Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 60:13
The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
13. Forest trees from Lebanon shall be brought for the adornment of the Temple. It is difficult to say whether the reference be to building materials for the sacred edifice, or to ornamental trees planted in the Temple-courts. The former view, though less poetic, is more probable; and it is certainly unfair to cite the proverbial expressions of Isa 60:17 as an argument against it.
the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together ] See ch. Isa 41:19.
the place of my sanctuary ] is the Temple (Jer 17:12), not the city of Jerusalem, as the place where the Temple is situated.
the place of my feet ] Cf. Eze 43:7 (“the place of the soles of my feet”).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The glory of Lebanon – The glory of Lebanon, here means the trees that grew on Lebanon (see the notes at Isa 35:2).
Shall come unto thee – That is, thy beauty and glory will be as great as if those valuable trees were brought and planted around the temple.
The fir-tree – (See the notes at Isa 41:19; Isa 55:13).
The box – (See also the notes at Isa 41:19).
To beautify the place of my sanctuary – The site of the temple, as if they were planted around it, and as if the magnificence of Lebanon was transferred there at once. The idea is, that the most valuable and glorious objects in distant nations would be consecrated to the service of the true God.
And I will make the place of my feet glorious – Lowth renders this, I will glorify the place whereon I rest my feet; and he supposes thai the ark is meant as the place on which God rested his feet as a footstool. In support of this, he appeals to Psa 99:5, Worship at his footstool; and 1Ch 28:2. So Rosenmuller understands it, and appeals further to Psa 132:7. Doubtless the main idea is, that the temple was regarded as the sacred dwelling-place of God – and that he means to say, that every place in his temple, even where, to keep up the figure, he rested his feet when he sat on the throne, would be filled with magnificence and glory.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 60:13
The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee
Trees employed in the service of the Church
It is difficult to say whether the reference he to building materials for the sacred edifice, or to ornamental trees planted in the temple-courts.
(Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
Variety in unity
Variety of instrumentality and operation subordinate to unity of purpose is a striking feature in all the works of God. This law provides for beauty as well as use. The text teaches us that the method by which God works in nature is also the method by which He works in grace–that the law of variety in unity is the law according to which Heconsolidates and extends His kingdom among mankind. The allusion and the doctrine are equally clear. The allusion is to the various trees of Lebanon employed by Solomon for utility and beauty in the erection of the temple in Jerusalem. Varying in size, and quality, and appearance of wood, they were all deemed necessary for the purpose of beautifying the place, that was to be made more beautiful and glorious still by the majesty and grace of the indwelling God. The doctrine is that, in like manner, various agencies–men of different periods and nations, men of different positions, talents, and attainments, men of opposite creeds and mental tastes–are used by God in the erection and adornment of that spiritual temple which He makes His special abode, the magnificence and glory of which, outliving the desolations of time, shall shine to His praise through the ages of eternity. (W. Waiters.)
Diverse agencies in the Church
I. THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF THIS DOCTRINE ARE MANIFOLD.
1. The first I notice is that which is supplied us in the structure of the Bible. To a superficial observer the Bible seems a collection of small books bound together without any connecting-link. But if we come to study this collection of books carefully, we shall see, underlying all diversities, a unity which indicates that all have been originated and guided by one supreme mind.
2. Certain periods require certain orders of men and certain gifts, not necessary at other times.
3. Further, the peculiar qualities of various races and tribes serve to extend the truth of God, and promote the growth and perfection of His Church. Christianity does not recognize nationalities as such Jew and Gentile,
Greek and Barbarian, European and African, American and Asiatic,–all are one in Christ Jesus. Still, God sanctifies all national characteristics to His gracious purpose of making Christianity universally triumphant. Jewish reverence, Grecian intelligence and taste, Roman courage and honour, Scandinavian enterprise, the practical energy of the Anglo-Saxon, the speculative inquiry and patient toil of the German, the Frenchmans brilliant vivacity and grace, the Italians glowing imagination, the ardent negro, and the Oriental full of subtlety and disputation–all are wrought by the Master-Builder into the strength and beauty of the structure He is rearing to His honour.
4. Nor can denominational distinctions be regarded as altogether an evil; for God makes them all subserve the complete manifestation of His many-sided Gospel, and the wider extension of His kingdom.
5. Original differences of mental constitution and temperament have also their place and function. There arc diversities of gifts, yet there is the same Spirit; there are differences of administrations, yet there is the same Lord; there arc diversities of operations, yet it is the same God which worketh all in all.
