And all thy children [shall be] taught of the LORD; and great [shall be] the peace of thy children.
13, 14. The righteousness, peace and security of the inhabitants.
taught of the Lord ] lit. disciples of Jehovah, initiated in the true knowledge of God, and obedient to His will. Cf. Jer 31:34; Joh 6:45. The expression is probably suggested by what the Servant of Jehovah says of himself in ch. Isa 50:4; the idea being that the citizens of the new Jerusalem shall be the spiritual seed of the servant.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And all thy children – All that dwell in this splendid city; all that are the true friends of the Redeemer. It shall be a part of their future glory that they shall be all under divine instruction and guidance. See Jer 31:34 – And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them.
And great shall be the peace of thy children – (See the notes at Isa 2:4; Isa 9:6).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 54:13
And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord
Disciples of Jehovah
The expression is probably suggested by what the Servant of Jehovah says of Himself in Isa 50:4; the idea being that the citizens of the New Jerusalem shall be the spiritual seed of the Servant.
(Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
Inward illumination the spiritual glory of the Church
The outward glory of the city (Isa 54:11-12) is but the sense-representation of the spiritual glory of t-he Church that dwells therein (Isa 54:13). (F. Delitzsch, D. D.)
The school of the highest culture
I. THE NATURE OF THIS CULTURE. True culture is threefold–physical, intellectual, and moral. Our text relates to the highest form, and implies all the rest. It is complete culture, the development of the whole man.
1. The text presupposes mans ignorance. Man needs teaching, the imparting of truth.
(1) There is mans ignorance of self.
(2) Of duty.
(3) Of God.
(4) Of destiny.
2. The statement of the text implies the Divine intention. It is not Gods will that man remain in ignorance.
3. The statement of the text announces the Divine plan. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord.
(1) The student–Thy children.
(2) The Teacher–The Lord. He is an omniscient Teacher, knowing the truths to be taught, and the temperament and disposition of the students. He is a patient Teacher. He is an omnipresent Teacher.
(3) The subjects taught. Language (Zep 3:9). The language of faith, of prayer, of love. Mathematics (Mar 8:36; 2Pe 1:5; Act 12:24; Isa 53:12; Php 3:8). Political science. The kingdom of God. Our citizenship is in Heaven: citizens of the commonwealth of Israel. Natural and spiritual science. Of Origins Joh 1:1-3). Of preservation (Col 1:17; Heb 1:3). Of the Divine (Joh 17:3). Of the human (Gen 1:26). God, man, sin, salvation, duty and destiny are all studied.
(4) The methods of teaching. The Word method (.Joh 5:39; 2Ti 3:15). The object method (Psa 19:1-6). The Holy Spirit method (Joh 16:13). The conscience method (Rom 2:15). The corrective method (Proverbs ill 12).
II. THE GREAT RESULT. And great shall be the peace of thy children.
1. This teaching shall result in enlightenment. Culture means light.
2. In elevation. All true culture leads that way.
3. In spiritual strength (Heb 5:12-14).
4. In peace. There is a threefold peace, peace with God, peace with conscience, peace with fellow-men. This school appeals for students. Will you enter The condition of entrance is given in Joh 1:11-12. The completion of a life course in this school develops the soul for promotion to the University of the New Jerusalem. Every graduate receives the degree of Sinner saved, and then begins the higher course in the University where boundless prospects and boundless possibilities lie before the student. What other school offers attractions such as these? (W. C. Kantner, D. D.)
The teaching unction and common knowledge
1. In the writings of all the apostles, as well as in the anticipations of evangelical prophets, this place of the Spirit as instructor and guide of the elect individual is ungrudgingiy recognized. James speaks of a wisdom that comes to every believing suppliant direct from the Father of lights. Paul speaks of an enlightenment and revelation that are gifts of the Spirit, and says that no man can call Jesus Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. And John speaks of the anointing of the Holy one through which all doubts may be resolved, and the lowly disciple made safe against current sophistry and error. Peter asserts that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. Such testimony coming from leading and honoured apostles has a peculiar emphasis and impressiveness about it. The best barrier against heresy which could be raised up was that which consisted in the common knowledge possessed by all who had received the Spirit, and none of the apostles shows the slightest jealousy of the growing insight of their converts. They were quite content that the Church official should be abased and even superseded, so that the work of the teaching Spirit should be magnified.
2. The spirit of man has been degraded by evil, warped by prejudice and mistaken training, distracted and torn in opposite directions by the fickle and contradictory movements of a flesh inflated with egotisms and bubbling self-sufficiencies. It must undergo some radical transformation before it can become the test of what is true. One might as well call in a boiler-riveter organically deaf with the din of his occupation to settle conflicting criticisms respecting a quarter tone in music, or some spirit-drinker with burnt-up tongue and palate to do the work of an accomplished tea-taster, as appeal subtle spiritual questions to such a court as that. It is only after the Spirit has come to possess the nature of a man, and to make the undefiled conscience rule the life, that the nature can become in any sense a test of religious truth. The heart of man must be disengaged from its old embarrassments and distractions, redeemed from the bias of its passion and wilfulness, chastened into docility and meekness and humility, quickened, purified, exalted, before it can discern. It is this specific anointing with the Spirit which confers upon the conscience its new prerogative as a competent judge of truth. (T. G. Selby.)
