Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:14
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it].
14. Then shalt thou delight thyself ] Better: Then shalt thou have thy delight; Job 22:26. The same verb as in ch. Isa 57:4.
and I will cause thee to ride over the heights of the earth ] Apparently a quotation from Deu 32:13. The meaning is “I will carry thee triumphantly over all obstacles” (cf. Deu 32:11).
and feed thee with ] and make thee to eat, i.e. enjoy; cf. ch. Isa 1:19.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord – That is, as a consequence of properly observing the Sabbath, thou shalt find pleasure in Yahweh. It will be a pleasure to draw near to him, and you shall no longer be left to barren ordinances and to unanswered prayers. The delight or pleasure which Gods people have in him is a direct and necessary consequence of the proper observance of the Sabbath. It is on that day set apart by his own authority, for his own service, that he chooses to meet with his people, and to commune with them and bless them; and no one ever properly observed the Sabbath who did not find, as a consequence, that he had augmented pleasure in the existence, the character, and the service of Yahweh. Compare Job 22:21-26, where the principle stated here – that the observance of the law of God will lead to happiness in the Almighty – is beautifully illustrated (see also Psa 37:4).
And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth – A phrase like this occurs in Deu 32:13 : He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of fields. In Hab 3:19, the phrase also occurs: He will make my feet like hinds feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. So also Psa 18:33 : He maketh my feet like hinds feet, and setteth me upon my high places. In Amo 4:13, it is applied to God: He maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth. Kimchi, Calvin, and Grotius suppose that the idea here is, that God would restore the exiled Jews to their own land – a land of mountains and elevated places, more lofty than the surrounding regions. Vitringa says that the phrase is taken from a conqueror, who on his horse or in his chariot, occupies mountains, hills, towers, and monuments, and subjects them to himself. Rosenmuller supposes it means, I will place you in lofty and inaccessible places, where you will be safe from all your enemies. Gesenius also supposes that the word high places here means fastnesses or strongholds, and that to walk over those strongholds, or to ride over them, is equivalent to possessing them, and that he who has possession of the fastnesses has possession of the whole country (see his Lexicon on the word bamah, No. 2). I give these views of the most distinguished commentators on the passage, not being able to determine satisfactorily to myself what is the true signification. Neither of the above expositions seems to me to be entirely free from difficulty. The general idea of prosperity and security is undoubtedly the main thing intended; but what is the specific sense couched under the phrase to ride on the high places of the earth, does not seem to me to be sufficiently explained.
And feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father – That is, thou shalt possess the land promised to Jacob as an inheritance.
For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it – This formula often occurs when an important promise is made, and it is regarded as ample security for the fulfillment that Yahweh has promised it. What more ample security can be required, or conceived, than the promise of the eternal God?
Remarks on Isa 58:1-14
I. From Isa 58:1-6, and the exposition given of these verses, particularly Isa 58:6, we may make the following remarks respecting slavery.
1. That the prophets felt themselves at entire liberty to animadvert on slavery as an evil. They did not feel themselves restrained from doing it by the fact that slavery was sustained by law, or by the plea that it was a civil institution, and that the ministers of religion had nothing to do with it. The holy men who were sent by God as his ambassadors, did not suppose that, in lifting up the voice against this institution, they were doing anything contrary to what fairly came within their notice as religious teachers, nor did they regard it as, in such a sense, a civil institution that they were not to advert to it.
It is often said in our country that slavery is a civil institution; that it pertains solely to political affairs; that the constitution and the laws suppose its existence, and make provision for its perpetuity; that it is not appropriate for the ministers of religion, and for ecclesiastical bodies to intermeddle with it. This plea, however, might have been urged with much more force among the Hebrews. Their constitution was, what ours is not, of divine appointment, and it would have been easy for a friend of slavery to say that the prophets were interfering with what was sanctioned by the laws, and with the arrangements which were made for its perpetuity in the commonwealth. Why would not such an argument have as much weight then as it should be allowed to have now?
2. The prophet Isaiah felt himself at entire liberty to exhort the people to restore their slaves to freedom. He considered that slavery was as proper a subject for him to discuss as any other. He treated it as entirely within his province, and did not hesitate at all to express his views on it as an evil, and to demand that the evil should cease, in order to an acceptable worship of God.
3. He does not speak of it as a good and desirable institution, or as contributing to the welfare of the community. It is, in his view, a hard and oppressive system; a system which should be abandoned if people would render acceptable service to God. There is no apology made for it; no pleading for it as a desirable system; no attempt made to show that it is in accordance with the laws of the land and with the laws of God. It would not be difficult to imagine what would be the emotions of Isaiah if, after he had written this 58th chapter of his prophecies, it should be represented that he was the friend of slavery, or if he were to read some of the vindications of the systems published in this Christian land by ministers of the gospel, and by ecclesiastical bodies, or should hear the sentiments uttered in debate in Synods, Assemblies, Conferences, and Conventions.