II. PRACTICAL REMARKS.
1. We may be sure that where God has designed and qualified men for work in His Church He will prepare the way for their usefulness.
2. Every man should try to find his true position, and prove faithful in it.
3. The subject affords encouragement to the feeblest of the Lords servants. All have their place and use.
4. Are we not reminded of the duty of charity towards all engaged the work of the Lord? Too often the diversities of Christian men are occasions for jealous; let and strife. If we are Christians, we are all plants of Gods right hand planting; let us be content to bloom after our kind, and rejoice in that we all contribute something to the glory of the Masters garden. (W. Waiters.)
I will make the place of My feet glorious
The place of My feet
I. THE SCENE OF THIS SPECIAL DIVINE GLORY. The place of My feet. The sacred writers speak of Gods feet as indicating His personal presence. The place of Gods feet, or His footstool, was, in ancient times, the temple at Jerusalem. The allusion of the language is to a royal throne. Jehovah is conceived of as the King of Israel, the King of kings, whose throne is in heaven, but His footstool in the earthly temple; and thither the Israelites as His true subjects were required to repair, to render homage to their great King, and bend lowly before His footstool. All this was, in turn, a figure of the better things reserved for us. The Jewish particularity has been broadened out into the compass of the great household of faith, whose sons and daughters are drawn from all the earths kindreds, and peoples, and tongues. The true Church, composed of all believers of whatever name or nation, is Gods temple–the place of His feet I In a real and important sense the wide earth, and the whole material creation, is His footstool, marked everywhere by the broad footprints of the Creator revealing His eternal power and Godhead. The signs of Providence reveal the movements of a present and ever-working God, exercising wise, and righteous, and benignant control over His creatures.
II. THE GLORY OF THE SCENE. It was the glory of Eden that there God talked with man face to face. So it is the glory of heaven that there He replenishes His saints with the joys of His eternal fellowship. It was the glory of Sinai that there He displayed His grandeur and proclaimed His law; and of Tabor and Calvary that there He unfolded His hidden majesty, and the fulness of His mercy. And it is the glory of the Church that it is distinguished by the clearest manifestations of the Divine presence and grace. What are these manifestations? God makes the place of His feet glorious–
1. By the worship that is there rendered and accepted.
2. By the spiritual glory that is there created. The glory of Lebanon, etc. The glory of the Church lies in the possession and exercise of the grandest and noblest moral principles–those that are most assimilated to the Divine nature. The true purpose of the Church, the final end of its warfare, is to be a living witness to mankind of these moral principles, to be an embodied protest against all the money-worship and pleasure-worship, and therefore worship of the world; to be a revelation to man of higher interests and blessings, and a Diviner greatness. It is when she is most distinctly Godlike and Christlike that men fall down and confess that God is in her of a truth. The glory of the Lord is then risen upon her.
3. By attracting immense and various multitudes from all quarters of the globe to His Church. Though numbers be not the chief, they are a real element of glory.
4. By the blessedness there conferred. All the elements of the Churchs glory hitherto enumerated are elements of blessedness; but there are other special sources of that blessedness.
(1) There is the blessedness of inviolable security. The greatest earthly monarchy has no power to protect itself against assault, against even successful assault. It is the glory of Gods house that it is safe. It is founded on a rock, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.
(2) The absolute and unspeakable splendour of the Church–the splendour of her purity–the splendour of her joy. (J. Riddell.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. And I will make the place of my feet glorious – “And that I may glorify the place whereon I rest my feet”] The temple of Jerusalem was called the house of God, and the place of his rest or residence. The visible symbolical appearance of God, called by the Jews the schechinah, was in the most holy place, between the wings of the cherubim, above the ark. This is considered as the throne of God, presiding as King over the Jewish state; and as a footstool is a necessary appendage to a throne, (See Clarke on Isa 52:2,) the ark is considered as the footstool of God, and is so called, Ps 99:6; 1Ch 28:2.
The glory of Lebanon] That is, the cedar.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The glory of Lebanon; the box, the fir, the pine, and the cedar, on account whereof Lebanon grew so famous; a metonymy of the efficient: kings and great ones, the glory of the world, and also persons of a lower rank, the
pines, firs, and box trees, as also the choicest persons, endued with the special gifts of the Holy Ghost, shall be the materials and members of Christs church, as those also of a lower size and measure. We find the godly called trees, Isa 61:3. They shall have sweet communion together; the box shall not envy the pine, nor the pine despise the box, they shall worship the Lord together.