Truth developed in the life by the action of the Spirit of God
When a strip of wood or forest has been destroyed by fire, it will sometimes happen that new and better species of trees grow up and take the place of those which have been burned. The seed had been long buried within the ground, but all to no purpose, because it was forestalled and overshadowed by the growths which first got possession of the soil. The earlier species were like feudal lords, who had seized the land and monopolized all the mists and the dews and the rains that came to moisten the sunburnt earth. But in their downfall hidden and worthier seeds had a chance of light and life and dominion. And is it not thus with human nature? The seed of every truth is within us, although there may often be little outward sign of that significant fact. The proud growths of the flesh overshadow, stifle, and choke down the inner growths of the conscience and the moral life. But at last the Spirit of God comes to us like a consuming fire, and then the superficial growths of passion and prejudice are burnt away, and seeds of sublime truth that had been slumbering from the time of mans creation in the image of God flower out into strange life, splendour, and fruitfulness. (T. G. Selby.)
The Holy Spirit in relation to the Bible, the Church and thy religious teacher
If we accept this idea of the common knowledge possessed by believers in Christ who receive the promised Spirit, what will be our attitude towards the Bible, the Church, the Christian teacher, and all those forms of religious authority so jealously upheld in the past? Does not this idea of common knowledge introduce a competing authority, and bid fair to prove a solvent of ecclesiastical rule and prerogative, and produce a new confusion of tongues? The Churches of the Reformation rightly make the Bible a test of faith, and bring all teaching to the tribunal of its impartial balances. The New Testament is mainly a statement of historical facts from the lips or pens of eye-witnesses, to which there can be no addition by subsequent revelation. In so far as it is a statement of the doctrinal interpretations identified with those facts, it furnishes a permanent record of what was taught by the Spirit to the first generation of believers, and of what was approved and attested in their own experiences by those representatives of the early Churches who received the component parts of the New Testament into the canon. It gives absolutely trustworthy notes of the work of the Spirit in saving and instructing and sanctifying men. The unchanging Spirit is not likely to contradict Himself now, and teach divergent doctrines to a docile recipient of His ministries; and the Church whose members are inwardly led to the acceptance of the truths which accord with the original standards of the Bible proves itself so far a recipient of the same inspiration. The Bible is the seal by which we are to measure our own inspiration and spiritual insight; but it will not do our seeing for us, and each man must perceive for himself and acquire by the use of his spiritual senses this common knowledge.
2. But some tell us that the Church is the assay-house of religious thought, and that all statements of doctrine must be weighed in the scale of ecclesiastical balances. What have the early councils said? What does the congregation of cardinals or the House of Convocation say to-day? Our reply is that the spiritual discernment of the rulers of a Church must be tested by the scale or standard presented in the Bible and handed down from those who were themselves both personal followers of Christ and the first recipients of Pentecostal gifts. A Church may fall and grope in darkness as woefully as an individual, and then its authority ceases. The mere shell of a Church corporation cannot possibly be a centre of authority, for its directing personnel is ever changing, and if it be found in conflict with the primitive revelations of the Spirit, the very sanctity of the Church is lost and its right to teach forfeited.
3. It is sometimes argued that the teacher duly certified by the Christian Church is a specialist, and that we must give ourselves implicitly into his hands, just as we give ourselves into the hands of any other professional man who has the technical Knowledge we lack. Well, we may recognize that within certain limits he who has not yet received the Spirit must be indebted for such second-hand knowledge as he possesses to the Church and its ministries. But, after all, there is no specialism in connection with the truths which concern the daily life and experience of believers. All specialism is in non-essentials, and the cry for the specialist not only reflects on the impartiality of the Spirit, and implies that His illumination is particular rather than universal, but assumes that religion is a thing of intermittent rites and functions rather than a daily life in which the humblest is schooled to knowledge and insight. (T. G. Selby.)
Religious education the safeguard of the nation
There are three radical defects in the theory of a secular education.
I. IT IGNORES THE EXISTENCE AND THE FUNCTIONS OF CONSCIENCE. Whatever conscience may be, all agree that it is that which is educable. That it is a moral something in man, that may be trained to be in him a monitor and a guide–something that will respond to every voice of truth and of justice. While it is true that some well-informed or enlightened consciences may go astray, yet the rule is, that, as is the conscience so is the virtue of the individual. What are the prime factors in an educated conscience?
1. Belief in a personal God–the Author and Creator of the human mind–He who is, in Himself, the supreme reason of virtue.
2. Reverence for Gods laws.
3. The dread of the Divine displeasure. By what force would you deter man from vice and crime? By the displeasure of good citizens? But that displeasure is the creation of a religious education. By the beneficence of public morals? But that beneficence is written all over the constitution of nature, whose author is God. Without this recognition of a personal God–whose laws are to be revered, whose displeasure is to be dreaded–without such an educated conscience there can be no authority, as there can be no standard, either for private or public virtue.
