogether on the providence and grace of God: for what God said to his people respecting the Egyptians, he says to us; The creature shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still [Note: Isa 30:7.].]
2.
That confidence in him shall never be disappointed
[When it is said in our text, The poor of his people shall trust in it. the meaning evidently is, that by so doing they shall be secure. And certain it is, that the name of the Lord is a strong tower; and that the righteous runneth to it and is safe. Find in the whole annals of the world one person who, when trusting in God, was disappointed of his hope. Did Manasseh rely on the mercy of God? He. even he, obtained pardon. Did Asa, or Jehoshaphat, or Hezekiah, rely on the power of God? No enemy could withstand them. Did Abraham believe in the truth and faithfulness of God? The long-expected seed was given to him, that became as the stars of heaven for number, and as the sands upon the sea-shore innumerable. Thus shall every one be blessed who putteth his trust in God: he shall be firm, and immoveable as Mount Zion itself, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever [Note: Psa 125:1.]. The question, Who ever put his trust in God and was confounded? never has been, and never can be answered, but in a way of universal negation.]
The text should be yet further viewed as,
III.
A consoling truth
It is unspeakably consoling,
1.
In reference to the Church at large
[Many are the enemies of the Church at this day, as well as in former times: nor were the Philistines half so envious at the prosperity of Zion, as millions of Christians, so called, are at this very hour. But when the Church was in its infancy, and had all the power and policy both of Jews and Gentiles combined against it, it stood as a rock, that defies all the efforts of the tempestuous ocean. The waves that menace its existence are dashed in pieces at its feet. So shall it still be to the end of time: whatever confederacies are formed against the Church shall come to nought: for it is founded on a rock; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.]
2.
In reference to the poorest and weakest of its members
[The chief of its members are characterized as a poor and afflicted people, who trust in the name of the Lord [Note: Zep 3:12.]: and their conscious weakness often proves to them a source of great discouragement. But how consoling is the truth, that they are pre-eminently destined to receive the benefits of Christs heavenly mission [Note: Isa 61:1-3.], and to be the objects of his peculiar care [Note: Isa 40:11.]! It is under the very character of persons poor and weak and destitute, that they are designated as triumphing over all their enemies; (the foot shall tread them down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy [Note: Isa 26:6.]:) and their weakness is described as carried to the utmost extent than can be imagined, even as resembling that of persons wounded, and captive, and dead: and yet in that very state is success insured to them; for though lame, they shall take the prey [Note: Isa 33:23.] though captives, they shall take those captive whose captives they were, and shall rule over their oppressors [Note: Isa 14:2.]; and though slain, they shall rise mid overcome, and their enemies shall fall under the slain [Note: Isa 10:4.]. Hence the weakest amongst them all, knowing in whom he has believed, may adopt the triumphant language of the prophet, The Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth me: who will contend with me? Let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God will help me: who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as doth a garment; the moth shall eat them up [Note: Isa 50:7-9.].]
Application
[Look then, Brethren, to the Scriptures, to see what God has done in former ages See what instruction is to be gathered from those records, for your own conduct And know, that God is as ready to perfect his own strength in your weakness, as he has been in any instance from the foundation of the world Only realize the thought of his universal agency in the government of the world, and of his watchful care over the interests of his peculiar people; and then you need not fear, though the earth be moved, and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea [Note: Psa 46:2.]. See Davids composure amidst such troubles as drove his friends to despair: In the Lord, says he, put I my trust: how say ye then to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain; for, lo! the wicked bend their bow; they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart; and, if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? What? The Lord is in his holy temple: the Lords throne is in heaven: and that is ample security for me [Note: Psa 11:1-4.]. Such composure may you also, even the least and weakest of you, enjoy, if you confide in God: for there is no wisdom nor counsel against the Lord [Note: Pro 21:30.]; but his counsel shall stand; and he will do all his will [Note: Isa 46:10.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
This verse forms a blessed conclusion to the whole subject of Babylon’s burden. It is as if the prophet had said, “Should any one of the nations around behold Babylon’s fall, and Israel’s emancipation, and return to their beloved Jerusalem, should any one ask, or send messengers to inquire into the cause, wherefore is this? the answer is direct: It is the Lord’s controversy, not man’s: Zion is the Lord’s, he hath founded her, and therefore he will defend her. And though Zion’s enemies may for awhile seem to triumph, and the transgressions of Zion may bring her into captivity; yet the Lord loveth Zion, and will bless her, and the poor of his people shall know this, and depend upon it.” Zep 3:12 .