To beautify: this is the reason and end why the glory of Lebanon is to be brought hither: by these trees understand the beauty and nobility of the church; trees being both for building and for beautifying.
The place of my sanctuary; the temple, wherein was the sanctuary; this being a type of the church, both actively, as that which his presence sanctifieth; and passively, as that wherein he is worshipped and sanctified.
The place of my feet, viz. the ark, 1Ch 28:2, described here by a periphrasis; so called, because, supposing God after the manner of man to sit as on a seat between the wings of the cherubims, his feet would rest upon the ark, and therefore called the mercy-seat, Exo 25:17-20. The temple and Zion is called his rest, Psa 132:13,14, and all this is made good in the gospel church, 2Co 6:16.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. glorythat is, the treeswhich adorned Lebanon; emblem of men eminent in natural gifts,devoting all that is in them to the God of Israel (Hos 14:5;Hos 14:6).
fir . . . pine . . .boxrather, “the cypress . . . ilex . . . cedar.”
place of mysanctuaryJerusalem (Jer3:17).
place of my feetnolonger the ark (Jer 3:16),”the footstool” of Jehovah (Psa 99:5;Psa 132:7; 1Ch 28:2);but “the place of His throne, the place of the soles of Hisfeet, where He will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever,” in the new temple (Eze43:7).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee,…. Which are the trees that grew upon it, especially the cedars, for which it was famous, as well as the other trees after mentioned. Now, as these were brought into Solomon’s temple, and used in the building of that, 1Ki 6:9, so such shall come of themselves, willingly and cheerfully, being drawn with the cords of love, into the church of Christ, comparable to the tall and strong cedars of Lebanon, and other trees, being eminent for their gifts and graces, and strong in the exercise of them; the more feeble among them being as the house of David, and that as the Angel of the Lord; and being durable, constant, and immovable in the work of the Lord; pillars in his house that shall never go out; ever green and flourishing; never wither in their profession, and always fruitful in every good word and work; of a good smell in the exercise of grace; of savoury conversations, and of a good report in the world; see Ps 107:12:
the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together; which may denote persons of different ranks and sizes, both as to worldly and spiritual affairs; and yet will all agree to come together to the church, and will unite in the service and worship of God in it, and be a real glory to it; see Isa 41:19:
to beautify the place of my sanctuary; the church, so called in allusion to the tabernacle and temple; and thus the Targum here,
“the place of the house of my sanctuary;”
where the holy God dwells; and which is sanctified by him, and where he is sanctified, and worshipped in a holy and spiritual manner; and which will be beautified in the latter day, when the saints that will come into the church will put on by faith more manifestly the beautiful garments of Christ’s righteousness; and be more visibly adorned with the graces of his Spirit, which will shine like so many brilliant diamonds and sparkling gems; and will appear in the beauties of a holy conversation; walk in brotherly love with each other, and unite in sentiments of doctrine, and in acts of Gospel worship; and when the Gospel shall be purely and powerfully preached; the ordinances administered as they were in the times of Christ and his apostles; and Gospel discipline in all its branches restored:
and I will make the place of my feet glorious; alluding to the ark under the mercy seat, over which were the cherubim, and between which Jehovah dwelt, hence called his footstool, 1Ch 28:2, denoting that the church is the place where the Lord grants his presence through Christ, the antitype of the mercy seat and ark; and which is the seat of his rest and residence; where he takes his walks, and where his footsteps of rich grace are seen; where his lower parts, his feet, his works, and acts of grace, are beheld; where he favours with communion with himself; where his power and glory are observed, and his beauty is upon his people; where they see the King in his beauty, and all which will be more manifestly enjoyed in the latter day, and make his church very glorious indeed.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
From the thought that everything great in the world of man is to be made to serve the Holy One and His church, the prophet passes to what is great in the world of nature. “The glory of Lebanon will come to thee, cypresses, plane-trees and Sherbin-trees all together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and to make the place of my feet glorious.” The splendid cedars, which are the glory of Lebanon, and in fact the finest trees of all kinds, will be brought to Zion, not as trunks felled to be used as building materials, but dug up with their roots, to ornament the holy place of the temple (Jer 17:12), and also to this end, that Jehovah may glorify the “holy place of His feet,” i.e., the place where He, who towers above the heaven of all heavens, has as it were to place His feet. The temple is frequently called His footstool ( hadom raglaiv ), with especial reference to the ark of the covenant (Psa 99:5; Psa 132:7; Lam 2:1; 1Ch 28:2) as being the central point of the earthly presence of God (cf., Isa 66:1). The trees, that is to say, which tower in regal glory above all the rest of the vegetable world, are to adorn the environs of the temple, so that avenues of cedars and plane-trees lead into it; a proof that there is no more fear of any further falling away to idolatry. On the names of the trees, see Isa 41:19. Three kinds are mentioned here; we found seven there. The words are repeated verbatim from Isa 41:19.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
13. The glory of Lebanon. Isaiah again employs the metaphor which he formerly used, when he compared the Church of God to a building or a city. He enumerates those things which were necessary for building, such as “the fir-tree, the pine, and the box-tree,” which grew in Lebanon, a forest abounding, as we know, in excellent trees.