4. It may be inferred from the exposition given, that Isaiah did not suppose that slavery was in accordance with the spirit of the Mosaic institutions, or that those institutions were designed to perpetuate it. His treatment of it is just such as would be natural on the supposition that the Mosaic institutions were so made that, while it was for a while tolerated – just as polygamy and divorce were – yet that it was the tendency and design of the Mosaic system ultimately to remove the evil entirely, and to make the Hebrews throughout a free people, and that it was therefore proper for him, as a prophet, to enjoin on them the duty of letting all the oppressed go free. It may be added, that if this was proper in the time of Isaiah, it cannot be less proper under the light of the gospel and in the nineteenth century.
II. From the closing portion of this chapter Isa 58:13-14, we may derive the following important inferences respecting the Sabbath:
1. It is to be of perpetual obligation. The whole chapter occurs in the midst of statements that relate to the times of the Messiah. There is no intimation that the Sabbath was to be abolished, but it is fairly implied that its observance was to be attended with most happy results in those future times. At all events, Isaiah regarded it as of binding obligation, and felt that its proper observance was identified with the national welfare.
2. We may see the manner in which the Sabbath is to be observed. In no place in the Bible is there a more full account of the proper mode of keeping that holy day. We are to refrain from ordinary traveling and employments; we are not to engage in doing our own pleasure; we are to regard it with delight, and to esteem it a day worthy to be honored; and we are to show respect to it by not performing our own ordinary works, or pursuing pleasures, or engaging in the common topics of conversation. In this description there occurs nothing of unique Jewish ceremony, and nothing which indicates that it is not to be observed in this manner at all times. Under the gospel, assuredly, it is as proper to celebrate the Sabbath in this way, as it was in the times of Isaiah, and God doubtless intended that it should be perpetually observed in this manner.
3. Important benefits result from the right observance of the Sabbath. In the passage before us, these are said to be, that they who thus observed it would find pleasure in Yahweh, and would be signally prospered and be safe. But those benefits are by no means confined to the Jewish people. It is as true now as it was then, that they who observe the Sabbath in a proper manner find happiness in the Lord – in his existence, perfections, promises, law, and in communion with him – which is to be found nowhere else. Of this fact there are abundant witnesses now in every Christian church, and they will continue to be multiplied in every coming age. And it is as true that the proper observance of the Sabbath contributes to the prosperity and safety of a nation now, as it ever did among the Jewish people. It is not merely from the fact that God promises to bless the people who keep his holy day; though this is of more value to a nation than all its armies and fleets; but it is, that there is in the institution itself much that tends to the welfare and prosperity of a country.
It is a time when worldliness is broken in upon by a periodical season of rest, and when the thoughts are left free to contemplate higher and purer objects. It is a time when more instruction is imparted on moral and religious subjects, than on all the other days of the week put together. The public worship of God tends to enlarge the intellect, and purify the heart. No institution has ever been originated that has contributed so much to elevate the common mind; to diffuse order, peace, neatness, decency among people, and thus to perpetuate and extend all that is valuable in society, as the Sabbath. Anyone may be convinced of this, who will be at the pains to compare a neighborhood, a village, or a city where the Sabbath is not observed with one where it is; and the difference will convince him at once, that society owes more to the Sabbath than to any single institution besides, and that in no way possible can one-seventh portion of the time be so well employed as in the manner contemplated by the Christian day of rest.
4. Society will have seasons of cessation from labor, and when they are not made occasions for the promotion of virtue, they will be for the promotion of vice. Thus among the Romans an annual Saturnalia was granted to all, as a season of relaxation from toil, and even from the restraints of morality, besides many other days of periodical rest from labor. Extensively among pagan nations also, the seventh day of the week, or a seventh portion of the time, has been devoted to such relaxation. Thus, Hesiod says, Hebdomon hieron hemera – The seventh day is holy. Homer and Callimachus give it the same title. Philo says of the seventh any. Heorte gar ou mias poleos e choras estin alla tou pantos – It is a feast, not of one city or one country only, but of all. Josephus (Contra Apion. ii.), says, There is no city, however barbarous, where the custom of observing the seventh day which prevails among the Jews is not also observed. Theophilus of Antioch (ii.), says, Concerning the seventh day, which all people celebrate. Eusebius says, Almost all the philosophers and poets acknowledge the seventh day as holy. See Grotius, De Veritate, i.