II. IT OVERLOOKS THE FACT THAT SECULAR EDUCATION CONTAINS NO ELEMENT TO PURIFY AND REFORM. Science enlightens, but it cannot renew and elevate human nature which is depraved in principle and sinful in practice. Knowledge is power; but it is a power for good or evil, according to the controlling motives.
III. IT OVERLOOKS THE FACTS THAT THE STABILITY OF OUR GOVERNMENT IS IN THE MORAL CONVICTIONS OF THE PEOPLE. (J. P. Newman, D. D.)
Great shall be the peace of thy children
The great peace of Gods pupils
Thy children–whose? To answer this question is to get at the true key to the whole of this part of the prophecy. The words were spoken to the exiled Jews in Babylon, but were plainly meant to cover more than their needs. They are words which picture and promise the condition which should one day embrace the whole earth.
I. They are men who have got over the great difficulty in all teaching; THEY ARE WILLING TO LEARN. They are eager. They come cheerfully to that which has grown to be a pleasure. They are on the outlook for knowledge. Now, if any man is really on the outlook for knowledge he will be sure to get it; perhaps not all at once, but little by little. There has already been some progress made in learning where this is the temper of the pupil. How much, only those various and manifold testings of their knowledge which come up in every mans life, can really reveal.
II. If this be the character of the learners, WHAT SHALL WE SAY OF THE TEACHER? The pupil learns what is the character of the Teacher in the lessons he gives. The lessons He gives are according to the wants and capacities of His pupils. And if only we will, we may learn this about the Teacher, from the lessons He gives us, how great is His interest in each of us; how accurate His knowledge of us; how constant His regard for us; how completely fitted His wise treatment; how full His whole conduct is of care and love; how, in a word, God is as loving as He is wise, as tender as He is strong, and as constant in His affection towards us as He is persistent in bringing the same lesson before our eye, until we have learnt it by heart. Again; the pupil learns what is the character of the Teacher from the bearing of the Teacher toward him after He has given him his lessons. Does He turn away and leave the pupil to himself? Does He set the task, and then vanish out of sight? Does He leave the lesson with the pupil, and the pupil with the lesson, and make no further sign? We know that, in regard to God, this is not so. It is true, that when God wishes us to work out some great lesson of our life, He withdraws from us, as it were, that we may put forth all our strength, that we may grapple with it, and, if we can, master it. But it is also true that God never leaves His pupils altogether. His eye is still resting upon them when they think Him a great way off. His very presence is with them when they think that they are utterly alone. And when He sees that the right moment has come He speaks the cheery word; He parts asunder the thick storm cloud, and lets the light of His countenance shine upon us and illumine our path. Nay, still more; how many hard and soul-searching questions has God helped us to spell out; how frequently the guiding and sustaining hand has been over our own, when, with painfulness and much sorrow, we have been trying to write out in our lives some fair copy of a simple command! Even after the lesson is given, how patient God is, how ready to help, how gentle, how loving, how merciful. The pupil also learns what the Teacher is, from the great example of His own lessons which He, the Teacher, shows Himself.
III. WHAT WILL COME OF THE PUPILS LEARNING THESE LESSONS. He may not learn any one of them thoroughly. He may feel, in regard to much of his knowledge of God, for example, that it needs revision, correction, enlargement. He may be conscious that some of the most elemental truths in Divine wisdom have to be learned and relearned. There does, however, come a result from all his application which will be all the more pronounced when the education itself is perfected. And what is this result? Great peace.
1. The peace comes after she learning, not before. The peace is after the victory, not before the battle.
2. Another thing is also to be noted: this great peace does not come to us by mastering every lesson at once, however hard and difficult it may be, but in patiently resting in Him who has sent it. (J. J. Goadby.)
The Gospel of the children
In every age the children were included in the promise and in the Church.
I. THE PERIOD.
1. It is impressible. The photographers plate is very sensitive. When he removes the covering which keeps off the light from the sun, the image of the object directly opposite is instantaneously impressed on the plate. So is the childs mind. Whatever is the object of its observation–good or bad–the image is made. What care should be taken lest that sensitive plateshould be exposed to that which is sinful!
2. It expands its impressions. When any one cuts the initials of his name on the bark of a young tree, as the tree grows so the letters will become larger. The child receives impressions to grow with its being.
3. It is a period when correction is possible. Evil impressions may cling to a child, but we can stop their influence by admonition and warning.
II. THE LEARNING. Instruction is the birthright of every child; national prosperity depends on the early training of its families. Spiritual instruction is the best gift that parents can give to their children. The prophet saw a vision in this chapter which was far removed from his own time–the Gospel period. Let us look at the adaptation.
1. It is the Gospel of childhood. Some look on the Gospel as only comprehensible by men of mature age. This is an error. The child can learn the alphabet of the language, although it cannot pronounce its long words. Timothy from a child knew the Scriptures.
2. It is the Gospel of growth. The story of Bethlehem grows into a fact. Accounts of miraculous cures, which only appear to a child wonderful, become the evidences of divinity. The great fact of the Crucifixion, which only creates pity in a childs heart, grows to the importance of life itself. The prayer repeated by infant lips becomes the fervent prayer of the righteous man.