For the beauty of the place of my holiness. He means that all that is excellent and beautiful in Lebanon shall be carried into the Church. But it must be believed that these figures contain an emblematical reference to the spiritual worship of God; for the Lord adorns his Church with the title of a sanctuary, because he dwells in the midst of it. Yet he always alludes to the temple, so as to accommodate himself to the time and to ordinary custom. Thus he holds out to us the pattern of the temple which stood at Jerusalem, that under the image of it we may contemplate the “spiritual temple,” (Eph 2:21) of which we are the “living stones” and the living substance. (1Pe 2:5)
For I will glorify the place of my feet. By “the place of his feet,” he means that he dwells in the temple in such a manner that his majesty is not confined within it, (for he is not limited to so narrow a place;) and therefore his feet only, what may be called the smallest part, is there, that we may ascend to heaven, and not fix our whole attention on those outward signs by which we are instructed according to our capacity. Thus also in the Psalm,
“
Worship the footstool of his feet, for it is holy.” (Psa 99:5)
And again,
“
We will worship in the place where his feet stood.” (Psa 132:7)
Not that God’s essence is divided into parts above and below, (158) but because by such means he lifts up his servants, as it were, from the feet to the head.
(158) “ L’une au ciel, l’autre en terre.” “One in heaven, another on earth.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE PLACE OF GODS FEET GLORIOUS
Isa. 60:13. I will make the place of My feet glorious.
These promises, while serving the purpose of sustaining the heart of Gods faithful people throughout their dismal captivity, took a far grander range than their restoration and revival, &c.
I. THE SCENE OF THIS SPECIAL DIVINE GLORY. The place of My feet. This is the language of figure, but plain and intelligible. God has no bodily parts, yet the sacred writers speak of His eye, &c., as indicating His personal presence. Such language deceives no one, and it gives a lively representation of the actual spiritual fact. The place of Gods feet, or His footstool, was in ancient times the temple (1Ch. 28:2). This was His rest, where He had chosen to put His name, where in a special sense Jehovah dwelt between the Cherubim over the mercy-seat. The allusion is to a royal throne. Gods throne is in heaven, but His footstool in the earthly temple whither His subjects repair. It was for Israel the place of reception, of communion, and of worship. And all this was in turn a figure of the better things reserved for us. No place of worship on earth may claim to be, in preference to others, the footstool of Jehovah. The true Church, composed of all believers of whatever name or nation, is Gods temple, the place of His feet. It is no particular altar or edifice; it is the living stones. In a real sense the wide earth is His footstool, marked by the footprints of His glory; but it is in the new creation that he has given the most perfect manifestation of His glory.
II. THE GLORY OF THE SCENE. It was the glory of Eden that God talked there with man, and it is the glory of the Church that it has the clearest manifestations of His presence and grace.
1. The worship there rendered and accepted.
2. The glory that is there created (Isa. 60:13). Many can see no glory in the Church. They admire the beauty of the palace, the splendour of a mighty monarchy, but conclude that the Church has no glory. This is not to be wondered at: they see only what they have the power of seeingthey have no spiritual discernment. The true purpose of the Church is to be a living witness, an embodied protest against money-worship, &c. Her grandest glory consists in the image of Christ: she is the true home of holiness.
3. The multitudes attracted to her. The Gospel is for the world, and the Church is the light-bearer. In proportion as she is healthy will she bestir herself in this great service of humanity, and commend the Gospel by her own high-toned character (Isa. 60:1-2). The nations come to her in procession (Isa. 60:8-9). This is a spiritual movement, the approach of souls, the submission of hearts to Christ, and much of it is already fact.