It is evident that this custom did not originate by chance, nor was it kept up by chance. It must have been originated by far-spreading tradition, and must have been observed either because the day was esteemed to be holy, or because it was found to be convenient or advantageous to observe such a periodical season of rest. In accordance with this feeling, even the French nation during the Revolution, while they abolished the Christain Sabbath, felt so deeply the necessity of a periodical rest from labor, that they appointed the decade – or one day in ten, to be observed as a day of relaxation and amusement. Whatever, therefore, may have been the origin of the Sabbath, and whatever may be the views which may be entertained of its sacredness, it is now reduced to a moral certainty that people will have a periodical season of cessation from labor. The only question is, In what way shall it be observed? Shall it be devoted to amusement, pleasure, and vice; or shall it be employed in the ways of intelligence, virtue, and religion? It is evident that such a periodical relaxation may be made the occasion of immense good to any community; and it is not less evident that it may be the occasion of extending far the evils of intemperance, profaneness, licentiousness, and crime. It is vain to attempt to blot out wholly the observance of the Christian Sabbath; and since it will and must be observed as a day of cessation from toil, all that remains is for society to avail itself of the advantages which may be derived from its proper observance, and to make it the handmaid of temperance, intelligence, social order, and pure religion.
5. It is deeply, therefore, to be regretted that this sacred institution has been, and is so widely abused in Christian lands. As it is, it is extensively a day of feasting, amusement, dissipation, and revelry. And while its observance is, more decidedly than anything else, the means of perpetuating virtue and religion on earth, it is perhaps not too much to say that it is the occasion of more intemperance, vice, and crime than all the other days of the week put together. This is particularly the case in our large cities and towns. A community cannot be disbanded from the restraints of labor one-seventh part of the time without manifest evil, unless there are salutary checks and restraints. The merchant cannot safely close his counting-room; the clerk and apprentice cannot safely be discharged; the common laborer cannot safely be dismissed from toil, unless there is something that shall be adapted on that day to enlarge the understanding, elevate the morals, and purify the heart. The welfare of the community demands that; and nowhere more than in this country. Who can doubt that a proper observance at the holy Sabbath would contribute to the prosperity of this nation? Who can doubt that the worship of God; the cultivation of the heart; the contemplation of moral and religious truth; and the active duties of benevolence, would contribute more to the welfare of the nation, than to devote the day to idleness, amusement, dissipation, and sin?
6. While the friends of religion, therefore, mourn over the desecration of the Christian Sabbath, let them remember that their example may contribute much to secure a proper observance of that day. On the friends of the Redeemer it devolves to rescue the day from desecration; and by the divine blessing it may be done. The happiness of every Christian is indissolubly connected with the proper observance of the Sabbath. The perpetuity of the true religion, and its extension throughout the earth, is identified with the observance of the Sabbath. And every true friend of God the Saviour, as he values his own peace, and as he prizes the religion which he professes to love, is bound to restrain his foot on the Sabbath; to cease to find his own pleasure, and to speak his own words on that holy day; and to show that the Sabbath is to him a delight, and that he esteems it as a day to be honored and to be loved.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 58:14
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord
Delighting in God
I.
WHAT IS IMPLIED IN DELIGHTING OURSELVES IN THE LORD.
1. A contemplation of His infinite and adorable perfections; such a contemplation as to derive the highest satisfaction from them; to see in them all that is amiable and lovely.
2. A well-grounded hope of interest in Him; for though this is not the primary, it is a subordinate ground of the believers joy, and one of unspeakable importance.
3. Communion with God in holy duties.
4. A sanctified use of all our common mercies, receiving them as His gift, and esteeming them on that account.
5. Contentment in Him, even in the absence of every other good.
6. Delighting in God is accompanied with the cheering prospect of being for ever with Him.
II. VIEW SOME OF THE ADVANTAGES ARISING FROM THIS HEAVENLY STATE OF MIND. Delighting ourselves in the Lord will weaken the influence of sin, and strengthen all the Christian graces. It will be an antidote against fretfulness and discontent, carnality and worldly-mindedness, presumption and self-confidence. It will confirm our faith, inflame our love, and brighten our hopes and prospects. Communion with God disarms our spiritual enemies, or secures us from their attack. It is of eminent use in all the parts of practical religion. It makes active in doing, and steadfast in suffering the will of God; it infuses life into our prayers and praises, and causes us to come with boldness and cheerfulness to the house and table of the Lord. Sorrow and dejection enfeeble the mind; but the joy of the Lord is our strength. The joys of religion will convert this miserable world into a little heaven, and make the Church militant resemble the Church triumphant above, where there are do mourning garments, no dejected countenances, or hearts consumed with grief. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
Duty the road to prosperity
I. DELIGHT IN THE LORD IS CONNECTED WITH THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH.
II. TRUE PROSPERITY DEPENDS UPON OBEDIENCE TO DIVINE COMMAND.
III. THERE CAN BE NO PERMANENT PROSPERITY APART FROM MORALITY. (Homiletic Review.)
Riding over the heights
The meaning is, I will carry thee triumphantly over all obstacles (Deu 32:11). (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. Then shalt thou delight thyself] If all fasts and religious observances be carried on in the spirit and manner recommended above, God’s blessing will attend every ordinance. But in public fasts, prescribed not in the Book of God, but by the rulers of nations in general (very unfit persons) care should be taken that the cause is good, and that God’s blessing may be safely implored in it.