3. It is the Gospel of maturity. Generally the things of childhood are unfit for youth, and those of youth are unsuitable for manhood; but the Gospel expands, and is abreast of every experience.
III. THE BLESSING. It will be a great peace. This is the fruit of Divine instruction.
1. Gods Word brings peace to the heart. The child as well as the man needs that peace.
2. Gods Word brings peace to the home.
3. Peace in death. The tranquil spirit which the child knew sixty years before is the sheet-anchor which stays the soul in every trying hour. We appeal to the children and say that if they are to be taught of the Lord, they must be willing to learn. Then we further urge the children to obedience and prayer in respect of their teachers. (J. Daveis, M. A.)
Spiritual teaching
I. DIVINE TEACHING.
1. We all need Divine teaching.
2. We are all by nature opposed to it.
3. Divine teaching is promised.
II. ITS EFFECT. Peace, great peace. Learn–
1. Our relationship to God. The children of Zion are also children of God.
2. Our rightful privileges. Spiritual instruction and abiding peace. (C. Clayton, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Shall be taught of the Lord; not only outwardly by his word, which was made known to all the Jews under the Old Testament, but inwardly by his Spirit, which is poured forth under the New Testament, both upon a far greater number of persons, and in a far higher measure, and with much more efficacy and success, than it was under the Old.
The peace:
1. Inward peace of mind or conscience arising from the clear discoveries of Gods love and reconciliation to us, and wrought by the Spirit of adoption, which is more abundantly given to believers under the gospel, whereas the spirit of bondage was more common and prevalent under the law.
2. Outward peace, safety, and happiness, which is more fully promised in the following verses, and which God, when he sees fit, will confer upon his church.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. Quoted by the Saviour (Joh6:45), to prove that in order to come to Him, men must be “drawn”by the Father. So Jer 31:34;Mic 4:2; 1Co 2:10;Heb 8:10; Heb 10:16;1Jn 2:20.
great . . . peacegenerally(Ps 119:165). Speciallyreferring to the peaceful prosperity which shall prevail underMessiah in the latter days (Isa 2:4;Isa 9:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord,…. The children of the church, who are born in her, and nursed up at her side, and who are the children of God by adoption, which is made manifest by regeneration; these the Lord will take care of that they be “taught”, even “all” of them, from the least to the greatest, Jer 31:34, they shall be taught of the Lord himself, by his ministers, word, and ordinances, as means, and by his Spirit, as the efficient; by whom they are taught to know themselves, their vileness and sinfulness, their folly and weakness, their want of right counsels, and the insufficiency of their own to know Christ, and the way of salvation by him; him as the only Saviour, able and willing so to know him as to believe in him, receive him, and walk on in him; this had an accomplishment in the first times of the Gospel; see Joh 6:45 and will have a further one in the latter day, when there will be a greater effusion of the Spirit, when the doctrines of the Gospel will be taught and understood more clearly, fully, and largely:
and great shall be the peace of thy children; the inward peace of their minds in and from Christ, arising from a view of their justification by his righteousness, from the sprinklings of his blood upon their consciences, and from the discoveries of his love to their souls, enjoyed in a way of believing, and by means of the word and ordinances; also peace among themselves, harmony and concord, and no more strifes, contentions, and animosities; likewise outward peace from enemies, no more persecution or war. This word includes all kind of prosperity, external and internal, temporal and spiritual. This, with the following verses, explain the figurative phrases used in the foregoing. These words are applied by the Jews a to the times of the Messiah, when all Israel shall learn the law from the Lord; so the Targum,
“all thy children shall know the law of the Lord;”
but it is much better understood of all the children of the church, the true Israel of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, learning the Gospel of Christ.