4. The blessedness there conferredthe blessedness of inviolable security (Isa. 60:12; Isa. 60:18). A nation not in alliance with God has a canker eating at the heart of its power. What vitality the Church has shown! How vainly the powers of earth have conspired to trample her down! What is the ground of this security? Not her own strength but Gods salvation. Hers is the glory of purity. Let the world see that the Church is what she claims to bea society unselfish and benevolent. As she is holy she will be joyful. She has forsaken the pleasures of sin, and unless she has the joy of salvation, she has no comfort of any kind. Let us partake of the true joy, and we will walk in the light of Gods face; and that joy will prove a grand attraction to the nations of the world, and reveal to them a blessedness which the world cannot bestow.John Riddell Moffat: Discourses, pp. 222241.
Isa. 60:14. I. The sorrows of Zion. Afflicted. Despised. II. Their relief. By the subjection of her foes. By the acknowledgment of her claims. By the presence and favour of God.
Isa. 60:15-22. The happy condition of Zion. I. Temporal blessings. Once forsaken and despised, now held in universal honour. All the advantages of commerce, civilisation, and wealth. Just governmentpeace and protection. II. Spiritual blessings. Knowledge of God and Christ. Salvation. Divine light and comfort. Universal righteousness. Permanent increase.
Isa. 60:15-16. I. The desolations of Zion. II. Her restoration. III. Prosperity. IV. Acknowledgment of God.
Isa. 60:16-17. Iron. I. All things must be laid under contribution for the accomplishment of the Divine purpose in His Church. All the achievements of the human mind. All the conveniences of wealth and civilisation. All the influence of human power. II. In the subjection and sanctification of human resources God develops His own character in relation to His Church. As Saviour, Redeemer, the Might One of Jacob.
Isa. 60:17-18. The exaltation of the Church secures the best interests of a nation. I. Social peace and order. II. Honesty and integrity in the transactions of business and commerce. III. Protection from violence within and foes without. IV. Happiness in the blessings of salvation, and the spirit of praise.J. Lyth, D.D.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(13) The glory of Lebanon . . .The prophet sees in the new Jerusalem a revival of the glories of the days of Solomon. The cedars of Lebanon, and other trees of the forest, are to furnish timber for its buildings, or even to be planted in the courts of the Temple, or in its open places and streets (Psa. 52:8; Psa. 92:12-13; Isa. 35:2).
The box is probably, as in Isa. 41:19, a species of cedar.
The place of my feet is clearly parallel with the sanctuary of the previous clause. So the word footstool is used of the Temple in Psa. 99:5; Psa. 132:7.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. The glory of Lebanon The whole of it, here specified in its trees, shall be employed to beautify thee: as it did so, literally, in Zion’s temple under Solomon, so shall it in the exalted figurative and spiritual senses.
The place of my feet See Eze 43:7; 1Ch 27:2. The ark of the covenant is God’s footstool. In Isa 66:1, the whole earth is so named.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘The glory of Lebanon will come to you,
The fir tree, the pine and the box tree together,
To beautify the place of my sanctuary (‘my place of holiness’),
And I will make the place of my feet glorious.
The point here is that just as Solomon’s Temple was built from the trees of Lebanon so will it be again. But this time the providers will come gladly because of their love for Yahweh. There will be no charge for the supply here, and they will provide the very finest. The desire of all will be to make God’s dwellingplace beautiful and glorious, for it is His holy place, the place where He puts His feet (His footstool). It is His place of contact with man (compare Psa 99:1; Psa 132:7; Isa 66:1; Lam 2:1).
This may partly be seen as partly fulfilled in the building of the Second Temple and of Herod’s Temple in all their glory, for both of which timber flowed in from the Lebanon making the place of His Sanctuary beautiful (see Ezr 3:7), but it goes on to express the idea of the Temple of His people, built up of all that is precious (1Co 3:10-16) and the final idea lies in the Sanctuary of the heavenly kingdom which will be blessed in the wholehearted worship of His people, founded on the Apostles and prophets, and built up from His people (Eph 2:12-22; Revelation 21). There will be no Temple there for YHWH Himself will be its Temple (Rev 21:22). It will, however, be His sanctuary, the place of His holiness..