France has lately fasted and prayed that they might be able to subjugate Spain, restore and establish the horrible inquisition, and utterly destroy all the liberties of the people! Is this such a fast as God hath chosen? – A.D. 1823.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord: this hath reference to the foregoing verse. If thou wilt delight thyself in the sabbath, then thou shalt delight in the God of the sabbath; or thou shalt have cause to delight in the Lord, viz. in his goodness and faithfulness to thee, and so shalt live by faith in him as the Fountain of all good, as Psa 37:4, in the assurance of his love and favour, Psa 33:21, and that in great abundance, Psa 36:8; such delights as no wicked man call have, Pro 14:10.
I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; thou shalt be above the reach of danger, Isa 33:16. Or it may have respect to their being brought out of Babylon, which lay very low in respect of Judea, called the earth, as it is elsewhere, Luk 23:44; and high, both in respect of the situation of it, as also its mountainousness. Or the expression may import the subduing of their enemies, as it is Deu 33:29. Riding is oft used for conquering, Psa 45:4; see the note there; Rev 6:2. The sense is, they shall come out of Babylon, not sneakingly, as on foot, but triumphantly and gloriously, riding, as God brought Israel out of Egypt harnessed, in good order, and with a high hand; or, they shall ride to and fro in their chariots at their pleasure.
And feed thee with the heritage of Jacob, i.e. thou shalt enjoy the good of the land of Canaan, which God had promised as a heritage of Jacob and his seed, Gen 35:12, and feed on the fruits of it.
Quest. Why doth he say of the heritage of Jacob, and not of Abraham or Isaac.
Answ. Because the whole posterity of Jacob was within the covenant, but Ishmael and Esau, one the seed of Isaac, the other the seed of Abraham, were both excluded.
For the mouth of the Lord: this is to express the certainty and indubitableness of it, being from the mouth of him who cannot lie: see of the same expression of assurance, Isa 1:20; 40:5. And this Calvin refers both to what was spoken in the beginning of the chapter, that it was in vain for those hypocrites to contend with God; and also as the confirmation of his promise, if they would rightly observe those promises. The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it: he speaks of himself, as of a man, by a prosopopoeia; or it may relate to the prophet, the Lord, whose mouth and instrument I am.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. delight . . . in . . . LordGodrewards in kind, as He punishes in kind. As we “delight” inkeeping God’s “Sabbath,” so God will give us “delight”in Himself (Gen 15:1; Job 22:21-26;Psa 37:4).
ride upon . . . high placesIwill make thee supreme lord of the land; the phrase is takenfrom a conqueror riding in his chariot, and occupying the hills andfastnesses of a country [VITRINGA],(Deu 32:13; Mic 1:3;Hab 3:19). Judea was a land ofhills; the idea thus is, “I will restore thee to thineown land” [CALVIN].The parallel words, “heritage of Jacob,” confirmthis (Gen 27:28; Gen 27:29;Gen 28:13-15).
mouth of . . . Lord . . .spoken ita formula to assure men of the fulfilment of anysolemn promise which God has made (Isa40:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord,…. In his perfections; in his omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, eternity, immutability, holiness, justice, truth, and faithfulness; in his wisdom, love, grace, and mercy, especially as displayed in Christ, and salvation by him; in the relations he stands in to his people, as their covenant God and Father, and in what he is to them, their shield and exceeding great reward, their portion and inheritance; in his works of creation, providence, and grace; in his word, the Gospel, the truths, doctrines, and promises of it; in his ways and worship: in his ordinances and commandments; in communion with him, and with his people; in all which, abundance of delight, pleasure, and satisfaction, is found by those who know him in Christ, have tasted that he is gracious; who have some likeness to him, love him, and are the objects of his love and delight:
and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; to live above the world, and to have their conversation in heaven; to be in the utmost safety, and enjoy the greatest plenty, especially of spiritual things: or to be superior to the men of the world, even the highest of them; to have power and authority in the earth, as the saints will have in the latter day; particularly this will be true when the mountain of the Lord’s house is established upon the top of the mountains, Isa 2:2:
and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: the Jewish writers inquire why Jacob is mentioned, and not Abraham nor Isaac; and answer, as in the Talmud p, not Abraham, of whom it is written, “arise, walk through the land in the length of it”, c. Ge 13:17, nor Isaac, of whom it is written, “for unto thee, and to thy seed, will I give all these countries”, c. Ge 26:3, but Jacob, of whom it is written, “and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south”, &c. Ge 28:14 expressing the larger extent of the inheritance so Jarchi and Samson account for it but Kimchi gives a better reason, because the sons of Jacob, and not Ishmael the son of Abraham, nor Esau the son of Isaac, inherited the land of Canaan: but rather the reason is, because he is the father of all true Israelites, who are, as he was, wrestling and prevailing; these the Lord feeds with spiritual provisions here, and glory hereafter; which the good things of the land of Canaan, the inheritance of Jacob and his sons, were a type of: and perhaps this may have respect to the conversion of the Jews, when they shall return to their own land, and enjoy the good things of it, as well as all spiritual blessings:
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it; who is faithful to his covenant, true to his word; cannot lie, will never deceive; performs whatsoever he has promised, being able to do it; and therefore it may be depended upon that all this shall be as he has said.