a Midrash Tillim, apud Yalkut in Psal. xxi. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The outward glory of the city is only the manifestation, which strikes the senses, of the spiritual glory of the church dwelling therein. “And all thy children will be the learned of Jehovah; and great the peace of thy children.” We translate both halves of the v. as substantive clauses, although they might be accusatives of both the object and predicate, dependent upon . are disciples of Jehovah, but, as in Isa 50:4, with the subordinate idea of both docility and learning. The children of Jerusalem will need no instruction from man, but carry within them the teaching of heaven, as those who are “taught of God” ( , Joh 6:45; , 1Th 4:9). Essentially the same promise is given in Joe 3:1-2, and Jer 31:34; and represented in 1Jo 2:20 ( “Ye have the anointing of the Holy One, and know all things”) as already fulfilled. In the place of the former inward and outward distress, there has no entered shalom , perfect inward and outward peace, complete salvation, and blessedness as its result. is an adjective, for this form cannot be shown to have existed as a syncopated third pers. praet., like , (= ). The v. closes palindromically.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
13. For all thy children. I consider that the copulative ו (vau,) “and,” here, as in many other passages, denotes for; and hence we may easily conclude that Isaiah spoke not of doctrine, but of men, of which the spiritual building of the Church is reared. It is by doctrine, indeed, that the Church is built; but, the building of it is effected by assembling men together, and reducing them to a state of obedience to God. The difference then between Paul and Isaiah is this, that Paul makes those “precious stones” relate to doctrine, and Isaiah makes them relate to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are bestowed on men, in order that the Church may be built of them. It is proper to observe the diversity of gifts with which the Lord adorns his Church; for all are not “emeralds,” and all are not “carbuncles,” but the Lord assigns to every one his rank according’ to his own pleasure. (Eph 4:11)
Taught by Jehovah. It deserves attention, that all that belongs to the ornament of the Church, proceeds from no other source than from the grace of God; for if we are “carbuncles” and “sapphires” in consequence of our being taught by the Lord, it follows that this does not proceed from nature. Now there are two ways in which the Lord teaches us; by external preaching, and by the secret revelation of the Holy Spirit. What kind of teaching the Prophet means is explained by Christ, when he quotes this passage; and therefore we ought not to seek a better interpreter. “It is written in the prophets,” says he, “All shall be taught by God. Every man who hath heard and learned from the Father cometh to me.” (Joh 6:45) If this passage were to be understood as relating to external preaching, the conclusion which Christ draws from it would not be well founded; for it does not follow, “The Gospel is preached, and therefore all believe.” Many oppose, others openly scorn, and others are hypocrites. Those only “who have been foreordained to life” (Act 13:48) are sincerely teachable, and are entitled to be ranked among the disciples. The Gospel is preached indiscriminately to the elect and the reprobate; but the elect alone come to Christ, because they have been “taught by God,” and therefore to them the Prophet undoubtedly refers.
This makes it evident in what way we become living and precious stones for building the temple of God. It is when the Lord has formed and polished us by his Spirit, and has added to the external preaching of the word the internal efficacy of the Spirit. Hence we learn how great is the depravity of the human mind, which cannot be bent and formed anew, unless the Lord move it by the power and efficacy of his Spirit. Isaiah has connected both modes of teaching, the internal and the external; for he gives the appellation of “children of the Church” to those who are “taught by the Lord.” If they are her children, they must then have been conceived in her womb and nourished by her, first “with milk, and next with solid food,” as Paul says, (1Co 3:2) till they “grow up and arrive at manhood.” (Eph 4:13)
Thus the external administration of the word is necessary if we wish to be disciples; and this shows the extreme madness of fanatics, who abuse this passage for the purpose of overturning the preaching of the word and the ministry which the Church enjoys; for they cannot be “the children” of the Church, if they do not allow themselves to be educated in her. In vain will they boast of secret revelations; for the Spirit does not teach any but those who submit to the ministry of the Church, and consequently they are the disciples of the devil, and not of God, who reject the order which he has appointed; for we see that these two things, “Children of the Church” and “Taught by God,” are united in such a manner that they cannot be God’s disciples who refuse to be taught in the Church. They ought likewise to be properly distinguished, as Isaiah also distinguishes them, that we may not apply to men what ought to be ascribed to the efficacy of the Spirit; but at the same time they ought to be joined together, so that we may know that in this matter God chooses to employ the agency of men.
Besides, we are taught by this passage that the calling of God is efficacious in the elect. Augustine examines this passage judiciously, and applies it skillfully against the Pelagians, who extolled man’s freewill in opposition to the grace of God. They appeared, indeed, to ascribe something to the grace of God, but in such a manner that, when they brought it forward, they gave to it an inferior place to man’s freewill; just as the Papists do, who assert that any person can either receive or reject it. “But” (says Augustine) “all shall be taught by God. Now, God’s disciples are efficaciously taught, and follow his calling.” He likewise adds that passage of John’s Gospel which we have quoted. This shows clearly that it is not from free choice made by man, and which is capable of being bent in either direction, that it proceeds.
From these words it ought also to be observed how highly the Lord values his doctrine, by means of which he admits us into his building, so that we become “pearls, sapphires, and carbuncles;” for they who wish to build the Church by rejecting the doctrine of the word, build a hog’s sty, and not the Church of God. We see also what opinion we ought to form about implicit faith, about which the Papists yelp, who wish men to become fools, that they may suffer themselves to be imposed upon; for, since we must be taught by God, it is not reasonable that we should resemble beasts.
It may be asked, were not the prophets also, and the patriarchs, and other believers under the Law, taught by God? They undoubtedly were; but here the Prophet spoke by comparison, because there is a more abundant revelation in Christ, and the Lord hath spoken so plainly as to give a public manifestation that he is the teacher of the Church, and also to gain many disciples. This passage agrees with one in the Prophet Jeremiah.
“
Every one shall not teach his neighbor, nor a man his brother; for all shall know me from the least even to the greatest, saith Jehovah.” (Jer 31:34)
Accordingly, if in ancient times it was necessary that all the children of God should be disciples of the Holy Spirit, much more in the present day, seeing that this prediction relates strictly to the kingdom of Christ.