The trees are not strictly identifiable although the general idea of what they were is known. They were the trees of Palestine and Lebanon, not of Babylon.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Happiness Attending the Glorification of the Messiah
v. 13. The glory of Lebanon, v. 14. The sons also of them that afflicted thee, v. 15. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, v. 16. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, v. 17. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood, brass, and for stones, iron, v. 18. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, v. 19. The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee, v. 20. Thy Sun, v. 21. Thy people also shall be all righteous, v. 22. A little one,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
DISCOURSE: 1001
EXCELLENCY OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
Isa 60:13.The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee; the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary: and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
WHILST we admire, as of necessity we must, the richness and diversity of the imagery which is employed to depict the beauty of the Christian Church, we must be careful to seize the truths which are so exhibited: for in this the sublime descriptions of the prophets differ materially from the poetic flights of other authors; they declare what actually exists; whereas the poetical representations of uninspired men are for the most part either mere fictions, or truth rendered fictitious by the high colouring that is given to it. The description here given of the glory of the latter day is exceeding grand. The whole creation, rational and irrational, animate and inanimate, contribute to it according to their several ability. Not men only, but even flocks and herds, are spoken of as coming voluntarily to consecrate themselves to the Lord; and in my text, the woods of Lebanon yield their produce, to adorn the Church, and to glorify their God.
The particular expressions in my text lead me to set before you,
I.
The constitution of the Church of Christ
From Lebanon the wood was brought for the erection of Solomons temple [Note: 2Ch 2:16.]: and all the glory of Lebanon shall be brought to our Zion also, to build an habitation for our incarnate God. By the fir-tree and the pine, I understand the great and mighty of the earth; whilst the box represents the poor and humble, whether in respect of civil rank, or intellectual capacity. Both the one and the other of these shall be employed as constituent parts of Gods spiritual temple. For each a suitable place shall be found, and for each an appropriate use.
The high and mighty shall be brought on a level with the lowest
[Christianity does not at all interfere with distinctions in civil life: they are the appointment of God himself; and are necessary to the well-being of mankind. But in a spiritual view, the greatest monarch upon earth must be brought on a level with the meanest of his subjects. The axe must be laid to the root of all his pride and self-sufficiency, and he must be felled by the operation of the word and Spirit of God. Every man is a sinner before God; every man must be made to feel and acknowledge his guilt; every man must seek for mercy through the blood and righteousness of that Divine Saviour who died for him. Every man must live altogether in a state of dependence upon God, not merely as a God of providence, but especially as a God of grace; and must receive continually fresh supplies of grace and strength out of the fulness that is treasured up for him in Christ. This is not the work of the poor only, but of the rich also: the most learned philosopher must in this respect feel himself on a par with the most illiterate of the human race. All must equally be taught of God; and all be saved equally by grace through faith in Christ.]
The poor, on the contrary, are raised to an equality with the highest
[There is not a blessing which the poorest may not obtain, to the full extent that it can be enjoyed by the rich and great. The Apostles themselves were not selected from the higher or more intelligent classes, but from the lowest walks of life. A few poor fishermen were raised up to be the teachers of the whole world. And if it be thought that this was a peculiar case, and that the poor by reason of their disadvantages are greatly inferior to the rich, I must say, that, for the most part, the very reverse of this is true; and that God yet daily, in ten thousand instances, reveals to babes the things which he has hid from the wise and prudent [Note: Mat 11:25.]. The very circumstance of the poor having so little in this world lends them more simply to depend on God; and their conscious want of human knowledge leads them to implore more humbly and more earnestly the teaching of Gods Spirit: and hence by coming to God hungry, they are filled with good things, whilst the rich are sent empty away [Note: Luk 1:53.]. Thus does God still take the beggar from the dunghill, to set him among the princes [Note: 1Sa 2:8.]: and it is still daily seen, that the box occupies a place in the Church of God which the loftiest cedar in Lebanon might envy.
That this is the constitution of the Church of Christ, is not left to be inferred from the figurative language of my text: it is expressly stated by St. James, who save, Let the brother of law degree rejoice, in that he is exalted; but the rich, in that he is made low [Note: Jam 1:9-10.]. Here, I say, the whole of what I have asserted is stated plainly, and without a figure.]
I now proceed to notice,
II.
The excellence of that constitution
In our text, this particular constitution is set forth,
1.