p T. Bab. Sabbat, fol 118. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
14. Then wilt thou delight in Jehovah. He appears to allude to the word delight in the preceding verse; for the verb תתעגג ( tithgnanneg) which the Prophet employs, is derived from the same root as עגג ( gnoneg) which he formerly used, when he said that the Lord takes the highest delight in the true observation of the Sabbath. In a word, he means that the people take no delight in God, because they provoke him, and do not obey his will; for if we framed our life in obedience to God, we should be his delight, and, on the other hand, he would be our delight. Thus he affirms that it is owing entirely to the Jews themselves that they do not, by relying on a reconciled God, lead a cheerful and joyful life. By these words he indirectly reproaches them with bringing upon themselves, by their own fault, many calamities.
And I will cause thee to ride on the high places of the earth. By these words he promises a return to their native country, and a safe habitation in it. We know that Judea was situated on a lofty place above the neighboring countries; while the situation of Babylon was much lower, so that the people trembled as if they had been shut up in a cave. He next tells more plainly what he meant by the word ride (127) for he promises the possession of that country which had been promised and given to the fathers, (128) and which they at that time enjoyed, and of which they were afterwards deprived for a time.
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it. He added this, that they might know, beyond all controversy, that all these things were true; and this must be viewed as referring not only to those promises, but likewise to the beginning of the chapter. For he rebuked hypocrites, who thought that they were defending themselves in a just cause, and showed that they were suffering the just punishment of their sins; and that it was in vain to contend with God, and to bring forward in opposition to him their own works, which were altogether empty and worthless. On that account he brings them back to the true observation of the Sabbath, and shows that it will be well with them, if they shall worship God in a right manner. At length he concludes that they have not to deal with a mortal man, but that he who pronounces these things is God the Judge.
(127) “The word ride is borrowed from a powerful conqueror, who, riding on a horse or in a chariot, while carrying on battle, seizes mountains, hills, citadels, castles, fortifications, and subjects them to his donfinion. By ‘high places of the earth,’ he means what I have just now enumerated, lofty places difficult of ascent, on which citadels and fortresses are commonly situated, and the storming and seizing of which brings applause to the conqueror. See Deu 32:13.” Vitringa. “The whole phrase is descriptive, not of a mere return to Palestine, the highest of all lands ( Kimchi), nor of more security from enenfies by being placed beyond their reach ( Vitringa), but of conquest and triumphant possession, as in Deu 32:13, from which the expression is derived by all the later writers who employ it.” Alexander.
(128) “To eat the heritage is to enjoy it, and derive subsistence from it. Kimchi correctly says that it is called the heritage of Jacob, as distinct from that of Ishmael and Esau, although equally descended from the father of the faithful.” Alexander.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(14) I will cause thee to ride upon the high, places of the earth.Better, of the land: i.e., of Canaan, the idea being that of a victorious march to occupy all commanding positions, and thus connecting itself with the full enjoyment of the heritage of Israel in the next clause.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 58:14. Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord From the benefits consequent upon the duty, which are spiritual, we may collect the duty itself. It was enjoined in the 13th verse, to call the sabbath a delight; in return for which delight in the Lord, sincere and spiritual delight is promised. The meaning of the next promise seems to be, that God would give his church the perfect possession of the inheritance of the world; of those states and kingdoms which had hitherto opposed it; and would subject them to it in faith. See Psa 37:34. This prophesy certainly glances at the universal spread of righteousness in the latter days.
REFLECTIONS.1st, A commission is given to the prophet to remonstrate against the iniquity and hypocrisy of the people.