And great peace. By the word “peace” he denotes happiness, that is, all prosperity. And hence we may infer what is the true happiness of men. It is, when God enlightens our understandings, so that we embrace the salvation which has been revealed to us in Christ; for, so long as we are destitute of that knowledge, we are at the greatest possible distance from happiness; because even God’s blessings, till they are sanctified by faith, become a curse to us.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) All thy children shall be taught of the Lord . . .More accurately, shall be the disciples of Jehovah; quoted by our Lord as fulfilled in His disciples (Joh. 6:45).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13, 14. All thy children Dwellers within the glorious city, or, in literal terms, all who are pure in heart and love the communion of Zion and of Zion’s Jehovah.
Taught of the Lord Informed and learned in the deep things of God. Jer 31:34; Mat 5:2-10.
Peace Isa 2:4; Isa 9:6.
In righteousness established In Isa 54:13-14, the plain doctrines taught are those connected with the mission of the Holy Spirit throughout the complete reign of Messiah. “Peace” is to be established on intrinsic “righteousness.” Assaults, therefore, shall be unavailing. No cause for fear.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 979
PEACE THE FRUIT OF DIVINE TEACHING
Isa 54:13. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
THE Jewish Church was often in a state of great distress, under the judgments of Almighty God. In Babylon especially was she at the lowest ebb of degradation and misery. But there was consolation provided for her in a prospect of glorious times, when her light, and peace, and joy, and purity, should far exceed any thing which she had ever experienced in her most prosperous state; and the whole Gentile world also should be made partakers of her blessedness.
In the words before the text, the Jewish Church is represented as a tent or tabernacle torn and tossed by the winds, and reduced to a most desolate condition: and a promise is given to her, that God will build her as a palace, every part of which shall be composed of precious stones; her foundations being of sapphires, her windows of agates, her gates of carbuncles, and even her borders, or outward walls, of pleasant stones [Note: ver. 11, 12.]. In her former state, her whole service consisting of rites and ordinances; she was forced to receive her instructions from men, whose peculiar duty was to ascertain and execute the will of God in every one of his appointments: and in the performance of these burthensome rites there was but little satisfaction to the soul. But in the state to which she was encouraged to look forward, a different system was to prevail: the instruction that was to be conveyed was spiritual; and a compliance with it was to be attended with much delight. Hence it was said to her, All thy children shall be taught of God: and great shall be the peace of thy children.
The promises here made to the Church relate to the two things which were chiefly wanted under that shadowy dispensation; namely,
I.
Divine illumination
This is a blessing which every human being needs
[We may obtain from men and books a speculative knowledge of religion, as well as of any other science: but a spiritual discernment can be given us by God alone. This is declared by an inspired Apostle; The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned [Note: 1Co 2:14.]. In like manner our blessed Lord testifies: All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him [Note: Mat 11:27.].
How far this is true or false, it is in the power of every man to ascertain, by his own experience. Let it be tried. Of the lending truths of the Gospel we may suppose the generality of persons to be convinced: they know, that they are sinners; that they need a Saviour; that a Saviour has been provided for them; that a promise of salvation is given to all who will believe in him; and that on those who reject his overtures of mercy the guilt of all their sins must rest for ever. Now then let any man sit down to consider these truths; let him call in the aid of all the most competent instructors he can find: and let him see whether he can, by any efforts of his own, bring himself to a spiritual perception of those truths, that is, to such a view of them as shall produce a suitable impression on his mind, and a corresponding effect upon his heart and life. Let him labour as long as he shall see fit: and, after the fullest possible trial, let him declare, whether he has been able to produce in his soul the feelings which were excited in the bosoms of the three thousand on the day of Pentecost; and in his whole spirit and temper the same permanent change. If one single person in the universe be found that can effect this, then we are content to acknowledge, that our assertions on this subject are erroneous, and that man does not need the teachings of Gods Spirit in order to a spiritual perception of divine truth. But it no such instance ever was, or can be, found, then may we be assured, that flesh and blood cannot reveal these things to our souls, and that we can know them only by the teaching of God himself [Note: Mat 16:17.].]
This however is promised to us in the Gospel
[The Spirit of God has undertaken to impart it to our souls. His particular office in the economy of Redemption is, to testify of Christ [Note: Joh 15:26.], and to glorify Christ by taking of the things that are his, and shewing them unto us [Note: Joh 16:14.]. And in the execution of this office he convinces the soul of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment [Note: Joh 16:7-11.]; and so convinces of these things as to produce in the soul all the diversified sensations which they are suited to create.
If it be asked, What evidence does any one give, whereby it may be ascertained, whether this promised influence be a reality or a delusion? I answer, This also may be brought to a visible test, by which the whole world may judge of it.The man who truly experiences this teaching, immediately comes to Christ as a sinner, and with deep humiliation and contrition seeks salvation through him alone. This our blessed Lord himself affirms; and affirms it too with an express reference to the words of our text: It is written in the Prophets, says he, They shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard and learned of the Father, cometh unto me [Note: Joh 6:45.]. There is no exception under heaven: the effect of this teaching is invariable and universal. Nay more, it produces a holy energy and determination of mind to come to Christ at all events, and to disregard all the consequences that such a step can possibly involve. This may be seen in the conduct of the Apostle Paul, who says, When it pleased God, who called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood [Note: Gal 1:15-17.], but proceeded to adopt such measures as I judged most calculated to advance his glory.