As ornamental to the Church itself
[Let any one view the Church as so constituted. Let the loftiest firs and pines be viewed in union with the humble box; the kings and princes of the earth assembled at the footstool of the Divine Majesty in concert with the lowliest classes of mankind: all there are bowing their knees together before their common Lord and Master: the same confessions, how humiliating soever they may be, proceed equally from the lips of all: the same petitions for grace, for mercy, for peace, for strength, are urged by all, with equal and united importunity: the same devout acknowledgments are poured forth by all for blessings received: the word delivered to them all is pronounced with the some authority, and entire submission to it required from them all under the same awful sanctions: the same invitations and promises are held forth to all: and the same glorious inheritance assured to all who receive and obey the word. View them all as then sitting down together at the table of the Lord, as guests equally invited; and equally accepted, by the great Master of the feast; all eating of the same bread; all drinking of the same cup; and all receiving into their souls the same heavenly communications; and all returning to their homes refreshed and strengthened for their future labours. Say, is not this lovely? Is it not a very emblem of heaven itself, where a poor Lazarus, whose very sores the dogs but lately licked, because he had not a friend to bind them up, now sits down with all the Prophets and Apostles of the Lord at the heavenly banquet, his head reclined in the very bosom of Abraham himself? Yes; thus it is in the Church below: The rich and the poor meet together; and the Lord is the Maker of them all, the Father of them all, the portion of them all [Note: Pro 29:13.]. Amongst them all, there is no room either for contempt or envy; the honour and the happiness of all being wholly independent on worldly circumstances, and dependent only on the access to God which each obtains for himself, and the consequent manifestations of Gods love which he is privileged to enjoy. Their degree of usefulness to the Church may indeed be affected by the situations which they severally occupy in civil life, and the qualifications with which they are endowed: but, as in the natural body, so in Christs mystical body, though one member may have a higher office than another, none can dispense with the services of the rest: the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you; nor can the head say to the feet, I hare no need of you. Every member has its proper place, and its proper office: and, if one were wanting, the whole body would be defective, and deformed. But in Christs body not one member is wanting: every place is occupied; God having assigned to every member the situation adapted for it: and in the perfect adaptation of each to its proper ends, and the harmonious exercise of all for the general good, the beauty of the whole consists [Note: See 1Co 12:12-22.]. In truth, it is for the beautifying of the place of Gods sanctuary that this assemblage of the high and low, the pine and the box, is ordained: and we cannot but acknowledge, that in this view Zion is beautiful for situation, and the joy of the whole earth [Note: Psa 48:1-2.].]
2.
As honourable to God
[To this point God himself calls our particular attention. I will plant, says he, in the wilderness, the cedar, the shittah-tree, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the fir-tree, and the pine, and the box-tree together; that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it [Note: Isa 41:19-20.]. Now why, I would ask, does he lay such peculiar stress upon this, but because it reflects peculiar lustre on his character, and displays in a most endearing point of view his glorious perfections? Truly this does make the place of his feet glorious; because it shews, that, whilst he is Lord of all, he is equally rich in mercy to all who call upon him [Note: Rom 10:12.]. In his regards, there is no difference between one and another: there is neither Jew nor Greek, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ, that is, the image of Christ upon the soul, is all, and in all [Note: Col 3:11.].
Let us suppose for a moment that there were the same kind of partiality in him as he complains of in many of his professing people: If there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool; are ye not then partial in yourselves, and become judges who reason ill [Note: Jam 2:2-4.]? I say, let us suppose such a partiality in God; and how unamiable would he appear! But there is no such respect of persons with him [Note: Act 10:34.]: the humblest shrub in all the woods of Lebanon is as dear to him as the loftiest cedar there: yea, the weaker they are in themselves, the more tenderly he watches over them for good, that he may display in them the excellency of his own power [Note: 2Co 4:7.], and perfect his own strength in their weakness [Note: 2Co 12:9.]. Even the least and meanest of them all he regards as trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord; and in them he is, and will be, glorified [Note: Isa 61:3].
In this then God acts altogether worthy of himself, and shews, that, as he is the Maker of all, so is he the Father, and the Friend of all.]
Application
Such being the constitution of the Church,
1.
Let us all seek to become members of it
[Are there here any of the higher orders? I would say, give yourselves to the Lord, to serve him with your whole hearts. This is what you must do, if ever you would be happy; for in the very words before my text you are told, that the kingdom and nation that will not serve his Church shall perish. Do not imagine that your elevation among men can procure for you any exemption from your duty to God; your distinctions only render your way to heaven more difficult. For persons elevated in society to be humbled and brought upon a level with the poorest of mankind, is no easy matter: but it must be done O beg of God to accomplish it for you, by the mighty working of his power!