1. He is commanded to be earnest and bold in the discharge of his office. Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet. Sinners are dull of hearing; they need sons of thunder to spread the dire alarm of their danger; and ministers who would be faithful to their trust must be free, bold, and earnest in their reproofs, and accept no man’s person: and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins, in which, notwithstanding their pious professions, they lived; and which, distinctly and particularly, God’s ministers must charge home upon their consciences, particularly their formality, self-dependence, and hypocrisy.
2. Their pretences to religion must not impose upon him; they were but an aggravation of their guilt, and called for a sharper rebuke. Yet they seek me daily; affect to appear solicitous in the ordinances of worship; make it their constant practice to attend their devotions public and private: and delight to know my ways; in appearance, take pleasure in attending the most powerful and faithful preachers, and desire to furnish their understandings with right sentiments of religion; as a nation that did righteousness; they would fain appear righteous unto men; and forsook not the ordinance of their God, to whose favour they made a strong claim, and joined in the exercise of worship, praying, reading, singing, communicating. They ask of me the ordinances of justice; inquiring of God’s ministers, and in their prayers testifying an earnest concern to know the right way, and walk in it. They take delight in approaching to God; pleased with their own services, and either counting them meritorious in the eye of God, or expecting from them men’s esteem and admiration. Note; (1.) The most detestable character before God is the hypocrite. (2.) How far, how very far may men go, to appearance, in the way to heaven, even to be admired and envied for their gifts and piety! and yet in fact be only sacrificing to their own drag, and so much nearer the belly of hell.
2nd, Because these hypocrites had so many good things to say of themselves, they are,
1. Represented as expostulating with God for paying no more regard to them. Having a high opinion of themselves, their doings and duties, they would fain have God express the like approbation of them. Wherefore have we failed, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Note; (1.) There are those who fast and afflict their souls from a principle of pride and self-righteousness, as well as others who do it from a spirit of real humiliation. (2.) Many flatter themselves that God will reward the services which he in fact abhors. (3.) Nothing more highly exasperates those who value themselves on their own goodness, than to have the vanity of their self-dependence shown them, and the folly of their hopes detected.
2. The hypocrisy of their duties is rebuked. If God disregarded them, he had abundant cause to do so. They found pleasure and prided themselves in their fasts, as if they were more righteous than others; they exacted all their labours, rigorous and severe with their servants, and unrelenting toward their poor debtors. They fasted for strife and debate, appointing these solemn seasons to perpetuate divisions among each other, by pretending to cast the cause of their national afflictions on other’s sins, instead of their own; or making their fast-days occasions of strife and debate, when and how they should be observed; and to smite with the fists of wickedness, oppressing and ill-using their poor insolvent debtors, while they pretended to be humbling their souls for their own offences before God. Ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high, either clamorous against their debtors, or threatening their servants, or disputing with each other, or with their pompous and loud devotions affecting extra-ordinary piety: Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? the mere work of abstaining from meat for a few hours, while the heart continues utterly unhumbled and unrenewed? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush? and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Is this enough,to make a parade of the external tokens of pretended humiliation? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? can it be possible, that he should be pleased with or approve of such a farce of religious ceremony? No, God trieth the heart, hateth falsehood and hypocrisy, and will not accept the services of feigned lips. Note; To pretend a zeal for religion, and live in the indulgence of iniquity, is vile hypocrisy, and the sure way to destroy our own souls.
3. God prescribes the true nature of a religious fast. He wills that the soul should be afflicted for sin, while the body is humbled in the dust; and, as the surest proof of it, that there be a change wrought in our lives. Is not this the fast that I have chosen, to loose the bands of wickedness? in general, to break off from every known sin, from every wicked combination; to undo the heavy burdens from the poor servant, who groaned under unreasonable commands, or from the poor debtor loaded with chains, who had really nothing to pay, and to let the oppressed go free, obtaining his discharge from vexatious suits, or hard servitude, and that ye break every yoke, no more enslaving or harassing their brethren. Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry? whom want compels to many a fast, and who need the bread which in our fulness we are called to deny ourselves; and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house, those who shiver in the cold, and have no covering, or the poor refugees that suffer persecution, as the word may be rendered, for conscience-sake, and are driven from their own homes. When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; not say, Be warm, be filled; and yet give him not the things he needs, but clothe him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh, not only those near relatives who have the first claim to our bounty, but esteeming every man a brother, as of the same blood, and especially those of the houshold of faith. Note; (1.) If any man seeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? (2.) They who have the deepest sense of the divine charity of Jesus to them, will ever be the most ready to open their hearts and their hands to relieve the distresses of others.