This teaching therefore, though invisible in itself, even as the wind, is yet, like the wind, visible in its effects: and all the children of Zion are privileged to experience it in their souls. The weakest person in the whole creation shall enjoy it, if he will but seek it in faith and prayer. Yes: what God has hid from the wise and prudent, he will reveal unto babes; even so, because it seemeth good in his sight [Note: Mat 11:25.].]
Connected with this blessing is,
II.
Heavenly peace
Men, without any Divine teaching, possess what they call peace: but it is a state which does not deserve the name of peace, seeing that it is nothing but a stupid insensibility, issuing from a forgetfulness of all their spiritual concerns. Speak to them of death, and judgment, heaven and hell, and their peace vanishes in a moment; and they are ready to desire, like Satan, that they may not be tormented before their time [Note: Mat 8:29.]. But the peace which Christ bestows, and which he emphatically calls his [Note: Joh 14:27.], is of a very different kind: it is a positive sense of acceptance with God, and a rest of the soul in God. This the Believer experiences,
1.
In the view of all his past sins
[So far is he from being appalled by a sight of his sins, that he desires to have them set before him in all their malignity, and with all their numberless aggravations. He feels that a sense of his disease is necessary to an enjoyment of the remedy: and the more he sees his own guilt and helplessness, the more he glories in Christ as a suitable and all-sufficient Saviour. The very impossibility of being saved in any other way than through the blood and righteousness of Christ, constrains him to look altogether to Christ, as the very chief of sinners, who shall to all eternity be held forth as a specimen of what the grace of God could effect [Note: 1Ti 1:16.]. The thought that the extent and riches of redeeming love will be pre-eminently displayed in him, perfectly reconciles him to the idea of having all his sins exposed before the assembled universe; since the Saviour will be most glorified in those whom he has redeemed from the deepest death. Let me not however be mistaken. The believer is not indifferent to his past sins; (for he mourns over them to his dying hour:) much less does he think it a desirable thing for a person to commit great sins in order that Christ may be magnified in the forgiveness of them; (for that would be to make Christ himself a minister of sin [Note: Gal 2:17.]: but seeing that his sins have been great, he derives consolation from the thought, that where sin has abounded, the grace of Christ shall much more abound; and that, as sin has reigned unto death, even so shall grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord [Note: Rom 5:20-21.].]
2.
In the view of all his present infirmities
[These would quite overwhelm his spirits, if his eyes were not opened to see on what a Mighty One help had been laid for him [Note: Psa 89:19.]. He could not hope to maintain his peace one hour, but that he knows he has an Advocate with the Father, ever ready to intercede for him; and that that very Advocate is also a propitiation for all his sins [Note: 1Jn 2:2.]. In Christ too he beholds a fulness of grace treasured up for him; of grace ever ready, and all-sufficient for him, in his greatest necessities. Hence, so far from being discouraged by a sense of his weakness, he even derives consolation and encouragement from it; just as St. Paul did, who says, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christs sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong [Note: 2Co 12:10.]. The thought that the strength of Christ will be made perfect, and manifested to be perfect, in his weakness, turns the sense which he has of his weakness into a ground of joy, and makes him even to glory in his infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon him [Note: 2Co 12:9.].]
3.
In the view of the final judgment
[The bar of judgment is no longer an object of dread and terror to his soul. He knows in whom he has believed; and is persuaded that he is able to keep that which he has committed to him [Note: 2Ti 1:12.]. He has no fear that God will forget his promises, or that the Saviour who bought him with his blood, and furnished him with continual supplies of grace, will give him up to that destroyer, from whose power he has rescued him at so great a price. He looks on that day as the time appointed for his complete deliverance. He knows that then the body, which has here been such a clog to his soul, shall be made a partaker with the soul in all the glory and felicity of heaven. He looks forward therefore to it with joy. It is as much the object of hope to him, as the first advent of the Saviour was to the Jewish Church. How delightful is it to him to contemplate the wonders of that day; to behold the Saviour coming in all the glory of his Father, and all his holy angels with him; to behold him seated on his judgment-seat, and, ordering to either hand the sheep and the goats; to hear him pronounce the sentence upon each: and then to ascend with him in sweet anticipation to the realms of bliss; to be seated on his throne; to behold his glory in all its brightness; to hear his voice, to taste his love, to participate his glory; and to spend eternity in songs of praise! All this is delightful to the believers soul; and in the anticipation of it he already possesses a foretaste of the heavenly bliss.
With these views his peace is great: yes verily, he has a peace that passeth all understanding [Note: Php 4:6.]: and rivers of it flow into his soul [Note: Isa 48:17-18.], being filled with all joy and peace in believing, and abounding in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost [Note: Rom 15:13.].]
See then, Brethren,
1.