To you who are of the lower classes I would say, Rejoice, that whilst your fellow-creatures perhaps are ready to despite you on account of the disadvantages under which you labour, God loves you, and made it a distinguishing feature of the Messiahs kingdom, that the poor should have the Gospel preached to them [Note: Mat 11:5.]. Whatever the rich may imagine, you of the two are more favoured of God than they: for whilst it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven, God has chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of his kingdom [Note: Jam 2:5.]. Labour then to secure this privilege: and, though you have none of the external recommendations of the pine and fir, you need not fear but that God will accept your services, and make you pillars in his temple that shall go no more out [Note: Rev 3:12.].]
2.
Let us all endeavour to promote the establishment of it in the world
[Low as the state of the Church at present is, it shall one day, like the stone which Nebuchadnezzar saw, become a mountain, and fill the whole earth [Note: Dan 2:35.]. The mountain of the Lords house shall be established on the top of the mountains; and all nations shall flow unto it [Note: Isa 2:2.]. The stateliest trees shall then be as ambitious of contributing to its glory, as those of the humblest growth. Let us then, in an assured prospect of that day, send forth workmen to Lebanon, to fell the lofty firs, and to bring in the humble box [Note: If this were the subject of a Mission Sermon, the thought of heathens and savages in every quarter of the world flocking to Christ, as doves to their windows, (ver. 8.) might here he opened to advantage.] So shall the sanctuary of God be enlarged and beautified, and his name be glorified throughout all the earth.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
In what lofty language, of the most blessed import, and under what gracious similitudes, doth the Lord speak of the glories and happiness of the Church! But let the Reader carefully remember, that it is all in Jesus. Without an eye to him, none of these things could be said.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 60:13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
Ver. 13. The glory of Lebanon. ] The best cedars there, in allusion to the building of the material temple by Solomon, and afterwards by Ezra; q.d., Whatsoever is good in the world, either in understanding, virtue, or doctrine, shall be sanctified and employed for the building up of the Church.
The fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree.
And I will make the place of my feet glorious,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the. Some codices, with one early printed edition, Septuagint, and Vulgate, read “and the”.
the place of My feet: i.e. the Temple. Compare Isa 35:2. Psa 99:5; Psa 132:7. Figure of speech Periphrasis.
feet. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
The glory: That is, the cedar; and as the choice timber of Lebanon beautified Solomon’s temple, that footstool of Jehovah; so shall the peculiar advantages of every nation, and of every description of men, concur to beautify the church of Christ, which He has determined to make glorious. The language then becomes more energetic, and the images employed more grand and magnificent; and nothing can answer to the glorious description but some future exalted state of the church on earth, or the church triumphant in heaven; though several expressions seem to limit it to the church below. Isa 35:2, Isa 41:19, Isa 41:20, Isa 55:13, Hos 14:6, Hos 14:7
to beautify: Ezr 7:27
the place: Isa 66:1, 1Ch 28:2, Psa 96:6, Psa 132:7
Reciprocal: Exo 35:22 – every man Ezr 8:30 – the house of our God Psa 63:2 – in the Hos 14:8 – I am Hag 1:8 – I will be Hag 2:8 – General Rev 21:24 – the kings
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 60:13. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee As Lebanon furnished cedars, and other choice timber, for building and beautifying Solomons temple, so shall different nations contribute what is most excellent and suitable among them for supporting, establishing, enlarging, and adorning the church of Christ, here called the place of Gods sanctuary, with allusion to the temple, an eminent type of it. See note on Psa 46:4-5. And I will make the place of my feet glorious The Christian Church, so called in allusion to the ark in the most holy place of the tabernacle and temple, where the divine glory, termed by the Jews the Shechinah, was wont to appear between the wings of the cherubim, over the mercy-seat, which was, as it were, the footstool of that glorious symbol of Gods presence.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
60:13 The {n} glory of Lebanon shall come to thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my {o} feet glorious.
(n) There is nothing so excellent which will not serve the needs of the Church.
(o) Signifying that God’s majesty is not included in the temple, which is but the place for his feet, that we may learn to rise to the heavens.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The nations will bring all their finest products to Jerusalem as gifts to the Lord. For example, Lebanon will probably bring its famous forest products, as it did for Solomon, who built the first temple in Jerusalem. This will all result in the beautification of the temple (cf. 1Ch 28:2) and, therefore, the glorification of Israel’s God.