3rdly, They who walk in the ways of grace, will ever find them paths of blessedness. We have,
1. The gracious conduct enjoined. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, abstaining from every oppression and severity towards their brethren, and labouring, as far as their influence and authority prevail, to restrain it in others; the putting forth of the finger, either as a mark of threatening or correction, or as a token of contempt and derision, and speaking vanity, hypocritical addresses to God, flattering speeches to men, or falsehood and lying, in their dealings one with another: And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, not only relieving their wants, but expressing for them the tenderest compassion, which doubly enhances the favour; and satisfy the afflicted soul, whatever be the causes of his distress, kindly affording him every assistance for his body or soul; then God will remember these works of faith and labours of love. Note; The world is full of objects of compassion; we shall not want opportunity, if we do not want a heart to do good.
2. Many and rich blessings are promised to those who thus walk in love, and live to be useful.
[1.] God will remember them in the day of affliction, and cause their light to thine. Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day; out of every trouble God would deliver them. Swiftly as the morning breaks, and pleasingly as the rising sun dispels the shadows of the night, so should their light break forth; their comfort, credit, and prosperity, shining more and more unto the perfect day; and thine health shall spring forth speedily; if they were afflicted in body or soul, the affliction should be removed. Note; They will be no losers who lend unto the Lord, by relieving his people in distress; he will repay, nay, over-pay them for their kindness.
[2.] The Lord will be their protector and guide; thy righteousness shall go before thee, as the evidence of their fidelity; and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward, or shall gather thee: as a strong body of troops, that protects the rear, and gathers up the stragglers that none be lost, so the Lord will preserve them safe in all their ways, and magnify his own glory in their salvation. The Lord shall guide thee continually, by his word, Spirit, and providences, and this continually, night and day, lest any hurt them. Note; They are happy indeed, who see the infinite merit of the Redeemer as their acceptance before God, and the glory of God engaged for their support.
[3.] All their prayers shall be heard and answered. Thou shalt call and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am, a very present help in trouble; while they are speaking, he will hear; he will be near them when affrighted they cry to him; and he is ready to do more and better for them than they are able to ask or think. Note; If we have so great, so kind a friend ever at hand, so willing, so able to help us, let us never neglect to apply to him, and then who can harm us?
[4.] God will supply all their wants, spiritual and temporal: He will satisfy thy soul in drought, when the lions lack and suffer hunger, they shall be fed; or when thirsting in this barren land for Christ, the water of life, for his grace, for his presence and Spirit, he will refresh them; and make fat thy bones, giving them plenty, or rather comforting and strengthening the souls of his people, and causing them to increase with the increase of God. And thou shalt be like a watered garden, adorned with divine graces as a garden blooming with beauty, breathing fragrance, and laden with the choicest fruits, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not, the heavenly principle of grace deeply implanted and continually springing up.
[5.] They shall be honoured as the instruments of building up the church of God; and they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places, which may refer to those of the Jews, who, on their return from Babylon, restored the cities, and especially Jerusalem, which had lain in ruins, or to those whom God will employ in the Gospel to build up the waste places of the world, as the words chareboth olam, may be rendered, the whole earth having been covered with the desolations of ignorance and sin, till by the preaching of the word the Gentiles were converted, and Christian societies established; and thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations, as when the temple was raised from its rubbish, so shall the church of Christ, in the latter days, rise beautiful and glorious, and continue to increase till the reign of Christ be universally established: and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, and the restorer of paths to dwell in; they shall be honoured by those who have been called through their ministry; the breaches which abounding iniquity had made shall be repaired, all divisions healed, and by their means the paths of truth and holiness become happily frequented.
4thly, A serious and conscientious observance of the sabbath-day, is one of the best evidences and surest means of having the heart devoted to God.
1. The sanctification of this day is described. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from trampling upon it, by profane neglect, making it a day of travelling, idleness, or visiting; from doing thy pleasure on my holy-day, not making it a day of vain amusements, or spending it in those recreations which at another season may be lawful; and call the sabbath a delight, welcoming its return with gladness, counting these sacred hours the happiest portions of our time, and spending them with joy in his blessed service of prayer, praise, meditation, godly conversation, &c. the holy of the Lord, respecting its divine institution; and honourable, employing ourselves in it, as may most conduce to advance the honour and glory of God; and shalt honour him who appointed this day of rest, not doing thine own ways in any secular business or the work of common days; nor finding thine own pleasure, turning it into a day of sauntering, diversion, or vanity; nor speaking thine own words, the thoughts of this world, and the cares of it should be banished from our minds, and all our conversation be employed about the things of God, and how we may secure to ourselves a part in his eternal rest.