REFLECTIONS
How truly blessed it is to observe, and know, that the Lord watcheth over all the concerns of his people! Though Babylon triumph for awhile, and though the Lord suffer his people to go into captivity; yet they are still his people, and the Lord will not permit them to be oppressed forever.
But what an awful scripture is this, for all the enemies of Christ and his people to read: Hell from beneath is moved for all such, to meet them at their coming! And what an aggravated load of woe is it, to think that they have been uniformly fighting against God and his people; so that their misery is abundantly aggravated, like the rich man’s in the parable, when lifting up their eyes in torments, and not only seeing heaven afar off, but they whom in this life they most hated made most completely happy!
My soul! see to it, that thou art a citizen of Zion, and not of Babylon! This is the Church, the City, the royal, the holy City, which the Lord hath founded. Oh! for grace to be found a citizen of Zion, when the Lord writeth up the people. Better to be a doorkeeper of the gates of Zion, than a dweller in the tents of ungodliness. Lord, it is thou that last founded Zion in Jesus; and in Jesus may my soul be found in Zion.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 14:32 What shall [one] then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.
Ver. 32. That the Lord hath founded Zion. ] Not Hezekiah, but Jehovah hath done it.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
one then answer = what report shall the messengers or ambassadors of the nations take back?
the nation = a nation.
That, &c. This is the report.
the poor = oppressed ones. Hebrew. ‘ani.
trust in it = flee for refuge to it. Hebrew. hasah.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
trust
(See Scofield “Psa 2:12”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
shall one: Isa 39:1, 2Sa 8:10, 2Ki 20:12-19
the Lord: Isa 12:6, Isa 37:32, Psa 87:1, Psa 87:5, Psa 102:16, Psa 102:28, Psa 132:13, Psa 132:14, Mat 16:18
and the: Isa 11:4, Isa 25:4, Zep 3:12, Zec 11:7, Zec 11:11, Jam 2:5
trust in it: or, betake themselves unto it, Pro 18:10, Mat 24:15, Mat 24:16, Heb 12:22
Reciprocal: Gen 11:9 – Babel Jos 9:27 – in the place 1Ki 11:13 – for Jerusalem’s 1Ki 15:4 – and to establish 2Ch 6:6 – But I have chosen Jerusalem 2Ch 6:34 – toward 2Ch 32:19 – the God Job 5:16 – the poor Psa 9:11 – which Psa 20:2 – out Psa 53:6 – out Psa 69:35 – God Psa 87:2 – The Lord Psa 99:2 – great Psa 102:13 – Thou Psa 125:1 – be as mount Psa 147:2 – build Isa 8:18 – which Isa 18:4 – consider in my dwelling place Jer 25:12 – that I Jer 25:26 – drink Jer 33:2 – the maker Lam 1:21 – thou wilt Eze 48:35 – The Lord Dan 5:26 – God Zep 3:15 – he hath 2Ti 2:19 – the foundation Heb 11:10 – whose
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 14:32. What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation At the same time that the prophet sees, as it were, a thick cloud, coming from the north, darkening the heavens, an emblem of the calamity coming from that quarter on the Philistines, he sees the messengers of that nation, as in a common danger, going to the king of Judah, and deliberating concerning the common safety. While he beholds the first he turns his discourse to the Philistines, and excites them to lamentation: but observing the second, he teaches the Jews what answer they should give to the messengers of that nation on this occasion: see Jer 47:2, and Vitringa. What shall a Jew say in that day, when not only the Philistines, but even the Jews themselves, shall fall by the hands of one and the same enemy? That the Lord hath founded Zion, &c. They shall give them this answer, That although Zion at present be in a very distressed and deplorable condition, and seems to be forsaken by her God, yet she stands upon a firm foundation, and God, who first founded her, will again restore and establish her; and his poor, despised people, shall resort to her, as to a strong and sure refuge. This verse seems evidently to be added, to express the very different condition of Gods people from that of the Philistines, in the events of the Babylonian invasion: that, whereas the Philistines should be irrevocably destroyed thereby, and no remnant of them should be left, as was said Isa 14:30; Gods people, though they should be sorely scourged, and carried into captivity, yet should be strangely preserved, and, after some years, delivered, and restored to their own land; whereby it would appear that Zion stood upon a sure foundation, and although it was grievously shaken, yet it could not be utterly and finally overthrown.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
14:32 What shall [one] then answer the {y} messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded {z} Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.
(y) Who will come to enquire of the state of the Church.
(z) They will answer that the Lord defends his Church and those that join themselves to it.