What blessings are treasured up for you in the Gospel
[It is to Zions Children that these blessings are limited: and how are you to be brought into that relation to her, but by the Gospel?, Know that, if you submit yourselves truly to the voice of God in his word, all these blessings are yours: you shall have that unction of the Holy One that shall teach you all things [Note: 1Jn 2:20; 1Jn 2:27.]; and you shall possess the consolations of the Spirit, which are neither few nor small [Note: Job 15:11. Jer 30:19.]. But remember, that God will be inquired of, before he will impart them to you [Note: Eze 36:37.]: it is by the holy violence of prayer that they must be brought down from heaven; and by the appropriating energy of faith that they must be made available for your salvation ]
2.
How injurious are the workings of unbelief
[Unbelief puts far from us the promises of God, under an idea that we have no title to them; and deprives the soul of all the happiness which it is privileged to enjoy. In vain does God say, All thy children shall be taught of God: for unbelief has found out some reason for an exception in this or that particular person. In vain has God said, Great shall be the peace of thy children: for unbelief suggests, that trouble and fear are more suited to the case of this particular individual. I do not mean to say, that wilful and habitual sin is not a bar both to the teachings and consolations of the Spirit: for that will assuredly cut off all gracious communications from us; as it is said, Your iniquities have separated between you and your God [Note: Isa 59:2.]: but, if we truly turn to God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, no past iniquities are any bar to our acceptance with him; nor are any present infirmities a ground for desponding fears; seeing that there is a sufficiency in Christ for all our wants; and our very necessities afford him a more glorious occasion for magnifying himself in our support. Dismiss then all doubts and fears respecting your right to apprehend the promises of God, or your title to expect his promised blessings. Only be strong in faith, giving glory to God [Note: Rom 4:20.]; and according to your faith it shall be done unto you [Note: Mat 9:29.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 54:13 And all thy children [shall be] taught of the LORD; and great [shall be] the peace of thy children.
Ver. 13. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord. ] Outwardly, by his word; inwardly, by his Spirit: and here he explaineth that which he had spoken before concerning gems and jewels. The glory of the Church consisteth not in outward splendour, but in inward virtues and gifts of the Holy Ghost, which are found only in God’s disciples.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
all thy children, &c. Quoted in Joh 6:45.
of = by. Genitive (of Origin). App-17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
all: Isa 2:3, Isa 11:9, Psa 25:8-12, Psa 71:17, Jer 31:34, Mat 11:25-29, Mat 16:17, Luk 10:21, Luk 10:22, Luk 24:45, Joh 6:45, Joh 14:26, 1Co 2:10, Eph 4:21, 1Th 4:9, Heb 8:10, 1Jo 2:20, 1Jo 2:27
great: Isa 26:3, Isa 32:15-18, Isa 48:18, Isa 55:12, Psa 119:165, Jer 33:6, Eze 34:25, Eze 34:28, Eze 37:26, Hos 2:18, Joh 14:27, Joh 16:33, Rom 5:1, Rom 14:17, Rom 15:13, Gal 5:22, Phi 4:7
Reciprocal: 1Sa 10:12 – who is their Job 36:22 – who Psa 25:5 – teach Psa 94:10 – teacheth man Psa 119:33 – Teach Psa 122:7 – Peace Psa 125:5 – peace Pro 2:6 – the Lord Isa 8:16 – among Isa 32:3 – General Isa 32:17 – the work Isa 42:16 – I will bring Isa 48:17 – which teacheth Isa 49:25 – I will save Hos 6:3 – we know Joe 2:28 – your daughters Mic 4:2 – and he Luk 1:74 – that we Joh 8:32 – ye shall 2Co 3:16 – the veil Heb 8:11 – they shall
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 54:13-14. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord The churchs children, being born of God, shall be taught of God, and that not only outwardly, by his word, but inwardly, by his Spirit. Our Lord, who quotes this passage, Joh 6:45, applies it to gospel grace, and represents it as having its accomplishment in all those that are brought savingly to believe in him. And great shall be the peace of thy children
1st, Inward peace, arising from clear discoveries of Gods love, and his reconciliation to us, and wrought by the Spirit of adoption, which is more abundantly given to believers under the gospel than under the law. 2d, Outward peace, safety, and happiness, which is more fully promised in the following verses, and which God, when he sees fit, will confer upon his church. In righteousness shalt thou be established This kingdom shall be set up and established, not by injustice, fraud, or tyranny, as other kingdoms frequently are, but upon a righteous foundation, and by the exercise of righteousness and holiness, which is the glory and felicity of any society. Thou shalt be far from oppression Either by thine own governors, or by foreign powers. Those that have oppressed thee shall be removed; those that would oppress thee shall be restrained; and therefore thou shalt not fear Thou shalt neither have any just cause of fear, nor be given up to the torment of fear without cause.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
54:13 And all thy children [shall be] {l} taught from the LORD; and great [shall be] the peace of thy children.
(l) By the hearing of his word and inward moving of his spirit.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
All the spiritual descendants of the redeemed in that era would be disciples of the Lord. They would follow Him faithfully, and they would enjoy the highest quality of spiritual life (cf. Isa 1:26). Jesus saw a foreview of this condition during His earthly ministry (Joh 6:45).