2. The benefit of such an improvement of the Lord’s day will be great; for, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; abundant consolation will be the blessed fruit; and clearer discoveries of the riches of the grace and love of Christ be made to the soul; so that by experience we shall say, One day in thy courts is better than a thousand; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, in safety from every enemy, exalted to honour; or, spiritually, to live above the earth, and have our conversation in heaven, enjoying the comfort and dignity of being sons of God: and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father, with all the blessings of the covenant of promise, and the foretastes of eternal bliss, more precious than the richest provision of Canaan, the heritage of Israel: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it, and therefore we may confidently trust him, for he will never disappoint the hopes of those who perseveringly place their dependence upon him. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but his word shall never pass away until the whole be fulfilled.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
MY soul! listen to the call of God, by the Prophet, for he it is that speaks in his word, and by his word; and let a conscious sense of sin lead thee to seek salvation by Christ. And see to it, my soul, that while using all the means of grace, and following every sacred ordinance of the Lord’s appointment, with diligence, under the divine blessing, thou place no stress upon the means, to the forgetting of the end. For what are all ordinances, unless the God of ordinances be found and enjoyed in them? So that if, like Israel of old, thou shouldest draw nigh to God with thy mouth, and honour him with thy lips, while thine heart is far from him; will not this be to prevent the very design of everything that is sacred; and, instead of bringing thine heart to God, to lead thy heart from God? No, my soul! beg of God for grace, that thy fasts and thy poor services may be first seasoned by the Holy Spirit, and that the glory of God in Jesus Christ may be the grand object of pursuit and desire in every one. Oh! for grace to know these things, and to live in the heart-felt affection for them; for then, Jesus’s righteousness will go before thee, and the glory of the Lord will be thy rereward.
And, my soul! see to it also, that what the Prophet hath so graciously marked of divine promises be in thy experience. The Lord will guide continually, it is said. He will satisfy thy soul in drought. He will make fat thy bones. Precious, precious Lord Jesus! be thou my portion, and, sure I am, I shall be well guided, well satisfied, and well fed, with the fatness of redemption. Yea, Lord, I shall be as a well watered garden, whose waters fail not. For thou art the Repairer of the breaches of our poor fallen nature, and the Restorer of paths to dwell in.
And, Lord! help me to reverence thy sabbaths, to delight in, to love, and to esteem them, above all seasons; that, with one of old, I may say, and feel the full blessedness of the expressions, while I say it, One day in thy courts is better than a thousand. Yea, my ever blessed Lord Jesus, be thou thyself my sabbaths; for being thyself my sabbaths, my rest, my joy, and sole delight, upon earth, thou wilt be my heaven of sabbaths in the life to come. Amen.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it].
Ver. 14. Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord. ] Find such inexplicable sweetness in communion with God, use of his heart ravishing ordinances, meditation on his word and works, especially that of our redemption, as far far exceedeth all the dirty delights of profane sensualists and Sabbath breakers. Job 27:10 Pro 14:10
And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth.
And feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father,
For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
delight thyself = revel.
cause thee to ride, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 32:13; Deu 33:29).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
delight: Job 22:26, Job 27:10, Job 34:9, Psa 36:8, Psa 37:4, Psa 37:11, Hab 3:18, Phi 4:4, 1Pe 1:8
to ride: Isa 33:16, Deu 32:13, Deu 33:29, Hab 3:19
and feed: Isa 1:19, Psa 105:9-11, Psa 135:12, Psa 136:21, Jer 3:19
the mouth: Isa 1:20, Isa 40:5, Mic 4:4, Mat 24:35
Reciprocal: Gen 2:3 – blessed Exo 16:29 – hath given Exo 31:14 – keep 2Sa 22:34 – setteth Neh 10:31 – the people Psa 37:9 – inherit Psa 59:9 – defence Psa 92:1 – for Psa 119:35 – therein Isa 54:17 – the heritage Jer 17:24 – but hallow Eze 36:2 – even Eze 44:24 – and they shall hallow Luk 23:56 – rested
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 58:14. Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord This refers to the preceding verse, as if he had said, If thou wilt delight thyself in the sabbath, then thou shalt delight in the God of the sabbath, namely, in his goodness and faithfulness to thee, and in the assurance of his love and favour. I will cause thee to ride, &c. Thou shalt be above the reach of danger. And feed thee with the heritage of Jacob Thou shalt enjoy the good of the land of Canaan, which God promised as a heritage to Jacob and his seed, Gen 35:12. Or, figuratively understood, thou shalt enjoy temporal as well as spiritual blessings. The Lord will withhold from thee no manner of thing which he sees to be for thy prosperity and happiness. For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it The promise is sure, and shall infallibly be fulfilled, having proceeded from the mouth of him who cannot lie.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Turning from a false approach to the Sabbath, and all the Law, would mean turning to the Lord with the proper attitude of delight. Then the Israelites would experience the exaltation of being His partners and would enjoy the inheritance promised to their all-too-human ancestor Jacob (cf. Isa 58:1). If they would give themselves to God and others rather than pursuing selfish goals, they would experience personal and national fulfillment and receive His rewards. This was a promise from the mouth of Yahweh.